Soulmate

Chapter 5: Waiting On Some Beautiful Boy

Grace

    Today, I was the first one at the table, but I was okay with that. At least I didn't have to awkwardly sit here with Chase. I don't know if I can handle two more weeks of school with him constantly trying to push the soulmates issue. Even thinking about having a soulmate, and the lack of having one at this moment in time, was bumming me out. I wanted to avoid the subject all together, but I knew I couldn't. In a matter of minutes, Becca and Tyson would come in, waving their newfound love in front of my face and I was supposed to pretend like it didn't bother me. Soon Chase would be here, asking me about my soulmate, asking why it couldn't be him, and making me a hundred times more uncomfortable.

    Speaking of the devil, Chase sat his lunch on the table, directly across from me, and he tried to give me a smile. I remember when he had braces, and he would hardly ever smile, except with his mouth closed which always drove me nuts. I hated it, but he only had braces for a year. Crooked teeth are rare and the orthodontists acted fast when correcting his. WE were closer back then because our timers didn't matter, we had all of the time in the world, and there was no need to worry about the future. There still really isn't a need to worry, but he seemed insistent on trying to convince me instead of letting it happen. If we do end up soulmates, then that's just another thing he was right about, but I won't admit it until I see it happen.

    "How are you today, Gracie?" he questioned, probably noticing that I was zoned out. He's one of the most observant people I have ever met, and I still haven't decided if I like that or not. His brown eyes showed me nothing about him, they were just sitting there on his blank face. Somehow, he's always been good at hiding his emotions, and I wished I could do the same.

    I nodded my head as I tried to swallow my bite of dry sandwich, did I really have to talk to him at all? "Oh, I'm good. That Calculus test was brutal, what did you think?" I questioned because I really wasn't in the mood for talking. I wanted to wallow in my self pity as usual. No wonder my friends were abandoning me.

    He shrugged his shoulders and opened his carton of milk. "I thought it was pretty easy, but the last question, I guess, was challenging," he murmured, his eyes shifting somewhere behind me.

    I knew that I shouldn't have asked one of the smartest guys that question because I knew he would make me feel like an idiot. I looked away from him and picked at my food because I didn't know what to talk to him about. Our friendship was crumbling. In the past, I don't know what I talked to him about. Maybe I told him everything that I would tell Becca. I could tell him about the black mustang that followed me this morning, but all of these conversations seemed frivolous. All of it seemed worthless.

    What was I doing with my life? Waiting on some beautiful boy to save me? Why wasn't I trying to be my own person? I knew all of the answers to my questions, but I didn't want to admit them to myself. It wasn't my laziness that hindered me from creating myself, but it was my fear of the future. Everything would change in one month when I met my soulmate; that was inevitable. I'd probably even change a little after graduation, when I would finally be my own person, and when I escape this prison.

    Becca and Tyson sat down next to me, and I noticed a few of his friends were staring at him. She smiled while he was on his phone, ignoring us no doubt. "Okay! So we were talking and decided to see a movie after school and then maybe go down to that diner you work at to grab milkshakes or something," she explained, leaning forward on the table.

    Tyson finally looked up, and stared at me like he barely realized I was sitting here. "You didn't tell me that Mouse works there!" he exclaimed, giving me a wicked grin. He'd probably use that against me later in some twisted way.

    I bit my lip and looked away from them, instead I stared at my routine lunch. "Yep, sounds great. Who are you inviting?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I wanted to tell him that the nickname bothered me, but I was trying to bury our resentment, and I guess I will have to deal with it for Becca.

    She smiled at me, and I could tell she was thankful for me not arguing with her soulmate. "Well, Chase, you're obviously invited, Nina, Orion, Stacy, Bri, Keith, Quincy, and Greyson," she listed, counting them off on her fingers. "Am I missing anyone else?" She leaned closer to Tyson as she asked her question.

    He put his phone into his pocket and looked back at her with a small smile on his face. "I don't think so. Luke says he might come, but he'll probably ditch us later. There's supposed to be a party tonight," he replied in a low voice. He seemed bored, his green eyes dead, but the way he smiled made him look like he was happy to be with her.

    I was trying to be happy for her, I really was, but it was hard for me when he had tortured me for so long. They continued defining their plans, and I looked down at the countdown on my wrist. Just over a month, I could last until June, right?