Pisces

What was it about Fridays that made them so strangely exciting?

Maybe it was the promise of the weekend. Maybe it was the excitement that came from going out in the evening.

Whatever it was, Friday was always exciting. This one, however, wasn't going amazingly so far. We were all at a testing clinic, sitting in a waiting room with a pale-looking Aquarius. Gemini sat close to Aquarius only to have her shuffle across to get closer to... the fish tank.

That was cold.

Libra, being Libra, was pacing across the foyer, rubbing the slight curve of her nose anxiously. I remembered Scorpio telling me about her habit of rubbing the hook in her nose when she was anxious. He said he found it endearing, but I just thought it was plain weird. Scorpio was on his phone, earphones in. He watched Libra anxiously, wondering if he should ask her what was wrong, wondering if it would just agitate her even more.

Aries and Sagittarius were sharing earphones, Aries' brows creased and Sagittarius' hand to his head. Every now and then, the two of them looked over at Aquarius wearily, checking to see if she was okay. I noticed Sagittarius squeezing Aries' hand once or twice, which made me wonder: did they want to pick up where they left off before?

Will sat in silence, his shoulders hunched in exactly the same way Cancer used to hunch his shoulders. In fact, he was sitting in exactly the same manner Cancer did: eyes on the floor, legs together, arms crossed. It was strange to watch, and even stranger to think about.Taurus was calm, reading a book and leaning on my arm. I loved that about Taurus-she never panicked, even in the most stressful situations. She always kept a level head.

"Miss Cole?" called the receptionist. Libra's head jerked up. "We have the paternity test results you applied for."

Libra checked the information on the top of the envelope the receptionist had handed to her. "Thank you so much, Glenn. Hopefully this will shed some light onto things for my friend."

We all left the clinic, following Libra out to a concreted courtyard, where she handed Aquarius the envelope. Aquarius thanked her, opening the envelope, scanning the page inside. The air was fraught with tension-you could almost hear everyone's worry and anticipation. Finally, Aquarius' eyes widened and she dropped the envelope in shock.

"It... it's Drew," she whispered fearfully. "Drew's not ready for that kind of responsibility at all! I... I don't even know if I can tell him about this..."

Libra sighed-this clearly wasn't what she was hoping for. "Aquarius, it's your decision. You now have to decide if you want to keep the baby or have an abortion... but you should maybe tell Drew if you keep it. You know, just so that he knows he's going to be a dad."

Aquarius nodded, wringing her hands nervously. "I need to tell my sister first."

Libra nodded, as did Aries. "We'll give you some space, Gemini added, smiling. Aquarius looked away from Gemini, jaw set, which was quite rude, considering Gemini had taken her in just two nights back. Aquarius pulled out her phone to text her sister, waving us goodbye as we piled into the 8-seater SUV Mrs. Cole had allowed Scorpio to drive. Scorpio and Libra sat up front (like always) while Aries, Sagittarius and Will sat in the middle. In the not-so-spacious backseat, Taurus, Gemini and I were doing our best to fit. Eventually, we realised putting Taurus, who was much smaller than both Gemini and myself, in the middle gave us space to stretch our legs.

"So... where are we going, Aries?" Taurus asked. The seven (now eight, counting Will) of us usually hung out on a Friday. Every week, someone was tasked with booking us in somewhere. Mostly everyone just chose bowling, which ended with Libra and Scorpio fighting over who was the better bowler, even though they were both really bad. "I actually decided we should go to laser tag. I just didn't want to go bowling again."

Libra and Scorpio began to verbalize their absolute disagreement with Aries' statement when Aries cut them off. "Nuh uh, this week is my activity, so you listen to me, got it?

"So, we're doing four teams of two. I decided I'd mix everyone up, so I used a random spinner. Team One is... Sagittarius and Libra, somehow."

Sagittarius and Libra laughed, high-fiving each other. "Team Two is Taurus and Scorpio." Taurus and Scorpio whooped. I had no doubt they'd work well together-they were contrasting personalities, but that was definitely a good thing.

