(Abigail is 8, Phillip is 9)

A Halloween party wasn't something Phillip thought was common. Up until now, whenever Halloween came around, he'd go around the neighborhood with his mother and sister, while his father stayed to pass out candy. When his mother told him to get into his costume, he was prepared to walk out into the neighborhood just like every year, but when the family started to get into the car, he was understandably confused.

They weren't even going to a relative's house. Apparently, his mother told him and his sister that they were going to a party at an old friend of his father's. They reminded him of this, and to pay better attention when things are said at the dinner table. It set in that he wasn't going to know anybody at the party and that this wouldn't be a fun party. It was too late for him to reject the idea. He was already dressed and in the car.

During the trip, his parents were chatting about how nice it was to see him back in the area after he left the state once he graduated college. He did take notice of the streets they passed. Ever since he first traveled, he learned to recognize any street signs or buildings if he was ever outside. It had yet to be bad advice, and at this point, he knows the way to his grandpa's house, his aunt's house, and the local shelter for clothes.

The house wasn't that far from his either. At least by car, anyway. He'd probably be dead tired if he tried walking the whole way, but it took a total of 10 minutes to drive to this house from his. There were already a lot of cars parked outside. The house certainly looked big enough to hold a lot of people, so he wasn't worried about space. Now, all he was worried about was what kind of people would be there.

Finding a place to park, Phillip stepped out in his makeshift cowboy outfit, made out of a blue plaid shirt, a red bandana tied around his neck, his normal blue jeans, a cowboy hat and matching boots, and a gold star pinned on his shirt that read "SHERIFF" in black. Walking in the boots was the hardest part about the costume, since he had to step with his whole foot to avoid tripping. He had some practice in the days before, on the suggestion of his sister. The practice seemed to work on even ground, but once they got on the asphalt of the street, he had trouble keeping upright, prompting his mother to hold his hand and walk with him up to the front door, much to his embarrassment.

A rather tall guy greeted them at the door, dressed like the Frankenstein monster. He was so tall that Phillip nearly had to crane his neck up to see his face. It took Phillip a little by surprise, but the man sported a big smile when he saw Phillip's father.

"Well, there you are, man!" The Frankenstein shouted. "I thought you got lost or something."

"It wasn't that hard to find. Technically, I've been in this area longer than you." Retorted Phillip's father.

"Whatever. You're here, and that's awesome." The man's focus then turned to the family. "This is a nice setup. You've aged well." He said to Phillip's mother.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a compliment. Take it." The man turned to his sister. "Aren't you pretty?" Phillip's sister was dressed like a vampire, complete with make-up and dark purple dress. She only shook his hand with a smile and a nod.

The man finally looked down at Phillip. "And here's the little cowboy himself! Put 'er there, pilgrim!" His hand engulfed Phillip's and he felt like his whole body was being shaken just by this man's hand.

The inside was bustling with people in many different costumes. There didn't seem to be a single person that didn't have a cup, a plate of food or both in their hands. Phillip had to be really careful he didn't bump into anyone. "Mind your manners." His mother reminded him.

His mother stopped holding his hand once they reached a woman with a long white dress, and hair the shape of a black beehive with a white streak through it. She seemed to recognize his mother, given how she threw her arms around her upon seeing her. "So glad you could make it!" She shouted.

"Well, when we say we'll be there, we do our best to mean it. You know that." His mother responded.

"And I'm glad that's still true today."

"Mom!" A voice shouted from behind the woman. Phillip's heart stopped. He thought he was going crazy, hearing that voice. Looking to the side of the woman, he could see a girl dressed up in a very pretty blue dress. Her straight black hair was done up in two pigtails, giving that fairy tale princess look. She didn't see Phillip, she was already looking up at her mother. "We need to get more chips!"

"We do? That was fast!"

"Is this your little girl?" Phillip's mother asked.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I couldn't find her when you came. This is..."

"Phillip?" The woman was interrupted by her daughter, who came up close to Phillip. There was no mistaking those eyes.

"Hi, Abigail." He smiled. She nearly knocked him down when she hugged him. Abigail's words seemed to string together and he could barely understand her, but he figured she was just happy to see him.

