Stuck in the middle with you...

***

CHAPTER 41:

BIRTHDAY

Some people were born unlucky. I had always been grateful not to be one of them. But... whatever I had done wrong between the accident and waking up in purgatory, had wiped away any trace of that good fortune. Here I was, poor Olive, once again on the brink of death.

Even before I opened my eyes, something coiled around my waist. In my mind, I saw the Guardian's arms. I thrashed to escape. Bubbles escaped my mouth as I screamed underwater. Resisting its strength was impossible. I was dragged along by the clawed arm that had caught me. But... something was off. I had started breathing again. The monster was pulling me to the surface, not the depths. And that monster...

"You..." I said, coughing up the water in my throat.

Mars was right in front of me, his eyes gleaming. It had to be him who caught and pulled me to the surface because his arm was still wrapped around my waist. The momentary relief of not being eaten by a monster turned into intense anger as I realized the game he was playing. I pushed against his chest, trying to break free from his grasp. He didn't let go.

"You did it on purpose," I said, struggling. "You tricked me!"

He seemed unaffected by the water splashing everywhere. He tightened his grip, preventing my escape. He grinned, only to infuriate me more. "Was it so bad?" he said. "Thanks to me, you saw there was nothing to be afraid of."

Blood rushed to my head. "I thought something happened to you, you idiot! I almost had a heart attack trying to save you."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I know, but you wouldn't have entered the lake otherwise. I knew you'd only follow me like this."

"Because I'm a fool!" I said, gritting my teeth. I pushed him again, splashing more water. He dodged his head but didn't release me. With his free hand, he caught my wrist mid-air and finally stopped me. Realizing I couldn't escape, I attacked with words instead.

"I should've let you find your trouble and gotten rid of you forever."

He smiled instead of taking offense. "But you didn't, Oliver. You never do... No matter how much I warn you, you keep trying to help people. Look, you even tried to save me."

This time, I couldn't respond. Now that I had stopped struggling, I realized how close we were. The water wasn't warm; the heat came from Mars's body pressed against mine. His bangs, always covering his eyes, were slicked back from the water. The light reflecting from the lake made his blue eyes look like glass. I swallowed involuntarily. There was an unsettling flutter in my stomach.

"Let me go," I said for what felt like the hundredth time, but this time my voice lacked strength. "You won."

His gaze softened. "I wasn't trying to win, Oliver. I was trying to retrieve this from the bottom."

He released my wrist in the air. The arm around my waist loosened, and then he lifted his hand out of the water. Between his fingers was a glowing, round object. It looked like a pinkish-white pearl, but it was transparent. Light seemed trapped inside, moving like a cloud.

"What is this?" I asked, unable to take my eyes off the pearl.

"It's a gift," he said.

I stared at him blankly. "A gift?"

"Isn't this your rebirth party? What's a birthday without a present? This is your gift." He reached for my hand, turned it over, and placed the pearl in my palm. "In honor of your return... Just try not to save strangers or jump into water after boys you hate. It always ends up impacting me somehow..."

He laughed. I couldn't. My mind was stuck on the parts of his sentence before the joke. I was in shock. My emotions were in turmoil. Just when I thought he couldn't surprise me anymore, Mars managed to do it again. My eyes fell on the pearl in my palm.

"The bottom of the lake is full of these," Mars said, probably thinking my confusion was because of the pearl. "I'll show you more some other time," he added. "If we stay in the water any longer, your friends might panic themselves to an early grave."

My friends... In my state of shock, I had completely forgotten about them. I turned my head toward the shore. Ursa and Diego were clinging to each other, Helene was holding Lark's hand, and they all stared at us with furrowed brows and pale faces.

"The first one to the shore wins!" Mars shouted and surged ahead.

On a normal day, under normal circumstances, I would never back down from such a challenge. Mars knew that. But now, I was momentarily frozen. By the time I snapped out of it and began swimming, Mars was nearly at the shore. He was already pulling on his pants by the time I reached the land.

"Olive, sweetie, are you okay?" Ursa asked as she reached me first.

