Renascence

Kevin awoke with a start and took stock of his empty room as he scanned his surroundings for the disturbance that had interrupted his nap. A soft knock at his door revealed itself to be the culprit as he shook himself awake. Dragging himself out of bed, he shook his head once more as he opened his door. Max stood there, timid as ever. Encouraged by his invitation, she meekly shuffled inside.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were sleeping." Kevin waved off her apology and then found himself stifling a yawn. Stretching aggressively and noisily, Max seemed to relax a little as she giggled at his odd display. "You sound like a bear. I guess you're feeling better?" Nodding, he sat back down on his bed as Max explored his room. His walls were covered in movie and television posters, all of which had been painstakingly and immaculately aligned. Everything was perfectly centered, and it would damn well stay that way, thank-you-very-much.

Immediately to the left of the door was his super comfy dark brown chair which Max was already familiar with, so she passed on by, investigating his dresser. Atop his wooden dresser were his Gundam Wing models that he had put together and painted. He had carefully arrayed them in a particular formation, so when Max reached out to touch one, he winced, but despite her prodding everything stayed in order.

Max took a step back and grabbed her polaroid camera from her bag and snapped a quick shot of the models. Absentmindedly shaking the photo dry, she moved onto his DVD and CD towers. That is a pretty neat shot, especially with the matching Gundam Wing poster behind the models… damn I'm good. As Kevin congratulated himself, Max bent down for a closer look at his movie selection and after a quick inspection, she turned around and was all smiles.

"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is like one of the best Sci-Fi movies ever made, nice choice!" Kevin raised his eyebrows at this. It was indeed a good movie and was massively underrated, but as Max noticed the several Battlestar Galactica posters around the room she quickly realized her mistake.

"Uh, Battlestar Galactica?" Kevin made a sweeping gesture to indicate his love for the franchise. Max giggled a little and turned to investigate his vastly overstocked bookshelf. Aside from his massive collection of science fiction novels, Max also found a fair amount of philosophy and historical fiction.

"That's a TV show, you goof, not a movie," she said playfully and Kevin shrugged as if the difference was only a minor detail that hadn't bothered him at all, nor had it made his point any less relevant. As she moved over for a closer look at his desk, Kevin wondered if she would notice just how awesome his laptop was. It was a custom designed gaming laptop that was probably more powerful than it needed to be. Also, on his desk, were his top of the line Sennheiser headphones, but Max clearly failed to notice the impressive tech that lay before her.

Ah well, at least Warren is able to notice relics of awesomeness when he sees them. Funny though, I thought Max would have been a closet gamer since he's so into her.

Mentally shrugging, Kevin noticed that she was now inspecting his thirty-six-inch flat screen tv that he had mounted on the wall, just above and behind where his laptop was. Getting all of his stuff into his dorm room and then organizing it in a sane manner had been a chore, but Kevin had eventually decided on mounting his television behind his laptop for two reasons. First, it was a great spot for him to watch movies while relaxing in his super comfy bed. Second, when he was at his computer, he could utilize the television as a second screen when necessary. Due to the fact that Kevin spent most of his time either in bed or at his computer, the placement worked out perfectly.

The only issue was that the position of the television prevented cooperative split-screen gaming on his Xbox-One, but Warren had his own console in his room, which was set up with company in mind, unlike Kevin's dorm. Kevin had noticed that about many of the dorms at Blackwell, many of them had couches or several chairs as if people expected to have other people in their dorms at all times. As Max peered into his closet, which was barely accessible from between the foot of his bed and his desk, he realized that Max was only the second person to enter his dorm room. The first girl to boot, unless Warren had a deep dark secret. Warren was way less nosy about it too… is this a girl thing, or is this a Max thing?

Chuckling to himself, he caught Max's attention as she finished her survey of his room. She gave him an inquisitive look, obviously and understandably wondering what he had found so amusing. After assuring her that he was not, in fact, laughing at her, he asked if she approved of his room. Nodding she pointed at his nightstand where several stacks of photographs had caught her undivided attention.

"How do you print those?" She inquired, looking around his room quickly to make sure she hadn't missed a photo printer during her inspection. She had. Motioning underneath his bed, Kevin drew her attention downward.

"I've got my printer under there… it wouldn't fit anywhere else. I've also got a fridge down there too, believe it or not." Max smiled, showing that she understood the struggle of finding space for everything in a dorm room. Like most of his peers, his bed was raised several feet off of the floor, creating much needed storage space underneath.

