So upon realizing she'd accidentally ruined everything by not tying her shoe, did Drew own up to her error? Did she dramatically break down? (not that I would have done anything of the sort--hahaha) No. She did neither. Drew... pretended nothing had happened. This continued through Ballroom, AP Literature, and Calculus. At lunch, her facade finally broke.

"Guys..." She said softly, looking down at her salad. (I feel the need to defend Drew's choice of lunch. She's not on a diet, she just loves chicken caesar. Leave her alone.) "I made a terrible mistake."

Confused, Jack trailed off. He'd been in the middle of a rant about level fifty of some video game or other, but this sounded important. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Avery felt the need to chime in with, "You sound a bit melodramatic, don't you think?"

Drew laughed. "That did come out a bit like a soap opera. I don't know how to say this."

"Just get to the point," Parker complained. "You're taking too long."

"I fell, kissed someone, and they're my soulmate. I don't know who they are but I didn't recognize them so they're probably new or something and I hope they didn't get a good glimpse of me because I didn't see much of them and now what am I supposed to do this is terrible oh my--"

"Slow down, Drew," one of the others interrupted.

Another added, "Start from the beginning. And talk slower, you're going to hyperventilate." Drew was overly distraught and unsure who said which precisely.

"You're right, you're right," Drew admitted. She took a deep breath. "I walked to class, as one does, and my shoelace was untied." (Dearest reader, she did in fact tie her shoe before Ballroom, in case you were concerned. That time she made sure to double knot it.)

"How is this relevant?" Parker asked. "I know we said to start at the beginning, but I couldn't care less about your shoes."

Avery shushed him. "She's going to get there."

"Thank you, Avery. The point is, my untied shoelace caused me to trip. Somebody tried to catch me. While they kept me from falling--luckily--we accidentally touched lips. And they are one of my soulmates. As soon as I realized it, I ran away. I barely saw them, so, hopefully, they didn't get a good look at me either."

"Hold up." Jack waved a hand in the air for emphasis as he spoke. "One of?"

"You have more?" Avery's jaw dropped open.

Parker rolled his eyes. "Only you could get this unlucky."

"Look, it's fine. I didn't see them, they didn't see me, I'll just avoid touching everyone, and, eventually, they'll let it go?"

"People don't just let their soulmate go."

Drew looked down at her salad again. It didn't look at all appetizing after the events of the day. "I realized that as I said it. What the heck am I supposed to do?"

At that moment, the bell rang. Avery and Drew were off to AP Spanish, and the other two had Statistics.

"We'll talk after school," Parker shouted as the boys walked away.

Avery grabbed Drew's arm to steer her through the corridors to their classroom. "It's going to work out, Drew. It's okay."

Drew nodded, but inside she knew this changed everything.

***

Raven hadn't spoken a word since that morning, and Corey was worried. The two were currently at lunch, and Raven wasn't even eating his food. Corey nudged his boyfriend's arm but got no response.

"Raven? You alright, love?"

The unusually silent Russian continued to stare at his sandwich without acknowledging the question. At this point, Brandon and Marc noticed as well.

"Hey, what's up with you today?" Brandon slapped Raven's shoulder from across the picnic table they'd chosen outside. The small table looked comically incongruous to the built physiques of the four of them. Even Marc, who was comparatively slender, had a solid amount of muscle.

Raven looked up. Finally, he spoke. "I met my other soulmate, but they ran away. Why would they go?"

Corey felt a small stab of pain and jealousy. That's why he has ignored me all day? For his other soulmate? He knew that Raven's heart was too big to keep to himself, but Corey was hoping for a few more years alone with his big bear. It wasn't like Corey didn't have another soulmate himself, and he knew it was hypocritical to want Raven to share him without having other soulmates of his own--but it was still hard. Still, Corey wanted to be supportive. He could tell Raven was upset.

"What do you mean? What exactly happened?" Corey asked.

At the same time, Corey's twin, Brandon, asked his own question. "Ran away? Are you sure you know what you're saying?"

Raven puffed up his chest and looked Brandon in the eye. "Of course I know the English. I've been in America for three years now. Don't ask me that."

Marc stepped in, "Look, Brandon's just confused. Nobody runs away from their soulmate. How'd you bond anyway?"

Corey wanted to know that too. It was their first day at this school and they knew nobody apart from each other.

"I caught them when they fell. Our lips touched, soulmates. They ran. Why would they run?" Raven looked down at his food again. His fists were clenched. Dear reader, that is an indicator that this guy might get mad enough to do something he'll regret later. Sometimes he has anger issues. Can't blame him, with his past, but still.

Marc comforted Raven as best he could, mindful of Raven's propensity toward violence when upset. "Calm down, alright? They were probably in a rush to get to class. It's okay, you'll have forever with them. We'll help you find them, alright?"

Raven looked up. "Good point. Maybe Soulmate is also a nerd."

Corey couldn't help laughing. "Guess nerds are your type, love."

Raven put his arm around the taller Corey. "Yes, your focus and passion are very hot---"

"Nope nope nope," Brandon interrupted. "Nothing mushy involving my brother is allowed to happen when I'm within earshot, ever." He made gagging noises and pushed his plate away as if he was too disgusted to continue.

Marc added his own opinion. "Actually, you can all avoid anything romantic around me 'till I find my soulmate and can appreciate it." He and Brandon fist-bumped and Corey rolled his eyes.

"As if you will get a soulmate, you son of a donkey's leg flea(1)," Raven joked.

"Hey!" Brandon exclaimed, offended. "If you get two, I get at least one."

"I think we're getting a bit off track, here." Marc looked at his phone for the time. "There are only six minutes and fifteen seconds left of lunch and we need some sort of plan to find Raven's Cinderella soulmate. Get it, Cinderella? Because they ran away?"

"Is that the one with the pumpkin?" Raven asked.

"Yes," Corey answered. "But Marc's right. How are we going to find your soulmate?" It was difficult, lovely reader, for Corey to say the term "your soulmate" to Raven, but he felt determined to be a good boyfriend.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Brandon said. "What did they look like?"

Raven kicked Brandon backward off the bench. "Dumbo (2), I didn't get a good look at them."

"Sugar! (3)"

"Chill!" Marc reached out a hand to help Brandon up. "What do we know, to start with?"

Raven thought for a moment before replying. "They're small and a bit squishy."

"That tells us absolutely nothing," Brandon complained. "Compared to you, most everyone at this school is short and squishy. Most of us don't spend as much time at the gym as you." 

Marc privately thought it ironic for Brandon to point this out, given that Corey and his twin were some of the only people he knew who were, in fact, taller than Raven--and nearly as built.

He chose not to comment.

Quickly, they came up with a plan. Raven would just greet everyone with a high five until he found his soulmate--or they found him. Whichever came first. Raven thought this would take way too long, but they couldn't think of anything else. They decided to ask Axel when they got home from school.

_______________________

1. This is not what Raven said, but it's the less offensive version of the Russian phrase

2. Again, we're trying to keep this family-friendly, against Raven's best efforts. Also, aren't footnotes wonderful? I recently discovered my ability to use them and now I'm obsessed.

3. Oop that's not the word Brandon used.