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“No,” Joel said flatly, glaring at his friends. “I'm refusing to mate. I'm not partaking in that stupid ceremony,” he continued as he turned his back to the other two.
“Joel c'mon!” Jimmy whined immediately. “You don't even have to partake in it. Can't you just be there for us?”
Joel made a face and turned around promptly so that they could see it. “Why do you even want to?” He asked.
“I'm only doing it because I'm curious to see who my True Mate is.” Grian shrugged as he spoke. He was sat on the counter and looked almost bored. “Also gonna laugh at Tim when I'm finally proven right about Tango being his True Mate,” he added with a mischievous grin.
Jimmy immediately sputtered and turned pink in the face.
Joel grinned at that, watching as Jimmy stumbled over his words for a moment to see if the other could even scrape enough composure together to rebuttal. When it was clear that Jimmy wouldn't be getting there for a bit, Joel let out a mock exasperated sigh. “Fine, fine, I'll go. If only to make fun of Timmy when he embarrasses himself.”
Joel immediately regretted agreeing to go to the ceremony the moment the three of them stepped into the building. Already, the place was filled with people both taking part in the ceremony itself and others who were there simply to watch their friends and family finding their True Mate. Or, at least, reveal their Soulbond mark. After all, not everyone lived in the same city as their True Mate.
It was overwhelming and Joel found himself absent-mindedly reaching into his pocket to grip at his box of cigarettes. He didn't pull it out, but feeling over it was enough to calm him for now. Later, once the ceremony would start, he would sneak out to take a quick break. It would be a while until Grian or Jimmy were up anyway.
“Hey guys!” A voice called from his right, pulling his attention from examining the vast amphitheater. He found Tango waving at them as he jogged towards them, a wide smile on his face. Trailing behind Tango was none other than his closest friends- Etho, Impulse and Skizz. “Are you guys excited to find your True Mates?” Tango asked once he was close enough.
Jimmy was immediately shy, face lightly flushed as he averted his gaze from the other. “Y…Yeah!” He said. “Really excited!”
Grian shoved Jimmy playfully and grinned smugly when Tango immediately reached out to steady the blonde. “I wouldn't say I'm excited, per say,” Grian mused, “but I am curious so I guess it counts.” He shrugged.
“I know how you feel!” Impulse laughed, a wide smile on his face. His gaze darted to Joel then as his head tilted slightly. “What about you, Joel?”
Joel tried, he really did, to keep from making a face but, from the surprise that crossed over the expression on Impulse’s face, he could tell he had failed miserably. “I'm just here for moral support,” he said with a wave of his free hand. He gripped at his cigarette box a bit tighter in his pocket with his other hand.
“So are Etho and I,” Skizz jumped in immediately before the atmosphere could grow awkward. “I'm gonna partake next year.” He smiled and it eased some of the tension that was in Joel's body.
Curiously, his gaze flicked towards Etho as he wondered what the other's reasoning for not participating was. Etho's eyes squinted slightly in amusement when Joel’a gaze met his. “I'm more interested in finding my True Mate the old fashioned way,” he said casually with an over-the-top wink.
Joel rolled his eyes with a scoff but he couldn't fight the smile that tugged at his lips. “You're so cheesy,” he muttered. Finally, he pulled his hand out of his pocket, releasing the box from the near death grip he had been holding it in. “It's gross.”
Etho huffed out with amusement as his own eyes rolled now. “Why don't you sit with Skizz and I? We can keep you distracted from all the gross cheesy romance that's about to fill the room.”
The shudder that rolled through Joel was involuntary but it got a good-hearted laugh out of everyone in the circle they were standing in. After they calmed down, the group spent some time talking about the order in which they would all be called up, and some discussion about how funny and awesome it would be if it turned out any of them were actually True Mates to each other which had been started by Tango. Which had, in turn, made Jimmy laugh a bit harder than the rest of them.
Finally, the ones participating pulled away to go check in, leaving Joel alone with Etho and Skizz.
“I'm gonna head outside for a bit,” Joel said while hooking a thumb over his shoulder. He might as well get his smoke break out of the way now considering that Etho and Skizz might find it a bit rude for him to leave during the ceremony to go.
