#juliette06

*** The first thing Aaron did when he went to school the next day was look for Sam. He found him in the cafeteria, trying to flatten out a dollar bill that was apparently too wrinkled for the vending machine to accept. "BOB SAGET!" Yelled Sam. His eyes got wide with excitement when he saw Aaron coming. "Hey, dude, would you mind trading me this dollar for one that isn't complete crap?" Aaron furrowed his eyebrows, but shook it off. Pulling out a crisp dollar and trading with Sam, he said. "Remember yesterday how you told me that you wanted to make up to me calling that song gay?" As Aaron spoke, Sam put his dollar in and the machine finally accepted it. "Uh, yeah. I remember. Still sorry about that, by the way..." Aaron shrugged it off. "It's ok," he stated quickly. "I found a way you can make it up to me." Sam turned to him and raising an eyebrow, took a bite of his candy bar. "I need you to introduce me to Dannie?" Sam nearly choked on his Snickers. "I thought you said you were gay!" He announced worriedly. Aaron furrowed his eyebrows. "I am but..." His expression fell and sighing, he continued, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you..." Sam took another bite of his chocolate bar and smiled. "Try me..." Aaron sighed and shrugging whispered, "Alright, but we've gotta do it some place... Private..." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Like an empty hallway?" "Exactly!" "Like the one we are standing in right now..? "Oh..." Aaron opened his mouth to respond then closed it. "Right... So..." "You were saying?" He took a deep breath and sighed. "Dannie is sort of my best friend..." Sam laughed. "Sorry dude, but that position is currently filled!" He chuckled and pointed toward himself. Aaron's eyebrows shot up. "Oh! So you mean you're not like... Together?" "What!? No! Of course not!" Sam denied. Aaron rolled his eyes. "Ok, well maybe not in this universe but—" Sam cocked his head to the side and held up a hand. "Whoa, dude, you're not making any sense!" "I would if you would stop talking and let me talk for a few seconds!" He shouted, and Sam nonchalantly took another bite of his candy. Aaron took a deep breath in. "Ok... Like I was saying, Dannie and I are best friends, just not in this universe." The blond narrowed his eyes. "I don't–I don't belong here... This whole world we are in right now is actually a book! At least where I come from it is. I woke up yesterday in a strange house and all of this exists!" He made a big gesture with his arms all around him. Aaron began to feel worried when Sam stayed silent for a few moments. "Am I the main character in the book?" He finally answered. Aaron glared at him condescendingly with a raised eyebrow. "Really?" He asked. "I confide in you about being transported into another universe and that's your question?" Sam looked up as if contemplating an answer then nodded, saying, "Uh, yeah. Pretty much." "No. You're not the main character. Carson Philips is. You're not even in the book... Maybe an extra in the movie but I can't tell." "Wait, Carson? Of all people he gets to be the main character of a—" "Sam!" Aaron yelled, getting the boy's attention focused again. "Can you help me, please?" He cocked his head to the side. "How?" He asked. Aaron sighed and shrugged. "I don't know... Get Dannie to listen to me and maybe that'll jog her memory? Or something..?" He shook his head. "She was the only person who kept me grounded... I'm lost without her..." Sam pursed his lips and nodded, giving Aaron a consoling pat on the back. "I understand you completely... I'll help you... Maybe later today after class..." Aaron smiled brightly at this. "Thanks man, I owe you one." Sam laughed. "Actually, we're just even now." And waved his new friend goodbye. *** Aaron hated math. Well, that was an understatement. Loathe, was more like it. It just didn't make any sense! Like shit, people in the 1900s had trouble grasping these concepts! Also zero divided by zero should be 1 right because anything divided by itself is 1 but no because it goes into itself one time but also infinitely many times!? It was just awfully paradoxical. As the teacher continued on with his lecture, Aaron smirked, knowing exactly what was coming next. "Whoa, whoa, wait!" Carson exclaimed. "There are imaginary numbers now?" He asked, flabbergasted. "Are there unicorns in the next lesson?" Aaron chuckled. "As a matter of fact, I hear we get to watch the entire Harry Potter series at the end of class," he joked. "Mr. Christopherson! Mr. Phillips! Do you mind calming down so that I can continue to give my lecture!" Aaron smirked. "No sir, I don't mind at all, go right ahead." He said, and the class giggled. "Don't push your luck, new kid." The teacher threatened. He just sat back in his desk smugly as the teacher continued to assign the homework. "My luck could be pushed over a cliff and be okay." He mumbled. "That doesn't even make sense," he heard a voice coming from behind him. He turned around to face Carson. The bell rang and everyone