Once again, I delay massively. I'm so sorry, folks. Been very busy with other things in life, along with your standard writer's block. But I'm happy this story's still getting followers, and I hope I don't disappoint you all. Little note about this chapter, if it seems confusing to you, I took out the last part of this story's first chapter because I wound up disliking it. I'm very fickle, I know, and I apologize. With that, enjoy!

The day he had waited for was upon him. "I love you, Judith! Please, be my girlfriend!"

"Of course, William!" She responded with a smile. "Kiss and hug me, won't you?"

A request he couldn't refuse, he closed his eyes slowly, taking in every second their lips touched and the shape of her body in his arms. She drew back, and as he opened his eyes, he found not the love of his life, but a little girl wearing Judith's clothes.

"I love you too, William! Let's be together forever!"

"Aaaaahh!" William sprang up in bed with a start. That scene was just a dream. He took a moment to catch his breath, but it didn't help the knowledge that what happened in the dream was very possible.

"William?" His mother could be heard from behind his door. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just...stubbed my toe." He quickly made up on the spot.

"Please be careful. I don't care what you do with the door closed, but keep it quiet." She always was one for inappropriate jokes ever since he hit puberty. "There's someone at the door for you. Hurry up and get dressed."

"There is?" William bounded out of his bed and into some decent looking clothes. "Who is it?" He asked his mother. The only other person who came to the house for William was Tobias, so someone other than him coming over for William was noteworthy.

"Don't know." His mother shrugged. "This girl just came to the door and asked for you by name. Is she a study partner, or did we get ourselves a girlfriend and just not tell me?" She said with a smirk. "Because, let me say, she is quite the looker!"

"Stop that!" William exclaimed. "It's probably someone from class that asked Toby for my address. Gotta ask him to stop giving my address to random people. 'But what if I wanna set you up on a blind date?'" He mocked Tobias' voice. "Asshole."

"Well, don't keep her waiting." His mother pat his back. William started towards the front door. "Let me know if you two want some snacks or something to drink. You're bad at breaking the ice!"

"That's not funny!" He shouted. The wooden door kept him from seeing whoever was waiting for him, but it had a small peephole to look out of. A hole that William ignored completely as he swung the door wide open, forgetting not to look desperate if what his mom said was true. He had eyes for Judith, but it never hurt to look good. Keeps bad rumors from spreading that way.

Just as he thought, but hoped it wasn't, it was Judith. Dressed in the same kind of casual wear she came to school in, she stood at his porch looking...a little nervous? It was hard to tell, but she was indeed looking like she had come on a dare from her friend or had otherwise forced herself to come.

"Judith!" He greeted her, trying his best to sound like he wasn't about to wet his pants. "Nice to see you."

"Thank you," Judith answered. "May I come in?"

"Of course," William led her into the house. "How'd you know this was my house?"

"Oh, uh..." Judith looked like she was trying to remember something. "Toby gave me your address."

That's weird, William thought. Do they know each other on the side? He shook off the questions in his head, and asked a more important one. "So, uh...what did you come here for?"

"I was...hoping to talk to you," she answered nervously. "Apologize for running off on you yesterday."

"Oh, that," William scratched his head. "Well, I wasn't offended but that, if that's what you were thinking. I just thought I made a bad impression..."

"No!" She looked a little upset. "I did have a good reason, but..."

"Welcome, deary!" William's mother suddenly came into the entrance, shocking the both of them. "Did you need something? Food? Something to drink?"

"No, I actually ate before I got here," Judith answered. "Thank you very much for the offer."

"Well, you just let me know if you need anything," Will's mom said patting Judith on the shoulder. "I want to make sure you have a good time to make up for anything my son does."

"Mom!" William shouted.

"Just joking. I'll be in the living room." With that, his mother walked back through the hall deeper into the house.

"Sorry. My mom's always been like that," William explained. "So...about that talk?"

"Yeah, um...would you mind if we talked somewhere private?" Judith asked.

"Sure!" William sounded very eager, which he realized and chided himself internally. "Would my room be okay?"

"That would be fine."

After cleaning his room enough to make it look presentable, William let Judith in and offered her to sit on his bed. He was sure of what she wanted to talk about, but he decided to keep that to himself, just in case what she wanted to talk about was something completely different. Sitting down on his bed next to each other, there was a very odd and almost tangible silence between the two. William didn't wish to rush her, as he could tell she was trying to gather her words. Finally, Judith spoke.

"I...owe you an explanation for yesterday."

