Chapter 5
“Thanks for doing this, Dad.” I said, giving my father a hug that he returned easily. We broke apart and I was struck again by how much I’d grown. No matter how many times this happened, I was always surprised when I realized that I was now taller than my father. He looked up at me and shook his head a bit.
“I still can’t believe how tall you’ve gotten.” He said, reflecting my own thoughts. “I’d think you’d almost be too old for Disneyland.”
“You’re never too old for the Happiest Place on Earth.” I countered as we stood in the town square area just inside the entrance to one of Southern California’s greatest attractions. A ring of dark-suited Secret Service Agents, including my person agents Bill and Tom were around us. Since we were ‘VIPs’, we were waiting for the ‘tour guide’ the park had assigned to us for this visit. My mom was standing with Jenny less than a foot away, and my twelve-year-old sister was having a hard time standing still. On my other side, Sean had an expectant smile on his face, as excited as I’d ever seen him. It was his first trip to Disneyland, and I’d done everything I could to make it happen today, December 8, 1983.
We’d had to do extra homework and promise to be ready for our finals in two weeks, but we were both among the top freshmen at Downey High as far as grades were concerned. Brian had been upset with me, and we’d had one of our few fights when I insisted that I was taking Sean instead of him on our family’s celebratory vacation. He had still been upset when we’d left for the airport and Dad’s new plane, but I knew his anger would fade with time, and it was getting close to when I planned to tell him everything, and when I did, he’d understand why I’d insisted Sean be the one to go.
Over the last two years, my sister’s obsession with planes and flying had grown to be worse than her obsession with horses in the last timeline. She’d even pushed Dad into getting his own pilot’s license, and gotten him and Mom to finance a Beech twin-engine turboprop plane. It held five people and I’d given up most of my remaining space in the Play Room for her to let me bring Sean instead of one of her friends.
“Mr. Secretary?” A young man, slightly effeminate and very obviously gay said as he came up to our group. One of the agents stopped him before he got too close and made him show identification. Despite the fact that my father was no longer in charge of the AIDS Crisis Team, the threats against him, and us, his family, hadn’t stopped. In the weeks leading up to his confirmation as Secretary of Agriculture two days ago, they’d only increased. A medical doctor had been appointed to replace him with the AIDS team, and the President had ‘rewarded’ his close friend with a Secretary-level post while my father mulled his options in running for office.
The split between him and several local churches over the effectiveness of ‘Conversion Therapy’ two years ago had made a successful run for Congress somewhat dubious, despite his multi-million dollar campaign bank account. Polling showed he had a slight chance at making the US Senate during the next election, and the high level Cabinet position would make that much easier. Since the seat was Agriculture, and much of California’s more conservative areas were heavily impacted by the Agriculture Department, it was a natural springboard to a statewide office.
“Hi, my name is Jerry and I’m the cast member who will be your tour guide today.” The young man said as he finally cleared the Secret Service agents. My father smiled at him as my mother and sister came closer.
“Hello Jerry.” My father said kindly, although he managed to give me a knowing smile and an ‘I told you so’ look. We’d made a bet about what kind of person our tour guide would be. Dad had bet it’d be a slightly effeminate man who’d make a pass or two at me sometime during the day, while I bet it’d be a butch lesbian eyeing up mother. Now I owed my father twenty bucks when we got back home. “This is my wife, Sandy, my daughter, Jenny, my son, Davey, and his friend, Sean.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Jerry said in a giddy tone that was all too excited for me, although my sister seemed to like it, and Sean was giving him an appraising glance. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll get started on your tour of the Happiest Place on Earth!”
His tone reached an altogether too high falsetto on the last phrase, and my Dad patted my back a few times as if saying, “He’s one of yours”. In two years, my father had become far more comfortable with the whole ‘gay’ thing, and now I was actually wishing for the homophobia to come back. It was a lot easier to deal with than the way he’d tease me every time he spotted a gay man checking me out, or just in passing.
Of course, the major reason he was so easy with it now was that Brian and I were still together after two years, and he was beginning to believe that we had a chance of making it last. As he’d said many times ‘if you’re going to be that way, at least stay faithful to one person.’ I was, and had no intention of doing otherwise, and that had given him a level of comfort about it that was downright terrifying.
