"Arsenio..." I breathe out, unsure how to even respond to that. Arsenio throws his hands up, raking them through his hair as he takes heavy breaths. He's no longer silent and still- he's beginning to panic. I approach him slowly, as if he were a wild animal and I'm trying not too spook him away. "Hey, just calm down."
"How can I calm down?" Arsenio practically growls. "She- She kissed him-"
At that moment, Jericho comes back outside, eyebrows furrowing at the scene in front of him. "Arsenio, you okay, man?"
Arsenio doesn't answer, just grips onto my arm. "Natalie, what do I do? My chest hurts so much..."
"First of all, you have to calm down. Panicking isn't going to do anything!"
"I can't! My soulmate is a rebel now!"
Jericho frowns, "Soulmate?"
Arsenio doesn't even spare him a glance, gripping onto my arm with his other hand, too. "This is my fault, isn't it? Because I rejected her? I tried to apologize, but I should've tried harder, now she's a rebel..."
"Arsenio, just take deep breaths," I tell him. "You were obviously both hurt over what happened, but it's not your fault that she chose to do what she chose to do. I need you to tell me everything you know on her, because we're probably going to have to give details to the police."
Just as Arsenio began calming down, his eyes widen again. "No! We can't give her away to the police!"
Jericho is still frowning, looking lost. "But you found your soulmate?"
Neither of us bother answering him, my thoughts still focused solely on what Arsenio had said. "Arsenio, I get she's your soulmate, but she trashed your house- twice- trashed Jericho's house, knocked out his aunt- she probably also helped with the ruining of the memorial! She's crazy."
"Which is my fault! Natalie, you can not call the police. She's my only chance at happiness, she's never going to want to be with me if I send her to jail!"
"Arsenio, she's hurting the people you care about!" I insist. "I get you're trying to protect her, but it's not worth it-"
"It has to be!" Arsenio insists. "Everyone who isn't a rebel has told me that love is worth it! Tell me, what if this was Jericho, and you had to give him up to the police?"
I go silent at that, thinking carefully about my answer. Ultimately, though, we both know what's running through my mind- I wouldn't be able to do it.
The tense silence that has settled between Arsenio and I is broken when Jericho meekly asks for a third time, "... Soulmate?"
Arsenio sighs, turning to Jericho and nodding dejectedly. "Yes, Jericho. I'm sorry for not telling you."
Jericho chews on the inside of his cheek, looking over his best friend with doubtful eyes. "When did you meet her?"
"Just a couple of months before you met Natalie. I rejected her, then when I realized I had made a mistake and tried to apologize, she didn't listen to me. Now she turned into... that."
Jericho purses his lips, looking down at the ground, up at Arsenio and then to me. He seems unsure what to do and what to say. Finally, in a rough voice, he asks, "So you can see colors?"
Arsenio nods. "I know the names too."
Jericho furrows his eyebrows, "How?"
"I snuck in a book and hid it under my bed, then learned the colors. It's still under my bed. Jericho," Arsenio sighs when he sees the hurt look on Jericho's face. "It's not that I didn't want to tell you. I just... I was so confused with how I was feeling and I how I was supposed to be feeling."
"So was I, yet I still came to you." Arsenio flinches at Jericho's harsh words, dropping his head like a scolded child. I almost feel like laughing- at one point Arsenio had been unnerving, and now seeming him like this is almost humorous. I hold it in, though, because I have a feeling it won't be too appreciated in our situation.
"I'm sorry."
Jericho shrugs, "I know you are. Let's just go inside."
Arsenio nods. I take Jericho's hand, making his shoulders relax. He kisses the top of my head before pulling me towards, the door, Arsenio following behind us. On one hand, I would die down the public affection with Jericho in front of Arsenio just because of what he's going through, but on the other hand I like Jericho's kisses way too much to ever decline the offer of one.
When we get inside Jericho's aunt's house, though, Jericho reluctantly lets go of my hand. I know why- Jericho's aunt is a rebel, and judging by the really bad fight they had over me that resulted in Jericho getting kicked out, seeing Jericho and I hold hands won't exactly help with her first impression of me. I slowly trail behind, eyes on the ground to try and avoid stepping on anything that will cut my feet, even if I am in Converse.
