A/N - The all important first meeting, folks! Hope you like it.

Thank to all those who have reviewed so far. If I haven't replied individually to your review as yet, please don't be mad. RL has been hectic right now, but I do appreciate every single review.

Now...on with the show...


Chapter Eight

Angel of Destiny POV

It's time. In the last year I have slowly opened their connection to each other whilst simultaneously keeping it on a tight leash. I knew they would be able to feel each other when in close proximity, but I had to keep the connection scrambled so that they would not follow the pull to each too early. That would be simply disastrous.

It had been a very close call last year in the library and I was sorry to have to use the services of Gabriel, The Angel of Death much sooner than I would have liked. Ethan Platt was a wonderful man and though his time was already coming to a close when I called in the favour, I was still sad to have to do it, even if the time came 48 hours sooner than it should have. I had needed to get my charge out of there; he was too close to finding her. I had the connection scrambled some, but even I could feel how intense the pull was and it was taking all of my power to hold him back.

This connection is nothing like I have ever dealt with before; it is far more powerful than even I could have imagined and I am the one who holds their destiny!

Tonight, my young charge turns 21 years old. Tonight, I shall visit them. Tonight, I bring them into a dream together; face to face for the first time. It's time to show them their destiny. It's time for them to make a choice.

BPOV – Age Twenty One

My birthday has never been something I like to celebrate. Why should I? When it was my birth that caused the downward spiral of my parent's marriage? Okay, so I know that isn't true in a real sense, but still. I hate celebrating my birthday. I hate all the fuss. That still didn't stop my Dad and my brother from flying up to see me and take me out for dinner.

To tell the truth, I enjoyed spending time with them. I do miss them something fierce and it also helped that Emmett brought Rose with him. She and I had the best time beating my brother in a couple games of pool after said dinner while Dad went to meet up with an old college buddy of his that lived in Malibu. Of course Emmett sulked like a big baby when he lost four games out of five to Rose and me, but that didn't stop us from teasing him mercilessly. Like I said, it was fun. No fuss, just the way I like it.

Angela, her boyfriend Ben and Tara, my room mate from last year ended up meeting us at the bar to help me drink legally. We didn't get rat assed drunk per say, but we were definitely merry by the end of the night. It was the most amount of fun I had had in a long time.

My dreams in the last year have evolved to hearing my prince talk to me nightly. I sometimes find myself responding to him too and since Angela and I now share an apartment off of campus, she constantly teases me about my 'sleep talking'. She seems to have heard several conversations, albeit one sided to her, between my prince and me and has even gone so far as to quote some of the things I have said in my sleep to him! Bitch.

As I stumbled into my room, half drunk and half sober after a wonderful night with my brother and friends, I wondered if I would see my prince again tonight. I sure hoped so. I missed him. That pulse I feel around him is always strong, whether I am awake or not. I have felt him around campus on several occasions, but for some unknown reason I have always been unable to pinpoint where it is coming from despite the pull towards it. Thus meaning, I have not yet been able to see him in the flesh. Sucks ass, let me tell you. I really want to be able to follow that pull towards him. I want to be able to hold him again; I miss the feel of him in my arms. Maybe that sounds crazy, seeing as I have never actually felt him for real, but hey, this is me we're talking about; you know, the girl who dreams about her past lives and loves and has done for the last thirteen years.

I shut my bedroom door and stripped out of the jeans and blue button top I had worn out this evening and went through my nightly routine in the bathroom before changing into my pyjama's and crawling into bed. Emmett and Rose were sleeping on the pull out bed in the living room and Angela; the drunken skunk had passed out on her bed around ten minutes ago. I pulled my covers over me slowly and as I did every night I whispered I quiet goodnight to my prince.

"I hope to see you tonight again, my prince. Goodnight, my love."

I was standing in a large white room with a bright light shining in through the windows surrounding me. This was new. Whenever I dreamt at night of my prince, it was either in my room or his lately and this definitely was not his room and certainly was not mine either. I gazed around, trying to find a door that could lead me out of the room when I heard a sound behind me. I spun and came face to face with my prince, who was standing two feet behind me with an adorably confused expression on his beautiful face. His hair was rumpled more than usual, as if he had just rolled out of bed and he was wearing striped dark blue pyjama pants and a white t-shirt. He looked unbelievably sexy and I could feel the pulse surround me as his eyes locked with mine.

