Okay...so here's well this is the climax of the story. It's all been leading up to this. And well, if you're like the people on the other site I'm posting this one (they're a couple chapters a head), you are going to hate me at the end of this chapter. So this is just a friendly reminder that the story is not over. There's still three chapters left. And if any of you kill me, you'll never find out what happens...

o*o*o*o*o
Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm
that keeps changing directions. You change
direction but the sandstorm chases you.
You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over
and over you play this out, like some ominous
dance with death just before dawn.
-Haruki Murakami
o*o*o*o*o

Kendall wakes up to the sound of his alarm going off. He groans and rolls over, grabbing the offending phone and silencing it. "Sorry, Logie." He mumbles sleepily, turning over to where the brunette had fallen asleep last night. "But I guess it's time we-"

He stops short as he realizes that the bed is empty.

With a sinking heart, Kendall climbs out of bed. He makes his way into the living room to find Logan already showered, dressed, and eating breakfast. He looks up at Kendall when the blonde makes his way over. "Morning."

"Logan why are you-"

"We need to be at the studio. You should get ready." Is all he says before he turns back to his breakfast.

Kendall sighs and lets it drop for the moment. He gets ready and the boys make their way over to Rocque Records. The tension between Kendall and Logan is palpable and it's making everyone uncomfortable. As they wait for Gustavo, the blonde turns to the shorter boy.

"Logan we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about Kendall." The genius says with a sigh. "Yesterday is over. That's the end of it."

"No, it's not!" The taller boy nearly growls, finally reaching his breaking point. "Just stop it, Logan. Stop ignoring this! I would have kept fighting for you no matter what, but after yesterday I'm especially not letting you go. It's the first time everything has just felt right. And I know you felt it too. So don't even try and tell me you didn't."

"Just stop it, Kendall." The brunette mimics.

"No." This time the blonde does growl out the word. "I will be brave. I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me." He turns to face Logan, grabbing the smaller boy's hips and holding him in place as he sings.

"I have died everyday waiting for you." Logan sings, arms moving involuntarily to wrap around Kendall's neck as the blonde's slid around his waist.

"Darling don't be afraid. I have loved you…" Kendall sings and from the corner of his eye he can see James and Carlos watching with fascinated expressions.

Logan bites his lip, looking up at Kendall like this all brand new and not something that's been happening to them for two weeks. "For a thousand years."

"I'll love you for a thousand more." They sing together and, arms still wrapped around his friend's waist, Kendall dips the shorter boy, face leaning in dangerously close to Logan's.

"Logie…" Kendall breaths, almost scared of breaking the silence, lest it send the other boy running, but he's not going to miss another opportunity.

"WHAT. IS. GOING. ON!" The four boys all turn to see Gustavo standing before them, hands in the air in clear exasperation.

They all exchange nervous glances, Logan a little awkwardly from his position in Kendall's arms. They are all at a loss for words. Considering none of them are actually sure what's going on, they don't really know what to tell him. A voice from behind them spares them the pain of having to actually answer the larger man's question, however.

"I believe I can answer that."

The four boys, Logan finally managing to untangle himself from the taller blonde, turn to see the petite Chinese lady from the restaurant they had visited…exactly two weeks ago.

"You!" They all cry in unison.

She smiles at them, and James and Carlos recognize it as the same cryptic smile she'd given them when she handed them their fortune cookies. "It's nice to see you too, boys."

Gustavo pushes through the boys, coming to tower over the much smaller woman. "You can explain …this?" He gestures vaguely at Logan and Kendall, both of whom have the sense to narrow their eyes and look vaguely offended at his tone.

The elderly woman simply nods, clearly not daunted by Gustavo's towering frame or less than friendly tone. "This," she gestures to the two boys as well, "is what happens when two people are connected."

Gustavo lets his mouth drop in confusion. "Huh?"

She sighs. "The red thread. When it connects two people and one of them tries to fight it," here she turns and shoots a pointed look at Logan, who shifts uncomfortably under her gaze, "well, things like this can happen, especially after a visit to 天意注定."

