Imogen

My mind was occupied with so many thoughts and emotions over-analyzing the situation I was in. This never would have crossed my mind; my freshman year crush had tried to kiss me. Just remembering when his eyes slid down to my lips made my breath hitch. My body begged for sleep, but my mind was keeping me awake. Two nights ago, I was able to sleep peacefully, not having to worry about my soulmates.

I kept spamming Frankie's phone, but she must have been asleep. She explained that she had to help her father with his campaign. Meaning, I was basically left alone in this. Hopefully, she would have some quality time for me, I missed her.

I was starting to understand why people were usually with their soulmates. It was like I already knew Lucas without getting to know him. Our conversations were as easy as putting on a shoe. Not only could we talk for hours, but we can have an argument without yelling at each other. Which would help in the long run if we continue and start dating.

Drew had always been my crush, and I had been wishing for the day he would say those magic words. Now that it happened, I was left feeling conflicted about who I liked. I needed to figure out who I wanted to be with at the moment and go for it. My body heat was rising, producing sweat under the covers from all the stress.

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Two weeks later.

This morning, I woke up, stretching my legs off my bed and onto the floor. My arms raised up as I gazed at the ceiling. The sun was shining brightly through my light blue curtains. I got up and went straight to the bathroom that was connected to my room. I rushed to start my morning routine since time was ticking.

I went downstairs to make myself some eggs before I had to leave. I quickly shoved the food in my mouth, inhaling them without really enjoying it. I grabbed my bag, keys, and went on my way.

The leaves were starting to turn a beautiful red, orange, and yellow. The magnificent trees, which stood tall and proud, were already losing their leaves, scattering them all over the floor. I looked down at my wrist to still see Drew's name darker than Lucas'. Yesterday, both of their names were the same shade of black, but today, Lucas's was slightly faded. I reached the school and glided in quickly, trying to avoid bumping into anyone. I looked up to meet those beautiful blue eyes.

"Hey, Lucas." I felt my lips form a shy smile.

Our shoulders touched as we strolled down the hallway together. "This might be a little soon, but I wanted to know if you would go on a date with me?" I could see his light skin turned red, and I couldn't help to do the same.

Lately, I'd been spending most of my evenings with Lucas. With Frankie gone at the moment, I had an enormous chunk of time to myself. At first, Lucas and I would run into each other before leaving, and he would invite me for a study session. Eventually, it became a natural routine to always spend our afternoons together.

"Ah, sure. I would love that." I smiled, biting my lip.

His lips curled into a smile. "Good. After school?" he asked, giving himself a pat on his back.

"Sure." He bent down to kiss my cheek, causing my hands to sweat.

We said goodbye and went in different directions. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Drew standing by his locker. I saw him slam his locker and walk towards me. His face looked stiff, not showing his usual radiant glow.

"So, what was that about?" he asked, following me to my locker.

"Not that I have to tell you, but I'm going to go on a date with Lucas," I answered, quickly punching in my combination.

"I want to go on a date with you. He's a dick." He said the last part under his breath, but I could still hear it. I flashed him an annoyed, tight lipped-smile.

"Well, I'm sorry?" It came out more like a question instead of a statement. I slammed my locker shut, proceeding to walk to my class.

"Yeah, you should be," he said.

I glared back at him, watching him lean against his locker. He waved his fingers, an enormous grin flat on his face, making my blood boil. I kept walking, ignoring his comments. I looked down to see Drew's name start to fade and Lucas' name darken.

"What's up with this?"

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After school, I spent my time trying on twenty different outfits. I went with a dark blue dress with a cut revealing my cleavage. I debated if I should wear makeup, and eventually decided I wanted to get dolled up.

I applied some light eyeshadow, trying to do a cat eye, but I was so nervous, that my hand slipped several times. Eventually, I got a good enough result and just put on some lip gloss. I waited by the window for Lucas to appear.

I saw his fancy red sports car pulled up in front of my house. He was from a well-off family, so he had many extravagant things. He got out of the car and walked to my side. He was wearing a black, button-down shirt with shell designs on them and matching blue jeans. As I reached his car, he opened the door for me.