"Angel? Where are we?" he asked, his head tilted to one side.

"I have no idea. This is new" I answered.

As if of our own accord we moved towards each other, following the pull. This was also new. In all the previous dreams I had of him in the present time, he had already been standing in front of me or knelt by my bed or I his, but this, this was totally new. We stopped in front of each other so that there was a bare inch between our bodies, I could feel the heat coming from him. He lifted his hand and stroked my face, leaving a tingly fire across my skin wherever his fingers touched.

"Beautiful as always." He whispered, almost to himself.

He tentatively reached across the minimal space between us and wrapped his arms around me, drawing me closer. Again, this was new. We had never been able to really feel each other in the dreams of the last two years. I had missed feeling him against me from the dreams of my past. I sighed in quiet relief as my body melted into his and I brought my arms up to wrap around his waist, hugging him to me.

"This is new." He murmured into my hair, where his face had taken residence.

"Mmhm." I hummed back, enjoying the feel of him against me and the pulse that surrounded us.

"Who are you tonight?" he asked in wonder.

"Who I have always been." The answer came to me so easily, yet it was so cryptic that even I wondered at it.

"Truth spoken, young one." I heard an angelic voice say from behind me.

My prince released me, making me miss his warmth immediately and we both spun to face the newcomer. In all of my dreams, there had never been anyone else but my prince and I, so forgive me for being wary of this person.

"You are forgiven, child." The lady said calmly.

She was beyond beautiful. She was dressed in a long white robe of sorts, with gold piping down the front. Her hair was so light in colour that it actually glowed and her eyes were the most curious shade of blue that I had ever seen. They were even lighter that Rose's eyes and that was saying something. She was tall, taller than me, but not as tall as my prince. She looked like an angel.

"That is because I am one." She said. I was startled. Could she hear my thoughts?

"Yes." she answered simply.

Oh…

She smiled and her entire face lit up as if from within and if I thought she was beautiful before, it was nothing compared to how she looked now. However, benign she looked, I was still wary of her. She was after all interrupting my nightly time with my prince. I glanced over to him and found that he was not even looking at her, but at me; his expression was soft and loving, a small smile playing across his lips. I smiled back at him and his smile widened. He reached out one hand and I felt the pulse move as he did. I reached out my own hand and slipped it into his, my entire body relaxed and sighed in relief at his touch.

We turned back to the Angel and saw that she had been watching us with a soft smile on her face. I flushed in embarrassment, making her laugh. Her laugh was like the sound of tinkling bells and it sent warmth through me, relaxing me further.

"Come, my young ones, let us sit and talk. There is much for me to tell you." she said in her soft lilting voice.

It was only then that I noticed two white couches in the far right hand corner of the room. I could have sworn the room was bare before. We moved to the couches and sat down. I sat next to my prince and the angel sat on the one facing us. The couch was soft and plush, almost as if we were sitting on a cloud.

"Mmhm" the angel hummed and I wondered briefly if it was in response to my observation of the couches. She nodded once.

Huh. Okay then.

"Let us start, the night and your sleep will not last long and I have much I need to say to you both. I know who you are, who you were in the past and who you are now, but I also know that you do not know who the other is in this life, correct?" she paused as both my prince and I nodded.

"I am The Angel of Destiny. I am the keeper of souls. I collect and distribute them as I write their destiny. Each soul's destiny is written long before they become souls. I have written yours and thus far it has played out exactly as it should. Your destinies were foreseen and written thousands of years ago. But before I go on, you each know the names of your past selves and of your love's past self, but you do not know the names of your present love, correct?"

We nodded again.

"Good. It is as it should be then."

"I'm sorry, but why is that how it should be? Is it our destiny to be apart?" My prince cut in. The Angel smiled.

"No, my child. It is not. Your destiny is to love one another."

"But, we have been torn apart each and every time! Is that in our destiny too? To love but never to keep it?" He demanded, his hand squeezing mine.

The Angel sighed and leaned back further into the sofa. She regarded us for a long moment and then took a deep breath.

