Everyone had this marking on their body – the name of their soulmate in that person's handwriting. It appeared on some random area of skin on the day of their 18th birthday. You waited and waited the entire day – forcing yourself to go through your party and the rest of the evening with your parents as if nothing was bothering you when, in fact, you were becoming more discouraged with every passing minute. You hadn't felt a single thing on any part of your body that day apart from when your aunt accidentally bumped your thigh with the present she'd brought over for you. It was a bit sore the rest of the day, telling you that there was definitely going to be a bruise there later.
But after your family had gone home and you hopped in the shower before bed, you couldn't help but notice a black mark on your leg out of the corner of your eye. You looked down, your eyes widening at the infamous scrawl of your soulmate's name. You were one of the lucky ones – those who could actually read their soulmate's handwriting.
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You would do nothing but stare at your thigh all day, your fingers running along the ink etched into your skin. You had no idea how or when you were going to find this Ashton person.
Because in a world of seven billion people, the odds of finding him were literally one in seven billion.
~
Three years later
You were now 21-years-old and still living in the city you grew up in. It wasn't a small town by any means, but it certainly wasn't a well-known one either. So when a band as popular as 5 Seconds of Summer announced they would be playing not one but two shows there, the buzz around town was somewhat surprising.
You had known the drummer of the band was your soulmate since you saw a photo on Twitter that someone had posted of his signature. You'd been a fan of their music for a few months before ever knowing what the members' names even were, and to find out your soulmate was one of them... You honestly thought you were being pranked. You thought that maybe someone else had the same signature – but you wouldn't know for sure until your soulmate wrote it for you.
And that was when you hatched a plan.
The moment tickets for the shows went on sale that following week, you tried to get one. With your luck, it didn't happen, so you had to go with the next best thing: walking around the city in the hopes of running into the band.
~
Two months later
5SOS had been in your town since last night, so you woke up that morning feeling pretty skeptical that you would even get the chance to see them. But you went out anyway, putting on your favorite outfit – making sure that the shorts you were wearing were long enough to cover the tattoo – before you headed out. You had a few errands to run that day anyway, so it wasn't like you weren't going out with no plan, you were just hoping to see Ashton along the way.
Your break came as you were coming out of Starbucks after buying yourself a drink. You looked to your right and saw Ashton and Calum walking down the sidewalk toward you. Your heart instantly started pounding in your chest as they got closer and closer. You were trying to make yourself brave enough to stop them and say hi, but you didn't have to make that decision – they already noticed your wide eyes.
"Hi!" Ashton chirped, giving you his famous dimpled smile, "You look like you're a fan."
"Yeah," you sighed, "Sorry for staring. I just didn't expect to actually see any of you today."
"What's your name?" Calum asked you.
"Y/N," you smiled shyly.
Ashton froze for a moment, but quickly shook it off before you noticed. Calum gave him a look, obviously knowing what was going through his best friend's mind, but simply chose to keep quiet for now.
"So, Y/N-" The sound of Ashton saying your name honestly made you feel weak. "-would you like to take a photo?" Your eyes widened again.
"Right!" you squeaked, quickly pulling out your phone, "Yes! Please!" They chuckled at you and you took a photo with each of the boys, thanking them when they were done.
"Do you have anything you want us to sign?" Calum asked slyly, earning himself a subtle jab to the ribs from Ashton.
"Uh..." you trailed off, looking around you for something they could sign. "You can sign this," you shrugged, giving them a nervous laugh as you pointed to the sleeve on your coffee cup.
They laughed in return and Calum took the cup to sign it with the Sharpie he always kept in his pocket just in case. You noticed Ashton's slight glare at the bass player when he handed him the cup and marker, making you cock an eyebrow. You didn't think too much of it though, figuring it had nothing to do with you or the situation you'd all found yourselves in.
As Ashton was writing his name, you felt your thigh start to itch. There was an uncomfortable look on your face, but you tried not to show it, not wanting either of the boys to think it was their fault. But the moment Ashton handed you your drink back and you looked at his name, it became increasingly difficult to ignore the searing burning sensation on your leg.
"Are you alright?" Ashton asked, the concern on his face very obvious.
"Mhmm," you squeaked, nodding rapidly.
You leaned down to subtly scratch your leg, hoping that would relieve some of the pressure on it. It didn't, of course, so you knew you had to leave.
"I'm sorry, but I have a lot of errands to run today," you told them, standing back upright and pretending your tattoo didn't hurt, "It was really nice meeting you guys. Tell Luke and Michael some random fan they'll probably never meet said hello." Ashton's face dropped slightly at the thought of never seeing you again and you saw him rub his collarbone lightly.
"It was nice meeting you too, Y/N," he said.
"Yeah," Calum nodded, "And we'll be sure to tell them." You smiled, giving them both hugs.
