Star Crossed

I

🌊Evian🌊

"Hurry, Ev, you don't want to be late!" my friend Aquarius called. He was about six feet ahead of me now, even though I was walking at a normal pace. Well, normal for me.

"It's just a silly celebration," I called back, but walked quicker to catch up.

"A silly celebration?" Aquarius's twin sister Aqua asked with a shocked expression on her face. "Evian, it's our Sixteenth birthday!"

A bunch of people in our Element were turning 16 today. There was supposed to be a Ceremony of the Sixteens at noon, and if we didn't hurry, we'd be late. Not that I would mind.

I'd never liked these ceremonies. They were slow and boring. But maybe this one would be different, I said to myself, trying to think positive. Today the attention would be focused on me, and the other Sixteens. We would be receiving our necklaces from the Government. The necklaces that decided our future, our fate.

You see, these little pendants weren't just any sort of cheap jewelry. They were specially designed with a tracker that helped you find your soulmate. When you completed the journey and found the person you were to spend your life with, the necklace glowed a bright yellow.

Some of my friends, like Aquarius, thought it was ridiculous. But I, on the other hand, thought it was pretty cool. I was interested to know what made these things work. How they were built, and how the people making them knew your fate. I didn't even know who made them in the first place! Everything was a complete mystery to me.

Most everything is, in this place. We aren't given textbooks to help us learn. I've heard rumors of something from millenniums ago, about a place called 'school.' That doesn't exist here in the Elements. At least not in Ocean. I don't know about the other Elements.

No one from my Element really knows anything about the other four: Fire, Air, Earth, and Moon. We just know that they exist. We aren't allowed to cross the borders to investigate. Some of my older friends have told me that you're not even allowed to leave to find your soulmate. They are already placed there, in your Element.

My soulmate is here, living in Ocean somewhere.

I began to wonder if I already knew her. Perhaps we'd met years ago, or even just last week. I vaguely recalled coming into contact with a girl last week who went by the name of Lake. Could she be my soulmate?

Or how about Aqua? I had never had romantic feelings for her, but then again, I'd never had romantic feelings for anyone. No one under 16 knows what it's like to have a crush, or be in love. My friend Cascade, who's 17 now, tells me that it's amazing and wonderful in every way, shape, and form. I don't know if I believe that, but if Cascade, a boy who said he'd never be worthy of love, believes that, then I probably should, too.

I suppose the Pill I will be given today is the one chock full of hormones. After today, I'll feel differently about girls than I ever have before. It's not that I never thought anyone was attractive before today; but I wasn't allowed to date or get married until the Ceremony of the Sixteens had passed. Obviously, there was no point in having a crush until now.

Each year on our birthday, we are given a Pill. The Pills feed us new information that we didn't know in the previous years. When I turned One, I was given the walking Pill; at Two the speaking Pill; at Six the reading Pill, and so on. I suppose that is our replacement for this so-called 'school.'

Anyway, as I hurried to catch up with my friends, I caught a glimpse of the building where our ceremonies took place. It was huge, much bigger than any of the houses we lived in. Our houses were more like huts, scattered across the beach. But this? This was like a mansion, made of white marble and something else I couldn't name.

When we walked inside, I felt the nerves kick in. I hated being on stage. It was the most terrifying thing to me, and I despised every moment of being the center of attention.

"Nervous?" Aqua asked, squeezing my hand gently.

I squeezed back, glad for the support. Was that my knees shaking, or was there an earthquake? It was hard to tell.

Leaning in so Aqua could hear me, I said, "Just afraid of crowds, is all. And I think I have stage fright."

Ha! Think I have it. It was my worst nightmare.

"You'll be fine. The host will only focus on you for a minute before he moves on to someone else," Aqua said encouragingly.

A whole minute in the spotlight? Gulp.

Finally, we were able to take our seats. But we weren't sitting for long before we were asked to come on stage. "Here goes nothing," I whispered to Aqua, smiling to hide my nervousness.

She smiled back and followed at her brother's heels as they climbed on stage with everyone else. I was the last to get on.

A booming voice came over the speakers. No one ever truly saw the leader of Ocean; we only heard messages from him. "Hello, students. Ladies and gentlemen. Citizens of Ocean. Thank you for being here."

"You're welcome," we replied in unison.

"I'd like to introduce you to your new Sixteens. First up, Hudson." Obviously, our leader took no time getting down to business. I was grateful for that.

Hudson, a boy I knew from my previous job of fishing, went up to the podium and received a necklace from a Government official.

Next up was Fen. No one in the Elements had last names, or middle names. Fen was just Fen, and Hudson was just Hudson, and I was just Evian. A worried boy from Ocean, about to embark on the greatest journey of his life.

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a/n: hey y'all, it's xxSAVxx. I'll be writing from Evian's POV, and iwritetoinspire will be doing Astra's. Just so ya know. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will stick with us as the story continues! Thank you so much for reading 🌊