"Well, bye. I love you."
"... That's it?"
It's been around a month since Alphonse confided in me, and we started a little supernatural team of our own. I still haven't told anyone, though. Not even Max, and he's about to leave right now.
"What did you expect me to say?"
His expression softens, and I can tell he's begun to act a bit more self-conscious. It's almost amusing, but I don't want to admit this goodbye is even a little bittersweet for me.
"Just nagging, I guess. Especially after everything that's happened in the past few months, I thought you wouldn't want me going on the tour at all."
"First of all, you and the boys have worked hard for this opportunity. It wouldn't make sense to give it up. Second of all, living in paranoia and fear wouldn't do either of us any good."
Taking a deep breath, I lean in closer to give him a hug. Genesis7 will be touring the states for two whole months- obviously with breaks in between, but it'll be a while until they come back.
"I'll miss you, Dylan."
"I guess I might have to buy a ticket and fly to Chicago or something before you guys arrive there, then."
"I wouldn't mind if you did."
I see him off and after the group's shiny black van leaves, I get back into my own car. Now's the perfect time.
Of course, my eyes are on the road and I don't text while driving, so my arrival at our super secret lair is definitely a surprise.
"Oh good, you're finally here."
Alphonse is already standing in front of his house. His greeting is a little eerie, if I had to describe it. Like a gargoyle perched on a creepy castle, watching intently as you approach.
Is he also being sarcastic? I'd wonder if the anti-cupid wasn't glad to see me, but he's literally the one who agreed to this.
"Did you know I was coming?"
"I could sense a presence."
A presence? Is this guy a psychic or something?- Maybe, actually. He could have more senses than a normal human being. I'm not sure what that would entail, though.
"Can all of you guys do that?"
"I was joking."
"Right…"
This guy is so weird. Luckily, I'm normal enough to make up for the both of us.
Alphonse looks around, as if verifying I'm the only one here. Nobody's followed me… to my knowledge.
"You know Genesis7 is on tour, right? Jeremiah won't randomly show up."
"Clarissa might."
It gets harder to ignore the feeling in my chest that I should tell her the truth. But what would I say? I don't even know half of it.
"Are you absolutely sure she can't-"
"No. You are not going to tell her about this."
"But why?"
He pauses, opens the front door of his house to let me in, and quietly sighs.
"I don't know."
"What don't you know?"
"I don't know how I'm supposed to tell her anything. I've barely processed anything that's going on myself."
This is a rare side of him, honestly. I don't think I've ever seen him this vulnerable. He walks towards their sofa in the living room and I follow him, sitting down.
"I can understand being confused, you know? Like when freaking Jupiter Stone visited me-"
"Who?"
"Jupiter Stone..?"
"Goodness."
Alphonse quickly stands up, so much so I flinch back. Is he having a vision or is his hypothetical third eye malfunctioning?
"Uh, are you okay?"
"Oh- yeah, I'm fine."
He sits back down on the dark cushion, but it's like he's not even trying to hide the fact that he's thinking deeply about something.
"What is it?"
"Just something that seemed like a coincidence."
"Care to tell me?"
"I might be wrong."
"I literally don't care."
One of his hands comes up to run his fingers through his hair, and it's clear he's trying to stall.
"Just tell me-"
"It's kind of been a tradition… for people like us… for our names to have some sort of relation to astronomy."
"Is that a British thing?"
"What?"
He seems visibly caught off guard, which confuses me, because what was he talking about?
"The tradition?"
"No. It's not British. It's supernatural. And for the record, I'm not British."
"So where were you born?"
"... England. But that was centuries ago! I've lived here way longer than there."
"You're still- nevermind. So, the astronomy thing…"
Oh. Jupiter Stone. As in the planet, Jupiter.
"You think Jupiter Stone has something to do with this?"
"Somehow. When did she visit you?"
"In the hospital after Clarissa… you know."
"I do know, and I'm sure Jupiter knows too."
This is certainly a revelation. Alphonse gets up and walks over to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge before coming back to the living room with soda and chips.
"Do you usually eat such unhealthy food in your living room? Are you stressed? And why do you keep your chips in the fridge?"
"I don't know. Stop asking questions, they're Jeremiah's chips."
I'm not sure if I can obey his request. A new question forms in my head with every passing second. The logistics for whatever operation we've formed an idea about are not exactly crystal clear.
