"Glare all you want, but I've saved your life twice."

•••••••••

Sam Wellington just wanted to get his math homework.
He just wanted to pet a dog.
He just wanted to eat a burger.
He just wanted a slice of cake.
He just wanted to dive.

Thank god Connor didn't let him.

(boyxboy)(soulmateAU)

"Listen," the man in the mask said as he covered the boys mouth with his hand, "I don't want to have to use it." He waved his gun in the air and pointed it back at the blonde boy.

"I-I...I'm sorry! I don't have a wallet! I'm broke, dude!" The boy yelled as he tried to get out of the man's reach.

"Well, I'm sorry then." The masked man cocked the gun, lining the sights up with his eyes and preparing to shoot.

"Woah, woah! You said you didn't want to use it!" The blonde boy cried out, panic rising evidently in his eyes.

"Desperate times. I can't risk you tattling on me."

"I don't even know what you look like!" The boy cried out. "Please, don't-" The sound of a gunshot went off and the boy crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

"No!" I sat up in bed sweating as the sound of the shot echoed in my ear. Taking in my surroundings, I realized where I was: in my room, safe and sound.

Who was the boy from the dream? I racked my mind as hard as I could before accepting the fact that I had never seen him in my life.

Weird, I thought before glancing over at my clock. It was 6:21, and my alarm was set for 6:30. Good timing.

I got dressed, ate breakfast, and brushed my teeth quickly and was ready to leave in record time: at 7:21. I usually left at 7:45, but what the hell? Today felt important, so I walked to school early.

"Hey, man." My friend Rio slapped me on the back as I sat down at a table in the cafeteria. "There's someone I want you to meet today, he'll be here soon."

"Alright." I smiled, setting my bag down and taking a sip from my water bottle.

"Someone's in a really good mood." Ronan said as he took a seat across from me. "Hey, guess what? My brother turns 21 today. He can finally drink, and he hasn't stopped talking about it..."

I slowly zoned him out as my smile flickered. That was, like, the third time I'd heard the number 21 today. Weird.

"Neat."

"Guys, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Sam." Rio announced to the table.

Heads turned, people smiled, my heart stopped.

Standing right in front of me, alive, was the blonde boy from my dream.

"What?" I gasped loudly.

Everyone at the table looked at me like I had two heads.

"I'm sorry, but I've definitely seen you before." I laughed nervously.

"Okay." He nodded back, looking at Rio strangely.

"Introduce yourselves." Rio ordered, waving his hands at us.

"I-I'm Connor." I stuttered, unable to get the image of his falling to the floor dead out of my mind.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked me. "You seem kinda off."

"What time is it?" Ronan asked as he stared at his phone.

"8:21." Rio answered back.

"Damn," Ronan sighed, picking up his things, "I've got a math test. See ya."

"That was Ronan." Rio informed Sam.

"Cool. Oh, by the way, I got my basketball jersey today. I didn't think I'd get my number, but I did! How weird is that?" He grinned.

"Let me guess, you're number 21." I deadpanned.

Sam looked at me in surprise.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess." I muttered, picking up my bag and heading out the door.

"Connor, don't forget! We have the Course instead of fourth period today!" Rio called out after me.

"Yeah," I yelled back. "thanks."

A Course is a presentation on signs that you may be close to finding your soulmate. My grade is getting close to the age where we'll meet them, and none of us are quite prepared. I know I'm not.

My first three periods ended and I nervously made my way to fourth, where we were being assembled in the gym.

All the students settled down and an old man with a cane rose to the podium.

"Welcome, students. I understand you are all closing in on seventeen, and will be meeting your angels soon."

People in the audience grumbled nervously.

"Now, as you know, everyone here has a guardian angel. They watch out for you, keep you safe, and they are the reason that you are not dead yet." He laughed, but nobody else did. He frowned, but kept going.

"Guardian angels are very special. Some are sent from heaven, but some are born on earth. Some don't even know what they are." He laughed, but was met with silence once again. "Of course, that is very rare. It's happened only about 20 times."

