Chapter One

34 days, 1 hour, 52 minutes and 13 seconds.

Every time she looked at the number her heart skipped. Only 34 more days. 34 days and she would meet him. So many questions rushed through her mind, who would it be? Would he be younger or older? Tall or short? Brown eyes or blue?

She'd seen peoples' clocks break, leaving them devastated. Instead of a soulmate they received therapy and condolences. How would she handle that? It was tragic, everyone has someone and suddenly you're left. All alone.

That was the case of her best friend, Emily. She was what we called a "fast track," her countdown had started much lower than the rest of us. She was thirteen when it happened. She never knew exactly who she had lost, but many speculated it to be a girl named Alison who had been murdered one town over.

Emily took it hard, she locked herself up for weeks. She'd had one day left on her clock when her other half was so brutally taken from her. Her friends tried to comfort her, but it was of no use. How do you come back from that? It's been a few years and she's still had trouble dealing. She'd been attending a club of sorts where other people who'd lost their soulmate gathered. It seemed to be helping.

Hanna's clock still had a long way to go. She grumbled about how lucky the other girls were. Spencer always reminded her that patience is a virtue and she would simply roll her eyes. She'd make comments about being an old hag by the time she met them. They reassured her by reminding her that 26 really isn't that old.

To warm her lonely heart she had flings with people who were waiting themselves. This week's guy was Sean, she thought? He joined them for lunch and Hanna peppered him with kisses. He seemed uncomfortable, he believed in waiting and she had no idea how Hanna had gotten him to date her in the first place. He was in the TLW (True Love Waits) Club, for goodness sake.

Spencer was lucky. Her clock stopped at 16 when she met the beautiful blue eyed Toby. Their first encounter wasn't so great. She had heard about him and he teases her relentlessly about her first words to him. "What the hell? This is what I've been waiting for?" She quickly got over her preconceived notions about him, though. They really were perfect for each other.

Spencer was uptight and intense. He was laid back and gentle. He kept her grounded and everyone drooled over them, dubbing them, "the couple." She couldn't be happier for the two. Emily even found solace through Spencer and Toby. They had both been two of her best friends before they even met and seeing them happy really made her happy. It made her believe in love and even if she couldn't have a happy ending, she was glad that they could.

Meanwhile she waited anxiously for her time to run up. She was lost in thought when Hanna grabbed her attention at the lunch table by tossing a piece of celery at her face.

"Did you even hear me, Aria?" Hanna asked expectantly.

She shook her head and looked at her apologetically.

"I said... There is a gorgeous new teacher, he's 24 and his clock is still ticking. Every girl in class was upset that she wasn't his other half," Hanna said dramatically, sighing as she pictured the new teacher.

Aria laughed at her, she was always one for drama. She had to admit, her curiosity was piqued. A young English teacher, that sounded promising. Sadly, she was in Mrs. Grunwald's English class, the old lady gave her the creeps.

"I bet you're jelly," Hanna taunted and Aria stuck her tongue out at her.

"Girls," Spencer warned playfully, "Don't tease Aria, it's not her fault she's stuck with Mrs. Creepy."

The four girls, plus Toby and Sean, laughed and they continue their lunch. Aria looked back down at the small metallic tab on her wrist.

34 days, 0 hours, 59 minutes and 22 seconds.

Later that evening Aria flopped onto her bed. She couldn't quiet the butterflies in her stomach. She was dying of curiosity and couldn't believe that her whole world would change in a little over a month. She'd heard some girls talking in the bathroom earlier that day about a website where you enter your time and it searches for others near you.

She typed into her search bar and waited for the results to load. Find Your Match, NOW! She clicked on the link and nervously typed in her first name and the time left on her wrist.

Two names popped up. There was an Ezra and a Gertrude. Scrunching her nose up she decided to click on Ezra's profile.

He was in his early 20s and "only on this site because his best friend Hardy was tired of hearing his crap."

