The chaos began when Miss Green stopped talking and let everyone go find their partners. People began rushing around eagerly. Males matched their bracelets with different females and vis versa. Some bracelets were already glowing a bright blue colour on different wrists, indicating that they are nearing their to-be-partners. Those who found each other were extremely excited, which makes complete sense.

I took a hesitant step forward into the overly-crowded area. I'm not the most social person around, but I'm not anti-social either. I guess I can have my hyper moments and my calm moments. I'm a mix of both, really.

I looked down at my bracelet, which hasn't tingled or glown even once so far. I lightly ran my forefinger over the intricate design which holds a major part of my future within. The smooth metal plate lied calmly against my wrist, like it did for the eighteen years of life that I've lived.

My thoughts were broken as I walked into someting... or someone.

"I'm so sor-" I got cut off by the yelling of the person in front of me.

"Watch it!" She yelled, thankfully not loud enough to be heard over the tumultuous chatter of the gathering.

Bits of her pale blonde hair fell down from her high-ponytail, framing her round-shaped face. Those piercing blue eyes shot daggers at me, while giving me the coldest glare ever mustered.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologized, "Are you alright?"

She kept her cold stare; those stinging blue eyes staring deeply at me. No words tumbled out of her mouth.

"I really wasn't t-" She cut me off by raising a hand.

"I don't care!" She snapped, with that, the mysterious blonde stormed away.

Well, that took a turn for the worst.

I stared into mid-air for a moment, trying to comprhend what just happened. I still felt those deep blue eyes piercing into me.

Shaking off the strange feeling, I started walking around. I asked a couple of strangers for their bracelets, none of which I could relate to. My bracelet hasn't even glowed or tingled once.

I guess this year is not my lucky year.

After walking and asking for what felt like fifteen minutes, I decided to sit down for a while.

While walking back to the bench, I noticed someone by the wall, near the bench. As I got closer, I realized that it was just a couple that was too interested in making-out to notice me. I let out a sigh and took a seat.

I need to relax.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the wall. The endless chatter of the gathering buzzed loudly. I felt myself being pulled into the faze of sleepiness until a sudden sensation awoke me.

A cool and tingling feeling was around my wrist and my eyes snapped open. I looked down at my bracelet. It glowed a bright, electric blue and vibrated against my wrist.

I felt my heart fluttering at the sight of the unknown glow. My heart pounded endlessly against my ribcage, threatening to rip out of me. I gathered enough courage to look away from the rare sight.

A few steps away from me, there was a rather tall man, he was very attractive to say the least. His brown hair was styled up in almost a quiff and I noticed how the hair by the nape of his neck curled.

The unknown man wore a pair of tight, skinny and black jeans along with a completely black coloured button-up shirt, which wasn't buttoned up fully, revealing an inked chest. A pair of brown boots were on his feet.
His eyes were trained down at his glowing bracelet as I felt my heart speeding up. It's most likely this man who I'm paired up.

He looked up and I saw him do a double-take. His emerald green eyes looked at me while his lips turned upwards into a smile, revealing two perfectly indented dimples in his cheeks. I felt myself smiling at him too as he took a step forward.

"Hi," he spoke slowly. His voice was deep and raspy, not something I had expected. "Uh, I'm Harry."

I smiled at him and held my hand out. "Rissa."

He smiled, this time showing his teeth. Harry reached forwards and shook my hand. As strange as it sounds, there was a little static shock he passed onto me. Harry let out a little yelp, which made me laugh.

"Must be the bracelet acting up," he assumed while scratching the back of his neck. The tips of his ears were tinted a light shade of red which made me want to smile even more.

I nodded, "Speaking of bracelets, I see that your bracelet is glowing. Mind if I compare it?"

He nodded, "I was just about to say that!"

I chuckled a bit and moved so that I was on his left side. I stuck out my wrist and watched as he did the same.

My heartbeat sped up as I looked at the two intricate designs. His eyes scanned mine, which consisted of a wavy line with a dot on either end. Harry's design was the same as mine... Until I noticed a strange line. Instead of only one vertical wavy line, his had a horizontal line running through the middle.

I stared at the bracelets, confused. This wasn't supposed to happen. It was only supposed to happen when you reach your mate and when the symbols are exactly the same. The symbols weren't the same.

I looked back up at Harry and his expression matched mine.

"Well," he began, "This is strange. They aren't supposed to glow. I bet it's a glitch or something."

I nodded, "Yeah, I think we should tell an official."

So that's exactly what we did. For the next few minutes, we waited in line to talk to a superior. Finally it was our turn.