gathered their things. Aaron shrugged. "I'd rather have a stupid comeback than no comeback." Carson hummed in agreement. "You seem to be seated very close to me in the classes we have together and every time I speak up, you seem to be right behind me... Like you've already got a response planned out... It's getting kind of creepy." He gave him a playful smirk. The shorter boy shoved his hands in his pocket and shrugged. "Well, at least I know I've got your attention now." And with a quick wink he sauntered off to his next block, leaving Carson without any words... Which was actually pretty remarkable. *** Aaron stepped into the cafeteria, lunch plate in tow, and he saw Dannie and Sam sitting together at a small circular table. He must've caught Sam's eye because the blond boy smiled and waved him over. The gesture made Aaron smile, but it faded from his face when he saw Dannie glare at Sam and shake her head, followed by the pair obviously arguing. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around his and a familiar peppy brunette hopped into view, a fake smile plastered on her face. It was none other than the infamous Claire Matthews. "Hi there!" She said energetically. A posse of cheerleaders, a few athletes, and Nicholas Forbes and co. followed closely behind her. "Um, hi." Aaron replied as he began to walk away. Claire stopped him. "So!" She started. "We've seen you around school, and we've decided that you have a certain look that totally works with our ensemble! So if you, you know, want to be a part of our group—" Aaron cut her off. "Uh, thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna have to say no." She stopped dead in her tracks. "Excuse me?" He swiveled around, and faced her. "I don't want to get involved with a group of people like you." "What does that even mean?" She asked. "People like us?" He shrugged and pursed his lips. "Asshats that think they run the school." She laughed. "But we do run the school." The comment was met by murmurs of agreement. "Yeah, well that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you run me..." He looked over at the table. "I have friends of my own." It wasn't a complete lie. Sam was sort of his friend, Dannie was his best in another universe and Carson was a fictional character he obsessed over so... She followed his line of sight to the table where the bickering couple sat at and she gave a disbelieving laugh. "Them? You choose them over us? Really?" He nodded abruptly and she scoffed, crossing her arms. "You know, you should really reconsider who you hang out with if you wanna have an easy time here." She glared at him. "Because like I said, like you said, we run this mother, and nobody says no to us." She snapped her fingers in a very cliché-type manner (well it is a movie, thought Aaron) and her posse followed her where they all took a seat at a large table in the center of the cafeteria. He just smirked and shrugged, making his way over to Dannie and Sam's table until he saw the boy hastily get up and walk towards him. "Hi Sam!" Aaron greeted cheerily. Sam grimaced and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Hey—! Listen, Aaron." He draped one arm around the boy an turned him around in the opposite direction, much to Aaron's confusion. "You I'm cool with you, I think you're awesome... But—" "But what?" Sam sighed. "On your first day here, you kinda freaked Dannie out, and she thinks you're creepy. She practically begged me not to let you sit with us." Aaron's heart sank. "Oh..." He forced a sad smile. "That's okay, I wouldn't want to make her uncomfortable..." "Hey!" The other boy began. "I'm still gonna try and get you to talk to her after school, I always keep my promises!" He smiled. "We cool?" Aaron nodded. "Yeah, we are." And sighed deeply as he went to go sit down. He turned around and realized that he had absolutely nowhere to sit. Of all the "New Kid" cliches... From the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure head out of the cafeteria. Aaron, upon realizing it was Carson, followed the boy outside, down the hall, and in front the writer's club room. Carson was about to open the door when he suddenly swiveled around. "You know, this is what I meant when I said that you were getting kind of creepy." Aaron took a step back, surprised. "I uh," he stammered. He looked down at his full tray. "I didn't have anywhere to sit..." A small glimmer of sympathy flickered across Carson's face, and he sighed. "You can hang out with me, I guess..." Aaron perked up immediately. "But just for today! I'm not in the habit of picking up strays..." Aaron gave his infamous smirk. "And I'm not in the habit of staying with strange men." He didn't know what he was expecting, but he certainly wasn't expecting the Carson Philips to blush! The writer turned around quickly and coughed. "I'm just gonna–gonna..." He pointed to his laptop. "Get some work done while you eat that garbage of yours..." Aaron took a seat and started eating his lunch, the only sound filling the room Carson's fingers