Bell felt nausea creep up her throat from the pit of her stomach.

She couldn’t let herself back out, especially because this involved more than just her. It deals with Cross too.

Ugh. It’s been so long, she worries that their friends will be upset with how long they knew and didn’t tell. Being soulmates and discovering powers was not easy for them to process, and not saying anything became normal. Then Roman found his soulmate in Jeremiah, and they befriended Amelie and Ria. Life became so hectic that they kinda forgot to divulge this secret.

But they knew it was time to confess. Cross, while he had a hold on his telekinesis, doesn’t always have complete control. Her mood affects her weather powers. It is just becoming harder to keep the mask up. And they don’t want to lie anymore. They don’t need to.

“Bell? Anyone in that head of yours?” Roman asks, playfully bumping his closed hand against her temple like he was knocking.

Everyone is in her living room. Roman and Jeremiah are sprawled out on the floor in front of the couch. They laying on their stomachs, propped up on their elbows next to one another. Amelie and Ria are sitting close on the end of the L shaped couch. Close enough that their arms and legs are pressed against each other. Lou slouches in the middle, petting her ferret named Fern. Bell and Cross are on the other end, with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her.

It would be a perfect time to tell them. If only she could spit out the words.

Glancing at Cross, she can see that he is struggling with the same thing. It is like once you ar win too deep. How do you rectify it now?

“You ok, Bell?” Roman asks. It confuses her how he knows until she realizes that her ankle is against Roman’s arm. He can probably feel her radiating nervous energy.

“I’m fine. Great actually.”

No one appears to believe that with their continuing looks. “We actually have something to tell you guys.”

“It must be big to warrant a big announcement. Are you guys getting married?” Lou teases. Fern the ferret wraps himself around her shoulders, seemingly chuckling at her joke.

“Can we be your bridesmaids?” Ria adds on to the humor.

“No, let me guess,” Jeremiah says, but then frowns, “I can’t think of anything to guess.”

Roman grins at his soulmate. “That’s ok. I think they are just going to tell us.”

Amelie hasn’t said anything yet which isn’t unusually, but she meets Bell’s gaze. She nods, and Bell gains a bit of confidence. She is the only one that knew about her and Cross having powers and being soulmates.

“Cross and I found out that we’re soulmates,” she blurts out. Cross takes her hand and squeezes it in support.

All (except Amelie) jaws drop and eyes go wide. No one speaks for a solid thirty seconds. Bell understands the shock since she and across both thought they were soulmateless, but it doesn’t help her anxiety.

“Could you guys say something?” Cross pushes, hoping for some kind of reaction. Anything but silence.

All at once, they all move. In a blur, both she and Cross are tackled. “You guys! Congrats!” Jeremiah shouts. The houseplants in the living room getting visibly greener and healthier.

It feels nice to finally tell someone. Amelie found out on her own, but these are the first people that they got to tell together.

“How did you find out?”

“When did you find out?”

“Why didn’t you know before?”

A bunch of questions are thrown at them, and Bell isn’t sure how to answer the last one.

“You don’t seem surprised, Amelie,” Roman observes. His tone isn’t accusatory, just stating a fact. “Yeah, I figured it out the day Bell invited me to sit at your lunch table.”

“I guess that makes sense. The weather does kinda get weird around you, Bell.” Lou mentions, thinking about to the random cold moments. Her cheeks grow a bit warm, remembering how she tried to cover her abilities. She waves her hand and a small breeze runs over them. Cross lifts the pillows in the room and makes them spin to showcase his power.

Once they all have settled back into their previous spots, Jeremiah says, “Well, Jelly Belly, tell us how you and Cross discovered this.”

So she spills. She and Cross take turns describing the moment they kissed and realized they had powers. Snow in her room. His telekinesis making things float. It is a joyful moment. The story does take a turn when they say why they didn’t say anything before. The fact that someone manipulated their minds to forget. Someone like her mom who has telepathic powers.

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in. No wonder you’ve been anxious,” Roman comments.

“It’s a lot to carry,” Amelie takes Bell’s hand and gives it a squeeze before letting go.

“You think you’re mom did this?” Jeremiah questions. His disbelief is evident, though Bell knows he isn’t doubting them. Just shocked that someone may be capable of that. It isn’t a thought that Bell likes to consider.

Cross shrugs his shoulders, “She never liked me.”

A noncommittal sound comes from Ria. They all turn towards her, their attention diverted. “You know, if I were in a room long enough with your mom, I could probably find out.”

That statement short circuits Bell’s brain for a brief minute. She always associates Ria’s abilities to manipulating dreams and brushes aside the fact that she can do the same with memories.

“You think so? That might be a lot shifting through memories until you find that specific one,” Amelie worries. Bell has never seen her worry for someone more than she does with Ria. She makes a mental note to ask her about that later.

“Maybe? My only issue would be if she would feel me. Telepathic powers may give her the ability to know if someone is tampering with her mind. We don’t want whoever did this to just make you guys forget again.”

“What about Greta?” Lou speaks up.

Bell’s nose scrunches up in confusion. “What about my sister?”

“Lou’s right. Greta would’ve known you and been more aware that you had a soulmate. Someone would have had to repress her memories. It would be safer to explain it to her and have Ria probe her head,” Roman explains in his calm voice, being the voice of reason.

Ria reaches down and hits Roman on the shoulder, “Don’t be gross. I don’t probe.”

“Greta comes home for spring break in a month, so I’ll approach her then.”

It’s about time they get to the bottom of this. Who doesn’t want them to know they are soulmates?

There is a long pause, perhaps the heaviness of the situation settling in.

“So you’re like Storm from the X-Men?” Jeremiah asks, breaking the silence.

Even with the weight of potentially her mom messing with her memories, Bell laughs. “Yeah, I guess so!”

“Can you make it cooler in here? Fern says it’s a bit warm in here,” Lou requests, stroking Fern.

Closing her eyes to concentrate on letting the cold washing over her, the temperature noticeable gets chillier.

When she opens them, all her friends are shivering. “Oopsie, maybe not that cold.”

———

(I kinda forgot that I never had them formally tell everyone! Also, I didn’t know how to end this.)