VAficfest prompt - Soulmate

I checked the time on my watch, wiped down the last two tables and then ran behind the bar. I slipped my apron over my head and hung it on the wall. "I'm clocking out!" I yelled over the sound of dishes and voices to my manager.

Sydney waved her hand at me, not turning from the till at the bar, "Thanks, Rose."

Glancing at my watch again, I rushed to the back to change. I had ten minutes to get across the campus and into class. I didn't want to have another stern lecture from Stan about being late. Never mind that other students also showed up late; he just had a vendetta against me.

Rather than change out of the dress pants and white button-up, I threw on my boots and leather jacket. With my bag in hand, I ran.

Luckily it was downhill, but I was still out of breath by the time I reached the building, sliding into the elevator as the doors closed. I bent over with my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. I didn't want to look like a complete mess when I arrived at class.

"Running late again?"

I jumped, straightening up instantly at the deep tone of that voice. Of course, it was him. I ran a hand over the top of my hair, brushing back the flyaways. "Yep," I replied, trying to act nonchalant.

Dimitri towered over me in his usual duster and jeans, always dressed relaxed but pleasant. The air had started to chill in the afternoons as autumn approached; the leather duster was sensible considering we finished class at six p.m. Except he had worn it every day since August.

I eyed the motorbike helmet he held. Despite the many times I had seen him riding it, it still turned me on. Dimitri was everything my mother hated. With a mysterious air about him, he just screamed danger and it appealed to me.

I knew a lot of people saw him as a troublemaker. Word around the campus was that he put his own father in the hospital when he was a teenager. And after he was almost expelled for beating up another student at a frat party, everyone kept a distance from him.

But there was so much more to Dimitri. I watched how dedicated he was in class; while most of us were yawning through Stan's class, Dimitri took notes and answered the questions none of us wanted to. The few times he showed up at the restaurant I worked at, he was always polite and easy-going.

"Aren't you normally in there by now? Sitting at the front with your pencils all lined up?" I teased. Our conversations were always fleeting, but I enjoyed them.

The corner of his lips quirked up. "Small family emergency."

"Oh," I paused, fumbling for a response. "I hope everything's okay."

"It's fine, Roza."

My body flushed as he all but purred my name, his accent wrapped around it like honey, and god, I wanted to hear him say it again. I didn't get a chance to respond.

The doors to the elevator opened and he held a hand out for me to exit first. I tried to keep my expression blank, and not give away that I was wondering what it would sound like if he was whispering my name in my ear. Preferably somewhere private, and with a door that locked.

Entering the lecture hall, Dimitri took his usual spot in the front row and I chose the middle row, slouching in my chair and hoping Stan wouldn't pick on me for the next two hours. It never made sense to me why Dimitri chose the front, he definitely didn't need it to be able to see over people's heads.

It was bad, but I spent most of the class watching Dimitri rather than paying attention. I couldn't be sure, but I swore he knew, angling his head to glance over his shoulder occasionally.

Dimitri was forbidden fruit and I wanted a bite.

Lissa was already waiting in the parking lot in her yellow VW bug, fixing her lipstick. I opened the passenger door, pausing when I heard the sound of a motorbike revving. I watched Dimitri take off, giving me a nod when he passed.

My heart fluttered in my chest as I dropped into Lissa's car with a sigh. "Guys and motorbikes. I love them."

Lissa giggled, well aware of my crush. "You know, you could just ask him out."

I scoffed, unbuttoning my shirt to change into clothes for tonight. "Yes, the super hot Russian would totally date me," I replied sarcastically. Lissa shook her head at me.

"Maybe if you tell him you're rich, he will," she joked with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes, kicking off my boots and shimming out of the dress pants. It was Friday night, which meant dinner with my parents, so I needed to look presentable. I hated sitting through it, especially when my mother was in a mood, so I brought Lissa along as backup.

The dress was more conservative than I normally wore, and I would rather have my boots instead of the heels I slipped on. There was an expectation with my parents, for what I wore and how I acted—just as there was for who I dated.

My father was a millionaire after all.

A business he built himself when he was young. I never found out what exactly he started off doing, but after meeting my mother, it all became legitimate and they both lived the high life while staying out of scandals, and the same was expected of me.

"You know they are going to ask about the party," Lissa pointed out, making me scowl.

"I'm not taking anyone to that thing."

Lissa pouted. "But what if you find your soulmate? Christian and I are doing it this year," she tried to encourage me, a giddy smile on her face.

I hated soulmates, and I hated that it was turned into a big party. The story we all got told was that everyone had a soulmate, some multiple. It wasn't so much that we were destined to be, but that your souls resonated enough that you could be together forever and be happy. I called bullshit.

