I don't own the TiMER or anything about it. Most of the story is mine though. So enjoy!
Ch 9 re-write done! 5/22/22
"What?!" I yelled at him. "How dare you accuse him of that. I don't know what the deal is between you two but if you say you are going to be my friend you are not going to constantly berate him and say things about him. He's not going anywhere."
Collin crossed his arms and stared at me still. "You don't need to 'know the deal' between him and I. But he isn't all sunshine and daises, okay?"
"What on earth is that supposed to mean? He's been nothing but kind to me since the moment I met him," I fumed with a glare of my own.
"Well of course he has. His TiMER went off with yours. It's been what, three days now? You haven't known him long enough to decide what his character is. You don't know him," he responded.
"You still haven't told me what's so bad about him," I said. This was getting old.
"I shouldn't have to," Collin replied. "The fact that his TiMER went off with yours should be the tip of the iceberg to let you know something is off about it. I'm not going to talk about it anymore."
"Then leave me alone. Until you tell me what the grudge is between you two, you aren't my friend," I spit at him and picked up another magazine off the table. I heard him huff and storm off, but I didn't look up to see where he went. I didn't care. I was dealing with way too much currently to worry about him. Either he would tell me why him and Andy didn't get along or we wouldn't talk. It wasn't like I could stroll up to Andy and ask him so there was no other way of getting the information.
He acted like Andy could control his TiMER, which was ridiculous. My uncle verified everything was working correctly with them. And it wasn't like he had seen me and then later the chime went off. We'd never seen each other. And the chimes went off like normal. It gave me a headache to think about, but at least Collin left me alone for the rest of the period and had left the library sooner than I had.
I kept my head down in World History and didn't even care to pay attention. It wasn't very exciting anyway and I couldn't focus for more than a few minutes. Before class I had discarded the ice pack. I was tired of people staring at me and asking what the matter was. I didn't want to feed the lie any more than I had to. But because I had discarded it, my side was in a little bit of pain, which made it even harder to focus.
Somehow, I managed to make it out of the school without any of my friends, or Collin, finding me. My mom's car was waiting for me as she promised she would be, and I slipped into the car without saying a word.
"Hey honey, how was your day?" she asked. I remained silent and didn't even look at her. "You can't stay mad at me forever. I am doing this for your own safety after all. One day you'll see that."
And with that she started the car and pulled out of the school. I wanted to explode on her. My own safety my ass. Andy wouldn't hurt me. I know I didn't know him completely, but I could just tell that Andy wouldn't hurt a fly. He seemed too nice. And I could stay mad at her forever; that was something she was going to have to find out the hard way.
I wanted to tell her she was on the verge of getting someone fired. I wanted to ask her what she would do if she were in my position. There were so many things I wanted to say to her that I just couldn't. It was extremely frustrating and made me feel like one of those angsty teenagers who whined about no one understanding what was going on.
She told me dad was getting off work at five and that supper would be done sometime around that. I didn't even acknowledge that I had heard her as I made my way out of the car and into the house. She said something else to me that I ignored and made my way to my room before she could catch up with me. I closed the door and flopped on my bed, wincing after forgetting about my hurt side. I didn't lock the door due to the fact that my mom would have a cow if she tried to enter my room and couldn't. It was a rule she made a long time ago, and I was in no place to break any rules at the moment. I was pissed, but I wasn't going to piss her off.
A knocking on my window brought my attention back to my room. Spencer was standing outside in a tank top and board shorts, grinning from ear to ear. At least someone was happy today.
I got up and let him in. He gave me a tight hug and sat on my bed.
"I really, really, really miss you," he exclaimed with a sigh.
"You have no idea," I replied, trying to hide the pain from his hug.
"So, what's going on? How's school? How's Andy? How's everything?" he drilled.
"You sound like a girl," I joked and stuck my tongue out at him.
"Sorry," he smiled. "My only company has been my pool and it doesn't talk back."
I laughed. "What a tragedy. You wanna switch? You can take my insane mother who won't let me see Andy at all. You can take creepy Collin who hates Andy for some reason that is beyond me. I just want to be able to be in gym again. I'll take your suspension if it means that."
He remained silent after that, confused as to what I was talking about. So I told him everything, even the running into a table. It felt nice to not lie about that. He remained quiet through the whole thing and just stared at me. He didn't interrupt me or look like he was going to judge me or even wanting to see me side, he just sat there. And that's what I needed.
"Wow," he said after a minute. All I could do was nod. I didn't know what else to say. "Are you going to get in trouble with me being here? It sounds like you are pretty much on lock down."
