"Zo, I need to go!" I screeched the moment I opened my eyes and saw the clock on her bedside table. I gave her a shake to wake her up. I was in a huge hurry that shoving her was the only thing I could do aside to pray that it at least stirred her awake.

I fell asleep at Zoey's, as if it wasn't obvious yet. The rush to get back to my house and into new clothes was honestly draining whatever energy I had for the morning. I ran up to my bedroom so fast that I almost knocked mom over when she was on her way down.

All the while that I prayed Zoey would take a little bit longer to get ready. Pat would be here any minute and the last thing I wanted was for him to see her.

Because I was terrified that how he might react.

I trusted Zoey with all that I had but at this point, Pat and I just started going out. Heck, we've only been in one date. And like I said, I couldn't predict the events anymore.

While I was faffing around, mom just sat there with a coffee mug in her hands and watched me in amusement. As you can tell, this wasn't the first time that I unintentionally stayed over at Zoey's so this wasn't completely out of the norm for her.

"I'll wait for Pat outside, mom," I puffed out, a little out of breath from all the running around. I grabbed a breakfast bar and kissed her on the cheek goodbye, "See you when I get home."

"Have a nice day, sweetheart," she laughed, not even bothering to cover up how funny she thought this whole situation was.

Alright, we need to follow precautions here, Avery. Make sure to constantly check if Zoey was going to walk out of her front door. If she does, do your absolute best to distract Pat or tell him to drive away instantly. Remember, Pat and Zoey shouldn't see each other.

Maybe I was overthinking all of this, but I just want him and I to work out, okay? Liking a guy and wanting to have a stable relationship was not a crime.

When I saw his car approaching, I didn't bother to wait until he came to a full stop. I ran over to the vehicle, swung his door open and practically jumped inside.

"What's with the rush?" he chuckled once I closed the door. I attempted to flatten my hair because it was a disheveled mess due to my mad sprint.

"I overslept," I replied casually, still continuously glancing towards Zoey's house.

He shrugged and started to drive the moment I buckled my seatbelt, which earned a huge sigh of relief from me. I would seriously not blame Pat if he was having second thoughts about dating me or if he thought that I was weird. I wasn't going to deny that I was, but has he noticed how out there I've been acting lately?

Like don't even get me started!

The normal and average teenager just trying to find her way through life character was completely out of the window. You are now looking at a time traveling girl who has brought her past traumas with her and was actively trying to alter the events of the future for her own benefits because I don't know about you, but my life sucked.

Love that for me.

"Is she okay?" I heard Mia ask when she got inside the car after Pat came to a stop in front of her house. He shrugged in response, probably gave up on trying to comprehend this girl having an inner monologue on his passenger seat.

I gasped and turned to her, "What do you mean?!"

"You know that scene in the second Princess Diaries movie where she was making different faces with the fan when her grandma had her back turned?" she asked and I nodded in response, "You looked like that, minus the fan."

"Mia!"

But my mood did a complete flip when I heard Pat's tingling laughter at my side. He stretched out a hand and patted me gently on the thigh, his other hand remaining on the steering wheel as he started to drive towards Sasha's house, "I think it's adorable so it's okay."

My mouth clamped shut and I attempted not to blush at the small gesture and compliment.

Calm yourself, Avery.

Hello, sir or ma'am in charge of this time travel weirdness, can this moment please last forever? Like I was completely aware that Friday was fast approaching and that the party was giving me nothing but anxiety, but the way things were was completely fine and dandy.

Zoey was her usual sisterly self, Pat and I were progressing slow and steadily, and Sasha and Mia were still that funny duo that balanced each other out.

No more of that complicated shit, okay?

When we managed to pick Sasha up, the first words she uttered when she entered the car was directed towards Mia, "Let me copy your math homework."

Predictably, she raised a brow in response and shot her down immediately, "Nope."

Sash started to whine from the backseat and I laughed at their small argument.

Yes please, just keep it like this.

"How about you?" Pat piped in, tearing my attention away from them, "You managed to finish yours?"

"Yeah, it was pretty easy," I told him and it was solely because I already did that homework before. Plus, Zoey helped me when I pretended to ask her to tutor me.

