She perceived that which had happened, was happening, and never happened all at once. Her sight did not provide this power, nor did any physical sense she could describe if asked. Whatever force or greater being, if any, allowed her this ability was unknown to her, and she doubted she would ever learn in full.

If this force was sentient, was it also benevolent? Or did it provide all of this for some nefarious purpose that would only become apparent when it was too late? If she were ever to meet it, she could not say whether she would thank it or damn it, as for all the good it had done, it was also the catalyst for far worse.

It reached beyond her own body, that much she was sure. Tornadoes and vortexes and floods and earthquakes that both did and didn't exist, in these particular senses, were not natural. All that had been done to avoid these outcomes was specific, and now another piece was in play.

She had hoped that everything would continue, and they would move past her mistakes and compromises. That hadn't happened. Lack of understanding only led to curiosity, but couldn't they just accept things as they were? Nothing they could do would make anything better, by their measure.

There was always a time and a place for change, but this wasn't one. Certain events had to stay as they were, regardless of their immediate outcomes.

In thought, she sighed, and the sound traveled to the ends of time. Regret was the first emotion she learned to ignore, though even now it bubbled in the pit of her stomach as a testament to her lack of control.

Max would have her choice soon, she knew. She only hoped there was a right one this time.

—?

Max was lost, and she didn't have a plan to find her way back. She was trapped in the past without her powers and unable to interact with the world. All she could do was watch as Old Max lived her life, as long as she stayed within the bounds of the photojump.

On that thought, Max looked away from her older self to look for where the edge was, and to her surprise, could not find it. She could see to the ends of the hall and across past the bathrooms, farther than before. Something had changed in this muted world. All the past was open to her, which was fortunate, though she had no need to go anywhere when her goal was right beside her.

A tingling sensation enveloped Max as Old Max passed straight through her toward the bathrooms where the janitor was silently cleaning. She followed, taking care to avoid people; even if they couldn't feel her, that strange feeling of her spirit colliding with someone left her unsettled.

Seeing Old Max maneuver through the hall, deftly dodging flailing arms and bodies, almost made Max see her as someone different. She didn't move with her head down and arms crossed, but tall and forward in a way she could never see herself. It was the same body, true, yet she seemed more confident in her movements.

Was this a part of her she had lost? All those years she couldn't remember, maybe they had allowed her to come out of her shell.

At the entrance to the bathrooms, Old Max stopped to speak to the janitor. Max leaned against a nearby wall—I can only move through people? Guess I'm not a proper ghost—so she could listen in.

"Hi there, Samuel." That was his name! "How are the squirrels today?"

Samuel ceased his sweeping and leaned on his broom. The look on his face was almost something like mild confusion, in a way. "Well, good morning, Young Max. Though that name isn't quite yours anymore, is it? You ask Old Samuel about the squirrels every day, and every day you hear their smiles and their dreams. The creatures know you can listen too, so why do you visit a lonely janitor?"

"I want to know what you think. That's all." She let a soft smile play on her lips. "You listen closer than many people believe, and I still haven't figured you out."

The confusion on Samuel's face only grew. "These words you say don't make much sense to Samuel, but that's alright. Everyone loves in their own special way. To answer your question, most of the squirrels are happy today. One dreamed of rain, like a bath."

Kate passed by as they spoke, headed into the girl's restroom.

"Thanks a bunch, Samuel. You've helped more than you know."

"Watch yourself, Young Max. Some messes can't be swept away. We would hate to see you fall." His words were soft, and his face had fallen down toward the debris he had been cleaning. There was a sparkle in his eyes for the barest second before he returned to his job, sweeping his broom once again. Old Max had already walked away.

She walked with purpose back into the hallway she began in, pulling out the mysterious black phone, and Max followed close behind. Over her shoulder, Max saw a text arrive, but Old Max swiped it away before she could read it. There was only a few minutes left until class began, and Old Max seemed to be in no rush. She waited.

Max walked around in front of her to follow where her gaze lay and saw that it was locked on the Photography classroom. Jefferson was finishing up his lesson, and Max hoped he wouldn't corner her again. Though, thinking back on the note and the probable identity of 'J', she feared he would.

Max considered what else was predicted to happen. 'S' was obviously Samuel, whom Old Max asked about the squirrels. The meaning of the question wasn't clear, but she wouldn't let herself forget it. Any clue might be important.

Next was 'Get W+B and W off back'. 'B' could be several people, but she expected that 'W' was the boy currently awkwardly shuffling over to Old Max from behind. She only now realized that he had been standing behind Old Max for about half a minute now, not yet starting a conversation.

