"Hey, Emma, isn't that Julian Blackthorn staring in this direction?" Divya asked suddenly, glancing over Emma's shoulder.
Emma paused, her sandwich halfway to her mouth. She placed it back on her tray and gave Divya a disbelieving look. "I highly doubt it," she said. Divya shrugged and tipped her chin outwards. Emma rolled her eyes and finally turned around.
She almost immediately made eye contact with a boy sitting halfway across the cafeteria. His lips flicked upwards into a tiny smile before he drew his blue-green eyes away and Emma was left staring at him. He looked as he always did with beautiful, sharp features and curly dark brown hair.
She spun quickly back to face Divya and the other girl was smirking. "Told you so," she bragged.
Emma shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. He was probably looking for his siblings. Jules and I have known each other for a long time. Our parents are friends so we're family friends."
Divya shrugged and bit into one of her french fries. "He looks like he's pining."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Almost the entire school has determined that we're going to meet our soulmates in high school, and I'll be the first to admit I don't share that belief, but maybe Julian does."
Before Divya could reply, a third girl plunked herself down at the table, next to Emma. She was fuming visibly and Emma quirked an eyebrow at her best friend. Cristina flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder and began winding it up into a bun to tame it. She was muttering in Spanish under her breath and Emma and Divya glanced at each other with matching apprehensive looks.
"Ay, dios mío, I hate her," Cristina finally grumbled.
Emma turned and looked in the direction that Cristina had come from and instantly knew the source of the girl's agitation. Zara Dearborn was clinging to the arm of Diego Rosales, smirking wickedly. Zara's brown hair was pulled into an impossibly tight, smooth ponytail and she had on red lipstick that was far too dramatic for a casual day at school along with enormous silver hoop earrings.
Divya frowned, poking a fry angrily into her ketchup. "Tina, what did the bitch do this time?"
Cristina huffed. "Just look at her clinging to Diego. She turned eighteen two days ago and apparently she's going to get a tattoo today so she can prove Diego and her are soulmates."
Emma studied her friend. Cristina looked annoyed, but as pretty as she always did, with a few dark hairs escaping her bun to frame her tanned face like a princess. "I thought you were over Diego. You guys broke up last year," Emma pointed out.
Divya's face tightened a little at the mention of Cristina dating Diego, but Cristina just waved off the question. "Come on, Diego and were basically just friends, I just hate the idea that Zara of all people could be his soulmate. Plus, it's not like I have any reason to still like Diego." She held up her wrist and Emma's eyes landed on the rose tattoo that decorated Cristina's wrist.
Divya's shoulders relaxed a little and Emma had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. Divya liked Diego, a lot, but couldn't really do anything about it because he'd started dating Zara almost as soon as Cristina had broken up with him.
"It's Zara though," Emma pointed out, "there is no possible way someone as nice as Perfect Diego could be soulmates with someone as vile as Zara."
Cristina shrugged and leaned across the table to steal one of Divya's fries. "The bigger the hoops, the bigger the hoe," she said sarcastically. "We can only hope that he dumps her soon."
Emma laughed. She returned to eating her lunch as Divya and Cristina made easy conversation overtop of her. When she finished her lunch she fished her phone out of her pocket and opened her Instagram feed. Cristina slid an inch closer and looked over her shoulder at the phone.
The first photo that came up was a picture of a trio of tenth graders. It was a girl tucked in between two boys and the three of them were all grinning widely. The girl and the boy on her left had matching bone structures and similar smiles, marking them easily as siblings. The other boy had wild, curly blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes.
Divya leaned forwards to see what had captured the attention of her friends and she plucked the phone out of Emma's hand. She studied the photo briefly before glancing over Emma's shoulder. She shook her head and handed it back to Emma.
"Those Blackthorns and their jawlines, I mean what is it with them?"
Cristina laughed. "Well, most of them anyways. Livvy's is softer, obviously, but she's got the cheekbones."
Emma glanced at the username of the photo: lvvyblckbrn. It clicked in her head. This was Livvy Blackburn, her twin brother Ty Blackburn, and their best friend Kit Herondale. Cristina was right in that Ty shared Julian's cutting jawline and Livvy had the sharp, elegant cheekbones and blue-green eyes. The three of them were certainly more mature than Emma remembered them as.
She scrolled down her feed, skimming over boring landscape photos and pictures of her classmates. She was still swiping down when Cristina let out a half-screech and snatched the phone. She spun it face Divya and shoved it towards Emma's face. Emma blinked and refocused on the photo in front of her.
It was a guy probably a year or two older than them, posing on a park bench. He was very pretty, with shockingly blonde hair and blue-green eyes. It wasn't the attractiveness of the face though, that had caught Cristina's attention, instead it was the curling rose tattoo that was displayed on his wrist. Emma grinned.
"Tina! That's your tattoo!" she said excitedly. She grabbed the phone back and studied the caption, "And look at this: "My dearest wild rose, won't you come out to play". Wow, that's romantic." She took another look at the photo and laughed as she realized she knew who it was. "Also, that's Mark Blackthorn. He's the oldest boy and he graduated last year."
Cristina buried her face in her hands. "Wild rose?" she muttered. "What kind of madness is that?"
Divya rolled her eyes and threw a fry at her. "It's romantic. He's obviously looking to meet you, so you should message him."
Cristina glared at Divya. "No way. I'm not just going to follow him out of nowhere and say, 'hey dude I got that rose tattoo so you should totally be in love with me', yeah, no way."
Divya shrugged. "Then make Emma introduce you to Julian Blackthorn and get Julian to introduce you and Mark."
Emma narrowed her eyes. "I do know Mark, too, I could just directly introduce you to him. Why do you seem so interested in Julian Blackthorn today, Div?"
"I just think he likes you, Em."
