Seventeen is the age that decides who every young soul is destined to be with forever. Dating back to Neanderthals, humans have always felt this natural pull to the other half of their soul. Made to make sure that the human population is reproducing...
I'm fangirling. I am. So hard. Do you know what this means??? COMMENT
(I hope this makes up for last week's miss)
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I spot her in the hallway in between classes. Just out of the corner of my eye, a flash of blonde scurrying down the opposite flow of the hallway looking for the opposite direction.
I go after her, almost shouldering my way through the crowd to get to her in time. But by the time I'm through the crowd of students and racing after her, she's turned corners.
I have no trace of her. I search through the cafeteria, walk through the hallways. I don't know who she is, but I'd do anything to find her.
💖
The next day when I enter the crowded cafeteria, my hopes low, is when I end up spotting her. She's sitting with the strawberry-blonde boy, in the corner. They're nearly out of sight. It's just the two of them. Somehow, I'm grateful that I don't have to approach when she's with more of her friends.
I walk over, confident as ever. I mean to impress her, even if she's not my other half. Students whisper as they notice I'm not heading over to my usual table.
The strawberry-blonde friend says something to her. For a moment, I wonder if he's her boyfriend.
Sophie turns, her hair swishing out in a wave as she does so. As she sees me, her eyes widen, almost in realization. I wonder what's running through her mind.
I reach the table. "It okay if I sit here?" The nauseous feeling in my stomach is back, and I don't feel like eating.
I see Sophie squirm next to me, not used to all of the attention. Eyes drill into my back. "Sure, we can just pack up our things," she murmurs quietly, moving to grab her stuff as she exchanges a glance with the boy.
"No!" I exclaim quickly, almost too loudly. I lower my voice, already feeling embarrassed. I can't do anything right around her. "Please, sit. I actually wanted to talk to you."
Surprise lights her eyes. Sophie sits back down slowly, eyeing me with skepticism. "I don't know who you are."
I give my signature smirk, running my hands through my hair to tousle it. I hold out my hand for a shake. "It's Keefe Sencen."
A flicker of shock passes over her face, but she covers it up. She ignores my hand for a shake. "Sophie Foster." She points to the kid across from her, who's been watching the entire exchange with confusion. "That's Dex, my friend."
"What did you want to talk about?" Dex asks me, not bothering with small talk.
My smile fades, and I withdraw my hand. I'm about to say something, when Sophie interrupts.
"Are you the person that brought me to the nurse's the other day?" she asks, her cheeks flushing at the thought. I can see the light bruise still on her arm from that day.
"I am," I reply, "I also have reason to believe that you might be my soulmate."
Dex looks at Sophie with his eyebrows raised, and she fidgets nervously, clenching her fists. "I have been feeling a little bit nauseous lately," she tells him, looking embarrassed. "That's the news I was telling Maya yesterday when I couldn't find you. I swear I was going to tell you."
I wrack my brain for someone named Maya but come up blank. If she's feeling nauseous, this is probably it. My Adam's apple bobs in my throat as I try to think of something to say.
Dex beats me to it, "Well, if he's feeling nauseous too, touch hands and see if it goes away. What are you waiting for?"
I turn towards her, nerves bouncing in my throat as I swallow again. My voice goes an octave deeper. "M'lady," I offer my palm, face up.
Sophie exhales, blowing a shiny blonde curl out of her face. "Yeah, sure." She puts her hand in mine, and my feeling of nausea disappear, replaced with ecstasy.
Our eyes meet as our hands touch a moment too long, both of us processing what this means. Sophie then glances down at ours hands, in slight fascination. I keep looking at her.
When she goes to pull her hand away, I don't let her, my hand tightening on hers as I tug it up to my lips. I kiss the top of her hand gently, making eye contact with her as I do so. "Looks like you're stuck with me, Foster," I tease lightly, but inside my chest my heart is pounding hard.
Would it be too weird to jump up and scream joyfully and shout to the entire cafeteria that she's mine? I can hear the whispers already, girls staring at the part of her hand that I kissed, but I don't care.
She glances up at me through her eyelashes, almost shyly, then says something bold. "Is that such a bad thing?"
A smile curves my lips – not a smirk, a smile. "I guess you'll have to see." Inside, though, I do really wonder if my troubled life will disrupt her easygoing one as soon as she finds out what's going on behind closed doors.
