Word Count: 2500

Summary: Soulmates can contact one another by writing on their skin. Whatever one writes on their skin will appear on the skin of their soulmate. Reader is tired of waiting for their soulmate to write to them, so they decide to make the first move.

Warnings: swearing

Author’s Note: Just felt like writing a little thing in between classes on my phone. Sorry if there’s a bunch of spelling and grammar issues. If there are, please let me know and I’ll fix them.

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You sat in Mr. Davidson’s English classroom, staring down at your hands as the teacher drawled on about an assignment that you had surprisingly finished long ago. Seventeen years had passed and not once did your soulmate write to you. Then again, you hadn’t written to them either but that was beside the point. You were tired of waiting and waiting for this unknown person to make a move and you were scared that maybe you didn’t have a soulmate. What if something happened to them at birth? Or if they died early on in life? There were just too many things that made you scared, but you suddenly got the urge to do something about it. Very slowly you picked up your pen and lowered it to your hand, writing a small ‘hi?’ below the knuckle of your index finger.

You put your pen back down and looked up at the teacher, knowing it was too late to take it back now, unless you went to the bathroom and washed it off. There was a sudden shift at the back of the room, as if someone had jolted in their desk. You looked over your shoulder to see none other than Connor Murphy staring down at his hand, brows furrowed and lips parted in shock. In that moment you felt her heart leap up into your throat and you looked back to the front of the room, trying to pretend like you hadn’t just noticed Connor staring at his hand in the exact spot you had written your soulmate a note. Connor Murphy. Your best friend’s brother. You swallowed thickly, glancing down at your hand as a shaky response came.

‘Hi’

You smiled at that and your heart started racing. Your soulmate had responded to you. If it truly was Connor, and you weren’t positive yet, but you had to know for sure before you made any sort of move in case Connor freaked out at you. So, you didn’t turn around as much as you wanted to and instead, picked your pen back up, but before you could write anything, another message curled along your hand and onto your wrist. You subtly pulled down the sleeve of hoodie to read it, making sure no one else would notice.

‘I was starting to think you didn’t exist’

You bit the inside of your lip and put your pen to your wrist, writing out the words, ‘Sorry, I was too afraid to write anything. I didn’t think anyone would answer.’

‘Guess we were in the same boat then’

The bell sounded, signaling the end of class and you pushed your sleeve back down, eyes on your books as you gathered them up quickly, knowing you had to meet Zoe out in the parking lot. Connor suddenly pushed past your desk, moving quickly out the door but not before you noticed your curved handwriting twisting across the back of his hand. A grin pulled onto your face as you realized that your soulmate was here. He was right here this whole time. Most people had to travel the world looking for their soulmate, but you were fortunate enough to have him in the same town as you. You stuffed the rest of your things in your bag and hurried out the door after him. You found him at his locker, tossing his belongings inside of it rather aggressively. As much as you wanted to say something, you suddenly felt too anxious at the though of saying anything to him and turned away, instead moving down the hallway towards your locker instead, the entire way there mentally kicking yourself for not being upfront with him.

Stopping at your locker, you took your pen and wrote on the back of your hand carefully.

‘Connor?’

You watched his entire body tense up, staring down at his hand in disbelief. Then his eyes started scanning the hall, almost frantically for the person who was writing to him. You instantly tensed, turning back to your locker and pretended you hadn’t just written to him, heart racing. After a few moments you glanced up at him only to see him hurrying back down the hallway, a look of distress on his face. You nibbled your lip as you put your unneeded books in your locker before taking out another bag and closing it, hurrying down the hallway with your extra bag tucked under your arm. You were planning on a sleepover at the Murphy house and the fact that you had just discovered Connor was your soulmate made it all the more stressful. As you made your way to the parking lot, you pulled your hoodie sleeves over your hands, gripping the material with your fingers. But as you did, you noticed the words smudging and your brow furrowed.

When you got outside, you saw Connor rubbing at the back of his hand angrily, arguing with Zoe. You pulled your bags a little closer, your grip on your sleeves tightening as you tried to force a smile, “Hey!”

