t w e n t y - f i v e : perception pt.2

"I don't even know. I've never been busted by the police before."

"Come inside. We need to create a plan."

I plop down on his couch and turn on the tv.

"Are you still hungry? Since, you know, our dinner was cut short."

"Kinda, yeah, what do you have?"

"I could make some spaghetti."

"No, that's fine. I don't want to impose. A snack could be fine," I shrug.

"I like to cook when I'm stressed."

"Alright. Just make sure it tastes good."

"Whatever."

He rustles around in the kitchen and I flip through channels. I watch tv and compulsively click buttons when I'm stressed.

I turn to face him, "So we don't know for sure that everyone was detained. You have some of their phone numbers, right?"

"Yeah, but it's just Andrew and some of the other guys," he shrugs while pouring noodles into boiling hot water.

"This definitely puts a hold on the travelers' plan. They're not getting out of camp anytime soon."

"Yeah, it's basically prison. They call them education camps: a place where you learn not to undermine the government. And they can use any means, physical or emotional, to get you to comply."

"I've literally never heard about this element of the camps. I thought that they were for criminals who hated the New World and wanted to physically harm people—the way people talk about them is as if the detainees are terrorists," I exclaim, "But they're just innocent people, exercising their God-given right to speech!?"

"Yep," he stirs some sauce.

"That smells good, by the way."

"We could do it."

"Huh?"

"We could do it on our own," he places the spoon down, rushing over to my side.

"You've lost me."

He reaches into his Jean pocket, and I realize there's something huge in it.

"Tha-That's—"

"The time travel remote... thing."

I glance over at it. The buttons for weather, place, and time glitter before me. The backlights aren't on, but the power it holds is bright enough. This is wild.

"We could literally go anywhere at any time with this," I gasp.

"I know. It's crazy. Since the travelers and everyone else got captured, we can go back to when this thing started and set it straight," he says confidently.

"Wouldn't we need a capsule to arrive and leave in?"

"Yeah," he pauses in thought, "Wait! Theirs looked a lot like a normal shower. What if the material is the same? We could just use this in a shower."

"Theoretically, yes, we could. But what if—"

"No what ifs... let's test this out." He gets up and runs upstairs. I guess I have no choice but to follow. What's the worst that can happen, right?

I follow him up to his open bathroom door. He's closing the sliding door to the shower when I arrive.

"You're going alone?," I ask, concerned.

"Just in case there's a negative effect to this. Only one of us should go. I'm the lowest risk option."

"No," I reaffirm, "We'll do it together."

I open the door and grab his hand.

"Where should we go to test it out?"

"Uh 2015, here."

He nods, "Before we existed."

He types in 2015 and Maryland, then those lights flash again, and I hold onto his arm tighter. The light is blinding, and within seconds we zap out.

I open my eyes and we're still in the shower.

"What? It didn't work?," I ask disappointedly.

"Shit. If this whole thing was a trick. I would feel really gullible right about now."

I just chuckle.

"Hey, you believed in it, too. You were clutching my arm like there's no tomorrow. Keep this up, and I'm gonna start thinking you're not pretending to be my friend anymore," he laughs.

I think we're beyond pretending. I genuinely want to be friends.

"There very well couldn't have been a tomorrow if that glorified remote killed us in time travel or something."

He scoffs, "Let's just forget about it. It's over. The experts on this are gone, and so is the rest of the group. Let's go back to normal. I'm the quiet kid, and you're the popular girl. We don't know each other."

"We can't give this up. And I don't want normal. I like hanging out with you. It's never boring. The last week and a half has been like an action movie. I feel like I have a bigger purpose now—not that the oppression of others is just a means to relieving me of my boredom. Basically, what I'm trying to say is—"

He leans over and plants his lips on mine. Unexpected—very unexpected.

I'm shocked at first, so my lips don't open. But his tongue tickles them, and I follow him.

This small impromptu kiss turns into a full makeout session. I run my fingers through his blonde hair, and I'm just realizing how much I've wanted to do that. This is right. No, this can't be happening. I'm supposed to be setting Tiana up with him, not hooking up with him—that's all he'd want me for anyway.

I slowly pull away, "I'm not really that popular. I'm like middle-tier popular. Being affiliated with Tiana sometimes bumps that to middle/top-tier, but generally I'm like in the middle. I mean it doesn't matter in the end because popularity is just a social construct, and—"

He lays his lips on mine again. "I found a way to shut you up," he says in between kisses.

I chuckle. Nothing shuts me up.

I pull away again, "We can't do this. I'm blackmailing you," I chuckle.

"I thought we were past that. You haven't been my blackmailer in a while," he smiles, "We're partners now. Were partners," he giggles, "This shit doesn't work."

He tosses the device at the wall, and we hear footsteps approaching the bathroom.

We sharply turn to each other in unison.

"Nobody's here but us."

"So who the fuck is that?" I quiver.

