Hello! I don't want to chat your ear off, but I do want to say thank you for the feedback! Every review made me smile, and a few even made me laugh, (more specifically CheapNovelty's; since yes, no clew in dis bitch, thank god) and they definitely made it easier to work through the mild block I was feeling.
Enjoy the chapter, and as always, feel free to share your thoughts!
"When your timer goes off, you're going to be face to face with the ugliest girl in the entire universe."
He didn't dispute it, since anyone would have paled in comparison to her. Between the dark raven locks that framed her face- even when her hair was haphazard- to her pale skin that contrasted it perfectly, Eli had already donned Julia with the title of goddess.
There was no comparison to be made to any other woman on Earth, in his eyes. The timer wouldn't tell him anything he couldn't already surmise on his own.
The fact that it hadn't gone off when the two first met felt like an error to Eli, as though it was somehow faulty for not picking up on the fact that clearly, they were two halves of a whole. Despite the supposed accuracy that others credited it with, he knew there had to be something irrefutably wrong with the device for not seeing what he could feel so thoroughly in his bones. She was it, there was no question.
"She might just blind me with how repulsive she is." he added, smirking as he looked up through his lashes at her.
"She'll be an ogre for sure, that's just your luck."
Scoffing, Eli dipped his head back out from under the hood of his hearse, returning to the driver's seat. With little more than false hope and minimal knowledge of vehicle repair, he turned the key in the ignition, a sigh of relief emitting from his lips when the engine roared to life.
Julia returned to the passenger's side after shutting the hood, sliding in beside him with a mischievous smile painting her features.
"She'll probably be terrible in bed too."
"As if I'd touch someone that revolting with a two foot pole, jeez. Give me some credit." Eli joked back, fiddling with the radio as he readied himself to drive them both home.
The car had been idled on the side of the road for twenty five minutes after it had stalled on the way back from school, a normal occurrence when it came to the beat up hearse. But Julia never minded the few extra minutes he would have to take in order to get it up and running, never failing to make the task of fixing it that much less frustrating.
He could see her gaze drifting towards her wrist, the playful grin quickly curling down into a taut, pensive frown.
"I only have a week left." she said quietly, though Eli already knew how long she had until the timer on her arm went off.
It wasn't a conversation either of them liked to have, but he'd been checking it just as compulsively as she had lately. With every number that ticked down from it, dread began to rise like bile in the back of his throat, and Eli knew it was only a matter of time before he wound up choking on it.
The inevitability of it all was what kept him up at night, his arms locked tightly around her, as if he could do a single thing to delay it.
With a hopeful smile on his face, Eli reached towards her, ensnaring her smaller hand in his. "It doesn't have to mean anything." His thumb dragged comfortingly across her knuckles, trying to ease out the tension there. "That thing can't tell us anything we don't already know. It's just a fluke that ours weren't matched up."
"But what if it wasn't?" she shot back quickly, rattling Eli enough with its unexpectedness that he didn't have a reply.
It hadn't ever crossed his mind that Julia could believe they weren't meant to be; that they came stamped with an expiration date from the very start. Their relationship hadn't been a time killer or a way to entertain himself for the past two years. He felt his heart starting to ram around with abandon in his chest, the situation so unreal to him that he could barely believe it was happening.
"What do you mean what if it wasn't?"
"What if you're not my soul mate?"
The loud honking of a nearby car wrenched Eli from his deep reverie, jumping in his spot as his attention jerked to the present. He was seated in the parking lot of the school, the warning bell mere minutes away. Lifting his hands to his face, he rubbed his eyes until they felt sore, taking a small comfort in the burn.
All too often he felt himself pulled into memories of Julia, each one only made stranger with each time he envisioned it. He'd been trying to train himself not to dwell on her, attempting to stay completely absorbed in the moment but for someone as deeply nostalgic and guilty as Eli tended to be, it simply wasn't possible.