"Your destiny was foretold as such: 'Six times they shall meet, six times they shall love, six times they shall lose." She paused.

My prince and I looked at one another, our expressions showing identical pain. So we would always lose? We would always lose one another? How is that- … Hang on! She said SIX times…I counted back to my dreams in my head as the Angel sat and simply watched us.

1st dream – Taos and Andorra

2nd dream – Eric and Annabelle

3rd dream – Andrew and Grace

4th dream – Emanuel and Rosa

5th dream – Marius and Aurora

6th dream – Aron and Anna

That's six. But then that means….

"Seventh they shall win…" The Angel finished.

EPOV – Age Twenty One

"Your destiny was foretold as such: 'Six times they shall meet, six times they shall love, six times they shall lose…" She paused.

I looked down at my angel, my heart clenching in pain and I heard what the Angel of Destiny was saying. We would lose. We would always lose. We would…wait…what? Did she say six times? But that…I thought back to all of my dreams from the last thirteen years and counted each life I had lived. I counted once, twice, three times and then looked up.

1st – Taos and Andorra

2nd – Eric and Annabelle

3rd – Andrew and Grace

4th – Emanuel and Rosa

5th – Marius and Aurora

6th – Aron and Anna

That's six. But then that means….

"Seventh they shall win…" The Angel finished.

I stared at her, dumbfounded. If we had lived through our six losses then that meant that this, our seventh life was it.

I turned back to my angel and her wide grin matched mine. She really was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. Her eyes were sparkling and bright, the same gorgeous chocolate colour I loved always. Her skin was pale and smooth; perfect, that is what she was, perfect. The Angel of Destiny was beautiful too, but my angel sitting next to me surpassed even her in my eyes.

My eyes flickered over to the Angel of Destiny and I felt a little bad for thinking that, even if it was the truth. The Angel laughed.

"It's quite alright that you find your love far more beautiful than me. That is how it should be, young one." She assured me as I flushed in embarrassment

Shit, you can hear my thoughts, can't you? I asked her silently and she nodded, smiling.

Shit. I thought again, making her smile widen.

I turned back to look and my angel and raised my hand to stroke her face, relishing in the tingly feeling I got each time I touched her.

"So I have been feeling you." I murmured.

"And I you." she whispered back, leaning her face into the palm of my hand and closing her eyes in contentment.

"But why can I not follow the pull. I want to, oh so badly." I wondered as I leaned forward and pressed my forehead onto hers, breathing her in.

"I have not allowed it." The Angel said from her seat.

I pulled back from my love and snapped round to stare at the Angel incredulously.

"Why not? If this is the life in which we win, why the hell not?" I demanded, feeling the anger rise within me.

"Calm, young one. I shall explain all." The Angel soothed.

I couldn't help it; I jumped up from the couch and started to pace as the thoughts whirled around in my head.

Thirteen years of dreams, thirteen years of holding her, loving her and then losing her each and every time. Thirteen years of being without her. How could she? Did she not realise that I could not survive without my angel? I have felt her around campus for near on two years now and been able to do nothing about it, did she not realise how frustrating that was to me? My love, my angel had been so close to me and there had been nothing I could do!

I paced up and down until I felt the pull. I turned and gazed at my angel's perfect face. I mentally examined the pull and realised that I could feel her emotions as if they were my own. She was sad and worried about me. Her pull was calling for me to be next to her; she was missing me. I immediately strode back to the couch and sat down, pulling her into my body as close as I could get. I hugged her to me tightly and whispered soothingly into her ear as I buried my face into her hair and neck, breathing her delicious strawberry scent.

"I had to hold you both back and you have no idea how hard it was to maintain the control. It was not time yet and that is the only reason I held you back. You were not ready." The Angel whispered.

"And it is time now?" I asked without removing my face from my love's neck.

"Yes. Your meeting is pre-determined. I have come tonight with a choice for you both." She answered.

I finally raised my head and looked at her. I didn't say anything. I could feel that my angel was getting ready to ask for me anyway.

"Choice?" my love asked.

"Yes. I am here to offer you the choice of deferring the meeting if you so wish." The Angel stated.

