Your Name's Tattooed

Chapter Three

After two songs, I learn a lot about Michael. He was an only child, he enjoyed punk music, and he dyed his hair frequently. Oh, and another thing ; he was very clumsy.

"Shit, sorry," He replies after stepping on my foot. His clumsiness was endearing, though. After a few dances, he leads me back to our couch in the corner.

"So, what does Rory stand for?" Michael asks after a drink from his red solo cup. The smell revealed that it was alcohol, the same thing that was in my cup.

"Aurora," I reply, tapping my fingers on my knee to the beat of the song. He nods.

"Why did you say that earlier?" I ask, remembering his proclaimed 'oh shit' before we danced together. He looks down into his drink and stirs it in its cup. When he doesn't reply for a couple of minutes, I put my hand on his knee.

"Michael, is everything okay?" I question, and his emerald eyes meet mine. The boy scratches his neck nervously.

"It's just, I don't know, you're pretty. And all of my soulmates, they were pretty too. But of course, me being me, I had to fuck it all up. With every single one of them. And then you show up looking pretty just in a bunny onesie, and I don't know," He shakily responds, then downs his whole cup.

"It's okay Mikey," I say, rubbing his shoulder. He offers a small smile and then leans against the wall.

"I just really want pizza," Michael says in a whiny voice which draws a laugh from my mouth. "Come on!" He exclaims, standing and taking my hand. The pizza crazed boy seemingly runs through the crowd, leading me into the kitchen. Pizza boxes are stacked on every barren surface, and Michael smiles back at me as if he's in heaven. I turn around to grab a paper plate, and bump into a figure. Warm puppy dog brown eyes smile down at me.

"We have to stop meeting this way," Calum smiles, his Australian thick and deep. Why was every guy I've met Australian?

"Hey Calum," Michael greets from behind me. I turn to the side as if to open the space for a conversation.

"Hey Mikey, I see you've met Rory?" Calum asks, and my heart flutters when he says my name. Michael nods in reply.

"I didn't know you two knew each other." The green haired boy says, looking down at me.

"Yeah, we met earlier today." I answer, my voice faultering. Why was I so nervous?

"I'll see you guys later, yeah?" Michael asks, and I nod in response.

"See you later, man." Calum says, meeting Michael in a bro-hug. Michael nods his head at me before leaving. My heart beats faster. Calum and I were now alone in a room together. Despite my nerves, I lean up against the counter calmly. Calum mimics my movements. After a moment of silence, he turns to face me, his torso now leaning against the counter.

"Did I do something wrong?" The dark skinned boy asks, which sends me for a whirl.

"What do you mean?" I answer, using the strategy my high school acting teacher taught me to get out of answering something. Answer with another question.

"Earlier today, on campus. I introduced myself and you ran away. Why?" Calum insists, his warm eyes concerned.

"I forgot I needed to turn off my straightener," I lie. Well, that game ended quickly. He laughs suddenly.

"Forgetful, much?" He jokes, and I laugh.

"I guess you could say that," I admit, laughing along with him.

We continue going back and forth for about thirty minutes, and my nerves lessen a little. How could I not be nervous when everything this boy did was perfect?

"What would you say if I asked to get out of here?" Calum suddenly asks out of nowhere. I'd say hell yes, I wanted to reply. No, I needed to stay calm. Didn't want to seem desprate.

"Isn't this your party?" I counter, taking a sip of my drink. He shrugs.

"So what? I think it's pretty under control," He states, then nudges me. "Come on, just come to McDonald's with me Rory."

I agree.
--

"So, favorite color?" Calum asks over his fries. I take a drink of my vanilla milkshake before answering.

"Mint green," I reply, and he nods.

"I haven't heard that one before." The curly haired boy replied. I shrug in reply. Suddenly, his phone vibrates, making a sound on the table. He picks it up and a little smile forms on his face.

"Ohhh, who's the lucky lady?" I ask jokingly, leaning my head on my hands. He looks up at me.

"My girlfriend," He replies, and my heart drops.

He had a girlfriend?
--

"Come on, Aspen, answer your fucking phone," I say from the sidewalk outside McDonald's. Calum stood next to me, watching with concern. I throw my head back in a loud groan as I go to voicemail for the tenth time.

"If you need a ride, I can give you one," He says, rubbing the side of his truck.

"Calum, you don't have to-" I begin.

"I want to, now get in." He tells me, and I obey. It was too late and after the bomb that was just dropped on me, I don't have any desire to argue.
--

The ride is short, due to the fact that the apartment building is a couple minutes away. It's quiet, too. I don't have anything to say to him after he dropped that news on me. It wasn't fair to him, but I was hurt. How could he not know that we're soulmates? Or did he know and just not care? I had read before about people completely ignoring the soulmate system and dating someone different, but it happened rarely. I guess I just got lucky.

"Here's your stop," Calum says, stopping the car. I raise an eyebrow at him as he does so.

"Why are you stopping the car?" I question as he gets out and walks over to my side of the car. He opens the door and smiles up at me.

"I'm just walking you to the door," Calum states, and I nod and exit the car.

"I don't need your protection," I tell him as we make our way towards the building. He scoffs.

"Yes, you do," He replies, looking down at me. The boy was a whole foot taller than me, granted, but it didn't mean I couldn't defend myself.

"For your information, I took self defence classes for eighteen years." Slips from my mouth snarkily, but he simply laughs. Soon enough, we're at the door of my apartment. All I wanted to do was bury myself in my covers and cry. I had already lost my last chance.

"I guess this is bye," Calum says as I unlock the door. I turn to say goodbye, and he envelopes me in a hug.

"Tonight was the most fun I've had in a while," Calum mumbles into my hair and I'm surprised he can't feel my heartbeat. He moves away and flashes a small smile before walking away.

After I close the door, I collapse on the floor.