Onyx slid the case of beer over the counter and cocked an eyebrow as the older man frowned down at him. He knew what was going to come out of the man’s mouth before he said it. How could he not? This would only be the third time he’d heard the very same lecture that week.

“You never give up, do ya?” the man asked with a sigh. “Look, kid, I don’t want to have to explain this to you anymore than I already have. You’re underaged and there’s no doubting that. What are you; five-foot-two, and you expect me to believe you’re a man? Hell, I’d hardly believe you if you told me you were thirteen.”

“I’m five-foot-six, jerk,” Onyx grumbled, “and I brought an ID this time.”

The man stared as he held out the card before letting out a scoff. “Nice fake ID. As if I haven’t seen one of those before.”

“Oh, come on,” Onyx groaned. “Just help me out this once? What’s holding you back?”

“The law.”

“What if I told you I was getting it for my sick mother?”

“I’d call you a dumbass for buying a case of beer for a sick woman.” The man crossed his arms over his chest. “Just go, kid. You have no business being here, anyway. I’d hate to have to report you or ban you from this shop if you ever attempt this stupid stunt again.”

Onyx rolled his eyes and flipped the man off before exiting the liquor store. God, he was bored. Without any work to do or anything to preoccupy his time with, he figured it wouldn’t be the worst idea to get a little wasted, but there went that plan. Now, what he was going to do, he had no idea. That was, until he felt a certain feeling wash through him.

The odd feeling left him pausing in shock and glancing down at his wrist. The veins running through the appendage were suddenly glowing red and he could visibly see a slight pulse within them. He glanced around at his surroundings and swallowed, his throat suddenly dry and his stomach began to turn. This wasn’t actually happening, was it?

“Shit…” Onyx murmured to himself, finding himself fighting against the mysterious force that began to wash over him. A force that urged him forward toward some unseeable fate. But as stubborn as Onyx was, he could also be accused of being one of the most curious people you’d ever meet.

Onyx gripped his wrist as he finally let his feet carry him forward.

Go forward. Take a right. Through the alleyway.

Suddenly, Onyx found himself standing in front of the cause of it all. The cause of the conflicting feelings running through him and his heavily beating heart.. Initially surprised, his shock quickly morphed to doubt and then… anger. There was no way. There was no way in hell this was actually happening. There was no way the person standing before him, glancing down at him with a shock of his own, was his soulmate.

There was no way his soulmate was a man.

Onyx took a few steps away with a frown in the man’s direction. “No way.”

It wasn’t as if the guy was unattractive; nowhere near it, in fact. With pale skin, pale gray eyes staring at him through black-framed glasses, and a head of raven-black hair styled in an undercut, the guy could have been a model. At a first glance, it seemed as if he was fortunate enough to easily make such a thing happen. The guy practically towered over him, but there was no surprise there. 

But Onyx wasn’t attracted to men. He’d never been attracted to a man before, and nothing had changed. He had a girlfriend waiting for him at home, for Christ’s sake. This wasn’t happening. He could safely say he’d had to deal with a bunch of utter nonsense within his lifetime, but there was no way he was willing to deal with this. 

He spun on his heel with a few muttered curses under his breath and hastily began to walk away only for the man to call out to him. He ignored it; continued to do so even when he heard footsteps picking up from behind him. His footsteps picked up until he was sprinting. He groaned when he realized his supposed soulmate was doing the same. 

“Hey!” the man called. “Wait a minute!”

“Back off!” Onyx called back. What did this guy want with him? Couldn’t he see the Onyx clearly wanted nothing to do with him? 

He spun around with a ferocious glare when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His glare worsened when the man managed to seem completely unbothered by his obvious anger. He panted and watched as the man did the same before he asked, “what do you want?”

“Let me see your arm,” the man panted out, holding out his own arm, palm up, so Onyx could see that, very much like his own, the man’s veins were glowing a bright red beneath his skin.

Onyx shook his head. “No. I’m not your soulmate. This is some sort of mistake.”

“Then let me see.”

Onyx rolled his eyes and pulled back his sleeve. Sure enough, he could visibly see that their pulses matched, and somehow, that made him feel ten times more sick than he already did. “Look, buddy, I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I don't go for dudes. I’m not gay.”

“Really?” the man asked, a single thin eyebrow arching up dubiously, “because the link says otherwise.”

Onyx’s eyes narrowed. “Look, don’t be a smartass—”

“What’s your name?” the stranger interrupted.

“Does it matter? We’re not going to become a thing.”

“I have money.”

Onyx scoffed, looking the stranger up and down. “So what? I can tell.”

The man let out an irritated sigh. “Look, I just want to know. I’m Day Everett, and who are you?”

“Onyx,” he finally answered, if only because he hoped his answer would end the conversation. “Now are we done? Can I go home without you chasing after my tail?”

Day only laughed. “You’d think you’d treat your soulmate nicely, but I’m guessing that isn’t your thing, huh?”

“You’re not my soulmate,” Onyx stated. “You don’t mean a thing to me. Why should I have to treat you like you’re some sort of prince?”

Day only stared for a moment with an odd look on his face. It was as if he, too, was starting to question if there was some sort of mix-up going on. It didn’t even surprise Onyx when Day asked, “can I have your number, at least?”

Onyx only laughed. “For a thousand dollars and a case of beer, sure.”

Day shrugged. “Alright.”

Onyx’s laughter halted. Was this guy seriously that desperate? He was willing to give up a thousand dollars in exchange for some stranger’s phone number? He had to be joking. “You serious?"

Day smiled. “Well, yeah. It isn’t like I have a thousand dollars on me right now, but if you give me your number, I could always give it to you later. Just a small tip to the less fortunate.”

Onyx chose to ignore the slight dig and instead dubiously took the phone from Day’s hand and began to put his contact information in. If he was stupid enough to give up that amount of money, then he was sure as hell willing to take it. “Don’t get the wrong idea about any of this.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Day murmured absently. “You’re straight. Got it.”

“I want the case of beer right now, though.”

“Okay, Onyx,” Day said with a slight smile. “Then lead the way.”