Zoe turned to you and her agitated expression fell away, a smile appearing on her face, “y/n, hey. We still on for tonight?”

“We better be. I left my car at home,” You joked as you approached, banter was always a fun part of your time with Zoe. It was familiar and it calmed you down in the slightest. Connor climbed into the back, door slamming behind him and you flinched, “What’s up with Connor today?”

Zoe rolled her eyes as she circled the car, a smile on her face as she joked, “When isn’t anything up with Connor?” You climbed into the passenger seat and twisted the strap of your bag nervously in your hand, noticing the smudged ink across your knuckles. Zoe hopped into the driver seat and started the car, “Anyway, he’s got writing, like, all over his hand and-”

“Shut the fuck up,” Connor snapped in the back seat, very clearly upset at the fact his sister knew about it.

You smiled slightly, glancing up in the rearview mirror back at Connor. He looked furious, cheeks a bright pink and he continued scrubbing at the writing on his hand. The action just smearing the ink further across his knuckles as he tried to remove it.

“I bet they didn’t answer, right?” Zoe said, jabbing at him as she tended to do, trying to rile him up.

“Fucking-shut up!” Connor snapped back, seething in his seat, “And they wrote me first, if you must fucking know.”

“And then they’ll run as soon as they find out it’s you,” Zoe said with a small laugh as she turned a corner and drove down the road toward their house.

“Zoe, that’s enough.” Both siblings went silent at your voice, sharp and serious. You seemed visibly upset, staring over at Zoe with pleading eyes, “Honestly, can you just drop it? Please. It’s not funny.”

Zoe looked back at the road and remained silent, biting the inside or her lip. Connor had his brow furrowed, eyes staring at the back of your head, wondering what had made you speak up against his sister.

When you arrived, you hopped out of the car and walked up to the familiar house. Zoe was close beside you and Connor was a few strides behind both of you. Once inside, Connor instantly went upstairs and locked himself in his bedroom as usual. And you and Zoe headed up to hers.

You tossed your bags down by the foot of Zoe’s bed before taking a seat on the soft red sheets, pulling your bag up into your lap and began rooting through it for your pajamas. As you did so, Zoe sat down at the head of her bed, crossing her legs as she looked to you curiously. You sent her a look and nervously continued looking for your clothing, “What?”

“Don’t you play that game with me,” She says, leaning forward curiously, “What was that in the car?”

“What was what?” You asked, pulling out a tank top and a pair of plaid pajama bottoms.

She huffed in annoyance and laid back on her bed, “y/n, come oooon! You know what I’m talking about.” Zoe sat up quickly and gestured in the general direction of her car, “I had this whole line of fun jokes lined up and you crushed them with your serious shit.”

“I just don’t think you should talk about the whole ‘soulmate’ thing like that,” You say, looking down at your pajamas.

“Shit, I forgot yours has never written to you,” She visibly cringed and moved closer, wrapping her arms around you, “I feel like such a horrible friend right now…”

“It’s not even just that,” Your fingers picked at a loose thread on your pajama bottoms as you leaned the side of your head against hers, “It’s just such a heavy thing and I know what it feels like to not have anyone. And I don’t think he deserves to feel alone. You should let him have this little bit of happiness if talking to them makes him happy.”

Zoe stared at you before she cracked a smile and ruffled your hair, “You’re such a sap, you know that.”

“You know me. Always a sucker for combating the suffocating feeling of crippling loneliness,” You joked and stood up, gesturing to the door, “I’m gonna go get changed. I will be right back.”

Zoe giggled and saluted you with a grin as you left to go to the bathroom. Once inside, you locked the door and slipped off your hoodie, quickly washing off the smeared ink as best you could. Once clean, you changed into your pajamas and hurried back into Zoe’s room, throwing your clothing on top of your bag. You found her sitting on her bed in her favourite pair of fuzzy ufo pajamas and she stood up when she noticed you, “You wanna go watch a movie?”