The school week might have kept him busy enough that he didn't have time to let his thoughts get the best of him, but it wasn't meant to last long. The brief reprieve eventually made way for more ruminating, unnerving thoughts, his mind so wired to reflect on the past that he didn't know how to process anything happening in the present.
It was one of the reasons why his parents had been so insistent on starting him up at a new school. He didn't have the heart to tell them that it wasn't panning out as they'd hoped thus far. A new setting couldn't erase everything that had already come to pass, or the fact that Eli felt as though something crucial and irreplaceable had been ripped from him in the process.
In truth, he nearly hadn't shown up to school, if only to defy whatever fate would surely be coming to him during the day. It still didn't feel real to him at all, but there was no disputing the fact that his arm read 0000d 05h 45m 17s. He'd done the math, and it seemed as though the time would fall during his English class.
It struck him as odd that it could occur in a place he'd already been several times before, but he wouldn't let himself mull it over too much. After all, the likelihood of anything happening at all rested extremely close to zero. He knew the class would go on without anything life-changing happening, just as he'd always known it would.
It didn't serve any purpose to linger in his hearse well after the initial bell to enter, but it felt like the only sense of control he could grasp for the time being. Whatever the day had in store, he wasn't anxious to get a head start on it.
At the end of the day, he would return to his hearse just the same as he always did. Unchanged, unfazed, and alone.
Each of Clare's footfalls echoed far louder in her own ears than it did down the hall, entering through the double doors of the school. She was acutely aware of everything around her, so much so that even the smallest of sounds were a major distraction to her.
Though neurotic was a trait she would honestly- albeit reluctantly- attach to herself, paranoia didn't factor in with it. She knew why she was on edge more so than on any other day, even though it wasn't anywhere near time for her to be concerned. There were still hours to wait, each minute seeming to drag on longer now that the big day had finally arrived. It was impatience in its most undiluted, genuine form that was filling Clare to the brim.
The fact that she'd built up this very moment for the past fifteen years of her life didn't help matters either, imagining it happening in so many ways that she worried it would inevitably fall short of her expectations.
It wasn't only her romanticism talking, but her insecurity that her soul mate would find a fault in her at once. Clare never considered herself the prettiest or most sophisticated of girls, instead priding herself on things like her intelligence and compassion. To her, those traits were fall less commonplace, and more worthy of appreciation than anything else.
But she understood the scope of acknowledgment in the typical adolescent male – hot girls, sports, and undoubtedly girls yet again. It gave her sound reason to stress over the situation.
Someone like Alli wouldn't have any reason to worry when her time came, inhabiting a natural charm and knack for flirtation with boys. Try as she might have to emulate it, Clare knew it wasn't a skill that could simply be learned. She wasn't innately alluring, and while she didn't consider that a genuine flaw, it did leave her concerned over how likely her soul mate was to reject her
All in all, she had been trying to convince herself that her other traits, though deeper than the surface, would shine through enough to appeal to whoever it would be. After all, she'd read more classic novels than most girls would ever bother to, (ones by Charlotte Bronte more than once) and was in the top of her class. Even if her humor was slightly corny and her athletic ability left much to be desired, her talents would make up in other areas where she was severely lacking. She was only human; something no decent person could fault her for.
Making her way down the hall, Clare smoothed out her dress, once more grateful for the decision to buy it. It might have been ridiculous to rely on a new piece of clothing for confidence, but the garment was loaning her some previously unowned courage. She turned the corner before arriving at her locker a few seconds later, her mind blanking as she tried to unlock it.
Eyebrows furrowed, she let out a muffled groan of frustration, narrowing her gaze at the lock. She hadn't ever forgotten the combination before, her hands usually working from muscle memory alone to undo the metal contraption. But in the flurry of her already cluttered mind, it was no real surprise that other facts were falling by the wayside.
