String of Fate

Chapter Twenty Two

"It's okay. You're only telling the truth." He said after a moment. He turned to me, reading my face for a moment. I felt my face grow warmer under his gaze. "What time do I need to be ready for?"

"Will four o'clock be okay?" I asked.

"Sure. Now, go home." He ordered.

"Let me give you my number in case you need anything." I offered, scribbling my number onto a piece of paper and putting it on the table in front of him. Then I started to head out. "Don't worry about bugging me, just call me when you need me and I'll come over."

"Hermione, in the bowl under the hand outs, there's a key with a minion key ring. Take that. It's the spare key in case I can't let you in." Fred called after me. I took the key he said to. I opened the door and stepped outside. "I want it back tomorrow!"

I laughed and shut the door behind me, heading home. Both of my parents were already home. I explained about the situation Fred and I was in, even telling them about my string, and they agreed that he could come with us. I felt that the weekend may be lucky.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of my phone ringing. I reached out and grabbed the phone, answering it and putting it to my ear without looking at the caller ID. I croaked out some sort of greeting into the phone before clearing my throat and attempting again. "Hello?"

"Hermione? Did I wake you?" Fred asked from the other end of the line, giving a little laugh. "That's good. It means that you haven't had breakfast yet. Will you bring bacon on your way?"

I checked the time with one eye open. My alarm was set for five minutes from now. He couldn't have waited for five minutes? Well, he'd rung now. I closed my eyes and put the phone back against my ear, pushing my hair back. "Smoked or unsmoked?"

Ten minutes later, I was yelling to my mother as I rushed out of the front door, dashing into the Tesco Metro across the road to grab a packet of bacon on the way to Fred's. The front door was locked so I let myself in with the key and headed to the kitchen. Fred turned as I came in, his face breaking into a little smile. He held out a hand for the bacon. I handed it to him. "Thanks. We're having bacon butties. Have you got any complaints?"

"Not at all. Thank you." I replied. I stood for a moment, unsure of what to do, when I spotted the kettle. "Um, do you want me to make a cuppa?"

"You can make one for yourself or do you want orange juice like me?" He offered. I went to the fridge and poured two glasses from the bottle, putting it back when I'd finished. I noticed that the string between us was still there.

Later on that day, the car load of us headed to the carnival – I squished between Fred and my sister. Fred and my sister were both on their phones so I joined in, putting a headphone in to watch the Nightmare Before Christmas. I found it amazing how the movies were all set in a parallel universe where the red string didn't exist. After a few scenes, Fred tapped me on the shoulder. "I love this movie. Can I watch it, too?"

"Sure." I answered, handing him the spare bud and moving so we could both see the screen tidy. It means that our faces were quite close. "Did your team do alright without you?"

"Yeah. We won. That's all that really matters." He replied simply.

"That's good. I'm sorry for depressing you." I spoke quietly. Fred heard me, turning to look at me with curious eyes. I felt my face become a little red and turned back to the screen.

The carnival was amazing, one of the best that I had seen. I loved how it was different every year. The ride home usually meant that everyone except my dad, the driver, slept but I found it difficult to get comfy. I knew that it would be the best for me to lean on Fred but I thought that it would wake him and I didn't want to disturb him. In the end, I leaned on the back of my seat. My neck was going to hurt like hell when I got home.

"Hermione, I need my shoulder back to go home." Fred spoke from beside me. I jumped awake, disturbing my sister, too.

"I'm sorry for using your shoulder as a pillow." I stated, my voice a little hoarse.

"It's fine. Will you help me in, please?" He asked, smiling. I nodded and the two of us got out of the car. He didn't really need my help but I liked to think that he just wanted to spend some more time with me, even though it was highly unlikely. He didn't attempt to move after shutting the door, spotting his parents car in front. We both looked as the front door opened and his parents walked out, then Fred turned to me. "Thanks for the wonderful evening, Hermione. I'll message you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure. If I don't see you tomorrow then I'll see you on Monday. Good night, Fred." I rambled as his parents helped him inside.

The only problem was that he didn't message me, nor call me. On Monday, he acted like the weekend never happened. I didn't have the confidence to speak to him after the rejection. Instead, we didn't speak. His injury healed and the Christmas holidays came. Still, we didn't speak. I concentrated on my school work and he concentrated on his sports.

It was the last day of term and I knew the football guys were training outside – my string led to there and not the gym. I couldn't help but walk past them on my way out – choosing an alternative gate just to see him. I always tried peeking a look at him whenever I could. Sure enough, he was there, mid match. I smiled at him and headed from the school.

I imagined him calling my name as I walked. Then, someone grabbed my arm and spun me around. I saw Fred's face as he bent to steal my first kiss. I opened my eyes as he moved back, still not letting me go. "I love you, Hermione."

"Fred! Get back in the game!" The coach yelled. I laughed as Fred shrugged and ran back to the game.