Light of My Life: A Newsies Soulmate College AU

Chapter 2

"Hey, Maddie! Ya made it!" Couri and Princess greeted me. Couri put her arm around my shoulder and gave me a hug.

"Is Jack still getting pizza?" I skimmed the room, not seeing Jack. Jack was an art and theater major by day, a campus pizza delivery guy by night. His specialty included getting discount pizzas and hosting random pizza parties throughout the year.

"Nope! He's right here!" Jack's voice boomed through Medda's lecture room as he walked down the aisle with impressively high stacks of pizza boxes in hand.

As he was setting the pizza boxes down, I noticed that Jack couldn't stop looking at Roni, who was receiving a warm welcome from Medda. She hadn't noticed what Jack had, but she would soon.

"Jack can't keep his eyes off Roni." Albert murmured, elbowing me.

"Look at his feet and you'll see why," I whispered, nudging him back. Every second that passed, a pale yellow light grew constantly brighter and ventured higher up Jack's leg. An ecstatic shout from Roni silenced the entire room when she noticed her illuminated torso. She frantically surveyed our crowd until her eyes rested on Jack. They took one tentative step towards each other, and the light intensified. Jack hesitantly held out his arms for a hug, and Roni fell into his embrace, the glow finally engulfing their entire bodies. Jack buried his face in Roni's hair as he took in the feeling of holding her form for the first time. Roni's eyes welled with tears as she felt Jack's inaugural comforting touch.

After a few seconds, their glows faded to a more subtle state. The silence was broken by a sniffle from Crutchie, whose eyes were also wet with tears. Medda's applause rang out through the room, and everyone else quickly joined in.

"Alright, everyone! Pizza time! It's time to celebrate this happy couple!" She commanded, allowing Jack and Roni first dibs.

After everyone had been through the line, everyone circled around Jack and Roni.

The girls all focused on Roni, bombarding her with excited questions. "How did it feel? Was it magical?" Princess asked Roni, her hands shaking with excitement.

"Did you really get all warm and fuzzy inside?" Couri prompted, her eyes shining with giddiness.

"Yes! I really did! But I also felt..." Roin paused, trying to find the right words. "Safe? I guess? Like, secure. Ya know?"

Meanwhile, Jack was also trying to reply to numerous questions. "When did you notice?" Jojo inquired eagerly.

"How did you know it was her, like, before you saw her light?" Elmer asked, smiling from ear to ear.

"Elmer, she was the only one it could've been! She's the only new person here!" Henry laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Guys!" Albert and I shouted simultaneously, each of us quieting our respective groups.

"We should let them talk to each other." I suggested. "They don't even know each others' names yet!"

~ Time Skip ~

Everyone went back to their dorms after dinner, leaving Roni and Jack to have some more conversation time with each other. When I went to bed, Roni wasn't home yet, but when I woke up the next morning, Roni was sound asleep.

After I got dressed, I plopped down on the side of my bed. I checked my phone, only to see that the one notification I had was a "Battery 100% charged" message. Spare Roni's soft breathing and the occasional bird chirp, it was so quiet in the dorm you could hear a pin drop. It was so boring in here. It didn't help that I had no busy work to do since classes hadn't started yet. I could maybe go read a syllabus from the overprepared professors, but that was it. My leg started impatiently bouncing up and down, eager for something to do. I wanted to go somewhere. Do something... My stomach grumbled, reminding me that I hadn't had breakfast yet. That was it! I could go grab breakfast! The campus café was always a reliable source of breakfast pastries, and was home of the BEST coffee on planet earth.

I scribbled a message saying where I would be down on a sticky note and stuck it to Roni's bedpost. She would for sure notice it there. I grabbed my lanyard with my wallet and room key on it, and headed out the door. Surprisingly, the line wasn't too long when I arrived at the café. I guess not many of the new students knew about it yet.

When I got to the front of the line, I was greeted by a familiar voice. "Mornin', Shiner!"

"Crutchie! You're working already?" I asked in surprise. Crutchie had been working at the café for quite some time, but I didn't expect to see him this morning since classes hadn't started yet.

"Yep! I'm getting into the groove a little early this year. So what can I get for ya?" Crutchie replied.

"Hm... How about a couple of those blueberry scones?" I smiled, fishing a few bills out of my wallet. After I'd paid, I went over to the waiting area, where a blonde curly haired boy in a hoodie and sweats was fast asleep on a syllabus with a half drank cappuccino at his side. Nobody else really seemed to notice him, and the few who did gave a small chuckle and walked away.

"Hey Crutchie, do you know that guy?" I asked him when he came out with my order.

"Nope, never seen him around before. By the looks of him though, he's probably just a tired freshman. Want me to wake him up?" He responded.

"Nah, I got it." I shrugged, journeying back to the booth the boy was asleep in. I gently shook his shoulder, employing a tactic I very commonly used with Albert.

He jolted awake, the pupils in his bright blue eyes retracting at the sudden light. "Huh? I'm awake!" He half-yawned, stretching his arms above his head.