He wrung his hands together, hesitating before he finally gathered the courage to tap on Old Max's shoulder. Immediately he stepped back several paces, leaving plenty of room between the two. Max saw her other self's lips draw together in a cryptic expression before she turned around to face him.

Old Max said nothing, waiting for Warren to find his words.

"Uh... Hi there, Max. I just, um, wanted to say hi again. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot last time. You were probably in a bad mood. That time of the..." He trailed off and quickly shut his mouth before finishing that poorly thought sentence.

Old Max's response was short and terse. "Do you need something?"

"Um... I guess I wanted to chat. I saw that you like nerdy stuff. Doctor Who, anime, stuff like that. You had some stickers on your things. Not like I paid that much attention or anything." Old Max was looking straight at him, and he couldn't return the eye contact. "But yeah. Anyway. My friends and I were talking and we wanted to know if you'd like to sit with us during lunch tomorrow. It's hard meeting new people, I know, when you've moved places. You seem cool, is all I'm saying."

He had stuffed his hands into his pockets and twisted as he spoke. His body couldn't seem to stay still under the pressure of Old Max's gaze. She waited several seconds before she responded.

"Warren. Leave me alone."

Her face had etched itself into a mask of anger, though something about it struck Max as odd, and Warren's movement stopped as he looked at her in surprise. "What...?"

"I'm not a nerd. I don't care about any of that stuff. I don't care about making friends or what people think of me. I know what you want, and you need to take the hint that you aren't getting it from me."

"Uh-" Warren tried to speak up, but shrunk under Old Max's words.

"You should spend that energy on Brooke, because at least she'll give you the time of day. I don't want to be your friend or anything else, Warren. So I'll say this one last time. Leave. Me. The. Fuck. Alone." She punctuated those final words with a sharp finger into Warren's chest.

The look of surprise had stuck itself as he processed everything she said. Even Max herself could barely believe she had said those things. Brooke had mentioned that Max had turned him away in anger, but still the directness surprised her. This wasn't even the only time they had had this conversation. What had Warren done that deserved such a response?

Apparently Warren couldn't formulate a reply. He stood stunned until he regained his senses enough to pull away from Old Max's finger. His jaw swung open and closed like a fish, as if he wanted to say something, but if he could have managed it he chose not to. He only turned and walked away. He tripped on his feet once in his rush, but left the hall without looking back.

Once Warren was well out of eyesight, Old Max let her anger drop. It all came out in a sigh as she leaned against the row of lockers. She continued staring toward where he had left, and Max wasn't sure, but she could almost swear she saw sadness in her eyes.

The ringing of the bell signaling the start of class snapped them both out of their watching. Max knew what to expect next, and right on time, Mark Jefferson marched over to where they were waiting. He had that same glint in his eyes that struck her full of terror, though she found it easier to compose herself when it wasn't directed at herself.

Old Max didn't seem to have any such care, however. Her face fell into a dull stare of boredness as Jefferson grabbed her attention.

"Max, I need to speak with you before we begin." The same words as he closed the distance. By now, all the other students had filed into class, so it was only the three of them. "Max, I'm finally glad we have a moment to speak, since you never showed yesterday after I asked you to come by my office." The odd, out-of-place repetition of her name sent a shiver down her spine.

Instead of continuing into his pretentious Benjamin Franklin quote, Old Max interrupted. "I was busy." Three words, as if she simply didn't care to explain with more.

"Too busy for your education? I know you're smarter than that, Max." Her name again, unnecessarily. "I want to work with you, but it's difficult if you don't put forth the effort too. It's clear you have talent, so please talk with me."

"Nah." A single word, and Old Max's face still held no expression.

"Nah? This isn't a situation where you respond nah. This is your future at stake here. But if this is truly how you feel, then I'm afraid that I've done all I can. Principal Wells will hear of this, and he won't be happy."

"I don't think Wells will care, honestly. It's the same reason he hasn't done anything to Nathan either. Information is power, Mark."

"What?" Jefferson pulled back at the comment and Old Max's blatant disrespectful use of his first name. "You and Nathan seem to have something against me. You must know something about why he's been avoiding me."

"He's a busy boy. Far more important things to do than personal photos." The way Old Max said those last two words held some hidden meaning that Max couldn't divine. Regardless, Jefferson seemed to catch on to what she meant, because his face went momentarily white.