He continued on for a bit, cracking some jokes, but failing desperately to move us.

"Okay, not in the joking mood, I guess. How about this, does anybody have any questions?"

Several hands rose, and the man pointed at one in particular.

"Um... What is the biggest sign that you are going to meet your angel?" A girl asked nervously.

"Well, for some people it is a near-death-incident where they run into their angel. For some, the angel comes to them in visions, or dreams. It can be very different for everyone."

"What happens if your angel dies?" Another girl asked upon being called on.

"Angels do not die until their counterparts do, and the counterpart doesn't die without their angel until it's from natural causes. You have nothing to worry about. In rare cases, some people don't have an angel, and well...the world isn't always perfect." His smile faltered slightly, but he continued on as if it hadn't, probably hoping no one had noticed.

"What if...." the questions went on for another half hour before the man finally closed the assembly.

"I hope that you are all excited for meeting you angels. Good luck!"

"Man, I am so nervous." Rio said as we walked to the park with Sam and Ronan after school.

"Me, too." Sam shuddered. "My birthday is in a week."

"Hey, same here. The...the twenty first." I cringed.

"That's mine too." Sam frowned.

Weird.

That night before bed, I glanced over at the clock. When it read 10:21, I fought as hard as I could to not throw it across the room.

"Oh my god, look!" Sam yelled out as we walked across the street the next day.

"What?" I asked tiredly.

"A dog!" He cheered, racing across the sidewalk to reach it. I jogged after him, feeling nervous for some reason.

Sam slowed down and I caught up to him. He stepped into the street excitedly, not seeing the school bus rocketing towards him, and the next thing I knew, Sam was dead again.

"Jesus Christ!" I woke up screaming for the second night in a row, groaning in anger when I saw that it was 6:21 in the morning again. I got dressed, ate breakfast, and brushed my teeth, and almost passed out when I saw that I had finished at 7:21, again.

"Hey." Rio greeted me again in the cafeteria.

"Whatever." I muttered, slamming my head down on the table.

"What'd you get on your math quiz?" Sam asked Ronan.

"I got a 21 out of 21."

"Oh my god." I moaned.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Ronan asked, concerned.

"Nothing! I just didn't sleep very well last night, okay? I keep having these weird dreams, and....whatever, alright?" I scoffed, laying my head down again.

"Dude, we don't wanna know that stuff," Rio gagged, and I slapped him on the arm.

"Not like that, dipshit."

"Okay..." Sam muttered. "Oh, crap. I forgot my homework in the car, Rio. Can I have the keys and go get it?"

"Sure. But class starts in," he glanced at his watch, "like twenty minutes, don't take forever." Rio tossed him the keys and Sam left the cafeteria.

Suddenly, I became dizzy. "I need some fresh air, I'll be right back." I stood up and left the same way Sam did, exiting the building and spotting him standing on the sidewalk across the school yard.

My stomach dropped when I saw a man with a ski mask step out behind him, his hands stuffed into large pockets.

"Money, now." The man whispered to Sam. Sam whipped around, startled, and stepped backwards, back pressed to the car.

"I don't have any on me!" Sam cried.

This was it. This was the dream. And Sam was about to get shot. I raced down the steps and groaned in frustration as cars whipped past me, wondering how these people weren't seeing Sam getting mugged.

"Listen," the man in the mask said as he covered Sam's mouth with his hand, "I don't want to have to use it." He made a point of showing the gun to Sam before aiming it at him.

"I-I...I'm sorry! I don't have a wallet! I'm broke, dude!" Sam yelled in desperation as he tried to tear the man's mouth from his hand.

The cars finally stopped and I dashed across the street, dashing towards the masked man and Sam.

"Well, I'm sorry then." The man aimed the gun at Sam and cocked it, causing his eyes to widen.

"Woah, woah! You said you didn't want to use it!" Sam shouted, his breath getting faster and faster.

"Desperate times. I can't risk you tattling on me."

"I don't even know what you look like!" Sam begged. "Please, don't-" I reached the man just in time, tackling into him as the sound of a gunshot rang through the air.

