Marina

Over the next few months, we all get to know each other better. I'm always thinking of him, and who he could be. John, kind, typical blond-haired-blue-eyed? Or huge, punch-happy Nine? Secretly, I'm hoping it's playful, curly-haired Eight. I know, I shouldn't get my hopes up, because with my luck, it probably won't end up being him.

I sigh, sitting up. It's midnight, and everyone but me is sleeping, exhausted from training earlier today. I am too, but I simply can't seem to fall asleep. I walk out of my room, walking slowly down the hall to the roof. Except, I forget that it's the middle of winter, and the temperature is close to freezing. I shut the door quickly, shivering in my thin shirt. I walk back into the house, deciding to go to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, a groggy Eight appears in front of me. I yelp in surprise, falling backwards out of my chair, startling Eight in the process, causing him to fall backwards, catching himself, but burning his hand and forearm on a hot stovetop. He yells in pain, quickly pulling his hand away. I stand up, grabbing his uninjured hand to keep him steady.

"Oh my gods, Eight, I'm so sorry," I say, trying and failing to heal him. I need to focus.

He winces, then laughs. Laughs. He just got severely burned, and he laughs. "It's not your fault, don't worry about it. I should have checked if anyone was in here," he says.

He whistles as I finally succeed at healing him. "Thanks, Marina. Are you okay? You took a nasty fall out of that chair."

"I'm fine," I say quickly. "What are you doing up?" I ask.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "You know, the usual," he says, grinning. Suddenly, my mind comes back to the situation, and I pull my hand away, blushing. He seems disappointed for a second, then quickly turns to the fridge to get some food. As he stares into the brightly lit interior of the refrigerator, he starts to hum, which slowly turns into singing.

"Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be…" he sings, turning back around with a plate in his hand. Oh. My. Lorien. It… it sounds exactly like… like him. He sees my shocked expression and freezes. "What? What's wrong?" he asks.

"N-nothing," I stutter, standing up. "I'm, just, I'm gonna go," I say, rushing out of the room.

Once in my room, I lie facedown on my bed. I groan. That was so stupid. I just ran out of there like an idiot, not even explaining to Eight. He has the right to know. I sigh, sitting up. I'll tell him tomorrow. Or the day after. No later than that… I hope.

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree…

I smile to myself, listening to Eight's voice in my head as I fall asleep.

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree…

(:-LINE BREAK-:) (The few days later)

I avoid Eight the past few days, plus this morning, not meeting his eyes.

"Alright, what's up with you two?" Nine asks, glancing between us as we sit on opposite ends of the long table. I push my food around with my fork, suddenly not hungry.

"Nothing," Eight says easily. He looks at me, curious. "Don't we have to do some training?" he asks, changing the topic.

Nine smirks, giving in all the same. "Okay. But I will find out," he says, giving Eight a meaningful look. I decide to talk to John. I think he could help.

After training, I do as I planned and walk up to John. "John? Can I talk to you?" I ask, aware of Six's gaze. "Alone?" I add.

He smiles. "Sure, Marina." he responds. "Roof okay? It's burning in here,"

"Okay," I say as I follow him to the roof.

Once there, he sits down on the ledge. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

I wring my hands nervously. "Um, did your Cêpan, uh…"

"Hey, it's fine. We're friends, right? You don't need to be so nervous." he says, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Right, sorry," I say, smiling sheepishly. "Did you Cêpan ever talk about soulmates?" I ask, staring at him.

"Soulmates?" he asks, brow furrowing.

"Yeah," I say. "Like, your one Loric love."

"Oh, yeah. Loads. I couldn't get him to shut up about it," he says, smiling at the memory of his Cêpan.

"Did he ever mention, um, hearing them? Like, singing in your head? Before you met them?" I ask. "Adel did,"

His gaze softens, probably remembering what I told them all about Adelina, how she never trained me. Even stopped believing in Lorien.

"Yeah," he says. "Why? Do you hear them in your head?"

"Yes," I whisper. "And I know who it is, but I don't know what to do about it."

