AN: The song for this chapter is "Goodnight and Go" by Imogen Heap. Listen while you read!

Chapter 2: Go – Amy

/Skipping beats, blushing cheeks I am struggling/

Amy Santiago was a baby when she "met" her Soulmate. Her father, who loved her very much, was aware of the time left on her countdown, but paid it no mind.

"I don't care! She's too young to meet her Soulmate. That can only bring trouble, her knowing him so young. They'll meet and be crazy in love and then they'll do what bunnies do, then our little Amy will be fifteen and pregnant! No. No! The cosmos can have them bump into each other when she's thirty" said Robert Santiago. Robert was a man who also had seven sons and he was very aware about what his sons wanted from their Soulmates. He'd be damned if he let another boy do that to his only daughter.

"Honey, be reasonable. They don't have to meet until they're older. We can just hold on to his parent's phone number and call them once a year to check in. We should at least know how to get a hold of them" Maria, Amy's much more sensible mother, said.

"No! They can find each other later. The world will put them together eventually!"

…and that was the end of that conversation.

Robert would later come to regret his decision to ignore the woman with a stroller on that April afternoon. Amy grew up to be a bit of a loner. She had a hard time making friends and Robert felt guilty he hadn't gotten the mother's number. The boy would have surely been a good playmate and his daughter wouldn't find herself so alone all the time.

Amy never resented him, though. In fact, she was somewhat glad to have not met her Soulmate as a child. She worried he wouldn't like her, since most people didn't. She knew that her Soulmate would love her no matter what, but she was still held by some irrational fear. She tried her best not to think about it and focused on her studies.

Then she met him, her Soulmate. They really were perfect for each other. He was smart, clean, organized, valued hard work, and respected rules. His countdown was at zero when he was a baby too and his mom wasn't able to find his Soulmate in the busy Time Square pavements. Obviously, they were meant for each other. It was Amy Santiago and Teddy Wells forever.

That was, until, the record store. She had been looking for a job and put in applications every where. College wasn't going to pay for itself, after all. She finally got a call from Savage Records. She got an interview and landed the job the same day. It felt like destiny. Like she was supposed to apply there. The day she started, she felt unbelievably nervous, like something huge was going to happen. It didn't make sense, but she felt herself being pulled, as if by a rope, to the store.

Then, she met Jake and she wondered if she made a mistake with Teddy. That big "fireworks-can't-feel-your-toes" explosion didn't happen, but she was so drawn to him. Every little feature she found attractive, even the imperfections. His teeth weren't perfect, yet his smile was the loveliest she had ever seen. She found herself stealing looks at his profile. Objectively, he had a big nose, but it was fine, preferred even. He was like a puzzle with parts that all fit together perfectly. Something about him just made sense. It was hard to look away.

Especially when he kept doing everything wrong. He'd count money wrong, press wrong buttons, and give the customers wrong information. Naturally, she had to correct him. There was a moment there, on that first day, when they talked about their timers. It all seemed to fit.

…But she already had Teddy and it's not like Jake had given her that huge-explosion-of-light-and-butterflies either. She decided there was nothing there between them. She just thought he was handsome. That's all.

/Why d'ya have to be so cute?

It's impossible to ignore you/

Plus, she got the familiar sense he didn't like being corrected so, the topic of them coming up wasn't probable. Amy was sure he didn't like her and she doubted he would bring up Soulmates again.

The following day at work proved her wrong. Amy was working on organizing some inventory when Jake came in to talk to her.

"Hey" Jake said, as she placed a couple of vinyl records on a shelf. She was wearing a sweater and jeans in an effort to be more casual per Rosa's request.

"Hey, Jake. You on your break?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah" he said and an uneasy silence filled the room.

"Did you need something?" She asked, feeling distracted from her work.

"Right, yeah, look, I wasn't going to ask this, but I felt like I had to. So, our timers are both at zero and my friend thinks I was compelled to apply to this store and I-"

"I've already met my Soulmate, if that's what your asking" Amy said as she put down her records and turned to face him.

"Oh, well I thought…sorry, after yesterday I kinda thought you were wondering to" Jake said.

"I'm sorry I gave you that impression. It's just Teddy and I were both babies at Times Square and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa red light! Your timer ran out at Times Square?" Jake asked.

"Yeah"

"Mine did too"

"When?"

"April 11th" and the date was said in unison. Jake and Amy stared at each other. Amy's head was spinning.

"Look, there were a lot of children at Times Square on that day, okay?" Amy said.

"Yeah, but how many of them are actually locals?" Jake asked. To this, Amy had no answer.

"Well, I've met my Soulmate so…"

"So, you felt the thing? Like, you know?" Jake asked and Amy had no idea what to make of his expression. She just knew she wanted to comfort him, make it better.

"Well, I mean, yeah" Amy said, but it felt like a lie as she said it.

"Oh, well if you know, you know" Jake said, his face disappointed acceptance.

"Sorry" she said. Jake just waved her off and smiled.

"No big, you're too much of a nerd for me anyway" He said and she laughed.

"Whatever, you're just mad I'm better at simple math than you" Amy said as she continued her mundane task.

