Blue

Soulmate

Leo's Perspective
I come back into my head, and I'm standing inside of this mansion thingy. People stare at me. I can tell something's weird about them, but I can't tell what. My legs are sore from running, and the pain from earlier today is creeping back. The paranoia and anxiety is next. People start walking to me, and I know they're going to hurt me. I try to take more pills but the bottle is gone. I must have dropped it. The people advance. I take my usual stance so they can only get my back. "Get away, get away! Go away!"

"Leo?" A familiar voice asked.

I'm confused immediately. It sounded like Link. Oh my God, am I dead? Or is he alive? I lift my head to make sure it's him. "Link?"

My brother's knees hit the floor as he hugs me. I, of course, hug him back. It's been nearly two years since I saw him, and he looks happier. Gained weight. Gained a smile.

He pulls away from the hug. "Leo, what are you doing here?"

I try to remember where I went once I left the house. I know I ran for a long time. "I don't know."

Link looks around, so I do too. I see an old woman approach us. I clock that she's not a threat, so I don't curl back up. "Leo, get up. This is Briar. Some cool shit's gonna go down now." Link instructs.

I stand. The woman has her hands outstretched, palms up. "Put yours on hers." Link said.

I put my hands onto hers and I feel a dull ache in my skull. "My head hurts."

Everyone stares at me. The woman holds up a mirror and I see that my eyes are different. They're dark blue. I realize now that everyone has weird looking eyes, even Link. His were lavender. "Stay here, I'll get Casper." Someone said.

"Leo, you're here. I can't believe it." Link whispered.

I chuckle at the absurdity of him standing here in front of me. "I found you. I kinda thought you were dead, if I'm honest. Or half way across the Earth."

He shook his head. "Two towns over and in hiding."

I nod. The pills wear fully off, and my body hurts. My back and my ribs are definitely still bruised. I realize now that I had relapsed. Shit. "Dammit."

"What?"

I decided to be honest. "I've been trying to stay off of pills, but it's not working great. Maybe now that we're back as bros I'll have some motivation!"

Link grins. "Oh, Leo. You have no idea what's gonna happen, do you? You're gay, right?"

What kind of question is that? "I do remember being the gay sibling. Why?"

His eyes snap to three other men on the sidelines. They have lavender eyes too. "Oh...uh... I'm gay too. But let's skip over that part for now. Down those stairs any second now, your soulmate is going to appear. A handsome young man, fit perfectly for you. That's gonna be motivation."

I study his face, but he looks like he isn't lying. "You're dead serious?"

"I'm in love with three men who have yet to do me wrong. I'm confident they're my soulmates. And everyone else is confident they're with their soulmates. Yeah, man."

The guy from earlier walks down the stairs with a small man, probably 6 inches shorter than me, and a lot skinnier. He held the red-eyed man's hand. He's younger than me by a few years. His hair is brown and shaggy. He wears clothes that are clearly too big for him. His eyes are big and the same shade as mine are now. He's cute, hot even. I crave him immediately. The men reach us and the red eyed one breaks off. Only some people stare at me now. The small man and I just stare at each other. He looks scared. I don't want to scare him.

"Hi, I'm Leo." I say as gently as I can.

"I'm Casper." He squeaks.

"I'll leave you to it." Link pats my back and walks off.

Casper raises a hand to me and I flinch slightly. I realize that he wants me to take his hand. Fuck yeah, he's hot. I grab his hand and he leads me upstairs. If this guy really is my soulmate, I'm not complaining.