AN: I wrote this years ago and thought about this old thing again, and figured it'd be such a shame not to post it. So in case there are any of you PotF fans out there that would like to revisit their story, I hope you enjoy this old work of mine! c:
Phil went back to the future, to the year 2121. A law was passed, according to Mr. Diffy, stating time travel was prohibited in the future due to the Diffy's little incident of not managing to make it back home from their time-traveling vacation, so Phil had to say goodbye to me forever. He was my best friend, and most recent to his departure, my boyfriend. At first, I thought I'd be okay with him going back. I had accepted it the day he turned and walked away after our memorable broadcast. Only, with every passing day, my heart felt more heavy than the last.
The friends that remained were Via and Owen, though when they started dating, I became a sort of third wheel and stopped hanging around them much. I still kept in touch with Tia, and told her that Phil had left Pickford. Keeping my promise to the Diffy's, I gave her some bogus story about how they had moved to some remote location where no form of communication was possible, since communicating through a century and two decades is impossible, it was as close as I could get to the truth. Her only advice was to go shopping at the mall and "shop for hotties". Typical Tia.
Summer came a couple of months after Phil left, so to kill time and make some money for school, I got a part-time job working at Pickford's Pizzeria. Mr. Hackett stopped by one day to pick up his dinner, and slipped in a comment about the Diffy's.
"It's been quiet around the neighborhood," he hinted, eyeing me suspiciously. No doubt trying to get me to say something about the Diffy's.
"Yeah, it has," smiling faintly, and trying not to let it get to me, I answered.
"Surely you know why the Diffy's left." It wasn't a question.
"Not the technicalities, just that they had to leave."
"Right. Well, thank you for the pizza," he grabbed the cardboard box from my hands, replacing it with money, and scurried away.
Mr. Hackett stopped by nearly every day after he discovered I was working there. This was the first time he mentioned their name since they left, though.
After work, I went directly to my room. I was tired, and a bit irritated that Mr. Hackett wouldn't let it go that something strange was going on with the Diffy family. They were gone, and yet he was still obsessed.
I sat down at my desk, putting my head in my hands, when I glanced over and saw my guitar, sitting in the corner of my room. It was covered with a layer of dust that had settled since his last day. I remembered then when he helped me get over my stage fright, by shrinking himself and climbing up onto the microphone.
I smiled at the thought, and picked up my out-of-tune guitar. I began playing Protecting Me, first strumming, then deciding to sing along.
You, you're always there for me
When I need you most
Day or night, you're by my side
Protecting me
I set my guitar back into the corner, and went to get ready for bed.
When I was brushing my teeth, I hummed the tune I had just been singing. A half an hour later, as I laid my head down on the pillow, I wondered what Phil was doing at that moment. Then a depressing thought hit me.
Wait, he's in the future, there is no right now for him. He's not doing anything now, he hasn't even been born yet. His great-grandparents haven't even been born yet! The only relation I know of in this time period is Kyle. I wonder...
You know it's true what they say about time travel. It really gives you a headache! I started thinking about his family tree, and my mind wandered to how much Kyle resembled Phil.
Ugggh stop thinking about him! He's gone. He doesn't even exist. It's like he's dead...no! Not dead. Not dead. He'll be alive in about a hundred years. But by then, I'll be dead...
I stared at the dark ceiling, tears burning my eyes, threatening to spill over. It wasn't until this moment that it really hit me. I was never going to see him again. It's not like he had just moved away. If he had, he'd still exist in my time. I'd still be able to talk to him. I'd get to see his smile, and those warm, kind eyes again. The way I'd catch him looking at me that made me feel like I was special...
I rolled over, letting the tears fall on my pillow, and wiped my cheeks, sniffing.
These memories are going to be burned in my mind forever, as heartbreaking as they are to me now, I'll never forget them. And maybe someday, maybe I'll be able to look back on them with a smile instead of tears.
"Happy thoughts, happy thoughts..." I muttered aloud.
Remember, you got to see a glimpse of your future! A voice said suddenly in the back of my mind.
Yeah, courtesy of Phil, said another, gloomy voice.
You become a reporter, something you've always wanted! Don't lose sight of that. Just keep working on it. The cheerful voice went on.
It's what Phil would want.
And you get married!
