Finals week always feels particularly stressful, especially to Nora as she walks into the library. Just locating a table causes her to overthink, which random person will hate her the least if she sit next to them? With lots of thought she finally selects a table already occupied by a curly haired boy. As she scoots out the chair diagonal from the boy they make eye contact. Nora subconsciously traces the set of lines on her wrist, her cheeks heating up at the soft grin he sends her. Something about him already feels so farmilar, as if they have known eachother for longer than three seconds.
"Hey," he whispers across the table to her as she takes a seat. Her eyes find his once again before his eyes drift to her wrist, "nice tattoo."
She glances down at her wrist before replying in a hushed voice, "thanks... I mean, it's all natural." Nora teases, a smile slipping onto her lips. She's normally much more reserved with strangers but something about this boy makes her speak as though they're friends.
He chuckles, tugging down the arm of his sweatshirt. He holds up his left wrist, the same side as Nora's, which displays the same tattoo as her. "I know what you mean," he shares, a smirk tugging at his lips.
Her eyes trace the abstract pattern, a mess of lines that progress over their lifetimes. A flutter of something erupts in her chest, this boy could be her soulmate. She's dreamed of who they would be since the very idea was introduced to her in school. "Wow," She exhales, "I've never met someone with the same pattern as me before."
He nods his head in agreement, "Well in that case, nice to meet you, I'm Max Pembrooke."
She smiles, "And I'm Nora Winters."
"Nora," Max repeats, "It appears this is the start of something new."
It is now her turn to nod her head, feeling a sense of urgency suddenly. She digs through her backpack, pulling out what she originally came to the library to do, "I hope so, but as of right now it needs to wait. I can't afford to fail any classes."
He chuckles, glancing over the multitude of books she pulls out of her bag. "I can see that," he plays, dropping his head back to his own book. Nora doesn't catch the way his cheeks light up pink.
Blushing, Nora whines, "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be nice to me?"
He shakes his head, looking up through the curls that have flopped over this forehead.
Nora leans forward on her elbows, wanting to run her fingers through his hair. Her gut flips when he sends her an impossibly charming grin, "You know I'm just messing with you. What about we take a break in an hour, I'll leave you alone till then."
Nora nods her head, excitement bubbling through her, "Sounds good!"
---
It is exactly 59 minutes later when Nora's train of thought is interrupted, a excited tone to Max's otherwise quiet voice "Have you ever looked at someone and thought about your possible futures?"
She blinks a few times, lifting her gaze to the boy in front of her. Nora knows exactly what Max meant once she processes his question. There has long been a fairytale that touching matching tattoos together reveals your possibilities with the other person.
Nora thought back to the obsession of her childhood, finding all of these fables of soulmates. Her parents only found their tattoos to not match when Nora showed up, pink cheeks and a head of hair, weighting 6 pounds 4 ounces. "I guess when I was a kid," She answers, leaving the sob story out of the conversation. If this boy really is her soulmate he'll be around long enough to hear it.
Max seems more bouncy than an hour ago, his left hand twirling around an orange highlighter in the air. The boy seems to radiate energy, shifting forward in his chair, What happen to that spirit?"
Nora hesitates before rambling out, "You know, life happens. I got older and read more and more about soulmates who didn't work out or about people born without tattoos. It made me question who or what decides these marks and how much they define everyone's lives. What makes me more worthy of love?"
Max pauses, sucking in a sharp breathe, he had never thought of life in such a way. "Maybe different people have different life plans, people who aren't interested in romantic relationships exist. I don't think anyone is more worthy of love, just different love."
"I can't help but feel that it's just too imperfect for it to be true, you know?" Nora glances down at her book, rereading the same sentence she had been stuck on earlier. Her literature class somehow managed to mirror real life.
Max's wrist adorned with the tattoo plops into her vision, "What would you say if I proposed a deep dive into the inter-workings of soulmates?"
She lifts her gaze landing on the mostly still Max, his eyes shine with what she can only assume is hope. "What I'd it doesn't work?"
"What if it does? There is only one way to know." His eyebrows knit together, "What is there to lose?"
She sighs, placing her own patterned wrist atop his, squeezing her eyes shut. Nothing seems to happen, Nora is only highly aware of the warmth of Max's hand latching onto her wrist. His cool rings contrast the warmth of his fingers, pulling her back into the reality of the situation.
Nora peaks her eyes open, catching the lazy grin on Max's lips, his eyes closed. She opens her mouth to call him back, realizing the library is where they've stayed, only to close it when their surroundings blur.
