"You were zoning out, Rose. Everything okay?" Selene asked.
"It's nothing, I'm fine," I told them. But none of them looked convinced. But they didn't press further either. "Um..."
"Boys, go get cleaned up." Anny said, "Both of you look like you went brawling."
The twins left to get cleaned up. I took a seat on a bean bag. The girls sat on their sleeping bags on the floor. The boys came back with icepacks and some patches on their faces for the bruises, then sat on the sofa.
"I uh," I began. "I think we should talk about some things."
The others looked to me, waiting for me to continue talking.
"I want to talk about what exactly this is." I gestured to the five of us. The others looked around, like they weren't understanding. "The five of us aren't just friends anymore, so..."
"Ah," Anny realised what I was saying. "We should really figure that out."
"I guess that's true," Drew said, looking from me to the girls, and to his brother Markus. Markus did the same as did the girls.
"So, what are we?" I asked. The others were just as confused about what we are. I waited for them to say something else. Then Selene spoke up.
"What do you want us to be, Rose?" I looked to Selene, surprised by her question. I thought about it, looking between the four of them. I took a few seconds to consider it. Everyone was waiting for my response.
"I..." Thunder went off before I could finish, and the power went out. I looked around in the dark. "What just happened?!"
"Storms are coming; it looks like we lost power," Selene said. I felt someone pick me up.
"Wha-Hello?!" I said loudly. Then someone turned on a flashlight and shone it my way. Drew was holding me in his arms. I was surprised, and Markus let out this growl, and pulled me into his arms away from Drew.
"You never asked to do that, Drew!" Markus snapped at his brother. They kept at this, taking me from the others' arms on and on. I got dizzy after this went on for like two minutes. Then Anny took me from the boys, glaring at them, and Selene just looked out of place here. I just felt nauseous after being tossed around like a doll. Then Anny set me on the sofa, and went to scold the boys. Selene sat with me and handed me a water bottle. I took it and took a few sips. Anny scolded the boys and also put them in their place, and repeatedly told them not to throw me around like that. Selene, meanwhile, and laid me on her chest and rubbed my temples to help with my dizziness.
After about an hour, the boys were sitting on the floor, and nuzzling my head while Selene was helping with my dizziness, and Anny sat on the bean bag. The power was still out, so Anny lit a candle; it smelled nice, like roses. The boys stayed where they were, and we just stayed there in silence. It eased my dizziness, and I was almost falling asleep. It felt nice, then the power came on, and I winced; the light hurt my eyes. The boys growled, thinking I was hurt, probably, then saw I was rubbing my eyes, trying to adjust to the light.
"Looks like we have power again," Anny said. She got up, went to the setup and TV, and put on my favourite movie, K-pop demon hunters. I shifted on Selene and settled on her chest, and enjoyed my favourite movie. Anny settle on the bean bag, and the twin kept touching my legs. We just stayed like this together. I honestly want things to be like this.
"... You guys wanted to know what I wanted us to be, yeah?" I asked the. They looked to me. "I want us to have a relationship like this. just us hanging out like this for now."
The others looked surprised, but they were just glad to hear my answer. We sat together, and we watched the movie. I stayed there on Selene, Anny close by on the bean bag, Markus and Drew on my legs. I began to doze off; the others hadn't moved. I enjoyed the feeling. This was a warm and pleasant atmosphere, and I felt safe. I didn't dream of anything, just darkness around me. Nothing much to be seen while I was asleep.
When I woke up, the boys were snoring on the floor against the sofa, and the girls were sleeping peacefully. I carefully got up and went to the bathroom while the others slept so I could shower. I set what I was wearing on the floor, got into a warm shower, and enjoyed the warm water. I scrubbed my hair and enjoyed the warm water. I washed up, and some old marks from choices were still healing, visible just below my shoulders. I kept washing, washing the marks. I hoped the foundation was enough to hide them from the others. When I came out of the bathroom yesterday, when the boys and the girls were there, they didn't say anything about them, so it must be working. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me. That's when the bathroom door opened. And there stood Markus. I got bright red since I had only a towel on, hiding my body. Markus' eyes went wide, his face got red, but he also saw the marks.
