Chapter Twenty-Three

"Caleb!" Reid called after his friend as they both came out of the Algebra exam as lunch hour began.

Caleb turned and waited for Reid to fall into step with him, "Reid, what's up?"

They walked down the hall heading back towards their dorms. "I need to talk to you, man," Reid said not really knowing where to begin.

Caleb glanced at his friend, "Ok…." Reid seemed pretty intent to watch the floor pass under their feet. Caleb took a deep breath, "That usually involves words, Reid." he said stopping.

Reid looked at Caleb, his expression hard, "Have you talked to Victoria recently?"

Caleb looked at his long time childhood friend. He took a deep breath, "Yeah. This morning, why?"

Reid stood up straighter as Caleb surveyed him, "I need you to tell me... if she said anything to you about Pogue."

Caleb rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "You're an idiot." Caleb took off down the hall towards the stairwell leading up to the boys dorm.

"Hey!" Reid caught up quickly, "Look man, I really need to talk this out with someone and Tyler is no help. He's to busy chasing tail and-" Caleb stopped and set a hard glare on Reid who staggered to a stop as well, "Whoa," He muttered under his breath a little caught of guard by Caleb's intensity.

"You came to me for relationship advise?" Caleb stated simply.

Reid smiled, "Exactly," He patted his friend on the chest with the back of his hand, "You seem to know a lot about this sort of stuff, all full of Oprah-y wisdom. So, who better to go to?"

Caleb gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Thanks." Reid smiled back but Caleb was shaking his head.

"What?" Reid asked.

"No." Caleb said simply.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Reid asking narrowing his eyes as if the word was a complex metaphor.

"I mean, Reid, I am not getting in the middle of this." Caleb turned back to head to his dorm.

"In the middle of what? If she hasn't said anything than there shouldn't even be a 'middle'." Reid snapped keeping up with his friend again.

Caleb took a deep breath stopping again, running his hand over his hair in exasperation. "See," He looked up at his friend, "This is why I don't want to talk about this with you because you are just going to get all neurotic and jealous and jump to ludicrous conclusions based on your gut feelings and I don't have patience for that when you are talking about my baby sister."

Reid's eyes narrowed but he shrugged his shoulders arranging his features in a casual way, "Well, nine months difference, not really much of a baby sister per se, is she?"

The twist of the blade was unnecessary but that was Reid to a T, so Caleb let it slide. Reid was more nervous than Caleb had ever seen him, no matter how cavalier he pretended to be, Caleb saw through the facade. If it weren't for that fact, Caleb probably would have punched Reid for that snide, little comment. Caleb after all, was having a hard enough time wrapping his head around his most recent family revelation without Reid's quips. But instead Caleb took another deep breath and simply shook his head at his friend, "Look man," Caleb started walking up the stairs to the boys dorms and Reid fell into step with him. "It's Victoria. She isn't talking about Pogue. Not to me at least. And honestly, I don't think you need to worry about anything. I mean, neither of them would do that to you, in the first place." Caleb shook his head looking at Reid but Reid was also shaking his head.

"People keep saying that but no one seems to appreciate the fact that they have both admitted they are freaking soul mates. Does no one else hear that part?"

Caleb shook his head, "It's just the easiest way to describe the doubleganger connection, they aren't 'soulmates' soulmates." But as he said that Caleb also realized he was just assuming that. Pogue and Victoria had both been pretty tight lipped when it came to exactly what they meant by 'soulmate'.

Reid looked at Caleb with an open mouth as Caleb opened the door to his dorm. "Are you high or something? Do you not get that there is no other definition of soulmate? I just don't have any interest in being the chump left out in the cold." Reid slumped down onto Caleb's bed.

Caleb scoffed, "Make yourself at home why don't you." He shook his head but Reid simply ignored him. Caleb looked at his friend. "Have you considered that if you keep stressing like this you might just drive Victoria way? Regardless of this shit with Pogue,"

Reid shook his head, "I don't need to drive anything. She can barely spend a whole date with me she's so distracted. I mean, she dreams about him every night. What am I supposed to do with that?"

Caleb shook his head, "It isn't that bad, dude." Reid stood up as Caleb closed the door.

"How would you like it if Sarah started dreaming about Pogue every night? And you had no idea what those dreams were about because she would't tell you? And hell, half the time you are too afraid to ask." Caleb swallowed but eventually he did look away from Reid's gaze, "Yeah, thought so." Reid's eyes fell on Pogue's office chair as Caleb closed the door, which had been blocking it from view. "Seriously?"

Reid reached over and grabbed Victoria's dressing gown from where it had been thrown over Pogue's chair. He glared at Caleb looking livid.

Caleb put his hands up, "Reid! It's been in here for like a week, since the night after we found out about everything. She had a dream, got all freaked out, came up here, talked to Pogue and then passed out." Reid's eyes bulged, "In my bed, dude. Pogue and I weren't even in the room - we were with you at the pool."

"Oh? Why wouldn't she just tell me than?" Reid snapped.

"Because she probably passed out, woke up late, grabbed my hoody that I have been missing since she was in here, and ran to get to class and just forgot. It isn't a capital offence, Reid."

Reid shook his head, hand going over his mouth as he paced in the small dorm. He looked at Caleb and chuckled in a freaked out kind of way, his eyes looked all glassy and frantic, "I swear, man, I feel like I am losing it. Which is made worse by the fact I make it a point to not have anything to lose, and then Victoria shows up and screws everything up and-"

"Reid!" Caleb snapped to get his friends attention and pull him out of his tail spin. Reid stopped pacing but kept his eyes trained on a spot on the floor rather than look up at Caleb. Victoria's dressing down still tight in his hand. "Look, man you just need to talk to her." Reid opened his mouth to argue but Caleb cut him off before he could begin, "Not just gloss over everything or try and make her feel better, but actually talk to her, tell her what's on your mind."

Reid looked up at Caleb, he looked….defeated and Caleb started to feel concern in his chest for his friend. "How am I supposed to do that Caleb? How am I supposed to bitch to Victoria that I am freaking out about this when she is the one going through it all? Never mind the fact that she barely seems knows what to say to me anymore, you shoulda seen her at Nicky's last night." Reid took a deep breath.

Caleb shrugged, "I can't speak for Victoria, she maybe my sister but she has always been her own keeper. But it seems to me, Reid, keeping it to yourself isn't doing you any favours." Reid scoffed, shaking his head, "Look man, we head to State tomorrow. You need to talk to her before we leave."

Reid looked at his friend raising an eyebrow, "What, think I am gonna chicken out?"

"No, I think you will be distracted and not swim your best time. It's our senior year, we all need to be on the podium."

Reid rolled his eyes and Caleb chuckled, "Good to know your priorities dude," Reid turned to walk out the dorm.

Caleb laughed, "Always here to help."

Caleb straightened up as he watched his friend walk out the door and down the hall. Although they had finished on a lighter note Caleb felt a weight in his chest for Reid. That was not an often occurrence. Normally, he was worried about what Reid would get into, not what could possibly happen to him. He made a note to talk to Victoria, just make sure everything was ok.