The rain beat steadily against the window pane making the glass vibrate. A sudden gale made the window shudder loudly, startling Joe out of a weird dream. Though it wasn't so much of a dream as it was a series of weird images. A girl in all white sitting under a tree, fire and thick black smoke swirling in the air, two young boys, a winding stair case and roses. Lots of red and white roses.

With a sigh Joe rubbed his eyes, looked out at the pouring rain and glanced at his clock. 7:13 a.m. Might as well get up for school.

"Man," Joe mumbled pulling on some pants. "Will it ever stop raining?"

New York rains were often like this; a light drizzle at noon and an hour later heavy down pour that lasted until the next day or so. This rain had been going on for three days straight and it was starting to drive Joe nuts. Neither Sam nor Fred (his two best friends in the world) had felt like coming over during this down pour so it was school, homework, t.v., dinner, and then bed for him.

Yawning, Joe shuffled into the bathroom and scrutinized his face in the mirror. From ten to fourteen his face hadn't changed all that much except that now his face was just a little longer and his three year stint with braces was finally over. Speaking of which he quickly removed his night retainer and stowed them out of sight. Before he went down stairs though, he stopped in Anna's room to check in her like he did every morning for the past year. She was still asleep, clutching one of her stuffed toys. He was just about to leave when she made a whimpering sound as if she was having a nightmare. Joe sighed sadly and leaned down to gently caress her forehead, whispering soothing words. Her whimpers stopped almost immediately and she relaxed back into easy slumber. Joe pulled his hand away revealing a small pink scar that ran across her temple and cut through her eyebrow. Joe swallowed the familiar lump of guilt in his throat and quietly backed out of her room.

After he finished getting his stuff together he grabbed a quick breakfast and headed out the door towards the bus stop for another long dreary day of Junior High.

The entire hallway was slick with mud and rain water as students trekked into the school. As usual Sam was already waiting at their shared locker looking impatiently at his watch.

"Sam," Joe sighed and rolled his eyes. "Relax. It's only 7:53, class doesn't start for another ten minutes."

Sam too hadn't change in the last few years. He was still easily irritable, still high strung, and easily excitable. As Joe exchanged out books and homework folders Sam rocked his head back and forth on his shoulders trying to ease out the tension no doubt.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "But you know we have a test first thing right?"

"Yeah and we both know that you're gonna ace it." Joe chuckled.

"Yeah, when doesn't he? " A third voice put in.

Fred suddenly appeared behind Sam and wrapped a muscular arm around his shoulders pulling him into a playful head lock.

"Ow! Fred! You smell like sweat socks and baloney!" Sam yelled but when Fred finally released him he was smiling.

The warning bell rang just then and all they rushed into first period English together. As they headed to their usual desk Joe noticed a group of giggling girls pushing on of their friends toward Fred who handed him a note. Needless to say, he and Sam were snickering by the time they reached their seats.

"What?" Fred said defensively blushing bright red. "It's not my fault they keep giving me these 'I like you' notes."

"You're the one who wanted to join the baseball and the football team." Sam said smugly. "You know how girls get over jocks."

"Yeah whatever." Fred grumbled crumpling the note.

Joe chuckled but then clutched at his head as a sudden head ache came over him.

"Hey, you alright?" Sam asked in concern.

"Yeah," Joe straightened up as the headache subsided.

"Are you sure?" Fred eyed him suspiciously. "Ever since you stopped using The Book last year-"

"You know exactly why I stopped using it." Joe said so sharply that both Fred and Sam blinked in surprise.

Joe sighed and rubbed his sore eyes. "Sorry."

Sam sympathetically laid a hand on his shoulder and Fred nodded in understanding. A year ago they had made a pact to never use The Book again and unlike the many other times they made this promise, this time they made sure to keep it. For very good reasons. Before Joe could dwell on it though, the final bell rang and mercifully the teacher began class giving Joe a distraction from his thoughts.

A/N- Big thanks to A.I.T and Lottessblossom for starting me back up on my first ever fandom Time Warp Trio. I've been wanting to get back to this for a while but I never did. If there are any fans still in hiding dont be shy to drop a review or two.