Strings of Fate: The First Loop

CHAPTER 16

I raised an eyebrow.

“Seriously, Matt? Rubber shoes at the beach?”

He shrugged with a sheepish grin. “There’s no dress code, right?”

I laughed. “You know, sometimes… you’re a weirdo.”

He smiled again, this time more politely, more guarded. But still, it was a smile.

I raised my phone, took a few shots of him against the ridge, the ocean below us glittering like it had secrets. I snapped one candid photo just as he turned to laugh at something Inez yelled from the wooden trinket stand nearby.

Then James called out. “Let’s go, people! Last one in the van sings at karaoke later!”

Matt turned to me and offered his hand without a word.

I took it.

And we walked back to the van, him still a little too quiet, me wondering if that smile had said more than any of his words ever could.

The next hour was chaos.

“Are we there yet?” Inez asked for maybe the fiftieth time.

She didn’t even try to be subtle about it, she’d whine from the backseat, drape herself dramatically over Tim’s shoulder, and peek out the windows like she expected the sea to magically appear with each curve of the road.

“Are we there yet?” she asked again, louder this time.

“Are we there yeeeet?”

This time, Corey groaned. Drake threw his head back. And then, like they’d rehearsed it:

“Not yet!” the boys yelled in unison.

I almost dropped my phone from laughing.

Except for Matt and me, everyone shouted it like a choir fed up with a rogue soloist. Inez stuck out her tongue at all of them and threw her hands up.

“Okay, okay, sheesh,” she said, slumping back into her seat. “I’m just hungry and bored. Play some music, B!”

I dug into my bag, unlocked my phone, and scrolled through the playlist I made the night before, half carefully curated, half chaotic and unhinged.

The first beat of Shut Up and Dance blasted through the van’s speakers, and everyone groaned at first… then sang along. Even Matt bobbed his head lightly. Corey and Drake did exaggerated shoulder rolls. Tim tapped the beat on the side of the seat.

Next was Call Me Maybe. Then Uptown Girl, James sang the falsetto parts in a ridiculous voice that made Inez snort soda out her nose.

We stopped for lunch at Jollibee. Everyone got their usuals, Burger Steak, Chickenjoy, palabok. Inez made a big show of dipping her fries into sundae like she invented the concept. The van smelled like gravy and pineapple juice when we got back in.

The next stretch of road lulled into a dreamlike quiet. The sun softened into early afternoon light, slanting golden through the windows.

James was driving with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the open window. Inez was snoring softly beside Tim, her head finally finding rest on his shoulder. Drake and Corey argued about some game again in half-whispers. Matt had his eyes closed, earphones in.

And me?

I drifted.

I didn’t mean to sleep, but the hum of the van, the warmth of the sun, and the way James’s cologne still clung to the air pulled me under like a tide.

And just like that… after weeks of dreamless nights, it came back.

Him.

That boy again.

We were in the sea, chest-deep in warm water, the sun melting into the horizon. The waves shimmered like they were lit from beneath.

We were laughing.

Splashing water at each other like children, like the world had never taught us to ache. His eyes were soft, familiar. Like he’d been waiting.

We reached for each other, hands skimming the surface.

But just as our fingers touched, a wave.

Huge. Violent. Swallowing. It crashed between us and pulled him away, deeper into the ocean, into the glow.

I couldn’t scream.

I couldn’t move.

And then,

I woke.

Not jolted. Not sweating. Just… startled. Like someone whispered my name underwater.

The van kept moving, engine humming.

I looked around.

Everyone else was still half-asleep or pretending not to be. James glanced at me from the mirror, like he sensed something, but said nothing.

And I sat there, trying to hold onto the warmth of that fading sun… and the face I couldn’t quite remember.

We arrived at the beach a little before two in the afternoon. The salty breeze greeted us like an old friend, the sun painting halos on our skin, the ocean stretching far and open like it had been waiting.

After we checked into our rooms, me and Inez in one, the boys in another, there was that brief chaos of unpacking, shouting across rooms, someone trying to figure out the hot water, and Drake loudly asking if the minibar was free.

Then there was a knock. I opened the door and found Tim standing there, hands tucked in his pockets, looking unusually serious.

"The plan is on tomorrow night, B," he said, voice low. "Maybe we can ask James to help."

I nodded. “Don’t worry, I talked to everyone. We’ll all help.”

We didn’t say anything after that. Just stood next to each other for a few seconds in the open doorway, watching the horizon. The sky, once so blue and endless, l had started to shift. Clouds darker than before gathered in the distance, slow but certain.

I felt it then. That strange ache in the air, like something was coming.

And somehow, we were all already part of it.