The sound of the school bell rang through Jughead's ears, signalling that class was over as the room full of students soon turned into a deserted area where even the teachers hated being in. Rumors had formed that our teacher, Ms. Geraldine Grundy, who passed away last year, supposedly killed herself in this exact room due to "school complications", meaning that a student had broke her heart. That's right. A student. Each week, Ms. Grundy had a new boyfriend, though they were just students she used to hide herself from the truth of her ex boyfriend's demise. She had always been into young high school boys, but never did she intend on falling in love with one. Jason Blossom, to be exact. They had gotten together since they made a deal that Jason could get free A's if he went on a date with her, but turned out that they hit it off and soon enough they were both head over heels for each other, but that ended soon after starting as someone anonymously told the principal, Mr. Weatherbee, the truth about her and she soon got fired. The day she got fired turned out to be Jason's last day at the school as his mother sent him off somewhere known as the Sisters of Quiet Mercy which was a Catholic school that tortured kids out of fear and troubles though everyone knew what went on in there was illegal. When Ms. Grundy found out what happened to Jason, she killed herself right after packing everything in her classroom into boxes. Now, no one will walk into the class without having a weird look on their faces or feeling in their bones. Even I can't. I, Jughead Jones, the schools newspaper writer who is also a secret voluntary detective that searches for answers to the town's dark and awful secrets, can't even walk into a room without smelling the smell of the deceased and the feeling that someone was watching me that sent shivers down my spine. The bell rang again as the students that covered the halls walked to their lockers last minute before lunch. Usually, some people leave on the first bell and put everything away as they wait for the second bell to tell them that lunch is ready, but others just stand in the halls first bell and talk to their friends then put their stuff away on the second bell before lunch. Today was obviously one of the second option days. Normally I do the first one, but lately, I've felt like I'm going crazy. Odd things have happened around me coincidentally that I shrugged off for the past week until something appeared on the outside of my right arm, exactly across from where my "gang" tattoo, which is just a tattoo of our friend groups somewhat mascot, sat on my left arm. The image slowly grew each passing day and my nerves spiked higher each moment. I knew something was going to happen. Shaking these thoughts out of my head, I slam my locker and walked off to lunch, eyes trailing in my direction due to the commotion I caused. When I finally get to the cafeteria, I walk over to the table filled with laughter and happiness. My group's table. As soon as everyone saw me, the spiked red haired boy and the puffy dark haired girl scooted over. "Hey, Jug." The boy spoke, smiling at me. "Hey, Arch." He smiled more and patted my back before digging into his food. Arch, aka Archie Andrews, the varsity football player with a one-way ticket to Harvard. Yes, though he's the most popular kid in school, he's got to be the most nerdy kid outside of it. Archie had always wanted to be a lawyer, but he had never thought he would persue it until his teacher of his criminal justice class, Mrs. McCoy, noticed he scored a 100% compared to the 60-80% scores of other students. She convinced him to look into colleges that taught criminal law and justice and he applied to Harvard, Yale, AND Stanford, ending up with permission to study at all three schools. Can you believe it? A small-town football junky, who is also MY best friend, ends up with three of the most famous law schools scholarships in America? Yeah, me neither. Then, sat across from me, was my other best friend Toni, aka Antoinette Topaz who was the ultimate badass chick that you would see in movies, but she was actually real. She wants to be an actress and that's exactly what she's going for. And that's what I always admired about her. When she wanted to do something, like go to college for acting, for example, she knew what she wanted to do and there was no stopping her from doing so. Once she has her mind on something, she never stopped until it was accomplished. "Hello, earth to Jughead. You there?" The girl beside me said, snapping her fingers. I snapped out of thought as she waved her hand in front of my face. I move her arm as I roll my eyes, growing slightly annoyed. She didn't say anything or move at all. Suddenly, she did break the silence though as it became deafening. "Are you okay? You've been a bit off lately..." She trailed, but I interrupted her. "I'm fine, Josie. Don't worry about me." She smiled sadly and nodded. