"Not that much!" Pippa laughed, taking the salt shaker from Bellamy's hand, stopping him from ruining the first meal he had ever cooked.

She had been shocked to find him on her doorstep as she opened the door to her dream world. Wearing only a small smile and his pyjama bottoms, she had ushered him inside.

"You going to tell me why your all distracted?" She asked, stirring the pot of bubbling tomato sauce.

He hadn't been his normal self, that she could easily tell. His usual jokes and quips about the past were none existent, replaced instead by long gazes focusing on nothing in particular and small sighs when he thought she wasn't paying attention.

He smiled sadly in reply, before scooping her up in a tight hug. Surprised by his sudden embrace, she took a moment before squeezing him tightly back.

"You can tell me; you know that don't you." Pippa whispered, as he buried his head in her neck.

"You have to be real." He whispered. Whether it was in reply to her, or something he was telling himself, she didn't know.

"What's happened, Bellamy? What's wrong?" She asked.

Pulling away from her embrace he walked backwards, his hand running through his hair as he took a deep breath.

"Did you make the time capsule, like I asked?" He said, turning to her.

Pippa pursed her lips, before nodding her head. Something had happened that had made him worry, or nervous, or scared. She couldn't tell. But she wished he would tell her, so she could help. Because seeing him like this wasn't something she particularly enjoyed.

The pan on the stove began to shudder under the amount of heat. Turning her back to her friend, she switched it off. This was supposed to be a fun activity. His first time cooking, his first spaghetti and meatballs. Instead he was pacing the floor of the kitchen, staring off into the oblivion.

"My father has given me some co-ordinates for you to put the capsule. I don't know where it is in the country- I should have checked. It could be really far away." He rambled, continuing to pace her kitchen floor.

"Write them down? I'll remember them and search for where it is tomorrow. Its fine, the country isn't too big. A day trip might be in order, but that sounds fun!" She said, smiling reassuringly.

He nodded in silent reply, his eyebrows creased in thought as he began his pacing again.

Pippa decided to let him think. Turning back to the stove she switched on the hob that had the pot of water, she grabbed the spaghetti and put two portions in before picking up the bowl of pork mince.

Sitting at the table in the middle of the room she began to mix in the spices and stir it until everything was mixed in. The chair opposite her scraped as Bellamy finally decided to stop his pacing. Glancing up she noticed him watching her.

Taking a small amount of mix from the bowl, she rolled it between her palms making a ball before placing it in a small frying pan.

She pushed the big bowl forward, indicating that Bellamy should copy her. Nervously he began to do the same. Pippa smiled, watching how he copied her every move.

"I made a deal with my mother." Bellamy said, filling the silence that had settled over them.

Pippa looked up at him to find him absorbed in watching his hands. Staying silent, she continued to make the meatballs, waiting for him to continue.

"She thinks I'm insane and wants to lock me up in the hospital." He laughed dryly, shaking his head. "So I made a deal with her. I prove you exist and she doesn't lock me up."

Pippa looked up from the bowl, her eyes wide her breath hitched in her throat.

"The time capsule?" She asked, pushing the now empty bowl away.

"That is the plan." He replied.

"And if you don't find it? If its decomposed, or I've put it in the wrong place?" Pippa asked, realising what this actually meant to him.

"Then I will voluntarily go to the hospital." He shrugged. "My father is running for the presidency and I would just be an embarrassment. Keeping me away from the people would be best for his campaign."

"You don't honestly believe that a hospital is the best place for you to be, do you?" Pippa asked, aghast.

The fact his mother would quite happily lock him up in the hospital until they got what they wanted made her want to knock their heads together. A real loving family would not even consider doing something like that. Her heart ached for him.

"No, I don't. But there are people listening in everywhere. I wouldn't be able to talk about you to anyone or mention coming here every time I go to sleep without being hauled off to the hospital anyway. This way I at least get some protection if the capsule is actually there." He replied.

Pippa nodded, not quite sure what to say back. Instead she stood up and set the meatballs on the stove, switching everything back on to heat up.

"So when you wake up, do you think you will be able to know whether the time capsule is where it's supposed to be?" She asked, stirring the food.

