Day 18: Soulmate AU
The Earthling Concept of Soulmates
"Do you know about the earthling concept of soulmates?"
Chloe's question ends their calm bout of silence. Lili directs her attention to her friend, who had been tinkering with the coach's radio. Chloe sets aside a screwdriver and closes a panel on the radio's right side, the metal sliding back into place. She lowers the antenna and pivots on the chair to Lili, standing instead of sitting.
"'Soulmates?' Huh, can't say I've given it thought," Lili snorts. She glances down at Chuck in her lap, the plant Oleander held in his classroom. She strokes through his full leaves, its touch rather cool as if it had fallen asleep. Placing him on the cushion, she tucks her legs up and scoots closer to Chloe until she's sitting next to her, asking what brought on the query.
Chloe leans against the chair's backing and crosses her arms. "Through my research, I haven't found much about soulmates in other alien cultures, but in this containment facility, it seems finding a romantic relationship is of utmost importance."
Lili blinks. She hadn't been anticipating a late night conversation about love or summertime flings.
Chloe extends a finger. "For example, you have Elka and JT. Elka made a fuss after she had broken up with Nils. She was quick to jump into an entanglement with JT." Her middle finger follows. "Then, you have the curious coupling of Elton and yourself-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lili's hands shoot out. "Oh, no, I'm not interested in Elton. He might've done my summer homework, but I don't owe him a date. I don't like him that way."
Chloe frowns, Lili catching the hint of it behind her orange faceplate. "Had you let me finish, I would've said that you are not romantically interested in him while a certain someone else is, and Elton fails to notice her."
"Oh." Lili clicks her tongue, a flush of self-imposed embarrassment washing over her. "My bad."
Chloe continues, unfettered. "There are also various duos who seem inseparable regardless of romantic intentions. I would consider them another aspect of this soulmate phenomenon." Again, her fingers rise. "Clem and Crystal. Quentin and Phoebe. Kitty and Franke-" (Lili's nose wrinkles.) "-and Bobby and Benny - are you withholding a sneeze?"
She relaxes her expression. She feels a tickle in her nose but sniffs it down. "Oh, um, I've been feeling a bit stuffed up lately, but I'm fine."
Chloe doesn't immediately respond. She settles into her seat with her legs folded like Lili. She carefully nudges her screwdriver back to the radio when it begins to roll off. Her eyes focus solely on Lili, as green as healthy chrysanthemums, and she folds her hands in her lap.
"Can I ask why you grimaced when I mentioned those four?"
Lili's lips purse. Chloe is frighteningly perceptive, or maybe, she's only curious. She follows through with whatever intrigues her. Whether it's an activity or a spur-of-the-moment idea, she seeks out ways to understand or pursue them.
But Chloe isn't cruel. She isn't one to sneer. There aren't many campers that Lili knows who are as they appear. Chloe is who she is, revealing herself for what she wants to be. She states what she wants with a rare firmness rare for her age, and she perseveres, seeking the stars, knowledge, and companionship with those she finds fascinating.
It wouldn't hurt to tell her. Lili has made her contempt for those four plainly obvious. And yet, Chloe digs up old memories Lili would have liked to pretend were still buried. For a moment, she's taken back to a few summers ago. She's seven again, the same as Chloe. It's her first time in Whispering Rock, her first time away from her father, with the air smelling of wildflowers waiting to meet her.
She sighs. Chloe quickly adds that Lili does not have to inform her. But Lili grins and leans against the cushion.
"Soulmates, huh? You know, I think I did believe in that stuff. Nothing like your future husband or whatever, but something like a friend you'd always have." Lili glances at Chuck, a comfortable, soothing warmth ebbing from him. She tickles his top leaf and continues, smirking. "I'm sure Bobby's already told you all about me."
"He hasn't."
That catches her by surprise. Lili narrows her eyes, not unkindly. "Really? Not a peep? Weird."
"Why is it strange?"
