Imagines and One-Shots (Book Two)

Just a Dream (Marshall Traver) - Part 1 *

Warning: Death

~

Your parents had explained to you on the morning of your 13th birthday – when the clock on your wrist had popped up midnight while you were asleep – that it was counting down to the moment you would meet the person you were destined to spend the rest of your life with. Ever since then, you'd been imagining about what it would be like to finally meet your soulmate.

You would catch yourself daydreaming about it almost 24/7, often getting in trouble in class for not paying attention. That never stopped you from drifting off into your own world, of course. You were constantly staring down at your wrist, watching the seconds, minutes, hours, and days get shorter. But you still had a long way to go.

Unfortunately, you would never actually meet him.

You were now 25-years-old, living on your own on the quiet side of your childhood town. You hadn't met your soulmate – it was now truthfully only a thought in the back of your mind these days.

You weren't too concerned with meeting him anymore, to be honest. You'd tried relationships with guys, but they were never what you wanted. Maybe one of you wasn't ready or maybe they didn't want to try with someone who wasn't their soulmate or maybe guys just didn't like you. But you'd given up.

You decided to focus on you and building up your education and you now had a job you absolutely loved, you lived in an apartment you absolutely loved, and you had some of the best friends you could ever ask for.

And that was what led you to this day.

It started off as a normal day; Your best friend had asked you to come to a funeral with him – you'd never met the person who passed, but you obviously agreed, knowing Dan just needed you there for moral support. You put on an outfit that you only wore to gatherings like this, and Dan arrived to pick you up shortly after you'd finished getting ready.

"How are you feeling?" you asked as he walked into your apartment, getting up from the couch to hug him tightly.

"Been better," he answered honestly, letting out a soft, forced chuckle as he hugged you back, "Thanks for agreeing to come with me."

"I'm not gonna turn you away when you need me most, Danny," you murmured, feeling him smile into your shoulder.

"Thanks," he whispered, "We better get going. I promised his parents I'd be there early." You grabbed your phone, wallet, and keys, putting them in your coat pockets before following him out of your apartment. You locked your door, and then followed him out to his car.

It was quiet for most of the ride – a comfortable silence, but you could still sense Dan was hurting. You'd never met Dan's friend before – Marshall, if you remembered his name correctly – but from what he'd told you about him, it sounded like you would have loved him.

He and Marshall were pretty close – almost as close as you two – and he always told you he'd have to set up a time when you were all available for you to meet him. You were honestly a bit disappointed you'd never have that chance now – Dan had told you so much about Marshall and his personality that there was no doubt you two would have gotten along great – but you didn't want to dwell on it too much.

Upon arriving at the funeral home, Dan led you inside and took you to Marshall's parents. They were in the main room where the service would be held, but the casket wasn't open yet – not until it actually started. He introduced all of you, his parents thanked you for being so willing to come just for Dan, and you told them you were incredibly sorry for their loss.

Dan told you when he got the news that Marshall had been in an accident at work where he fell off something and hit the back of his head on the concrete. The doctors tried desperately to save him, but he'd bled out too much on his way to the hospital and there wasn't anything they could do. You couldn't imagine losing someone like that and even though you didn't know him or the family personally, your heart still felt heavy.

~

The actual funeral service started about an hour later, at which point the minister opened the casket as other family members and friends began arriving. You hadn't gone back into the room – you were with Dan and Marshall's parents as they solemnly greeted everyone at the door. But when the last people were arriving and you went back in, the last thing you were expecting to happen did.

You glanced up at the front of the room where the casket was. The boy inside looked so young – you couldn't help but feel sorrowful at how much he had left to do in his life before the accident.

But more than that, you started to hear a faint beeping. You looked over to see if anybody else was hearing it and it was clear they were, as you noticed both Dan and Marshall's father looking around.

"Do you guys hear that?" Dan asked, looking between you and his friend's parents.

"What is that?" his mother wondered, now hearing it as well.

And your eyes widened.

The last time you looked at your soulmate clock was that morning – the clock counting down your soulmate meeting to around 5 and a half hours from that point. You didn't think it would happen at the funeral – but then again, you didn't expect to be there an hour early either. You'd pushed the soulmate thing to the back of your mind though, wanting Dan to have all your focus that day because he really needed you.

But you couldn't do it anymore.

Your head snapped down, pulling down the sleeve of your cardigan just in time for you, Dan, and Marshall's parents to watch the clock disappear from your wrist. And you honestly thought you were going to pass out when you realized what was going on.

"Y/N, you just met your soulmate? Who did you look at?" Dan asked you. You felt like throwing up, to be honest, but you still managed to find the voice to answer him.

"Marshall..." you whispered so softly, you weren't even sure if anyone heard it. His mother gasped as she covered her mouth while his dad and Dan stared in shock.

No one knew what to say – and understandably so. You'd never met Marshall before this and to find out he was your soulmate while you were attending his funeral?

Before anyone could speak, you were gasping for air. You felt like you were at the bottom of the ocean with weights tied to your ankles, desperately trying to resurface but you couldn't – not until you felt Dan shaking you. You couldn't quite hear him – his voice seemed like it was getting farther and farther away – but you could make out one sentence.

"Y/N!" it seemed like he was screaming at you, "Wake up!"

And that was when you shot up, gasping for air once again.

You were covered in sweat with tears streaming from your eyes, but you were still in your bedroom – the time on the clock reading 4:39am – and you were alone and Dan wasn't there and you were so confused.

It was a dream?

"What the fuck?" you murmured to yourself, throwing your body back down as you wiped your face with the bottom of your pajama shirt.

You'd never experienced a dream that felt so real before, and you were honestly confused. But there was one thing you were absolutely certain of: Despite never having seen him in person, the boy Dan had yet to formally introduce you to was actually your soulmate.

~

if u didn't see that coming, u didn't pay attention to the title ;)