That's right... I remembered that "video" of myself in the future, reporting on aliens with a beautiful wedding band on my left ring finger. I had what looked to be a happy future, and the pain I was feeling now wouldn't affect it.
I drifted off, Phil's face fading behind my eyelids as I fell asleep.
The rest of the summer went by fairly quickly. I kept myself busy with loads of activities and volunteer work I had signed up for. And before I knew it, it was junior year.
"Can you believe another year has flown by?" Via said to me on the first day of school in her British accent.
"No, I can't," I replied, heading for my locker. I had all my little things to put back in from the previous year, but with the addition of my salt shaker and a photo of Phil.
The school year went by in a blur, and so did my dreams. They were blurs of faces and memories, and I hardly remembered a thing when I woke up, for which I was grateful. Only rarely did I try to picture Phil in the future, and tried not to think of him with someone else, with other friends laughing and having a good time. Though, it's also what I want for him, to be happy and live his life, even if I was no longer apart of it.
Summer came again, and I had an internship at our local news station that occupied a lot of my time, but I also resumed my old job at the pizzeria.
Senior year approached in a flash, with few changes from the year before. Owen and Via broke up, but I remained friends with them both. I also became friends with a couple of new students, John and Becca.
"We're seniors!" John exclaimed on the first day of school, after walking in the front door.
"Shhh John!" Becca whispered, "Don't be so obnoxious about it. Yes we're upperclassmen. Don't be a jerk."
"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!" John made a goofy face, trying to imitate Becca's. She wasn't pleased.
"Ha ha, how cute," Becca rolled her eyes. "So Keel, what do you have first?"
I took out my schedule that I had picked up the day before, and saw I had English with Thompson.
"Ah, so do I!" Becca squealed, pulling me along as she headed for Thompson's classroom.
I heard John say as we walked away, "Oh, you have English? I have Government first...okay, I guess I'll see you guys later!"
We were some of the first students in the classroom, so we sat by each other near the front.
"Can you believe John this morning? Talk about immature."
Then she dived into a story about how John had decided to pelt her with water balloons the week before, and how she chased him down the street. By the time she was finished, the bell rang and class was starting.
Mrs. Thompson had just started talking when a handsome looking boy walked into the class.
"Sorry I'm late, I got lost."
"Not to worry, are you Zachary Adams?"
"Yes ma'am," the boy replied.
"Okay, I've marked you present. Please take a seat."
Becca was trying to get my attention, and when I looked over at her, she mouthed "Wow" and then looked back at him admiringly.
"Did you SEE that guy? Talk about cute!" Becca exclaimed as we met up at my locker. "Didn't you think so, Keely?"
"Yeah, I mean, he was okay."
"Okay? Okay? He's more than 'okay'!"
I was working on organizing my locker, and made sure my salt shaker and photo were in their rightful place. The photo of Phil I kept in my locker, had me standing next to him, smiling at the camera as if nothing bad was about to happen. I stared at it a moment. I clearly looked different now, older. My hair was longer by 6 inches or so, and I wore it straight everyday instead of curly. I wore more elegant clothing, leaving bright colors and prints, quirky hair accessories and jewlery behind. Yet, there was no mistaking who I was when I looked in the mirror.
"Hey Keely, I was wondering," John started to ask, sounding hesitant. "Why do you have that salt shaker in your locker? I noticed it last year, but never got around to asking you about it."
I suddenly had a lump in my throat, and no matter how many times I swallowed, it wouldn't go away. I cleared my throat once, and answered.
"Uh, you know that friend I told you about? I gave him the pepper shaker shortly before he left, and I kept the salt. It's just our way of staying connected."
"Aww that's so cute!" Becca squealed, looking from the shaker to the picture. "And that's him? Aw, he looks like a nice guy...You're sure you're never going to see him again?"
"I'm sure," I said sadly, and then the bell rang, telling us to go to our next class.
The first week of school was at its end when Zachary Adams approached me on the way out of our last class.
"Hey," he said cooly.
"Hi," I said back, walking toward the door.
"Wait! I - I uh, wanted to talk to you. I've actually been trying to talk to you all week, but I never got the chance."
I raised my eyebrows. He wanted to talk to me?
"I was uh, wondering if you'd like to see a movie with me tomorrow night?"
