And here is chapter three! (:

INeverSawAnotherButterfly – Thank you! I love Nick, too (: who wouldn't want a hot Jacobson guy to be their soul mate? And I liked the idea of bringing in different Ace families outside of the Jacobsons and the Watsons (enter Elsie).

NOTE: This story is at the end of Accordance, minus the last chapter when they're in London (in my little story here, they don't plan to go to London for a lot longer.)

The Significance Series belongs to Shelly Crane.

Chapter Three

I couldn't breathe when I woke up. I jerked away from whatever was covering my face, my whole body protesting at the movement. It felt like I'd melted into the couch where I'd fallen asleep, face pressed against the back of the seat. It had been what was smothering me when I woke up, but it didn't explain why I felt like bending over the side of the couch and vomiting all over the floor. I had a painful crick in my neck, my muscles seemed to spasm whenever I tried to move, and my heart thudded in my chest at the thought of becoming sick. I didn't like doctors.

I rolled over, my body screaming in pain. I flexed my fingers. Even the tiny bones there ached like they'd been slammed in a few doors. After a moment of just lying on the couch, I forced myself to sit up. My head hurt, like someone was pounding it with a hammer. I had a wave of dizziness as I held my head in my hands for a moment, taking a deep breath. The longer I sat there, the more my bones ached, but the more I was able to handle it. After giving myself a pep talk, I stood up shakily and practically lunged into the kitchen. I took a glass from the cupboard and put it under the faucet. The water cooled my throat, but it did nothing to erase the flu-like symptoms that raged through me. I just needed to go lay down, I needed to sleep it off. Paul would probably be annoyed that I had gotten sick, since I'd told him that I was fine last night. He'd probably be panicking, thinking that I'd just given him some awful disease. I wrinkled my nose as I swiped my cell phone off the table in the hall as I made my way to my bedroom.

I glanced at the clock as I closed my bedroom door softly behind me. It was still early, just after dawn. Royce would probably be up soon, starting his day with a protein shake and a trip to the gym. Nolan had the day off, which meant that he would sleep in until noon, when he'd come into the kitchen and dig through the drawers, making himself a huge lunch before planting himself in front of the TV. Nolan should've been in his third year of college, but he was a mechanics kind of guy, and instead had donated his college fund into helping pay the bills for the three of us while he attended a certification program that would allow him to be a mechanic. Today was one of the few days in his busy schedule that he wasn't working, which I usually would've loved. But not today.

I chugged half of the glass of water and pulled back the covers on my bed. I flopped down, pulling the heavy sheets over my head, still clutching my cell phone in my fist. In a minute, I would work up the energy to text Paul and tell him that I'd come down with something, and that I would be down for the count for a little while. He'd probably be annoyed for a split second before realizing that without me pestering him, he'd have more time to play his video games and chat with whoever talked to him over the geeky headset he wore. I closed my eyes, breathing through my mouth though it hurt my throat. Of course, I would get stuck with the flu in summer.

I was still trying to work up the motivation to text Paul when my phone vibrated, signaling an incoming text. For some reason, I found it much easier to open up the message than it was to create a new one. I stared blankly at the screen for a moment. I had been expecting Paul, complaining that I'd gotten him sick. I was even on the verge of expecting Hanna, who would demand to know whether or not Paul had apologized for being so late last night. But of course it wasn't someone that I knew and completely trusted. Instead, it was the one person who I'd given my number because of the foreign feelings that had been rushing through me, even when I just looked at him.

YOU NEED ME. BE THERE IN TEN.

I didn't reply. Just minutes after I met the guy, he was spouting out insanity, saying that we were somehow supposed to be together, that we were meant to be with each other, and that I needed him. I wanted to tell him that I didn't need anybody. I was an independent woman. I was the one that kept this house clean. I was the one who kept my older brothers fed with a diet healthier than whatever fast food or microwavable dishes they could scrounge up. I didn't need anybody hanging around, thinking that they could help me. I could do things by myself. And then there was that whole bit where he demanded that I'd meet his family, pestering me with personal questions that not many people knew the answers to.

I closed my eyes, hoping that I could sleep off the feelings of sickness that plagued me. I couldn't help but think that I should've raided the medicine drawer while I was in the kitchen. It was too late now, because I wasn't about to stand up and go get anything. I would just sleep through it. I was certainly tired enough.

Right when I set my phone off to the side, Royce knocked on my door. When I didn't answer, he opened it slowly and peered inside. "Hey," he said lightly. "I'm going to the gym." He paused, looking at me for a long moment. "Are you okay?"

"I just feel sick. I'll be fine." I said back. Royce seemed on the edge, like he was debating staying. I said, "Go." He nodded, said a quick goodbye to me, and closed the door behind him. I heard the front door as he stepped out, followed by the sound of his little car revving up. After a few moments, the house was silent. I sighed tiredly, turning over in my bed.

