A new beginning
The surprise party didn’t catch him by surprise. Most of the football team, mainly the older guys, had managed to keep cool about it, but the ones who lived with him hadn’t been as secretive. Two weeks before his birthday, he’d caught them in a circle, whispering. When they saw him come over, they quickly dispersed.
“Are you throwing a party?” his sister asked, so casually it almost sounded dismissive, “or do I have to?”
“No, we’re throwing one. I don’t know where, but I’m sure you’ll get that information when you need it.”
It turned out to be at a fraternity house not two blocks from his dorm, where a few of the football players lived. His friends said they’d be going over to practice in the backyard, but they’d never done that at six in the evening. Dressed to impress, Nick went with them. They let him walk in first, and when the lights turned on, he pretended to be surprised.
Despite how new he was on the team, a lot more people knew him than they probably should. The fraternity house was packed with students he’d never seen before, who still wished him a happy birthday when they crossed paths. Some even stopped for a selfie or two, giving him pats on the back.
It was nice seeing Patty there too. She arrived about half an hour after him, when the party was in full swing. Her gift was the most surprising part of the night; she’d never given him anything before. All her friends stood around Nick as he awkwardly accepted the gift, unsure whether he was supposed to hug her now or just open it. They’d never really done that before, or not in recent years; their family wasn’t very touchy. She didn’t seem to be waiting for one anyway, far more interested in his reaction to the gift, so he went ahead and opened the box. Inside was a shot glass.
“You might just be turning eighteen, but this is college,” she explained, a smirk on her face. “You’ll need that more than you know. Trust me.”
He picked up the shot glass and shook it. “Does that mean you’ll do a shot with me?”
Patty grinned as the girls all cheered, offering to join in. One of them slipped behind the bar and filled up a very long line of shot glasses with tequila. A pinch of salt, one shot, and a quarter of a lime: the recipe that traveled straight to his brain and made the room spin. A red solo cup full of beer appeared in his hand and somebody pulled him into the dance floor. He’d never had so much fun in one single night.
The sun was only a couple of hours short of rising when everyone went back to the dorm. The boys bid him happy birthday one last time, and when he walked into his room, his Guardian Angel was there, hovering in the corner. She watched him stumble in and close the door.
“Happy birthday.” She smiled, red lipstick on her beautiful porcelain face. She’d been following him for years now; it was really no surprise to walk into a room and see her standing there, watching from a distance. “I have a gift for you.”
“What is it?” he asked, walking over.
She touched a finger on his forehead, warm like the sun, making a flood of memories rush into his brain; all his years in Paradise as an angel, the struggles, the victories, the horrific things he’d done, the beautiful moments he’d had, their friendship, his relationships, Aiden.
His eyes snapped open, body strewn across the floor. Dying on the battlefield had worked—he was here. Otteyo had been telling the truth. Scrambling up to his feet, he saw Charmaine sitting on the edge of his bed, a smug grin on her face. With his heart bursting out of his chest, he rushed over and threw both arms around her, squeezing her with as much strength as he could muster, lungs full of roses and amber. She hugged him back far more delicately, with the sentimentality of a mother.
When he pulled away, a breath left his lungs, heart resonating deeply within his chest. Her hand came up to wipe a tear from his face.
“Why am I here?” he asked, pulse rushing. “How am I here? When angels die, they’re reborn in Paradise.”
“When demons die, some of them are reborn on Earth. You didn’t die an angel.”
“A heroic death.” Pieces fell into place as he talked. “Only the heroic ones get a second chance.”
She watched him with such softness in her eyes that it almost made him blush. “I’ve gone through many hardships in my life, Nathaniel, but nothing’s been quite as difficult as having to watch you grow up as a complete stranger to you. I’m glad you’re back.”
“Why did you wait? Why not just do it?”
“I would’ve fried your brain.”
He scoffed out a laugh, putting a smile on her face. Suddenly, his heart skipped. “What about Aiden? Where is he?”
“Nearby.” Her eyes glanced off, deliberately cheeky. “I might have brought the two of you close in hopes you’ll run into each other. It hasn’t happened yet, though.”
“Is he on campus?”
“He’s enrolled in your university, but doesn’t live on campus.”
