Strings of Fate: The First Loop

CHAPTER 28

"I swear," I said, seething, "if I find out who paid for that wedding, I’m going to strangle them to death."

Tim sat beside me, elbows on his knees, letting out a long sigh. "I feel sorry for James," he said. "He’s trying."

"Yeah," I spat, crossing my arms. "And these dumb idiots don’t see it." My voice was sharper than I meant, edged with heat. Sorry not sorry.

"Calm down, babe," he whispered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. The kind of hug that says please, just sit with me for a second and let the world fade out. But I couldn’t. Not really. My thoughts were still spiraling like smoke from a blown fuse.

"I’m just scared what it’ll do to Betty" I said quietly. My words felt too small for the weight in my chest.

"I know… I know," Tim replied. "We tried."

I scoffed. "And failed."

He didn’t argue. Because he knew I was right.

I looked at the flowers again--- those forget-me-nots--- and suddenly I hated them for blooming. For not knowing what it feels like to have the fate of your best friends balancing on the edge of a sword.

I’m loud. I always have been. I speak before I think that soemtimes I say something I am as shocked as anyone, I the kind of girl who jumps before I look. But I’ve learned to weaponize my noise. If I can distract the world long enough—m, talk fast, move quicker, maybe I can deflect the bullets. Maybe I can catch the shards before it hits the people I love.

But even superheroes miss sometimes. Even I miss sometimes. Wonder Woman can't save the world sometimes. And right now, all I could do was sit here next to the boy who knows how messy my mind gets... and try not to fall apart.

“Now I crave something sweet,” I muttered, leaning my head on Tim’s shoulder for just a beat.

He smirked, then pointed to his lips. “Right here, babe.”

I rolled my eyes and lightly punched his arm. “Not that, idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled, ruffling my hair. “Come on. I’ll buy you halo-halo but that doesn't mean I am admitting that it's superior over ice cream. Shaved ice is still ice.”

"You're such a dork, that's why I love you."

We stood and started walking toward the food booths inside the school. The air still shimmered with leftover tension, but the promise of crushed ice, ube, and leche flan helped me breathe a little easier. A small comfort, like patching a cracked dam with glitter glue.

Just as we rounded the corridor, Drake and Corey ran toward us, both looking like their nerves had been dunked in battery acid.

“Where are they?” Corey asked, eyes darting.

“They’ll fix it,” Tim answered with quiet certainty. “It’s James and Betty.”

Drake and Corey exchanged a look, still unconvinced. I could read it in their furrowed brows and the way they hovered on the edge of sprinting somewhere.

“Have some halo-halo,” I offered, waving them over like a general rallying her battle-worn soldiers. “Let’s cleanse our palates from all this bitterness and cool our heads. Gosh, this is Avengers level of messy.”

As we reached the booth, the smell of evaporated milk and sweet beans filled the air. The clinking of spoons against glass echoed like a lullaby. For a moment, the world was just crushed ice, syrup, and the four of us, superheroes licking our wounds and pretending the fight wasn’t still happening just beyond the gate. But even in the calm, I knew this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.