String of Fate

Chapter Twenty Nine

I rested my forehead against the desk. How could I be so stupid to die in this boss battle? I had beaten this boss so many times but now I just make this one stupid mistake. How could I call myself a gamer? This was just beyond stupid. Just one button could make too much of a difference for my liking. Thomas patted the top of my head. "It's okay. We all click the wrong button sometimes. I ended up dying, too. You'll get it next time. I'm sure of it."

"Are you two still playing that game? Shouldn't you have completed it by now? You two are usually so in sync with each other in games that you usually get it within an hour, which I bet is a nightmare for the developers." JJ pointed out. She was currently braiding Arty's fringe because the petite brunette had been complaining that it had been getting in her eyes. None of us had ever realised before the JJ was good at hair styling, but she was able to do a decent French braid. "I'm sure you'll both be able to complete it by the end of the day, anyway. You two are good like that."

"I clicked the wrong button. We could have won that time, too." I complained as Thomas still fussed my hair. It was actually starting to feel nice. I wasn't actually used to human touch, but Thomas always managed to make me feel so bad.

"Chill, Dunc, we can just try again." Thomas suggested, but there wasn't enough time as the bell went to signal the end of the school day. The group of eight got up and left before the supply teacher who had been filing her nails for the past hour could say anything. Conversations were made as we headed home, branching off in different places until it was just Thomas and I left. "Do you want to play that new open world multiplayer tonight, Dunc?"

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind. I really don't feel in the mood to do any real work. School can wait until after Saturday." I replied. "Have you got any plans for tomorrow?"

"Lay in, bribe my sister to walk the dog, and probably play games with you later." Thomas explained as we came to where we usually parted to go to our own homes. "Did you want to give that boss battle one last go before we call it a day?"

"Yes. Lets." I answered, the two of us pulling our consoles from our bags. We loaded the game back up and joined each other, heading in to the boss battle at the same time. We started battling the boss together, and we must have managed to click all the right buttons at the right time because we somehow one. "Yes! Nailed it!"

"See, I told you that you'd get it the next time." He pointed out, high fiving me to celebrate the victory. He smiled at me as I must have had a giant grin on my face. "So, online gaming tomorrow if I can bribe my sister to walk the dog for me?"

"Sounds like a good plan. Text me when you're ready to go on Skype when you get home." I told him before the two of us headed in opposite directions. I headed home and logged onto my computer, loading the new game that we both wanted to play, not that I had any idea what it was like. Thomas texted me when he was ready to play and we spent the next couple hours playing the game.

We ended up teaming up on the massive multiplayer map, avoiding some people that tried to kill us and actually managing to kill a few people ourselves in order to get some free loot and experience from winning. I did notice that, when we were getting attacked and I was getting close to death, Thomas made sure that I was well protected and I didn't think that he ever ran out of health potions. He was really good at looking after me and making sure that I was alive and healthy within the game. I also couldn't help but notice that he always gave me the better loot from the won battles.

It was just coming up to midnight when I noticed the time again, thinking that we had been playing the game for way too long but we were enjoying ourselves. I didn't really mind, though, because it was not a school night and I didn't need to be up early in the morning. We could even stay up all night to play if we wanted to, which was sounding like a good idea to me. I also realised the date, which meant that Tom was now turning sixteen, so it would mean that the two of us were now going to be waiting for our string together. "Hey, Thomas, you'll be sixteen in a minute. Happy sixteenth birthday."

I checked where my fingers where on the keyboard as my computer clock turned to midnight, and then I watched as a string appeared, tying itself around my finger and then leading the way out of my bedroom under the door. I was confused for a moment, before turning back to the screen. That couldn't be possible, could it? "Tom, did your string just appear?"

"That couldn't have happened already, could it? Oh, it has. Wait, how did you know?" Thomas questioned with surprise in his voice. I didn't know how I could explain to him that my string had just appeared, too, and the obvious answer was that it was Tom, that it would always be Tom.

"I need you to meet me at the park now. I need to check something with you." I made the statement into a question. He didn't reply, just ended the call in answer. I got up, pulled my shoes on and put my jacket on as I headed downstairs, hoping that nobody in the house would be up at the moment because it was so late. My mother would not like the idea of me going out at this time of night.

"Where do you think you're going?" My mother questioned, coming out of the kitchen with a packet of crisps in her hand as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I almost rolled my eyes. Of course she was going to try and stop me from going, and she was probably going to try and convince me to go tomorrow in the morning, or something, but I just felt like this couldn't wait. Not any longer.

"To the park to meet up with Tom. It's kind of like a life or death situation to me at the moment." I answered, grabbing my keys from the drawer and needing to untangle the lanyard from my mother's keys. I really wanted to meet up with Thomas right now.

"How bad is it?" My mother wondered, folding her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow at me. I was going to need to tell her the whole thing if I wanted her to let me go out at this time of night.

"My string has appeared and it is a possibility that it is Thomas at the end of it because I was talking to him on Skype when it happened. I really don't want to wait any longer to find out so I asked him to meet me at the park so we can see if it is him at the end of my string." I explained, my hand on the door handle and my voice coming out as a rush. I really needed to go and find Tom. I was really starting to hope that it was him at the end of my string and that we were destined to be together. It would be perfect. Plus, I didn't know anyone else with their birthday being today, let alone anyone else who has their sixteenth birthday today.

"Right. Okay. I'm going to let you go out this time just because I know how important a string is and how you really want yours. This is the only time I'm letting you go, and I want you back within an hour, even if you bring Tom back with you and he stays here for the night." My mother spoke as I started unlocking the door. I was nearly running out of the door since she had already agreed for me to actually go. "Duncan, just, please, be careful because it is so late at night. However, good luck."

"Thanks, mum. I'll be back in a bit." I replied, heading from the house and locking the door behind me. I headed down my pathway and into the street, not seeing any cars moving or anyone walking. It really was late at night – the only light was coming from the streetlights that were on the pavements. I didn't really want to be out that long, but I needed to meet with Tom and see if he was at the end of my string.

I wound through the streets to the park, following the string all along the familiar pathway that I had grown up travelling on to the park. I knew that the park itself was closer for Thomas, and he would already be there by the time I got there. Hopefully, he would be sitting in our usual spot that was under one of the street lamps in the park. Since I didn't know where else in the park he could be, so, I headed to that spot first.

While I walked, I couldn't help but wonder about what would happen if it was Tom at the end of my string. Would it be too much to hope that Thomas was the one at the end of my string? Now that I thought that it was a possibility, I really wanted him to be at the end of my string. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him because it seemed like that would be the best thing ever.

When I rounded the bend, I finally saw him; leaning against the iron railing that surrounded the play area part of the park, which was where we usually met up, and I immediately spotted the red string on his hand. He turned to me as he heard me approaching him, his face breaking into a grin as he saw my face. "Hey, stranger."

Then, I decided to start running to him. I threw my arms around him, surprising him with a kiss as he caught me, wrapping his strong arms around me. This was perfect now that I knew that we were together, and would be together forever. "I love you, Thomas."

"I love you, too, Duncan."