Both of their mothers stood agape. "I..guess you already know each other?" Abigail's mother asked.

Phillip's mother just smiled at him, bent down to his level, and asked quietly, "Is this the friend you told me about?" Phillip nodded.

"Mom, it's Phil! I told you about him, remember?" Abigail asked her mother. She came upon the realization, and knocked her forehead lightly with her palm. She apologized, saying that everything's been busy and she forgot. "Can we go hang out in my room? Please?" Abigail finally asked.

"Sure." Her mother answered. "Better to get away from all the noise."

"Thank you!" Abigail took Phillip's hand and nearly dragged him through the house, the party guests suddenly needing to watch their space for these two children barreling through. It was only a short trip to her room, the first door on the left of a hallway right next to the front door. The room was a basic one, outfitted with a large bed, a desk with a mirror, a cabinet with a TV on top, and a sliding closet.

"Isn't it cool? We finally get to see each other!" Abigail was beaming.

"I know. It feels weird to actually meet each other with our clothes on." Phillip's face flushed after he said that, wondering why he didn't think before saying it.

Abigail only laughed. "Right? And look at this!" She lifted the dress slightly so that she could spin around. "Don't I look good? And my hair's up! Mom said that since we'd be inside the house, she doesn't have to worry about these getting lost if I travel!"

"That's good. You look so happy."

"Why not? I get to dress all pretty, and you showed up! And I know it's not because you traveled here!"

"Yup." Phillip smiled. "I bet I look stupid."

"I think you look nice. You look ready to save people from bandits."

"Thanks. I'm...glad I came here." Phillip shifted nervously. "Can I...sit on the bed? These boots are hurting my feet." Abigail responded with a nod, allowing Phillip to sit down on the bed and take off his boots, with some added effort by Abigail.

"So...do your parents know about what you can do?" Abigail asked once they were both sitting down.

"Well, I didn't tell them after that first time. I wasn't going to tell them because I wasn't sure how I was going to explain it. But then..."

"Did something happen?"

Back in the living room, Phillip's and Abigail's mothers were busy discussing the conditions of their children.

"Phillip was always the shy sort, but he seemed different after he told me he made a friend. He was very vague about it, too." Phillip's mother said.

"Well, it's always hard to tell your parents when something strange like that's happened. At least you had the courtesy of him knowing what happened."

"Yeah. And he was so upset when the rest of us found out about it. He thought I was going to ground him or something!"

"Oh? He didn't tell you? How'd you find out?" Abigail's mother was ready to hear an interesting story.

"Well...a few months ago, we went to the movies. Nice family thing to do, and Phillip gets scared easily, but he seems to know the difference between what's on a screen and what's in front of you."

"I think I already know where this is going..."

"We went to see...oh, I forget what it was, but it was a superhero movie. And there came a part where there was a flash of something. It was one of those stupid 'jump scares' directors like to put in for a cheap reaction. We were all taken by surprise, and I was sitting right next to Phillip, so I checked to see if he was okay, and..."

"All you found were his clothes?"

Phillip's mother nodded. "Mm-hmm. You wouldn't believe how scared I was. We almost had the movie stopped so we could look for him. Thomas had a flashlight on his phone, so he was busy searching the aisles for him."

Phillip was telling the same story in Abigail's room. "I think I traveled to the park nearby my grandpa's house. It was really early too, because it was really cold."

"Oh no..." Abigail reacted.

"That park doesn't have any bushes either, so I had to hide behind the trees. Bad thing about that is that the park's surrounded by houses. Anyone could have come out to get the paper and see me naked. I thought I'd die of embarrassment."

"What happened next?"

"I wasn't done suffering yet. Just as I thought I heard someone, I traveled back. I opened my eyes, and I was in the bathroom of the movie theater."

"Well, that's not a bad place to..."

"The girl's bathroom."

"Oh..." That was Abigail's only reaction until she thought about it. "Wait. Why's that bad? You couldn't help it."

"Tell that to all the women in there screaming. I bolted out of there, hoping I could make it back to where everyone else was. But one of the theater people caught me."

