“So…Anneliese calls him ugly?”

Lou’s face scrunches up in confusion. Amelie laughs as they continue to watch _Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper_.

With Lou only viewing animal movies (ones with happy endings), they all decided to educate her on the Barbie movies from Ria’s phone. They began with the obvious best Barbie movie. It helped to convince Lou with talking cats. The movie watching is going hilariously. It’s been a while since Amelie watched them, so as an older teen, some of the lines surprised her.

“I guess she did. I think she was going for a diamond in the rough message,” Bell comments.

She glances over to the boys who are trying to set up a huge tent. “You guys need any help?”

Cross, Jeremiah, Roman, and Jones all shook their heads, determined to do it on their own. Amelie wouldn’t be much help even if they did accept Bell’s offer. This is her first camping trip.

Ria leans close to Amelie and whispers, “Ten bucks that they can’t do it without powers.”

Seeing the slightly frazzled looks on the boys, she’s most likely right. And if Amelie has learned anything, you shouldn’t bet against Ria.

“Can’t bet against that. I can’t believe they haven’t yet.”

When they initially got to the camp site, the girls thought they all would be pitching in to get everything set up. Turns out the boys had a bit of a macho attitude today and said they had it covered. Watching the tent collapse again, they definitely do not have it covered.

Bell giggles at a frustrated noise that came from Cross. “I don’t get to see this side of him a lot, especially after finding out about my mom.”

“What side? The exasperated side?” Ria questions.

“The freedom to show how you feel. Since we were trying to keep us being soulmates a secret from our families, we haven’t really been able to openly express our feelings. Being out here, away from the stress and messed up situation, we can be ourselves. Fully.”

It is the whole reason for this gathering. Bell and Cross wanted to get away from everything. Finding out that your mom lied to you and changed your memory has to be a big blow. Amelie can’t even imagine

“Cross, just please use your new powers,” Roman pleads, redirecting her attention back to the boys. He throws down the ‘useless’ poles. His emotion/pain absorbing powers wouldn’t help with the tent. Amelie and Ria share a glance as the bet is proved.

The poles suddenly shoot up and whip around in the air wildly. “Watch it!” Jones cries out as one of them gets close to decapitating him. He leaps out of the way, transforming into a hawk to get out of further reach.

“I’m still getting used to picturing what I want them to do and then having them do that,” Cross explains, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. With all that her friends deal with regarding their abilities and soulmate, Amelie has never been so happy to not have one. It seems that living a boring, soulmateless life isn’t that bad. Especially with her friends.

Cross gains control and the poles float into position for Jeremiah and Roman to manually slide the tent into place. In Amelie’s opinion, their sleeping quarters still looks a bit shaky.

Jeremiah grins and flips his hand. Following the motion, long vines grow from the ground and stabilize the structure. “Just in case.”

“Bell, you’re keeping the weather nice, right?” Lou question, concern for their shelter evident.

“Yep. All good.”

With the tent set up, they work to place blankets outside and their snacks, readying themselves for stargazing.

“Do you guys want to watch the rest of the movie while we wait for night?” Bell faces the boys as they all have laid down on the blankets, apparently tired from all their hard work. “Does it have to be a Barbie movie?” Jones inquires, though he knows it is a losing battle.

“It has talking animals,” Lou chirps, using their secret weapon that they had for her on him. He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t protest. Not that he could that much. If you let the girls pick the movie, it was going to be Barbie. Those cinematic masterpieces were Amelie’s childhood.

“It is one of the better ones,” Jeremiah adds. When they all look to him with questioning eyes, he shrugs. “I do have a little sister.”

As they distribute the snacks, keeping the vegan stuff for Lou and Jones, Ria passes Amelie a soda and a bag of chips. Their fingertips glide against one another and Amelie can feel her face warm at the contact. She curses herself mentally at having such a reaction at such a small touch.

She just needs to be cool.

Amelie isn’t obtuse. She knows they have been in this confusing dance where neither of them wants to lead. So they just go in these circles.

They finish out the movie and let the boys pick one. They pick a Marvel movie which is fine by Amelie, though not all of them are knowledgeable on the extensive lore.

The sun begins to descend, bringing both darkness and new light along with it.

Cross is the first one to throw himself on his back and tilt his head up to witness the stars. They all follow suit.

There are some white clouds, covering the brightness of the night.

Bell waves her hand, her pointer and middle finger swiping, and the clouds part, leaving a clear starry sky.

In a rare moment, they are all silent. Just the whispers of the breeze, rustling the trees. Amelie truly savors her friends. It is comforting to have these quiet times without it feeling awkward.

The stars are beautiful. So far away, yet twinkle so radiantly.

Taking a quick glimpse at Ria, her red highlights shining under the starlight, Amelie feels brave.

With all the courage she can muster, she reaches over and grasps Ria’s hand. It isn’t like what Amelie hears about soulmates. Everyone raves about the sparks when they first come into contact with their soulmate. The electrifying, magnetic connection. This just feels like holding someone’s hand.

Ria squeezes her hand and then slowly shifts to lay her head on Amelie’s shoulder.

It may not feel like lightning in her veins, but it feels warm. Makes her feel happy.

Makes her feel seen. Like a glistening star.