Part 1 of 5 - Beta-ed by the fantastic Laura4992. Thank you dear! xxx
Characters are from CP Coulter's 'Dalton'.
Enjoy!
The inside of his right wrist was on fire. That was the first thing Justin registered when he woke up. Letting out a loud yelp, he smacked at the sensitive skin to stop whatever was causing the pain. The pain only intensified. Justin half-heartedly sat up and examined the skin. It was blotchy and red from being slapped moments ago and a faint, grayish letter was forming directly in the center of the area.
Justin's eyes widened and his heart clenched, a slow grin spreading across his face. He was getting his mark. The excitement was just settling in when his phone beeped.
Charlie: Want to meet and work on that History project before classes?
Justin: Give me 20 minutes?
Charlie: I'll meet you in the library.
Justin dressed quickly, beyond grateful for the coverage the long sleeves of his dress shirt and blazer afforded. At eighteen he was the last in his class to get his mark. Most of the boys had gotten them during their Sophomore year, a couple even as early as Freshman year. Charlie had been the only one to show up at Dalton with a mark and a band securely fastened over it. When Justin had asked him about it a couple years ago Charlie had told him that he'd had his mark since the seventh grade.
The two boys had quickly become friends and most times it was rare to see one without the other close by. Justin had been harboring a crush since the beginning of their Junior year but had never dared say anything. Besides, he'd reasoned to Merrill when she'd mentioned it just before summer break, Charlie already had a mark on his wrist; someone else's name was already etched into his skin and even if Justin confessed his crush on his best friend someday he would get his own mark. Now that argument was holding true.
Justin tugged up his sleeve an inch or two to glance at the forming name. He could barely see the outline of an R and small grayish marks were swirling themselves out across the skin. He brushed a tentative finger over the forming letters and let his sleeve slide back into place.
His bag was slung over his shoulder and he was halfway to the library before he remembered. The first thing he had to do was go straight to the clinic to get a band. It was tradition for a person to cover their mark as soon as they got it. The first person to lay eyes on a mark besides the owner of the skin it was engraved on was customarily one's soul-mate.
Occasionally an accident happened such as a band slipping down and someone glimpsing the name but it wasn't often and it wasn't polite to speak of it. It was proper etiquette to let the person know that their band had slipped and then formally apologize for viewing their mark without permission. The formal apology for viewing one's mark was to drop onto a knee in front of that person, cover their eyes with their left hand while holding their right hand palm up and say "My sincerest apologies." The owner of the mark would then take them by their right hand and help them to their feet, showing that they accepted the apology. One would then press the first two fingers of their left hand to their lips and then to the band on the other persons arm, thereby apologizing to their soul mate as well.
Justin had see it happen only once in the middle of the Hanover common room at the beginning of last year. Spencer had playfully snatched Danny's Chemistry notes and Danny had moved to grab them back, his fingers had instead caught the edge of Spencer's band.
Justin had watched with wide eyes as Danny dropped instantly to the floor with his hand covering his eyes. He'd barely managed to get the words out before Spencer had pulled him back to his feet and Danny tentatively pressed his fingers to the band on Spencer's wrist while sending a cautious glance at where Merrill sat by Justin, watching the two boys with a curious gaze.
Justin had put two and two together and he was the only one other than Danny who hadn't been shocked when Merrill received her own mark at the end of the year and her and Spencer claimed each other immediately.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to glance at the screen.
Charlie: Everything okay England? You're never late.
Justin: I'm fine. Just have to do something really quick. 5 more minutes. Sorry. :(
Charlie: See you soon.
Justin's heart gave a tiny flutter at Charlie's concern for his wellbeing but he squashed the feeling instantly. No. Don't go there; he was just wanting to work on the history project. He has a soul-mate. YOU have a soul-mate. Just don't go there.
The door to the clinic made a tiny squeak when Justin pushed it open. "Hello?"
The petite, motherly-looking nurse walked out of her office a moment later. "Hello dear, can I help you?"
Justin pressed his stinging wrist carefully to his stomach. "Um... I need a band."
She smiled brightly at him and walked over to a row off cupboards and drawers. "Congratulations, dear. When did you notice the mark?"
"This morning when I woke up. It hasn't formed all the way yet." Justin was sure the anxiety must be clear in his voice.
She turned to face him, a plain black band in her hands. "It'll show soon enough dear, don't you worry."
Justin took the band from her with his left hand. "Is it... Is it supposed to burn?"
"It does; it varies depending on the person's pain tolerance but usually it's a pretty intense sting. It'll fade soon after it's fully formed." She smiled at him one last time and headed back into her office.
Justin looked down at his wrist. Another letter was becoming clear on the very edge of his wrist. It looked like an S.
Inspecting the marks carefully one final time, Justin slid the band over the mark and walked out of the clinic.
The bands were colored differently for different statuses: black was worn by the unclaimed, those who had not yet found their soul mates; brown was worn by those who had been claimed but were not yet bonded and when the bonding occurred, usually signified by a formal wedding but sometimes a private ritual between the mates, the brown band was replaced with one made of a light gray which was worn until death. If one's your mate passed before them the gray band was exchanged for a deep blue signifying the loss of your other half. Most people didn't outlive their mate for very long; the longest recorded time being four months.
Justin had overheard his Grandfather telling his Mother about it just two weeks before he died; his Grandmother had died the week before and Grandpa had been heartbroken. He'd told Justin's Mother that it literally felt like your heart was broken. A piece of it had been ripped away the moment his mate had died and all he'd wanted to do was cry. And that was basically all he'd done for the following two weeks until he'd passed quietly in his sleep.
