Soulmates

Chapter 1: Jade
"Jade.....wait up," my boyfriend, Kyle, yelled from behind me. "You can't slow down in a race," I yelled back, laughing. Suddenly, I'm lifted from behind. "No, put me down, you cheater," I laughed. "Tie," Kyle announced, as he passed the makeshift finish line. "Nu uh, you cheated," I said as he set me down. Kyle covered his heart, like he was wounded. "Me? Never," he declared, then he smiled. God, I love his smile, I thought to myself. I still remember the day I met him.....I was sitting in Physics when I got called to the principal's office. "Sir," I questioned, knocking on the door. "Come in, Jade," Mr. Collins said. "Shut the door please." I went inside, and the first thing I noticed was the boy. He had golden brown hair and blue eyes. "You get the job of showing the new kid around, since you're head of the Welcoming Committee," Mr. Collins said. I jerked, having forgot he was in the room. "Sure, umm....," I glanced at the boy. "Kyle," he said, holding out his hand. "Jade," I said, then stood there not knowing what to do. "Shoo," Mr. Collins said with a laugh. "Come on," I said, leading the way out of the office. Kyle grabbed his bag and followed me. "What do you want to see first," I asked. "Whatever you want to show me," Kyle said with a grin. “Umm….the art room it is,” I said. “Lead the way,” he said, motioning me in front of him….. “Earth to Jade,” Kyle said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. “What,” I asked. “What are you thinking about,” he asked curiously. “Meeting you,” I said. “That was a good day,” he said with a slight smile. “It was,” I replied, “Anyway, what’d you say,” I asked. “I asked what you wanted to eat,” he said. “You cooking?” I asked. “Yes,” Kyle replied. “Surprise me then,” I said.
Kyle grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I stumbled into him and he put his hands on my waist. He lightly kisses me on the nose, then on the lips. “I love you,” I said, smiling. “I love you, too,” Kyle said. “Let’s go,” I said. Kyle followed me to his truck, then lifted me into it. Kyle got in the truck, and we headed toward his house. He picked up my hand and laced his fingers through mine. I hated that we had to do everything at his house, but at least his parents didn’t threaten to send us to jail. Let me explain.
Our society has very strict rules. Everyone is born with a tattoo. There is only one other person that has the exact tattoo in the same place. This person is supposed to be your soulmate. Society says that we can date our non-soulmates, but we can’t do dating things like kissing, holding hands, etc. Kyle is not my soulmate, but I love him. Kyle’s tattoo is a bird on his right shoulder blade, mine is an angel. My parent’s threaten us with jail if we go to my house, because if we were ever caught, we would go to jail until our true soulmates came forward. That would also bring dishonor on our whole family.
Kyle pulled up in the driveway and killed the engine. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed the palm. I smiled as I kissed his forehead. Kyle came to my side, and I jumped in his arms. We stood there for a minute holding each other. As we walked to the door, Blade, Kyle’s dog, rushed to meet us. “Hey, Blade,” I cooed, bending down to pet him. “J.J.!” I heard a yell, and then a two-year-old threw himself at me. “Hey, little man,” I said picking up Michael. We made our way to the kitchen and Kyle started getting out plates, utensils, and cookware. “What, are you planning to feed an Army?” I asked, staring at the amount of food on the table.
He raised an eyebrow and kept getting out food. I put Michael in his playpen, so I could help. I chopped up onions and peppers, while Kyle made hamburgers and brownies. When I was done, I hopped on the counter and tried to lick some of the batter. Kyle hit me with a spoon. “No touching,” he warned. His parents were home by the time the food was done. “Smells delicious,” Mrs. Lane said as she walked in and hugged everyone. As Kyle put the rest of the food on the table, Mr. Lane walked in. Mr. Lane has always scared me a little. He’s a retired Marine. Mrs. Lane, on the other hand, is a florist. Doesn’t make much sense does it? Somehow, they make it work though.
After dinner, we played some games and watched TV. “Shit,” I said, glancing at the clock. “What….ooh,” Kyle said. It was after two in the morning. Michael was passed out on the couch. “Give me a lift,” I asked. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he told his parents. “Be careful,” Mr. Lane cautioned. “Yes sir,” Kyle replied. I bent to give Michael a kiss then went out the door. “Car?” I asked. “Car,” he confirmed. His car was a ’67 Chevy Impala. It was faster than his truck and, more importantly, a lot quieter. We raced to my house and left the car a block away just to be safe. He kissed me goodbye, then helped me climb the tree to my window.
