Strings of Fate: The First Loop

CHAPTER 56 -THE MEMORIES WILL BREAK OUR FALL

Applause erupted around me like a wave. People stood. Whistles and cheers. But I didn't move. Not yet. Because in that moment, watching Matt, strong, composed, glowing beneath the stage lights, I felt something different. Not longing. Not regret.

Just... pride.

Because I got to know him. I got to be part of that blueprint he talked about. And even if we never built a forever together, we were still a chapter in each other's stories. And that was enough.

We clap. We cheer.

I feel the swell in my throat like I might cry, but I blink fast and hold it back.

Then the names begin. One after another.

Like clockwork. Like thunder.

Adenor, Zachary...

Apostol, John Drake...

Gonzales, Corey Miguel...

🎵 And they read off our names... 🎵

And then...

"James Andrew Gray."

Time hiccups. I look up, and there he is.

His walk is slower than the others, not cocky, measured. Steady. Like every step means something. His maroon robe flutters slightly. His shoes, clean but worn, scrape the floor in quiet confidence. I can't breathe for a second. He reaches the center of the stage and takes his diploma with both hands. Then he looks up, past the lights, past the noise, and finds his parents in the stands. Mr. Gray stands tall, clapping with both hands, eyes shining. He looks like he wants to shout from the bleachers. And Mrs. Gray presses her hands to her chest, already crying.

And then... James lifts his diploma high, like a medal, like a banner. A boy showing his father a treasure. My heart breaks and swells all at once.

Then he turns... and finds me.

His eyes glimmer. His mouth quirks into that familiar half-smile. Soft. Open. Unguarded. He gives me the smallest nod, like we made it through something enormous.

And I think: God, I love those eyes.

🎵 You held your head like a hero / On a history book page... 🎵

Dela Cruz, Maria Inez...

Then...

"Finn, Elizabeth Marie."

My name feels strange out loud. Too real. I stand. My knees wobble. My fingers clutch the side of my gown. But I walk forward. The crowd warps in front of me, faces blurring into shapes and flashes. But as I step on stage, everything sharpens. The light. The scent of paper and roses. The heat under my collar. The beating of my own heart. I take the diploma. And I look out. Ten months ago, this place was unfamiliar. I was a stranger, drifting, pretending, surviving.

But now...

I see Inez with her phone raised and her eyes glassy. Tim giving me a ridiculous double thumbs-up. Drake beaming wide enough to split his face. Corey, smug and proud like he helped me get my grades. Matt, arms crossed, trying not to grin.

And James. God. James.

These people, these chaotic, flawed, unforgettable people, somehow became my lifelines.

🎵 We are the kings and the queens / You traded your baseball cap for a crown... 🎵

I step down. Confetti rains like stars. Cheering erupts like an ocean wave. Caps fly into the sky, and time seems to bend for a second, like everything's suspended, sacred.