Stargazing

the red string

Sitting in the local coffee shop with a macchiato left of her laptop never failed to bring Luna calm. Yet today, plopped next to the window, was the most unnerving it's been so far. Red strings laced the streets, as if a cat rolled a ball of yarn lazily throughout the city. Most of the strings seemed to lead off to unknown lands, there were still, however, strings where Luna could see both ends. Even the coffee shop was scattered with the thread. It always gave her a strange feeling, her 'different perspective' of the world.

Luna has a gift nobody else could ever dream of having, earned once she turned 13. She can see red strings tied around others' pinkies, connected to each other. Why, you might ask? Luna is able to deduce this much- they are soulmates. She sees numerous different strings everyday, on the streets, at school, even at home, there are two strings; her mother and father's string, and even her twin brother's string. Still, she has never seen her own. To be frank, she is quite curious to see where her string would lead. But she has yet to find the whereabouts of her string.

"Is that your English paper?" a familiar voice interrupted Luna's train of thought. She glanced up to see Austin Danvers gazing at her, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Luna answered. She never really knew what to think of Austin. When they first met in the seventh grade, they hated each other, or so they thought. By that time, senior year, they had a not-so-rivalry that turned out to be a strange friendship. Because of the last topic her brain took on, she, against her will, started wondering if her string could be connected to him. But she quickly pushed that thought away, because it was irrational. How could Luna Bennett ever fall for a guy like Austin Danvers?

"It's torture, that paper. I swear I almost died of boredom writing that." He waved his coffee around as he spoke.

"I know, right? It's like I'm being forced to watch Han Solo die all over again," Luna whined.

Austin gasped dramatically. "You must be in incredible pain. That truly was a dreadful moment in my life." He took the liberty of taking a seat across from her.

"It really is horrendous." Luna smirked.

Maybe it would be okay after all.

-

Luna flopped onto her desk, feeling as if a dementor was giving her a peck. She hated Social Studies more than anything. It was an emotionally draining subject for emotionally draining people. On Monday, first period? Why did fate despise her so much?

She got to thinking about the red strings again. For some reason, it was a topic that occupied her thoughts often after running into Austin at the coffee shop. If she really had to choose someone to be her soulmate, it would probably be Rico Navarra. After all, she had managed to get close to him, and somehow, started to like him, and he kind of was who she'd been dreaming to be her soulmate ever since she'd gotten these powers...

But enough about that.

Luna hasn't really talked to Rico in a while, once senior year started and their schedules never collided. Rico hasn't even said hi in the hallways, or even made eye contact with her. By now, her liking for this guy had faded. Still, if she had to pick, it would be him.

After enduring such a monstrosity, with no friends to support her (not surprising), she finally escaped the dungeon and strolled to the bathroom. Luna checked her schedule; she had study hall. Upon splashing water on her face, she noticed something unusual. She raised her pinky to discover- oh no.

The red string.

Luna immediately picked up her binder and sprinted out the bathroom door. She followed the red string, occasionally getting mixed up by the number of other strings in the school's hallway. Eventually, after following the thread up two flights of stairs and down another hallway, Luna found it led beyond a closed door. Coincidentally, or not, it was her study period class, in the school library. She pushed open the door, and she was instantly flooded by even more strings. It was a bit confusing at first, but she was able to follow her own, and found the other end attached to...