Chapter Four

Jay looked around, taking in the world around him.

Instead of standing in his small, tightly packed room, he was now in the middle of a wide bedroom. He couldn't imagine any situation in which such large space would be necessary. A bed three times the size of his own was pressed up against the wall, covered in pleasant blue sheets. With only a glance, Jay knew it was more comfortable than anything he'd ever sat on in his life.

The walls were painted white, but the ceiling was navy blue, and it was covered with hundreds of small glow-in-the-dark stars. Jay searched for the light switch, flicking it off in an instant. He chuckled in amazement, his eyes traveling throughout the glowing decorations.

Turning the light back on, Jay continued to inspect the room with insatiable curiosity. He carefully went through drawers, realizing that his self from this dimension held a rather expensive sense of fashion. In the bookshelves, he found a couple of books on mechanics strewn about here and there, but mostly, the shelves were packed with novels and poetry.

He headed towards one of the two doors in the room, expecting it to be a closet, and freezing on the spot when it wasn't. "No way."

The door led to a bathroom, one whose size nearly rivaled that of the room. There was a shower and a tub. Jay approached the latter, laughing at the ridiculous size of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a mirror, and he approached it slowly.

He reached up and ran his hand through his right eyebrow. No scar. He smiled at himself, enjoying the lack of it. His hair was slightly different as well, softer, darker, better cared for. Jay continued to stare at the reflection, feeling a seed of jealousy begin to burn within him.

With a shake of his head to bring himself back into focus, he stepped away from the mirror, and into the room.

Jay wondered how everything had come to be the way it was. Had his parents invented something that pushed them up, towards fame? Had he? Or maybe the start of the obvious abundance of wealth had started further back, one of his ancestors striking a fortune that carried down to each generation.

There was only one way to find out. And that was to keep exploring.

He looked around for a clock, knowing he shouldn't stay here for too long. After all, school still awaited him tomorrow, back in his own dimension. When Jay couldn't find one in the room around him, he felt in his pockets, giving a triumphant smirk when his hands closed around a cell phone.

12:38

"Okay. I'll just. . . Look around for an hour. Then I'll-" Jay's eyes honed into the bracelet in his left arm, finally realizing that his great invention seemed to have powered off. "Uh. . ."

He fiddled with the buttons, but nothing occurred. The screen stayed blank and unresponsive. "No, don't do this. Not now."

Jay pulled off the bracelet, feeling an uncomfortable sensation traveled from his wrist to the rest of his body. For a second, the world around him seemed to wobble. Blinking away the movement, he focused back on the bracelet. He pressed the buttons rapidly, trying to get any sort of reaction from it, but the screen stayed blank.

He had to find a way to fix it. Or else he would be- Should get going, they were waiting- trapped in this dimension for-Why was he standing there? What was the strange metallic bracelet?-For who knows how long. Then everyone would-Everyone would be upset. He said he'd be there, and here he was, doing who knows what. Something was wrong. Something felt -Something felt off.

Jay felt the thoughts in his head become more and more convoluted. He couldn't keep anything straight. To make matters worse, a strange numbing sensation had begun to take over his legs, slowly traveling upwards, the world around him beginning to darken. In a moment of flailing panic, Jay used to last of his control to slip the bracelet back on. His hands were shaking terribly, but soon enough metal and skin were together once again.

A jolt rippled through him, pleasantly electric. Everything returned to normal.

Jay's legs were weak, and he allowed himself to stumble towards the bed, he waited a few moments for the sharp feel of panic to leave his mind before trying to think through the events.

The screen across the bracelet remained dark. He ran his fingers through the metal, relieving the strange feeling of pulling it off, and the pleasant sensation of slipping it back on. The bracelet and his consciousness were somehow tethered to one another. Without the bracelet, his mind would be extinguished from the body he was now in. Jay shivered. He didn't want to know what it felt like to be nothing.

