The Soulmate System

3. Your Soulmate is Revealed Without Notice

Friday night vanished under beer, whiskey, and fried finger foods before Bryce, Travis, and Chris returned to the hotel. At almost two in the morning, the men tried being quiet, but Chris was grossly sobbing about how Dylan and he were meant to be together; Travis, meanwhile, was trying to suppress his giggling made all the funnier by inebriation.

Travis was the furthest gone, his fits of laughter threatening to wake the entire wing of the hotel. He forgot which room he occupied, wandered into a darkened room, and crashed down on the nearest empty bed.

Chris was also pretty far gone. As he rediscovered that night, Chris was not suited to drinking. After two pints and egged on by Travis and Bryce to doing a further five more, the two men ended the night by needing to pry Chris down from a pub's countertop, telling him to stop singing Aerosmith. His foggy mind meant that he also forgot which room he occupied, so Chris wandered into a darkened room and missed the bed, falling asleep as soon as he hit the floor.

Bryce was the designated sober man, although he didn't want to be. He drank three beers and then spent the night watching over his friends as they fell into drunkenness. His mind only a little foggy, Bryce also forgot what room he occupied, so after sending the two to bed, Bryce fumbled with the remaining keycard to open the door that hadn't been unlocked.

Bryce had enjoyed himself, though; he ended up getting two Potential's numbers and watched his friends make fools of themselves, which he got on video.

"Oh, shhhit," he whispered, as the door behind him clicked shut. Chris had insisted on bringing back something for Dylan to eat, and wouldn't leave the fourth pub until he had something to give Dylan. Bryce loudly clicked his teeth together, deciding to just give Dylan the soggy leftovers tomorrow morning.

He kicked off his shoes, finding the desk light and the wall sconces by the beds were on, something the hotel had done to each room to set its occupants up for a cozy night in.

Bryce sniffed before realising that his suitcase was gone from its place under the window. 'Oh shit.'

Travis had gone into Chris's shared room with Amber, who was already asleep.

Chris had gone into Bryce's shared room with Travis.

And Dylan was asleep at his computer at the desk, dressed in pajamas and hunched over by an opened pack of Revels, its contents gone. Under the soft hum of the desk light, Dylan looked peaceful, but only for a moment. Through his pajama shirt, his green Glow shone through unobstructed, producing a slight frown as his cheek dug into the keyboard. Dylan stirred nervously for a moment before the tinted light vanished.

Rather than do the sensible thing – leave the room and get a spare keycard from reception – Bryce whispered, "Fuck" three times, placed down the soggy food and knocked on the shared wall between them, whispering in an attempt to catch a passed-out Chris's ear.

Bryce didn't realise that he woke up Dylan while trying to wake up Chris.

Dylan couldn't tell if this was a dream or something that was actually happening. His first question to the man three years his senior was, "How drunk are you?"

The sudden sound that wasn't produced by Bryce made him jump. He looked down at the web designer before replying, "I...I'm not that drunk."

Dylan sat up, his arms sore. Eyes heavy, he added, "You woke me up."

Bryce shrugged and waved his hand. "Then just go back to sleep." He returned to tapping his fist against the wall, hoping to hear a response from the other side.

Dylan rubbed his eyes and stood up, his legs shaking. "Bryce, I can't just go back to sleep."

"Sure you can," Bryce told him almost. "It's just like..." He tilted his head to the side, placed his hands together, put them on his face, and closed his eyes. After three seconds of his eyes closed, Bryce straightened up and shrugged. "It's that easy."