She giggled at that. Her heart raced as she clicked on the chat button and typed out a quick message.

Aria: Hey, it looks like we could be a match. I don't know why I'm doing this.. Curiosity, I guess. I'm freaking out, if we're being honest. One month and I'll meet my soulmate. I've been counting down the minutes. How are you feeling? Could you possibly be as anxious as I am? Still ticking away.

I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. We've never met or talked before. It's easier to talk to strangers, I suppose. So, if you happen to read this, send me a message or don't. Do whatever you want. I could either talk to you or Gertrude and I don't think she's my soulmate, but you never know. Haha ;) Goodbye, Ezra.

33 days, 22 hours, 16 minutes and 39 seconds.

He was looking at his clock when his computer pinged, alerting him of a message. He opened it up, it was the dumb singles website that Hardy had signed him up for. He hadn't looked at that in months, honestly he thought it was stupid. You should just be patient and wait to come across your soulmate when the time is right.

He read the alert. Aria, that's a beautiful name. The only other person who had popped up for him was an old lady named Gertrude. He read her message and laughed, seemed she had seen the older woman as well. Something about her drew him in and although he doubted she was the one, he wouldn't mind talking to her. He read over her message again and decided to respond.

Ezra: Aria, first of all, that's a beautiful name. Talking to strangers is easier. While we're being honest, I'm petrified but also really excited. I, too, have been counting. Won't be long, now. It's hard to picture, someone crashing into your life so suddenly.

But, I hate to break it to you... I am already deeply in love with Gertrude, I visit her in the nursing home on a regular basis. ;P

I'll be waiting for your reply...

He nervously sent the message and decided to hop up and stretch his limbs. He paced the room nervously. He had just started a teaching job and as if that wasn't enough pressure, he had one month left. Hardy teased him about taking it so seriously. He didn't get the big deal and while he was free he was making, what he thought to be, the best use of his time. Partying and sleeping around. He tried to bring Ezra along as his wingman but he just wasn't feeling it.

Hardy had about 2,000 days left on his clock and he was reveling in the freedom. Ezra teased that when he met the girl that she'd be disgusted and decide to die alone, cursing the gods for their choice in men.

He heard his laptop chime again and immediately rushed over.

Aria: Good for Gertrude, everyone needs love. ;)

Ezra: I agree... So, tell me about yourself.

He braced himself, hoping that he didn't sound too forward.

Aria: What do you want to know?

Ezra: Hmmm... Interests?

Aria: Reading and writing. Don't laugh. :P

Suddenly he was intrigued by this girl, she almost seemed like a female version of himself. Wait, that didn't sound right.

Ezra: I would never laugh! I'm actually an English teacher. What do you write about?

Aria: It's mostly personal, just for me. Where do you teach?

He panicked for a moment. He couldn't tell her that, could he? He'd been talking to her for about 5 minutes.

Ezra: Must be pure passion, then. Are we allowed to share that kind of info? I'm leaning towards no, I wouldn't want to give away my top secret identity. ;)

Aria: Ohhh, so mysterious.

Ezra: I like to keep people on their toes.

Aria: I'm sure... I actually need to go to bed. It's very late where I am and I have an early morning. Will we talk soon?

Disappointment flooded through his body, did she really have to go so soon? He looked over at the time on the wall, 1:26am. It was late for him, too, and he needed to teach a class in the morning.

Ezra: I'd like that. Tomorrow night?

Aria: Sounds like a plan. Goodnight, Ezra. :)

Ezra: Goodnight, Aria.

He couldn't help but feel giddy, which was ridiculous. He had a strong aversion to online dating and kept telling himself that Aria was probably a 40 year old man with a beer belly. Although he doubted it, she seemed sincere. All he knew was that he couldn't wait to get to know her better.

So, here's my new story! I hope y'all aren't too confused. I'm really excited about this storyline and I hope you are too! So, review and let me know what you think.

All my love,
-RissyWrites