qDISCLAIMER This story may eventually contain depictions of male on male, graphic sexual interactions. PSA TO ALWAYS USE A CONDOM! The characters are highschool aged and sometimes have sex, if this offends you, why are you here? This is a complete work of fiction and any similarities to persons or events is purely coincidental. Enjoy the story and any feedback is welcome.
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CHAPTER 8
ASPEN
I parked outside Black Cat's Landing. I had only slept for a few hours before I was woken from a strange dream. It felt like a memory and I thought that Poppy might have some insight. Something about the way he knew what I looked like even though he couldn't see me made me believe he might have some answers.
It was only eight a.m. but I hoped that the store was open. I hurried down the steps and saw the sign on the door said they weren't open at all today because it was the Sunday before Samhain. I sighed and turned around. Then I heard the little bell tinkling as the door opened behind me.
"I knew you'd be back, Dearie, come in," Poppy said. I followed him inside.
My nose was greeted by the earthy scent of incense. Bergamot, lemon, frankincense, and orris root danced together to make a beautiful calming scent, "Dreams?" I asked aloud.
"Hmm?" Poppy was pouring tea from a deep purple, cast iron kettle.
"The herbs and oils in the incense. It smells like it's something you'd mix up for dreams," I said, taking another deep whiff.
"Good job! You really have a nose for incense," Poppy complimented me, "I make my own sticks and each morning, I pick the one that best fits the guests I will have."
"How did you know I was coming to talk to you about a dream?"
"I had a feeling you'd be coming back. Like I said, the incense picks itself."
"Do I really need to explain anything to you then? Or are you just going to somehow know everything I plan to ask you about?"
"I only knew that you were coming and that you'd be asking about a dream. Please explain why you are here, so that I may better assist you," he said, a smile forming on his thin wrinkled lips.
"Kennedy kissed me," I started, "It felt familiar somehow. Then that night I dreamt about the eighties. I was walking down a long blue hallway toward a dirty looking apartment door. Then I walked through it and I wasn't me anymore. I was some woman with long brown hair and I had this girlfriend who was absolutely beautiful. Her hair was black as night and she was the most beautiful Korean woman I'd ever laid eyes on. Then she kissed me and I recognized her kiss as the same kiss I got from Kennedy. What does it mean?"
"That wasn't a dream, Lovely. It was a memory," Poppy chuckled. He picked up a little ornate ivory spoon and put some sugar in the tea he'd poured. He stirred, tapped it mildly on the rim and then placed it on his saucer.
"A what? Poppy, how old do you think I am?" I asked, "Not to mention that I was a woman. I mean, I'm not a doctor but..."
"No, Child, a memory of a past life. That's why it felt familiar. You were remembering a previous life," he sipped delicately on his tea.
"Is that what you meant when you said `Two souls destined to meet'?" I asked, recollecting the first time we met.
"Tell me, what is your birthday?"
"December tenth," I replied.
"What year?" he grinned as he picked up his tarot deck and started shuffling it.
"2000," I shrugged.
"Twelve plus ten plus two-thousand, equals 2,022. Add that together and you get six," he pulled a card off the deck and sat it in front of me. Two men stood together under a cupid. One in front of the other. The front most male was dressed in a pretty black suit with his arms held out to the sides and his left foot crossed over his right knee. The other man was behind him, holding the forward most male's arms and kissing him on the cheek. They stood between two trees, one tree with a serpent swirling around it, the other covered in fruits. There was a roman numeral "six" on the very top and bottom of the card.
"The Lovers?" I asked, "What about it?"
"Your soul belongs to the Lovers' Star Group. You see, each soul is born of one of the twenty-two star groups. Have you ever met someone and immediately felt a connection to them? Felt like you had met them before, yet you'd never interacted with them ever in your life? It's because your soul came from the same star group. You are destined to meet each other in every life, drawn by the connection to the same group," Poppy explained. He took another sip from his dainty purple tea cup and pushed his rose- tinted glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"So, Kennedy is from my soul group?" I asked.