Her stomach churns, she's easily phased by motion, cars, boats, and planes making her palms sweat. Nora squeezes her eyes shut again, giving in to the swirling motion they seem to be traveling in.
---
Nora seems to wake up, reality, or whatever this is, hitting her. She sits on her surf board, the one she left in California with her grandparents. The farmiar scent of the ocean washes over her, the feeling of home trails behind.
She kicks her feet under her board, looking down at the white wetsuit she doesn't recognize. If she ended up here any other way she would have enjoyed the moment, instead Nora can't help but question why.
Where is the boy who had this idea in the first place? She glances around as much as she can, observing her fellow surfers. As she paddles, turning back towards the beach a tug pulls in her stomach. Nora paddles towards the beach, where she feels she needs to be.
He eyes are finally met with the now farmiliar face when her feet touch the sand. Standing on one of her favorite California beaches, Max toys with a film camera around his neck.
"I was looking for you," he greets her, stepping towards the small waves.
She tucks the board under her arm, jogging up to Max, "Me too." They meet where waves barely brush her ankles, the smooth sand between her toes.
Max glances her up and down and Nora doesn't feel the need to hit him. Something about the way he is holding her phone makes her suspect they're there together.
"You know how to surf? That's so cool," Max steps forward, his shoulder brushing her board. His eyes meet Nora's, a blush spreads across her cheeks as she toys with a loop on her wetsuit.
"My grandparents taught me when I lived with them in middle school," she responds then looks around, "This feels like home, does it to you too?"
"I didn't want to make it weird but yeah, I've always liked California but I has never felt like this." He thinks for a minute, glancing down at his left hand.
No ring sits on his ring finger, something which makes Nora question what she wants. Why did an air of disappointment bubble up in her? "We live here," She shares as the realization dawns on her, "And I've been waiting for you to propose for a while now."
He pauses, gaze shifting slightly above her. As his eyes land back on her he tucks the items in his hands into his pockets, coming up with a box instead. "That's what I was going to do today, I just have bad timing apparently."
Nora laughs, "If I wasn't wet and you didn't have a camera I would hug you right now."
Max slings the camera around to his back. She watches his eyes crinkle as he grins at her, stepping closer at the world begins to spin once again. His arms wrap around her waist, her arms slipping around his upper shoulders. "Bye," he whispers in Nora's ear. She smiles, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation of time slipping by.
---
When Nora opens her eyes this time she isn't feeling as comfortable. Instead of the warmth of the beach or Max's house, she is met with snow, large chunks falling down around her. She peers out the window, taking in the expanse of white contrasted by a mountain range she doesn't recognize.
Twirling around she nearly trips over the heavy amount of clothes she is wearing, a long white dress. Today must be her wedding day.
The door behind Nora creaks open, someone enters with a limp. The step followed by a heavier one keys her in to who exactly is here.
"Papa," She greets, turning towards the door, smiling at the man who raised her.
He grins at her, taking in the expanse of her dress, "Are you ready?" He questions, "I'm sure you've been anxious out of your mind today, ready to take the final step and become Mrs. Woods?"
Nora inhales sharply, "Woods?" Max's last name isn't Woods, where is the boy who she has quickly become attached to in this timeline?
Her grandpa looks at her, forehead wrinkling as he raises his eyebrows, "What's wrong?"
Nora only realizes her hand squeezing her wrist as she looks down, freeing it to take a look at the pattern. The mess of lines she had in the library look starkly different now, a progression of time. She returns her eyes to her grandpa, dwelling on the slight sense of comfort he provides, "What about Max?"
"Max? You know what happen better than I do, soulmates sometimes don't work out I guess." Papa smiles a remorseful smile, his gaze shifting to the snowy landscape.
Nora follows his gaze, eyes darting across the cold. If she still feels love for him why didn't they work out? Why is one of their possible futures a failed romance?
"I'm ready," She states, wanting to see who she is set to marry. How does this man compare to Max?
Taking her left hand in some sort of formal gesture, Papa guides her to the door he came in. She grabs the last bouquet by the door at two helpers open the doors. In front of her is a giant, traditional wedding. Nora never wanted to have an indoor wedding, her love for nature prevented it.
They walk down the isle at an antagonizingly slow rate, giving Nora time to look at each of the guests. Most of her family members take up the right side of the chapel. On the left, plenty of faces who appear to recognize her. Once she reaches the stairs up to the wedding party Papa squeezes her hand then drops it, taking his seat in the front.
Anticipation pulls her gaze up as she takes the final few steps. First to the man she is set to marry, the name Seth comes to her mind, then to her bridesmaids. Her best friend steps forward, taking the bouquet from her hand and giving her a smile. As she stops across from her groom, Nora's eyes land on his grooms men. There, standing in a tux, is Max who sends her a sad smile when her eyes finally find him.
