Andrea's POV
The alarm rang out, making Andrea sit up abruptly and choke on air. She felt as if she could barely breathe. After catching her breath, she pounded the off button of the digital clock with her fist and groaned. She knew any time now it would happen, the one thing she dreaded getting: her compass.
Of course she had it. But it hadn't turned on yet, it hadn't begun. She held her breath and turned her wrist around, hoping her compass hadn't started in her sleep, and sighed in relief when she saw that the outline of the compass etched into her wrist since birth was still grey, the pointer arrow still unmoving.
She could feel the tingling underneath the skin, though, and she recognized the symptoms she was having: easily startled, heart palpitations, and the shortness of breath. All the signs that her compass was going to pulse to life and her Search would have to begin.
She didn't want it to. She didn't know what she'd do when she did find her North, her other half. Would he reject her? Would he even be a 'he'? She almost whimpered at the thought. Not because she'd mind, but because it wouldn't really sit well with her parents. She sighed, knowing well that the possibility was high, but she just couldn't seem to come to terms with that.
There was nothing she could do about it. She'd just have to wait until her compass turned on, and if her North happened to be girl, well... would she really be able to reject her if she had to?
She sighed and got ready for another day of high school as a senior. She had only started the school year a few weeks ago, and she was already dreading it every morning. Especially since this was the year most people found their North. The halls were always full of happy couples expressing their feelings, and needless to say, it made her nervous.
She brushed her light brown hair and put on her short, blue casual dress before slipping on her white Converse and a beanie, grabbing her bag and making her way downstairs and to the kitchen. Her mom already had coffee brewed, as usual, and her dad was sitting at the table, drinking his coffee and typing away at his laptop.
"Good morning, sweetheart," he greeted without glancing at his daughter, engrossed in whatever he was working on.
Andrea chuckled. "'Morning, Dad."
She served herself coffee and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, Ma, see you after school," she put the lid on her coffee cup and rushed off.
"Andrea! No breakfast?" her mother yelled after her.
"I'll get some at school!" she said before she had closed the front door.
~ ~ ~
Lucy's POV
Lucy, the name her birth certificate read but only her parents called her by, had forgotten to turn on her alarm. So she was pretty freaking late.
She grumbled as she put on her black skinny jeans, the first t-shirt she could find, and her black boots. She ignored the crazy jumps her heart was making, and didn't dare look at her compass as she put on her worn brown leather jacket and effectively hid the stupid mark on her wrist from sight.
Of course she wanted to know who her North was, but she didn't want the rejection that she would most likely get. She knew she wasn't exactly the best romantic candidate in everyone's eyes. Okay, maybe she wasn't that bad, but the image she projected was far worse than who she actually was, and that's how she preferred it. Making friends always proved to be a bothersome task, and she never understood the constant need for it, anyway. She had her cousin Alex, who she thought of as her best friend (although she'd never admit it), and her parents were caring and supportive. What else could she want?
She grabbed her bag and rushed downstairs, running into her dad, who immediately steadied her before she could fall and chuckled.
"Woah, kiddo. You okay?"
"Yeah, just really fucking late," she muttered. Her dad laughed and motioned for her to follow him to the kitchen, which she did.
"I figured you were, since it was already 7:50 and you were still in bed. Here," he smirked and patted her shoulder before giving her a bagel with cream cheese, a cup of water and her ADHD pills.
"Thanks," she smiled.
"No problem. Now go kick ass!" he pumped his fist in the air.
She rolled her eyes and smiled at her corny father's antics before saying goodbye and leaving the house. She swallowed her pills and the rest of the water before eating the bagel in three bites before hopping on her Harley, but not before she was hit with a blinding pain in her chest. Lucy winced and pulled her right sleeve up, staring at her compass. It was glowing red and the arrow spun fast before it settled, pointing east. She sighed and started the motor of her motorcycle, figuring she might as well find her North and get it over with.
~ ~ ~
Andrea's POV
Andrea was two blocks away from her school when a sharp, abrupt pain hit her upper body and then her wrist, and she slammed the brakes.
"No, no, no," she groaned and checked her wrist to see that what she had dreaded had in fact happened: her compass was on. She stared at the arrow, which was pointing to the direction behind her, away from the school. Students usually were allowed their first Search day off, but she certainly wasn't in the mood to search. She knew that wouldn't stop her North from looking for her, but she was hoping it'd take longer that way. And hopefully the arrow's direction meant Andrea's North didn't attend the same school she did.
She continued driving and parked in her school in the next few minutes, groaning for the hundredth time before she got out and headed to her locker.
"Andy!"
She felt familiar, feminine arms envelope her from behind, and Andrea turned around.
"Hey, Mara," she brushed some strands of her hair from her face as she smiled at her best friend. Mara caught the motion and her eyes widened as she looked at Andrea's arm.
"Your compass! Oh my God, Andy, when did it turn on?" she grabbed my wrist, looking at the glowing mark, and grinned.