I didn't know what to say. Becca was right, he was pretty cute. But for some reason, going out on a date with someone other than Phil didn't feel right.
You get married in the future, remember? You have to go out with other guys or that's not going to happen! Just say yes. It'll be good for you.
"I - Sure, that sounds like fun."
"Great! I'll pick you up at 7. See you tomorrow."
"You're going out...with ZACHARY?!" Becca shrieked on the phone the next day. "You didn't even think he was that cute! Ugh, talk about unfair. Still, I think it'd be good...you know, I notice you feel down sometimes, maybe this will cheer you up."
"Maybe... Okay, he is cute, isn't he?" I launched into a conversation about Zachary and what I should wear on my date, something I hadn't really done in a long time. It felt like I was starting to get my old self back.
The next day Becca came over to help me pick out an outfit. Again, something I hadn't done with a friend in awhile. Before we knew it, it was nearly time for Zachary to arrive, so Becca headed for the door. She paused, turned around, winked, and quickly exited. A few minutes later, Zachary was at the door with a bouquet of flowers.
"Hey, oh you brought daisies? They're my favorite."
"Yeah, I know," he smiled, guiltily.
"How?" Slightly suspicious, but him going through the trouble to find out put a smile on my face.
"John told me."
"You talked to John about me?" My grin widened.
"He told me he was friends with you, and Becca - he's in my Chemistry class so we had some time - and it wasn't very hard to get him talking about you when I asked."
"Oh, I see," I had to look down and work on not smiling too much.
It was silent for a moment, and I left the room to put the bouquet in some water.
When I returned, he escorted me out of the house to his car.
We saw one of the romantic comedies currently playing, though I didn't pay much attention to what was going on. My time was either spent looking at him, or staring blankly at the screen thinking.
Don't feel bad about being happy. You deserve it.
I ran through different scenarios, each one of them ending the same as the next. He wasn't coming back. It's a difficult concept for me to grasp, probably because time travel has a way of making people absolutely confused.
Halfway through the movie, I decided to drop it and paid attention to most of the last half.
"That was an interesting movie, wasn't it?" Zachary asked me as we left the dark room.
"Oh yeah, that ending was awesome," I gave a little laugh.
He talked about the storyline, and the only action scene in the film. Then we stopped at a little cafe briefly to chat before heading home.
"I had a really nice time," I said as I walked onto the porch.
"So did I," he grinned, his hands in his pockets. "Would you like to go out again?"
"I'd like that."
"I'll call you then," he replied. He was starting to lean closer to me, but I stepped out of his way, and quickly said goodnight as I reached behind me and grabbed the doorknob. I hurried in, shutting the door behind me.
What was THAT? I thought as I did a literal facepalm, leaning against the door.
He was going to kiss you, and you dodged!
"UUUUUGH!" I shrieked in frustration, I was not looking forward to explaining my rash behavior, but he was most certainly going to ask on Monday.
I was wrong, though. Monday morning came, Zachary greeted me cheerfully, and I pretended that the last part of our date hadn't happened.
As time went on, Zachary became my new boyfriend, though he didn't quite fit as my best friend. We went to dances and school events together, hung out after school, in between classes. I hung a picture of Zachary and I together over the picture of me with Phil after my third date with Zachary. I didn't think he'd appreciate seeing the photo, and I didn't have the heart to take it down.
It was already time from prom, which meant dress shopping, and that graduation was around the corner.
Becca, Via, and I went shopping for new dresses. I chose an embellished royal blue floor-length gown, Becca a maroon tulle, and Via a white lace floor-length.
We were talking about our prom dates, Becca was going with John. John had liked her from the start, but Becca and I were sort of oblivious to that fact. He confessed to her before finals in December. Zachary and I had gone on a few double dates with them.
Via was going with a guy from her French class, William.
"I always thought you'd be going to prom with Owen," I said as I was looking at the shoes. I couldn't decide between a white pair of 3 inch heals, or a black pair of 3 1/2 inches.
"And I always thought you'd go with Phil," she replied back, absentmindely, she was also debating between a few pairs. Then she realized she might've said something wrong.
"Oh! I'm sorry Keel! I didn't mean to -"
"It's fine, really," I quickly said, hoping she'd drop it.
"Phil? Were you two a thing?" Becca joined the conversation. She seemed too interested to let the subject go. I sighed.
