"Hey, do you guys believe what Aqua said?" Libra asked as she took a bite of her salad. "I haven't stopped thinking about it all day..."
It was Tuesday evening, and Gemini was having dinner with her friends on campus. Apparently, Aquarius was going on about how Gemini and everyone else who was named a zodiac sign would undergo a magical transformation. When Leo had read the text earlier today, he burst into laughter.
"Of course not!" Leo leaned back into his seat, resting his hands behind his head. His letterman jacket was a size too big, but no one would notice or care. "Aqua probably saw that light in the sky and freaked out..."
"I know." Libra agreed. She was pouting, and her pretty black waves fell down her shoulders. "But he's never this frantic. I called him this morning and he could barely get a sentence out."
"Babe," Leo cooed, pulling Libra into his lap and kissing her cheek. Gemini smiled at them, ignoring the strange feeling that she was being a third wheel. "Aqua does this all the time. Sure, that light was freaky, but that was days ago~"
Libra nodded leaning against him. Everyone, meaning the entire campus, believed they were the perfect couple. High school sweethearts. Leo was the quarterback, Libra was the pretty cheer captain. Perfect and beautiful in every sense of the word. And Gemini was their fun, happy-go-lucky sidekick. "What do you think, Gem?" Libra asked her, looking so neat and pretty in Leo's arms. "You understand Aqua better than both of us do."
That was true. Aquarius was like a Rubix Cube, and Gemini was the only one who was both fascinated and smart enough to figure him out. Sure, Aries and Sag would listen to his introspective tangents on human evolution from snails, but Gem would listen, understand and rebuttal. It made her feel special, having figured out the town's most complicated puzzle.
"Gem!" Leo shouted, snapping his small best friend back into reality. She blinked at him, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. Libra giggled.
"Sorry..." Gem laughed. "But, I wouldn't rule it out. We all saw the light, and Leo, weren't you attacked by aliens? Maybe us growing into powers is apart of that, too."
"Aliens?" Libra questioned, looking up at her boyfriend.
"Oh, they were some guys that ambushed us at Aries' house." Leo reassured, hugging Libra. "He probably stole something and like a couple dozen guys showed up and we kicked ass, as always."
"Sag told me you screamed when you saw the blood."
"Did not!" Libra tried to hold in her snickers but couldn't stop herself. "Sag is a liar..."
"You and I both know very well she's not."
"It's okay Leo~" Libra cooed her boyfriend. "I know you're brave and strong. My knight in shining armor." They share a cute kiss and Gem swoons.
Standing, she smiled at her friends, who were quickly falling into a heated kiss. She didn't want to bother them, so Gemini sneaked off, back into one of the campus buildings.
Gemini walked into the bathroom, humming a catchy pop song that was stuck in her head. The thought of having powers was floating through her mind as she washed her hands.
Aquarius said he watched Aries turn into a dragon. He saw Taurus with wings the next day. He spectated that they were being reawakened in order of their signs. Gemini was supposed to be next.
It made her chuckle a bit. The sun was already setting, and not a thing had happened to her yet. No wings. No dragons. No powers. Just a subtle headache.
A subtle headache that seemed to grow as Gemini stared at herself in the mirror. At first the pain was pulsing like a heartbeat, then a strange stabbing sensation. She clutched her head, tangling her fingers in her short hair.
It was oddly intense so quickly, and Gemini wanted to curl into a little ball. She tried, crouching onto the floor and panting.
The pain surged. Gemini screamed. Hopefully, no one was in the bathroom, hopefully no one heard her. She was sobbing now, a rarity for her but the stabbing was too intense.
Suddenly, it was changing again, the pain subsiding, or morphing into something else. Gemini didn't know what was happening anymore.
Voices. Lots of voices flooding into her head. They weren't hers. It was so loud, so scary, Gemini couldn't stop her sobs. The pain was gone now, but there was so much noise, and if Gemini were honest with herself, the pain was much better than this.
"Leo!" Libra yelled. Gemini flinched, further curling into her ball. Her pretty voice was faint, like it was outside. Nothing like the swirling voices. "She's in here! Somethings wrong, she's crying!"
"Gemini?" Leo called out. She felt him get closer, and his thoughts invaded her mind. She screamed, scooting back. "Gem, it's okay... it's just me and Libra. We can help..."
"It's so loud..." Gemini whispered. "Too loud..."
Leo held out his hand. "No one's saying anything."
He was right, he and Libra were silent. And Gemini could tell no one else was in the bathroom. That could mean only one thing: these voices were in Gemini's head.
