The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

ASH stared at the black-haired teenager sitting on his left. The other was smiling at him in a very friendly manner. Frankly speaking, if he didn't already have someone in his heart, he would definitely be tempted by that smile. So, right now, all he could feel was amazement. Because he truly couldn't wrap his head on the fact that this guy was actually Reas' twin.

"Are you really Reas' twin?" he couldn't help but asked.

Astrid looked at this guy named Ash with amusement. One look and he could tell that the other was probably the type to babble nonsense often. With such a personality, it was surprising that the other could actually get close to Reas.

"Well, last time I check, I still am," he said in a playful tone.

Kiran, who was listening at the conversation, was totally shocked hearing that. In fact, he was so shock that he couldn't help but exclaim, "You're twins?"

Ash looked at the teenager with sunset-colored eyes. They had already introduced themselves to each other earlier. This kid's name was Kiran, Astrid's schoolmate. He suddenly felt a bit of camaraderie for the other because he had the same reaction as him when he found out that the twin Reas talked about before was actually this black-haired beauty.

"I know, right? They totally don't look alike!" he said with an expression of ‘I knew I'm not the only one who thought so!'.

Seeing the proud expression on Ash's face, Kiran suddenly felt that his reaction was a bit rude and exaggerated. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything bad. It's just… well, surprising."

"It's fine. We always get the same reaction every time people found out that we're twins. We're used to it," Astrid said.

"Personally, I find it quite magical," Lauren commented.

Reas had increasing black lines on his face because of the comments from these three. "If it's so unbelievable, why don't we go to a DNA testing center to see if Aster and I are really twins?" he said in the most sarcastic voice he could muster.

Sadly, this wasn't what attracted others attention but the name he called Astrid.

"Is Aster your nickname?" Kiran asked. "Can I, ahm, can I also call you that?"

After hearing Kiran asked that, Lauren who had been wanting to call Astrid by that nickname cleared his throat. "I have actually been wanting to call you Aster ever since I heard Reas call you by that nickname. I was just too shy to ask. So, can I also call you Aster?"

Reas glanced at Lauren as if seeing an alien. "You actually know how to be shy?"

Lauren glared at the other and punched Reas' shoulder in a joking manner. "So, in your opinion I'm so shameless?"

Reas shrugged. "You're the one who said that."

Ash actually also wanted to ask if he could call Astrid ‘Aster'. But he felt that that would be the real epitome of shamelessness. After all, he just met the other. He's not like Lauren and Kiran who obviously knew Astrid for far longer.

But what really caught his attention was more was Reas' attitude towards Lauren. This was probably the first time he had seen the other act playful. Or at least, Reas' version of being playful. He looked at the two with interest. He couldn't wait to tease the other once they returned to the military academy.

Astrid chuckled. "It's fine, you can call me ‘Aster' if you like."

"It's a shame that Snow already left," Kiran said. "I'm sure he would also want to call you Aster."

Ash was startled when he heard that name. He was instantly reminded of the person he had been looking for. "Snow?"

"He's my friend from school," Astrid answered. "He just left when you came."

"Maybe you passed by him," Lauren added. "Silvery blue hair, snowy white skin, light gray eyes."

Ash then remembered the teenager he passed by the elevator. The other perfectly matched Lauren's description. Although there was something familiar about the other, his facial features simply didn't match the ‘Snow' he knew.

Reas noticed the abnormal expression on Ash's face when Snow's name was mentioned. "Do you know him?" he asked.

Ash shook his head. "No. He just has the same name as someone I know."

Even though he said that, for some reason, there was a nagging feeling telling him that he was missing something.

What it was, he didn't know.

Still, he smiled and simply changed the subject.

———-

It was almost ten in the evening when they left the piano lounge. Since four of them still had school tomorrow and the other one still had a job, they didn't go anywhere else after and just went straight home.

Coming back to the apartment, the first thing Astrid did was to go to the kitchen and make tea.

"That room mate of yours is quite interesting," he said. "How did the two of you become friends?"

Reas sat down on the couch. "I'm not really sure. It just happened, I guess."

"Some say that's the best kind of friendship," Astrid said before looking at his brother. "I'm glad there's someone like him by your side at the military academy."

Knowing Reas, this guy would probably not mind being alone for the rest of his time at the military academy. But Astrid didn't want his brother to go through that all by himself. That's why he's glad that someone like Ash appeared and befriended his brother.

"I'm also glad that your school friends both seem like good kids," Reas said.

Astrid chuckled. "What kids? They are both older than you, you know?"

After making tea, he poured Reas a cup and gave it to the other. He was about to pour one for himself when his Terminal sounded a message notification. He opened it and saw that it was from Wulfric.

[Wulfric: Aster, my army is about to leave the capital star by the end of next week. Can we meet before that?]