soulmates lovers and other useless human relations

xvii

"Alright, listen up because I'll only explain the rules once!" Mike hollered with a childish grin, his hands resting on his hips. After saying that, he locked eyes with the innocent Emma who's doe eyes drooped in anxiousness. "Except for you Emma, I'll explain as many times as you need me to."

Walking towards the huddled group of both survivors and hunters, the acrobat began explaining the game - a version of rugby that, instead of tackling the player with the ball, you tap them on the shoulder and allow them to roll the ball back to a player on their same team. The only times when the ball may switch to the other team is if the team gets a score, the ball falls out of bounds or if the ball is thrown or kicked and the opposing team catches it. Rather straight forward rules.

You stood by the lawn chairs that you and Emily had brought out the manor, placing a good handful on the grassy grounds that overlooked the field they would be playing in. Vera walked out with a fan in hand, waving it around her frowning face. "It's too hot for this! Where in the world did they even find the energy to play a game in weather like this? Especially after matches!"

Michiko walked over to stand beside her, giggling behind her iconic fan. "I don't know but I'm quite excited to watch."

"Oh yeah, Mary said she was going to play. Right?" The doctor hummed to the geisha, setting up another chair.

The hunter nodded, looking back to the open doors of the manor. "She said she was going to change into more appropriate attire for running."

"Will she be alright though? I know William can be quite... rough when it comes to sports." You grimaced.

Michiko snorted but shook her head. "You'd actually be surprised. Mary is quite enthusiastic when it comes to games like these."

As if on cue, the familiar voice of the mirror lady rang out into the courtyard, all four of you turning to grin at Mary - now presented in some comfortable looking pants and a ripped up t-shirt which looked too old and tattered for anyone's good. In her defence, however, it didn't seem to be that different from the old attire you all wore from a daily basis.

"Are you all ready to lose?!" She cheered cockily, strutting down to the group.

Mike grinned and jumped around excitedly before regrouping everyone, breaking them up into two teams.

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Robbie had gotten the ball first, the other team smiling at the boy as he ran across the field. Kevin ran up full speed but dramatically fell to the floor in a comical manner once reaching a step away from the boy, allowing Robbie to skim past him with a laugh.

A few steps away from him jogged Martha, the brunette waving happily to the boy. "Throw it here Robbie!" And so he did.

With the ball in her hands the girl glared playfully at Naib who had made her his personal target for the evening. She ran around him with his arm reaching out to tag her but with her being quicker to throw the ball to Mike, who caught it mid jump and wasted no time to sprint to their scoring area.

Norton ran behind him, laughing and cheering for the male all while trying helplessly to reach out and touch the blonde. Even with his long legs, he struggled to reach the boy.

The first point went to Mike's team, the second point also going to them with only the third point being stolen by William's team when Mary got a hold of the ball and broke the ankles of everyone on the opposing team. To say her skills at dodging were impressive would be an understatement, and you held no doubt that she had improved because of William's constant tackling during matches.

Fiona turned and sent you a friendly smile. "Aesop is pretty good, I never took him to be the type to enjoy sports."

Following her line of sight towards said boy, you nearly broke down at the sight of the poor silverette hunched over - hands on knees as his body shivered from the deep breaths he was taking. Uneven and messy, his breathing pattern was a mess. William jogged over and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying something to him. The embalmer looked up, face red and drenched with sweat, but gave a shaky thumbs up.

"Oh yeah, real good at sports." You snorted.

Emily playfully rolled her eyes, taking a sip of the lemonade she had made. "Sometimes I wonder how you two are dating; all you do is bully him."

"I do not!" You defended. "A relationship is fifty-fifty. I bully him and he evens it out by pampering me with love."

The two girls laughed before resuming to watch the masked boy, this time being jogged over by Norton who placed his arm around his broad shoulder - Aesop looking up to him to give him a grateful smile. Emily hummed. "And then you have Norton; kissing Aesop's ass to get his way into your heart."

You looked to Emily, tilting your head with furrowed brows. "Sorry?"

"Oh come on y/n. Did you really believe that Norton would just give up on trying to get with you just because him and Aesop get along?"

"He said he respects our relationship."

"Yeah; the way he's always looking at You says otherwise. That man is only waiting."

Becoming frustrated by the words of the doctor, you huffed and looked back at your boyfriend, leaning on the prospector. They seemed to be having a friendly conversation, laughing and smiling. You were glad they got along - but the moment Aesop closed his eyes in an especially hard laughing fit, the eyes of the prospector trailed up and met your own.

For a second you wondered if Emily was right.