Chapter 5 Continued

Aria's cheeks continued to flame with shame at being caught, but he obediently followed behind his Soulmate. The boy didn't want to anger the man any more than he already seemed to be, especially knowing first hand how scary Thaddeus could become if provoked. 

Besides, in addition to his anxiety, Aria also felt a small flutter in his stomach at the fact that Thad was talking to him again, even if his words weren't all too friendly.

Maybe my work is paying off. He thought, knowing it was unlikely, but the boy couldn't help but think the hopeful thought, the tiniest smile pulling at his plump lips as he pulled the bottom one between his teeth.

Once they reached the living room Thaddeus plopped down on top of the glass table, eyeing the smaller male who stood a few paces away with irritation. Aria nervously nibbled at his lip and played with his slim fingers as his mind raced a mile a minute, trying to figure out what it was that Thad could possibly want to converse with him about after almost a week of radio silence. 

"I need you to lie tonight." 

Aria's eyes grew wide, his head shooting up at the words that fell from Thad's mouth. 

Lie? 

The boy felt his fingers shake in trepidation as he tried to fathom how exactly to do that. He had never lied to anyone before in his life - not even to his own parents about something small like not eating his peas at dinner. 

He was raised to think of lying as a cardinal sin, only second to disrespecting the Elders or breaking a Society law, so he couldn't fathom why Thaddeus would want to lie to their parents during Introduction Day.

"L-lie?" Aria tried to keep his voice calm but couldn't help it as word came out as a croak, as if his body was physically incapable of even saying the word itself. "I've never done that... Why do I need to lie?" He queried, struggling to understand why they couldn't just tell their parents that they were having a... rough patch. 

Thaddeus sighed out in exasperation as he realized that his task may be harder than he had initially expected. He had previously come to the conclusion that the boy was probably just a prude, but he was beginning to doubt that judgment as he realized that the boy was simply and utterly innocent. 

Regardless, he wasn't going to let the idea of tainting the boy's innocence stop him from getting what he wanted. 

Thad always got what he wanted.

"Listen, alright? I'm only tolerating having you around until I can figure out what to do to convince the Elders to do something about this," Thad gestured between himself and the smaller boy, "So just play along for the night, make our parents think we're all fine and dandy so that mine won't freak out and go to the Elders." Thad went to finish, but a thought crossed his mind and he internally grinned, knowing that if he could make Aria feel bad enough, he would undoubtedly have him in the palm of his hand.

"...You don't want me to get another strike on my record because of you, do you?"

Aria felt more conflicted than he ever had in his life. He knew that it was bad to lie, his parents made sure to drive that point home many times over the years. But at the same time, he knew that if he caused his Soulmate to get a second strike in one week, he would never be able to live with himself. So, with the threat of his Soulmate's record at stake, Aria made up his mind.

"O-okay. I'll try my best." 

Thaddeus grinned in triumph as Aria looked at him nervously through his long, brown lashes. "Perfect."

The smaller boy felt scared - terrified even - as he thought about the possibility that he wouldn't be able to play along well enough, that he would somehow give away their secret. But he didn't have much time to contemplate a strategy as the PA speaker in their Pod suddenly crackled to life.

"Attention: inhabitants of Housing Pod negative six-hundred and thirty-four. Milo and Bea Toulsend are requesting front door entry." 

Aria took in a big gulp of air, trying to settle his nerves as he rubbed his sweaty hands on his favorite pink apron. As he walked towards the front door to greet his parents, he hoped with all of his heart that if he somehow slipped up tonight, that Thaddeus wouldn't hate him forever. 

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Xoxo, Alex