Inspired by the things that I love. “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” — Toni Morrison
Inspired by the things that I love. “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” — Toni Morrison
(I’ll address the whole government wanting to take away soulmates soon. I just wanted to branch off for a bit for this story!) ———
Liam is determined to meet Tharen again.
He’s his soulmate.
He never thought he would meet his soulmate.
Growing up, his parents and Zac told him that having a fated partner is not all that great. Not for everyone at least.
Liam assumes they meant for him. He knows he’s different, but he always wished for someone to just be fine with who he is. It’s impossible though. That’s how he grew up.
His family wasn’t being mean. No, Liam knows mean. They are protective. He just doesn’t understand what they are protecting him from.
It never made sense to him. Still doesn’t.
So he doesn’t tell his parents or Zac about knowing Tharen is his soulmate. It is quite possibly the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.
He’s so used to telling his family everything. Keeping something like this from them feels weird.
Zac’s eyes bugged out of his head in a way he thought impossible when Liam told him about not having his abilities. He never wished so much to have his pocket dimension powers then.
“So do you know his last name?” Jeremiah asks.
Liam just shakes his head. Bell, Jeremiah, and Liam are all at lunch. The rest of their friends having various other things to accomplish. All of them having to pretend everything is normal. They didn’t really have a choice. To attend school, they had to wear the cuffs, even with knowing what the bracelets are doing to them.
They’ll have to brainstorm a new plan. For now, they have to play normal.
Liam’s surprisingly pretty good at that.
He decided that he trusted Jeremiah and Bell enough to reveal about his soulmate because he’s bursting with the information.
He wants to know everything about Tharen. But admittedly, he knows very little.
I only know his school, he signs.
Jeremiah asked him to sign short sentences for him to practice. He’s not entirely sure what constitutes short, but he guesses it’s around five words.
“He said he only knows what escuela he goes to,” Jeremiah translates for Bell.
As they are conversing, Bell is tapping away on her phone. Liam is used to doing that himself. The furious movement means something. He does the same thing when he has an idea. When you get so close to a breakthrough, you have to get it out before it’s gone.
“Is this him?” Bell slides her phone over to Liam and Jeremiah’s side of the table. Jeremiah props it up to avoid the sun glare and because Liam doesn’t like touching other people’s stuff.
Even though these are his friends, he doesn’t know where they’ve been.
Bell might be his new favorite person of the day because she found him.
There he is. The mahogany hair. The brown-almost-black eyes.
Tharen is smiling, his teeth not perfectly straight. Like he was knocked around a few times and didn’t have a dentist fix them. His left front tooth might be chipped. But Liam can’t imagine anyone looking more radiant.
“He’s cute,” Bell comments, “you know if you like the jock look.”
Liam never really understood the concept of cliques. He can comprehend the definition, but people abiding by them like they are rules is strange to him. A jock has a certain look? Anyone can be one.
Technically, Liam is one since he plays soccer.
No one ever thinks that when they get a glimpse of him. He would know. They tell him so.
And people say he doesn’t get social cues. Well, he doesn’t, but they don’t either.
“life isn’t a race. slow down and enjoy it. love life. go Beacon Banshees,” Jeremiah reads. Liam completely missed the rest of the profile, just focused on the picture. The words Jeremiah said are a part of Tharen’s Instagram bio.
“Do you think he dyes his hair?” Bell asks, peering over the table to get a better look at the profile picture.
Liam doesn’t quite see how that is relevant and apparently neither does Jeremiah. “Bellsy, no offense, pero no penso Liam cares about that,” Jeremiah says.
Yeah. What he said.
Bell’s mouth falls open in what Liam thinks is offense. “What? I’m curious. Us Asians usually have fully black hair. It’s a reasonable question.”
Jeremiah laughs for some reason. Maybe it was a joke? Liam doesn’t always catch onto those. “Well his hair doesn’t ayuda Liam find him,” he points out.
Which is true. That part Liam understands.
Sliding her phone back to her side, she does more tapping and then shoves the phone in Jeremiah’s face. Thankfully a good foot away from Liam.
He doesn’t need to touch someone else’s phone. There is so many germs on those. More than a bathroom.
“He lives on Ringsler Drive,” she pridely reveals.
“How’d you find that out?” Liam typed out.
Relaxing her arm, she allows some distance between Jeremiah’s face and her phone, letting them both see the picture on it.
“He posted this picture.”
It’s a picture of him propped up against a sign that did indeed say Ringsler Drive.
Maybe Liam should be concerned with his soulmate’s lack of privacy.
“Let’s go after school,” Jeremiah suggests, smiling his typical shiny smile.
What? Liam signs, forgetting about typing into his translator.
“We know the street and town he lives in. It’s not far. One town over. Let’s just go over there,” Jeremiah continues.
“And what, even if we find his house, we just walk up and say how Liam is his soulmate,” Bell asks.
“Do you have a better idea?” Jeremiah asks.
OoOoO
Finding his house isn’t actually very difficult. It’s concerning how obvious it is.
Once Jeremiah turned onto Ringsler Drive, there were a row of houses lined up in a fairly quiet looking neighborhood. Only one house had a sign with Tharen’s face in the front yard. So he guesses that’s his house.
“I never get those. Why have a sign announcing your kid plays soccer?” Bell asks. “Does the whole neighborhood need to know?”
“Works for us,” Jeremiah shrugs.
Glancing to Liam, he inquires, “Do you want us to come with?”
Very much yes. Liam worried about interacting with his soulmate without a plan B. Jeremiah and Bell give him a perfect out if he needs. Zac says that there is no weakness in asking for help or accepting help. So yes.
Yes, he signs.
Walking up to the door, there is this excitement and anxious energy building inside him. He’s not sure which one is taking over and making his stomach hurt a little. Maybe it was something he ate.
It isn’t Tharen that answers the door, but a man that looks vaguely familiar. Probably because he is like a middle aged Tharen. Must be his dad. Mr. Baxter. He might have been at the soccer game now that he thinks about it.
