Hey reader,
Don't mind the fact that I'm breaking through the fourth wall and the laws of physics as far as both our timelines know, just keep reading.
Oh, and you may have noticed there's no year on top of this chapter. That's because I'll be narrating this. After all, I know my struggles better than you'd know mine, and vice versa.
In your timeline, there were two nukes in world war 2, right? Here, we had three, and the third cursed us with powers. When the third bomb fell... that was when our timeline came into existence.
We elemental humans aren't much better than you normals, trust me... I know. My friend Lead tried to stop the creation of our whole timeline, but it didn't work out one bit. He was badly wounded already, and could barely walk when he turned back time. Again, a power from the bomb. How do I know all this? Maybe I should begin by introducing myself.
My name's Nick. Almost everyone I know calls me that.
Because why add the two extra syllables to get my full name? It's tiring and we humans are lazy, like you. Anyway, I'm a student at Elemental University, a place which does not exist at all in your timeline.
You're probably wondering what powers I have now. Figures, I rambled so much about my world. My powers are nickel, aluminium and phosphorus, although I rarely use the second two.
Nickel lets me manipulate magnetic fields, even allowing myself to float by manipulating the earth's magnetism. Aluminium gives me metal manipulation, so I can mess around with a bunch of metals. And phosphorus could let me set my whole room on fire.
And I nearly did one day.
Lead had just emerged into the hospital room, a hopeful look in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings.
I noticed that the sparkle suddenly faded when he noticed her floating in the air, trying to prove a point while Selena and Gallus exchanged glances, wondering what to do.
"Hey, relax. Don't let her ruin your mood."
My words seemed to throw him off course as well. "No... not-not you, or Aurelia... it's me... look at her right now. She's floating."
"So what, she does it all the time," Thalia, who was standing beside me, shrugged.
"She's not supposed to float. I stopped it, I... I..." Lead's voice was breaking with each letter, and he looked more and more panicked. His legs seemed like they couldn't stand for much longer, so I instinctively grabbed his hands, setting him on his bed. "I'm sorry, I failed you guys..."
Believe it or not, Aurelia did not see any of that. Neither did our resident lovebirds, who were busy thinking of solutions to Aurelia's love life issues. Until Thalia went over and nudged her slowly.
"Aurelia, he's back..." she whispered softly. "It didn't work out..."
She seemed to be even more aloof than before. "Oh, okay."
I couldn't believe it. She usually throws her whole self and a clone into these things. I should know, and I should have noticed back while we were dating, her top priority is her research. Even before Lead entered the picture, confessing that he liked her, and she was confused as to what to do.
So she decided to run the numbers on us, and do a round of simultaneous, not-so-simple and linear equations on us... by dating us both simultaneously.
She would equate the coefficients, cancel one and use the other to solve the problem. Elimination by equating coefficients; her father probably taught her in high school mathematics.
But this wasn’t a math problem. This was real life, and real feelings were involved. I watched as Aurelia’s usually sharp and focused demeanor seemed to crumble. She was trying to hold it together, but I could see the cracks forming when she took a punch in the shoulder from Selena.
“Lead, I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I thought I could fix everything, but I can’t. I can’t even fix myself.”
"Yourself? What do you mean, your..."
That earned me a 'wrap-it-up' glare from Thalia. I honestly fear her sometimes, and not because of her thallium toxic touch.
"It's not your fault, it's mine..." Lead answered, seeming so calm about it. "What you did, is done. I'm letting it go."
"Yeah, there are bigger problems in life. Not everything is about you, you know?" I added. I could feel my thumb being involuntarily squeezed by my other fingers in a tight fist, my jaw clenching.
"I know... I'm sorry."
Selena, ever the pacific parental figure who tries to end quarrels, stepped in. "Guys, this all doesn't matter. Do you see Lead right now? He looks so pale, tired... we should let him rest."
My anger simmered just below the surface, a tight knot in my chest. I wanted to shout, to demand answers, but Selena’s calm presence held me back. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
“Fine,” I muttered, my voice strained. “But this isn’t over.”
Aurelia looked up, her eyes filled with a mix of guilt and relief. “Thank you, Selena,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Selena nodded, her expression softening. “Let’s leave him be... he needs rest, and we all need to cool down.”
I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Lead had always been the calm, collected one, the one who could let things go. I envied that ability, especially now.
As Selena, Aurelia and Gallus turned to leave, I watched the blonde haired girl float off, hovering an inch above the ground as she moved, wondering... what now? This really was not over, and I didn't particularly want to see it unfold.
Unfortunately, that's not how it works. When you're involved in the problem, there's no going back.
Thalia stayed back, her eyes never leaving me. “You need to let it go too, Nick,” she said quietly. “Holding onto this anger won’t help anyone.”
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. “I know,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “But it’s hard.”
Thalia stepped closer, her gaze softening. “I know it is. But we’re a team. We need to stick together, especially now.”
I nodded, feeling a small measure of comfort in her words. “Yeah, you’re right.”
"Come on, let's get out of here..." she said, beckoning to me. I took one last look at Lead. He wasn't as chill as usual. He seemed a bit tensed.
