A V I V A

"Faith, I swear to the Nymphs, where the hell did you put my leather jacket?" I growl at my twelve-year-old sister. She's always borrowing my stuff but I usually only get them back the next year.

She shrugs while brushing her hair.

"Find it now or else you're never going to find the love of your life." I threaten, shooting a glare her way.

She gapes before huffing and dropping her brush on the vanity, then went to search the house.

"You have exactly ten minutes before I leave, and if I don't get it, say goodbye to romance!" I yell from my room, running a hand through my curly, ombre bob.

Just like every other sane person, I hate Mondays, which was today. It meant exhaustion, school, and work at my little office in Mom's workshop.

"There, found it! Now please, please, please tell me if Ivan's my soulmate or not." Faith throws my jacket at me.

I scoff and put it on, grabbing my bag, phone, and keys. "Not yet, little Elf."

She frowns and sighs, knowing she won't win this argument. Faith leaves the room and I rush out of the house, locking the door behind me as I break into a jog.

When am I not late? Never.

I finally reach the school doors and push through them, ignoring all the stares from other creatures as I walk to my locker. When I slam the door shut, I turn around and stare at Emma, standing next to her boyfriend-or should I say soulmate-Harry, smirking at their amused expressions when I don't jump.

That's another thing to know about us Supernaturals: we can sense any presence near us and immediately know who they are if you've already met them before. In this case, while I had my back turned to them at my locker two seconds ago and didn't even see them show up, I still felt their presence lingering behind me.

"Hey, Aviva." Emma smiles at me. Harry acknowledges me by giving me a curt nod, to which I return.

"Cute outfit," Em shoots me a thumbs up.

I roll my eyes and look down at my plain white tee, black skirt that hit me right above my knees, black tights, ankle boots, and completed with my leather jacket.

"Thanks," I mumble, walking with my two friends to English. We take our usual seats at the back, where we're met with Leah and Allen, who are also in our little friend group.

Leah was a Siren. While most Sirens- like Ezlyn, someone who I despise-are obsessed with themselves, Leah is the complete opposite. In fact, she's probably one of the sweetest people I've ever known. She's also got a thing for Allen, and I'm pretty sure Allen likes her too, but they're not soulmates. Wait, back to Sirens. They have the power to manipulate or seduce anyone with just a little song, kind of like mind control.

Biting my bottom lip, I turn away from my friends as Mrs. Lenords silences the class. Of course, that doesn't last very long because soon everyone erupts in laughter. I raise an eyebrow at Harry, who's snickering like a mad man. He shakes his head and shrugs, telling me it wasn't anything important.

I nod and turn my attention back to the teacher.

"Okay class, today we're going to do something a little fun," She starts.

Uh oh. Mrs. Lenords' definition of 'fun' was my definition of 'humiliating'. This is already sounding suspicious . . .

"Could all the Supernaturals in the class stand up, please?"

Well, crap.

Seven people, including me, lazily force ourselves to stand. Leah shoots me an annoyed look and I chuckle.

"Please state your species," Lenords asks.

That sentence may seem rude, but really, it's not. Two people were Werewolves, one a Siren, one an elf, another a Pixie.

When it was my turn, I prepare myself for the questions to come right after the words leave my mouth.

"Cupid."

Almost immediately, most Humans jump up with their wide, astonished eyes.

"Oh my gosh, can you tell me who my soulmate is?"

"Whoa, how do your powers work?"

"I bet my mate is Weylen."

I roll my eyes at the last comment. Weylen was my cousin, who was also a Werewolf. Even his name meant 'son of wolf'.

"Class, settle down, please. Okay, now I'm going to put you in groups, each with a Supernatural, so seven groups will be made. Of four, okay?"

Everyone nods, and I already know where this is going.

"Once you're all in groups, you will have the opportunity to ask the Supernaturals some questions and then you'll write in your notebooks about what you learned about them."

This is probably the lamest activity she has ever come up with.

She put us into groups of four, and none of my friends were put with me. Instead, my group consists of people who I never so much as asked for a pencil from.

Sighing, I say lamely, "Let's just get this over with. Names?"

"Jack." This guy has auburn hair and green eyes that remind me of an Elf. But he isn't one, so I shrug it off.

"Lucy." She's quiet, with purple hair and black highlights. She has full lips and brown eyes that twinkled with fascination.

"Alec."

Wow. Well, this guy sounds like me. In my current mood, at least. Messy, brown hair that gave off an I-just-rolled-out-of-bed vibe and chocolate brown eyes. His voice was deep and rough, but his expression was soft and gentle.

"Cool. I'm Aviva, and I'm a Cupid or Matchmaker, whatever you guys want to call it. So just ask away, I guess." I shrug.

"How are you able to find out one's soulmate?" Lucy questions.

I think I hate this question the most.

"All I have to do is look into someone's eyes and think about their match, then a vision would pop up of the couple sharing a happy moment together."

"Can you only match up Humans, or can it be Supernaturals, too?" Jack asks, writing things down in his notebook.

"It can be both," I answer, yawning and rubbing my eyes.

"Is it hard being a Cupid?" Lucy perks up.

I hesitate before answering, "Well, it depends on the people you're matching. You know that term 'there's a thin line between love and hate'?"

The three of them nod their heads.

"If the individuals hate each other, the process of the potion may take longer than usual. They're supposed to start developing feelings for each other, if not already, within three to seven days. However, if they dislike each other, the process could take two weeks to two months. Which makes my job more frustrating."

They nod their heads and take notes in silence. I run a hand through my hair and blow out a breath, suddenly feeling nervous. The bell rings and I spring up from my chair, bolting out of the class as fast as I can. I stop short when I hear a voice calling my name, so I whirl around and look for the source.

Alec.

He jogs towards me with a serious expression and begins walking by my side.

"What do you want?" I snap.

"An answer to a question." He says back.

"So speak."

Rolling his eyes, Alec asks, "Can Cupids fall in love?"

My eyes widen at the question and I stop walking, standing right outside of Chemistry class and stare at him. Only some Supernaturals knew the answer to that question, and no Human has ever asked me that before, because the sentence was forbidden to leave a Human's mouth. Don't ask why, because I don't know. The Nymphs are some bossy assholes, I can give you that.

"How did you . . ." I trail off, then shake my head when Alec tilts his head. "Why?"

He shrugs. "Just curious."

"I'm going to be late for Chem," I mutter, pushing past him and into the classroom.