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Sure, the whole soulmate thing is nice in concept. Knowing who is destined to be your partner forever takes some pressure off at least one aspect of life. Some people don’t like being so restrained, but Ashton doesn't really mind.
He just kind of hates his soulmate mark.
Everybody is born with lyrics from their soulmate’s favorite song tattooed somewhere on their body. It is, of course, normal for the lyrics to change over time. As new songs are released into the world and people's tastes change.
Ashton is actually considered to be pretty lucky. His mark has been the same for as long as he can remember. There are people whose marks change frustratingly often as their soulmate cruises through a wide variety of music.
But while his mark is consistent, it's consistently embarrassing. Written down the inside of his left forearm in curly font is, 'Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are...'
It was cute when Ashton was like, six. But he's twenty years old and still walking around with a damn lullaby etched into his tanned skin. He can't even hide it, especially not in the constant blazing heat of Los Angeles. Long sleeves are practically extinct. Ashton supposed it's better than his old home in Australia.
Sometimes Ashton forces himself to look on the bright side. It's a cute song, he guesses. A classic. It is a pretty unique mark too, everyone knows Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, but it's pretty much no one's favorite song.
Then the second Ashton finishes convincing himself that his mark is great, his friend Michael steps in to tear into his future soulmate.
"You two are gross," Ashton insists as he uses a long-fingered hand to shield his innocent eyes from his best friends swapping spit on his couch. "get out of my house,"
"This is our house," Michael breaks away from the kiss momentarily to reply. A line of spit disgustingly strings along between the plump lips of Michael and his soulmate, Calum.
Said soulmate whines and pulls Michael's bright red locks until they are kissing again.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Ashton asks no one as he tried to navigate out of the living room and into the kitchen without removing his hand from his eyes. He loudly yells out a line of swear words as he inevitably jams his bare foot into the leg of the TV stand.
"This is the end!" Ashton screeches, dramatically falling to the ground and clutching his injured toe. "I'll never even get to meet my soulmate! Tell them I loved them!"
"Should I tell them they're like a diamond in the sky?" Michael asks with a smirk.
Ashton jolts up and covers his arm defensively, "Don't make fun of them!"
"It's not my fault your soulmate is a five year old girl!"
"They just have a taste for classic songs!"
It's obvious they've had this fight before, the lines are well rehearsed. Calum rolls his eyes, "Don't fight," He offers weakly.
"Not everyone has perfect soulmates who have awesome favorite songs, Michael! Not everyone can be as lucky as you and Calum!" Ashton rants, trying to keep the bitter tone out of his voice.
He remembers the day Michael excitedly came up to him in school and pulled up his shirt to reveal that the words on his stomach had changed to 'Give me one good reason why we need to be like them…'
“It’s my favorite Blink song! My soulmate’s favorite song is my favorite song!” Michael had practically shouted, still holding his shirt up.
Ashton just chuckled, “Put your shirt down, you noodle!”
Michael had beamed for the rest of the day. It had really done something to remind Ashton that the soulmate thing existed for a reason. But he still kind of wished his soulmate’s favorite song was something cooler.
Then they moved to America and almost immediately, Michael brought home Calum. He had instructed him to pull up his shirt, right there in the living room. There on Calum’s tanned and toned stomach was, 'They don't want to and don't fit in…'
Ashton watched as his best friend’s cheeks blushed as pink as his hair at the time as he stared at the words on his soulmate’s abdomen. It was beautiful really, watching Michael reach a pale finger to trace over the skinny letters.
Until they started making out everywhere in the house. Ashton’s not exactly sure when it happened, but Calum seems to have moved in. He should really start charging the other boy a third of the rent.
Ashton gets up off the floor and limps into the kitchen. He tries to ignore Calum lecturing Michael in next room, as if he can’t hear them.
“You should apologize to him,”
“Dude, no!”
“You shouldn’t be making fun of his soulmate!”
“His soulmate has a dumb taste in music!”
“Michael,”
There is a moment of silence, the tension is thick and traveling quickly into the kitchen.
“If you don’t apologize to him, I’m withholding cuddles.”
