Chapter 11

In the end, one date turned into two. And two went onto become three.

Soon enough, Jay found himself trapped in a rhythm.

The other dimension was simply much more interesting. He found that he quite enjoyed the presence of his other parents. And of course, he would never ever get tired of the extravagant life style his other self had been blessed with.

He couldn't deny that his birth mother was extremely fun to be around. He felt as if he'd found a new best friend.

The world his birth father belonged to was dazzling, and Jay found himself casually interacting with celebrities that he hadn't even thought possible to meet.

And then, of course, there was Nya. With her, things were always, always amazing.

He tried his best to keep a balance between both worlds. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay in his own. Weeks crammed together, threatening to form a month. Jay barely noticed.

Today, him and Nya had planned to meet up at the park. It really didn't matter where they went, or what they did, Jay was more than happy to just be there.

He leaned against the window of Cole's shuddering truck, watching the seemingly endless rain drip against the glass. His mind was filled with the possibilities of the day ahead, a small, secret smile giving light to his features.

"Did you hear anything I said at all?"

"Huh?" Jay blinked, but didn't turn towards Cole. "Uh. No. Sorry."

"Figures," Cole muttered, but didn't repeat himself.

Jay swallowed, still not looking at his friend. "So what did you say?"

"Nothing important. Don't worry about it."

"Oh. . . Okay."

Jay continued to stare out the window, but he couldn't continue to daydream as easily as before. In less than a second, the atmosphere had shifted. Jay was fully aware that it was his fault, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize.

If Jay were to be completely honest with himself, he'd begun to drift away from Cole quite on purpose. It was cruel, and Jay knew that his friend didn't deserve it. But Jay couldn't help it.

Each time he saw Cole, he heard his friend's words echoed back at him. I trust you, Jay. Each time he saw Cole, he was reminded that the path he was on wasn't necessarily the right one. But most of all, each time he saw Cole, Jay felt a tangled wave of feelings that had absolutely no business within his mind. Most of all not now. Not when life was starting to clear up again. Not when he'd finally begun to remember what it felt like to look forward to the future.

It isn't forever, Jay told himself, pushing away the feelings of guilt, an action that had quickly become second nature. Just until. . . Until I'm better for good.

"I'm guessing you found it then,"

This time, Jay heard Cole's words loud and clear. "Excuse me?"

"Whatever you were looking for, hopping dimensions to and fro." Cole smiled, but it was forced, a mask hiding whatever true emotions lay beneath. "I'm guessing you found it."

"Oh," Jay said. "Yeah, you could say that."

"No wonder."

"No wonder what."

"Why you're missing all the time. When was the last time we actually had a conversation?"

"Heh. . . now?"

Cole rolled his eyes. "You aren't funny Jay. And anyway, whatever happened to living your own life? I guess that all got thrown out the window the second you found something better to live. What else are you planning to dump aside?"

"I'm not dumping anything, Cole."

"Just forget it,"

The silence thickened. Jay found it increasingly hard to breathe. He was beyond relieved when they finally arrived at the school.

"So, well. . . Thanks for the ride." Jay forced a smile in Cole's general direction, but he didn't quite meet his friend's eyes. "See you in the afternoon?"

"Guess so." Cole responded, the heaviness in his voice making Jay shrink into himself.

"When the weather clears up, maybe I can start taking the bus again. I feel like I'm wasting too much of your time. . . You know? Heh. . ."

"If you want."

"So well. . . See ya."

Cole was quiet. Jay pushed the door open.

Despite his decision to keep Cole at arm's length, Jay momentarily wished for his friend to reach out and stop him.

Cole didn't.

Jay hopped out of the truck, and into the pouring rain.

Cole watched his friend disappear.

The moment felt familiar. Cole realized that he would much rather hear Jay shout at him, than to see him slowly drift away in silence.

