Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been over a year since I wrote a smaller fanfiction for the archive, so I'm back with another one of my favorite fanfiction tropes involving time travel! This was originally supposed to be posted on Valentine's Day but was postponed due to my injury. But instead of waiting until next February, I just decided to post it now. It shares a similar timeline to the one established in Snapshots From A New Strangetown but due to this fic's length, I decided to turn it into its own story instead of featuring it in Snapshots.
As always, feel free to leave me a review letting me know what you think and if you'd like to see more of this fic! :D
Three Weeks by SClownzZzZz
Part One – Soulmates
Forty-three-year-old Vidcund Curious is sitting at the edge of the bar at Londoste, the fanciest restaurant in Downtown, waiting for his partner to arrive for their Valentine's Day dinner. Vidcund sighs as he glances down at his watch for what seems like the fifteenth time that minute. "God, where is he?" Vidcund mutters, glancing around the crowded restaurant, his troubled state immediately catching the attention of the young witch sitting across the room. She smirks and floats over to him.
"Looking for someone?" the atrociously evil witch, Amber Pons, wonders, causing Vidcund to instantly turn at her chilling voice.
"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just waiting for my boyfriend," Vidcund replies, turning towards the bartender in the hopes of detouring the witch's attention.
"You're dating Loki, right?" Amber moving towards him as she presses further, "The neighborhood villain?"
Vidcund nods, suddenly feeling the need to defend his actions, "He's not that bad. He's actually really sweet."
"I'll bet," Amber replies dubiously, taking a seat on the barstool next to him, "So sweet he stood you up on Valentine's Day."
"He'll be here," Vidcund states firmly, still avoiding her gaze.
Amber laughs. "You seem so certain. It's amusing."
"Well, Loki and I are practically soulmates. He would never stand me up," Vidcund smiles, looking into her eyes.
"Wow, Vidcund," Amber smirks, "I've never seen someone so convinced by such a trivial matter," she states, a devious expression forming on her face, "You really think you and Loki are soulmates?"
"Of course."
"So convinced that I could just send you back to any time in your dating career and you're confident that you two would end up together?" she challenges.
Vidcund nods, not having to give this a second thought. "Sure."
"Okay, then consider it done," she says, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the biologist.
"Wait!" Vidcund exclaims, his eyes widening at the situation as he stands up and backs away from her, "What are you doing?"
"Vidcund, my dear, you just made a deal with a witch on the most spontaneous day of the year," Amber confesses, "You have three weeks to get Loki to love you, or you'll be stuck in the past forever."
"Oh," Vidcund states, heaving a sigh of relief, "That's all? That'll be easy."
Amber cocks her forehead, flashing a smirk. "Will it?"
She steps forward and snaps her fingers, a green cloud of light consuming the Curious brother as she laughs evilly to the heavens.
"This won't be so bad," Vidcund's voice chimes in his head as his vision blurs around him, "It shouldn't be that hard to get Loki to love me. I mean, he was crushing on me for most of his college career…"
Vidcund groans as he slowly opens his eyes, Amber's spell making him feel like he just got hit by a truck. He moans as he pushes his comforter off him, the familiar blanket covered with patterns of atoms. Vidcund yawns, his eyes slowly adjusting to his new surroundings. His stomach drops as he eyes the color of his bedroom walls: a light, periwinkle blue. Vidcund quickly turns to the right, shifting into a sheer panic when he sees his youngest brother, Lazlo, who appears to be about thirteen years old, fast asleep in his bed on the other side of the room. Vidcund turns to the left, getting a first look at himself in the mirror. He is young, scrawny, and has terrible ache.
"-Oh no."
Vidcund's alarm clock blares on the nightstand next to him causing his oldest brother, Pascal, to slam open the door and waltz into the room. Vidcund looks up at Pascal, whose messy hair and navy-blue t-shirt he hasn't seen in years.
"Wake up, guys! Whoo! IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL!" Pascal exclaims, bouncing up and down twice before racing down the hallway.
Vidcund quickly gets out of bed and runs over to him, placing his hands on Pascal's shoulders. "Pascal, quick! What decade is it?" he wonders.
Pascal cocks his forehead, clearly troubled by his brother's frantic state, "Uh, it's the 90s, Vid. Are you feeling alright?"