Still struggling five minutes later, Clare felt a surge of panic course through her as the warning bell rang out, not wanting to be late for her first class which, much to her dismay, had the most strict teacher she'd been assigned for the semester. It was just her luck that she would find herself fiddling fruitlessly with a lock that she'd seemingly forgotten the combination for on such a huge day. Everything was about timing, and Clare didn't want to disrupt the flow of how things would play out.
Her small fingers toyed hurriedly with the dial, eventually hearing a telling click as the piece of metal gave way. With a sigh, Clare made haste to grab her books for her first few classes, shoving it closed once she was finished.
All seemed to be back on track, the last bell signaling for class to begin still waiting to go off until she heard a slam from just behind her, followed by a throaty laugh.
Turning, Clare's expression immediately turned to one of disbelief, watching as two guys shoved another boy repeatedly into a locker .
Though Clare couldn't claim she had a lot of confidence in her appearance, one thing she did embody was a strong sense of right and wrong. It didn't matter that she disliked confrontation when faced with a situation where someone was getting battered. Without thinking, she stormed up to the boys, quickly putting herself between the attackers and the victim.
"Do you guys really have nothing better to do than pick on people?" she exclaimed, flinching slightly as the taller of the two boys pulled his hand back in just enough time to avoid hitting her. She was well aware that her gender was the only thing sparing her the hit, her insides sinking as she realized the boy behind her would have taken the impact instead.
The main aggressor was about three or four heads taller than Clare, a fact that didn't exactly comfort her, but she wasn't about to let the bully continue his pursuit against the boy.
His thin mouth pulled up into a cocky smirk, the expression alone enough to instill fear with how blatantly wicked it was.
"You expect us not to beat the crap out of you when you've got a girl sticking up for you? What kind of guy lets a chick defend him?" the boy gawked, earning a cackle out of his friend, a muscular brunette who donned a Degrassi Letterman jacket. "That's rich, Torres. You're only giving us more ammunition to make you our personal punching bag."
"Go!" Clare yelled, daring to take a step closer to them. "Just leave him alone!"
Throwing his hands up in mock surrender, the taller boy shrugged his shoulders as he backed away.
"Fine, you win this time, I'll listen to what the girl says. But she's not going to be able to save your ass next time, freak. We'll get you." he promised, nodding his head at his friend as the pair stalked off down the opposite end of the hall.
A beat later, the final bell rang, but Clare's attention was only on the victim of the entire fiasco.
Turning, she made eye contact with the boy they'd been attacking. He looked visibly shaken though he tried to collect himself while under her scrutiny, straightening out his button-up shirt and fixing the beanie that rested on his head.
"Are you okay?" Clare queried, her voice soft and comforting as she helped him gather his books off the floor.
The boy stuffed his belongings in his backpack, slinging it over his shoulders with a sigh. "How pathetic would it be if I said I was used to it?"
"Not pathetic, just preposterous. I can't believe people get away with that here. There's no enforcement for the anti-bullying rules. You can't set up consequences without putting them into effect when they're necessary."
"Yeah, well, tell that to the faculty here. I'm just trying to lie low so I don't make waves." he shrugged, to which Clare could only frown in return.
She knew how it felt to be picked on occasionally, but being the subject of cruel name-calling and physical abuse was far beyond anything she'd ever experienced. It broke her heart to witness, and unnerved her even more that someone would try to desensitize themselves to it.
Tugging her bag further up her arm, Clare didn't want to dispute the matter with the boy even though she wished he would be an advocate for himself. Surely he'd already gone through enough without her insistence that he should speak up.
"Thank you though." he said, smiling at her. "You're the first person who's done something like that for me besides my brother, I really owe you one."
"Nonsense. Anyone would have done the same—or should. No one deserves to be hurt like that."
A comfortable silence fell on the two before Adam spoke up again, his tone one of realization.
"We're in the same English class. You were the girl who brought in vampire fanfiction the other day, right?"
Clare couldn't refrain from groaning at the mere mention of her work from the day prior, still inwardly chiding herself for how poorly received it had been.