Half the time I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and the other half wondering that there might not be another shoe and if there wasn’t, was that a good thing or a bad thing?
As Jerry went into an extended spiel about the history of Main Street, I found myself itching to break out of the group and just head to Space Mountain. I mean, I’m sure Mom would enjoy the shops and maybe later I’d enjoy going through them, but what other reason was there for going to Disneyland besides going on the rides? Space Mountain to start with, and end with was on the top of my list.
“You’re taken.” I whispered to Sean as we finally cleared Main Street and headed towards Tomorrowland. My short friend, who was shorter than Jenny now, just snorted at me. Sure, he and Brandon had become a ‘couple’ over the last year as Trevor started dating a few girls, but I knew he enjoyed looking. Jerry was probably just out of high school, judging by his looks, and was giving me enough looks that if Brian had been present, my boyfriend would probably have been dragging Jerry aside for a little chat by now.
“It never hurts to keep my eyes open.” Sean whispered back. Dad had fortunately made it clear to Jerry that the entire family was unanimous in our desire to stop at Space Mountain first. This was the best thing about being a VIP, really, because we didn’t have to wait in the already-long line. Instead we were escorted past the line and directly into the ride. It took us less than five minutes from the time we walked in to the time we were off the ride. Even my mother was laughing at the cool sensations of flying through a black space filled with fake stars.
Most importantly of all, Sean had a big grin plastered on his face as we set off for the Mission to Mars attraction right next to Space Mountain.
I even managed to suffer through It’s A Small World with Sean sitting next to me, singing along to that hellish torture they call a song, all the time with a smile on my face. Over the next six hours, Sean repeatedly kept on thanking me for bringing him. He’d never been to Disneyland and always wanted to go, and I knew that today was going to be the last chance for him. He even made me admit that I really enjoyed the Country Bear Jamboree, and the Skyway, both of which hadn’t been there when I’d visited the park in another timeline.
For lunch, we ate at the Blue Bayou restaurant. It was an interesting experience because it’s the restaurant that actually sits inside the Pirates of the Caribbean. We could hear screams from the people on the ride, and the entire place was filled with the piped sounds of a Bayou while we ate some of the best food available in the park. After lunch, we got a new tour guide, two of them really, and Mom disappeared with Jenny to hit all the shops while we followed a slightly more butch tour guide who kept on checking out the butts of the Secret Service agents.
Even the weather was cooperating for once. It was one of those warm, sunny, southern California winter days. Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was neither too warm, nor too chilly as we managed to catch every ‘E’ attraction ride. Even though Disneyland had just recently gone to the passport system allowing entry on all the rides instead of the old ‘coupon’ books of A through E tickets, most people still referred to the top-tier rides as “E” ticket rides.
Thanks to the tour guides, we managed to get perfect seats for the Main Street Electrical parade after the sun had set. I don’t know who squealed more in pleasure at the brightly lit floats, Sean, Jenny, or I. I’d forgotten how beautiful the Electric Light Parade was, and enjoyed it while Sean kept on thumping me on the arm every time he saw a cute cast member.
We left the park after the parade was over, and I was surprised to see about twenty press photographers waiting just outside the park for us. Dad was still attracting attention even though the Senate had confirmed him 100-0. Most of these were probably locals though, or paparazzi trying to get a picture to sell to some tabloid. Nevertheless, we got to avoid them as the Secret Service closed in around us, forming an impenetrable ring. We were so use to it now that it didn’t even faze my sister as she prattled on to Sean about this great model airplane she’d seen in the park and wanted to buy.
“Next time, we take the monorail back to the hotel.” Dad muttered as we got into one of three electric carts the Secret Service had waiting for us. I didn’t respond to the comment since it had been the Secret Service who’d made the arrangements, not us. A sudden weight on my other side made me look to see Sean was already passed out and leaning against me as he slept. Across from us, my sister was passed out on Mom’s lap while my mother was drifting in and out.
“I think we’ll just order room service.” Dad said softly and I nodded. My sister was lucky, because she had her own room on this trip. Mom and Dad had another room, and Sean and I shared a room, all of us on the top floor of the Disneyland Hotel. I’d never actually stayed there before, and while it was a dated marvel of 1950’s era hotel building, it was slightly disappointing for me.