Liam’s nerves shoot up and he feels his hands move unconsciously. He didn’t expect anyone else.
He’s about to turn around and just leave the man in confusion, but Jeremiah steps up beside him, anchoring him.
“Hola, is Tharen home?”
“Yes, he is,” probably Mr. Baxter says with a smile. A familiar one. It looks like Tharen’s. He leans back and tilts his head towards a set of stairs that Liam only notices now and shouts, “Tharen, someone’s here for you!” Liam winces at the sudden volume.
“I’ll be down in a second!” He hears faintly from an upwards direction.
The father of his soulmate turns his attention back to Liam with studying eyes. Not the normal narrowing of eyes that make Liam uncomfortable. No. More wide eyed, curious type. Or at least he thinks it’s curious. He really hoping so.
Then as if something popped into his head, Mr. Baxter lets out a joyous laugh. Kind of reminds him of the mall Santa that his parents used to take him and his siblings to.
“Wait. You’re Tharen’s soulmate, aren’t you? You have been all he’s been talking about for like a week,” Mr. Baxter asks. Another grin, this time wider, takes over his entire face, making his eyes squintier. The wideness of his lips rivals when Jeremiah when Roman is within seven feet of him.
“He already knows! That’s adorable,” Bell gushes behind them. Tharen’s dad’s attention to shifts to her.
Something happens to Mr. Baxter. He pauses like an avatar in a video game when you stop moving them. His eyes are really wide. Not studying this time. Like he saw something unbelievable.
Liam doesn’t get it.
“Bell?”
Lots of things surprise Liam. He’s used to the feeling of being an outsider. Without the typical neurotypical brain that most people have, he tends to miss things. But considering Bell and Jeremiah’s matching raised eyebrows, maybe he isn’t the only one.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” She questions.
Mr. Baxter looks how Liam looks in most social interactions. He takes a long, awkward moment before answering, “I’m Arlo.”
There must be something more to his name. Liam doesn’t know it. Jeremiah doesn’t seem to either. But Bell. Her face just shouts horrified. Even Liam can tell that, and he’s not good at emotions.
Bell doesn’t say a word and spins around and sprints back to the car. Liam’s confused, even more so than normal.
“Hi Dad, who’s at the door?” Tharen pops up behind Mr. Baxter.
His soulmate’s father doesn’t answer which leaves everyone questioning what the heck is happening.
——— (So if you’ve haven’t read some of Bell’s POV in other stories, her mom and her dad aren’t soulmates, though everyone thought they were because her mom (Wren) used her soulmate power to make them think they were. And then Wren hid that Bell is the product of Wren’s affair what her actual soulmate, Arlo. So you see where this is going now!
If you’ve ever seen the actress Anna Cathcart, who plays Kitty in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and in XO Kitty, her hair is what I was trying to describe for Tharen. Just a little inside detail.
Also, I’m not sure if all schools do this, but at my high school, they had these yard signs you could buy if your kid played football. So that is what I meant, in case anyone was confused.)
I’m miss you
Everyone misses you
It’s been three years
It could’ve been yesterday
for all my brain knows
I miss you everyday
But today I do
just a little bit more
My forever hero
——— (If you read my most recent poem, this is about a different person, my grandfather. Their death dates are close together, though years apart.
I’m truly ok, I promise! I just have to continue grieving and processing. I am so thankful for this community on here. I have been able to be vulnerable on here and that’s a testament the people. ♥️)
When you died, I didn’t feel sad, maybe indifferent? There was this child ignorance of the permanence of death
You drifted out of my life trying to get better It never worked
I thought it was like that
It wasn’t.
I didn’t grieve you not in the traditional sense
I grieved through other people I saw your absence through the tears of my mom of my grandparents of my aunts and uncles
As time passes, I find myself grieving in a more personal way
I grieve through myself I see your absence through events that you should’ve been at Support that I should’ve gotten Father Days that we should’ve celebrated
I didn’t expect this I thought I was done grieving But maybe you don’t ever stop You just continue living with the grief as it changes shape until it is just there A constant buzz in my ears Present but not ever consuming.
“Once we read this, we can’t ever go back. You understand?” Jeremiah warns in an overly serious tone.
Lou doesn’t quite get it. Maybe it’s a movie reference. She doesn’t watch things that has no animal main character or at least heavily featured one.
“This isn’t the Matrix, Jeremiah,” Ria points out, putting an end of Lou’s confusion. The Matrix doesn’t sound like an animal movie.
All eight of them all made it back to Bell’s house after the break in, so here they are. Just staring at their phones which hold the evidence, gathered around the coffee table like a cult. Lou draws the line at any animal sacrifices.
“Where are your parents?” Roman questions Bell, looking around like they will hop out behind the corner.
She cringes. “My dad is spending time with my Nǎi Nai. My mom is trying to convince her own mother that she isn’t holding any more secrets. Good luck with that,” she mutters.
“So neither of them will come in when we are discussing the obtained evidence?” Jones asks. She confirms with a nod of her head.
“So….how should we do this?” Amelie trails off, unsure. Clearly none of them have had to deal with a break in situation.
They would have never survived her first criminal activity. Breaking into a pet store.
Her parents nearly killed her when they found out. And of course, her felony was on clear display because she stole like five different species of cats.
She was banned for years from that place.
“How about we group up and go through certain pages? That way we aren’t reading alone,” Liam suggests, his phone voice somehow sounding excited.
Like swans they naturally paired off. Bell and Cross. Roman and Jeremiah. Amelie and Ria. Liam and Zac. Lou and Jones.
Lou and Jones huddle over her phone that has about 10 pages.
This is it.