No, I was definitely not okay. Water was dripping from my clothes, hair, and shoes. The cool night air hit my skin as I emerged from the lake, sending a chill through my body. I wrapped my arms around myself, but it didn't stop the shivering. Ursa tried to shield me by wrapping her arm around me.

"Congratulations, Wonder Woman," Lark said. "You heroically completed another unnecessary rescue mission."

I caught the reprimanding tone in her voice. She, like the others, obviously thought it was foolish to jump into the lake after Mars, but it was clear that their real anger was directed at my soulmate. Ursa's glare at Mars promised blood. Diego looked disappointed. Helene was squinting at Mars, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

But did any of this matter to my dear soulmate? Of course not. Why would it? After putting on his shirt, he donned his socks and shoes. He ruffled his hair to tidy it and picked up his jacket from the ground but didn't put it on before coming over to me.

"Here," he said, offering the jacket. "You need this more than I do."

Ursa reached out angrily and snatched the jacket before I could respond. "Put this on, sweetie," she said, grabbing my arm. "Let's get you to your room before you become the first soul to end up in the infirmary for catching a cold."

Before I could say, "It's not necessary," Mars's jacket was draped over my shoulders. Its familiar scent rushed into my thoughts, dragging me back to the middle of the lake. I closed my eyes, trying to push the inappropriate memory away. Thankfully, my friends were already moving. I followed them, clinging to Ursa's arm. I wanted to escape from this place and all the thoughts associated with it. Unfortunately, as long as the pearl was clutched in my fist, that seemed impossible.

I couldn't speak at all on the way back. My friends made up for my silence with their chatter. Despite Ursa's sarcastic remarks, Lark's questions, Helene's accusations, and Diego's criticisms, Mars never mentioned the pearl. Yes, he had played a prank, but if he had explained why he brought me to the lake, I knew the others would soften. Yet, he just smiled at everything, letting them see him as the scapegoat. What a strange and incomprehensible boy.

"This is where I leave you, guys," he said as we approached the Dorm. "If you'll excuse me, I'm off to brighten someone else's night."

By someone else he was referring to a group spread out on the grass nearby. As soon as they noticed Mars, they began gesturing excitedly. The girls laughed, and one of them shouted Mars's name. Judging by the pink smoke above them, they were pretty high. My stomach clenched involuntarily. I looked at Mars. When our eyes met, he saluted with his finger to his forehead, then turned and walked toward the group.

"And he says he's going to brighten their night..." Ursa muttered beside me. "What a troublemaker..."

I followed as she pulled my arm. I saw Mars reach his friends, give one of the boys a high-five, and then sit down between two girls. When he took a cigarette from one of them and brought it to his lips, I turned away. Why was I surprised? Just because he gave me a gift didn't mean Mars had changed, right? He was still the same selfish guy. Nothing held any value for him. He probably had pockets full of other pearls. He'd distribute them while brightening other people's nights.

I squeezed the pearl harder, wanting to vent my anger. Not that it was the pearl's fault... Luckily, we had reached the Dorm. The building was right in front of us now. My steps quickened, eager to get to my room and end this strange night. Ignoring the curious glances of the souls still in the garden, I climbed the steps. As if they had never seen someone drenched in their clothes...

"Oh, Tarben..." Diego said in front of me.

Tarben? Before I could even process the thought, there he was, emerging from the building. He halted abruptly when he saw me and took in my bedraggled state.

"Olive... what happened?"

I pursed my lips and tried to smile. "I thought, why not end the night soaking wet?"

He didn't even smile at my lame joke. His eyebrows knitted together; his eyes narrowed. "That jacket you're wearing..." he began. He couldn't finish.

"Of course, it's Mars's!" Ursa interjected. "He tried to brighten our night, and this is the result."

Tarben turned pale. In two strides, he was in front of me, his hand on my arm. "What did he do to you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"N-no... no," I stammered in surprise. "He didn't do anything. It was my fault really. I misunderstood and ended up in the water. And then... this happened."

I spread my arms, showing my drenched clothes, and tried to smile again. It wasn't a lie, but it didn't fully reflect the truth either. Ursa stood beside me, listening with astonishment and skepticism. She wondered why I was defending Mars. I wondered the same thing. I guess I was afraid of the anger I saw in Tarben's eyes. Thankfully, my explanation seemed to work.

