Stars Aligned

Chapter 14

"You are so stupid." Nicole sighed as we sat together in the Common Room in the Aquarius House. It seemed perfectly safe, considering that I had no other friends but Nicole who were an Aquarius. The House was almost deserted, everyone was out and about the town near campus, having fun and blowing off some steam after a long week. The Common Room looked similar to ours, with a flatscreen television on the wall and an array of couches formed into a circle. It was really late when I showed up at Aquarius House, but Nicole made us both some green tea in the Common Room using the Keurig in the corner table near the vending machines. "How am I stupid? I nearly had a heart attack just being there." I defended. "You could've burst in and announced that 'hey, guys! I know everything so stop ignoring me already!'" I gave her a stare. The kind of stare that has "are you freaking kidding me?" written all over it. "What?" She exclaimed, shrugging her shoulders as she widened her eyes. I reached for my tea. It was refreshing and surprisingly sweet. "I think I'm protecting them now." I whispered. "If they know that I know, they'll be around me, trying to be my body guards. But if that happens, he'll kill everyone." "What, you mean like the whole school?" Nicole's voice quivered a bit. "No," I leaned back on the couch, propping my knees to my chest. "He'll kill my friends. Myself and my teacher included." "Why? What did you ever do to him?" I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. "Sounded like it has to do with Sebastian. Like, I'm connected to him for some reason." "Okay, no need to share those private details—" "I mean, the only way we are connected is that our native countries are neighbors, but that is all. We only started talking this year." "Do you think," Nicole waved her index finger at me, "that maybe this kid you're talking about is jealous that Sebastian loved you?" I scoffed. "No—I mean, Sebastian and Arya never liked each other— Sebastian didn't love me." Nicole widened her mouth. "You are blind, aren't you? It was so obvious. You two walked around and sprinkled love all over the place. It was disgusting, actually." I blushed. "Yeah, what about you and Dan?" "OH, nothing like you and Sebastian—please." "That's why he ran away." I looked at Nicole. "I told him that I loved him and he literally ran away." She inched closer to me on the couch, the mug of tea in her hands. "I know, sweetie. Maybe he had to pee." I laughed at her excuse. We both knew that it wasn't true. I sighed, feeling utterly exhausted already. I shut my eyes for a moment and hoped that if I fell asleep, I would feel better. "Nat?" I felt a hand on my cheek. Nicole was standing over me. "Why don't you go home? Get some shut-eye. Let's talk about your plan tomorrow at breakfast." I smiled at my friend. I truly and benevolently smiled, because even though we were never close, she did help me. And for that, I was always grateful to her. The next morning, Nicole and I got breakfast extra early. The Dining Hall looked deserted, almost like it did during Holiday. Nicole got a plate of sunny-side eggs with pineapple slices and a glass of orange juice. I got a bowl of oatmeal with maple syrup and a glass of milk. When I woke up, Yallannie was still asleep in her bed. I ran out wearing leggings and a t-shirt. The sun was shining brightly and according to the weather on my phone, it was supposed to be extremely warm outside for the first time since the spring solstice. I piled my hair atop my head and ran out of the room, careful not to slam the door behind me. Nicole wore track shorts and a pullover, her dark brown hair braided back. As we began eating, Nicole asked me, "So, did you tell them?" "No," I answered. Nicole spread her arms out. "I thought I told you to—""Nicole, if he finds out that they're protecting me from whatever it is that they're protecting me from, he'll kill us!" I whispered as I leaned into the table. "He doesn't have to know that they're protecting you. But, it would make it easier if you tell them. I mean, this is your life we're talking about, Natalie. You're risking it even more by involving someone who doesn't even know what's going on." "Nicole, I don't even know what's going on. I don't know why this is happening to me." She looked out into the distance. "Oh gods," she groaned into her hands. I turned around to see what happened. A huge group of kids entered the Dining Hall. I knew exactly who they were from their head-to-toe black attire. "Scorpios, thinking they're all that and shit." I rolled my eyes at her. "Hush, they're not that bad." I looked into the crowd. At the front, I saw Samuel. He saw me staring back at him and gave me a concerned look. I knew he was looking out for me for the sake of Yallannie or for Sebastian or for whoever. I turned back to face my friend. "Okay, what's the plan?" Nicole straightened her posture and folded her arms in front of her. "That depends. Who do you want to come clean to?" I thought of that. Who was the one person I was able to trust with this situation? Yallannie and I were best friends; we've told each other absolutely everything, but if I told her, I felt like she'd run to Moonley; Laura and I were friends for as long as Yallannie and I have been, but I feel like if I told her, she'd call me a bitch for eavesdropping. I could tell Samuel, but he would convince me to leave this country. I wanted to be around my friends without being in danger. I decided that I would confess to Sebastian. "I'm going to tell Sebastian." I said. "Excellent, that means you're going to the dance next week." "What? I wouldn't be caught dead at that dance." "Why the hell not? It's a dance, Natalie. Astro has one every year, I mean, everyone goes." "Not me." "You've never been?" I shook my head. "Not once? For three years, not once?" I shook my head again. "Nat! If you wanna tell Sebastian, do it at the dance. He always goes. It was always the four of us; Sam, Sebastian, Ariel, and I." I sighed. She was right, after all. I couldn't make a scene and an occupied party seemed rational. Everyone will be in their own worlds, drowning in their own problems, perhaps, when I would tell him, it'll go smoothly. "I don't even have anything to wear." "Don't worry, we'll go shopping." Nicole assured me. "What's the theme of the dance, do you know?" I asked. "Hmm, I'm pretty sure it's a masquerade ball. You're gonna need a mask too. We'll go to a nice boutique and find you something." "He better be there," I said, "Because, I'm not going down without a fight."