Never Ending Truths

1. First day

I can't believe today is my first day of college; I'm officially a college student at Marshall College. I looked down at my nautical compass tattoo with a map of the world behind it on my forearm but went down to my wrist; I was born with this tattoo; everyone is born with a matching tattoo with their soulmate. Soul marks are usually what connects you two together, such as a common interest. My soulmate and I have a special connection that no one else seems to have. We can feel each other's emotions. If I focus hard enough, I can feel what he is physically feeling. He was the first one to figure it out, and I felt a ghost of a kiss on my hand. Whenever he senses I'm nervous; I feel that soft kiss on my hand, letting me know everything will be alright. He has always been there for me when I'm upset or feeling under the weather. I have never met him yet, but I can feel the love we share for each other by his small acts.

I look at myself in the mirror, finally satisfied with how I look. I wore a knee-length green long-sleeved dress with white polka dots and my favorite black flats. I looked at my blonde hair, not knowing what to do with it, so I brushed my bangs and let my long hair fall to my back. Most women these days have short hair to their shoulders or a few inches past. I don't care that I'm different; I love my long wavy hair. I walk out of my tiny house with my book bag in hand, thinking about the day ahead. I felt my heart start to race as I grew nervous and started stressing myself out. What if I get lost? What if I sit in the wrong class? What if I can't find the course at all? Why do I always rattle myself up? I felt a kiss on my hand, instantly calming me down. "Thank you, my love. I'm just a little stressed today." I smile as I kiss my forearm, letting him know I felt him. I park my car in the student parking, taking a deep breath before getting out and grabbing my bookbag.

I pull out my schedule looking over it, trying to remember my classes. I walked in the halls seeing many students rushing around trying to find their courses while upper-class men watched everyone run around. Most people had their soul marks displayed to find their match. I go to my first class, which happens to be my least favorite subject, Math. I sat in class as the teacher, Mr. Johnson, introduced himself and the expectations of his class. I took notes and decided a red notebook would be great for this class since I'm not too fond of math. For an hour, I listened to the older man with a plain monotone voice stand in one spot as he talked about the importance of numbers and how they are exciting. I'm going to fail this class. I can already tell I'll be asleep for most of it. The bell finally rang, signaling us to go to the next lesson. I gather my things looking down at my schedule, noticing I have mythology 101 with Mrs. Donovan. I take my seat up front by the door and pick a green notebook for this class.

**Lunch**

I go to the cafeteria, grabbing a sandwich, chips, and water before walking outside. It was a beautiful day today, and I wanted to bask in the sun before going inside to another classroom. I watched as many people had the same idea as they sat at the tables outside, turning their heads to look at me. I walked past them, going to the grass, picking a nice spot that looked over the pond with a fountain shooting up. I felt calm and relaxed as I ate my lunch, looking at the beautiful scenery before me. "You were right; I have nothing to worry about." I smile as I place my right hand over my left, gently pulling my hand to my mouth placing a kiss on it. I felt his heart skip a beat as he felt me before I felt a kiss in return. "Someday, I'll meet you in person."

"That chick is talking to an imaginary friend; what a looney." I heard a boy snicker behind me.

"Does she not have enough money for a haircut?" A girl snickers in reply.

"Who sits on the grass like a child like that? What a loser. She's going to be the weirdo of the school; I bet she looks ugly as well."