“You wouldn’t,”
“Try me.”
“You want cuddles just as much as I do!”
“I don’t need to get them from you!”
The silence returns. Then Ashton hears feverish footsteps making their way over to him. He feels Michael’s soft arms wrap around his waist and his tall body pressing up entirely against the other boy.
“I’m sorry,” He says, his tone less sincere than Ashton would have preferred, but he’ll take it.
He pats Michael’s arm, “It’s okay,” He really just wants the pale boy off of him. Ashton likes his personal space. Luckily, he is quickly released from the clutches of his best friend. He sends the red haired boy a quick grin as Michael quickly walks back to return to kissing Calum.
“Wow, I’m gonna go on a walk.” Ashton announces, knowing his friends have no sense of privacy ever. He grabs a pair of shoes to slip on and shouts, “Don’t fuck on the couch!” as he hastily makes his way out of the house. But the flash of Calum's stupid toucan printed underwear tells him he was not haste enough.
It had been getting stuffy in there with all of Michael and Calum’s love filling up the place. Ashton liked the fresh, humid air. Though he didn’t quite care for the sheen of sweat that immediately formed over his skin.
He pushed his bandana slightly up, trying to get his dirty blond curls out of his eyes as he made his way downtown. Ashton quietly observed strangers as he walked, seeking out their soulmate marks to see if it was a song he recognized. Maybe a song that one of his favorites. He didn’t even really know what song was his favorite song. He supposes he’ll find out when he meets his soulmate.
As he approaches the park, he hears a guitar strumming in the distance. He feels kind of...drawn to it. Ashton walks through the lush park grass and tries to pick out where the music is coming from.
Finally, he sees a small crowd gathered around a blond boy. He’s sitting down on the curb at the edge of the park, Ashton can see his broad shoulders hunched over a guitar from several feet away. He tries to stay silent as he makes his way over to the crowd, not wanting to startle the performer.
There is an open guitar case on the ground, but only a few dollars have been tossed in there. But there’s only a few people in the crowd. Ashton sees a mother holding the hand of a little girl who is practically swooning as the blond boy sings an Ed Sheeran song. There is also a couple making heart eyes at each other, arms intertwined loosely, but comfortably. There is a group of three teenage girls. One is recording the whole thing on her phone. Another is softly singing along, pretending to serenade the last one. Finally, a sad looking man in a suit, his arms are cross and his eyebrows furrowed. He looks deep in thought, Ashton can’t even tell if he’s listening to the song at all.
He finds a spot between the teenage girls and the mother and daughter, a bit away from the crowd. He hopes that the boy doesn’t notice him, because Ashton doesn’t have any cash on him right now.
He finishes his song and the small crowd erupts into polite applause. Even the guy in the suit joins in, albeit absentmindedly and probably by force of habit. When one person claps, everyone else claps. Classic human nature.
The boy smiles wide, his teeth straight and white. He’s got sunglasses covering his eyes and a shirt that has a small Green Day patch on it. His blond hair is pushed up into a perfectly messy quiff. He looks amazing, Ashton is kind of breathless.
He needs to take a moment to look away from the boy. Instead, Ashton looks over at the little girl tugging the end of her mom's skirt. The mother bends down with a small smile and listen as the girl whispers in her ear, then chuckles. She reaches into the small bag slung around her shoulder and pulls out a dollar and gives it to the girl.
Shyly, the girl approaches the blond boy, clutching the dollar in both hands. The boy grins at her as she places the dollar neatly in the guitar case.
"Thank you, miss," The boy says, taking off his sunglasses and revealing shockingly blue eyes, "do you have any requests?"
The little girl looks absolutely starstruck and Ashton almost wants to cry. This is the cutest thing he has ever witnessed and will ever witness probably.
The girl looks back at her mother, as if asking permission. The mom nods, smiling supportively at her daughter. The little girl's awed expression somehow increases.
"Um, do you know…” The girl hesitates, as if scared to continue, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?"
Ashton's heart momentarily drops into his stomach. He absentmindedly scrubs a hand over the words that have marked his skin for the last twenty years.