"A whole ten minutes passed, and we hear our last name being called over the PA system, telling us to 'please pick up your son' and 'bring him some clothes.'" Phillip's mother concluded. "Apparently, the theater had dealt with something like this before. They were very cooperative, which was a blessing. Now we know to bring him sunglasses and to not be so close to the screen next time."

"I missed most of the movie because of that." Phillip looked down. "The worst part about it was how my Mom was. I couldn't tell if she was angry or scared. I think she was both; she was screaming, hugging me and crying. I had to tell her what happened after that."

"Did she believe you?" Abigail asked.

"She did. After seeing all that, she kind of had to. I don't know if I'll ever get to go to the movies again, but knowing that I can accidentally travel, I don't mind not going."

"At least you knew what was going on when your parents found out." Abigail said solemnly.

"What do you mean by that?"

In the kitchen, Phillip's father Thomas and Abigail's father were also talking about their kids. "You think it's bad having a son who's got CD? Try having a daughter." Abigail's father Arthur told Thomas.

"I can only imagine. How did you find out?"

After a few seconds, Arthur sighed. "In nearly the worst possible fashion."

"When I was five, we went to the water park. It was my first time there." Abigail started. "I was so happy because I saw the commercials and bugged Mom and Dad a lot until they decided to go."

"It was really a fun trip." Arthur continued. "Jenny just lounged near the big pool, while I spent time with Abby, holding her hands and teaching her how to keep her legs kicking to stay afloat." He took a sip of his drink. "After a while, we decided to have a bit of fun by having me jump off the diving board while holding her."

"That's when it happened, didn't it?"

"Yeah. God, I was scared." Arthur sighed. "I mean, can you imagine it? One second, you're holding your daughter as you splash down into the water. The next, you're coming up just holding her little swimsuit."

"I don't remember what happened after I hit the water." Abigail recounted. "I think the water went up my nose, and my eyes were open. I just know that I felt like I couldn't breathe. Suddenly, I wasn't in the water anymore. Dad wasn't holding me either. I was just coughing and I was so scared." She looked like she was about to cry.

"Where did you go?" Phillip asked.

"I don't know." Abigail looked up at the ceiling. "I do remember someone coming and throwing their jacket on me. I didn't get a good look at who it was, though. My eyes were still all blurry. Wherever I was, I wasn't there for very long. Suddenly, I was underwater again. I thought I was going to die."

"I searched in and around the pool for what felt like forever." Arthur took another sip. "Finally, Abby floated up to the surface. I picked her up just to make sure she was still breathing. I didn't care how she disappeared. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She swallowed a bit of water and she was crying hysterically, but she was still alive. That's all I cared about."

"I told Dad about where I went after we hit the water." Abigail was scooting her way closer to Phillip on the bed. "He said I probably imagined it. I believed him because I didn't know better."

"So how did you know you could time travel?"

"Older me came and told me." Abigail answered.

"It was about a month after the pool incident." Arthur was a little calmer now. "We were just relaxing at home. It was about lunchtime, and then we hear a knock at the door. But it was coming from the door to the backyard."

"That's definitely weird." Thomas chuckled. He hoped laughing would get his old friend to perk up after telling the last story.

"So I carefully come and open the door, but no one was there. Suddenly, there's this voice coming from behind the bushes in Jenny's flower garden. It was this young woman trying to cover herself because she didn't have any clothes on. Obviously, she wasn't trying to rob us. A burglar wouldn't knock on the door or try to do it in broad daylight, for one thing."

"That was Abigail? From the future?"

"She called me Dad, and her face looked a lot like Abby's. After getting her something to wear and letting her into the house, she asked me where my daughter was."

"Dad called me into the living room." Abigail continued. "I could hear talking, and there was this voice of someone I didn't know. I saw an older girl in the living room, wearing my mom's jacket and sweatpants. She saw me and smiled. She said she was me, at seventeen years old."

"So that was the first time you saw older you." Phillip commented. "Did you believe her?"

"She told me about my birthmark, and about something only I knew."

"What was that?"

"What happened to me when I hit the water."

