The Library

Queenie pretended to think about it. Even if it was possible, she wouldn't call Briar, if only to avoid that look, What are you, stupid? It was beyond annoying. Her second option was her father, and she liked to avoid his temper as well as she could. Besides, sticking around this guy was in her best interest is she wanted to figure out exactly what was going on.

"No," she said, taking care to keep her tone casual, "No one who would care to pick me up."

Adam took a deep breath. Conventional wisdom told him that he ought to be cautious of this girl, but for all he knew, she had no one in the world. And while he'd never woken up in a graveyard, he'd definitely had his share of morning afters that he wanted to forget. She seemed to be in good health, anyway. Just tired and out of sorts.

He gestured for her to move aside so he could put the flowers on top of the grave. He said a silent prayer to himself and tried to hold in his tears in front of the girl.

What he would give to have just one more with Esther. To have stopped her. To have understood what she meant when she said it's too late for me.

Once he composed himself, he turned to the girl and extended his hand. "I'm Adam, by the way."

She sidestepped the grave so he could place the flowers down. For an awkward moment she stood there, waiting for him to be done with his little mourning ritual. She never got that. The chick was dead, putting flowers next to a rock with her name on it didn't make her less dead. People treated the dead like minor gods or something. Like if you thought hard enough they'd be able to hear you. Complete, foolish, bullshit.

Still, she painted on a sympathetic expression and cast her gaze downward, off to the side. It was all for show but she was a very well-practiced actress.

When he stood and introduced himself, she let the act drop just slightly, keeping the little hint of sympathy in the curve of her lips, her eyes. Her eyes were where it mattered most. No one ever thought you could fake it there.

She took his extended hand, "It's nice to meet you, Adam."

Carter was thankful that Amy had come in and shown them how the shower worked. Apparently, it wasn't too odd of a thing to be confused about for her to be unfazed, even though she did joke about it.

He noted that she had family coming in in the morning. They would have to be out by then or otherwise figure out what they were supposed to be there for by then. It could be related to Amy's mother, but he couldn't quite figure out the connection just yet.

He let Skull run out when it sounded like Iris had been discovered. He didn't want to draw suspicion by having them both go, or make things more awkward, so he stayed where he was and decided to strip and get in the shower instead.

He wasn't going to pass up a chance to get clean. He smelled like rain, and the rain here smelled disgusting.

"Babe, get back in here!" he yelled from the bathroom.

"Queenie." He gave her a tight smile as he cupped his face in his hands. He didn't want the girl to see him cry. He wanted to help her, but he wasn't sure how, he hoped that she would ask him for something.

**

Amy could have sworn the doll was alive because it had been so realistic. But it was just a doll.

"Where did you get this?" She asked Skull, slightly uncomfortable that he'd ran out of the shower. "I'm going to leave it on the mantle, okay?" She sat the doll down, next to the picture of her and her mother from graduation.

Just then, the phone rang.

"Mummy, how are you?" Amy said. "9 tomorrow? Listen, these two guys are staying here. They got locked out of their apartment. Invite them to breakfast? Oh, sure..." Amy hesitantly turned to Skull. "My mom wants to know if you want to come to breakfast with us tomorrow morning."

**

The Librarian fidgeted nervously in her chair. She was watching them in two different timelines. She wondered if Queenie had put two and two together. If she had her calcuations right and Queenie managed to get a car with Adam, they'd meet the boys somewhere back on the trip to LA. As for Esther, she'd have to stay in her mother's time a little longer.

At least now the Librarian had the fairy at her side to help her. Maybe she'd more helpful here, and the Librarian's little world in between the dimensions, than in Esther's time.

...Where had Iris gone?

Amy had taken her out of my hand, but it wasn't really Iris that she had taken. It was a figure that looked like Iris. The last time I checked, Iris couldn't just randomly turn into a little toy. Maybe the woman from the library had interfered and brought her somewhere else.

If she had, I would have been a little more appreciative if she had taken Iris before I went to grab her.

I mulled over the offer.

I was starting to get the feeling that going to that breakfast was the whole point of this. I didn't want to - I wanted to get back to where Esther and Elizabeth were, or at least get to where that woman was so I could demand some answers.

"Sure," I said, giving a smile I definitely didn't feel. "Breakfast sounds great."

It was hard keeping the sarcasm out of my voice.

I turned back and headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

"Looks like we're sticking around for breakfast," I said, scowling.

I plopped down on the toilet and glared at the floor.

Queenie fiddled with her ponytail. It was long, and heavy. She was used to that, but it still wouldn't hurt to sit down. Or, better yet, she might be able to get a ride somewhere. Hanging out in a graveyard was...not ideal.

"I hate to do this," she said, giving a winning performance of bashfulness, "but I, um, I don't actually know where I am. Do you think you could point me in the direction of somewhere more...populated." She shook her head, giving a nervous laugh, "Sorry, you just look really familiar, have you been on the news or something? It's bugging me." She delivered her lines bashfully, like she really was just some shy, embarrassed girl who he happened across after a night of what was presumably some hard drinking. She needed him to admit his connection to Jay, or explain it away as something else. It really was bugging her. Did Jay just have one of those faces in this world? If that was the case the boys in this place had some wonderful genetics.

Finally, she pulled the ponytail over her shoulder and messed with the ends. It was plenty long enough to reach down the length of her back, even pulled up like it was. She wouldn't chop it off, though. Mostly because Briar told her to.

She brushed those thoughts away. You're deflecting the unusual situation that you can't handle by thinking of something inconsequential. Briar's voice. Very shut-the-fuck-upable.

Well, things seemed to be going smoothly. They were at Amy's house, and it was clear that she had connections to Esther. They just had to figure out what those were. It made sense.

