Part I, Chapter 2

A/N: Yeah, it's another annoying, seemingly pointless entry, partially based on one of my weird hobbies. Unfortunately, the characters were so estranged from each other when the show ended. On the surface, everything was fixed; but I wanted to settle things inside, and bring them back to their old comfort levels as much as possible by just having them hang out a bit. It gets better after this, I promise.

Thank you to my reviewers, ultimate rasengan and charmed4eva112, for your input. I like your thinking! J/L is my guilty pleasure. I might consider that… if a good enough idea strikes me, and it works within the plot. I doubt it will, as there will be so much going on, but knowing readers like it, I'll keep it in mind, and maybe do an alternate version. :D As you can tell, there will be plenty of unintended hints anyway. I love their friendship.

Okay. Ready to get it over with?

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It was one of those odd-feeling days. The air was cool and slightly breezy, but the sun, now at its midday point, blazed down with an intense heat, uninhibited in the nearly cloudless sky. There was only a small, solitary tuft of white in the distance.

"Is it okay if the windows are off?" Lucas spoke up as they stepped outside.

Josie nodded. "You drive a Jeep?" she wondered aloud.

"Yeah. It was a graduation-slash-birthday gift… Why do you look so surprised?"

"I-I just never saw you as a Jeep kind of person. I mean, they're more outdoorsy, and you're…"

"What? You think I'm not the outdoorsy type?" he asked, climbing into his seat.

"I don't know. I've never seen you do much of that stuff."

"I obviously don't hang out with the school jocks and play football, if that's what you mean." Josie was about to speak when he continued, "My dad and I take a trip every year, when school ends. We camp in the woods and go fishing. We're out all the time in the summer."

"Oh, right."

"Actually, it's all the time I spent outside that got me interested in science to start with. Heh. I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was little. Lakes and stuff."

"I didn't know that."

Lucas was tempted to say, "You don't know a lot of things about me," but resisted. "Yup. So where to?"

"Huh? Oh. Um… La Rana?"

"Mexican. Sounds good to me."

The ride to the restaurant was quiet and uneventful. Josie distractedly stared up through the open top, hypnotized by the line of trees that canopied the road as they drove along. She was startled when they stopped, as the Jeep turned smoothly into the parking lot.

A chirpy young man greeted them inside. "Hi! How many?"

"Two, please. And can we sit outside?"

"Sure."

They were led to a table in a shaded corner of the patio, where another man set down menus, a basket of chips, and a salsa dish. "I'll be right with you," he announced, scurrying off.

Josie snatched a chip and dipped it in the dish.

"Tell me it's spicy enough." Lucas observed her as she tested it.

"Mmm. Yup."

He selected one as well. "Awesome. So, What sounds good?"

"Idunno. I'm just going to get something small."

"Really? 'Cause I'm treating."

"No you're not," Josie responded sternly. "Besides, I always end up filling up on chips and salsa before the food comes, anyway."

"Yeah, me too. Good thinking."

She eyed her menu. "You know what sounds great right now? A chicken enchilada. I haven't had one in a long time. I think I'll get two of those."

"I like that idea. Let's do that," Lucas agreed.

The man who had brought the chips trotted back. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Yeah. I'll just have a water."

"Me too, please."

"Got it," the server nodded.

"And I think we're ready to order."

"That works," he said, pulling out his notepad.

"We'd both like two chicken enchiladas each."

"Two chicken, okay. Is that it for you?"

Lucas looked to Josie, who nodded. "Yes."

"Alrighty. I'll have it right out."

"Thanks." He handed the waiter their menus and turned his attention forward.

Josie was nibbling along the edge of a chip. "So, everything going alright?" she asked.

"Ehh… Same old. How 'bout you?"

"Endless school. Don't remind me."

"That bad?"

"My mom wanted me to stay home with her all summer, but there's no way I'm going to be behind you guys," she laughed lightly. "I even thought it would be kind of fun for us to all go to college together, but with Corrine and Marshall heading to Europe, they'll probably decide to go to school there. Corrine already told me she was considering it anyway. I mean, who would want to be stuck here after that?"

"No, traveling's great, but 'there's no place like home.'"

"True; and I've been appreciating home a lot more now."

"Okay," their server cut in. "Here's your waters."

"Thanks."

"So," Josie began, carefully sipping her overfilled drink. "Is Pearadyne back up and running again? I haven't heard from Vaughn in awhile, so I never get updates."

Lucas glanced sideways. "I wouldn't know," he mumbled. The two had still not been on good terms when they last saw each other.

"Let me guess. You still don't talk to him?"

"I just never see him either," he explained hurriedly. "I don't think it's doing so well, though. It'll take a lot of time to rebuild… even if they can afford to. Victor was pretty much broke when you came back."