She rolls her shoulders, looking at the ceiling. She's in Basic Braining about to trip over a landmine when Bobby grabs her hand and smirks. He's on his levitation ball, and he drags her along, avoiding Oleander's traps, breezing through the cluttered field toward the next battle. He's the king of the obstacle course grinning at her, laughing in a way that makes her giggle, too.
"He just loves to hear himself talk," Lili says.
She's getting ahead of herself. Chloe isn't asking to hear vague comments but the truth. She knows Chloe won't post anything to the bulletin board, her earnest nature refreshing in a camp full of gossips and chatterboxes.
"Okay, seriously-" Lili brings her hands together in a single, crisp clap. "-I used to be friends with Bobby and Kitty."
It takes a moment for the remark to sink in for Chloe. Then, her eyes go even wider. "You three were friends? With such clashing personalities?"
"Bobby and Kitty weren't friends. They were friends with me. By proxy, they had to be cordial, but-" She scowls. "-it didn't work out in the long run. Too much drama. I swear those two would've played tug-of-war with my arms if they had the chance."
As Lili chuckles, Chloe hums. "Would you…feel comfortable sharing the drama? If you don't mind."
She shrugs. "Bobby was the first friend I made at camp. Kitty was the second. Turns out they loathed each other because they had been attending the camp since it opened two years before I arrived." Scoffing, Lili turns her palms to the ceiling. "And it also turns out they didn't bother mentioning it until I figured it out myself pretty quickly. I tried telling them I wasn't gonna be stuck in the middle, and I thought they got it, but…"
She remembers nights when she and Kitty applied each other's nail polish. She recalls days when she and Bobby searched for scavenger hunt items. Kitty had always enjoyed speaking into her ear, inviting Lili in and keeping her to herself. Bobby never liked being too far from Lili, often gritting his teeth whenever Kitty had her way or Lili chose to go with her. And when Bobby finally lashed out and Kitty left her in the dust for greener pastures, Lili was alone by the time her father picked her up.
"It wasn't…always drama. There were good days with them, um, separately, of course. Things just-" Lili sighs. "-fell apart. Guess that's why I think soulmates are a bunch of phooey."
Chloe doesn't pry. She quietly listens, taking in every word. When Lili finishes, her gaze drifting to Chuck, Chloe springs from her seat to Lili's side. She stares at her with eyes that have seen beyond what the earth can offer.
Slowly, Chloe opens her arms and asks, "Would you like a hug?"
Lili almost sputters. She tries to brush her off, refusal on her tongue, her heart guarded. But Chloe isn't like them. She means and believes every word she says. There isn't a vindictive or malicious bone in her body. And any time she comes across as mean, it's purely unintentional. Although Lili knows she's human, only an alien would be so kind.
She would like a hug. She'd really like a hug.
Chloe gently puts her arms around Lili. Hesitantly, Lili brings the smaller girl closer. Chloe smells like metal and wildflowers, and Lili closes her eyes, letting her heartbeat rest, her skin prickling at Chloe's inhumanely cool touch.
"I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm certain it wasn't your fault," Chloe murmurs.
Lili's jaw tightens, but she can't hide her quivering lip. She's grateful Chloe's enormous helmet blocks out her view. She lifts her head, willing the sorrow away before it can bite her.
She sighs. "Man, why can't they all be like you, Chloe?"
"It's why I set a valuable example for underdeveloped humans." Chloe pauses. "You and certain others are excluded."
"Ha! Thanks." Lili pulls away and rests her hands on Chloe's shoulders. "Also, do me a favor. Tell Milka that Elton is all hers because she won't listen to me."
"I will inform Milka when I see her tomorrow."
"Cool."
As Chloe returns to the radio, calling for Cygnus A to answer, Lili hopes the aliens will someday respond. (What Lili did not know is that the next evening, she'd meet a boy who'd change her life in the way she needed. Perhaps the earthling concept of soulmates meant something far different than either girl theorized.)
