MATCHED BY FATE<br/>Â<br/>Rainie lay on her belly atop her bed, gargantuan headphones encompassing her ears. Her long red hair was strewn about and her ankles were crossed in the air. There was a book in front of her nose, her intense violet eyes scanning each line with precision. Loud bass and impressive solos filled her head comfortably, as did the words telling the story of a tragic romance upon the page which she read. She figured she needed to study up on this whole â€œloveâ€ thing if she was going to be matched with her stupid â€œsoul mateâ€ someday soon.<br/>Â<br/>With a snort of disgust she sat up and tossed the unbearable book aside. She watched it hit the floor hard and bounce, pages aflutter, with a bit of satisfaction. She just couldnâ€™t<span style="font-style: italic">stand</span>that crap! She groaned and flopped down on her pillow, clutching the object to her. Individuality had always been important to her. In a family of five, one had to assert herself. But it did not matter to the Society whether she was a spunky girl with a sense of humor. They only categorized her as â€œrebelliousâ€ and â€œneeding guidance.â€ That stuff really ticked her off.<br/>Â<br/>She had taken the stupid quiz twice. The first time she had bullshitted her answers for the hell of it. But she hadnâ€™t known that her mother would read it before putting it in the mail. Fuming and irritated, Rainie had done it over again, this time honestly.<br/>Â<br/>She had no interest in romance, whatsoever. And the damn Society was making her go through with this circus!<br/>Â<br/>â€œRainie! The letter came!â€ Her motherâ€™s voice rang up the staircase and through the hall.<br/>Â<br/>When the girl didnâ€™t respond her mother came stomping up the stairs and burst in. â€œRainie!!â€ She shouted, scaring the wits out of her daughter.<br/>Â<br/>Rainie stared at her eccentric mother with wide eyes, her hand pressed to her chest where her heart thundered erratically. She watched her motherâ€™s lips move, forming words, but she couldnâ€™t hear anything besides her booming music.<br/>Â<br/>She removed the headphones, letting them dangle from her slim neck with the music still blaring. â€œWhat?â€ She asked.<br/>Â<br/>Her mother glared at her. â€œI<span style="font-style: italic">said</span>that the<span style="font-style: italic">letter</span>came, doofus. Youâ€™ll make yourself deaf with it that loud, ya know.â€ The woman scolded haughtily.<br/>Â<br/>Rainie rolled her eyes. â€œYouâ€™re ten times worse. Youâ€™ve blown, oh I dunno, how many speakers in your car again?â€ She replaced the headphones and went about ignoring her mom. That is, until she shoved a piece of paper under her nose.<br/>Â<br/>Without removing her headphones Rainie read the letter silently. Her mother left somewhere between her beginning it and finishing it, the words she spoke unheard the entire time.<br/>Â<br/>----<br/>Â<br/>Adam Risem rose from his bed as the sun streamed in his window. It was silent as a graveyard in the empty apartment. He drew back his sheets and let his feet rest on the chilled floor.<span style="font-style: italic">I ought to move that rug closer to the bed...</span>He thought blandly.<br/>Â<br/>Adam lifted his head, shaking silvery hair from his eyes. The flat was quiet, empty. Rising from the bed he noted the date. Today was the day of that Match Ball thing his father was making him go to. The man had even had a tux delivered to the flat from his grand house on the outskirts of the city.<br/>Â<br/>Adam wondered idly who his old man was waking up to this morning. He doubted itâ€™d be his mother, of course. His mom was somewhere in Devine, tasting fine wine and eating cherries for breakfast.<br/>Â<br/>He padded through his empty house. He would need to shower, get dressed, do<span style="font-style: italic">something</span>with his hair, and mentally prepare himself for the horrors he would be encountering later tonight. Adam didnâ€™t like the thought of being forced to bond with anyone. He had grown up independent...and didnâ€™t do too terribly well when meeting new people.<br/>Â<br/>And the Society...they just didnâ€™t sit well with him.<br/>Â<br/>Hours before he was supposed to be, Adam was standing before his mirror, staring fixedly at his reflection. His burgundy eyes reflected back at him, making him cringe internally. He hated his fatherâ€™s eyes. But that wasnâ€™t what was currently worrying him.<span style="font-style: italic">Pull it back, or leave it down?