"We would've called it crazy if it was anybody else who told us this." Arthur's pace was going back to normal. "But when she was describing to our Abby about what happened at the pool, the look on Abby's face told us she wasn't lying. She explained everything she knew after that. It wasn't much, but we didn't have any information on what happened to her. We thought she was having some kind of out-of-body experience when she nearly drowned. Everything she said made sense, and what little Abby told us proved it."

"After telling us what I had, she told me two important things." Abigail held up two fingers as she spoke.

"What were they?" Phillip asked.

"The first thing she told me was that I wasn't the only one who could time travel. She hugged me like this." Abigail wrapped her arms around Phillip's shoulders. "Then she said 'Everything's gonna be okay.' After that, she disappeared."

"Wow."

"I tried practicing, to see if I could control it. When I thought really hard about a place, I would be there. Not in the place I wanted, but usually really close. Then I tried to see if I could travel and keep my clothes."

"How did you try that?" Phillip had to chuckle a little at that idea.

"When I felt myself about to travel, I'd hold onto all the clothes I could with my hands and focus on keeping them on me. It never worked, so I stopped trying. Older me said it was important to just cover myself in any way I could. Mom and Dad also told the rest of my family, so if I wound up near any of their houses, I could just walk in and stay there until I traveled back. Remember how my aunt's house was open?"

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. I should tell my folks that."

Abigail started to lean on Phillip's shoulder. "You know, after we first met, I know future me was talking about you."

"Really?" She was so close, Phillip wasn't sure what to do, so he simply stood still.

"Duh! You're the only other time traveler I know, Phillip! Have you seen any others? Oh, have you met your older self?"

"Not yet." Phillip sighed. "I tried practicing, myself. Everything from when we first met each other, I kept it in my mind as best I could. I was trying to see you again."

"You were?" Abigail sounded excited.

"Yeah, but every time I tried, I came too late. There was one time I saw you, though."

"When?"

"It was last year when I traveled, and you didn't look much older than the first time. That's how I knew it was you. I tried to call out to you, but you disappeared. Other times, I'd end up in someone's room, and I'd find a girl's clothes on the floor or on the bed. I knew it was your room because you always kept a picture of you and your family somewhere."

"That was older me's idea. Keeping a picture of your family tells you where you are and when."

"I should try that too. Better idea than trying to stay as long as you can somewhere. Whenever I found myself in your room, I'd try to keep myself from traveling back just so I could see you."

"It's hard to control it, isn't it?" Abigail asked. "Whenever I was upset at school, I'd just find some corner to cry in. In the middle of it, I'd feel myself starting to travel. I'd try to calm down, but it just made things worse."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I traveled, I was feeling sad because I was being bullied." Phillip scratched the back of his head. "Remembering everything that happened that day helped cheer me up a lot. I just feel bad that I haven't talked to you since then, even though I tried."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I haven't seen you."

"What?"

"I had my birthday a couple months ago. We were at the park because a lot of my family wanted to come, and we couldn't fit everyone in the house. I was with some of my cousins playing on the jungle gym, when I saw someone on the bench. The way he looked reminded me a lot of you. He was also dressed funny. Older me said that time travelers dress weird because we gotta wear whatever we find."

"So you saw older me? How'd I look?" Phillip was very interested to hear.

"Your hair was still a mess." Abigail reached up and knocked off Phillip's cowboy hat. "But he smiled when he saw that I noticed him."

"Did he tell you anything?"

"When I said it was my birthday, he wished me happy birthday and said he was sorry that he didn't have a present. But he was there. That was enough for me."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm." Abigail nodded. "After that, he kissed me on the forehead and said he had to go back to where he borrowed the clothes from. He left saying 'See you soon.' I think he knew."

"Well, if it's me from the future, then he probably would already know I'd see you today." Phillip ran that sentence in his head a second time to make sure he had it right.

"I thought he was just saying that he'd travel to me again. So I'm really happy that this is what he meant."

"Me too."

"Phillip..." Abigail's tone turned serious again after a few moments of silent and awkward fidgeting. "What did you think...of what happened before you traveled back the first time?"

"What do you mean?" She was being awfully vague, so Phillip didn't quite know what she was talking about.

"You know...when I kissed you."

"Oh!" Phillip's face was burning. "That. I...wasn't expecting it."