No way was it worth what we were paying, but then this was Disneyland.
When Sean opened the door to our hotel room, we found out my mother had pulled another sneaky trick on Dad. Our room had about ten bags in it, all from her shopping spree in the park. Apparently Disneyland delivered stuff to your room when you were staying at its hotel, and Mom had the goods sent to my room instead of hers, so Dad wouldn’t know exactly how much she’d spent.
“Look at this.” Sean said with a smile as he looked at a note taped to one of the bags. I bent down to read the note, written in my mother’s scrawling handwriting. It was short, and I had to laugh at its contents while Sean snickered.
Davey –
Don’t tell your Dad about these or you’ll never get to use the Christmas present Papa is going to buy you. Have your agents arrange for these to be picked up in the morning and put on their plane for the flight back.
Love,
Mom
“She probably put them on one of her own cards.” I said with a smile and Sean snickered again.
“I wonder how much she spent.” Sean wondered aloud and I snorted.
“Probably at least a thousand from the looks of some of this stuff.” I guessed and he laughed. My mother’s spending habits were something he thought hilarious. Of course, until his father had been laid off last year, his mother and my mother had often gone shopping together. While my mother was more than happy to pay for stuff her ‘good friend’ might want, Mrs. Rule was quite adamant about not taking what she viewed as charity. Sean’s father’s unemployment was one of the reasons things hadn’t been quite as good for him at home lately, and as a result he’d been spending even more time at my house than he normally did.
“You hungry yet?” Sean asked, changing the subject.
“Let’s check out the room service menu.” I offered and he frowned for a moment. “Dude, you know I’m the one paying for it, not my parents. You want to go down to the hotel restaurant instead?”
“I’m not worried about whose paying for what.” Sean said a little testily and I regretted my assumption. “You still owe me anyway for all the times I’ve covered for you and Brian with your dad.”
“That’s true.” I admitted with a wry smile. Without Sean’s help, Brian and I would have been caught doing more than kissing quite a few times. “So, you want room service or restaurant?”
“I’d like to go to the restaurant.” Sean said after a moment’s thought. “It’s not that late yet, and I heard they have an arcade in the hotel.”
“Let’s check it out.” I said with a smile and we turned around and went out the door. Bill was on duty outside and spoke briefly into his microphone once I’d told him our plans. There was no need to bother the parents, and more than likely my sister was busy working on some model airplane she’d bought today.
Besides, she’d gotten a lot brattier over the last couple of months and I wasn’t up to dealing with her occasional attitude problem.
“We better get the cute waiter.” Sean mumbled as we waited for a table with Bill hovering around behind us. Luckily we didn’t have to wait long, and it seemed the hostess either heard Sean’s comment or was just being nice because we did end up with a very cute, dark-haired waiter who couldn’t have been over twenty. My best friend had an outrageous time flirting with the waiter, who flirted right back and was coming over to our table every five minutes to check up on us.
“Dude, you are so not taking him back to the room.” I whispered to Sean as the waiter finished taking away our dinner plates. Neither of us had felt like dessert, so I’d just requested our check. The waiter had managed to give Sean a simpering look at that, and Sean was smirking at me.
“After all the times I covered for you and Brian…” Sean teased and I frowned at him.
“First of all, you already have a boyfriend and he’s my friend too.” I told Sean. “Second, the guy’s at least six years older than you. He could go to jail if…"
“Oh stop being such a stick in the mud, Davey Jones.” Sean teased me and I relaxed at the expression on his face. He sure did know how to get me wound up. “I swear, sometimes you’re as bad as your father.”
“I am not.” I said sternly, crossing my arms across my chest and glaring at Sean who burst out laughing at me.
“Here’s the check, guys.” The waiter, whose name was Erik, said as he approached the table. He put it in the middle but his gaze was locked on Sean, who managed to look at Erik through his eyelashes.
“Put it on this.” I said as I took out my wallet and removed one of my credit cards. Papa had convinced my mother and father to let me have one in my own name, which was paid off by my own bank account. Ever since ’82, they’d both known I’d had my own money, and while Dad didn’t like the implications of why Papa hadn’t told him about it before, my father had not even tried to find out how much was in there.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t take a parent’s credit card without their written approval.” Erik said as he looked at my credit and Sean burst out laughing while I let out a long sigh. Sure, ten years from now it might be common for kids to have credit cards or bank cards, but in this day and age it was still fairly rare.
