Chapter Text
Arin had always been on the softer end of the scale. Not necessarily chubby, just softer. Sweeter. His mom had always told him that he had a little extra spark, something that most kids didn't have, that made him more cute as a child, and more kind as he grew older. To Arin, this was a curse. Not because it made him kinder, but because it made some kids meaner. For reasons Arin could never understand, the bullies would always target him, always find the best ways to wound him and, as soon as the wound became too painful, they'd disappear until they could come back and rip the band-aid off once more. This became Arin's routine: Wake up, brush his teeth, go to school, get bullied on the playground, bite back the tears, come home, rinse, repeat. This turned a little easier when he started at the junior high. The bullies were more interested in showing off to girls than picking on him, and Arin met Ross, originally from Australia, whose parents moved to California due to their job. Life was better.
Then Arin turned 14.
It was the summer before High School. Arin was absolutely terrified. He had taken a tour of the high school with the rest of the eighth grade a few days before school had ended. The High School was fucking huge! Two stories, a shit ton of hallways, and offices for everything imaginable! There was an attendance office, a main office, a guidance office.....
"I mean, if there's going to be any more offices, they might as well call it 'office school', right?" Arin smirked as he hung upside-down off the side of his bed.
"I know! What's next, a 'lunch office'?" Ross laughed from his spot at Arin's desk. They had planned to play video games on Arin's Super Nintendo, but they had ended up chilling as they waited for Arin's mom to call them down for "snacks". Both knew that the snacks were going to be more like dinner.
"Maybe a restroom office? 'Could Ross please come down to the office for his daily shit?'" Arin imitated the office worker from the junior high as Ross laughed hysterically. He grinned at his ability to make his friend laugh so hard. He loved spending time with his friends, especially when Barry was able to come over as well, because they always ended up in hysterical tears by the end of the night.
"Be right back." Arin hopped of his bed and chuckled as Ross struggled for breath. Walking to the bathroom, Arin glanced at the familiar photos of his family decorating the walls. As a kid, he had loved hearing the stories of how his mom found his dad, when their name tattoos had appeared on each other, and how it only took a year to find each other. Arin only hoped he would be so lucky as to have a soul mate with an uncommon name or spelling. That was one of the reasons his own parents had given him a more unique spelling, instead of "Aaron". Lost in though, he almost didn't notice the name on his wrist. Almost.
"Oh my god!" Arin whispered. Then he yelled. Insanely glad that he noticed when washing his hands, Arin quickly showed his mom when she ran to the bathroom in a blind panic fearing the worst. His mom's expression went from panic to excitement when she saw the reason for his exclamation.
"Oh, Arin! I'm so happy for you honey!" She gathered him into a hug, allowing Arin to see Ross standing behind her.
"Ross, look! My soul mate's name has appeared!" He shoved his wrist into Ross's face and Ross quickly joined in the joyous excitement.
It took a little while for the excitement to die down, with the boys being taken out for celebratory ice cream and Ross being taken home afterwards. Arin finally settled down for bed and stared at the name on his wrist. Drooping eyes eventually getting the best of him, he fell asleep that night with a smile on his face and only one word on his mind:
"Dan"