Each year, when the seasons changed from summer to autumn, one of the families in our circle would host a Soulmate Ceremony which was basically a large party where people would force their kids to pair up with someone from another well-off family in hopes that they could bring the families together. This year, my family was hosting it.

I turned and gave her a firm look. "I'm not taking anyone. And that's final."

"So, have you found a date for the party yet?" Janine arched her eyebrow, eyeing me from across the table. Lissa took a sip from her glass of wine and shot me a look, her eyes screaming I told you so.

I pressed my lips together, pushing the food around my plate. "I'm still thinking about it," I replied, hoping it would be enough to stop the questions.

It was not.

"Why not? It's a week away?"

I dropped my fork, knowing this would take a while. "I'm deciding okay."

"If you can't decide, Galina said Nathan is still interested in taking you," Janine offered. It took everything I had not to groan out loud.

Nathan had been following me around for the last two years, hinting that we would make a good couple, even boasting about it to my parents. I was honestly an inch away from punching him in the face if he tried to grab my ass again.

My mother shook her head, looking at my father that sat back in his chair, a glass of brandy cradled in his fingers. When he didn't offer any help, she sighed in frustration. "Nathan is a good man, and you could do worse. You can't be the only one attending without a partner. Especially when we are hosting!"

"I went alone last year. Why is it any different this year!"

"Because," she started in a serious voice, "you are an adult now. You need to start thinking about the future. And Nathan–"

"I already asked someone!" I shouted, cutting my mother off. Three sets of eyes snapped to me, in various states of surprise.

"Who?" Lissa asked, genuinely shocked. She knew I hadn't asked anyone, and now I had to make it up.

Shit.

My father grinned, perking up in his seat. "Yes, Rose. Who did you ask? Do we know them?"

My fingers bunched up the napkin in my lap, fiddling with it. "No, you don't know them." I was stalling for time, desperately thinking of someone I could use in the lie.

"Where did you meet them?" Janine pushed.

"I met them in class. They're another student." My eyes flicked to Lissa. I didn't know who I could say, yet for a split second, the image of a tall man in a duster flashed in my mind. "Dimitri." The name slipped from my mouth before I could stop it. My cheeks flushed and Lissa choked on her drink.

"Dimitri?" Abe asked, tilting his head to the side. "No last name?"

"I–" Crap, I was going to get caught two words into my own lie. "Umm… It's Russian. I always forget how to pronounce it."

"You are dating this man?" Janine questioned, her expressions switching between being glad I had a date and annoyed that I had a fake boyfriend she didn't know about. Her eyes moved to Lissa, asking, "Have you met Dimitri?"

I silently pleaded for Lissa to go along with it. Slowly, she nodded her head, "I've met him in passing. He seems nice." It wasn't the best, but I was going to take it.

"He's in my Behavioural class. He's nice," I added, building onto Lissa's lie. "It's still new." I wanted to cringe at my own words. Why was I even doing this? Next weekend was going to come by and they would know it was a lie when I showed up alone.

"Well, that sounds splendid. We look forward to meeting him," my father cheered, tipping his cup towards me and then taking a sip. I forced a fake smile, nails digging into my palms under the table.

What the fuck was I going to do?

I took a breath, trying to psych myself up for what I was about to do.

Originally, I was going to make up another lie to go with my first one, that Dimitri couldn't make it, then we would have broken up and our fake relationship would be forgotten.

But then my mother spoke to her friends, and they spoke with their friends, and now I was getting messages from people saying they were looking forward to meeting my mysterious new man.

It didn't help that towards the end of dinner, and after a glass of wine, I was more loose-lipped about my fake relationship with the very tall, smart and handsome classmate of mine.

My plan of quietly ignoring it would be impossible now, which left me one option—I had to ask Dimitri to the party.

Our class was scheduled twice a week on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. I spent the day psyching myself up on Wednesday only to completely chicken out. I walked up to him, and then turned around and hid in the back row.

Now it was Friday and the party was tomorrow night. Maybe I would be lucky enough that this would be too last minute and he had work. Yeah, that would be good. No one could fault me or him if he had work. My parents would like him more if he was a man dedicated to his work.

No!

This was all fake! I wanted to slap myself.

"You're early today," a voice greeted me. I jump, spinning around to find piercing brown eyes looking down at me in amusement. After a moment of silence, Dimitri tilted his head, "Are you going in?"

In my panicked state, I stopped in front of the doors to the class and did not move. I forced a smile, stepping to the side, arm stretched out behind me for the door. Dimitri reached for it at the same time, leaning in closer to me to hold the door open.

My face flushed, noticing just how close we were. I could smell his scent—pine and leather.

His lips quirked up, "After you."

I wanted to melt to the ground. I wasn't used to a guy having this kind of effect on me, especially when saying something so innocent. He could read me the grocery list and I would be putty in his hands. Normally, I was the one making boys forget how to speak with a saucy smirk and a wink.

