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“Allison…. my mark is bleeding.”
It just so happened that Lydia was born in a world where when you turned 16, at some point during that year, a burning pain would occur on any place on your body, revealing a song title, which would in the future become your soulmark. Apparently, the mark represented the song that would be playing when you first met your soulmate, but Lydia has heard the song Where’s My Love multiple times and not once had she run into her soulmate. According to Allison, she would feel it. Well, Lydia wasn’t feeling anything and she had grown tired of it.
Believe it or not, Lydia had been so unexperienced with serious relationships to the point where she had already forgotten that she even had a soulmark. She had started to push away the thought that soulmates were even real; was there really someone out there, that was meant for her, and her only? Was that even possible? Who came up with that rule? It was all ridiculous to her. It was absurd and she wanted to ignore the situation as much as she could, because every time she got her hopes up about finally meeting her soulmate, the exact opposite happened.
That’s why she was bewildered, and even a little scared when she woke up to pain near her ribs and blood soaking her tank top, exactly where her mark was located.
“Oh, Lydia!” Allison cheered gleefully, sprinting from the small kitchenette in their apartment to Lydia’s bedroom, only sporting a large, grey t-shirt which Lydia immediately concluded belonged to Scott.
“That means you’re going to meet your soulmate today! Seriously, right before I met Scott, my mark kept bleeding.”
She remembers the event clearly; she woke up on a Saturday morning to Allison groaning in pain, before immediately rushing her to the hospital only to learn that it only meant that she would be meeting her soulmate that day. Lydia and Allison had not learned enough about soulmarks to know that, so they had panicked unnecessarily.
She also remembers spending the day in the apartment alone, because Allison spent her entire day in town, just hoping to meet her soulmate. She remembers Allison coming back, face blissful, as she recounted the story of her meeting her mate. She also remembers drowning herself in tears and alcohol that night, wishing that her life was as easy as Allison’s and that she had the perfect face and gorgeous dark hair that Allison had and the perfect body and the perfect everything.
“Lydia! Are you hearing me?” She snapped out of her thoughts, realizing Allison had been speaking to her the whole time.
“Sorry, what?” she questioned, pursing her lips. She rubbed at the skin right below her breast, feeling her mark burning against her skin.
“I said you’re coming to the party, because—”
“Ugh, please, Allison, I’ll do anything for you, but do not make me go to that party. I just want to stay home, we can watch some Netflix and relax and give each other pedicures—”
Allison looked at her with the flattest look she could muster, making Lydia snap her mouth closed immediately.
“The only reason you want to avoid the party, is because you’re scared of running into your soulmate. Lydia, I swear, it’s the best feeling ever. Don’t even think for a second that you’ll meet your soulmate and he won’t want you. You’re the best. Anyone would be extremely lucky to have you as their mate.”
Lydia sighed, shutting her eyes. She wanted to believe Allison, she really did, but come on, she was already 22, and she still hadn’t met her match. It felt like it was never going to happen.
“Just come to the party. I’m telling you, I think you’ll be lucky today. Trust me.”
Lydia looked up at her best friend, her heart swelling. Sometimes, she wished her mate was Allison. Everything would have been so much easier; they would have been so happy together.
Sadly, fate didn’t work that way, so she had to accept her as a best friend only. She just wanted to meet the mystery person she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with before she ripped her hairs out.
- * - * - * - * -
“Now remember,” Allison started as they headed towards the party in Allison’s car. “You’ve got to touch him first. I don’t know if it’s the same thing for everyone, but I know that’s how it went with Scott—”
“Allison.” Lydia deadpanned. “I’ve heard this story before. I do not need to hear it again.”
“You don’t,” Allison shrugged. “But I’m telling you again because you’re going to meet him today and I need you to be prepared.”
Lydia sighed, leaning back into her seat as Allison told her the story of how "Scallison" came to be. “I ran into many guys as Ultralight Beam came on, and I never felt anything. I had lost all hope, and then, when I sat down in his coffee shop… I knew it was happening, and then he just… he handed me my coffee and the feeling that occurred in my body when we touched, Lydia… I can’t even describe it. It was euphoric. That's when my soul mark turned golden. It's pretty obvious and self-explanatory. You’ll know when it happens.”
“Thank you, Allison. Very informative, that was. That’s definitely something I didn’t know before.”
Allison rolled her eyes at her, pulling over at the house where the party was occurring. It was at one of Scott’s co-workers’ house; Lydia was pretty sure she had heard the name Isaac multiple times.
“Don’t forget to smile,” Allison squealed, as she stepped out of her car, dragging Lydia along with her. Lydia took in a deep breath, mentally and physically preparing herself. “I can do this.”
- * - * - * - * -
She couldn’t do this.
She found herself sitting on the grass behind the large house, the music echoing through the door, but slightly muffled, making her feel more at peace. She dropped her head into her hands, completely overwhelmed. She was hopeless; for a moment, she thought that maybe today was her day and she would finally meet her soulmate, and yet, here she was, alone, outside, and it seemed that no one had noticed she was even out here. Even Allison was inside, probably making out with Scott someplace.