It seemed like only a minute or two had passed before there was a heavy knocking on the front door. It couldn't be Royce, because he would just let himself in without trying to get me or Nolan up. He had a key to the house, after all. And Nolan was still snoring in his room, unaware of the fact that the world was already up and moving around him. My mind returned to the somewhat cryptic text message Nick had sent me. I hadn't told him where I lived. I wasn't even sure I intended to go meet his family just because he'd asked me to. Still, the thought of him – curly brown hair and bluish green eyes – was enough for me to get up out of bed, dragging my comforter with me. The huge, down-stuffed blanket drug on the floor behind me, but I couldn't care. I reached the heavy front door and carefully undid the locks. I was preparing myself to scream at the top of my lungs if it was some creeper, prepared to slam the door in the face of a door-to-door salesman or even little girl scouts trying to sell me cookies.

A tall, broad body stood on the doorstep. I hadn't even registered who it was when he reached out and took my face in his hands. Immediately, the feeling of being sick washed away from me, leaving only the slight fatigue behind. But I felt better. Whole. It was like my whole stint this morning wasn't even real, like it was only a dream or mirage. I heard him sigh, and was surprised to find myself sigh, too. It was just a feeling of calm that spread over me, making my toes and the tips of my fingers tingle as if I'd been touched by an electric wire. I blinked tiredly, and then I realized who was standing in front of me – the guy that I'd just met the night before, the one who had stepped up to the plate as a level five creeper. I stepped away from his grasp, instantly annoyed that he'd had the gall to touch me, though I liked it well enough. It was the principle that mattered.

"How did you know where I live?" I demanded, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I was aware of the fact that I was wearing one of my brother's old shirts. I couldn't even remember which brother it had belonged to, but I was a hardcore believer in loose clothing for sleeping, and their old throwaways (washed with extra soap) were perfect for the job. Underneath the shirt, there was the barest hint of the striped shorts I was wearing. Nick's eyes trailed from my feet to my head, settling on my eyes. It was nice that his gaze hadn't rested on a different part of me, one that would've made me reach out and slap him across the face. Nick gave me a sweet, small smile. I held back the urge to melt into his arms. What the heck was happening to me? I never did girly-girl romance stuff like this. I was the down-to-earth one, the stubborn one who couldn't be told what to do.

"I followed your heartbeat." Nick answered. It was such an easy answer, quick and to the point. It had to mean that it was honest. Or he had been aware of the fact that I would ask him the question (which was a given) and he'd rehearsed an answer for me. It sounded very sappy coming from him, especially after the whole deal with soul mates yesterday. Yet a small part of me, buried deep in the back of my brain and connected by a thin wire to a tiny spot in the very pit of my heart, hoped that he was being completely honest. Weird, but true.

I forced myself to frown at him. "Seriously. Did you look in the phone book or something?"

"It didn't cross my mind, but that would've been a good way to find you." He shrugged. "I felt you last night. You were stressed out. Something was hurting you. So I dropped everything and ran across town to find you. By time I got here, though, you felt normal. I had to tell myself you were okay, at least until morning, though I wanted to knock on the door and touch you right then." He looked down the hall for a second, over my shoulder, before his eyes returned to mine. "I hope your withdrawals weren't too bad? They felt worse than mine."

"You are crazy." I replied, hand gripping the door. Nick saw what I was doing and shoved his sneakered foot in the way. I could still close the door, though, if I slammed it hard enough to shatter his foot. It was seriously starting to appeal to me, too, though that tiny place whispered that I shouldn't ever do that to him. The words soul mate echoed through my mind. It was scary, but my heart completely accepted the words. It wanted the words. It was especially weird, because I never would've thought that a part of my body would betray me like that.

"You know it's true." Nick shook his head. "The point is, I was determined to get here early so you wouldn't have to suffer. Aces feel like they're sick, like they've got the flu, if they haven't been around their significant in a while. Especially new significants." He said. "I've heard it's worse for regular humans, though."

"Do you have some type of mental illness?" I asked blatantly. "Or did you just forget to take your meds this morning?"

"No illnesses, no meds," Nick replied. He reached out and took my wrist. His fingers were tight on my skin, but the annoyance was wiped away by the feeling of his fingers on my skin. Curse you, body, I thought, finding that I couldn't force myself to pull away from him. Not when I wanted him to touch me so badly. He turned my wrist over, smoothing his thumb over the half star tattooed there. "You want to know what this means, don't you?" He asked. I nodded, biting down on my lip. "It means you're Virtuoso," he said, "Like me."

