This Side Of The Glass

Chapter Two; Simply Similarly Complex

I awoke to all the guys hanging over me. Jace was centered in the middle.

"IT'S ALIVE!" I heard a loud yell from Nick.

"Shut up Nick. You did the same thing to me, and I hated it," Jace shot sharply, so apparently Jace fainted too.

Yet again, Jace stood me up. I looked around. We were in the middle of a clearing.

"Aren't you guys worried about the searchers?" I asked with interest.

"They've given up searching for us," James stated. He was very sure of himself. It seems he wished that they would look for him.

Jace seemed slightly too quiet compared to what I had heard before.

Everyone seemed shifty. Then Nick spoke, "So... can we see your tattoo?"

I lifted my arm and slipped off the lace fingerless glove covering my left hand. I flipped my wrist over to reveal my tattoo. Everyone gasped.

"WHAT!? Guys, what did I do?" I asked wearily.

Luke started backing up, looking at his hands. He looked back up at me. He took a deep breath and walked over to me.

He ran his fingers along the back of his neck. Everyone just stood in shock. Except Jace. He just sort of watched.

Luke spoke for the time since I revealed my tattoo. "Mine is the same symbol."

I remembered back to all the stories people had told me about the importance of the tattoos. If you had the same symbol as someone else, you were believed to be soul mates. I didn't know if I believe it, but I knew I had to decide quickly because apparently Luke had a vintage key sketched on the back of his neck.

I simply stood in awe. Luke walked even closer to me. His face inches from mine. He leaned in and kissed me. He wrapped his arms around my waist. I interlocked my fingers around his neck. It was passionate and intense. I didn't know what to expect. I just stood there and let everything sink in.

As I sank into, it I became very aware of the people staring at us.

Of course Nick acted immature. James and Jace just stared at me. I tried to block out any sensation of their existence. When we finally released, after what felt like a split second (although it could have very well been an eternity), everything was extremely awkward.

"So what now?" I asked looking at everyone. "Like, what do you guys do around here?"

"Plot to overthrow the government," Nick answered. He was serious.

"I never wanted to do that. I just want my family back," I heard this come from James. It was his shy nature that caused him to think this way.

The rest of the night we talked about our families and friends. We actually just got to know each other.

By morning, none of us had gotten any sleep. However we were closer than close. I felt like I had never had more than one or two friends in my entire life.

I fell asleep at about six in the morning. I woke up only an hour later. I was lying against Luke. I took in the smells of the forest.

For some reason, I smelt something unfamiliar. It smelt like breakfast. I sat up, just to be yanked back down.

"You only slept for an hour. Stay here. SLEEP! You need sleep. Also, I want more sleep," Luke babbled on about how I should stay.

"But you know what else I need? Food," I mentioned laughing while I looked up at Luke as he looked down at me. "Food comes first."