He'd made use of some soap he'd found in the tub. He didn't know if that was correct social etiquette, but the soap was liquid (the bottle said body wash, he didn't question it) and he didn't see how there could be much consequence. It wasn't like he used all of it.

He was scrubbing his feet behind the curtain when he heard the door shut and Skull entered.

"Oh, don't sound so thrilled about it, Skull," he teased. "The hospitality they've shown us has been more than generous. Look on the bright side-" he parted the curtain, sticking his head and shoulders out. "-You get a shower, and you get food. And me." He gestured to himself with a sweeping motion of his hand. "Now why don't you get in next? I don't know where all this water comes from, but I'm not trying to use all of their reserves. You know, because I'm trying to express my gratitude, unlike some people."

Adam laughed. "Well, we're in Portland now. I'm going back to Los Angeles this afternoon, if that's all right with you."

*

Amy still saw the guys sleeping as she and Scott wearily got dressed. They were cuddling, which she thought was cute. She and Scott hadn't done in that in a while, and they mostly avoided each other when they slept. She knew she still loved Scott, but they were definitely past the honeymoon phase.

Amy started to make coffee as Scott brought their suitcases into the living room. She knew that they would have coffee at the restaurant, but she wanted to have some now.

"Morning," she called to her guests. "My mom's going to be here soon."

Queenie nodded, "Yeah, that sounds just fine." The name of the familiar city was music to her ears. Maybe this place was many, many years behind hers in development, but she knew something about it. She could work with that. Plus, if she had to do anything illegal, the technology of this time wouldn't be able to keep her out of where she wanted to be. That was quite the bonus.

I woke up to the sound of Amy's voice.

For a moment, I forgot where I was. I didn't have a specific place in mind when I opened my eyes - I just thought I was back on my world, spending a night in the room of the latest inn Natty boy, Asmira and I were staying at. But then the room came into focus around me, and I remembered that 1) I was stuck doing some vague woman's bidding 2) that I needed to find a way to get back to Elizabeth and Esther and 3) that I was supposed to be Carter's boyfriend right now.

...Why did I feel slightly restricted?

I glanced over.

...Carter was cuddling me.

And I had been doing the same.

I immediately drew my hands away, resisting the urge to push him away and off the side of the pull-out couch - the only reason I didn't was because Amy would have probably asked some questions about why I was being so cruel to my lover.

I sat up.

Then I glanced back down at Carter.

...I couldn't push him off the bed, but still...

Resisting the urge to smirk, I gave Carter a very hard push and shake to get him up.

"Come on, honey," I said. "It's time to get up."

Carter was going to kill Skull when he got the chance.

He’d actually been enjoying the cuddling until he realized it was Skull he was embracing. It was a shame. Were Skull not a wretched, mind-numbingly obnoxious imbecile Carter might’ve been fond of him. He was quite comfortable, at the very least. But it was a moot point. Skull pushed him to “wake” him the first chance he’d gotten, and any iota of affection he might’ve had for Skull vanished in that very moment.

But instead of retaliating (because Amy was watching, for sure) Carter rolled over, grabbing for Skull again (because he was sure he’d love that) and feigned drowsiness. He squinted up at Skull and moaned in a whiny manner.

“Skull, darling,” he said sleepily. “Be gentle.”

Amy was starting to get anxious. Not for any reason in particular. She thought Carter and Skull were nice, but she wasn't sure that she wanted them at breakfast. But at the same time, if they were there, her mother would probably censor herself and not be so critical. Her mother had never liked Scott much, but had seemed to resign herself to the fact that they were in a serious relationship and weren't going to break up any time soon. At least Scott had family in LA so he could spend some time with them too.

She anxiously sipped her coffee. Amy realized the only things the guys had for clothes were what they'd worn the day before, so she went to go check on them in the bathroom. They weren't fully dry, and it was too cold to wear what they'd worn to bed outside. She wasn't about to ask Scott to let them borrow any of his day clothes. They weren't fully dry, but they'd have to do, so she gave them to Carter and Skull.

Just then, the door buzzed. It was her mother. Amy let her through, and a minute later she was knocking at the door. Claire hugged her daughter and waved to Scott. Just then, she noticed the two men-- Amy's guests-- staring at her. "Hello," Claire said, her Liverpudlian accent still thick after all of these years. "How are you?" She wasn't sure how else to respond.

Carter was definitely awake - I had pulled similar stunts to bug Nathaniel, minus the pretending to be a couple bit. I went to push him again, grateful for the extra opportunity, but paused when I heard someone come to the door.

I was still wearing my pajamas, but I didn't really care. Clothes in general weren't something I really worried about - after growing up the way I had, I was just grateful that I was wearing some.

Amy's mother hadn't been who I had been expecting.

I hadn't really been expecting anyone. If I had looked at the mantle a little more closely when snagging Iris, I might have realized just who Amy was the kid of. Alternatively, if I hadn't been dealing with Carter and my frustration with the woman in the library, I would have realized that something about Amy's appearance rung a bell.

Her mom wasn't as young as she had been the last time I saw her - it was clear that time had definitely passed. I wondered what she thought when she saw us. Either she didn't recognize us at all, or she saw us and probably guessed we had somehow found the secret to immortality.

(Or perfect, wrinkle-free skin care.)

"Hey," I said, giving a smirk that would have jogged her memory if our appearances weren't familiar enough. I got off of the pull-out couch, unceremoniously the sheets from my side of the bed on top of Carter.

Adam led Queenie to his car.

"This is silly, but," he replied. "I drove 16 hours just to make one stop. Isn't that stupid?" He wiped his tear. "Anyway, it's already 11, so I was thinking we could get on the road."