Anyone But Your Soulmate

Like in Cinderella 3, the simple touch of a hand can be enough to identify a soulmate, but that doesn't mean there aren't those in life that are looking in the wrong direction.

Roman Andrews was the kind of hopeless romantic that would always chase after a cute guy he sees in the distance, and then finds another the moment, the first guy doesn't cause a spark in his hand. Not only was this method bad for himself, but it was also bad for his best friend and roommate, Patton Beagle. Patton is the overly joyous man on campus that would always try to cheer someone up with a joke or pep talk. Under that sunshine exterior, though, was a man who knows that there are those too busy with their own lives to do similar acts for him, even on a minute scale. He has made hints to Roman that he likes him, but Roman didn't seem to notice long enough to respond. As a result of Patton's distress, he would usually vent to his classmate, Virgil Nimbus, about his feelings.

"I say you should approach him and tell him how you feel. If he doesn't return your feelings, it's his loss," Virgil would mostly respond.

"But what if he's not my soulmate and these feelings are for nothing?" Patton would ask.

"If he made that claim, he'd be the most egotistical hypocrite on campus," the emo would retort.

As much as Patton hated Roman being insulted, he was at least glad Virgil cared enough about him to not sugarcoat his thoughts.

One day, Patton was on his bed reading a compilation of "Peanuts" comics when he heard the sound of footsteps, and the door slamming. By the time he looked up, Roman was plopped face first on the bed.

"Leo wasn't the one?" Patton asked related to the latest man Roman was chasing.

"I just don't get it! Everyone else has found their soulmates already and I'm stuck being the One and Lonely!" Roman complained once he took his face off the pillow to look at Patton.

Patton felt bad for Roman. He knew that the overly confident man was really vulnerable deep down, and he wanted to at least be a partial reason for his spirits being lifted, even just a little bit. He walked over to Roman's bed and gave him a concerned look.

"Roman, listen to me. You're creative and bright in your own field, you don't take 'no' for an answer when things get tough, and you're the manliest knight I know. The right man you're looking for will come to you. You've just got to stay put so he can find you, too," Patton calmly told him.

Roman slowly sat up in bed before facing Patton. He grabbed Patton's hands and a long-anticipated spark flowed through both pairs of hands. Before Patton could say anything, Roman told him, "Patton, you're brilliant. I'm sure you'll find the right man, too." The obvious prep left just as Patton was about to shout.

Patton went back to his bed to grab his phone and dialed Virgil's number.

"Virgil, are you busy?"

"Just on an Escape the Night binge, but I can make time for you."

"Do you think 'Here lies Patton Beagle; his soulmate walked out on him and had no idea' would be ideal to write on a tombstone?"

"Ooh, this must be really bad if you're dabbling in dark humor. What happened?"

"I gave Roman a pep talk relating to the fact that I like him, we touched hands, the spark happened, he ignored the meaning, and left."

Virgil growled in frustration from what Patton was going through.

"I think fate might've made a mistake, Virgil. If Roman ever finds out, he's going to think the same thing."

"Well, maybe fate could use an extra push. I know just the guy who can help. He was a friend, but we had a falling out, and now we're just acquaintances after a reunion. Anyway, his ways are questionable, but I can get him to help."

"As long as he doesn't harm or threaten Roman, I'll try whatever it takes. But if it doesn't work, then I'm running off to the woods."

The next day, Roman left one of his classes and laid his eyes on a sly-looking young man with vitiligo and dawning hues of black and yellow. He smirked as he saw the smitten thespian, and beckoned him to approach.

"How about we play '30 minutes in Heaven'?" the man asked.

Roman eagerly nodded and followed the man without a second thought. The man led Roman to a storage closet, and got him inside without touching his hand.

"I need to get some things to make our session more... enjoyable. Wait here for me, gorgeous," the man told him before locking Roman inside.

Elsewhere, Patton was walking with Virgil who was exchanging texts with his acquaintance.

"Okay, Desmond has successfully kept Roman in one spot where he won't be easily distracted," Virgil informed him.

Patton still felt skeptical, but trusted Virgil all the same. Virgil pulled out a copy of the closet key and unlocked it. Once the door was cracked, Virgil lightly shoved Patton into the small space. Roman only saw the silhouette of a man, and pulled him inside by his hand with the door closed and locked behind him. They both noticed the sparks flowing through their hands, and Roman immediately kissed him. Patton didn't know how to feel about the fact that Roman didn't know who he was kissing, but he wanted to at least enjoy it while it lasted. Patton proceeded to kiss Roman as well, and found it really amazing. In the midst of the make out session, Patton's back hit the light switch and Roman backed away from shock.

"Patton! Where did you come from? I was kissing my soulmate!"

"Heh heh, well, surprise, I'm your soulmate."

"No, no, that can't be right. You don't like me as more than a friend!"

"Oh, please. I've been giving you hints for ages! Heck, even when you grabbed my hands yesterday and the spark happened, you ignored me as a possible partner, and would rather look for anyone that isn't me! Look, I understand if you'd prefer anyone else that isn't me. I used to think it would've been pointless to have a crush on you if you weren't my soulmate, but Virgil was right about you being a hypocrite if you were to use that against me!"

Patton slid against the door until he sat on the floor and looked down.

"My last resort would've been to beg you to give me a chance before potentially soul-searching. If it's going to resort to that, then maybe fate made a mistake after all," Patton muttered.

Roman thought about everything he was told. He felt stupid for going after all the wrong guys and not giving Patton a chance first. Sure, Patton was extra friendly to Roman, but he just thought it was part of his personality. He didn't want it to be an excuse for his blindness, though. Roman crouched in front of the miserable Hufflepuff and hugged him tightly.

"I'm not disappointed that my best friend is my soulmate. I'm more disappointed that I didn't take your extra kindness into consideration and that it reached the point where my first kiss with my soulmate involved me not knowing who he was."

Roman brushed some hair off of Patton's face and kissed him gently. After registering that it wasn't an act of lust, Patton found the courage to gently kiss back. They continued to kiss and snuggle into each other until they heard, "30 minutes is up, boys!"