Young Writers Society

Nova dismissed the questions with an absentminded wave of his hand.

"I'm the one who put him in prison," he said, too distracted to realize that the questions were more rhetorical than anything else. "And the tattoo is helping me blend in. But what is happening right now-"

Nova was vaguely aware of Bo blinking.

"You did what?" he asked.

"Is this the past?" Nova muttered, staring down at his hands. "The future? An alternate reality? This is why I hate quantum mechanics and black holes."

Nova hesitated again, Bo's question finally registering. He was still distracted by the question of where and when he was right now, but he was still able to come up with a reply that would temporarily satisfy Bo's curiosity.

He looked up at Bo - if only just for a moment. "I put him in prison. I helped him escape from it, later, but you should know that because we both told you about it after it happened. I even told you about it before it happened."

Nova let out another groan and ran both of his hands through his already messy hair. The paperwork was surely going to be terrible, but he was starting to think it wasn't going to be his only major problem.

A familiar feeling came over him. This wasn’t just some guy on the street who knew his dad and was trying to trick him. This wasn’t some guy with a few screws loose. No. This was that otherworldly stuff. Happening again.

For like, the something-dozenth time. Except these people were just finding him now.

Well, he supposed it was better they found him, who at least wasn’t as fazed by it anymore than someone who’d freak out and call them crazy.

Bo stared at Lode for a long solid moment before a sputtered laugh escaped him.

“Ah. Ahahah! Ahaha. Ahah! Ha! You. You’re. You’re not from this uh.” He gestured to the fellow with an open hand. “World. Reality. Universe. Or whatever. I mean, obviously you can’t be because here in this time, my dad’s still very much in prison and I am not however young you knew whatever version of me as.”

Bo was going to not think too hard about alternate versions of himself and keep talking.

“Like, I don’t know where you’re from originally, but that is not here. Like. At all.”

Nova stared.

That...actually made a lot of sense. It explained the differences and the similarities. An alternate reality where Kaz remained in prison, and one where Bo grew up to lose an eye. He must not have even been responsible for putting Kaz in jail here; this Bo would have figured out that his real name wasn't Lode after mentioning that little tidbit earlier.

"I think you're right," Nova agreed, sounding a mix of relieved and tired. "...Where is here, exactly?"

"Uh." Bo didn't know if it would mean much to Lode, but it would be unkind to not answer. "Los Angeles, California. Planet Earth. The year is 2019."

Man, it felt weird saying it like that. He felt like he was living in a real Scifi movie.

But he guessed he was, wasn't he?

2019?

"Oh," Nova said, finally finding his voice. He tried to hide how nervous that made him - tried to hide the way his voice trembled as he spoke - but he knew how obvious it would be to Bo. Even if this was a different Bo that had never met him, Bo had always been good at reading him. This Bo and the one he knew were similar enough that he could be sure this Bo would see right through his response. "That's...That's a long time ago."

Bo's expression softened, and he swung his leg over the side of the bike and stood up, walking up to Lode and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. It's gonna be okay. We'll figure this out, alright?"

He looked back at his bike, then back at Lode. "How about this - I run back to my apartment to drop off my groceries. You can come with, and then when I throw them in the fridge we can ride down to the beach and talk this out. Get some fresh air, and if you like to you can splash around in the water as much as you want. Just wear some sunscreen, and you're good. How's that sound?"

"That sounds like a plan," Nova agreed. It was strange hearing Bo play the comforter in the conversation - seeing that he was more than a decade older than his Bo, it was usually the other way around.

Bo smiled and nodded. "Okay." He held out his helmet to Nova. "Put this on."

Then he turned and hopped on his bike. "It'll be a little tight but if you sit behind me and hold on you should be good. That okay? Sorry I'm just here with my bike. Wasn't really expecting to run into otherworlders today. Then again, I never really do."

Nova gave a little shake of his head.

"I don't have a problem with it," he said. The part of him that was used to seeing Bo as a teenager wanted to make him keep the helmet, but something told him Bo wasn't going to start driving unless he put it on. He slipped on the helmet and sat behind Bo. "This isn't your first time dealing with people from other worlds?"

Bo started up his motorcycle and as the engine rumbled, Bo laughed loudly for quite a while. He started out onto the road before he managed an answer.

"No!" he said, laughter still in his voice. "It is definitely not."

Nova mulled over that comment (and its implications) in silence as they drove to Bo's apartment. He wasn't sure how long the ride actually was. He was too busy observing everyone and everything they passed. The fashions, the technology, the buildings - all of it was of interest. Nova didn't consider himself a historian, but how many other times would he be able to study human history like this? He felt like he was somehow reconnecting with the parents he had never really known, even if they were from centuries later than the point he was at now.

They finally pulled into the parking lot outside of Bo's apartment.

The motorcycle rumbled into silence and Bo twisted out the keys and hopped off. He pulled out his bag of groceries from the back of his bike and then turned to Lode, holding out a hand.

"I'll take the helmet, now," he said. "Now that your cranium has arrived her safely intact."

He handed back the helmet.

Then his gaze shifted; he couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride when he saw the place that Bo was living in. He knew it was just one apartment of many, but it was still such an adult thing to be doing. It didn't matter that this Bo wasn't his Bo. He could still see the same mannerisms and personality, despite the difference in reality and age.

"Can I come in with you?" he asked.

Bo smiled as he took the helmet and tucked it under his arm.

"What? Of course. You think I'd leave you out here, in the strange city, all one - psh. Come on," he said, nodding his head towards the steps as he led Lode up them.

"So, how different is this place from your home?"

Nova got off the motorcycle and looked at the area surrounding Bo's apartment complex. The buildings all had the same basic structure, but there was a noticeable difference in what materials they were made of. Everything was much more polished on the worlds he had been to - even the worst of them seemed newer than this place.

And that was only considering the buildings. The people, the clothes, the technology - all of it was vastly different from the worlds he had visited.

But Bo wasn't talking about every place he had ever been to. He was talking about his home. Images of Kaz's family came to mind, even though he knew he should have been thinking of his empty apartment and sprawling office building he worked in.

He looked back at Bo.

"It's pretty different," he said, giving him a smile.