Chapter Text
In life we are taught that time is a constant, a never ending march towards the impending inevitable.
The past is a valuable tool. If you lose it, you will soon realize that the thread of time is really a loop as history repeats itself.
With time travel there is always the question of whether those who travel are adding frays to the thread… or if their visit was always meant to be.
~~~⧖~~~
A boy sighed as he scanned the crowd, mentally cursing himself for winding up in such a situation.
When he was an infant, the boy was left at the door of an orphanage with no clues given as to who he was supposed to be.
The older children in the orphanage had given him a variety of names, Nicholas, Eliot, Virgil, Christopher. None of them seemed to stick.
When he became of working age, he was casted out and sent to the factories in hopes that he would make a living for himself. As it turns out the money he acquired there was barely enough to sustain a meal.
The boy almost regrets his outburst that caused him to lose his job. Despite the harsh conditions, he at least did not have to resort to stealing to survive.
The boy laid his eyes on a target. A distinguished gentleman was walking through the square in some sort of frenzy. A glint of a chain had caught the boy's attention. The man pushed passed where the boy was standing, creating the perfect opportunity.
The boy calmly walked away, pocket watch in hand.
Once he was a safe distance away, the thief looked down to examine the watch to see if it was worth anything. A bright glow caught his eye.
The watch was unlike any he had ever seen before. The cover was made of a dark metal and engraved with a crescent moon. Stranger was the glass vial of glowing liquid embedded in the watch.
The boy tilted the object to watch the liquid ooze from one side to the other, slightly faster than honey. The chain of the watch seemed easily removable, attached by a clasp similar to the ones used for necklaces
The thief opened the watch. The face was shattered. The hands were warped, yet the second hand still ticked by.
"The pawn shop is likely closed by now. I should bring this home-"
A flash of light erupted from the clock face. The hands began to spin at an increasing speed. A crackle of lightning flashed from the center of the broken face, sending pulses through his body. The boy shook violently before black filled his vision. He felt the ground rise up to meet his face.
~~~⧖~~~
Chase Hollow was having a pretty rotten day. First, he ran out of his favorite facial cleanser. Next, his aunt, Beth, cut off his conversation with his mom again! After that, Simon didn't show up to dance practice like he was supposed to. At least, Chase was able to find a substitute cleanser at the store and was now on his way back home.
Chase was a few minutes away from the Hollow's farmhouse, situated just outside the small town of Sugar Springs, Massachusetts. The truck tires crunched agaisnt the gravel road. Almost home. Chase caught a glimpse of an object off to the side of the road.
The lump looked like roadkill at first. It was common on the backroads for animals to attempt to cross, but as Chase grew closer, he realized this was not an animal. Chase slammed on the truck brakes and pulled off to the side of the road. Flashing the hazards, Chase left the vehicle to inspect the person laying face first in the gravel.
Short, greasy black hair was the first thing he noticed, the second being the tattered, old-timey suit the other person was wearing. Were… were they dead? Chase placed his hand on the other person's back for any sign of breathing. He sighed out of relief as his hand slowly rose and fell with the other person's breaths. Gently, he turned the person over to check for any serious wounds.
The person was around Chase or Deacon's age, if he had to guess. Dirt coated their pale skin. Their clothes were strange, very similar to the paper boys from the 1800s from that one musical. They didn't appear to be bleeding.
"Hey, hey, are you okay?" Chase gently shook the other boy by the shoulders. A groan came as a response.
"We should get you off the street. Can you walk?" Piercing blue eyes fluttered open and met Chase's gaze.
"Wha- where am I?"
"You're just outside Sugar Springs. Do you know who you are? Or how you got here?" The person sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I remember who I am. I… this does not appear to be the city square." The boy looked around.
"Yeah, no shit. Do you think someone mugged you then dumped you here?"
"Perhaps… The last thing I recall was opening a broken… pocket watch." The boy suddenly started patting down his pockets in panic. He turned to Chase, pulling him by the shirt.
"Did you steal my watch, you little brat?"
"No, dude! I swear! I just saw you on the side of the rode and wanted to make sure you weren't dead! Which clearly, you aren't!" Blue eyes narrowed, scanning Chase intensely. The grip loosened on Chase's shirt.
"Very well."
"Say… buddy, do you wanna go home with me? If you're really from like Boston or something, it's a bit of a drive, and I'm not sure if you've had lunch or not or when the last time you ate was."
The boy's stomach growled at the prospect of food. Chase helped him up and began guiding him to the passenger side of the truck.
"I have no means to repay you."
"That's totally chill! I'd rather you not starve!"
"…totally chill?" Chase nodded slowly. He might need to get his head checked. Maybe he got a concussion.
"Yeah like super no biggie!" His passenger appeared to be even more confused.
Chase opened the door and helped the other boy inside.
"Don't forget your seat belt!"
"…seat belt?" Chase sighed before grabbing the strap and pulling it across the other boy.
"You must've hit your head pretty hard if you don't remember what a seat belt is. Maybe I should take you to my uncle. He's a doctor. He can get you checked out."
"Why would I need to be checked out? You act like this device is common place!" Chase gave him a concerned glance.
"Buddy, seat belts are in literally every vehicle except like subways and buses."
Chase turned off his hazards and restarted the truck. His passenger flinched at the sound of the engine.
"Okay, we're gonna take this slow so we don't jostle you too much. Thankfully, my grandpa's house is just like up the road."
'Buddy' nodded and watched as Chase shifted the truck into drive.
"Your family must be rather wealthy." Chase chuckled darkly.
"Nah, not really. This truck is an old beater. My grandpa has had it for like twenty years."
"An old beater? Horseless carriages are a new sort of wonder! I have not even seen one before today! I have heard people talk about the inventors trying to make them more fitting for common transportation."
"Buddy, cars… have been around for a long time. Like, I'm pretty sure most people have been using cars since like at least the 1920's."
"The 1920's?" The other boy went silent for a minute before quietly asking, "Say, what year is it?"
"2025… why?"
"Surely you must be joking!"
"Why? What year do you think it is?"
"1885." Chase pulled the truck into the driveway and put it in park to get a good look at the crazy person he had apparently let in his car.
It made sense, the old timey clothes, the lack of modern slang, the confusion over the truck.
Chase's eyes widened in realization.
~~~⧖~~~
"No way! You're a time traveler!"
The blond looked giddy at the realization that he had become displaced in time. The carriage had stopped a few minutes prior, and rather than leading them inside, the blond took it upon himself to ask a barrage of questions.
They did eventually make it indoors. The house was cozy, filled with some items which the thief was familiar with and others that were entirely foreign.
Now that his mind had cleared, he realized that even the other boy's clothing seemed out of place, made with impossibly bright colors and styled in an unusual fashion.
"I'll sneak you to my room before my grandpa comes back inside, then we can chat!"
The blond led him by the hand up the stairs until they reached a small room.
"Hey, Buddy, do you want anything to eat or drink? Water? Tea? Crackers? Chocolate?"
The boy perked up.
"Did you say chocolate?" The blond smiled.
"One chocolate bar coming right up! I'll be right back! Don't go anywhere, Buddy!"
Buddy. He rather liked the sound of that.
Buddy glanced around the room, taking in the portraits that hung on the walls, the depiction of a man plastered on a pillow, and the oddly shaped fixture on the desk.
This must truly be the future, but how did he get here?