Soulmate Power Dampening Cuffs
_These cuffs with their power dampening function (see section 3 for explanation of workings) are implemented for safety above all else. 87% of crimes are done by individuals abusing their soulmate capabilities. 56% of the population either have non-threatening abilities or no powers at all (soulmateless). Individuals with forceful powers cause a threat to that 56%. _
_This initiative will ensure the population’s safety. The secondary function of the cuffs (see section 8) causes a small side effect, but it has been tested to only last for an average of seven days. It will be staggered to minimize the awareness. The mission outweighs the risk. _
What in the world does this mean? Lou can’t make sense to any of it.
“Who has section 3 and 8?” Jones questions, having finished the first page just as she had.
“We have section 3,” Amelie says, her face reminding her of a nervous pet before getting a bath. Or going to the vet.
That unsettles Lou.
“We have 8,” Zac answers, his scowl worrying her even more.
While she’s fixed on them, Jones must’ve read ahead, because he leans back and curses loudly. All their gazes turn away from their phones with worry lines adorning their faces. “What the hell are they doing to us,” Roman sputters.
“How do they work?” someone asks. It takes Lou a moment to realize it is her voice. The voice sounded way more confident than she felt right now. All her insides are trembling like a scared little mouse.
More than anything, she wishes she had any of her animal friends with her. They always comfort her in ways that only non-humans know how.
Amelie and Ria share a look as if they are telepathically deciding on how to say it. In the end, Ria is the one who speaks. “The cuffs are similar to the ones used in prisons. But those suppress their abilities.”
“Ours don’t?” Jeremiah says, speaking for everyone.
That’s not what Lou expected her to say. She always knew the muzzles were no good, but now they aren’t even doing what they told them they do?
“No. They are modified to…” Amelie’s eyes drag upwards, as if searching for the words on the ceiling, “sample our powers.”
“What does that mean?” Cross huffs, frustrated like the rest of them.
It doesn’t make sense. Lou feels like she’s been thinking that a lot lately. Nothing makes sense.
Humans lie. She understands that. But this feels different. Worse.
She feels sick again.
“We aren’t a buffet,” Roman physically reels from the information.
Lou never imagined when she first made this her mission that it would lead to all this. Even though she pushed to find answers, she never once stopped to think about what the answers could be.
“Our section doesn’t talk more about that. Just mostly is about into the mechanics of it,” Ria finishes.
Liam raises his hand for a moment to get their attention. “We have section 8 which talks loads about their awful purpose,” Zac explains.
“The public reason for the cuffs is to decrease violence in schools, but there’s a secret one that they don’t put out there. Like Ria read, the cuffs take a sliver of our abilities that the government can study and not just suppress our powers but lessen them.”
Lessen them.
Lessen their powers?
The whale weight of those words hangs in the air.
“That makes sense with what we read. They said how a lot of people’s soulmate powers are dangerous and those people commit crimes. The cuffs are suppose to protect us,” Jones adds, distain clear in his tone by the end. His eyes narrow at her phone where he continues to read. They look suspiciously like snake eyes.
A chilly draft blows through the room. Lou wonders if a door was left open. She could a animal friend to warm her right now. And for some emotional support. Bell speaks up, most likely being the source of cold, “So they are taking away our powers.”
It’s not a question.
“They are taking a part of us away, little by little, and we didn’t even know,” Ria sounds like a bear. Growling lowly, dangerous.
Lou would not want to get in her way. That’s one thing people should know. You don’t get between a bear and her loved ones.
“How come I don’t feel a difference? I got sick first and I can still communicate with animals when I take off the muzzle,” Lou inquires, reflecting on the beginning of the muzzle.
Her power isn’t different. While they both felt sick and hurt, Lou and Jones were affected differently after they began recovering.
Hers remains unchanged.
Jones described still feeling the effects even after taking off the muzzle.
“Our section said that 56% of people have non-threatening or no powers. Maybe it’s a case by case basis? Like they sample our powers to see if we are a true threat,” Jones tries to piece it together.
They just aren’t falling into place for Lou. Thankfully, she has her human friends to help it all come together.
“Then if they are threatening, they take them away,” Amelie concludes, resting a hand on Ria’s arm. Without powers, Amelie is the most normal out of them. This doesn’t change anything for her other than how it affects all of them.
Lou’s ears perk up when she hears a familiar typing from Liam. “Maybe the color of the light is threat level, and they are working their way up. Going through who they know or think aren’t threats. To see if it works,” he expresses through his phone voice.
“We don’t know a lot of stuff still. We don’t know if it is permanent. Or why the government is choosing schools to do this,” Roman says.
What does this all mean? The school/entire government is trying to take away the soulmate powers? To what? Make the world abnormal?
Humans are nuts but this? This is a whole new level.
Jeremiah thankfully interrupts her thoughts and her downward spiral, “They are afraid of soulmated pairs. According to this,” he shakes his phone that has the section he and Roman read, “personas who meet their soulmates, their powers come back even stronger.”
Bell and Cross notable look at one another. That isn’t new. But their gaze holds more than just a simple meaning. It has understanding.
“When we kissed for the first time, we hadn’t had our powers for most of our lives. Our abilities came back strongly. I thought it was because we hadn’t used them in so long, but maybe it’s because that’s what happens. They come back stronger,” Cross describes.
So in addition to her power not being labeled as “dangerous,” it also helps that she hasn’t met her soulmate.
If how she felt was supposed to be mild, she can’t imagine how it will be for her friends that have stronger abilities and having met their fated mate.
“Ours talked about people with heartache and that they are dangerous. More likely to be erratic,” Bell reads, wincing at the last part. “Sorry,” she apologizes to Ria.
Lou always forgets that Amelie isn’t Ria’s formal soulmate.
Ria has told them about her deceased mate and that she doesn’t really experience heartache.
Heartache has never really been a worry for Lou. She has never cared about soulmates. The closest thing she has felt to that is being apart from her animal friends.
They are worth being sad over much more than someone she’s never met.
But all of this combined has to mean something.
The school or government or both want to lessen their powers. Study them. Exterminate the dangerous capabilities. Especially the ones that have met their soulmates. They are skiddish towards people that have lost their soulmate as well.
