Phil was sitting at the round table in the library, obviously not wanting to even give me a chance to pretend like I had missed him. He heard my footsteps (Of course he did. The floor was tile and the library was empty, as usual.) (Phil sure spent a lot of time alone. Alone or with Louise, at least. He never seemed to mind, though.) and turned, placing his book on the plastic surface. He always seemed to be carrying some sort of book. I could never tell if he read because he didn't have many friends or if he didn't have many friends because he read.
He motioned for me to sit and I did. Normally, I was a commanding person in just about any conversation. I decided what to talk about, when it started and when it ended. It was all apart of being popular. Still, I had a strong sense that this was Phil's time, and I was going to have to listen to him.
He studied me for a moment. "The first time I saw you," Phil said, shaking his head slightly, "you were at this table. Passed out and just about drowning in your own drool. Except that couldn't have been the first time, really. The first time would've been earlier in the week, when you ran into me."
So that had been the crash I heard. I hadn't meant to knock anyone over, of course; it was just the usual early-morning chaos. To be expected. And besides, I had needed to talk to Pj. We were in the late stages of planning The World's Most Dank Party Ever.
"You know what I thought that day?" He continued, after lending me a moment to thinking, "I thought that there was no way you could've been my soulmate. I had heard so many rumors about you; that you were the first one to start the trend of jumping off a cliff into the lake, which resulted in at least two people breaking their arms but also one of the "best summers ever", and I quote. That you had immediately been roped up into Pj's little group, and the four of you have been best friends and kings of the school since pre-k. I heard dozens of things like this, all of which basically singled you out to be a funny, if dimwitted, cool, kind guy. And then of course I learned about your mom-er, sorry about that, by the way," for the first time, Phil faulted, "and I figured out that you were, besides the dreamboat of the school, human. What does this show you?"
I leaned my chin on my palm, thinking for a moment. I came up blank, and when I told Phil so, the other boy sighed.
"Exactly. You're so out of my league that I'd be surprised if you knew my name before Louise introduced me to you."
"That's not true!" At this, I shot up. "Of course I knew your name!" I wasn't sure if I was even lying or not; his name, not to mention his eyes, had been on my mind constantly since the party. So much so that all the memories of him (generally when someone mentioned him in passing; otherwise, the colors would've come much sooner) were mingled with his name. "And besides, I know a lot more about you, too."
"Such as?"
"While, you love to read." I gestured towards his book. "At the party, you were holding a book about graveyards," I was surprised what small details were coming to me know, at a point when I usually would've been wordless from panic and pressure.
"The Graveyard Book," a slight smile worked its way onto his face. "Continue, if you can."
"You spend a lot of time in the library. I'm not sure if that's because you like to read, or if Lou just hasn't herded you to a crowd yet. You live near Pj and I'm assuming like anime, based on your t-shirt. And," I really couldn't guess much else, "and your eyes are really pretty. Kind of like a lighter shade of the sky."
"You just made that all up," Phil laughed. "So what does this all mean? You being my soulmate and all."
It was a valid question. Some people remained friends with their soulmates, finding that they weren't romantically compatible but great for making jokes with and just hanging out. Other ended up not liking their soulmate, in rare cases when they ended up being abusive or just cruel.
I shrugged, trying my best not to blush. Why did feelings have to be so difficult? "I guess it means that I'm suppose to love you. Not bothering with labels and sexuality, I think it's a very real possibility that I could."
The bell rang and we both stood, making a point not to look at each other as we both pretended to ready our already zipped bags. As I made to start out the door, Phil caught up with me. "Let me try something," he said, hesitantly taking my hand.
Maybe it was just basic human anatomy, but our finger laced together perfectly.