"So don't take the bracelet off." He murmured, before a loud ping! Made him jolt of the bed and onto the ground. With a chuckle, he reached for the phone, realizing it was nothing more than a text message.

So are you coming, or are you going to make me wait for you all night?

The message was from a girl named Harumi. Jay squinted at the picture, but he couldn't recognize her at all. With a slide of his finger, he unlocked the phone, thanking his other self for being trusting enough not to put a password.

He stared at the message, wondering how he should respond. If he should respond. In his hesitation, another message cropped up.

Jay, c'mon, I've been waiting down here for like, an hour now.

Trotting towards the window, Jay looked down. A red, expensive looking car was waiting outside. The girl inside looked up at him, sticking out her tongue before waving him over.

Stop staring and come on. We'll be late

Jay gave a sheepish wave before stepping back and away from the window. Putting the phone back in his pocket, he walked out of the room.

The rest of the house was just as impressive as his room had been, if not more. He knew that the girl was waiting for him impatiently, but he couldn't help but stare at everything. It was amazing. Jay really wanted to know how he-

His eyes froze, locking upon a wall, filled with pictures. Family pictures, dictating every year of his life in this world. He recognized himself in nearly every one, but. . . Jay stepped closer. The couple with him. Those were not his parents. Although the man looked vaguely familiar, he couldn't say he'd ever seen those people in his life.

A sick feeling twisted in his stomach, as if he were seconds away from discovering a truth that he didn't want to know about. Many, many things could change from one dimension to another, but parents weren't one of those things. Regardless of what sort of twisted world he was dropped in, there were only two people with the exact DNA to create him.

Had his real parents passed away, in this dimension? He could have been adopted by this seemingly rich couple, which would easily explain the sudden change in economic status. Except. . .

Jay frowned, finding similarities between himself and the parents that weren't his own. The color and shape of the women's eyes. The boy-ish shape of the man's face. Jay took a step back, then another, holding the truth that had begun to take shape as far away from him as possible. Turning away from the pictures, he ran out the door, refusing to give any further thought to the matter.

He slipped into the car, suddenly confronted with a whole new issue.

How to be this Jay.

He opted for saying as little as possible, hoping that would help him pass off as whoever he was supposed to be. Jay gave the girl a small nod. "Hey."

"I think you mean, Sorry Harumi, I'm the worst friend in the world and I deeply regret making you wait."

Jay blushed. "Yes, sorry. I was. . . Sorry"

Harumi shook her head with a mocking smile. "You were staring at the mirror trying to find the perfect pick up line, I know. Or maybe you were getting nervous about this whole thing. Which is dumb. She's just a girl Jay. A girl who you've liked for years and is finally beginning to notice you, but a girl notheless."

Jay's stomach jolted. Nya? It had to be.

The rest of the ride was spent with Harumi chatting off about something or other, and Jay giving small comments every once in a while, trying to contain his excitement at the prospect of finally seeing Nya again. Harumi took his silence as a sign of nerves, and didn't probe too much at the fact that he was most likely not acting like himself.

Harumi turned into a street filled with large houses, with each managing to be far more impressive than the last. They finally stopped at the end of the street, before a house that was filled with the booming sound of muffled music, and more than a couple dozen other people chatting away in the front lawn. Jay gulped, the prospect of being squished in with so many other people making him extremely uncomfortable.

"C'mon," Harumi hopped out, unfazed by everything. Which, of course she was. This was probably fairly common in her life. Probably fairly common in this Jay's life as well. With as much confidence as he could muster, he stepped out of the car, pretending he was not utterly, and completely overwhelmed. "She's probably inside. You need to go say hi."

Harumi clutched his arm in a rough manner, pulling him forward. Once inside the house, Jay was more than glad to be pulled along by someone who knew how to travel through the sea of people. Finally, Harumi stopped, looking back at Jay with a teasing smile.

"There she is," With a nod of her head, Harumi singled out one of the girls. Jay followed her gaze, excitement blurring out all his other emotions. He was going to talk to her. Talk to her again after all these-

It wasn't Nya.

