"Oh, would you look at that, it's an Alpaca farm," Ryan noted as he drove. He was just 10 miles from the small town of Kingsland, and potentially one the most important moments of his life, right after the birth of his children. As he got closer to his destination, he thought about his conversation with Rae.

"Well, that didn't take long."

"What am I doing? This doesn't make any sense!" Ryan complained as he drove home. "I talked to Evie for all of one hour; and now I'm about to drive 70 miles in Austin traffic to stay in a house owned by my next-door neighbors' parents for a chance to talk to a girl that could or could not be my soulmate, that just so happens to be my new next door neighbor that I could just talk to tomorrow."

"Did you get that out?" Rae responded.

"I don't know her age, where she grew up, hell I don't even know her last name. What makes this alright?"

"Ryan first of all, breath," and he did. "Now think of Evie," which he did as well. He thought about her smile, the way she seemed to over explain things, the way she silently laughed like she didn't want to disturb the people around her but still wanted to enjoy whatever she found funny. He thought about how her babbling would lead to the most random of places like how Salmon P. Chase was on the $10,000 bill, and how she took a genuine interest in his work.

"Now tell me what your feeling," Rae requested.

"I feel peaceful, like all my decisions in life have led up to this. I've only felt this way two other times, and that was when my children were born. I don't know how to described it, but it's, just, right."

"Now are you still questioning your decision?"

"No."

"Okay, now what we've taken care of that, you will need to bring a swimsuit, a change of clothes, and something to sleep in" Rae instructed.

"Are you sure it's okay for me just to show up?" Ryan asked. He didn't want to ruin their celebration.

"Please, When I told my parents that you were alone for the 4th of July, they all but demanded that I invite you over. Although I must warn you, you'll probably be sleeping on the couch with Ben. No guys in the girl's room and all that."

"That's fine. I doubt I'll be getting much sleep anyway." Ryan arrived home and quickly packed his things and was out the door in 5 minutes. "I'm on my way right now. I just need the address."

"I'll text it to you. Have a safe trip, and we'll see you soon," Rae hung up the phone.

He turned onto Market St. and then on River St. He continued driving until he reached house number 7296.

He had stopped by HEB before he got too far from civilization to get two bottles of wine, a red and a white, for the hosts. He had no idea what to get since he didn't drink and needed to ask a woman who was also buying wine. He sent a quick text to Rae letting him know that he was here.

Ryan: I'm here.

He gathered all his things together and locked up his car as the front door opened. He saw Rae standing there motioning for him to come inside while trying to keep two rambunctious dogs at bay.

"Welcome partner," Rae said with a fake southern drawl.

"Howdy their sugar," He said letting some of his inner Georgian show. "Looks like you could use some help with the dogs."

"Just move your feet." He quickly entered the house as Rae released the dogs. "So how was the drive down?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought. Getting out of Austin was a mess, but that was too be expected, then trying to get into town was frustrating but I made it, and it's only 1:30 PM." They walked further into the house. "Now where should I put everything?"

"You can stash your belongings in the bedroom, second door on your right. And I'll take these." Ryan walks into the bedroom, "My parents are going to love these." He heard Rae say.

He put his belongings down by Evie's and was about to turn and leave when he saw the teddy bear she had stuffed in her carry on, on the desk in the room. He moved towards it and saw that his business card was sitting in the bear's lap. He chuckled and walked out the door.

"Okay now that you have everything settled let's meet the folks." Rae led him to a pair of back doors that led to a gray patio. The deck was decorated with a glass table, probably for parties like the one tonight, to the left along with two black deck chairs with green and white striped cushions. To his right was an identical set of chairs facing towards another, smaller, table in front of a couch that matched the chairs. There were two blond women sitting on the sofa enjoying the shade, watching the river traffic. On was holding a small white poodle while the other was chattering away about the "old days."

"Ryan this is my mother Sharron," Rae gestured to the woman with the small dog.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Ryan Haywood. Thank you for opening your home to me. I hope I'm not too much of a bother," He said as he shook her hand.