As my two friends continued to speak back and forth, as Pat chuckled along at their expense, I really did pray that this will last. I no longer cared if I didn't return back to the future that I came from, because I was perfectly satisfied right now.

Absolutely nothing can ruin this.

Though something told me that the universe gave me enough good tokens so now it will return to its hobby of tormenting me.

And that hunch did come true when we were already inside the school and were making our way to the classroom. My phone started ringing and imagine my surprise when it was Zoey's name flashed on the screen.

"Zo?" I spoke, "What's up?"

I seriously thought that this was about my lame attempt to wake her up this morning. But no, it was much worse.

"You left your homework at my house," she informed and at that moment, I felt my heart drop. However, things went really south when she continued speaking, "Don't worry, I'm already close to your school so I'll drop it off."

Safe to say, all color drained from my face. My eyes switched from the girls to Pat as panic started to raise itself inside my system. Even so, I was determined and allowed the adrenaline rush to fuel me.

"O-okay, I'll meet you outside," I hurriedly told her and I didn't even bother to explain where I was going. I spun on my heel and started running as fast I could back out to the parking lot.

I needed to get her in and out of here as fast as possible.

The moment I stepped outside, I could see her car pulling into the parking lot. I quickly went down the steps and sprinted towards her. I felt like there was a huge ticking time bomb over my head.

She rolled down her window and reached out her arm with the papers I left, "Here you go."

"You're a lifesaver! Thank you," I hastily said, taking my homework from her hands. I clutched them to my chest, already screaming a silent prayer that she would leave.

"No problem," she smiled and she was already reaching down to roll her window back up, slowly filling me up with hope. Before she did though, she paused and looked back up at me again, "Oh by the way, I kind of need you to return the dress you borrowed."

The time bomb was now full on yelling inside my head.

Please just go, "Yeah sure, I'll bring it over when I get home."

Please say goodbye, please say goodbye.

Sir? Ma'am? Person-in-charge of my time traveling? Please just give me this one and let her leave before...

"Avery?"

No!

Just like that, the time bomb exploded and I felt like my whole body went number when I heard Pat's voice. I tried so hard, but it was futile.

His presence behind me was screaming at me to turn around, to face the reality that was about to happen. That I had to introduce them to one another. That I must face whatever possibility that will occur.

"Oh, who's that?" Zoey asked, her tone sweet as usual, completely unaware of how this situation was going to affect me.

If I had to define Zoey's personality, it was pastel pink. I know, it was a weird choice of words but everything that you associate pastel pink with, it was Zoey. Pretty, soft, and overall gave you that light feeling. It made it almost impossible to be upset with her.

Also, it was extremely difficult to be angry at her, because the only reason she came here was because of my recklessness – I shouldn't have forgotten my homework. I couldn't put the blame on Pat as well since he probably followed me out of concern since I did ran out in a panic.

"Patrick," I muttered lowly and her eyes widened in recognition.

To my horror, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. Of course I predicted this happening, she said so herself that she wanted to meet him.

I heard Pat's footsteps approaching and at this point, my head just gave up – it as empty. I felt nothing when I stepped to the side to finally let them see each other for the first time.

And I was preparing myself to be heartbroken all over again because of this.

All I could do was watch on as his knitted eyebrows, due to the worry, slowly morph into one of shock. His jaw started slackening, his movements completely halting. I could see it in his eyes, the way they twinkled in a way they never did for me. As I looked even closer, I could see the tips of his ears turning red at just the sight of her.

I didn't find it in me to clear my throat to bring him back to reality. No, I was simply a spectator in this. During this moment, I was a side character to their story.

"Hello, I'm Zoey," she grinned, her high heeled shoes bringing her to him, "Avery has told me so much about you."

I hoped that my name would actually snap him out his trance, but it didn't happen. He kept on staring, admiring the blonde beauty standing in front of him.

"I'm Patrick," he introduced himself, his voice filled with amazement.

At this point, I wanted to run away. Home, preferably. You know, I didn't want to be picky anymore with the location. Anywhere else was better than here.

Fortunately, if there was even something fortunate about this, she cut this short.