"Listen, if it was because you wanted to say no, I'm..." William started to say, but was immediately cut off.

"No!" Again, Judith was very quick to respond to the idea that she was rejecting him. "That's not it! I mean...you had to have seen it, right? I know you're trying to act like you didn't, but you were running after me, so you had to notice that I...suddenly vanished."

There it was. He knew better than to try and confront her over the event the next time they had school, so he was happy that she came to him instead. He also knew better than to keep up the ignorant act, especially when she brought it up so quickly. She definitely wanted to clear the air, and pretending like he didn't know anything wasn't going to help him.

"Yeah, it was...hard not to notice a girl's clothes laying on the floor," he said. "I couldn't leave them there either."

"I know. Thank you for putting them somewhere safe, by the way," she said, smiling. "I really appreciate it."

"It's what any decent person would do!" He cleared his throat. "But...so long as we're in the mood for telling the truth..."

"Wait. You know about it, already?" She leaned in close to him, causing him to blush slightly.

"Kind of. Last night, I had a strange visitor."

"How strange?" She asked, honestly wanting to know.

"Strange as a little girl with no clothes on," William answered. "She had to be seven or eight, at least. I was just happy no one else came into my room, or I'd be bombarded with questions."

Judith's face flushed instantly. She held her face in her hands in utter embarrassment. "Oh...so...you do know."

"Yeah, although she wasn't very informed about the whole thing. Called it a magic trick, but I know it's gotta be more complicated than that." William turned to her. "It is, right? I'm not about to get hit with the revelation that magic exists in this world, am I?"

"It is...and it isn't," Judith simply answered.

"So what is it, exactly?"

Judith took a breath before she started to explain. "It's a condition called chrono displacement disorder. It's got something to do with the brain, and no one really understands the science behind it. There have only been a few cases that have been recorded."

"Chrono displacement," William repeated. "So, you just...lose yourself in time?"

"It's not as simple as that," she said. "I don't end up going to ancient Greece or anything like that, if that's what you were thinking. In fact, I can't control where I go."

"So...judging by the fact that I found the younger you, this isn't something that you've recently discovered, is it?"

"No," Judith answered. "I've known about this since I was four. That's about the earliest time I can remember actually traveling."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, after my parents found out about it, my mother said it explained a lot," Judith recounted. "According to her, there would be periods of time when she wouldn't hear a peep out of me, so she just assumed I was asleep in my crib. Those were the times I was traveling. She'd find me walking around the house naked moments later and thought I'd found a way to undress myself."

"So what told them that wasn't the case?"

Judith looked off into the distance, like she was recalling a story that was told many times. "It was my fourth birthday. My family gathered at a park to celebrate it, and all my aunts, uncles and cousins were there, too."

"Uh oh," William interjected. "This sounds like an embarrassing story."

"Sort of..." Judith continued. "There were presents and nice hats and nice food. At the end, they brought out a big birthday cake. I'd never seen one that big. I was so happy. But, when I went to blow out the candles..."

"That's when it happened, right?" He asked. Judith nodded. "Where did you end up going?"

"I found myself in a hallway," Judith explained. "It was night, so only a couple of lights were on. The only open door led into a room with a bunch of baby things, with a crib near the window. The moonlight was coming through the window, so I could look into the crib."

"Yeah, and what did you see?" William knew this was leading to something, so he clung on to every word.

"Nothing," she simply answered. "Nothing but a baby's pajamas laying empty inside. I wondered where the baby could have gone, when I traveled back to the park. I found myself looking at my family in grief and confusion."

"I'll bet," William commented. "Their daughter suddenly disappears in the middle of the party? It'd be one thing if she just walked off, but to physically vanish? I'd be a wreck, too!"

"It wasn't just that," Judith continued. "While that little venture had to have been...15 minutes at the most, to my folks, I was gone for two hours!"

"Two hours?! Seriously?!"

"Yes," Judith confirmed. "I remember my mother holding my dress tightly to her and sobbing. When they finally noticed me, they asked so many questions. Questions I had no answer to."

"That's...gotta suck," William could only say. "Have you been to a doctor or anything?"

"The day after, I was taken straight to a doctor. After he couldn't find anything, they called in a specialist who had been researching this for a long time. She's been the one who told me about my condition."

"Has anything been figured out about this thing?" William asked.

"Only that it has something to do with the brain," she explained. "The science is beyond me. All I know is that if I exert myself physically too much, or get overemotional, I'm prone to travel. That's how she explained it to me when I was little."

"Yeah, the little you did mention that it only happens when you're really happy or sad or angry."