While the pair smiled at one another, their eyes met and Max's smile quickly soured. She nervously looked away. Her body language shifted, and Max went from seemingly carefree to vulnerable in a matter of seconds.

"Max, what's wrong?" Kevin asked, bracing himself for an answer that he knew involved him in some way.

"So... Victoria has been telling everyone about me helping you to your room… she's made sure that everyone knows that I stayed here for a while…" So that was it. Victoria had finally managed to ensnare him in 'Blackwell Bullshit,' as he liked to call it. She and her pawns had uncharacteristically gone out of their way to assist him not long ago, only to drive a knife right into his back. Kevin had managed to stay free of the drama that was constantly flying around the school, but now it seemed that Victoria, the drama-queen of Blackwell, had finally ensnared him in her web like some kind of evil spider-demon.

"Ah… well... worse things have happened, I suppose." Max simply nodded at this so Kevin tried a different approach. "I mean it actually works out in my favor… I think the girls here were starting to think I was a little... gay." Smiling, Max seemed to recover slightly, but not completely. Something was still bothering her.

"But at any rate, we better clear it up with Warren before he's out for my blood. Good thing you're on your way to return his flash-drive — he might not have heard yet." Max's jaw dropped as her face flushed bright red, her eyes widening slightly.

"How did you know?" She nearly shouted, perhaps louder than she had meant to. Kevin didn't take any offense though.

"Well, firstly, Warren is pretty much the only person I actually talk to here, so I know how much he likes you. Secondly, I've been hounding him for that blasted movie hoard for a couple days now, and he told me I could take a gander once he got it back from you. And third, and this is the most important part, he told me he was expecting to get it back from you today... around about this time." Max relaxed slightly but her face was still quite flushed so he decided that he would give her a friendly warning about quite possibly another surprise. "Oh, Warren's going to be asking you to see a movie this weekend so be ready for that. You didn't hear that from me."

"Thanks, Sherlock." Despite Kevin's ability to read Max like an open book, she had somehow managed to contain her reaction about Warren's upcoming invitation. Well done, Max, well done.

"Anytime, Watson. So, about these crazy time powers that you have… any thoughts?" Barely had Kevin asked his question and Max was already shaking her head soberly as she met his gaze once more.

"Any thoughts on how you're able to remember everything… and why it hurts you so much?" At this, her face softened slightly, some of the color draining from her face.

"Because I'm awesome?" Kevin offered as he shrugged, almost indifferently. "Either way, we'd better get that flash drive to Warren before he comes looking for it."

"We?" Max was so easy to catch off guard, it almost took away the fun of messing with her. Almost. You're far too cute for your own good Max, no wonder Warren is more or less obsessed with you.

"Yeah, we're clearly linked by this time travel bullocks, so we'd better stick together if we ever want to figure out what's going on," Max thought on his words for a moment and then nodded, but unfortunately for her, Kevin couldn't restrain himself. "And besides, how am I going to keep this rumor going if we're not seen together?" If they had been closer together, Kevin was certain that when Max spun around to face him she would have shoved him. Luckily for him, their distance allowed her time to see the goofy expression plastered on his face. After a moment of hesitation, she broke out laughing.

Covering her mouth with one hand and steadying herself against the door with the other, she giggled. Kevin watched the tension ease itself out of her frail form. As she recovered, she seemed to stand taller, her face brighter. Having no trouble meeting his eyes, Kevin felt as if he was looking at a completely different Max. She motioned for him to follow and as she reached to open his door he put a staying hand on her shoulder. As she turned to face him, he felt a pang of remorse as he asked her one final question.

"Max, is there anything else about this time travel stuff that you want to tell me?"

Max's face darkened and she withdrew physically as well as mentally. Her eyes clouded slightly as she turned away to look down at the floor. Shaking her head, she replied with a soft 'no' and quickly opened his door, not looking back to see if he was following her. Sighing heavily, Kevin followed her out into the hall as he contemplated her reaction.

Still not telling me something? You're far too easy to read, Max. Let's hope it's not anything that I need to know, because for better or worse we seem to be in this together. As he followed Max through the halls, his thoughts turned against him once again. Real smooth Kevin, real fucking smooth. Way to cheer her up, then crush her spirits in the same damned minute.

