Hey everyone, I'm back with a new chapter and I've realised something that's really weird. I keep telling myself I'll post on Sundays but I end up doing it on Monday. Anyone have a solution to that?

Anyway, this is a Jax one-shot as requested by Friend A. I hope you like soulmate AUs because this was inspired by all those soulmate TikToks. I also got the idea from comments in the Greenhouse Academy fandom about how they technically shouldn't have tattoos because the age limit in California is 18. So, my reasoning is that they are soulmate tattoos.Also, this is not a reference to Guns and Roses, the similar title is purely coincidental.

As for your question about who I picture as Brooke when I write Brex or stories with Brooke, it really depends on the situation. Most of the time if I'm writing post season 3, it's Danika, but if it's pre season 3, it's Grace. The same goes for Emma. I don't really mind the change in actresses because they each bring unique perspectives and energies to each character and make them more complex and human. Thank you for your request and I would love to do more requests from you.

I hope you guys enjoy this and don't forget to send in your prompts.

Third Person POV

"Jackie." The name tumbles past his lips and to her, it's as if he were serenading her with sweet melodies as he pushes the stray strands away.

"You and I are meant to be." He holds her close, their bodies pressing against each other as they lay on the beach enjoying the sunrise. Neither of them noticed it however, as he stared at her with such intensity and he was lost in her endless brown eyes. "We're soulmates."

At once, the blissful reverie was broken. And she ran. She ran and ran till she could no more. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she needed to be far away, away from him and that accursed word.

She finally found herself at a stairwell, one rarely used and unknown to many, therefore desolate and void of any living beings.

Sitting herself down on one of the higher steps, she buries her head between her knees as she allows the memories to wash over her, each one causing a steady stream of tears to flow down her cheek, and it takes all she has to hold back her sobs.

"We're ok now." She mutters, rocking herself back and forth as she absent-mindedly strokes the near invisible mark on her upper arm. "We don't need to worry about anything anymore. It doesn't matter if we have a soulmate or not. We have a family now, both real and chosen."

She tries to push the memories away, stop the onslaught of tears rushing down her cheeks, but it's all for naught. Soon, she's plain exhausted and she just sits there, wallowing in her own misery.

Time became a foreign concept and she barely registered that any had passed until she felt two gentle arms wrapping themselves around her in a warm embrace.

She's pulled onto a lap, and her are tears kissed away. Each kiss sends butterflies fluttering throughout her being, but for once, she can't find the strength to react, to feel the usual giddiness she feels whenever he does this.

"I'm sorry." He whispers into her ear. "I'm sorry if I said something wrong and made you upset." He holds her tighter. "You don't have to tell me what it is; just know that I'm here for you."

Those few words are enough and the walls she built come crumbling down. Turning around to face him, she gives him a watery smile before pressing her lips onto his, apologising to him in the only way she knew he would take to heart.

"It's stupid, really." She chuckles and all he does is shake his head, telling her that nothing is really stupid, especially if it involves her. She's his world, she has been ever since he first laid eyes on her, even when he didn't know it yet.

He used to think science was his world. As a matter of fact, he thought he had everything planned out. After the Greenhouse, he goes to Harvard, graduate with the best grades possible and become one of the world's most renowned scientists.

But then entered Jackie, and his plans were all but torn to shreds, left abandoned in the lieu of love. He felt this magnetic pull towards her like the moon to the earth. They can't ever really be apart because gravity keeps them together. Suddenly, it's as if their lives were intertwined and a moment apart from her seemed like forever.

He's lost her before because he was a fool. Now, he knows just how important, how precious, she is to him, and he is never letting her go again. So he reassures her, reminding her that he will always be there for her, that she can tell him anything.

Thus, breathing in a sigh, she begins her story.

~~Flashback (sort of)~~

For as long as she can remember, it was important that she found her soulmate, thus the need to move around a lot. Basically, if you're abandoned or an orphan, the government will do their best to try and help you find your soulmate because once you do, you're no longer their problem; instead, you become your soulmate's responsibility.

So, she was shipped from house to house, a new place every year in the hopes of being able to connect with someone and form that soulmate bond. It never worked, and all she was left with was a sense of longing and loneliness.

Over the years, she came to hate the word "soulmate" as it brought back so many harsh memories, especially ones pertaining to her ex who she had truly thought was her soulmate.

Tug had been a good guy. He was sweet, gentle, caring, and she thought he was the one. So, when she shared her thoughts on them being soulmates, she was taken aback as he laughed at her, claiming that they weren't because how could his soulmate be her? She was a nobody with no family, and he didn't want to have to take care of a "little" kid. He told her the only reason they were together was because of a dare, and that he never really loved her.

He broke her heart, and it took a long time for it to heal. It still is broken in some places, and scar tissue is everywhere, but after meeting Max, she found that her heart has started to heal once again.

And over time, she also realised something good came out of it. She's no longer afraid to be alone. She doesn't care if she has no one by her side because she can stand up for herself, fight for herself. She's learnt to be stronger, braver, and not conform to the person everyone wants her to be.

