Chapter Text
Saturday, July 11th, 2:37am
“Chase it’s Bu — !”
Chase didn’t answer, if anything, he went completely silent.
“Chase?” Buddy asked again, growing desperate.
“Your call has been disconnected.” The robotic voice was a jumpscare, something unexpected in the middle of the night.
“Go to a phone and call the number on this paper, I’ll answer,” Chase had said. But maybe that was before he’d been mad, was it?
Yes it was, that’s right. Buddy groaned, he leaned his head on the cold metal of the phonebox.
He hadn’t even had a chance to explain himself, and Chase had said he’d been waiting for an important call, hadn’t he?
Wasn’t that his call? And why was Chase sounding frantic? And whispering? And–
“Nox, darling?” Buddy looked down to the satchel bag he’d brought. It was covered in soot, and probably looked useless, but inside were all twelve keys, and a jar of narratonin.
Violet was speaking to him.
“Nox, how did that go?”
“He didn’t remember me,” Buddy whispered.
Violet sighed as if this was predictable. Which it was. “Yes Nox, we spoke about this earlier. Since you went back in time and changed the moment you became a key, that means nothing from the previous timeline happened.”
“No Chase,”
“No Chase,” She repeated.
“Right,” Buddy sighed.
He stood in an awkward silence, listening only to the sounds of the night. The sounds of laughter and quiet music were what he tried to focus on. But he just couldn’t get Chase’s voice out of his head.
“I’m really sorry I don’t know you,” The way he said it had dug a pit in Buddy’s stomach, one he believed he could never fill.
He felt empty, like his meaning had just… faded.
And perhaps it had. Maybe Chase was the best thing in his life, maybe he would get excited when he saw Silver’s rose symbol light up like a beacon in the darkness of the basement. Maybe for the first time in centuries, even though he wasn’t awake, he’d found hope in a boy with blonde hair and honey eyes. In a boy who believed the best in everyone. Who had believed the best in him. In Buddy.
Even when he hadn’t deserved it, Chase had stayed. All the way up until Wave – or whatever his name – got involved.
Buddy had known he was rotten from the start. The fake smiles, the stupidity had been forced. And from one conman to another, Wave’s facade was rather shoddy.
He could still remember the betrayal on Chase’s face, the way he’d hugged him for the last time in the book where he’d written that song for Buddy.
The way he’d said “It’s ok, Buddy. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay,” had told him nothing would be okay. His trust was shattered, but Buddy would’ve preferred Chase to scream and yell and kick Buddy than those words.
“It’s ok, Buddy. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay,”
Buddy shivered.
He remembered the way he’d demanded Violet to listen to him, rather than let himself follow Violet around like a pet waiting for a treat, or in Buddy’s case, his chance to be human.
Now, in this form Buddy stood in on this night, he could feel himself slipping.
The wish’s meaning had faded, because Chase hadn’t sounded anything like he’d remembered. Not the bright eyed boy he’d remembered. This Chase had sounded stressed, almost like he was trying to get off the phone as quickly as possible.
Like something had changed.
Buddy knew Chase’s mum was sick. That was something he couldn’t control. But that was what the jar of narratonin was for.
He’d taken it after he’d snuck the rest of the Keys out and into his satchel. He knew that’s what it was for. Just to make Chase’s life easier.
But how would he do so, when Chase didn’t remember him? He couldn’t just stroll up to his door and go, “Hi my name’s Buddy, I was your boyfriend in a previous timeline. I used to be a magical creature called a Key, and I could grant wishes with my siblings!”
There was no way he could do that. If Chase was anything like he’d remembered he was before Silver woke up, he knew for sure there was no buying it.
Buddy rubbed his arms and looked down. It was supposedly summer, right? Were summers always cold at night?
He noticed his shoe had a hole in the sole, exactly as he’d remembered. He still had his hat, the one with too much ash on the rim he hadn’t bothered to clean off. His trousers were too short, cutting off well above his ankle. They were itchy, just like they used to be.
It was exactly the same as what he’d worn before he’d changed back, and even though it was horrible and tattered compared to literally anything else he could be wearing, he felt like himself.
Buddy looked back in the satchel. He didn’t see the present family he used to have. The Silver, Goldie and Bronze that had lived with Chase, weren’t looking back at him.
Silver was still sleeping. Still cracked, and that’s when it hit him.
Books.
He’d never met Chase because Chase had never found Silver in the library!
Now it made sense, but of course, how would he possibly manage to get back inside the library again?
He’d need to have some help, but from who?
“Woah, cool costume!” A bright voice from behind him called.