It leads Lou to only one conclusion.
“Are they trying to get rid of soulmates?”
People talk about moonstruck. Wonderstuck. Just simply struck.
But none of those words feel right on her tongue.
Nova wants to describe Ward in a way that matches the grandness of his whole self. How he makes her feel.
Every time she opens her mouth, words die before they come out.
It shouldn’t be so hard. Her boyfriend is great. Amazing even. But those aren’t good enough.
Why can’t she find the right descriptors?
He somehow makes her sound better just with his words. She wants to do the same.
Ward makes her forget everything around her but makes her feel everything.
It’s like he has some kind of magic. Haze would giggle at her expense and point out that she’s so in love. Nova has failed at keeping him at arm’s length. She can’t even deny it. Her sister is right.
She loves Ward.
So she told him.
…well she specifically said, “I think I love you.”
And he told her “I know I love you” with all the confidence in the realm. Like he didn’t doubt his feelings for a millisecond.
How is it even possible someone with so much trust has any affection towards her?
When she pictures genuine love, it isn’t just Haze that comes to her mind anymore. Ward, with his sunny self, snuck in and found a forever place in her trust.
He must be a master at breaking and entering to slip through her many defenses.
Or maybe that sunny demeanor just melted her ice walls.
He’s her sun.
His light came out of nowhere, struck her from behind. Totally unexpected.
Maybe that’s the best kind of love.
That’s when the word hits her.
The perfect word.
Sunstruck.
It was official. Beacon was no more.
Pippa could stare at her golden light powers that have turned into shadow all she wants, but it stays true. She crossed a boundary, and she can’t pretend like it didn’t happen.
Kidnapping and hurting Ink Spill was premeditated. If she was being honest with herself, the desire to stop her life short just like she did to Salen was pretty high. But she stopped just short of killing her.
But her powers seemed to disagree because they turned dark. Or maybe they are just reflecting her mindset.
“Pippa!”
Her head whips over to where the echo is coming from. She knows who it is. She’s memorized how her name falls from his lips. It normally is smooth with usually a hint of amusement. It’s not today.
He’s desperate.
Ink Spill smirks at her, even with the bloody bandage, she looks like she thinks she’s won.
Water Craze appears at the open door, out of breath, eyes wild and frantic. He looks like a man out of time. Which he is.
Once he laid his gaze on Pippa, the desperation calmed down for a split second before he got a glimpse at the villain tied up and bleeding behind her.
“What did you do?” His gaze turns disappointed. Like she is a child that doesn’t know better and colored on the walls. That’s how Ink Spill looked at her. Probably how a lot of people viewed Beacon. Pippa is far from that.
With exasperation, she just gestures to the Ink Spill and asks a question of her own. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here to stop you from doing something you’ll regret,” Water Craze says with such conviction. If Pippa was who she was before Salen’s murder, she would have melted at this heroic action. Save her from herself.
Yeah right.
She doesn’t need saving.
“Well I haven’t regretted anything yet,” she comments with a casual shrug.
He looks like he doesn’t believe her. His eyebrows raise in unison. His head tilts. His whole body questions her.
“Salen wouldn’t—“ he begins.
He doesn’t get to finish.
“Well she isn’t here, is she?” She cuts him off, her voice sharp, like a knife. As sharp as the dagger she used to cut Ink Spill’s throat.
“It still stands, Tink.”
Pippa’s tired. She’s done with people thinking that pretty words will make her best friend’s death better. Salen died. She can deal with it however she wants. She thinks she’s earned at least that much. “Does it? I’m tired of the injustices in the world. Salen didn’t get justice. Ink Spill was still running around. She should die the same way.”
Ink Spill’s half lid eyes shift lackluster between them as they argue. She can’t speak, but Pippa can feel the boredom radiating off of her.
“Tink, that isn’t how justice works either,” he scolds, lecturing her about the very thing she began.
She was the hero first. He was her rival!
He was a petty thief. Maybe he still is.
“Who are you to tell me that? You were a villain before me,” she reminds him.
Her nails dig into her palms. She doesn’t want to hurt him. Water Craze. Cotton. Whatever mask he has on at the moment. It doesn’t matter.
The boy in front of her is the person who opened her heart. Before, she thought that was romantic. But now she knows.
He left it an open wound.
Her inner darkness didn’t need to slip in. It walked right in.
But she didn’t know she was going to slice into Ink Spill’s flesh until it was already done. She doesn’t want to do the same with Water Craze.
“What you’re doing isn’t very hero-y,” he says, matching her tone. He’s challenging her. Like he has always done.
It almost makes her nostalgic for their dynamic before they knew one another.
Things were different back then.
“I’m taking out someone who will hurt more people,” Pippa reasons. Though part of her knows that she is making an excuse. She wants vengeance. Taking out a villain and saving potential victims is just a bonus.
“If you were going to kill her, you would’ve done it already, Tink.” She sighs. He knows her too well.
Or knew the Beacon before. Before Salen dying.
Not even Pippa knows what she’s capable of.
He used to be the unpredictable one. He said to her that she couldn’t predict his next move because he didn’t even know.
Maybe she’s taking a page out of his book.
“Stop calling me that. It doesn’t apply anymore.”
Conjuring up what would have been a sphere of light, instead it is pitch black. Obisodian swirls in her hand, almost darkly beautiful.
It feels different than her light powers. Cold. It feels really cold.
His eyes widen, the shock evident. It’s like he’s entranced by the inky darkness in her grasp.
“What does that mean?” Water Craze asks, his gaze still on her new display of power. She closes her fist and it disappears. She almost misses the breeze in her veins.
“I don’t know and I don’t care.”
With a scary amount of ease, a knife appears in her empty palm, encased in the ebony swirls.
Twirling it between her fingers, she sets her sight on Ink Spill, sending a threat with just a single look.
“We both know that’s a lie,” Water Craze attempts to talk her down.
It’s a valiant effort. Heroic even.
But it isn’t enough.