“Totally,” You smiled and the two of you made your way downstairs into the living room. You settled into the couch with a fluffy blanket while Zoe grabbed the remote and hopped onto the couch beside you. As Zoe flipped through the movies on Netflix there was suddenly a loud bang from upstairs, like someone had punched a wall. Zoe sighed and leaned back into the couch, fearing that Connor would have a temper tantrum that would ruin your sleepover. You felt your chest tighten as another bang echoed through the quiet house and you suddenly felt the urge to run upstairs. Then you noticed letters appearing on your arm, small and along your wrist.

‘How do you know my name?’

You didn’t have a pen so you couldn’t respond. Instead you turned your wrist inward, so Zoe wouldn’t see it the letters in case she started asking questions. You bit the inside of your cheek, heart pounding as Zoe continued to scroll through movies, finally settling on a comedy you’d both seen a million times before. After a few moments, large letters began appearing, taking up your entire forearm, your eyes widening in shock.

‘FUCKING ANSWER ME’

Zoe’s eyes widened, “Oh my God, your arm-”

Connor’s door flew open and he ran a hand through his hair as he descended the stairs, “Fuck!”

You stared at him, instantly noticing the words scrawled on his forearm, matching yours exactly. You remained silent as Connor disappeared into the kitchen and you glanced at Zoe.

She seemed shocked and quietly whispered, “It’s you…? You’re his soulmate?” Then it hit her and she pointed at you triumphantly, “That’s why you were so defensive in the car!”

“Yes, okay? It’s me and I’m kinda freaking out about it,” You said, face turning red as you pulled the blanket up around you to hide your arm, “What if he’s upset that it’s me?”

“I don’t think he’ll be upset, y/n. You’re amazing,” She said reassuringly as she glanced at the kitchen doorway. Zoe let out a breath, shaking her head slightly in shock, “I just…I can’t believe you’re destined to be with my brother.”

“Tell me about it,” You laughed quietly, looking down at the blanket as your laughter faded.

“Are you…are you going to tell him?” Zoe asked slowly.

“He deserves to know…but I just…I don’t know what to say to him,” You say, biting your lip and looking up at the entrance to the kitchen.

“Rip it off like a Band-Aid,” Zoe suggests, “Get it off your chest right away and don’t think about it too much of you’ll freak yourself out.”

“Okay. I can do this…” You rose to your feet, dropping the blanket onto the couch as you hestitantly began walking towards the kitchen.

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” She whispered after you and you sent her a nervous smile before letting out a breath and turned back to the kitchen. Slowly you made your way into the doorway and watched as Connor stood at the sink, pouring himself some water.

“Connor?”

His body tensed but he didn’t turn to face you. He sounded angry as he placed the glass of water beside the sink, “I’m not in the mood to deal with your guys’ bullshit tonight, okay?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, mulling over your thoughts and Zoe’s advice before quietly speaking, “I know your name because I saw you with my handwriting on your hand when you pushed past me after English class.”

Connor turned instantly, recognizing his writing along your forearm. His eyes snapped up to your face and his words died in his throat before he could say anything.

You were smiling gently as you met his gaze, fingers nervously tugging at the hem of your shirt, “I guess I should start with ‘I’m sorry for waiting so long to write you’?”

He was suddenly rushing towards you and when he reached you, his arms wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you close. You were startled at the sudden embrace but returned it quickly, arms wrapping around his middle. Connor laughed breathlessly, the side of his head leaning against yours, voice almost a whisper, “You how have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you.”

Your smile widened, and you leaned your head off his chest to look up at him. Tears were dripping down his cheeks, but he looked happy, a wide smile gracing his features. And to you, in that moment, he was the most beautiful thing you had ever laid eyes on.

As you stood there just staring at each other, taking in the moment, he felt like he could trust you with anything. Like you were meant to be his and he was meant to be yours. He felt like he could spend the rest of his life with you despite only knowing you from the brief interactions you had. He felt like he loved you. And he did. And he would for the rest of his life.