"You weren't?"

"No. I've never been kissed like that before. Except by my Mom, but everyone's mom does that."

"Well, my Mom says you kiss people you like. 'Find a boy you like, and give him a kiss. They understand that.' That's what she told me."

"So...does that mean you...like me? Like, 'like me' like me."

"Why do you sound so surprised, Phillip?" Abigail stepped off the bed and stood up. "You can do what I do. You know what it's like! Why wouldn't I like that?"

"Sorry." Phillip felt he offended her. "I've just...never thought a girl would like me like that." He slid off the bed and stood up as well. "I thought it was too good to be true because I thought we lived too far from each other. But now, you're here...for real...and I...don't know what to do."

"Maybe we just need to try something. You don't know if you don't try, right?"

"Maybe..." Phillip thought for a minute, and then he had an idea. "Can I...get another kiss?"

Abigail smiled. "Sure. Let's do this right."

Phillip and Abigail stepped close to each other. Once they were as close as they could be, Phillip noticed that Abigail was a little shorter. She was likely an inch shorter, at most. Abigail looked up at him, closed her eyes and pursed her lips as her face drew closer. Phillip decided to do the same; that's how it looks in the movies. His heart beat so quickly, he felt like he could fly, and he was sure she felt the same way. The seconds of tension felt like hours, but finally he felt the sensation of her lips on his. They held that position as long as they possibly could.

"Look at the time!" Abigail's mother Jenny looked at the clock on top of the TV in the living room. "It's just about time for the kids to go trick-or-treating."

"I'll go get your daughter and Phillip." Phillip's mother volunteered. "It was the first room on the left, right?"

She moved her way carefully through the people between the living room and Abigail's room. She reached the first door, noticeably closed, in the hallway. She couldn't hear if the kids were having a conversation over all the noise behind her.

"Phil?" She knocked on the door. "It's time to go get candy!" No answer. "Phillip?" Once again, nothing, so she thought to check if the door was locked. Thankfully, it was unlocked, so she simply turned the knob and opened the door. The room was empty. In front of the bed in the middle of the room, lay a discarded cowboy's costume on the left, and an empty blue dress on the right. She had a short gasp at the sight, but then caught herself and calmed down.

"Heather? Did you get them?" Jenny called from nearby. She was making her way towards Abigail's room when she noticed that Phillip's mother was taking her time retrieving the children. She came to the doorway and saw the clothes on the floor. "Oh, dear." She uttered.

"You think they're okay?" Heather asked.

"I think they're fine." Jenny answered. "We've seen her as a teenager, so she's not in any danger right now."

"As a teenager? We haven't seen an older Phillip yet..."

"Oh, then do I have a story for you to hear...let's get the rest of the kids ready first."

A cold wind was the first indicator that Phillip wasn't in the house anymore. He immediately opened his eyes and saw nothing but water in front of him. Seeing waves form and crash in front of him, he looked behind him, feeling wet sand on his feet. There were people on towels under umbrellas. A couple of toddlers ran around him, only looking for a second before getting grabbed by their mothers. A few of the beach's patrons stared, noticing the naked boy they swore wasn't there a second ago.

Phillip felt a different kind of embarrassment. "AWW, MAN!" He screamed and stamped his foot. He was afraid this would happen: that he would get so excited over kissing a girl who liked him that he would time travel. He felt like he wanted to cry, but something that blinded him from the side distracted him. A towel with a colorful design on it filled his vision, as it had been thrown on his head.

"Scream louder. I don't think the people who live on the shoreline heard you." Phillip heard the voice of an older man. Not quite as old as his father, but somewhere in between. Taking the towel and wrapping it around himself, he looked at the source of the voice. Standing above him was a man who he swore looked like his father, but his father always had very short hair.

"Who are you?" Phillip could only ask.

"I guess it's a little weird, since this is the first time you've seen me." The older man scratched his nose. "But I'm not your dad, if that's what you were thinking, and I know you were."

The revelation made Phillip's eyes widen. "Then you're...me?"

