Thaddeus

I woke to a multitude of scents mingling in the air, pleasantly assaulting my nostrils. They made me grin sleepily in my half-awake state, feeling a bit excited at the thought that my mom must have gone all out for breakfast this morning. 

As I slowly dragged my eyes open, I was greeted by the familiar, bright morning scene that was displayed on the digi-windows every day. My vision was blurry for a moment as I adjusted to the brightness of the room, cursing underneath my breath at the Elders' inconsiderate decision to always bombard us with an onslaught of light every morning to wake us up. They say that by doing so, our bodies would naturally become in sync with the schedule of The Society.

This was crucial, because being late to certain Society-Mandated events was practically considered treason and could land you in some serious shit. One year, a kid from my Instructional was late three days in a row, and legend has it he was dragged from his Housing Pod in the middle of the night by the Elders' personal henchmen. I didn't personally believe that far-fetched folklore, but still tried to stick to the schedule as a precaution. 

I stretched in my spot with a deep groan to ward off the thick blanket of sleepiness that threatened to take over my body once again, however my tired state was quickly squashed when I actually began to take in my surroundings. 

I laid stone-cold still in my position on the couch as memories of yesterday's events started to flood back, as if a dam broke loose and allowed them to crash like tidal waves into the forefront of my mind.

Holy shit. How could I have forgotten?

The Soul Mate Ceremony.

The cookie-baking motherfucker.

The dinner with that weird ass note on top of it. 

The memory of my ridiculously handsome image popping up next to that Aria guy on the holographic screens throughout the Gathering Auditorium stood out among the others, making a shiver of disgust slither down my spine. The memory played over and over in my head, reminding me of that one time the PA speaker in my family's old Housing Pod glitched and played the Society Anthem on repeat for an hour straight. 

The only explanation that I could come up with for all of this was that Elders had to be going senile. I mean, how could they have thought that it was okay to pair me, someone who is quite obviously genetically superior, with that... thing? 

I groaned, sitting up on the couch and throwing my legs over the side as I ran an irritated hand through my unruly curls. Just as I did so, I was greeted by the familiar crackle of the PA system coming to life with the daily morning announcement. 

"Attention, Society members: the time is now five-thirty AM. Morning schedules will commence in T-minus one hour. Those who are late will be punished as Society laws regulate. Good morning and remember, long live The Society of the People." 

The Society Anthem began to play - as it did every morning and evening - and I stretched my arms far above my head. I winced at the dull soreness that throbbed through my muscles, having become stiff from sleeping on the uncomfortable couch overnight. Just as I went to stand up, steeling myself to face the little gremlin that I just knew was probably already up and ready for his Occupational Training, a glint of something white caught my eye.

My brow furrowed as I leaned forward towards the glass coffee table that sat in the center of the small living room, feeling a sense of DejaVu as I spied the same, elegant handwriting as the night before. 

Dear Thaddeus,

Good morning! I made sure that your Occupational Training uniform didn't have one single wrinkle on it for your first day! I hope that you slept well and I'm really excited to meet you :)

Love, Aria ♡

Another shiver of disgust ran down my spine as I finished reading the note, chucking it carelessly to the side as I noticed my Construction Unit uniform sitting next to it. The garments were impeccably folded and, just as the note said, appeared to have not even one wrinkle. I could almost see the little shit in my head, up at the crack of dawn and furiously ironing his life away in an effort to make my uniform perfect. 

I snatched up the items of clothing with a frustrated huff, heading for the bathroom to do my morning routine. Luckily, the layout of this new Housing Pod was different from my family's old one, so I didn't have to pass by the kitchen on the way. I was grateful for that as I heard the some clanging noises from that direction, leading me to assume that the Aria... thing was probably in there.

I made quick work of my morning routine in the bathroom, carefully styling my curls into the perfect mess on top of my head and taking care of the regular hygiene essentials before slipping into my Construction Unit uniform. The uniform itself was not as terrible as it could have been, consisting of a gray and white jumpsuit-like garment that hugged my muscles perfectly and had my Society ID number embroidered into the collar. However, I opted to add my own touch by loosening the first few buttons, revealing my sharp collar bones and a bit of my muscular chest underneath. 

As I finished getting myself ready I lifted my head up to take a glance in the mirror, and a cocky smirk instantly pulled at my lips.

I looked good as fuck, not that I expected anything less. 

I didn't think I would ever get over looking at myself. I was such a fine specimen, proof that the Elders had at least had a few things figured out with this genetic pairing stuff. That's exactly why I was fucking appalled by how they could've chosen to fuck up my perfect gene pool by trying to Soul-Bond me with a guy.

Hell to the no. There was just absolutely no way in hell that I was going to let it happen. 

With one last longing glance at my gorgeous face, I tapped the control panel which slid the bathroom door open for me to exit, mentally preparing myself for what was to come next. However, nothing could've prepared me for the flurry of brown hair that rushed towards me and the slender arms that wrapped gently around my torso the moment I entered the kitchen area.