"They were, for a very short time. Then he abruptly left and she hasn't heard from him since. No one has actually, it's all rather strange."
"Why didn't you tell me before?!" Becca squealed, plopping down at the seat next to me.
"It's not something I like to talk about, alright?" I snapped, then regretting how harsh I sounded, I added, "look, I'm sorry, but my life is finally heading in a good direction again, and I don't want to think about the past, how much Phil meant to me, because that doesn't matter anymore..." I looked down at the shoes in my hand, and let out an exasperated sigh.
"I can't decide which pair works best with this dress. What do you guys think?" I said, hoping they'd let it go. And they did. We also agreed the black pair would work better with the dress.
Prom night arrived, and the closer it came to be leaving for the dance, the more I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.
The girls came over to work on finishing touches of their ensembles. An hour later the limo rode up and the guys got out, and entered the house. The sinking feeling intensified after I saw Zachary. Something wasn't right with him.
"Look at you all, you're all so gorgeous! Let me take a few pictures," my mother said, snapping at least a dozen shots before I told her it was enough and that we better get going.
"Have fun, sweetie! You look absolutely stunning!"
I sat by Zachary in the limo, but he turned away from me, so that he'd either be talking to William or looking out the window. I didn't protest. Once we pulled up, Zachary pulled me aside. "I need to talk to you."
"Okay."
"How to put this...My ex-girlfriend from Pasedena decided to visit and well, she's here."
"Really? That's - that's...something. You told her you were going with me, right?"
"Actually, no. We uh...we kind of got back together."
I blinked twice, trying to register what I was hearing. "You got back together...as in... you've been seeing her while dating me?" My voice was rising.
"Well...yes," he glanced around nervously.
"Oh, oh I see. Okay well, thank you for having the decency to tell me...on prom night! How long have you been seeing her?" my voiced raised significantly with every word.
"A couple of weeks..." he replied hesitantly.
"Then you should've mentioned it 2 weeks ago. I don't know what's worse, the fact that I thought you were better than this, or that I trusted you not to hurt me, considering everything. I can't even stand looking at you right now!" I shoved the corsage he had given me at my house merely half an hour ago, at him, and stormed into the building.
I didn't want to ruin the night for the girls, so I sulked in the back trying not to cry and ruin my makeup. I knew it was only a matter of time though that they'd come looking for me.
"Keely! Where have you been? Where's Zachary?"
"We broke up," tears started welling up in my eyes. "He started dating his ex-girlfriend a couple of weeks ago, and I just found out."
"That jerk!" Via said angrily.
"Oh Keel, I'm so sorry! It's always the cute ones, isn't it?" Becca sighed.
"I'm going to be okay, once the shock has worn off. Things haven't felt right with Zach and I for awhile now. It's probably why he started seeing what's-her-face again. You guys go dance with your dates, I'll be fine," I gave them a convincing smile, and motioned for them to go. They glanced at each other, and with a bit more convincing, walked back in the crowd.
As I stood there, watching people dance, talk, and eat, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked around, and saw a glimpse of someone who was not dancing, talking, or eating. He had just quickly turned his head away and walked back into the crowd, and out of sight.
Weird, I thought.
Before the night had ended, a few dateless (and some not) guys came to speak with me, and to dance. My friends joined in after awhile, and even though things didn't work out with Zachary, I still managed to have a pretty good night.
I arrived home late, my mom of course waited up for me.
"How'd it go?" she greeted sweetly.
"It was great, despite the fact that Zachary and I broke up."
"You what?" she asked me, surprised.
"He was seeing his ex-girlfriend behind my back, Mom." She gave me a shocked look.
"I'm alright, really."
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry..." she said sympathetically.
"I'm really worn out, I've been on my feet almost all night. I'll talk to you in the morning."
I felt two different kinds of pain now. A new, yet dull pain of betrayal and rejection, and a much more powerful ache of longing and nostalgia of what my life was like only two years ago, but now feels like it has been forever.
I graduate next week, and the next big step for me is university.
The thought made me nervous, yet excited. Then without notice, that guy I had seen only a glimpse of that night, flashed behind my eyes. I still had no clue who he was, but nonetheless, the memory brought a smile to my face after a day of hurt.