“Etho, why don't you go with him? That way you can help him find where we're sitting when he comes back?” Skizz suggested after smacking Etho's arm lightly to get his attention.
Etho looked at Joel with a raised eyebrow, silently checking to see if that would be fine with him.
Joel shrugged, not exactly sure how he could say he wanted to be alone without it coming across as him being an asshole for declining. “Sure,” he said. Then he turned around to head for the entrance of the amphitheater so he could go back outside. He made his way over to an empty spot where not many people were hanging around once outside and leaned against the wall of the building. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and flipped it open to pull one out, leaving one more behind in the box. He sighed lightly as he placed the cigarette between his lips and closed the box before shoving it into his pocket again.
Etho held a lighter up before Joel could retrieve his own, flicking the flame to life just a few inches away from the end of the cigarette. Joel hummed, leaning forward to accept the light and pulled in a deep breath of the smoke before pulling the cigarette from his lips. The smoke burned his lungs in a familiar comfort, easing a bit more of the tension from his body. Slowly he blew the smoke out, in the direction away from Etho, before offering the other a flirty wink.
“Carry that around just for me?” Joel couldn't help but tease.
Etho leaned against the wall beside Joel and looked at him. “What if I said yes?” He asked in the same flirty tone.
Joel snorted, turning his gaze to examine his cigarette lazily. “Obsessed,” he shot back in a sing-song voice.
They both laughed for a bit before letting it fade into a comfortable silence where they both just simply watched as people continued to make their way inside.
“I was surprised to see you here,” Etho admitted once Joel's cigarette was half gone. “Did Grian bribe you?”
“Nah,” Joel said, dropping his head back against the wall so he could look up at the cloudless sky. As much as he personally hated the whole thing, he knew that Grian and Jimmy had been looking forward to finding out who their True Mates were for a while now. Jimmy was more vocal about it than Grian, but Joel knew they both just wanted to know that someone was out there that could love them completely. He was willing to put up with some discomfort if it meant that his closest friends would get a chance to be happy. “Just because I don't wanna do it doesn't mean I can't support them,” he said, hoping that he didn't sound too genuine. He pulled another drag from his cigarette before offering Etho a cheeky grin. “I suppose the same goes for you, Mr. Old-fashioned,” he teased.
“Yeah, yeah,” Etho said with a wave of his hand. “Just because I wanna do it old-fashioned doesn't mean I don't like the practice. You're the one that hates the idea of having a True Mate. I thought that you wouldn't want to partake in something so ‘trivial’,” he said while making air quotes around the last word.
Joel didn't respond right away, flicking his cigarette lightly to rid it of the ashes that had accumulated on the end of it before taking another long drag. He didn't hate the idea of having a True Mate. He just knew that sometimes even True Mates didn't work out. Sometimes, True Mates hated who they were bound to. And he was terrified that what happened to his mother would happen to him. Knew that he was a lot like her and knew that she was hard to love, at times, and it was even harder for her to love him. How would his True Mate ever be able to love him when his own mother struggled to do the same?
But he would never say any of that out loud.
He blew out the smoke he was holding when it became impossible to hold it in any longer. “I'm just too amazing for anyone to compare,” Joel said with his trademark prideful grin that made most people scoff and tell him how full of himself he was.
“Well, if you have a True Mate, they would be lucky to have you,” Etho said sincerely, knocking Joel's grin right off his face. “And they would certainly have their hands full.”
“Hey!” Joel immediately huffed, hitting Etho's arm gently even as a quiet laugh escaped him. He couldn't see the actual smile on Etho's face, but the way his eyes crinkled was enough indication to imply that the smile was a wide one. “Shut up,” Joel laughed with a shake of his head.
Eventually they wandered back inside once Joel finished his cigarette, making it to their seats beside Skizz just before the ceremony began.
Joel sat boredly through a majority of the ceremony, spending more time looking anywhere but at the people who were walking onto the stage. That was, until Etho shifted in his seat, sitting up a bit straighter as someone walked out to the center of the stage. So Joel snapped his attention down to the stage, expecting to find Grian there since he was first up in their group, but instead saw someone he didn't know standing there. He watched curiously as the man held out his left wrist, stance solid as if he was preparing to be tackled.
“I didn't know Bdubs signed up for this,” Skizz said from the other side of Etho, still looking rather relaxed in his seat.