We finally reach Jericho's aunt, a middle aged woman sitting on a couch that I'm surprised hasn't been knocked over. I wince at the sight of her. She's obviously not that old, but the straw-like, un-brushed hair on her head and her thin, slouched over complexion almost says otherwise. One look in her cold, blue eyes and it's obvious that she's a bitter lady.
"Why would you hang around those type of people, Jericho?" Jericho's aunt grumbles. "Jesus Christ, I thought I've grown a brain into you since you were twelve. Look what you've gotten yourself into now."
"I'm sorry, Aunt Helen. Do you need another ice pack for your head?"
"Yes, but get Arsenio to bring one. We need to talk."
Arsenio nods, ducking past us to get the ice pack. That's when Aunt Helen notices me, her eyes narrowing as she looks me over. "Who's this?"
Jericho shifts awkwardly, "That's Natalie."
Aunt Helen raises an eyebrow, not taking her eyes off of me. When she doesn't say anything, I mutter, "Hi."
"Hi," Aunt Helen replies, though it sounds like she mocking me. I narrow my eyes at her, trying to keep my mouth shut and not to snap at her. She turns to Jericho, "You're still with her, huh?"
"I am, but that's not what we're here to talk about. Please don't any unnecessary drama, Helen."
"We never even resolved our drama from earlier, Jericho," she points out with a smug look. I instantly decide that I don't like her, especially the way she brings up Jericho being kicked out. Before I can tell her off, though, Arsenio is coming back into the kitchen with an ice pack. Sighing deeply, Helen says, "Jericho, take a seat. We need to talk privately about all... this."
Jericho gives me an unsure look, but I just smile, making him smile back. He sits down beside his aunt, Arsenio gesturing with a nod of his head for me to follow him out. We make our way through the mess to a bedroom where the only thing not knocked over is the actual bed. Sitting down on there, I sigh. "Arsenio, we have to tell the police."
Arsenio looks down. "So I'll just live without a soulmate, huh?"
"You know that some people have second soulmates, Aresnio!"
"That's only if they lose their other soulmate," Arsenio sighs, "Not if they get rejected. Fate wouldn't give me a second chance."
"You never know," I tell him, giving him a small smile. "Don't underestimate fate. Maybe some day soon, you'll find the real girl that you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with."
Pursing his lips, Arsenio softly asks, "How will I know? I can already see color, there's nothing that will tell me they're my soulmate."
I smile sadly, "My friend Cole knows a guy named Darren. About a month and a half ago he lost his soulmate to a terminal illness. Just a couple of days Cole told me he started to see this girl."
"Already?" Arsenio frowns.
I nod, "Yeah. He says if it weren't for the fact that she was his neighbour and every time they talked he felt the connection, he wouldn't be with her. But he says it's just like falling in love- your mind knows that they want to be with the other person. You don't need a huge sign that says this is the person you're supposed to love, Arsenio. That girl is hurting you. So rewrite your faith-fate will have someone else for you if that girl is dumb enough not to hear you out. Not a hook-up- someone who makes you truly happy. Fate will help lead the way to her, but you have to be strong enough to trust her when the time comes."
"Jericho didn't hear you out," Arsenio points out. "But you still ended up together."
"Jericho didn't trash my home twice," I point out. "Nor did he trash Willow's memorial."
Arsenio chuckles, "Yeah, the worst that kid has done is go vending machine bowling."
I laugh loudly, "I love that story."
Smiling, Arsenio nods. He straightens. "You're right. You and Jericho were different- Jericho didn't want to be with anyone. I want to be with someone, but she's no good for me. For any of us." He smiles at me, his eyes finally showing an emotion other than pain. Usually, if his emotions are even readable they're hidden, but this one shines bright and clear- gratefulness. "Thank you, Natalie."
"Jeez, you're welcome," I shoulder bump him. "Where would you rebels be without me?"
"Not in a trashed house, actually."
"Shut up."
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was a little more laid back, but I think that's kind of needed with all the recent drama xD Anyway, if you enjoyed, please be sure to COMMENT AND VOTE! I love you all so so much! :) xoxo