We walked up to a small glass window, which had a slot at the bottom. On the other side of the window, was the lady I recognized from earlier. She had taken off my bracelet.

"Hi, how may I help you?" She asked, looking bored out of her mind.

"Uhm, Rissa and I's bracelets were tingling but the symbols don't match." Harry spoke.
I liked the way my name rolled off of his tongue. He made it sound smooth and effortless. It was almost as if he said 'Riza' instead of 'Rissa', which I liked.

"Alright, wrists please." She replied.

Harry and I slipped our wrists under the slot and she took a look at it. I don't understand what she pressed but the tingling and glowing immediately stopped.

"There you go," she stated plainly.

"What was it?" Harry questioned.
She sarcastically smiled. "A glitch, honey."

"So we're not paired?" I questioned further.

She shook her head, the look not leaving her face. "Sorry, hun. Keep looking." Without warning, she yelled the next part. "Next in line!"

Harry and I walked away from the rather rude woman. He turned to me and offered a half smile.

"Well, Rissa, it was nice meeting you. I'm sorry about the glitch," he spoke.

I nodded. "Same with you."

There was an awkward atmosphere, despite the loudness of the gathering.

"Well, I hope I'll see you in the future?" He suggested, making me laugh.

I smiled, "Yeah, you too."

He scratched his neck. "Uhm, bye."

I smiled, although inside I was shrivelling back into my corner. I actually liked this guy.

"Bye, Harry." With that, I did something that would get me in deep shit if we were caught.

I leaned forwards and hugged him. You are not allowed to make any type of contact, except with your mate. This was also the reason we didn't switch numbers.

Surprisingly, he hugged me back. We pulled back in about two seconds and smiled at each other. We bid good-bye once more before I walked away. It took about another half hour until I walked into Sophia.

"Oh hello! How's it going?" She asked, smiling.

I shrugged, "Not the greatest. I haven't found anyone yet."

I decided not to tell her about the glitch. She looks pretty trustworthy but I've learnt not to trust too easily; you'll be the one who ends up breaking in the end.

"Oh, well that sucks." She thought for a moment. "You probably need a little break. How about I introduce you to my fiancé?"

I nodded, "That'd be cool."
She smiled and looked over her shoulder.

"Liam?"

With that, the man I had seen earlier walked up, standing beside Sophia. "Hey babe. Need something?"

He was tall and his hair was in a tiny quiff almost. 'Liam' looked perfect for Sophia. His caring brown eyes had wrinkles beside them when he smiled, which I thought was kind of cute... I would never admit that though.

"I want you to meet my friend, Iris." She smiled and motioned to me.

"Hi, Iris. Nice name." He stated, smiling.

I chuckled a little. "My name is actually Rissa. Iris is just a nickname."

He shook hands with me. "Well, cool nickname, Iris."

I smiled, "Than-"

I was abruptly cut off as a man walked up to Liam and spoke.
"Yo, Liam have you seen my-" he was cut off once he looked at me. A small smirk took over his features and he raised an eyebrow.

I noticed his jet-black hair was styled up in a quiff. His jawline was strong and he had the most perfect features. It was the smirk that threw me off, along with his hazel-brown eyes.

"Oh, who do we have here?" He asked smoothly.

"This is Rissa, Sophia's friend." Liam introduced, still smiling kindly. "Or she goes by Iris."
I felt almost flustered under the gaze of the olive-skin coloured man.

"Well, Iris," he spoke, smirk not leaving his face. "I see that your bracelet is glowing. Mind if I look?"

I looked down at my bracelet and right enough, it was glowing once more. I was too interested in his features to realize that it had been glowing.

"Uhm, yeah." I spoke.

Then we compared the bracelets. I felt my heart jump in excitement as his symbol matched mine perfectly, both glowing in synchronization.

"Well, well, well. I guess your my mate, Iris." He smiled at me. There was something strange to the smile but I shrugged it off. "I'm so rude, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Zayn, Zayn malik."

Then what happened next, completely threw me off.
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A/N: hi everyone! I hope you liked this chapter! please vote and comment and spread the word. if you constantly comment throughout this book, you'll probably get a dedication or two. thank youu.

This chapter is dedicate to @VoterCommenter bc she is absolutely fabulous! thank you(:

I also added a picture of what I think of the symbols. The one with the two lines is Harry's. don't judge the messed up lines XD it's just for a visual representation.

And just to clear up confusion, Harry and Iris's bracelets were NOT the same. Sorry about any confusion.

-maya xox