Okay, scratch that, he was quite upset. But this was a different kind. He was upset... with himself. Nothing was his fault, really.
If he hadn't gone back to the cafe to get Aurelia's hoodie that night, two weeks ago, he wouldn't have gotten hurt. He might have had better luck with the time travel. He could have stopped that third nuke.
I know the government pretty much forbids time-travelers from doing so without a permit, but if I were him, I would have gone back and stopped that law from being added in the first place.
He could have crafted the perfect life for everyone a long time ago. He's really lucky.
But then... this only ever started when he started crushing on Aurelia... who was with me at the time. Then I don't know what thought process went on in Aurelia's brain, but she decided to play a game with it. She'd observe us both at once, and draw her conclusion. Well, my conclusion is that it's all a load of bull.
Thanks a lot, Aurelia...
***
Five days later, Lead returned to the university. He was completely healed, and any trace of the hairline fracture he had was gone.
Oddly enough, not long after unpacking his things, he came straight to the infamous boys' room 129. I found him in front of the door, contemplating whether or not to knock. He seemed to have gotten a jumpscare out of my sudden emergence, even almost making a small hop.
"What are you doing out here?" I asked, setting my glasses on my face properly. The shock on his face looked clearer now.
"Isn't the lobby a common area? Oh, wait, is it one of the girls?" came a confused call from inside. It was Gallus, yelling over his headphones.
"No, it's Lead." I answered, raising my voice a bit, then turned back to him, closing the door behind me.
"Yeah, and last I checked, I'm not a girl." he said with a small laugh. "What brings you onto the lobby all of a sudden, Nick?"
"I was going to go outside. Thalia said her dad brought back sweet loot from the principals convention." I shrugged, though I was surprised to see him so relaxed. "Wanna come?"
"Sure, why not?"
And just like that, the reason he stopped by my room was soon forgotten.
As we walked down the hallway, I couldn’t help but glance at Lead. He seemed so peaceful, almost as if nothing had happened. It was baffling. How could he be so calm after everything?
“Lead,” I started, trying to keep my voice steady, “how are you so… okay with all this?”
He looked at me, a small smile playing on his lips. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Aurelia. She played us both, and you’re just… fine?” I couldn’t hide the frustration in my voice.
Lead sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “It’s not that I’m fine, Nick. It’s just… I’ve had time to think about it, lying in bed for nearly a week. Getting angry won’t change what happened.”
“But she cheated on us. With each other!” I exclaimed, feeling my anger rise again. “Doesn’t that bother you?”
“Of course it does,” he said quietly. “But holding onto that anger won’t help me move forward. I have to let it go, for my own sake.”
I shook my head, trying to understand. “I don’t get it. How can you just let it go?”
Lead stopped walking and turned to face me. “Nick, I realized that Aurelia’s actions were about her, not us. She was confused and made mistakes. But that doesn’t define who we are. We can’t let her decisions control our lives.”
I stared at him, trying to process his words. “So, what? We just pretend it never happened?”
“No,” he said firmly. “We acknowledge it, learn from it, and move on. We deserve better than to be stuck in the past.”
I took a deep breath, feeling a bit of the tension ease. “I guess you’re right. It’s just… hard.”
"I watched this scene in a sitcom once... a girl who was crushing on an absolute jerk finds out that he probably hates her. She was really mad at herself about it. And there was this poem her friend invented to try and cheer her up." Lead went on, stifling a laugh as he remembered the lines. "I don't know, maybe it'll work for you too?"
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMooAFDubvI
'Roses are red, Violets are blue.
He doesn't care, so why should you?'
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCXvCqxeHA
"Heh, that is kinda funny. And true." I nodded in approval. "I want to watch it sometime."
"It's in an alternate timeline I visited once. Not a real sitcom, but I'd be happy to show you." But somehow with that statement, his mood seemed to drop. "Oh... wait, I can't. I'm sorry..."
I noticed the shift in his demeanor and frowned. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Lead sighed, looking down at his feet. “It’s just… sometimes I feel like everything went wrong because of me. If I hadn’t joined your group, you wouldn’t have had to deal with the storm, the drama, any of it.”
“That’s not true,” I said firmly. “You didn’t cause any of this. We all made our choices.”
“But I did,” he insisted, his voice cracking. “I even tried to alter that moment five days ago, to see if things would be better without me. But I had to revert it to maintain the continuum.”
I stared at him, shocked. “You tried to change that?! That moment we met, when you found us, the only people who ended up unfrozen by your power, when you praised the storm..."
He nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. “I thought maybe if I wasn’t here, you all would be happier. But it didn’t work. I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I just stuck to the original plan.”
“Lead, you can’t blame yourself for everything, same way I can't blame her.” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We all have our roles to play, and you’ve done more good than you realize.”
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with doubt. “But what if I’m just making things worse?”
“You’re not,” I said firmly. “You’re part of this team, and we need you. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”
Lead took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “Thanks, Nick. I just… I don’t want to mess things up anymore.”
“You won’t,” I assured him, as Thalia appeared closer to us, walking toward the gate of the boys' dorms. “We’ll figure this out together. Just like always.”
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