"Oh nonsense," Sharron had a slight drawl. Ryan would have been able to tell that she grew up here but lived elsewhere just by hearing that voice. "No one should be alone on a holiday like this. We're glad to have you." Ryan wondered how much this woman knew of his "situation."

"And this is my mother's childhood friend, Kathy," Rae added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am." Ryan greeted.

"Likewise, now take a seat," the others went to HEB to grab some Blue Bell ice cream for tonight."

"Rae, you should have told me. I would have been more than happy to pick some up while I was there earlier."

"He's a keeper. Either you or Rach better snatch him up fast."

"Well about that," Rae looked to Ryan, "Is it alright to tell them?"

"We might as well. They are going to find out soon."

"Rae, did you finally bring a guy home to meet your parents?" Sharon teased.

"Mom I brought home, Ben!" Rae rebutted.

"Ben doesn't count, and you know it."

"No, I didn't bring home a guy to meet you. I brought over Evie's guy to meet you."

"Oh, my stars, Evie finally has a boyfriend!" Sharon was so excited.

"Not quite," Ryan said sheepishly. "You see there was this misunderstanding at the airport. I happened to sit next to Evie on the plane, and we may have said each other's words." Ryan explained.

"May have?" Kathy asked.

"From what I have gathered, Evie and I both have very common phrases for our soulmarks. I know that she said mine, but we don't know if I said hers'. Neither one of us reacted to the other person, but ever since yesterday, I've felt this pull in my chest when I think about her."

"What are Evie's words? I don't think I've seen them." Sharron asked.

"She keeps them covered most of the time either with her hair or a bandage or some type of clothing. She has somehow gotten it into her head that the marks are like tattoos and will fade if they get sun damaged, so she keeps a band aid over it when her shirt doesn't cover it. I've seen the word Miss, but that's it." Ryan's heart skipped a beat and his mouth burst into a smile. "She is very secretive about them for some reason."

"I know why she guards them," Ryan said. "When you have a common phrase like mine as your soul mark, it's easier for people to tease you with it. It happened in so many of my schools when I was younger, we moved around a lot. Kids would get it in their heads that if they said your words, then they would have some sort of control over you," He clarified. "Every time your phrase gets said you feel this burst of hope and when it's a false alarm like many of mine were, it is the most soul crushing experience." Ryan put his elbows on his knees and rested his hands, intertwined at the fingertips, on his mouth.

"That sounds awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Sharon said.

"It happened in the past, there is no sense dwelling on it now." They all heard the creek of the patio door open.

"Sharon we're back." Jim stepped outside and shut the door behind him. "You must be Ryan. I'm Jim Riley." The two shook hands "I'm glad you could join us." Ryan felt nervous like he was back in college auditioning for one of his plays.

"Thank you for letting me join in Sir," Ryan responded politely.

"Please, call me Jim. I wanted to thank you for helping Rae out this morning."

"That's what neighbors are for," Ryan said.

"Okay, it's getting kind of warm out here. How about everyone but Ryan goes inside." Rae strongly suggested.

"What, Rae that's rude." Jim chastised.

"No dad, it really isn't. I'll explain inside once, Evie is outside." Rae pushed her father through the door. "Ryan, go sit as far away from these doors as possible," Rae whispered to Ryan who moved to sit in the chair furthest to the right. Rae walked inside. "Hey Evie, you can put your cokes in the cooler outside," She said. "I'll finish putting these things away."

Ryan could hear her footsteps coming closer.

"Sure, thanks, Rae," Evie said turning to walk towards the patio. Rae trailed behind and stopped her as Evie put her hand on the handle of the door. "What's up?" Evie asked.

"Before you go out there, I just want you to know, that there is also a surprise waiting for you too," Rae said as she took her hand off Evie's shoulder.

"Do I want to go outside," Evie said suspiciously.

"Yes, you do, or at least you will. Trust me." Rae insisted.

"That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence," Evie replied.

"Just go." Evie turned the door handle. "And remember what you said this morning!" Evie heard Rae call as she opened the door and stepped outside.

