Chapter Text
Troye's scrolling through his Tumblr dashboard at Dan and Phil's dining table, and Dan is on the couch working on editing the videos they just filmed. He's opted to actually get work down, while Troye reblogs Vines and funny text posts. He's scrolling past pictures, but goes back up when he sees a picture of a teenage girl taking a selfie with a boy. The caption reads: I just found my soulmate! Jackson is so lovely!
Troye sighs and keeps scrolling downwards. He's reminded on a daily basis of soulmates, and how most everyone but him has found theirs. He's only nineteen, but at the same time, there are people who are twelve and have found their soulmates. He supposes it's all random, but still. Why hasn't he met his soulmate yet?
"Um, Dan?" Troye asks from across the room.
"Huh?" Dan looks up from the couch, where he's hunched over his laptop.
"This might sound weird," Troye begins, "but what exactly happened when you met your soul—I mean, Phil?"
Dan sets aside his laptop and frowns slightly. "Erm...I don't really remember anything out of the ordinary. Like, I'd been watching his videos but never met him in person until a while later. And I remember we, like, went to shake hands, and that thing happened, and it was like, 'Oh, uh, I think we're soulmates, I guess?' So, yeah."
"Were you happy?" Troye asks.
Dan lets out an amused laugh. "Um, I don't know if I was happy, really. I was more confused, like, this guy that I've been watching on the Internet suddenly turns out to be my soulmate. It was kind of weird."
"But you're happy now," Troye says, and it's not a question because he already knows.
"Well, yeah I am. That's the whole point of this 'soulmates' thing."
Troye nods and turns his attention back to his phone. He doesn't really buy into all this soulmates-glowing-hearts trash that happens, although he's seen plenty of people with their soulmates, or people who told him about theirs. When he was out with Anthony, for example, and he spilled coffee on the girl standing in line behind him. (They later found out her name is Kalel. She and Anthony are getting married this year.)
Some of his friends haven't found their soulmate yet. Tyler hasn't met his soulmate and he says he doesn't mind. ("I'm not about to find out the one guy I'm gonna be with for the rest of my life—I wanna have some fun!")
Troye hasn't found his soulmate. Or at least as far as he knows. But even if he does meet them, he still thinks all of it is ridiculous. How is he expected to want to stay with one person for the rest of his life? Maybe fate didn't tolerate divorces or something. He doesn't know, nor does he care. Soulmates are stupid.
"After editing the videos, do you want to meet up with Zoe and Alfie?" Troye asks. "She's just texted me asking if we wanted to go to lunch with them."
"I was actually going to go out with Phil later," Dan says. "But tell them I said hi. And also that Alfie should propose to Zoe."
Troye smirks. "You tell him that every time we see them." Alfie and Zoe are soulmates, and they've known since they were little kids. It makes Troye really happy knowing his best friends are soulmates. (He might not buy into the whole thing, but he knows they're meant to be.)
"And I'll keep telling him that until he actually does it," Dan says.
"I guess I'll just be third-wheeling," Troye says without thinking. "Again."
Dan shuts his laptop and looks and Troye, his eyes questioning. "I thought you didn't care about this soulmate shit."
Troye over-exaggerates an eye roll. "I don't; I'm just, like, tired of being the awkward person without someone. I mean—I don't care about it, I just want to find whoever the hell my soulmate is and get it over. If I even have one."
"Everyone has one," Dan replies. "That's kind of how soulmates work. Two people who are perfect for each other."
"But who decides that?" Troye cries. "What kind of logic is that? What if my 'soulmate' isn't perfect for me? Who gets to chose who's perfect for who?" He exhales deeply and rubs his temples. "Jesus Christ, I hate all this existentialism."
Dan smiles softly. "You've been hanging around me for far too long."
"You're right," Troye says, standing up from the kitchen table. "I need to get away from you. I'm going to meet Zoe and Alfie."
"Well, thanks," Dan cries, dissolving into laughter, and then calling, "And remember to tell Alfie!"
"Sure," Troye says from the doorframe of the room. "I'll be back later. And when Phil comes home, tell him I say hi."
//
Zoe and Alfie are already seated at a small table in tucked in the corner of the cozy cafe. There's a soft and calm ambiance, and Troye's grateful for the chilled out nature of these kinds of places. (No wonder hipsters loved these kinds of places—they're very relaxing.)
"Hi Troye!" Zoe greets him enthusiastically, pushing back her chair and standing up to give him a hug. Alfie does the same and puts his back firmly as he says, "Good to see you, man." Troye smiles at bot of them and takes a seat next to Zoe.
"So, how've you been?" Zoe asks. "It's been about...two weeks since we all last met up like this. Time does go by fast."
"Um, I've not been doing much," Troye admits. "I was just with Dan a while ago filming some videos."
"Oh, right, where is he?" Alfie says. "Did he not want to meet up?"
