These Inklings of Love

7

Alexander sighed, dropping the note back onto his bed. He turned his attention to the colourful canvas again. He didn't understand why this was necessary.
Eliza opened the door to their dorm and walked over to stand next to Alexander. She studied the canvas sitting on Alexander's bed. "You've screwed them over," she sighed, shaking her head.
"But is this necessary? Did they need to do this?" Alexander said, gesturing to the painting.
Eliza shrugged. "People deal with their anger in different ways," was all she said. Alexander sighed.
"What am I going to do with this?"
---
Lafayette stood in front of the mirror, his shirt was discarded on the floor next to him.
He found the way these marks worked to be interesting. He turned to the side, tracing the tattoo on his waist. The tattoo wasn't a soulmate mark, but it did represent them. It was all Adrienne's idea. Their parents had set them up during his last year of high school.
They didn't last long together, they never really formed a romantic relationship.
Last Lafayette heard, Adrienne had moved back to France with her girlfriend Elizabeth Sanders.
Him, Adrienne and Elizabeth all got matching tattoos. It was his star, Adrienne's chess queen, and Elizabeth's origami crane wrapped in gold ribbon.
Lafayette sighed and looked away from the tattoo. He turned to face the mirror, looking at the mark that had recently appeared on his shoulder. He hadn't told Hercules, or John, or Alexander, or anyone else. He couldn't, he valued his friend's happiness over his own.
But the person who owned the mark on his shoulder already loved someone else. And if he had to stand back and watch his love get together with someone else, then he would.
---
John stared at the green quill on his back in the mirror. He hated that mark, he longed for the mark to fade, to lose its colour. He hated Alexander for what he did to him, to Eliza, to Maria. He hated how Alexander made himself the victim. He hated how Alexander blamed everyone but himself for his problems. But a small part of him wanted to go back to the way things were between them, back to when they were friends when they told each other practically everything. (Apart from John's secrets about his mark, of course. Not that it was a secret anymore).
John sighed, tracing his fingers over the mark. That was when he noticed it. John frowned, moving closer to the mirror. The quill was losing his colour.
He no longer loved Alexander anymore. John stepped away from the mirror. A knock on the door snapped John out of his thoughts. He picked up his shirt and opened the door, plastering on a smile as he walked out.
---
An announcement came over the speakers. Alexander looked up from his laptop, Maria took out her headphones, and John and Eliza paused their conversation. Classes were cancelled due to the snowstorm. Everyone was to stay in their dorms.
John and Eliza looked at each other, Eliza moving back to her bed to text her sisters. John looked at his three roommates. None of them talking to each other. And it was driving him crazy. The four of them sat in silence for a few moments longer before John couldn't take it any longer.
"I can't deal with this..." He said, getting up off his bed. Eliza and Alexander looked at him. John dragged Eliza and Alexander off their beds, sitting them down on the ground. He bought Maria over and sat down.
"I can't take these silences any longer. We're stuck living together for the year, okay? We need to learn to get along. Frankly, these stupid soulmate marks have fucked us all up," John ranted.
Eliza nodded slowly. "So, what do you suggest we do?"
"Well. I say we sort out these issues with our marks, get it all out in the open. I'll go first," he replied. He slipped off his shirt. "Alexander, do you want to know why it hurt me so much when I saw Maria's mark on your arm? Apart from Eliza being one of the obvious reasons... Or why I was so hurt at everything you did to me, to Maria, to Eliza? Why I feel like you betrayed me?" He said, glaring at Alexander. He turned around, the fading quill clear on his back. "I told you about my mark when you were drunk as hell in that closet. It was just a stupid primary school crush that never went away, only developed. Until now. It's only recently fading."
Eliza raised an eyebrow, it surprised her, but not much. Maria wasn't surprised at all. Alexander stared at his quill on John's back. He missed his chance. He never knew how angry John was. He never even had a chance with John. The turtle on his back was still as vibrant as ever.
Alexander slowly pulled off his shirt, turning around so the others can see. John just stared, stony-faced, at the turtle he could clearly see. "You told me about that," he said.
Alexander didn't respond. He hastily pulled his shirt back on to hide the three marks of his roommates on his body.
The group was quiet for a moment before Eliza spoke.
"I tried to burn your mark, Alexander..." She said quietly. Alexander looked down, he'd hurt the two people he once cared for unconditionally.
"Angelica stopped me. I'm glad she did," she continued. Eliza turned around, pulling her black hair up into a messy bun, revealing the red rose on the back of her neck.
John raised his eyebrows, looking at Maria. Alexander hesitantly looked at the rose. Maria gasped. She stood up, walking across the room to grab the makeup wipes. She sat back down, slowly dragging the wipe across her dark skin, revealing the blue dove hidden beneath the layer of makeup.
"You were so kind to me, you helped me, after all I had done, after I had ruined your relationship with Alexander..." Maria whispered.
"I discovered that it wasn't your fault, that they both used you," Eliza said, sending a glare at Alexander.
Alexander had never felt more hated in his life.
John took a deep breath, pulling his shirt back on. "Now that we have all of this out of the way... Can we not be so awkward around each other?"  
Maria and Eliza nodded, moving closer to each other. "I think we can do that," Eliza smiled. Maria smiled back, hesitantly reaching for Eliza's hand.

Sorry this took so long, but I finally had an idea for the next chapter. And almost have the ending sorted. I did come up with a few headcanons for my story, some of which will spoil the story if I share...