"Yes, but I'd prefer you not associate me with that mortifying decision." she implored, smiling bashfully in spite of herself. "I'm Clare."
"I'm Adam. We'll stick to Clare instead of Fortnight Girl like I was referring to you in my head, since you definitely saved my butt here."
With a playful roll of her eyes, she agreed, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.
"Much appreciated. I'm thinking I should hurry to class in the hopes that Mr. Perino will be merciful and not give me detention, but I'll see you in class!" she called, giving a wave before turning on her heels.
With any luck, the rest of the day would carry on without impromptu changes of plan, though Clare wasn't even remotely optimistic for the possibility.
Reluctantly, Eli had made his way into the school, an overwhelming urge to forgo the entire day hitting him square in the chest. If the timer were truly linked to fate or anything unavoidable at all, then the meeting would happen regardless of his choices, but he wasn't convinced of its validity anyway. He was ready to retreat right back to his car when he spotted Adam down the hall, the boy anxiously grabbing his belongings from his locker.
"So I'm not the only tardy one today." he called out to him, his voice echoing slightly in the otherwise empty hallway.
"This wasn't exactly the plan but then again, neanderthal assholes don't really care about my punctuality."
His phrasing caught Eli off guard, his hand gripping Adam's shoulder lightly to turn him. "'Assholes' being who, exactly?"
Adam shook his head, brushing off the topic too quickly for Eli's liking. He didn't take kindly to bullies, already having had several dozen run-ins with ones at his old school. Antagonizing them had already become something of an old but revered pastime of his.
Despite Cece and Bullfrog's insistence that it was time to turn over a new leaf, he wasn't about to retire himself from the task if it became necessary.
"It doesn't really matter. I'm used to them, and some girl actually stuck up for me this time. It was kinda cool, even though I know I'll get more crap from them next time about it." he dismissed, shaking his head once more as his locker slammed shut. "It's not like they're smart enough to understand reason anyway. I literally feel like I'm talking to a wall with those guys."
His explanation didn't placate Eli in the slightest, the scowl adorning his face only growing that much more sour.
"If you see these guys around when we're together, do me a favor and point them out, alright?"
Looking only slightly alarmed, Adam agreed, still unused to Eli's sense of unethical revenge. It was something he was sure his new friend would grow accustomed to, seeing as though it was becoming clear that the trait might come in handy once again.
The two began down the hall, taking their time walking since they were already unarguably late.
"So..." Adam started, segueing intentionally from their previous topic of conversation, "Big day, huh?" he asked, nudging his shoulder against Eli's.
"Don't remind me. I'm going to debunk this entire concept by the end of the day, mark my words. I'll go to English class, continue on with my day as previously scheduled and when this damn thing goes off, the only thing that will have changed in my life is that I'll forever be known as the guy who had his timer go off, and nothing happened. I can live with that stigma."
"Once again I feel entitled to guilt you about this." Adam interjected, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "At least yours is going off early in life. I'll be so old and gross by the time mine does, I wouldn't blame her if she doesn't even want me by then."
"Let's leave the pessimism to me, yes? I'm far better at it than you and though I sympathize with your plight, it'll be well worth the wait when the time comes. For me, this is simply a waste of time. A non-event, if you will."
The two reached their individual destinations, Eli's class just up the stairs while Adam's was a couple doors away.
Adam's smile turned to one of knowing mischief, his brows lifting in unison as he spoke. "When it goes off and you fall head over heels for this girl, I'm going to laugh so hard at you. Expect a million 'I-told-you-so's', since I know I'm gonna be right."
"You mean when nothing happens, you'll be feeling like an idiot for claiming anything would, right. Easy mistake to make." Eli countered, smirking smugly at the boy.
He turned away and started up the staircase, making his way into his classroom almost completely unnoticed. It was just as usual, the day going on thus far without much ado. He was one hundred percent certain that it would carry on in the same manner, defiantly ignoring the time displayed on his wrist for the next three classes.