Sam yelled out.

Did he still get hit?

The gun lay several yards away, so at least I had knocked it out of the man's hand.

The masked man wriggled under me, and I blacked out.

I stood up slowly as my ears rang and my head spun, trying to focus my eyes on Sam, who was leaning on the car and panting, and the pain in my knuckles.

"Did he hit you?" I asked, rushing up to him.

"No, no. But my ears.... Jesus Christ." He muttered.

"Same here."

"Thank you so much." Sam said, wiping his eye and falling to his knees in tears.

"It's alright." I muttered.

"I almost got shot!" Sam shouted, face turning red.

Police cars pulled onto the street and I helped Sam to his feet.

That night, at 10:21 I went to bed replaying what had happened over and over again. I dreamt that Sam died in exactly the same way, and then it happened. Except it didn't, because I saved him.

That night, I didn't dream at all. Just a Dream-free, peaceful night.

Of course, I woke up at 6:21 and left an hour later.

School was uneventful, but Rio decided he wanted to go out for pizza after, so Ronan, Rio, Sam and I made our way to Royals.

"I have to pee." Ronan complained.

"Me too." Rio said. "Let's stop here. You guys go ahead." The two boys walked into the store to use the bathroom, and Sam and I continued walking.

"Oh my god, look!" Sam cried out, pointing somewhere ahead of us.

"What?" I asked.

"A dog!" He yelled, running ahead to meet it. I jogged after him, a pit in my stomach as I realized what was happening.

I dashed after Sam and, as he lifted his foot to step into the street, I pulled him back by both shoulders, anticipating what was about to take place. The bus raced by quickly, beeping at us the whole time.

I flipped the bus driver off, not that he saw, but still. He almost killed Sam, again.

Jesus Christ.

"Dude." Sam stared back at me in awe. "What the hell?"

"I don't know. I need some pizza." I grabbed his chin, mockingly forcing him to look both ways before he crossed, and he glared at me.

"Glare all you want, but I've saved your life twice."

At 10:21 I fell asleep, wondering if I'd see Sam die tonight.

The answer was yes.

"I love hamburgers." Sam said, taking a bite of his food.

"Yeah, we know." Rio laughed as he ate his hotdog.

"Dude." Ronan said gravely. "What the-" he looked closely at Sam's burger before jumping up in disgust. "That burger's got worms in it!"

Sam's eyes widened in disgust and he desperately tried to spit it out, but he gagged instead, causing himself to choke.

"Help!" Rio yelled out to the other people in the diner. "He's choking!"

Sam fell to his knees, groping his neck and gagging loudly, before he finally fell forward and went silent.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I growled at 6:21, getting out of bed and leaving an hour later.

The whole day I waited. I waited for school to end, and frowned nervously as Ronan asked to go the diner halfway across town.

We walked inside and ordered our food.

"I'm so hungry. I can't wait for my hamburger." Sam grinned at me. "Connor, do you want split it? You didn't get anything."

"No!" I yelled. "No. Sorry. Just.... don't like hamburgers."

The food came ten minutes later and Rio dug into his hotdog.

"I love hamburgers." Sam said, picking up his burger and posing to take a bite.

"Wait, Sam." I ordered, gripping his arm.

"Uh, okay?"

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I called for the lady at the front counter.

"How can I help you?" She asked sweetly.

"Uh, my friend's burger has worms in it." I frowned.

"What are you talking about?" Ronan asked. "What would make you say that?"

"Yeah, you didn't even look." Rio frowned.

"He's right." Sam said after cutting into it and gagging slightly, pushing his plate away from him.

Ronan, Rio, and Sam looked at me strangely.

"How did you know that?" Ronan asked forcefully.

I shrugged.

"How many days is your birthday in, guys?" Rio asked all of a sudden.

"Three." We replied.

"Huh." He leaned back in the booth and looked back and forth between me and Sam. "Huh."

10:21, and I was ready for my next dream.

"Who wants cake?" Ronan asked. We were in his kitchen, and in front of us there were the leftovers from his parent's party.

