"Gemini! Put your phone down-you'll want to see this." I turned toward my alarm clock: 23rd March. Scorpio's coma would be marking three months tomorrow. Groaning, I stood up, trudging toward my younger brother who was holding out his iPad. "What is-oh, my god!" I dropped his iPad, startled upon seeing the news. "That... really?" He nodded grimly. I opened up my messages, finding 5 unread texts from Aquarius.

Gemini, did you hear about Cancer? I'm so scared... where could he be?

And then, few hours later, at exactly midnight: They've declared him to be missing. If he doesn't turn up in the next three days... they'll take him for dead.

At 3 in the morning, a frantic message: Gemini, Scorpio's bike! He stole it! They have a lead!

A vulnerable, raw message sent in the hazy blues of 5: I'm scared, what if he's really gone?

And then one last message at 7: Gemini, please answer!

"Oh, my god, just look at this!" Alan shoved his iPad under my nose, a new story about Cancer open on it. "Here, it says: Cancer Chang, a student at the famed Zodiac High, has been officially declared as missing by the police. Chang recently suffered the loss of close friend and allegedly romantic interest Scorpio Costa, who has been in a coma for three months. Leads have traced him to a freeway by the ocean. The site is currently being investigated by both on-land and underwater search teams.

"It has been revealed that Cancer Chang used Costa's bike for a quick getaway, and detectives speculate that he lost control of the vehicle, throwing him, and the bike, into the ocean below. The bike has been located in the water about ten metres from the edge of the freeway, meaning that Mr. Chang either managed to swim to safety or has drowned."

I sighed, shaking my head. "If he was on the bike and he plummeted into the water, it's safe to say...."

"He's dead," my brother finished, before walking away. Blinking hard, I gathered my belongings and threw on a top and jeans, hurrying out the door to find Aquarius.

.....

"Hi, is Aquarius home?"

"Yes, but she's still a bit shaken up."

"It's okay; I can help her."

Andromeda nodded, showing me to Aquarius' room, where I found a pajama-clad Aquarius gazing out her window. "Aquarius, I'm here now. Talk to me; how are you feeling?" To my surprise, Aquarius turned toward me, laughing, before gathering her thoughts and giving me an answer. "Well, in the course of about 24 hours, I found out that the guy I had feelings for was into someone else, that same guy ran out on me, and now he's probably lying at the bottom of the ocean with no life left in his body. So yeah, I'm just peachy." I rolled my eyes, seating myself next to her. "Come on, gorgeous. How am I going to help you when you give me that attitude?" Aquarius turned away, her expression devoid of emotion. "I don't need your help, Gemini. I'm fine." Arching my brows skeptically, I looked toward the empty boxes of tissues scattered across the floor. "Doesn't look like it." Aquarius stood, fists balled. "Stop telling me I'm not okay!"

Glancing hastily at my phone, I turned toward Aquarius, now dead serious. "Well, if you are okay right now, you won't be after you see this. It's an update in the case... one you won't be thrilled with."

Aquarius rushed toward me, snatching my phone. "Okay, you can read it out."

"Mr. Cancer Chang's case has now seen a rather devastating development, revealing he might be stranded in foreign territory. Coast guards called to investigate the scene revealed that a tidal rip current, or rip for short, was present in the waters where Mr. Costa's bike was found. 'The rip that passed this side of the ocean was pretty strong last night-if Mr. Chang was caught in it, he would've been carried miles outward, unfortunately,' Zoe Thatcher, a coast guard, says. While the police wishes to call off the search for Mr. Chang, the students, parents and staff a Varsity High are currently petitioning for the search to continue. Until a final verdict is delivered for the proceeding of the search party is determined, it has been called off. As of now, Mr. Chang is thought to be missing, and, unfortunately, deceased."

She threw my phone across her room, screaming as it shattered. "GIVE UP? GIVE UP?! THEY WOULD JUST LEAVE HIM TO DIE? WHAT KIND OF-" Putting my arms around Aquarius, I wrapped her into my embrace, letting her sob into my shoulder. "He can't be gone, Gemini... He just can't..."

"Don't give up on him, Aquarius. He'll come back to us. He'll come back."

She let out a loud cry, her hair splaying over my shoulder. "But what if he doesn't? What if he's-"

"Dead? Then at least he died alive."

"But I'll never see his face, hear his voice..."

"Look, even if he is gone, which he isn't, Cancer will always be in all our hearts. He's not dead to us, okay?"

"But still..."

"It's going to be alright-Libra's calling you."

Aquarius looked over at her phone, wiping her tears in astonishment.

"But she never calls me."

Walking over to the phone, I answered, hearing the roaring sea in the background.

"Hey, Leebs."

"Gemini? Are you with Aquarius?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, Dad is letting us use his catamaran. We've got Captain Joe on board-not now, Joe-he's licensed and he's been doing this for 30 years. Well, he's been sailing catamarans. Anyway, get ready and get over here-make sure you wear warm clothes! We'll continue the search. We can extend to a 50 kilometre radius. This is your best bet right now, trust me."

Nodding, I hung up, turning toward Aquarius.

"We got a boat to be on."

.....

