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Tré didn’t expect to meet his soulmate when he went out to a random house party that night, but he did, and he’s not sure how to feel about it. Mostly because he never really put much thought into his soulmate; it wasn’t something that he ever obsessed over or anything; if anything, he always figured his soulmate would be some stuck-up girl whose life mission would be to nag at him, like he’s had the misfortune of seeing happen to a lot of his friends and acquaintances as the years continued to pass him by at a rate faster than he’d really prefer.
But life was a journey, and Tré planned to enjoy it to its fullest. Obsessing over his soulmate would only put a damper on the fun.
But it seemed it didn’t matter what he thought about his soulmate, because, as fate would have it, his soulmate came crashing into his life at the most chaotic moment possible. He found himself in a fight against three guys outside on the front lawn of the party house. The base of the music thumped loudly inside, the vibrations radiating in his ears, but despite the noise of the party and the music, all he could hear was the sound of fists hitting flesh and the sharp breaths of his attackers. Occasionally aided by the sound of cheers from the small crowd gathering around the fight he found himself in the middle of.
He wasn’t even sure how everything dissolved into chaos, but then again, he didn’t really care to ask the how’s and/or why’s of the situation. All he really knew was that one second he was talking to some random college kid, and then next said random college kid was throwing punches; the other two came into the picture after Tré had managed to take his attacker down.
And now he was too busy holding his ground to think much about any of it, deflecting punches and landing a few of his own, adrenaline coursing through him. But then, in a moment of chaos, one of them shoved him hard, knocking his petite frame off balance. He stumbled backward and landed flat on his back, the impact rattling his rib cage, instantly knocking the air out of his lungs as a hot, sharp pain began to radiate through the back of his skull.
His vision blurred with the impact as he stared up at the purple, pink, and orange sky above him. Everything sounded like he was underwater from the impact; he could hear the muffled voices of his assailants yelling obscenities at him, but it all sounded like it was being drowned out by the imaginary ocean waves crashing over him. Dazed, he rubbed his face with his hand, trying to regain his senses.
That’s when he felt it: a soft, warm tug on his right pinkie finger. Confused, he glanced down and saw a shimmering gold string tied tightly around his finger, glinting in the dusky pink hues of the remaining daylight. He pulled his hand away, holding it up in front of his face in confusion and curiosity. The realization of what it was hit him like a freight train. This was it—his soulmate had to be nearby. Despite the pain of feeling like he’d been hit by a truck, he found himself curiously wiggling his pinky finger in the air in front of his face. Watching as the glittering gold thread continued to glint in the fading daylight.
It was as if everyone and everything around him had faded away—all the noise, all the commotion, save for the sound of his rapidly beating heart. Wide-eyed, his gaze shifted to the edge of the fight, following the gold string that was strewn across the lawn, until his gaze finally landed on a man with pale skin and striking black hair, who stood wide and bewildered, a familiar gold line of thread attached to his own pinky finger. He was watching the chaos unfold, confusion etched on his face.
“Hey—“ Tré started to say, just before one of the three unarmed attackers kicked him particularly hard on the side of his head, causing the world to fade to black as he felt another sharp pain at the side of his head, along with the sound of his skull crunching against the hard ground in a concerning way.
When he came to, the first thing he noticed was a pair of striking green eyes glittering in the now dark sky above him, save for the final remaking streaks of purple pink light fading into oblivion. The glow of the other man’s green eyes cut through the haze, and Tré could feel his heart start to race as he tried to focus.
“Hey,” a gentle voice whispered, soft and urgent. “Stay with me.” The voice continued. Tré felt himself involuntarily smiling up at the man when he realized that the strange voice was coming out of the strange man’s mouth.
“What... what’s your name?” Tré croaked, his throat dry, feeling a strange warmth spreading through him as he smiled goofily up at the green-eyed man.
“Billie Joe,” the man replied, his voice a soothing balm amid the chaos of Tré’s mind.
Tré's vision flickered as he tried to focus on Billie Joe’s face, his dark undereyes, presumably from lack of sleep, and his slightly chubby cheeks. The world around him felt distant, like a half-remembered dream. He blinked several times, trying to shake off the lingering fog in his mind.
“Billie Joe,” he repeated, testing the name on his tongue. It felt like a melody, a fitting harmony to the chaos that had just enveloped him. The world continued to spin around him with the remnants of the party, but in this moment, all that mattered was the man hovering above him.
“You’re okay. Just breathe.” The man continued, oblivious to Tré’s awestruck expression.
“W-what...?” Tré started, but Billie Joe cut him off.
“You got knocked out. I saw the whole thing. I didn’t know what to do, but I couldn’t just stand there.”
Tré felt a rush of warmth at Billie Joe’s concern, the bond between them pulsing like a heartbeat. “I’m okay now,” he said, forcing a smile despite the throbbing in his head “Thanks to you.” He continued quietly, in a awestruck tone.
Billie Joe’s eyes sparkled with something deeper, and Tré was defenseless to quickly forming electric connection between them.
“You’re stronger than you look,” Billie Joe said, a hint of admiration in his voice. Tré lay still in the ground, in awe of the man’s gentle tone, glimmering eyes, and crooked teeth smile.
“Did I make a good first impression?” Tré asked, half-joking, half vulnerable.
Billie Joe chuckled softly, the sound wrapping around Tré like a warm embrace. “Well, you definitely held your own.”
Tré nodded, feeling an unexpected thrill at the thought that his apparent soulmate was actually impressed by him on some level. In awe of the strange turn of events, Tré lifted his right hand, still dazed, to see the shimmering gold string wrapped around his pinky. It glinted in the fading light, a tangible connection to Billie Joe. The warmth radiating from their bond felt almost electric.
Billie Joe, slowly reached out. His fingers brushed against Tré's, and without hesitation, he intertwined their hands. The contact sent a rush of warmth through Tré, making the chaos of the previous commotion fade into the background. It was just the two of them now, linked by that golden thread and something deeper, something unspoken.
“Looks like we’re tied together,” Billie Joe said softly, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Tré couldn’t help but smile back, his heart racing as he felt a surge of emotion he couldn’t quite name.
Tré’s heart pounded as he processed the weight of Billie Joe’s words. It was a strange feeling, being both vulnerable and exhilarated at the same time. “So, what do we do now?”
“Maybe we get out of here before those guys decide to come back,” Billie Joe suggested, glancing nervously at the party crowd still buzzing with energy. And Tré was abruptly brought back into Earth's orbit, suddenly realizing that he was lying on the lawn of a random house party after being knocked out cold for who knows how long. They shared a moment of silence, both aware that everything had changed in an instant. Tré squeezed Billie Joe’s hand, feeling the pulse of their connection.
Tré stole another glance up at Billie Joe’s green eyes and laughed, the sound light and freeing. Maybe having a soulmate wasn’t so bad after all.