"How are we supposed to figure the literal Jupiter Stone out? She's a multimillionaire celebrity, and we're just regular people-"
"Are you being serious right now?"
He looks as if actual steam is going to come out of his ears. I slightly gulp, wondering if I've somehow managed to push him over the edge.
"What do you mean?"
"... Clarissa and Seraphine work with her directly."
"I thought you said we couldn't tell them about any of this."
"I changed my mind."
"Really?"
Huh, are my persuasion skills really that good? I wonder what he's thinking about, with his serious gaze and his cold chips-
"Yes. We need to do an interrogation."
"Like Sherlock and Watson?"
"No."
Well, it was worth a shot. A few days later, I get a notification from my phone. It's Alphonse, and he's sent me a location. Luckily, my work day has ended and I have nowhere to be, so I get into my car and head to this mysterious place.
When I get out of my car, all I see is a restaurant that's closed surprisingly early. It's still late afternoon, isn't it? I look around, before pulling my phone out of my pocket to check the location again.
"Inside the restaurant?"
I slowly approach the door, before knocking on the door, expecting an answer. My gaze moves to the glass windows beside the door, before my jaw drops-
Clarissa?! And Seraphine?! Alone and tied to two chairs in the restaurant?!
It's a good thing the door isn't locked, because my hand moves on instinct towards its handle and swings it open wide.
"Clarissa! Seraphine!"
"Dylan?"
Both of them ask at the same time, and I hear quiet footsteps behind me. Wait, what if it's a criminal-
"Dylan."
"... Alphonse?"
"Do you drive like a turtle or something? I sent you the location forty five minutes ago."
"I just- hey, I don't need to do any explaining! Why are the two of them bound to chairs!"
"They're not?"
I turn back around to verify what I had seen earlier, until I squint a little more. In fact, I decide to walk right up to both of them.
Their hands are both behind the backs of the chair… but they're not tied or anything?
"Why are you guys sitting like you're held hostage?"
Clarissa holds back a chuckle, and gives me an accusatory glare. Did I do something wrong?
"And why did you guys want to question us in an empty restaurant? Are you accusing us of being the bad guys now?"
"What?!"
Alphonse's hand comes up to cover my mouth, and a slight blush creeps up on my cheeks. I'm pretty sure that mischievous little schemer is the only one that has any idea what's going on.
"I called you here today to inform you all of my findings."
"Couldn't we have just done this at your house?!"
I huff in irritation, but he just walks over to grab another chair. He eyes me like a wolf eyeing their prey, and a shiver goes down my spine.
"Sit."
"I'm not going to-"
"Sit down, Dylan. Or else…"
Seraphine's voice practically forces my butt into the chair, and I imitate her and Clarissa by having my hands behind the chair like I'm held captive.
"Thank you, my love. As I was saying…"
Oh my goodness, this guy has a whole evidence board. When did he create this, and how was I not aware when I'm literally supposed to be his partner in crime?
"So, Seraphine and I should get Jupiter alone and work and jump her to make her confess everything?"
Clarissa asks, and we all look at her with baffled expressions. Seraphine thinks about it hard for a moment, and then nods her head in agreement.
"That would be satisfying, but we don't want to accidentally kill her if we get too intense…"
"That's true. Good point."
Alphonse and I stare at each other awkwardly, while the two girls discuss whether they should prioritize ethics or efficiency in their… investigation.
Just then, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I unlock it to see a message from Max, and smile to myself. Clarissa notices.
"What're you smiling at, Dylan?"
"Max bought me tickets for their concert in Chicago in a few weeks."
Another message appears on my screen, and my heart almost falls out of my chest. All of them see the unease in my expression. Seraphine's voice is its usual quiet tone again.
"Dylan..?"
"He texted me, "too bad these tickets aren't for Seattle, since there have been rumors that Jupiter Stone is going to be at our concert there"..."
The restaurant is silent. Clarissa speaks up, before completely standing up out of her chair.
"When are they going to be in Washington?"
"Tonight. At 7:30."
We all exchange looks towards each other, and seconds later we're all bolting out of the place and into our cars. It's 3:15. A flight to Seattle is almost three hours, and before that we'd obviously need tickets and to get past airport security-
In a haste, I pull my car over to pick up my phone, having to scroll far down on the contacts list.
He'll be able to help us. I need to save the majority of my brain power for later, anyways. What is Jupiter Stone planning…?