I was about to open my mouth to argue with him when he turned his wrist over, holding it against mine. He had a tattoo just like me. A half circle, empty and open. "Virtuoso families are called clans. Each clan has their own sign. It's like a crest, if you think about it. I'm from the Jacobson family. You're from a different family, so your mark is something different." His eyes, trained on our wrists lying side-by-side, met mine. "I know it's confusing. It's a lot to take in. I've heard the stories from humans like Gran and Maggie. It's just a complete information dump, but it's stuff you need to know. Please, get dressed and come with me. My family can help you more than just I can with stuff like this." He said.

And, despite my better judgment, I nodded. I opened the door a little wider for him to step inside, aware of the fact that I hardly knew this boy as I ordered him to sit down. It wasn't even eight yet, so I had a few hours before Nolan woke up. I just hoped that I could shower and get out of here before Royce got back and wanted an explanation as to why I was feeling so much better. Or worse, why there was a strange boy in the living room. I think I would've taken the former over the latter any day.

# # #

I stood in front of a huge house. It was made of tan adobe, with square windows and a tall iron fencing that had a full, hollowed circle that reminded me of the tattoo Nick had on his wrist. Nick had punched in the numbers to a keypad and we'd sat there in his car while they slowly swung open. I felt like I was doing a bunch of stupid, out-of-character things today. First, it was letting Nick into the house. Then I agreed to go meet his family, though I'd known the guy for less than twenty-four hours. I'd stressed about what to wear, which I hardly ever did. I'd then proceeded to climb into the relative stranger's car and ride to his house on the other, rich side of town. All without telling my brothers where I'd be, like I'd threatened I would yesterday.

And that led to where I was, standing in front of the house, looking down at the comfortable jeans I'd eventually settled on, along with my dark blue tank top, black flats, and black cardigan-like sweater that didn't button in the front. I'd thought I'd looked cute when I stood in front of the floor-length mirror in my room, but now, standing in front of a house that was worth three times my own, I felt under-dressed, like I'd shown up to prom wearing a T-shirt and cutoffs. Nick reached out and touched me. Every time he did that, I loved it. But, every time he did that, I wished that I could shrink away from him. It was frightening, how I completely forgot about Paul, my boyfriend, the guy that I'd never texted because I'd been too wrapped up in someone else. What was worse, though, was the lack of guilt. I knew that Paul wouldn't like the fact that I was meeting another guy's family, like it was the two of us that were in a relationship and not me and Paul. Instead of feeling like I was doing something wrong, the way I did when Paul kissed me the night before, I completely forgot about him. It was like he didn't exist when Nick was around.

Nick gave me a smile that looked a little sad. I didn't know if I had anything to do with the slight frown on the edges of his perfectly sculpted lips. I had a feeling that it did, at least a little bit. Maybe I wasn't acting the way that he wanted me to. Maybe I wasn't acting like I wanted him, the way he acted like he wanted me at his side. Maybe Nick was just confused, and this was all a sham, and that his spouts about us being meant for each other was a complete lie.

He looked up at me, our eyes meeting together and holding in front of us. He glanced over my shoulder towards the window that was there, his eyes narrowing for a second before returning to my gaze. It was like I'd taken a swim in his eyes, and they'd pulled me down to drown within them. They were gorgeous, to say the least, and I was hopelessly entangled.

God, I wanted to smack myself straight.

Nick gave me a smile. "Calm down. They're really nice people, and they're excited to meet you. Just pretend that you like me, even just a little bit." His smile was still sad. I felt a weird pang in my chest at the sight of him being upset. On its own accord, my hand reached out, fingers brushing against his. Nick's smile brightened, standing so close that his face was only inches from my own. I suddenly got a flash of me standing up on my toes, pressing my lips to his like it was something that we did every day. I reigned in the feelings, trying to blink them away. Nick sighed, leaning back a little bit, which didn't explain the pang that went through my stomach.

Nick reached out for the door, his fingers moving away from mine. "Are you ready to meet the family?"

I decided right then that it didn't matter how nervous it made me, or how weird it was. I was going to meet his family, and there was no way to get out of it. Royce had always chastised me for letting my stubborn attitude get in the way of socializing. I was the queen of sarcastic stubbornness, and he had always told me that I needed to "man-up and act proper, for once." So I decided that I was going to. "Nope. Let's go."

Nick gave a chuckle, one that shook through my body, making me smile in return as he leaned against the knob. With a loud click, the door slowly opened.

Is that enough of a cliffhanger for you readers (however few you may be?) I know that it's fairly short, but it's late, and I'll probably be updating tomorrow or the next day (yes, how kind of me! :P) I hope you liked this chapter, and even if you didn't like this chapter or the story, I would really appreciate if you left me a review.

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