"It's a little more complicated than that," Poppy said, he swept his long lavender shawl over his left shoulder and tapped his long wooden cane once before gliding over to a bookshelf. He ran his finger along the spines until he found what he was looking for. He pulled an old book off a shelf and walked over to me and sat it down.
"You see, long ago, when the gods began creating humans, no one could agree on a certain look. Eventually they had these four armed, four legged, two headed monstrosities populating earth," he pointed to the pictures of the spooky little creatures. They looked like they were straight out of a Stephen King novel. "
Soon the humans became smarter, stronger than the gods so something had to be done. Zeus split the humans in two and separated the halves, placing them on opposite sides of the world.
"For the rest of eternity the halves would spend their lives trying to reunite with each other. You and Kennedy were one of those creations. Then as the gods began making more souls, they had to start splitting them up into groups to make personalities for them. It was Aphrodite that decided that they should start recycling souls as karmic retribution. If the souls wronged them or were evil they would be reused to make vermin and peasants and less fortunate things. If they had been kind and good, they would be rewarded in their next life."
"So... Kennedy and I... Our souls... But how do you know?" I asked.
"His birthday is May first and If I'm not mistaken, he's eighteen which would mean he was born in 1998. Five and one make six plus one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight equals two thousand four. Two plus four is six. The Lovers. Your souls will always find each other. You will always fall in love," Poppy smiled a pleasant little smile. All I could do was grimace.
KENNEDY
I woke up at noon. I'd been dreaming about the man and the woman from the forties all night long. I recognized them, but at the same time, I had no clue who they were. I sat on the edge of my bed, my bare chest getting goosebumps from the cold air that fluttered in through the window. I shivered and pulled on a blanket.
I picked up my phone and saw that I had a text from Kira:
KIRA: I had a great time at your party last night, we still on for lunch this afternoon?
ME: Oh HECK, I just woke up, gimme like fifteen minutes and I will come get you!
KIRA: LMAO, I just woke up too. Honestly, I'll need like thirty minutes.
ME: Haha, perfect! I will be there in 30.
I sat down my phone and went to the shower. My mind was clouded up with so many thoughts. Who was the couple in my dream? Why were they familiar? Why did I kiss Aspen last night? What does it all mean?
I stood under the hot water, willing it to wash my brain and clear up my thoughts but the time I took staring into the void, only made me more confused. Was I still supposed to go to Aspen's Samhain celebration? Were we still friends? Was I gonna be able to take Kira on a date and wow her?
I stepped out and dried off and soon I was dressed in a nice shirt and pants. I got into my car and drove to Kira's house, a neighborhood over. She walked out of the house in a pretty red dress and leggings.
"Feeling hung over at all?" I asked as I opened the door for her to get in.
"I didn't drink very much so no," she smiled.
"I was thinking we could go to Diamonds," that was the only nice restaurant in town.
"That sounds good. Or we could go to the vinyl store and then the diner. You don't have to take me anywhere fancy, I want to have fun!" she patted my hand and her eyes were sparkling as she grinned at me. Her face was bright and warm. The most beautiful shade of brown. Her dark curls caught the sun showing pretty sparkles of blue.
"That sounds like a better time anyhow," I grinned like a doofus. We got into the car and I turned the engine over. The mix cd Aspen made me was the last thing playing. "Feeling Good" by Avicii boomed out of the speakers. I quickly turned it down but Kira put her hand on mine and began singing along.
Her voice was strong and full. She sounded just like Billie Holiday and I melted as she belted out the lyrics. I pulled out of her driveway and started toward the vinyl store. She pulled a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses out of her purse and put them on.
"Those are cute," I said sliding on my bronze aviators.
"Thanks, I'm a slut for heart-shaped sunglasses," she tossed some hair over her shoulder.
"Aspen would love those but in pink," I said thoughtfully.
"Actually, I just got a second pair and they aren't the right shade for my skin tone. I think they'd look perfect on him though," she pulled out the second pair and sat them on my dashboard. Aspen was going to love them, I could give them to him at the Samhain celebration.
We pulled up to the vinyl store and headed in. My mind was racing, thinking about Aspen and the dreams and the kiss as soon as I saw the "Belladonna" vinyl Aspen had been talking about forever. He really loved Stevie Nicks. Kira put her arm through mine and pulled me over to the classic rock section.
