Title : Is It Really You?
Summary : What would happen if there had been a girl in Martin's past who had broken his heart when she died? How much confusion would ensue if she were to suddenly reenter his life?
Rating : T for language, and just in case
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PP : (staring off into space, humming a salsa tune, occasionally muttering "Tequila!")
PP's conscience : Hello? Hello! Come on, wake up, there are people reading now! Oh well, don't mind her, she just got back from two days at band camp to find her very first review. She thought she was happy on the way home! Now, she's on cloud nine!
PP : Whoops! I was just thinking about... murdering my conscience... yes, that'd work.
PP's conscience : Now, that's not nice, and you know that's not what you were thinking about!
PP : Okay, so maybe you're right. I was thinking about the HUGE thank you I'd like to give out to Kittens Have Claws. I'm SOOOOO glad that there's at least one person that read it and liked it. Your congrats made me wanna work twice as fast on this fic. By the way, conscience, I'm getting tired of writing out PP's conscience every time you talk, so your new name is TaterTot (TT, heehee!)
TaterTot : NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
PP : Too bad, so sad, now cry me a river. And while you're at it, write the disclaimer.
TT : And if I (sniff) don't?
PP : (in menacing, dangerous voice) You know what'll happen if you don't.
TT : AHHHHHHHHH! NO, NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THAT! PotatoPuff does not (sniff) own anything (sniff) that Marathon has copyrighted. That includes (sniff) the characters Martin, Diana, (sniff), Jenny, and Java. She also (sniff) borrowed Mr. Favro and (sniff) The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter from her (sniff) drama class. She does own (sniff) the OC Rachel, and this (sniff) storyline. I'm going to go cry now. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
PP : You're a wimp, TaterTot!
TT : MY NAME IS NOT TATERTOT! (wailing fades) WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
PP : Okay, then. Let's just get on with the story.
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Chapter 2 : Duty Calls
Martin bolted upright in his bed, sweating and shaking uncontrollably. Even though he had experienced the same dream every night for a month now, he woke up the same way every time, scared out of his wits, and wondering why these dreams had waited four years to start bothering him. The dream also ended in the exact same way every time, booting him ou right after he read the date on the board. He sat on the edge of his bed, pulling his blankets around him, and holding his head in his hands.
"If I were given one chance to go back in time and do one thing," he whispered to himself, "I'd kick my younger self in the ass, and tell him to bridge that gap between me and Rachel. God knows I've kicked myself enough times when it was already too late for not doing it."
He looked over at the clock, and, seeing that it was about 7:30, he decided it was time to get ready for classes. He groaned as he hoisted himself out of bed and over to the closet to grab his stuff, carefully picking his way around the junk laying on the floor. He smiled to himself.
"Guess Rach never taught me anything," he thought.
"No, no, I have to stop thinking about her, I have to move on," he said to no one in particular.
"Besides," Martin thought, "it hurts too damn much to think of her."
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Martin slowly pushed his recurring dream back into a corner of his mind as he proceeded throughout his regular day. He suffered all through English and Math, then wolfed down his lunch as he chatted with Diana and Java. They had just entered the library when he saw Jenny sitting at one of the tables on her own. He snuck close enough to her to see that she was working on the math homework they had been assigned that day, and she seemed to be struggling. He turned to his two companions, smiling.
"Di, Jav, I'm goin' in," he said, just loud enough for them to hear.
He walked over to Jenny's table and sat down across from her.
"You know, I noticed that you looked like you could use some help. If you wanted, I could..."
"That'd be great, Martin. I'd love it if you'd do that for me," Jenny said, cutting him off.
Martin was stunned into silence. Was she actually accepting him? Did she really want him to help her with her homework? He was psyching himself up to move in for the kill, when...
"Well, Martin? I thought you were going to find someone to help me with my math?"
He came crashing down off his cloud. He could see Diana laughing behind Jenny.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," he said half-heartedly.
He stood up and walked over to the library desk to ask for a student tutor for Jenny. When Martin had her all straightened out, he trudged back over to Diana and Java. He already knew what was running through Diana's mind. "HA HA! He got re-jec-ted! AGAIN!"
If only they all knew why he threw himself at cute girls, if only they knew how much pain he held inside, the pain that had resided in him since the day that she, that Rachel, died. Almost as though she had taken a piece of his heart and never given it back.
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It was the same dream all over again, his past self and Rachel walking down the hall of the high school, chatting away, while his present self couldn't stop gawking at the woman who had first captured his heart. They turned into the drama room, but the dream didn't end when he looked at the date on the chalkboard. The present Martin was still stuck in the dream as his past self sat at his desk, beside Rachel.
"Alright, opening question for today," their teacher, Mr. Favro, said. "If you could take a trip to anywhere outside of Canada, where would you go?"
Both Martins looked over at Rachel as she thoughtfully chewed on her pen, thinking about where she would go. Martin knew she was thinking about all the places she'd already been to with the Center, and which place she'd love to have some vacation time in. She stopped chewing on her pen, and put her hand in the air. When Mr. Favro nodded at her, she said, "Greece, because it's a beautiful country, with an extensive history."
Both Martins smiled, the present one goofy, imagining the two of them roaming the countryside, the past one sadly, thinking about how she would never get the chance to have her vacation in Greece.
They didn't spend much more time on the opening question before Mr. Favro dismissed them to work on 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter'.
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Rachel had been walking across the floor, saying her lines, when she had tripped on the hem of her costume. For some reason, she spun herself around before she hit the floor, landing on her ass, and nearly cracking her head on a desk. Their entire group had started laughing, including Rachel, as the past Martin reached down to help her up. The present Martin gulped, remembering what happened next. Just as he grabbed her wrist, her U-Watch beeped. The past Martin helped her onto her feet, before whispering, "Do you really have to go?"
She nodded, "Yes, Martin, I do," before turning around to signal to Mr. Favro that she had to leave. Martin tightened his hand on her wrist until her had her in a deathgrip, refusing to let her go.
"I wish I could go with you," he whispered.
"Don't worry, your novice training is almost over. You should be able to come with me on my next mission," was her answer.
"So you really have to go then?" he asked one last time.
"Duty calls," was all she said, and she slid her wrist out of his grip. Then, she was gone, the door to the classroom slamming shut behind her. The past Martin just shrugged, and got back to work, leaving the present Martin standing in the middle of the room, his sight stuck on the door, trying to will his past self to run after her, to grab her, and never let go, to stop her from going on that mission. That was when he felt a hand grab his shoulder from behind, and whisper his name.
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PP : Oooh! Another chapter ended with a dream sequence! Don't worry, if it was bugging you, I'll try not to do it again. But then again, I just might do it on purpose. By the way, TaterTot is still in her room, sobbing. I guess she doesn't like the name TaterTot, or me stealing her teddy bear.
TT : MY NAME IS NOT TATERTOT, FOR THE LAST TIME! AND YOU HURT MR. FUZZY!
PP : Okay, well, I guess that leaves me to finish this up. Oh, and I forgot this last chapter. I will accept ANYTHING in reviews, and I mean ANYTHING. I welcome praise, suggestions, constructive criticism, criticism, and flames. But, remember this. If you are flaming me just to flame me, when I respond to each review individually, I will show you just how politely I can reply to a complete and total asshole, and everyone who reads my response will know your name and that you are one. Also, if you are confused with anything in this fic, just give your question in the review, and some way to give you my answer, and I'll try and clear things up for you. Praise makes me write faster, flames make me write slower. Well, see you next chap!