Soulmate AU where soulmates can heal each other's injuries, but only by temporarily feeling the pain that the other feels.
Elaboration: Imagine bumping your head all of the time getting onto the bus, but never feeling hurt by it, until one day you notice you bump your head and someone in the back of the bus is holding an ice pack to their head right where you bumped it.
EXAMPLE SHORT STORY:
[This story uses all original characters.]
So, I learned who my soulmate was just as I was turning 18 last year. It was great! Her name is Olivia. I asked her out and she said yes. It's a funny story, really, how we found out.
We'd been best friends for a while and we never did anything without one another. She used to make fun of me for being a cry baby because I couldn't handle getting shots. As a joke, I suggested she just come with me and hold my hand while I got any flu shot, but she actually came with me. There I was, sitting on one of those weird doctor's office beds, getting a flu shot. She grabbed my hand and said, "Honestly, Carter, they're not that bad. I'd take it for you if I could," and then the needle went into my arm. But I didn't feel anything. And then she winced and looked at her own arm, asking, "What was that?"
Soon enough the needle was out, and we looked at each other, and then at the doctor who was looking back at us. The doctor muttered a soft "congratulations" and left the room with a smile, and so did Olivia and I. It was pretty cute, I've got to admit.
Don't get me wrong, I love Oli, but she's really reckless. Her behavior has been getting increasingly risky with each and every passing day. It's starting to scare me.
"Are you ready for that fantastic walking tour, Carter?" Olivia asks me, swinging her hips and stretching her arms. She's sporting tennis shoes and leggings and a neon green tank top. She kind of looks like she's going to run a marathon. I nod yes. She grins and grabs my hand, dragging me outside and into the sunshine.
We meet up with a group on the sidewalk of a busy road in the city center. Oli and I are on vacation, and since we live in a small town in Ohio, we wanted to go to a big metropolitan area. We signed up for a cheap walking tour around the city so we could find all the coolest shops and monuments and restaurants nearby. Oli was pumped as hell to go on this tour. I don't know why, but she's, like, obsessed with tours.
The group waves us down, and we realize we're the last to arrive. We start the tour, carefully crossing each of the busy roads, narrowly avoiding a terrible accident every time. Olivia, on the other hand, seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that she could literally die at any moment.
We stop for a moment, receiving a lecture about the small statue of some historical figure in the center of a nearby park. There's a fence around it, and I'm fairly certain we're not supposed to step onto the grass. The group stays on the sidewalk border that keeps us safe, relatively speaking.
"Woah! Are we going to that building over there?" Olivia asks the tour guide, practically flying above the ground and pointing to a skyscraper across the street.
"Oh, no," the guide replies. "There's a second city tour you can take, though, that'll give you a great look at that one! It's run by one of my colleagues."
Olivia's face falls, and then she turns to me. "I'm gonna go take a quick pic up close, mkay babe?" She pulls out her phone faster than I can reply, then starts walking off sooner than I can object.
That's when the worst thing I can possibly fathom happens before my eyes. A car is speeding towards her, and it's too close for me to even do anything.
I feel my heart pound. I yell out for her to move, but she only looks up. She stares right into the car pummeling forward, and just as it is about to make contact, I grit my teeth.
At least if she has to die, it doesn't have to hurt.
It's kind of like she knows what I'm doing. She looks to me with begging eyes. "Don't do it." she seems to say, but only for a second. The car smashes into her side.
I scream.
My whole body aches. It feels as if every bone I have has broken and every muscle is bruised and torn. I fall The the ground, tears welling up in my eyes.
I force my eyes open, checking to see if she's alive. But she's not. She's lifeless in the middle of a now held-up intersection.
The pain in my body suddenly fades. At least I endured the hit so she didn't have to...
