Patton looked at the numbers on his arm. They haunted him. He just wanted to know what they meant, but he was a confused gay at his core, and math made no sense to him. He would've googled it, but some of the symbols were really weird, and he just really didn't understand it. He would ask his parents, but they were also confused gays. He was literally surrounded by idiots, such as himself, that couldn't do math. What was with gays and not doing math? He'd heard that some of them could, but such gays were legendary, and he'd yet to meet one.

He'd talked to his dads about his Mark, and they suggested asking his math teacher. His math teacher had a boring voice, and seemed rather mean. Patton elected to not ask his math teacher. Instead, he was joining Math Club. It certainly wasn't his scene, and he was rather nervous. He was really, really awful at math, and he mostly wanted to talk to the leader of the club, just in case they had any idea what his Mark was. He asked around, in case anyone knew who the leader was. "Those nerds? Yeah, I stay away from them. Wonder if it's contagious..." said this one dude Patton asked. "I really don't know, you should ask them." said this one girl. "I mean... math." said Roman, Patton's best friend. Roman was a theater gay. Aka, a very loud gay with a love of musicals and a loud voice. He was also bad at math.

Finally, Patton just decided to join the Math Club. He already knew it would be awful, humiliating, and boring, but maybe he'd get better at math in the process. He really wanted to know what the heck his Mark was, and he really wanted to meet his soulmate.

He was a bit of a romantic. He grew up reading all of the marvelous stories and watching all of the romantic movies. He knew what he wanted his future to look like: a strong prince, who would sweep him off his feet and save him and protect him, and maybe look really cute in a tie-

He also had a slight thing for nerds. Unfortunately, male nerds were usually straight guys pining for a girl way out of their league. So, he was just living his best life, crushing on pretty much any guy who he stumbled into, and basically just wanting his soulmate.

He'd heard so many beautiful stories. So many people swept off their feet by just the right person, so many people who were so happy and felt complete, and Patton wanted that. He wanted that happiness and that glow that everyone seemed to have. He wanted that life; he wanted love, he wanted magic, and he wanted someone who was the missing piece of him, someone who would love him no matter what. He wanted that storybook romance, and he knew it was possible. It was happening every day!

He was ready. He was going to complete his fate, he was going to be happy, and he was going to find his soulmate.

He asked his teacher.

"Where does the math club meet?"

The teacher gave him that look he hated.

"Did you let one of them use a pencil or something?"

"Um... I was looking to join?"

The teacher gave him that disbelieving, shocked look, the one he had been expecting.

"You looking to raise your grades? Need one of them to do your homework?"

"Um... I just want to join them."

The teacher sneered, reminding Patton vaguely of the Matchmaker from Mulan as he said "Why?" in a judgemental voice.

"I want to get better... at math." It wasn't a lie, he really did. He just had a larger motivation, one that he preferred to keep to himself.

He didn't expect what happened next.

The teacher got a smile, gave him a nod, and said "If you really want to get better, I also offer tutorials, and I can work one-on-one and help you understand your assignments."

Patton nodded. He really thought the teacher hated him, but Mr. Thompson was actually being... nice. Patton managed a smile.

"Thank you. I'll think about it, but for right now, I just need to know where the math club is."

Mr. Thompson nodded. "It's room 104, up the stairs and down the left hall."

"Thank you!" Patton darted into the hallway. It was almost third period, but he and a bunch of other sophomores had second period off, and he heard that this was when Math Club meets usually. He walked down the hall, to the staircase. He was so excited! He might finally know more about his Mark! A thought struck him, and he paused just before the staircase.

What if his soulmate was in math club?

He shook it off, since it was ridiculous. A whole world was out there, and the chances of his soulmate being in his school were infinitesimal.

He practically bounded up the tiled steps, taking them two at a time. There wasn't anybody in the hall, and he was able to move quickly. He began counting the door numbers.

130

129

128

Hallway

100

101

102

103

Hallway

107

108

Well, he wasn't the best at math, but there was a gap there.

He looked into the hallway. 106 and 105 were there, and there was...

Ah! 104!

He headed down, and the bell rang. Students began pouring from the classrooms, and he clung to the wall to avoid being trampled or carried away. The tide of students slowed after a minute, and he continued down the hallway.

He slowly opened the door, hoping someone from math club was still there.

The room had white walls, two giant white erase boards, a window in the corner, all of those signs like "Never argue with a 90 degree angle. It's always right." and "I'm a math teacher. Of course I have problems." The name on the plaque on top of the teacher's desk said "Mrs. Hall"

A young man about Patton's age sat in a front desk. He was pale, with dark brown hair and glasses. He was rather thin, had a few pimples, and dark eyes. He wore a black polo and jeans, and he had a tie on.

He was really cute.

"Stop drooling, Patton!" He told himself, and walked into the room, very aware of himself.

"Hi."

The young man refocused on him. "Salutations."

"Um... are you part of the math club?"

The young man blinked once, fixed his slightly crooked glasses, and made his face a neutral mask.

"I am the leader of the math club."

"Stop drooling, stop drooling, stop drooling." Patton thought to himself.

"I was wondering if I could... join?"

The young man smiled, something that made Patton's heart rate accelerate and his face warm. He smiled, almost against his will.

"Sure, just come to the next meeting."

Patton almost did a cartwheel. He was one step closer to finding his soulmate!

He said a quick "Thank you." and headed to his next class as quickly as he could.

He couldn't wait to meet his soulmate!