The UsUk Collection

Soulmates and Watches

Watches being broken. Time being frozen. Alfred F. Jones defies the laws of nature just to be with the one he truly loves.

The sight of Arthur's bare wrist haunts Alfred's mind.

When he saw the Englishman last week, his left wrist bearing nothing at all, Alfred had wanted to jump off a cliff.

Arthur Kirkland, his best friend since childhood, had found his Soulmate.

There was no doubt about it.

The very second a baby enters the world, he or she is given a special watch that attaches to their wrists; a gift from mother nature herself. It is a magnificent tool that one carries, a tool that counts down to the time you meet your Soulmate. A helpful tool indeed. It is a symbolic item that states that two people are destined to be together.

And it was finally time for Arthur to find his.

Alfred cursed whatever lucky bastard Arthur was going to be with for the rest of his life.

The American had wanted himself to be the one that makes Arthur happy. The two met at a young age, and they grew up together. At that point, Alfred had wished he and Arthur were Soulmates.

But unfortunately, they aren't.

If only the world wasn't like this. If there was no such thing as Soulmate watches, then one could love and care for an individual they truly love instead of waiting for the day you meet a complete stranger and pretend as if you knew each other since birth.

Yes. Alfred wished for a universe like that.

Because that would mean he can marry Arthur and treasure him. They would love each other unconditionally and they would grow old together.

But they can't. Someone else had taken that role in Arthur's life. Someone else had stepped in that position already.

Alfred had no choice. This was how fate works. And he couldn't do anything about it.

"Hey, Al, I asked you something," Matthew Williams, Alfred's cousin, asked without looking away from the road. The two were inside Alfred's sedan, but with Matthew driving since the other wasn't in the right mind to drive. They had plans to watch Endgame together; a movie sequel they've been anticipating to watch for an entire year.

Alfred continued staring out the window, chin positioned on top of his palm. "What did you say?" He asked.

"I asked you how much time you have left in your watch."

"Don't know," he replied with monotone. "Don't care."

"Oh, don't be so immature, Alfred," Matthew chastised. "At least you still have time."

Don't bring up your own problems, Alfred thought to himself. His set of crystal blue eyes glanced over to Matthew's wrist, the one where his abnormal watch was wrapped around.

Matthew had arrived last week to visit Alfred and his family. He arrived with his own family from Canada. It's been years since the Jones and Williams met with each other. Last time, it was Alfred's family who visited Matthew's back when they were still in elementary.