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It was another ordinary weekend evening at the university. Aurelia and Selena were cooped up in their room, minding their own business, for once. Something seemed off, but nobody knew just what.
“Sure, meet you there,” Selena said into the phone, a wide smile on her face as she hung up the phone. She glanced over at Aurelia, who seemed completely lost in her book.
“Hey, what’s up?” Selena asked, chirpier than usual. “How’s the reading going?”
“Good,” Aurelia replied, still lost in the fictional world. She was too distracted, too lost in thought to return to Earth anytime soon.
Just as Selena was about to return to her own activities, her phone buzzed again. This time, it was Nickolas.
“Hey, Selena,” Nickolas said, his voice sounding a bit concerned. “Sorry if I’m disturbing anything, but I’ve been trying to reach Aurelia, but she’s not picking up. Is she okay?”
Selena glanced at Aurelia, who was still engrossed in her book. “Yeah, she’s fine, Nick. Just a bit too caught up in her book. Want me to pass on a message?”
Nickolas chuckled on the other end. “No, that’s alright. Just wanted to make sure she’s okay. Thanks, Selena. By the way, Gallus wanted to know what time y’all were going to meet up.”
“Tell him it’s at 7 PM, in an hour, and that being six months older than me doesn’t give him the right to forget things as if he was seventy.”
“Sure, I’ll tell him,” Nick replied, shaking his head. “Thanks again,”
“No problem, see you later.”
As Selena put away the phone, she couldn’t help but smile. It was clear that Nickolas cared about Aurelia, even if he didn’t say it outright. And as for Aurelia, well, she was too lost in her book to notice anything else. But Selena knew that sooner or later, she would have to come back to reality. And when she did, Selena would be there to fill her in.
A few minutes passed, and everything remained just the same. Selena sighed, setting her book aside. She walked over to Aurelia and gently tapped her shoulder. “Aurelia, we need to talk.”
Aurelia looked up, blinking in surprise. “About what?” she asked, her eyes still fixed to the words in the book. “And can it wait until after chapter 10?”
“About you,” Selena said, sitting down next to her. “And no, it cannot wait.”
“Me?” she asked. “What about me?”
“Girl, you’ve been putting this off for ages now. You and Nick confessed. What happens next?” she asked, pulling her friend’s shoulders back and forth dramatically. “It’s like you two have just straight up paused things from there.”
“What? No, we’re the same as ever.” Aurelia answered, closing her book and marking her page. “You and Gallus are the ones who are both too shy.”
“Aurelia, we kissed in the observatory. Do you really need more to back up the fact that we’re all right?” Selena asked, trying to hide her inner pride.
Selena took a deep breath, preparing herself for the conversation. “Aurelia, Nick called,” she began, watching as Aurelia’s eyes widened in surprise. “He was worried about you because you weren’t answering your phone.”
Aurelia looked down at her book, then back up at Selena. “Oh, I didn’t realize… I was so engrossed in this book.”
“I know,” Selena said, giving her friend a reassuring smile. “But Nick cares about you, Aurelia. He was genuinely concerned when you didn’t pick up.”
Aurelia blinked, processing the information. “Really?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Yes, really. Lately you haven’t been your usual, cheerful self. I haven’t heard you and Nick roast each other as you normally do.” Selena explained. “It seems you did nothing but roast each other though. Now, even that’s gone. What happened?”
Aurelia looked at Selena, her eyes wide with surprise. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I mean, we’ve been friends for so long, and I guess I just… I didn’t realize things were changing.”
Selena nodded, understanding. “It’s okay, Aurelia. It’s not always easy to see these things when you’re in the middle of them. But Nick… he’s been trying to have more serious conversations with you. He’s been avoiding them because he’s scared of what might happen.”
Aurelia blinked, processing the information. “Serious conversations?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “That’s ridiculous, why would he be scared? Why would he want to have any serious conversations whatsoever with me?”
“Because he cares about you, Aurelia,” Selena said gently. “And caring about someone can sometimes be scary, especially when you’re not sure how they feel about you or how you feel about them. It’s not about the conversations being serious, it’s about the feelings that those conversations might bring up.”
Selena paused, giving Aurelia a moment to process her words. “Nick is scared because he doesn’t want to ruin the friendship you two have. But at the same time, he wants to be honest with you about his feelings. It’s a difficult situation for him.”
Aurelia was silent for a moment, her mind racing. “I… I need to talk to him,” she said finally, standing up, determination in her voice. “I need to let him know that… that I care about him too.”