She was ready to leave the party and call a cab when she heard the sliding doors open, and she turned just in time to see a young man, most likely her age, trip over his feet. He swore, closing the sliding door quietly, which didn’t muffle the music whatsoever, before turning towards Lydia.
“Hi.”
He startled, noticing Lydia sitting on the grass. He placed a large hand to his chest, taking in a large breath.
“You scared the shit out of me.”
Lydia wiggled her toes between the grass, looking down at her feet.
“Sorry.”
Quietly, he came to sit down next to her, also kicking off his shoes and staring off into the oblivion of the sky, void of the usual constellations it showed. He fiddled with his fingers as they both sat quietly.
“So,” he cleared his throat. “Great party, huh?”
“Not really.”
He nodded, throwing her a lopsided smile before looking back up at the sky.
“I don’t disagree. I didn’t want to come here either.”
Lydia turned towards him, finally taking in his features. He was sporting a green plaid, the sleeves rolled down to his wrists. He was wearing a dark pair of pants, and his hair was completely disheveled, but had a soft look to them. Lydia had to turn away to prevent herself from running her hands through it. She could feel a blush rising to her cheeks, and despite the darkness, hid her face between her knees, feeling the bun she had made on her head come undone. She sighed, ignoring it. She was too tired to fix it.
“I’m Lydia.” Lydia spoke up, voice muffled by her knees. She could hear the boy shuffle before he spoke up.
“Stiles. It’s nice to meet you on this otherwise uneventful day.”
Lydia giggled, looking at him. She realized he was already staring back at her, and turned her head towards the sky. He started a small conversation with her as she picked at the grass below her, and in a good five minutes she had found out that he worked as a TA at the small college near her apartment. She revealed to him that she was on her last year of university, and was planning on pursuing a Masters degree in Psychology and Psychiatry before taking a more in-depth training.
“Does that mean eventually you’ll be referred to as Dr. Lydia?” he joked. Lydia laughed, running her hands through her hair.
“Actually, Dr. Martin, they always refer with the last name,” she corrected, shrugging one shoulder.
Stiles looked at her, face fond. Lydia wanted to know what he was thinking about but didn’t have enough bravery to ask, so she looked down at her feet. After a moment of silence, she felt her heart sink. It was thirty minutes to midnight and she still hadn’t met her soulmate. She just wanted to go back home, despite the company that Stiles had given her, that she was surprisingly grateful for, considering she had literally just met the guy.
“I came to find my soulmate,” Lydia finally admitted, a lump forming in her throat. “My mark seemed to be dripping with blood this morning, and my friend had revealed to me that usually that only happened when you were about to meet your soulmate. The day's almost over and nothing has happened. Seriously, does God hate me that much?"
Stiles stared at her, his face showing off no emotion. Sighing, Lydia let out all her feelings. She deserved to be listened to.
"Seriously, it would have even been romantic too! I mean today, on Valentine's Day, out of all days, I would meet my soulmate. Gosh, I'm so hopeless. I can't believe I actually thought there'd be a chance that I'd meet him today. I should've known not to believe in this stuff in the first place."
As if on cue, Where's My Love by SYML, the song that her mark was inspired from, started playing inside. Lydia threw her arms up in the air, completely destroyed.
"According to this song, I'm supposed to meet him in the next four minutes. Right."
"What?"
She startled when she finally heard Stiles speak up again, since she had technically forgotten he was there. Sighing, she reached for her crop top, lifting the hem and rolling it up until most of her ribcage was exposed. She ripped off the bandaid that covered the mark, blood staining it.
"Consider yourself lucky, I usually don't show my mark to anyone."
Stiles only stared at her, realization crossing his features. Lydia frowned at him, letting go of her shirt.
"What's wrong?"
"I just... It's just ironic," he huffed, his face filled with multiple emotions. "It's ironic because my mark was also bleeding today. I was also searching for her all day." He then turned to look at Lydia, determination crossing his features. "And it just so happens..." he reached for his left sleeve, rolling it up before ripping off the bandaid that covered most of his forearm, revealing three printed words on his skin. "...that we have the exact same mark, and that the song is playing. Right now."
Lydia looked down at his arm, the words echoing in her mind. Where's My Love.
Was Stiles her soulmate?
He looked at her intensely as it seemed like the song kept getting louder and louder. Slowly, Stiles leaned his body towards her, eyes flickering from her eyes to her whole face, like if he was taking her in.
"I'm scared," Lydia admitted, pushing her head back slightly.
"Of what?" Stiles whispered, hands hanging mid-air.
"I... All the signs are pointing in your direction. I want it to be you. I'm scared it won't be..."
"Can I touch you?"
Lydia breathed in, her breath coming out shaky. If he touched her and she felt nothing, that meant all her hopes of her finding a mate would be out the window. That was her last straw.
She nodded, and Stiles slowly raised his hand, lightly placing his fingertips against her cheek.
When he did, it felt like the whole world had disappeared, and it was just the two of them. She could feel... A chill, run from his fingertips, to her cheek, down her spine, all the way to her toes. She felt like she couldn't breathe, but she felt like she was swimming in the clouds. She felt like her vision was blurred but everything was clearer. She could hear the words of her song, her mark, echo through the atmosphere.