I shook my head. "My mom loves you. I could be grounded, and you would still be allowed in."
"Very true," he said with a grin.
"Are you upset that your TiMER is still blinking?" I asked after a few minutes.
He thought about it before answering. "Yes and no. Yes because I'd like to at least know she exists. No because that would put so much pressure on me. I can just… live, ya know?" I shrugged and put my head on my pillow. It was easier before I had a TiMER. Of course, most people aren't stressed over theirs, but I guess I would never be most people.
Spencer told me all about his eventless days of being suspended and how even though it sucked he was getting more summer out of it. I nodded on occasion and let him talk. His blonde hair was sticking up all over the place, making him look a bit like a mad scientist. I couldn't help but smile at him, he was so animated about how he made friends with a squirrel because he fed it nuts.
"What?" he asked after he saw me smiling at him.
"I dunno. Can I not smile?" I asked, not know what to tell him.
"Well that's just the first time you've smiled since I climbed in here," he admitted and ran his hands through his hair. I shrugged.
"I'm just glad to see you," I admitted and closed my eyes. It was true. I'd missed Spencer. He was my best friend after all and it was tough doing this whole high school thing without him. "When do you come back to school?"
"Friday. So, two days," he replied.
"They are making you come one day and then have a weekend? Weird," I stated. He nodded and put his head down on the pillow next to me. After all that talking, we just laid on my bed and stared at my ceiling. Any other day this would be a fine and normal thing, but there was nothing fine and normal about me anymore. It was way too stressful.
I didn't remember falling asleep, but the next thing I knew Spencer was shaking me awake. When I opened my eyes, I saw my dad in the doorway looking at me. Great, he was bound to ask how Spencer got in here and would bar my window or something. But this was my dad, maybe he wouldn't care.
"Hey sleepy head, dinner is ready," he said. "Oh, and Spencer you can join if you'd like."
"Sure, if you don't mind," Spencer said and jumped off my bed.
"Nonsense, it's always a pleasure to have you around," my dad insisted and left the room.
Dinner wasn't as awkward as it would have been if Spencer weren't at the table. My mom seemed happy that I was spending my time with Spencer and asked all kinds of questions to Spencer most of dinner. She even brought out a desert from the freezer and served it to us all. If this was what was needed to bring peace to my mom, I would insist Spencer move into the guest bedroom.
After dinner I went over to Spencer's to swim before it got dark. My mom would trust me with Spencer even if Spencer were a felon. Or at least, I was pretty sure about that. And it was nice being somewhere that wasn't my house or school. Hanging out with Spencer made it even better. Plus, swimming was a great way to take my mind off of anything and everything.
Spencer's little sister, Julia, came out and joined us for a little while before their mom insisted it was her bath time. She put up a fight, saying swimming was one big bath, but lost in the end and left in a huff. She was a cute little kid. At ten she looked older and more mature and could have been Spencer's clone if Spencer were a girl. They had the same eyes and facial features and even the same hair color. Julia's hair was a lot longer than Spencer's, but it was still very similar. And she wasn't like being around an annoying little kid. She actually was fun to hang out with and even Spencer enjoyed her company.
It was nice talking with someone who didn't know about the whole TiMER issue, even if that someone was ten. She asked me all about Andy, in which I replied with everything but the fact he was my teacher and my mom was hell bent about not letting us get together. When I just told the good parts about Andy it reminded me how many good things there were. It lifted my spirit and kind of gave me hope. If the road bumps could be worked out, maybe all of this soul mate stuff wouldn't be too bad.
When I left Spencer's and returned home I remembered that I needed to talk to my dad about my side. It wasn't red anymore but started to form a nice bruise that was sure to turn all kinds of colors. Part of me didn't want to involve my mom in it though. I knew she would overreact. She overreacted at everything, so I was sure this would be no different. However, if there were something wrong she would need to know too.
They were in the kitchen when I entered the house. I could hear muffled talking. It sounded a bit heated but this time I would not eavesdrop. I couldn't do that to my parents. It was probably a private conversation because they believed I was still at Spencer's.
So I slinked down the hall to my room as quietly as I could. Unfortunately this meant their voices would get louder and clearer and even without meaning to I heard a few things they were saying.
"Why are you being so ignorant about this?" I heard my dad yelling.
"Why are you being so closed minded about this?" I heard my mom yell back at him. I shouldn't be listening. I knew I shouldn't. I was going to enter my room and close the door. Then I wouldn't hear them and it would be okay. My parents never argued and I didn't want to hear them arguing anyway.