Evie took a moment to appreciate the view like she did every time she walked outside to the porch. "God it's gorgeous here." She said out loud.

Ryan's breath was caught in his throat. 'It's not as gorgeous as you.' He thought. 'Damn that was cheesy.' He observed her, waiting for the moment that she saw him. He noticed how small she really was. She couldn't have been taller than Jeremy. He saw that she was wearing silver high top Converse that looked like they had seen better days. Traveling upwards he saw her short, light blue shorts had the American flag printed on the front. They were the perfect length for her. Not untastefully short but short enough to show off her strong dancer's legs.

He couldn't make out the front of her shirt from where he was sitting, but that didn't matter. The back of her black tank top was lace, making it easy to see the outline of her body. His eyes lingered on her waist. He could just make out the black edges of a tattoo, that looked suspiciously like a ghost from packman. He could make out a bright green and black material that clasped in the middle of her back, which he assumed must have been her swimsuit.

Further, up he saw that her hair was down. The feathered tresses reached mid shoulder blade, just barely exposing the fragmented lines on her left shoulder blade. 'That must be them,' he thought. They were too far away and obscured for Ryan to make out what they said.

Deciding it was time, Ryan cleared his throat to alert her that someone else was here. "Holy fuck!" Evie said as she jumped at the sound. She turned to look for the source and lost her footing by the steps that led down to the grassy bank of the river. Ryan sprang into action in a futile attempt to catch her before she fell down the five steep steps. Evie flailed her unoccupied arm in the air and, fortunately, was able to grab onto the stair's railing.

Ryan took a few more steps towards her. "Shit, Evie! Are you alright," he asked from a distance, not sure how close she wanted him to be.

Evie stabled herself on the stairs and finally looked towards the voice. Her heart started pounding from adrenaline and shock, she froze in place for a moment before righting herself on the stairs. "Ryan?" She mentally chastised herself. 'That's all you can say to him. Not a, what are you doing here? Not a, it's good to see you. Just, Ryan. I'm pretty sure he knows his own fucking name.'

"Yeah, I'm here." He replied running his fingers through his hair. "I hope you don't mind. I'm Rae's neighbor, and she heard that I didn't have any plans for the 4th so,"

"That sneaky bitch," Evie said too quietly for Ryan to hear. She looked through the glass doors into the where Rae stood with a cheeky grin on her face. The rest of the group was standing around her so Evie could do little else than shake her head.

She ascended the stairs and stopped right before the first patio chair. The tension between them thick.

Ryan sighed, "Look we both know this is awkward. Why don't we sit down and discuss this? Whatever this is."

Evie nodded and sat down in the chair in front of her and Ryan reclaimed his seat. They sat facing each other with only a small glass table separating them.

Evie set the six pack of Diet Coke on the table between them and ripped one off for herself before offering one to Ryan. "Would you like one? They may be a little warm, and a bit shaken up, but they should still be fine."

"Sure," Ryan grabbed one for himself. Both waited a bit before opening them up so they wouldn't explode.

Thoughts buzzed around both their heads like a hornet's nest. Each willing the other would talk first. They sat in awkward silence for 5 minutes, looking everywhere else except for each other.

"I'm going to just come out and say it," Ryan said breaking the suffocating silence. "Evie, you said my words." Evie sat their catatonic, trying to process what he had just said. Did she hear him right? 'I said his words?'

Ryan sat there in trepidation, waiting for her to say something, anything. To just acknowledge his presence.

"Look I understand how crazy this must seem. Someone you just met trying to convince you that he believes he is your soulmate." Still nothing. He waited a full minute. "I can see that this was a waste of time," He said as he stood and started to walk towards the doors into the house.

He walked past her seat where she sat unmoving. He slowed his pace hoping, praying, for anything. He was almost to the door when he felt a small trembling hand grab hold of his arm. He paused mid-step staying frozen like a statue, his gaze locked on the translucent reflection on the glass doors.

"-did-to me," She spoke so softly that Ryan couldn't make out the words.

He looked down to see Evie's hand holding his, her gaze fixed to on the diet coke in her lap. "What was that," He asked.

