At some point early in the morning, Nathan must have snuck out. We'd had sleepovers before. A few movie nights that when on for far too late for him to go back to his room. It really wasn't a surprise that everyone thought we were dating. I looked into the mirror by my door. Dark circles and acne scars.
Nothing a little concealer won't cover up.
I grabbed my shower supplies and began getting ready for the day. When I returned to my room to do my makeup, I saw that my room was trashed. All the pictures on the walls had x's over the eyes. There was writing on the mirror.
"You're dead"
I did my makeup in the bathroom that day. Later on, I met with Nathan at a diner. As always, I arrived before him, so I took a seat at a table near the back. I pulled out my phone to see a text from him.
Nate: u better not be l8
Victoria: nah ur already l8
Nate: im on the busssssss
Victoria: i drove here w8ting on ur dumb ass now
Nate: ughghghghghgh
Victoria: u better hurry up or ill eat all the food
Nate: bitch u better not
Victoria: i will
Nate: rood
Victoria: get ur ass over here already
Nate: i dont control the bussssssss
Victoria: u better start
I put my phone down when the waitress walked over. Her nametag read "Joyce." I glanced over at her, my face set in a bored expression.
"Need a menu?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you."
"What can I get you to drink?"
"Coffee and several packs of creamer."
"I'll have that out in just a minute."
After a few minutes, Nathan slid into the seat across from me. His hair was sticking up in various places. He had his signiture jacket and a pair of jeans. The dark circles under his eyes were far more visible than mine.
"Were you so late that you didn't have time to brush your hair?"
"I fell asleep on the bus."
"Did you sleep much last night?"
He shook his head. "I don't sleep much anymore."
"Is it your meds?"
"No. That's not it. The doctors have me on sleeping pills, but I haven't been taking it."
"Nate, you need it."
"I know."
"Is something wrong?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
The waitress walked back over. "What can I get you two?"
"Coffee."
"Do you know what you want to eat?"
"I'll have a waffle with a side of hashbrowns, please,"I said.
"Just give me what she's having."
"Coming right up."
When she was gone, Nathan turned back to me.
"Alright, let's talk about this crazy power."
"What about it?"
"We gotta test it out. Show me some proof."
"You don't believe me."
"That's not it. I believe you. I just want some proof, okay?"
"Whatever. What do you want me to do?"
"Do something that you wouldn't normally do. Then, I'll rewind and tell you what it is."
"Alright."
Nathan stood up. He walked over to a display case and punched a hole in the glass. Then, he took out a cookie and bit into it. I raised my hand and rewound time. By the time I was done, I was still laughing.
"What are you laughing at?"
I took a moment to catch my breath. "You just broke the display case."
"Woah. How'd you know I was going to do that?"
"I told you. I can rewind time."
"Woah. That'd wild, dude."
"I'm not a dude."
"I call everyone dude."
I decided to drop the subject when our food arrived. I picked up a knife and a fork and began cutting a piece of the waffle off.
"You gonna eat all of that?"
"We'll see."
"If you don't eat it all, can I have some?"
"I guess."
In the end, I ate all my food. I stood up and stretched.
"You keep eating like that and you'll lose your figure."
"You think so?"
"Don't sound so worried." Nathan put one hand on my hip and the other on my cheek. "You're still hot as hell."
"I'm not worried."
"I know that tone. Don't even try to lie."
"Hey!"the waitress shouted,"Take that outside." She pointed a finger at us.
I shoved Nathan out of the way and put the money on the table. It was twenty dollars over, but I didn't feel like making change. I walked out of the diner and towards the parking lot.
"We should go somewhere."
"Where to?"
He reached into my pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and lit it. "I got a place in mind."
Somehow, we ended up on the roof of my parents' beach house. I took the cigarette out of Nathan's mouth and put it in my own.
"Bitch."
"And you aren't?"
"So what's with this tornado thing? Do you think it's real?"
"I mean, with the snow yesterday, I think so."
"Guess the End of the World party really will happen on the end of the world."
"Armageddon isn't something to joke about."
"Whatthefuckever."
"What are we even supposed to do? I mean, how do we save the whole town from being wiped out?"
"No idea."
I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed. "I'm freaked out."
"I know."
"I just. Why me? Why do I have to have these powers? I'm just confused."
"I know."
I stood up. "I just don't know what to do."
He stood up. "Let's just forget about this for a little while. We're teenagers. We're supposed to fuck around and do drugs and make trouble. It's what we do."
"You're right. Let's fuck some shit up."
"Yeah!"
Nathan took a step back. Unfortunately, he was too close to the edge. That one little step sent him stumbling off the roof and down to the ground two floors down. He hit the concrete porch with a thud. I raised my hand and rewound.
"Yeah!"
"NATHAN DON'T STEP BACK!"
"Huh. Woah!" He fell backwards. I rewound before I could see what would happen.
"Yeah!"
