I truly believe this has become my favorite "novel" of all that I have written. I hope I've also put in enough dedication to each chapter to reflect that, and note as always that I love taking requests for future chapter prompts. Thank you so much to the anon(s - not sure if there is more than one of you because you all used the same name!) for your amazingly supportive comments in the last two chapters. Makes my whole day and reminds me of why I write in the first place. To make myself and others happy.


Scenario: Where the clock on the wrist of your hand tells you how long you have before your heart stops.
I am a sucker for this scenario and always jump at the opportunity to read any story with this prompt.


She never figured out how they got the clock in her wrist in the first place.

All Emma knew was that it ticked down each second, the lack of a ticking noise being filled in by the one she placed in her head by herself.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

It wasn't anything too fancy, just lit up numbers separated by colons, where the numbers went years: months: days: hours: minutes: seconds.

00:00:29:16:35:18

The 18 became a 17, the 17 became a 16... she could go on forever. But she couldn't. She only had 29 days left until she met the one. She was a pretty average 21 year old, her heart set on figuring out the person the clock on her wrist would lead to. She couldn't picture anyone in her mind who fit the picture, and goodness had she tried so hard to see if anyone she knew had the same number as her on their wrist.

Emma suddenly could see the flaw in that logic. She would have already met that person if she found the one. Neither of their clocks would still be counting down. Either way, though, the logic didn't matter because one thing was for certain.

She had never met the person she'd love.


00:00:18:07:00:47

Emma stared at the clock tick down even more as she ate some cereal. Her heart began to race, and she felt herself begin to worry about who her significant other would be. Would he be the boy of her dreams? Would he care about this as much as she did?

She thought she was pretty enough and smart enough to be an appealing person, but she didn't know if she'd be paired up with a slob. A jerk. Someone who was rude. She had to admit how the past few weeks had made her shape the ideal significant other in her mind.

She wanted a talented guy who was at least averagely-handsome. She wanted some compassionate, someone guided in life.

Goodness, she was freaking out.

Emma got up from the table and pushed in the chair, stretching using the edge of the table itself to try and relax. It didn't work.


00:00:07:21:11:39

She couldn't sleep, no matter how hard she tried.

It seemed that the more she tried to make herself not care, the more she fell in love with whomever her person would be. Okay, maybe not falling in love. But she felt this flutter in her heart every time she imagined the other person. She had carved a picture of him into her mind so specific that she didn't know how she'd react to seeing him in person.

Was she excited? Emma thought so, but it was starting to take a toll on her health. She needed to sleep, needed to eat, needed to focus on her actual life. She wanted to somehow send him a message, ask him if he was real.

Was there actually someone waiting on the other side?


00:00:01:02:28:55

Just one more day. She was nervous. That was for sure.

The excitement she'd felt days earlier had quickly dissipated into pure dread of all the horrific scenarios she could imagine looping through her head. Her best friend Gia had agreed to meet up with her so they could search for him together when it came time, but even that couldn't stop the chills she was feeling. Emma sighed, leaning against the cushions of her sofa. She fumbled with her wrist, rubbing a finger against the clock. The numbers reflected light against her skin.

She suddenly wanted to rip the numbers out of her skin. A voice in her head screamed profusely at her to scratch them off. But she didn't move. She instead got up to stretch again.

Oh, how badly she wanted to meet this stranger.


00:00:00:00:02:00

Gia and Emma couldn't find one person who looked like he was waiting for his significant other. Guys strutted around in jean jackets, and girls smoked cigarettes, eyeing the two closely. Emma felt a bit worried at where they currently were, but she kept a close look at her timer to make sure it was still running. She didn't want to be matched with a druggie.

00:00:00:00:01:00

Why were they even in this part of town? Emma sighed in relief as soon as they'd escaped, but the sun was well set behind the horizon.

"Emma, let's get out of here," Gia said.

Emma knew that if her best friend was nervous, there was definitely something up. Emma looked to Gia's timer. She still had a year to go before she'd meet her person. And as soon as Gia screamed in fear, Emma knew that she wouldn't live to see who she'd love.

She turned around to punch the attacker before coming face-to-face with a boy who didn't wear a leather jacket. He was sweating terribly, wearing a track jacket and basketball shorts.

"Emma, please. Let's go!" Gia cried.

Emma's wrist beeped. Gia stopped pleading and yanked Emma's wrist up for everyone to see.

00:00:00:00:00:00

Emma watched as the numbers disappeared from her wrist quietly. The boy's wrist had also beeped at the same time.

"Emma," the boy tested the name on his tongue quietly. "Emma."

"Emma, I'm going to go," Gia smiled knowingly, kissing her cheek and turning to the boy. "Keep her safe. You know what happens when you do something to your chosen one."

