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Everyone had it: a stripe around somewhere on their body, usually some natural-looking color. It was their soulmate's hair color. If it changed, so did the stripe.Which is why Frank became concerned when his stripe turned red.It had started as normal day at his job, heading into that tiny music store on the corner of 4th and James. He knew the daily routine of setup: unlock, open the curtains, check the register, and flip the sign at 8 am. Frank was used to it, even when they got new stuff once a month. A hassle, but nothing out of the ordinary.But, of course, when he went to use the bathroom that morning, he saw the change of color.He had finished taking a piss and was washing his hands, when he looked up to the mirror. He was greeted with his familiar firm nose and thin lips, upturned eyebrows and dark eyes, topped off with greasy dark hair he let grow out. But the stripe around his neck wasn't a black or a brown, like it usually alternated between. Frank's soulmate dyed their hair bright red.Frank scratched at the stripe like an uncomfortable choker necklace, hoping his soulmate was doing alright. Why did they dye it? Frank didn't enjoy dying his hair because of the bleach. He dyed his hair once, and that was enough to never do it again.Frank headed back out to the counter to check the register, and then flip the sign when it was 8. Whatever.The store usually started out slowly, with a few tired music nerds looking for records of their favorite bands (Gorillaz still mystified Frank). He would help them out, and even provide recommendations to people looking for new music to listen to.To kill time when the store was empty, Frank found himself borrowing the bass guitar on display that wasn't for sale. He knew his boss didn't care if he played around with it when he was bored. He'd play around with chords and songs he knew, and when a customer came in, he'd put it away. Like a responsible clerk.It was at around 10:46 when he didn't put it right away when a person walked in. He dropped it on his toe.Characters showed up in weird places, and this guy was one of them. His blue jacket was covered in patches and pins from both old and new bands, and his dark jeans were seriously ripped up. He drummed his middle finger on his Starbucks cup occasionally, and when he walked, his shoulders hunched a little.But it wasn't just the weird outfit that turned Frank into a lovesick high school girl.The guy's stringy hair was bright red."Shit!" Frank yelped in pain. He bent down to pick up the bass and put it away, not seeing the stranger walking up to the counter."Are you alright?" He heard a voice from above ask."Yeah, I- FUCK!" Frank smacked his head on the countertop and cursed again. Wow, today was not his day. He sat back up, dusting his pants off."Ouch," the stranger laughed, and Frank's heart did a barrel roll.The man looked several years older than Frank, and was at least 3 inches taller. He had gentle eyes, a pale complexion, and soft facial features; severe contrasts to his intense outfit. He held his coffee cup tightly."Sorry," Frank's face burned as he rubbed his head. "Can I help you?""Yeah, uh, I want to find a record. You heard of Black Flag?""Oh, love them- Uh, over in the back, by the spinning rack over there," Frank pointed. "Let me know if you need anything else,""Thanks," the stranger smiled, and good god, it was wonderful. As he walked away, Frank saw this guy's skinny jeans. He had a cute butt.Frank forced himself to look away as the man browsed the records where he had pointed. He still couldn't get the thought out of his mind that this could be his soulmate. His hair matched the stripe on his own neck, for pete's sake! All he had to do was see this guy's stripe. But, even so, what if it wasn't? What if it was all a coincidence?"Hey, again," the man was back, and waved his hand in front of Frank's face.Frank sat up. "Oh, uh, sorry,""It's fine," the man smiled. "I space out like that, too.""Heh. You looking to buy that record?" Frank gestured to the sleeve in the stranger's arm."Yeah," he held it out. "It's the only one I don't have.""It's a good one," Frank scanned it. "$6.25.""That's surprising. The other record shops sell for higher," the man raised an eyebrow."They strictly sell records, while we have pretty much anything for music," Frank shrugged."Yeah, when you think of it that way," he handed Frank the cash. "Hey, that mark on your neck- is that a tattoo, or-""Oh, no, it's my, um, you know, soul mark," Frank's face heated up."Oh!" the man's eyes widened. "Mine's...somewhere else.""It's okay, you don't have to say where it is," Frank waved his hand."Oh, thank god," He sighed in relief, picking up the record."Enjoy the music," Frank smiled."I will. I'm Gerard, by the way.""I'm Frank." And with that, Gerard left with his Black Flag record, and (unknowingly) Frank's heart.
