Three weeks later...
I had been staring at the wall for the past ten minutes. I'd been waiting for this moment for such a long time that I was still unsure about what I really wanted to write. I always wanted it to be perfect, but I knew now that nothing was ever really perfect. My fingers still held the small piece of chalk, though they were now coated in a thin layer of chalk dust. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to will the right words to come to me. Letting out the breath, I felt like giving up. I'd wanted to write something on the wall since I first discovered the café, but I still couldn't do it. Arms wrapped around me suddenly, and without having to open my eyes or turn around I knew exactly whom they belonged to.
"Hello, Jase," I smiled as I opened my eyes and leaned back into his chest.
"How? You didn't even turn around?" he exclaimed, resting his chin on top of my head.
"I'm a pretty smart girl." I turned around, swinging my arms around his neck and pulling his face down closer to mine.
Jase let out a chuckle, "that you are," he grinned before placing his lips softly on mine.
It was only quick, and I pouted when he pulled away, but it only made him smile. There was nothing wrong with his smile, gosh no, it always somehow managed to send butterflies fluttering through my stomach. But I had wanted him to give me another kiss, or at least a longer one, though Jase had other plans. We walked over to a couple of bean bags resting against a bookcase nearby, settling in just as a waitress came by to ask if we wanted anything.
"Just a hot chocolate for me today, Ruby," I smiled, remembering the first time Jase and I had come here together and the scene we had made in front of everyone, including Ruby.
She had given Jase a hard time ever since then, and I couldn't help but laugh. It was crazy to think how much things had changed since that day, since our first proper meeting. We had been through so much since then, especially within the last month. Since the Timekeeper was found to be a fraud, the country went mad. Riots broke out all over the country, mainly in front of the Timekeeper clinics and factories, though I never understood what they were trying to get out of it. Of course everyone was furious at being lied to for fifty years, but there wasn't anything we could do that could change the past. It took a little while for people to just accept what had happened, but now everything was somewhat back to normal.
"What about you, Jase?" Ruby asked, giving him a genuine smile now. It was clear she had forgiven him for how he had treated me, thankfully, since we were both regulars here now.
"I'll just grab a hot chocolate too, thanks," he replied, surprised by Ruby's change of heart.
"I don't think she hates you anymore," I grinned once she had left.
"I was thinking the same thing," Jase laughed before shifting in the beanbag.
He glanced towards the blank spot on the wall where I had previously been standing in front of, before turning back to me.
"Still can't figure out what to write?" he asked.
"No," I sighed, slumping back into the beanbag. "Why is it so hard to think of something?"
Jace chuckled, before shaking his head, "You can't force it, Candy. Just let the words come to you on their own."
"That could take forever though," I groaned.
He laughed, before leaning forward and kissing my cheek. "You'll figure it out. You're a smart girl, remember?"
I rolled my eyes at him, pushing him back into the beanbag. He acted like it had hurt, and pretended to ignore me as he grabbed a book from the shelf behind him and started flicking through the pages, and I couldn't help but admire him. His blonde hair was just long enough to fall into his eyes, which annoyed his Aunty Kath so much she had threatened to cut it herself if he didn't hurry up and do something about it. Jase had laughed it off, but I was pretty sure she was being serious about it. Isabel then proceeded to chase him around the house yelling that she was going to shave all of his hair off, which had only made Jase laugh harder. He had tried to hide behind me, but I was only an obstacle for Isabel to try and jump over. We had ended up in a pile of bodies on the floor, laughing so hard our stomachs had started to hurt.
The sound of a phone interrupted my thoughts and jolted me back to the present. Jase had the book in his lap as he checked his phone.
"Wanna go to the movies later?" he asked after a few minutes, his eyes still on his phone.
"With who?" I asked, trying to peak at his phone screen but noticing the mug next to his beanbag instead.
Some time within my daydream Ruby had come by with our hot chocolates, though I never heard her. I picked up the mug, breathing in the warm chocolate aroma before taking a small sip.
"Claire, Alex and Ryan," he replied, his fingers moving across the phone screen rapidly even as he looked up at me.
"Sounds like fun," I smiled, receiving a smile in return.
Within the first week that the Scientists had broken the news to the world about the Timekeeper's, Ryan had called me. I tried ignoring it at first, thinking that he wanted me to choose him over Jase. After ignoring a few calls and texts, I ran into him once the school reopened. It was impossible to avoid him when he was in my class, and I was planning on telling him straight away that even though the Timekeeper's don't work, I still believed Jase was my soul mate. He surprised me though. Instead of trying to explain how we should be together, he apologised for everything that had happened. I was shocked, but relieved. He explained how he wanted to be friends and was moving on, which was a lot easier now, knowing that he didn't have to worry about a Timekeeper getting in the way. We had become good friends since then, though Jase and Ryan becoming best friends had taken a little getting used to.