"Does she know that we bleed the same?"
Suddenly, the feeling left, and it felt like she had come down from her high. It seemed like all she could see was Stiles. He was all she could see, all she could smell, all she could think about, and she yearned for his touch once more.
When she looked down at Stiles' arm, the words that used to be written in jet black had turned a light, shiny, golden colour. Lydia immediately reached for her shirt, making sure that hers had changed too. It had.
She looked up at Stiles, finally realizing that it was him. Through all the ups and the downs, the wasted relationships and the guilt and pain, she had finally found him, and she did not want to let him go.
She only stared at him, not knowing what to say, as he looked back at her. Slowly, he reached for her hand again, fumbling with her fingers. She felt the butterflies erupt in her stomach, and her mark burned under her shirt, but it wasn't painful. If felt... Relaxing. She was relaxed. She was with her mate; there was nothing better than that.
"I guess you could say you spoke too soon, huh?" Stiles chuckled, finally speaking up after realizing that he had just met his freaking soulmate.
Lydia was unable to respond. She didn't know what to say, she just felt so much love for the man in front of her. What Allison was telling her wasn't lies; she was right. About everything. About falling in love immediately; Lydia now knew Allison hadn't lied, because she could feel it.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Stiles spoke up again, biting his lower lip. Lydia tracked the movement with her eyes, her heart racing.
"Where to?"
"There's this amazing little coffee shop downtown, they have some great pie there. It's uh, open 24 hours. I was thinking maybe if we're going to be mated for life, maybe you should know where my favourite place to find pie is. Plus, Scott, my best friend works there."
Lydia was blown by how much this situation wasn't awkward. She expected shy touches and rosy cheeks, but she had never felt more comfortable in her life. She wanted to lie on his lap and breathe him in, she wanted to run her hands through his hair, she wanted to wrap her arms around his waist and never let go.
She wanted him, she wanted all of him.
"Let's go then, shall we?"
-*-*-*-*-
When Allison got home the next morning, Lydia was fiddling in the kitchen, brewing some coffee and flipping some pancakes. Allison looked, and then did a double-take.
Lydia never cooked.
"Lydia? Are you okay?" Allison approached her, heart racing with worry. It's when she got closer that she noticed that Lydia was wearing a large green plaid shirt. She never wore plaid! That wasn't even her size!
Lydia turned towards her, a huge smile on her face.
"Call Scott. Tell him we're going on a double date tonight," Lydia spoke, unable to hide her grin. Allison immediately frowned. Lydia was single. What the hell?
"Double date? But..."
"It turns out my soulmate is best friends with yours. Isn't that perfect?" Lydia beamed, her eyes crinkling at the sides as her smile widened. Allison looked at her flatly, before realization dawned on her.
"You met him! You found your mate!" Allison squawked, throwing her arms around Lydia's neck. "Oh my God, Lydia!"
"I know, and he's so cute, Allison. Oh my God. These soulmate gods know exactly what they're doing."
"I don't think that's how it works," a voice behind them mumbled, making the girls both turn around. Allison frowned when she noticed it was Stiles, Scott's closest friend, before she realized that he was only wearing dark pants, his chest bare. She looked down at Lydia, and then connected the dots.
"Stiles is your soulmate?!" Allison shrieked, but the words were barely taken in by Lydia as she ran towards Stiles, wrapping her arms around his waist and connecting her lips to his. Allison could feel her own heart flutter, and she smiled brightly, turning towards the oven to flip Lydia's pancakes before they burned.
She then reached for her phone, immediately calling Scott.
"Hey, babe, did you get home okay?"
"Yeah," Allison murmured. "Stiles is here. With Lydia."
Silence. Then, "Stiles is your best friend's mate."
"Yes," Allison replied, holding her breath. Then, Scott let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank God. Oh, Lydia's awesome. Things are so less complicated now, aren't they?"
"They really are," Allison squeaked, turning to glance at Lydia and Stiles, who were fooling around in the kitchen. Lydia was looking over the pan, flipping her pancakes while Stiles nuzzled his head in her neck, placing light kisses. She could see Lydia blushing across the room, and she felt like crying of happiness. Her best friend had finally found her true love.
"She wants to go on a double date tonight," Allison spoke up. Scott chuckled, before responding. "It's a date."
"Perfect," she smirked, observing Stiles and Lydia once more. She had turned off the pan, multiple pancakes stacked on a plate, and she had her arms wrapped around Stiles waist as he played with her hair, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. She frowned, turning back to her phone.
"You know, we could have saved the both of them so much trouble if we would have just introduced them to each other. I mean seriously, we've been dating for a year, and we never introduced Stiles and Lydia to each other! Our best friends!"
Scott groaned. "We're such idiots."
Allison sat down on the bar stool around the island, glancing at Stiles and Lydia. She sighed, happiness filling her heart. She was happy, and her best friend was happy.
"Honestly, I don't care," Allison whispered, as Lydia leaned up to place a light kiss on Stiles mouth. "I'm just glad they found each other."