a/n: a short little red-string-of-fate fic because this other oneshot is taking WAY too long to write, so hopefully this will satisfy you until then.

anyways! this is short and sweet. wordcount: 1.5k

The first time Keefe saw it, he thought it was blood.

He was panicked, thinking that he had somehow cut his finger, but then realized-

It wasn't blood. It was a string.

It wrapped around his pinky and extended off into the distance, far beyond his sight.

And it terrified him.

He didn't know what it meant-was he imagining it? Mother had always reprimanded his overactive imagination. And it didn't seem like anyone else could see it.

So he sat down on his bed, tucking his knees to his chest, and tried to focus on breathing.

He was perfectly fine. There was nothing wrong with him. He was just imagining the string, it didn't exist.

Keefe did everything he could to get rid of it; he tried cutting it, but it was non-corporeal, he tried washing it away, he tried burning it, but nothing worked.

Finally, like any reasonable child, he decided that the only thing he could do was cut off his finger.

He was in the kitchen, a knife poised over where his pinky connected to his hand, eyes closed. He prepared to slam it down with all his strength.

A panicked shout made him open his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

His mother rushed into the room, pulling the knife away from him and turning to glare at him. Her lips pursed, clearly about to berate him, when Keefe broke down crying.

In the midst of his sobs, he told her about the string, and how he was scared that he wasn't normal.

To his surprise, his mother simply smiled and shushed him.

"Ah, I forgot how naïve children were. Keefe, do you know what a soulmate is?"

He didn't.

"A soulmate is the person with whom your very soul is bonded to, across all time and space, who you are fated to be with. And that string is connected to yours."

Keefe stared up at her, eyes wide. "Can you see it?"

This made his mother laugh, a bit derisively. "Only you can see your string, Keefe." She then leaned down to stare her son in the eyes. "For your sake, I hope your soulmate is a good match."

Keefe nodded, hoping that he would meet his soulmate soon.

*

"So, yeah, that's how I got my red string." Keefe leaned back in his chair, sipping from a mug of cinnacreme while his friends stared at him in shock.

"You tried to cut off your finger?" Sophie shouted, pulling out a few eyelashes in worry.

"Keefe, I knew you were an idiot, but not that much of an idiot!" Even Fitz looked stressed as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

That made Keefe laugh as he slammed the chair back onto four legs. "Well, my parents never really discussed love. Anyway, as the resident Empath, I have a string theory!"

Dex, who was sitting next to Fitz, leaned forward, looking interested. The Technopath was always up for theories. "Oh, do tell."

"Right, so I think that the string appears the first time you experience love, like having a crush on someone!"

The table stayed silent at this as they each pondered it.

"Actually, Keefe," Biana muttered, "That kinda makes sense."

"I know, right?"

Keefe jumped as Ro leaned in behind him with a vicious smirk. "Well, Mister String Theory, if you're so knowledgeable then why haven't you found your soulmate yet?"

He frowned at her. "You're not an elf, you wouldn't get it. You don't have a soulmate."

"Maybe not, but aren't you dying to know who it is? You're the only single one here, after all."

Keefe felt his cheeks heat up as Ro pointed that out, and he stared at his feet for a moment.

She was right. Sophie and Biana had met so easily, and the same with Dex and Fitz. The only other one who didn't find their soulmate yet was Marella, and she wasn't even there right now.

When Keefe spoke, the words were strained. "It's just not the right time for us to meet."

Ro laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say, Funkyhair."

Weeks passed, and Keefe tried to take his mind off of that conversation, but it raised a good question for him.

Where's my soulmate?

The question looped through his mind, but Keefe tried to busy himself to forget about it. He focused on his exams, and his friends, and anything besides his red string.

One morning, as he walked to his locker, shoulders hunched and head drooping, he overheard a hushed conversation between his locker neighbors.

"Did you hear? There's some new students today!"

"Yeah, from Exilium. Have you seen them?"

Keefe frowned and turned. "There are new students?"

One of the girls turned to look at him. "Oh, yeah, there are these twins from Exilium. I'm glad they're here now, because they're both so hot."

Her friend nodded and leaned in conspiratorially towards Keefe. "And the best part? Neither of them found their soulmates yet!"

Keefe raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

The first girl nodded and smiled. "I'm gonna go talk to them. Even without soulmates, maybe they're open to dating!"

The two girls ran off with matching squeals, and Keefe had to repress his shudder. He hated people like them.

It had happened to him before. He was attractive, so people noticed him left and right. And when they noticed he was without a soulmate, well...

It was just so annoying.

Keefe frowned as he closed his locked, a thought striking him. Maybe he should go talk to them.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

*

Keefe flattened his back to the wall, trying not to panic as a cluster of people walked past.

For the first time in his life, he could finally see an end to the string.

Somewhere, in the middle of that crowd, was his soulmate.

He knew it had to be one of the new students-he had already seen everyone at Foxfire, and his string never led to his classmates.

The only question was which one. As far as he knew, a gaggle of students had swarmed around the twins, with everyone trying to befriend them.

He considered trying to get through the crowd, but his legs stubbornly stayed put. Fine then, he would just be scoping it out until he saw an entrance.

Keefe rose up onto his toes, trying to peer above the heads, but even with his height he couldn't make out anyone.

It was frustrating. He was so close, his soulmate was right there!

But he was too much of a coward to find them.

The thought infuriated Keefe, who took a step forward, determined to force a way in. However, as he moved, a flash of silver caught his vision, and he turned.

She was clearly the girl twin, judging that he had never seen her before. She was tall and lithe, every graceful movement flowing as smoothly as water. Her hair was long and dark, with the tips dipped in silver, which served to accentuate her silver-blue eyes.

And his string...

It didn't lead to her.

It took Keefe a moment for him to realize that she was avidly talked to Marella, their hands intertwined, and he smiled.

At least she had found her soulmate.

His heartrate doubled as he turned back to stare at the crowd. His soulmate had to be the guy.

And yet, he didn't move.

For some reason, he wanted to run away. He didn't want to meet his soulmate yet - he wasn't ready for diving headfirst into a relationship.

He was scared.

And Keefe would've ran if it weren't for the sounds of an unfamiliar voice in the crowd.

"Hey, move out of the way! My string..."

A boy suddenly broke through the crowd, his voice dying off as he stared at Keefe.

Many people had often told him that it felt like time froze when they saw their soulmate for the first time, and Keefe hadn't believed them.

But now he did.

The boy had beauty matching his sister, with dark bangs tipped in silver, hanging over silver-blue eyes. Though he wasn't as graceful as his sister, his steps were fast and light, as though he was used to moving in the shadows.

Before Keefe knew it, he was right in front of him.

"Hey," he said, extending a hand, "My name is Tam."

Keefe stared in front of him, at where he could finally see the end of his string, and it took all his effort to reach out his hand and speak.

As he grabbed Tam's hand, the red string seemed to wrap around their hands, binding them together.

"I'm Keefe, and you're my soulmate."