He'd had absolutely no chance of talking to Jay about his feelings. Cole had been so determined to share, that being robbed of all opportunities to do so was a terrible blow. Cole felt as if he was walking around with a hole on his chest. The worst of it all was that his best friend, the one person who should have noticed, the one person who should have cared. . . Simply didn't.

Tears of frustration threatened to spill, but Cole ignored them.

Cole was a man of action. When a problem presented itself, he was always ready to step up and solve it. Simple as that.

Something was wrong with Jay. He knew that. He'd known that for a fair amount of time. But he'd hesitated. A mistake that was fairly unlike him.

But as he observed Jay become more and more obsessed with a world he didn't belong in, Cole had decided that it was enough. While his friend had been busy digging himself deeper into a pit of mistakes, Cole had been busy working out a way to bring his friend back once and for all.

Would he be stepping out of line? Would he be acting in an overbearing and annoying manner?

Probably.

Did he care?

Not any longer.

Today, things were going to change. Cole was going to save his friend. Even if Jay didn't think he needed to be saved.

He stepped out into the rain, each step filled with purpose.

As usual, the school day dragged on.

Jay walked the halls with his head down, finally heading towards his final class of the day. His movements were nothing more than auto-pilot, as his mind was too preoccupied to truly embrace the world around him. Walking in this manner led him into crashing head first against someone as unfocused as he.

A curse slipped from his mouth as he stumbled back, and he quickly looked up, ready to apologize. "I'm sorry I didn't- Oh."

Nya stood before him, looking as bewildered as he felt. They held each other's gaze for a moment.

"I wasn't looking either." Nya finally spoke.

Jay didn't know what to say. Seeing this Nya before him had shaken him, bringing him back to his initial intent for traveling dimensions. He realized that although he still wanted to be with Nya. . . He didn't know which Nya he was referring to any more.

"It's been a while, huh?" Nya continued to speak, when it was obvious Jay couldn't. "You been alright?"

"Huh?" Jay blinked. "Um, Yes. Yeah. How about you?"

"Been good . . ." Nya nodded slowly, eyes shifting to the ground. Jay instantly knew she was lying.

"How's . . . How's Kai?" Kai? Really? Jay scolded himself. Sure. Ask about the brother you couldn't have exchanged more than three words with.

"Good, I think. Finally on his way back from Jamanekai, actually. He was there for about two weeks, since the weather really wasn't letting anyone go anywhere."

"What was he doing there?"

"Went to take Lloyd to his uncle. That's who he'd been staying with while he was stuck."

"Ah, the crazy uncle with the fantasy white beard." Jay chuckled. "I saw a picture once. I can't believe that thing is real."

"Right?" Nya gave a small smile, willing herself to relax.

"You should have asked Kai to find out. Maybe if you pull on it it'll turn out to be one of those strap on Santa beards."

At this, Nya's smile grew wider. Jay couldn't help but think that the other Nya would have laughed. "That's a possibility. But if it is real, do you think he would use shampoo to keep it clean?"

"Shampoo, Conditioner, he's probably got a cabinet full of products whose sole purpose is keeping the beard in top condition."

Together, they both burst into an involuntary wave of chuckles. The moment ended quickly, leading them into a nostalgic silence.

"I missed hanging out with you, you know." Nya said, her words slow. "I understand if you don't want to be friends or anything but. . . I really would like that."

"Yeah," Jay avoided Nya's eyes. "It . . . We had fun, didn't we."

"You're a good friend Jay. I would really hate to lose that."

Jay forced himself to look up. "Well. . . I've gotta go. . ."

Ignoring the flash of hurt in Nya's eyes, Jay moved around her, and continued to walk down the hall.

Can't meet you up after school.

Jay stared at the message on his phone for a full five minutes before truly ingesting its message. No apology. No reasons as to why. Just a simple statement. Cold and direct.

Jay supposed he deserved it. He hadn't really been expecting Cole to hang around patiently dealing with everything, had he?

