Tattoo Mates

Chapter 4

Red speed walks down the halls and rounds the corner to Principal Uma's office. She bursts through the doors as Uma was signing paperwork. She jumps at the sudden intrusion. "Whoa! Red, what's going on?" She walks up to her desk and pulls down the hem of her pants. "This is what's going on!" Uma inspects the tattoo. "Ok, it's a glass shoe with a rose in it. What about it?" She asks. "It burns like a mother fucker." Red winces. Uma's eyes widen. "Red, do you know who your soulmate is?" She asks carefully. "I think i got a pretty good idea, yeah." She mumbles. "And do they know?" Uma raises her eyebrow. Red shakes her head. "Red, you have to tell them. If you keep this up, you're gonna end up really sick." Red sighs as she sits down. "I know, i already feel it burning all the time, why?" Uma stands in front of her and leans back on her desk. "Tattoo Mates are a weird thing. It's been around forever and people still can't figure out what it can do. Not entirely. But as far as i know. Everyone gets a soulmate. You're marked as so with a tattoo at birth. Your soulmate is marked with the same one. Now you won't know who they are until you get close to one another. Your tattoo will start to warm, and once you've made physical contact, it will heat up incredibly fast." Red sighs. "But why?" "It's your body's way of saying that you yearn for their touch, their love." "Ok, so why is mine burning like i just ate one of Cheshire Cat's bad cooking?" Red scratches at her hip.

Uma laughs. "Because you yearn for their touch. Their love and for whatever reason, you're denying yourself the pleasure of it." "Because I don't believe in love." Red sighs. "Look, believe or don't believe all you want, but that burning feeling won't go away until you confront your soulmate." Uma goes back behind her desk. "So, i suggest you do so ASAP unless you wanna end up in the nurses office or worse. Because you really don't look so good, Red." Red looks at her confused. "What do you mean?" Uma sighs. "If you don't get your body temperature under control you're gonna get a fever, a very high fever. It's called Soulmate Sickness." "Soulmate Sickness?" "Aye, i didn't come up with the name, ok? Basically it means, if you keep denying your body your soulmates touch, it's going to keep over heating. And then you'll get a high fever." Red scoffs. "Ok? So i get a fever, big deal. I've had plenty of those whenever I get a cold." Uma places her hand down. "Red, this is serious. I mean high fever as in, you could die."

"So then, what am I supposed to do? I can't tell her. She has this dream of finding her princess charming, ironically enough. And I'm definitely no princess charming." Red shakes her head. "No, but Chloe is. Her name is literally Chloe Charming." Red stares at her. "Wait, how did you-?" "I'm the principal at this school. I know everything. I have a file for every study and faculty here. I referenced the tattoos of the students and I assigned their rooms accordingly. Unfortunately, a lot of students couldn't be paired together. But all of the same sex soulmates, i roomed them all together. Easier for everyone." Uma shrugs. "Wait, so you knew this whole time?" She asks. "Yeah, of course I did. What i didn't know was that you'd be holding back for some reason. And i get it, with your mom and all. But honey, you can't keep living like this. It's not healthy." Red sighs. "I know." "Ok, now go talk to your soulmate." She smiles. Red nods before walking out and heading towards her dorm. She opens the door and finds the room empty. "Shit-ahh!" She holds her side as her tattoo burns. Oh no, this must be what Uma was talking about. "I gotta find Chloe!" She tries to make it to the door before collapsing. Her vision starts to blur as she hears voices. "Oh my god, Red!" "Call an ambulance!" Last thing she saw was a blue blur before she blacks out.