Oh, look at me! Updating at my one chapter per week deadline!
Finally: Part Two of Three
1. Unrequited Love (Noun)
Love that is not reciprocated, even though reciprocation is desired.
Definition from Definitions net
Lukas Bondevik did not want to meet his soulmate. Even at his young age, he knew what it meant. He would be bound to them, never to explore, never to get out and actually meet people. If he were to argue with them, or not like them, it would be his fault, he would be the outlier. Because if you didn't get along with your soulmate, it was obvious that you were the problem.
So when he saw that those words on his arm had partially faded and that he couldn't kick that spiky-haired boy out of his mind, he knew. he knew who the boy was, and who he'll always be, and that Lukas might as well kiss his life away in the wind. Because, if it didn't work for his parents, why would it work for him?
Lukas opened the door to his house, towering stacks of moving boxes still yet to be unboxed and probably won't be for awhile. he dropped his backpack on the couch and, being released of the weight, hurried into the kitchen. Homework could be done later.
His mother was standing at the sink, pushing the handle down as the faucet dripped its last drops. She wiped her hands on a wash towel before throwing it down on the counter, looking at him with a smile.
"Lukas, how was your first day? Was it fun? The school was so nice when we toured it!"
Lukas didn't know how to answer her, so he just let out an "it was great, mama" and went back to tapping his fingers on the tabletop. He pulled his sleeves up to his elbows, not thinking about it, only about that one Mathias Kohler that he was to be sitting next to his entire year- no, his entire life.
Oh, and he knew, that if it were to get out to the school that he and Mathias were soulmates, they would be put in the exact same classes, every year, up until the end of high school. That they would always be together, and if one moved to another town or city, the other would be pressured to do so as well. He heard from one of his old classmates, as it had happened to his cousin.
A gasp was what had him jerking his head up. His mother was looking at his arm in horror, eyes filling with tears. He almost wanted to hit himself as he realized that his faded tattoo was out in the open. He quickly shoved his sleeve down, covering it.
The second two soulmates spoke to each other, the tattoo would fade slightly. It wasn't until they would touch, even a brush, that the3 words would turn into the color of each other's eyes. Lukas had read somewhere in one of his culture books that, in the past, entire ceremonies would be held for such an occasion. A waste of time and resources, he thought.
His mother tried to calm herself, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, not even caring about the smudging of her makeup. She tried to smile at him, though it came out more of a grimace.
She must be thinking of papa, he thought.
When she finally spoke, Lukas expected a lecture or maybe some advice on how not to be like she and her his father, but all she did was quietly say, "Is it a classmate?"
He nodded his head. As if it could be anyone else.
"Do you like them?"
"No."
She laughed, head tilting forward slightly, wiping her eyes again. There was a black spot on her sweater. He wondered if she would be able to get it out.
Laughing again, she grabbed her purse, taking out her keys and phone. "I have to go pick up Emil. It'll probably take around seven minutes or so, then we'll all go to the store. We should invite your soulmate to dinner!"
before Lukas could start to protest, most likely something that would cause a fruitless argument, his mother was out of the door.
It was clear that Mathias was not just excited, but downright ecstatic. As the teacher, who's name he had already forgotten, droned on in her cheerful voice about fractions, Lukas watched the spiky-haired boy with narrowed eyes.
His feet were tapping the floor, so much that Lukas was surprised he hadn't been scolded already. He was waving his pencil around between two fingers, flinging it three desks to the left just a couple minutes before. he looked towards Lukas, offering an unwanted smile. All-in-all, it was annoying. And distracting.
Lukas had lost to his mother, and, to his chagrin, would be having dinner with Mathias and his family. They would walk home together and "play", as his mother put it until the idiot's parents showed up. And while he definitely didn't want it, and would rather take playing with his brother and his annoying, weird Chinese friend to this, he couldn't help but feel a bit eager. Not that he would ever admit it, however.
When the announcer had given the news and the walker bell had rung, Lukas bolted out of the classroom, Mathias keeping infuriatingly close. The fidgeting had only gotten worse as the day had drawn to a close, and he was about done with it. he had almost gotten himself written-up when he yelled at Mathias for playing with his hair.
It didn't help how that he was now playing Twenty Questions. Mathias was relentless.
"What are we having for dinner?"
"I don't know."
"You just moved in, right?"
"Yes."
"Do you like your new house?"
"I guess."
"Does your brother like it?"
"Dunno. Ask him."
"How much older are you than your brother?"
"... Five years."
The blue-sided house was paradise when he arrived until he remembered that Mathias was supposed to come in with him. He deflated like an unplugged bouncy house.
When he opened the door, Mathias practically ran in. He looked around in wonder, though Lukas didn't know why. He turned in a complete circle until he stopped to look at Lukas and smiled.
This was going to be a long evening.
Lukas fell on his bed with a sigh. He had been right. It had been a long night, parents meeting each other in person with what he was sure were fake smiles. It had been decided to inform the school of he and Mathias', "relationship".
His thoughts drifted over to the Loveless, those born without soulmate tattoos. Abandoned, they were left by society to pair amongst themselves, their only crime being born the way they were.
Sometimes, only sometimes, Lukas wished that his arms were bare instead of inked.
Yeah, so Lukas doesn't really want a soulmate that much. I'm really happy that I stayed on the deadline, so, assuming that I continue my streak, expect the last chapter next Friday. I'm sorry that these chapters are so short, I really wish I could write longer stuff. But I'm working on it!