"Me," the three is us grinned, helping ourselves to a slice.

About ten minutes later, Sam began to scratch at his throat.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

Sam took a deep breath, but it sounded hoarse.

"I...." He choked out, "can't breathe."

"Ronan, what was in the cake?" Rio asked, racing over to Sam as he began to cough.

"Uh..." Ronan stuttered, "milk, chocolate, almonds, peanuts-"

"Crap!" Rio yelled. "He's allergic to nuts. Fucking shit! I don't have an epipen with me!" Rio began to cry and Sam heaved in and out.

"Call 911!" I yelled, but the ambulance was too late. Sam had stopped breathing by the time it arrived, and a piece of cake with a bite taken out of it haunted me for the rest of the dream.

"Here we go again." I said as I woke up at 6:21. I got ready by 7:21 and waited patiently all day to go to Ronan's house.

We gathered in his kitchen at 3:21 and he brought out a chocolate cake.

"Who wants cake?" He asked happily.

"What's in it?" I asked.

"Like... chocolate, milk, almonds, peanuts-"

"Dang it," Sam sighed, "I'm allergic."

Rio looked at me with a smirk and I stared back with a confused expression.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "Two more days till your birthday."

I nodded.

"Let's go watch TV." He said, pulling me into the living room with Sam and Ronan.

10:21.

We were at Sam's house, swimming in the pool.

"Guys, can you go get towels?" Sam asked me and Rio.

"I'm coming in too. Gotta pee." Ronan said.

The three of us went into the house, and I watched Sam do a flip off the diving board, hit his head on the side of the pool, pass out, and drown.

"Lets go." I grunted at 6:21.

Later that day, we walked to Sam's house to swim.

"Guys, can you go get more towels?" Sam asked me and Rio.

"I'm coming in too. Gotta pee." Ronan said.

"I'm gonna stay out here. I'm lazy." I said with a laugh. Rio rolled his eyes at me but went inside with Ronan.

"Careful, Sam. The diving board looks slippery." I advised him.

He kneeled down, looked at the wet spots, and dried them off with the dry part of a mostly-wet towel.

"Thanks." He hummed. "Our birthday is tomorrow." He jumped into the pool, landing a huge cannon ball and resurfacing seconds later.

"Are you excited to be seventeen?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I guess. I wanna know who my guardian angel is."

"Me too." I replied.

"There are like, 100 kids in our grade who won't be seventeen for several months." Sam pointed out. "We'll both have a soul mate before most of our grade."

"Yeah," I said, "I guess you're right."

That night, I didn't dream of Sam. I didn't dream of Sam being shot, or drowned, or choked, or hit by a car. The night of my seventeenth birthday, I dreamt about an angel.

"Hello." It said to me. "You're turning seventeen, and it is time you knew the truth. Connor, you are the twenty-first guardian angel to grow up on earth."

"This would have been really nice to know earlier."

"You have saved Sam Wellington's life on several occasions. He's your soulmate, and you are his angel. You are, of course, relieved of your duties now."

"Are we talking about the same Sam? Cause I'm not gay, just saying." I frowned.

"Sam Wellington is your soulmate." It repeated.

"Does he know?" I asked.

"He has been informed." The angel said.

"Oh. What did he say?" I sighed.

The angel sighed. "I guess you'll have to see." Upon seeing the worry on my face, they continued. "He's not upset, don't worry. You may not have been attracted to him at 16, but you are soulmates, and soulmates are people who belong together. Congratulations, and good luck." The angel faded away and I woke up to my alarm blaring. I checked the time, and almost had an aneurism.

6:30.

I got to school as quickly as I could and froze when I spotted Sam at our table.

He looked attractive, I guess. Whatever.

I walked up to him and sat down.

"So." I said.

My eyes widened in surprise when Sam leaned over and hugged me.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Thank you so, so much for not letting me eat that burger." He blushed and smiled at me.

"Hey, what are angels for?" I felt myself turn red, and smiled back. "Happy birthday."