And now for something a little different.
Interlude – RevelationsTwo months later...
A solitary figure sat in silence on the swingset. The hour was late and her eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. Zoey was waiting for someone.
“Sorry I'm late,” came a familiar voice. “There were a bunch of police cars on the road and I had to hide in the bushes for a while.”
“Good thing you didn't get caught, then we'd be busted for sure.” She stood up and greeted her companion with a smile. “I'm glad you made it, Andrew.”
“You know, one of these days we're going to have to come clean,” he replied. “Sooner or later someone is going to find out what is really doing on.”
“With prom in less than two months I don't think we will be able to keep up this pretense for much longer anyway.”
“Imagine the looks on their faces when they find out the truth.”
Zoey heaved a sigh. “I still don't understand why they decided to try and play matchmaker. I mean, I love my cousin, don't get me wrong, but we're not exactly pawns on a chess board. What I do with my life is none of her business.”
“They mean well, even if they are overly pushy.” Andrew gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. “But we know the truth...that it had nothing at all to do with them.”
Lips brushed together and locked in a kiss as two young lovers embraced in the darkness. They could have remained in this moment forever for all they cared. Right now, all that mattered was each other.
Ever so slowly the two began to part from their embrace, though not entirely. Andrew's hands lingered upon Zoey's slight waist and he just stared into her eyes. He had never felt so content as he was in Zoey's arms. They were two halves of a whole, each incomplete without the other.
“I have a confession to make,” he quietly spoke. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Lost as they were in the moment, neither of them realized that they were being watched.
It wasn't exactly Darlene's intention to spy on her great-niece, but when she noticed her and her long time friend interacting with each other, she found it very difficult to turn away. Zoey had sworn up and down that she and Andrew were not romantically involved. Evidence was starting to prove otherwise, and that tickled Darlene to no end.
Being married to a hopeless romantic for so long sort of had that effect.
The music on the radio switched to a slow ballad, and Darlene couldn't help but chuckle. She remembered this song well; it was one of the songs that was playing at the diner on the night when she and Malcolm had their first official date. Even after some forty-five years she could still remember it like it was yesterday—what she was wearing, the taste of the greasy hamburger, the sound of Malcolm's cell phone going off when his mother kept texting him—the music brought it all back, and it was a wonderful feeling.
How appropriate that this song should be playing now. Now...as another new love was beginning to blossom before her eyes.
Romance is in the air
It's all around you tonight.
I can almost read your mind,
I know you'll find
Our love is oh so right.“Hmmm...I haven't heard that song in ages,” came Malcolm's voice as he walked into the kitchen. “This is Stiles's band, right?”
“One of his first hits.” Darlene's lips twisted into a wicked grin. “And, I might add, terribly appropriate for the moment.”
“How so?”
Darlene gestured toward the back door, still grinning. Curiosity got the best of Malcolm and he walked over to the door and looked out the window. That his great-niece and his best friend's son were together was not by any means surprising. That they were
holding hands was a bit more unexpected.
“I'll be...”
“What's going on?” That voice belonged to Elysia.
“Ssshhh...not so loud,” Darlene replied. “Take a look.”
Somewhat reluctantly Elysia approached the back door. The expression on her face quickly became that of utter shock mixed with a twinge of amusement. Secretly she had always hoped that Zoey and Andrew would one day get together, but she respected her daughter's privacy and never wished to pry. But after Zoey had so adamantly denied any sort of romantic inclinations toward her long-time best friend, Elly was rather surprised to see the two of them together in this way.
“Am I seeing...?”
At that moment Andrew took Zoey back into his arms and kissed her deeply.
“Yes, I do believe that you are.”
Another pair of footsteps came down the hallway from the foyer. “What's going on?” came Kenji's voice.
“Ssshhh...not so loud.”
“What's going on,” the child repeated, this time in a whisper. Without even waiting for a response Kenji walked over to the door and peered outside. Instantly he recoiled.
“Eww,
kissy stuff.”
“That's enough, Kenny,” Elysia chided. “Your sister's love life is not a spectator sport. For any of us,” she added, glancing at her aunt and uncle. Elysia began to make her way toward the refrigerator when suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks.
“Wait. Did I just refer to my daughter's...
love life?”
“Yes. Yes you did,” Darlene replied. Elysia subconsciously shuddered. The quicker this conversation was over, the better.
A few seconds later more footsteps were heard coming down the hallway, these ones belonging to Iris. “What's all of the commotion about?”
“It looks like Zoey and Andrew got together after all.”
Iris's eyes lit up. “Ha haaaa, I
knew it!”
“Ssshh, not so loud!” Kenji whispered. “I think they heard you.”
They had indeed. Zoey glanced ruefully at the door and shook her head. “Looks like the cat's out of the bag,” she sighed. “Shall we?”
“Yeah, I suppose we should.”
It was at that point that Malcolm's pager suddenly went off. He gave Darlene a quick kiss on the cheek, snatched his lab coat from the hall closet, and raced out the front door. His hasty exit prompted Darlene to make her own retreat. This was something that Elysia needed to handle, and she was starting to get a bit tired anyway. She glanced down at Kenji, who seemed to understand without her saying a word. He too left the kitchen, leaving only Elysia, Iris, and a pair of slightly apprehensive teenagers.
