String of Fate

Chapter Thirteen

I looked at them, a little confused and wondering what they could be planning. "Not yet, but I think that my parents want to go out for a meal on Saturday night or something. I'm pretty sure we can think of something to do on Sunday if none of you guys have plans."

"I think we all need a movie afternoon with a lot of snacks to just relax and you can pick all the movies." Sara told me, giving me a smile. The guys groaned, both of them looking at Sara. I looked at the three of them, feeling a little confused in the moment. "What? You guys don't mind watching a couple of Disney movies for an afternoon for her birthday."

"I guess that will be okay. As long as there is a ton of popcorn to snack on." Seth spoke, giving me a smile. I smiled, too, thinking that I had a great group of friends that I didn't deserve. They were all way too good to me and dealt with too many of my bad habits and grumpy fits.

I thought that it would be great if we could stay friends forever. I didn't even know if we would be friends forever but that was definitely something that I wanted. It would be cool if we could be a really successful band and go on tours together. It would be so great.

On Sunday, I woke up early on my sixteenth birthday and found a red string tied neatly around my finger. I stared at it with surprise for a few moments before jumping out of bed and dressing – black jeans and a very dark purple t-shirt with a skull on the front.

Just as I was about to walk out of my front door, I realised that I had plans with the guys early on in the afternoon. I wondered if I would have enough time to both follow my string and hang out with my friends. I checked the time and thought that I would have had time to follow my string and be back for movies.

I then started to follow my string from my house, hoping that it wouldn't take us too long. It led me to the park in the middle of the town. This was going to be great. This was going to be wonderful. A nice sunny park full of people and I had to follow the string. How many people would I bump in to? Probably everyone that I didn't want to.

I was surprised that I actually found him within minutes. He was crouched down on the floor talking to a very happy chocolate brown Labrador. His faded jeans and white t-shirt made him seem the complete opposite of the emo me. He had to be perfect for me, though. We were attached by the string, after all. I headed over to him and heard him speaking to the dog. "I wonder if the person at the end of my string would complain if I brought you with me."

"I wouldn't." I replied aloud, making him jump in surprise. He stood and turned to me, almost falling over because he stood up so fast. He was a lot taller than me – not that I was complaining. I raised my left hand and gave a little wave – letting him clearly see the red string that linked us. I looked at his face and I didn't even recognise him from school. "Hello. I'm Emma."

"Hi, Emma. I'm Dylan. It's nice to meet you." He answered, giving a little nervous laugh. Dylan smiled – and he was extremely hot when he smiled. I was a very lucky girl. The dog then ran behind me and around him, too, the lead pulling tight and Dylan and I being pushed up against each other. "That's Daisy. I think she likes you, too."

"That's always a good sign." I laughed. Then Dylan surprised me by wrapping his arms around me and kissing me. I wrapped my arms around his waist, balling his t-shirt in my hands.

"Well, this has been a very good day for me." Dylan said, giving me a big smile when he finished the kiss. I knew that I was smiling brightly, too. "Have you already got any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Actually, I do." I told him, remembering about the plans for this afternoon with my friends. I checked my watch – I had to start making my way back otherwise I was going to be so late. "My friends are coming over my place to just snack and watch movies. We decided that we needed a chill day and I get to pick the movies because it's my birthday. Did you want to come?"

He thought for a moment, glancing at the dog. Then he smiled at me. "Sure, why not. Would it be okay if we went back to my house first, though, so I could take Daisy home? She'll probably get too excited if we take her to meet a bunch of new people in a new place and I'd never calm her down."

"Of course. Lead the way, Dylan." I replied, smiling at him. We started heading to his place and as we walked, his hand caught mine and our fingers linked together so we walked holding hands. I felt my cheeks grow a little red but I was so happy.

After dropping Daisy off at his house, and quickly meeting his mother, we headed back to mine. I warned him that my parents weren't going to be there since they had needed to leave early for their overseas work the next week. Dylan's hand easily slipped back into mine as we walked through the park and back in the direction of my house. As were turned into my street, I saw Seth, Jack and Sara heading up my driveway. "Hey, guys, no one's home at the moment, but I have someone to introduce you to!"

They turned and saw me walking down the street, holding hands with Dylan. Seth looked a little bit surprised, Jack glanced sideways at him but I couldn't really read the expression and Sara just beamed at me, squealing and pulling me into a hug when I got closer. "Oh my goodness! Congratulations, girl!"

"Thank you, Sara." I smiled at her and stepped back. I also pulled my grip from Dylan's hand to allow me to pull the keys from my pocket and unlock the door for everyone. "Right, come on in everyone and then I'll do the introductions when we're all comfy."

Everyone followed me in and sat down, slouching on my settees and making sure that they were all comfy. I stood and did the introductions, not sure of what else to say other than the gang were my best friends and that Dylan was now my fated one. Then, I sat down next to Dylan and he instinctively wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"Right, I know you never would, Dylan, but if you hurt her, you'll have to deal with us." Seth joked, pretending to be serious for a minute before laughing. "So, birthday girl, which of these nightmarish Disney movies did you want to watch first?"

"How about that new horror movie that you've been raving on about?" I asked Seth, his eyes lighting up like it was Christmas. Then, I laughed. "No, I'm picking Coco because it looks good and we have yet to see it."

"Aw damn. Well, let's get on with it." Seth said, leaning back into the settee as I picked up the TV remote.

"You don't like horror movies?" Dylan queried, looking down at me. I shook my head and he cuddled me closer to him. "That's good because I don't like them either."