"Did you really expect anything different, man?"

"I guess not. I just didn't think she would react like that. She thought I lied to her!"

"What else would she think?"

"I don't know. I just really hoped somehow she would believe me."

"Virg, if, before we were the minutemen, someone you knew came up to you and told you they had figured out how to time travel, would you believe them?"

Zeke could hear Virgil's breathing on the other end of the phone and waited quietly for his friend's answer.

"No."

"It really does sound pretty crazy."

"But Steph usually is more willing to believe stuff like this."

"Yeah she did when she could actually see the minutemen. She has no evidence, and time travel is so out there, I probably wouldn't believe you either, dude."

"But what do I do now? She probably won't ever want to talk to me again."

"Honestly, I'm not sure, Virgil. We'll work it out somehow, ok? Just not tonight."

"I feel so awful, Zeke. She looked so, oh I don't know. So hurt."

"That's not your fault, Virg. You told her the truth. That's all you can do. I guess it's up to her whether she'll trust you enough to believe you or not."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Stephanie picked out an outfit without even noticing which it was, quickly reapplied her makeup, then sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at her clock. Finally she decided she could head over to Derek's, even though it was still a little early. She tried not to think about Virgil, but she couldn't help a sudden thought that came to her as she was driving. Virgil had said they were going to be at Charlie's house tonight.

Charlie lives right next to Derek.

She groaned, then thought about canceling with Derek. She really didn't feel very good. But he'd probably be upset if she bailed on him three weeks in a row. Sighing, she pulled into Derek's driveway. Glancing over, she saw Virgil's car and Zeke's motorcycle outside Charlie's house.

Before she got out of the car Stephanie leaned her head forward on the steering wheel and sighed. She just hoped she wouldn't have to face Virgil again any time soon. Truthfully, she didn't want to see anyone just then, but thought that watching a movie with Derek and his friends might get things off her mind.

It didn't.

Throughout the movie she couldn't concentrate. Any time someone tried to talk to her it took a long time to get her attention. Finally, about half way through the movie they were watching, she stood up off the couch.
"I'm sorry guys," she said softly. "I need to go outside and get some fresh air."

"Are you ok?" one of the girls asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just go ahead and keep watching the movie."

As she headed to the door she heard someone get up behind her. "Hey Steph!"

Turning around, she saw Derek walking toward her. "Yeah?"

He came close to her and lowered his voice. "Just uh, promise me you're just going outside. Don't go over to Charlie Tuttle's house, ok?"

She nodded. "I won't, Derek, don't worry. I promise. I don't want to go over there at all."

Derek nodded and went back to his seat on the couch. Stephanie glanced back one more time to see Jocelyn Lee sit down next to him. With a small sigh she walked out the door. The night was a little bit chilly, but the slight breeze felt refreshing. Closing her eyes, she just stood there, trying to stop the thoughts racing through her head, but it wasn't much help. Finally she allowed her thoughts to keep going through her mind and she tried to sort them out.

Why would Virgil do that? He's never lied to me the entire time we've been friends. Making up some stupid story is one thing, but then he was acting like I should actually believe him! How could I? Should I? But how? It's impossible. But I've never seen him look like that, either. He looked so hurt that I wouldn't believe him. What am I supposed to do?

"Stephanie?"

The sudden voice startled her, but as soon as she opened her eyes she wished she could shut them again.

"Oh, hi Zeke."

"Uh, are you ok?" he asked slowly, looking at her.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." Just wishing I was invisible.

He didn't look like he really believed her, but just shrugged and walked over to his bike. She watched him rummage through a backpack and pull out his cell phone, then check for any missed calls. Putting the phone in his pocket, he turned back towards Charlie's house. Suddenly he stopped. Everything inside Stephanie wanted him to keep going, just to leave. But he turned around.

"Virgil didn't lie to you."

She groaned. "He told you?"

"Yeah. If you were in his place, wouldn't you want to tell someone that actually does believe you that your friend didn't believe you?"

Stephanie didn't answer, just looked down at the grass under her feet. Still wishing Zeke would go away, she didn't look up when he walked a little bit closer to her.

"Everything he told you was true. The time travel, the minutemen, the black hole, everything."

"Do you honestly expect me to just believe him?!" Stephanie exploded, looking up at Zeke. This time she didn't take her eyes away. What Zeke said next shocked her so much that she kept looking at his face, trying to understand.

"No, Stephanie. Honestly I don't."

"You don't?"

"No. What I do expect you to do is to think it through, not just immediately assume that Virgil's either crazy or a liar."

Stephanie's eyes fell again as she thought about that.

"Look," Zeke continued. "I haven't known Virgil for very long, really, but I already know that he doesn't like to lie, especially to people who are close to him. Has he ever lied to you before?"

"No," Stephanie admitted softly.

"Listen, you can choose whether you believe Virgil or not. All I'm saying is that me and Charlie both back him up 100, and you know that he wouldn't lie to you. Forget what it actually was that he told you, and remember that where you make your decision is based on those two things and how much you trust him."

Without another word Zeke walked back into Charlie's house and left Stephanie standing outside, thinking about what he had said.