Dinner that night was more than awkward as well. Kole was seated with Star on her side of the table now and no one there really was doing much in the way of talking that evening. Finally, after the first ten minutes of silence or so, Brie was the first to speak, “ok, can you two even try to explain to me how any of this even happened?”

“Not like we even knew it could happen, mom” Sky mumbled as he moved his food around his plate.

“Maybe I should go” Kole spoke up with more than a bit of discomfort as he stood.

“Oh no, Kole, you’re staying. After all you are family now; in a manner of speaking” Brie added under her breath as he awkwardly sat back down.

“Mom, it’s not his fault” Sky replied.

“It’s not his fault that he had sex with Star without a condom?” she exclaimed as Star and Kole both sunk in their seats slightly, “and the fact that you are defending your friend having unprotected sex with the girl you’re in love with? I just... I just can’t” she shook her head again.

Star finally tried to find her voice, “we thought it was safe cause I was on the pill, mom.”

“Missing at least half the point” Brie muttered as she shook her head again. “And you Sky? Taking this other girl’s virginity? Well I guess that explains why you’re ok with what those two did” she scoffed loudly.

“Crista is our friend” Sky attempted, “we thought it would be better if it was me who was her first instead of some random asshole.”

“Who’s we?” Brie shot back, as Sky and Star both dropped their eyes to the table again.

“I probably really should---” Kole began to stand again.

“Sit” Brie shot back as Kole let out another breath and sat back down, dropping his eyes to the table again.

Connor finally spoke then, trying to force all emotion out of his voice, “although we do have a couple of other problems to deal with now” he began as he cast Brie a pointed look, “I think your mother is just really trying to understand why the two of you are having sex with other people at all? I mean, what happened to this loved each other all our lives thing? We’re just both having a lot of trouble understanding any of this” he repeated.

Sky and Star sighed as they looked at one another. Sky then tried to find any words he could, “you guys know it’s different for us” he began.

“And what on earth is that supposed to mean?” Brie returned.

“On earth?” Sky repeated pointedly, “that could be your first problem with trying to understand the way we work; the way you made us work” Sky told her with a slightly accusing look.

Brie scoffed then, “we made you to be drawn together. How that equals having sex with other people is beyond me.”

“You made us soul-mates, mom” Star told her softly, “we will always, always be madly in love with each other, forever... no matter what else, or who else” she added more quietly, “we do. So, why should we deprive ourselves of being able to be close with other people who we also... want to be close to, when we know it’ll never, ever change the way we feel about each other?” she asked softly as Kole and Sky both watched her, taking in her words.

Sky then added, “and we’ve been really, really a lot more... restrained in this... past few years than ever before. I mean, in the last three years I’ve had sex with only Star, until this week anyway, and same for her. We’ve been really picky about who and how many people we get close to now. It’s basically just Kole and Crista. And now, they’re both gonna be like us” he paused a moment, “and though we never wanted that to happen, or even knew it could, it’s kind of a blessing that the only two people we’ve been with aside from each other, are the two people that are like us too now.”

Brie and Connor looked at each other in silence for several long minutes, as did the teens. Brie eventually found her voice again though, “so, what? Now all four of you are gonna be soul-mates?” she shrugged helplessly.

“No idea” Sky admitted though he attempted a smile, “we’re new territory, remember?”

It wasn’t long after dinner that they sent Crista a text requesting her to come visit them that Saturday night. Of course, she was thrilled, though Sky and Star were dreading having to explain this entire situation for yet a second time in one day.

When Crista did arrive, their rather sullen parents directed her up the stairs, as they were just too mentally exhausted to say much else then themselves. Crista then made her way to Sky’s slightly ajar door and poked her head inside to find Sky and Kole on the bed chain smoking and Star spinning around in Sky’s desk chair as she looked up at the ceiling with obvious distress.

“Not the party I was expecting” Crista smirked her greeting as she stepped into the room, closing and locking the door behind her, just in case.

Star spoke first as she sighed over at where Crista dropped her glittery spiked purse to the floor and pulled up the other chair, looking between the three of them questioningly as well as a bit hopefully. With a breath, Star began, “I guess we shouldn’t open with ‘we need to talk’ this time?”

“Uh oh” Crista replied with a bit of panic.

Then Kole put in, “told ya, never a good thing.”

Sky and Star both sighed as they tried to find their own words once more. Though Crista spoke before they could, “what’s wrong? Is our fun naked times over already? I mean, I haven’t even gotten to have them with Kole and his piercings yet” she worried aloud, a rueful look on her pretty face.