"Pfft, you wish," Jake said and Amy just rolled her eyes. She was putting away an album when it was suddenly snatched out of her hand, "Oh, shweet! I love Vampire Weekend"

"Are they good?" Amy asked.

"What do you mean, 'are they good'?" Jake asked.

"What do you think I mean?" Amy asked.

"What? Do you not know what they sound like?"

"Nope, never heard of them" Amy said simply. Jake shook his head in confusion.

"Amy, they won a Grammy. They're all over the radio! Y'know 'got a little soul, the world is a cold, cold place to be'?" Jake sang. Amy shook her head, oblivious.

"Doesn't ring a bell" she said. Jake was aghast.

"How could you possibly avoid that song?" Jake asked.

"I dunno. I don't really listen to music that much" Amy said and this made Jake explode.

"You WHAT? How does-How can you-but-MUSIC?" Jakes said, unable to form a sentence.

"Look, it's just not a priority"

"What do you listen to in the car?"

"NPR Podcasts" Amy said with a bright smile.

"Euugh, yeah there's no way we're Soulmates" Jake concluded and a very tiny part of her was hurt by the statement.

"Look, I'm sorry. Music doesn't really make me feel better or more calm or any of the other things people say it does. It's just people singing and playing instruments. It's not this crazy, magical thing that everyone makes it out to be" Amy said and Jake was full-on glaring at her now.

"Alright, Amy Santiago. You leave me no choice. I have to give you a music education. It's depressing how ignorant you are. In fact, I propose a wager" Jake said, the cogs in his mind turning.

"What?"

"Okay, I'm going to make you three mix CDs. One that will make you happy, one that will make you sad, and one that will turn you on-"

"Jake, no-"

"Jake, yes. If my mix CDs make you feel these emotions, you have to give up your podcasts for a month" Amy gasped.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Fine, but if your mixes don't make me feel those things, then you haveto listen to my podcasts instead of music for a month" Amy said.

"You're a monster" Jake said.

"Do we have a deal, or what?" Amy asked.

"Deal" Jake said and they shook on it.

The next day, Jake came barreling towards her with his big, goofy grin and waving around a CD case. Amy was working the register and he placed the case down on top of the desk. The case was clear and she could see the CD inside which had "HAPPY MIX" scrawled on it.

"Your hand writing is appalling" She said.

"True, BUT my music taste is not! This mix will make you feel awesome anywhere, anytime—Peralta Guarantee" Jake said, still beaming. Then his faced shifted, as if a light had just come on and he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"What's that?" she asked.

"The list of songs! My goal, beyond keeping you far away from podcasts, is to get you to actually like and discover music. Think of these mixes as a starting point for the intensive research you should be doing" Jake said, handing her the list.

Amy looked down at the small piece of paper and read the list:

1. Shake It Out – Florence + the Machine

2. Horchata – Vampire Weekend

3. The Middle – Jimmy Eat World

4. Work This Body – WALK THE MOON

5. Wonder – Emeli Sandé, Naughty Boy

6. Grace Kelly – MIKA

7. Carried Away – Passion Pit

8. Float On – Modest Mouse

9. Never Gonna Leave You – Us The Duo

10. Cheap Sunglasses – RAC, Matthew Koma

11. Bungalow – Scott Helman

12. You and I – Ingrid Michaelson

"Yep, never heard of any of these people" Amy said with shrug. Jake looked at her with dead-pan face.

"Seriously? Are you sure your parents didn't lock you in the highest room of the tallest tower for the entirety of your life?"

"Ha, ha. Alright, so what do you want me to do with this?" She asked.

"Well, you need to listen to it in full. You can listen to it in the car, or while you take a walk, whatever, you just can't break it up. Listen to the whole thing. If you're in a better mood by the end of it, you have to be honest and tell me. That's it" Jake said.

"Sounds easy enough" Amy said and Jake's face was lit up with a grin.

/Follow you home, you've got your headphones on and you're dancing…/

It didn't take Amy long to find an opportunity to listen to her playlist. Jake had suggested taking a walk while listening to it, so on her day off she decided to take a walk in central park. She put her headphones in her ears and pressed play on her phone (which had the downloaded songs on it).

It was a very nice walk and Amy had to admit, the songs were fun. Around song six she found herself stepping to the beat. By track nine she was basically skipping. The last song had completely done her in though, because she caught herself smiling as it ended.

"Dammit! It was too cute though" Amy thought, but she couldn't deny it. Peralta had won this round.

AN: Yay! I finally updated this! Life has been crazy and I've been working on another side project, but I'll try to get back to this.

The Vampire Weekend song that Jake sings to Amy is "Unbelievers"in case you were wondering.

All songs on the playlist are available on Spotify! If you listen to it, let me know what you think! Did it make you happy? Or does my music taste suck? I hope Jake's (my) taste of music isn't super OOC. I know he's more of a Top 40 kinda guy, but for this AU, let's just say he's into indie/alternative rock haha.

Big shout out to the B99 Network! Thanks for your help getting me over my writer's block. You guys are the best!

Thanks so much for your support and your comments everybody! They really mean a lot.