"Is it Eight?" he asks, eyes wide and curious.

I look around quickly, making sure no one is eavesdropping. "Yes," I whisper again.

"I think you should tell him," he says.

I nod. "I thought so too. He has a right, you know? But how? What do I say? 'Hey, I'm your soulmate, too bad?'"

John laughs, not answering. "Tell him however you want to. I'm sure it'll be perfect."

"But what if he doesn't want me as his soulmate?" I whisper, staring at the city below.

"Marina," he says and I look up. "He loves you," he says.

"What? How do you know that?" I ask, eyes wide.

"Seriously? Do you not see how he looks at you? Especially these past few days, that you have been avoiding him?" he accuses.

I smile guiltily, blushing. "I'll tell him today, then." I say, standing. "Thank you, John."

"No problem, Marina. Anytime." he says, and I can tell he means it. He would help anyone.

We walk back into the penthouse kitchen, where Eight, Six, and Ella are sitting. Six and Ella are too deep in conversation to notice us, but Eight looks up, something similar to anger in his eyes.

John notices and smirks. "Don't worry about it. She's all yours." I'm extremely confused by this point, but I do notice Eight flush and look away.

All throughout the day, I'm jumpy and nervous. I can't focus on anything. I decided earlier that I would tell him tonight, when everyone else is asleep.

After dinner, everyone heads to their room, except me. "Eight," I call. He turns, walking back towards me.

"Yeah?" he asks, leaning against the doorway.

"Can I talk to you? On the roof?" I ask nervously as he frowns.

"Sure, Marina. Is there something wrong?" he asks walking towards me.

"Fine," I say quickly, turning and walking towards the roof door.

Eight sighs, following me. "You know you can tell me anything, right? We're friends," he says and I suck in a breath. Just friends?

As we climb the stairs, he starts to sing.

"Where they strung up a man

They say who murdered three

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be…"

"Have you, uh, did Reynolds ever tell you about soulmates?" I say, interrupting him.

"Soulmates? Like, your one Loric love?"

"You know about it?" I ask excitedly. If he does this will be much easier to explain.

He smiles sheepishly, looking away. "He only mentioned it once. It was too painful for him to talk about. All he said was that he had one, back on Lorien." he says, sitting on the edge of the roof. "Whenever I would ask him about it, he'd get this distant look in his eyes and say 'You'll meet her someday, Eight. She's out there, waiting for you.'" he rolls his eyes, smiling sadly. "I don't know. He's probably wrong. I mean, what are the chances that my Loric love is one of you three is my soulmate? I mean, with my luck, I'll be the one left alone." he laughs.

I sit next to him, our shoulders touching. "Adelina told me that soulmates could here each other sing," I say suddenly.

He raises his eyebrows, surprised. "Really? I never heard that." he hesitates. "I've, uh, heard someone in my head. Once. It was a while ago," he says, looking away, toward the horizon.

We watch the sun slowly set for a while, enjoying each other's company, before I speak. "Me too," I whisper. I look down at the busy streets, nervous. I decide not to tell him directly, since I'll probably stutter and make a fool of myself.

"If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree…"

I sing softly, not looking away from the city below. I sense more than feel Eight tense up beside me, his breathing stopped. "You… it was you… all those years ago…" he pauses, apparently not able to think straight. "How… how long have you known?" he asks.

"A few days," I reply, looking up at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Are you… mad at me?"

"Of course not. I totally understand. I mean, if our roles were reversed, it would be super hard to tell the girl I had a huge crush on-" he stopped, processing what he said. "Uh, um, I mean-" he stuttered, blushing furiously.

I turn his head towards me, pressing my lips to his softly. As I pull away, I flush from embarrassment. "I'm-I'm sor-" he cuts me off with another kiss.

"I love you," he breathes when we part.

Startled, I don't respond immediately. "I… I love you too,"

"Where the dead man called out

For his love to flee

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree…"

And so finishes part 2 of soulmates. Like it? Love it? Leave a review! Hate it? Leave a review! Constructive criticism is appreciated! Anything is absolutely helpful! Thank you!