Intertwined

Introduction

"For the last time Elder, that folklore is just superstition, none of it makes any sense!" Huffed the brown haired boy.

The much shorter, darker haired boy at his side diverted his gaze. But only for a minute. "Well," he started, "you never know. That's the whole point, you just gotta believe in it." He pondered.

The taller boy scoffed. "Those are just stories, they can't prove anything."
However, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to bother him. Why did it bother him so much? It's not like it mattered anyways.

His expression softened slightly. Perhaps his companion was right, believing was all the boys really knew. On the other hand, they had something the silly 'soulmate' folklore didn't have. A book, a very special book that would soon change many lives.

The pale boy turned to the window of the unfortunately crowded plane. He watched as soft grey clouds danced across the ever darkening blue sky.

"This is it," he whispered to himself, "this is my chance to show the world what Elder Price is about." The boy exhaled with a new sense of confidence. This has been the day he had been training for his whole life. Everything he had worked for, it was for his mission. It certainly wasn't his first choice, but that wasn't going to stop him.

The hiss of the intercom brought his daydreaming to an abrupt stop. "Please prepare for departure, we will be arriving shortly."

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The bus slowly but surely chugged to a stop. Great, they were late.

The boys fumbled out of the rickety vehicle as it puffed it's way up the hill and soon out of sight.

"AAH! This is so exciting! Me and my best friend on our Uganda adventure!" The dark haired boy exclaimed. For such a short kid he sure did have a lot of energy.

Kevin winced in the blazing heat. Perhaps he should've applied a bit more sunscreen..
"We better find the rest of the group, I don't want to be out here after dark.." The tall boy pouted.

The cabin wasn't much from the outside, in fact it was surprising there even was an outside. The place seemed barley intact at first glance. Kevin was scared a few knocks too hard on the door would send the whole front wall tumbling in- he didn't want a body count becoming part of his mission.

"Well helloooooo~!" A cheeky voice cooed from inside as the door swung open. "You two must be the new recruits! Come in, come in." The eerily enthusiastic boy welcomed.

From inside, the place wasn't nearly as bad. A few couches, a nice living area, of course they could use a bit of cleaning up, stray pop-tart boxes littered the floor.

"Welcome welcome! I'm Elder McKinley, the leader of the Uganda mission." The ginger boy waved.

He soon began listing off names, most of which Kevin didn't bother to remember. Arnold was very social however, shaking hands and chatting everyone up. This wasn't very surprising to Kevin, that boy didn't seem to have an off switch. In the midst of conversation, Kevin noticed something odd. A string? A red string. For some unexplained reason, a red string was tied very neatly around Kevin's little finger. "That's peculiar.. That wasn't there before." Kevin's brows furrowed as he examined the object. And on top of that, the thing appeared to be strung directly into the crowd, perhaps tied to someone else. Kevin didn't hesitate, he immediately started following the string. Cautiously stepping around feet, it seemed the string was coming closer and closer to it's end. With his eyes positioned towards the floor, Kevin had been barely paying attention to the world around him. Which meant he also hadn't seen the person directly in front of him, coincidentally paying no mind to his surroundings either.

Their bodies collided so fast it took Kevin a minute to realize what was happening. And before either could even register the situation, both boys collapsed to the floor, Kevin atop the now very red, ginger haired boy.
As Kevin regained his balance and sat up, he could see the other boy's face flush.

"Oh gosh I-I'm so sorry- I wasn't paying attention, I really didn't mean to hurt you." Kevin stuttered, pale faced as he watched the mission leader steady himself. A small crowd had gathered around the two, everyone staring cautiously, reminiscent to that of a very white, very religious group of prairie dogs.

"No no it's alright. That was clearly my fault, I should've been watching what I was doing." The boy stood up, trying his best to tidy up his now disheveled hair. He offered Kevin a hand and hauled the boy to his feet.
"Alright now, it's been a very eventful evening, I think it's time we all get to bed."

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After some rather awkward conversation with Arnold, he was finally asleep, giving Kevin a good opportunity to do a little digging on this newly discovered string. There wasn't a computer, or any technology for that matter. Major setback. There was however a bookcase with plenty of folklore and stories. After skimming through plenty of ridiculous tales, Kevin stumbled across a story that seemed to fit the description of his predicament.

"The Red String of Fate.. Chinese legend.." He read aloud in a hushed tone.
"The two people in question connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances.." He trailed off. The words became blurry as thoughts began to cloud his vision.
"No-" he scoffed, slamming the book shut. "A string connecting two star crossed lovers? That's absurd, really."
But the more he thought about it, the more the idea comforted him. Perhaps he was meant to find love. Maybe his soulmate was here, in this village, that Nabu girl seemed nice enough. "Or maybe even in the cabin.." He thought aloud. A sudden surge of horror flooded his mind. No, that can't be right. There are only straight Mormon boys here. And that's what he was.

Was he....?

And with that final thought, his eyes grew heavy and his world faded to black.

That night, Kevin dreamed of hell.

(Haha hey here I am, I skipped the whole Hasa Diga Eebowai part just cause I had no real inspiration to do it. I'm also 100% here for them basic fanfic tropes ya know what I'm saying *finger guns*
Aight see ya next chapter, idk how often I'll actually update this though)