AN: Okay guys, I'm not that great at dates and stuff. Well, I am, but I really didn't feel like putting much effort into this one. So if things sound off … just go with it, okay?
CHAPTER TWO
"Pearson?" Josie repeated, sounding shocked.
Jovee looked up, cautiously meeting Josie's eyes, before turning back to the football player.
"Yeah, Chuck?" She asked.
"I thought I told you to stop hanging around with that dorky science club," He grumbled. "And you missed practice again today. Your Mom's getting really frustrated."
"I'll take care of this," Katrina said, joining Douglas and Jovee. "Look, Jovee doesn't have to do everything you tell her to. As for missing practice … it's cheerleading. How hard can it be to remember a few cheers? Besides, you two haven't been dating for a month. Get over it!"
"This isn't any of your business, Groh."
"You starting trouble with my friends is my business," Katrina said. She narrowed her eyes darkly.
"Katrina? Now's not a good time," Finley said quickly, nudging her away.
"You want a fight, Groh?" Chuck asked, leaning in to meet her eyes.
"When … and where?" Katrina inquired.
"Oh, cut it," Jovee snapped, moving the two apart. "No fighting. Last time Eiley caught the two of you starting trouble, we all got detention. Now grow up."
"I want to talk to you," Chuck said, turning to Jovee and starting to move her away.
"I'm busy now. We'll talk later, okay?" She demanded. "Okay?"
"Fine," Chuck replied. He threw a dark look at Douglas and then Katrina before stomping off. Jovee rolled her eyes, turning back to the group.
"I don't see why you let that gorilla push you around," Katrina said.
"He's not pushing me around, Katrina," Jovee replied.
"Why did you say your name was Jovee Preston? Are you related to Vaughn?" Josie demanded.
Jovee crossed her arms over her chest. "I think it should be a little obvious as to why I said my name was Jovee Preston, and not Jovee Pearson," She said.
"Okay, enough talking," Douglas said, trying to move the two away from each other.
Josie looked her over, then her eyes lit up. "Your Vaughn's daughter, aren't you?"
Jovee's hands fell to her side, surprise filling her eyes. "I -. How'd you …?"
"Douglas is right," Katrina said quickly. "We're going to make a scene. Josie, come on."
"Is she, or isn't she?" Josie asked, not budging.
"I'll explain everything when we get to my room. Right now … people can overhear. Come on. Come on!" Katrina started nudging Josie along. The red-head followed her, glancing back at Jovee a few times. When the two were out of sight, Douglas shook his head.
"How are we expected to keep everything a secret?" He asked.
"Maybe we're not supposed to," Nathaniel suggested. "You know, Douglas, your Mom's kind of cool when she was our age."
Douglas gave him a funny look. "That's my Mom!"
Nathaniel shrugged. "Just an observation."
"That's gross!" Douglas exclaimed.
"Nathaniel, maybe you should just head back to your room and look over some of the stuff we talked about, okay?" Finley suggested.
"Yeah, yeah. I know when I'm creeping people out," He said, grinning at those before him before heading off with a quick bow.
"Sometimes I just wanna slap him," Jovee grumbled.
"What do we do?" Douglas asked, looking at her.
"I guess we keep to as much of the truth as we can. I don't really see how Josie knowing who I am will change things. My parents will still meet up; have Vinny, me and Vina," Jovee explained.
"You'd better hope Josie doesn't meet up with Dee, then," Douglas said.
"Oh please," Jovee said, rolling her eyes.
"Douglas -," Finley started.
His friend looked angrily at him. "I'm still mad at you," He said.
"You need to take everything into account, Douglas. Surely you must be seeing some reason in what we said," Finley said.
"No, I just a lot of discriminatory accusations," Douglas grumbled.
"Not another argument, guys," Jovee said quickly. "You've been best friends far too long to fight over this."
"He's not my friend," Douglas said. "A friend wouldn't think my Father was a traitor."
"There is no use trying to get through that thick skull of yours, is there?" Finley asked.
"Could you guys just pretend for at least a day that you actually get along?" Jovee asked. "How about a week, at least? You don't want Josie to wonder why you're not getting along, do you?"
"By the end of all this I'm sure she'll figure it out," Finley said, meeting Douglas' eyes.
"Finley, enough," Jovee said, now moving between the boys. "You're pushing it."
"I'm out of here," Finley said, glaring at the two before quickly moving off down the hall. Jovee sighed, and then turned back to Douglas.
"My Dad didn't help Microne, Jovee. There must be a different explanation for everything," He said sharply.
"I know, Douglas. I know," Jovee said softly. "And I promise you we'll figure that out."
"Thanks," Douglas said.
"No problem," Jovee grinned. "This doesn't change anything, though."
"I should hope not. You're still my enemy," Douglas pointed out.
"And you're still an elf," Jovee said, turning to walk away.
"You're never going to forget that whole incident, are you?" Douglas called after her down the hall.
"Nope."
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"Here, put this on," Katrina called, tossing a white velvet shirt over to Josie, and then reaching around for a pair of pants. "My clothes are gonna be bigger on you, of course, but if I could find a retro belt, it should be no problem."
"Thanks, I think," Josie said, looking down at the clothes uncertainly. "These aren't exactly my style."
Katrina tossed her a grin. "Me neither. Which is why I'm thrilled to get rid of them."
"Thanks," Josie said sarcastically.
"Just put them on. No one will ask questions if you blend in right."
"Where'd you get them, if they're not your style?" Josie asked.
"Birthday present … from Jovee. Said I needed to normalize myself a bit. Ha!" Katrina exclaimed.
