Chapter 9: Down the Black Hole
"Hey! I see Zeke!" chirped Jeanette. She clutched Charlie's hand as they worked their way in the sea of people toward Zeke. She waved wildly at him and Zeke gloomily waved back. Charlie frowned and knew something was up. To see Zeke this depressed didn't seem right.
"Where's Kyo?" asked Charlie as he arrived at the table, "Please don't tell me that she stood you up."
"No Charlie," he sighed, "She never wanted to go period. Eugene tried to ask her out and she flat out rejected him. And not very gently mind you." Charlie gazed at him, stunned while Jeanette patted his shoulder. "Well it's not the entire reason why she isn't here," Zeke added, "Tisha and Dana, those girls I used to hang with? They asked me to the dance and Kyo saw the whole thing."
"Awww," Jeanette declared sympathetically, "Zeke, I'm sorry. I think she came at the wrong time and saw only part of the story."
"Did you say yes to them in front of her?" asked Charlie.
Zeke shook his head no. "Charlie, man, I stood there like an idiot and tried to turn them down nicely. The words weren't coming to me."
Jeanette slowly suggested, "Then maybe she thought you would reject her if she asked. You were trying to turn them down so there."
Zeke slammed his fist on the table and moaned. "I'm so stupid! I can't do anything right when I'm with her!" Charlie cajoled him to calm down and Zeke breathed deeply before speaking again. "Actually, now that I think of it, where did Tisha and Dana go?"
Tisha and Dana were outside at that very moment, waiting for her to show up. Dana had sweetly called Kyo and persuaded her come right away.
"Forget it Dana," Kyo flatly told her, "Zeke is with you two. He wouldn't have said yes to me. Besides dances are lame, especially themed ones."
"Please, please!" begged Dana. She looked over her shoulder as Tisha gave her a thumbs up from the ticket stand. She turned around and continued to talk into her cell phone. "Zeke is depressed. He looks really sad that you aren't here. He's been sitting at a table all night. And Tisha did some sweet talking to let you come in without buying a ticket. Please?" Dana held her breath as she heard Kyo sigh into the mouthpiece. Then she heard the clinking of hangers from a closet.
"Looks like my biker jacket will be coming out of the closet tonight," Kyo remarked. Dana squealed into the mouthpiece and Kyo hung up.
Charlie leaned in and whispered fiercely, "Zeke I ran the scan last night and we have bad news. Instead of the separate time portals collapsing for good, they have been combining together to make a big one."
Zeke froze and stopped breathing. Charlie was capable of being complex in his words but this time, it was as clear as crystal. "Oh man," he gasped, "So you're saying that-"
"We've created a black hole!" Charlie cut him off fearfully, "And we have less than 4 hours until the end of the world!"
"Hang on a sec," Zeke replied, "Does Virgil even know about this?" Charlie shook his head no and suddenly stood up when he spotted Virgil leaving with Derek. He stood up and ran after them, probably to warn Virgil about the dangers of opening yet another time portal. Zeke stood up too but Tisha and Dana scurried up to him in a flash, blocking Charlie and Virgil from view.
"We have a surprise for you," Tisha coyly announced. Zeke's eyes blinked in surprise and his eyebrows rose up. Dana motioned for someone to come over and Kyo emerged from the crowd. Zeke's eyes widened even more and his face broke out into a smile. Tisha and Dana studied their handiwork before excusing themselves again.
Zeke studied Kyo and murmured, "Now I thought I was the only one who could pull off the biker jacket but I just found out that a cute girl could make it look even better."
Kyo rolled her eyes at his corny line. Lame. So incredibly lame. "Okay Thompson," she began, "Please cut the corny pickup lines and dance with me."
"But it wasn't a pickup line," he confessed as he took her hand, "I really meant it." Kyo studied him carefully then looked down at him hand.
"Your palm is sweaty," she remarked before looking up at him. A hot rush of blood flooded his pale skin at her remark. I can't help it, he thought. He took a few deep breaths and tried to shake off his nerves. It was time to come clean.
"Kyo?" he began shyly, "I, I have something to tell you." Kyo leaned in closer to listen in when Charlie grabbed Zeke and Kyo out of the blue.