“That’s the spirit, Aurelia,” Selena said, giving her friend a reassuring smile.
Aurelia’s eyes seemed to glow with confidence for a minute, before they switched off like a bulb. “I can’t,”
This was the final breaking point for Selena Platina.
She stood up, and rolled up her sleeves, trying her best not to squish her closet using her metal manipulation abilities. “You can, and I know it, okay?”
Aurelia looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that you’re being very immature, young lady. You know you have to do this, but you have been putting it off as if it’s a dentist appointment or spring cleaning. And here you claim you liked him.”
“I never-”
“Exactly! You’re acting way too immature to say it out loud too!” Selena shouted back.
Aurelia was taken aback by Selena’s outburst. She stared at her friend, her eyes wide with shock. “Selena, I…”
“No, Aurelia,” Selena interrupted, her voice softer now. “You need to stop running away from your feelings. It’s okay to be scared, but you can’t let that fear control you.”
Aurelia looked down, her hands trembling slightly. “I can’t… I’m too immature, like you said.” she answered, trying to use her immaturity as an alibi.
“Then you gotta grow up,” Selena replied, placing a comforting hand on Aurelia’s shoulder, even though she was a bit angry at her. “Come on, you braved the elemental storm! You’re doing this today, and you’re doing it right now.”
“Tomorrow? Next week? Year? After we graduate? Definitely before I die, but…”
Selena groaned, and grabbed Aurelia’s hand tightly. Using her other hand, she opened the door, and stormed out of the room, dragging a rather puzzled Aurelia along. As they walked, Aurelia was confused, but she knew the campus all too well to not know that they were headed to room 129 of the boys’ dorm.
As they approached room 129, Aurelia’s heart pounded in her chest. She glanced at Selena, who gave her a nod of encouragement. Taking a deep breath, Aurelia knocked on the door.
The door opened to reveal Nickolas, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw Aurelia. “Aurelia, Selena? What are you doing here?” he asked, confusion evident in his voice.
“I… I ended up in the wrong room 129,” Aurelia stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked at Selena, who gave her a death stare in response, then at Nickolas, who raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
“Hmm… well, then, I’ll see you girls later,” he replied, shutting the door behind him. He knew something was off, and that they were here for a reason, but he also wanted to test them.
Just as Aurelia was about to call out to him and explain, the door to room 129 opened again. This time, it was Gallus who stepped out, a smirk on his face.
“Selena, Aurelia? What brings you here?” he asked, his eyes darting between the two girls.
“We’re here to… um…” Aurelia started, but her voice trailed off. She glanced at Selena, who gave her a stern look.
“She’s here to talk to Nick, while I was the one who dragged her here,” Selena said, her voice firm. “Aurelia has something important to discuss with him.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued. “Oh, really?” he asked, glancing at Aurelia. “And what might that be?”
Before Aurelia could answer, Selena stepped in. “That’s between Aurelia and Nick,” she said, giving Gallus a sharp look. “And speaking of which, do you remember that time when I threatened to turn your phone case into aluminum foil?”
Gallus blinked, taken aback. “Uh, yeah,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “That was… quite a threat.”
“Well,” Selena said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not afraid to actually do it. We’re here for a reason, and we won’t leave until we’ve accomplished what we came here to do.”
“All right, I’ll get Nick out,” Gallus replied, and stepped inside to call his roommate. “By the way, Selena, you can come inside for a bit. They might want to handle this alone.”
Selena nodded and stepped inside, winking at Aurelia as she went inside, just as Nickolas stepped out, an unamused expression on his face. “Hey, Goldie, what’s up?”
“The sky,” she said, not knowing what to say next. She knew very well that she had a habit of becoming overly witty when she was afraid, and didn’t know how to get past it. She let out a forced chuckle and hovered up gently till she looked as if she was an inch taller than him. “Me… uh… what else?”
Nickolas, fully aware of the situation, decided to respond with a bit of his own wit. He manipulated the earth’s magnetic field, levitating himself just enough to regain his original height advantage over her — a mere two centimeters. “Me,” he added. “But that’s irrelevant. Why are you here? Come on, let’s float and talk,” he said, leading her out of the boys’ dorms.
Aurelia took a deep breath, steeling herself for the conversation ahead. It was time to face her feelings, and more importantly, it was time to face Nickolas.
Her heart was pounding in her chest. “Nicky,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper. “I… I need to talk to you about something.”