“I didn't either,” Etho said in an…odd tone.
Something pooled in Joel's chest, heavy and sudden, and Joel reached out blindly without thinking to place his hand over Etho's hand that was gripping at the side of the seat. Etho looked at him with a confused expression and Joel stilled in surprise as his brain caught up with what he was doing. He swallowed hard before meeting Etho's gaze and offered a smile. “I meant to say this earlier,” he said, seeing that the heated bar was now positioned above Bdubs’s wrist out of the corner of his eye. “Your True Mate is probably gonna be better than you at everything.”
Etho stared at him for a moment as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Then, after a brief moment, a small bout of laughter spilled from his covered lips, which he tried to cover up by pretending to cough.
Skizz turned his head to look at Joel, eyes wide with surprise as if he hadn't expected him to insult Etho. Joel just shrugged at Skizz before looking at Etho again. He squeezed his hand gently then turned his attention back to the stage. He went to pull his hand away after a moment but Etho's hand flipped and grabbed onto his with a light hold. Joel chose to ignore the heat he felt pooling into his cheeks and instead watched as Impulse, from where he was sat further back on the stage jumped in surprise before gripping at his left arm, at the exact moment the heated bar was pressed into Bdubs's own wrist.
Etho's hold on Joel's hand tightened ever so slightly and Joel squeezed Etho's reassuringly. Etho's hold relaxed again as his thumb brushed over the side of Joel's own thumb once.
A silent conversation held with the smallest of touches.
Joel chose to ignore how natural that felt, too.
Their hands remained clasped together as they watched Bdubs approach Impulse, both of their body languages immediately open with the other. And their hands remained clasped together until Joel ultimately pulled his hand away to cover his mouth so he wouldn’t cackle out loud the moment Grian found out his True Mate was Scar of all people. The one person who Grian had been saying for months that he hoped wouldn't be his True Mate.
“No way,” Joel giggled to himself, struggling to keep himself from hyperventilating. “No fucking way.”
Grian, even from a distance, looked a little deflated where he ended up sitting next to Scar, who seemed to be talking animatedly to Grian.
Joel was going to be laughing about it for years, he just knew it.
He calmed down eventually, only able to slow his breathing when Etho forced a piece of dark chocolate into his mouth. He shot Etho a glare after he settled but Etho returned it with that stupid over-the-top flirty wink he loved to use.
The eye roll Joel made at that was enough to give him a mild headache.
None of the three of them were surprised when Jimmy's turn rolled around and revealed that Tango was his True Mate. “Finally, now Timmy can't deny it anymore,” Joel muttered, earning a laugh from the two beside him. “I bet he's gonna trip over his own feet walking over to Tango,” he tacked on.
“Top will catch him,” Skizz said, just as amused.
And, just like Joel called, Jimmy stumbled over his own feet when he was near Tango. And, just like Skizz called, Tango kept Jimmy from falling on his face.
“Good pairing,” Etho said thoughtfully.
“I'm gonna get Tango a leather jacket, since he'll be one of the Bad Boys now,” Joel said matter-of-factly.
“Don't do that. Tango just finally upgraded his wardrobe,” Etho teased.
Joel gasped with mock offense, leaning away from Etho slightly so he could turn to face him better. “Excuse you, leather jackets are awesome,” he insisted.
“Sure, but it won't stop at a leather jacket. You'll eventually give him a pair of those ridiculous sunglasses,” Etho said.
Joel gasped again but it was with real offense this time as his hands shot up to touch his sunglasses that were propped up on his head. “How dare you,” he said lowly.
Etho's eyes trailed up to the sunglasses briefly before he locked eyes with Joel again, looking far too smug even with half his face covered. “You make them look cute at least,” Etho mused casually.
“Obsessed,” Joel drawled out with a light laugh despite the way his heart felt like it skipped a beat at Etho's joke flirtation. Because it was a joke, that was what the two of them did. No matter how natural and genuine Etho could sound when he complimented Joel, it was a joke. Joel moved his hands to settle back down on his lap.
Etho laughed as well, turning back to the stage, watching the rest of the participants.
Joel practically sprung up from his seat the moment the ceremony was done, ready to get out of the place now that he no longer had a reason to be there.
