Linked // ambw

Un

"Are you excited?" my best friend Deja asked me excitedly over the phone. I can hear her boyfriend Hoseok yapping in the background with their new puppy and my heart aches.

My 21st birthday is in approximately two hours and seventeen minutes, but it's more than just your average birthday. Sure, I'll be able to legally drink and that's cool I guess but it's more than that.

Everyone is born with a soulmate. Another person that is destined to be their other half. A person born to complete them in every way they could possibly imagine. When a person turns 21, their soulmate's initials will appear on the inside of their wrist. From there it's all up to fate to lead each half to the other to make a whole.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be" I say with a sigh. I want what they have but the pessimist in me can't help but think, what if I'm one of the unlucky ones? What if I'm one of the few who get a rose instead of initials, meaning my soulmate has died before I've even gotten the chance to meet him.

"Stop it, hoe! I can practically hear you stressing yourself out through this phone" Deja is way too intuitive for her own good sometimes. "When you wake up in the morning there will be initials on your wrist and you're going to see that you've been freaking out over nothing. Now go get some sleep and we'll see you tomorrow for dinner"

We say our goodbyes and for once I actually listen to Deja and go to sleep. My dreams are filled with a shadowy stranger whose features I can't make out no matter how hard I try. I can tell he's tall and lanky with brown hair that flops over his forehead, but not much else. Even though his face is a blur, I feel a sense of peace in his presence.

I awake with a sigh, groggily rubbing eyes when I become aware of three slightly raised letters on the inside of my left wrist. Holy crap Deja was right. I was worrying for nothing.

KTH

KTH? I take a mental inventory of everyone I know but come up empty. No one I know has those initials so my soulmate isn't someone I already know. My mind drifts back to the boy from my dream. It has to be him. It's the only scenario that makes sense.

My phone rings with a skype call from Deja before I can sink too deep into my thoughts.

"Let me see your arm" she demands the second the call connects.

"Damn good morning to you too. I'm doing great on this fabulous anniversary of my birth thanks for inquiring"

"Happy birthday, babes! Now expose thine arm" with a roll of my eyes, I lift my wrist to the camera so that she can see the little black letters tattooed on my skin.

"I'm not gonna lie, I was hoping it would be Jungkook's initials so we could go on cute little double dates" my eyes roll on their own accord at the mention of one of Hoseok's best friends. He's a year younger than me and therefore not old enough to know who his soulmate is yet. Everyone else in our friend group has already seen those tell-tale letters appear on their skin although so far Deja and Hoseok are the only ones to actually find their soulmates.

"Little Jungkookie is going to make some girl very happy one day, but that girl will not be me"

"Maybe if I don't kill him first. Did I tell you that he ate all my girl scout cookies when he came over the other day? That shit is just unacceptable"

"Welp, it was nice knowing him I guess. Anyways, help me pick out an outfit for tonight. I need to look extra hot just in case this KTH makes an appearance tonight"

My birthday is a smashing success, but I end the night still oblivious about who the initials on my skin belong to. I lightly run my fingers over each letter as I lay in bed. I have the very same dream as I did the night before but this one is slightly more detailed. My shadow boy's face is still blurry for the most part as he dances around in some spacious room but this time I can see his smile. It's boxy and makes my heart skip a beat with its beauty. I decide then and there that I will do whatever it takes to keep that smile on his face.