"You look incredible," he said, his eyes drifting to my nonexistent curves.

"Thank you. I like the shells on your shirt." I giggled, fixing his collar.

"Oh, good. I was nervous about my outfit," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"If I may ask, where are you taking me?" I questioned.

"Somewhere special." He smirked, closing the door behind me.

He drove to a fancy restaurant. There were loads of flower beds in front of the entryway. Lucas got out of his car, opening the door for me like a gentleman. He laced my hands with his soft ones while handing out his keys to the valet. When we entered, he nodded at the hostess as if he knew them. He took me all the way to the secluded area with a table that had roses and candles all over it. It was dreamlike, something that happened only in movies or books.

"I already planned the dinner menu tonight. The head chief is my older cousin, so I hope you like steak, potatoes, onion rings, and other stuff," he said, pulling out my chair for me to sit.

He walked to the other side in front of me. His blue eyes were glistening so brightly against the candle lights, I couldn't help but get lost in them.

"That sounds so good. Just imagining it makes my mouth water." I let out a loud laugh.

About twelve waiters had come out with our food. He wasn't kidding when he meant a lot of food. I couldn't decide which to dive into first. The dumplings were calling my name, but the steak looked so tender, and not to mention the potato skins.

"I'm so excited!!" I said, clapping my hands.

"Dig in," Lucas said, grabbing his fork, but it accidentally hit my drink and landed all over my dress. The cold soda sent goosebumps down my skin.

"Oh, my god," I hissed, feeling the wetness seep in.

"Imogen, I'm sorry," Lucas said in a concerned voice, handing me napkins.

I panted, nervous and embarrassed. How had this gone wrong? And it was so cold and sticky. "It's fine," I stood up, ignoring the eyes that were on me. "I need to go to the bathroom."

The bathroom was a single stall but could fit ten people in it. It had a large, quartz sink with candy on the side. There were extra soaps, just in case someone wanted to take them. I tried to rub the soap on my dress and it worked somewhat. I was left with a huge, wet mark on my dress, which was embarrassing. I decided to use the dryer to dry it off until I heard a knock on the door.

"Someone's in here, " I said.

"It's Lucas." I was startled.

I opened the door, looking at the distressed boy. "Sorry about spilling your drink, and your dress is ruined now."

He followed me to the dryer, scanning for the wet strain on my dress. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on my leg, inspecting the strain. Lucas reached over for a napkin, scrubbing it against causing goosebumps to erupt on my arms. His hand was so warm on my wet thigh.  

His fingers traced my bare thigh making my heart beat a thousands miles per hour. His sea-blue eyes stared deep into mine. I could hear a pin drop; that was how quiet it was with just our breaths. The heat between us was almost unbearable now. We both started leaning in until the door slammed open.

"Oh, sorry. The door was unlocked," an older lady said, eyeing the both of us.

Really? Why did you have to enter now?

"It's our fault." I nervously giggled. "We were just leaving."

I latched onto his arm, quickly dragging him out of there. We both burst into laughter outside the bathroom.

"Oh my god! That was so embarrassing." I laughed, feeling my cheeks turn rosy.

He held my hand closer to him, walking me back to our table.

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We were both stuffed to the max once again. We walked to the car, hands laced together, and he drove me home. We kept fighting over the radio stations and I ended up winning. He parked the car right in front of my house, walking over to my door to open it. I smiled, feeling the butterflies erupting throughout my body.

Do you think he can hear how fast my heart is beating?

Lucas rubbed the nape of this neck. "I had a wonderful night," he said. His eyes were gleaming under the porch light, making my heartbeat race.

I bit my lip. "Me too."

He leaned in close, stroking my cheek softly, which caused my breath to hitch. His fingers traced my lips while my arms came around his neck. We crashed into each other. I felt his other hand move up to my cheek so he could deepen the kiss. He tasted tentatively with his tongue as he traced it across my bottom lip. Soon enough, we were swallowing each other, making the kiss more intense. I pulled back to see Lucas's lips still puckered, causing a giggle to escape my lips.

