"Hello, is this Lead Carbon?" came a nervous, yet somewhat confident voice from the phone.
"Yes, it is..." he answered, trying to mask his excitement as he saw the Instagram username.
"I got your contact information from this girl, Aurelia Oxide, a Harvard student. She texted me, telling me what happened. It sounds rather far-fetched, but she told me to call you to-" the masculine voice replied, but his voice broke off mid-sentence. "Oh, I forgot to mention. My name is Nick. She said just saying that would be enough. Kind of like a password?"
Of course, I already thought it was him. His username made it quite clear. One thing that didn't change after I turned back time. "Oh, yes... though it's kind of ironic that SHE told you this. If it was in the other timeline, you guys... actually even I, would have been social distanced as if it was covid."
"Ironic how? Social distance?"
I sighed. "See... what happened is that you, her, and two others were a group of friends. Those two, your roommate and her roommate were actually in a relationship. You two were in a bit of a... situationship."
I could hear him cringe slightly as he said, "Go on,"
"Well... later me and another girl joined the group. You'd think if this was some story, we both would have gotten together. That did not happen. But this is not your ordinary fairytale, Nick..."
Nick let out a small snort, which confused me, but I didn't think too much of it.
"Aurelia and I started as rivals, then we started liking each other. But then, as far as my understanding goes, she also liked you. So... she came up with a scheme to date us both at once. Thinking we wouldn't find out."
"Is she the villain here?" he asked. I heard a soft chewing noise in the background. I imagine it was popcorn.
Lead took a deep breath, trying to keep his emotions in check. “No, she’s not the villain. It’s more complicated than that. We were all just trying to navigate our feelings and the chaos around us.”
Nick’s chewing paused for a moment. “So, what happened next?”
“Well,” Lead continued, “eventually, we found out about her scheme. It caused a lot of tension in the group. Aurelia tried to explain herself, but the trust was broken. It wasn’t just about the relationships; it was about the betrayal of trust among friends.”
Nick sighed. “Sounds like a mess. But why are you telling me all this now?”
“Because,” Lead said, “we need to understand our past to move forward. The timeline shift has changed everything, but the connections we had are still there, buried under the surface. If we can reconnect and work together, we might be able to fix things.”
Nick was silent for a moment, then he spoke, his voice softer. “I get it. It’s just… a lot to take in. But if Aurelia trusts you, then I guess I can too. What do you need from me?”
Lead felt a surge of relief. “We need to meet and talk in person. There’s a lot more to discuss, and it’s easier to explain face-to-face. We'll schedule a video chat with everyone else.”
Nick hesitated. “I'm still confused. But… okay. I’ll make arrangements. Just tell me where and when.”
Lead smiled. “Thank you, Nick. I’ll send you the details. And Nick… it’s good to hear your voice again.”
“Yeah, thank you too, Lead. See you soon. Wait- one more thing.”
"Yeah?"
"Who's the real villain then? What happened to the timeline?"
"It was me. I was the one who turned back time."
"You? What?" he asked. "Aurelia told me about the powers and stuff, but like... she didn't tell me this!"
"It was to reverse the storm, okay? I'll send you a book I wrote on it. It looks sci-fi, and while this is sci, it's not fi." Lead answered, laughing internally at his pun.
"Got it, thanks. Bye for real, this time."
"Bye,"
As the call ended, Lead felt a mix of emotions. Reconnecting with Nick was a crucial step, but it also brought back a flood of memories, both good and bad. He took a deep breath and returned to the living room, where Allelea and Cyto were still working through the box of mementos.
“How’s it going?” Lead asked, trying to sound upbeat.
Allelea looked up, a hopeful smile on her face. “We’re making progress. Cyto’s starting to remember bits and pieces.”
Cyto nodded, holding up a small, worn-out notebook. “I remember writing in this. It’s like the fog is starting to lift.”
“That’s great news,” Lead said, feeling a renewed sense of hope. “And I just spoke to Nick. He’s willing to have a video chat.”
Allelea’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s amazing!”
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