~~Flashback ends~~

"Wow." Her story leaves him speechless and the way she overcame all the challenges in her way makes him fall deeper in love with her. He wishes she didn't have to go through it all though. She's so perfect, beautiful and kind. She doesn't deserve it. She deserves all that's good in the world not the bad. "I'm sorry-"

"No, it's ok." She cut him off before he could say more. "Besides, if he never broke my heart and made me into who I am today, I would never have robbed the bank for funds to keep the shelter running, wouldn't get the opportunity of a lifetime to come to the Greenhouse and have met all of you, my friends, myfamily."

At the last few words, she hugs him tighter, content and grateful to have his arms around her, and to be able to be with him.

"I'm sorry I came out so strong." He finally says as he relaxes the embrace. "I should have known soulmates are sometimes a sensitive issue."

At that, she tilts her head slightly to the side, sending him a questioning look. "Exactly how would you have known? It's not like I go around telling everyone my story."

"Well," He starts with a sigh. "Since you told me your story, I'll tell you mine."

~~Flashback (sort of)~~

A young woman of about 21 years of age walks down the aisle arm in arm with her mom. Her white dress is simple but gorgeous and the light brown singlets form a halo underneath her veil.

The grin on her face is only matched by the husband to be in front of the altar as everyone in the congregation looks on disapprovingly.

'They're too young.' They whisper among themselves. 'He isn't good for her. He isn't right for her.'

Most of them there are worried for her as everyone there knows of how their "fairytale ending" came to be.

One day, she decided to escape from her mother's overprotective shell and go on an adventure on her own. Then in the middle of her little adventure, she found herself in trouble, and he came to the rescue in a huge romantically cheesy way.

And as they say, the rest was history. They dated for about a year before he decided to pop the question and she immediately said yes. She truly and duly believed that they were soulmates even if he didn't. He claimed that soulmates didn't really exist and the marks on their skin was just nature forcing them to be with someone they don't want to be with.

As with everything, she believed his every word because that's how deep in love she was with him.

Everyone watched as they said their vows and promised to be each other's for life, with the hope that they would overcome the odds and neither would be left heartbroken in the end.

It was almost a year later when the couple had a son. He was the most fragile of things, with a slight heart defect and ear problems among other things. His hospital bills piled up and the young father couldn't take it. Shirking his responsibilities, he disappeared in the middle of night, leaving his wife to care for a month old babe.

She was devastated and at the brink of giving up when her saving grace came in the form of her mom. Instead of chastising her, she comforted her, told her that everything would be ok even if it wasn't at the moment. Once she had fully comprehended her new situation, she sold the house she had bought as a newlywed to pay the bills and moved back into her childhood home.

There, her mother helped her raise her beloved son, and it was as they did she realised that her mother was her true soulmate, someone who stood by her side no matter what and wouldn't leave her.

~~Flashback ends~~

"The whole topic of soulmates was slightly touchy with mom for a while but once I was old enough and started asking about my mark, she and grandma explained to me what a soulmate really was and how soulmate bonds aren't necessarily always romantic. The most important thing is that they are there for you no matter what, even if it is during their own lowest points."

Jackie smiles at him, and he returns it with a bigger one.

"Thank you Max." She whispers as they lock gazes. "Thank you for always being there for me."

He shakes his head. "Thank you. You were there when Emma left and I was still caught up on her. You never left me even when I chose Emma. You didn't hate me and you even helped me when we were stuck in the middle of the magnetite stuff."

"I was just returning the favour." She teases, causing soft laughter to erupt from the pair. "You restored my notebook. You took the polygraph test for me even when you didn't know me. You-"

He cut her off with a kiss and she eagerly reciprocates it. They melt into it and the warmth they feel tells them everything that they ever needed to know about the other.

"You're my soulmate." She murmurs against his lips and he echoes her words.

And as the words disappear with the breeze, tingly sensations erupt on their skin, small ripples edge towards their marks. They watch in awe as the dull grey marks are slowly filled with colour and when it is complete, they finally understand them.

"Waves." He says as she traces the newly coloured mark on his shoulder. "Because you're a surfer and you taught me to surf. Our relationship is just like the sea, sometimes the waves are rough, and sometimes they're calm. But no matter what, it's always there."

"And a rose." She rolls up her sleeve as she gazes at it in amazement. "Because of the time we had to do gardening in the Greenhouse so the Greenhouse would actually be green. The soil and seeds went everywhere, and eventually we only managed to plant a single seed. That single seed grew to be the most beautiful rose bush of all though."

"Not as beautiful as you." He smiles as she shakes her head at his cheesiness.

"What am I going to do with you Maximilian Miller?" She elbows him teasingly as she lays her head on his shoulder, allowing him to put his arm over hers.

"Well, we could go get breakfast. It's about 9a.m. and class starts in less than half an hour." He reminds her and her eyes grow wide before jumping out of her seat and dragging him to the cafeteria.

There, they were met with many questioning gazes, everyone staring at the brightly coloured marks emblazoned on their arms. They in turn say nothing, keeping quiet as they get their food. If anyone asked, they'd leave it to them to figure it out. Well, except Hayley because she's Jackie's best friend and is more or less a sister figure to Max.

And this has been an AngelFanfics productions.