AN: Sorry about the lackage of updatage. Did you know that life sucks? Yeah, I'm sure you guys know. It sucks more than usual right now, cause I'm sick as hell and I haven't been able to sit up, let alone write. Anyways…here's chapter four…
CC Character in this chapter is thanks to Flare!
Blink
"So…you're really from the past?" Jack asked, leaning back on the couch and pushing his glasses up on his nose. I nodded and shifted nervously, jumping as I heard a loud beep from the kitchen. A few seconds later, Jack's mom shuffled back in the room with a tray in her hands.
"There you go, boys…eat up!" She said, setting the tray down on the table. On the tray sat two bowls off orange, gooey looking noodles, and two brightly colored cups…with a closed top. I reached for it and yanked my hand back as I realized that it was freezing cold, and then I slowly picked it up and took a closer look.
"Um…do you need some help with that?" Jack asked, and I reluctantly handed the strange object over to him. He tapped the lid, and then grabbed the tab on the top and pulled up. There was a snap, and a hole opened up in the top.
He handed it back to me and then opened up his own, and I tentatively took a sip.
And I jolted back in shock at the utterly strong taste, almost spitting the stuff out.
Jack burst out laughing as I stared in disbelief at the brown liquid in the can, and I set it down on the tray and decided to move on from that. It was almost as bad as beer!
"How can ya drink dat stuff?" I asked, and he smiled wildly.
"It's Pepsi. And kids nowadays love it."
"Dat's disgusting!"
"Well, it's basically just carbonated water and sugar."
I sighed and decided to try the 'macaroni'. It looked kinda disgusting, but at least I didn't pull it out of the trash like a lot of things I had to eat. Jack was already digging in, so I decided it couldn't be that bad.
I took a small bite, chewing carefully as Jack watched with amusement.
Well, they didn't call it macaroni and cheese for no reason. It tasted...cheesy.
"It's not bad." I said, taking another bite. In fact, it was pretty good.
We ate in silence for a few moments before I looked up and noticed a strange object in the room. I gestured to the large black box sitting across the room as I said, "Hey Ja…Andy…what's that?"
He looked up at it with disinterest. "That's a television. A TV."
I raised an eyebrow, and he laughed once again. I was getting sick of being laughed at.
"You're honestly from the past, aren't you? This isn't a joke?" he asked.
"Look, even in dis time, I don't think anyone would be crazy enough ta go around tellin' people dey been time travelin'."
"Yeah, guess you're right. Here…let me show you how the TV works before you make a complete fool of yourself in public." He picked up a smaller black box with buttons on it. "This is a remote. It controls the television."
He pressed a button, and the black box suddenly lit up with moving pictures of people. I watched with amazement as someone talked about a murder that had been committed, and pictures showed of a house with police tape around it, police walking around the area.
"So…this is happening now?" I asked after a moment, not quite understanding.
"No. They recorded it on camera a while ago. They're just playing it now."
"Ooooh. Okay."
It wasn't like I understood or anything. I just had to get over all this future stuff and get on to the point of the whole conversation. He turned off the television, and I took a deep breath.
"Listen, Andy…the reason I came here to find you is because you're supposed to live in the year 1899. You're Jack Kelly, a newsie."
Jack looked at me carefully, and I could tell he didn't believe me. He took another swig of Pepsi and looked at the floor.
"I did believe you, up until this point. I mean…I've always lived here. I've never even heard of a newsboy except in history class." He said, and I sighed heavily, putting my head I my hands. This was impossible! None of them would ever believe me…let alone twelve of them in one month. Or was it thirteen?
I felt like screaming and crawling under my bunk bed. But in order to do that, I'd have to have access to my bunk bed. And in order to get access to my bunk bed, I had to finish this in a month. One lousy month.
"Blink? Are you okay?"
Just keep your eyes on the prize.
Mush.
"Yeah, I'm okay. And I need you to come to Cleveland with me." I said with new vigor.
"Cleveland? Why Cleveland?"
"There's someone that I want you to meet."
"And you expect me to just drop everything…school, family…and go on a wild goose hunt to Cleveland?"
"Absolutely."
"You're crazy!"
"I know. And I'm not going to give up unless you agree to come with me."
He stared at me, mouth hanging open in disbelief as I tried another drink of my Pepsi. Really, the stuff wasn't that bad. It just took some getting used to.
"I…I just can't…this is…" Jack stuttered, and I got sick of being all nice about this.
"Look, Cowboy…I've never known you ta turn down an adventure or challenge. Da love of my life is waitin' in San Francisco, and in order for me ta get dere, you have ta come ta Cleveland with me. And I'm gonna get you dere if I have ta tie you up and drag you. So what do ya say?"
Jack swallowed hard and looked from me, to the floor, then back up to me.
"So…when do we leave?"
AN: Sorry the chapter was short. Working up my stamina. I hate being sick! Agh……….I need to go read some fluff. Some nice, Mush/Blink fluff or something. And then I need to write the next chapter of this. Thank God for pain killers.