Walking side by side, the pair made their way across campus in total silence. Max might as well have had her headphones on. She seemed as if she existed in an entirely separate reality. Perhaps she did? As far as Kevin understood, there were a couple competing theories when it came to time travel. Technically speaking, that was what Max was doing by rewinding time. What if each time she made a correction the previous timeline continued on unabated and an alternate reality was created?

As Kevin thought more and more, he realized how way over their heads this all could be. Everything on the subject of time travel was purely theoretical, so even if they were able to consume all of the information the world of science had to offer on the subject, they could still get absolutely nowhere. Feeling overwhelmed, he decided to focus on his surroundings instead of the madness that was breaking out within his own mind.

After taking everything in, he regretted his decision to stick near Max. It was readily apparent that he and Max were drawing less than discrete attention from more than a few of their peers. He especially noticed the difference in the way the female population was regarding him. Damn you Victoria. How dare you manipulate others to cover up your own insecurities.

As they approached the main campus, they heard raised voices ahead of them. Nearing the corner of a red-brick wall, they spied a Blackwell security guard arguing with Kate Marsh. What the hell? How the hell did Kate upset a security guard?

"This doesn't seem right…what should we do?" Mas asked hastily. She's right, Kate is probably the least likely person here to cause trouble. It looks like he's being a proper bastard too... "I feel like I should take a picture of him harassing her but shouldn't we intervene as well?" Kevin nodded thoughtfully, needing only a moment to decide.

"We're doing both. You take the picture while I go see what the hell is going on…" Max nodded, quickly removing her camera from her bag and lined up a shot. Consciously making sure not to block Max's line of sight, Kevin maneuvered to intervene. Raising his voice so he could be heard as he approached, he called out to the Kate. "Excuse me, my lady, but is this man bothering you?"

"Hey you, this is official business. Get lost!" The security guard growled back, answering before Kate could find her voice.

Kevin ignored this and continued to make his way toward Kate, putting on a bewildered look.

"Forgive me, good sir, I would certainly not wish to interfere in official Blackwell Security business but this looks more like harassment to me, and I must add that I would be ashamed to call myself a gentleman if I did not rise to this lady's defense." Kevin put on an exaggerated tone when he said 'official Blackwell Security business,' but adopted a much more serious tone afterwards.

"Now listen, you little punk, you're in enough trouble already. Beat it. Now — and I'll forget your disrespect." The security guard must have figured that Kevin would have run off after such a threat, because he turned his attention back to Kate, who was slowly inching away from him.

As Kevin reached Kate, he wrapped his right arm around her waist protectively. Reacting instantly to his presence, he felt her fold herself into him. He could feel her shaking slightly and even though Kevin wasn't an expert on such things her body felt warmer than it should have. Suddenly feeling more than slightly awkward by their closeness, he took a moment to recover.

"You deaf, son? Get lost!"

"No." Kevin put every effort into making his voice as vehement as possible. His one-word response growled out of his mouth, dripping with verbal acid. He locked onto the security guards' gaze and held it firmly, unconsciously holding Kate tighter. Kate stopped shaking, he felt her straighten in defiance as she fed off of his confidence. The security guard's face went red, and he was about to say something else, but was cut off when Max rushed into the fray.

"Didn't you hear him? Why don't you stop harassing students and go do your job?" Max's tone not only stunned the now outnumbered security guard, but it had even sent a momentary shock through Kevin as well. Max came to a stop on Kate's other side and crossed her arms as she too glared defiantly at the head of security. Unsure of himself for a moment, the man was caught off guard and seemed to be having trouble finding the right words. After hesitating for a few more seconds, he comically resorted to the 'this isn't over' line that was so overused by archetypal Hollywood bad guys.

"It had better be over, fascist…" Kevin mumbled under his breath as he watched the man depart. He was suddenly keenly aware that Kate had placed her head against his shoulder, obviously comforted by his stoic performance. Max, clearly aware of the awkwardness that he felt, cast him a quick and mischievous smile before turning to Kate.

"Are you okay?" Suddenly aware of herself Kate straightened and slowly moved out of Kevin's embrace. He released her, surprised to discover that his awkward feelings were instantly replaced by a sudden emptiness. It was entirely all too clear to him that he missed the warmth of Kate's closeness. Struggling against the gale of emotions roiling within him, he did his best to keep the disappointment from showing on his face.