"Hurry back to your room," said Tarben. I don't want to end up visiting you in the infirmary again."

He tried to smile, but it was even less successful than my attempts. Anger was still evident in his eyes. He was still gripping my arm, and when he realized it, he slowly let go and stepped aside. I couldn't move. When he mentioned the infirmary, it reminded me of the other mishap of the night.

"How is Blue?" I asked. Diego immediately leaned in closer to listen.

"She's fine, tough as nails," Tarben said, shifting his gaze from me to Diego. "Nothing to worry about. I just left her in her room." Diego sighed in relief, and I met Tarben's eyes again. He was aware of Diego's infatuation too. I bit my lip to suppress my smile.

"Then I guess I'll head to my room too," I said. "Thanks again for tonight. Even if it ended up wet, everything was great."

This time I managed to genuinely smile. This time, Tarben's smile also reached his eyes. "Next time, we'll make sure you stay dry," he said, then descended the steps into the garden.

An inner voice told me he was going to see Lys. I couldn't question it. I could feel Ursa's curious gaze bouncing between Tarben and me like a ball. When we reached our floor and everyone said their goodbyes to head to their rooms, despite my protests, she stayed behind to help me.

"Spill it," she demanded as soon as we entered my room.

"What do you want me to spill?"

Ursa sat cross-legged on the bed and smiled knowingly. "What's going on between you and Tarben, of course!"

I was in the process of taking off Mars's jacket. With one sleeve off and the other still on my shoulder, I froze. "W-what do you mean? Tarben... he's my friend."

Ursa raised an eyebrow. "He's your friend, but have you ever thought about what you are to him?"

Slowly, I took off the jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. I wasn't sure if the shiver running down my spine was from my wet clothes or from what Ursa was implying. When she realized I was stunned, her expression softened.

"Tarben could be a very, very, very good soul, Olive. He might be doing all this because he's a very, very, very good friend. But the way he looks at you..." She giggled. "Believe me, no one looks at a friend like that. Diego doesn't look at you that way. I don't look at you that way. No one looks at you that way. I have a master's degree in this field, you know."

I shook my head uncontrollably. "You're wrong," I said. "Tarben knows I have a boyfriend. He would never..."

"Feel that way?" Ursa finished for me. "Because the heart works with logic, right? Because knowing Kyle is interested in someone else, stops me from crazily wanting him."

I couldn't argue with that. Could it really be possible? And if it was, what was I supposed to do? Ursa noticed that panic was starting to take over me. She got up from the bed, came to me, held my hands, and smiled warmly.

"I didn't say this to make you feel bad, Olive. And you shouldn't. It's Tarben's choice, just like it's my choice to continue loving Kyle... I just wanted you to think about it. I know you have a boyfriend; you're trying every way to get back to him, and you're probably madly in love. But..." Her lips curled into a bittersweet smile. "None of us know how long we'll be here. We don't know where we'll end up or what we'll face when we get there... You can't control the future. But today is in your hands. You can choose what you want to do. Ask your heart. Maybe it already knows the answer."

My lips parted, but no words came out. Ursa knew it too. Finding the right path would take me many more hours, sleepless nights, lessons learned through trial and error, and a few more broken hearts. She planted a warm kiss on my cheek, advised me to rest, and left the room. After all, she had already planted the seeds of doubt in my mind.

***

Anyone who feels the sparks in their stomach, put a flame HERE. From Mars to Tarben, from one boy to another, I have presented a delicious selection for you in this chapter. I am expecting plenty of comments, emojis, and love pls!

And with this chapter, our story moves up to the second level. You know, this book is a "slow burn" and we are entering into that burning phase. From now on, it's all electric, all explosive.

So, now it's time for you to choose your side. Olive's head will surely be spinning. Ursa has also planted the seeds. But how about you, do you know who you want? Let's choose:

A) MARS

B) TARBEN

C) DAVON

D) I WANT SOMEONE ELSE

See you in the next chapter, dears :) Take good care of yourselves! EC.