You've Got to Be Kidding Me (boyxboy) ON HOLD

1. Soul Mates

I always believed in free rights, in always having a choice. That no matter what situation you are in you have a choice and whether that brought you destruction or happiness was up to you. But what if you no longer had that choice? No longer had the freedom to choose what was best?

"I can't even begin to tell you how many scientists have looked into why our chests glow when we meet our soul mate," Mr. Anderson said, leaning back against his desk and crossing his arms. "One theory I've heard was that before the universe was created the atoms we are made up of and the atoms that make up your soul mate were once next to each other, but when the universe was created these atoms were separated. They then spend the rest of their time trying to find their way back to one another."

"So basically no one knows why our chests glow?" some kid from the back of the classroom asked.

At the moment I sat in Biology. I know, I know, what kind of senior takes biology? Well you see there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that, an explanation that I'll have to explain to you all later because this story is not about how my senior ass got stuck in Biology with a bunch of freshmen. If only it were that simple . . . but no this story has to do exactly with what we were discussing.

Soul mates.

My name's Christian Pierce and the world I live in . . . well it can be pretty messed up. Now let's say, theoretically speaking of course, that you have just turned eighteen and a week later you're walking through the mall or a busy street on your way to work and you bump into someone. You then go through the usual 'I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, blah blah blah,' but then you stop and you look at that person and all you can think is holy fucking shit because standing right in front of you has to be the most beautiful person you have ever seen. And (here comes the stupid part) through their shirt you can see their chest begin to glow and it's not glowing pink or red or purple, no it's glowing a beautiful white and gold like you just hit jackpot. And then voila you found your soul mate.

Now some people may love the idea of this and in reality it's probably not that bad, but I fear it more than anything. You don't get the choice in who you spend the rest of your life with because from the very beginning it's planned out. You have to be with someone you don't know, someone who could be entirely different from you. What if they're crazy or bitchy or a complete douche? You can leave them of course; I mean there's always that choice, but what then? A world of loneliness and despair because now there's no one left?  

I guess you could say that my biggest fear isn't the thought of soul mates, but of oblivion. I fear not knowing what will happen or who it will be.

"Why do they only glow after you've turned eighteen?" the girl who sat beside me asked.

"I mean there are some theories," Mr. Anderson answered, "but they're so stupid they're not even worth mentioning."

"Is it an actual physical thing or. . .?"

"Alright, well what happens is when your chest begins to glow it's not something that bystanders can see," the teacher explained pushing up off his desk. "It's a personal, beautiful thing that happens between you and your soul mate alone. Only you and your significant other can see that beautiful hue of light that literally radiates from the center of your chest."

  "Have you found your soul mate, Mr. Anderson?" someone asked.

A light blush flushed the teachers face as he gave a slight stiff nod. "Aw," a few girls said in unison.

"Is it just your chest that glows or are there other symptoms?" the girl beside me asked, sitting up straight in her seat and leaning forward, far to intrigued with the topic.