The truth of it made him stumble back for a moment. He looked back at Harumi. The girl gave him an encouraging smile, then with a comment that Jay couldn't hear over the loud buzzing in his ears, she left. Jay looked back at the girl. A girl he did not recognize. A girl he did not know.

It wasn't right. No. This Jay had just. . . He hadn't met Nya yet. Once he did, he would know she was the only one. Would always be the only one.

Instead of talking to the stranger, Jay traveled through the party, trying his best to find a quiet place to sit. Think. Eventually, he wound up in the living room. Finding an empty couch, he plopped down on it. A light at the edge of his vision caught his attention. He looked down at the bracelet.

Input?

So it was working again. Maybe it merely needing a moment to cool down before it could work again. He would have to find a way to fix that, in case he ever wound up in a dimension that demanded a quick exit. His fingers covered over the buttons. 32786. The numbers that would take him back home. Numbers he'd been sure to memorize, as the idea of being stranded somewhere he didn't belong didn't sound all that pleasant.

He should return now. He'd seen enough. It would be better to try and find a different dimension, one in which him and Nya had already found one another.

"Not much for parties either, huh?"

The voice. That voice. Jay turned, a knot in his throat growing larger as his eyes took her in.

Nya.

He opened his mouth, the shut it, opting for nodding instead. He needed to calm down. Needed to breather. This Nya did not know him, and he shouldn't know her. The last thing he needed was to chase her away by completely losing it.

"I don't know why I came." Nya continued with a shrug. "I guess I was just excited at being invited. You?"

"Just came with a friend." Jay tried to sound nonchalant, but he could her the nerves in his voice twisting the pitch of it higher than it should have been. "I I'm Jay."

He held out his hand, then felt utterly ridiculous when Nya chuckled at his actions. She took his hand, and gave it a good shake. "So formal. I'm Nya."

"Nya," He echoed, smiling wider than he should have. Calm down. "Nice to meet you."

"So," Nya fidgeted with her shirt for a moment, searching for a conversation. Jay waited patiently, knowing that if he started talking, it would never end, and he would wind up ruining everything. Again. "If parties aren't your thing, what is?"

Jay thought for a moment. Should he say what he was into, or what this Jay was into? He thought back about his room in this world, the only hint of what he might like had been in the bookshelf. Novels and poetry. Was this Jay interested in reading? Writing? The arts in general?

Before he could formulate a believable and simple lie, however, Nya spoke again. "Wait. . . No way. I. . . I know you."

"You. . . do?" Jay blinked.

"Aren't you. . ." She looked around herself, making sure no one was listening before leaning in to whisper. "Cliff Gordon's son?"

Cliff who? The 'no' lingered in Jay's mouth while he tried to figure out who Nya could possibly be talking about. A brief flash of knowledge. Cliff Gordon was an actor, back in his own dimension. In a second, he realized why the man in the pictures of his non-family had looked so familiar.

"Yes," He finally responded, enjoying the way Nya's eyes glowed with wonder.

"Wow. That's crazy. I mean, I don't particularly like the movies your dad has been in, but. . . You know, it's kind of odd meeting someone famous. Or well the son of someone famous." She smiled again.

"Eh," Jay shrugged. "It's no biggie. I'm not particularly special or anything."

"But what's it like?"

"To. . . be his son?"

Nya nodded.

"Well. . ." Jay waited again, hoping another turn of events would prevent him from having to lie. When reality didn't seem like it would grant his request, he cleared his throat, and began to talk. "Tiring mostly. I mean, you know, he's busy a lot. So that's kind of lame. And uh, well sometimes we have a lot of things to do. . . Like go here, go there, look like this, act like that. . . yeah. So tiring. Which. . . Which is why I thought of coming to this party. To. . . You know, try to be kind of normal for a bit. See . . . Just escape. . "

Stop talking. Jay chided himself, knowing he was going a bit too far with his little story. He knew nothing about being related to someone that was both wealthy and famous, and it would begin to show if he didn't keep his mouth shut.

