The honk blares from right outside my window. You'd think that being on the twentieth floor would save you from this kind of rude wake-up call. But no, of course not. The noise pollution of this century is by far the worst.

Using my arm to shield my eyes, I roll out of bed and land on the floor with an unceremonious thud. I've learned from the embarrassing, accidental blink dial to The Ex last week that I should always cover my eyes when I wake up; there is absolutely no need for a repeat of that disaster. Even through the hologram, I could see the look of pity in his steady gaze, creased forehead, and the downward curl of his lips. The same lips I'd devoured countless times.

With an angry grunt, I push myself off the floor and glare out the window, hoping that the driver will feel the full blast of my wrath.

He doesn't, of course. A smile spreads across his oval face, blinding me with genuine cheeriness completely at odds with the grayness of his car, the sky, the clouds, the sky towers—basically everything around here. "You up?"

He laughs when I flip him off. Knowing that he'd just stay out there hovering in his car for as long as it takes, I open the window.

I turn in a huff, intending to stomp into the eatery nook when I trip over a non-existent obstacle and fall on my face.

I hear a snort behind me as I rub the stinging in my eyes.

A sharp tone chirps from the back of my ear just as I blink to get out the stubborn whatever-it-is.

Accepting incoming Holo-Call.

Not again!

A holographic file opens up in front of me.

Classified Level 99-A Files.

Well, this is interesting. Gavin kneels next to me to read along.

Time travelers identified.

What?

I sit up to scan the list of names.

Ryan Ayda.

A sheet of ice slams into me when I see the next name: Gavin DeMarco.

I know what's coming next.

Sachi Yamada.

"Well, shit."

I crawl to the bed and reach under the mattress. The smartphone that was once glued to my hand feels bulky and foreign. With shaky fingers, I hold down the button on the side to turn it on.

Gavin walks over to where I'm crouched and gives me his hand. "Guess it's time to go back to good old 2020."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: This story is my entry for #JustWriteDay September 22: Secret Files prompt. I had a lot of fun writing it, but it was quite a challenge! I'm a very slow writer. Writing a story, no matter what the word count, in less than 24 hours was unthinkable until today. As such, this story is not nearly as polished as I would like. Maybe someday, I'll come back to it :)

Thank you so much for reading! <3