"If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know?"

Tori Vega sat on her couch watching tv and eating cereal as she waited for her sister to be done with her rigorous morning routine and take her to school. She was extremely nervous. She was going to a new school, a school for the insanely talented, and she didn't think she belonged there. She was also nervous because the ink on the skin of her wrist was down to 00y 000d 01h 33m 28s. She was supposed to meet her soul mate today. She only knew a handful of people who met their soul mates in high school, her parents included.

She wondered what he would look like. Maybe he would be tall, muscular and handsome. Her mind wandered as she imagined her soul mate.

"Hi, Sweetheart, are you nervous for your first day at Hollywood Arts?" Holly Vega asked her daughter. Tori shook her head from side to side slowly.

"I don't think so." She held up her right arm. "I'm more nervous to meet them." She said.

"Oh! I'm so excited for you. Meeting them will be one of the most uplifting moments of your life. I remember, the day you were born, seeing that you were going to be only sixteen when you met your soul mate and wondering if you would be ready." Holly smiled and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"Do you think I'm ready?" Tori looked up at her mother.

"I'm sure you are." Holly kissed Tori's forehead. Tori smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Mom." Seconds later Trina Vega trampled down the steps and into the living room.

"Come on Tori, we're going to be late!" Trina ran out of the house. Tori stood up and her mom hugged her.

"Good luck." She offered, tears welling in her eyes as she watched her baby girl walk out the door.

Tori checked her wrist again as she walked through the doors of Hollywood Arts.

00y 000d 00h 50m 47s. She was so close to meeting him.

"See, it's just a high school!" Trina turned to face her and smile. Tori looked around confused.

"Uh, this is not just a high school, these kids are all artsy, and creative, and talented, and I'm just normal." She said defeated.

"It's okay!" Her sister grabbed her arm and gave her a smile of encouragement. "There's nothing wrong with being average. Anyways you're not alone. I got your back." She said. A girl ran up excitedly to Trina's side. She yelled something Tori couldn't understand and her sister ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Tori behind.

"I'm alone!" Tori yelled after Trina.

A girl with crimped bright red hair walked down the stairs and passed Tori.

"Hey! Um- can you tell me-" Tori yelled to get the girl's attention.

"Oh my God! You're Tori right?" The exuberant red head said.

"Uh huh."

"You were so awesome in the big showcase." The girl smiled.

"Awww," Tori smiled back.

"My name's Cat." The girl said.

"Like the animal." Tori giggled.

"What's the supposed to mean!" Cat yelled offended.

"Nothing, I – uh – love cats." She said worried.

"Oh, me too, they're so cute!" Cat walked away leaving Tori alone again. A boy with a mess of curls on his head entered the school holding a puppet in his arms.

"Hey!" Tori reached out as he passed her. The boy stopped and looked at her nervously.

"Hey, hi!" He said.

"Can you tell me where Mr. Sikowitz's class is?" Tori asked reading over her schedule. Her wrist caught her attention and the numbers surprised her.

00y 000d 00h 46m 21s

Time felt like it was moving so much faster for her. She was afraid she would miss her soul mate. The boy situated the puppet in his arms.

"Down the hall, swing a left at the water fountain, second door on the right." He spoke through his puppet. Tori stared at him confused.

"Uh, thank you." She said walking passed him and pushing her bangs into place.

"What ever it takes, cupcake." The boy said through is puppet. Tori turned back and glanced at him. The shy boy shook his head and she walked away annoyed.

She stepped into Mr. Sikowitz's classroom looking at her wrist.

00y 000d 00h 10m 00s

She would find her soul mate in her first class of the day. She pushed her schedule into her bag and dropped it beside a chair before turning around and running straight into someone.

"Oh my gosh!" She yelled as the boy grunted and dropped his coffee.

"It's cool!" He tried to consol her as she rubbed at his shirt where the coffee stain was.

"Here, I think it's coming out." She said desperately.

"You're making it worse, actually." He told her. She slowed down and stared at him. Was he her soul mate? The numbers on her wrist said no.

00y 000d 00h 00m 05s

But they were close.

A girl with dark clothes and long brown hair pushed the door open and stopped with her eyes wide.

"Oh my God." The girl said loudly. Tori stepped away from the boy whose shirt she had been rubbing and glanced at her wrist.

00y 000d 00h 00m 00s

"It's not what it looks like." The boy moved towards the girl but she pushed past him.

"Shut up, Beck." She ordered and moved closer to Tori and grabbed her wrist. Beck looked hurt until he realized what she was doing. He glanced at his own wrist and shrugged. Tori noticed that he still had 600 days until he would meet his soul mate. The girl held Tori's arm tightly and pushed their wrists together. When she pulled back the numbers on Tori's wrist faded away slowly until the digits that had been on her skin for nearly seventeen years were gone.

"You're my soul mate." She said in shock. Tori smiled.

"Hi, I'm Tori."

"I'm Jade."