Nickolas looked at her, his eyes filled with concern. “Of course, Goldie,” he said, his voice gentle. “What is it?”
Aurelia hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. “I… I care about you, Nickolas,” she said, her voice shaking slightly, her cheeks turning bright red. “And I think… I think I might genuinely have feelings for you.”
Nickolas was silent for a bit, processing her words. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Aurelia,” he said, his voice filled with warmth. “Has an alien replaced you?”
His question caught Aurelia off guard, but she managed to laugh it off. “No, it’s still me,” she said, her voice shaking slightly. “I… I just needed to tell you how I feel. Because you’re too shy to do it first, and Selena gave me no other choice.”
Nickolas was silent for a moment, his eyes filled with surprise. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Wow…” he said, “I… I’ve been waiting to hear that for a long time.”
Aurelia blinked, surprise evident in her eyes. “You… you have?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Nickolas nodded, his smile growing wider. “Yes, Aurelia,” he said, sincerely. “I’ve had feelings for you too.”
“All right, that’s settled.” Aurelia, still floating in the air, looked at Nickolas with a smirk. “Wow… that sucked,” she said, trying to suppress a laugh. “I can’t believe how cheesy that got so fast.”
Nickolas, taken aback, blinked at her. “Wait, what?” he asked. “You think that was cheesy?”
Aurelia nodded, her smirk growing wider. “Oh, absolutely,” she said, her voice filled with amusement. “I mean, come on, Nick. ‘I’ve been waiting to hear that for a long time?’ Really?”
Nickolas looked at her, his eyes wide with surprise. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Well, when you put it like that…” he said, his voice filled with laughter. “Yeah, I guess it was pretty cheesy.”
Aurelia laughed, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “At least you admit it,” she said, her voice filled with warmth. “But hey, at least we got our feelings out in the open, right?”
Nickolas nodded, his smile growing wider. “Yep,” he said, his voice filled with sincerity. “And that’s all that matters.”
“Agreed.” Aurelia nodded, as she glanced down at Nickolas’ hand, extended for her to hold.
Aurelia looked at Nickolas’ extended hand, then back up at him. She gave him a mischievous smile. “Nope,” she said, shaking her head. Instead, she raised her hand and gave him a high-five, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “That’s more like it.”
Nickolas blinked in surprise, then laughed. “Alright, Goldie,” he said, grinning at her. “High-five it is.”
As Aurelia and Nickolas shared their high-five, unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes were watching from a distance. It was Lead Carbon, who had been passing by the boys’ dorm when he noticed the pair floating outside the rooms.
Lead watched as Aurelia and Nickolas laughed, their faces glowing with happiness. He could see the chemistry between them, the way they looked at each other, the way they smiled. It was clear to him that there was something more than friendship between them.
He felt a pang of something he couldn’t quite place. Was it jealousy? Or perhaps it was a sense of loss? He wasn’t quite sure. All he knew was that seeing Aurelia and Nickolas together stirred up a whirlwind of emotions within him.
Lead shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He knew he had no right to feel this way. After all, Aurelia and Nickolas were his friends, and he wanted nothing but happiness for them. But still, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness.
“Aurelia, Nick!” he called out to his friends, hoping to simply talk to them, hoping it would distract him from his emotions.
Nickolas looked down, and saw him waving up at the pair, who slowly floated down at the sigh of their friend.
“Hey, Lead,” said Aurelia, a small smile on her face as her feet touched the ground, “What’s up?”
“You two, before you came back down.” Lead replied with a chuckle. “How’s everything going?”
“Everything’s going great, Lead,” Aurelia replied, her voice filled with a newfound confidence. “Nick and I just had a really important conversation.”
Lead raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Oh, really?” he asked, his gaze shifting between Aurelia and Nickolas. “And what might that be, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Aurelia glanced at Nickolas, who gave her a reassuring nod. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Lead. “We… we confessed our feelings for each other,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Cheesy, huh? Deal with it and share my sorrow.”
Lead was silent for a moment, processing the information. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Well, that’s… that’s great, guys,” he said, “I’m happy for you two.”
“Thanks,” Nickolas replied, a soft smile on his face. “Means a lot,”
“Of course,” Lead added, forcing a smile. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys later.”
As Lead walked away, Aurelia and Nickolas were left alone once again. They looked at each other, not knowing what to say next. But what they did know was that their relationship was not going to be the same.
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