clacking away on his computer. After a few moments of silence, Aaron spoke up. "So, whatchya working on?" Carson never even looked up from his screen. "Editorial paper. Small Town Sex Scandal." "Oh, I heard about that!" Aaron said in between bites if his sandwich. "The teacher that got fired for using play doh to teach kids about the sex organs or something like that right?" Carson nodded in silent confirmation. "If you ask me, he should be given an award for figuring out that the only way to get anyone's attention around here is to use colorful and sticky toys." "So many sex jokes I could make out of that one, but I am a mature young adult so I won't." A beat of silenced passed then, "Mind if I take a look?" Carson tensed up. It was one thing to have your work published in the school newspaper, another thing entirely to have someone want to read an unfinished copy. "Why?" He asked suspiciously. He shrugged his shoulders. "I like to read," and he flashed a crooked smile. Contrary to his usual distrusting behavior, Carson turned his laptop around so that it faced Aaron. The shorter boy leaned in and, though he'd read it multiple times before, read it again. It was real. Like, really real! After a few moments, he gave it back, not really having much input or anything. "It's good," he finally said. Carson nodded. "Thanks..." He stayed silent for a few moments then, "So, uh, you write?" Aaron nodded. "Mainly songs." He chuckled. "Thing is, they come to me in bits and pieces, so I'm like "wow! That'd make a great part!" But I have no idea how to fill the middle up really." He shrugged. "Sing for me?" Carson suddenly asked. "What!?" Aaron asked in surprise. "Yeah, come on." He started. "I mean, I'm not one for music, but I showed you mine now you show yours." It was Carson's turn to smirk. Aaron sighed and caved in easily. "Alright... Um..." He racked his brain for a song. "Okay..." "Baby you're not alone Cause you're here with me And nothin's ever gonna bring us down cause nothin can Keep me from loving you And you know it's true It don't matter what'll come to be Our love is all we need To make it through" "Other than a few grammatical errors," Carson began. "That was really good. I suppose I'll let them slide, considering that its art." "It's hardly art!" Aaron laughed. "I wrote it for this guy I had a crush on my freshman year. Needless to say, that it was a pretty embarrassing crush." "See," Carson started. "This is why I don't encourage freshmen to join Writer's Club I mean, even we're not that desperate!" He laughed heartily. "Yeah, there's just something about freshmen year that just kind of clouds your judgement." Carson sighed and took a look up at the clock. "Well, it's almost time to go... I should get my things together. Notes for the student council meeting." "Yeah, yeah... Me too. I mean I should get going..." He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. As he pushed his way through the door, he turned around at Carson who was packing up his things. "So..." The other boy looked up from his mess. "See you tomorrow?" He asked hopefully. Carson returned him with a small smile and a nod. "See you tomorrow." *** Sam was running with Dannie towards the back of the school, eyes over her face. "Where are you taking me?" She questioned. "I already told you, to meet someone. A friend of mine." He neared the parking lot and finally released her so that she stood about two feet away from Aaron. Her face immediately fell and she turned on Sam. "You brought me to the creep!?" She asked. "Why does everyone think I'm a creep?" He asked aloud. "There are others who think you're a creep?" Sam asked. Dannie snorted. "Well he is kinda creepy." "I'm not a creep!" He shouted. "I'm your best friend!" She narrowed her eyes and nodded sarcastically. "Oh, right, totally! And I'm the daughter of a famous writer!" Aaron scoffed. "Well this universe is filled with fictional characters, so who knows!?" He threw his hands up. Dannie turned around to face Sam. "Why did you bring me here?" Sam shrugged. "Just hear him out." She turned back around. "I'm from Columbus, Ohio." Aaron started. "But more than that, I'm from a different universe... Because where I'm from, this town doesn't exist! And where I'm from you and I are the best of friends!" She shook her head. "That's just not possible!" She exclaimed. "Then how would I know that your favorite color is hazel?