Alex

I find Magnus around the side of the house, his face buried in his knees. I kneel next to him and put my hand on his shoulder gently.

"Magnus." He looks up at me with tear-stained cheeks.

"Why are you here?" He asks softly. "You should go hang out with your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend." I say, sitting next to Magnus.

"Well, he should be. You deserve a good guy, and he seems nice. He's pretty, too."

"But I don't like him that way. At least, not anymore." I argue.

"You don't have to hide it from me, Alex. He seems like a cool guy. You can admit that you're together."

"Jesus, Magnus!" I say, throwing my hands up. "Why can't you just believe me? If I say we're not together, we're not together."

"I can't believe you because you're lying! Why wouldn't you be together? He's cute, and it seems like you get along well, and he obviously likes you. You don't have to spare my feelings or anything. There's really no reason to. It's not like we're soulmates." His voice breaks on the word, and my heart breaks along with it.

I want more than anything to admit everything to him, to take his hands and tell him how amazing he is, to show him the soulmark he gave me, the piece of his mind that is forever seared on my skin. But I can't. My cowardice overtakes any other emotion. I'm in too deep now, and I can't tell him that we're soulmates. It's less a decision now, and more of a survival instinct.

Magnus looks back at me and sees a tear rolling down my cheek. He wipes it off gently with his thumb, and as his hand falls to the ground, I catch it. Tears glistening in his eyes, he slowly leans towards me. I know I should stop him, I should pull away, but I'm frozen in place, transfixed by his grey storm-cloud eyes.

They flutter closed as he softly kisses me, my heart rate picking up as I put my hands in his hair. His loop around my neck, and it feels just like it should, gentle and steady, uncertain at first but now picking up more speed. I smile against his lips, because I'm kissing Magnus, I'm kissing my soulmate-

I pull away with a gasp.

A/N: I know this one's kinda short, but it's got some important content, so I hope you'll forgive me. I'm thinking I'll have abot three more chapters, so yay! Thank you for reading, and please favorite, follow, and review!