She sighed. "No, he doesn't, I promise. Jules and I basically grew up together. He's a romantic anyways so I'm sure he's waiting to meet his soulmate."
Cristina nudged her. "Getting off the subject of how pretty all the Blackthorns are, have you given any more thought to what you're going to get tattooed? And that question is for both of you."
Divya grinned and pulled out her own phone. She pulled up a photo of a silhouette of a tiger. "This, or something as close to it as possible," she explained.
Cristina nodded in approval and turned to Emma. Emma slid her phone back into her pocket and shrugged. "I don't know yet. I have some vague ideas, but no clue how to really pursue anything."
Divya picked up her now empty tray. "Well, you had better decide soon, because we're going this weekend."
Emma tensed. "What?"
"I've been eighteen for a week and a half, but you're not eighteen for another three months, but Cristina and I have graciously found a place that doesn't care about the age limit. So you and I are going this weekend and Cristina is coming for moral support." She stepped away from the table with one last smile. "See you later."
As Divya strode off, Emma whirled on her best friend. "My parents will kill me! I can't get my tattoo before eighteen."
Cristina just laughed and laid her head on Emma's shoulders. "You could put it so many places that your parents would never see, so yes, we are doing this. No more arguing."
He had just been looking for Ty. Or at least, that's what he was insisting to himself even as his eyes skimmed for long, vibrant blonde hair that definitely did not belong to his little brother. His eyes rested on the back of Emma Carstairs's head and he sighed. He never intended to look for her, and yet he always seemed to be able to find her.
A second later, Emma was turning in her seat and looked at him curiously. Julian felt his pulse quicken but he forced himself not to blush and he gave her a small smile as they made eye contact. Emma's lips curled into a matching smile before Julian forced himself to look away, back down at the sketchbook on the table in front of him.
He picked up his graphite and was about to go back to his drawing, but he was quickly startled into dropping it by two hands that covered his eyes. His heart jumped and he tensed. There was some laughter before the hands drew away and Julian craned his neck around to see his attacker.
His little sister Livvy was standing directly behind him, grinning. Kit and Ty were flanking her, as usual, and Julian rolled his eyes. "What do you need, Liv?"
"A ride home after school?" she said, smiling brightly at him.
Julian sighed. "No can do, I have to finish a project for my portfolio."
Livvy frowned and folded her arms. She didn't reply though and Julian let his eyes skim over Ty and Kit. Ty had his headphones on and was studying something on his phone, not really paying attention. Kit, on the other hand, was frowning at the table of boys to Julian's left, many of whom were looking appreciatively at his little sister. Julian sighed. He knew his sister was pretty and he was eternally grateful for Ty's protectiveness of his twin and for Kit's good looks. They chased off most of Livvy's suitors, even if Kit was clearly interested in the other twin.
Livvy pursed her lips. "Did you at least invite Emma for dinner this weekend? Dad seems to be under the impression she's coming, even if you haven't told her yet."
Julian turned away from his sister. "No, I haven't talked to Emma yet, and I wasn't planning on it."
"Why not?" Kit asked curiously. "I'm going to be there so it's not like she's interrupting a family dinner."
Julian's shoulders tensed, as they always did when his family grilled him about Emma Carstairs. "I'm just not, okay? So let it go."
Ty's gaze lifted and he narrowed his eyes. "If you just get your tattoo, it would answer all of your questions."
Julian felt his cheeks finally get hot. His brother always seemed to give the bluntest, and possibly the best, advice of any of the Blackthorns, but that didn't mean Julian was eager to follow it. Ty viewed soulmates as a simple concept: get a tattoo when you turn 18. If your partner gets the same one, then you're soulmates. If they don't, you're not, and you just move on.
Julian didn't want to know if Emma was or wasn't his soulmate. He was completely fine with the friendship that they shared, even if it wasn't as strong at school as it was outside of school. He had never looked at any girl like he looked at Emma and even the idea that she wouldn't be his soulmate made his insides twist. She was ridiculously pretty with golden blonde hair and warm brown eyes and a smile that made all of Julian's insides melt and his fingers ache for something to draw with.
Finally, his siblings and their friend seemed to get that he wasn't interested in talking about Emma and they shuffled away, drawing the prying eyes with them. Julian looked back down at his sketchbook. He was working on a small design: a trio of stars that looked a bit like breaking waves on the ocean if you looked at it the right way. There were a couple other small designs on the page, but the star idea had resonated with him the most.
As much as he didn't want to get a tattoo, he did like drawing them. He had designed Jamie's and had offered to do Mark's and he knew that his two little sisters, Livvy and Drusilla, would both ask for him to do theirs when they were old enough.
He picked up his graphite and went back to work creating appropriate shading around the image and out of his peripheral vision he spotted someone slip into the chair across from him. He glanced up, expecting Jamie or maybe Diego, but instead it was Emma. He blinked at her, startled.
She smiled. "Hey Jules, Div ditched me and Tina had Spanish club so I thought I'd hang with you. I'm not bothering you, am I?"
"No," Julian replied quickly. Never, his brain added silently.
"Cool," she said. She leaned her elbows on the table and one of her braids fell over her shoulder as she leaned forward to study his book. With most people, Julian might have slammed it shut on his designs, but he never felt that way about Emma.
Her eyes brightened as she realized what he was working on. "Soulmate tattoos?" she asked eagerly.
"Yeah," Julian admitted.
Emma flipped her braid back down over her back and held out a hand. "May I?"
He passed her the sketchbook without protesting and watched her face as she studied each design carefully. Her eyebrows creased with concentration as her eyes darted across the page. Her lips formed a tiny 'o' as she studied the star design.
"This one is my favourite," she said, touching it gently, careful not to smudge the graphite.
Julian smiled. "Mine too," he agreed.
