What is destiny? Is it a fabric woven with the threads of our lives? Is it a prewritten fate made by some higher power beyond us humans? Does it even exist? What decides who we are and what we do? Does anyone even have the right to make me live a certain life?

I shouldn't be having these thoughts; I shouldn't be questioning Destiny. In the world we live in now, your thoughts, actions, friends, everything, are decided by Destiny. Today, individual thoughts are a no go. Dying your hair is taboo. Speaking out against Destiny gets you killed. But, of course, no one here would dream of going against Destiny. Why? Because Destiny didn't write them to have rebellious thoughts.

And yet here I am. I am the epitome of irregular. I stay up late at night questioning Destiny and the lives we live, my hair is dip dyed a flaming scarlet, and I've shared all my rebellious thoughts with my best friend. Everything I do, everything I am, goes against Destiny.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ren and I'm a Diverter. Our society is built on the foundation of having your entire life mapped out for you. To avoid war and conflict, a secret society of superiors named Destiny write out each mundane thing that happens to us in our lives. Everyone goes about their business, making decisions that were already made for them. No one is ever really aware that they have a wiring in their brain, genetically modified into their DNA, that controls them and the roads they take. Every once in a while, though, there are people born like me. We are called Diverters, people who's genetic code skipped that one fatal wiring in the brain. Diverters are the Achilles heel of Destiny. We make our own decisions, choose our own paths. Every soul that we touch in our destructive path gets their destiny altered.

"Ren, you've got that look again,"

I jolted at the sound of his voice, turning to face my best, and only, friend.

"Sehun," I breathed, looking at him in shock. I had completely forgotten that we were out here.

"You forgot I was here again, didn't you?" Sehun smiled at me gently though his sharp features made it seem a tad spiteful.

"Sorry." I shook my head.

"It's been happening more often," he mused, turning away from me to look out at the sun setting over the ocean. "Are you feeling alright?"

I left my friend in silence, unable to answer his question. Though I didn't want to tell him, I hadn't been alright. There was just something unsettling. Somewhere deep within me, I knew I wasn't safe. I had seen the news, heard about the so called suicides of Diverters like myself. It was too convenient for Destiny that there was no way it could have been a coincidence. I didn't have a destiny written for me, but I knew what Destiny had in store for me. If I didn't get away, if I didn't run like hell, I would die.

"I need to go." I turned to Sehun urgently, trying to read into his eyes as if he had an answer there.

"This again?" He seemed exasperated rather than angry as he turned to me with worried eyes, his blonde hair falling into his face.

"Sehun, both you and I know I can't stay here. It's too dangerous for me and even for you." I bit my lip.

"But what then?" Sehun leaned forward. "If you leave, then they'll question me and torture me to find out where you are. You know how Destiny works and I'm not supposed to!"

"You're right," I sighed in defeat, "forget it."

Silence fell over us once more as I busied myself with twisting a strand of hair around my finger. Each hair intertwined in a way that I imagined people's lives used to. They moved randomly, meeting new hairs in every which way I turned the strand. Sometimes, a hair would escape my fingers and go off on its own, beyond my control. I wished life could have been like that-- random and undecided. It was so sad to watch people wake up every morning and go through a routine that had been predetermined for them. Each pitiful soul that walked the streets had a life mapped out for them that I could see running through their veins. Only Diverters and those who had lived after encountering one had a jumble or no map at all. That, that was how people were supposed to be. We were supposed to be jumbled, confused, and free.

"Sehun, let's get out of here," I said suddenly, staring out at the setting sun over the sparkling ocean. Such a view was a cliche, but not for many people. For most, seeing the ocean wasn't written in the fabric of their Destiny.

"We just got here," he huffed as if exhausted from all my antics. 

"That's not what I mean," I mumbled, folding my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. 

"I know it's not." He turned away, afraid to meet my eyes. This wasn't the first time I had brought this up. But now, more than ever, my life depended on his answer. 

"Sehun, I can't stay here and I can't leave you behind. They know that you're my friend even though you're not supposed to be. If I disappear, they'll torture you to death to find out where I am." I tugged at his sleeve, frantic, needing him to come away with me. 

"It's not written in who I am!" He pulled away from me as fear leaked into his voice. 

"Our friendship isn't written in who you are. I'm a glitch in the system, Sehun, and they won't let me survive. We have to leave." My voice took on a pleading tone now as I moved to take my only friend's face in my hands. "Come away with me, Oh Sehun."

"You know I want to. It's just...doing this is like defying gravity!" Sehun protested, searching my eyes for some way to escape this that he knew didn't exist. 

"Then let's start defying gravity,"