With much persistence from Alli, Clare had relented in her effort to have them eat outside for the day, the weather temperate enough to justify the change of scenery.
She was still working to ensure that nothing she did during the day was different than her normal routine, but it took an unwaveringly firm person to refuse Alli's whining. Clare simply didn't have what it took, and thus found herself perched on a bench just outside the cafeteria.
It didn't help matters that Alli was currently in the midst of a mini-meltdown, one Clare couldn't muster up false surprise over.
"Can you hear that sound, Clare-bear?" she asked ominously, fixating on the group of popular kids seated just a few benches away from them. At the head of the table was Drew Torres, the source of Alli's current grief.
Clare took a moment to listen, narrowing her gaze as she turned to her friend in bewilderment.
"It's the sound of my heart shattering." she clarified, to which Clare could only grumble inwardly, realizing that she should have seen the melodramatic reply coming from a mile away. "If you look at his arm closely, you can see that his timer is missing." she continued, chock full of anguish. "And you know what that means."
Though Clare knew exactly what the absence implied, she decided not to take the bate this time, deciding to entertain herself with the girl's misery.
"And what would that be?"
"Oh come on, Clare! That timer didn't just up and walk away. It was taken out because obviously, it went off!" Alli exclaimed, burying her head in her hands while Clare nibbled on her sandwich occasionally.
"You don't know that. Maybe his is a special brand that has a mind of its own – complete with a pair of legs."
"Don't you sass me right now, Miss-My-Timer-Is-Going-Off-Today. We can't all be as lucky as you. You can't even commiserate with me on this."
Emitting a soft giggle, Clare stretched her legs out beneath the table, placing down her sandwich and instead grabbing her water bottle.
"Maybe Drew wasn't the one for you, but I'm sure someone else will be. Someone much better than a knuckle-headed jock."
"The cutest knuckle-headed jock who also happens to be QB1 on the team. If I have even the slightest chance of becoming popular this year, he would be my ticket. But look at him." she groused, stirring Clare from her reverie enough for her to glance up as well.
Drew was the quintessential big man on campus, sought after by just about every girl on the power squad and silently admired by the rest in school.
Clare didn't understand the appeal herself, finding his personality indisputably overrated, but she couldn't change Alli's mind on it. She rarely ever could about anything at all, never mind an instant crush that refused to quit. It had staying power despite all the signs that pointed to no, most importantly their differing timers. The fact that Drew wasn't even in possession of his anymore did nothing to deter her either.
"I really, truly think you can do better, Alli." Clare insisted, her smile fading as she tried to reason with her.
Her comment had obviously gone clean over the girl's head, Alli's sullen expression turning into one of fierce determination within seconds.
"If I don't see him with whoever this supposed soul mate is within the week, I'm going after him."
Clare knew all too well that she'd lost the battle with trying to convince Alli otherwise, giving up the effort for the time being.
"But let's talk about you!" Alli cheered, earning a few looks from the other students around them.
Clare shrank slightly into her seat, offering a meek smile to onlookers. It was just like her friend to not only neglect to mention a huge occurrence about to happen in her life, but also make a scene when the epiphany that she was being self-absorbed hit her.
Lifting her arm, she could feel her heart lurching pleasantly in her chest, the numbers displayed before her feeling more surreal than ever. "Forty minutes." she breathed, shaking her head subtly in disbelief.
"Do you want to trade timers? I'd really like to meet my soul mate, like, now."
"No thank you. I feel like I've already been waiting an eternity."
She knew it would happen during English, about ten minutes into it. It made her equal parts excited and nervous, knowing it would undoubtedly take place around a bunch of her peers, and in the middle of a lesson, no less. Being disruptive wasn't something that Clare prided herself on, more often than not maintaining an inconspicuous identity but this was something that couldn't be helped.
