The ring on his finger is ice cold.
He doesn't mind it. He'll find his soulmate one day, eventually. It's just that today is not the day.
He observes the ring, looking at the intricate patterns that weave along the black surface of the ring. The flower patterns glisten silver.
He can't remove it, no matter what he does. It's like a piece of his body. Maybe it is.
The ring on his finger is ice cold, and eight year old Gillington Webber knows that his soulmate's was in a similar condition.
0-0-0-0-0
He doesn't like the fact that the ring is so cold.
It doesn't matter how much time he spends basking in the sunlight. The ring remains freezing. It cools the skin underneath it, and he is less than amused about it.
He'd complain to his mother about it, sometimes, but what can she do? Nothing. He still hates the ring, but often finds himself daydreaming about his soulmate, wondering what they look like, and if they're really worth all the trouble of leaving home.
He lays on the ground, surrounded by hundreds of tourists turned statues, eyes widened with something like fear, mouths open mid-scream. He watches the sunlight dance across the smooth, cool surface of the ring, making the silver lines shimmer and sparkle.
The flower designs are pretty, he decides.
They are gardenias, he remembers his mother telling him, as he traces a scaly finger on the lines. Those are the flowers on his ring. Gardenias.
And then years later, he is enrolled into Monster High, a school where monsters like him could attend without judgement.
Whoever his soulmate was, Deuce Gorgon just hopes they aren't afraid of snakes.
0-0-0-0-0
Gil is 17 now, and a student at Monster High.
He sucks in a deep breath and walks up the stone steps of the brightly colored looming school.
The ring is still cold, but not nearly as frigid as it was before. The silver lines that form a delicate looking flower start filling in with a rainbow color, and he feels hope begin to bubble inside him.
His soulmate is in there, somewhere. He just needs to search the school until he finds them. (He is glad, for once, that he'd insisted on doing something. He wonders if he hadn't how long it'd take for him to meet his soulmate.)
He needs, first, to navigate through the winding hallways to the headmistress's office. That sounds easy enough.
He wanders down the halls, until he reaches his destination.
Gil's hand hangs loosely by his side. The ring glimmers rainbow in the light of the halls.
0-0-0-0-0
"It's warmer now."
He holds up his hand, the ring catching the light and revealing a rainbow beginning to dust the silver lines.
"That's nice." Heath absently rubs his own ring. It's still ice cold, and the silver lines show no sign of filling with color anytime soon. (Deuce wonders who Heath's soulmate could possibly be, and how far away they are.)
He drops his hand. "I'm still wondering why it's starting to change now, and not earlier in the year."
Heath shrugs. "Dunno, man. Maybe they're a traveling monster."
Deuce hums. Whatever the cause is of his ring changing, he isn't complaining. It means that he is close to finding them, and that means less years alone searching for them.
He walks towards his first period, ring shining a dull rainbow sheen.
0-0-0-0-0
The rainbow color is greater now. The ring is warmer, too.
He slowly turns his hand, eyes catching the way the rainbow changes as he does so. It is mesmerizing, in a way.
His legs move rhythmically, bringing him to his first class of the day. It's history, and, frankly, he isn't all that excited about it. Sure, it's interesting, but it isn't one of his favorite things in the world.
He drops his hand just as he reaches the door. Its handle looks worn and well-used. He reaches a webbed hand towards it and tug it open.
He turns his gaze down to the floor as many pairs of eyes find their way to his face. (He never likes being the center of attention. He finds the stares too suffocating.)
His ring shimmers a greater rainbow color. The metal band seems to glow with warmth. He sucks in a breath and stuffs his hand into his pocket. Not now. Not the time.
"Ah, yes." The teacher nods to him. (Mr. Rotter, his brain supplies for him.) "Children, we have a new student. Gillington Webber."
Gil waves shyly, and, stubbornly, refuses to meet anyone's eyes.
Mr. Rotter directs him to a seat in the middle row, and he quickly walks over. There isn't any point in lagging; he'd just be wasting everyone's time, otherwise.
He sits down and drops his bag by his feet, reaching a hand inside and pulling out his history book. He drops it with a clunk sound and places his head on top of it, resting it on both of his arms.
He doesn't notice the growing warmth from his ring, or the fact that the rainbow glowed even brighter than before.
0-0-0-0-0
Deuce's finger tingles.
The ring's rainbow sheen glimmers brighter.
He watches it shimmer in the class light, half-listening to whatever the fuck Mr. Rotter was saying. Honestly, it isn't even that interesting. Nothing that came out of the zombie's mouth ever did.
(I think I found my soulmate. He slips the note to Clawd, who sits right next to him.
The werewolf's eyes widen as his eyes scan the piece of paper, before hurriedly writing down a response and giving it back to the gorgon. No way! Really? Who is it?
I think it's the new kid. Deuce absently scratches his hand with his pen.)
Mr. Rotter hadn't even bothered to ask the new kid to tell more about himself, so he knows nothing about him. (Deuce thinks he's a little shy, that much he had gathered)
He picks at the cover of his book. Should he confront him after class? It seems like a good idea, and Deuce decides that's what he would do.
0-0-0-0-0
Gil stuffs his book in his bag and swings it over his shoulder.
Time seems to crawl in that class. He just hopes the rest of his classes aren't like that.
He quietly follows the other students out, careful not to draw any attention to himself. He'd just be happy if he can walk into his next period.
"Hey, you're the new kid, right?"
Groaning softly, he turns around towards the voice, forcing a small smile onto his face. "That'd be me."
The guy in front of him gives him an easy smile. "Cool."
His hair is. . . Moving?
"Are those snakes?"
The scaly monster winces a bit. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, they are." He hesitates a bit before saying, "You're. . . You're not scared of them, are you?"
"No." Gil shuffles his feet awkwardly. (Is his ring hotter? Maybe it was just his nerves. . .)
The monster in front of him hums. "Would you mind reminding me what your name is again?"
"Gil Webber." He tilts his head and gives the boy in front of him a questioning look. "What's your name?"
"Deuce. Deuce Gorgon." He holds out a scale covered hand, and Gil grasps it with his own webbed one.
The rings on their fingers explode in a rainbow, and they burn searing hot as their hands connect.