I looked at the Angel and wondered if she had lost her mind. She shook her head at me and then nodded at my love.

"I have not lost my mind and yes, there is a reason for this choice." She answered what I could only assume was both of our thoughts.

"Your connection is the strongest one I have ever had to deal with and for that reason, in this life; I had to keep you apart until the time came for you to meet. In your previous lives, you have lost because you both followed that connection too soon. Though it was foretold that it would happen, I have tried to keep it from happening and have failed each time. In this life, you are set to succeed in being together, but you are both very selfless people and love each to a degree that should one be threatened, the other will sacrifice themselves." She paused and took a deep breath.

"It was said that if I allowed your meeting to happen without warning, you would sacrifice your love in hopes of keeping each other alive. You would walk away from one another. To prevent this, I have had to offer you a choice, but it does come with stipulations."

"What stipulations?" my angel interrupted.

"If you choose to defer your meeting, I can only offer you a deferment of two years. If you choose not to defer your meeting, then you will face the possibility of sacrifice. It is up to you to prevent that from happening. I cannot help with that." The Angel explained.

"So that is why you brought us into this dream tonight. Our meeting is set to happen soon." I said as I considered all she was saying to us.

"Yes. you both will remember this dream, as you have always remembered the others, but I was sent here in hopes that it would prevent you from making the sacrifice. You both need to understand that this has all been pre-written and will happen as such. It also means that you both need to let go of the fear that you will lose one another again. That was not written. It will only happen, should you choose to allow it to happen." She confirmed.

I looked down at my angel and she looked up at me. Did we have to choose now? Could I walk away from her? Could I wait another two years for her? No. no, I couldn't. I knew that.

"The choice must be given now, yes and I can hear that you have already made yours. You both have"

The Angel stood from her seat and crossed to us. She laid a warm yet cool hand upon our head, as if in blessing. I closed my eyes from the comforting feeling that flowed through me at her touch.

"The choice is made. I only hope you refrain from sacrificing. Peace be with you both." She whispered.

I bolted upright in my bed and glanced around my room frantically. Did that really happen? Shit. That was new. Funny, that seemed to be the third time that had been said in the last 12 hours. I ran a hand through my hair and thought back to the conversation. I started when I realised what had been said.

I would be meeting my angel soon.

I jumped out of bed and ran to shower and dress. If I was to be meeting her soon, then I wanted it to be as soon as possible and the only place I had ever felt her whilst awake was on campus, so that would have to be where I looked for her first and foremost. I stopped dead in my tracks as I also realised that I had woken up before I got to speak to her again and tell her that I would see her soon. Double shit.

I think I dressed faster than a speeding bullet. Hell, I moved faster than a speeding bullet this morning. So much so that Jasper actually commented on it when I literally sprinted into the kitchen of our shared apartment to grab a banana or something easy to eat whilst I ran out the front door.

"Whoa, dude, where's the fire?" he called to me as I grabbed an apple and a banana from the fruit bowl on my way through to the lounge to grab my backpack.

"It's time. I need to get to campus. See you there!" I shouted back to him as I kept running out the door.

I ran down the four flights of stairs, forgoing the elevator. I burst out of the building and sprinted towards my car, unlocking it using my key fob as I neared it. I threw my backpack in and onto the passenger seat and slid into the driver seat. I quickly started the car and peeled out the parking lot and headed towards campus.

The ten minute drive seemed to take forever until finally, finally I pulled into a parking spot a few cars down from a gorgeous BMW M3 convertible in a light blue colour. I had seen that car around campus a few times and had always admired it. Whoever drove it quite obviously had taste. I locked up my car and strolled towards the Psyche building. I was ten minutes early for lecture, but I didn't mind. It was a gloriously sunny day, so I stopped in the main quad to enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes.

I realised that I had not considered the fact she may not even be on site today. There were a few day where I did not feel her around campus. The pull wasn't there, as if she wasn't nearby and it was the same right now. No pull. No pulse. No electricity.

I sighed and tugged at my hair in frustration. I should have asked The Angel how soon is soon.


A/N - So...they didn't meet in the flesh per say, but it's certainly better than not meeting at all, right? What did you think? Good? Bad?

As always R&R!