(I’ll address the whole government wanting to take away soulmates soon. I just wanted to branch off for a bit for this story!)

———

Liam is determined to meet Tharen again.

He’s his soulmate.

He never thought he would meet his soulmate.

Growing up, his parents and Zac told him that having a fated partner is not all that great. Not for everyone at least.

Liam assumes they meant for him. He knows he’s different, but he always wished for someone to just be fine with who he is. It’s impossible though. That’s how he grew up.

His family wasn’t being mean. No, Liam knows mean. They are protective. He just doesn’t understand what they are protecting him from.

It never made sense to him. Still doesn’t.

So he doesn’t tell his parents or Zac about knowing Tharen is his soulmate. It is quite possibly the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.

He’s so used to telling his family everything. Keeping something like this from them feels weird.

Zac’s eyes bugged out of his head in a way he thought impossible when Liam told him about not having his abilities. He never wished so much to have his pocket dimension powers then.

“So do you know his last name?” Jeremiah asks.

Liam just shakes his head. Bell, Jeremiah, and Liam are all at lunch. The rest of their friends having various other things to accomplish. All of them having to pretend everything is normal. They didn’t really have a choice. To attend school, they had to wear the cuffs, even with knowing what the bracelets are doing to them.

They’ll have to brainstorm a new plan. For now, they have to play normal.

Liam’s surprisingly pretty good at that.

He decided that he trusted Jeremiah and Bell enough to reveal about his soulmate because he’s bursting with the information.

He wants to know everything about Tharen. But admittedly, he knows very little.

I only know his school, he signs.

Jeremiah asked him to sign short sentences for him to practice. He’s not entirely sure what constitutes short, but he guesses it’s around five words.

“He said he only knows what escuela he goes to,” Jeremiah translates for Bell.

As they are conversing, Bell is tapping away on her phone. Liam is used to doing that himself. The furious movement means something. He does the same thing when he has an idea. When you get so close to a breakthrough, you have to get it out before it’s gone.

“Is this him?” Bell slides her phone over to Liam and Jeremiah’s side of the table. Jeremiah props it up to avoid the sun glare and because Liam doesn’t like touching other people’s stuff.

Even though these are his friends, he doesn’t know where they’ve been.

Bell might be his new favorite person of the day because she found him.

There he is. The mahogany hair. The brown-almost-black eyes.

Tharen is smiling, his teeth not perfectly straight. Like he was knocked around a few times and didn’t have a dentist fix them. His left front tooth might be chipped. But Liam can’t imagine anyone looking more radiant.

“He’s cute,” Bell comments, “you know if you like the jock look.”

Liam never really understood the concept of cliques. He can comprehend the definition, but people abiding by them like they are rules is strange to him. A jock has a certain look? Anyone can be one.

Technically, Liam is one since he plays soccer.

No one ever thinks that when they get a glimpse of him. He would know. They tell him so.

And people say he doesn’t get social cues. Well, he doesn’t, but they don’t either.

“life isn’t a race. slow down and enjoy it. love life. go Beacon Banshees,” Jeremiah reads. Liam completely missed the rest of the profile, just focused on the picture. The words Jeremiah said are a part of Tharen’s Instagram bio.

“Do you think he dyes his hair?” Bell asks, peering over the table to get a better look at the profile picture.

Liam doesn’t quite see how that is relevant and apparently neither does Jeremiah. “Bellsy, no offense, pero no penso Liam cares about that,” Jeremiah says.

Yeah. What he said.

Bell’s mouth falls open in what Liam thinks is offense. “What? I’m curious. Us Asians usually have fully black hair. It’s a reasonable question.”

Jeremiah laughs for some reason. Maybe it was a joke? Liam doesn’t always catch onto those. “Well his hair doesn’t ayuda Liam find him,” he points out.

Which is true. That part Liam understands.

Sliding her phone back to her side, she does more tapping and then shoves the phone in Jeremiah’s face. Thankfully a good foot away from Liam.

He doesn’t need to touch someone else’s phone. There is so many germs on those. More than a bathroom.

“He lives on Ringsler Drive,” she pridely reveals.

“How’d you find that out?” Liam typed out.

Relaxing her arm, she allows some distance between Jeremiah’s face and her phone, letting them both see the picture on it.

“He posted this picture.”

It’s a picture of him propped up against a sign that did indeed say Ringsler Drive.

Maybe Liam should be concerned with his soulmate’s lack of privacy.