"We've got to get down to the launch room!" Charlie hurriedly announced, "Kyo, I told Zeke this but-"
"The time travel created a black hole!" Zeke filled in quickly, "And we could be dead in a few hours."
Kyo blinked in shock as she hurried along. "Okay Super Genius, I have a question for you. How are you going to stop the black hole?"
Charlie turned around and stopped short of the door to the launch room, "Well, it's a far-fetched idea but, all of the Minutemen should jump into the hole. If we manage to get back safely, we'll seal off the portal on the other side." Zeke gaped at him and Kyo mumbled that she forgot something. She let go of Charlie's gripped hand and ran off down the hallway.
"Kyo!" yelled Zeke, "Wait! Where are you going?" He started to go after her but Charlie stubbornly refused to budge. He tugged on Zeke's arm and dragged him inside the launch room. Much chaotic activity encased the room. Charlie ran up the FBI head to tell them his far-fetched plan. Virgil then insisted that he should go alone since it was his fault for getting them into this mess. Zeke watched as Charlie and Virgil bickered about who was going and bent down to grab something.
"All right boys!" snapped the FBI agent, "You will both go!"
Zeke licked his lips nervously before answering, "They'll need me too, sir. Me and my hook." Charlie and Virgil whirled around to see Zeke saying that he had to go too. Virgil smiled brightly at him and Charlie looked relieved. Zeke smiled too before grabbing his snowsuit and striding over to a private corner to change. As he pulled his beloved biker jacket off, he looked at it in his hands. Kyo. He knew that he had so much unfinished business with her. He hadn't been able to hold her in his arms and smell the sweetness of her hair. He hadn't been able to bend down and kiss her soft pink-red lips. Geez, he hadn't been able to tell her how he felt about her. And she ran off, he thought grimly as he zipped up his suit, I might not ever see her again. Not even to say good-bye.
Screams and cheers filled the halls of the school as the boys walked toward the front of the school. Girls nearly fainted as they saw them while boys clapped them on the backs and told them good luck. Jeanette emerged from the crowd and ran up to them.
"Charlie!" she blurted out as she swooped down on him, "Please come back in one piece okay?" She leaned in quickly and kissed him on the lips. Charlie staggered back in shock and Jeanette guiltily smiled at him. Zeke nudged him and reminded him that it was time to go.
"Charlie, come on man!" Zeke yelled at him. Charlie was too much in a daze to have even heard a word of what Zeke had even said. Finally Zeke took charge, picked up Charlie, and swung him over his shoulder. He only got a few feet when Kyo came up with a portfolio folder in her hand.
"Sorry for ditching you guys back there," Kyo apologized, "This is what I needed to get. You know obviously what it is, right?" Zeke smiled at her and accepted the folder. He knew what it was. And for her to give that to him, it made him feel good. He tucked it away under his snowsuit before greeting her with a thank you.
"Look," he began lamely, "I think we both know that I might not make it back. But I wanted to let you know-" Kyo had wrapped her arms around him and Charlie to give him a hug. Zeke blushed and clumsily wrapped his arms around her petite form. Well, she didn't know how he felt but at least he accomplished one thing he wanted: to hold her and smell her sweetness. He savored the familiar smell of jade rainwater and sighed, knowing this may be the last time he would ever smell this scent again.
"Guys!" hollered Charlie over Zeke's shoulder, "Hate to ruin the sweet moment here but the world is going to perish if we don't hurry up!" Kyo let go and laughed a little at Charlie. Zeke didn't want to let her go but he knew that Charlie was right.
"You guys take care," she told them, "Zeke, take it easy on yourself." As he hauled Charlie down the hall, her comment rung in his ears. He shook himself to make sure that he wasn't hearing things. She said his name. Not his last name, not 'Biker Kid,' not Mr. Smooth, but Zeke. He put Charlie down as they made it outside and caught up with Virgil as he bid Stephanie good-bye. Chants of "Minutemen! Minutemen! Minutemen!" filled the air as the boys walked closer to the hole.
"They finally got it right," remarked Virgil as he started to pull his hood on. Charlie put his on and Zeke followed in suit. They stared down into the hole before rushing forward and jumping in. Icy cold blasts whipped across their faces as they traveled down, down, down. Zeke felt dizzy and closed his eyes beneath his goggles, Kyo's smile engrained in his mind as he fell.