Emma couldn't move. She kept staring at his face, at the way he panted quietly from jogging and the beads of sweat trickled down. The shadows dancing on his face brought out the chisel in his well-shaved jaw, but his eyes were too dark for her to tell their color. Either blue or green.

"What's your name?" she whispered.

He felt the same shock she was experiencing and had to take a second to recoup. He cleared his throat and snapped out of his daze.

"Troy," he said.

She let free a gentle smile.

"Hi."

His hands immediately cupped her cheeks, and he closed his eyes as he kissed her forehead. Emma couldn't help but wrap her own arms around his neck, letting his mouth trail breathy kisses down her face until it was centimeters from her own. They didn't kiss, though. They couldn't just yet. She could hear his breathing. She could tell how he wanted so badly to kiss her but knew it was too soon. She knew the hunger she felt on her own. And she completely disregarded the sweat he was covered in.

He swayed her quietly as they stayed holding each other in their arms. His head rested on her shoulder, his thoughts clouded with a sudden burst of love.

"You're really handsome," Emma broke the silence.

Troy lifted his head up to look at her, breaking out into a boyish grin that turned Emma's heart into putty.

"Were you worried that I wasn't going to be?" he asked, a playful yet quiet tone in his voice.

"Not really. I knew that you'd be perfect for me, whether you were handsome or not," she replied honestly, looking down at her wrist.

"Emma," he whispered like before, playing with the name. "Emma, Emma, Emma."

He looked down at her, noting the slight red hue in her cheeks.

"I love that name. Emma."

Her hands couldn't stop themselves from traveling slowly all over his face, and she brushed her thumb over his bottom lip.

"Let's go to my house," he said, quickly adding, "Unless you'd like to go to your house. That's totally fine, too."

"No, no, it's fine," Emma smiled reassuringly. "We can go to your house."

He took her hand in his, walking her up the sidewalk and away from the dangerous part of town.


"How have we never met before?" she asked. "How old are you?"

"22," he said. "Please don't tell me you're 16 or something."

Emma chuckled, shaking her head.

"Thankfully, no. 21, actually."

He sighed of relief, fishing for his house key in his pocket and unlocking the door.

"I have a dog. Is that okay?" he asked. "I don't know if you're allergic or don't like dogs or something else."

"Troy, I love dogs. I've always wanted one."

"Well, now you have one," he smiled. "His name's Cooper. He'll love you."

She had to take in how large his house looked compared to hers. She lived in a larger apartment than most people's, but his house was... a full-on house. It looked to be three stories, actually. She felt intimidated, and the barking from inside was adding onto the fear.

But the inside was cozy and welcoming, the rugs feeling soft and the couches comfortable. Everything was in its right place, just as her house was situated. Cooper ran up to her and wagged his tail rapidly, and she reached out the palm of her hand for him to sniff and get used to. He took a second of hesitation before turning around to let her pet him, and she laughed.

"See? I told you he's a lover."

Emma looked up to Troy and looked back at Cooper. This would be her new family. She stood up after brushing Cooper's back for a few minutes and stared at Troy. He just stared back with a curious look in his eye, but she couldn't stop herself when he bit his lip to see if she'd watch. He grinned wider at her obvious desire and broke their tense atmosphere that Cooper had begun to notice.

"Do you want something to eat?" he asked. "I just went to the store this morning. Figured I'd need to get more food than usual for tonight."

The two of them settled on something quick to eat before sitting on the couch. Emma gracefully took off her thin jacket and relaxed as much as she could.

"Were you nervous, too?" she asked.

"I didn't know how to feel, honestly. Maybe nervous at times," he replied, taking a sip of water. "But I didn't feel overwhelmed. What about you?"

"Very nervous. I guess I was overthinking it, but I'd imagined all the different ways you wouldn't be right at all. That doesn't even sound correct, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? Don't. It's a nerve-wracking thing."

Emma's eyes felt droopy. She could occasionally feel her head swirl. She needed sleep, and the sudden drain of anxiousness from her system exposed how tired she actually was.

"Well, do you think I'm right for you?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"You said you were thinking of all the ways I wouldn't be right for you. How bad did I do?"

It was definitely the lack of sleep that encouraged her to do what she did. Emma sat up on the couch and inched toward him until he was underneath her, and she leaned down to kiss him. He was reluctant at first because of how soon they'd met, but he then kissed back with more fervor, and his arms wrapped all over her back.

He tasted like chocolate, she thought to herself.

And while they kissed, she felt herself drift off into sleep. He was kissing her to sleep.

"I think I'm going to love you," she murmured. "I'm going to love you a lot. Love you. A lot."

"And I'll love you just as much, okay?" he said quietly.

She fell asleep on his chest as he himself fell asleep, his right hand rested on her back and his left hand holding hers over his heart.