Logan's eyes widen as the words leave her lips and he recalls the small handwritten sign that hung under the restaurant's much larger, much more impressive, traditional Chinese one. As Fate Would Have It "The red thread of fate?"

Everyone turns to look at the genius before he even realizes that he's spoken. The elderly woman seems unsurprised by Logan's apparent knowledge, choosing to simply nod rather than answer his question verbally. Logan shakes his head. "You have got to be kidding me!" He bursts out, startling everyone.

"Uh, what the heck are you guys talking about?" Kendall asks, drawing everyone's attention away from the starring contest that Logan and the elderly woman seem locked in.

"Yeah," James chimes in, "what's the red thread of fate?"

The elderly woman sighs. "Do any on you have a piece of string?"

"Oh! I do!" Carlos digs into his pocket for a moment before pulling out a decent length of string.

She takes it from him; ignoring the odd looks everyone else is throwing his way. She quickly ties one end of the string around Logan's left pinky finger before moving to Kendall and tying the other end the same finger on his left hand. "The red thread of fate connects two people across time, space, and circumstance. Two lovers who are connected by the thread are meant to be together, no matter what. The thread guides them, pulls them along until they have no choice but to follow it and find each other. The only way to break the thread is with a willing death."

This news is meet with silence, which, considering the group present, Logan thinks isn't all that bad of a reaction. He, however, doesn't feel like being silent.

"I don't want this stupid thread!" He grabs the thread that is physically connecting him to Kendall and yanks it off his pinky, letting it fall to the floor. "It's nothing but trouble!"

"Logan-" Kendall tries to get his genius friend's attention, but Logan cuts him off.

"No! This stupid thing sent Jo to New Zealand and who knows what it'll do to Lucy!" He's frantic in his explanation, his voice raised in anger and tears of frustration making his eyes glassy and ablaze at the same time. "I want to be able to decide my own fate! I want Kendall to have the choice to not choose me!"

This outburst is met with more silence, the whole room quiet except for the labored sound of Logan's breathing. The Chinese lady, and seriously, someone needs to ask her what the hell her name is, just shakes her head. "There is no way to break the thread." She repeats.

"No way." Logan mutters, mostly to himself, but everyone in the room can hear him. "No way except…" His eyes widen and before anyone can process what's happening he's sprinting towards the front door.

They all watch his retreating figure in shock, except for the elderly woman who looks vaguely horrified. As the door of Rocque Records slams shut behind the brunette, Kendall feels a violent tug in his chest, a force that almost literally spurs him into action. He's felt it before, the tugging, but it's always been gentle, like a friend grabbing his hand and leading him along a well-known path. This time, however, the tugging is urgent, almost painful, like the time three years ago when Logan had nearly… And before Kendall can even think about what he's doing, his best friend's name is on his lips and he's chasing after him; Carlos, James, Gustavo, and Kelly right behind on him.

Kendall makes it outside, completely unaware of the small party following him, just in time to see Logan step out onto the busy street without so much as a moment's hesitation. He watches in mute horror as the smaller boy braces himself for the impact everyone knows is coming. Logan turns his head at the last second meeting the blonde's gaze and mouthing something that Kendall thinks might be his name, or maybe "I love you," before a car slams into him. The whole thing can't have taken more than thirty seconds, but it feels like everything is moving in slow motion for Kendall as he drops to his knees on the pavement.

He watches helplessly as his best friend's body flies through the air, twisting grotesquely, before slamming into the ground. There's the sound of screeching tires and frantic yelling all around Kendall. He can distinctly hear Carlos and James both screaming with the same kind of dread that Kendall feels welling up in chest, threatening to burst out of him in a heartbreaking wail. But it's all background noise to the tall boy, who suddenly can't stop hearing the words he and Logan had been forced to sing to one another last night ago, when they were lying in Kendall's bed, wrapped up in one another. When everything actually felt right and perfect and it all makes sense now, which breaks him a little.

But what if you're my soul mate?

And as he screams, his left hand falls to his side, the string sliding off and falling uselessly to the ground. And the tugging sensation vanishes from his chest, gone completely -almost like it was never there to begin with.

A Thousand Years belongs to Christina Perri