Troye shakes his head. "I'm sure he wanted to, but he's waiting on Phil. He said they're going to go out somewhere later."
Zoe giggles. "Those two are perfect for each other—literally."
Troye sighs and nods. Wherever he is, no matter who he's with, there's always a mention of soulmates. (But it's not like he cares. Let them talk about soulmates all they want. He isn't bothered by the fact that he hasn't found his yet. Not at all.) It's something that has been in society since the beginning of time, as far as he knows. In history class they used to discuss the history of soulmates from time to time, how each person is split into two beings from the time of birth, how they have a natural longing to find their other half. And that's another reason why Troye hates all of this—he's told that the ultimate goal in his lifetime is to find his soulmate, that having a partner is more important than anything else the world can give him and he's expected to fall in love with someone he's never met. It's so stupid.
"Right, Troye?"
Troye blinks and focuses on Zoe's face, frowning slightly at him and looking concerned. "I'm sorry, I spaced out. What was that?"
"I was just asking if you were coming to Joe's birthday," Zoe says. "He's invited you, hasn't he?"
"Oh, yeah. Of course." Joe is Zoe's younger brother who Troye's friends with, and sent him an invitation to his birthday party which Troye must've forgotten about. Of course he didn't mean to, and of course he wants to go, but at the same time he might've been hoping that no one would notice if he went or not.
"Joe's really looking forward to seeing you after so long," Zoe says.
"Yeah."
The rest of the time is spent talking about friends and family and what they've been up to, and that one dreaded question which he knew would come up.
("Oh, Troye, you haven't found your soulmate yet?")
When it's time to leave, Troye hugs them both goodbye and takes a cab back to Dan's place. Phil is home when Troye walks in, and he and Dan are immersed in an intense round of Mario Kart.
"Suck my shell, bitch," Dan cries.
"What? Thats cheating!" Phil protests. He glances over, sees Troye, and says, "Troye! I didn't see you there."
"It's okay," he replies. "How are you?"
"I'm good, thanks."
"Not anymore," Dan snorts cynically.
"You can't throw a boomerang at me me while I'm having a conversation!"
"This is Mario Kart, Phil, I can do whatever the hell I want."
"You seem busy," Troye says, amused at their playful banter (they really are perfect for each other). "I'll just be in the guest room."
Troye retreats to the small room down the hallway from the two boys' bedrooms. He resorts to scrolling through Tumblr, watching his friends' latest videos, and reading through tweets until he's forcing his eyelids to stay open. A little while later, there's a knock on the door and Phil's head pokes in.
"Hey," he says, smiling. "Sorry about earlier and not being able to properly greet you."
Troye waves a hand absentmindedly. "That's totally okay, I know Mario Kart can get pretty stressful."
Phil laughs. "Yeah. Well, you look tired, so I don't want to bother you. I guess I'll see you in the morning?"
Troye nods wearily, "Yeah, see you then."
After Phil closes the door when he leaves, Troye rolls over to turn off the lamp on the bedside table. The darkness washes over him, and soothes him into sleep.
//
When Troye wakes up the next morning and trudges into the kitchen, he finds Phil already there with breakfast made.
"Morning, Troye," he says happily as he pours batter into a pan. "Would you like some pancakes?"
"Oh my God, yes." Troye eagerly accepts a plate with several pancakes folded neatly on top of each other. "Dan's a seriously lucky guy."
Phil giggles and ducks his chin to hide the blush. "I guess so."
They sit at the table, talking and eating for several minutes, and then decide to go and wake Dan up after he still hasn't come out of his room. Troye hovers in the doorway as Phil shuffles towards the bed. He takes a pillow that's fallen off the bed and uses it to smack Dan in the face as he yells, "Wake up!"
Dan jerks up and slaps at Phil's body while Troye laughs loudly in the background.
"What the hell are you doing?" he cries.
"It's time to get up," Phil says. "It's eleven and I made pancakes. Troye and I've already eaten without you. And today's Joe's birthday."
Dan groans and flops back down. "Just let me sleep, for fuck's sake."
"We've only got an hour 'till we leave," Troye pipes up.
Dan props himself up on his elbows and squints through fatigue. "Why did I agree to this?"
//
Joe's apartment is filled to maximum occupancy with mostly people Troye has never seen (not that this surprises him, because obviously Joe has other friends, he's very popular, and so on). There's ballooms everywhere and they must've rented a professional DJ booth because people are coming up and messing with the records and sounds, and it's generally a bit overwhelming for Troye. He walked in with Dan and Phil, but lost them only about five minutes after arriving. He's taken to standing around awkwardly and talking to the people he does know and trying to not get in the way of the people he doesn't know. He talks with Zoe and Alfie for a bit, and runs into Joe's roommate, Caspar (they're actually soulmates—they prefer to pretend they're not), whom chats with for a bit. Eventually, he ends up on the couch with a slightly intoxicated Tyler, who's sipping whiskey from a plastic cup while Troye drinks apple juice from a wine glass.