“I think the only thing we can agree on is that Salen died because of Ink Spill,” she points out, cruelly.
She doesn’t have time to be kind. Or maybe deep down, she feels like she deserves to act cruel. She deserves to act how she wants.
Salen is dead.
His face has this determination to it. It’s all tense lines and narrowed eyes. “Salen also died to protect you.”
A headache forms in her temple. What’s the use of arguing. It doesn’t change what happened. All she can control is what she does after.
Which is revenge.
Even if it isn’t what Salen would have wanted, it’s what Pippa needs.
Her death didn’t protect Beacon. It broke Pippa.
“She died for nothing,” she spits out.
His entire existence softened. He looks…sad.
Slowly, he reaches out a hand and lets it rest on her shoulder. The warmth from his palm feels dizzying, reminding her of the thrill of her once light powers.
“She will have, if you continue this.”
—— (I wouldn’t say evil per se, but she’s definitely going to a darker side.)
Flawless plans are rarely made out of the gecko.
That’s what she said to Jones, and Lou repeats this like a mantra, hoping it will soothe her eventually.
Even though she is trying to appear confident, she is worried that this will all fall apart, and it will be her fault.
Her friends are breaking into their high school because of her concerns. So if they get caught like a deer in headlights, it’s on her.
It’s like an elephant is on her chest. She can’t breathe until this is done.
Why did she want to ruffle feathers again?
Oh yeah, their school is doing something to them with the muzzles. And now it’s her mission to find out.
Because she will not wear this damn muzzle if it is harming her and her friends.
“You good to go Cross?” Roman whispers as they crept towards the front door. They are surrounded by a thick fog created by Bell.
Cross nods. He holds his hand out towards the door and they all hold their breath. A few clicks sounded through the quiet night. Cross had sweat beading on his forehead from the intense concentration.
Then a final clink and the door popped open. Everyone exhaled from relief. Lou still held hers.
Zac swings the door wider and lets everyone through except Jeremiah and Liam. They are the watch dogs. Their warning birds.
If someone or security showed up, they would warn them through old walkie talkies that Jeremiah had. They could use their phones, but for a secret mission like this, it felt more correct to use the walkie talkies.
Bell continued with the fog and Cross also assisted her in condensing the the mist around the cameras.
That made them sitting ducks though since they have to continue that, so the rest of them had to finish it out.
Getting to the office door felt like forever. The hallway stretched like one of those ones in fun houses or in horror movies. Lou doesn’t enjoy those things very much.
Even though cameras don’t have sound, all of the crept like lions, ready to pounce on their prey.
Jones may have actually turned into a fly to avoid footsteps. He’s been a bit skiddish. She can’t blame him. It’s his first break in.
This is her second.
When she was six, she snuck into a pet shop. Don’t ask her how she accomplished that. But she did.
With one hand focusing on their cover, Cross reaches out his right arm and unlocks Principal Colan’s office. Zac touches the metal knob and they go in.
Amelie and Ria stay out to keep watch. Bell and Cross keep the cameras busy.
There aren’t any in the Principal’s office. Liam said when he, Zac, and Precious first arrived, he looked specifically for cameras because he doesn’t like being watched or recorded. So they don’t have any need to be concerned about that.
Each of them had gloves on except Zac since he can’t be tracked. Lou wonders if this is the most his powers have come in use. It’s a useful one to have if you want to be a criminal.
“Ok, now search for anything that talks about the cuffs. Anything. Could be their purpose, where they get them, or how they work,” Lou instructs.
Time to get searching.
They are busy bees in there. Not audibly buzzing but all of them vibrate with motion. Roman and Zac take the left side of the room and her and Jones have the other side.
Each drawer is opened, file looked through, and paper turned over.
“This cabinet only has our student files,” Roman says, flicking through the Manila folders. “Was that just open?” Zac questions, his eyebrow raising, maybe in concern how easy someone could look at their own student files.
“Yeah.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“Focus.”
Lou pulls open the bottom compartment of Principal Colan’s desk. All the documents are boring school crap. Where is the information on the muzzles?
They did not break into their high school for nothing.
Smoothing her hand on the flat top of his desk, she studies it. Most important papers would be in the filing cabinet or this desk. If what Roman searched through just had stuff on the students, then it has to be here.
Sometimes she wishes she had cat eyes. Maybe then she would be able to see better in the dim lighting and spot the perfect place to hide paperwork.
“The molding of the desk is weird,” Zac comments, joining her at the desk. “It’s only on this side of the desk and not on the sides or back.”
Once he points it out, she sees what he means. This layered crown molding is only on one side of the retangular desk.
Sticking her hand underneath the desk, there isn’t any place to push it out.
Next, she tries pressing on the molding to see if it would be a pop out drawer. That also does nothing.
Roman and Jones are on opposite sides of the desk. They prod at it too, but the whole molding isn’t a secret compartment.
She’s beginning to feel bats flying in her stomach. Panic is setting in.
What if it was a wild cat chase? And the muzzles aren’t bad at all? And she convinced her friends to risk their spotless records for a flimsy guess?
“Wait, I think I got something,” Jones says.
He is attempting to dig his nails into the top of the decorative molding. In a split second, his nails elongate into more animalistic talons. They manage to part a gap and a loud echoey noise rings through the air as a drawer in the center whips out.
All four of them just stare for a moment with gaping mouths. Not doing anything.
On the paper laid neatly on the top was an image of the muzzle. This is it.
Just as her hand hovers over the answers that she so desires, the walkie talkie that she forgot about crackles to life.
“Team Fox, this is team Sly. There is a hyena out in the field,” Jeremiah’s voice whispers.
Lou doesn’t really know what that means. Her animal metaphors make much more sense.
“What?” Roman questions.
Ok it isn’t just her. Even his mate doesn’t know what he’s quacking on about.
Liam must realize the need for a straightforward answer because Jeremiah’s response sounds much more Liam coded. “I mean there is a security guard making rounds. We can’t tell if he was tipped off or if this is normal.”