She told Leo this, and he clicked his tongue. "Okay. Just focus on me. Tune everyone out, and focus on me."
Gemini nodded and tried. She centered her energy around listening to Leo's mental monologue, and to Gemini's surprise, it worked. She engulfed in his thoughts, and let him scoop her up. Outside thoughts were still there, but they weren't nearly as prominent as Leo.
"Libra, can you drive? We have to get her out of here." Leo gently ordered. Libra nodded and dashed off. She already had his keys. "Gem, you feel better?"
She nodded, the tears long subsided. Leo lifted her up with ease, slowly walking out of the bathroom. The voices started up again as Leo walked past onlookers. Gemini squeezed her eyes shut, keeping her mind on Leo. "Don't worry guys," Leo said, not elaborating. Gemini knew he couldn't even if he wanted to. "She just had an accident, that's all. She's gonna be a-ok!"
Gemini smiled, burying her petite frame in his chest. He didn't have to do this. He could have just let her rot alone in the University bathroom, crying from voices apparently only she could hear. But he was taking her home, sacrificing his evening for her. Gemini didn't care how anyone else felt, Leo was her beacon of light.
Libra already had the car started, Leo easily slid in the back. He didn't let go of Gem once. "Hey," He asked her as Libra drove off. "Gem, are you okay?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yep!" Gemini tried to chime, but it came out broken. The voices were gone, but Leo's loud inner monologue still rung through her head, along with Libra's worries about her. "I'm... better."
"What happened?" Libra asked from the front.
"I went to wash my hands," Gemini recalled, sitting up in Leo's lap. "And all of a sudden... there was these voices... in my head! It was crazy..."
"So Aqua was telling the truth..." Leo said to himself. "Wow, you have alien powers, Gem!"
"I don't think it's aliens, Leo." Gemini slid off of him now, her headache nearly disappeared. Leo and Libra's voices weren't as loud.
"Yeah," Libra added. "If Lady Hellta knew what was going on, this is definitely related to magic... or something. Aqua said she was a Goddess."
"Sure she is." Leo rolled his eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"Leo, we both saw Gem freaking out and hair changing color. I'm pretty sure everything Aqua said was true, including that."
"Sure." Gem could still hear Leo's doubt plaguing his thoughts, but it was getting easier to ignore it. "Besides, Gem's hair is cooler this way."
"True." Libra agreed. Gem went into Libra's head, looking for an image. She found one of herself, crouched in the bathroom. Her hair wasn't blond, but rather one half was black and the other half was white. Gem had to admit, she looked totally badass.
"Who's next?" Leo asked.
Gem clicked her tongue. "Cancer. That's the Fourth Sign." She didn't notice she was answering until the words left her mouth. How the hell did I know that?
Mentally, Leo and Libra asked the same question. Gemini answered out loud. "I don't know. I just feel like she's next."
"Wait." Libra was about to question.
Gemini beat her to the answer before she finished. "I can read your minds. I guess I'm a telepath now."
"Woah!" Leo exclaimed. "What am I thinking right now?"
"Right now?" Gem gently went into his mind, his incoming thoughts light and fast. "Libra, Nachos, you have two assignments due on Thursday, aaaaaaand Libra again."
For the first time since he's gotten in the truck, Leo was silent. "Wow."
"Wow, Gem!" Libra chimed. Gemini puffed out her chest, having silenced and impressed her closest friends. "That is so cool... you think the rest of us will get mind reading powers, too?"
"I have no idea." Gemini answered. She hoped not. It felt so cool to be the only one to read minds. Who knew what else.
Libra was coming up on a turn, and Gemini recognizes it immediately. "Hey, can we stop at Miles' shop?" She asked as Libra was already taking the turn to the store.
Miles was a grumpy old man, but he paid well for his shifts. Cancer and Scorpio worked there too, and it was fun to hang out with Cancer and bother Scorpio.
Libra parked the truck, Leo already getting out. Gemini and Libra exchanged a quick, worried look. Gem didn't have to read her mind, she already knew. This is a bad idea.
"Leo!" Gemini went after him, before suddenly appearing in fronting of him. There was a quick wave of dizziness that overcame her, but it quickly faded. Okay, I can teleport. Cool!
"Did you just-" Leo was about to ask.
"Yes." Gemini answered quickly, already having registered and accepted her new power. "Wait in the car."
"No." Gemini held in a sigh. Even without telepathy, she knew Leo was going to argue. "What if he's in there, and he attacks you or gropes you?"