Chapter 2: Angel
“Baby,” my girlfriend, Chelsea, whined. “What,” I asked. “We need to do something,” she said, in that whiny voice of hers. “Read a book,” I suggested. She looked at me like I was an idiot. “Or not,” I said. Buzz buzz. Chelsea checked her phone. “Shoot,” she muttered, “I gotta go.” She grabbed her keys and ran out the door. “Bye,” I said to the empty room. “Is she gone?” Shayla, my younger sister, asked. “Yes,” I said. “I don’t see why you put up with her,” Shayla said. “You wanna swim?” I asked, not wanting to talk about Chelsea. She nodded. “Go grab your suit,” I ordered, walking to my truck. She got her suit on, grabbed one of my old shirts, and ran out the door behind me. We headed to the Rec Center. The Rec Center is really just a hangout spot. You can swim, play pretty much any sport, and get free food.
“Angel!” I hear a yell, as I step out of the truck. It’s one of my best friends, Chase. “Hey, man,” I said, slapping him on the back. A few feet behind him, I noticed his girlfriend and soulmate, Kara. In some ways, I envy Chase. He has his soulmate, and all I want to do is find mine. Even though I’ve never seen Chelsea’s tattoo I know she isn’t the one. As we walked the Rec Center, I noticed a group of guys playing basketball. The weird thing was, there was a girl playing. She was good, too. Just then, her eyes met mine and I felt a jolt go through my system. She had the most startling shade of green eyes I’d ever seen. They were dark green with light green and gold flecks. I wondered if her long black hair was as silky as it looked.
I went into the locker room and changed into swim trunks. When I was very young, I got into the habit of covering up my tattoo in public. I put gauze on my shoulder, covering my tattoo. I met up with Shayla, Kara, and Chase outside the locker room. We made our way across the court, and a basketball flew out of nowhere and slammed into the side of my head. I slowly looked around, trying to find whoever threw the ball. I noticed Kyle Lane, standing off to the side, staring at me. I made a beeline for him. The green-eyed girl stepped in between us. She put a hand on my chest to prevent me from going further. “Sweetie, this is between me and him,” I said. “I’m not your sweetie,” she fired back, her eyes flashing. This close to her, I noticed she smelled like vanilla, and she only came up to my chest.
Kyle moved her out of the way and took a step toward me. “I don’t think you’re gonna find anything here, wings.” Kyle said, using a nickname I despise. “You throw the ball?” I asked, noticing Shayla come closer to me. “What if I did? What you gonna do? Dive-bomb me? Oooh I’m so scared, I’m shaking,” he said laughing. I lunged forward and punched him in the mouth. For the most part, anyway. “No!” I heard Shayla and the green-eyed girl yell. I headed out the side door to the pool, leaving the green-eyed girl to tend to Kyle. When we got to the picnic area, Chase spoke. “That was a nice hit, man,” he praised. “I guess,” I said. Shayla just stared at me. “I thought you wanted to swim,” I said.
She took the hint and ran off to the diving board. “You okay,” Kara asked. “Awesome,” I said sarcastically. “She’s not supposed to see that from me. She sees it enough.” “Shayla will be fine. She’s a tough kid.” Kara said reassuringly. “Yeah…..” I said, staring at the other side of the pool. Kyle was making his way outside with the help of the green-eyed girl. It looked like his jaw might’ve been broken judging by the swelling. He had a little stream of blood trickling out of his nose, too. I felt a sort of sick satisfaction. I couldn’t help noticing the green-eyed girl looked good in a two-piece. They sat next to the snack bar.
When she turned to put a towel over the seat, I noticed a tattoo on her right shoulder blade. The same place as mine. “Hey, guys I’ll be back,” I said, leaving before they had a chance to respond. I walked around the pool toward the snack bar, trying not to get my hopes up. As I approached them, I slowed my pace. Did I really want to see the tattoo if she wasn’t the one? Did I want to suffer the disappointment again? I decided I did. I passed their table. When I saw the tattoo, I stopped dead. Her tattoo was an exact copy of mine. I forced myself to keep to the snack bar. I bought a Dr. Pepper and made my way back to the picnic area. “Angel,” Kara said worriedly as I sat down. “What’s up, you look like you seen a ghost,” Chase said. “Nah I’m good,” I replied, deciding to keep it a secret for now. A little while later, I got a text from Chelsea saying I needed to come get her. I sighed. “What,” Chase asked. “Just Chelsea,” I replied.
“Dude, that girl is whack,” Chase said. I glared at him. He raised his hands in surrender. “Just my opinion,” he stated quickly. “You guys mind giving Shayla a ride,” I asked Kara. “You know we will,” she said. I texted Chelsea, told her I’d be there in a minute, and took off to my truck. I pulled up outside her house a few minutes later, and she met me at the road. I pulled away from the curb, as she stared out the window. “What happened,” I asked. “We need to talk,” she said. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She looked nervous. “Just spit it out,” I said. “I’m…..I’m seeing someone else,” Chelsea said, looking out the window. “Is it your soulmate,” I asked, my thoughts flickering to the green-eyed girl. “I’m not sure,” she said. “Find out,” I said. “Are we….okay,” she asked tentatively. I shrugged.
