au ;; you don't see color until you meet your soulmate
There's a million different ways to meet your soulmate. Bumping into them randomly, which is probably one of the easier ones, accidentally cutting in front of them in a line and having them get frustrated with you.
Most of them are easier- it happens, the world lights up, and you can tell who it is almost immediately, because they're staring right back at you, just as starstruck.
Some of them are not.
For example, Dante's world lights up in middle school. It's the first day for him, and once he steps into his class, everything is suddenly there. It's terrifying- there's fifteen other kids in here.
He doesn't want to make a fuss, and sits down in his seat to try to calm himself and take in everything around him. None of the other kids seem as interested in their surroundings. Actually, quite a few of them are asleep.
This is going to be fun.
Middle school actually isn't bad- his grades are shitty, sure, but the teachers like him well enough and he does end up with the coolest best friend ever. Not to mention all the other guys.
High school doesn't really go as planned. His best friend is starting to get distant, his brother finds his soulmate. It turns out that the first time he brought Garroth over to play video games is when Gene had everything change for him.
He's happy for him, of course, but.. Dante still doesn't know who his soulmate is.
Out of the fifteen kids from that stupid middle school class, over half of them moved on to the same school he walks into every day.
It could be any one of them, and even though he's never really cared much about it.. seeing Gene so happy with Garroth changes that.
All in all, though, high school is just as meh as middle school, and then things change again. Travis gets kicked out of his house, he ends up moving away. Pretty far, actually, to some crappy apartment a few hours away. It's the closest he could manage.
Dante hits him up and offers to take him out for lunch one more time before he moves, things get busy, and they don't have as much time to hang out. He accepts, of course.
Travis is already there when Dante shows up, a bit out of breath because someone didn't feel like driving him around anymore.
"..Hey." he keeps his voice down, sliding into the booth across from him. Travis doesn't look as happy, though it's not really a surprise.
"Hey." he echoes, and he's tapping his fingers on the table, like he's trying to think of something to say.
The atmosphere is way too solemn, and Dante sits up straight.
"Fuck this!" he whisper-shouts it, because having everyone in here stare at him for it is worse than death.
"No being all sad about this, alright? We're going to order some milkshakes and talk about stuff like we always do."
Travis thinks it over and just sighs with a chuckle. "You're right."
"I know I am. So, what kind are you getting?"
"Um, vanilla, because I actually have taste?" Travis grins, watching his best friend start to get heated over milkshakes. The man's passionate about something, at least.
"Strawberry milkshakes are better! You've just never had a good one, is all. Here, when I order mine, you can have some, and then you'll be saying how much you wish you had one instead of your crappy vanilla one."
