"And there were like, 20 dudes all up against us!" Sagittarius was exclaiming and waving her hands as Scorpio drove to Aries's house. It was the next day, and Sag was much too eager to share her exciting pale ninja story with her ex-boyfriend. "All three of us fended them off, but one of them got on top of me so Aries had to shoot him! It was so badass!"
"Wow." Scorpio clicked his tongue. He kept his eyes on the road, and his voice hardly shifted. Sag knew he was still listening. "You called Aqua after that."
"Of course!" She rolled her eyes. "Who else would know about crazy home invaders with black blood and pale skin?"
"Fair- Wait. Black blood?"
"Yep. Aries can tell you all about it when we get there, my man."
Scorpio stayed silent after that. Sag sucked in her cheeks in frustration. She hated how he was always so quiet. All she wanted was a conversation, was it so hard to keep it going?
He didn't even have to look at her to know she was fuming. "What?" He asked.
"Can you at least say something?!" Sag threw her hands in the air in complete frustration. "I want to have conversations with you... I'm the only one who likes talking to you anyway."
Sag regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. She winced and shrunk back in her seat, looking away from her exes' reaction. "I get it." He stated calmly. He didn't sound angry. "I just don't have a lot to say. I'm sorry."
"Don't be... I was mean."
"You were speaking your mind. Plus, you aren't even wrong. I know people don't like me, especially your friends."
Sag sucked in her cheeks. Aries liked Scorpio, but probably because the three of them do crazy shit together. Aqua didn't like him much, and Leo... "They do! Well... sort of."
"Sag." Scorpio's voice was flat. She looked at him, expecting something harsh. "I'm fine with them not liking me. You do, and that's all that matters."
"Yeah, I guess..." He was right. But Sag couldn't help but imagine her perfect friend group: Aries, Leo, Aqua, Gemini and him, wreaking absolute havoc wherever they went. "You and Leo could be good friends, if you two tried."
Scorpio smirked, giving her a quick glance. "Sure." He smiled, but Sag knew it was fake. "When Hell freezes over."
When they pulled up into Aries' driveway, there was a bike laying in the yard. Aquarius' bike.
And, to neither Scorpio or Sag's surprise, there he was, picking the door lock. "The fuck is he doing?" Scorpio asked, getting out the car. Sag never knew what Aqua was really doing, but she loved being along for the ride anyway.
"Hey, Aqua!" Sag got out, too, running to her friend. Aqua smiled up at her, but the smile instantly left when he saw Scorpio walk up next to her. "What are you doing to Aries' door? Installing something?"
"Greetings, friend." Aqua replied in his normal chipper tone. The tone dropped to a flat line when he acknowledged Scorpio. As if it never happened, his voice was normal again. "I'm simply picking Aries' lock."
"Why?" Scorpio asked. His hands were in his pockets, biting his cheek out of habit. "Aries doesn't lock his doors."
"Exactly." Aqua answered. "He doesn't lock his doors. And he didn't answer his calls. Something is wrong."
"So you attempt to break into his house? Maybe he's just asleep."
Aqua stopped, dropping his hands into his lap. He sent a cold glare Scorpio's way, Scorpio sending one back. Sag swallowed. "I've committed worse crimes. And so have you. And, we all know something is wrong. I know I'm not the only one who saw that creepy light last night."
That made Scorpio falter. Sag, too. She remembered when it showed up. She, Aries, and Leo were in Aries' backyard, enjoying the bonfire. As soon as the light came and went, they were too uncomfortable to enjoy the rest of the night. Aries went to bed, and Leo took Sag home.
"You both saw it." Aqua said, reading their expressions. "And it made you feel strange. And I am approximately 87 percent sure that that light is going to do something to us."
Scorpio clicked his tongue. "Move." It was low, threatening. Aqua did as he was told. Sag was surprised, but it made sense. Aqua would have only rebelled if Scorpio was going to get in the way.
Scorpio kicked open the door. It was sudden and fluid, like he's had to do it before. "Aries?" He called out. Sag and Aqua followed him inside. "You better not be piss drunk, you asshole." No response. All three of them tensed.
Sag swallowed. The seconds slowed. Where is he? Instinctively, she grabbed out to the first thing she felt. Luckily it was Aqua's shirt. There was still no sight of Aries.
There was a sudden, loud growl. It made Sag flinch. "Outside..." Scorpio mumbled, bolting for the back door. Aqua and Sag quickly followed.
Aries was in the backyard, on his hands and knees, clutching his side. Sag could tell from the way his shirt clung to his back that he was sweaty. "A-Aries?" She edged closer to him. He let out a mangled cry and hunched over. Sag didn't back away, even when he started to visibly shake, faster and faster.
"What's wrong with him..." Scorpio asked no one in particular. It wasn't like Sag had an answer anyway.
Aries couldn't hold himself up anymore. Sag could tell he was crying. She exhaled quickly, not knowing what to do to help her friend.
Aqua, Scorpio and Sag all finch when they heard bones crack. None of them could take their eyes off of Aries. He was panting now, his back arched and more bones could be heard snapping. In a blink of an eye, bony, translucent wings ripped through his shirt with another scream.
