Author's Note: This is the last chapter! Thank you so so much to everyone who read through and stuck with this story, you have no idea how much it means to me. It was such an amazing experience participating in Zenmasters Anthology 2017 and I hope you all enjoy this last chapter!

As the child of two people who were not soulmates, Hyde had never truly known happiness. And as someone who didn't fully believe in soulmates or the soulmate clock, there were only three things about it that he was convinced of. One, he was certain that because his existence was outside the realm of soulmates, whatever powers may or may not exist wanted to make him suffer.

Another thing he was sure of was his feelings for Jackie Burkhart. All this soulmate 'stuff' aside, every cell in his body ached for her and he cared more about her than any other living soul on this planet. And lastly, he was starting to think that with Jackie he might actually be happy.

But all that shattered into a thousand tiny fragments as Jackie tore out of the basement, slamming the door shut behind her.

Hyde couldn't move. He heard her feet fly up the cement stairs and then all was silent. The television still blared in front of him, but Hyde was suddenly filled with such strong emotion – that which he could not identify – that all sound was washed away to nothing.

Suddenly Hyde was on his feet, pacing the length of the basement. He contemplated following Jackie but had no idea where she had run to or what he would say if he found her. Why couldn't he just tell her the truth? He knew now that he wasn't going to be able to shove this all aside any longer, but the words always got caught in the back of his throat.

He needed to kick something. As he passed the lawn chair, his foot sent it flying into the record player by the door, spilling a ton of 45s across the ground. Then, with a bit more self-control, he removed his sunglasses and hung them on the collar of his shirt before rubbing vigorously at his eyes, a behavior he often found himself doing when he was frustrated, as though a subconscious part of him believed doing this could make it all go away.

He was pacing back in the direction of his chair and the deep freeze when he heard the door squeak open behind him. He pivoted around on his heel to find Jackie standing in the doorway, stiff as a rail. Her hand was clutching the door knob with such force it was as though it was all that was keeping her standing. The area around her eyes was puffy and red and her eyes shone with unshed tears.

"Are we soulmates?" she demanded.

Hyde swallowed the lump in his throat. "If you believe in that fantasy crap, then yeah."

"God, Steven." Her hand withdrew from the door knob and she walked across the fallen records before stopping just shy of the couch. "It's not crap to me!"

"Jackie, did you even hear me?" Hyde almost laughed.

"What?"

"I said yes."

There was a beat as she processed this. "Then why did you never say anything?" she exclaimed frustrated, walking right up to him and getting in his face.

Hyde shrugged.

"No," Jackie said, her voice low. "You owe me an explanation."

The words were caught in Hyde's throat again, unable to come out. But Jackie was standing so close, so close that their breath mixed with each other's. Her eyes no longer shone with tears but they were pleading with him for answers Hyde knew she deserved.

"If we were going to end up together," Hyde forced the words out of his mouth, "then I didn't want you to be with me because some stupid clock obligated you to be."

Her eyes shifted to the floor as Jackie contemplated this. When she spoke again it was with much less force. "Is that why you want to be with me? Because of your soulmate clock?"

Hyde actually laughed out loud this time. If only Jackie knew the truth. The truth about how hard he tried not to like her, to hate her even, but how he always came right back to this truth about how he really felt.

"This isn't funny," Jackie said, a note of warning in her voice.

"No, you're right. It's not funny how much I want to be with you, Jackie. And I want to be with you because I want to be with you."

Hyde could not believe he had just said all that out loud. Jackie simply stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly as though she were surprised by his admission too. She shifted her weight, tossing her hand through the air dismissively. She looked at him for a long, hard moment, a moment in which Hyde desperately wished he could tell what Jackie was thinking.

"So, where do we go from here?" Jackie eventually asked.

Hyde could feel a sheepish grin forming on his lips. "I wouldn't be opposed to trying this again." He stepped forward, closing the distance between them and bringing his mouth to Jackie's before she could say anything else. She wrapped both her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him.

And then she pulled away.

"Wait, Steven." Jackie planted her palms firmly on his shoulders. "I'm sorry for not...seeing you, that day in the gym."

Hyde couldn't think of a response to that so he wordlessly leaned down to kiss Jackie again. Her fingers splayed across his cheeks and her nails grazed his unshaven face as his thumbs rubbed at her temples. He had no response because there was no response. So instead he kissed her deeply; after all, they had a lot of lost time to make up for.