It was my fault. Their unhappiness was entirely my fault. Because I got the stupid TiMER that had to be attached to Andy I was making people unhappy. I couldn't help but let tears escape. I didn't want any of this to be happening. I didn't ask for this. And I couldn't understand why all of it was happening. I had never heard of anyone having such troubles with the existence of their soul mate and TiMER and all of that stuff.
I passed the time by tossing my soccer ball in the air and catching it. This would probably be the only interaction with a soccer ball I would have for a while. The rhythmic sound of the ball hitting my hands calmed me a bit and helped me push the negative thoughts out of my mind. It would be hard not playing. I would have to find some way to get out my frustration.
Finally I stopped hearing yelling and ventured out of my room. It was eerily quiet. When I entered the kitchen my dad was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. My mom was nowhere to be found.
When he saw me he tried to smile. "Hey kiddo. Have a good time at Spencer's?" he asked. Of course he didn't know I knew him and mom had gotten into a fight.
"Y-yeah," I stuttered out.
"What's up?" he asked after a minute of me just looking at him.
"Where's mom?" I asked. I should have just brought up my injury but that came out of my mouth instead.
"She… I don't know," he admitted and sat down at the kitchen table. He rested his face in his hands and let his too long red hair hang in front of his face. It had been a while since he'd had a haircut, which was abnormal but it fit him. He looked too old with short-cropped hair.
Even in such a distressed state, him and I looked scarily alike. Our hair was the same shade, our eyes could be considered identical, and I even had the same jawline. And at the moment we shared the same look. Neither of us knew what to do about mom.
"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" he asked after a while, looking back at me.
"Kinda," I admitted, not knowing how I was going to start off the conversation.
"Well you know you can tell me anything," he stated and smiled at me.
So I took a breath and told him everything about the injury to my side, the entire truth, including the part about eavesdropping that led to it. My dad sat quietly through the whole thing. When I was finished he nodded and remained quiet for a moment. Then he asked to see my side. His verdict was that I definitely didn't have any broken bones, but it would produce a nice sized bruise and be sore for a while. I supposed that was better than having broken bones or anything worse.
Dad decided that we both needed some cheering up and took me out for milkshakes. He said that if mom came home while we were out she wouldn't want to talk to either of us anyway and it'd be best if she went to bed early and before we got back.
We sat in the parking lot of the fast food chain with our milkshakes and watched the cars pass on the highway. The sun had long ago gone done, so we were left with a bunch of stars and headlights as our lights. It was fine with me, and my dad didn't seem as upset now, so it must have suited him as well. If there was one thing I was glad about it, it was that my dad was on my side. I wouldn't know what I would have done without him.
When we got back my mom was sitting on the couch, reading something from her kindle. She didn't look happy. But she didn't look up when we entered. I said goodnight to my dad, hugged him, and even tried to say goodnight to my mom. She didn't reply so I left the room and headed to my bedroom.
Spencer waved at me from his room when I turned on my light. I waved back and made a face at him. He stuck his tongue out at me and I returned the favor. He then stuck up a piece of paper he had just written that said sleep well. And turned out his light.
It took me a while to go to sleep and even after I had I didn't reach a deep sleep. I kept twisting and turning and finally got up, deciding I needed a glass of water. The house was quiet, so I tiptoed down the hall. The door to the guest bedroom was open, which was out of the norm. I tiptoed to the opening and looked in. Inside, fast asleep, was my dad. He'd never slept in the guest bedroom. He'd never even fallen asleep on the couch before. The reality of my parents' unhappiness hit me then. And it was entirely my fault. I didn't know how to make it better either. Just my existence was causing all these problems. Because even without the TiMER Andy would still be my soulmate. It was weird to think what would have happened without TiMERs. Would he have still frozen slightly at the door when he entered the classroom a couple days ago? Spencer wouldn't have gotten into the fight with Brandon Tyler and suspended but there probably would have been some kind of altercation with those two, that was a given. I didn't know how much things would be different, but if the TiMERs really were true and if what Andy said about seeing me beyond the TiMER was true then there still would have been issues even without the TiMER.
I settled back to bed and fitfully slept again. Right before I hit a deep sleep a tapping on my window woke me up. Thinking it was Spencer I ignored it and rolled away from the window. I needed sleep. He could sleep in all day but I had school. Whatever it was could wait until tomorrow.