"So, about Jovee -."
"There's no point in trying to hide it. Vaughn is Jovee's Dad. She has two siblings. Vinny, he's a senior, and Daveena, or Vina as everyone calls her, who's eleven. That's why we didn't think it would be such a good idea for you to stay over at her place. Not to mention Dee would probably have a fit if she saw you." At this Katrina started laughing. "You're going to really like it here. In the future, I mean."
"So I gathered that your name's Katrina Groh. What about the Chinese kid?" Josie asked.
"Nathaniel Penn. He's an extremely annoying genius who works with Finley to make the rest of us sound like idiots," Katrina explained.
Josie turned and looked at herself in the mirror, grimacing at the girly-girl look that she saw, before sitting down on the extra bed that she'd be using for the time being. "So tell me about my future self."
"Not gonna happen," Katrina said with a chuckle. She sat down on her bed, and studied Josie.
"Don't think I believe that Europe stuff," Josie said.
"Yeah, that's Jovee and Douglas for you. Completely random. Personally I would have gone with, 'out of state', and left it at that."
"I'm still around, though, aren't I?" Josie guessed.
"Sort of. But you can definitely not get in touch with your older self. There would be severe consequences," Katrina explained.
"Do I at least have a cool job?" Josie inquired.
Katrina stood up again, pacing the room. "I personally don't find it that thrilling, but that's just because it's not really my thing. I guess a lot of other people would say it's intimidating."
"Cool," Josie said. "Hey, are those your CD's?"
"No!" Katrina exclaimed, jumping up and standing in front of the desk.
"I already saw it. Magnet 360, huh?"
"It's an old copy," Katrina said. She carefully pulled the CD out, looking at it. "One of the originals."
"Is Marshall still a member?" Josie asked.
"You should know I can't tell you that," Katrina said.
"I know, but it was worth asking," Josie said. "So maybe you could tell me about yourself."
Katrina looked back, a little surprised at the question. "Well … where to begin? I'm Katrina Groh. My parents are boring old business people who shipped me off to Blake Holsey Preparatory Academy in an attempt to get rid of me. I have an older sister, but I'd rather not get into that. I don't like authority well, I don't like cheerleaders, yet shockingly my best friend is one of them. Hmm … oh, and I'm in the tenth grade."
"Cool, me too. Except my best friend is a -."
"Know-it-all genius with an IQ of 172? So I've heard. Must be difficult living arrangements."
"You have no idea," Josie said. "You know, right now I wish I could just talk to Corrine. She always has an answer. I'm sure she could help me."
"Maybe," Katrina said slowly. "But that's for another day if it comes to that at all."
"So … how far are we in the future, exactly?"
"You're twenty-five years in the future," Katrina said.
"Does Vaughn still live in his Dad's mansion?" Josie asked, trying to sound casual, but a bit of distrust slipped into her voice. Katrina simply gave her a look, to which Josie shrugged. "Since I already know about Jovee."
"Everyone's gonna have my butt for me telling you this much as it is. Next time? They'll know better than to stick time travelers with the girl who can't keep a secret."
"Is that a yes?"
Katrina started laughing. "Yeah, he lives nearby. Jovee lives over that way with her parents and sister. But her brother stays here. He and Vaughn don't communicate well."
"That's just how Victor was with Vaughn," Josie said, rolling her eyes.
"Really?" Katrina asked. "Tell me more about Victor. He sounds so … intimidating." However, the way she said it, he sounded almost thrilling rather than intimidating.
"He's not intimidating. He just tries to be," Josie replied.
"The way Vaughn went on and on about him," Katrina started, her eyes lighting up. "He sounded great. I mean, all he was working for – he went through losing his wife and his life's work all in the same day. Then he had to raise a child all on his own while trying to rebuild all that he'd lost. It just sounds so fascinating. I admire him."
"You shouldn't admire him. Victor is the enemy," Josie snapped.
"Look, I know you guys never got along all that well when he was still alive and everything, but -."
"Wait, Victor's passed on?" Josie inquired.
"Oh," Katrina said, quickly covering her mouth. "Guess I've always sort of had a problem with rambling."
"Who runs Pearadyne with Victor gone?" Josie demanded.
"Who says Pearadyne still exists?" Katrina countered. "To be fair, let's just drop this part of the conversation, okay? You're gonna have to figure all this stuff out on your own. There's no way I'm jeopardizing any future information."
Josie was half tempted to demand real answers from Katrina, but instead stuck to nodding her head with frustration. All the answers at her disposal, and yet no way of getting them. Didn't this sound familiar?
"Don't give me that look," Katrina said. "Douglas would have my head if anything got out."
"He seems very strict about future information," Josie acknowledged.
"Within reason. There's a lot going on here that you don't understand. Or, aren't entirely ready to understand, yet," Katrina said. The words echoed in Josie's head.
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The janitor looked up to the ceiling from the book he was reading. "She's arrived."
Someone stepped out of the shadows of the room and approached him from behind. "What if she doesn't manage to fix everything in time?"
"You know everything that's riding on this," The janitor replied.
"Exactly … perhaps I should go give my counterpart a friendly visit?" Josie 2 suggested.
"Not now."
AN: okay, I thought the janitor needed just a little bit more in this one than the little interaction in the first. Also, I wasn't too fond of the 'Josie 2' stuff in the show (don't get me wrong, it was pretty cool, but it also added a slight edge to the story line that I'm not sure I liked), so I'm altering it a little bit. They don't have a really important part in the story, though. Just a little more.