John Egbert, now 14 years old, was in a situation he knew he couldn't control. All around him hundreds of people scurried in all directions, doing their absolute best to dodge the raindrops falling from the grey clouds above. John would be joining them, if it weren't for the teenager in front of him. The raindrops started to fall harder and faster. They were both going to be completely drenched if they didn't move soon. He snuck a glance up at the boy then quickly focused back onto the cracked sidewalk below, clutching the grocery bag in his right hand nervously. Out of the corner of his eye, John saw the blonde-haired boy run his hand through his hair, slightly smirking. He adjusted his aviator shades, glanced at the watch implanted in both of their wrists, and spoke 4 words that would change both of their lives forever.
"So, we're soul-mates huh?"
8:43 a.m; around the usual time John wakes up in the morning. But today he woke up 2 hours earlier, unable to sleep. The dark-haired boy let out a groan, running his hands through his hair. Today was an especially big day for him, for today was the day he meets his soul-mate. Everyone in the world has one, and everyone knows it from the watch implanted on their left wrist. On the day he was born that blue watch had been there, counting down the years, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until he meets 'the one'. The watch was set for 14 years back then, and now there's only 10 hours left. John was restless. He wondered dreamily what she would look like. All he hoped for was that she wasn't a total bitch, unlike one girl he knew.
"John, breakfast is ready!" his father called from the kitchen.
"Coming Dad!" John yelled, and quickly got dressed. It was supposed to be chilly today, so he slipped on his sky blue hoodie and fixed up his hair. Gotta look stylish for my soul-mate, he thought with a grin. He slipped on a pair of pants, and walked downstairs to the kitchen.
The bell rang, signaling school is over. Hundreds of kids swarmed the hallways, groups of them chatting about what they were going to do for the weekend. It was Friday, after all. John sighed, and checked a nearby clock. 5:03 p.m, only 41 minutes left. How in the world am I going to meet her when I usually walk home alone? He wondered as he began to leave the school building. He stopped in his tracks as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket; probably his dad. John pulled it out and checked the text he had received.
Pick up some milk and eggs on your way home.
Love Dad
John sighed; he would have to go a different route than he normally would go in order to go to the Supermarket. Adjusting his glasses, he began to walk towards the store.
The trip to the store took longer then he thought. The usual convenience store he goes to was closed for some odd reason, so he had to walk further to go to a different store. He quickly sent a text to his dad, saying he will most likely be late, when he catches a glimpse at the time. 5:43 p.m; he has 1 minute until he meets his soul-mate. Johns heart began to race as he feels his cheeks heat up, imagining the possibilities of what she would look like. He smiled, and began to walk home in a trance. Suddenly, it began to rain.
30 seconds
Johns eyes widened as he looked around for shelter.
25 seconds
He darted back to the convenience store, but suddenly stopped when he walked into a lamp post.
10 seconds
He rubbed his face in pain. Shit, theres probably going to be a bruise, he thought. I'm gonna have a fun time explaining that to my dad.
5 seconds
He began to walk once more, completely focused on his forehead.
"Maybe I can conceal it with make-up..." He mumbled to himself.
2 seconds
John was suddenly shoved out of the way, bumping into a total stranger.
1 second
He looked up, and their eyes met.
0 seconds.
"Hey! Watch where you-" The teenage boy started to talk in an aggressive tone, but abruptly stopped. He checked his watch, then back at John. The glasses wearing boy did the same.
0 years were left.
0 weeks.
0 days.
0 hours.
0 minutes.
0 seconds.
The boy in front of John was his soul-mate, and he felt like screaming.