WARNING:
EMOTIONAL CONTENT.
Includes deceased parents, emotional distress, ill parents.

"I'm home!", called out Eloise, locking her front door door behind her.

Ivan ran down the stairs, a smile appearing on his face when he saw Eloise. She grinned and turned towards the nearby coat rack, grabbing a white and blue football that was on the floor next to it.

"Hey! Fancy a kick-about?", she asked, lifting the ball up.

"Nah, can't", he replied. "I got to do my homework."

Eloise blew a raspberry at him, sticking her tongue out a couple seconds longer.
"Boring. Alright, go inside and I'll help you with it."

Ivan shook his head. "It's alright. Kerry's helping me."

"Kerry?", she questioned.

Ivan just walked past her and headed into the living room. Eloise followed after him. Kerry was sat by the dining table, laying books and colouring pencils out on it.
Ivan's face lit up, surprising Eloise. She hated doing her homework when she was his age.

"Oh, Eloise!", called out Kerry. "How was school?"

"Ok."

"Anything exciting happen?"

Eloise shrugged. "Not really."

Kerry's smile faltered. She tried to think of something else to say. Anything that would help her connect with Eloise. Noticing the ball in her hand, Kerry pointed to it.

"You're going to play football?", she asked.

Eloise looked at the ball, her desire to play dwindling. She shook her head.

"No."

Eloise knew what Kerry was trying to do. She didn't necessarily have a problem with Kerry. She was actually quite nice. But Eloise hated that she was pretending to be something that she wasn't. She'd never be their mother. And Eloise hated that they all had to pretend to be something that they weren't. They'd never be a family.

She and Ivan only had each other.

"Kerry, Kerry!", exclaimed Ivan, tapping Kerry's arm repeatedly. "Is this the right answer?"

Kerry's let out a gasp, her smile brightening. "Yes! Fantastic work, Ivan! See? I told you you'd get it if you kept trying."

Kerry reached out and ruffled Ivan's hair, making him giggle. Eloise just stared at them. She couldn't help but think back to when she was Ivan's age, and their mother would help Eloise with her homework.

Why was Kerry helping Ivan? It should be Eloise. It was Eloise's job to look after Ivan, but Kerry just had to involve herself.

¤¤¤

Aahan was in Jo's living room, sitting by the table. He was quite nervous about asking Jo if he could stay at here while his siblings were visiting, but Jo was elated to have some company.

"Here you go, a nice mug of tea", she said, holding out the mug when she reached him.

He smiled and took it, taking a sip immediately. When he was younger, he'd watch his mother drink boiling hot tea like it was nothing. The heat didn't hurt Aahan nearly as much as it did when he was younger. He chalked it up to all the cups of tea he had drank in his lifetime.

"Thank you", he said.

"Oh, your sisters dropped this off earlier", said Jo, grabbing a black photo album that was on the chair next to her.

"The photo album? Did they say why they brought it over?"

"Apparently your family were looking at it earlier", replied Jo. "They wanted you to be able to reminisce about some of the memories too."

Aahan opened up the album. He had already looked at most of the front half before. Some pages in the middle looked like they were folded, which piqued Aahan's curiosity.

The first folded page was a picture of Aahan and Kofi, aged fourteen. Aahan had black glasses with thin frames and circular lenses. Kofi was smiling innocently, two of his front teeth sticking out. They had their arms loosely around each other-a pose Aahan's mother told them to strike. Aahan couldn't remember objecting to it though.

The second picture was of Aahan and Allison. They were fifteen. They were in school. Allison had her arm around Aahan, and she was leaning towards him.

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO.

"Don't forget to do your homework!", reminded the teacher, as the students filed out of the room.

Allison jumped up from her seat at the front, and ran to Aahan, a big grin on her face. She sat down in the empty seat next to him, turning so that she was facing him. She moved the chair closer to him, their knees touching.

"Aahan, let's take a picture!"

Aahan's brows furrowed in confusion. What would be so special about this moment that she'd need to capture it?

"Uh... why?"

"We finish year ten in a couple of weeks! Then it's just one more year until we're done at this place. I just... I feel like so much time has passed and I've got nothing to show for it."

Aahan frowned. "What about Kofi and I?"

Allison rolled her eyes, a smile appearing on her face. She reached out and lightly punched Aahan's shoulder.

"That goes without saying! I love you two, and that's why I want more photos with you."