Lou scans over the amount of documents in front of them. It’s a lot. Like a rabbit litter amount.
“We don’t have time to read them,” Jones comes to the same conclusions that she did.
“Zac flip through them. We’ll take pictures as you do. We aren’t leaving until we take a picture of every page,” Lou commands, taking charge. Some person has to be the leader of this pack. For this situation, that is her.
So for the next three minutes, Zac slides, flips over, and restacks papers. Jones, Roman, and Lou use their phones to photograph the evidence, being cautious to never touch the papers themselves.
“The guard is coming in,” Bell warns.
All of her friends are in different positions. Jeremiah and Liam are safe since they are already outside. The rest of them are inside. “Everyone, scatter,” Zac hisses through the walkie talkie.
“Convene back at Bell’s house,” Cross says.
Lou hears some scuffling outside the door. “Ria? Amelie? Get out of sight,” Lou whispers into the communicator. “I got this,” Ria answers.
Jones, Roman, Zac, and Lou don’t say a single thing, perhaps waiting for what Ria meant. Ria’s powers definitely lend to this break in. She is a fierce lioness. She won’t go down without a fight.
“You guys can come out now,” Amelie voices, relieving all of them in the office. The tension in Lou’s shoulders deflate like a pufferfish.
Zac opens the door and they all pause to see Ria standing in front of the security guard. The man just stood there entranced. Ria’s eyes had a faint glow of flamingo pink around her irises.
Amelie gestures for them to follow her out. They tip toe around the two immobile people and finally get out to the hallway.
“She is making it so he thinks he never saw anyone,” she clarifies, throwing her hand behind her in a vague reference to what they just left. The neverending hallway ends, and they breathe the fresh air.
Plan Sly Fox actually succeeded.
Lou couldn’t wait to share that with her animal friends. They didn’t have any faith in her human friends, said that they would be better suited for the job.
“What’d you find?” Amelie asks, with a lilt to her voice like she forgot the reason for the break in.
She lets them all walk in the night silence for a moment. Well, it isn’t silent to her. She can hear the crickets singing a lovely tune. An owl hoots a question. She likes the night. Animals can be themselves at night because humans aren’t awake to chase them away.
Maybe that’s why she wanted to do this at this time. To be more like animals.
“I don’t know. But we are going to find out.”
——— (I forgot in Before Break In what Roman was supposed to do so I added him to searching the office. I wasn’t sure how to craft a break in even though a lot of story led up to it. I hope it made sense!)
You never hit me Never yelled Never even said a bad word But you slept at the table Mid meal You slurred your words I didn’t understand You weren’t here You were gone
You never hit me Never yelled Never even said a bad word I was never afraid Not of you
But yet you hurt me Scarred me
Broke my soul
You are the person that slept during meals I didn’t know it but you were drunk You are also the person that wrote me little notes My partner in game night The best sandcastle builder The person who was there when I couldn’t bike as fast
How do I separate the two mirrors Each reflection wildly different Because shattering one would shatter the other No matter how much I wish to split them They are the same
This is not what Jones expected his Saturday to look like.
On his list of things he would do in his lifetime, breaking into his high school to find telling documents about the power dampening cuffs, would be pretty low on it.
“So what’s the plan again?” He asked for about the third time.
He can’t help it. His nervous energy creating knots in his stomach. Even though he doesn’t feel sick anymore, he feels like he could throw up.
“Stop being such a worried walrus,” Lou orders, not even looking at him, staring at the laid out steps of their break in.
“If I wanted to be one, I could. Literally,” he tries to joke though he knows his voice has a tremble to it.
Shapeshifting into an animal would be great. When he’s anything but human, his thoughts become muffled. He still his human brain. Things just become quieter.
But he happens to need his thumbs and a clear, loud mind.
“Would you stop worrying then?” Lou asks, giving him a side eye.
“No. I would be worried and a walrus,” he deadpans.
When she hides a chuckle, he takes it as a win. He should give her a break. He knows she is concerned for him. This all began because of her worry for him.
Lou is a good friend.
The bestest friend he could ever have.
“Plan Sly Fox. Liam can get us inside without having to unlock the doors. He can open his pocket dimensions and we can exit them inside the school. There could be alarms on the doors or else Cross would use his telekinesis to open it,” she recites, like she’s gone over this a million times. Which she kinda has.
Jones gets a bit anxious when things out of his control happens. There is so much that could go wrong.
“He and Jeremiah will stay outside to keep watch.”
“And the cameras?” He repeats, knowing this is the question that comes next.
To her credit, Lou doesn’t look exasperated. She just calmly answers him. “Bell is going to set the fog.”
“Fog inside?”
“She’s going to cool and then heat the temperature to fog up the lens. It could happen naturally. Cross will turn the cameras away if that doesn’t work,” she expands. Good to have a back up plan for your plan.
“Ria and Amelie will guard the office door. She will be our ace. In case we get caught. She’ll take the memory of us being there away.”
“Then you, Zac, and me will search the office. If we find anything, Zac touches it. His tracking evasion makes it so he can’t be tracked.”
Jones feels a bit more settled having heard the plan again. Even though his powers don’t really lend an advantage here, he’s glad to know that others’ abilities do.
Lou’s phone pings, her bird tweet text tone going off. Jones likes her integration of animals in her entire life. She glances at the screen and groans. “What is it?” Jones questions.
“It’s Liam. He says that there’s an issue,” she states, staring intently at her phone, typing away.
He winces. “A bad one?”
There really was no point in asking since no issues are good.
Just what they needed for their first (and hopefully last) break in. An issue.
As she types, she explains. “He apparently found the perfect time to find his mate and now doesn’t have his powers.” Not what Jones expected. It’s been a while since someone in their friend group found their soulmate.
It’s probably been since Jeremiah and Roman. Though Jones wasn’t here when that happened. Amelie and Ria are pretty much soulmates even if they were predestined by the universe. Now if only they would admit it.