"Uh-" I shut my eyes and yelled out, my voice breaking. "MARKUS!!"
"I- yeah, I'm goin'." Markus quickly left and shut the bathroom door. I stood there, embarrassed, red, and holding the towel tightly.
I took a deep breath, and got to drying off, and getting my clean clothes on. It was a simple belly shirt with long sleeves that were loose, and a skirt that had layers of fabric that were light and reached my knees. I braided my hair, and left the bathroom, and I stopped when Markus was there. He looked at me, specifically below my shoulders. I subconsciously covered where he was looking with my hands.
"... Was that because of us?" Markus asked, I flinched, and couldn't look him in the eye. "So it was because of us."
I couldn't say anything, and I couldn't look at him either. The others came in from the kitchen and could feel the tension and the way we were standing, something happened.
"Rose? Markus?" Anny asked, "What's going on? We heard you yell, Markus,"
I couldn't respond, and Markus looked to the others.
"She has marks below her shoulders," Markus said. That was enough for everyone to know what happened. I felt the others look to me, and I couldn't look them in the eye. I kept my eyes down, and I pressed my hands just below my shoulders; I was too... Ashamed? I couldn't look at them to see their expressions. The others came close around me and just held me. I froze. I didn't know what to do. I don't know why, I just started crying. I couldn't stop; the four of them just held me tightly. They just stayed like that with me, and they let me cry. I don't know what was going through their heads, but I just felt weak in that moment. A few hours later, they sat me down on the couch and put together a big breakfast, the twins made- well, tried to make eggs and bacon. They were a little burnt and crispy. Anny got me toast and butter, while Selene got me butterscotch pancakes. They remembered the foods I enjoyed from the years growing up together, and I actually laughed seeing the burned bacon and eggs. In culinary class, the twins always burned meat and eggs when cooking, and got the baking recipes wrong, and the item was huge.
"You two were always bad at cooking," I said to the twins. They looked a little flustered.
"We tried our best!" Drew said, avoiding my eyes. I let out a laugh, the first one in a while. I got to eating; the boys stayed close, Anny sat with me, and Selene went back to the kitchen for something. I enjoyed my breakfast. The bacon and eggs were a little more crispy than they should be, but the rest was done well. Then Selene came in with a green tea boba for me and then took the dishes. I sipped the homemade boba, and to make it better, it had popping boba. My favourite of the boba types I have personally tried over the years. I enjoyed the drink.
"So..." Markus said hesitantly. I looked up at him. "Did you... tell your parents about..."
I froze mid-sip of my drink. The question I have been dreading, even while these marks were healing. I carefully shook my head, and they all looked tense. I didn't tell my parents; they were worried about me enough when everything was going on, and I don't want them to panic about it.
"So, they don't know those marks exist, or are healing," Anny said. I nodded again.
"Shit," Selene said, resting her face in her hands, her elbows on her knees. I fiddled with the sleeve of my shirt.
"Rose," Drew said, resting his hand on my arm. "Do you still think about it? How we reacted when we thought you were human?"
I didn't say anything, and Drew knew I still do. After that, the others got cleaned up, and I finished my boba and got ready to head out, getting my socks on and shoes, and collected my dirty laundry. On my way to the door, I stopped, seeing the picture of Selene, Anny, and me back when we first became friends framed near the door. I still remember that Anny and Selene had just met after Selene lost her parents, Anny gave Selene a completely new outfit set, and they began to grow close friends. I remember I was friends with Anny since we were pups. The fact that Selene kept any pictures was a miracle; she always saw herself as not enough, no matter what she did.
I headed out, thinking about Anny and Selene when we first met. Then I got to thinking about Drew and Markus when I first met them. I was being bullied by a rogue man who thought I was a perfect target. The twins came out of nowhere back then and jumped on the guy, biting and clawing at him. They protected me. From that day on until the ceremony, they were protective, and if anyone suspicious was nearby, they would growl at them.