He turned to see the librarian from his and Violet’s original plan.
She still had the bob, and the glasses. And the positive attitude. Perhaps she didn’t change because she was never affected by the Keys.
“Uhm. Thank you? These are just my normal clothes though,” Buddy said. It was confusing for her to be out this late, but she was in her… what had Chase called it? Car?
The girl laughed, “Well of course they are! For a… what are you?”
“A person.”
“Right right,” She smiled. “I heard you talking to someone on the phone. Is there something going wrong in a relationship? They don’t like your cosplays?”
Buddy blinked. How had she gotten all of this from one call?
“What’s your name?” He asked.
“Mila.” She responded. “What about you?”
Okay, he’d gotten her name now it was best if he… wait she worked at the library. The library.
“Buddy, and I think I’ve seen you at the library before,”
“Really? I’ve never seen you there,” She frowned. “Anyways, I actually have to go over there, security said something happened like a shattered window or an unlocked door.” Mila waved her hands around while she spoke.
“Could I come?” Hopefully it didn’t sound too eager. It sounded eager in his head, but maybe it hadn’t come across as eager out loud.
He felt a kick from the satchel, possibly Violet. But she couldn’t remember what had happened in the other timeline. What she had planned.
“Uhm yeah, can’t think of why you’d want to go to an empty library at night but sure, hop in.”
⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧
By the time the library was before them, Buddy saw a tall man wearing a black suit with security written on it in big white letters.
Mila got out of the car and gestured for him to follow. He still didn’t understand the purpose of a seatbelt as Mila called it, but it was quite annoying.
Sometimes it would get jammed and other times it would be cooperative. And also, he didn’t like the confined space of the car, so when she told him to get out, Buddy was more than pleased.
The air was still cold, but exactly what he’d needed after spending what felt like years in that tight car.
“Yes, hi, I was called about a broken window?” Mila asked the guard and the two fell into a conversation about what had happened.
The guard was taking a routine check of the perimeter and there was a crash and there was a broken window. Presumably a rock had been thrown and the guard had been instructed to contact a manager, which Mila was.
“Could you show me the window?” Mila asked, and so Buddy, Mila and the guard went into the library with a key Mila had.
Not magical, of course. Buddy had all the magical Keys in his satchel.
The library was smaller than he remembered, that being said he was only nine inches tall the last time he’d been here.
The guard walked them up the stairs, and Buddy could see the rest of the library below. It almost looked like a maze, except for the fact that there were easy exits and no dead ends.
“I thought it was over here,” The guard said, leading them over to the window that overlooked the town. Sure enough there was a rock, but there was no note or ransom attached.
“That’s so odd,” Mila muttered. “Thank you anyways, I’ll tell my coworker about this.”
“No problem miss,” The guard said with a bow of his head. He left Buddy and Mila alone in the library, the glass door making a soft click as it shut behind him.
⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧
“Why’d you want to come to the library?” Mila asked, starting to dial her coworker, Alison’s number.
Silence.
“Buddy?” She stopped before pressing the green call button. “Buddy where’d you go?” She began to walk around, searching for him.
He wasn’t in the study rooms, or at the vending machine. Not even in the period era section, where Mila would’ve thought he would be.
Perhaps he was dressed like that for some sort of strange college assignment, and she’d have thought he might’ve wanted books on the topic. But apparently not.
There was rustling coming from the teens section.
“Buddy this really isn’t funny, I could get fired for my job,” Mila called, cautiously making her way towards the sound.
There were more sounds, whispers that were so low she couldn’t hear what was actually being said. The teens section was empty.
Mila wondered what could possibly be happening, because there was no way Buddy was somehow disappearing.
“Buddy?” A massive flash of light in the children’s section made Mila stop in her tracks.
She rushed over and saw the strangest thing she’d ever seen in her life. There was no way for even her fantasy books to justify what she was looking at (though it was very cool).
Ten tiny metal people stood around a copy of Cinderella, which had the head of a silver key stuck in a keyhole that was somehow in the centre of the cover. In the satchel Buddy had been carrying around, there was a small glowing grenade shaped thing.
“What the – ” All ten tiny people turned to Mila, each with somewhat mortified expressions. One walked towards her. She looked like a queen made of violet, two spacebuns were on either side of her head, her heels made no sound as they were on carpet, but her eyes were a shocking turquoise.
Another flash of light and Buddy was back, he stumbled into the shelf behind him, making a few books fall. Where there was a silver key was now a tiny silver woman. She looked like she’d slept an eternity with the way she’d stretched her arms up above her head, and looked around at the others.
