Knock, knock, knock!

"Mar! You made it!"Rosie says as she opens the door.

I nod with a smile as she lets me in.

"I can't recall the last time you held a sleepover, especially for your birthday. So of course I wouldn't miss it."I say

She leads me up to her room where she resumes styling Flora's hair as I set my pillow and sleeping bag aside. I set a gift for her on her bed and Sloane fixes the small music speaker beside Rosie's lamp.

"So? What's the plan?"Sloane asks

"We just relax and have fun. I don't have much planned."Rosie replies

Sloane nods, starting to style my hair instead as I start braiding Rosie's hair. It was just a chain of hairstyling. Then she glances over at me and smiles

"Marilyn, it looks like your flowers are blooming on your head and wrists!"She says

"What do the ones on the wrists mean?"Flora asks

"It's a platonic soulmate according to the books."I say

"Interesting..."Flora hums

"Do you even want flowers anymore, Flora? They're so annoying."Sloane huffs

"I can agree with that."Rosie says

"I don't really care for the flowers anymore. If they come, they come. If they don't, they don't. I'm just going to live my life regardless of if I'm broken or perfect according to others."Flora says

I smile at her and see in the bedroom mirror that Sloane smiles proudly as well hearing this. Her sister has gained some confidence. We all recall how upset she was for months about not growing any flowers and her parents didn't help things, nor did school. So it's good to see that she is moving on from that.

"I don't think I'm going to grow flowers either, Flora. Not anytime soon at least."Rosie says

"What do you mean? You grow flowers all the time!"Sloane says

"Not what people consider the right ones though. Or maybe not in the right place. I only grow yellow roses, not red ones, and they're everywhere but on my chest. And I think I know why....I'm aromantic."She replies

"What does that mean?"Sloane asks

"It means that I experience little to no romantic attraction. And no, that doesn't mean that I just haven't met the right person yet before you think of that. I've never felt the desire or need for it like others do, to begin with."She says

I smile wider, chuckling as I braid her hair.

"I had a feeling that was the case."I say

"Really?"She asks

"You cringed when we watched romantic movies and zoned out whenever someone mentioned crushes or fantasies of falling in love. And let's not forget how many questions you asked about Romeo and Juliet when it was assigned to our English class. You had no interest in it and would rather spend hours gathering knowledge. It was clear that you weren't a hopeless romantic on a quest to find your soulmate or waiting for a prince to swoop in anytime soon."I say

"You'd probably turn the prince away if they interrupted your quest for knowledge."Flora giggles

"So...we're good?"She asks

"Of course we are, Rosie. You're our friend. Some word in a dictionary that you fit doesn't change that right?"I say

"Unless you imagined a romance with us someday, huh?"Sloane asks teasingly

"No! Never! No offense. Platonic love is all I am giving you!"Rosaline says

We all laugh, hugging her.

"I guess I got you a good gift then."I say

"What is it?"She asks

"I basically put all your favorite songs with good study music and songs that talk about anything but romance. Some even relate to aromantics directly. I put that together onto a CD so that you can listen to it anytime without paying a subscription online. That and a book you've been eyeing."I reply, pointing to my bag

"And we kind of got silly shirts that make sarcastic jokes about love."Flora says as Sloane nods

"That's awesome! Thank you!"She says

"Could you tell me more about that?"Flora asks

"Oh yes, there's plenty to tell about it but that could take all night! It's so complex!"She says

"So let's talk about something else. Platonic or romantic, what would your dream soulmate be? And what life would you have with them?"Sloane asks

"I think Mari already scored good soulmate material with Hugo."She giggles

"He is NOT my soulmate!"I say

"We'll see when those flowers bloom. And I'm just saying that he'd be a good soulmate for you. Cute, sweet, funny, and can cook."She says

"And honest. Painfully honest at times."Sloane says

"But can't that also make him a good friend?"I ask

"Hence the title of a platonic soulmate."Rosie says

"Ugggh...Right."I groan, shaking my head

Despite never seeing a point of having her own love life, she has always been trying to get mine started. She's always considering who would be a good match for each of our friends so that we'd have a "happy life with the right partner". But I think that's just an excuse for shipping.

"If not Hugo, then who would you imagine as your soulmate?"She asks

"But seriously, Mar. Why not Hugo? You'd make a good pair. Don't you want something just like this?"Sloane asks teasingly

"He's just a friend, Sloane. And I wouldn't push it with music jokes given how attracted you are to music...or maybe a certain singer?"I say

"*Gasp* Since when did you have a celebrity crush, Sloane? That's adorable!"Rosie says

"Shut up!"Sloane snaps

"Oh, it's not a celebrity crush, Rosa. I think she was referring to her brother."Flora says

"You like Logan?"Rosie says in shock

"I see the way you look at him, Sloane. Especially when he is playing. You just zone out to listen to him."I say

"Oh be quiet! He's just a talented guitarist! It's hard not to zone out listening to it! It's so calming!"She says

"Now back to my question, Mar. Who would be right for you if not Hugo?"Rosie asks

"Hmmm...Someone supportive and ready for challenges since life certainly won't be easy. Possibly determined to do the impossible. I dunno, I haven't really thought about it. Just something real, not the cliches in those romance movies."I say, actually considering it for the first time in a while

"What counts as the impossible?"Sloane asks

"Convincing my father to take a day off to rest and recharge."I say

She laughs, shaking her head.

"That is true!"She says

"So, Sloane? What do you imagine your future like?"I ask

"I just want something simple. Someone okay with having a simple, relaxing life in a cozy home."Sloane says with a smile

"But you're constantly on the move!"Rosaline says in shock

"I want to reach a point of security where I won't always be on the move. So while I'm secure and relaxing, I don't want them walking in with plans to travel the world. And they MUST respect me as an equal as well as Flora."She says firmly

Then everyone's gaze goes to Flora.

"So, Flora?"I say

"She has clicked easily with Kelvin."Rosie comments

She sighs, shrugging.

"Similar to Sloane's idea of soulmate life. Security, respect, and just to be real with me. Acceptance would be nice as well, being able to be with me regardless of whether I have flowers or not. I want a real connection and to be seen as a person, not what doctors or schools call me. Kelvin is a good friend, but I don't think we'll consider each other anything more than best friends. So I'll just see where life takes me..."Flora says, her face burning a bit.

Then we turn to the birthday girl who smiles happily at us.

"I'd want a best friend for life! We'd have fun together, and it'd be like having a roommate when we live together, just more special with the soulmate. Because that would indicate a powerful friendship made just for us to enjoy!"She says

"Girls! Come down for dinner!"Her mother calls

"Yes, Mom!"She says, leading us downstairs 

I smile at them happily, glad that Rosaline is enjoying her birthday and trusted us with this new identity for her...That she felt safe enough to share this with us and trusted us. It's a nice feeling to know this.

TBC