The whole point of having these visions was to make it easier to find mates. But how was that useful if they only happened at the most random times—never when looking in a mirror or writing their name on homework? The irony infuriated Evan.

From the moment of his first vision, he’d wanted nothing more than to see through his mate's eyes again. When it finally happened, though, disappointment didn’t even begin to cover it. Annoyed, frustrated, disgusted—those were the words that truly described the situation.

It happened on an average Saturday, with no warning that fate was about to hand him another clue. Evan had been watching TV, idly waiting for his favorite series to start, when his sight suddenly shifted.

He didn't notice at first because he was still watching a random film that he'd left on until his favourite series started. But then it hit him - he wasn't looking through his own eyes. The TV he was seeing wasn’t his. The cabinet beneath it wasn’t his either. Gone was the embarrassing little crocheted tablecloth his mom had picked up at some market. In its place were glass doors, one slightly crooked, instead of the usual shelf where his family kept the controllers. (Well, except for Evan, who always left them on the couch). 

That was all Evan managed to notice before his vision returned to its original state.

Evan waited, his mind racing to determine if it had all been his imagination. What were the chances that they were watching the same thing at the exact same time? But no, it was real—he had just seen through his mate's eyes. All that was left was for him to look through Evan's as well. That would be a paradox. Was that even possible? Evan didn't think so, but after what had just happened, he wasn't so sure anymore.

His thoughts were scattered. He didn’t know if he should keep doubting, keep watching the film, or just give up and go to bed. It was late, far later than usual, and he was already surprised his parents had let him stay up this long.

He had almost twenty minutes before his show was due to start. The silence in the room was broken by a yawn. Evan laughed to himself. He hadn’t been tired a moment ago, but only he could stress himself so much that he suddenly wanted to sleep. Nonsense. Mate or not, Evan decided not to throw away the chance his parents had given him. Not that they were particularly strict—well, his mother was—but Evan was only twelve, and it was only an hour until midnight.

Evan decided to wait for the show. Not only was it his favorite, as he’d said, but it was important to his life. Actually, little Evan didn’t know that yet. At the time, he just thought it was his favorite, and that was it. He would understand later, when he realized that not all characters were straight and that  his confused feelings mirrored those of Alec, that it was more than that. But for now, he just enjoyed watching supernatural beings—demons, to be precise—and imagined himself as one of the hunters. They wore cool outfits, wielded fancy weapons like whips, swords, and bows, and, of course, had tattoos.

He gave one last thought to his mate, wondering if he, too, was waiting for the show. None of his friends shared his love for the demon slayers, which made him wish for someone to watch it with. As a kid on the edge of puberty, having lots of friends seemed like a dream come true—lots of kids to play video games with, lots of birthday parties with cake, and of course, lots of people to copy your homework from—especially the Maths ones. Evan hated Maths. It wasn't that he wasn't good at it, he just didn't have the patience. 

He lacked patience for a lot of things, actually. His mate had yet to find out. He really had something to look forward to. Except for Evan in denial, of course. 

Evan sighed again. He was quite tired. His parents usually sent him to bed by nine, and he had long passed his bedtime. Too exhausted to think clearly, he let go of his concerns about his mate. Tonight, he had no doubts. Not about his gender, not about whether he even wanted to meet him. He was just his mate (maybe a potential friend) and together they waited for the show to start. That was Evan's last thought before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.