Clocks are beautiful machines, ever going in unison, ticking on schedule, the utmost symbol of harmony: time. There are different types of clocks, those of time, and those of heart. Those were clocks that resided in every person's heart, ticking in union with their heartbeat and unlike their mechanical siblings of the clocks family; they ticked in chaos and un-harmony. Yet there was an exception for every person, imagine a world where no two hearts were ever in harmony, that would be a sad world indeed- every person had a 'soul mate' whose internal clock beats in harmony with theirs, where love sparks at last.
This was drilled into Arthur's head since grade-school by his teachers and parents over and over, and he believed them fully, as he told them that almost every day after his usual 'soul mate lecture'. At least that's what he had been telling himself after turning seventeen and still yet without a valid lover, now he'd had his goes with other potential candidates for being mates, and they'd all been good at the beginning, with their hearts fluttering in close harmony as it had always been the case with Arthur but not actually in harmony which made the relationship dull and mournful more than it should be happy and passionate. They called his clock a 'flux clock', as his doctor explained; it was a rare case when the clock's ticking is in constant change.
"It's more like a cycle," his doctor told them first after giving the news, "your clock has two patterns instead of one, fast and slow, and they alternate all the time in a fast-slow pattern, which is why- as you have stated- your relationships never continue for more than a month, it is because your flux changes every two weeks or so."
After hearing those news Arthur was devastated, he had given up finding a soul mate, even as his doctor's optimistic attempt echoed in his head; "It's rare but not impossible, so I suggest that he goes on the move starting from now in search of his mate, or it'll be too late."
Too late, Arthur thought in sarcasm, it's already too late for anything now. He munched on his cereal bar as he made his way to the bus, thinking about his lonely future, most of his friends had already settled in for their soul mates and the others were right on track, he was probably the only one left out of harmony in his school which kinda sucked because today was the famed Valentine's day, and the principle usually gave a speech about how important it is to find your soul mate since school, because life after school might come in the way and to all those who still haven't found their mates that they should 'work hard' and 'consult the school specialists' if they ever needed anything. To Arthur all he could think of was that it was easier said than done and he decided to keep it that way, no matter how guttural his desires for a mate were and no matter how much his mind called for him in his dreams, Arthur resided to living alone. Yes, it was a he that Arthur's soul ever longed for, or that's the most he knew from his dreams, which was why he had strictly dated boys only for the past year, after he dated only one girl the year before it, but now he was coming to a halt, not only because he reached the bus station, but also because he had nobody to date this year, as all of his previous candidates had been taken putting him under the bitter reality that he would never find a mate while in school.
It was his usual routine, to sit on the fourth seat to the left, alone, while all other seats would be cramped with couples, who usually did couple-things while sitting next to each other. It made Arthur's stomach turn.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, or what he had done to deserve such a fate. He wasn't ugly- or at least that's what his former dates had said, and he was very polite- or at least polite according to American standards and he had a nice British accent.
Everybody loves accents. He could woo a dog with his accent- let alone an actual human being.
But still he was mate-less, it made him sad and to say the truth everybody around him as well, so much that some of his older mates couldn't believe that he was still single. What could Arthur say? Well yeah, it just didn't happen yet, guess I'm jinxed. Truly, what could he say other than this?
It was surely something his parents did in their past lives that made him like this, but they didn't say or show- nobody suddenly broke down into tears of confession of a horrible forgotten crime, or maybe it was his grandparents? It could be something his ancestors had done, but these all were made up assumptions to ease Arthur's hurting heart. Someone to blame, but the truth may be that he was just born this way- that he was faulted from the start.
Now was not the time to be depressed Arthur thought, it was his senior year and he needed to focus on studying rather than his romantic rendezvous. He was coming close to his finals, and all what was on his mind is that he was finishing school before finding his mate even.
Come on Arthur, it's not as if it's the end of the world.
You still have University, or even College.
Plus, you need to finish school first, dummy.
This was the ride home bus, so he had already experienced all the heart-aches of a love-less valentine. You cannot imagine the feeling of being the only single in all of your classes. He felt miserable, being surrounded by people in love while he yearned for love himself. Arthur was not a sentimental person, but the fact that he had a freaking clock in his soul ticking alone in this universe while others ticked in pairs made him feel a bit lost and abandoned. It was the kind of feeling that usually led to suicide, the feeling that you are absolutely alone in this world and that you have nothing and none left by your side. It made his heart clench and his eyes water, but he never cried, he was not the only one in the whole world without a mate- he had his underclassmen that were still fresh in love and still searching for their clock mates , but it was kind of depressing to be thrown in with the newbie lot.
It was natural to find one's clock mate around school, since people around each other tend to develop the same clock pattern, so it was usual for childhood friends to become mates, or for children to have a pattern extremely similar to their parents.
Today's Valentine was different than the rest, not only because he was actually and eternally mate-less, but also because one of his exes had given him a flower bouquet as an expression of gratitude towards Arthur's kindness to him- all the while with his girlfriend glaring from the background. That possessive bitch, Arthur thought as he met eye to eye with her several times while thanking his ex, who was as you noticed a bisexual. Arthur looked her way in a message that clearly read: He's yours, but he's still my friend so fuck off.
The bouquet in hand was actually a nice arrangement of white, purple and red flowers which he couldn't recognize, but they were all flowers that Arthur immediately felt at soothe with, he liked the colours, the smell and the shapes. Oh if Carlos was actually he one that had picked them out so perfectly according to Arthur's taste, he would break his heart more, since how could someone fit in with him so perfectly yet not be his mate? So Arthur dared to ask him if he had personally arranged such a nice range of flowers, but was shocked to know that it was the florist that actually picked them out, he had only described Arthur's attitude and appearance and bam! He had a nice bouquet precisely for him.
