String of Fate

Chapter Forty Eight

"Very lucky." I told him, smiling. Then, I turned to Mark, seeing him talking intently with Imogen. "Mark, don't you have boxes to unpack? Go on, otherwise you won't have made your bed."

"Fine. I'll see you later." Mark replied, getting up off my roommate's bed. He headed over to the door, as Fitzwilliam headed from the room. Then, Mark turned back to us and Fitz poked his head into the room. "We're going to be watching a movie later if you two want to join us. Fitz hasn't seen Brave before and he's brought his projector."

"I'm in." Imogen answered with a smile. Mark nodded to her and left, shutting the door behind him. He obviously assumed that I would automatically want to watch that film. I didn't mind. Disney movies were my guilty pleasure. Any chance to watch one, and I was there.

The room was quiet for a little bit as we unpacked more stuff. Imogen focusing on all her clothes and making sure they were hanging neatly whereas I focused on making sure everything was just out of sight. I hated it when clothes were strewn everywhere – which was why I hated that Mark was so messy. Imogen broke the silence after she collapsed on her bed, the both of us now finished unpacking. "I'm guessing that there'll be a lot of movie nights."

"Yes. Mark brought a stack with him. Hopefully, he'll run out by Christmas." I explained, folding up the last of the boxes and slipping it under the bed. I could use them again at the end of the year to get everything home.

"Even if he does run out, Fitz will probably have a ton of movies for us to watch." Imogen pointed out. "At least we should never be bored with all the movies that they will make us watch."

It took Mark and me a couple of days to get used to the running of a boarding school. Classes with Imogen, Mark, and Fitzwilliam on Mondays to Fridays, followed by an hour or so of homework then a movie. Lights out at eleven. I was fine with that. Alarms were set for seven am, so, early mornings. That took some getting used to after a long summer holiday.

Weekends were slightly more lenient – Fridays and Saturdays had no lights out, as long as no girls stayed in the boys' rooms, and vice versa and we weren't too loud. Imogen and I would spend the weekends watching movies and TV shows on the projector, and be in bed by one am. Some nights it was a little bit earlier but the sugar rush usually kept us going a while.

We all became really close, sharing information about each other. Soon it was like we'd known each other since we were young. I found that we were all born in the same year – Fitz in the March so he was the oldest (technically, he should be a year ahead of us in studying but his parents had taken a year out with him to travel around the world when he was eleven so he had started at the boarding school at aged twelve), Mark and I born in the October, and Imogen was born on Christmas Eve. We figured out each other favourites books, movies, comics, and most of our free time was spent debating the good points of all the Disney Princesses.

Then the preparations for the Halloween ball began. Costumes were mandatory for all the staff and students. We decided who we were going as – I was going to be Hermione Granger (the easiest costume for me as I had the uniform from school and the tie and wand from my last birthday), Imogen had selected to be Elsa (which suited her with her weirdly pale blonde hair, and she found a blue dress in the charity shop, some material for the cape from a market stall, and some glitter glue from the local pound store), Mark was going to be Percy Jackson (the book version, not the movie. I was glad that the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that I bought him for Christmas was finally being put to use), and Fitz was going as the Eleventh Doctor (he even had the fez, bow tie, and sonic screwdriver ready).

"Happy Birthday, Mary!" Imogen yelled on the morning of my birthday. I jumped awake, making her laugh. She sat on the side of my bed and held out a little parcel for me as I sat up. "Just a little something to say happy sixteenth birthday."

"Thank you." I replied, taking the box from her and opening it to find a Deathly Hallows necklace. "Wow, it's beautiful! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." She answered as I gave her a hug. She gave me a quick squeeze back and then let go when a knock on the bedroom door disrupted the quiet. She got up to answer it and I climbed out of bed, running my left hand through my hair and then noticing the string attached to it. "Morning, guys. Happy birthday, Mark."

"Thanks, Imogen." Mark spoke to her. I headed over to the door. "There's the birthday girl! Happy birthday, Mary. Catch!"

He hurled a parcel to me, and I managed to catch it. It was big, and soft – probably an item of clothing. I opened it, finding a t-shirt there. Imogen held her hand out for the wrapping paper so I could look at the design, and I was thankful for that. I held the top up by the shoulders, finding a Welcome To Night Vale pattern on the purple t-shirt. "Thank you, Mark. It's amazing."

"I'm glad you like it." He replied. I opened my wardrobe behind the bedroom door and pulled his present out, handing it to him. Mark ripped the paper off it and opened the box to find the custom Percy Jackson Converse that I had ordered online for him. "These are amazing! Thank you!"

Mark glanced at Fitz, who nodded. Imogen reached onto her desk and pulled a small parcel off it, handing it to Mark as I wondered what he could be communicating with Fitz about. Then I spotted it, the red string coming from his left hand. He looked very shy for a moment. "Mary, come with me a moment?"

"Uh, sure." I replied, following him as he headed back to his room. Mark stayed talking to Imogen in the doorway, thanking her for the Percy Jackson bead necklace that she had tracked down online for him.

"Mary, um, first, I need to tell you happy birthday. Second, I need to tell you that I love you." Fitz spoke after he had shut the door behind me. He pulled a parcel off his bed. "Third, I need to give you this."

"Thank you. Before I open this, I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I love you, too." I answered, smiling at him. He smiled back, a big smile that I had never actually seen on his face before. He leaned over and kissed me on the lips, and I didn't want the kiss to end. Then, he pulled back and let me open the present. Inside the box was a hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a Gryffindor scarf, and a Harry Potter t-shirt. "Fitz, these are amazing! Thank you so much."

I set the box on his bed and flung my arms around him, squeezing him tightly as his arms wrapped around me. "I'm glad you like them. I know you already have a copy of the Deathly Hallows, but, I managed to find one that was signed by the author, and the movie cast. Also, I hope you're a Gryffindor."

"Yes, I am." I laughed, reaching on my tip toes so I could kiss his lips.