Aahan puckered up his lips, batting his eyelashes. Allison laughed, shoving him. He gestured for her to get her phone. She handed it to him, so he could take the picture while she put her arm around him. She rested her head against Aahan's shoulder.

She glanced up at him, her piercing blue eyes giving Aahan unexpected goosebumps. She held his gaze for a few more seconds, as if she wanted to really savour the moment.

After taking the photo, the pair looked into each other's eyes once more. A tingling sensation ran through Aahan's body, and his heart started to beat rapidly.

He wondered if she felt the same thing too.

"Aahan! Allison! I've been looking for you everywhere", said Kofi. "Can you two have a staring contest another day please? We need to go home."

A nervous chuckle escaped Aahan's lips, but Allison just smiled sweetly at him. She got up and walked towards Kofi. Aahan remained glued to his seat.

"Sorry, Kofi. Oh, do you want to take a picture with me?"

"A picture?"

Allison nodded. "Yeah, for memories."

"Of course!"

Allison grinned. "I'll try and find a nice spot outside."

Kofi waited for Allison to go, before quickly turning to face Aahan. He hurried over to him.

"What was all that about?"

"I, um, I-I..."

Kofi gasped, clasping his hands together. "Have you finally realised what I've been telling you for the past month? You like Allison!"

Aahan shook his head. "N-No, we're friends."

"I am no expert, but I don't think friends look at each other the way you were looking at her."

Aahan's eyes widened. "Was it obvious? Do you think she noticed?"

Kofi shook his head. "Don't worry. This is Allison we are talking about. She always speaks her mind, so if she thought you liked her she would confront you about it."

"I... I don't know if I like her. Maybe this odd feeling will pass?"

Kofi shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

Aahan nodded. "Yeah. It will. Come on, let's just go home and forget about what happened."

"She's so pretty", said Jo, pointing to Allison.

Aahan smiled fondly at the picture. "Yeah. She is."

"She's the same girl from the photo I saw in your attic, right?", she asked.

Aahan nodded.

"You two look very close in the photo. Did you two used to date or something?"

Aahan chuckled, shaking his head, but his eyes never left Allison's face. "No, we were just friends."

He sighed, shaking his head.

"We were only ever friends."

¤¤¤

"Want to watch a movie?", asked Spencer.

"Ah, I'd love to, but Zeke and I have plans today", replied Spencer's mum.

"You remember my mate, Alex's dad? Well apparently, poor Alex isn't doing too well. It's a tough time for his parents too, so I thought they could do with some support", explained Zeke.

"We'll be back no later that nine", said Spencer's mum. "I've left some money on the dinner table for you to order food for yourself."

"Thanks, Mum", said Spencer. "Are you sure you're both gonna be ok at their house for that long? I mean, you have only just reconnected."

"Eh, I'm sure we'll be ok", said Zeke.

"Well, if things get awkward, just text me something related to the baby and I'll call you with a fake emergency", suggested Spencer.

Zeke grinned and patted Spencer's shoulder. "Nice thinking, Spence!"

Spencer's mum rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. "You're a right pair, aren't you?"

There was a knock at the door and Spencer went to answer it.

"Eloise? What are you doing here?"

"Hey! Wanna hang out?"

"Uh... I was just going to do a bit of homework."

Eloise rolled her eyes.
"Come on man, you've got loads of time to do that!", she exclaimed, a sense of urgency in her tone.

"Are you alright? Has something happened?"

Eloise shook her head.
"No, nothing happened. Just wanted to hang out with my best mate, but if you wanna be boring that's fine", she said, before turning around.

"Wait!", he called out. "Come in."

"Hello Eloise!", greeted Spencer's mum.
"I didn't know you were coming over."

"Oh, I didn't plan to. I just had some free time, but if you're busy I can come back another-"

"Don't be silly!", she interjected. "You're always welcome here, whether Zeke and I are in or not."

Eloise smiled. "Thank you, Mrs-"

"Ah-ah-ah, it's Jen, remember?"

Eloise chuckled. "Right. Sorry. Thank you, Jen."

"Eloise! Long time no see", said Zeke. "How's your brother?"

"He's good, thank you", said Eloise.
"Oh, congratulations on the baby."

Zeke smiled. "Thank you! Right well, we've got to go now, but you two have a good afternoon."

After waving goodbye to Spencer's mum and step dad, the pair made their way into the living room. Eloise crashed down onto the sofa, while Spencer headed into the kitchen to get her a drink.

