I Told The Moon About You

15: In Orbit

FIFTEEN
In Orbit

"Oh."

Elias anxiously glanced at Roman, who was sitting nearby. He had refused to let him leave just in case this went badly. It was a good thing he didn't seem to mind.

Mars, however, was a different story.

She was frowning, looking down at her lap. "I don't know what to say," she mumbled. He had told her everything. "What — um, what was she like?"

Elias inhaled shakily. "She was the best sister I could've asked for," he told her honestly. "One of my best friends. She was so obsessed with the moon, you know. Whenever she would talk about you, she'd call you her little sun."

Mars looked up, brows sewn together. "But she didn't even know me yet."

"She loved you anyway," Elias said, smiling softly. "Even if she hadn't met you yet. You were her world by default."

"I wish... I could meet her."

"I wish you could, too." Elias watched her quietly. She didn't look angry, or upset. Just a little confused, a little lost, which was expected. "You know, you're a lot like her."

She blinked, the wrinkle between her eyebrows smoothing out. "I am?"

"Mhm. You're both not the best with strangers, but you still have an attitude with me."

Mars laughed, and Elias did, too. "You're both funny, a little sensitive, smart. She told some of the best stories — she knew how to make you invested, even if it was something about how she had to run through the rain. Just like you. So similar, but so different at the same time."

"Thank you for telling me," Mars whispered. "I'm sorry... for getting mad. And yelling and ignoring you."

"It's okay," Elias said. "Your feelings are valid, and that reaction was justified. You're still young. I should've told you sooner anyway. It was just not something you could so easily bring up."

"Yeah, I can see that now..." She trailed off, then pointed at Roman. "Why is he here?"

The man blanched. Elias pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's my friend, Mars. I invited him over."

"I didn't mean it in a rude way! I'm just wondering."

"I didn't get to um, introduce myself last time," Roman spoke up, holding out his hand to her. She stared at it for a moment before shaking it, glancing at Elias to see if that was the correct thing to do. He nodded. "My name is Roman, in case you didn't hear last time I was here."

"I'm Mars."

Roman cracked a small smile. "I know."

"I know you know. I just wanted to say my name because it sounds cool."

"I heard you say you chose it yourself?"

She nodded, already relaxing a bit around him. Elias was relieved. "My name is Margot, but people kept pronouncing it wrong when they saw it, so I shortened it. It sounds cooler anyway, and I like it more."

Mars paused, then looked between Roman and Elias. "I have a question," she said.

"Shoot," Elias replied.

"Are you two dating?"

Elias' eyes widened, and he frantically looked at Roman, who was hiding his face as he averted his gaze in the opposite direction of them both. "No, no," Elias said quickly. "We're just friends."

"Oh. So I was wrong about you being gay?"

"I-I mean, you're not completely wrong. I'm bisexual, Mars."