Chapter Text
Something was very wrong with Arlo recently.
It had started the other night, when the group had all gathered at Arlo, Blyke, and Isen’s place (As if I’d ever live with you animals, Arlo had snarked, until he saw the price of a single bedroom apartment.)
After the events that had happened during high school, the group had all gotten into the best university in their area- a perk for helping take down a power-hungry, corrupt government, Arlo figured. Now, the previous group of Wellston royals were focused on something more important than dismantling the authorities’ power: their futures.
For now, though, it had just been a standard Friday night. Blyke, Remi, and Isen were messing around on Mario Kart, all fighting for second place. Seraphina, who had already lapped them to win first, stole their chips while they were busy arguing. Arlo watched, snorting, as Blyke threw his hands up in defeat. John lounged on the couch next to them, shoving the last bite of pizza into his mouth before reaching over to feed Sera one of his chips. In the kitchen, Elaine was cleaning up the mess of dishes some of the group had left there, her hair tied back so that a few strands still framed her face. She had a couple of new lines under her eyes, and he wondered if she had been sleeping enough. Elaine moved over to the dining table, where he had been sitting.
“Are you done with your plate?” she smiled.
Arlo’s heart skipped a beat. What was that?
“Why are you doing the dishes? Get those losers to do it.” Arlo ignored the feeling and instead jabbed his thumb towards Blyke and Isen, both sulking over 12th and 13th place in Mario Kart. Elaine laughed, and his heart stuttered again.
“They seem a little busy, and there isn’t a lot anyway-”
“I’ll help. It’s our place anyway,” he interrupted, not looking at her.
They started working, and Arlo almost regretted offering to help. She was close enough to the point where he could smell her perfume- citrusy, like the oranges she used to have in her backyard at Wellston. He remembers how she always made fresh orange juice back then. As she passed him dishes to place on the drying rack, Arlo became acutely aware that their elbows brushed against each other. Elaine was animatedly talking about her organic chemistry professor and lamenting at the workload as she handed him plates. He admired her for wanting to be in emergency medicine, but he could barely focus on the conversation besides a few nods of sympathy. Why did his heart feel like it was pounding?
Arlo wondered if he needed to seek medical help.
“It’s funny that we all ended up here, isn’t it?” Elaine handed him the last fork. Arlo smirked at the utensil, faintly remembering his time with forks in early high school, before putting it in the washing machine andrunning it. He followed her gaze, peering above the mantle to the living room, where John was now kissing Sera on the head. Blyke and Isen were arm wrestling, and Remi promised extra chips for the winner.
“Yeah.”
He knew what she meant. They had all gone through a lot in their high school years. Being able to live relatively normally and still be friends had frankly been shocking. Nevertheless, Arlo was grateful.
After the authorities had been dealt with and a new, fairer government had been established, and the past Wellston royals finally all got to talk to each other. They went over a lot of what had happened at Wellston, from Rei as the previous King to Elaine’s initial treatment of John to Seraphina losing her ability. The list went on. Facts were given, misunderstandings resolved, and apologies accepted. Despite all they had gone through, the unlikely seven had stuck together. Now in their third year of University, Arlo was proud to call them his closest friends, even if he hated admitting it.
Elaine laughed softly next to him, watching Blyke happily eat Remi’s chips after winning the arm wrestling competition. He felt the strange tugging in his chest again, even as she got called into the living room to braid Remi’s hair the same style as hers. He could still smell her orange perfume in the space where she’d been next to him.
Yes. Something was definitely wrong with him.