Emma passed him the sketchbook back, but a thoughtful expression flitted across her features. "Julian," she began slowly. "Do you think you could design me one?"
At first, confusion wiped his mind blank and Julian looked between Emma and the sketchbook in confusion. Emma was still seventeen and wouldn't be eighteen for another three months, so she shouldn't be getting a tattoo anytime soon.
"A tattoo?" he asked carefully.
Emma flushed a little. "Yeah," she paused awkwardly. "I've just been thinking about it more and more since Cristina got hers and Div's eighteen now too. There are places that do them before eighteen and I've thought about it."
Julian's eyes widened. He hadn't even considered that Emma might be considering getting a mark earlier than eighteen. Probably because he was eighteen and was still in denial about the fact that he could get one if he wanted to.
"Yeah, I can draw you something right now, if you want?" he offered carefully. He was internally terrified about the idea of Emma getting a tattoo and almost hated himself for offering.
Emma smiled. "Thanks, Julian, you are the best. I'd give you some suggestions, but I honestly have no idea what I want."
Julian studied her face for a second longer before he looked down at his page. He picked up the graphite and began a small sketch. It was almost without thought, but the image came to focus quickly. It was a small drawing of the moon, with a radiant-looking halo behind it, almost like an eclipse. He touched his fingertip to one part and smudged a little and studied it for a second.
Satisfied, he spun the book back to Emma who's eyes landed on it immediately. She inhaled sharply before looking back at him. "Julian, this is perfect! Thank you!"
She basically jumped from her seat and stepped around the table so that she was at his side. She hugged him tightly and Julian tensed before relaxing just as Emma drew away from him. He pulled the sketchbook back to himself and gently ripped around the design so that it detached cleanly from the page and presented it to her.
She folded it carefully and tucked it into her pocket, smiling at him. She stiffened suddenly and a grin spread across her face that Julian recognized as her mischievous look.
"What?" he prompted.
"I saw Mark's post on Instagram," she declared as if it explained everything. Julian just raised an eyebrow and Emma's expression deadpanned. "But, of course, you haven't." She laughed and pulled out her phone. After fiddling for a second, she turned it towards Julian and he studied the photo of his older brother.
"Oh, he's showing that off publically, is he?" Julian noted as he observed the rose tattoo on Mark's wrist. His brother had decided not to get his own tattoo, but just recently the rose had etched itself onto his wrist anyways: his soulmate had gotten a tattoo.
"Yes," Emma agreed. "But, lucky for him, I actually know who has the matching tattoo!"
Surprise rippled through him. "Really?"
"It's Cristina, funnily enough! She saw the photo on my phone and is mildly freaking out, but I swear I'm going to introduce them if its the last thing I do."
Something heavy knotted itself in Julian's stomach. "So, you're in favour of soulmates now?" The Emma he remembered had declared that soulmates were silly and that you should just love whoever you wanted.
She shrugged. "I want my friends to be happy and I know that Mark and Tina would love each other. For myself, I'm kind of just getting the mark to see what happens."
Julian felt a small smile tug at his lips. "Big earth-shattering revelations, and the like," he joked.
Emma grinned. "And this is why you are the absolute dad friend: crazy artistic talent, insane compassion and leadership, and dad jokes."
"Pretty sure you're the one with the jokes," he disagreed. Emma smiled again but didn't argue.
She sat down beside him and nudged his shoulder playfully. "So, you've designed my tattoo, is there anything I can do in return for you?"
Come to dinner with me on Saturday, his mind blurted, but his lips stayed sealed. "Actually," he said, "is there a chance you could drive Livvy, Ty, and possibly Kit home today? I have a project to do after school."
Emma touched her lip and furrowed her brow as she thought for a second. "Yeah, actually, I'll just bum Cristina with Divya and then all is good."
Julian smiled warmly. "Great, I'll let her know." He pulled out his phone and sent Livvy a text. Just as he was putting it down, Emma rose from the table.
"I'll see you later, Jules," she said warmly. She gave him a little wave and walked off. Julian watched her go, his insides both twisted and warm.
"Emma, your friends are here!" her mom called up the stairs.
Emma jolted, dropping her phone onto her bed. She glanced at the clock on the wall and bit her lip. It was five minutes before Cristina said she would pick her up, but that wasn't too big of a surprise. She grabbed her phone from the bed and swung herself up to her feet. She slung her purse over her shoulder on the way out of her room. She got halfway down the stairs before she realized she had forgotten the thing that she needed to bring today.
She ran back upstairs and grabbed the tiny scrap of paper that had been on her desk and shoved it into her pocket. She needed Julian's sketch–it was by far the best of any ideas that she'd had and she certainly didn't trust anyone to attempt to replicate his artistry. She pulled her shoes on, and with a brief glance at her mother, pulled her ponytail out so her long hair spilled over her shoulders. It would help to hide the tattoo when she came home.
She smiled one last time at her mom before ducking out the door and jogging down the drive to Cristina's car. Cristina was driving and Divya was seated shotgun, so Emma climbed in the back, sliding into the middle seat so she was between her friends.
Divya twisted to look at her excitedly as Cristina pulled away from the curb. "So, are you ready?"
Emma shrugged. "I finally decided on a design so that's good, at least. Not sure what else I should be feeling."
Cristina laughed but kept her eyes on the road. "Honestly, everything will be fine. They don't really hurt and they're easy enough to take care of."
"I'm getting mine on my arm," Divya declared. "I'm eighteen so there's no reason I can't show it off." Emma nodded, it made sense to her.
"And you're going with the tiger silhouette?"
Divya grinned. "Of course. It's my spirit animal after all."
"And you don't think your soulmate will mind?"
Divya shrugged. "They can deal with it. Besides, I'm kind of more in love with the idea of getting a tattoo than I am with finding my soulmate at this point."
