There was another thing I had to get used to. When Pat and I started dating, our friend groups sort of merged. His were rather big, with most of them belonging to the soccer team. Of course, I never had to think what it was like to just be me, Sasha, and Mia again because I time traveled the day right after we broke up.

"You girls can join us for lunch," Pat offered, that perky grin slapped on his face and as usual, Leon had his permanent scowl next him.

I swear, I never found out how these two were best friends. They were different as night and day, the only thing they had in common was the sport they played.

At this point, I saw no reason to reject them so I simply glanced towards my two best friends. We had a complete conversation with just the two seconds our eyes met.

"Sure," I replied, "We would love that."

The one advantage I had was that I basically already knew all of them so it was easy to fall into a conversation. I knew what topics we had in common, some subjects that were taboo to talk about with them, and because there was no awkward 'getting to know' period, we managed to blend in.

It was like I never went back time.

"I'm going to grab a drink, anybody wants something?" Pat stood up, looking around the table. A few people said their orders and then before he left, he looked at me expectantly, "Avery?"

Sasha and Mia, who were seated right next to me, grinned almost maniacally at this. During this point, only few of Pat's friend knew about his interest in me so there weren't much teasing except for some knowing glances.

"Uh, any fruit juice?" I managed to say and he nodded. He pushed back his chair, causing him to accidentally knock Leon's halfway opened bag. The said owner muttered a curse under his breath and bent down to pick up the few things that spilled.

"Sorry, L," Pat immediately apologized, crouching to help him.

"It's okay," Leon sighed, straightening up and stuffing into his bag the things Pat handed from the floor. My breath hitched at the last thing Pat gave him before he stood up and went to buy the drinks.

The whistle.

It was the exact same whistle, the one that was currently hanging by a chain around my neck. The one currently under my shirt. The same engravings, the same silver sheen, even the chain.

So he still had it. There were two of the same whistle currently existing in the same time space.

My shaking hand lifted up and pressed against my chest to feel the whistle. My eyes were glued to him as he grumbled incoherent words under his breath as one of his friends patted him on the back with a good humored laugh.

"You okay, Avs?" Sasha asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

I nodded numbly. That thing was my only proof that I indeed traveled through time.

But her question was enough to get Leon's attention. I couldn't find it in me to tear away my gaze so when his eyes switched to look at me, it met mine. I was sure that I probably looked like I've seen a ghost and right now, I felt like I was one.

I wasn't supposed to be here. Another version of Avery Barber should be living this life and I should be back in my own timeline, nursing a broken heart and a broken friendship.

"I..." I trailed off because I brain could barely function. It was running out of juice from trying to comprehend everything. And speaking of running out, "I need to go."

I snatched my bag and immediately shot up to my feet, practically running out of the cafeteria. I ignored both the yells of Sasha and Mia and the questions that erupted from the rest of the people on that table. I just had to get myself out of that situation.

There was actually no place I could hide where Sasha and Mia wouldn't find me so I bolted into the library. I was rarely here so I knew they would never think to look in here. I went to the farthest back and sunk onto the floor between the shelves, effectively hiding me from anyone's view. I placed my phone on airplane mode as an extra precaution.

Eventually, I heard the bell ring and the students that were inside started to file out. The old librarian doesn't leave her desk because of her precious game of solitaire so I was sure that I was safe here.

I reached into my shirt and pulled out the whistle. It was impossible for me to mistake it for any other, I had this committed to memory. It just made everything so complicated because it essentially said that there was only one whistle – but from two different timelines.

For whatever strange reason, I managed to bring this back in time.

I crawled to the end of this tunnel created by the two shelves and squinted my eyes to spy on the librarian. Her back was turned to me and her attention was fixated on her computer screen. I looked absolutely ridiculous crawling around through the shelves but I didn't want to get caught.

While I did find it absolutely refreshing to be here right now – please note the sarcasm – I didn't want to be stuck with these dusty books that probably hasn't been cleaned in over a decade. So I carefully made my way to the door, swung it as little as possible, just enough for me to go out.

I looked left and right for anybody before sneaking my way to the back, right to the door that led to the field. When I stepped out, I reveled at the fall weather, the breeze it gave me. it felt so suffocating to be in there.

Where did my stupid ass go? To the exact spot where it all started, or perhaps, ended.

The place where Pat broke up with me.

I never questioned why he did it, because I understood his reason. I knew I fell short when it came to our relationship so I couldn't be upset with him about that.

What I wanted to know was why he was with Zoey in the first place. I planned to let myself cool down first before talking to any of them. As we soon realized, that wasn't possible because for some weird reason, I woke up in the past/

I placed the whistle between my lips and blew gently, creating a soft sound.