"Oof, tough day?", he questioned, peering into the living room.

"Kerry is doing my head in", replied Eloise.

"What's she done?", he asked, walking back into the living room, a glass of orange juice in his hand. He placed it on the table next to her, before sitting down beside her.

"She keeps sticking her nose in everything. She's always in our business! I can't even hang out with Ivan for five minutes cos she's always pulling him away to do stuff."

Spencer knew why Eloise was so frustrated. He didn't agree with Kerry trying to take over their lives, but he could see where Eloise was coming from. Spencer had never known someone to care more about their siblings than Eloise did.

She had vented to Spencer about Kerry before. Each time she made it seem like Kerry was the worst person in the world.

"What specific thing did she do today?"

"She was helping Ivan with his homework. Literally as soon as I got back from school. She couldn't wait until the evening or something?"

As Eloise explained, she started to hear how silly she sounded. She paused, allowing herself to take in what she had said. She let out a long groan, rubbing her forehead.

"Ah, I'm being a d*ckhead, aren't I?"

Spencer shook his head. "No, you're not. He's your brother, Eloise. Of course you're gonna wanna hang out with him."

"But I mean, it's good that he has someone to help with his homework. It's good. So... I don't get why I'm so annoyed about it."

"Well... you've both been through a lot of change, right? But you always had each other. Maybe... maybe Kerry helping out is making you feel like you're not needed anymore?"

Eloise frowned. Those feelings had been bubbling inside her for a while, but whenever she started to think about them, she'd distract herself with looking after a student at school, or hanging out with a friend.

"But you know that's a load of cr*p, right?", added Spencer. "You're family. He's always going to need you."

Eloise smiled at him. Spencer was really good at putting things into perspective for her. He always had been, but it was only now that she was realising how good he was at it.

An uneasy feeling suddenly sprung up out of nowhere. She felt like such a burden. Spencer had helped her. She shouldn't be taking up more of his time. She was kicking herself for even bringing such a small problem to Spencer's doorstep.

"Uh, listen, I'm probably going to head back home", she said, standing up.

Spencer reached out and grabbed her hand. As soon as she looked at him, he tugged at her hand, pulling her back onto the sofa with him.

"Oh, I think not", he grinned. "We're going to play football, cos I swear this time I will beat you."

Eloise laughed. "Oh? You think you can beat me? Didn't you lose last time? And the time before that? And the time before that?"

Spencer playfully rolled her eyes. "I'm feeling pretty lucky today, so... what do you say?"

Eloise smiled. "You're on."

The pair stood up, not letting go of each other's hands. They went to the front door, to put their shoes on, finally letting go of each other's hands. Spencer was quicker, so he walked through the kitchen and unlocked the back door.

He looked over at Eloise, who was walking to him. He smiled to himself, glad to have taken her mind off things for just a moment. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop her from worrying about Ivan, but this was the next best thing.

Spencer found that, when it came to Eloise, showing that you were always there for her, and that you weren't going to just leave her, was the best thing to do.

"Oh, before we start, remind me later to get a comic book from my room", said Spencer. "Ivan was saying he wanted the new Captain Kaleb one."

"You got him that comic?", questioned a surprised Eloise.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. I had to go to five different shops but I managed to find it. It's a bit creased, because I got the last one in the shop and a kid chased me out of the shop. I had to shove it in my bag and run for my life", he said, laughing as he recalled the memory.

He stood up and walked towards the door. Eloise just stared at Spencer's back, processing what he had just revealed. She was quite surprised at the lengths he went to to get something for her younger brother, especially as Ivan never actually asked him to get it, he just mentioned really wanting it. Eloise couldn't really fathom someone caring about her brother the way that she did.

Spencer was special.

Spencer fashioned a makeshift 'goal', by using two flower pots to mark the sides. It was decided that Eloise's goal was marked by the backdoor and the hosepipe that was attached to a wall.

Spencer bounced from side to side, his knees slightly bent so he could run faster if he needed to. Eloise kicked the ball with the side of her foot, sending it flying. Spencer's reflexes were good, thanks to karate lessons his parents put him into when he was younger. He leapt to the right, blocking out everything else so he could focus on catching the ball.

His fingers brushed against it for a second, before gravity pulled him down to the ground. The ball landing in the goal.

"Yes!", exclaimed Eloise.

"No!", yelled Spencer, slamming a hand against the ground.

He looked up and saw Eloise jumping up and down, her hands swaying in the air.
He chuckled, happy to see her spirits lifted.