“Here, look at my ID.” I said to the cute waiter, holding out my wallet with the state identification card inside the plastic holder. That had been another pain in the ass to acquire since most kids below sixteen didn’t bother with more than their school identification cards.
“Oh, sorry about that.” Erik said with an embarrassed blush to his cheeks. If anything, it made him look cuter.
“No problem.” I said with a smile as he turned to head back to wherever they rang up credit receipts. He returned a minute later, and I signed the slip before getting my credit card back. I even left him a very nice tip, and we left the restaurant.
“We didn’t get his number.” Sean said with a heavy sigh. “I guess he just was being nice and flirting with us.”
“And you’re complaining about that?” I teased Sean who punched me lightly on the arm. I pushed him for that, and that began a mock battle between us until Bill cleared his throat behind us. When I looked at him, he was looking over at a hotel security guard who was looking decidedly uncomfortable, as if he wanted to come tell us to calm down, but was afraid to approach with Bill standing over us.
“Sorry.” I said loud enough for both Bill and the hotel guard to hear before we headed back to the elevators.
“Let’s just go back to the room.” Sean said around a yawn. “I’m feeling tired now.”
“Okay.” I said calmly, although part of me didn’t want to see him go to sleep just yet.
Once back in our room, we both stripped down, mostly silent as we folded our clothes and put them away in a drawer. I could feel Sean’s eyes on me as I adjusted the hem of my dark blue bikini briefs. It was a pain to find them in this time, but I knew how much Brian liked them and rarely wore anything else except during practice and games. Sean was wearing a regular pair of white briefs, and as I got ready to turn out the lights, I let my eyes follow him crawling into his bed.
He looked far different than I remembered from previous time lines. In those times he’d always been a little scrawny, even when he worked out as part of the NJROTC in the second timeline. Now though, his arms were thick with well-developed muscles, and he had a tight washboard abdomen that I was slightly jealous about. No matter how much I tried, I just never seemed to be able to have a stomach as tight as his.
“Good night.” Sean said as I turned off the light that was on the nightstand between our beds and took off my glasses, setting them on the stand. Once again my eyes were improving slightly as I grew older and I needed them less and less, but still wore them out of habit.
“Good night, Sean.” I said softly as I crawled into my bed. Very little light made it into the room thanks to the heavy curtains, and the chugging of the air conditioner was about the only noise. Sure, it was winter, but we had it on low to keep air circulating in the room. After several minutes, my ears adjusted to the sound of the room enough that I could hear his breathing. I laid there for almost twenty minutes, waiting for his breathing to drift off into sleep, but he never did, and I began to grow anxious until I heard his bed rustle as he shifted, and I realized he was coming to stand next to my bed.
“Move over.” Sean’s voice was quiet, and it had a sharp edge to it that made me not want to resist his direction.
“What is it?” I asked as I scooted over and he crawled into the bed. There was just enough light that I could make out his face. He had a slightly worried look on his face as he turned on his side to face me, propping his head up on his right hand. I mirrored his pose with just a few inches between us under the covers. We were so close I could feel the heat coming off of his body.
“What’s going on with you?” Sean asked me with a strong bit of worry in his voice.
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.
“Why the hell am I here and not Brian?” Sean asked and I let out a sigh.
“I don’t think my Dad would have let Brian and I share a room.” I pointed out and Sean snorted softly.
“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Sean said softly. “There’s something wrong and you’re not telling me.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked worriedly.
“Davey, I’ve been your best friend for the past seven years.” Sean said with a hint of contempt in his voice. “If you don’t think I know when something’s bugging you after all that time, you’re an idiot.”
“I’ve been worried about you.” I admitted cautiously. “Ever since your dad said you might move away because he can’t find a job, I’ve been worried you’d leave and I wouldn’t see you again.”
“Don’t try to tell me you’re secretly in love with me.” Sean said in a lighthearted tone, but there was an undercurrent there, and something clicked inside of me. He still harbored some little part of that crush he use to have for me.