"Wow, that was something," he breathed out.

I laughed, rolling my eyes at his adorable comment. My hands pushed him lightly, feeling electricity roll through me.

Quickly, I glanced down at my wirst finding Lucas's name darker instead of Drew's. "It was," I smiled.  

I felt the fireworks, all butterflies roaming free in my stomach. That was how I imagined my first kiss. I felt like I was in the clouds, flying high in the air with him. He leaned his soft lips on mine for a small peck.

"It's getting late." I beamed.

"Yeah, goodnight." He grinned, walking down the steps, but kept his eyes fixed on me.

"Goodnight." I smiled, waiting for him to reach his car. Once I saw him go inside, I proceeded to unlock my door. When I entered, I waved goodbye to him so he would know I was okay. The lights were all off, meaning my mother must have had a double shift today. I took my heels off and placed them in the shoe bins.

I heard a knock on my door, rushing over thinking Lucas wanted to come in or something. My smile disappeared when I opened the door to reveal the emerald-eyed boy.

My eyes instantly rolled. "Drew, what are you doing?"

"I want to say sorry for acting like a dick," he said in a defeated tone.

My body leaned against my door, "It's okay, I guess," I sighed.

"Are you getting close to Lucas?" He rolled his eyes at his name.

"Why does it matter to you?" I spat.

"You know why!" he said.

"I thought you were joking. . . but why?" I answered.

"I always had a thing for you!" he nervously spoke. "Do I have a shot?"

I sighed, glancing down at my wrist realizing how quickly it changed to Drew's name being bolder. Seriously? I just had a wonderful night with Lucas. Why would Drew's name be darker? Is my wrist telling me he's the soulmate I want? 

"Look, Drew, I'm still figuring things out..." I said, turning around and staring at my wirst. 

"Oh," he muttered.

"It's late. You should go."

He left, and I closed the door behind him. It was so confusing! If only Lucas never entered this equation, I would've picked Drew, but it was different now. I have powerful feelings for Lucas, and I didn't even know what feelings I had for Drew. I always had a thing for him, but he was supposed to be a dream that would never happen. Maybe I just liked the idea of him and not actually him. . .

I looked down at my wrist, admiring the permanent tattoos stuck on them. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but in the end, someone would get hurt. Drew's name was even more faded, and Lucas's name was darker than before.

----

I decided to once again go ask the government for answers. I wanted to rush there and go home. Once again, I greeted the officers when I was at their door. I went straight to the annoying 'soulmate room.' I opened the door, slamming it abruptly.

"What does this mean?" I asked, showing him my wrist.

Why is it that I have two soulmates? Is there a deeper meaning to this, maybe some kind of sick joke to mess with a hormonal teenager?

His plump lips curled into a grin. "I told you that you have to pick one of them. Looks like you already are."

I furrowed my brows, frustratingly running my fingers through my hair. "I didn't choose anyone." I placed my arm against my body.

"Okay, here's the thing. The one you like the most is clearly Lucas since it's darker, and Drew is fading away. Soon enough, Drew's name will completely fade away."

Completely fade away? Like from the earth? Or just from my hand? Why would they give us this much power over others' lives?

"What happens if I don't want that?"

"Either way, you have to choose."

"What if I don't want to?"

"It's illegal. I'm sorry, you have to choose even if they die." My eyes shot wide open, anxiety rushing through me. I stumbled back against the chair, almost slipping to the ground. The room was silent while I gathered my thoughts, trying to make sense of this predicament.

"Woah, you never told me one of them would die!" I exclaimed.

"Whomever you choose will live."

What?

Hii!! I hope you enjoy. I can't wait to upload next chapter, I have so many outstanding ideas and I want to upload as much as I can before my break is over. Goings to be some shocking things!! Should I do Frankie's POV next chapter or should I wait a while??

How do you feel about a soulmate having to die?

What would you do if you were Imogen?

Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting! I LOVE YOU!