The Meeting (On Hold)

Chapter 1

In this world, soulmates exist. The Gods assign one to you once the clock appears on the wrist of your left arm. By that time, you're only a few days old.

My mother always told me that when you first meet your soulmate, it's like time stands still. One moment, everything is moving, fast paced, no one paying any attention to anyone else around them. The next, your heart stops, your breathing stops, everything around you slows down, and all you are focused on is them. Everything about them is captured as the world around you stops. Their eyes pull you in, their voice is melodic, their skin elicits sparks from yours when you touch, and their scent will always be the best thing you've ever smelled.

Nothing else matters to you in those few chosen moments than your soulmate. The hours, the minutes, and the seconds building up to your meeting them is all you can think about as the numbers on your wrist slowly grow closer to zero. It has been said that it's a heart pounding experience. The Meeting is all anyone ever talks about as they grow up. Some meet their soulmate when they're still little, others don't meet theirs until their almost forty-years-old.

Ever since the first time I looked at it, I always made sure that the clock on my wrist was covered. Whenever someone would ask me how long it was until I met my soulmate, I would always shrug and fiddle with the scrap of fabric around my wrist. I'd tell them that I didn't want to know, that I wanted it to be a complete surprise. People would usually give me a bewildered look, but they never bothered to push on the subject. I was usually glad when they didn't.

I'm currently an eighteen-year-old senior at Madison High School. I'm part of the popular kids, one of the few cheerleaders with an actual brain. I have a good group of friends, good grades, and a nice boyfriend for the time being. My parents are both as in love as you could think two soulmates would be, but only enough to have one child, no more. One is more than enough, Mom always said. Our house is shared with one Maine Coon. Other than my friends at school, he's my main go-to for when I need to talk out my feelings. Hemi is a great listener, and even better at purring.

So, all in all, my life is great. Or as great as I think it will be.

"Hey, Mady!" At first, I don't hear it, but the second time my name is called, I stop. "Madison Strickland!" I spin around to see Lydia jogging through the crowd of students to catch up with me. Her pale face is flushed with color and her auburn hair is windswept from running through the halls. "Only two days until my Meeting!" Her smile is bright as she glances at her wrist, where her clock just switched to 0001 D : 23 H : 59 M : 30 S.

Lydia Harris is one of the girls on the cheer squad with me. She's valedictorian of the senior class, student of the month every month, and my number one best friend.

I force a grin onto my face, meeting her blue eyes that dance with excitement. "That's great, Lyd! Do you think you know where it'd be?" I glance down at my wrist where I am absentmindedly fiddling with the fabric. I snatch my hand away, gulping down the groan of irritation I wanted to let out. "Are you nervous?"

Lydia's eyes grow wide at the question. "Are you kidding me?" She blurts out, snatching her hair in her hands, staring at me like I just sprouted a second head. "Of course I'm nervous, Mads. Who isn't nervous for their Meeting?" Her hands wring through her hair, twisting and pulling at the auburn locks.

I reach out and grab her hands, gently pulling them away from her hair. "Stop playing with your hair before you lose it all," I say softly, gripping her hands tenderly in mine. "You don't want to be bald when you meet your soulmate, do you?" I joke, the corners of my lips twitching into a small smile.

Her cheeks flame up in a red blush and she looks down. "Sorry," she murmurs sheepishly. "I'm so nervous, so scared." Suddenly, her grip on my hands tightens and her head pups up, her eyes wide and full of worry. "What if they don't like me?"

I roll my eyes. "Okay, now you're just being ridiculous," I say, shaking my head. "They're your soulmate, Lyd. They're supposed to like you, and if they don't, then they're blind and stupid." Lydia smiles and I know that my job as a calming best friend is done.

"And if your soulmate doesn't like you, then I'm going to smack them," she giggles, releasing my hands. The smile on my face instantly slips away, and my wrist with the clock on it is shoved behind my back. "You're totally a likeable person. You make friends with literally everyone you meet!"

I look at her wrist. 0001 D : 23 H : 55 M : 10 S. Jealousy burns in the pit of my stomach, but I shove it down, distracting myself by turning and heading towards the wave of students leaving the school. Even though Lydia and I have been friends since kindergarten, she has no idea about the truth of my watch. No one does; not even my mother.

They say that your clock doesn't start counting down until you're one year old. Most children don't learn about the clock and what it means until they're old enough to understand the word soulmate. However, like most things, we tend to hear about it before we are supposed to learn it in school. Sex, for example.

I learned about my clock when I was five. I was told about how all the clocks start at 9999 D : 23 H : 59 M : 59 S. Your actions depend on when you meet your soulmate. Like going to the mall next weekend instead of this weekend could make your clock jump forward by two weeks. Or instead of going to the concert like you planned, you stay home, and your clock gets an extra two years added on.

No matter what I do, though, my clock always stays the same.