Work Text:
Standing outside the house that Google maps had navigated me to, I felt more excited than I'd ever been in my life.
I'm only here to work, not to relax.
I tried to convince myself that this was no big deal, I was just here to work on an assignment, nothing else. But the truth was I was here to see the girl of my dreams, simply to enjoy being in her mere presence. Even if it meant I had to endure that black hole of a best friend of hers, sucking away all the joy and happiness in the world.
Marcella opened the door and I felt the immediate warmth I was missing from outside.
“Right on time!” She smiled, “It's nice to see you again”
"It's nice to see you too"
I smiled back and, for a second, allowed myself to enjoy the tender moment between us. That was until she led me upstairs and I was absolutely delighted to see her personal pet plague rat sitting in the corner typing on a laptop. He didn't look up even after I entered the room, but I saw his shoulders tense. I could hear his breath catch in his throat, probably having planned a witty remark but decided not to at the last minute as Cella sat on the bed next to him, the tension in the room already palpable.
Play nice, just focus on her. I tried to muster the energy to greet him, but instead I just sighed, mentally preparing myself for the exhausting evening ahead of me.
This is gonna be a long night
It didn't take us an hour before we were at each other's throats about nothing important in particular. We'd had arguments here and there, but this was definitely the most heated of the night. Marcella seemed to have my back though, and that pissed Kieran off enough to start heading towards the door. I jumped in front of the doorway, appalled that this was how he treats his best friend in her own home, by abandoning her with her grade on the line.
“Move”, he snapped.
“Are you serious?”
“I can't work with you. Now move”. His words annoyed me to no end. Never have I had an issue working as a team, but this dick was acting like I was the problem.
“We have a project to work on. You're not just gonna walk out because you can't handle being wrong”. I struggled to keep my composure, but keeping Marcella on my good side was all I had in this conversation. If I kept a level head then maybe I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself and this wouldn't escalate into a full blown brawl in the middle of her bedroom.
Kieran obviously wasn't concerning himself with such things, “What I can't handle is insufferable pricks who think they know everything”
“Then I can't imagine how you stand yourself”, I snapped back. My restraint is slipping through my fingers the longer this conversation goes on, but I'm not gonna let this asshole march out of here victorious.
That's when I found myself about 4 feet into the hallway. Kieran had somehow shoved me far enough to widen the distance between us, and the fact that he was capable of such a feat startled me enough for him to advance through the door frame. Shaking off my initial shock, I caught his arm before he could leave. I'd normally hold back, loosen my grip on his wrist, but he just proved he's stronger than average and I saw no reason to hold back my strength.
“What the hell man? Let go!”
“Listen here, you might not know much about working with others, but you don't back out on your group” I lowered my voice right next to his ear, no longer the loud angry words I had been spewing but a more commanding presence, trying to get him to stand down.
The anger in his eyes dissipated then, the muscles in his face relaxed and I thought my stern tone was finally starting to sink in. His pupils became dilated and he quickly turned away from my gaze. I felt the hair on my arms stand up and I immediately felt tense again.
Wait, what's going on?
Is he calm? Is he scared? Is he angry?
I'm trying to decipher what emotion is going through his head right now, but all I know is something doesn't feel right. It's that feeling of somebody else being in the room when you're all alone. This isn't fear, like a squirrel running from a wolf, it's like there's a snake in the tall grass, something lurking just beneath the surface of the water.
“Oh, so you're some kind of expert on comradery?” He asked, but that obviously wasn't what he was originally going to say.
“I am, actually”
“Huh, okay” he said dismissively. “See you later, Cella.
“Bye, K” Cella murmured, her eyes apologetic as I turned to look at her.
My anger turned to shock, both at his audacity and her enabling him. “You're just gonna let him be like this?”
“Just let it go, Mason”
Kieren squirmed out of my grasp and bolted down the stairs and out the front door, slamming it loudly behind him in no less than 2 seconds flat.
The heat of anger was just about to enter my bloodstream when at that moment I felt my soul ripped from my body, my veins ran ice cold. The warmth that had been occupying the house disappeared in an instant, leaving cold darkness in its place. All the air in my lungs dissipated, as if my bones froze solid and were smashed to bits with a hammer. I wanted nothing more than to sprint out of the house and to follow him, but the whiplash of the hollow sensation almost made me fall over.
There's no way, this isn't happening
Kieran is my…
No, I don't accept that. This isn't right, there's been a mistake, Cella is my fated mate, not Kieran. I turn to face where she stands in her bedroom door frame, and I feel… fine. I feel no different than I do at home or in class or on the field. I feel fine, just fine. The welcoming energy of light and sanctuary isn't there anymore. That's why this can't be right, Kieran isn't joy and happiness. Kieran is a bear trap, welcoming your foot in with its sharp fangs, metal and cold. Lifeless.
“Listen, I'm sorry about him” Marcella pulled me from my thoughts and placed a hand on my shoulder, “he just needs to sleep it off, we can work more tomorrow once he cools down. C'mon, let's sit”
She ushered me back to her room and I'm sure I looked just as stunned as I felt.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause a big scene like that”
“Oh it's alright, I'm used to Kieran and his antics. But let's put that behind us, why don't we play some video games? I've got this really cool one that's my absolute favorite…” She stooped down in front of a small entertainment center that housed a few DVDs and video games on the bottom row.
My mind was racing a mile a minute as I practically fell onto the bed. I tried to redirect my thoughts to this moment right here, not whatever the hell just happened. This is where I should be directing my attention. Cella is a great girl, she's smart, pretty, patient. Whatever just happened was a fluke, a momentary lapse in judgement fueled by anger. If I direct my attention and care towards Marcella, the fated feelings would return, I'm sure they will.
But, the end of that interaction is still bugging me. Why did he tense up after it seemed like I was finally getting through to him? He looked up at me wide-eyed and then quickly turned away, what was with that?
Was he feeling a part of the connection?
If Kieran really was my fated mate, which he's NOT, maybe in that moment he felt some sort of emotion toward me that wasn't anger and that scared him off. Kieran isn't aware of the connection, I'm sure of that, if he was then he absolutely would've flipped out and Marcella's hallway would've turned into a dilapidated warzone.
Why am I even entertaining this thought? Cella is my mate, not Kieran…
But I can't get that idea out of my head. That's gotta be it right? He's proven he's not scared of me, and he's not intimidated by me, so what else could've spooked him besides his own thoughts and feelings…
“Hey”, I felt a hand on my knee as Marcella looked up at me from the floor “it's really okay, don't let him get to you”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Absolutely”
“Is Kieran gay?”
What are you doing?? Why is that the question you ask?
Whatever she was expecting me to say, it definitely wasn't that. Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth fell open slightly before she spoke again.
“Uh, wha- I don't know but even if I did that's not something for me to share, Mason. But where on earth did that come from?”
“I-I don't know, I'm sorry. Forget I said anything. Now, which of these games were you telling me about?”
Get ahold of yourself, man
Cella is my mate, she will be. She's gotta be feeling some sorta connection, she's been so interested in getting to know me and blushing whenever I crack a joke or pay her a compliment. I like Cella, and I want to get to know her more too. Maybe fated mates are just like regular relationships, you gotta dedicate time and effort into it for it to work. That's the explanation I'm going with and I'm sticking to it, despite my brain trying to acknowledge the frigid air that now inhabits the room.