The door snaps open, and he covers my mouth tightly, scooting us both back toward the shower head.

A tall woman enters and looks around the room suspiciously.

"Hello?," she calls. I'm sure she can't see us, so maybe she's doing that thing where you say something just to make sure you're not crazy. We're not coming out, so she's just gonna have to deal with feeling crazy.

With one hand covering my mouth and one around my waist, Shawn breathes steadily. Meanwhile, I'm trying my hardest not to breathe too heavily. It's barely working.

She stands for about 20 seconds, and then she decides to leave.

Phew.

He lowers his hand and we exchange a knowing look. He presses the time and place for us to return home.

With that familiar zap, we're back in his bathroom—in the present. I hope.

I exit first and open the door. Mystery solved. We're back in his messy room. I can finally take a breath.

"That was—"

"Fuckin awesome!," he exclaims.

I beam, "The teams not over yet." I raise my palm to high five him.

He smiles at my gesture and pulls me into an embrace.

"Wait! The spaghetti," I make a run for the steps.

"Shit."

The meat sauce is fine. No smoke or weird smells emitting from it. The noodles are sitting in a strainer. Okay. Dinner's fine. I'm starving. Time travel takes a toll on the stomach... and mind.

In between forkfuls of spaghetti, I say, "I was serious. We can't keep making out," I whisper.

"Was it not fun?"

"I didn't say that. And you are surprisingly a good kisser but—"

"You started it."

"No, you started it."

"I mean at Tiana's party."

Oh. That was a momentary lapse in judgement that I regret having... kinda.

"That was a mistake. I mean it was—"

"I know what you mean," he sounds frustrated.

"I mean I shouldn't have done that because we're just friends. And I didn't mean to try to ruin that. Plus, I would be a horrible friend if I hooked up with you, Tiana's crush."

He stops chewing, "Are you seriously talking about her. I don't care about her. At all."

"And who do you care about? Me?," I scoff, "I know what you like: one night stands. You like fucking girls and forgetting about them. What I did at Tiana's party was a mistake. I regret it because I want to be a good friend, and it was wrong. Even if you are wrong for her—at least she could find that out for herself."

"Who said I wanted to fuck you and forget about you?"

"Please. This won't work on me. I've made up my mind. Also, she wanted me to get you to agree to go on a date with her. This coming Friday," I smile awkwardly.

He sighs, "Kara, you did what?"

There he goes, saying my name again.

"Please. Give her a chance."

He sighs, rubbing his forehead.

"You're a bad kisser anyway."

I roll my eyes. You don't have to lie.

Jack's POV:

I pace back and forth in the living room as some sitcom plays. Where the hell is he?

Then the door begins to rattle.

I rush up to it, unlocking it before he can.

"What happened? Did you see her there? Did you capture that scum Shawn?," I ask in one breath.

"Calm down," he sets his briefcase and jacket down. Sighing, he strolls over to the kitchen and gets himself a glass of water. He has no sense of urgency whatsoever.

"Dad, I can't calm down. Tell me what happened. Please?"

He gulps, "Your girlfriend wasn't there, but we did collect a lot of rebels. We shipped them off to the farthest camp possible. Some place in Hawaii. I don't know names, but if this Shawn guy was there, he'd be on a plane by now. It's unlikely that you'd see him again."

I shift my stance. This is a lot to take in. I mildly detest the guy, but I don't want him shipped off. For his sake, I hope he wasn't involved.

"Kara. Was Kara there?"

He rolls his eyes, "I just said no. Your girlfriend was not there. She's still questionable, though."

I let out a sigh of relief. "She's not questionable, dad. You can leave it alone—any investigation you were going to continue—consider it discontinued." I never disobey or question him, but Kara's off limits. He can't impose his work on my life. Sometimes I think his devotion to the New World consumes him, sometimes both of us.

"If you believe she's not conspiring against the New World, I trust you. Plus, I couldn't find tangible evidence to prove it," he shrugs.

"This is unbelievable! Why do you treat this job like it's your entire life?!"

He brushes his hands over his head, "It is our lives. It's my job to make sure this world is safe and reformed."

"It's not all on you, dad. And it becomes harmful if it's detrimental to this household." This is new territory. I never talk back to him, but it's been too long. I have to speak up.

"This is what your mother would have wanted," he lets out a tear.

"Mom would have wanted you to be happy."

"She helped construct this world. She would want me to make sure it went smoothly. And I'm doing that."

"It's taking a toll on you. I can tell. You barely get enough sleep. You're moody. At some point, you need to—"

"What? Quit my job? Then where would you be?"

"I mean you need to ease up. Cut yourself a little slack. And stop accusing teenagers of conspiring against the government."

"When you say it that way, It does sound ridiculous," he rubs his chin. I know.

I nod.

"Nevertheless, whoever goes against the New World will receive consequences. Kara may not have been in the group from tonight, but if she is in one, I will find out. No actions against our world will go without penalty."