Once her timer went off, there wouldn't be a force in the world that could halt the event, putting her face to face with her other half.
The thought was enough to nearly put her in cardiac arrest, now that it was so close.
"Breathe, Clare. We don't need you dying right before you meet him."Alli urged, noticing how her friend had stopped breathing in the mess of her thoughts. "Listen, I know I've been totally bogging down your big day with my stuff, but I'm really happy for you. This guy is going to be everything you've dreamed he would be."
Clare's heart harbored a palpable ache at the thought, one that felt just as welcome as it did terrifying. Her life up until this point had been predictable, each year following a formula that she could mostly anticipate. Even with certain events like her sister moving and her parents' recent disagreements, they were things she found herself able to adapt to.
But this would forever change the foundation of her life, rattling her existence as she knew it. Whatever path she'd been traveling on would suddenly be merged with a total stranger's, entangling the two irreversibly.
"I hope so, Alli. I really hope so."
After eyeing the gathering of people settled outside for lunch, Eli pushed aside the guilt he'd felt after ignoring Adam's pleas to eat there. He didn't do well with crowds, far preferring to staying indoors where, if nothing else, he felt it was somewhat private.
"It's seriously way too nice to be eating inside." the boy persisted even as they seated themselves at their usual table, still keeping up the debate.
"Too sunny." Eli grumbled in reply, purposefully turning his chair so his back was facing the window.
"You're only proving my theory that you're some sort of vampire. This girl in my English class who writes about them all the time would be all over you."
He didn't offer up a retort, taking Adam's accusation in stride. Eli was well aware that he differed from most people, raising countless questions and earning multiple looks a day. It was yet another reason why having a soul mate would never work, since he knew better than to believe anyone could ever look at him as if he was normal.
He hadn't felt even relatively close to normal in years, but at times it did bother him that everyone else could tell something was amiss with him. Being obscure was fine, hardly noticed by his fellow peers, but no one truly enjoyed being made to feel like a social leper. It wasn't something he'd ever admit, least of all to those who were doing the judging.
Similar to most of the other things in Eli's life, it was best left to collect dust with the other skeletons decorating his proverbial closet. At least in there, they couldn't cause more trouble, ostracizing him further from everyone around him.
"So what are you going to do when you meet her? Give her a panicked look and run away? Cause that's seeming pretty likely, knowing you." Adam teased, flashing him a smile to let him know it was all in good fun.
"Probably."
"I wish you were joking."
"I'm definitely not." Eli deadpanned, admitting (in implication, if nothing else) that the prospect of what could possibly be on its way terrified him.
If timers and soul mates were actual things, he wasn't sure how he'd find it within himself to cope with it. He had become bitter and jaded to the ideas, harboring the mindset for so long that he didn't think there was a way to reverse it.
But if there really was a girl waiting at the end of his timer, he knew there wouldn't be a way to explain to her why he was so adamantly opposed to the entire thing. Why he couldn't find it in himself to even attempt giving it real chance. The aversion was rooted into him just as deeply as the device itself, and he could help neither from doing whatever they pleased. The lack of control in both situations frustrated him to no end.
Changing from joking to sincerity, Adam wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, turning his head to face Eli.
"If I were in your shoes and about to meet her, I'd probably be scared too. It's huge, you know? This is the rest of your life in one person, right in front of you. She'll probably influence every decision you make from then on. It's not just you anymore. It's you and this other person who you're going to share your life with."
"You're not helping."
"Sorry, sorry." the boy amended, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just sayin', everyone has either experienced exactly what you're feeling or will eventually. You're not alone with it. I'm betting once the waiting is over, it's not going to be nearly as bad as you're imagining. Hey hell, you might even end up happy."
Shooting Adam a skeptical glare, Eli pushed his tray of food away, suddenly bereft of an appetite. "That outcome right there; that's fiction. But I appreciate your attempt at reassuring me."