Jase stood up then, startling me as he bent down and planted a soft kiss on my forehead.
"I'll be back," he said, before walking towards the front of the café.
I watched him turn down the small corridor adjacent to the counter, heading towards the bathrooms. I turned back around, looking back up at the chalkboard wall. With my mug in my hands, I eyed the blank space where I planned to write my piece. I closed my eyes and started to think about everything that had happened within the last few weeks. From the Timekeeper announcement, to Ryan, to Jase, so many thoughts rushed through my mind and slowly, piece-by-piece just like a puzzle, the words came to me.
I placed my mug next to the beanbag before standing up and walking towards the wall. I picked up the piece of chalk I had discarded earlier, rubbing it between my fingers as I walked the length of the wall. There were so many stories to tell, so many different lives within them. I came to a stop in front of the spot I would soon call my own. Turning around, I checked to see if Jase had returned yet, but he was nowhere to be seen. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, before turning back around. This was it, the moment I had been waiting for since I first discovered the café.
My eyes opened, and I began to write. The chalk squealed against the wall, making me cringe. I didn't stop though, the words just kept pouring out of me through my fingers. It was strange and slightly embarrassing how much joy writing on the wall was giving me. But I had wanted to do this for the longest time, and now that I was finally doing it, I couldn't help but smile.
I stood back, staring up at the wall. My eyes trailed over the hundreds of different quotes and poems and names that had been left there over the years, each one different from another, and each with a different meaning to the owner of the words. My eyes finally fell on the piece in front of me, and my smile grew wide. It was only a couple of months ago that I had been standing in the same position, but now the piece that was written had been changed. The piece Jase had claimed as his own no longer existed, someone had rubbed it off. Now, the space had been replaced with new words, words that I could relate to, words that I had written.
Jase's hand slipped into mine then, startling me slightly, though my eyes stayed glued to the words in front of me. I could see him reading the words out the corner of my eye, and I felt strangely anxious. What if he hated it? What if he thought it was stupid and laughed? But I didn't have to worry about that, because he smiled and then stood in front of me, covering the words I'd spent forever trying to find. His face moved closer, now inches from mine. I could feel his breath on my lips, practically tasting the chocolate left behind from his drink.
"We should get going before we miss the movie," he whispered, though doesn't move.
"Yeah," I breathed, my voice even softer than Jase's.
I closed my eyes, hoping he would lean in and bring our lips together. He placed his hands gently around mine, before lifting them up and guiding them behind his neck. I wrapped my fingers together, securing the hold around his neck. He took a slight step forward, his hands moving down to land on my waist. He pulled me towards him, closing the small space between us and allowing our lips to collide. That was how I had wanted him to kiss me earlier, though I was quite content that it was happening now. His mouth parted against mine, and I could feel the passion intensifying between us rapidly.
I pulled away, as he cupped my face in his hands. Opening my eyes, I was reminded suddenly of where we were. A blush crept into my cheeks, and I hoped nobody had been paying attention to the young couple at the back making out. Jase noticed my blushing and let out a low chuckle, before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me tight to his chest. His lips kissed the top of my head, and in that moment, I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be than in Jase's arms.
"Come on," Jase grinned, as he let me go. "We're late."
He grabbed my hand as he began to walk towards the door. We got about half way through the café when I stopped, turning back to look at the wall once more. I could still see it from where I stood; my words finally up on the wall for everyone to see. I read through them once more, making sure I felt like they were right.
"People ask me how I know, that I've met my soul mate. Why it's easy, I say. Our souls are in sync; they are connected to each other long before our first meeting. What does it feel like, they ask. Indescribable, amazing, beautiful, are the words that come to mind. But I don't say those words; instead I smile wider and explain how I just know he's the one. I feel it with every touch, every look, every kiss. I feel it in my stomach, my mind, my heart. There's just something there that isn't present with anyone else, nobody else but him."
I turned back around, smiling to myself as I walked hand in hand out the door with my soul mate.
The end.
Dedicated to you, the reader <3
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(A/N: IT'S ALL OVERRRRRRR!!!!!! I hope you enjoyed the story and I cannot thank you enough for reading and voting and commenting and just the support I've received on this story has been incredible so thank you. Let me know in the comments if you like the ending, and tell me what your favourite part of the whole story was!
mwah mwah mwah xxxxxxx)