"You got it!" A big smile came across older Phillip's face. "Come on! Stay out here too long, you're gonna get sunburned." He took the younger Phillip's shoulder and led him to a nearby vacant set of towels laid across the sand. Surrounding them were fold-up chairs and a couple of large umbrellas stuck in the sand.

"Who came with you?" Young Phillip asked.

"Mom, Dad, Arthur, Jenny, and Abby. We wanted to come here as an early birthday present to her."

"Abigail's here?"

"The one from this time." Older Phillip specified. "Little Abby's not here. She went somewhere else after you kissed her."

"How did you know?"

"I'm you, remember?" Older Phillip chuckled.

"Right. I should get used to that, shouldn't I?" Young Phillip laughed nervously. He looked carefully at his older self. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen. Abby's gonna be sixteen at the end of the month." They both sat down on one of the towels. "Anything you want to ask me? Just small things. I don't want to give you too much information."

"Does Abigail...really like me?" He finally asked after a minute of deliberation.

"Uh...yeah. I know it seems weird to you, but I'm gonna tell you something important: She's lonelier than you think she is."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't ask too much about it right now. Just...stay with her. Stay with her, and never let her go."

"But...what do I do? I don't know the first thing about being her boyfriend."

"That's how we call it, huh? I forgot I said the word 'boyfriend.'" Older Phillip shook his head and laughed a little.

"Well...she 'likes me' likes me. Isn't that how it goes?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it does. But there's no real secret or magic behind it. At least with us. If she wants something, she'll tell you. Boys like us aren't going to get a message if it's in some sort of code. She knows that, so if she asks for something from you, even if it's something small like just hugging her or holding her hand when walking, you better do it."

"That's it?"

"Well...she got to like us right from the get-go, and we didn't really do anything we wouldn't do normally. We were even naked to boot."

"That's true." Young Phillip remembered how helpful and kind she was that first time.

"So don't worry about it." Older Phillip rubbed the young one's hair. "If a problem comes along, you have to be willing to work through it together. Things will be okay, but only if you believe you can make it okay."

"You really think so?"

"Hey, I'm you. I know so. You're gonna do just fine." He hugged the young Phillip. "Now, I think everyone's coming with food, and we need space for all of us, so I need to take this back." He grabbed the bottom of the young Phillip's towel and tugged so hard, it pulled the towel off of him and knocked him on his back.

"Hey!" Phillip shouted, but as he fell on his back, he suddenly noticed he was looking up at a ceiling. He was back at Abigail's house. The ceiling light was off, but a lamp on the side of her bed was on, giving a fainter light to the room.

"Is that you, Phillip?" He heard Abigail's voice. Standing up, he found Abigail slipping on a long pajama shirt, but her head was stuck. Looking closer, Phillip found that a button on the collar was still closed. He quickly came over and fixed it, allowing Abigail to bring her head and hair out. "I always forget about that button."

"What time is it?" Phillip wondered aloud.

"It's 10:30. Everyone's left already."

"We missed trick-or-treating?" Phillip nearly shouted.

"Not totally." Abigail pointed to her desk, which had two medium-sized buckets filled with candy.

"Is my family still here?"

"It's quiet. I think they left too. See?" She motioned to the bed, on which was a very large blue T-shirt, most likely her father's, and a note on top of it.

Phillip took the note. It read:

Phillip. We're not sure when you'll be back, so we've gone home. Abigail's parents have agreed to let you spend the night when you come back. Don't eat any of the candy if it's late, and we'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Love, Mom and Dad.

"The shirt's probably for sleeping in." Phillip commented. He fished his underwear out of his costume and put them and the T-shirt on.

Abigail jumped onto her bed. "You can stay with me if you want."

Phillip was about to refuse, but he remembered his older self's words. Instead, he said, "Sure." The smile on Abigail's face told him he chose wisely.

Her bed was incredibly comfortable. Once Abigail and Phillip were both settled into bed, she looked at his eyes and whispered, "This day was awesome. Thanks for staying."

Phillip only nodded. "Of course. We're a couple now. Isn't that something couples do? Stay with each other?"

"I'm sure it is."

Phillip then remembered something. "Hey."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Where did you go after we kissed?"

Abigail sheepishly grinned, kissed him on the lips again, and said, "You have a very nice room."