“I'll text Imp to let him know that we'll meet him and the others outside,” Skizz said, phone already out as he typed his message to Impulse.
Joel didn't wait for any further instruction, immediately sliding into the exiting crowd where he could with Etho and Skizz not far behind. Once outside, Joel sped walked to an area further away from the entrance but still well within view so that their friends wouldn't have any trouble spotting them.
Etho and Skizz followed him without complaint, taking up spots on either side of him as they faced the entrance as well.
“We should go out for some food,” Skizz said from his right. “Like, the three of us. And any of the others if they want.”
Joel cringed at the thought of having to spend time sitting across the table from any of the newly realized True Mates but turned his head down to keep Skizz from seeing it. “Uh-” he started ineloquently.
“Ugh!” Grian cried out as he ran up to them, Jimmy and Tango not far behind. There was a suspicious lack of Scar.
“Congrats Grain,” Joel said with a sly grin. “Just the man you were hoping for.”
“I know where you live, Smallishbeans,” Grian bit out while jabbing a finger at Joel. Joel's grin didn't waiver.
“Grian!” Scar called from further back, finally having broken himself from the crowd. Grian covered his face with his hands as he hung his head. Jimmy reached out to pat Grian on the back. Grian sighed and turned around after that bit of sympathy, making his way over to meet Scar halfway.
“I told you,” Joel directed at Jimmy the moment Grian was gone. “Could have saved yourself the trouble if you had just listened to me.”
“Oh hush!” Jimmy huffed with annoyance. Tango leaned closer to Jimmy and gave him a gentle squeeze. “You're just jealous!” Jimmy shot back.
“Why would I be jealous when Etho's literally obsessed with me,” Joel said. “We aren't even Soulbonded.”
“The perks? I don't have to feel the pain he feels,” Etho tagged on, easily falling into the stride of the bit. “We all know he's almost just as clumsy as you are.” Etho dodged swiftly when Joel tried to slug him in the arm, laughing brightly.
Impulse joined the group then, Bdubs at his side. “Who's clumsy?” He asked curiously.
“Joel!” Jimmy immediately responded before anyone else could chime in.
Joel rolled his eyes and knocked his sunglasses down to cover them, the brightness finally getting to him. “Whatever Timmy, we all saw the way you stumbled into Tangos's arms,” he said flatly. Though he lowered his sunglasses for a moment to make eye contact with Jimmy and then Tango before saying, “Congrats.” He pushed his sunglasses back up then and crossed his arms over his chest loosely.
Jimmy smiled at that, leaning into Tango a bit more. At least one of Joel's friends was happy with their outcome.
“Congratulations to you guys too,” Etho said to Bdubs and Impulse. His hands were shoved into his pockets with his shoulders hunched ever so slightly.
Impulse smiled warmly and Bdubs offered his own small smile. “Thanks Etho,” Impulse said. Skizz immediately picked up on the conversation then, eager to hear about how his friends were feeling now that they had found their True Mate.
Joel looked over Bdubs for a moment, seeing how the other was looking at Etho as if expecting him to say something. Joel turned his head up to look at Etho, finding him looking at the ground. He elbowed Etho then to gain his attention. “Why don't we go to that new diner that just opened?” He suggested loudly, not loud enough to outright interrupt but enough to gain the attention of the others in the group.
“Oh, yeah!” Skizz immediately agreed. “I heard from Ren that the food there is amazing,” he said.
Jimmy and Tango turned to each other and quietly discussed between themselves before they turned back to them. We're in,” Tango said for both of them
“We're in too,” Impulse said a moment later with Bdubs nodding from beside him.
Joel took in a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the next few hours. He glanced back at where Grian and Scar had been and saw that they were no longer there, then he turned and began walking in the direction of where the diner was. Etho immediately fell into stride with him, shoulders relaxing slightly now that his back was to the group. Everyone else fell into step behind them, easy conversation picking up.
“I'm gonna take my food to go,” Joel told Etho, mindful to keep his voice low enough so only the other could hear him. “I'll hang out for a bit but I'll probably head home early and eat my food there. If you want to join me,” he offered, not taking his eyes off the sidewalk in front of them.
Etho was quiet for a moment as if he was thinking about the offer. “Sure,” he said softly.
Joel smiled a bit and nodded once.