The tapping didn't stop though. He was bound to wake up my parents if he kept doing that. It must be serious though. I groaned and clapped to turn on the lights in my room. When the window was lit it proved to be Andy outside my window, not Spencer.
I jumped up quickly and opened my window. "Andy!" I gasped and let him in my room. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"I couldn't sleep," he admitted and smiled at me. I suddenly became conscious to the fact that I was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and quickly found a pair of soccer shorts to throw on. He laughed.
"I… I wasn't expecting any visitors," I said and turned blood red.
"Well that's definitely a good thing," he said back and looked around my room. My room probably looked a bit girly and I was now wishing I had painted it a different color after my mom painted it a pale pink after my fifth birthday. I had gone away to my aunt's house for a week to visit her and my cousin and came home to the surprise. Pink has never been a favorite color of mine but I told her I loved it and never complained about it. Her and my dad put a lot of work into it, sponge painting the lower half a darker pink to add a cool texture. It was a nice gesture, even if I didn't like the color, and I was grateful for it.
"I didn't know you were a fan of The Allman Brothers," Andy pointed out, looking at the poster I had on my wall. My wall was pretty cluttered with posters and paintings and pictures, but in a well-done manner, at least I hoped so.
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me," I said aloud and then froze. That came out a lot harsher than I meant. What was I doing?
He just chuckled and sat at the end of my bed. "This is true," he simply said and looked at me with a smile.
"So, what are you doing here?" I asked while nervously looking over at my door. If my mom heard us talking she would call the police on the spot. Even my dad wouldn't be happy about this I was sure.
He shrugged and continued to look around my room. I knew my room couldn't be that exciting. Instead of asking him again I sat down on my bed and just looked at him. He seemed at peace and didn't say a word. Even though I was still nervous my parents would barge in any moment, this felt okay.
"What?" he asked after a minute, apparently now aware of the fact of me looking at him.
"I figure you'll talk when you want, so I'm just looking at you looking around my room," I replied. He nodded and turned his attention to me.
"Are you okay?" he asked sincerely and moved closer to me. His hand grabbed mine and it felt like a wave of electricity shot through me.
"I-I guess," I said. Suddenly my mind had gone hazy. He looked like he didn't believe me and said nothing. "Are you?"
"I'm here, things couldn't be better," he said. I just nodded and stared at him. A piece of lint or dust floated through the room and landed on Andy's cheek. I laughed softly and instinctively moved my free hand to brush it off his face. When my hand came in contact with his face we both froze. His face had facial hair on it so he was scruffy but it still felt really nice. It was awkward to touch someone's face like that for a long time for no reason but I couldn't find the desire to move at all.
I leaned forward and met my lips to his without even thinking. There was so much energy and passion behind my move and he moved his hands to my lower back. The feeling that I had when he'd done that the other day, led me out of the school with his hand on my lower back, returned and it felt wonderful. His lips were soft and his scruff tickled my face. My other hand moved up to his neck and he pulled me onto his lap. This was a much more deeper kiss than the one I had shared with Spencer. It felt different. It felt more alive. There wasn't desperation to it or a need to prove anything.
"Honey, I wanted to make sure you-" a voice said causing me to jump back. I hit my head on my backboard of my bed and jolted up.
My room was dark and I was still lying in my bed in only an oversized t-shirt. I looked to my window, the shades were down. I had been dreaming. That had all been a dream. I had kissed Andy… in a dream. That wasn't real.
"You okay?" the voice asked. I looked over and saw that the voice belonged to my mom.
"I- Yeah, sorry, had a weird dream," I responded and looked at my mom. Why was she coming to my room when it was still dark out?
"Oh," she said. "You want to talk about it?"
"No, no," I insisted. There was no way I wanted to tell her about that dream. She would put bars on my window. I laughed a little on the inside. Andy didn't even know which window was mine. There was no way he would risk coming to my house in the middle of the night and knocking on various windows. That whole dream was ridiculous. A piece of dust floated onto his face? Did things like that actually happen in real life? That should have tipped me off that it was a dream.
"Well, alright. I just wanted to tell you I love you," she said. Was that really all she came into my room to wake me up to tell me? "And that I'm going to a conference today for a couple days. With all that's been going on I forgot to tell you earlier."
Ah, that made a bit more sense. I nodded at her, told her I loved her too, and watched her close the door. I was too tired to think anything more about it and rolled over on my bed. Within a matter of minutes I fell into a dark, dreamless sleep.
A/N: This was a fairly long chapter, longest one yet at least. Hope ya enjoyed it! Tell me what you think. Feedback is great ya know.
Thanks for reading!