“You found her, didn’t you?” Chelsea asked. “Why do you ask,” I said. “I’ve been with you for two and a half years now. I can read you pretty well,” she said. After a second's consideration, I nodded. “Who is she,” Chelsea asked curiously. “I don’t know,” I said. “Well, I hope she deserves you,” she said. Yeah, me too, I thought.
Chapter 3: Jade
I couldn’t understand why Kyle threw the ball at that boy. Kyle seemed to know him from somewhere. After Kyle dropped me off that night, my thoughts kept drifting to the boy. He was maybe half a foot taller than me. He had short, blond hair with blue tips, and green eyes. The kind of eyes you could get lost in, I couldn’t help thinking. “Sissy,” I heard a little voice ask. “Max, what’s wrong,” I asked, immediately concerned. “I had a bad dream,” my little brother said sleepily. “Come here,” I said, holding out my arms. He curled up next to me, and I stroked his hair until he fell asleep again. When I woke up, my brother was nowhere in sight.
I heard laughter and followed it to the living room. My brother and dad were on the couch watching Sunday cartoons before church. My mother was cooking breakfast. I went to the kitchen, snagged a piece of toast, and went to the living room. “Morning squirt,” I said, ruffling my brothers hair as I passed. “Hey J.J.,” Max replied with a smile. “Morning dad,” I said. “Morning J.J.,” Dad replied. When breakfast was done, Mom called us into the kitchen. “J.J., you have circles again,” Mom commented as I sat down. “Guess I’m not getting enough sleep,” I said, yawning. She gave me a disapproving frown.
I dropped my eyes and continued eating my breakfast. After we finished eating, I cleared the table and got Max dressed. Mom and dad changed into their church clothes and met us in the living room. I curled up on the couch as they left. I stopped going to that church a while ago. That church is filled with hypocrites and judgmental people, yet mom and dad still choose to go there and drag Max along. They could leave him with me, I mean I am going to be 18 in a couple months. They refuse to, though, because they find my taste in friends…..questionable. My thoughts drifted to school tomorrow. I would be glad to see my friends again and, possibly, that boy.
I must have fell asleep, because the next thing I was aware of was the banging of the open door and the chattering of voices. Max catapulted onto the couch and hugged me. “J.J., you should’ve been there. There’s a new kid. He played trucks with me,” he blurted out. “I’m glad sweetie,” I replied, kissing his forehead. “He says he’s going to be a senior at Rodger’s this year,” mom said walking in. “What’s his name,” I asked. “Last name’s Jackson,” my dad butted in. “I don’t know,” mom said, “But he lives two streets over.” “Maybe you or Kyle could give him a ride.” “Maybe,” I replied.

The Next Day...
I got up and took special care picking out my clothes. I finally decided on a short blue jean skirt paired with a see-through purple long sleeve, my Rocksteady shirt, and my vest. Along with my ripped leggings and black combat boots, of course. I ate some toast, said bye to everyone, and got in my car. My car was a ‘70 Dodge Charger R/T I had lovingly restored. It was my baby, not my car. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed someone had parked in my spot. Whoever it was, they had a beautiful truck. It was a lifted Ford F350, black and chrome.
We match, I thought pulling next to it. A few minutes after I got into homeroom I was called to the office. I had a feeling of deja vu, as I was sent back to Mr. Collins’ office. I knocked and was told to come in. My eyes met a pair of green eyes. Slowly, I started taking in more details. He was wearing a black button-up with some kind of design on it, dark blue jeans, and cowboy boots. He looked great. Beyond that, my time in the office is a blur.

Chapter 4: Angel
She walked into the office, and I was kind of thrown. When Mr. Collins had said head of the Student Council, I hadn’t put it together. This was the girl Kyle always used to talk about before we had a falling out. In my head, I had imagined her to be…..well, a nerd. She was nowhere close to that, though. She looked….amazing to say the least. Her hair fell perfectly around her face. Her clothes were-for lack of a better word-adorable. “Jade,” Mr. Collins greeted her. Jade, I thought, a perfect name for her. “This is Angel Jackson,” Mr. Collins continued, “ I set it up and you two have the same classes for the most part. Show him around for me.” “Yes, sir,” Jade said, her eyes lingering on mine. I picked up my bag, shook Mr. Collins hand, and followed her out. “What’s your first class,” Jade asked in a slightly husky voice. “Auto III,” I responded, looking at my schedule.