</span>Anyone with long hair has been faced with this question at least once in their life. Adamâ€™s hair brushed his shoulders, all choppy with grown out layers of different lengths. He usually only pulled it back when he played his music, but heâ€™d been told on more than one occasion that he looked handsome that way.<br/>Â<br/>Frustrated, he scowled at his reflection. It scowled back.<br/>Â<br/>---<br/>Â<br/>Rainie was scowling at her<span style="font-style: italic">own</span>reflection around the same time. Her mother had crammed her into this tiny little dress that made her look like a porcelain doll. It drove her crazy! It was all lacy and poofy with a black sash and big black satin bow around her middle. All it did was pronounce exactly how skinny and flat-chested she was. But, worst of all...it was<span style="font-style: italic">purple</span>.<br/>Â<br/>â€œCan I wear something black? Or maybe a dark green? So when I make a break for it Iâ€™ll be able to blend in with the shadows?â€ She grumbled to her mother.Â<br/><br/>The woman merely takes at her as she pulled Rainie's hair into two pigtails. Her hair was so long it almost always needed to be pulled up. As it was, the pigtails came to her slender hips.Â<br/><br/>"We need to hurry if you want to catch the tram." Her mother said, an odd catch in her voice as she added violet flowers and ribbons to the base of her ponytails.Â<br/><br/>Rainie met her mother's eyes in the mirror, finding tears on the verge of falling. "Mom?" she whispered.Â<br/><br/>Her mother sniffled and tried to smile. "Sorry, hun. Just a little..." Her mother wiped her eyes, stepping back and admiring her handiwork. "You look lovely." she told her.Â<br/><br/>Rainie spared herself a brief glance in the mirror. Her mother had tied violets to the base of her twin ponytails with purple ribbons. She hadn't noticed until now that the dress and flowers matched her violet eyes exactly.Â<br/><br/>She ended up missing the tram, so her father had hailed a transport for her. He had been equally emotional as her mother in his own subtle way. He'd even demanded a hug before sending her off. Rainie slid into the cab, feeling ridiculous and goofy looking as she told the computer where to take her.Â<br/><br/>Watching the figure of her father shrink in the rear view mirror was one of the saddest sights she had ever beheld.Â<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>Finally with hair combed and tux donned, Adam had arrived at the silly party. It was a pathetic gathering, really. Hardly anyone was doing anything interesting. Well, accept that girl he had spied across the floor, wearing a tux. People had openly stared at her while making hushed comments to their companions.Â<br/><br/>Adam found it funny.Â<br/><br/>Rainie waltzed in very late to the stupid ball. She was scowling and cursing the entire walk in, the<span style="font-style: italic">click click click</span>of her high heels driving her up the wall.Â<br/><br/>It looked like pretty much everyone was just waiting around to get called into some room filled with screens. Rainie snorted at their sheep-like eagerness and made her way to the lavish food table.Â<br/><br/>As other girls picked at their sandwiches prettily, Rainie went ahead and downed a slice of cheese pizza and a can of soda in five minutes flat. Her damn folks had been so busy getting her ready for this thing they'd forgotten to feed her! She didn't give a damn if these people thought she was a pig, she was half the size of everyone here anyway.Â<br/><br/>Dabbing her lips free of grease and crumbs, her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to peek into the room with the screens.Â<br/><br/>"Adam Risem?" said a man in a smart uniform.Â<br/><br/>Adam glanced up from the spot on the floor he'd been staring at. He'd barely done any socializing. Hell, he'd barely made eye contact with anyone.Â<br/><br/>"Your match will be revealed to you shortly." the smiling man said.Â<br/><br/>Frowning with a drink in hand, Adam followed the man to a room of computer screens. The one he was placed at gave him a picture and a name. Road Kamelot.Â<br/><br/>How was that even a name?<br/><br/>Then he looked a little closer at the girl herself. She was pretty, sure, but there was something he recognized about her...<br/><br/>He smacked his forehead with the heel of his palm. "The crossdresser..." he groaned in realization.Â<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">That's. Just. Awesome.</span>