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure." I nodded and went silent again. I tried not to worry everyone, but it's hard knowing that there's multiple people in the group that know something's up just by looking at you in a certain way. Especially Josie. You're probably wondering who she is. She wants to be a singer. Every performance there is in school, she roles in. She's also in a band called Josie and the Pussycats with Valarie and Melody, I don't know their last names, but they're really popular. Josie's actually the girl that was trying to make sure I was okay. For the most part, I was, but with this suspicious ink appearing on my arm, it just caused worry which progressed as my actions changed with it. Suddenly, I jump like a cat who just heard a loud bang and I fall off of the table where I sat on top of the table instead of the seat. I soon realized that the reason I jumped that way was because there actually was a loud bang, not a metaphorical one. I stood up and sat back down in my spot as the noise quieted, everyone looked towards the doors entering the cafeteria. There they stood. The most beautiful girls I had ever seen. The back two had these snarky looks while the front one had a confident look. They stepped in and that's when I got a weird feeling and looked at Archie beside me who had also allowed them to gain his attention. He seemed to have stiffened and I made my eyes wonder him in confusion, not in a weird way, of course, but to make sure he was okay. That's when I noticed it. The same thing that was on my arm in the same place, but obviously different design. It wasn't formed much either, but enough to tell ours were different. Then, I looked away to the girls. They walked with such elegance yet sass, but still looked amazing. The one in the front with long red hair seemed to be the hard rock liking badass type with her black Doctor Martin boots, red leather jacket, and Guns and Roses crop top above her black jean shorts. The other girl behind with short curled black hair seemed more classy and elegant with a short purple dress and a leather jacket identical to the red head's, but black instead and black high heels that clicked against the floor with every step. Then the most breathtaking of the three stood in back beside the dark haired girl with wavy blonde hair, a cropped sweater, and ripped blue skinny jeans with heeled boots. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. Soon enough, my breath hitched as her eyes met mine, the blue orbs capturing every single movement of mine. I was in awe. I still couldn't take my eyes off of her as I realize they're walking towards us. Jesus Christ. Who is she?? I question myself though I already knew the answer. The red head stopped right in front of me, making everyone look at me, but I didn't keep my eyes off of the blonde haired one. I remained stilled and she chuckled with a smirk, but what sended shivers down my spine instead was the way the girl I was looking at studied me, with a curious yet soft look on her face and the small smile she sent me as I noticed her. The girl in front bent her knees a bit and pushed her hands against them as she leaned forward a bit, studying me. I could feel her breath on me which didn't change much, so I stayed calm, not taking my eyes off of their position. She continued to study me as her eyes flicked all over me and I stayed in the same spot I was in and she didn't say or do anything. Not long after, she did pull away, but only to question me. "Who's the leader of this school?" "Archie Andrews." I replied, finally looking away with a calm and persistent tone to keep myself from becoming vulnerable to the blonde girl. If I was standing, even just the small smile she sent me would make my knees crumble below me. We all knew Archie being the leader was a lie, but I didn't want all of the attention on me. He elbowed me slightly and I brushed it off. The actual leader was me. Yes, I was the leader, but only because I was the sheriff's son who actually cared about school, for the most part, and made sure everyone was happy. The one's that caused pain, I made sure they wouldn't again, verbally and physically. I would do something physically, if you know what I mean, then I'd leave them with a warning and if they ignored it, I let the board handle it. The girl in front of me narrowed her eyes at me and moved her face close to mine again, but I didn't budge. "Hm. We'll see about that." She stood straight and started walking over to the empty table. I let out a breath of relief that I didn't even know I was holding and sat up, turning to see everyone's eyes on the group still. When the blonde saw I was looking at her, she winked at me with a smile. Chills flew down my spine again and goosebumps rose on my right arm right where the ink was. I looked at it with fear only to see it extend more into it's ending pattern. Oh my God. It can't be. I look around my table only to see Toni and Archie looking at their arms the same way I was at mine. Out of nowhere, fear overwhelmed me. It is. It's exactly what my dad warned me about. The mark everyone was scared of. The one that showed you and your true love's vulnerability. The soulmates mark.

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|Word Count| 2,000
*Ominous music starts* DUN DUN DUNNNNN!! It's 3:00 AM and I have to be up for school tomorrow at 6:30, so I can only write this chapter. There you have it, folks. The first 9 official chapter of The Soulmates Mark! I hope you've liked it so far! Obviously, this book is based off of Jughead's point of view, but that doesn't mean I won't change it or make another based on Betty's point of view. Who knows? Anyways, I'll let you go. Peace!✌️

-JC