The remainder of lunch passed by as previously scheduled, unencumbered by the rising dread Eli was experiencing. As the bell to head for his next class rang, he knew roughly twenty minutes were left without having to look.
The pair exited the cafeteria, stopping at their separate routes to class.
"Well, let me know how it goes, yeah? Whether something happens or not, text me later."
Eli could only offer a meager nod in response, feeling too overwhelmed to do much else. He couldn't tell if the sensation coming over him was one of excitement or trepidation, but felt reluctant to see it as the former.
He entered his English class and wordlessly took his seat, keeping his gaze fixed on the desk before him until he heard his name being called. Lifting his head, he realized it was his teacher addressing him.
"Your guidance counselor just emailed me this morning about a scheduling error. She'd originally planned for you to be placed in the Honors class."
As if the entire situation of his timer soon going off wasn't jarring enough as it was, the terror of it all only tripled in intensity with this change of plans, Eli's mouth going dry as he nodded. After being given the room number, he mechanically moved to retrieve his backpack, exiting the room.
Never before had a weight felt so crippling to him, anchoring down his every step as he traveled to the new classroom. Something had told him that his soul mate couldn't have possibly been in his English class, seeing as though he'd made eye contact with all of them at one point or another. The change of scenery made sense, but did nothing to quell the building suspense. Plot twists were more than welcome in literature and movies, but within his own life, nothing petrified Eli more.
Against his better judgment, his gaze fell to his timer just as he reached the door, twenty two seconds remaining on it.
He made his way into the room, the sound of the door opening cutting off the teacher at the front of the room.
"Ah, Mr. Goldsworthy. I was told you'd be joining us. I'm Ms. Dawes." she said, her tone welcoming, even though Eli could hardly process anything happening.
He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and refuse to face whatever reality was about to unfold before him, to blanket himself in his denial for a while longer. He didn't feel even remotely prepared for this moment, but he'd run out of time to avoid it.
"We were just assigning writing partners for the semester. Let's see..." she murmured, her eyes scanning the room as Eli's remained on the floor. "You and Miss Edwards would be a good fit. Clare, you'll be working with Eli."
His head lifted just as Miss Dawes said the girl's name. Eli was paralyzed like a deer caught in headlights as the sound of loud beeping filled the room, the noise sounding far louder than it probably was in the otherwise silent space.
She wasn't even two feet away from him, her wrist flashing and beeping just as his was once their eyes met. It was quite possibly the worst outcome of all, he'd realized.
He'd considered what would happen if nothing were to happen at all; if he didn't truly have a soul mate.
He'd considered what would happen if he did in fact have one, but didn't feel an immediate pull to her.
He'd even considered what would happen if somehow, his soul mate was another boy
Just about every unlikely outcome in the universe had been mulled over, except the one he was currently experiencing.
The worst part was that she was beautiful.
It was a fresh faced, innocent, undeniable kind of beauty that made Eli ashamed to even breathe the same air as her. She embodied an untainted brand of grace, one he knew he could easily mar if he was given the chance. He'd already ruined one life- he didn't put it past himself to do just the same with another person.
He could feel her eyes boring holes into his own, blue crystalline orbs that only added to her natural appeal. Eli knew he could easily marvel over eyes like hers if he was allowed to, already drawn to them like moths to a flame mere seconds in.
If he was being honest with himself, he'd never felt a pull quite like this one before. Not even with Julia, much to his chagrin. It was exactly as his parents had explained it; a sensation of total belonging created in an instant.
Eli just knew better than to believe it could actually be his.
The room was perfectly silent once the beeping ceased. He could feel the blood leaving his face, the suspense he'd been feeling moments before turning to unadulterated horror.
"We may have a very special partnership on our hands, people." Ms. Dawes' voice rang out, breaking the seemingly perpetual staring contest created between him and the girl.
Already his entire body was telling him to go go go go, to leave before he could do something wrong. Before he could take something so obviously good and turn it bad in one fell swoop.
So he ran.