Justin pushed the library door open and wasn't surprised to find it empty. It was only six fourty-five in the morning and cafeteria didn't even open for breakfast for another hour. "Charlie?"
"Up here!" Charlie's voice echoed down from the loft and Justin smiled. Charlie loved it up there; it was stuffed with so many books, old and new, they were packed tightly into the shelves and piled onto the floor next to them. The corner in the far back was filled with overstuffed chairs and bean bags and plush rugs. Most evenings after classes Charlie would be found there, curled in one of the chairs with a large book in his lap.
Justin climbed the stairs and made his way through the book piles. "Sorry I'm late; I had to take care of something."
It had been an unspoken agreement between the two of them that they didn't talk about soul-mates since Sophomore year when Justin had broken down into tears in Charlie's room because everyone else in their class had received their marks months ago and Justin's wrist was still bare. All the other boys had been so excited to get their marks that they hadn't even considered how the constant conversation about how wonderful it was to finally be marked must be making Justin feel.
Charlie had pulled Justin into a tight hug and held him as he sobbed into the older boys shirt. "What if I don't have a soul-mate? What if that's why my wrist is bare? I'm going to be alone forever."
Charlie had just rubbed his back and whispered to Justin that he was wonderful and maybe his arm was still bare because Fate was having a hard time finding someone good enough to deserve someone as amazing as Justin.
Since that night they'd had a silent agreement to not speak of each other's soul-mates. Justin would get painfully quiet whenever another school mate got marked or claimed with their mate. He'd never bring it up and Charlie would offer to sneak pizza in and marathon Doctor Who with him all weekend long.
The Windsor closed his book after noting the page number. "It's fine; we've still got almost an hour to work." Justin dropped his bag and sat in the chair next to Charlie.
They worked in silence for almost the entire hour, occasionally murmuring a suggestion or asking a question. Justin liked working with Charlie on projects; they worked well together with minimal effort.
Charlie stood and stretched before glancing at his watch. "It's almost breakfast time. You ready to go England?"
Justin hummed in answer and leaned down to the floor to pick up his bag. His sleeve pulled up slowly on his arm exposing the black band.
Charlie's sharp inhale indicated he'd seen it. "J is that a band?"
Justin broke into a grin and tugged his sleeve back down. "Yeah... I had to go get it from the nurse this morning."
Charlie smiled and hugged him. "That's great! I'm so happy for you! I told you you'd get a mark eventually!"
Justin smiled and ignored the way the hug made his insides feel fuzzy and internally scolded himself. "You have a soul-mate, Bancroft. A mate. Don't even think about it."
Charlie lead the way down from the loft and out of the library. "Are you excited?"
Justin couldn't keep the grin off of his face. "Yeah."
"Is it..." Charlie trailed off.
"What?" Justin asked.
"Never mind; it's personal." Charlie shoved his hands into his pockets.
"You can ask me; you're my best friend, you can ask me almost anything." Justin smiled reassuringly.
"Is it someone you know?"
Justin shrugged. "I don't know yet; it only just started forming letters when I woke up. I hope it forms soon though."
Charlie grinned as they entered the cafeteria and were waved over to a table by several Hanovers and Windsors. Justin smiled brightly and bounced lightly in his seat when Merrill noticed his new band and he was swamped with several congratulations and questions.
Justin was about ready to burst with anxiety. His wrist had stopped burning in the middle of his last class of the day and he'd been dying to check it since then. He'd tried to linger after in the Calculus classroom to sneak a glance under his band but Merrill had insisted on waiting for him.
He'd tried to peak underneath in the locker room while changing into a comfortable pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt but had been bombarded with congratulations from his teammates.
The Prefect meeting immediately after was pure Hell for Justin. Charlie and Logan were discussing their irritation with the Brightman twins all-out war with Derek Seigerson ever since Derek had told them in a fit of irritation that there stupid pranks weren't even that good.
They'd taken the slight personally. Very personally.
Justin had glanced quickly at his two fellow Prefects, making sure neither was paying attention to him, before sliding a finger under the edge of the band to lift it up. Just before he lifted the clinging fabric Charlie's voice called him back to the conversation. "What do you think Justin?" Justin had barely held back a groan of frustration.
He'd barely made it through dinner, all but inhaling his food in an effort to get back to Hanover and get some privacy. He'd entered Hanover on the edge of just yanking the band off right there in the middle of the common room to find Jeff and Danny in the middle of a wrestling match on the floor.
Justin almost snapped right then and there. "Jeff! Danny! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!"
Charlie walked in a moment later. "What's going on?"
Justin fixed the two boys with a glare. "If you broke anything then get rid of it. I don't want to see anything like this again." He turned on his heel and stormed up the stairs, Charlie close behind him.
"What do you need Charlie?" Justin's last fragile thread of patience was being stretched incredibly tight.
"That project is due Friday. I thought we could maybe get it done tonight and not have to worry about it tomorrow." Charlie didn't seem to catch the edge to Justin's voice.
Justin breathed deeply to calm himself and opened the door to his room. He threw his bag onto the floor with more force than was necessary and Charlie fixed him with a concerned gaze. "Everything alright there England?"
"No." Justin sighed, turning to face his best friend. "I've been trying to look at my mark all day and every time I do someone interrupts me. It's stopped burning and I just want to know who it is, I need to know."
Charlie gave him a soft smile. "Check it now; I won't look."
Justin turned back to face his bed and tugged the fabric cuff off of his wrist. It felt like the floor had dropped out from underneath him and the Earth had stopped dead mid-spin. There, on his wrist and inscribed in swirling black ink was a name.
Charlie Amos
Thanks for reading! I'd love any feedback you're willing to give. Part Two will be up soon!
xoxo~ Donna