I felt my heart drop as I listened to their hurtful words. I wanted to cry, but then I felt his touch on my skin. His hand was on the side of my face while his thumb brushed under my eye as if to wipe tears. A hand was then under my chin, telling me to keep my head up not to let it bother me. I felt his fingers gently start from my forehead, slowly moving down to my chin, making me lift my chin higher. My heart instantly started racing from excitement as I felt his fingers to trace my lips as if it was his way of kissing me. Soon I forgot about the hurtful comments from the group behind me, focusing on his gentle touch. I smiled as I felt his other hand run through my hair, calming me down. I place a tender kiss on my hand, thanking him for helping me once again. I don't know what I would do without him. I love our little moments. I like this where I feel close to him. We have our little system and ways to communicate, which took time to learn. Our little hand kissed have different meanings; everything will be okay, thank you, and I care about you. Three taps on the thigh is asking for sex where we both masturbate together, trying to please the other person. Nights that we both agree are nothing but magical and drive us both insane with pleasure. If one of us does three taps on the thigh while the other is busy, we slap our hand, telling the other not right now. Then usually, when the other is free, they come back with the three taps waiting for the other person. When I get scared, I feel his hand under my chin, telling me to keep my head up and not be scared. When I'm on the verge of crying, he gently caresses my face and runs his fingers through my hair. When I'm pissed off, he tries to distract me by grabbing my shoulder or my arm and gently peppering me with kisses along my arm. I heard the bell ring, signaling lunch was over and for us to go to our next class. I gathered my trash and threw it away near the group talking about me, seeing they were staring at me with their mouths open. I nod at them and walk to the next building feeling the wind in my hair calming me down for the next class. I was lost as I tried to find my history class taught by Mr. Smith. I finally found it walking in as the bell rang, noticing everyone was already in their seats staring at me as I walked in. I took the only seat left, which was in the back, forcing me to walk by everyone. "Tardiness will not be tolerated, not a very good start to the semester." He tells me with his arms crossed. Like the rest of the professors, he was an older man in his sixties with grey hair, a big belly, a serious expression, and seemed dull to the core. "My apologies, I got lost. It will not happen again." I apologize as I take my seat. "Better not." He then uses me as an example for most of the class. I grabbed my hand, wanting to feel comfort from my soul as I was called out. I was thankful for the bell saving me from this class as it was starting to put a damper on my mood. I grab my things and head to the classroom across the hall, seeing I was the first one here, so I pick the seat up front by the teacher's desk and chalkboard. The room was filled with many artifacts, windows lining the left side, a projector in the middle of the seats, and a back room across from me to the left. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down from the last class, not wanting to be the center of attention again. I grab my blue notebook writing 'archaeology 101' on the front. I felt a kiss on my hand, letting me know everything would be alright. I smile to myself, taking another deep breath before placing a kiss on my hand. He must know I'm having a stressful day with how much he had to comfort me today. I hold my hand, not wanting to let go and keep him close to me. More students started to arrive, so I let go of my hand, not wanting to get made fun of again. Soon everyone arrived, and I felt a kiss on my hand, causing me to smile. I watched as the spare door opened and the professor walked to the front of the class. I felt my breathing hitched as I scanned him up and down. He wasn't as old as most teachers; he must have been in his thirties, sandy brown hair styled to the right, tan smooth skin, he wore a large pair of circular glasses, a three-piece tweed suit with a red bow tie, he was in great shape, tall, and so handsome. I felt my heart start to race as I stared at him, instantly attracted to my professor. He went over to the girl at the end of the row to the left handing her a paper before walking back in front of the class. He scanned over the class, starting from the back, finally making his way to the front, and his eyes locked with mine. It felt like an eternity went by, and we were still staring into each other's eyes. I give him a soft smile before looking down shyly, feeling my heart race and my cheeks burn a rosy red. I look back at him to see he shook his head before continuing with his class. The person next to me tapped my arm, grabbing my attention handing me a paper. I looked at it to see it was a layout of the seats where we were supposed to write our name in the chair we were sitting in. 'Harley LaCarrubba' I sign my name before passing it to the girl next to me.

"My name is Dr. Jones; you may refer to me as such or professor. I will be teaching Archaeology. Archaeology is the search for fact...not the truth. If it's the truth you're interested in, Dr.Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall. So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and "X" never, ever marks the spot. Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library. Research. Reading. We cannot afford to take mythology at face value." he teaches as he writes on the chalkboard. I listened to every word he said as he taught us for the rest of the class.

"Next week: "Egyptology." Starting with the excavation of Naukratis by Flinders Petrie in 1885. I will be in my office if anybody's got any problems for the next hour and a half." He announced as everyone started leaving. I noticed a few girls were already fussing over him, and I don't blame them. What am I doing? I have a soulmate who cares about me, and I'm just like all the other girls crushing over my professor, being disloyal to my soulmate. I shake my head, clearing my thoughts as I pack everything up and wait for the crowd to leave, not wanting to get trampled on. I finally got up once I noticed it was almost empty, making it more manageable.

I finally made it home after a stressful day, throwing my bookbag on the couch and plopping down myself. What am I doing? How can I betray my soulmate like this? I want to meet him already and feel closer to him. I tap my thigh three times, wondering if my soulmate is up for it. I need to apologize for looking at another man. I know some people go and have sex and date people that aren't their soulmates, and that's fine and all, but I can't live with myself if I do that. I felt the slap on my hand telling me he was busy, so I decided to do my nightly routine. I take a shower, eat some food, then settle down with a bottle of wine. I felt myself starting to get tipsy wanting nothing more than to be close to my soulmate. I lazily trail my hand up my thigh creating small circles as I stare off into space. I place kisses on my hand, slowly going up my arm. I tapped my thigh three times once more, seeing if he was ready yet. To my surprise, I felt those three taps back, signaling he was. I stumble to my room, closing the door, excited I would be close with him.