Emma smiled. Something nervous and heavy was twisting mildly in her stomach. She wanted this tattoo, she'd wanted it since she was seven years old and had first learned about soulmates from her mother. She'd wanted to know her soulmate since she was nine years old and she realized that Julian Blackthorn's graceful shape and protective personality were very pretty.
She touched her pocket where Julian's drawing was protected. Julian was almost unbearably pretty, but he was also one of her best friends and had been for a long time, even if they didn't hang out that much at school. Julian's friendship was too important to risk over anything and Emma knew that he was a romantic who would love his soulmate wholeheartedly. Idly, she wondered if he'd gotten a tattoo yet. He turned eighteen a month ago, but she had never thought to ask, even when she had spied him drawing tattoo designs.
Cristina pulled into a small complex. It had a kid's toy store, a small grocery market, an optometrist, and a tiny little tattoo parlour. Cristina parked the car and turned to look at both Divya and Emma.
"So, Miranda won't ask for proof of age, she'll just do it, and she'll do a great job. She's clean and a good artist so she can tackle whatever you throw at her."
Divya nodded. "I trust you, Tina, now let's do this!"
Cristina led the way into the parlour which, true to her word, was clean, and presently empty. Cristina rang the little bell on the welcome desk and a woman poked her head out of a back room. She smiled at the sight of her guests and welcomed them in. The woman had a couple tattoos on her arms and one peeking out of her shirt collar, but otherwise, she looked like every normal person Emma had ever met.
"Welcome to Ink Search!" she greeted as she walked up. "Who am I helping today?"
"Myself," Divya said, "and my friend Emma."
"Great! Is this the first time?" Miranda asked. Emma nodded and the artist waved to a couple of chairs. "I'm sure you're here because you've heard I don't care for the age restriction, so whoever wants to go first can come over and the others can take a seat."
Divya quickly strode over, pulling up a picture of her desired image on her phone.
"Oh, how interesting! A wild heart, you have then," Miranda said cheerfully.
"Yup!" Divya agreed. She slipped her jean jacket off, leaving her in a simple tank top, and passed the coat to Cristina, who folded it and held it in her lap. "If possible, I want it to go right here." She outlined a patch of skin on the underside of her bicep.
Miranda nodded. "Great, I'll get to work then!"
Emma scrolled through her phone and made casual conversation with Cristina as Divya got her tattoo. She cast her friend a couple glances, but Divya was smiling basically the whole time. When the process was nearly finished, Cristina's phone rang and she excused herself to take the call.
Emma pulled Julian's sketch out of her pocket and studied it carefully. She was going to be marking this on her body as well as on her potential soulmate's body for the rest of their lives. She wanted this.
Cristina came back into the shop, looking like she was about to die of laughter. "Well, that was Diego. After two days of Zara insisting the tattoo would show up on him, it hasn't, but instead, he's actively having one drawn on while lying on his bed at home! He broke up with Zara and called me because he wants to know if I know anything that's currently getting a tattoo of a tiger! I had to hang up on him so I could laugh!"
Divya looked startled. "Wait, I'm Diego's soulmate?"
Emma laughed. "Apparently, you are."
She laughed. "Cool, at least that solves my problem."
Cristina looked over at Emma. "And you promised to introduce me to Mark Blackthorn, so that will solve my problem as well."
"And then it's just little old me," Emma drawled.
Miranda laughed. "Honey, you could not be a day over nineteen if you tried." After another couple flourishes, she stepped away from Divya. "Alright, you're all done! Just a few more last minute instructions and we'll be good to go!"
Cristina and Emma both rose from their seats to take in Divya's tattoo. It looked good: clean sharp edges and exactly the pattern that she had wanted. Emma suddenly felt much more reassured about handing over Julian's sketch.
Once she was done helping Divya, Miranda turned to her and smiled. "So, what are you getting and where would you like it?"
Shyly, Emma handed over the slip of paper with Julian's drawing on it. Miranda studied it and smiled.
"Your boyfriend is quite the artist. This is gorgeous," she complimented, lifted it closer to her eyes so she could get a more detailed look.
"Boyfriend?" Emma questioned, suddenly taken aback.
Miranda glanced at her. "Or girlfriend, but this is clearly the work done by someone who cares a lot about you. And considering you've come to me, I'm assuming you're not eighteen yet and you just really want to confirm that this person you're with is going to be your soulmate."
Emma felt heat fill her cheeks. "What if I had drawn that?"
Miranda waved a hand. "You don't look like much of an artist yourself, no offence, and artists would usually bring an entire book and be unable to choose a design right to the last second."
"Well, yeah okay, but Julian's my friend, not my boyfriend. He drew that for me as a favour."
Miranda gave her a knowing smile. "Alright, hon, whatever you say. Now, where am I putting this?"
Emma snapped the hair elastic on her wrist and pulled her hair into a bun at the top of her head. She twisted slightly and tapped just above one of the bumps of her spine. "Right here."
"Perfect, so let's get to work!"
Julian woke up on Sunday feeling like someone had pressed pins to the back of his neck when he was sleeping. He rubbed it awkwardly and stretched. He must have just slept on it funny. He rose from his bed and made his way downstairs.
Livvy was already mixing a big bowl of pancake mix and she grinned when he reached the kitchen. Ty was setting the table and Drusilla and Tavvy were seated in their seats, having a conversation about some book that Tavvy was holding tightly. Mark was nowhere to be seen and Julian almost expected Helen too, except for the fact that Helen had moved out to be with her wife and soulmate, Aline.
"Ready to make some pancakes, big brother?" Livvy asked brightly.
Julian smiled and took the bowl from her. "I guess if I have to. Where's Dad?"