We thumbed through albums for at least an hour and soon Kira and I were laughing like kids at the table in Helena's.
"So, I told her to buck up or get out!" Kira grabbed her sides as she laughed hard about the terrible pun she'd just told.
"Oh my God, that's the best!" I put my hand on hers and she
looked up and smiled. Then she sighed and looked down at her fries.
"I've had such a great time with you today," she said as she picked up a fry.
"So did I," I let go of her hand and grabbed my soda.
"I just wish you'd been here for the whole thing," she kind of chuckled and then looked at me through her lashes. She threw one of the long braids she was wearing, over her shoulder. The beads in her hair clicked together as they hit the beads on one of her other tiny braids. Her pretty, dark skin glowed in the late afternoon sun shining through the window.
"What do you mean?" I arched my brow.
"You've been somewhere else the whole time. I can see it in your eyes. Is it Aspen?"
"No!" Yes.
She grinned and put her hand on mine this time, "Do you love him?"
"Kira, we talked about this last night, I'm not gay."
"You could be bi or pan. Who knows?" she shrugged, "Kennedy, I want you to be happy, but I also want myself to be happy. You're gorgeous. You really are, but I don't want to be part of a love triangle."
"Kira, I promise there is nothing between Aspen and I except friendship," I said. Did I mean it though? Who knows.
"Okay," she said.
"Okay? Why does everyone just keep saying okay," I stood up angrily, "Thanks for coming out with me today. Here's money for the food and here's some for a cab," I dropped a couple twenties on the table. I turned and stuffed my hands in my pockets before storming out.
"Kennedy-" Kira said but I didn't wait to find out what she wanted. I was angry. Angry that she didn't believe me. Angrier that I didn't believe myself. I got in my car and slammed the door and screamed and punched my steering wheel as tears filled my eyes. I turned the engine over and started driving.
I drove to Auto Joe's and threw my car into park. We were closed but I knew where Jim's hide-a-key was. I unlocked the back door and stormed inside. I walked up to the old Buick in the corner and looked at the diagnostic sheet next to it. I wanted to get my hands dirty and I knew that fixing this car was just the therapy I needed after everything that had gone on in the past few hours.
ASPEN
At noon, I got back to town. Leon was waiting for me at a park we always used to hang out at. I got out of my car and approached him at the bench. He had on a light blue sweater. He always looked so good in blue. His dark fingers were clasped in his lap and his curly hair was sparkly in the light that shone through the trees.
"Hey," I said as I sat down next to him.
"Hey," Leon sighed.
"You okay?" I asked, looking up into his sad-looking eyes.
"I came back to help you guys clean. I saw that there wasn't much cleaning happening, however," he glanced up and out toward the playground. My eyes were locked on his face.
"Let me explain. Last night-"
"You were high and caught up in the moment, I get it," he said.
"How did you know I was-"
"I have a nose, Mags," he looked at me, his dark brown eyes were intense, "Are you into him? Is that why we broke up? You don't love me anymore, you love him? I mean I get it. I haven't been the best to you. I've been a jerk. Telling you what to wear who to hang with.
"I've never been your boyfriend; I've always been your owner and I'm sorry for that. I don't deserve to have you back. I don't deserve to have your love. I get why you'd want Kennedy. He's nice and he's hot and he lets you be you. I get it if you wanna break up with me forever," he was crying now. I grabbed his hand.
My heart was tearing in two. Of course, I felt something for Kennedy. I mean, apparently, our souls were always going to feel this way about each other. But, I loved Leon. I really did. Sure, he was a jerk sometimes, but he could be really sweet too. He wasn't all bad, he just wasn't always the best.
"Leon, it isn't like that. It was a fluke. A one-time thing. Kennedy is just my friend. We got into an intense moment and that's all it was."
"Did you sleep with him? I only stayed long enough to see you get into his lap," Leon sounded almost jealous this time.
"No. I honestly don't think it would have even gone that far," I said as I gripped his hand tighter.
"So what does this mean for us? Are we back together? Are we broken up?" Leon asked. I honestly didn't know. After everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, my mind was a jumbled mess of nonsense.