The tiny people crowded her, making the silver woman look around happily dazed, like they were all good friends seeing each other after a long school break.
Buddy groaned, and Mila looked back to him. He looked like a strange mix of emotions, sad, happy, dizzy and cautious.
“Oh, are – are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Buddy muttered, looking down at the family of little people.
Mia could see the relief on his face, he’d clearly done something for these tiny people, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.
“What did you do?” She asked.
Buddy muttered, “It’s a long story.”
“That’s fine,” Mila sat down on the floor and crossed her legs. “I like long stories.”
Buddy blinked.
Saturday, July 11th, 4:48am
“So you’re saying, you went back in time because… you had to be human again?”
“Yes, I was changed into a Key,” Buddy explained, pinching the bridge of his nose because he’d explained this several times and it hadn’t seemed to stick.
“Which is what they are.” Mila pointed at the family of Keys.
“Yes.” Buddy groaned.
He and Mila had been talking for hours about his past, and the previous timeline. He didn’t mention Violet’s orignal plan where he was supposed to seduce Mila. That was just too awkward.
“And you knew Deacon and Chase Hollow,”
“Stupid Freckles,” Buddy mumbled.
Mila laughed. “Right, but how did you know them? You said through the books, but that didn’t really explain much. Especially the Cinderella book. With Chase.”
Those two words seemed to be a trigger because Buddy’s pale face flamed and he coughed into his fist.
Buddy remembered the way Chase had trusted him. The way Chase had leaned into his hand, and looked up at him like that. That trust was something he couldn’t get back, not really.
“How do you know Chase and Deacon?” Buddy asked.
“Well Deacon was in my grade at school,” She shrugged. “We had the same English class and were occasionally partnered together. And Chase, who doesn’t know Chase in this town. He performs at all the events, sings and dances like the few hundred people are a packed stadium.”
Buddy remembered when Chase had sung that song for him in that book ‘Stardust 7’. It was a tune he’d been repeating over and over in his head during his mission.
“It’s ok, Buddy. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay,”
He pushed the words away to the darkest depths of his mind.
“But he’s a good singer. I hope he makes it one day,” Mila said, looking down at her hands.
“He is good,” Buddy agreed, watching the Keys try to climb the bookshelf. Their little laughs and shrieks were something he’d grown used to, but they’d never remember him the way he remembered them.
They’d been his first real family, then Chase and Deacon and Prunella. He wanted to see them again.
But he couldn’t. They wouldn’t remember him.
“It’s just, I want to see them again,” Buddy mumbled. “Especially Chase.” That part had been quieter, but Buddy felt Mila’s eyes on him.
“But you’re afraid they won’t remember?”
“I know they won’t remember. I changed the past and now I’m stuck.”
Mila hummed. “That’s the butterfly effect.”
Buddy frowned, which made Mila sigh. “It’s where if you change one small thing, like you not opening the glowing jar, that means none of this happens.”
“That’s what Violet said. Because I stayed human, Chase never found Silver, which meant nothing could have happened.”
Mila frowned, clearly deep in thought.
“Perhaps we could use the jar of Narratonin? You could go back in time an – ”
“No!”
The room went into a silence because of Buddy’s outburst. Even the Keyblings froze.
“That’s for Chase’s mother,” Buddy quickly explained. “She’s ill and that’s what Chase’s wish was originally. I’m going to wish for Chase’s mother to be cured.”
“That’s a very noble wish,” Silver’s voice broke the tension as she stepped forward. “It is neither selfish or full of greed. It’s selfless.” She paused. “You must care for this boy.”
A pink flush creeped Buddy’s neck, but this time he didn’t deny it.
“I do care about him.” His tone was almost soft compared to the aggressiveness it had carried only seconds ago.
Mila clapped her hands and stood up. “Right. Here’s what we’re doing.”
Buddy stared at her confusedly.
“You said you and Violet had planted Silver in a book earlier?”
“Yes..” Buddy said almost cautiously. Where was Mila going with this?
“Silver, would you mind if we do this again?” Mila asked.
Silver tilted her head to the side before Mila knelt down and whispered the plan in her ear. “Oh! Yes of course!” Silver chirped almost excited as to what was expected of her. “Just no Keyrings, I don’t like sleeping for too long.”
“Got it. Now Buddy, you’re going to write Chase a letter.” Mila exclaimed.
“Excuse me?”
Mila rolled her eyes. “A letter. You know what those are. Write one to Chase.”
Buddy looked baffled. “Why?”
“Oh my god, you cannot be this dense. It’s a love letter.”