"Out with John, it's Sunday," Ty answered from across the room. Julian nodded. John Carstairs was Emma's dad and one of his dad's best friends. They always went for breakfast on Sunday mornings, Julian had just momentarily forgotten.
"You are Dad today," Drusilla said cheerfully from the table.
Julian shrugged and pulled out a frying pan, turning on the stove heat to medium. He had his back to the rest of his family and didn't think anything of it until Drusilla jumped up from the table and ran over. He glanced at her, but she waved him off so he turned back to the stove. She giggled loudly and he turned around, but she scampered back to her seat at the table without a word. Livvy looked as if she was trying and failing to smother a smile, while Ty and Tavvy were both blissfully unaware of whatever the two sisters were teasing Julian about. Julian sighed but turned back to his pancakes. It couldn't be that important.
They got halfway through breakfast before the doorbell rang. Julian rose from the table and walked to the front door. He opened it and was surprised to see Emma standing there, smiling. She was wearing a yellow shirt with absolutely no sleeves or straps and white shorts. Her blond hair fell loosely around her shoulders and she looked so beautiful Julian nearly forgot how to breathe. He immediately felt self-conscious at his plain shorts and paint-spattered t-shirt.
His alarm faded a little when he saw that Emma wasn't alone. Cristina Rosales was accompanying Emma, with her dark hair pulled back into to braids. Cristina was wearing a simple white dress and she looked considerably more nervous than Emma. For a moment Julian was confused; then he remembered that Emma had said that Cristina was definitely Mark's soulmate.
"Is Mark home? I figured Sunday breakfast was as good as time as ever to catch all the Blackthorns together."
Julian glanced over his shoulder, about to say that he hadn't seen Mark all morning when his brother appeared at the top of the staircase, shirtless and sleep dishevelled. He turned back to Emma and Cristina with a wry smile. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." He stepped into the house, inviting both of the girls in, and stepped towards the stairs. "Mark, put a shirt on, we have guests."
Cristina flushed at his words and Emma laughed. "He would," she teased. Julian shrugged and invited the girls into the kitchen. Livvy and Dru were both ecstatic to see Emma and Ty smiled at her over his neatly cut pancakes. A couple of minutes later Mark joined them in the kitchen, still looking slightly rumpled and tired. He brightened a little when he saw Emma and gave Cristina an appreciative look.
"Mark," Emma greeted, "this is my friend Cristina Rosales. I think you two should talk." She grabbed them both by their right wrists and dragged them towards the backyard.
Livvy raised an eyebrow at Julian as the three disappeared. "What's that about?"
Emma popped back into the kitchen and leaned on Julian with her arm like he was a wall. "They're soulmates. Cristina got the rose tattoo, that's how we know."
Julian was surprised to see Emma acting so free and casual around him. Things hadn't been this easy between them for a couple of years, but it made something in his chest swell and warm at the familiarity between them.
Livvy and Dru exchanged a secretive look that had Julian narrowing his eyes, but the girls just turned back to Emma easily and asked her some inconsequential question. With Emma sufficiently distracted, Julian studied her carefully. His fingers itched in a familiar way, but he wasn't sure whether the desire to draw her or to touch her was stronger.
Emma had gotten used to wearing her hair down a lot more often now. Around her parents she couldn't wear it up otherwise she would be baring her tattoo for them to see clear as day. She'd seen photos of it and its reflection in the mirror and she really liked how it had turned out. It was small and simple, but perfect for what she wanted.
She parted her hair with her brush neatly and pulled back the twin braids at the front of her hair into a braided crown. It looked nice, she thought, with a smile. She adjusted her shirt, made sure it wasn't falling down as off the shoulder tops could. It was a shimmering metallic silver and she'd paired it with a white denim skirt and black boots. She turned to study her reflection in the mirror one last time and adjusted her hair so that her tattoo was fully covered.
She picked up her phone, forgoing her purse for the evening, and headed downstairs. Her father looked up from the couch as she came down the stairs. He smiled at her.
"Very pretty dear. Be safe tonight and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, will do, Dad. Love you!" Emma blew him a kiss and slipped out the front door. The red car of the Blackthorns was idling at the bottom of the driveway. It wasn't exactly what she had been expecting when Cristina said she had their ride to the party organized. As she got closer Emma realized Divya was in the backseat and Cristina was riding shotgun.
She opened the door and saw that Mark was in the driver's seat, his blonde hair appropriately mussed and Cristina was holding his hand. The two had started dating almost immediately after meeting since they were indeed soulmates and had hit it off so well. Divya grinned at Emma's appearance.
"Looking sharp, babe," she teased.
Emma winked. "Right back at you."
Divya offered her a bottle of vodka and Emma pursed her lips before accepting it and taking three hearty sips. Cristina giggled.
"Always the party girl, aren't you, Em?"
Emma blew her a kiss as the alcohol burned on the way down, warming her stomach. "You know it. And I'm assuming Tina talked you into driving, so thank you, Mark."
Mark smiled at her in the rearview mirror. "My pleasure, now where are we going?"
"Cameron Ashdown's," Divya supplied. Mark nodded and pulled out onto the road.
"Are you staying to join us, Mark?" Emma asked after a moment. Divya passed her the bottle again and Emma took another few swigs before handing it up to Cristina.
He shook his head. "Nah, I promised Ty and Dru I'd watch something with them tonight."
The alcohol was already buzzing in Emma's system by the time they got to the party. Divya pulled Emma out of the car quickly and Cristina lagged behind briefly to kiss Mark goodbye, but joined them shortly. As soon as they were in the front door, the music hit them as did the low lights with the bright flashes of colour for effect. Divya disappeared quickly, off to find Diego, and Emma was left with Cristina.
"Let's go find something to drink," Cristina suggested, dragging Emma towards where they knew Cameron's kitchen to be. Cristina grabbed two clean shot glasses and poured them each a shot of tequila, grinning.