So Arthur, as the curious gentleman he is, decided to pay the flower shop a visit and get Carlos- his ex if you still hadn't figured it out- a little bouquet himself in return, it'll be for him and his girlfriend as a thank you and congratulations at the same time- his parents sure wouldn't mind him wasting his money on this. The shop was nice a brick coloured one that extended over a corner in the local neighbourhood of the school- Arthur had never visited it since there were others right beside his home and they had flowers in the garden either way. The smell of lavender wafted through the air as Arthur entered the shop, making him lose focus a bit until his eyes landed on the most emotionally aggravating creature ever. Who thankfully had his attention somewhere else currently, or he's notice that Arthur was staring wide-eyed at him, maybe wide-mouthed as well. Arthur's body was going haywire, as if it was bursting with so much emotion that his head caught on fire, his brain was aloft and his soul felt as if it was soon following course. Paralyzed was a good introduction to his situation, but shocked to death probably was more accurate to how Arthur was feeling in that moment. He would've never stopped ogling if the beautiful creature hadn't turned around to check out who was at the door- who was currently a very flustered Arthur pretending to be intensely concentrating o his phone's lock screen.
Ha-ha, nice save Arthur, forgot your boldly password?
Ignoring his inner self's criticism, he turned his gaze to the florist who was indeed the prettiest thing Arthur had laid eyes upon- or was that his hormones talking, either way he didn't care because boy right now did it feel right and true.
His eye-fest was a moderately tan typical American, with sky blue eyes and golden blond hair, and a jaw that was just- OH My God that JAW- delicious like the rest of his nicely toned body. Now, somebody clearly was a gym regular here, with that nice white tight fitting shirt that left little to the imagination and that gorgeous apron that strangely was a huge turn on for Arthur.
For clarification: Arthur's brain was still haywire in the clouds, he was currently thinking of that nice song Air Balloon- you know it? Adorable song. Arthur was definitely not thinking adorable things about it, in fact- don't ask me or him- he was perverting it, as nice a song as it was , it was not helping with its subtext currently in Arthur's hormone ridden brain. He befitted the 'somebody remind me where I am' verse perfectly right now, it was a miracle he even listened to what the stranger was telling him.
"Excuse me, how can I help you?" The blond asked, rather politely actually.
"Uhh, umm, my friend just yesterday or today morning, I don't actually know, had a bouquet arranged by one of the employees here. A-and I'd like to know who arranged it..." Arthur meekly said then added "Please."
"That's kinda easy; I'm the only one who works here." He said with a huge grin, as if he was challenging Arthur to kiss him right now and then, or that Arthur's brain was so high he was interpreting the florist's every move as a sexual trigger.
It was probably the latter.
"H-he was a tan guy, Spanish looking, brown hair and eyes, his hair a bit tousled. He gave description on the bouquet receiver."
"Doesn't everyone here look like that?" Now he was just being extra cheeky and Arthur wasn't buying it, and was showing it clearly with the frown on his face.
"Okay, okay, a bouquet for a green eyed grumpy little elf, with blond hair and a lonely valentine. Nothing I can't deal with."
That grin, it was as if he had Arthur in his palms already.
"Well excuse you, because that 'grumpy little elf' is neither grumpy nor an elf."
"But you are pretty tiny, with pretty little green eyes, and do I hear a lonely soul on valentine?"
"There's a line out there and you just crossed it, being confident in something and arrogance is something else." Arthur was now angry, stomping closer to the florist with every word. "If I'm lonely doesn't mean I'm desperate and easy! On the contrary, you little-"Arthur was now touching the florist and oh did he wish that he hadn't grabbed that collar.
His whole body was burning. It was as if he had just touched a high voltage wire. Actually he was literally being electrified all over- his bones, blood, skin. It was with such a force that they actually stuck together for a second or two before sparking away from each other.
"Whoa- What the hell?!" The florist yelled, clutching his neck.
"You're the one asking?! As if I know! Bloody hell!"
"I think we just sparked..."
"What?!" Arthur was dumbfounded, what does he mean by sparked? That was like being fried alive, not just- oh... oh... He got it.
"No way... does it even happen this intensely?"
"I don't know, I mean you did catch my eye but I didn't think it'd be this serious." He was now shyly clutching the back of his neck, confidence seeping out, and Arthur had to say that he looked adorable all lost like that.
"I've had sparks before but they were never this intense and anyway they didn't really last that long."
"Me too, I mean I felt like I was being fried from the inside, but then it'd disappear as soon as the next month."
"Yeah I have something like that too-"
"I think it's called-"
""flux clock..."" they said together. It was a shock, nonetheless, they both had the same illness and they both felt the sparks...
"Wh-what if?" Arthur hesitated as he moved to tilt on his foot.
"You mean, if we..."
"-fit." Arthur was now moving in tiny steps towards the florist.
"We need to test it out?" Now Arthur was not the only moving closer.
"We don't even know each other's names." He was now breathing the other's air, looking up directly into the American's eyes.
"'m Alfred."
He bowed his head down.
"I'm Arthur."
He lifted his head up and forward.
Eyes closed. Noses touching. Hands intertwined. Mouths closed. Lips touching. Hearts intertwined in sync.
Arthur could almost swear that he absolutely loathed Valentine's Day.
Almost.