A million questions ran through his mind. “Has he signed again?”
“Luckily, Zea hasn’t visited him, so no; he got accepted all on his own.”
He squinted. “What did you do?”
Her lips pursed, eyes adamantly away from his face. “I’m expressly forbidden from disclosing matters of Paradise with a human.”
“Charmaine…”
Her eyebrows bounced, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Let’s see how long it’ll take you two to find each other.”
“Does he remember me?”
“Why wouldn’t I give his memories back too?”
“Because that’s forbidden.”
“So is giving back yours.”
They stared at each other.
“What’s his name now?” he asked.
“I guess you’ll have to find out, won’t you?”
Some of the boys were still awake when Nick left his room, lying around the living room too drunk to fall asleep. He could hear the echoes of their laughter all the way down the hall. He asked them how many people they knew on campus, and if they were from different majors, but they were all freshmen, so not many friends had been made yet. They couldn’t tell him much about other majors, because they barely knew all of the football team yet. He’d have to resort to someone else, who had enrolled before him. Someone who knew so many people she was always surrounded by them. Slipping his letterman on, he left the dorm.
His sister’s sorority was only a handful of blocks away, a few streets down. He got there in about twenty minutes. The ground floor light was still on, indicating that at least some of the girls were still awake, so he walked up to the front door and tried it. Completely unlocked, he let himself in, making the girls in the living room all turn to see him there. Smiles broke out and delighted screams filled the atmosphere. He wasn’t sure why, but ever since Patty had introduced him to her friends, they had all begun to treat him as their little brother as well, waving at him on campus, offering help whenever he needed it, showing him around. Despite this obviously being an all-girls chapter, he was still welcome and joined them in the living room.
“What are you doing here?” Patty asked as soon as he sat down.
“I’m looking for someone. I don’t know his name, but he goes to our campus. He’s tall and brown with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He’s sassy and clever, probably a Business Major. Do you guys know him?”
The girls frowned as he talked, unable to focus in their inebriated state.
“If he’s a Business Major, we could try asking the boys at ZR Alpha. They might know him,” one of the girls suggested.
With an exclamation, Nick sprung up from the mattress. His excitement put a glint in the girls’ eyes.
“Do you have to find him now?” Patty asked, unmasked vexation in her voice.
“I’ve already waited for eighteen years. I have to go.”
As he made to leave, the girls got up from the mattress and promised to help him, cheering him on. Pulling the door open, he glanced back at Patty, who reluctantly left the couch, rolling her eyes. Her entire clique was already going; there was no point in falling behind.
ZR Alpha was one of the richer fraternity houses where most of the inhabitants took business and generally only mingled with their own kind. Most of them either knew each other because their families were close friends, or had heard of their family’s successes, which made them incredibly hostile towards outsiders. Their chapter was pretty far, but everyone was too drunk to notice that, chatting loudly on the way.
“Where did you meet this guy?” one of the girls asked him, the hint of a smile on her face.
“You could say I dreamed him up.” The girls all stared at him with wide eyes and big smiles. “That I died for him.”
“You’d die for him?!” they exclaimed.
“Do you even know if he’s real?” Patty cut in, a huff in her voice.
“I know he is. I’ve seen him. He—he’s the love of my life.”
The girls squealed, wrapping him up in a big hug, severely slowing down the walk. Some of them latched onto him for quick squeezes, one after the other, lost in wholesome excitement. Patty, on the other hand, simply groaned.
“Oh my god, you’re so full of shit. You don’t even know his name.”
“I knew it before he changed it.”
“Is he from high school?” she asked, ponytail swaying behind her head. “Is it Jaime?”
“No, you don’t know him.”
“We’re on a love mission!” one of the girls shouted, skipping as she walked.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Patty cut in. “How can you be so close to someone without me knowing?”
“We spent two years apart after you left for college. Maybe I found my soulmate during that time,” he teased, intentionally bumping into her.
At ZR Alpha, they knocked on the door and waited, although the amount of noise they were making rendered the knock pretty much useless. The girls talked over each other in parallel conversations until one of the residents opened the door. The guy didn’t seem to have been asleep, just confused, with a deep scowl on his forehead. The girls gave him Aiden’s description and asked him if he knew anyone that matched it, but he wasn’t too much help. If one of the residents here didn’t know someone, it was fair to assume the others didn’t either. He did, however, point them to a dorm close to campus where some of the scholarship students lived, so maybe they’d find a lost Business Major there. Thanking him briefly, they marched down the road.