Emma clinked their glasses together and took the shot. She shivered after as the alcohol burned going down, but Cristina was already pouring herself a second one. Emma placed her glass off to the side and picked up a cider from an open cooler instead. Cristina handled her tequila much better than Emma did and Emma didn't even like hard liquor which was a bit unfortunate with her friends since Tina loved tequila and Divya liked vodka.
Emma was about to say something to Cristina before she felt a warm hand on her elbow. She turned and saw Cameron staring down at her, smiling. He took in her outfit appreciatively.
"Hey Emma," he greeted. She smiled at him politely. Cameron was attractive by stereotypical standards with short red hair and a nice body and a pretty smile. "Do you want to dance?"
She nodded. She had no reason to say no and she and Cam had had a thing in the past and he wasn't a bad guy by a long shot. Cristina downed her second shot and winked before wandering off, probably to bother Diego or Jamie Rosales. Emma took Cam's hand and escorted him into the living room where most of the dancing was taking place.
The alcohol was already hitting her as she and Cam danced. The rest of the party was mostly a blur, with sharper memories around a couple drinking games that she handily destroyed the competition in. She and Jamie partnered up for beer pong against Diego and Divya and had beaten them so badly that Diego had escorted his girlfriend away quickly with a wink to heal her wounded pride.
Several hours later, Emma found herself dancing with Cameron again. His hands were on her hips and her arms were twisting in the air as she moved to the beat. She shut her eyes and her fogged mind briefly transported her to a different place where she was being held by a different pair of hands with long, elegant painter's fingers. Her eyes snapped open and Cam gave her a quizzical look.
She ignored the feeling and kept dancing, but she couldn't deny that Cam kept trying to kiss her. After one more attempt, Emma stepped way too close into his personal space and stepped up on her tiptoes to see the back of Cameron's neck. The nape of his neck was bare and that was the last straw. Emma stepped out of Cam's reach and wobbled. She was drunker than she thought.
Cam reached out and steadied her elbow. "I need to go home now," she told him. Her tone was strong, but she could hear the slur behind her words. She was definitely drunker than she had intended to be.
She spun away from Cam without another word and headed for the front door. She ran smack into Jamie Rosales who let out a string of curses in Spanish as he stumbled into the wall. He raised an eyebrow at her as she was clearly on her way to the front door.
"Ay, chica, where are you going?"
Emma stumbled on a fold in the carpet and Jamie laughed, steadying her. "Home," she answered.
Jamie looked pensive for a moment. "Weren't you supposed to stay at Tina's?"
Emma frowned. "Yeah, I think so. I'm not supposed to go home anyway."
Jamie grimaced. "Yikes, well Tina left already. Mark apparently walked here and they walked back to her place already. And Divya and Diego left and I'm walking, but I'm sure you don't want to stay at our place or here, so what are you going to do?"
Emma pulled out her phone. "Jules will pick me up. Julian is the best. He always looks after me and takes care of me. He's going to be such a good boyfriend when he finally meets his soulmate. She'll be so lucky," Emma said. The words spilled out of her without thought and her cheeks flushed. She stepped past Jamie and tried to dial Julian's number. Unfortunately, she also stepped directly onto someone's discarded shoe and nearly tumbled straight to the ground.
Julian's phone woke him up rudely. He groaned and rolled over, blindly reaching for it. Jamie's picture lit up the screen in the darkness and Julian frowned. He swiped to answer the call and lifted it to his ear.
"Jamie? It's like two thirty in the morning, what do you want?"
"Hey! Julian! Your girlfriend is drunk out of her mind and wants you to pick her up because all her friends ditched her. Come relieve me of this, my man!" Jamie's voice filtered through the speaker. He was yelling over loud background music and Julian flinched away reflexively.
It took him a second to process all of what Jamie had said. "My girlfriend?"
"Yeah, Emma Carstairs? Hot blonde? You've been in love with her for forever?" Jamie prompted. Julian flushed and hoped that either Emma hadn't been listening or she was too drunk to remember.
"Okay, okay!" he urged quickly. "I'm coming, I'll be there in like 10 minutes. It's at Cam Ashdown's right?"
"Yeah, so hurry up dude otherwise I think Emma is going to take me apart!"
Julian shook his head and hung up the call. He grabbed the first shirt out of his drawer which turned out to be just a plain grey v-neck and he pulled on a pair of dark sweatpants. He quietly left his room and went downstairs. Mark had left him the keys to the car when he had walked over to pick up Cristina earlier and Julian grabbed them now, shoving a pair of sneakers onto his feet before he ducked out the door.
He drove to Cameron's house in complete silence, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. He pulled up outside the house and parked the car. He got out and immediately saw Emma and Jamie on the porch. Emma was leaning against the railing, giving a drunk lecture to a significantly less drunk Jamie who looked thoroughly amused.
Jamie spotted Julian and waved him over. "Hey, Emma, there's Prince Charming!"
Emma turned and nearly fell down the steps of the porch as she tried to walk towards him. Julian surged forwards and caught her, his arms wrapping around her tightly.
"Jules! I knew you'd come! You always come and you're the best!" Emma was a bubbly, happy drunk. Julian smiled softly.
"Come on, Em, let's get you home."
"No, not home! I'm supposed to be at Tina's! But, she brought Mark home so I can't go there."
"Then we'll go to my place," Julian said as he helped Emma back to her feet. He glanced at Jamie who was just grinning at him slyly. Julian rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the call, Jamie."
Julian managed to get Emma into the car without too much trouble and she didn't say anything on the drive back to his house, just stared at him with wide brown eyes. She was clearly intoxicated, but she was Emma and still beautiful. Julian knew it wouldn't be too weird for her to sleep over because they'd done it a lot as kids and it was certainly a lot better than leaving her at Cameron Ashdown's house because Cameron definitely still had a thing for her, despite how he denied it.
