Chapter ThirtyEight-"I Told You I Had Perfect Timing"

                                    

                                          
 So he liked me...but his popularity and destined-to-be-with-slash-play-Mickie lifestyle was the only reason why he couldn't show me that he liked me. He apparently liked me so much that he couldn't stand the fact that Hayden broke I-call-dibs rule to be with me. 
                          
 That was his story. "That's it," he concluded in a breath. I blinked at him.
                          
 His reputation. He thinks that everything can be explained by his...reputation. Really? Was that it? And the only reason he and Hayden were fighting was because of me? I didn't even ask him why I tingled at every touch or why his eyes changed colors or why I thought I could read Mateo's mind. 
                          
 Yeah right. I didn't believe it. The only reason I would accept his fables was because the wedding was tomorrow and I'd find out who the Proliator really is. Then, he could tell me the truth...hopefully. I just felt stupid for various reasons right now. 
                          
 "Angie," suddenly Jem called. We were still at the park. It wasn't hours after Dastan found us, though. His whole confessional thing was shot out in such a breath that it only took him five minutes...tops. All the while, Jem was playing on his Nintendo. But now he was holding out his phone to me. "It's Sebastian."
                          
 Without hesitation, I stood and grabbed the phone. 
                          
 "Hello?" I greeted. 
                          
 "Look, don't be mad at Hayden. He got you out of there because I told him to," Sebastian immediately said. 
                          
 "Well I'm sorry, but I don't care who tells him what to do, but no guy is going to yell at me like he did," I said. Kenneth taught me that. A long time ago he and Sebastian had promised to protect me just as he made me promise that I wouldn't let a guy yell at me or hit me or cuss at me. 
                          
 "I know that. Trust me, I warn guys about that all the time when it comes to you, but this time...just forgive him," Sebastian cajoled. "He did it with good intentions."
                          
 "So I could see my brother go crazy for no reason?" I asked. I scoffed after that. "Yeah right..."
                          
 "The Proliator was here spying on us" he said. This was a problem. He was the second person in a week that's said the Proliator was around. The radius around me was shrinking.
                          
 I glanced over to Dastan, who was now playing some game with my brother in the distance. Was I wrong? How could the Proliator be there when Hayden was there? Dastan was at home because he came to find us, ten minutes after the incident. Who was the Proliator?
                          
 But I had to play along as if I didn't wrongly assume possible characters within the superhero costume. "The superhero?" I asked, watching Dastan carefully, now. "Why was he there? And why would you be so mad about it? Are you suddenly a supervillain?" I tried all that I could to force a chuckle to make the conversation more jovial. 
                          
 He paused and I heard him breathe in deeply.
                          
 "I know about you and the Proliator," he notified and my feigned smile dropped immediately. I couldn't answer him. I just kept finding words to form, but nothing came out. "That's why you need to stay away from him, Ang."
                          
 I still couldn't reply to him. I couldn't just deny it because he was Sebastian. He knew about the Proliator before anyone else. But kicker was, I was more aware of my potential answer because I couldn't imagine staying away from the Proliator even if I wanted to. 
                          
 "I..."
                          
 "We'll...we'll talk about this tomorrow, Angela," he said with a softened voice. He sounded genuinely worried about something but I didn't know what. 
                          
 "Why not tonight?" I asked him. Even though the Proliator and I got into an argument, I knew him well enough that he'd come back to apologize and say he couldn't do this anymore. I didn't even know what "this" was. But maybe he'd appear when Sebastian was there so we could sort this out. 
                          
 "I'm not going home tonight so I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "And plus, I need time to be alone."
                          
 "How are you alone when Kenneth is to be here any minute now?" I reminded, raising an eyebrow. The sooner Kylie gets here, the better. 
                          
 "I already know he told you about the fire," he grumbled as if just that solved everything. Of course he knew. I rolled my eyes. "I'll just deal with this, okay."
                          
 "I think you're thinking too much into it, Seb," I commented. After all, by tomorrow, I should know who the Proliator is—now that my Dastan-assumption and Hayden-assumption was ruined—and it shouldn't be a problem...whatever that problem is in the first place. "It's not that important—"
                          
 "It is important. You're just too blind to see it!" he roared. I shut my mouth. Why was he acting so riled up at the Proliator? "Wh-where are you?"
                          
 "Why does it matter? Afraid I'm at the Proliator's lair or something?" I asked, sort of mad because he was taking out his built up fury on me for no reason. I crossed my arms as best I could and looked around, realizing that Dastan and Jem were gone somewhere. Whatever. I'm sure they were just playing around somewhere. I started walking around beneath the trees. 
                          
 "No. Your boyfriend wants to know where you are so he can pick you up," he said. 
                          
 "I'm at the nearest park to the wedding hall," I answered immediately without thinking. "But why would he pick me up? He has his bike. He can't take Jem with us—"
                          
 "Did you not call Dastan?"
                          
 "I did, but where is Jem supposed to go if Hayden takes me?" I asked, but as soon as I said it, guilt hit me. Honestly, now that I think about it, I'd trust Jem with Dastan more than with Hayden. Then I understood. "You expect me to leave Jem with Dastan?"
                          
Dastan had revealed his feelings for me, but that only made me realize that he had hidden the truth for this long and I'm sure this wasn't the only thing he'd lied about or omitted. So how could I trust him to care for my little brother?
                          
 "Attack from above!" I suddenly heard Jem cry out right before I felt him hit perfectly on my shoulders from jumping out of the tree above. I was sure to fall back, but as I did, I felt a body beneath me. However, the human sandwich I was in was full of laughter. I found my phone as I rolled off of Dastan with a laugh of my own. 
                          
 "I think he'll be fine," I said before hanging up. I dropped my phone and looked back at them. They were rolling on the ground laughing like two versions of the same person. 
                          
 "That was perfect!" Jem laughed. 
                          
 "I told you my timing would be perfect!" Dastan replied, youth taking over his face in a smile that was as radiant as ever. 
                          
 "Y'all are crazy," I commented as I started to calm down. I grabbed Jem's phone, put it in my pocket, and dusted myself off as I stood. When I looked down to see why the boys were so quiet, they were sharing a glance and mumbling something between them. Then they both looked up at me at the same time. "What...?"
                          
 Suddenly, they both lunged at me. Jem grabbed my legs together. 
                          
 "I got her, I got her!" he cheered. I looked down to him and tried peeling him off, but when I looked over to Dastan, he grinned widely before grabbing my waist and hoisting me over his shoulder. I immediately started to kick my feet, hopefully hitting him someplace, but I couldn't deny the fact that I was holding back a laugh or two.
                          
 "She's mine now," Dastan said as Jem followed him in a jog with laughs and funny faces. I craned my neck and saw where Dastan started to run to and I felt one drop of water from his first step and then we were plunged into the shallow pond.