Evie inhaled. "On the plane," her voice shook, "when you first spoke to me. What did you say?"

Ryan took a knee down in front of Evie. He gently put his right hand under her chin and lifted her head up so he could stare into her big brown eyes. He could see tears moments from overflowing.

"The first time I spoke to you I said, "Excuse me, Miss?" She only blinked causing tears to start cascading down her face. He took a deep breath, "and you responded, "Sorry about that."

Ryan didn't know what happened. One moment he was kneeling in front of Evie, hoping that she would make any kind of indication that she could hear him. Suddenly he was on his back, on the porch with arms around his neck and a small figure pressed on top of him their lips pressed together. He could feel droplets of water fall on his cheeks from her tears. She was about to pull away when Ryan finally gained control of his limbs. He wrapped an arm around Evie's waist, pulling her closer, while his other was snaking up her spine towards her beautiful brown locks. He buried his hand in her hair.

Everything just felt right.

He felt like a part of his soul snapped into place. They stayed like that for a few moments longer, neither one wanting to break the kiss.

The horn from a passing boat brought them slowly back into reality. Ryan slowly sat up keeping Evie on his lap, wanting, needing to be close to her. Evie rested her forehead on his, eyes still closed. Ryan brought the hand not supporting her up towards her face to wipe away her tears.

"I finally found you." She whispered and opened her eyes. Deep brown met stunning cobalt blue. Ryan pulled her closer, crushing her into his chest, gently rocking the two back and forth.

"You found me." He said resting his chin atop her head, his hand rubbing small circles across her back. They stayed in each other's embrace for minutes, hours, neither could tell. "Evie?" Ryan spoke breaking the comfortable silence.

"Uh huh," she responded too happy for words.

"Can we move to the couch? My legs are starting to fall asleep." Evie chuckled and stood, helping Ryan up as well. The pair settled in the corner of the couch. Evie sat between Ryan's legs, so her back was resting against Ryan's chest.

She interlaced their fingers and spoke, "So I guess we should start getting to know one another."

"Ask anything you'd like," Ryan responded pulling their hands to his mouth and placing a kiss on the back of hers.

"I'll ask a question, and then you ask one after. Sound fair?" She felt Ryan nod his head. "Let's see, how long have you lived in Austin?"

"It's been a good five or six years. I've been in Texas longer than that, though. Okay, my turn. Why are you moving here?"

"I got a job here. I'm going to be working at the new high school come August." Evie explained. She felt Ryan shift slightly.

"The one off of East 51?" He asked.

"Yup. Come August 1st I'll be working full time at Bartholomew high school."

"Have you seen the campus yet?"

"Not yet. I've heard it looks amazing, though."

"It really is," Ryan said. "It looks more like a college campus than a high school one. They just finished construction a few weeks ago."

"I think it helps that the elementary school, middle school, and high school are all in such close proximity."

"I can take you around there sometime. The campus just so happens to be across the street from where I work."

"Seriously? Well, then I'm expecting visits on my lunch break."

"It would be my pleasure." His leaned closer to whisper huskily in her ear. "I'll actually be over fairly frequently. We, Rooster Teeth Productions, are actually participating in their after-school programs. A bunch of us are going to help the kids with video production, theater, coding, video game design."

"I guess we'll both have late nights then." She said. "I have color guard practice every day before school and twice a week after school. The other days I will be helping watch the kids whose parents work late."

"Wow, that's a full schedule."

"Eh, I'm used to it." Evie shrugged her shoulders, "Alright, why does your business card say your title is the mad king?" Ryan laughed. Not the quiet chuckles they had shared, but a deep full bellied laugh that shook Evie on his chest.

"Oh, I don't know if we have time to fully explore all of the reasons behind that decision," Ryan tried to defer.

"Now I'm really interested."

"I'll show you the video someday."

Evie yawned and snuggled further into Ryan who was running his fingers through her hair; she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Ryan noticing her predicament whispered, "I'll be here when you wake up." Evie drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Ryan soon followed.