String of Fate

Chapter Twelve

"It's fine. They weren't in any particular order, anyway." He explained as the two of us straightened up, seeming to be very shy. Then, he turned to the girl next to him. "Let's go."

The two of them headed further into the community centre and I headed home. I hadn't realised that there were guys that cute on the planet. He actually stuck in my mind for the rest of the evening, and he even appeared in my dreams when I went to sleep.

When I woke in the morning, I had a string attached to my finger. I was happy that I finally had a partner and depressed that I had to go to college – and spend extra time helping out. I didn't mind helping out but I wanted to find the person at the end of my string. I climbed out of bed and got ready for college, heading out of the door quickly. If I managed to finish putting up the posters quick enough, maybe I could follow my string to them. If not, tomorrow was always another day.

My lessons finished at three and Emma and I headed around the campus, putting up the posters for the auditions. Seth, without much surprise from Emma and I, had disappeared straight after lessons. Hopefully, we would be able to find the perfect person this time. It would be awful if we didn't. It could be the end of the band – and none of us wanted that. It seemed that Seth thought that if we didn't find the right person, the band would end. I wasn't about to let that happen any time soon, and I knew for a fact that Emma wasn't either. That band was our life.

I felt a tug at my string as I pinned a poster to the outside notice board. Emma tidied up the pile of posters she was holding as I stared at my finger. The string gave another tug. I turned, expecting to see someone walking over the string and making it pull. I saw the guy from yesterday, instead. I was surprised, and he seemed to be, too. "Hello, I'm Matthew. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi. I'm Jack." I replied, walking over to him. He held out a hand to shake mine, but I pulled him into a hug instead. I just wanted to hold him. He squeezed me tightly, too. I looked over his head – spotting Emma looking at the two of us. "What? I've been waiting for him for three years."

"We have to put the posters up for the band before Seth goes mental on us." She answered. "Hey, Matthew, do you want to help us?"

I had to let him go and he turned to Emma. I wrapped my arms around his chest from behind, resting my head on his shoulder. I still wanted to hold him even though we had only just met. Then, he replied to Emma. "I'll help. Where are we going next?"

"Have I got to let you go?" I asked Matthew, who laughed. Emma nodded, her face as stoic as ever, and I groaned as I let him go, slipping my hand into his instead. It would have to do until all the posters were up, and then we could cuddle together properly.

"So, are you advertising a gig?" Matthew wondered as we headed to the next noticeboard, trying to catch a glimpse of the poster as we walked. I took one from the pile and handed it to him so he could read it.

"No. We lost our lead singer yesterday and we're advertising for a new one." I explained to Matthew as we walked, keeping a firm hold of his hand. I didn't want to let him go now that I had finally found him. "Don't know of anyone, do you?"

"Well, my cousin has a good voice but I doubt she'll be allowed in the band. She's only fifteen." Matthew responded, reading the poster carefully.

"Bring her along with you and we'll see what Seth says. I'm Emma, by the way." Emma told him, pressing the poster against the notice board for me to staple in place. I made sure to avoid her fingers as I pressed a staple into each of the corners of the paper.

The days passed with Matthew and me meeting up on a daily basis. We usually just spent the time at his house and I helped him with his work, my arms usually wrapped around him from behind. I couldn't get enough of him, and he really didn't mind the clingy me. I didn't even know that I was a clingy person until I met Matthew. We go to know each other, too, and I think I may have fallen in love with him a bit more with every conversation we had.

Sunday, the day of the big audition, came. I set up the table for us to sit at while listening to the auditions. Seth had some paper and was jotting down the girls names and numbers when they came in. Then, we'd listen to them sing and I just watched Seth scribble 'no' next to their name.

For each and every one of them so far.

Matthew came in during the early afternoon, grabbing a chair and sitting between Emma and me. I immediately took his hand in mine, which felt like the most natural movement for me. He leaned in to me to speak to me. "My cousin isn't here yet. She's had to mind the baby for her mum. She's going to come as soon as possible."

We went through the rest of the girls that had showed up, Seth writing 'no' to each and every one of them. Not that he told them that. Then, the last one exited with a pissed off attitude, somehow realising that she was not getting the role by what Seth told her. Seth could be very rude without realising it, and he had been kind of rude to the last girl. I just think that these auditions seemed to be draining him. He put the pen to one side and rested his forehead on the table. It seemed like he had given up at this point. Then Matthew squeezed my hand and I turned to him. He nodded towards the door. "That's my cousin."

The girl walked in and I could tell that she was nervous. She walked over to the centre of the room, the door shutting behind her. She stood awkwardly in front of the table and glanced at us. Seth sat up and leaned back in his chair, giving her a nod to speak.

"Hi, I'm Bex. I'm going to be singing a bit of 'Bulletproof Heart' by My Chemical Romance." She said, surprising me. It suited the band but it didn't seem to suit her looks. Seth stopped slouching and sat forward. He wasn't expecting much. Then she started singing and she made it to the end of the song – and she did it perfectly.

"You're in, Bex." Seth said when she finished.