He parked the car in the driveway and got out and walked around it to the passenger side. He opened Emma's door and she scowled at him. Julian blinked at her.
"Emma, come on, just get out of the car."
"Nope!" she said brightly. "You'll have to drag me out!"
Julian sighed before he leaned in and undid her seatbelt. Then he scooped her up, one arm under her knees and the other along her back. She squealed and threw her arms around his neck to support herself and he lifted her out of the car.
"Jules, what are you doing?" she demanded.
He laughed and nudged the car door shut. "Dragging you, apparently," he supplied.
Emma complained until they got to the house, but as soon as they went inside she fell silent as if she could tell how important it was for her not to wake up Julian's siblings. Julian carried her up the stairs and brought her into his room. He deposited her on the floor. Emma stumbled a little but looked around his room with soft eyes.
"It's just like it used to be," she commented softly. "So Julian."
He smiled a little. Now that she was standing, drunk, in his room, he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do. Emma, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what to do. She removed her shoes and stripped off her shirt, depositing it on the floor and her skirt followed it quickly. Julian immediately flushed. Emma was now just standing in his room in a bra and underwear.
She turned towards him and frowned. "I don't have anything to sleep in."
Julian mentally stumbled for a second before his brain restarted. She was drunk so this obviously meant nothing to her. "One second," he said. He went to his dresser and pulled out an old, faded art camp shirt and passed it to her.
He watched as she gathered her hair and threaded it through the hole in the shirt as she pulled it on. It fell to her upper thigh and something in Julian's stomach clenched. Somehow, seeing her in his shirt was almost worse than seeing her in basically nothing.
Instead, he steeled his nerves and stepped towards her. He turned her towards his half-made bed and pushed her toward it. Emma glanced back at him.
"Where are you going to sleep?" she asked quietly.
"Couch, downstairs, or here on the floor," he answered quickly. They had used to share beds as kids, but that was much before Julian realized how pretty Emma was and how much he really liked her.
Emma frowned at him again and fell down towards his bed. She landed on it and in the process, grabbed Julian by the arm and yanked him down with her. He fell, unprepared and landed on top of her, barely catching himself by the arms as he hovered above her. They were so close and in the darkness of his room he could just barely make out the freckles on her cheeks and the wispy eyelashes that fluttered against her cheeks.
"Stay here," she ordered.
"Em," Julian breathed, not trusting himself to move.
Her brow creased. "Everyone thinks you like me, but now that I'm here and I'm literally telling you I want to sleep with you, you're not kissing me," she complained.
Julian's arms went rigid as he processed her words. "Em," he whispered, "what are you saying?"
Instead of an answer, she put her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down to her lips. Julian's brain was frying and he knew it. Emma was kissing him and she was wearing nothing but his shirt and they were lying in his bed. His body responded to her touch eagerly as he kissed her back. Her lips were warm and smooth against his and her hands quickly reached for the hem of his shirt, pushing it up so that she could appreciatively run her hands along his chest and stomach.
She tugged the shirt up again and made a whining sound that twisted Julian's brain horribly. He pulled back from her lips and let her pull his shirt up and over his head before she flung it away. In that instant, his racing mind caught up with his body and he remembered the alcohol on Emma's breath and the fog in her eyes. She tried to pull him back down and he resisted, rolling off of her and standing next to the bed, breathing heavily.
Emma sat up after him, looking disappointed. "Julian?" her voice was quiet and tentative. "Do you not want to?"
He exhaled slowly and turned back towards her. "More than anything," he answered honestly. "I just," he paused. "You're drunk, Ems. I don't want you to regret anything."
"I won't!" she argued, the familiar stubborn edge glinting in her eyes.
Julian leaned forward and cupped her face. "You might, and I'm not taking that chance. Now, you should sleep."
Emma sighed. "Fine, but we're sharing the bed. That's not a big deal at all."
Julian really didn't see a way to argue with that statement, so as Emma slid over, he scanned for the shirt she had basically ripped off of him. It was on the other side of the bed, partway across the room, but before he could move towards it, Emma had grabbed his wrist.
"Don't need it," she murmured sleepily. "Come on, Jules."
Sighing deeply, Julian lowered himself to the bed beside her. As soon as he was settled, Emma rolled towards him, tucking an arm across his chest. Her eyes slid shut and her lips curled up just the tiniest bit. Her blonde hair was strewn across her back, but Julian caught a peek of something beneath the curtain of hair.
He gently brushed away a few strands and saw his drawing inked into her skin. The moon with its radiant halo was in a small circle at the nape of her neck. He was surprised. Emma had mentioned considering a tattoo, but he didn't think she would have actually done it before she was eighteen. He looked from it to her peaceful face as she was now fully asleep. It suited her.
Julian let his arms curl around her protectively and he shut his eyes, letting sleep take him.
Emma woke up warm, comfortable, and securely tucked against something even warmer than she was. She curled more tightly against it, letting out a contented sigh. A warm hand on her hip brushed against her gently through the shirt she was wearing.
Emma's eyes shot open. Her head was aching, but to her surprise, she remembered everything that had transpired including trying to call Julian only for her phone to die and getting Jamie to call for her. Then Julian had picked her up and brought her home. As she recalled Drunk Emma's activities, she flushed violently.
She had stripped in front of Julian and he'd given her an old shirt. Then he had tried to put her to bed and she'd pulled him down and kissed him. She wasn't stupid, she remembered the warm and electric feeling she'd felt when she kissed Julian. It wasn't like anything she'd felt before. But, he'd stopped her because she'd been drunk and he was perfect and wouldn't take advantage of her, no matter if she'd wanted it or not.