Sag bit her tongue to keep herself from screaming. Her eyes were wide and she mindlessly took a step back behind the two boys. Scorpio had his jaw clenched. Aqua was motionless. Both of their eyes were as wide as saucers.
Aries' wings flapped once, twice, but more bones started to crack. Sag thought she was hallucinating when he started to grow double, even triple his size. But it didn't stop. His clothes started ripping again, and deep red scales were growing all over his body. His screams were replaced with loud roars.
There wasn't a pretty, funny Columbian boy in front of them anymore. A dragon bigger than Aries' house was all that was left.
He craned it's neck down to watch the three, moving his large head to sniff them. Sag didn't want to move, not at all. But, there she was, reaching her hand out to touch the dragon's snout. Scorpio and Aquarius both gave her obvious warning looks, probably screaming at her from their minds to stop. It was a nice attempt, but Sag wasn't going to stop.
The dragon bared his teeth a low rumble coming from his throat. Sag kept petting his snout, moving closer. Sag had no idea what was coming over her - having the balls to pet a dragon - but whatever it was, she felt a pull towards him. Aries...
"Aries?" She called out, hoping he'd answer. Sag had no idea if dragons could talk or not. The dragon blinked, before raising his head up, away from her hand. He released a deafening roar, disrupting hundreds of birds take off from the trees.
The dragon finished, curling into himself and shrinking. Further and Further until he started to turn back into the pretty, funny Columbian boy, naked and passed out in his own backyard.
***
It took Aries a few hours to wake up. The sun was already setting when he slowly batted his eyes open. Sag was sitting on him when he did. "Aries?!" She was frantic, shaking him hard. Scorpio had to pull her away to make her stop. Aqua was in the corner of his room, observing silently as he always did.
Aries shot up, panting. Sag immediately shrunk back into Scorpio's arms when she saw him. It was obvious he was bigger. He had a wider, thicker torso. Curled horns grew out from the sides of his head. His teeth were sharp, and every breath let out a minuscule flame. And the cherry on top, the brightest red eyes, staring back at her full of worry.
"What..." Sag couldn't form words.
"I..." Aries looked down at his sheets. He was wearing some of Scorpio's clothes, since his own weren't his size anymore. Gripping his sheets, he swallowed. "I don't know..." His voice wavered. He sounded so lost.
"How did it start?" Aqua suddenly asked. There wasn't a single trace of emotion on his face. Completely stoic. Sag had the sudden urge to punch him. This is your best friend! Don't you care that he's hurt? "The pain, I mean."
"This... morning." Aries' response was slow. Sag knew he was still playing catch-up in his head. "When I woke up. I felt nauseous, and then my back started hurting really bad... I went outside, to get some fresh air, and that's when it got really bad..." Aries looked down before looking back up in a sudden panic. "Did I hurt any of you?! Oh shit.. oh shit..." He grabbed fistfuls of his hair, on the brink of tears.
"No!" Sag ran from Scorpio to him, hugging him tightly. He was stiffer than usual, and Sag couldn't tell if it was from his recent transformation, or pure nerves. "We're all fine, I swear. Please... don't freak out."
Aries dropped his hands. It hurt Sag a little that he didn't hug back. She felt smaller hugging him tightly, not wanting to let him go. His screams of agony and pain were ringing in her head. "You're gonna be okay..." she whispered.
"Aqua and I are gonna make some dinner." Scorpio forcefully grabbed Aqua and pulled him out of the room, closing the door for privacy. Sag was glad, she wanted to be alone with Aries right now.
Aries was staring down at her, his eyes empty and tired. "I think..." he started, patting Sag's hair. "I think I'm going insane." He laughed, holding her closer to him. It sounded choked and mangled, as if he was struggling to keep up his facade.
Sag looked up and there he was. Strong, intimidating Aries, crying. Hot tears were running down his cheeks, and he was seconds away from sobbing. "I'm losing my mind..."
"Hey, we both are." Sag slowly reached her hand to cup his cheek. His face was extremely hot, and rough. Tears burned her hand, but Sag didn't dare move her hand. She already was at a loss for comfort. Where's Cancer or Pisces when you need them? "I watched you sprout wings out of your back. Today was fucking wild."
He grinned a bit, showing off his his teeth. Sag forced herself not to move. "Yeah... I'm still tired, Saggie."
"Lay back down." Sag patted his cheek, moving next to him on the bed. He listened, flopping on the pillow. Sag managed to look past his bright pupils and notice he had bags under his eyes. It unnerved her seeing him so weak.
"Stay." Aries whispered out. It was the softest voice Sag had ever heard him use. "Please..."
"I will." Sag laid down too, staring into his eyes. He was so much bigger than her now. "I'm not going anywhere, buddy. I promise."
Aries closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling slower and slower. Soon enough his snores resonated within his room. Sag laid down too, scooting closer to him. He was like a heater, so warm.
It wasn't even a minute before Sagittarius was fast asleep next to him.