I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards me. He jerked his hand away and fell off the edge. I rewound again. My head pounded and tears were in my eyes.
"Vic? Woah! Your nose. You're bleeding! You okay?"
"Let's just get out of here. Please?"
We walked down the beach towards my car. Nathan laughed.
"What is it?"
"This just reminds me of when we were kids."
"Summer vacation was all about time in the sun."
"Do you remember the time you got that really bad sunburn?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't listen when I was told to wear sunscreen. My skin was peeling for weeks. Ugh. It was so disgusting."
"It was hilarious."
"Not for me."
"Oh, come on. I do all sorts of embarrassing things all the time. It's nice to remember that you aren't perfect."
"I hate being reminded that I'm not perfect. I want to be. I really do."
"I know, Vic, but you're only human."
"Ugh. Don't remind me."
"It's what I'm here for."
"You know, you're a good guy, Nate."
He didn't say anything.
"Nate?"
"I'm not that good."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a lot you don't know. That you can't know."
"So tell me."
"I can't."
"You can talk to me."
"I can't! Don't you understand that?"
"Okay, Nate. It's okay."
"Let's just get back to school."
When we did get back to school, we sat on the local hipster's desk. We talked until she walked over to us.
"Can sit down?"
"I don't know, can you?"I asked.
We continued our conversation on the other side of the room. Eventually, Mr. Jefferson walked in and class began. The only reason I talked to him was because of something my mother once said.
"Victoria, you're a pretty girl. In this world, you have to use that to your advantage. You can't get power and success from just talent alone. How do you think I got to be where I am now?"
"You were really good at what you do?"
"No. I used money and a little womanly charm. It'll get you a long ways. Always remember that."
My photography was never good enough. For whatever reason, Mr. Jefferson wasn't easily manipulated. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get any recognition. It wasn't that I actually liked him. God no. I've found that the majority of males are absolutely disgusting. Only a few filed into the not disgusting catagory. That title was reserved mainly for celebrities.
All of a sudden, Zach ran in and started shouting. I wasn't sure if I the words actually registered in my head, but I followed the crowd to the girls' dorms. Kate stood on the edge of the roof. All of a sudden, she jumped off. Her body hit the ground with a thud. I raised my hand and rewound. Everytime I did, she would jump off the roof again.
I can't keep this up for much longer. My head's killing me.
All of a sudden, time stopped. I was the only thing moving. I wiped the blood from my nose with the sleeve of my sweater.
I could always get another.
Every step I took sent a shockwave of pain pounding against my skull. Somehow, I made it up to the roof. My head was killing me, but I had to save her. I couldn't let her die because of me. When I stepped onto the roof, time began playing again. I raised my hand up. A shock of pain hit me. I let out a cry of pain.
"Victoria? What are you doing here? Did you come to make fun of me some more?"
I rubbed the blood from my face. "No. I- I came here to help you."
"Yeah. Right. The girl who ruined my life is here to help. Nice try, Victoria, but I'm not falling for your tricks."
"Kate, I'm so sorry. I was a real bitch and it was the wrong."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"You don't have to do this. Please, just come with me. I can get you help."
"Do you know what it's like to have everyone making fun of you? No. You don't. You're the queen of this place. Well, you know what? I hope you rot in hell for all you've done."
About an hour later, I sat in my room. I kept replaying that moment in my head. The moment she took a step off the edge of the roof. I didn't go to any of my classes. I went straight to my room without talking to anyone. The door opened.
"Vic? How you holding up?"
"Better than Kate."
"You feeling alright?"
"I've been better."
"I got some things to take care of, but I'll be back later, okay?"
I nodded. In my hands was the picture taken right before the video of Kate was taken. It was me and the rest of the Vortex club smiling and laughing. Suddenly, I heard a voice.
"Just take the picture already!"
I almost dropped the photo. If I focused, I could almost hear what happened that night. The more I focused, the more the world around me began to slip away. Suddenly, I was in the middle of a party with a plastic cup in my hand. I looked around.
No way. I'm actually back there.
I spotted Kate across the room before the sea of bodies flooded around me. I shoved people to the side and pushed my way to her. The music pounded in my head. The alcohol wasn't doing much for me either. Somehow, I made it to where she was. I grabbed her by the wrist before she could take a drink out of her water. Unfortunately, I was too late. Someone had already drugged her. I took her by the wrist before she could make out with anyone.
"Come on, Kate. Why don't I get you back to your dorm? You look drunk out of your mind."
She made a noise, but she didn't try to pull her wrist away. In fact, she was pretty cooperative. Nathan stood at the door.
"Why don't you let me take care of her?"
"I think I can handle it."
"No. Really, Vic. Let me take her back."
"We'll be fine."
I dragged Kate through the door. Everything began to fade to darkness.
I put this up on ao3 nine days ago. Haha whoops. Working on chapter three right now. That's when we get to the new timeline so that should be fun.
