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Quick note: I have a big social studies project to do, so I can't update that much until it's done and I can sleep at night. This also might be a little shorter because I haven't been able to stop daydreaming about a scene...But they're out of the woods by then, so then I look at this and think 'Huh. Well, how am I going to get these guys to that point? That's a problem.' So yeah, I have a giant urge to just skip ahead to the parts I want to write the most, but that's not how this works.

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——Jay——

"Promise me."

I just stare at her, unable to force the words out.

"Jay, please. You don't want to know what's on the other side, you have enough to deal with!"

I couldn't do it. I've always wanted to know what was on the other side, even when I was three. Ty has always forced me not to go through, but I want to know what she's hiding.

"You already don't trust me, if you go through, you will hate me. Please, I can't lose you."

"If it's that bad, then maybe you deserve it."

"Jay..." She says, hurt filling her voice

"Ok, come on Jay, give her a chance," Jacob says.

His voice seems to spark something in Ty. "Wait a minute...It was you, wasn't it? You changed something. Why? Everything was going perfectly!"

"Uh, what? Oh, wait...Do you mean the clone me, or me me?"

"Excuse me? Clone you?" Lily says. "There are two you's? It's hard enough dealing with one of you, and now there's two?"

"Uh...Yeah...I can time travel, and I created a backup me, just in case someone lost control of their powers and killed me."

"Of course you did..."

"Stop avoiding the question, what did you do?" Ty says.

"I don't know! It was probably cloned me."

"Ok, enough. Guys, let's just continue getting out of these woods, ok?" I say.

"I can't walk," Jacob says, a small smirk finding his lips.

I ignore his smirk, not sure what made him smile and shake my head. "I'm only going to do this for two days maximum," I say, slipping my arms under his knees and back, lifting him up.

His smirk grows, but I pretend I don't notice.

——

The splashes of water fill the air, telling us all that there's a river nearby. We make it to the edge as the sun sets.

"We should start a fire," Lily says, as I set Jacob, snuggled against me with his eyes closed, down gently.

Ty shakes her head, tapping her paw against a twig. Flames consume the twig, but don't spread to anything out, and doesn't die out. "No need, we have magic."

"Well then. Never mind."

I don't pay attention to Lily and Ty, unable to tear my gaze away from Jacob. He lays there peacefully, free of any problems, and I wish I could be like him. Always cheerful and full of life.

"Jay?" Ty asks.

I force myself to look away from Jacob. "What?"

"You ok? You look dazed for some reason, and you're not one to be dazed."

"Yeah, fine, just...Thinking."

"Does it happen to be about him?" Lily asks, nodding towards Jacob.

"Are you trying to imply something?" I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Maybe. All I'm going to say is that he's gay, that's all."

"I don't like him. I barely consider him a friend."

"Mm-hmm."

"Am I not allowed to look down and think about stuff? You do it all the time. Do you know how weird it is to be on the receiving end of your stares while you daydream?"

"Over-defending yourself," Ty says, joining Lily's teasing.

"And that's different? Am I not defensive every day?"

"Oh, and look at the tinge of red on his face," Lily says, sitting down on a log.

"Yes, that's a normal thing that people do in the cold. Jeez, you two are crazy."

"Jay, it's not that cold out tonight, and there's a fire," Ty says, sitting next to Lily.

"You're a tiger with fur, of course, you don't think it's cold."

"Ty's right."

"You know what, have it your way. Believe what you want, but now we're talking about something else."

Lily laughs quietly. "Let's get some kind of container for the water."

I gladly take the excuse to get away from them.

The next morning, I'm the first one up, as usual. I check the water in the makeshift leaf cup, wrapping a braided stem around the top to close it. That's when an idea comes into my mind.

I glance at Jacob, still asleep, and then to the river, estimating the distance.

"Guys, you gotta get up, we don't have time to waste," I say, loud enough to wake them up, but not loud enough for anyone who might be searching for us to hear.

Lily and Ty sit up, and as he always does, Jacob just groans and rolls to his other side.

I look at Lily, pointing to the river and then to Jacob until she gets the message, a grin spreading across her face.

We kneel on the edge of the river, and she holds up her hand, silently counting down from five. When she reaches zero, we both splash Jacob with the ice cold water, which wakes him up immediately. He jumps to his feet, trying to block it with his hands, laughing.

"Ok, ok, I get it. You can stop."

We do, and he hugs himself, trying to keep himself warm, looking at Lily and I. "Ok, Lily, don't think that you're getting away with this without payback."

"It wasn't my idea," She says, grinning. "It was his."

"Wow, thanks for giving it away. Really appreciate it," I say.

"No problem."

"Nice try Lily, but I'm not that stupid. Jay would neve—" He stops mid-sentence as he looks at me, and I quickly look down, knowing my eyes gave me away. I can practically feel him smirk at me. "Wow...That's—Wow. You know what, now it's fine. If it was Lily's idea, I'd kill her, but now, it's perfectly fine."

"Oh, wrecked," Ty says.

Lily glares at Jacob, splashing him again.

I fight the urge to laugh.

"Ok, it's over. We gotta get moving," I say before Jacob has the chance to get revenge on Lily.

"I can't—" Jacob starts, then looks down. "Wait...Darn it, I could've acted like I couldn't walk! Ugh."

I raise an eyebrow. "Acted?"

"Nothing!"

We follow the river through the woods, only stopping when it got too dark to continue. A week of endless walking goes by until finally, the trees open to a clearing with houses lining a street.

"Wait a minute," Lily says. "I know this street."

"You do?" Jacob says.

Before we get an answer, she runs to a small, white-painted house, uncut grass surrounding it. We have no other choice but to run after her as she knocks on the door.

Within seconds, standing on the creaking steps, the door opens. An emerald green eyed guy with long — and I mean down to his knees long — brown hair pulled into a ponytail stands on the other side. It might've been a girl, judging from the hair, but the defining jaw and toned legs suggest otherwise.

He stares at Ty, frozen in place. "Wolf..."

"Oh, right, sorry about that. I'll just be...Over here..." Ty backs away, giving him some space. "And for your information, I'm a tiger."

"Hey, Simon, is Sam here?" Lily asks.

It takes a minute for him to come back to reality. "Lily? Oh my god, are you ok?" He says, his eyes going wide as he takes in our appearance.

"Yeah, yeah, save the shock. Is Sam here?"

"You sure you want to let Sam see you in this state? You'll get a long rant about health."

"Is he here? Or has he...Disappeared. Like us."

"Oh," He says, understanding now. "Yes, he's here, but he did go missing for a few weeks. H—"

"Can we not do this in the freezing cold with ripped clothes that offer no warmth?"

"Yeah, come on in. No shoes past the door."

"What about the tiger?" I ask.

"Nope. Never."