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Gerard was in no way excited to meet his soulmate.He wanted to live life single- he had dated around with so many Raven-haired beauties he'd lost track, and none of them 'felt right' to him. They were either obsessed with embarrassing him, rude about his comic collection and passion for music, or just distracted. He wanted someone who would just be nice to him, like that guy back at the music store, Frank-"Earth to Gerard Way!" Ray Toro flicked the side of Gerard's head to jolt him into reality. Damn, he must have spaced out again, and right in the middle of Dairy Queen fries. "Man, what's going on with you?""Sorry, Ray, just tired," Gerard waved his hand dismissively."Did you check out that music store?" Ray queried, leaning his elbow on the table. "Is it good?""Yeah, the records are cheap," Gerard nodded, chewing absentmindedly. "About six dollars for the Black Flag I got.""Six?" Ray's eyes widened. "I'm definitely going there when I get time off work!""Mm-hm," Gerard leaned back. " 's a nice little place, too. The clerk I talked to was a real interesting guy.""He is, now?" Ray smirked. "You think he's cute?""The hell!? Of course not! I was just about to say he was covered in tattoos and was playing he bass guitar when I walked in!" Gerard groaned. But, he did think Frank was cute. Such an adorable, small man-"Was it any good?""Real good," Gerard nodded. "He plays like Mikey.""Cool, man," Ray sipped his coke. "I gotta check that place out. Anything else about this guy?""Why are you so interested in this guy?" Gerard crossed his arms."I dunno, he sounds cool," Ray shrugged."All I can say about this guy was that his name's Frank," Gerard sighed. "Geez, Ray, I'm starting to think that you like him.""Me? No!" Ray chuckled, and went off on another tangent about music and stuff, but it faded to white noise as Gerard drifted off into his thoughts again. That stripe on Frank's neck... Were he and Gerard- no! Not at all! He was straight, right? Anyways, He hoped Frank met his soulmate. He hoped he was happy.Eventually, Ray snapped his fingers under Gerard's nose and jarred him back again, and they left Dairy Queen. Ray still believed that Gerard was tired, but Gerard still just wanted to know; is Frank doing okay? Maybe, next time they met, they'd exchange numbers, and hang out sometime. Maybe he'd get Frank to dye his hair. That'd look cool.
He slid himself into the driver's seat of the car, while Ray climbed into the passenger's seat."We headed to your place?" Ray sought."Yeah," Gerard chewed his nail as he started the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot." 'kay," Ray proceeded to mess with the radio stations that Gerard had worked to hard to preset, until he came upon a frequency that appealed to him. A thumping bass buzzed its way into the speakers, and Gerard realized it was Seven Nation Army."Good song," Gerard mumbled absentmindedly, stopping at a red light. "A bit overplayed, but good.""What?" Ray looked up from his phone."Ah, nothing. Just the music. I'll have to save the station to my presets.""It's a pretty new station. They just started up last month," Ray asserted."No wonder," Gerard chewed the inside of his cheek as the light turned green. He had just hit the gas when a pedestrian ran into the crosswalk abruptly. He slammed on the brake pedal like a madman."Christ!" Ray cursed as his head flew forward with momentum along with Gerard's. "Warn me next time, motherfucker!""It's not my fault, Toro- some guy ran in front of me!" Gerard flung his hands in the air, and was about to say something else, when he took note of the pedestrian, who wore a slightly guilty look on his face, which was hard to have with those thin lips, midnight eyes, and long dark hair. The man mouthed 'sorry' before running off, and Gerard caught his breath hard in his throat."Frank."