After finishing this first chapter, I ask that you read the author's note at the bottom. It will provide a bit more info about this AU.

Finally: Part One of Three

Soulmate [Noun]
1
: a person who is perfectly suited to another in temperament

2
: a person who strongly resembles another in attitudes or beliefs ideological soul mates
Definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Whenever Mathias Kohler had heard the stories about soul mates, they were happy and always ended with the two being madly in love, without a care in the world. So, of course, that's what he had expected of his own meeting.

He would see them, in a library, and, being unable to look away, would walk up a grab whatever they were reading, forcing them to say the very words inked on his left forearm since birth, "Give me back my book." Then his soul mate would realize that it was him, the one they had been waiting for their entire life. They would fall in love and be together forever, addicted to each other's presence.

Mathias was sure that it was going to go the exact way he thought it would and refused to listen to his mother and father as they tried to convince him otherwise.

Therefore, every time he saw someone new reading, he would run up and grab it. His efforts proved fruitless, only resulting in angry parents and his mother's apologies. But Mathias would never give up, he knew that they would meet. he was sure of it.

When his teacher let he and his class out for recess, Mathias ran towards the field with excitement. He and his friends, Alfred and Gilbert, had been planning on finishing their soccer game from the day before. But when Mathias glanced towards the big oak tree, he stopped.

There, sitting against the trunk, was a boy reading one of the thickest books he had ever seen. Mathias had never seen him before, and there was gossip about a new kid circling around, so this had to be him.

Mathias knew that he shouldn't bother him, that he already had two strikes to time out, and that it wasn't worth a third, but he just couldn't help it. Something inside told him that he wanted to be friends with this boy, spend forever with him, and Mathias didn't know why.

In the method that he had been using, Mathias sneaked up to the boy, stopping only when he snatched the book from the boy's hands.

"Wha cha readin'?" he said, flipping through the pages. It was a heavy book and Mathias wondered how such a thin boy could carry such a book around. As he scanned the pages, there were some names he recognized, his parents talking about them, but he couldn't remember what it was.

The boy looked up at him, his eyes lighting up in either recognition or surprise, then giving way to annoyance.
"Give me back my book."

Mathias thought he was forgetting something, but, with his stomach flipping at the idea of angering the boy, he immediately gave the book back, carefully keeping the page in place. After reclaiming the stolen item, the boy stood, and, with a huff, stalked away.

It wasn't until later, when Mathias walked inside the classroom, sweating, that he realized that they had both been blushing like the younger kids.

After that day, Mathias had vowed to learn the boy's name and become his friend, not telling Alfred and Gilbert about him until he did so. He looked everywhere for the boy with the book, during recess and lunch, even reaching the point of asking those on the playground if they'd seen him. No one had.

Soon, Mathias spent the entirety of his time searching for the boy, growing desperate, his parents exchanging looks while he talked about the boy. if only he could see him again, or at least know his name.

It wasn't until the next week, during Social Studies, that something had happened. Mrs. Elizabeta was standing, head out of the door, speaking unheard words to someone in the hallway, before ushering another into the classroom. It was the boy, his book tucked under his arm.

"Okay, my pumpkins!" she clapped her hands together and smiled. "Today we have a new friend joining us!" she looked at the boy, an overly happy expression on her face. "Why don't you introduce yourself, sweetheart?"

The entire class turned towards the boy, some bored and others expecting. Mathias had an expression of downright ecstasy. Finally, after a week of just calling him "the boy", would he finally know his name!

In response to the stares he had been receiving, the boy started to study his new classmates, When his eyes landed on Mathias, he lingered for just a fraction of a second longer than he did the others, before jerking his head to the side, the look going unnoticed by everyone but Mathias.

The boy whispered something, Mrs. Elizabeta, along with the class, leaning in in an attempt to hear him better.

When she couldn't, she said, "Could you repeat that again, sweetie? There's no need to be shy, we're all family!"

The boy slightly turned his head towards the class and muttered, loud enough for those only in the back to have troubles hearing, "Lukas Bondevik"

Mathias felt like he could burst out of his chair with joy. Lukas! His name was Lukas! He didn't know why, but it was as if his worries for the entire week - no, the entire year had either been answered or disappeared.

Mrs. Elizabeta scanned the room, searching for a seat. When she spotted one, she turned back to Lukas.

"Why don't you sit next to Mathias? There, right next to him!"

Mathias jerked his head up, and when realizing his teacher's words, suppressed a whoop of glee, When Lukas scrambled to the empty desk next to him, most likely eager to get away from the looks of the class, Mathias couldn't help but want to hug him. The glances Lukas was sending him didn't help the situation, either.

Lukas. Lukas. Lukas.

Author's Note:
First, I would like to apologize for the length of the chapter. Both of the others are going to be this length, if not shorter. I'm going to be changing POVs, and I didn't want to do it mid-chapter, so this is kind of an organizing thing.
As for this AU, you may have noticed that Mathias had grown a bit of an obsession with Lukas. This is not a mistake, but intentional. In this universe, once a someone gets a whiff of their "other half", no matter the age, they instantly become obsessed. This will be explained in the next chapter. I just want you guys to know that I'm not making a fourth grader become a stalker just for the hell of it.
On another note, if you find Hungary a bit OOC, I must say that one, I'm not that well-versed with her, and I just used her because it seems that she would be a good fourth grade teacher, and two, the way she talked is literally the way every female teacher at my elementary school talked.