Now, she blinked again and realized she was lying half on top of Julian and his arms were around her waist as he turned towards her. Their legs were a little intertwined, but her awakening did not seem to have woken Julian. His eyes were still shut and Emma took a moment to admire his peaceful sleeping face. He was beautiful and she was so stupid to think that she'd felt anything but love for him before. She'd crushed on other guys, but she'd never felt for them like she felt for Julian.
She looked down at her hands which were pressed against his warm, bare chest. Emma remembered pulling it up and feeling the firm lines of his stomach, but as she studied him in the dim morning light, she was able to appreciate him even more. She didn't remember when Julian had gotten so fit, but he was painstakingly attractive and Emma praised her drunk self briefly for forcing Julian to sleep without his shirt.
She looked back up at his face and the curly dark hair that fell across his forehead. She reached up to brush it aside and some of her own hair brushed against Julian's chest as it spilled over her shoulder. A cold realization gripped her suddenly and she slid her fingers carefully towards his neck. She just wanted to see if he had a mark because she wanted so desperately for him to have one.
As she reached for the side of his neck, Julian stirred and his blue-green eyes flickered open. He looked drowsy and temporarily content, but at seeing Emma awake and so close to him, he tensed under her touch. She carefully drew her hand back to the neutral area of his chest and smiled tentatively.
"Good morning," she offered awkwardly.
"How's your head?" he asked immediately.
Emma blinked. She had a headache, but it was low on her list of priorities. She hadn't really acknowledged much past the half-naked, attractive boy she was lying with. "Hurts a bit," she admitted.
Julian carefully drew away from her, letting her lying alone, as he moved to stand. "I'll go get you some ibuprofen and water."
As he turned his back to her to try and stand off the edge of the bed, something small and dark caught her eye at the base of his neck and her heart skipped.
"Julian, you have a tattoo," she breathed.
He froze. "What?" he exclaimed, twisting to face her, clearly surprised.
Emma smiled brightly and sat up, crawling across the bed towards him. She reached up and pressed against it. It was small and circular, but it was undoubtedly a perfect match to the one that sat at the base of her neck. "Right here," she said softly.
Julian reached and touched over her fingers, his brow knit in confusion. "I never got my tattoo," he breathed.
Emma withdrew her hand and touched his cheek. "But I did." She turned, drawing her hair over one shoulder to expose the matching mark on her neck.
"I saw that last night," Julian admitted quietly. He stood up from the bed and Emma followed him with her eyes. "So what does this mean?" he asked.
"We're soulmates. We share tattoos, that's what it means," Emma said.
Julian exhaled shakily and looked at her. His eyes were dark with emotion. "All this time I was so sure you felt nothing towards me. You dated Cameron, and you had a crush on Mark, and I thought you'd never fall for me."
Emma's stomach twisted unpleasantly. "Julian, no, I think I have always felt this way about you, I just didn't figure it out until recently." She stood from the bed and moved towards him. She raised a hand to touch his cheek.
He turned out of her touch and picked up a sketchbook from his desk. He turned back and curled her hands around it. "Look at it," he urged.
She blinked, but opened it. The first was a charcoal sketch of her, smiling at what was probably a camera. She flipped through and saw more sketches of her face, her hair, her whole self and there were even a few watercolours or oil paintings tucked in between the pages but the book was undeniably her. She felt tears prick at her eyes. It was the most precious and wonderful thing she'd ever seen and Julian had spilled his heart into these pieces and they were all of her.
"This is my heart," Julian said firmly. "Everything I feel for you is there and I am an artist. My feelings bleed onto paper and I could never show you before because I was so afraid you didn't feel the same way about me." He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. His eyes shut. "You brought colour into my world and let me paint out my heart on canvas."
"Julian, I love you," she breathed.
"And I love you more than I know how to express," he replied softly.
Emma pulled away from him just enough to put the sketchbook back on the desk. There was a momentary flash of disappointment in his eyes before she threw her arms around his neck and raised her lips to his. She kissed him fiercely and without restraint and he responded to her touch immediately.
The lips moulded together like a perfect fit as Julian kissed the air from her lungs. It was as if a fire had been lit in her stomach and a hot coil was roasting her insides to mush. She pressed herself closer to him, drawing him in and Julian's hands anchored on her waist and her back, hot through the material of the shirt he'd lent her.
Finally, Emma ran out of air and she broke away, gasping, but Julian's arms kept her flush against him, with just a breath's width between their lips. She slid her arms down from his neck down across his chest and his stomach. Julian shivered under her touch.
"I think Drunk Emma should have thrown away all of your shirts, not just the one," she breathed slyly.
Julian's laugh was breathy and his eyes were dark with wanting. "Don't steal all my fun," he replied.
Before Emma could process exactly what he meant he was kissing her hotly again. After a brief second his hands slid down, finding the hem of the shirt she was wearing and guiding it upwards. She gasped as he tugged it over her head and threw it away. The meaning of his sentence was made suddenly clear and Emma was about to seal their lips back together when Julian nudged her back towards the bed.
He dipped his head lower, pressing hot kisses to her jawline and down her throat and she made a squeaking noise she didn't even know she could make as the backs of her knees bumped against the edge of the bed.
"Julian," she gasped out. "Your siblings," she reminded desperately.
He pulled away from her briefly, locking their eyes. "Everyone sleeps in on Saturday," he replied.
Emma was the one who smirked this time as she wrapped her arms around his neck and fell back against the bed, her fingers just grazing the edge of the moon tattoo that bound them together as she pulled him down.
"No time to waste then."
Author's Note: so I read the Dark Artifices series and this was just supposed to be a little distraction from school and instead I crankedd out almost 10K words, but I hope it was enjoyed none the less! I'm on tumblr: nicolewrites, and AO3: nicole_writes
- Nicole