Still, he re-read the message. It made both his stomach and heart ache simultaneously, each trying to one-up the other. The phone in his hand shook.

Bus ride it was then.

As he waited in the rain, he tried to recapture the feeling of excitement he'd felt in the morning. You'll see Nya! He shouted at himself. He tried to imagine walking through the park, with Nya's hand comfortably fitted against his own. It was worth it. It would be worth it.

You're being an idiot, Jay. A voice in his head mocked him. What's your plan at this point? Spending the rest of your life somewhere you don't belong?

Why not? He scowled back at himself. At least I'm happy.

He spent the trip home arguing with the more rational part of his mind, while continuously shifting in his seat. Jay had forgotten how frustratingly uncomfortable the seats in the bus could become. And how slow it all was. There seemed to be a stop in every corner, making the journey painfully choppy.

When he finally arrived home, Jay was more than ready to head to the other dimension. He was tired, soaked, and emotionally drained. The first half of the day had been completely exhausting to deal with, and it seemed to him that he deserved nothing more than to relax.

He opened the door to the trailer, stepping inside with a bright fake smile, ready to scurry away from his parents and into the privacy of his room.

"Hey Mom, Hey Dad." He shut the door, turning to face his parents, his words slowly freezing in his mouth as their serious expressions sunk into him. "It was a pretty. . . tiring. . ."

"Jay," His mom's voice was made of steel. Jay couldn't remember the last time he'd heard her use that tone. He instinctively took a step backwards, but there was nowhere for him to go. "Sit down. We need to talk."

"A-about?" Jay's grip tightened on the straps of his backpack. He had a very good idea of what his parents wanted to talk about.

"That new invention of yours, son," His father answered.

Can't meet you up after school.

Cole typed the words quickly, and pressed the send button even faster, to avoid having any regrets. Jay would be fine. A bit of rain wouldn't hurt him. And Cole had different matters to attend to.

"So it's ready then?"

Cole sat beside Dr. Julien. The man turned to him and gave a small nod, nudging a bracelet in his direction. Cole picked up the device. It looked a little different from Jay's. The metal was smoother and it was overall more pleasant to look at. He set it back down, heart hammering.

"It is indeed." Dr. Julien pointed at a small array of button traveling upon the side of it. "With these numbers, you can choose with dimension to go into. And this-"

Dr. Julien picked up the device, turning it to reveal a small black button." -this is how you can track the most recent disturbance between dimensions. It should show you which dimension Jay goes into."

Cole nodded, but he didn't take the bracelet into his own hands. He wanted to help Jay more than anything, but for all his heroic talk, he was beginning to have slight doubts. What if he wound up liking whatever was on the other side more than what he had? What if the temptation was too great?

It was easy to cross his arms and disapprove of Jay's actions. But what if he ended with the same dilemma?

"Cole?"

Cole blinked and looked up at Dr. Julien, who was studying him with a calm look. Cole felt as if the man could see each and every one of his thoughts.

"Yes, sir?"

"Sir?' Dr. Julien laughed. "Oh boy you haven't called me that in a while! What's in your mind?"

"Just. . . worried about this whole thing. What if I end up just like Jay?"

Dr. Julien took the question seriously, pouting at himself and thinking for a while. " Well, as that saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. At least it seems to be. I have no doubt it might be hard to remain focused. But I also have no doubt at your ability to do this, Cole. For Jay, I am sure you could do quite a lot."

Cole felt a subtle heat rise to his cheeks. Dr. Julien gave a small wink.

"Now, although this device will tell you which dimension Jay has gone off to, it will not lead you straight to him. In that other dimension, you may very well be living miles and miles away from each other."

"So I better get started as soon as I can then," Cole strapped the bracelet onto himself. He then pressed the black button. The small screen shuffled through numbers at a rapid pace, until finally settling into one combination.

"Good luck," Dr. Julien patted Cole's shoulder.

With a stiff nod, Cole took his first leap into the unknown.