“I love you, Sean.” I said softly, trying to ignore the hitch in his voice. I closed my eyes as I spoke so I wouldn’t see his facial reactions. “I love you. You’re my best friend, the best friend anyone could ever hope to have, but Sean, I’m in love with Brian.”
“Why not me?” Sean asked, catching my emphasis and I opened my eyes to see a slightly hurt look on his face, but mostly he just looked curious. I felt better at that sight and took a deep breath before answering.
“I don’t know, but I’ve just never felt anything more than…brotherly love for you.” I answered as honestly as I could. He deserved the truth from me.
“You don’t think I’m cute enough?” Sean asked softly. “Or is it I’m not butch enough for you?”
“Neither.” I answered. “It’s just… I think it’d be like trying to sleep with my brother.”
“How would you know?” Sean asked with more than a trace of bitterness. “You’ve never even kissed me.”
“You’re right.” I said softly and scooted forward quickly, noting the surprise on his face, and how he didn’t move backwards. When our lips met, tenderly at first but quickly deepening as he leaned in towards me and his tongue pried at my lips, I knew I’d been right. It wasn’t like kissing Brian, more like kissing a member of the family, but I did my best. Sean broke the kiss after less than a minute though, and frowned slightly.
“It is like kissing a brother.” Sean said softly, a hint of disappointment in his face. He did smile though. “Thanks for doing it, though. I’d have always wondered if we’d never at least tried it. Don’t worry, I won’t mention it to Brian.”
“I’m not worried about that.” I told him, with a hint of bitterness and regret in my voice. I’d trust this Sean to take that kiss to his grave as a secret, and the thought that in a way he would be doing that shortly almost brought tears to my eyes.
In all the timelines, I’d always had friends, I’d had Brian in them, and Sean had been a near constant as well, but it wasn’t until this timeline that I knew what it was like to have a best friend, a friend so close we might as well have been brothers. I’d once said Brian was my best friend and lover in that wonderful second timeline, but the truth was I now knew he’d been a good friend and good lover.
It had taken this Sean to show me what being best friends was about.
“Do you remember the first time we met?” I asked my best friend as we continued to stare at each other. Our bodies were so close together now that he felt like a furnace, and while I expected the normal reaction of any teenager to the close proximity of a warm body, I was completely soft right now and I could feel that he was soft as well.
“I was so scared of you.” Sean said with a laugh. “You were so tall, even at that age, and you were like so big already. I thought you were going to just beat me up like some of the other kids did, but you didn’t. I think you were the first guy that big to be nice to me.”
“When we were first hanging out, I had this wild desire to get a marker pen and play connect-the-dots with your freckles.” I admitted and he started laughing.
“I use to do that before I met you.” Sean admitted as he laughed, and I smiled. “I still can’t believe I let you talk me into playing baseball.”
“I can’t believe you still hate it.” I countered and he laughed.
“Yeah, well I may be half your size but I can still kick your ass in wrestling.” Sean said with a smirk and he was right. When it came to wrestling, he could even challenge Brian despite their differences in size. We went on talking like that for another hour, laughing and talking softly to each other until we were both letting loose with big yawns.
“I’m not going to get you to tell me what’s wrong, am I?” Sean asked, proving just how well he knew me.
“I’ll tell you in the morning, I promise.” I told him and he smiled.
“Pinky swear?” He asked, holding out his pinky.
“I swear.” I told him and joined my pinky to his. We shook back and forth for a bit, then he smiled and turned to lay on his back.
“I’m going to sleep over here.”
“Okay. Good night, Freckles.” I said as I lay back in the bed, my arm just a few inches from his. He knew something was up, still, and his hand found mine, holding it comfortingly. He didn’t even react to the hated nickname only I could get away with using. It was odd, I was the one who should be comforting him, but as he drifted off to sleep, it was he who comforted me. While his breathing leveled out into the normal sounds of his sleep, tears formed in my eyes and I sobbed quietly over the next hour, trying not to make too much noise and wake him, and part of me wanting to shake him and keep him awake all night as if that would stop what was about to happen.
