Again. Flashes of the past played back like movies in Ari's head. She had been in what felt like this moment before. She was feeling everything at once, even a sense of déjà vu.
Jordan, and her were nothing new. It was a secret, due to her brother, but innocent relationship of her high school years spent talking about their different experiences, and about every one of each other's interests and dislikes.
Ari knew about Jordan's secret love for the show friends , their love for video games and about their favorite hair products while they knew about her love for cats, reality tv shows she wished she could be on, and many more facts about her.
One thing Ari didn't know was how she kept her hatred for them for almost two years, how she would avoid looking at them, how she would avoid speaking, or how she could even avoid kissing them.
She was sick of it. She couldn't do it for any longer. Jordan was the one part of her life that she wanted to keep. The one person she knew cared about her even when they claimed they didn't, the one person who would still like her despite the stupid insults, and the one person she would ever go back to.
Though they had a grade gap, they were only a year and one month apart, Jordan being the older of the two. The gap wasn't as bad, but taking a gap year to fix her social rating had them as a freshman and a junior.
She still never minded it all. That gap year gave her the confidence to try to use her powers again, the confidence Jordan once gave her.
Jordan was the first person to understand her, to truly understand her, and though she had done it before, she knew when Jordan said that they wanted to try again, that she would never. Ever. Let them go again.
She kissed them, a soft kiss. It was different than all the other kisses, as it was genuine, and not filled with much desperation. She had them now and she wasn't going to let them go anywhere else, if she could somehow help it.
"I feel like something's off." She held their hand in hers even though it felt weird, like it was moving too quickly, and like the old them.
"What do you mean?"
She looked at them, look as if that was obvious.
"Okay well I know what you mean, we just chased someone through the courtyard , but any specifics?"
"I didn't think Rufus's powers lasted this long, I didn't even know he could do it to this many people at once." She started, walking with them back to her dorm room.
"So you don't think it was him?" Jordan asked, worried about the possibility that it wasn't Rufus.
"I mean he was probably involved in it, but I feel like Dean Shetty helped him. Either way something happened that someone doesn't want us to know about."
"I didn't think about it that way."
"It just feels like the only logical explanation. Why would Rufus make all of us forget about the party and the events leading up to it?"
"We're going to figure out why soon. We just have to wait to see if the others could find him."
"I doubt it, Andre's going to kill his ass." She might have disliked him, but her brother knew how to fight.
"And that I wish I could see." They stopped at her door.
"I'll see you later, okay?" She looked worried they would say that they wouldn't want to, but of course they didn't.
"Okay. And Ari everything's going to be fine. I know you like to worry about shit, but things are under control."
"Thanks Jordan." She kissed them with gratitude, and shut the door so she could think about everything.
She liked them, that was for sure, but everything was moving so fast, and it wasn't even because of just them, it was her too.
She spent hours thinking about their relationship, and the whole memory loss within the group.
Until Athena came back to drag her out of their room with a quiet Jordan behind her. "We need to go, like right now."
"What? Where? And why is Jordan here?" Ari looked confused, at the urgency her roommate had and the person standing next to her.
"Rufus wiped Marie again. She doesn't even remember my confession and Jordan's dorm was on my way."
"You told her that you liked her?"
"Yea, after the party to clear everything up. But now she doesn't remember."
"Shit. I'm sorry."
"We have to worry about this now. We're going to find him."
✯★⁂★✯
Marie, who had been outside, was the first to enter Dusty's house, where Rufus had been hiding.
"Rufus. Time for a chat." Jordan closed the door behind them.
"No, no, no. Stay the fuck away." Rufus tried to run, but was stopped by a blast of Jordan's powers. Marie grabbed one of his legs with a blood whip, pulling him towards them, as Ari and Athena stood there.
"No, let me go!" Rufus cried out.
"We just want to talk." Marie said firmly.
"God I swear to fucking Christ. I never touched any of you."
"Yea right tell us what you know." Ari spoke sternly.
"Who the fuck are you? A cia agent?" He asked.
"What are you and Shetty up to? This is way above your measley pay grade, but you're fucking with us for a reason." Jordan interrupted them.
"You're all fucking nuts. Look at the facts."
"The facts? You made me forget?" Marie asked.
"Okay, okay. Wait, wait wait wait." He scoot back. "You say I wiped your memory tonight, right? Except I couldn't have done that, because my powers only work up close, and I've been here for the last five hours. Please tell them!" He looked back at dusty doing a line.
"I'm pretty yipped on 2-cb right now, but that sounds right."
"That doesn't mean you're innocent." Jordan got closer to him. "What the fuck is this?" They held up the implant they had to inform Ari about on the way there.
"How the fuck do I know?"
"It was implanted in my fucking neck!"
Marie's phone started ringing just then, a distraction for Rufus to get up. He attempted to leave, before Jordan stopped them by switching forms, and knocking him on the floor.
"We can't talk we found Rufus." She spoke to the phone.
"Look I just work in the deans office, okay? I don't know shit about implants, and I didn't do shit to you at the party." Rufus tried defending himself.
"Stop fucking lying!" Jordan yelled at him.
"Jordan, calm down." Ari said to them, placing a hand on them.
"Please, please don't kill me." Rufus pleaded.
"I've been waiting all night for this."
"Jordan!" Marie stopped them before it was too late. "It's not him. It's Cate."
"What? That's fucking crazy."
"I know, but it's true."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure."
"We need to-." Athena started to say, as a barrel sent Rufus tumbling through the wall.
"Andre! Don't do it." Ari said when she noticed her brother at the door.
"Fuck. Woah woah woah. Andre, Andre hold on. Andre."
"Move. This scumbags mine." Andre was walking straight towards him with a look of anger.
"Andre wait!" Jordan called out.
"No where to run motherfucker." Andre sent a pair of garden shears through his shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
"Andre, stop! He didn't do it. It wasn't Rufus." His sister begged him to stop.
"It was Cate!" Marie said.
"Bullshit. Cate would never do something like that." He was about to send a shovel through Rufus's neck, but he was stopped by an eager Cate.
"Andre don't!"
"Cate. Tell them it isn't true."
"I'm so sorry."
Jordan stepped in front of Rufus, to shield him from Andre.
"I've only ever wanted to help and protect you. I just wanted to make things better and.." Cate stepped closer, touching Andre's face to make him remember.
A tear ran down Andre's face as his memories rushed back to him.
"Andre. Please. Andre I didn't-.."
"You're a fucking monster." Was all he said as he walked away from her, leaving her with the others.
"Give me my memories back." Ari practically ordered as he left, wanting to know everything.
She touched her face, and a sudden flood of emotions, and an overwhelming bundle of memories flooded her senses.
It was like she brought back too many memories, memories Ari didn't even remember having, memories of the accident that Ari somehow forgot.
A/N: I know, I know what you're thinking. Cam, why the fuck are you writing? You literally have finals. WELL I have no finals today, then they're resumed on Monday so just enjoy this chapter as I try not to lose my fucking mind!!!