Liam is a good guy. Jones wasn’t there for his and Zac’s arrival but has since hung out with them a couple of times. He deserves a soulmate. Jones does wonder how Zac took that fact. He seems like the protective type. Jones is an only child so he hasn’t had the brother experience.
“Really? Who?”
Lou sets down her phone and returns to the papers covering the coffee table. She takes a pen with a panda topper on the tip and crosses off whatever was written next to Liam’s name.
She gives him an unimpressed look. He surrenders instantly, “Right, not important right now.”
“I guess we have to hope there is no alarm and have Cross unlock the doors,” she continues, circling Cross’ name and drew a double sided arrow from his to Liam.
“Does he know who his soulmate is? Maybe we can do this tomorrow and get his powers back today,” Jones offers, attempting to brainstorm anything. His brain hurts a bit.
He highly considers shifting into dog and run off the nervous energy.
But Lou is taking this seriously. And so he needs to as well. She is doing this for him and for everyone else at the school. The least he could do is stay human and try to help.
“We can’t make him kiss his soulmate even if he does know,” she points out.
Sheepishly (but as a sheep), he rubs the back of his neck that is feeling quite hot at the moment. “Yeah, I didn’t think of that.”
Clicking her pen so the nub retracts back into the pen, she reorganizes the papers until he appears satisfied. “Ok, change of plans. Good plans aren’t flawless out the gecko.”
He doesn’t correct her phrase to “get go” since he knows she truly meant to say “gecko.” Just one of her quirks that he loved.
Animals are her life. As they are his.
That’s why they get along so well.
“We’ll have to chance the alarms and have Cross open them,” she decides, more assuredly than before. It is their only option, but the confidence is a nice touch.
“Does Zac know about Liam finding his soulmate?” He questions so he knows how to talk about the topic or not talk about it when they see the brothers.
She takes a second, thinking. He knows not to rush her. She’s usually right. So he waits.
Eventually, Lou answers, “Yes. But I don’t think Liam told him he knows who.”
“He knows?” The surprise is evident in his voice. Many people don’t know who their soulmate is because you come into contact with an abundance of potential matches that it can be difficult to narrow down.
For Liam with him recently in a soccer game, Jones figures that it was someone there but how can he know from all those people?
“If I know Liam, something this big doesn’t get past him. I think he is a knowing owl.”
He supposes that’s true. Liam takes in details that Jones could only wish he could recall.
So Liam doesn’t have his powers until further notice. Jones wonders if that bothers Liam. It most definitely bothers Zac. He doesn’t even need to be in the same room with them to know that.
After typing the new plan to the others in their group chat, she sets down her phone and looks to him with determined eyes.
“You ready?”
No. But he says the opposite anyway.
If only he could just be a cat and curl on next to a crackling fireplace without a care in the world.
But he’s got to stay human and break into his high school.
——— (I tried to integrate Meet Crash into this in a way that made sense. I honestly wasn’t thinking about the break in and how that would fit when I wrote that. So Liam meeting Tharen happened before this post. I’ll write more about him after the break in. Speaking of break in….I thought it would occur in this one but it went on a bit too long. 😅)
Playing soccer didn’t used to come easy for Liam.
It wasn’t the actual sport that was difficult. He loves the rush of the physical activity. The strategy involved excited him. Accomplishing a technical skill gave him satisfaction like nothing else. It was the people. The team dynamic.
Liam is a team player, so he isn’t the issue. It’s when others act weirdly towards him because he’s autistic and nonverbal.
He can’t call out like the other players. He doesn’t interact like them. So they tend to not include him.
At their old school, Zac regularly got in trouble for calling this out. He would get fiery pretty quickly. The coach didn’t like either of them.
It’s safe to say that even though they were easily two of the better players, they weren’t often two of the eleven players on the field.
At this school, Liam knew it would be different. Jeremiah is his best friend. Liam has a best friend.
He never had one of those before. One that wasn’t related to him.
Tryouts were easy. They were down four players already because of them being pulled from the school by their parents (he’s 76% sure that it’s because of the power dampening cuffs). The coach is nice. Coach Singh is very vertical. Tall and thin. Like a stick. Deep brown skin like a tree that had just been rained on.
She didn’t comment on Liam’s neurodivergent mannerisms. That could be because someone informed her of him. Or maybe she’s just nice.
One guy, Drake, said something that sounded like complaining (Liam is very accustomed to this tone), but Zac’s glare shut him up.
Otherwise, everyone seemed nice.
In Liam’s experience, this doesn’t mean they are.
But it’s a good start.
When the first game comes around, he is practically bouncing by off the walls, resembling Jeremiah’s high energy more than ever. All his new friends (all eight of them) will be there to cheer him on!
He’s never had that many friends before. His parents, Zac, and Precious have always just been it. It’s strange to feel like his world is growing.
OoOoO
As he steps onto the field for his first game, he hears the cheers. He doesn’t normally like loud noises. Here though, it motivates him. Cheers can’t be misinterpreted. People either want you to win or they don’t.
When he’s on the bench, he puts on his headphones. Some think he isn’t paying attention, but that’s when his focus is most sharp.
His friends are holding signs with Liam and Zac’s names on them. He doesn’t exactly understand why, but he likes it.
Jeremiah is the easiest to spot because he has face paint marks on his cheeks in the school colors. He is the most enthusiastic in the crowd, on his feet before even the players touched the grass.
His parents and Precious are in the row in front of them, rooting for him and Zac, a bit more mellow than Jeremiah.
Liam likes that his favorite people are here.
“You ready?” Zac questions, signing quickly as they are getting into positions. Zac is a defending midfielder.
Liam can’t help but think that suits Zac. Zac is so good at protecting Liam. It makes sense that he can defend their goal. Maybe he’ll get to be goalkeeper one day.
For himself, he is fast. Faster than a lot of players. So he’s the right winger. He has a critical eye. He can spot the littlest of gaps to exploit.
