The original version was shit. So here's a new version.
Enjoy my gays.

You know the drill; when you turn 18, a string connects you to your soulmate.
•••

~Jeremy's P.O.V~

"You excited for tomorrow Jere?" Micheal asks in a slight screech, shooting a zombie in the head.

"I mean, not particularly" I reply as I reload my gun.

"Dude it's your eighteenth birthday. You're gonna get your soulmate string! That's amazing!"

I pout a little, trying to hide my anxieties.
"I'm a little . . . hesitant? I don't know. I know a lot of people meet their soulmates and it's all sparks and condoms but . . . a lot can go wrong"
The screen lights up as we complete the level.

Micheal looks at me with his eyebrows raised.
"Dude, just because my soulmate thing went poorly doesn't mean yours will"

"I wasn't thinking of your soulmate thing"

"You're lying. But that's okay. I don't blame you for being scared after what happened to me. Really it's fine I don't mind"

I know you're all at the edge of your seats wondering what happened to Micheal, so allow me to explain.

His eighteen birthday was a few months before mine. He ran all around town trying to find his soulmate. Eventually, he was led to a train station where the string led him across the tracks. A train went by before he could cross. The train cut his string.

The bow is still wrapped around his index finger. He never talks about his soulmate or the string. He seems perfectly happy, but I'm not convinced.

"You're right. You're right! It's all fine and it's gonna be fine" I assure myself.

Micheal smiles, looking down at his watch.
"Oh shit dude it's getting late. You gotta get home so you can get up bright and early so you look good for your soulmate"

"Wow keep it in your pants" i remark, getting up from the couch.

"Aw if you insist" he jokes, shooting me a smile.

•••

There's a string.
A bright red string.
It's tied to my finger in a little bow like I'm some giant present. Well, I guess I am. I get to walk up to someone today and say, "want a gift? Congrats! It's me! You get me for the rest of your life!"
Damn I am a shitty present.

Following the string is like walking along a trail. If that trail was a hair-thin tightrope over the worlds highest abyss. One slight slip and you tumble and fall forever. But, keep your balance and you might make it safely to the end.

Am I being over dramatic?
Yes.
Do I know I'm being overdramatic?
Yes.
But I'm not gonna stop it.

The string leads me out of my house, down my street to the park. Don't get me wrong, it's not much of a park. It's a cluster of trees with a stone path. Cheap as it is, it's pretty cute.

My converse crunch on the stones. The warm-ish wind blows my hair away from my face. God I should've brushed my hair. Or showered! That would've been better.

I stop. Too late to be worrying about that stuff now. In the distance, I can see a figure. A figure with a red string attached to them.

I should start running- I should run to them, right? This should be dramatic and amazing and dramatic, complete with an immediate declaration of love.

Okay maybe not the last thing.

Though I don't start running, I do walk faster. The fear and worry I was feeling early starts to fade. Was I so afraid? This is amazing! I'm finding my soulmate! I laugh. I can't help it! The love of my life is at the end of this string. And they're so close. So so close.

As they grow closer, they become less of a 'they' and more of a 'he'. He's tall. Yay tall!

I feel like I'm power walking forever until- there he is. Six feet away. Ginger hair peaks from under his backward baseball cap. Freckles sprinkle his cheeks like a galaxy. His brown eyes- no, no! I don't care how starstruck I am, I am not going to describe his eyes.

Wait, his eyes. They're not glittering in delight or sparkling in surprise. They're afraid.

"H-hi" I say, unable to fight the smile on my face.

He swallows. His trembling lips are slightly parted.
"I-I . . ." He slowly shakes his head. ". . . I'm sorry. I'm not- I can't . . ."

He taps around his person.

"Wh-What are you doing what's wrong?" I ask, panic creeping into my upbeat voice.

He tenses, searching his pockets and not meeting my eye.
"My name is Jeremy. I'm Jeremy; what's your name?"

He finds it. He pulls a blue pocketknife from his jeans, revealing the blade. Without a moment of hesitation, the blade cuts through the red string. Our red string.

The string hits the path.
I look at him, my breath trembling. He doesn't look at me. He doesn't tell me his name.

"I'm sorry Jeremy" his voice is uneven as mine. "But I cant . . . I can't have my soulmate be a guy. And I am sorry"

And he walks away. My soulmate cut the string and walked away. I've heard of people fitting other people's strings during fights or controversial pairings, but not their own. No one doesn't want a soulmate.

I don't know how long I stand on that path, but it starts to rain. Just a little.

I think I walk home- well I must've. How else would I end up at my doorstep. The door opens and it's . . . Micheal? Why is Micheal in my house? This isn't my house. I walked to Micheal's while my brain tried to comprehend that my soulmate who is destined to be with me doesn't want me and cut my string.

Micheal took me down to his basement. I'm now sitting on his couch. He's sitting next to me.

"Jeremy, what happened?"

I pull the string out of my jean pocket. He winces at the sight. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him fiddling with the string around his own finger.

"My soulmate took one look at me and decided that he doesn't want to be with me. He didn't hesitate to cut the string, leaving me with this unspooled yarn that can't disappear unless I unite with a soulmate that doesn't cut my string!" I slap a hand over my mouth, scrunching my eyes tight.

"Jeremy I'm so sorry"
I feel Micheal's arm snake around my shoulders as he pulls me close.
"You deserve better than this, man. You deserve to find someone who adores you"

"Yeah well who's going to adore me now? No one dates anyone other than their soulmate" I try not to spit.

Micheal swallows, rubbing my arm up and down.
"That's not true. Not everyone gets to be with their soulmate. Some of them die before they meet, or they're too far away, or their strings get cut"

"I just want a soulmate. I don't want the complicated things I just want someone who loves me"

"I might be overstepping, but I know someone who loves you who is happy to skip the complicated things" Micheal says gently.

"Oh yeah?" I laugh bitterly. "Who"

Micheal lifts his hand, showing his finger with the foot long string attached to it.
"Wanna tie ours together?" He asks, slightly hesitant.

I sniff. My shaking hands reach up, gently taking his string. I take my own, and tie the two together in a little bow.

"Do you think that bow will hold?" I ask.

As if answering for us, the string vanishes. Micheal smiles.

"I think it already does"

•••
First things first, that ginger guy doesn't exist in the BMC fandom. I made him up for this chapter. I'm taking name suggestions if you have any.

Also, let me know what you think of this chapter. I reinvented it because the old version sucked.

That is all. Stay safe everyone!
- Avery