"Come on!" Libra ushered us onto the catamaran, where a crowd of Varsity High students were already situated. Many brandished binoculars, and others made themselves busy at viewing glasses, seafarers' telescopes and other magnifying instruments all along the railings of Libra's catamaran. "Alright; we've got them, Captain Joe!" Gesturing toward a luxurious VIP lounge, Libra seated us both inside, Leo following her closely. "You guys want anything to eat?" Libra asked as Leo closed the door to the lounge. "We've got... chips, instant noodles, cup soup, cake-in-a-cup... those are just the more instant options. There's loads of ginger ale and root beer too, if anyone starts feeling seasick."

Libra placed four bottles of ginger ale on a sleek black coffee table, turning toward Leo. "You want anything?" Leo stood up, grabbing a cake-in-a-cup. "I can make this." Libra nodded, turning toward us. "Here; I'll open a bag of chips for you." She ripped open a packet of Smith's barbecue, leaving it open in front of us. "Well, how are you holding up?" Surprisingly, Aquarius was the first of us to speak. "I... don't know. It hurts too much right now for me to make sense of the situation. I guess... I just never thought it would come to this." Libra nodded, taking Aquarius' hand.

"Well, Pisces did tell me the whole story, and I knew how much you liked Cancer, so... I'm sorry. Seriously. I know you'll find someone else, Aquarius." She nodded, seeming to find comfort in Libra's words. "Gemini, how about you?"

"I mean, it's all so shocking, but I'm sure he's okay. He's going to be just fine." Libra nodded unconvincingly before clearing her throat and making her way over to a strange-looking tube like contraption built into the wall. "You can use this looking glass. I'm going to go see how it's going downstairs." I nodded, turning toward the looking glass.

"Thought you might like some cake." Leo placed two chocolate mug cakes in front of us, digging into his own. Aquarius accepted the mug cake gratefully, causing Leo to smile. "God, this is all just so... sudden, isn't it?" I nodded, turning to face Leo. "Everything's so unexpected. So... hidden, ambiguous."

"Wow, he knows big words."

"Shut it, Gemini! Anyways, my point is, nothing is obvious anymore."

"Yeah, apart from you and Libra," Aquarius remarked.

Leo blushed, neither confirming nor denying the statement, just as Libra returned, phone in hand. "Aquarius, there's been a sighting," she breathed. Aquarius stood, running over to Libra. "There's a marooned person on a nearby island. We're moving toward the destination now-you just sit back and relax."

I smiled, taking Aquarius' hand. "I told you he'd be okay."

Leo grinned. "Let's go!"

.....

"Okay, so this is not Cancer," was Leo's first remark upon seeing the elderly man clad in nothing but a makeshift loincloth. "No duh," someone else added. "Well, we'd better find out who he is-maybe he saw Cancer!" Libra started for the man, holding her hands above her head as a sign of peace. "Hello, sir." The man blinked, gasping. "They found me! At last!" Libra raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I'm sorry, sir, what do you mean?"

"My beloved Ernestine, you are here at last! Oh, I have missed you so!" He rushed toward me, about to wrap his arms around me before I pushed him away. "I'm not Ernestine. I'm Gemini." He frowned, rushing toward the jungle. Moments later, he re-emerged, showing me a black-and-white photo of... me. "Ah, I must look like her. But Ernestine is old now. She doesn't look like that anymore."

"I see. I am Thomas Port, and I have been stranded on this island for many years." Libra nodded, shaking Mr. Port's hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Port. We've actually had a friend who... fell into the ocean. He was carried out in this direction by a rip. Have you seen him?" Surprisingly, Mr. Port gasped, gesturing for us to follow him. "The fella washed up here last night. Barely breathing, scarred and all. I left him by my beach hut, bandaged his cuts, tried to get him to breathe..." Mr. Port gestured toward an intricately crafted hut where Cancer lay, limp and, from what I could see, lifeless. "He's dead, isn't he?" Aquarius asked, doing her best to contain her tears. "I'm sorry."

She screamed louder than she ever had before, rushing across the beach toward his body. Sobbing, she placed her head on his chest, the tears wetting Cancer's shirt. Libra watched, a single tear forming in the corner of her eye, when her phone buzzed quite loudly. "I have to take this." She excused herself, retreating to a different part of the island. Aquarius shook him, hassling his arms, trying to get him to wake up. She was breaking apart right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to help her.

Just as I started forward, Libra emerged, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Sc-" She paused, turning back toward her phone. "A transplant? You think it could save him?" Another pause while she listened. "We'll see you soon, Doctor." She rushed toward Aquarius, wrenching her away from Cancer. "They can save him! Get him on the boat! Hurry-he only has an hour!"

Aquarius blinked before helping carry Cancer back to the boat, where Libra made sure we had a quick start.

If this really worked... Cancer would owe Libra his life.

.....

"Get him into the theater!" The doctor nodded toward Libra. "You can wait in the corridor." Libra nodded, retreating to a corner when a familiar figure walked down toward her. "L-Libra?" he stuttered, causing her to look up. "Scorpio! Oh my god!" She wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. "You're really okay." I watched as Leo walked into the corridor, two coffees in hand, when he saw Libra with Scorpio. The coffees fell out of his hands, falling in slow motion. He'd had his heart broken yet again. "Oh, my god..." He turned, running out of the corridor before anyone could see the tears streaming down his cheeks. Frowning, Libra noticed Leo racing down the corridor. "I'm sorry; I'll be back." Leaving Scorpio in a daze, Libra tore down the corridor, running after Leo.

A nurse walked out of the operation theater, a grim expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Chang is gone."