So during the game, closer to the end, where his team needs to score to win, he sees a chance. Mentally calculating, he knows he can get to the ball before the opposing team’s defender.
So he runs.
This is the thrill. Liam loves the dynamic movement. It’s like when he has this idea and he needs to draw before it’s gone from his mind.
He manages to get to the ball and sees Daniel open. If he passes it to him, he has the opportunity to score. Kicking with the strength he knows he needs for it to reach his teammate, he passes it.
Just as he’s able to witness Daniel get the ball, the air is knocked out of Liam as he hits the ground.
Landing with an oof, he opens his eyes, that he didn’t realize he shut, and stares right into really dark eyes. A deep brown that from a distance would look black. But Liam isn’t at a distance.
Sound returns to him and cheering can be heard, so Daniel scored. Good.
Liam can’t seem to focus on that though.
“Shit. Sorry. I swear it was an accident,” the person attached to the eyes apologized.
The person, a guy, rolls off of Liam. A few of Liam’s teammates gather around him. He can’t rip his eyes away. The guy has rich mahgony hair like Liam’s kitchen cabinets with a hint of red weaved in. A few strands (five) just skim his eyes. His skin, though has a bit of dirt, reminds Liam of his own but a shade or two lighter. While his face is all angles, his body is a bit more broad.
He’s….pretty.
His thoughts get interrupted when Zac fills his vision. _Are you ok? _He signs, jagged and jumbled. He must be scared that Liam’s hurt.
Liam nods.
The referee is standing to his left. He holds up a yellow card.
“Foul! That should be a red card!” Liam hears Ria shout. She continues to berate the referee though Liam doesn’t hear it all, it sounds very colorful.
Liam’s pretty certain she knew nothing of soccer before today.
“Baxter! Be careful, dude. You almost took that guy out,” someone wearing the opposing team’s jersey advises the pretty guy.
Zac gives another one of his death glares, though the pretty guy doesn’t appear to care. Literally walking past Zac, he comes straight up to Liam and holds his hands up. Liam guesses to help him to a standing position.
“Tharen Baxter,” he introduces. Liam decides it couldn’t hurt to take his hand.
With one smooth pull, Liam is on his feet. His legs and uniform are brown from mud, but otherwise he’s fine. “I’m sorry…” Tharen trails off looking Liam expectedly. Expecting what, Liam doesn’t know.
“Liam James Keys,” Zac answers for him, his tone sharp, like he wants to hurt Tharen. Maybe he does. “His name, meaning. He’s nonverbal.”
It takes two seconds for Tharen to respond, not seemingly put off by Liam not speaking out loud. “Nice to meet you, Keys. I gotta say, that was some kick. You got the ball and passed it so fast, I thought you still had it.”
That’s a compliment. He’s pretty sure that it was a compliment. This pretty guy gave him a compliment.
Eventually he signs, Thank you.
“Ok, back to your positions everyone!” Coach Singh orders. Jabbing her thumb behind her, she uses her commanding, clear voice. “Liam on the bench.”
Liam shakes his head, already walking towards the field with the rest of the players. She stops him with a hand on his shoulder. Shaking it off, he turns to face her. “You took a nasty fall. Even if you’re fine, we aren’t taking chances, especially with how well you played. We need you in mint condition for the rest of the season.”
What did this have to do with mint?
He doesn’t really like mint. But he listens regardless and slouches onto the bench. The bench brings back memories of his old school. Ones he would like to not think about.
At least, it isn’t really his fault being on the bench.
For the rest of the game, he drowns out the noises with his headphones and watches. He should be studying his team and familiarize himself with their styles and rhythms. He’s not though.
His eyes don’t leave Tharen Baxter.
The cute soccer player on the opposing team that makes Liam feel….something. It’s actually infuriating how much he is feeling without the ability to differentiate each emotion.
Tharen glides on the field. He is fast. Not as fast as Liam. He is effortlessly comfortable on the grass, moves with confidence. It’s as if this is his turf and they are the away team.
The Lavender Cove Cobras are going to win. They are up by enough points with little time, so he isn’t concerned about a comeback. Liam is happy to see his team win their first game.
Tharen and his team, the Beacon Banshees, put up a good fight. He is obviously their star player. Any points they did score was largely because of him.
When Liam’s team scores the last point, Liam can feel the difference in the air behind him. People stand up and clap and cheer. He takes a glimpse and sees his friends and family jumping up and down.
His first game is done, and they won. Partly because of him.
He is happy.
Though he wishes the game went a little longer so he could watch Tharen more.
His teammates come over and they all hug and whoop. He takes a step back, not enjoying the physical celebration. He is happy enough to see them do the weird group hug.
Zac comes over and has a huge grin on his face. One that isn’t often on his brother. _We did it, _he signed.
We did, Liam signs back, returning his smile.
They are about to join their family and say hi to their friends when Liam feels graceful steps approach him from behind.
He turns around, and there is Tharen, still in his smudged jersey and cleats but somehow he still attracts Liam’s gaze. “Hey, Keys. Good game.”
Liam isn’t sure what to say so he doesn’t say anything, just grinning.
Someone calls Tharen, but he doesn’t move. Liam wonders why he is staying next to him when someone clearly is trying to get his attention.
“I gotta go. My dad is waiting, but maybe I’ll see you around?” Tharen asks.
Liam isn’t good at reading emotions. He’s very aware of this. It’s the reason Zac answers for him a lot of the time.
But something about Tharen’s face, maybe his eyes, looks genuine. Hoping. Liam isn’t sure what he’s hoping for.
He wants to find out.
——— (Forgive short descriptions of the soccer scenes. I am not a sportsy person, so I am very unaware of the terminology. I tried my best. 😅
Also, I can’t remember what I named the town they were in. I think it had Lavender in the name, so pretend it has been Lavender Cove the whole time.
Anyway, I love meet cutes! I have some plans for Tharen, so let me know if you like him! Hope you have a nice day!)