Nothing happened.

But oddly enough, it did cause a bit of stress to fly away with the sound. It was just like what Leon told me, blowing the whistle did alleviate a small amount of tension. I stuffed it back into my shirt and allowed my hands to drop to my sides.

I just wanted to get out of whatever this was. Bring me back to my original time. Sure, I was suffering but at least I wasn't filled with this kind of uncertainty.

"Found you!" I heard a loud exclaim from behind me.

Somehow, being in this spot with Pat again made my anxiety shoot through the roof. Now was the time I sincerely hoped that I still transported back with my meds. But I braced myself and turned around, my hair flying at how fast I did.

He was panting hard and his hands were clutched to his knees in an attempt to even his breathing, "We've been looking everywhere for you."

Dear fate, just stop playing me please.

"Patrick..." I breathed out, taking a small step back because I wanted to put as much distance between us as possible. This was giving me too many horrible memories and I couldn't even tell anybody about it, "I'm okay, go back to class."

"It's obvious you're not," he pointed out, slowly making his way to me. With every step he took, I equaled it with another towards the other direction.

No, don't.

I held up a hand as if it would stop him, "Please."

The desperation in my voice was actually effective. He paused in his movements, blinking at how distraught my expression was. His face was full of confusion but also concern. It was different from when he apologized to me for breaking my heart, for ending our relationship.

Back then, it was sympathy. Not even empathy, but sympathy. Like he felt sorry for me. But like everything that Pat did, there was kindness mixed in it. I wanted to erase that image of him because I couldn't take it.

I wanted to delete that Patrick Vincent that made me fall head over heels for him from my memory. Because I knew that there was this possibility that he might just pull me back to him.

Now he stood there, no apology but just that willingness to figure out what was wrong, to help me fix whatever mess I was experiencing.

"Please," I said in a whisper even though he wasn't doing anything anymore. I wasn't begging him, I was begging myself. To forgive him for the future I came from, to let go of whatever heartbreak I went through, a plea to forget what he looked like when he said sorry.

But it was also a wish to the universe to make sense of what was happening.

A sob escaped my lips and the tears slowly welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I didn't know what to do anymore. I was stuck here and there was nothing I could do about it.

And because I still loved him. I wanted to let him go, and if I had to relive each moment of this shitty year then I would like to at least distance myself from him. But here he was, making me fall in love with him the same way I did the first time.

I peeked at him, watching as whatever shock he felt leave his body. He crouched down and settled himself on the ground, observing me lose my sanity right in front of him.

"I'm here," he spoke softly, trying to convey comfort and assurance. That he was there to pick up whatever pieces I shatter into. All the while respecting the distance I begged for.

Stop it. Stop being so nice to me.

"Pat," I sniffled, dropping whatever care I had about addressing him by his nickname, "I'm a mess."

"We all are, one way or another," he said with a slight shrug, "But that doesn't automatically decide whether a person should leave you or not. Our flaws doesn't make us alien, but it's just the way we are. It's what makes you you."

"Are you not going to ask what's wrong with me?"

He shook his head, still on his position on the ground, "It's not my place to pry. It's your choice to decide whether you want me to know or not."

Spoiler alert, that only made me wept harder. Because that was still unabashedly him – Pat will never ask you what's wrong more than once. If he gets the message that you clearly don't want to talk about it, he will drop it in a heartbeat.

He was still my Patrick Vincent. There was just something about him that made me so comfortable around him. It was his sole mission to put me at ease when we were dating.

I took a deep breath, wiped away any remaining tears, and plopped down next to him. He flashed me a soft smile and patted the back of my hand gently, "You'll be alright."

"I know," I replied quietly because even after all I've been through, I've still managed to get back on my two feet.

Pat miraculously managed to convince me to go to the next class. I was immediately tackled into a hug by Sasha but Mia, being the somewhat more responsible one, started giving a long lecture for making them worry.

"What happened?" Mia finally asked, placing her hands on her hips while I was still in Sasha's bear hug.

One part of me just wanted to blurt it out and tell them truth. But another said to simply shut my mouth because even I had a hard time comprehending it myself.

And the latter won, "It's just one of those days."

Mia sighed and swiped away the hair that fell onto my face, dropping whatever anger she displayed earlier, "You've been like this since yesterday and it can't be Zoey again because you already told us that you two made up last night."

"We're worried, Avs," Sasha added, finally releasing me, "You never acted like this before."

In some distant future, this was the only way I acted. In some distant future, there were days you wouldn't get a peep out of me.

But these two were angels who had this never ending patience for me.

"My mind has been in shambles lately," I said and for once, it wasn't a lie, "And I want you guys to trust me when I say that I will tell you guys what it is when I'm ready."

