Red Heartstrings

time, place, circumstance

Yawning, she presses the snooze button on her alarm clock. She never really understood why people hated waking up in the mornings. Maybe it was because she was a morning person, but still; the sunlight peeking through the windows and the soft chirp of morning birds always had appealed to her.

"Mom?" She called from her room. "Is breakfast ready yet?" She was known to wake up earlier than her mom.

"Almost, honey! Freshen up, then come down to eat." Her mother called back to her.

In their house, it was just the two of them. Her older brother had already left the bird nest, and was off to college.

After a quick shower, brushing her teeth and getting dressed for school, Kallysta headed down the stairs to eat.

Stepping out the door after eating her breakfast, Kallysta called over her shoulder, "Bye, Mom! I'm going to the library afterschool so I might come home late."

"Alright. Fine with me." She hears a voice from inside the house.

Kallysta was really glad that her mother trusted her, partially because that meant that she could go anywhere she wanted to without her mother questioning it.

Walking to school was an easy task, since they lived only five minutes from it. Pulling out her phone and slipping in her earbuds, Kallysta's ears are suddenly filled with the melodious sound of Alex Gaskarth's voice. She paid no mind to the red yarn that scattered the ground, as it was a sight she often saw.

Her mother's string was cut off. It simply trailed behind her wherever she went like a lifeless limb. Her father had died five years ago, losing a long battle to liver cancer. Her mother was still grieving, so she usually trusted Kallysta more than any parent would.

She had gone through a total of three songs before she entered the school. Sighing when a lurking teacher yelled at her to put her phone away, she did what she was told to and pushed open the doors of hell- oh wait, school.

Since Kallysta was a straight-A student, many people believed that she enjoyed school. It was actually quite the contrary. Kallysta absolutely loathed school, but because she was smart and already knew most of the things that they went over, classes were relatively easy for her. Blame it on the countless books strewn around her room.

The day went by in a blur, and Kallysta nearly tripped on a heartstring running towards the town library afterschool.

She almost didn't notice the whispers about the new boy that the students were throwing around.

Almost.

But, she tuned out her thoughts as she made her way to the library. Marveling at the grand bookshelves that seemed to reach the sky, she didn't notice the person running straight towards her...

"Hey! Watch out!"

This was a thing said a second too late as two bodies collide.

"Aw, shit..." The person that Kallysta had collided with muttered. They bend over and pick up their dropped books.

Kallysta blurts, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking and oh my god this is all my fault I'm sorry-"

A hand is slapped over her mouth before she can say anything else.

A deep chuckle pervades her train of thought as a shiver runs down her spine. Kallysta looks up, only to be lost in a warm sensual brown. It's barely been a minute and explicit thoughts are already crossing her mind about this stranger.

The boy removes his hand and says, "Woah, there. You're rambling."

Kallysta can feel the steady heat rising to her cheeks. "Um, yeah... I tend to do that..." She trails off awkwardly. Letting out a nervous chuckle, she apologizes again, "I'm so sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going."

He just smiles adorably and shakes his head, "Don't worry about it. It was my fault, too." Kallysta nearly melts.

But, her thoughts are interrupted when she feels a tugging on her hand. Averting her eyes, she glances down at her pinky finger, expecting to see her string trailing behind her.

Gasping, she realizes that it has been pulled taut . Her gaze following the string, she sees the end of it tied to the boys hand. Her eyes widen, and the boy follows her gaze. His jaw drops.

"You can see them, too?" The boy whispers, eyes wide "The red strings?" Kallysta nods slowly, her mind too scrambled to trust her mouth to say anything.

The boy lets out a million dollar grin, whispering, "Well hello, soulmate."

Kallysta is too stunned to think straight, and she's only snapped out of it when she's pulled between two bookcases.

She looks up to the boy's mesmerizing chocolate eyes. He's still grinning like a madman when he says, "I've been waiting so long for you. No words for me?" He says the last part with a cute pout. So cute that it makes her want to kiss him.

So she does.

Standing on her tippy toes, since he's a solid head (and probably more) taller than her, she presses her lips to his. When he doesn't respond after a few moments, she starts to pull away, the devastating feeling of extreme embarassment flowing through her. But, not before he wraps his arms around her waist, pulls her to him, and kisses her back. Kallysta smiles through the kiss and snakes her arms up his chest and around his neck.

She knew that finding her soulmate meant that she would feel sparks, but she didn't expect the sparks to be fireworks.

When they finally pull away, breathless, she smiles. "Is that enough for you?" She teases him.

He rolls his eyes with a groan before pecking her lips once again. "It'll never be enough."

It's her turn to roll her eyes at his corniness. "Way to make me swoon, Prince Charming."

"Hey! I'm no Prince Charming. Don't compare me to that snobby rich boy." He scrunches up his nose in an adorable way.

Laughing, she points out, "Well, I don't even know your name, so I have nothing else to call you."

He thinks for a moment before tightening his arms around her waist, "True. Tell you what; I'll make you a deal."

Cocking her head to the side, she replies, "A deal? What kind of deal?"

"Tell me your name and then I'll tell you mine."

"What? No, that's not fair! I asked you first," She pouts. He shakes his head, grinning. "Take it or leave it, love."

She narrows her eyes at him teastingly.

He rolls his eyes, but with a smile on his face, "The deal also comes with a free kiss."

Groaning in frustration she says, "Fine. I'm Kallysta."

His eyes brighten. "Meaning beautiful in Greek?"

She nods slowly, "Yeah, though I don't know why my mom named me that."

He furrows his eyebrows, frowning. "But, you are beautiful."

Kallysta can feel her cheeks turning red again. "Stop stalling! It's your turn now."

He chuckles. "Okay, fine. You know that guy in Greek Mythology that holds up the world?"

She perks up. She loves Greek Mythology. "Atlas?"

He grins even wider, "That's me."

"Hello, Atlas."

"Hello, Kallysta. Since I'm basically the world, can I be yours?" He replies with a cheeky smile.

She pecks him on the lips once more. "You already are."