I barely had time to react, my arms hanging limply at my sides as I stared - wide-eyed - down at the little demon that had so violently invaded my personal space. I went to shove him far away from me, but once again I was thrown for a loop as he suddenly jumped back with a ridiculous sounding giggle, running over to a counter upon which sat two bags. He grabbed the largest of the two before quickly running back over and holding it out with both of his tiny hands, his pale cheeks a rosy pink color as he smiled brightly up at me. 

"Hi! I'm so glad you're awake! I made you lunch for your Occupational Training, I know you Construction Unit guys do a lot of hard work so I made it extra big and yummy!" I stumbled back a little as he thrusted the large bag into my chest, still recovering from the shock of this huge burst of energy so early in the morning. I had no choice but to grab the bag before it could fall to the ground, as he was already moving onto the next thing.

"Oh, and I almost forgot! Silly me!" He continued his babbling, almond eyes growing large as he quickly ran over to another counter, grabbing two plates piled high with all kinds of breakfast foods. The plates themselves looked like they were probably heavier than his entire body, but he didn't seem to mind as he quickly scurried over to place them on the dining table that sat adjacent to the kitchen. He was like a tiny rocket as he bounced around the small kitchen, his mouth never ceasing movement. 

"They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I made you a really big one too. Well, that and I don't exactly know what kinds of foods you like yet so I just decided to make them all!" He giggled again, a bright smile on his face as he wiped his hands on a blush pink apron. "I hope that you like it! I tried out a few new recipes from this fun new cookbook I borrowed from my Ma. She told me that maybe if I cooked for him then my Soul Mate would like me and-"

"Do you ever shut up?" I interrupted his maddening jabber, running an irritated hand down my face as he jumped in surprise at my sudden outburst. My knuckles tightened around the lunch bag that I held in my left hand in an effort to keep myself from reaching out and just strangling the hell out of the infuriating thing.

He was just so damn annoying.

Aria lowered his eyes down to his slippered feet with a small, nervous giggle at my words, his hands clasped together behind his back as he swayed back and forth in his spot. Now that he was semi-still and not flitting around the room like a fucking lunatic, I could finally take in his appearance.

He stood there in an oversized, cream colored knitted sweater and gray pants that showed off his slender legs. The blush pink apron that I'd noticed before was wrapped securely around his hips - which I noticed were substantially wider than what a normal guy's should be - and a shiny sheet of light brown, wavy hair flowed down to his shoulders. He was short, coming up to probably just below my chest, and his facial features were just as absurdly soft and as feminine as the first time I saw him in Instructional.

"I'm sorry... my Ma always said that I talk a lot when I'm excited." He explained with a smile still on his lips, the pink tinge on his cheeks growing brighter as he peeked up at me through his eyelashes. "I'm just really happy to finally meet you!" 

Of course he's excited to meet me, who wouldn't be? I thought to myself as I gave the boy in front of me a judgmental once-over with my eyes. 

"Mhm, sure." I clipped, not exactly knowing how to respond to his excited babble. "Just calm down, will you? It's early as hell and you're like a damn bug, just buzzing around everywhere." Aria tilted his head at my comparison, his eyes owlishly wide with curiosity.

"A... bug? Like the ones that used to live on the surface?" He inquired, nibbling gently at his bottom lip as his eyebrows pulled together in thought. 

"Yeah, something like that." I replied, feeling very uncomfortable being alone with this unnatural creation of a person for even this short period of time. So I turned around, walking towards the front door. If I left now I would be pretty early for my Training, but in that moment I didn't really give a fuck. The only thing on my mind at that moment was escaping the confines of the Housing Pod that I was expected to share with this little hyperactive bug. 

"Wait! Aren't you going to eat breakfast? If you go to Training on an empty stomach you could pass out and hit your head, or fall off of a ladder and-" 

"I'm not hungry." I lied smoothly, grabbing my travel tablet from the couch and shoving it into my pocket along the way of my pursuit of the front door. I knew that I would probably regret not eating breakfast later, but I was so close to freedom that I could almost taste it. Plus, I didn't think I could stand another moment being in such close proximity to him, so there was no way in hell that I was going to willingly sit down and chum it up over breakfast. 

"O-okay... I guess I could wrap it up for later..." He murmured softly. The soft sound of his slippered feet trailed behind me, following me like some sort of lost puppy.

"You do that." I replied absentmindedly, tapping the control panel. The front door smoothly slid open and I quickly stepped out of the Housing Pod and into the stark white hallway with doors to other Housing Pods intermittently dispersed along the curved walls. 

"Well, have a good day!" The bug called from behind me, but I didn't bother to turn around or acknowledge his presence as I made my way towards the AirLift. Releasing a breath, I sighed as a feeling of relief washed over me. It felt so good to get out of the stressful confines of the Housing Pod that I was forced to share with the very last person that I wanted to see. 

I pressed the button for the negative twelfth floor after quickly checking my tablet for my assignment, leaning back against the glass walls of the AirLift as it shot me down to my requested floor. When the doors opened the hallway was mostly quiet, and I nodded a greeting to a few early arrivers who stood around in similar uniforms to mine.

I closed my eyes with a sigh as I leaned against the wall, already feeling mentally exhausted even though I had only been awake for no more than thirty minutes.

I had a feeling that it was going to be a long day.

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Let me know what you all think of this story so far! :)

Xoxo, Alex ♡