He played it off quickly and relaxed, unconsciously taking another step back. "I see. I've kept you too long, I feel. We had best get in before the rest of the students get restless." He turned to head back to the classroom, but Old Max didn't follow.

"I've got better things to do."

Jefferson opened his mouth as if to say something, but stopped himself. His next words came out slowly and carefully. "This isn't the last time we will be speaking of this, Max."

"I know," was all she said, and it was enough to send Jefferson back to settle down his class without another word.

The photojump would end soon, if things were going the same as last time. Though that didn't seem to be a guarantee, given how little Max knew about anything. More surprises were only to be expected at this point.

Now that Old Max was all alone in the hallway, she walked over to her locker and pulled out that black phone again. With a practiced motion, she opened it directly to the messaging app. Max hovered invisibly over her shoulder to read.

The open conversation only had a single message.

Sean Prescott: Who are you and what do you want? I don't appreciate you threatening my son or any other member of my family. I am a very powerful man, and if I find out who you are, I will make sure you regret it.

Old Max rapidly typed out a response on the tiny keyboard.

Me: Don't bother looking for me. It won't work. Nathan will not be hurt, I can promise you that. You and I both know that he knows more than he lets on, and when that comes out, you don't have to be caught in it, so long as you follow my instructions to the letter.

So Old Max was threatening Nathan's dad because of something Nathan knew. If it was serious enough that she would do something like this, it had to be important. That gave her a lead, at least.

Old Max hit send and immediately deleted both messages while her other hand moved to open her locker. There was an urgency in her movements now that wasn't there a minute ago. She carelessly tossed the phone in and dug into her pocket for the photo of herself and the marker beside it. Holding the photo against the inside of the locker, she quickly scribbled the note that Max recognized from the future.

The instant she finished the final word, both the photo and marker flew inside as she slammed it shut. Her hands went to head, over her eyes as if to block her vision, and Max could see her body shake slightly as a soft whine escaped her lips. Something was wrong.

Events had moved past where Max had reached, and she still could do nothing. A drop of crimson blood fell from Old Max's nose as she stood there with her hands over her eyes. She made no more noise, and her body was as stiff as a steel rod.

Then suddenly, she stopped. Her body froze for a moment until she removed her hands from her head. She rapidly blinked in confusion and seemed to not entirely know where she was. A finger went to her nose, and she was surprised to see the tip red with blood. She shook her head and absently wiped it away on her jeans.

Max didn't know what just happened, but it wasn't normal. Old Max seemed to be alright now, at least. Her apparent confusion, however, seemed odd. As if this entire situation wasn't.

In the corner of her mind, Max suddenly felt a rush of energy through her ethereal body. It began at her head and raced down her spine before darting into her hands. At first, it frightened her with its unexpectedness, until she realized what exactly it was.

Her power had returned. That force that had been holding her back was gone and once more she had all of reality at her fingertips. With everything within her control once more, she felt that familiar pressure of her power being used from within her.

So she stopped it. On some instinctual level she knew something had trapped her in a fast forward, and all it took to end it was a raise of her hand. The world saturated itself once again, and she clearly saw once again the blue of the lockers, the off-white of the floor, and the dark crimson and gray of the Go Bigfoots! banner above her. Notably, there was no white barrier blocking the world anymore, even though she was no longer in the psuedo fast forward. Either it disappeared when the force pulled her back again, or she had somehow escaped it.

The world was normal, at least at first glance. Max felt a pressure in her head build and a strange, new itch in her hand that wasn't there before. Her power begged to be used. It begged in a way it never had before.

Max considered her options. She had already witnessed all that the note predicted, but there was no guarantee something else important wouldn't happen. She had already been bailed out once from making a mistake and ruining her timeline.

If she would return to the future, she might as well get everything out of this she could while she was still here. With a quick hand, she opened her locker and pulled out the phone, careful not to disturb the photo or anything else within.

A look within yielded nothing of note. There were no saved messages in the messaging app, and Fastsync held nothing new. Only the same few messages that she had seen before, less the ones from people after her accident.

Her proper phone was likely in her bag, but Max didn't want to overstay her welcome. It wouldn't hold anything different, if this Fastsync did what it was designed to do. Though that still raised an odd question. Why would Max have a separate phone, apparently for threatening Nathan's dad, but still remotely copy her own phone's data onto it? If someone found this one, it wouldn't take much effort to figure out she was the owner.

This phone would also end up hidden in the junkyard at some point, which was still something she didn't understand. Every time she thought she learned something new about Old Max, something else made little sense. There was something she was missing, she was sure of it.