They looked at each other before giving me nods of defeat. While I forced myself to flash them a smile to somehow make them feel better, my eyes went past them to where the two boys were conversing at a distance far enough so they wouldn't hear us.

Pat was staring at me, that concern once again in his eyes. But I knew, he was cheering me on in that exact moment. While he had no idea what the problem was, he was trying to be there for me.

And right now, that was all I needed.

'Thank you,' I mouthed and he flashed me that signature grin of his.

You know that tiny relief I felt when I blew that whistle? That smile multiple it. It flooded me with assurance that I never knew I longed for.

We managed to get through the day scathe free. Pat made it his duty to drive us all back home and once again, I was the last one to get down.

Though, the moment Mia got down and waved us goodbye, he turned to me, "Want to take a detour?"

Still unsure, I gave him a hesitant look. Then again, he has been nothing but a saint to me since this morning so I opted to trust him, "Okay."

The drive was longer than I expected but we managed to find ourselves in an unfamiliar neighborhood. We were still in the same city, I knew that, yet I have never been in this part before. He stopped in front one of the houses and turned his car off, gesturing dramatically, "Ta-dah!"

I knew Pat's house and this was definitely not it.

"Where are we?"

"I used to live a couple houses from here when I was a kid," he said, getting off the car and quickly walking around the vehicle to open my door, "The family who lived here had a kid around our age and they were madly rich."

I got down the car and kept my lips shut, invested in this story because during the time we were dating, I was never brought here nor did he tell me anything about his old life prior to moving into our neighborhood and consequently, attending the same school as me, "Follow me."

Instead of going through the front door, he walked through the small space between the house and the one next door. The fence was slightly tall but if Pat tiptoed, he was able to peek over it. He waved his hands and I heard a voice spoke from the other side.

"Hey Pat!" came the gleeful greeting, "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Mind if we use the treehouse?"

"Go ahead," was the last thing I heard before a few moments later, there was some rattling. A gate that had blended perfectly with the fence opened and Pat gestured me to follow him. He embraced the adult that opened it for us, "Look at you! You're so tall now."

Pat chuckled good humoredly and then waved his hands towards my direction, "Oh this is my friend, Avery."

"Nice to meet you," he beamed, "You two enjoy the treehouse, I think it's been lonely since my son moved for college."

It was only then was I able to take in their supposed backyard. When Pat mentioned rich, he wasn't kidding. It looked like those huge garden you see in the movies with all the sculptures, a playground, and as Pat said, a treehouse.

"I'll leave it to you two then," the man said, stuffing his hands in his pocket, "Just go in if you need anything."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked back inside the house. Pat nudged his head towards the treehouse, "Shall we?"

He doesn't mention his childhood often so I was rather surprise at this. It wasn't like there was some deep and hidden secrets, it was just a topic that he never brought up often.

He guided me to the treehouse, pointed at the stairs which wasn't much of a climb but I could how it might have been an adventure on its own when you were a short child.

It was mostly empty, probably because the said son moved out and consequently, also cleaned up most of the stuff before he left. But the walls told a different story.

There were drawings and carvings all over the place. I could see some on the roof and even on the floors, the children of the past did not hold back. Even the tiny windowsill wasn't safe from the so-called artistic interest.

When I walked around, I paused at one particular name and I unconsciously let out a laugh.

Patrick is going to be alone 4ever.

Pat peered from behind me to see and I could instantly see the embarrassment on his face, "Shield your eyes."

"I think it's adorable," I teased, poking him on the side, "To be fair, I'm sure not all of your playmates could say that they came back here with a girl."

And whatever shame that placed itself on his features instantly melted into that grin that I loved. If you were to ask me, I think this treehouse was the reset button I needed. This moment never happened before, it was a small nugget about his life I didn't know about.

There was one thing in this timeline that I never originally got to experience.

It gave me that silver of hope that things would turn out for the better – far better than the future I came from.

"Thank you, Pat," I smiled, walking towards the center of the treehouse and stretching my arms wide, "You knew exactly what I needed even when I didn't myself."

"If you need an escape, just call me up and I'll bring you back here," he chuckled, patting the writing on the wall.

And to think, I was trying to escape him in the first place. Now, I found comfort in his company.

------------------------

I had one goal for this chapter and that is to show you guys that Pat isn't a bad person. There's a reason why Avy fell for him in the first place.

Don't worry, we'll get more of Leon next chapter!

Question: Why do you think Pat and Zoey were in the car?

I have an online test every single day, except Sundays, so your girl is busier than ever. However, writing has always been my little stress reliever so this is good. 

Please vote, comment, and follow. See you guys next chapter!