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Light had just started to seep through the crack in TJ’s curtains when his alarm sounded off on his nightstand. He groaned and shut his phone off in habit. Why did he have to go to school? He’d been up past midnight finishing his math review, and his body was currently hating him for the lack of sleep. But he couldn’t help it. If he wanted to get into college he had to work hard.
He sat up with a reluctant stretch, fixing his long pajama sleeves. They never failed to twist in his sleep. And with the cooler weather arriving early this year, he had the awful feeling he’d have to wear them more than usual.
Something on his arm caught his eye, and suddenly his troubles of being cold seemed completely irrelevant.
It was his birthday. His 18th birthday.
He must have been so busy with homework last night that he forgot to roll up his sleeves and look before he crashed. But now there wasn’t any doubt. He truly was older than his soulmate. He had turned 18 first.
And now, sitting neatly in an extremely generic font, were five words sprawled across his forearm. I knew it was you.
A million thoughts suddenly flooded his mind. It wasn’t like this was the first time he thought about turning 18 and finding his soulmate. But seeing the words printed on his forearm… it was surreal.
What did that mean? I knew it was you? He tried to think of having a conversation with anyone in which those words would come up. Unless he snuck up on someone that he knew and they sensed his presence before he could speak, like a surprise prank gone wrong…
But he wasn’t the type of person to do that. Not on a school day when he had a math quiz to worry about. And especially not on his birthday.
He got out of bed and tried to get through his morning routine without making his brain explode. What would he say to people when he got to school? Should he act casual, pretend it wasn’t his birthday? Or should he go out of his way to greet everyone in a special way?
Then again… what were the odds that his soulmate was someone he already knew at school?
This thought made him pause in his bathroom, toothbrush still in his mouth. Someone he knew. Like… Cyrus Goodman. The boy with the kindest smile and contagious positivity. The boy that had helped TJ overcome so much since first meeting him five years ago. The boy that made his heart jump in his chest and his stomach twist into knots. Could he even get his hopes up? Was it even possible that everything he felt and he thought he saw reflected back…
He shook his head. Don’t think about it. Obviously, whatever was gonna happen was going to happen. It was printed on his arm as proof. Those were the words that his soulmate would speak to him. Whether it be today or tomorrow or ten years in the future.
He threw his Grant HS Basketball hoodie over a T-shirt and smoothed out his jeans. If he was thinking this much about the words on his body, he wondered how his soulmate was doing. Did he wake up in surprise because he didn’t know his soulmate was older than him? Or was that chance… that it was who he secretly hoped… possible and he knew it was his birthday today?
His mom didn’t help calm him at breakfast. She took a picture of his arm and sent it to his dad (a note on the fridge in his handwriting told TJ how sad he was that he had to go into work early and miss the reveal). His mom then proceeded to talk about how her baby was all grown up. He only went along with it because she had baked him a batch of blueberry macadamia muffins. When he got out of the house to go to school, he sighed and stared up at the clouds. He couldn’t help wondering if Cyrus was already there, and if he too had words printed on his arm…
Mornings typically weren't very exciting for Cyrus. His routine of waking up and getting dressed and eating breakfast and going to school… It was all incredibly normal. That’s why, when his alarm woke him up, he didn’t expect a lot. He thought he would reach out to turn it off and not think twice about it. But when he cracked his eyes open to look at the time, his heart nearly stopped beating.
His long-sleeve had rolled up in his sleep, revealing two words printed on the skin of his forearm. Hey Underdog .
He stared at it for a long minute before the words came out of his mouth, speaking the thoughts he’d forgotten were there. “It’s TJ’s birthday.” 18. It was his friend’s 18th birthday. And words had appeared on his own skin. Did that mean…?
He flung himself out of bed and rushed to get ready. Don’t get your hopes up, Cyrus , he kept telling himself. Don’t get your hopes up… What were the chances that it was actually TJ? What if some other boy out there happened to have the same birthday as TJ, and was his soulmate? It wasn’t impossible. But…
It was TJ’s 18th birthday. And Cyrus was still 17. Neither had received their soulmate’s words before today. And the words he had- Hey Underdog. The “U” was capitalized, as if someone were calling him underdog instead of his real name. And Underdog was TJ’s nickname for him. Ever since that day at the park, when they talked on the swing set. It was their thing. Just like somersaults and muffins.
What would he do if it really was him? What would he say back? What do you say to someone when you think they’re your soulmate? Someone that you’ve secretly hoped for for years?
TJ Kippen. The captain of the basketball team. With soft green eyes and cute, perfectly stylized hair. The boy that had secret talents like playing the piano that only his friends, including Cyrus, knew about. The one that helped him come out of his shell and learn to live life without constant fear.
