Chapter 5 – Revelations

"Pim! Can't you read! It's addressed to me! Hand it over!", Phil shouted at his sister, who was tearing open an envelope the mail man had just hand delivered.

Hand delivered mail was a rarity in the 22nd century. It was used mostly by the government, for matters of the utmost importance. This particular envelope was addressed to one Phillip Diffy, from the United States Department of Time Travel. Pim thought she'd take the unique opportunity to get her older brother in a bit of trouble.

"Mom! Dad! I have something here that may be of interest to you!". Pim now had the open letter in hand, and read it aloud to Barb and Lloyd, who were drinking coffee in the kitchen.

Mr. Diffy:

We are pleased to inform you that your request to time travel to the year 2006 has been granted. You may depart on April 30, stay in the 21st century for a week's time, and return by May 7th. It is up to you to make any necessary arrangements. Attached you will find a passcode that must be entered into your time machine in order for you to depart without alerting the authorities. Travel Safely.

Thomas Warner

United States Department of Time Travel.

"Listen. Mom. Dad. I was going to tell you. It's supposed to be for a class research project, but the truth is, I finished that project a week ago. I know all there is to know about the 21st century after living there for 2 years. I just need to see Keely. Please understand", Phil explained to his parents before they had a chance to say anything.

"How dare you attempt something like this under our noses! This is absolutely out of the question! You are not old enough to time travel alone! And son, Keely is a nice girl, but she died 40 years ago! It's time to live in the present!" Lloyd Diffy was visibly red in the face.

"Lloyd! Let's try and not say anything we'll regret. I agree that Phil should have consulted us with this plan, but he's clearly in love, and nothing, not even time, should keep two people who love each other apart", Barb interjected.

"Thanks Mom. Dad, I'm not a kid anymore. And I've worked the time machine by myself before. It's not like it's that complicated!" It wasn't often that Phil stood up to his father. He usually respected his father's opinions, but this was about getting a chance to see Keely.

"I'm sorry Phil. I'm just worried about your future. You're going to be applying to colleges soon. You have to start thinking about your future. If your mind is preoccupied with the past, I'm worried you might throw your future away". Lloyd was now sitting down, visibly more calm. He seemed to be regretting his overreaction to Phil's plan, but he still did not like it.

"You have to trust me Dad. I'm a responsible person. When have I ever let the little things get in the way of the "big picture"? I've spent most of the last couple weeks depressed, yet I've still maintained my grades. I'll only be gone a week. This is important to me Dad."

"I know that Phil. I'm sorry I overreacted. If you really want to go, go. I'm not going to stop you."

Keely walked through the hallways of H.G. Wells High School with a wide grin on her face. Just that morning she learned that Phil would be returning to her in a few short days. She arrived at her locker to see Matt there waiting for her, who was also smiling.

"What are you so happy about?", Keely asked her friend.

"I was about to ask you the same thing", Matt responded.

"Well, you first."

"I'm just relieved. This past week my dad was away on business, and I was at home by myself. Me and my dad were going through some things. But now it's over. That's why I was so moody the other day during tennis. I'm sorry", Matt explained.

"It's okay. We all have our days. Guess who I just talked to this morning?"

"I haven't a clue."

"Phil!"

It took a moment for Matt to respond. "I thought… Oh, well, that's great Keely. How is he?" Matt did a poor job of faking his enthusiasm, but Keely's thoughts were so preoccupied on Phil that she didn't notice.

"I'll tell you all about it after school. Wanna study for that algebra test at my house?"

"Sure. Sounds good." Matt perked up a bit. At least he wasn't being completely shut out.

After school, Keely and Matt walked to Keely's house to study. Instead, Keely spent most of the afternoon talking about Phil. Matt tried his hardest to stay interested.

"So isn't it kind of risky for Phil to have contacted you, with his situation and all?", Matt asked Keely. The two were sitting next to each other on Keely's couch, with MTV playing in the background.

"What situation?" Keely looked confused.

"You know… the whole witness protection thing."

"Oh, that." Keely forgot about how she explained Phil's sudden disappearance to Matt. "Well… I think the situation has blown over somewhat. He still needs to stay somewhat low key. But not so much that he can't make a trip to Pickford!"

"He's coming here? When?"

"This Friday. He's staying for a week."

"That's great Keely." Matt again sounded less than enthusiastic, and again Keely failed to pick up on it. "Maybe we should do some actual studying? This test is worth a quarter of our final grade."

"Yeah okay. I'm sorry if I bored you, I'm just really excited."

Keely and Matt crammed for the test until late at night. The studying was serious, but never too serious. From time to time, Matt or Keely would offer up a joke, and the two would waste a few minutes giggling. Other times they would interject pop culture references into the conversation, or finish each other's sentences. To the casual observer, Matt and Keely might have looked more like a budding young couple than study buddies. The two had undeniable chemistry.

"You know Matt, I don't know how I would have made it through these past few weeks without you. Thanks for being such a great friend", said Keely, prompted by a particularly hilarious joke by Matt.

Matt didn't respond. Instead, he gazed into Keely's eyes, much like he did at Keely's doorstep after their first coffee date. Keely gazed back. She wasn't afraid like she was the time before. She trusted Matt, and more importantly, she trusted herself. Matt leaned in and kissed Keely on the lips. Keely instinctively pulled away.

"Matt I…" Keely had a dazed look on her face.

"You don't have to explain. I just needed to know if I had a chance. Now I know." Matt collected his things and left.

Matt arrived home a few minutes later, and was greeted by his father, Christopher McNamara. "Son, we're running out of time. We need to get out of here. Tomorrow. Your lead isn't working out." The elder McNamara was just that, an older looking version of his son.

"It's working out Dad. We just have to wait it out until Friday", Matt explained to his father.

"You better be right. It won't be long before they make an identification. Then we'll really be in deep."

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. With school over, updates will hopefully be more regular. This chapter is sort of my bridging chapter, taking the story from one direction and moving it in another. I've had it planned like this from the beginning, so reread the other chapters for some clues. That's all I'll say for now about that. Thanks for the positive reviews, and please keep them coming!