"The drones don't go out until the day after, though I guess what with me being in the future, the time capsule will have always been there. I don't know, it's hard to wrap my head around." Bellamy replied, coming to stand next to her, watching as she added more seasoning to the sauce, and oil to the boiling pasta.

"Have you written down the coordinates for me? I need to make sure I remember them correctly!" She asked, realising how important remembering this information was going to be.

"No, I'll do it now." He turned around, grabbing a pen and sticky note from the side, scribbling down the numbers.

He handed it to her, before tentatively picking up the wooden spoon in the sauce pot, giving the sauce a stir like she had been doing.

Quickly checking the pasta, Pippa set the timer. 2 minutes. She set her that amount of time to learn the numbers off by heart.

Sitting at the table, knowing if anything happened to the food Bellamy would start panicking, she stared the numbers down. Repeating them once out loud, the over and over again in her head until they were stuck there, going on a continuous loop through her mind as the timer went off.

"Is it ready to eat now?" Bellamy asked, nervously looking at the stove.

Pippa laughed, switching everything off before draining the pasta. "It sure is! Are you hungry?" She asked.

"Absolutely!" He replied, stepping out of her way as she reached for the bowls set on the side.

"How much would you like?" She asked, piling in the pasta, meatballs and sauce into the top bowl.

"You don't have portion control?" He asked, accepting the bowl from her outstretched hands.

"No... You just eat as much as you want to." Pippa replied, serving herself up before sitting down.

"Right." Bellamy said, staring at his portion.

"Bellamy, you don't have to eat it all, just eat how much you want." She said, passing him a fork and spoon.

"Thank you." He said, taking them.

"So the future has portion controls. I guess I could see how that would be good." She said mid mouthful, thinking about the benefits of the system.

"I guess so. I've never really thought about it at all- until now anyway." Bellamy replied, staring at his food while he took a small mouthful at a time.

"So you said you made a deal with your mother over the time capsule, what will you have to do if it is there?" Pippa asked, wondering what her friend had got himself into.

Bellamy took another mouthful before replying, his shoulders falling. Pippa instantly regretted asking the question.

"Forget that I asked, enjoy the food- it's good right? What do you think of the food?" Pippa asked, trying to move the conversation onto something different.

"The food is great, Pippa." He replied, looking up to meet her eyes, smiling. "I don't mind the other question. I should face it head on really." He added, going back to looking thoughtfully at his food.

"I agreed to go to the community rooms, get out there more. I don't usually show my face in public. Mother thinks it will help my father's campaign. Then of course there are dinners, and all the publicity to come. That will be the hardest." He said, not looking up.

"Is that everything? When your fathers campaign is over, do you get to return to normal life?" Pippa asked, knowing from their conversations that the voting for the next president wasn't that far away.

Bellamy sat in silence for a moment, and if it weren't for him looking up she would have thought he had not heard her at all.

"Yes that's all. Back to normal life after that." He replied with a tight smile and a nervous laugh. "Do you remember the coordinates?" He asked, before she could say anything else on the matter.

Pippa closed her eyes, focusing on the numbers that were still whirling around her head, looking at the pink sticky note on the table beside her she recounted the numbers out loud in perfect order.

"Good." Bellamy said as he finished off the last of his food.

"I'll remember it, don't worry. I guess I'll know in a few days whether or not it's actually still there. I hope it is, I've put some great stuff in the box." Pippa reassured him.

"What have you put in?" Bellamy asked her, his eyes beginning to sparkle again.

Pippa laughed at the mischievous smile that had begun to spread across his lips.

"I'm not telling you! You will just have to wait and see." She replied, playfully slapping his shoulder as he began to pout.

"I think I could make you tell me." He replied, his pout turning back into the mischievous smile.

"Oh do you now!" Pippa replied with a laugh, raising her eyebrow as a challenge as Bellamy began to slowly rise from his chair. "Don't even think about it." She added, realising what he was about to do.

His chair hit the floor as he sprung from the table, Pippa doing the same, racing out of the kitchen, laughing as Bellamy followed close behind her, his hands outstretched trying to catch her. Their laughter ringing through the house.

I really loved writing this chapter- I hope you enjoyed reading it! What did you think? Please consider giving this chapter a vote!