It wouldn’t, although I wasn’t quite sure exactly what would happen. We’d always discussed something like this as a hypothetical, but we’d never known really what would happen. The clock on the nightstand glowed 12:31 when Sean’s body stiffened and a burst of breath was pushed out of his lungs. His hand, still holding mine, crushed my fingers in a death grip, and his back arched in the bed for the briefest of moments before his entire body went limp. No one had ever observed this moment from this end, and I stared at him for a long moment before reaching over him to turn the light on. His eyelids were moving rapidly as his eyes made desperate motions beneath them.
As I watched, his memories were being overwritten with the memories of another Sean, a Sean who had just watched his husband, and mine, be killed, a sad, desperate and angry Sean who didn’t want to go back in time, but who did so he could warn me of a danger that no longer existed. My best friend, the Sean I’d known for seven years now, was probably already gone forever, only to be replaced by someone far more bitter, far more angry at wrongs done him in earlier times, and who never wanted to go back in time again. This Sean had hated high school both times, although even he admitted the second time around was much better. After the transfer was complete, I still just watched him sleeping, waiting for him to wake on his own.
It was nearly four in the morning when he opened his eyes.
“Davey!” Sean’s voice was high-pitched in surprise when he saw me lying next to him. His eyes had gone totally wide and he actually flinched as I reached over him to turn on the lamp. For a moment he squinted, and then when he realized we were lying in bed next to each other, he lifted the covers, letting out a sigh of obvious relief when he saw he was still wearing underwear. That was so funny I let myself chuckle. “Where are we?”
“Disneyland Hotel.” I answered him as I calmed myself after laughing. Tears were still dripping down my face, and I missed my Freckles already, but in a way it was almost as good to see this Sean again. His facial expressions were subtly different. He held himself much more stiffly than my best friend, and Freckles would never have tightened the covers around him the way this Sean did.
“When are we?” Sean asked next and I smiled gently at my old friend. I knew why it felt good to see him again. It was simple really. With him here, I was no longer the only time traveler.
“It’s about four in the morning of December 9, 1983.” I said softly and he nodded.
“Good, then I came far enough back that I could warn you.” He said with a sigh of relief, but then his eyes sharpened. “Wait, what are we doing in Disneyland? My Dad hates this place.”
“He’s still in Modesto.” I said softly. “We’re here with my parents. I arranged it so that we’d be able to talk before going back home. For some reason, I thought it’d all be easier this way, with you coming back today.”
“What?” Sean asked with a confused sound in his voice. “How would you know I’m coming back now… unless… you’ve done it again, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, except this time I went back to 1976.” I admitted with a soft smile. His mouth dropped open and I smirked slightly. “I think the nuke going off at the same time as the machine started up had something to do with that because we were shooting for 1980. Then again, there could have been a problem with the repairs after the damage from the first attack.”
“Let’s go back to the beginning.” Sean said softly and I nodded. For two hours he laid there in the bed, listening to me talk about the horrible last timeline. I started with what had happened to him when he’d first arrived, and ended with the hurried efforts to send me back one last time. While I left out some details, I was sure to tell him about how he’d still been in a relationship with the Brandon of that timeline, and how Brian had died. By the time I was done, there were more tears in his eyes.
“I watched them murder him and Brian…” Sean said softly and I reached out to touch his shoulder briefly. He flinched at first, but when I let my hand squeeze his shoulder comfortingly he relaxed slightly.
“I know.” I said softly. “It’s over now, Sean.”
“What do you mean it’s over?” He asked me suspiciously.
“They’re all dead.” I told him. “I got to the President in time, back in 1981 and he arranged their assassinations. Shevardnadze, the two Chinese guys, and the scientist who made the machine in the first place, they’re all dead.”
“Two Chinese guys?” Sean asked in confusion.
“There was one still alive when you came back.” I said, knowing for him it was so recent, it had all just happened a few minutes ago. “He was young, so he was in his body again as a kid, but he’s dead as well. The only people still alive who have traveled in time are you and I.”
“But the President knows about you, right?” Sean asked and I chuckled.
“Kind of.” I said cryptically, and then set about explaining how I’d played the coma game a second time, and it had worked, to a point.
“So just your Dad and your Grandpa know about you now.” He said when I was done.
“That’s correct.” I told him and he let out a sigh.
“What about me?” He asked and my smile widened.
“I’m the only one who knows about you.” I assured him and he let out a sigh of relief before his chest started shaking with some sobs.