The itch continued to bother her, scratching at the back of her mind as a constant stress. She felt as if she could push it aside and stay if she tried, but the longer she remained the greater the risk of ruining everything. Old Max might lose the few minutes that Max was here, but hopefully it wouldn't cause any problems.

Confident that she was ready to leave, Max set everything back how it was and positioned herself where Old Max had been standing. She raised her hand to satisfy that itch, and relief flooded through her as she felt her consciousness pulled forward, back to her present.

•••

Max snapped back into herself exactly where she had been before she jumped. The shock of returning knocked her over as a tense snap, like a rubber band, echoed through her head. Luckily she was on her bed and fell safely, but it took several moments for the world to focus.

This return was harsher than the last one, but other than that, everything seemed to be alright. She dug around in her pocket for her phone, noticing that her fingertips were slightly numb, to check the time.

Only around fifteen minutes had passed, which lined up with how much time she had spent back there. Chloe had mentioned that's how it worked, but it was nice to have confirmation.

Speaking of Chloe, Max debated if she should tell her about her trip. Everything had turned out fine, so it appeared at first glance, and she learned a lot more about how her powers worked. If she had to make a hypothesis, as Mrs. Grant would recommend, fast forwarding allowed her to avoid being pulled back through a photo. With enough willpower to resist that itch that wanted her to return, she could stay in the past.

If she was right, this was a game changer. She could finally explore the past further than the boundary of the photos.

But Chloe wouldn't approve. She never told Max about her photojumping power because it was too dangerous. That didn't apply anymore, though, did it? A simple jump back when she was finished followed by a rewind would leave everything just as she left it, with no risk of changing anything. It was risk-free information.

Max resolved herself. Chloe didn't have to know. If she did, Max had little doubt she would convince Steph to turn around and bring her back to scold Max for ruining everything. Chloe needed to know what happened to Rachel as much as Max needed to know what happened before her accident, she justified to herself.

Her trip back didn't give her all the answers she needed, but it gave her a solid lead. Nathan knew something important, and it involved Max.

She opened her texts and composed a short message.

Me: Nathan, we need to talk. In person. It's urgent.

She set her phone down, only to immediately feel the buzz of a response.

Error: Your message could not be sent. Please try again later.

That wasn't good. Victoria had said he wasn't answering his texts, but if he wasn't even receiving them, that was a bigger problem.

Max checked the time again. There was still awhile before her first class, which meant there was plenty of time to go ask. She wasn't hopeful that he had returned, but it was the only lead she had right now.

Outside in the hallway, the dorms were only just beginning to come to life. It was a far cry from the bustle between classes she had left. The morning was always much calmer; no screams, no stress, no worries. People tend to find themselves too busy preparing for each long day ahead to take notice, but Max did. The sunrise was second only to the sunset in its beauty.

Max spied Brooke turning toward the bathroom with shower supplies in her hand, and Dana followed right behind, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Dana gave Max a small wave as she passed.

Pushing the constant slight headache out of her mind as best she could, Max wandered over to Victoria's dorm. Her whiteboard was blank today. Knowing Victoria, Max would bet that it would have some inspirational quote written before long.

Victoria was hopefully at least awake by now. She seemed like the person to be an early bird, spending hours getting her outfit exactly perfect. Max couldn't imagine spending so much time every day; her minimal makeup and wardrobe worked well enough for her. Hipster-chic, as they called it.

Two swift knocks on Victoria's door and then Max listened for movement within. Almost immediately she heard the shuffle of someone inside coming to answer.

"Seriously? Who the hell is it? I swear to god Courtney, if you-" The door swung open, revealing Victoria dressed in a long purple bathrobe, her makeup unfinished. Her eyebrows were drawn together in annoyance, but she relaxed them when she saw it was only Max. "Oh, hey. Sorry about that. Thought you were someone else."

"It's no problem," Max said. "I just wanted to ask if you've heard anything from Nathan. I wanted to talk to him."

Victoria drew her mouth into a tight frown. "No, I haven't." She thought for a moment. "Come on in, if you want."

She stepped aside to let Max inside and closed the door behind her. She sat in front of her vanity, where rows of makeup supplies were neatly ordered on top. From Max's uneducated eye, they seemed expensive. Victoria put a lot of effort into her appearance, and it showed.

The rest of her room was neat and organized. A stack of Vortex Club flyers on the nightstand, books carefully lined on the shelf on her desk, and family photos placed for in neat rows. Above her bed were three large posters of herself in different outfits, the middle one herself in a bikini. Her self-confidence astounded Max.

