The Soulmate System

10. Little Things Can Unintentionally Act as Sparks for A Relationship

Bryce let his work slip to come up with an equally adept analysis of Dylan. His Soulmate's words still hanging on his mind, Bryce came to these conclusions about his Soulmate throughout the day:

In his own way, he, too, was slightly commitment-phobic,His love of consistency came off as boring,And his own strict rules for himself branch off into how he expects others should act.

Bryce mulled those three points in his head over and over, stealing glances at the man who made him feel euphoria and nervous at the same time.

'Is that really a bad thing?' he contemplated. Bryce took a moment to consider the thought and returned to work, continuing to mull over the points he made.

In the end, he also saw them as positive points, safe for Dylan's perceived monophobia, which, nevertheless, had semi-realistic justification. But in needing consistency, his life was calm and mostly relaxing; by having his own strict rules for himself, Bryce saw it as him not feeling the need to compromise his own beliefs for others.

While his mind lingered, Bryce's work quality declined slowly throughout the day to the point where Bryce just wiggled a pen between his fingers in inspection, his work closed in front of him; his eyes remained locked on the back of Dylan's head from across the room.

Stevenson saw it, but assumed he was experiencing an off day.

Dylan, meanwhile, threw himself into his work quite suddenly and energetically, like new life had suddenly been pumped through his veins. For the first time in several months, he was caught up with his work, so much so that he had spare time in the afternoon the clear out his email's inbox of old, useless messages.

Their evening conversation felt forced on Bryce's end, whose mind seemed locked in still considering Dylan's analysis. But the man exhibited a similar level of energy that Dylan showcased despite it being mostly nerves.

The only significant realisation for Bryce that night was that Dylan's "focused look" makes him look either constipated or oddly charming.

The next several days yielded similar results for both.

Amber, Travis, and Chis were all equally amazed at Dylan's work that day. "What, did you actually sleep last night?" asked Travis amazedly.

Dylan felt too proud of himself for the work he accomplished that day. "I don't know, maybe karma's rewarded me," he whispered, actually having not slept last night, but recalling the morning conversation with Bryce's flatmates looping in his head brought a weary-looking smile to his face.

"I haven't seen you this energetic for quite some time," Chris commented, slipping a crisp into his mouth and smiling. "I like it."

Dylan let forth a satisfied smirk and glanced down at his lunch. Amber and Travis began discussing finalized numbers for the marketing campaign that she was designing. Chris sat contentedly, reveling in the quiet peace between his coworkers.

As the two finished their deliberations, Bryce walked in and sat down, sinking slowly into the plastic chair before opening his lunch bag. A significant departure from the Bryce they had come to know, the conversation stopped to observe the tired- and sad-looking, poor-postured Bryce Houghton. He looked up upon slipping a crisp into his mouth when he asked, "What?"

"Well, this is a treat," Amber noted, smiling. "It's rare we get everyone on our old project in the same room together anymore. It's nice."

Bryce slumped in his chair. "Okay," he replied flatly.

"Are you feeling all right?" was Dylan's question, which surprised both Amber and Travis.

Chris was visibly caught off guard.