“Let’s go after school,” Jeremiah suggests, smiling his typical shiny smile.

What? Liam signs, forgetting about typing into his translator.

“We know the street and town he lives in. It’s not far. One town over. Let’s just go over there,” Jeremiah continues.

“And what, even if we find his house, we just walk up and say how Liam is his soulmate,” Bell asks.

“Do you have a better idea?” Jeremiah asks.

OoOoO

Finding his house isn’t actually very difficult. It’s concerning how obvious it is.

Once Jeremiah turned onto Ringsler Drive, there were a row of houses lined up in a fairly quiet looking neighborhood. Only one house had a sign with Tharen’s face in the front yard. So he guesses that’s his house.

“I never get those. Why have a sign announcing your kid plays soccer?” Bell asks. “Does the whole neighborhood need to know?”

“Works for us,” Jeremiah shrugs.

Glancing to Liam, he inquires, “Do you want us to come with?”

Very much yes. Liam worried about interacting with his soulmate without a plan B. Jeremiah and Bell give him a perfect out if he needs. Zac says that there is no weakness in asking for help or accepting help. So yes.

Yes, he signs.

Walking up to the door, there is this excitement and anxious energy building inside him. He’s not sure which one is taking over and making his stomach hurt a little. Maybe it was something he ate.

It isn’t Tharen that answers the door, but a man that looks vaguely familiar. Probably because he is like a middle aged Tharen. Must be his dad. Mr. Baxter. He might have been at the soccer game now that he thinks about it.

Liam’s nerves shoot up and he feels his hands move unconsciously. He didn’t expect anyone else.

He’s about to turn around and just leave the man in confusion, but Jeremiah steps up beside him, anchoring him.

“Hola, is Tharen home?”

“Yes, he is,” probably Mr. Baxter says with a smile. A familiar one. It looks like Tharen’s. He leans back and tilts his head towards a set of stairs that Liam only notices now and shouts, “Tharen, someone’s here for you!” Liam winces at the sudden volume.

“I’ll be down in a second!” He hears faintly from an upwards direction.

The father of his soulmate turns his attention back to Liam with studying eyes. Not the normal narrowing of eyes that make Liam uncomfortable. No. More wide eyed, curious type. Or at least he thinks it’s curious. He really hoping so.

Then as if something popped into his head, Mr. Baxter lets out a joyous laugh. Kind of reminds him of the mall Santa that his parents used to take him and his siblings to.

“Wait. You’re Tharen’s soulmate, aren’t you? You have been all he’s been talking about for like a week,” Mr. Baxter asks. Another grin, this time wider, takes over his entire face, making his eyes squintier. The wideness of his lips rivals when Jeremiah when Roman is within seven feet of him.

“He already knows! That’s adorable,” Bell gushes behind them. Tharen’s dad’s attention to shifts to her.

Something happens to Mr. Baxter. He pauses like an avatar in a video game when you stop moving them. His eyes are really wide. Not studying this time. Like he saw something unbelievable.

Liam doesn’t get it.

“Bell?”

Lots of things surprise Liam. He’s used to the feeling of being an outsider. Without the typical neurotypical brain that most people have, he tends to miss things. But considering Bell and Jeremiah’s matching raised eyebrows, maybe he isn’t the only one.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” She questions.

Mr. Baxter looks how Liam looks in most social interactions. He takes a long, awkward moment before answering, “I’m Arlo.”

There must be something more to his name. Liam doesn’t know it. Jeremiah doesn’t seem to either. But Bell. Her face just shouts horrified. Even Liam can tell that, and he’s not good at emotions.

Bell doesn’t say a word and spins around and sprints back to the car. Liam’s confused, even more so than normal.

“Hi Dad, who’s at the door?” Tharen pops up behind Mr. Baxter.

His soulmate’s father doesn’t answer which leaves everyone questioning what the heck is happening.

——— (So if you’ve haven’t read some of Bell’s POV in other stories, her mom and her dad aren’t soulmates, though everyone thought they were because her mom (Wren) used her soulmate power to make them think they were. And then Wren hid that Bell is the product of Wren’s affair what her actual soulmate, Arlo. So you see where this is going now!

If you’ve ever seen the actress Anna Cathcart, who plays Kitty in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and in XO Kitty, her hair is what I was trying to describe for Tharen. Just a little inside detail.

Also, I’m not sure if all schools do this, but at my high school, they had these yard signs you could buy if your kid played football. So that is what I meant, in case anyone was confused.)