“Cool, same as me,” she said. Was I imagining the relief in her tone? I didn’t think so. We headed out of the main building toward the Auto Shop. A lot of the guys in there recognized me from Keller Middle. Chase was outside the shop, when we walked up. “Rumor has it you’re…” Chase began. I shot him a look, trying to convey he needed to shut up. “Trying to steal Kyle’s girl,” Chase finished. “He’s what,” Jade said angrily from behind me. She cocked her head. “Not likely to ever happen,” she said, stalking into the shop. “Nice, real nice,” I said sarcastically. Chase looked at me. “Are you really….,” he said. “She’s the one,” I said. “No way,” Chase said, incredulous. “I’ll explain later,” I said, walking past him to the shop.
I stopped in the doorway, looking around for Jade. I spotted her across the room, next to the lift, trying to unbolt a transmission by herself. I dropped my bag, and went over to hold the transmission. “I got it,” she snapped. “Yeah, you’ll really be showing me when this falls on your head,” I retorted. She glared at me. She looks even more beautiful mad, I thought. “Stop arguing and just say thank you,” I said before she could say anything. Jade turned back to the bolt, not speaking. The transmission came out suddenly, but I managed to catch it before it hit Jade. “See, what would you have done without me,” I said. “Gotten hit, and hopefully woke up from this nightmare,” she replied.
“Ouch,” I said, grabbing my chest and stumbling backward like she hit me. She glared. “Come on, lighten up, Chase was joking,” I tried again to make her smile. It had no effect whatsoever. When the bell rang, we went to History. We walked in, and the first thing I noticed was Kyle and Chase sitting on one side of the lab tables. The History room used to be a Science lab, hence the lab tables. “Hey babe,” Kyle whispered to Jade so no one overheard. I glanced at her. She had stiffened in her seat. What’s on your mind, I wondered. “Hey, wings,” Kyle said, kicking me under the table. “Keep your eyes off my girl.” I didn’t respond. The next class was English. It was just me and Jade, no annoying best friends or boyfriends, just us. It was the first day and we got assigned a project due in two weeks.
Jade and I were made partners. We had to come up with books we had read over the summer and make a skit/poem/song. During lunch, Jade kept playing with her food, not really eating anything. “Hey, do you wanna come over tonight and we can at least make the list?” I said, hoping she said yes. “Umm….I don’t know,” she said after a minute of thinking. “We can get a head start,” I pointed out. “Yeah...but Kyle wanted to hang out,” Jade said, continuing to play with her food. “Of course he does,” I said bitterly. “What’s your problem with each other,” she asked. “Come over and I’ll tell you,” I bargained. Jade thought it over. “I’ll try,” she conceded. “I’ll need your phone number then,” I said. “Why,” she asked, instantly suspicious. “To tell you my address and everything,” I explained. “Oh...umm...ok,” she said, rattling off her number. I scribbled it on a napkin and put it in my bag.
After lunch, I had Creative Writing. We were told to write a scary story. Creative Writing is normally my favorite class, but my mind kept wandering today. How can I bring up soulmates to Jade? Should I even bring it up? That could be a disaster in the making. I was startled when the bell rang. Great, more homework, I thought. The rest of the day went by quickly. As I walked out of the school, I saw Jade struggling to hold a box and open her door. “Jade!” I shouted. I got a few weird looks, but I ignored them as I trotted to her car. “Hey,” I greeted, taking the box from her. She looked at me. “What’s this,” I asked, peeking in the box. “Theater stuff,” Jade replied. “You can take theater here,” I asked. “Well...drama, but yeah,” she said. “Can I join,” I asked. “You’d have to talk to Mr. Collins and Mrs. Todd,” she replied. Jade finally got the door open and put the box on the passenger seat.
“Don’t you have a car or something to be getting to,” she asked, as the traffic around us increased. I nodded to the pick-up beside her car. “That’s yours,” she said looking shocked. I nodded. “It’s beautiful,” she practically gushed. “Thanks,” I said, amused. Suddenly, I was pushed against Jade’s car. “I thought I told you to stay away from my girl,” Kyle snarled from behind me. “He was just-” Jade started. “I don’t care what he was just,” Kyle snapped. Jade looked away. “Don’t yell at her,” I said, getting a little pissed. Kyle shoved me back into the car. “Don’t tell me what to do, and you stay the hell away from her,” he said, his voice getting louder with each word. I must have smirked or something because his eyes darkened and he swung his fist at my head.
I ducked and punched him in the gut. He stumbled into my truck. “You don’t want to fuck with me, not about her,” I said in a rough voice. Jade started to say something, but I hopped in my truck and sped off. About an hour after I got home, I realized Jade didn’t have my number. *Hey, it’s Angel.* I texted. *Hey, umm….Kyle doesn’t want to hang out anymore….what’s your address?* I smiled and gave her the general directions.