A Flutter in Time

Chapter 8 - Unanswered Questions

"He'll never purposely break your heart."

If Bdubs would never love him, then why would E come back in time to get Etho to confess his love? Was his future self just tricking him? Why? Etho felt the beginning of a headache forming. He sighed and sat down on his couch. He stared at the contact before typing out a simple message.

'Hey Bdubs! It's Etho. I was wondering if ya wanna get ice cream sometime? Maybe before we hang out with Doc tomorrow?' Etho closed his eyes and hit send. Doc had definitely told Bdubs about the hang out tomorrow, but Etho still fretted that he might not have. His worry was shut down immediately when he almost instantly got a text back.

'Sounds fun! It's a date! :)' Etho blushed at Bdubs's forwardness, his tail swishing behind him. He allowed himself to relax a little. Now he could successfully face E. And speaking of the devil, the door swung open revealing the very disheveled looking man.

"Wow E, you look washed up." E rolled his eyes and sat down on the sofa.

"Shut it. We have things to discuss other than my appearance."

"Right right! How was your date with Joel?" E seemed to shrink a little in his seat.

"It was fine. He's a nice guy." Etho rolled his eyes, unhappy with the lack of detail.

"Well I wanna know more. After all, I do have to go on that date in the future!"

"Then you can find out about it then." There was a slight hiss of pain in E's voice. As if talking about the date physically pained him. And judging on his appearance it might as well have.

"Fine. I just want to know one thing then. Will there be a second date?" E pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, his ears flattening on his head.

"I don't- I don't know. Will there be a first date between you and Bdubs?" Etho smirked.

"You already know Mr. 'I'm from the future'."

"That's all I needed to know. Now if you'll excuse me, I've had enough of your sass talk for one night. I'll see ya in a few days. Tell me how the date goes." E stood and headed towards the door. Then Etho remembered the conversation him and Grian had had the day prior. Soulmates.

"Wait! I have a question." E hesitated.

"I swear if it's about my date with Joel..."

"It's about Bdubs." He sighed before returning to his spot on the couch. Etho fidgeted, readjusting his mask on his nose.

"What do you wanna know?" Etho took a deep breath before speaking.

"Do you think Bdubs is your soulmate?" E froze. It clearly wasn't the question he had been expecting. It took him a long time to carefully think about his response before replying.

"Bdubs doesn't believe in soulmates." Etho shook his head.

"I didn't ask if he believed in soulmates... I asked if you thought he was yours?" E shuddered.

"Bdubs believes that love is something you learn over a long time. He believes that it's not destiny or some silly love at first sight. He believes that you have to truly know someone before you learn to love them."

"But do you believe he's your soulmate?" E looked like he was going to cry. It was an unfamiliar look and it slightly scared Etho. E spoke, voice tight and raspy.

"Bdubs doesn't believe in soulmates." E stood and left the apartment without another word. Etho sat in stunned silence. He felt the weight of the underlying message, but couldn't quite decipher it. He tried to put the pieces together anyways.