The Soulmate System

10. Little Things Can Unintentionally Act as Sparks for A Relationship

"What?" asked Travis. His question went unanswered.

Bryce nodded, forcing a smile that quickly dissipated underneath a wave of mental exhaustion. "I haven't slept for a while. I, I think," he told them, chuckling lightly, which was poorly placed. "I'm sorry," he whispered, glancing to Dylan, "that I made fun of your insomnia. It sucks, it's awful. I'm so sorry."

Dylan snickered lightly, something that was also poorly placed, before leaning forward over the table. "You know you already apologised, Bryce. You're okay."

"I still feel bad for it," Bryce mumbled, stuffing an alarming amount of crisps in his mouth. The next words spoken were muffled and specked with spewing crumbs, followed quickly after by a coughing fit that last about a minute.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?" asked Chris, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

Dylan blinked. "What? I'm just having a conversation with my coworker."

"That you hated up until just now?" asked Chris.

"What? I can't have a change of heart?" asked Dylan, his eyes narrowing.

"Sure, but with no explanation, no."

"Chris, calm down," put in Travis. "It's nice to see them not tearing each other's throat's out. Last time we saw them like this for this long, they got into a screaming match over Bryce's date with Dylan's sister."

"But you sure you're all right?" asked Amber, who leaned forward to look at the developing rings under Bryce's eyes. "You look worse than he normally does." She pointed to Dylan.

Bryce didn't respond. Inhaling loudly with his breath now stable, he smiled and packed up his lunch. "Sorry, guys, I just realised that I have work I have to do." And Bryce left the room, his coworkers watching his departure curiously.

'What happened?' wondered Dylan, the fleeting longingness in his chest slowing his breath. Dylan went back to eating, but watched the exit with almost saddened eyes.

Bryce tried to throw himself into his work, but only completed half of what he wanted to accomplish. His mind was still elsewhere, resulting in a physical response of his face on his desk, with his hands rolled into fists. Bryce just wanted to return to work. He wanted it to stop.

While yearning stubbornly dug into the empty void in his chest, euphoria seemed to be absent, replaced by something even more uncomfortable. Legs bouncing against the floor, Bryce processed what he felt, which only made the remainder of his day worse. It was a different form of longing; the type of longing where you wish to be closer to someone but something intangible is preventing you from doing so. That unbearable feeling that seems to heighten someone's loneliness.

But all Bryce needed to know was that it was agonizing. 'I can't handle this,' he mused, face contorting in pain as his chest tightened.

Dylan processed the sensation differently, believing he was just gaseous from something he'd eaten. But, having taken the time to observe his Soulmate from a distance, he began contemplating what had happened to make Bryce so...'Contemptible?' his mind suggested. Dylan was appalled by the word.

While Bryce's mind was elsewhere, Dylan's eventually wandered elsewhere, too; there were moments where something made him warm, and Dylan's skin tingled at the feeling. That wonderfully smothering warmth that made him feel so secure, where no one could touch him – he needed that again.

Bryce was more focused on when the longingness would stop.

It just mattered when it was going to happen.