"I actually do!" The boy's eyes light up and he excitedly places his fingers on the neck of his guitar. He lowers his voice, as if whispering a secret to her, but Ashton can still hear him say, "Don't tell anyone but, it's actually my favorite song. It has been since I was a kid."
His heart falls further into his stomach. Ashton's heart may have just fallen out of his ass. There is no fucking way...
"It's my favorite song too!" The girl's voice quickly grows in confidence, getting louder, "The kids in school always make fun of me for it,"
"They used to make fun of me too. Some people still do," The boy digs his teeth into his plush bottom lip, "but they're dumb, okay? Don't ever let someone tell you what you should and shouldn't like."
The girl's fingers clench into little fists and her arms twitch at her side. She obviously wants to hug the boy, but hugging strangers is pretty frowned upon. She's a smart little girl. Ashton glances at the mother who is watching the whole thing with a fond expression on her face.
"Hey, do you think you could help me out?" The boy asks, "I could use some accompaniment."
The little girl beams. Ashton doesn't think he will even be able to make it past this day. Not when The Cutest Thing Ever is happening right in front of him.
The boy starts strumming, playing a very basic melody to a song everyone knows. He starts singing, looking right at the girl, who looks hesitant.
“You start,” He insists. The girl smiles and starts softly singing. The boy joins in after the first line.
Ashton can feel a tingle working its way down his left arm, right under his soulmate mark. He goes to scratch it, but it's an itch that can't be scratched. Or maybe it could be scratched, but only by one person. And that person may very well be this blond boy.
The boy continues singing the second verse, which the little girl doesn't know. No one knows the second verse. No one knows more than the first verse. But the boy keeps singing and singing. The little girl watches in awe as this boy elongates the song she probably thought only had four lines. He makes direct eye contact with her while he sings.
He finishes the song and the girl finally leans down to hug the boy. Briefly pressing a kiss to his cheek before running back to her mom excitedly. The mom places a couple more dollars into the guitar case before lightly pulling her daughter away from the crowd. The little girl waves enthusiastically as she leaves. Ashton watches as the blond boy waves back, adorably.
"Does anyone else have any requests?" The boy asks, his whole demeanor slightly awkward and entirely endearing. No one replies.
"Um, well, this is a song I learned because it's my soulmate's favorite song. I like to play it just in case they're listening," He chuckles, as if the very idea is a joke.
He starts playing a tune that Ashton faintly recognizes. But he can't quite place it. Then the boy starts singing.
"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do,"
Nostalgia washes over Ashton. He loves this song, god, he hasn't heard it in ages. It sounds gorgeous coming out of this boy's mouth. Ashton feels like he has actual butterflies in his stomach. He loves this song, this is his favorite song.
Four minutes later, the music stops and the small crowd applauds again.
"Alright, thanks guys. I think I might actually have enough to get on the bus home now..." The boy says with a small chuckle, gathering the small collection of money in his guitar case. "Uh, my name is Luke Hemmings, if you, like, want to find me on Twitter or whatever. I do parties, uh, sometimes I play at, like, local coffee shops. I do everything and anything. I'm your typical struggling teen musician and all that."
His speech is awkward and so, so endearing. Each sentenced lilted by a hint of self-deprecating laughter, so you never take anything too seriously. Ashton recognizes his Australian accent and is reminded distinctly of home. He wants to listen to this boy speak forever, about anything.
Slowly, the crowd disperses. The teenage girls going on their giggling way, one opening her Twitter app to find Luke. The couple join hands and walk at a slow pace. Ashton feels like he is intruding on something private as he watches them go.
Finally, it's just the sad man in the suit and Ashton standing in front of Luke. The man in the suit looks up from the spot on the ground he's been staring at since Ashton arrived and takes in his surroundings. He awkwardly nods at Luke and Ashton before hastily walking away from the scene.
Luke has placed his guitar gently back in its case and is now counting the money he got. Ashton watches silently as the boy lets out a small curse and looks up at the sky in frustration.
"You good?" Ashton calls. He's still a good few feet away from the boy. Luke jumps at the sound of his voice then shakes his head.