I mean, Poppy literally told me that Kennedy and I were soulmates. Fated to love each other for eternity. Part of me believed him. Part of me didn't want to. If I was fated to love Kennedy forever, it meant that I didn't have free will. I couldn't choose who to love and that upset me. My whole religion was based around will. If I couldn't have free will in my love life, what else was mapped out for me?
"Leon, it's complicated," I said.
"Mags, you either want me or you don't but please don't make me sit on the edge while you figure it out," he said sadly.
"I want you," I said. I didn't want to lose him. Not really. I had hated that we broke up. Sure, it was a relief to dress how I wanted but I missed his kiss. I missed his touch. I missed the way we would call each other every night to say goodnight. I missed how he would come get me in the mornings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and I would go get him on Tuesday, Thursday. I missed sitting with him at lunch and holding his hand.
"Really?" Leon's face shot up and his tear stained eyes looked at mine. He had a hopeful look on.
"Yes. Leon, I love you," I kissed him. He kissed back. Hungrily, excitedly. Then he pulled back and hugged me tightly.
"I love you too, Aspen," he exclaimed and then we were kissing again.
A little while later we were laying on my bed. He was reading a novel and I was flipping through one of Kennedy's Supergirl comics. I began to think about him again and my mind danced off to somewhere else. Somewhere where he stood in a bright room. His fiery hair glowing in the bright light behind him. He was wearing a sheer top and a loin cloth. He looked so handsome.
"Hello?" Leon's voice snapped me back into reality.
"Huh?"
"I said, as interesting as this book is, I'd rather be kissing you," he said shyly.
"Well..." I teased, "Kara Zor-el is a pretty interesting person. I'm not sure you can beat out Supergirl for my attention."
"Oh yeah?" he crawled forward and kissed my shoulder. He sent a tingle down my spine and goosebumps appeared on my skin. He took this as initiative to continue kissing down my arm. His eyes locked on mine the whole way. My breath caught in my throat as he began kissing my other arm. He was getting me going. This was something he used to do all the time and it always got me. It made me wonder why he stopped.
He carefully put his hand on the comic book and looked at me for permission to take it. I nodded and grinned slyly. He sat it on the bedside table and unbuttoned the top few buttons of the denim shirt he had on. He readjusted his flat billed cap. He laid me back against the pillows and started kissing my cheeks, down to my chin and then finally, after much anticipation, my lips.
I felt an explosion go off in my chest, the way it did when we first started dating. His lips felt new and warm. I wanted more, I kissed him with a hunger I didn't realize I even had. My hands ran over his furry chest and I kissed him deeper. His hands ran up my shirt and I pulled back.
"Take it off," I whispered. He pulled it over my head and tossed it to the floor. I unbuttoned the rest of his shirt and together, we got it off him and resumed kissing. It was driving me nuts. His kisses were full of new hunger and passion. I wanted to kiss him forever. He grabbed at my belt and I put my hand on his.
"Still no on that?" he asked breathlessly.
"Until I'm ready at least," I sighed. I felt like I was letting him down but at the same time I knew what was best for me and I really wasn't ready to hand over my virginity quite yet. He surprised me with a shrug and continued kissing me, putting his fingers into my soft moon-blonde hair.
We kissed for what seemed like an eternity and eventually took a break to make pizza rolls.
"I'm happy that you gave me a second chance, I won't waste this one. You're so important to me," Leon said as I sat the cooked pizza rolls on the counter.
"You're important to me too, Leon," I smiled and dished them up. As I placed them on the counter he put his hand on mine.
"I really mean it, Mags. You mean the world to me and I hated losing you. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again. So, this time, I won't let you down. You are the man of my dreams."
I suddenly thought about my dreams and how they had all been about anyone but Leon. I felt awful. He felt so much love for me and as much as I loved him, my mind couldn't be redirected from thoughts of Kennedy. I just didn't know what I was going to do.
Author's Note Sorry for the delay guys, I'll try really hard to get more chapters out on a better time span. Thanks for all of you who are sticking with me! Kisses!
-Kit =^.^=