"Yes, thank you guys so much. I think you really scared him!" Kate looked from Max to Kevin and seemed like her old self again. "You're such a gentleman, Kevin. Thanks so much for standing up for me." Kate's body language indicated she was going to move into hug him in thanks but something seemed to change her mind. Damnit!

"We're glad we could help." Kevin offered lamely and Max nodded. I really hope Max didn't pick up on that. If she was able to notice Kate going in for that hug then she certainly caught on to me preparing to receive it... like a total loser. Why do I get this unbalanced whenever Kate is around? And why was that asshole giving her shit? Kate never does anything wrong… Hoping that the rising heat in his face did not mean that he was blushing, he tried to stop thinking about how cute Kate was.

Kate's dirty-blonde hair was always done up in a neat bun. She dressed conservatively, unlike the rest of the female population. An open black cardigan revealed a white, collared dress shirt. A light-gray pencil skirt covered the upper portions of her legs, cutting off just above her knees. Ankle length white socks and a basic kind of white-gray pair of shoes finished off her outfit. He never saw her without the small, almost humble, golden cross hanging from her neck.

"We should all have tea sometime, but I really have to go. I'll see you guys later, and thanks again!" As Kevin watched Kate depart, he knew that if the offer was genuine he wouldn't be able to help himself from saying yes, despite the fact that he didn't even drink tea. Max poked him in the side of his ribs and his thoughts snapped back to the present.

"What?" He asked defensively as Max stared at him teasingly.

"I saw that." As she said this, she turned around and continued towards the main campus on their quest to return Warren's flash drive.

"Saw what?" Responding innocently, he fell in behind Max. Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he glared laser beams into the back of Max's head.

"Oh nothing." She continued to tease. Damnit, she noticed. You're slipping Kevin… get a hold of yourself. It wasn't the end of the world that Max had noticed, but Kevin preferred to keep his emotions to himself. Especially those kinds of emotions. Before he could be teased more he decided to change the subject.

"So, did you get a good shot?" Max slowed her pace until they were walking side by side as she searched her bag.

"You bet, I got a good one. But I also got this…" Confused for a moment, he accepted the photograph offered to him. His face must have revealed more emotion than he had intended to, because she giggled slightly. The picture wasn't of the security guard harassing Kate. He and Kate were the centerpiece. They were angled so that they could both be seen perfectly in the shot, with Kevin slightly in front and to the left while Kate was slightly behind and to the right. His face in the picture was stoic and defiant and, despite the situation, Kate seemed calm and at ease as she stood next to him, his arm wrapped around her protectively. He had to admit it was an excellent shot but sensing further teasing from Max, he attempted to deflect her focus.

"You should enter this into the 'everyday heroes' contest, Max." But try as he might, Max was persistent.

"Why? Is it because you want to be Kate's everyday hero?" An exasperated sigh escaped Kevin's lips while Max giggled happily as her blow struck home despite his attempted parry.

"Max, I'm serious."

Her face sobered as she considered the possibility, and just as Kevin thought he was free and clear her face became mischievous once again.

"So am I. I could rewind time and let you hold her again if you want. You just have to admit that you liked it." Kevin glared at her despite the appealing nature of her jest, but Max only giggled louder. I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?

As they approached the parking lot, Kevin spied Warren off in the distance and quietly maneuvered away from Max by veering right as she proceeded unawares across the parking lot. Warren was leaning against what appeared to be his 'new' car, an older looking blue hatchback of a make and model that Kevin wasn't immediately familiar with. Max was still heading toward Warren who seemed to be stirring as he noticed her approaching.

Turning away, Kevin approached his white Mazda MX-6 that he had reversed into a space in the back-right corner of the parking lot. His father, knowing the trouble that teenage boys are likely to get into, had imparted some wisdom on his son upon leaving his hometown. Always be prepared for a quick exit, and indeed he was. All he had to do was hop into his car, turn the key and turn left and it was a straight shot towards the exit of Blackwell's parking lot. Planning on doing just this, he hastily opened the driver's side door and practically dove inside. Exhaling as he settled in, he rested his head against the back of the hard, semi-comfortable cloth covered seat, lamenting on the situation.

