“So what about you? Have you found yours yet?”
Mira visibly deflated. “No.”
“Hey, that’s cool. It’s fine so don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll find them soon.” Nick immediately tried to fix the awkwardness he inadvertently caused. “Adrian hasn’t found his either so you’re not alone.”
Adrian shot him a look.
“But I’ve been searching for almost a year!” Mira huffed.
“Holy sh*t,” Adrian accidentally said.
Mira shot him a scathing look.
“Has it really been a year?” He couldn’t stop himself.
“Eleven months but that’s literally the same thing,” Mira groaned. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. There’s like no pull towards anyone! I’m literally not asking for a whirlwind romance here; I’m totally cool with being just friends or like . . . not enemies.”
“And you thought you had it rough.” Nick looked at Adrian.
“I know right?” Adrian muttered. “A few months suck but a year? That has to be . . .” He wasn’t even sure he wanted to contemplate that possiblity.
“You’re telling me.” Mira was not amused. “To be honest, I was really hoping I’d find them tonight, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.”
“Well, my sister didn’t find hers until she went to Mexico.”
“Christ,” she groaned.
“Yeah, I know,” Adrian agreed.
As the night continued, Adrian could tell that things were going really well. Not only had he met a few of the Chandra Pack’s future leaders, but he was also able to build some connections with a few of them.
The party died down some time later and they had to leave. Adrian couldn’t help but notice the beauty of the town as he drove his family back. It was a decent place. It wasn’t small like his old one, but it wasn’t massive either.
As he pulled up into the driveway, he couldn’t help but feel a weird sense of hope for this town. Maybe it was because of the party and how he felt something different, or maybe it was because this town was a change of scenery.
Whatever it was, it was something that he needed, because now he felt a little less alone.
Besides, if he ever thought he had it bad, there was Mira who seemed to be the real trooper. She was still going strong even after nearly a year of not finding her own soul mate. Although it’s not detrimental to their lives, it still wasn’t a fun experience to go without one. If he was in her situation, Adrian had a feeling that he’d be labelled medically insane.
Once they went to their new house, he immediately made his way to his bedroom. For a brief moment, he had almost forgotten about the ungodly amount of unpacking he had left to do; but the sight of boxes that were lined against the walls and beside his bedframe were a good reminder.
Although it was his room, it certainly didn’t feel like his room. The bedframe was the only thing was set up. His desk was still unmounted, and he still had to figure out how to set up his PC. His dresser was long gone because it was too big for the moving truck, and he still had a pile of clothes that needed to be hung.
Plus, he still had to register at Rosewood because classes start in a week. Then, there was still the chaotic task of shopping for school supplies, getting parking passes, and several registrations.
There was just too much to think about.
***
“Adrian what are you looking at?” Nick asked as they browsed through the local bookstore.
“Nothing. Nothing cool at least.”
“Huh.” His friend shrugged. “Hey, check this out.”
“The Transfer?” Adrian read the book title out loud. Judging from the cover alone, he concluded that it was probably one of those romantic comedy books that most women seemed to fawn over. Still, if Nick didn’t judge him for his love of cooking then Adrian wasn’t going to knock his friend for liking something like that.
Well at least, not too much.
“Yeah, it seems pretty good.” Nick flipped through the pages and read the summary.
“Since when did you start reading stuff like that?” Adrian picked up a copy off the shelf. “I thought you were more into sci-fi books.”
“It’s for Leila,” he explained. “I’m not into stuff like this, but it seems to have some pretty interesting characters.”
“Like?”
“Well, the main guy, Dominic, seems to have some issues with himself, like, mentally. So does Hazel but with relationships, and they switch point of views every chapter. It also looks more than just a drama, so I’m guessing they’re dealing with some legit issues . . .”
“Hmmm . . .” Adrian flipped through a certain page. He soon figured out that it was a page from Dominic’s point of view because it talked about how he was at a party he didn’t really care for, and had an excerpt about kissing some girl. He didn’t read the book for too long because he suddenly felt a soft lull towards something.
Or someone.
He made a point to put the book back in its spot before he nearly dashed out of the store where the pull was becoming stronger. It was like an invisible string was leading him towards someone.
Someone important.
Unfortunately, the mall had multiple floors and he suddenly felt like he was in a black box in science class. No matter how hard he tried to figure out where to go, he still felt like it was somehow the wrong direction.
Still, he had to try.
His heart was beating faster and he was trying his best to home-in on where this person could be. Every wrong turn he made took a second for him to register, and he had to go back to where he was to try a different direction.
Was it a girl? A