"Where's Korey?" Troye calls over the noise.
"Sick," Tyler replies. "Weak-ass bitch."
Troye laughs slightly and sips from the glass. "I feel really pretentious drinking apple juice from this."
"You are pretentious, twink," Tyler says, smirking. "You have the accent."
"Australian accents are not pretentious!" Troye protests. "That's British. Learn your stereotypes."
"Fuck you," Tyler simpers, but he's dissolved into a fit of laughter.
"Okay, I'm done with you," Troye informs him, standing up. "I'm going to get some food."
"Hey, bring me another cup of whiskey," Tyler demands.
"I'm not a servant; go get it yourself," Troye shoots back, chuckling, and turns away as Tyler flips him off. True friendship, Troye thinks. He shuffles past strangers to try and make it to the tables laden with food, when Joe appears in front of him. There's also a boy standing behind him.
"Troye! There you are," Joe says, grinning. "I was beginning to wonder if you even came."
"Of course," Troye says. "You're just so popular, I never had the chance to say hello."
Joe laughs and says, "Well, it is a bit crazy. I've just been talking to Connor for a bit." He turns around and looks at the boy. "You should meet my friend, he's really nice." Joe pulls the boy to step in beside him. His brown hair is swooped up and he's wearing a nice button-down shirt and Troye thinks he's really pretty.
"This is my friend, Connor," Joe says to Troye. "He's from America. We're both in a film course at uni."
"It's nice to meet you," Connor says with a small smile.
Troye smiles back as nicely as he can without seeming completely infatuated. "I'm Troye. I'm from Australia, so I guess we're both considered foreigners." (He reminds himself to punch himself in the face later for that awful attempt at humor.)
Connor keeps smiling but stays silent. Joe looks as if he's about to say something, when several people call his name and start pulling him away.
"You guys just talk for a minute," he calls. "I'll be right back." And then he's gone.
Oh, perfect. Troye glances back at Connor, who's looking around the room and avoiding eye contact. Troye considers just leaving the conversation as it is and going back to find Tyler, when the man in question comes up from behind Troye.
"Thanks for leaving me alone, you little shit," Tyler says, and then notices Connor. "Oh, you made a friend! Hi, I'm Tyler."
"Connor," the boy says.
"I haven't seen you before," Tyler continues. "Are you one of Joe's friends?"
"Um, we go to the same college," he replies. "We talk to each other sometimes, and...yeah."
"Joe's an attention whore," Tyler quips. "I bet he invited people he doesn't even know."
They continue the conversation like that, Tyler asking many questions and Connor replying with short, soft-spoken answers. Troye sticks around, but refrains from say anything. He's looking at Connor, and for some reason it feels like he's met the boy before — which is absolutely ridiculous, because he knows he's never seen his face in his life. But there's still something about him that seems so familiar.
"I've seen you before," he hears someone saying to him. Troye blinks and focuses on Connor's face, tilted slightly to the side and brows furrowed.
"Sorry?" Troye asks.
Connor glances away quickly. "You just look...kind of familiar."
Troye's breath catches in his throat and all he can think is does he feel it too?
"Troye makes YouTube videos," Tyler supplies helpfully, and of course that's how Connor knows him, not through some weird subconscious connection.
"Right, I watch your videos," Connor says. "You're really funny."
Troye smiles wider than he ever has before. "I, uh, thanks."
A moment of silent passes before Tyler is breaking it (Troye thinks it's a nervous habit, but isn't sure). "Who wants a drink? I'm still deprived of one that someone promised me." He raises his eyebrows at Troye pointedly.
"I never promised, you ordered me," he says, but decides there's no point in arguing with him. He looks over at Connor and asks, "Would you like anything?"
Connor gives a small shrug. "Just some water, thanks."
Troye leaves to get the drinks and hopes Tyler isn't giving the other boy too much of a hard time. After picking up a whiskey for Tyler and a cup of water for Connor, he makes his way back (a more difficult task than he thought previously—every five seconds there's a person in his way that bumps against him and sloshes the drinks around in the cups).
He finds his back to where Tyler and Connor and standing, and as he approaches says, "Okay, it's a miracle nothing spilled on the way here, seriously."
And just like it was planned, upon finishing the sentence, someone stumbles into his back and pushes him forward. Right into Connor. The drinks go spilling over Connor and himself, and Troye all but trips and falls into his arms. Connor grabs his shoulders before they slam their chests together, and suddenly everything around him seems to fade. The sound of the music and people's conversations mutes to a dull thump, as if someone pulled thick curtains all around him. Colors seem to be drained away, people disappearing. All Troye can do is stare at Connor, because he knows what's happening; he can feel it.
Connor is his soulmate.