"I'm going to be late," she gasped, suddenly remembering that she had to go to school as well, "It was lovely meeting you, Patrick."

He was too starstruck to even reply.

She gave me a one-armed hug and a cheek kiss, "See you later, Avy."

Then she drove away, completely unaware of the damage she caused. And worse, I had no one to blame but myself. For that, I felt so numb that I couldn't think of a plan of action. I was just stuck – stuck watching him in a daze, stuck on what to do, stuck in this stupid timeline.

He was still in a trance and now, I truly wondered how I'll go forward from here on out. From this point on, I knew that the breakup was inevitable. Actually, we never became official in the first place. So somehow, in a way only I could achieve, I made everything worse.

"Pat?" I heard Leon call out and you couldn't even imagine the relief I felt when I saw him.

That was all Pat needed to snap him back into reality. As if he just realized that I was still standing there and witnessed the whole thing, he loudly exclaimed my name, "Avery!"

I could only look down, finding my shoes very fascinating.

"What are you two doing just standing here?" Leon questioned, "Let's go, first period is about to start."

"Y-yeah, thanks L," he said, patting Leon on the back and speed walking away.

Patrick Vincent, you have no idea how hard you took my heart out and repeatedly stomped on it.

Leon shook his head at his best friend unusual attitude but when he turned to me, his face dropped, "Are you okay?"

And finally, I spoke for the first time since uttering his name to Zoey, "No."

Without missing a beat, he had an arm wrapped around my shoulder and he pulled me close to him. He tried to shield me away from the other students passing by and I knew somehow, someone will take this the wrong way.

But I didn't care anymore.

I leaned onto his chest and tried my best to stop myself from crying. The last thing I wanted was to shed another tear because of Patrick.

I let Leon hold me there, using his heartbeat as a way to calm me down, a little metronome to guide my breathing.

"When you're ready to talk, just say so, okay?" he said to me, his voice so soft and gentle. Far from the usual gruff way he was used to speaking.

I nodded and turned in his hold so I was fully facing him. My arms reached out and hugged his torso, just wanting to find comfort in him.

We heard the faint ringing of the school bell, but we still didn't move. We stayed like that for who knows how long, only leaving when we thought that the principal or a teacher might see us. But we still didn't go to class.

He reached out and took my hand, pulling me away to the back of the school, right next to the field, where we knew we were going to be alone.

"Leon, I'm sorry," I murmured when we got there.

He looked over his shoulder before releasing my hand. Let me tell, I never desperately felt the need to reach out and take something back into my grasp before.

"For what?"

My shoulders slumped and when I answered him, I heard my voice crack pathetically, "B-because I feel like you're constantly saving me and I shouldn't have to burden you with my mess. But thank you, you can't imagine just how grateful I am each and every day to have you in life."

Whether be it in the past or the future, he was there for me. It didn't matter which present I was living in, all I knew was that I want to have Leon there with me. It was selfish to depend on him too much, but at this point, I was tired of carrying myself.

Leon, my appreciation for you will transcend any timeline I go to. I promise this to you.

He didn't say anything. Nothing, nah-dah. Zilch.

I could only hear the wind hitting the metal of the bleachers. Actually, I was starting to get terrified that I weirded him out for whatever reason.

But it was the complete opposite when I looked up to see his face.

He was biting his lip, his eyes were filled with tears. I have never seen him express anything aside from his resting scowl face, that little gentle smile, or concern.

I had no idea what triggered him to cry. All I knew was that I couldn't tear my eyes away.

He was breathtaking.

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

I'm so frustrated with our internet service provider because we haven't had internet for a whole week and it's honestly so frustrating. Up until now, I still have no internet and just using my data to update. I've been talking to customer service people and they've honestly been so nice. Remember everybody, never lash out on people just trying to do their job.

Question: Thoughts on Pat and Zoey?

I already told you guys that I've written a few chapters ahead and even I get butterflies at what I write so I can't wait to see your reactions to them! We're about to reach few of the chapters I've been so excited for you to read, which are Chapters 15 and 16 so brace yourself for them.

Hope your Wattpad accounts have been safe from the data breach!

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