Dimitri walked calmly behind me, and I was so focused on it that I ended up walking straight to the front of the room and sitting in the chair next to his usual one. He was surprised but took his seat without question.

There were ten minutes before class started, much earlier than I usually arrived, but I wanted a chance to talk to Dimitri. Now, I was sitting next to him and couldn't make the words come out.

What was I even going to say?

I didn't know how to start the conversation.

"Something on your mind?"

I looked at him with wide eyes. "What? Why—Why would you think that?" I asked, fumbling with my hands, resting my elbow on the armrest and my chin in my hand. "I'm not thinking about anything."

Great. I sounded like an airhead, and Dimitri probably thought I was one too.

A single eyebrow arched, and I got lost in marvelling that he could do that. "You look nervous," Dimitri pointed out. "Is there something you wanted to ask me?"

Shit. He could read minds. It was the only possibility.

I dropped my eyes, shifting back in my chair. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, the fact you sat next to me, and you keep looking at me like I'm going to bite." He leaned in, a smirk on his lips and a smouldering look in his eyes, "I don't bite."

I think I forgot how to breathe for a minute.

He pulled back, nonchalant as he pulled out his book and pens, "So, what's on your mind, Rose?"

This was it. I worried my lip between my teeth and scraped together some courage. "Okay, there is something I want to ask you," I admitted. Dimitri gave me his full attention, shifting in his seat to face me. "Are you busy on Saturday? This Saturday." I felt the need to clarify, giving him a hopeful smile.

"Saturday? As in tomorrow?"

I racked my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, I know it's late notice. It's just—There's a party that I have to go to and well…"

This was the bit that I dreaded telling him, the part that made me sound crazy. "I may have lied and said that you were coming with me. And you can say no. I just wanted to ask. You know, in case you wanted to go with me. But you can say no." I was rambling, cheeks aflame, and embarrassment at a high.

Dimitri didn't reply, brows furrowed and I realised he thought I was crazy.

I gripped the strap of my bag, and rose from the chair, "I'm sorry, this was weird. I shouldn't have–"

A hand caught my wrist; Dimitri gently tugged me back down to the chair. "It's not how I'm usually asked on a date, but it's not the strangest," he assured me with a kind smile. His hand lingered on my wrist, warmth coming off him was like a furnace. "So, you already said I was going?"

My breath caught. Was he actually considering it?

"Yeah," I replied, "I was being pushed about it, and I panicked and said that you were my date and that we were dating," I finished in a small voice.

Both of his eyebrows raised. "I'm your fake boyfriend?"

I groaned, covering my face with my hand. "I know, it's crazy. I just panicked. It was either lie or go with that asshole Nathan that always tries to feel me up. I was going to say we broke up or something, but now everyone knows and they are expecting me to show up with a date and I–"

"I'll go."

"–thought I would give it a try, cause what's th—Wait." I turned to him, blinking in confusion, "Did you just say you'll come?"

Dimitri's expression was amused, eyes gazing at me in a way that made my stomach flip. "Yes, Rose."

My jaw dropped. "I haven't even said what kind of party it is."

He shrugged, "Okay. What kind of party is it?"

"A Soulmate Ceremony," I winced. This would be the make-or-break. Granted I never expected to get this far.

Dimitri shifted in his chair, the first hint of doubt in his eyes. "Those are–" he paused, tongue darting out to wet his lips. "You have that as a party?"

I realised then that Dimitri probably had a very different upbringing from me. While the rich used the ceremony as a reason to throw lavish parties, others saw it as something sacred or something to avoid altogether. I quickly waved my hand in front of me. "I'm not looking for a soulmate or expecting you to be mine," I explained, "We might have to take part in it, but it's not like the candle would light."

There was still an uneasiness in his eyes. "You aren't looking for a soulmate?" he asked carefully, shoulders relaxing slightly when I nodded my agreement.

"I couldn't care less about that stuff."

Silence stretched between us, Dimitri thinking over my offer. Finally, he nodded his head. "Alright. I'll go with you tomorrow to the party."

All of the air left my body as relief spread through me. "Are you sure?"

That smirk returned, "Sure, Rose. It could be fun."

I couldn't hold his eyes, feeling a blush spread across my face. God, he was going to be the end of me tomorrow night. When I looked down, I noticed that his hand was still holding onto my wrist. He must have realised too, releasing me with a quick apology.

"It's okay," I told him, readjusting myself in the chair in preparation for Stan to start the class. Remembering one last thing, I leaned close to Dimitri, "Don't suppose you have a suit?"

I couldn't say no to doing this one. You know I love my soulmate stories. :3

I hope you enjoyed :D