He couldn’t keep it inside of him. When he got downstairs he called for his mom and step-dad's attention. Then, without explaining, he pulled back his sleeve. After listening to his mom squeal for five minutes, they took a picture of it and he sent it to Andi and Buffy.
And they helped him decide. He would go to school and wait for TJ by his usual parking spot. He couldn’t go through the whole day at school waiting, wondering if his soulmate was one of his best friends. And he hoped that he wouldn’t be disappointed.
TJ silently cursed to himself as he turned into the school parking lot. His nerves and built up energy resulted in him leaving his house early, beating the morning congestion that consisted of about four hundred other high school students arriving before the bell.
He was fifteen minutes earlier than normal. How was that even possible? He huffed out a tense breath as he rolled past the rows and went to his usual spot. And then his heart did a somersault.
Cyrus Goodman was sitting on the curb, scrolling on his phone, looking determined but slightly nervous. His eyebrows were furrowed together in that way that made TJ smile. Suddenly, it felt as if the world had been lifted off his shoulders. There wasn’t any need for worrying. Not when he had Cyrus. Just the sight of him was enough to put TJ at ease. It was his birthday. He didn’t need to overthink.
He parked his car and grabbed his backpack out of the passenger seat. Cyrus had stood up and turned to face him, shoving his phone in his pocket. TJ grinned and stepped out, autopilot turning on. “Hey, Underdog!” The words left his mouth before he could think, and it made him stop in his tracks.
He stared at Cyrus, panic briefly flowing over his body. He’d spoken. He couldn’t go back. Were those the right words? Did Cyrus even have anything written on his arm? What if he’d screwed all of it up?
He tried to read Cyrus’ face. The boy was staring back at him, and it felt like time slowed to a stop as his eyes slowly widened. As if the longer the words sank in, the more unbelievable TJ seemed. A smile tugged his lips up and he blinked, his eyes growing soft.
TJ’s heart drummed against his ribcage in anticipation. Cyrus grinned with relief, a small laugh escaping his lips. Something welled in his chest and made his eyes water, causing TJ to worry for a split second that he was going to start crying. “I knew it was you.”
TJ’s breath hitched in his throat as he looked down at his own arm, pulling his sleeve back and staring at the words. He looked back up at Cyrus in disbelief. The boy kept his smile as he rolled back his own sleeve. Their words reflected back at each other, and they watched as the letters slowly faded from their skin, leaving a faint tingle on the surface.
They stood in blissful silence for a long minute. TJ wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to function properly again. His smile matched Cyrus’ on a level he couldn’t describe. “Um…” He tried to form words. His brain wouldn’t let him. “Hi.”
Cyrus laughed and took his hands in his, staring up into his green eyes. “Hi.”
“I… You, um.” TJ shook his head to try and get his thoughts back. “You knew it was me?”
“Well,” he shrugged, “Who else would call me Underdog?”
TJ laughed and intertwined their fingers. “Yeah, I know, but… I never thought that you would… you know.”
“TJ.” Cyrus let go with one of his hands and pulled him down, kissing him. Then all he could feel was Cyrus.
His gentle fingers in his hand; holding the back of his neck. His nose rubbing against his own. The zipper of his jacket pressed against his hoodie. His soft lips. The way they were so perfect. Years of sharing muffins and inside jokes and longing looks and growing trust- everything coursed through them. Like a bottled inferno finally getting oxygen.
Cyrus pulled away. “I’ve loved you for years, Silly.”
TJ kept smiling. “Then I guess that makes two of us.”
A car honked near them before they could say anything else. Buffy rolled down the windows on the driver’s side, revealing Marty in the passenger’s seat, Andi and Jonah in the back.
She moved her sunglasses on top of her head. “Well- looks like someone didn’t have to go long with words on their arms.”
“Haha.” TJ pretended to be annoyed as he wrapped an arm around Cyrus’ shoulders. The boy responded by wrapping one of his around TJ’s waist, pressing his head into his shoulder. “You’re just jealous I’m older than you.”
“I would never -”
Andi cut her off by leaning out the window. “When are you gonna tell Amber?”
“My sister doesn’t need to know everything!”
“Aw, c’mon.” Andi pouted. “We had money on it.”
Cyrus gasped. “Andi!”
“What?! It was just for fun…”
They pulled into their parking spot and walked into the school together.
The next morning, when light seeped through the crack in TJ’s curtains, he wasn’t upset about waking up. He could only think about Cyrus’ brown eyes and warm smile, and how his heart would flutter in his chest for the rest of his life.