Vidcund nods, his whole body shaking, "Yeah," he lies, grabbing onto his noodle arms. He stares down at his hands, "God, was I always this scrawny?"
…
"Alright, boys. Have fun at school!" their father, Glarn, chimes as he stops the old family van in front of Strangetown High School after a frenzied, thirty-minute morning roundup routine, his mustache as thick and lush as ever.
In the back seat, Vidcund is shivering between his brothers, never being more scared in his life. Concerned, Lazlo turns to him, "Uh, are you okay?"
"He's fine, now get out of the car," Glarn answers for him, pushing his trio of sons out so he can feed his Tamagotchi.
Pascal leads Vidcund out of the car, Lazlo pushing him from behind so his father doesn't drive away with open doors again. Pascal and Lazlo stand on either side of Vidcund as he surveys the scene. The schoolyard is filled with people he hasn't seen in years. Vidcund steps back as he watches absolute chaos unfold around him. He can't remember the last time he's seen so many teenagers, but after this moment, he has a feeling that he never wants to see another one again.
Vidcund turns to the side, locking eyes with a familiar witch who is leaning up against one of the trees in the corner of the schoolyard. Vidcund growls and walks forward, pointing his finger accusingly in her face. "You!" he snarls, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
Amber smirks, clearly getting enjoyment out of her spell, "You said it would be easy to win his affections."
"But you know Loki didn't start liking me until we were in college!" Vidcund argues, "At this stage in our lives, it's borderline impossible!"
"Love knows no bounds, Vidcund. You of all people should know that," Amber replies, "Besides, teenagers fall in love at the drop of hat. This should be easy for you. That's why I'm only giving you three weeks to do it," Amber states, three of her jagged, pointy finger raised up towards the sky, "If you can't get Loki to fall for you by Thursday, March 7th, then you won't return to the present and your children will never exist."
"What?! No! You can't do that! High school was a total train wreck for me!" Vidcund cries, "Send me back! Please!"
Across the schoolyard, Pascal and Lazlo watch as Vidcund over-exaggeratedly flails his arms out and argues with a tree. Pascal cocks his forehead, deeply puzzled by the display.
Five minutes of unsuccessful pleading later, Vidcund steps away from the tree and looks around him, now knowing he has no choice but to obey Amber's command if he ever wants to see the twins again. "Now, let's see here," he states, "If we're all in high school, then I'm probably around fifteen, which must mean that I'm still dating-"
As if on cue, a young Circe wraps her arms around Vidcund and kisses him, Vidcund's eyes widening at her touch. Vidcund glances to the side, spying a sixteen-year-old Loki glaring at him from behind a shrub.
"What are you doing?" Vidcund squeaks after Circe stops smothering him, "I have a boyfriend!"
"What?!" Circe cries, her face skewed, Vidcund immediately horrified by what he just said, "Did you just say you have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah…you," Vidcund quickly deflects, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. Circe reddens and slaps Vidcund in the face, "Oww!" he shouts, rubbing the side of his face as she storms away from him, "Well, it's going great so far," he mumbles to himself, "Can't get out of this place soon enough."
Vidcund sighs as he walks further away from a fuming Circe, doing his best to keep his paranoia at bay. "Calm down, Vidcund," he instructs as he makes his way across the schoolyard, "This is just a classic Sci-Fi scenario. Just don't alter the past too much, kiss Loki, and get the hell out of here." Vidcund says, quickly changing direction to keep up with Loki, who is walking towards the school's entrance. Vidcund swings forward, accidentally punching a teenaged General Buzz in the face, knocking him out cold. A bunch of students race over to them and surround the unconscious student. Vidcund steps back, terror filling his entire body as he covers his gaping mouth with his hand.
"You-you just beat up the toughest kid in school," a young Craig states, staring up at Vidcund in awe.
"Yes, I mean no. I mean-I gotta go!" Vidcund squeaks, racing over to the answer to all his problems. Vidcund sighs as he approaches Loki, who has stopped near the side of the building, determined to put an end to this madness, "Hey, Loki!"
"What?" Loki growls, turning towards him.
Vidcund steps forward, grabs Loki by the sides of the face, and gives him the most romantic kiss he can muster, shocking his rival to the core. Vidcund pulls away from Loki and smiles, only to be immediately greeted by a fist to the face courtesy of his once lover.
Vidcund blacks out.