“I guess our plan worked after all,” Iris said with a laugh.
Zoey didn't even try to hide her annoyance. “No, actually. Your plan was still a total and complete bust.”
Iris was a little taken aback at her tone of voice. “Come again?”
“You and Cassie were plotting to try and get the two of us together, and in that you failed,” Andrew explained, “because at the time, Zoey and I had already been dating for four months.”
Iris was speechless.
“So yeah, when I said your plan had failed before it even started, it was only because you can't set two people up who are already together in the first place,” Zoey added.
“And you've been hiding your relationship this
entire time?”
“Pretty much.”
“Did anyone know?”
“Grandma did.”
“You know, sneaking around like that is probably not the best idea,” Elysia spoke up. “I trust you enough to know that you won't do anything ridiculous, but one or both of you easily could have been caught by curfew enforcement.”
“What else were we supposed to do? Cassie won't get off of Andrew's back, and I can't...” Zoey's voice trailed off, as if she wanted to say something else but decided against it. “I know it was childish, but we just wanted to be left alone. ”
Iris sighed deeply, the expression on her face contrite. “I...think I owe you two an apology. I didn't realize that Cassie and I were being so...”
“
Overbearing?” Zoey interrupted.
“Yeah, I suppose that would be a good word to describe it,” Iris continued. “It's just that we thought the two of you would make a great couple! You're so much alike, you were already the best of friends, it all made sense.”
“We
do make a great couple,” Andrew spoke up. “We just didn't need any outside interference to realize it.”
“And I should have respected that. Andrew, Zoey...I am deeply sorry.”
Zoey's expression softened. “I forgive you. I mean, your heart was in the right place. It was just your methodology that royally stunk.”
At this Iris laughed. “Hey, it works for the interrogation chamber.”
“If I'm ever arrested I'll have to remember that.”
“If you're
ever arrested I'll have to smack you,” Elysia chimed in. “On a more important note, it's getting a bit late. Andrew, I can either take you home, or call your parents and tell them you'll be spending the night.”
“Would you mind if I spent the night? I don't want to intrude or anything.”
Elysia smiled. “You're never an intrusion. I'll give your mom a quick call and tell her that you're here. I think that Judd has some spare pajamas that you could borrow for the night.” She glanced at her daughter. “I trust you two. No funny business, all right?”
“We'll behave.”
Hand in hand, the two teenagers left the kitchen and made their way upstairs to find some nightclothes. Meanwhile Iris decided that it was time to head back downstairs and go to bed. She made a mental note to call Cassie tomorrow morning and explain what had happened. Both of them needed to find a way to make it up to Andrew and Zoey somehow.
Upon walking into the living room she was somewhat surprised to see her son still sitting at the computer. “Marcus, it's almost midnight. You really should be going to bed, you know?”
“Can I stay up a little bit longer? I just discovered something really amazing!”
After what had just happened and as tired as she was, Iris was not willing to fight this battle. “All right, but if you're still up when your grandfather comes home you'll be in trouble.”
“Okay mom,” he replied.
Marcus was giddy with excitement. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that his search for new friends would lead him to discovering a parallel world. Their existence had been theorized for decades but never proven, and now a seven-year-old amateur hacker had done what generations of theoretical physicists could not. In hacking into this “Solaris” domain he had found the hub between worlds, and it was only a matter of time before he would figure out a way to establish communication with that other dimension. Unfortunately, the system had recognized him as an intruder and kicked him out after only a few minutes.
Marcus was disappointed, but not surprised. The surprise would come a short while later, when his screen once again flickered to life.
The face on the screen seemed to radiate a warm friendliness. There was something about him that seemed otherworldly.
“Greetings Marcus. It has come to my attention that you wish to use the Solaris mainframe to establish an inter-dimensional web domain.”At first Marcus was a bit frightened. How did this person know his name? Part of him wanted to shut down the computer then and there, but his innate curiosity kept him glued to the words on the screen. “You would give me permission to establish communication through your server?” He typed back.
“We would be most pleased to, yes. You will, however, require the correct meta-verse settings as well as a password. Be advised also that any and all activity is subject to monitoring.”“Thank you,” he typed out. A few moments later he added “Sorry if I was any trouble. I actually didn't expect to get that far into your system.”
“You need not fret. That you were capable of such a feat is in itself impressive. Be assured of our utmost discretion and cooperation in your endeavors. And Marcus, best of luck.”The face flickered away from view, leaving a few lines of text. The domain name, password, and settings. Marcus had everything that he needed. Now all he had to do was figure out how to write a program in which to use it.
Excitement quickly became anxiety when he heard the familiar roar of his grandfather's sports car coming up the driveway. Quickly Marcus saved the data, turned off the computer, and raced downstairs. He had just made it into his bedroom when he heard the front door unlock.
Whew, that was too close, he said to himself.
He didn't think he was going to be able to sleep though, not with so many ideas running through his head.
Three floors above him, Zoey wasn't sleeping either. In her case, though, it was more than just rampant thoughts that kept her awake.
(A/N: Solaris is the brainchild of a certain SimBlip, and is used with permission. 
Thanks for reading!)
