Anyone But Him

Crystal strolled forward, her mood still weighed down by a hint of soreness. Lost in thought, she didn't see the stranger approaching and bumped into him.

“I offer my sincere apologies, for I was not paying attention,” said the gentleman who bumped into Crystal. As she blinked twice, Crystal's face froze in amusement.

“What if I do not forgive you?” said Crystal, trying to imitate other faeries with a formal speech and changing her voice to conceal her identity and she saw the confused aura coming from him.

She gave a big smile and burst into a fit of laughter, unable to contain her amusement any longer. Only then did the guy in front of her know who she actually was. “Remarkable! Crystal, is that you?” the guy asked with curiosity shining in his eyes. Crystal nodded her head, still trying to hold her hysterical laughter.

"Oh my God, Aurelius, your face was priceless just now," Crystal teased, pointing at the shocked expression still etched on his face.

Aurelius was beyond shocked. “You-- recognized me?” he asked, as unlike Crystal, he had not given out his character at all. Not to mention the way he acted around Crystal was way too different than his usual nature, but that was something Crystal did not know.

“Uhmmm--” Crystal felt like she got busted for her powers and hurriedly started to run the horses of her brain and scrambled to come up with a random excuse. “Your smile is so radiant, no one could miss it. I instantly knew from my gut that it was you.” Crystal tried to laugh it off and took a sigh of relief when Aurelius smiled at her. But she did not know that she had put a budding hope in his heart.

The suspicion he had about them being connected somehow had now grown. He was sure that even if a very thin thread, there certainly was a line that linked them. He was yet to know how, but now that he had made sure of it, he was going to be assertive and forward as her suitor.

"I understand. It crossed my mind that you might be my soulmate, as they say that soulmates have an inherent ability to recognize each other, regardless of circumstances." Aurelius gave Crystal a knowing look, and she looked away from him, her heart suddenly feeling full and flustered. She could not help getting reminded of the love notes from the confession box.

“That-- don’t joke around with me about such things,” Crystal mumbled. Aurelius chuckled, shaking his head in adoration.

"I shall comply with your request and refrain from making such comments in the future. However, have I mentioned how splendid you look at this time?" Aurelius tilted his head, his charming smile still firmly in place.

Crystal brushed her hair back coyly, feeling her cheeks flush with warmth. "Well, I'm hearing those words for the tenth time now, so I don't really remember if I might have heard it from you or not," she replied, trying to play it cool.

Although Aurelius wanted to know if he was the only guy among those ten individuals who had told her so; he had no doubt that others would shy away from complimenting Crystal’s beauty. Disguised or not, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on.

"For that, may I request the honor of sharing the first dance of the night with such a beautiful lady?" Aurelius asked as he gracefully extended his hand and bowed like a true gentleman, his other hand tucked neatly behind his back; his gaze fixed on the enchanting Crystal.

Without a moment's hesitation, Crystal accepted his invitation, placing her hand in his as he led her across the dance floor.

They glided effortlessly, moving in perfect unison with the music. Despite Crystal's lack of experience in dancing, Aurelius guided her with the utmost care, his strong arms providing a sense of safety and protection.

As they danced, Aurelius found himself unable to contain his curiosity any longer. "Have you received any love notes from the confession box?" he asked, swallowing hard, his heart racing with anticipation. He knew there was a great chance that Crystal might not have even tried to get to the confession box, as he knew she was not interested in having a relationship but he couldn't help but hope that she had seen it.

"Oh yeah, you remember Marina. She kept insisting," Crystal rolled her eyes and Aurelius made a mental note to show his gratitude to Marina for doing so. "And I ended up getting two love notes. It was too embarrassing," Crystal sighed, still really worried about the fortune-telling thing.

On the other hand, Aurelius might have dropped his hands away from Crystal in shock, but he managed to keep his composure.

He could not decipher whether he was disappointed with Crystal calling his confession embarrassing or furious that there was someone else who had left a love note for her.

"Are you aware of the identity of the senders?" Aurelius asked, just in case Crystal might know who the other person was. His attention from getting to know her feelings about his love note was shifted to getting to know what she felt about the second love note.

"I have no idea," Crystal replied with a hint of annoyance. "If I found out who wrote those cringy notes, I might have broken their teeth." Crystal's grip on Aurelius's hand and shoulder tightened, and so did her jaw, which made Aurelius contemplate if he was lucky or not that she did not know that one of those notes was from him.

As they continued to dance, Crystal couldn't help but ask Aurelius what had been bothering her for hours now, "By the way, Aurelius, is it possible that if you haven't reached the full potential of your powers, you might not recognize your soulmate or twin flame?"

Crystal told herself that she was asking just for the sake of common knowledge and nothing else. But, in reality, she was curious about this whole thing and was just in the denial phase.

Aurelius nodded in agreement, a look of realization dawning on his face. He realized that the weak link he had been feeling between them might be due to the fact that Crystal's powers were still inactive. "Although uncommon, it is indeed possible." he confirmed.

"Oh, really!" Crystal mumbled to herself. Every doubt she created about the demon lady being a con artist was dying down, and her head had started to hurt as well.

"Forget about it, you say. How many confessions did you get? A bunch of faeries that I personally know are very much interested in you," Crystal teased Aurelius, changing the subject as well as he looked away from her, with his cheeks crimson.

"We shall--" Aurelius's words of excuse were cut off as the part of the song arrived where the students and professors dancing among the crowd were supposed to change partners. Although he did not want to let go of her, he had no choice but to do just that.

But regret washed over him as soon as he saw who had Crystal twirled to.

He recognized the guy despite his altered appearance and the masquerade mask since they had met before the event. He had a hunch that he was the one who might have sent Crystal that other love note, and he was almost sure of it without any context. He hated how this whole situation made him feel since he could compete against anyone but him.