"I said," Victoria's voice knocked Max out of her investigation. She had started speaking and Max hadn't noticed. "What's so urgent that you need to talk to him so badly? Maybe I could help you out."

Max caught Victoria's eyes reflected in her mirror as she tried to come up with an excuse. "It's something... personal. I don't think I should say."

Victoria humphed in response. "Really? I thought he told me everything, but I guess not. He never talks about you, you know that? But apparently, you and he are best friends now or something."

"I'm sorry if you think I've been taking him away from you. I don't remember why he's been like that. Ever since I woke up in the hospital, I've only talked to him once, and even that wasn't that long."

Victoria set her brush down and sighed. "Sorry, Max. I didn't mean to imply anything like that. I know you're still trying to get your bearings with everyone, and I don't want you to think I'm some bitch for something that's probably not even a big deal." She spun her chair around to look up at Max and said nothing for several moments. "I'm just worried about him."

Max understood how she felt. Nathan seemed like a very unpredictable person, and she could imagine how hard that must be on Victoria. And herself, if she meant as much to him as Victoria made it seem.

"What happened that made him leave? You said it was at the party we missed, right?"

Victoria nodded. "At first, he was upset that you and your friend didn't show. He seemed so confident that you would be there. We eventually got him to calm down after we put a few drinks in him, so things were good for a while. Then a bit later, he starts saying some uncomfortable things. He's usually pretty calm when he's drunk or high but this wasn't like that."

She paused to wipe something out of her eye, careful not to ruin her unfinished makeup. "He said some things he didn't mean, got very angry at everyone, and generally kind of ruined the mood. It wasn't nice for anyone." Another rub at her eye, and this time Max noticed her breathing became heavier, like she was holding trying to hold back tears.

"But he wouldn't stop. He moved from harsh and depressed to complete anger, saying that 'nothing was right' and 'everything was going wrong so it didn't matter', and that's when Justin stepped in. It quickly got violent. We tried to stop the both of them but Nathan wouldn't have it. Afterwards, he walked out, and that was the last we saw of him."

Victoria wasn't kidding when she said the party didn't go so well. Whatever set Nathan off made a mess of things.

"And nothing since?" Max asked.

Victoria shook her head. "Like I said, sometimes he needs some time to himself, and I try to respect that. But he always lets me know he's still alive, which is why I'm getting worried. That was the worst I've ever

seen him."

"I'm sorry that happened. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"It's not on you," Victoria said. "But if you see or hear from him, I would really love it if you'd let me know. He might contact you first."

"Of course I will. You'll be the first to know."

Once she said that, Victoria stood from her seat and pulled Max in for a full hug. It came without warning and caught her off-guard, the warmth of the bathrobe overwhelming her, but she quickly composed herself and returned it.

They stood there, holding each other silently for several comfortable seconds before Victoria broke it to step back at arm's length. The emotion in her face was obvious now, but she kept any tears from falling.

"Thanks for that, Max, I really needed to talk to someone about it. You're a great friend for listening."

Max noticed as they talked that Victoria was much more relaxed than she had been previously. She wasn't the kind of person who often worried or thanked people, Max knew, so letting even that much out must have been a weight off her chest.

Max smiled at the compliment. "I'm always here if you need it. I would hate to have you worry about these things by yourself."

"I'll keep that in mind," Victoria said. "But now I need to finish getting ready, unless you had anything else you wanted to talk about?" The moment was over, and her relaxation was already beginning to harden into her fierce shell once more.

"I think I'm good for now. Thanks, Victoria. See you later."

"Bye, Max."

Victoria turned back to continue applying her makeup, and Max left back into the hallway.

She could hear the showers running from the bathrooms and loud music now coming from someone's room, but the hall itself was empty other than herself. She returned to her room and thought about her next move.

Nathan was her definite next lead, but there was no telling when he would return. She could wait, as he always came before, though who knew how long that would be. Finding him in person was out of the question; where would she begin?

The obvious option was to find another way or wait for something to come up, but Max didn't want to. She was so close to finding something important, and the more she thought about it, the more that ominous 'I don't want to die' in her journal weighed on her. Waiting for her to be possibly body-snatched again was off the table.

That left one possible option, one that she knew she might have to fall back on. Chloe wouldn't like it one bit, but it would work. She would get her answers and hopefully be that much closer to figuring out what Old Max was up to. She only needed one thing.

Moments later and hundreds of miles away, Chloe received an innocuous text.

A/N:

Poor Warren.

Thanks for reading.
Next chapter: 12-21