February 7, 2012; 7:20 pm

"We've found a time machine and we can go back and stop that fire," Jeremy then explained.

Sky was silent for a moment, taking it in. Then he said in a hushed tone, "There's such a thing as a time machine?"

At this, I scoffed loudly. "You're at a freaking prep school and you haven't heard about Apple's new machine in Paris?"

"No," he responds meekly.

"Well, it sure as hell exists, and we're going to steal it," Jeremy said.

"With your help," I added. Better make him feel special. "You'll be the brains behind this mission."

"Oh, great," he groaned. "Like we're kids; this is a mission, a fu—"

"Come on, Sky," I barked, my voice starting to shake.

Another moment of silence.

"Fine," Sky finally said. "But I better get paid big time for this."

February 7, 2012; 7:45 pm

"I want to call Granddad," I said to Onyx, who was blocking my way out of our booth. We were at a local restaurant and had just ordered some food. Hamburgers and stuff, probably; I had trouble paying attention. I had a soreness in my gut that was definitely not hunger, and I knew calling Granddad would help get rid of it. It was distracting.

Onyx looked at me for a second with an unreadable expression on his face before getting up. As I walked past him, our shoulders brushed. I then scolded myself for making such a fuss about it. It's not like you like him, I reminded myself. But I couldn't deny that my heart stopped for a moment.

I made my way over to a corner and tapped on Granddad's contact information. First I tried the home phone.

Luckily, he picked up within a few rings. "Hello?"

"Granddad..."

It was all I needed to say.

"Kim, it's so lovely to hear from you! How's everything going?"

If we succeeded, he would know.

As it turned out, I said it aloud, which made him laugh. He actually sounded old when he laughed. He actually sounded like a grandfather. Most of the time, he seemed just like a father, but with thin, silvery hair and a few wrinkles around the eyes when he smiled. His laughter, though, reminded me that he wasn't my dad. Maybe that was a good thing; maybe it wasn't, but now wasn't the time.

"And yes, I do know," he said, snapping me out of my trance. "It's just polite to ask. At least, that's what Darry always used to say."

"There's so much I wish I could ask you," I couldn't help but say. I didn't want to admit it, but it was true. But I knew he couldn't help me. Not the him from now, at least. Young Granddad can help, but only once we got to 1967.

"Ah, you see, I can't help anymore. But I think you know that, right?"

"Yup. But-"

"But I can help you with one thing. Hang up and hurry back to the booth. They're going to need you in a second."

And with that, he hung up.

And the sound of shattering dishes echoed through the room.

Aww, a short chapter AND a cliff hanger... I'm so meanXD