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being the third wheel sucks

-michael g clifford

i watch with disgust as luke peppers hazel's tan face with slobbery kisses and i nearly gag when she giggles happily. i shovel a handful of buttery popcorn into my mouth and avert my gaze to the tv, allowing the two soulmates to make out beside me.

i'm envious.

not in the way you think, i don't want to date hazel or luke. i'm just jealous that they've found each other. i've tried so hard to find my soulmate but i've honestly had no luck whatsoever. luke and hazel kind of just drifted together.

i turn around for a second and i see luke admiring the star tattoo on hazel's collarbone. luke loves the sky.

i look down at the random assortment of tattoos sprinkling my arm and try to make some sort of connection. a swirly capital v, a delicate snowflake, a weird collection of numbers and a strange symbol i've never seen before.

very helpful.

"stop sulking will you?" luke asks, he finally decides to look at me.

"i'm not sulking," my pale green eyes glare at him angrily.

"of course you're not," luke laughs, his arms splayed around the back of the couch and his girlfriend.

he looks like an octopus.

an ugly octopus.

i wince when i feel a start jab of pain on the back of me neck. it must be another tattoo appearing. i feel tears spring to my eyes because of the excruciating pain but i keep the crying under control. i feel giddy that i'm just one step closer to discovering who my soulmate is.

"what is it?" i ask, bending my head down. hazel crawls onto my back and pushes back my messy red hair to peer at my neck.

"it's an outline of a crescent moon," hazel says slowly, her brown hair falling into my eyes.

i scowl at the terrible hint. "what's that suppose to mean? is she on the moon or something?"

"probably not, maybe she likes nighttime or something." luke shrugs, taking a quick glance at my tattoos as well.

"or maybe she's just broken and not quite full. just a fraction of a person, just like the the crescent moon is just an incomplete full moon." hazel suggests.

"the moon is always full, it's just based on the rotation and how the sun is shining on it." luke frowns, giving her a look.

of course, the astrology geek knows that.

"yeah i know that but i mean it metaphorically." hazel explains.

"i don't like metaphors," luke states, rolling his baby blue eyes.

"she's probably an alien living on the moon." i go back to my original point.

both hazel and luke stare at me like i'm stupid. "aliens don't exist." hazel reminds me.

"you say that now but you'll be jealous of me in the future when i'm living on the moon with my alien wife." i shrug my shoulders and lean back on the couch.

"you're an idiot."

tattoos ♥︎ cliffordWhere stories live. Discover now