Written for Seblaine Week on tumblr.
The words don't hurt as badly as the fire does.
Blaine Anderson is 14 years old, and he's on fire.
He doesn't know what it is but the boys above him had laughed when the pain had started.
"Good luck finding your soulmate now, freak!"
Blaine lifts his hand, seeing the almost black marks on his skin where his timer was. His soulmark. His magic. Nobody knew why the timer was on their wrists, it just was, same as people had lungs to breathe. The timer was always set at 1,440 minutes until the 24 hours before you're meant to encounter your soulmate hit. Then the minutes count down until it happens.
The burns are over his timer and he can't see it at all. How is he supposed to know when his 24 hours happen? How is he supposed to know when he encounters his soulmate?
He doesn't have a chance to dwell on it, though, pain making him pass out.
Blaine's thankful for the Dalton blazers and long-sleeve shirts when he has to wear something casual. The lack of a timer makes him feel like even more of a freak than he had when he was a teenager. Dalton is nice. Nobody bullies him. He joins the Warblers and is accepted immediately which gives him built-in friends.
Everybody at Dalton has a timer though. Every single one. Blaine is the only one broken.
When he'd woken up a week later in the hospital, his mother had been there holding his hand.
"There are plenty of cases where people don't have timers," his doctor had explained later that day after Blaine had sobbed over the burn covering his timer. "People born without arms or who lost them in an accident. Or those like you whose timer is covered with scars. Your soulmate is still out there and you will still meet them. You just won't know when."
When should to be the best part.
Your 1,440 minutes are special. As soon as you notice your timer is counting down, your world kicks into gear. At least, that's how Blaine had always imagined it. He'd thought he'd make sure he was impeccably dressed, his hair perfectly gelled, a smile on his lips. He wanted love at first sight with his soulmate.
What if he meets his soulmate after eating garlic without brushing his teeth? Blaine vowed in the hospital to never eat garlic again.
And he doesn't at Dalton.
He meets so many boys at Dalton and out and every single one, he gazes into their eyes, hoping for a spark of recognition. H
There's a boy who asks to bother a pencil in his math class, a junior manager at the Gap, a boy who bumps into him on a staircase. All of them make something spark in him but all of them still have 1,440 minutes on their wrists. Blaine isn't interested in something casual. His soulmate scares him enough.
Blaine has plenty of time, he tells himself. There's no reason to stress out over the fact that he's 16 and hasn't met his soulmate. There are people who are much, much older than him who haven't. Life gives you your soulmate when you need it. That's what people say.
The friends who have found out about the scar tissue covering his timer assure him it doesn't matter. Blaine will meet his soulmate, they promise. As if they can promise such a thing. They can't promise that his soulmate won't hate him for his scars and not just the physical ones.
Blaine wants to be loved. He needs to be loved after everything that's happened to him. If he had his way, he'd have met his soulmate in the hospital. That was when he needed him. Fate has no idea what it's doing.
The summer before his junior year is the longest few months of his life. His parents are perpetually unhappy people and he wishes he could stay at Dalton over the summer. Maybe he can go to some summer camp for teenage boys next year. Or something. Anything to get him out of the house.
Junior year dawns bright. Blaine's finally feeling confident enough to wear short sleeve shirts when he's surrounded by his friends. The day before Warbler try-outs for new members, he has a hard time sleeping. He wonders whether it's nightmares or insomnia. He doesn't understand why his arm itches and he feels as if butterflies are in his stomach. He doesn't know his numbers are counting down underneath his scars.
The try-outs have him on edge. He can barely sit still and finally Thad asks if he wants to end these early.
"No," Blaine responds. "We only have a few left. Who's next?"
Thad sighs as Blaine shifts in his seat again but dutifully calls out the next name. "Sebastian Smythe?"
Blaine looks up, opening his mouth to ask what Sebastian is going to sing but his breath catches, his heart suddenly beating in overtime. Sebastian is the most gorgeous boy that Blaine has ever met, he recognizes immediately.
"Which one of you is it, then?" Sebastian asks, playing with the buttons on the sleeve of his blazer.
"The Dalton Warblers council consists of Thad, Blaine and I. We'll all be evaluating your performance," David says from Blaine's other side, putting the paper he was holding down and staring at the other teen. "You can sing when you're ready."
"I'm not worried about that. I know I'll get in." Sebastian lets out a huff of a breath, unbuttoning his blazer sleeve and showing off his timer. Blaine feels his breath catch as he sees the 000 flashing on his wrist and he subconsciously reaches up to touch where his timer was. "I care about this. It started flashing a few moments ago. So which one of you is it? It's got to be the speechless and breathless one, right? Where's your timer?"
Blaine had been waiting so long but now, with his soulmate in front of him, Blaine has no idea what to say.
"Blaine?" Thad whispers, nudging Blaine and Blaine stands up abruptly.
"I don't have a timer," Blaine whispers. He looks over as David clears his throat, gesturing for Thad to do the same.
"We're going to take a break. We'll let the other try-outs know they can come back tomorrow," David says quietly to Blaine and Blaine nods gratefully. The Warblers are like his family.
Sebastian doesn't look as grateful as David and Thad leave. He looks almost impatient, crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you mean, you don't have a timer?"
A deep breath and then Blaine slowly walks out from behind the desk. He doesn't want to do this. Although he's rehearsed what he would say to his soulmate hundreds of times but now all the words seem to have disappeared. He carefully unbuttons his blazer sleeve and Sebastian's eyes drop to the scar tissue that covers his timer.
"What happened?"
Blaine leans back against the desk. He knows Sebastian's timer will fade within the hour and he wonders whether he'll feel the same happen on his own arm. "Some guys didn't take kindly to me asking out a boy a few years ago. That's why I transferred here."
"I see," Sebastian says and Blaine shifts, buttoning his shirt sleeve again. He feels as if he's being tested and he wonders whether Sebastian is finding him lacking. Does he realize just how much trauma Blaine's had? "You don't need button up. We're soulmates which means you can get naked whenever you want. As long as I'm the only one around to see it, of course."
The unexpected words make Blaine burst into relieved laughter which causes Sebastian to smile back at him. "I didn't know when to expect you."
"Nobody ever expects me. It's only fitting I took you by surprise," Sebastian responds with a smirk. He steps forward, obviously judging Blaine's reaction but Blaine doesn't falter. He stares into Sebastian's eyes as the other teen continues towards him until Blaine has to tilt his head up to look at him. "I didn't know what to expect but I swear, I've only seen a man so gorgeous in my dreams."
"Oh my god, tell me you've never used that line before," Blaine says as a flush works its way up his cheeks. He doesn't realize as he lifts his hands to rest against Sebastian's chest until he can hear the other boy's heart beating fast under his palm.
Sebastian's looking at him with Blaine hopes is affection. There's no immediate love just because of their marks but Blaine knows it will develop. Suddenly he has no doubt in his mind. "No. I saved all my best ones for my soulmate."
Blaine can't help how his breath hitches, happiness threatening to overwhelm him. He has no idea why he was so worried. His timer will have faded soon anyway, within an hour of encountering his soulmate. "If I'd know I would have-"
"It doesn't matter," Sebastian interrupts him, surprising him. But there's a look of utter sincerity on his face. "This isn't a fairy tale. I don't need you to have swept me off my feet or anything. I met you. That's good enough."
Those last three words spark something in Blaine that make him feel like he's flying. He lets out a breath, standing up on his toes to press his lips to Sebastian's. It's too sudden, but he feels secure with Sebastian. For some crazy reason he knows his soulmate won't let him down.