Nya, however, was nodding in understading. "I can't imagine what it's like to. . . Well you know, to deal with all that. But we're alike a little, at least."

"W-we are?" Was he still smiling? Was he blushing? Jay dug his fingers into his leg, trying to regain some sort of control over himself.

"Yeah." Nya nodded. "I came her to escape too, in a sense. Except I'm escaping from the opposite of what you are. Back at home, I'm basically no one. Nothing ever happens to me. Things are the same, they're dull. So I thought, 'Hey, a party! That's fun! That's different!' but I didn't realize how ill equipped I am to be in a place like this."

"Well if. . . If we're both trying to escape. . . Maybe we can escape together." Too much? Jay studied Nya's face. She seemed to be listening intently, which gave him a bit of confidence to keep going. "I could take you out of that dull routine. A-and you could just. . . treat me like a normal. . . friend?"

Why did he keep finishing all his sentences with the tilting tone of a question?

Nya, however, seemed oblivious to his awkward speech pattern. She gave a small nod. "That . . . doesn't sound half bad. It'll be fun to get to know you."

"Yeah. . ." Jay smiled, then shook his head rapidly. "I-I mean it'll be fun to know you too. Not that it'll be fun to know me. I mean it could be. I guess? I just. . . I didn't mean to sound stuck up or anything. Not like 'Oh yeah you'll have so much fun knowing me' just that. . . the feeling is mutual. You know?"

Another question.

"I understand," Nya chuckled. "You're a little odd, Jay Gordon. But not in a bad way."

The sound of his full name made goosebumps travel up is arms, as he was roughly reminded that this was not his world. "Thank you. I think."

"I-" Nya stopped, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out her phone, giving it a small frown. "Give me a second. It's my brother."

Jay nodded. He didn't realize he'd been leaning forward, towards Nya. He moved back, giving her a bit more space to talk as privately as possible. Not that he could hear all that much over the pulsing music. He watched her face go from happy to annoyed, her lips moving rapidly, one hand pressed against her ear to try and block out the sound. In the end, her face was that of resigned frustration. She put the phone down.

"My brother's outside. I've gotta go." She stood, then returned beside him. "Right! I should give you my number."

They interchanged information, and with one last smile, Nya left.

For the rest of the night, Jay remained on the couch, running through his conversation with Nya over and over. When Harumi found him after decided it was time to go home, he gave nothing more than a small shrug at her hissing response when she figured out Jay had done nothing to talk to the stranger he was supposedly in love with.

"You spend eons trying to get her attention. You talk non-stop about how she's an angel sent from heaven, and now, suddenly, she looks in your direction and bamm, you're over it?" Harumi shook her head. "You're messed up Jay."

"You don't get it. There was this other girl and-"

"Uh huh. So now you'll pin after her until she likes you back and then you'll go to another girl and-"

"No, I swear." Jay shook his head, watching as they began to arrive at the house he lived in. "I I was wrong about. . . Well just, when you meet someone special you just, know you know?"

"Well I'll try not to judge too harshly." Harumi shrugged. "See you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah," Jay responded automatically, before stepping out.

He walked in and marched straight to his room, purposely ignoring the wall of pictures. He sat upon the bed taking one last look around, before looking down at the bracelet. He punched in the numbers for his own dimension, enduring the uncomfortable sensation before he was dumped back to his own self.

His room, his real room, seemed beyond pathetic after what he'd seen. With a sigh, he removed the bracelet, shoving it inside his backpack. Jay laid back against his bed, extremely aware of every uncomfortable bump in his old mattress. Despite this, there was a stubborn smile tugging at his lips.

It had worked. And not only that, he'd found a dimension where he could start over with Nya. Only to learn how to be better, of course, but still. . . He'd done it.

With satisfied exhaustion, Jay drifted off into sleep.