"Ten minutes ago, and-"
"Why are you so calm? Why aren't you searching for your North? You do know you have your first Search day off, right? You should--"
"Mara, shut up. I've told you like a thousand times that I don't want to--"
"Yeah, I know, but I didn't think you'd just wait around for her," she looked surprised.
"'Her'? What do you mean 'her'?"
Did she know? Andrea thought, panicked. Did I know?
"You can't be serious, Andrea," Mara rolled her eyes. "9th grade, remember?"
Andrea gave Mara's shoulder a light slap. "We were just experimenting, and I told you not to mention that again, Mar," she glared at her friend, and Mara smirked in reply.
"You didn't call it experimenting when you were sucking my face o--"
"Mara."
Mara laughed. "Look, my point is, you like girls, Andrea. I've known you since 5th grade. You're always checking them out, and I know you liked our experiment back in 9th. And you're obsessed with Laura and Carmilla."
"That's because they're the greatest freaking OTP ever."
"Andy, you're gay."
"No, I'm not."
"Yeah, you are," Mara said, her face expressing amusement.
"Mara, I'm not. Seriously."
Mara chuckled. "Why are we even arguing? You'll see when you finally meet your North."
"Whatever," Andrea grumbled. "I have to get to class."
"Alright. Can't wait to meet your girlfriend."
"Boyfriend."
"Girlfriend, and you know it. You're just in denial, sweetheart, and I know it must suck because of your parents and all," Mara smiled sympathetically. The bell rung, and she turned to leave. "We'll talk more later. See ya," she smiled again and walked off.
Andrea bumped her head one of the lockers beside her in frustration, before sighing and shutting her locker door. She knew Mara was right.
* * *
Lucy's POV
"Ey, Stone! You got my stuff?" Reed hollered to Lucy Stone from across the hallway. Nobody at school knew her first name except for her teachers, and even they addressed her as her last name.
"Not now, Reed," she yelled back, keeping her eyes on her compass, blindly running into people as she walked down the school hallway.
"Come on, Stoner. I haven't smoked in a whole week, the stress is really getting to me," Reed said as he caught up to "Stoner", as she was sometimes called by her weed clients. She herself had never smoked any, but she didn't exactly deny it when anybody asked. She shrugged internally at the thought. It helped solidify the rebel image she had acquired, so she didn't think it was a big deal.
"I'm busy, dumbass," she raised her arm for him to see her compass glowing, and he grinned knowingly.
"Oh, your compass. That's cool. Alright then, but as soon as you find her, give me my stuff, alright?"
"Yeah, fine," she muttered in response, dismissing him with wave of her hand. Reed smirked, patted her shoulder and walked away.
Lucy had to admit, she was hoping that when she found her North, she wouldn't be rejected.
* * *
Andrea's POV
Andrea sat at her desk during her last period class. She had been restless and grumpy the whole day. She was pretty sure she had asked to use the restroom in every single class, just to be somewhere else, to try to confuse her North just in case she-- he was near her. Trying to stall the moment she would meet her other half.
It was ridiculous, of course. She knew it wouldn't be a guy. She was gay. A lesbian. The word made her nervous. But it was gonna happen, she was gonna meet her best match. The only thing that could stop that from happening was if her North died. She winced and felt queasy at just the thought, and then cursed at the connection she seemed to already be developing for her North, without having even met her yet. She found herself wanting to meet her, which was an expected-- even though unwelcome-- feeling. Everybody felt a pull towards their North, a need to be with them, which is why everyone always ended up looking for them, even those who initially didn't want to.
Andrea sighed. She had a feeling this whole ordeal would be complicated.
As soon as the last bell rang, she jumped up from her chair and grabbed Mara by the arm, tugging her up and rushing towards the door.
"Andy, geez, slow down!" Mara told her, almost dropping her books as she was pulled out of the classroom.
Andy groaned and let go of her friend. "You know what? Just meet me at my place."
"You're really still trying to avoid it?"
"Yep. See ya later."
Andrea walked off, and Mara thankfully didn't follow her. She hurried down the hallways and towards the back entrance. Practically all of the students left through one of the two front entrances, so the hallways she was going through were empty.
She checked her compass and saw that her North was somewhere in her south direction and exhaled.
Hopefully, she's far away from me.
As soon as she thought that, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Fuck." Andrea's heart was racing. She didn't want to look back. Whoever was behind her got closer and closer until she was right behind Andrea, and she let out a shaky breath.
"You know, I figured my North wouldn't exactly be happy to see me, but you won't even turn around. Kinda rude, isn't it?"
Andrea rolled her eyes at that, and then bit her lip nervously before turning on her heel to face a smirking (smoking hot) girl.
A girl named Stone.
"Fuck," she said again.
- - - - -
A/N: Heyyy, hoped you liked it! I'm excited for this story, so I hope I started it off well.
I think I'm gonna wait 'til I get some feedback to update, or maybe at least a while until I get some more chapters written.
Ha, I dunno what else to say. Hi :3 Thanks so much for reading! :D