As confident as he may seem to everyone else, he was often plagued by feelings of self-doubt. So far in his short time at Blackwell he had meticulously cultivated an outward appearance that he deemed quite acceptable. Most people respected him and he was never involved in any of the Blackwell bullshit that people like Victoria started, but that all seemed to be changing. He did not like being the center of attention any more than Max did, he just did a far better job at hiding it. To make matters worse, moments ago, he had made an obvious enemy of a security guard, smooth.

In a moment of frustration, he found himself ready to strike his steering wheel with his open palms, but he contained himself and settled for another deep sigh as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. Switching on his CD player Kevin was thankful that he had left his Porcupine Tree album in his vehicle for as long as had. The soothing melodies surrounded him as he closed his eyes. As the music washed over him, he desperately tried to think of anything else other than the madness of the day. He failed miserably.

If I had rewind powers like Max, I would rewind time and just not get involved in this mess. Who cares if she suddenly has the ability to rewind time and crazy things are going down? You should have just suffered through the headaches and not gotten involved. Your life would be so much simpler right now. Annoyed by his own cowardly thoughts, Kevin opened his eyes just as someone walked by his car. Feeling a sense of dread overtake him, he recognized Nathan Prescott's red blazer jacket as he quickly made his way over to where Max and Warren were talking.

Nathan dressed just like Victoria did, expensively. His clothes could very well be worth as much Kevin's aging vehicle. Everything was designer brand, probably even tailor made specifically for him. Kevin watched as Nathan lightly but aggressively pushed Warren away from Max and within moments it seemed that hostilities were rising.

Quickly climbing out of his car, Kevin felt the unpleasant memories of being shot by Nathan seep their way through him. His pace quickened as his rage began to build. Meanwhile across the parking lot, the situation escalated as an angry looking Warren tried to intervene between Nathan and Max, only to receive a quick headbutt right to the face. Kevin broke out into a run as he saw Warren go down and Max grapple with Nathan. Nathan had her by the throat but she managed to break free and they both went down.

Just as Kevin was about to intervene, a dirty brown pickup truck, seemingly out of nowhere, squealed to a halt just in front of him. Reacting solely on instinct, he jumped and managed to maneuver his body so his momentum carried him across the hood. As he slid across, he noticed Nathan on top of Warren. As his momentum slowed, Kevin propelled himself off of the hood of the truck.

Kevin came crashing down on Nathan like a vengeful ballistic missile. Luckily for Warren, when Kevin tackled Nathan, he was torn off of him. Even luckier for Kevin, most of the momentum he carried was transferred into Nathan when the two of them hit the pavement.

Nathan wheezed as the air was forced from his lungs. Nathan struggled feebly but Kevin soon had the upper hand and pinned him to the ground. Preparing to strike, Kevin pulled his right arm back and formed a fist. Nathan's eyes went wide with fear.

"You think you're tough? You piece of shit!" Nathan growled as he struggled fiercely against Kevin's attack. Nathan recovered quickly, but Kevin had him. A fire burned deep within Kevin as he loomed over his opponent, burning so bright it shone through his eyes. Nathan went pale with terror.

"You like hitting girls, you son of a bitch?!" Kevin retorted, but before he could release his fury on Nathan, his raised arm was grabbed from behind and he was forcibly torn off of his foe. Struggling as his opportunity for vengeance was stolen from him, Kevin found himself unable to escape the vice grip he was held in.

"Calm down there, son. Don't do anything you're going to regret." Barely able to control his rage, Kevin forced himself to stop resisting when he realized that he was in the clutches of a Blackwell security guard. Blinking in surprise, he realized that both the brown pickup truck and Max were nowhere to be seen. Warren was just now picking himself up off the ground with the help of another security guard. As their eyes met, Warren nodded in thanks, one of his eyes already swollen. Lastly and certainly least, Nathan was helped to his feet and Kevin felt himself smile venomously as Nathan refused to look him in the eyes. You've put the fear in him, so you have… you didn't even have to hit him, good lad.

As Kevin, Warren, and Nathan were escorted back to the school to what he assumed was the principal's office for a stern talking to, he wondered where Max took off to and if she was alright. He also wondered where the hell that brown pickup truck had come from and who the hell had been driving it.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, images of the girl with blue hair in the driver's seat flashed through his mind. He must have caught a glimpse of her as he dove over her truck, but had been too focused on the task of putting Nathan down to process it. He stopped in his tracks as he remembered, receiving a not so friendly push from behind, a security guard grumbling at him to keep walking.

Who the hell is that girl and why does she keep popping up today?