"Calm down, Messi", he said. "Let's go again."

"Oh, you want more humiliation?", she teased.

Spencer playfully rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Eloise giggled. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail, tying it in place with a purple hair tie she had on her wrist.

"Get ready to lose again, O'Connor."

¤¤¤

At the Weber household, Irene and her dad were taste testing a lemon drizzle cake she had baked.

"Oh! This might be your best cake yet", said her dad.

Irene smiled. "Thanks, Dad! I thought the icing would be too sweet, but it's just the right amount of sweetness to compliment the lemon flavour."

"Oh, how was school today, love?"

Irene nodded, swallowing the cake that was in her mouth. "It was good. Bit weird though. This couple broke up, and the whole school went a bit mad."

"Ah, break ups are quite tough", he said. "I know there's a lot that's changed since my day, but I don't think heartbreak is one of them."

"Heartbreak?", questioned Irene. "I know it must be hard to stop spending time with someone you've been with for ages, but I don't know if it's that serious."

Irene knew that heartbreak wasn't just something tied to romantic relationships. She classed falling out with a friend as heartbreak too. Losing her father—the biggest heartbreak of all.

So, it wasn't like she didn't understand the pain Naomi and Alex must be feeling. She just couldn't ever picture herself being in that kind of relationship.

"You'll understand when you get your first boyfriend, Irene", said her dad.

Irene thought about that. Maybe her dad was right. Maybe the reason she couldn't relate to Alex and Naomi, or Aurelia and Max, was because she had never been in a relationship.

"Do you remember your first girlfriend, Dad?"

Her dad chuckled, a sparkle dancing in his eyes, the memory coming alive again in his mind. He gently pushed his bowl away and turned his body so that he was facing Irene.

"Ida Müller, was her name", said Irene's dad. "Everyone adored her. She was a total sweetheart. She lived close to my house, so we would walk back from school together. It became our own little tradition. We both had a fascination with travelling the world. It was all very innocent. We were only fourteen, so I wouldn't say she was my first girlfriend, but definitely my first love."

Irene's eyes widened at the mention of their ages. Her dad seemed to have those romantic feelings at a much younger age. But, he also didn't see them as boyfriend and girlfriend, so was it really the same kind of love as say, Naomi and Alex?

Irene was even more confused about how she should feel.

"What about, um... Mum?", she questioned, trying her best to be gentle with the subject.

They didn't talk about Irene's mum often. She left when Irene was little, and after sending a couple of letters during the first year or so of leaving, all communication stopped.

Irene found herself longing for her, on the days where her dad's health was at its worst... but not for long.

Her dad was all Irene needed.

"I... I loved your mother. Every person in our lives kept telling me how lucky I was to be with such a beautiful woman. She always used to fall asleep before me, so at night, I'd just look at her for a minute or so. I had to mentally pinch myself, because I couldn't quite believe my luck."

Irene's dad sighed. It was almost as if he hoped that the memory of Irene's mum would leave with that sigh.

"I still feel lucky. She may have left, but she gave me you. I'd go through it all again if it meant I got to have you."

Irene smiled. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around her dad. He leaned into her touch, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

"If you ask me, she was the lucky one", said Irene.

Irene's dad smiled. "Thank you, Schnucki. I can't wait for you to get married to a nice boy one day. Someone who loves you and treats you like their whole world."

Irene's smile fell. She didn't realise her being with someone one day meant so much to her dad. She thought this conversation would help her figure out how she felt about love, but it just confused her more.

She needed to figure things out, and fast.

¤¤¤

Spencer and Eloise were leaning up against the shed in Spencer's garden, enjoying ice lollies. Spencer had gotten Eloise a grape flavoured one, knowing it was her favourite. He chose a surprisingly sweet orange flavoured ice lolly for himself.

"Mmm, these are so good!", exclaimed Eloise.

Spencer's mind was elsewhere. He thought back to history class. Specifically, to what Atlas said about soulmates.

"Eloise... what do you think about what Atlas said in history class today?"

Eloise looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"What, about Henry VIII needing therapy?"

"No", he replied, rolling his eyes.
"About soulmates. I just... I don't know if that applies to my family. My mum and dad loved each other, but with Zeke... he and my mum are a proper little unit too. They're a team. I mean, she went with him to see a friend that she hadn't even heard of until recently. I know they love each other."

Eloise's face softened. "So... you're wondering who her soulmate is?"