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hazel, not brown. Specifically." She froze. "Lucky guess." "Is it also a lucky guess that your birthday is March 21st? And that you are slowly falling in love with Imagine Dragons." Her eyes darted around, as if she was searching for some sort of completely plausible explanation. "And how else would I know that you're an orphan?" He asked. "Ha!" She started. "You're wrong there. I was an orphan, but I was adopted." Aaron stopped dead in his tracks and a smile slowly worked its way onto his face. "Really?" She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. Shocking that anyone would want me, right?" The goofy smile never left Aaron's face. "No! No that's not it, I'm just happy for you..." There was a beat of silence, but Dannie still remained skeptical. "You probably overheard someone talking about me." She reasoned. "Come on Sam." She tugged on the other boy's arm and started off in the opposite direction. The blond gave him a sympathetic glance as he walked away. Aaron hated having to do this, but he was pulling out the big guns. "When you were four years old..." Dannie stopped walking, her eyes widening in realization of what he was about to say. "You were in a car accident. Hit by an eighteen-wheeler. You survived, but your biological parents both died in that crash." Silence filled the air for a few moments. Sam shook his head. "I think you're wrong, dude. Even I know she's never—" Dannie cut him off. "How did you know that?" Her friend turned to her in shock. "What?" Aaron sighed. "I didn't want to bring that up... Because I know how upset it makes you... I just need you to believe me." She took a step forward and leaned towards him, looking closely. "How. Did. You. Know?" She asked quietly. Aaron exhaled. "I told you. You're my best friend." Slowly she raised her hand to his face and placed it on his cheek. Aaron stood there, frozen and paralyzed with anticipation. Finally, she opened her mouth. "I—I believe you..." She whispered. Aaron's eyes widened slightly in shock. "You-you do?" A smile broke out onto his face. "Don't get too excited!" She warned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know why, but I believe you, ok? That doesn't negate your creepiness." She smirked. "In fact, it kind of amplifies it." Sam stepped in between the two. "Okay, we'll now that we have this crazy shit settled, can we finish this conversation in a setting with more food? Because it been like four hours since I've eaten." Dannie and Aaron turned and faced him with humorous expressions on their faces. She turned back to Aaron and shrugged. "Athletes." *** Aaron stared at Sam wolf down a burger like it was a bite sized snack. Damn that boy could eat. "Now that you've inhaled your food," Aaron started. "What /things/ did you want to talk about?" Sam pushed his empty plate aside and opened up his hands. "Okay, when you said you were from a different universe, in my head I was like "this guys a fucking wacko" right, but you don't say that to someone's face that's rude." Aaron furrowed his eyebrows, contemplating that response. "But now man, like, I really believe you... But that means there's gotta be like some sort of supernatural force or some shit, right?" Aaron shrugged. "I guess—?" Dannie suddenly started nodding her head. "No, no, I get where he's going with this." Aaron furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Like, The Butterfly Effect. In every time traveling movie you're not supposed to mess with things. Step on a butterfly, cause World War III." Sam snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Exactly!" He shouted. "And that's just when people are in the wrong /time/! You're in a completely different universe." Aaron contemplated this. "Maybe whatever force put me here, thought I belonged here?" He offered. Sam shrugged. "Maybe, but what if it was an accident?" "If that's the case," Dannie started. "You can't change anything." Aaron glared at her. "That's a bit unreasonable don't you think? Besides, its already too late... I've changed some things already that I know have to have happened in both the book and the movie." The blond boy nodded. "He's got a point there, Dan." He started. He turned back to Aaron. "Well, how many times have you seen or read this story?" He asked. He smiled. "I know it like the back of my hand." Dannie chimed in. "Then, you know what plot points are big and important, and those are the ones you shouldn't interfere in..." She furrowed her eyebrows. "I've grown up here, and I can't think of anything here that's worthy enough to be made into a book." She said. "What happens here? Like do aliens come and kill us all? What event makes this worth your time?" She asked thoughtfully. Images of Carson taking a step off the school curb and getting killed by that famous flashing light of electricity flashed across his mind. He realized that he couldn't tell either of them about that, because if he was being honest with himself, he hadn't stopped thinking about stopping it since he realized where he was. "I don't know," he lied. "It's just a book about... High school... And writing." Dannie and Sam simply nodded in agreement while Aaron gave an internal sigh if relief. "So we're in agreement here?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "No changing /major/ things." Aaron nodded. "Agreed." He once again lied. If he was saving a life, how bad could the effects be? *** A/N: HAVE I MENTIONED I SUCK AT ENDINGS?

stephanie yooo

Are you even caught up yet?

She's actually reading it?! Like for real?!

damn that's accuracy. you rock julie.

Girl you need to sort out your priorities