iMate

With her hand wrapped around the remote, Eden kept her gaze locked on the television, while she admired Jensen Ackles perfect eyes as he staked a vampire in the chest. Even the blood splattering his face couldn’t take Eden’s attention away from his brilliant eyes, but Harry could.

“What ya doing, E?” Harry asked, he plopped next to her on the sofa. His arms hung over the ends, while he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table.

“Just watching Supernatural.” She looked over at him for a moment, before admiring Jensen once more. “What are you doing?”

Harry flipped his feet, before running his hands through his hair. “Waiting for my date.”

“Date?”

Eden wasn’t sure whether or not she should care that Harry was dating. He’d always dated and this time wasn’t any different. It didn’t feel any different. Not to her, at least. She expected her stomach to drop in her chest or for her heart to start racing, but it felt exactly the same as it did every time Harry went on a date.

It was as if her body didn’t even realize she was supposed to be with Harry, and if it did, it certainly didn’t care.

Nodding his head, Harry looked back to her with a smile. “Can you believe it? I got a date without any help from you.”

Eden laughed, before shoving her hands against his chest. He always joked with her about constantly setting him up. In the past, she’d gotten more girls for him than he’d gotten for himself. It was just the way they’d worked. But now she didn’t even know the girls he dated. It was probably better that way, though.

“Who is it this time?” she asked, her lips pursed. “A model? An actress?”

Harry shook his head, as he fluttered his eyes. “Just a girl."

“Just a girl? Like a normal girl?”

“Yes, just a girl,” Harry said, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sick of celebrities and all the drama they bring. I just want a normal relationship with a normal girl.”

Eden’s eyes flickered, as she looked back at her childhood friend. He’d never said the word relationship before. This was not the Harry she knew, and something about it worried her. Her eyes moved back to the television, staring at it as she spoke.

“This girl got you whipped, Haz?”

Rolling his eyes, Harry tossed his arm over Eden’s shoulder. He pulled her quickly towards him, successfully slamming her head against his chest. With his hand tucked into a fist, he rubbed her hair back and forth.

Before she could pull away, the motion had knotted her hair at the top of her head. Eden hated when he did that with every fiber of her being.

“Harry!” she shouted. Her voice let out a laugh at the end, as a smile passed her lips.

Shooting her a smirk, Harry chuckled. “Don’t be such a baby.”

Eden moved her hand to her hair and attempted to fix it. The knot wasn’t too terrible, and she was able to get rid of it with just a few passes of her fingers. She had become a pro at removing the constant knots from her hair. He’d been doing it since grammar school.

Pursing her lips, Eden looked back at him. “So when is this date?”

“I’m picking her up in half an hour.”

Eden wondered if that should make her jealous. She didn’t feel jealous, but a part of her knew that she should. Harry was supposed to be her soulmate. She was supposed to spend the rest of her life with him, and he was about to go on a date with another girl.

What if he fell in love with this girl? It was a long shot, but it could happen. It had happened to other people before, and it could happen to Harry in less than an hour. He could fall in love with her and Eden would never get a chance at a life with her soulmate.

Maybe it would be better that way. If Harry fell in love with someone else, she could just forget about her iMate, her soulmate and all the responsibilities that came with it. She could forget that the pulse ever happened and just go on with her life. She could settle for whatever guy would be second best.

After all, second really isn’t that bad. Second is the new first. But, second is the first to lose.

Taking a deep breath, Eden looked over at Harry, who was fluffing up his hair one last time before heading out the door. She bit her lip, as her eyes moved over the boy she’d spent her entire life being friends with.

She thought about all the times they’d played together and pushed one another in the sand. She thought of all the times she’d sent him on dates and all the times he’d helped her with boys.

They’d been through everything together, and as her eyes ran over his body, Eden wondered how she could ever fall in love with her best friend.

Most of all, she wondered if he could ever fall in love with her.