I had to divide this chapter into two because it was just way too long so chapter 12 will be up quite soon

R AND R GUYS !

Alex

All we did was stare at each other for like five minutes. I was vaguely aware of Max behind me but I never looked away from Mason's dark eyes. I couldn't. I wanted to run and throw my arms around him but I held back, though it was killing me.

Finally he spoke. "You shouldn't be here Alex."

His voice was brutal, rough. He wasn't the softly spoken teenager he'd been back in my time. He looked older, damaged, haunted. He was a ghost of what he'd been, what we should have been.

"I came to find you."

He let out a pained breath through his gritted teeth. A sound like a branch snapping made his head perk up and go on red alert straight away. "We have to go, it's not safe."

With deft speed, he grabbed me under my arm and led Max and I out on to the main road, where darkness had tainted the sky.

He finally let me go, shoving me forward almost along with Max. "There's a house down the road with a key under the mat. Stay there and I'll come back for you."

"Mason, wait!"

But he was already gone.

There was no one inside, not that I was expecting anyone to be anyway. There was a dying fire burning in the corner and it was the only light in the place. I gratefully plonked myself down on the carpet near it, rubbing my hands to garner some kind of warmth. Max pulled back the curtains, peering out the windows. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know," I answered, inching closer to the fire. "He said to wait, so we wait."

Max sighed and sat down next to me, leaning back against the recliner in the corner. "Next time, we listen to me. I won't get us almost killed."

"Agreed," I said with a small smile, attempting to fix his messy hair. He shrugged away and clamped my wrist in his vice-like grip.

"Don't touch the hair," he said seriously.

I giggled and leaned against him, finding him to be the perfect cushion. The events of the night caught up with me and soon my eyes were closed and I was sound asleep.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up, was that there was a blanket draped over Max and I, and a pillow behind my head, none of which had been there when I'd fallen asleep.

Careful not to wake a gently snoring Max, I removed the blanket off my legs and stood up, stretching the sleep out of my muscles.

"Morning."

I turned startled, to see Mason over a hot stove, flipping eggs. "Um, morning."

"Are you hungry?"

"Uh, sure." The whole scene was incredibly weird. We hadn't seen each other in who knows how long and considered what had happened last night, he was acting quite normal.

He set the plate down in front of me without meeting my eyes and I shovelled the hot eggs down to appease my rumbling stomach. In a matter of minutes, my plate had been licked clean. He turned around from the sink and saw the plate, and stared incredulously up at me.

"What?" I said defensively. "You know I like my eggs."

He smiled wistfully. "I know."

He went about scrubbing the greasy pots and pans and I watched him with great fascination.

"Are you ever going to tell me what you're doing here or are you just going to watch me clean?"

My jaw dropped. His back was to me and he hadn't even turned around. "How did you know I was watching you?"

"I know you," he said quietly and I imagined a hint of a smile on his face as he said it.

"Okay, what I'm about to say will probably shock you but I need to tell you. I'm not really Alex, well I am, but I'm Alex from ten years ago with no recollections of what's been happening."

The pan in his hands clattered to the floor, the soap suds inside it cascading over the tiles. I got up from my stool to pick it up but he beat me to it, returning it to the sink before I could even get there.

"You're seventeen year old Alex," he said, blinking.

"Yes. Justin, Max and I fell into a portal and ended up here in our future bodies except we don't know what's going on. I know that obviously we're not together anymore and that something happened at the competition ten years ago that made us all lose our powers but no one will tell me what it was and you're my last hope."

His face was oddly blank. "That's a lot of information to get in thirty seconds."

I touched his arm and he flinched. Ignoring how much that made my heart ache, I looked into his eyes. "I know but you have to help me."

"You're asking a lot Alex."

"I know but I'm desperate."

He contemplated this but it was so hard to see what he was thinking, his face giving nothing away. Finally he nodded. "Alright, grab your jacket."

I grabbed the jacket I'd discarded last night when it had gotten too hot by the fire and slipped it on. I was following him out the door when I realised Max was still fast asleep on the floor.

"Wait, Max, we can't leave him."

"I'll write a note," Mason offered, pulling a pen and some paper from the top drawer.

He scribbled down some quick words and soon we were outside, getting hit by the morning breeze. It was so quiet, nothing like New York. I could hear Mason breathing; hear my heart beating in my ears.

We walked the streets and I waited for him to start explaining everything. But we kept on going and he never said anything. His house was on the outskirts and when we reached town, there were few people setting up shop, getting ready for the day ahead.

"Fine morning, isn't it Mason?"

"It is Mrs Carmer."

"Will you come by tomorrow Mr Greyback? I've got some odd jobs for you."

"Will do Mr Terrell."

It continued that way down the street. Mason seemed to know everyone or they seemed to know him. I was about to ask what we were doing when he led me into what looked like a giant shed.

"You're not working today, are you Mase?"

Mason bowed his head at the bearded, round bellied man with a giant grin on his face. "No, just showing my friend around."

The man spotted me. "And what a pretty friend she is Mason. I'm his boss."

I shook his hand before shooting Mason an impatient look. He ignored me and moved around the stacks of wood piled up all over the place. "Business slow today?"

The man sadly nodded. "Afraid so. But it'll get better soon."

I figured I'd better jump in soon otherwise I'd be here all day with no answers. "It's been nice meeting you but I really have to go."

I raced out rather rudely, my patience run thin, and started walking with no idea where I was going. Sure enough, Mason came out soon after me. "Where are you going? I thought you wanted to know."

"I do!" I yelled, my voice echoing in the empty air. "But I'm not really interested in the whole show and tell thing. Obviously we haven't spoken in ages and we're not together anymore yet you're acting like everything's fine. Everything is not fine, because if everything was fine, one of me or my brothers would still have our powers and we would still be together!"

I took a couple of deep breaths which was sorely needed after my huge rant. Mason stepped hesitantly closer. "Are you done?"

I nodded and he took a couple more steps forward. "I may not have spoken with the other Alex in ten years but I realise you're not her yet so I'm trying to act as calm as possible to hide the fact that I'm still incredibly angry with you, the future you."

"Why? I need to know what I did."

He sighed. "You didn't fight for us."

"What?"

He moved in closer and I could see the faint freckles on his face. "In the timeline you just came from, did you give up your powers yet?"

"What?" Mason knowing that meant I'd actually done it. "No, I was just thinking about it."

"Well you did it," he said, his voice suddenly cold as the air, "and it was the end of us."