Nora stumbles, tripping over her dress slightly, Seth's left hand shoots out to catch her. His sleeve rides up, revealing a tattoo vastly different than Nora's. She knows deep down that this timeline won't work out, how could she go and say yes to a proposal if she felt hope for her and Max? The simple answer is she couldn't.
As Seth takes both her hands in his own, the world slowly begins to tumble. Wanting this timeline to be over as soon as possible, Nora squeezes her eyes closed quickly. She waits patiently for the next world, hopefully happier this time.
---
When her senses come back to her, Nora realizes she is laying on a couch somewhere farmiliar. A warm weight on her chest and a calm sense of life. Nora quickly realizes who the weight belongs to, Max, as she threads her fingers through his hair. She breathes in a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to stay here forever.
Max seems to take a little longer waking up but when he does Nora jumps. His head picks up quickly, landing on her before both of his arms wrap around her waist, "Oh thank the gods," he remarks. His head lands right in the middle of her chest as she giggles, arms wrapping around him also.
Nora grins, butterflies dancing in her stomach. She quickly forgets how the last timeline felt, taking in the love in this one. In the pit of her stomach guilt sits, she caused the timeline where it didn't work out. "Max?" She questions with an uneasy tone prompting his head to shoot back up.
He hums, urgibg her to go on. Eyebrows pulled together, his thumb traces the skin of her waist. Nora feels some comfort over the way he traces a circle in her skin, warm hands on her skin.
"I'm sorry for marrying someone else, I don't even understand what happened."
Max smiles softly, "Did you still love me? Cause I still loved you, like a lot."
She nods her head, smiling. "I just wish we knew what went wrong, you know, I don't want that to be our timeline.
"Good," he then adds, "And I don't think it will. As long as we love eachother I think any situations can be resolved with enough work. I think people rely too much on being soulmates when all relationships require work." Max shifts, sitting back onto his lower legs. Nora shivers at the loss of contact, already craving the warmth and comfort of Max's touch.
She frowns at him, crossing her arms to retain some heat, "It's cold now." The cold metal feeling of a ring, pauses Nora's thoughts as she looks at her left hand. Wedding bands sit on her ring finger, matching the one on Max's left hand. She holds up his hand towards him, "We're married!"
Max's eyes trace her rings, smiling, he glances to his own hand, "I wouldn't expect anything less."
She blushes, sitting up some on the couch. Life like this feels sweet to Nora.
He chuckles, picking up her legs at the end of the couch Max takes a seat then pats his lap, "I wanna see you."
Nora blushes, sitting on his lap she feels the need to fill the silence. As his thumb traces circles on her waist again, she whispers, "Hi."
"Hey," he whispers back, much like his first greeting to her in the library. His eyes leave hers, bouncing to her lips then back, "Can I have a kiss?"
Nora's stomach flutters at the gentle question, leaning forward as she hums in confirmation. Their lips meet in a soft kiss that quickly sucks her in. Hands tangling in Max's hair she enjoys the moment and the warmth of his hands pulling her closer. As they pull back slightly to breathe, noses on eachother, the world begins to spin again.
Max pulls her closer and he whispers, "This is my favorite one yet."
"Me too," She adds, pecking his lips before there both transported somewhere else.
---
This time she recognizes her surroundings, the library. Their wrists still touching it appears not even a minute has passed. Nora looks up at Max, grinning when she finds his eyes already on her.
"So," he whispers, leaning in, "would you say that was a good idea?"
Nora looks down at their wrists, flipping her hand over to find a new detail. After months of tracing the same pattern over and over she is quick to notice the detail. She scans Max's wrist, finding the same wavy line. "Look," She traces the new line on his wrist, "Both our patterns have expanded in the same way."
He shivers at her cold finger, making Nora smile knowingly at him. His eyes trace the new line on both of their wrists, "We've already gained something." His right hand comes over and squeezes hers in a comforting way.
She nods her head, realizing the time. The setting sun behind the mountains, lights up the library in orange and pink colors. She much prefers this scene out the windows to the snowy one. Turning her attention back to the boy in front of her, she suggests, "why don't we go get dinner, you can continue to establish what a good idea this was then?"
He nods his head in excitement, pulling his hands away to pack up all of his stuff. Nora does the same, standing and pulling her backpack on, she waits for him. Once he finishes, he takes her hand and they both walk out into the warmth of the setting sun. Not knowing which timeline they will end up in but both confident it will work out.