Chapter Eight — Stuffing Stars
Lyra's POV
When Soraya read out the next list item, I actually laughed.
"Make a Build-A-Bear together?" she announced, waving the crumpled paper like a victory flag.
Saphira gasped. "Wait, that's adorable!"
Cassian groaned. "We're seventeen, not seven."
"Correction," Aveline said, smirking. "You act like you're eight sometimes."
Evan leaned back in his chair. "I vote yes."
Of course he did. Build-A-Bear was our thing.
Back in freshman year, on my birthday, he'd shown up with a huge blue bear holding a tiny heart charm. Later, there were two smaller ones, each with their own matching star stitched into their paws. I'd named them Wish, Lume, and Sol.
"I already have three," I said, pretending to think. "Maybe they need a sibling."
"Exactly!" Soraya said. "Field trip approved."
The Build-A-Bear store at Lumera Mall smelled like sugar and nostalgia. Bright colors everywhere, bins of tiny clothes, the steady hum of the stuffing machine.
Aveline immediately made a beeline for a tiny frog.
Cassian picked the biggest, fluffiest bear possible and argued with the staff about whether it could wear a leather jacket.
Saphira and Soraya took selfies with every outfit.
Evan nudged me toward the shelves. "What about you, Sol?"
I scanned the wall, then stopped at a small cream-colored bear with soft brown eyes. "This one."
He nodded. "Cute. What's the plan?"
"I want it to match the others," I said. "Same star on the paw."
He smiled — that slow, familiar one that still made my heart trip. "Star girl."
The nickname stuck from freshman year, too. The one he whispered when he gave me the necklace I still wore.
We stood together at the stuffing machine. The attendant handed me the little cloth heart, asking me to make a wish before sealing it inside.
I held it in my palms for a second, eyes closed.
"I wish," I said softly, "that this year never ends."
When I looked up, Evan was watching me. "You always say that," he said.
"Maybe I mean it."
He smiled, but something about it didn't quite reach his eyes. Just a flicker. So quick I almost missed it.
The machine roared to life, filling the bear with fluff. Evan pressed his hand over mine as we held the heart in place.
"Now he's officially alive," he said.
"What should we name it?" I asked.
He thought for a second. "Nova. Like a new star."
"Nova," I repeated, grinning. "Perfect."
By the time we left, everyone was carrying some kind of stuffed creation — Cassian's bear in sunglasses, Saphira's cat in a tutu, Aveline's frog wearing a hoodie.
We piled into Evan's car, laughter spilling out into the warm afternoon. Soraya insisted on a group photo, all our bears lined up on the dashboard.
"Future historians are going to think we were unhinged," Cassian said.
"Future historians will call us iconic," Soraya countered.
I hugged Nova close, the star on its paw brushing against the one at my throat.
Everything felt light again. Simple.
Later that night, I put Nova beside the other bears on my shelf — three old friends and one new beginning.
I didn't notice the folded piece of paper someone had accidentally tucked into my bag.
Not yet.
Because right then, I was too busy smiling at how full my shelf looked,
and how empty I didn't.