The Theory of Affinity

Chapter 3 ; Finding

To say that boy ran out of there faster than a cheetah would false saying because he seemed even faster than that.

I couldn't help myself but tore after him, dropping my purse in the process.

"Teagan!" Brenton called after me, but I couldn't focus on him. My every waking thought in that moment revolved around Jonah and catching him.

He dashed through the crowds of people that were walking through the hospital. While he did some kind of maneuvering, I wasn't quite as graceful and bumped into a lot of aggravated people. I threw out some apologizes and continued on my pursuit.

We finally made it outside, the busy city streets even more crowded than inside the hospital. Luckily, Jonah got stuck behind a group of elderly ladies and I was able to gain some distance towards him. It slowed him down just enough that the moment he stepped onto the grass of a park, I toppled into him, knocking both of us to the ground.

His arms wrapped instinctively around me, making him take the brute of the fall while I landed on top of him with a groan. It only took me a split second to get over my initial surprise to realize the predicament I was in.

Being this close to Jonah, I was finally able to completely take in his appearance. His eyes were this pale, green color, something I hadn't seen before. His olive complexion had a few freckles and a little scar was situated across the right of his forehead, just barely being covered by some shaggy dark hair. His nose was slightly crooked and his lips, slightly parted--

"Why is it that you're always falling?" He breathed out with an accent lacing his words. However, even in my dazed state, I could sense the tinge of annoyance.

I felt myself turning red as I got up, brushing myself off. I half expected him to run away again, but instead, he looked me up and down almost as if he were studying me.

"I wouldn't have fallen this time if you hadn't ran away from me," I pointed out.

His face darkened as he stared at me. "I would have thought the message got across the first time we came across each other."

"What message?"

"That I don't want anything to do with you."

His words hit me deep inside, leaving me so stunned that I couldn't even move as he walked away from me. Luckily, I had inherited a temper from my mother and ran forward, grabbing his shoulder and spun him around.

"Don't want anything to do with me?" I questioned. "That's not how it works. We're Matched--"

His hand quickly covered my mouth. "Do you have to be so loud?"

I shook myself out of his graph. "Why? It's true! People can just tell if you're around the one you're Matched with."

Jonah pursed his lips, not saying anything. Why was he so opposed to having a Match? I paused my thoughts, thinking something else. What if it wasn't so much that he didn't want a Match, but didn't want me as his?

"Trust me..." Jonah continued on. "You don't want this. Just live your own life and forget about me."

That's way easier said than done. He turned to leave once more and my hand instinctively flew out. This time, he grabbed it and gave me an exasperated look. The action seemed to surprise us both, heat radiating out from where he touched me. I looked down and the hem of his long sleeved shirt inched up the slightest bit, showing my first name in the grayed out writing.