"So far, the only things the doctor can do is take notes on my brain activity and I'm supposed to report to her about my traveling. From that, she's been able to figure out one thing."

"What's that?" He inquired.

"My travels are connected to memories," she answered. "Both ones I've made, and ones I have yet to make."

"Ones you have yet to make?" That part interested him.

"That's how I knew where you lived," she responded. "I had to say that just in case someone was listening or in case you didn't find my clothes yesterday. Basically, if I've been there when I'm not traveling, I will go there eventually when I do travel."

"Interesting. Better hope you don't go up north or anything. I'd hate to think what that's like, suddenly landing in the snow with no clothes on," William commented nervously.

"Yes, my parents made that decision once that part was figured out. I should hope that you and your family don't either."

"Why's that?" He asked.

"My travels have less to do with places and more to do with people close to me. Even if I've never been somewhere, if you're there, I'm likely to travel to you."

"Well, that makes sense, I..." William paused. "Wait, you said I'm one of the people close to you?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Judith giggled.

"You're gonna have to help me..."

Judith leaned close to him. "That night I first met you left a big impact on me. You were the first person who wasn't family to treat me well on my travels."

"Really?"

Judith looked down and fiddled with her hands. "Until then, I've had to hide myself because I knew not everyone was nice. Mom warned me that there would be people who'd want to take me away if they saw me, so I learned how to be sneaky. How to hide."

"Wow. I didn't think about it, but that sounds really rough," William donned a sullen look.

"But, after that first time, I felt better knowing there were kind people out there."

"Hold on." William had to interrupt. "First time?"

"Oh," Judith looked surprised. "I should probably mention it now. You're gonna be running into me a lot."

"So I'm gonna have a little girl just randomly show up out of the blue that I need to take care of?" He exclaimed.

"Yes, but you're gonna do fine," she smiled. "I know you will. I'm not just saying that for your confidence. I was there, and I know you'll be kind to me. It's the reason I fell in love with you."

William's eyes opened wide. "Really?"

"That time during freshman year when you saw me, my memories of how you cared for me just came flooding back, and I almost traveled from the emotions alone. But..." she looked particularly embarrassed. "When you treated me like we had never met, it was all I could do to remind myself that you hadn't run into me yet."

"Oh...I'm so sorry," William felt the need to apologize.

"It's not your fault," she immediately responded. "You didn't know. So I had to wait until that time. And then...you confessed to me. The whole time, I was waiting for the day when I could tell you that I was the girl you were constantly running into, to think you had fallen for me on your own..."

"Heh," William chuckled. "Funny how things work out that way, huh?"

"I was so happy. That's why I ran off. I felt that same pull I always do when I'm about to disappear. I didn't want to scare you and risk undoing all those years I lived knowing you..." Judith gripped her shirt near her heart.

"I can imagine that the idea scared you a lot," he said, Judith answering with a nod. "Well, lucky for you, I'm the kind who's cautiously curious at the bizarre rather than just outright scared."

"I know that," she replied. "I just wasn't sure if that was because of our first meeting or because you were like that from the beginning. Time travel has a way of messing up your perception like that."

"Well, now you for sure, right?"

"Yes, I do," Judith smiled. "So..."

"So..." It was clear there was something on both of their minds. Quite a bit of information had just been released.

"Knowing all this now...would you be willing to stay with me?" Judith started. "If it seems like too much..."

"Stop."

"Huh?"

William knelt in front of her and faced Judith with not a single hint of apprehension. "If you already know that I take care of you when you travel to me from the past, then that already cements it, doesn't it?"

"That doesn't mean a whole lot," Judith responded. "You could've done that because you felt bad for the younger me."

"Then if it's an answer you want...then I would be happy to be your boyfriend." Judith's eyes light up, and William knew he responded well. She jumped into his arms, knocking him down on his back. As soon as he recovered, he tried to hug her, only to find her clothes splayed across him.

"Uh oh..."

Thanks for staying with me through this long hiatus. Remember to leave any questions or comments in the review section.

Also, small announcement: As I've been continously updating the story, I find myself in a rut with Phillip and Abigail's story. I feel like I've had them meet up in their own time a little too soon. Thankfully, this only means that I'd have to change the 2nd chapter entirely rather than a complete overhaul. But, since I wanted to, I'll be editing the first chapter of their story yet again. Stay tuned for the updated version of their second chapter and for the next chapter of whatever story I decide to update. If anyone would like to request which story they'd like to see updated, or any suggestions for a new story, I'm all ears!