The sun was almost up when they got to the aforementioned dorms. A small group of people came out of a nearby alley, probably because they were making too much noise, so the girls asked after Aiden. The smokers told them they couldn’t recall anyone with that description and recommended a club nearby, where a lot of the tenants liked to go. Thanking them, the girls rounded the corner.
The club in question was pretty much closing when they got there, with a lot more people out on the sidewalk than inside. Some were on their phones, some were walking out and some stood around waiting for a ride. No one looked familiar, and the people they approached to ask after Aiden were far too drunk to give them any meaningful information. They could or could not have seen him; he might or might not have been at the club, no one could tell. It was a complete dead end.
At this point, the girls were so tired they just wanted to go back home. Nick’s heart fell through his stomach. They promised they’d help him look tomorrow and walked him back to his dorm. Disappointed and exhausted, he stumbled into his room, hit the bed and blacked out.
Searching for someone without a name was difficult. They asked everyone they knew and everyone they didn’t know, stopping from place to place, driving around all day. Leads were acquired, but never got anywhere. As nighttime approached, the girls decided it was time to go home. If anything, they told him, the party tonight would bring a lot of people around. Maybe they’d find Aiden there.
The football team was one of the first ones to arrive, and as expected, Aiden wasn’t around—yet. He had to keep reminding himself that Aiden could show up at any minute. As time passed, more people began to crowd the place. His sister and her friends only arrived when the party was already going. His lack of excitement told them there was no news yet, so they kept from asking about it. Chewing on the rim of a red solo cup, he watched the front door open and close.
“Dude, chill out.” Some of his friends stood around him in a circle, drinking and chatting. “What are you so nervous about?”
“I’m not nervous,” he rebutted, moving the cup from his face to speak.
The group gave him a skeptical look. “Who are you waiting for?”
“No one.”
The boys all shared a glance. “I think you need a shot.”
This time, when the tequila raced down his throat, he noticed Patty standing at the end of the bar, filming him with her phone. The sly smirk on her face made his heart skip, but there was no way she was sending that to their parents. The crowd cheered, his friends left for the dance floor, and he approached her.
“Whatever you’re doing with that recording, don’t,” he warned.
She rolled her eyes. “Have you found who you’re looking for?”
“Not yet, but he’ll show up soon. I’m sure.”
“Worrying yourself sick won’t make him arrive any faster.”
“I know.”
“Come dance.” She nodded toward the living room where the lights were off, neon shone through, and the majority of the party danced wildly. With his head spinning, Nick took the invitation and followed her into the crowd.
The music that boomed overhead and reverberated through every one of his ribs had an entrancing rhythm, but his body didn’t necessarily move to it, too out of it to control himself. His arms moved independently from his legs, jumping in and out of tempo, shaking with the beat and swaying outside of it too. As the room spun, he finally let himself go and lost track of time.
At some point, the football team started a beer pong game that a large portion of the party was interested in. Nick found himself right in the thick of it, somehow. Two freshmen versus two seniors. The general belief was that the seniors would easily win the game, but Nick’s buddy turned out to be really good at getting the ping pong ball to fall into a cup, which gathered the crowd’s attention. Nick did his best to help, but could barely stand on his own two feet. His complete inability to play the game was entertaining to the people that watched them, harnessing even more support as his friend cleared the table on the seniors’ end.
He later found out his friend used to play ping pong with his father; during the party, their win looked like a miracle. The crowd cheered and a beer keg was brought out into the yard, so the losers could chug as much as possible. As people came and went, Nick caught sight of someone standing under the sliding door, watching him. When their eyes met, his heart stopped. He could barely breathe.
His feet moved on their own, dashing across the yard. He crashed right into Aiden’s arms, hugging each other tight. The force of their embrace made Aiden stagger a couple of steps back, losing balance, but Nick held him up.
“I missed you so fucking much,” he whispered through the lump in his throat and the beating of his own heart. Cedar wood welcomed him home.
“I missed you too.”
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