“The memories, they’re so clear.” Sean said softly. “I can still see Brandon, when the bullets hit him. He looked so surprised.”
“Try not to think about them.” I said softly, squeezing his shoulder again.
“What about Brandon in this timeline?” Sean asked quietly as tears dribbled down the corners of his eyes to fall on the pillow. “Is he a jerk like in the first timeline, or a decent guy like the last one?”
“I think you’ll find he’s a good guy.” I said with a soft smile, resting my head on my arm as I leaned onto my side. Sean gave me a quizzical look. “Then again, you better be careful because the two of your have been dating exclusively for nearly six months now, ever since Trevor started dating Jennifer and broke up your little love triangle."
“You’re kidding me!” Sean said with a goofy grin. “I mean… it’s not like we never messed around with Trevor in the last time… um… you didn’t know that, did you?”
“You mentioned it to me in my last timeline.” I said. This might have been confusing if we weren’t both experienced in the differences between personally experienced timelines.
“Oh.” Sean said with a small grin. He started to sit up a bit, but stopped as he caught a glance of his arms. For a moment he looked shocked, and then he carefully felt his own arms and looked at me with a mixture of awe and fear in his eyes. “Davey Jones, what the hell have you been doing to my body?”
“I’ve been making you into a real man.” I teased him and he looked angry until he saw the smile on my face. “This timeline, well a lot has changed. I got my grandfather to make a bet on the Super Bowl.”
“You did not!” Sean protested and then started laughing. “You, Mr. High and Mighty, ‘I’m not going to do something cheap like bet on sporting events I already know the winners of!’ actually turned around and did that?”
“Yes.” I admitted with a slight blush. He laughed for a good five minutes, and it was good to hear. Just a few hours ago, he was a prisoner, working under duress for our country’s enemies. He’d witnessed the man he loved, and a good friend die trying to save his life, and mine, and he’d come back in time despite not ever wanting to do it again, and he was laughing already. To me, it seemed a good sign.
“So what did you do with the money?” Sean asked and I smiled.
“I got my dad to go into politics.” I stated and Sean’s mouth dropped open again. As I explained the events of 1976, including our meeting and becoming friends, and then best friends, his mouth stayed open and he kept shaking his head. It was only as I reached the coma, the real one, that he closed his mouth and nodded.
“I remember going through that.” Sean said. “For me it wasn’t just headaches, though. My entire body hurt.”
“Well, I have a lot more respect for you now.” I said with a shake of my head.
“So what now?” Sean asked with a heavy sigh.
“We live our life out.” I answered him softly and with a gentle smile on my face. “Sean, this timeline is a far better one for both of us. I’ve tried to undo some of the mistakes I’ve made in the past, including that first timeline when I treated you so badly. I’m sorry about that, really.”
“I told you about that too, eh?” Sean asked and I nodded. “So, we’re really good friends in this time?”
“You’re my best friend in the world.” I said softly, feeling tears come to my eyes again, and he looked sadly at me.
“You know, I wouldn’t have come if I…” Sean started to say but I shook my head.
“You don’t remember it, but it was necessary for you to come back.” I said softly. “Thanks to you, a timeline that actually saw all-out nuclear war was aborted, and we’ve got a much better one instead. If the price of that is losing my best friend of seven years, and getting back a man who is just as good of a friend, then I’ll pay that price a dozen times.”
“You’ve got Brian hooked around your little finger, don’t you?” Sean asked me with a smirk.
“He’s not nearly as bad as Brandon.” I retorted and Sean actually smiled.
“I’ll have to test that out.” Sean said and I let out a long sigh. It was a terrible price to pay, losing my best friend, but even this one wasn’t that bad because despite everything, this Sean was still a friend.
I just had to ignore the tears still trickling down my face.
Music plays a big part of my writing these stories. This chapter was inspired by the following lyrics from the musical Wicked, specifically the song titled "For Good"
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing
something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I
believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew
you:
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a
stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've
been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed
for good
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me
say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from
you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way
our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my
friend:
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a
seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been
changed for the better?
But because I knew you:
I have been changed for good
As with all my stories, E provides immeasurable input, grammar checking, and all those other lovely editing thingies that make the story so much better!
Feedback,
an Author's Lifeblood
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |
| Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 |