The three seventeen year olds couldn’t help having to bite back the slightest smile at her worries though, somehow wishing that those were the only sort of things the four of them now had to worry about. But as Kole looked between Sky and Star, he shook his head, “you two are so bad at this” he just laughed as he blew smoke through his darkly tinted lips again.

“Sorry, I’d like to see you do better” Sky replied.

“Lemme give it a go” Kole stated as he slid to the edge of the bed to die out his cigarette before looking over at Crista, “no. Sexy times do not have to be over” he began, which did cause her to grin. He then looked back at Sky and Star, “see, always start with good news” he then turned back to Crista, “however, you now have to cope with being part alien since you decided to let Sky come in your mouth. Trust me, I know it’s a lot to deal with. Same thing happened to me, very night before.”

Sky and Star just shook their heads in disbelief, Sky sarcastically adding, “guess we should let him handle all the important discussions from now on.”

“Did you say alien?” Crista returned, looking even more confused then.

“Yes, I did” Kole supplied flatly.

“You guys drunk?” she returned.

“No, we’re not. We’d like to be. But we’re not” Kole answered her in the same blunt tone.

Crista took a deep breath then, seeming to be in even deeper thought for a few moments before she spoke again, “so Sky’s an alien and he’s contagious? Ok” she shook her head in further confusion.

“Part alien” Star corrected her softly, “me too” she added more softly.

“And we all are now” Kole interjected, “welcome to the new frontier.”

Crista furrowed her brow over at them then, “so Sky and Star are aliens?” she repeated, “and with those names, too?” she added more quietly. “And you’ve always been?”

Sky allowed a slight breath, “yes, we’ve always been. But we didn’t know we could... pass it on, until today.”

Crista then spoke up again, “guess it makes sense though. I mean, most humans aren’t nearly as hot as you two” she then looked over at Kole, “with a few possible exceptions.”

“Yes, I was born looking this way cause I was pre-destined to become an alien someday. Why not? I’ll believe anything at this point” Kole shrugged.

It was obvious then that Kole’s shock had somehow just become acceptance of his new lot in life. And as odd as that even was, it was somehow refreshing as well, as the last thing Star and Sky needed was any more stress, or any more people hating them.

Crista shook her head then, “so we’re all part alien now?” she asked as she looked between where they all just nodded in defeat, “and we can pass it on through... oral sex?”

“Or just regular sex, I’m sure would suffice too” Kole put in with another shake of his head.

Crista appeared to be in thought again, “so that means that the only people any of the four of us should ever really have sex with ever again, are... each other?” she dared.

Kole let out another laugh, “she catches on quick.”

“I think I just had another orgasm” Crista whispered as she looked between them as they all just laughed back at her in disbelief, as well as quite a bit of amusement. After several more long moments of silent thought after that brief bit of levity, Crista finally spoke again, “so if we’re just all fucked anyway, can I please finally feel these famous piercings?” she asked as she looked at Kole with a bit of mischievous hope.

Kole let out another laugh as he looked to Star and Sky, who just shrugged back at him. “I’m assuming your bedroom door locks, Star?” he asked, as Crista let out another shaky gasp.

“That it does” Star smirked. And with that, he reached for Crista’s wrist and led her toward Sky’s door.

Then Sky called after him, “remember she’s the one you still need to wear a condom with.” Kole just shook his head back at Sky before leading the even more flustered Crista through the door behind him.

Once the two disappeared out of Sky’s door then into Star’s, Star looked over at him with another deep breath, “you really think they’ll catch the soul-mate thing too?”

“Well, it is coded into the DNA that we have now shared with the two of them” Sky stated as he thought on it while Star got up from the chair and moved to take Kole’s former seat on the bed next to Sky.

“But how would that even work? The soul that made us, they were soul-mates, so it makes sense that we would be too. Isn’t that what Veda told us?”

“I believe so” Sky agreed.

“So, does that mean it’s now split four ways, or just those two will get it with each other, or just Kole and Crista with you since it was your DNA that changed them? I mean, how?”

“Like I have any clue, Star” he smiled, though sadly.

“And what does this even mean for our powers? Will they get them too? Will they get different ones? Will they get ones that only work with both of us, or one of us, or each other? Will all four of us have to be together now?”

“Again, see last comment” Sky stated with a bit of defeat. He then added, “if only we had some genius scientists to explain it to us” he smirked, though there was a worry behind that too.

“Do we really wanna volunteer all four of us to be studied?” Star scoffed.

“Only if they can do it in our natural habitat, without interfering” he repeated her former statements, “but obviously we’ve gotta figure out how this shit is even gonna work now. Cause I truly have no fucking idea.”