"Leo, Scorpio and I have shifts together, all the time. I'll just go in, tell them to cover for me and leave. You don't need to go."
"Yes I do."
"I'll go, too." Libra was out of the truck and holding onto Leo's arm. "Just to keep you in check. Also, Gem... did you-"
"Teleport? Yeah, I can do that, too." Gemini lead the way to the store, happily taking in her friend's thoughts of admiration.
Cancer was sweeping up around the small store, softly humming as her blond curls bounced as she moved. Scorpio was idly watching his phone behind the store's counter. His coiled hair was down and in his face. They both looked up at the door when the doorbell rang.
"Hey guys!" Gemini quickly said, before Scorpio or Leo could say anything to each other. No one else was in the store, anything could happen. Gem heard the boys' thoughts, images of them punching each other flooded her head. She shook them away. "Where's Miles?"
"Smoke break." Scorpio walked up next to Cancer, his eyebrows raised. "The fuck did you do to your hair?" Leo tensed when Scorpio got close. Libra held onto his arm tighter.
"Oh, Gemini!" Cancer frantically hugged her friend, holding her cheeks and looking into her eyes. "What happened? Did you get reawakened too?"
"I did, but I'm fine now," Gemini reassured. Cancer's thoughts were an onslaught, a soft onslaught of worry. "Leo and Libra were gonna take me home to get some rest. Can you guys take my shift tonight?"
Before Scorpio protests, Cancer is already nodding furiously. "Of course!" He glares at her and she glares back. To Gemini's surprise, he backs down and sighs. "You should go. Taurus told me the reawakening was... painful."
"It was." Gemini agreed matter-of-factly. "I had this awful headache and then, poof! I can read minds now!"
"Wow." It was cute. Cancers wide eyes of disbelief. "So you can-"
"Hear your, and everyone else's thoughts? Yep! Teleport? That too! It took a few minutes but I got used to it. It's actually really fun, I know what everyone says before they say it, and I can't wait to test how far I can get away. Maybe I can take you two along on a trip while Miles is out-"
"Okay, Gem." Scorpio interrupts her. He looked completely disinterested, as if he already knows what's happening. To be fair, Sag had told her he was there when Aries had his reawakening. "We'll cover you. Just go home."
Leo's thoughts were faster than a freight train. It left his mouth instantly. "Having more hours would be good for you, Scorpi~" He shrugged. Scorpio grit his teeth. "More time here means less time whorring around on campus." Libra glared at her boyfriend.
Scorpio's smile twisted, his eyes boring into Leo. Had he not been at work, Gemini could tell he would have swung. The sudden abrasive thoughts made her take a step back. Leo stepped in front of her rather dramatically. "You're right." Cancer had a hand on Scorpio's toned arm as he responded. "Wouldn't want to cuck anybody else. That would be so damn unfortunate, huh?"
Leo lunged but his fist was stuck in midair. Gemini blinked, realizing she was controlling his hand. Gently, Gemini moved Leo's hand down to his side, pushing him back to the door and closing it on him.
No one said a word. Gemini hoped Leo wouldn't be too mad. He simply shoved his hands in pockets and walked back to the truck. "Telekinesis!" Libra and Cancer exclaimed at the same time. "Gemini, that is too cool!" Libra added. She looked back at the door, her thoughts floating with Leo. "I should go get him, though..." She left after keeping her eyes on Scorpio.
As soon as the door closes again, Scorpio bursts into laughter. It isn't genuine, and he clutches his stomach. Gemini quickly said to Cancer. "Thanks for taking my shift, Cancie..."
"It's no trouble." Her voice was hard like steel. Scorpio had stopped laughing and clicked his tongue, going back to the counter. "I'm sorry about him, he's an asshole."
"It's okay, Leo started it." Gemini looked down to her shoes. "I knew what he was thinking. I could have stopped it."
"You did stop it. And you aren't responsible for them." Cancer's voice was still unmoving, but Gemini could hear her natural motherly tone beneath it. "If they want to be douchebags to each other, that's their mistake." She raised her voice just enough for Scorpio to hear, making him loudly groan.
The truck from outside honked. Libra was ready to go. "That's my ride! See you two later!"
"Wait!" Gemini stopped in the doorway. Cancer's question was already on her mind. She was timidly messing with her fingers. "Before you go, do you know who's next?"
Gemini didn't want to tell her. She took a deep breath and looked Cancer in her deep blue eyes. She has to know the truth. "It's you."
•••
Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait, I got really into my book series, oops! Don't worry, updates will be back much quicker now. I'll even try to get a schedule going!
Stay Starry! 💫