"But his experiments were crucial to all this ha—."A waitress passed and Josie lowered her voice. "I mean the timeline," she whispered. "Isn't his work what allows time travel to start with?"

"Yeah, but you're the one who brought him the ball, remember? This is a completely new timeline," Lucas said, pointing downward for emphasis, "an alternate."

Josie shook her head in an effort to clear it. "Are you sure?"

"It has to be. Think about it. If you didn't bring the ball back, he never could have used it, and the wormhole wouldn't even exist. You said so yourself."

"I guess that makes sense, but I'm still really confused about all this."

"That's why I'm hoping my method for organizing everything works out."

"Right. Well, good luck with that."

Lucas noted the obvious sarcasm, but instead chose to accept the comment as genuine. He thanked her, and promptly shoved a chip into his mouth with a smirk.

Josie rolled her eyes. "So this is the alternate," she mused. "Kind of creepy. It goes with what Avenir said, though."

"What? What did he say?"

"Oh… Uh, well, nothing really important. Going to different timelines, trying for a certain outcome— what Sarah Pearson was talking about in the hologram. That's all."

"Huh." Lucas looked thoughtful. "You know, I'm still trying to figure out exactly how he fits into everything. I know he must've started it in the original timeline, but what—?"

The food arrived just then, and Josie was relieved by the interruption. "That was quick," she observed.

"Yeah. It looks good."

For most of the meal they were silent, each preoccupied with thoughts of the personal experiences and private emotions that had been endured only a month before. Bittersweet memories of the supernatural school would undoubtedly follow both students forever, but at the moment, those events were still fresh, and all too vivid.

"Got anything fun planned for the rest of the day?" asked Josie when returning to the car.

"I'm just going to the hardware store after I drop you off. Unless you want to come," Lucas added hopefully.

"Sure. I've already given up trying to study anyway."

The store was just a block away. Within twenty seconds it had come into view.

"What are you getting?"

"It's just for a project I'm working on."

"Another crazy contraption?" she teased.

"Hey…" Lucas was about to defend himself, but shook his head and grinned instead. "Yup." He pulled up in front of the store, proudly securing the only empty space. They hopped out of the car strolled through automatic doors.

Inside, the two walked down a long aisle, scanning the shelves and finally stopping in front of a series of angle-cut boxes. Each box was overflowing with its designated item.

"Ah. Here." Lucas peeked into what appeared to be an empty box on a high shelf and discovered, to his dismay, that it was precisely that. He turned away with a confused expression.

"It's not there?"

"Nope."

Josie stood on tiptoe to view the container in question for herself. "Sure you have the right box?"

"Yes. It should be here. They've gotta be out.

"Well, maybe someone misplaced them. I doubt they ran out of just that one piece."

Lucas simply raised his shoulder in response and continued to search surrounding boxes for the elusive part, grumbling to himself with each disappointment. "No, too big. Nope. Darn it, I need a double, not a triple! They have everything but what I need!" By that point Josie was no longer listening, and had turned her attention to a row of rope spools.

When Lucas trotted off to find some assistance, Josie was left behind, completely unaware of his departure. However, she was quite content playing with the rope, twisting it in random directions and threading the end through every available loop until it became a large, tangled mess: a work of art, she concluded.

Josie had finally decided she was satisfied with her creation when Lucas came up behind her.

"Hey, I was right. The guy said they were out, but a new shipment should…," he watched her curiously, "Um, what are you doing?"

Josie turned and proudly showed him the complicated knot she had produced with the end of the rope.

"Oh, that's just evil. Are you planning to untie it?"

She flashed him a devilish grin and immediately went to work on the next spool.

Lucas could not help but smile. He glimpsed around cautiously before stepping next to Josie and pulling out a length of rope himself, deftly weaving it around his fingers. Within two minutes, a perfect monkey's fist materialized.

"Impressive," Josie nodded approvingly.

"I bet the employees here are going to enjoy undoing these. You know if someone sees this, we're going to be in big trouble," Lucas pointed out.

"You sound like Corrine."

"No, really. Then we'll be forced to untie these…Gordian Knots."

"Then we'd better get out of here."

The two nonchalantly exited the store, and when clear of the doors, sped toward Lucas's car.

"I didn't know you had a naughty streak," Josie laughed once she had regained her breath.

Lucas just shrugged. "What can I say? You're a bad influence."

"Oh, ha ha." Josie feigned offense, but truly she had forgotten how much fun being with him was. "So, are you just going to wait?"

"Actually, Professor Z has something that might work until then. I'll check his office when we get back. He won't mind if I borrow it."

"Well, let's go see."

"Are you sure you don't need to get back to studying?" Lucas questioned with concern.

"Well, yeah, I need to, but trust me; it's not going to happen."

"Okay, but don't blame me when you fail summer school," he joked, quickly darting just out of Josie's reach.