"Team Three is myself and Gemini. Fair warning, we're going to make you lot look like clowns." Gemini whistled in appreciation, suddenly seeming to lose sight of the cramped space we were in.

"And that leaves Will and Pisces for Team 4." Will smiled at me, an abashed half-smile that made his eyes twinkle nervously. Cancer smiled just like that. That little dimple in his cheek would pop up, just like it did for Will.

The cousins were freakishly similar. Maybe a little bit too similar.

"Okay, we're here-hey, this place has a bowling all-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Aries threatened, looking frighteningly close to whacking Scorpio over the head with that little clipboard she was holding. We all piled out of the car, Gemini nearly getting stuck on her way out, making our way to the laser tag arena.

The arena was a sleek, well-constructed obstacle course lined with barricades, barrels all kids of shelters. A dim neon green strip light lit up the room, giving it a rather eerie appearance. Aries handed everyone their suits and guns. Will and I received blue-coloured vests, while Aries and Gemini wore red, Scorpio and Taurus wore yellow and Libra and Sagittarius wore a hot pink. Sagittarius shrugged, adjusting his hot pink vest.

"Whatever. Leebs and I are totally pulling off the pink," he remarked, acting indifferent, when the green lights dimmed. "Your time starts now," an automated voice echoed. "Okay, Will, we'll move in on the Yellow team first because they've got nowhere to hide right off that bat," I whispered from behind a barricade. Scorpio and Taurus were, in fact, worriedly looking for somewhere to hide or attack from, realising all the genuinely useful spots had probably been taken by other teams.

Will nodded, gingerly walking across the room on his toes, eyes wide, biting his bottom lip. Just like Cancer. He aimed his gun at Taurus, firing his shot and hitting my poor, unsuspecting girlfriend square in the chest. She gasped, realising she was out, when Scorpio turned on us, eyes narrowed. "You'll pay for that," he called, taking his shot at me. Even as I dodged and turned, trying to escape his gun, Scorpio swiveled, and eventually, I had nowhere left to run. I closed my eyes, preparing ymself forthe beep my vest would soon give...

When Will threw himself in front of me, taking the bullet to protect me. He stumbled, landing on his feet as his vest beeped. "Wow, thanks, man," I breathed, helping him gain his balance. He smirked that trademark crooked Cancer smirk, laughing. "Hey, I'm forever your knight in shining khakis, dude," he joked before his eyes widened, as did mine.

Knight in shining Khakis. That was from a commercial Cancer and I had once seen and laughed at when we went to watch Frozen 2 on a dare from Scorpio in a hall full of kids. I remembered how Cancer had burst out laughing, mocking the guy's perfect smile and gelled-back hair (much to the annoyance of many five-year-olds.)

How on Earth did Will know this? It had been mine and Cancer's thing. We hadn't even told Scorpio.

"Sorry, I-um-"

"OUT, SUCKERS!" Scorpio called gleefully when I realised my vest had just beeped. I sighed, making my way onto the sidelines as Scorpio laughed gleefully at Will and I.

"Not so fast, Scorpy!" Sagittarius yelled. A hot pink laser hit Scorpio square in the chest as he swiveled around from nowhere in particular. "Wha-" Aries stepped out of her hiding place-a small barrel-only to be shot down by another pink laser from all the way across the room.

"AHH!" Gemini screamed as a hot pink vest appeared next to her, the two of them behind a barricade. While the hot pink figure turned to get their aim on Gemini, she turned to defend herself....

When another hot pink laser hit her in the back, indicating the end of the game and a unanimous win for team Hot Pink. "Who's the sucker now?" Libra asked Scorpio, revealing herself as the sniper who'd struck down Aries, Gemini and Scorpio. Sagittarius was clearly the distraction, calling out to throw others off Libra's scent. As well-payed Libra and Sagittarius' games was, I couldn't stop thinking...

What was Will's secret?