"I'm just a few bucks short of the bus fare," He chuckles, then sighs, "I don't suppose you've got any money to spare?"
"Sorry man, I don't have any cash on me."
"Of course," Luke stands up and, wow, he is tall. He is so tall. Ashton is tall. Michael and Calum are tall. This boy is tall. "I don't know, maybe I'll walk home. Or try to play more somewhere else or something..."
Ashton watches as the boy starts to walk away, guitar case in hand. He watches as his soulmate walks away from him. Ashton Irwin's soulmate is leaving. Why isn't he doing anything? Why isn't he stopping him?
"Luke!" Ashton suddenly shouts, causing the boy to turn back around. He raises an eyebrow in question and Ashton feels like his chest is going to fall in.
"Uh..." The word lingers in the air, as if both boys are anticipating what the next word will be. Silence falls between the two as they share intense eye contact. So intense. Like, soulmate intense. "Can I, um, see your soulmate mark?"
"Oh," Luke breathes out a sigh of relief. He puts down his guitar case and pulls up his sleeve so his whole left forearm is exposed. "no problem, man,"
Ashton gazes at the swoopy letters swirling together to form the phrase, 'Look at the stars, look how they shine for you...' He reads them in the same voice that Luke sang them just moments ago, over and over again.
Luke starts to fidget after a while of just quiet, intense staring. He lowers his arm and rolls down his sleeve, "Uh, so, what does yours say?"
Ashton's throat is dry as he lifts his already uncovered arm for Luke to read the words. Ashton's seen them enough that he's sure he could copy the mark exactly with his eyes closed.
"Oh," Luke says after a while. As Ashton pulls his arm back, the blond boy just stares at the empty space where the arm used to be.
"Yeah," Ashton replies.
"So, you're..."
"Yeah,"
"Oh,"
"Yeah,"
Luke's blue eyes finally snap up to meet with Ashton's. They get locked in yet another Intense Soulmate Stare.
There's no magical thing that happens when you meet your soulmate. The letters stay where they are and act the same throughout your entire life. You're just supposed to Know somehow, when you've met them.
The concept always scared Ashton. How could he ever just Know? What if the whole lyric thing was just a coincidence and he just happened to meet someone who has similar taste in music as his soulmate and he has similar taste in music as their soulmate. How is he meant to Know that it's really truly his soulmate?
But standing in front of Luke, he finally gets it. He Knows that Luke is his soulmate. He's so positive. Ashton is 100% sure that this kid is his soulmate. But did Luke feel the same?
It’s scary, everything is scary. Why is soulmate shit so scary? Ashton is going to have heart problems.
"So, like, you...like Coldplay?"
Luke finally breaks the silence and Ashton can't help but giggle at the question.
"Enough about me, why is your favorite song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?"
Luke's mouth drops open his face forming a comical offended expression. "It's a good song!"
Ashton just keeps giggling.
"You know," Luke crosses his arms, but the smile he can't hold back gives away his true feelings, "I wouldn't have thought that my soulmate, of all people, would be just another person that makes fun of me for my favorite song." He pouts, looking adorably grumpy. Ashton really wants to kiss him.
"I'm sorry," Ashton says through his dying down giggles, "I'm sorry." He repeats, his tone now more serious. "Hey, come home with me,"
Luke frowned a bit, shuffling awkwardly, "I know we're like, soulmates but, we just met dude," He bites his lip nervously.
"No! Not like that!" Ashton shakes his head and waves his hands to express just how much Luke has misunderstood, "I mean, come hang out at my place and I'll give you a ride back to your house."
"Oh, cool," The tension visibly left the blond's body. He gestured in front of him, "Lead the way,"
Hesitantly, Ashton reaches his hand out. He wants to hold Luke’s hand. Really badly. Like, so ridiculously badly. He wants to hold Luke’s hand more than anything in the world. Then the blond boy reaches his own hand out and meets Ashton in the middle. He intertwines his fingers with the other boy’s and Ashton Knows that he’s met his soulmate.
He just hopes Michael won’t make fun of him about his song to his face.