Spencer nodded. "I guess so, yeah."

"Well, I've been trying to get more in touch with Hinduism ever since we visited Mr. Patel's house."

"Yeah? That's cool", smiled Spencer.

"Apparently, in Hindu culture, certain souls are kind of like, connected. Those souls always help each other, and make each other better."

"Really? So I guess, that's like the idea of soulmates."

Eloise nodded. "Look, I know soulmates are usually seen as a pairing that are bonded for life, but... maybe that's not the only version."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe soulmates really are just people that make each other better."

Spencer smiled. "I like that. So, maybe both my dad and Zeke are my mum's soulmates?"

Eloise nodded. "Maybe."

The pair looked at each other. Spencer wasn't sure if Eloise was waiting for him to say something, but he didn't care. He just wanted to soak up this moment.

"You wanna know what I think?", asked Eloise.

Spencer smiled. "Always."

"I think you're my soulmate."

Spencer's eyes widened a little, and his smile faltered just a little. He laughed, believing she was joking. When Eloise didn't laugh, Spencer stopped.

"What, really?"

Eloise nodded. "You're always helping me, no matter what mess I get myself into. No matter how much I overreact. You... you make me better. You make me want to do better, treat others better..."

Eloise let her words trail off, suddenly feeling vulnerable. She felt better about saying it, it was the truth after all, but she wasn't sure how Spencer would react.

Spencer lightly nudged her, a warm and sincere smile appearing on his face.

"You make me a better person too, El."

_________

Hi!

Initially, part 2 was just going to have the Spencer & Eloise and Aahan sections. I decided against that because, in the description I wrote in my plan, it was 'the school's IT couple break up, and it gets the group talking about love.' There is a bit more to it, but it contains spoilers so I left it out. Essentially, the plan was always to include everyone talking about their ideas of love and exploring that. I decided not to include Elliott, Rowan, Zee & Atlas in part 2 just because I couldn't really find a way to fit them in here. Rowan was supposed to have a section with Irene, but it just didn't seem to work in terms of the pacing and flow. I might write it as a bonus scene though because I did actually really like it!

Spencer & Eloise—I can't stress enough how much I adore these two. They seem like an unlikely pair of friends, but when you really look at their relationship, you see just how well suited they are. They have such a strong foundation of friendship and respect, and it's because of that that Spencer is able to be straightforward with her. And it's also why Eloise is able to open up to him. They're very reluctant to ask for help and support from others, but they are able to find it with each other. They're just a very special pairing, and I really enjoy writing their scenes. Their soulmate conversation was one of my favourite things to write so far. It's something so unique to Spencer, as he has two father figures that he loves dearly.

I am not too happy with how I wrote them here though. I wanted it to come across as Eloise slowly realising these things about Spencer, but I kind of just dumped all the information on you, instead of actually showing how Eloise processed it. Honestly, I wasn't too sure how to do that. Maybe through a point of view chapter next time? Please tell me your thoughts on this because 'showing not telling' is something I really need to work on with my writing.

Irene & her dad—Irene's romantic and sexual orientation has been a bit tricky to write. I don't think there is enough representation of this in the media. I hope I'm writing it realistically, or atleast not portraying it incorrectly. From my understanding, Irene knows what love feels like, and she recognises romantic love, but she just doesn't feel it for herself. She can't relate to her peers wanting to get into relationships, because she just doesn't feel romantic attraction. She's in a bit of a confusing place now, bless her, because she doesn't want to be in a relationship, but now she feels like she has to hurry up and figure her identity out, because her dad wants to see her happy with someone one day.

Aahan & Allison—Now, I am not very happy with how I wrote this. It was hinted at before that Aahan & Allison had some sort of history, but I've been focusing so much on the students' storylines that I neglected this. It was always my intention to share bits of Aahan's past as the story progressed. Mainly through things he can relate to the students with, and other things from his interactions with the adults. I haven't given enough time to developing Aahan, Kofi & Allison's friendship, but basically, the trio were friends since they met and it was only when they were fifteen that Aahan started to think he might have feelings for Allison. So up until that point they were just best friends. I do really like what I have planned for the trio, and more will be revealed about their bond.

What are your thoughts on the above sections, and this chapter as a whole?

TRANSLATION:

Schnucki : No direct English translation from German, but it's kind of like 'sweetie'. Used as a term of endearment.

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

ejsandfarkleslovebot

Tornado-Jockey