Chea looked at Karen.
"Go back?" Chea said. "You gotta be kidding. Please, please tell me you're kidding."
"I'm not." Karen said with as firm as a face as she could muster.
"But why?" Chea asked, a tear sparkling in the corner of her eye.
"I think you know why." Karen responded. Chea shook her head, her pretty brownette hair waving from side to side. "We always said we would stay as long as we wanted to and so long as the guys didnt find out about the device. Well they did. Its amazing they havent asked to use it but seeing what happened to your uncle Jessup in the west, I doubt they will. But we gotta go now." Karen said.
"I don't want to! I've just attained my goal!" She said pointing to Micky. He sat inside with Davy, practicing on the drum kit "Micky said he had feelings for me from the first moment he saw my face. And now I have to leave him. But I won't darn it, I wont!"
"Snap out of it!" Karen said practically yelling at her. Chea shivered. She had never seen her this angry before.
"Oh I think I know why..." Chea said. "You want to go because of Mike."
"What are you talking about, thats ridiculous." Karen asid turning away from her.
"Aha! I knew it." Chea said. "You thought you might be feeling something for Mike. Then he found out about the truth about us and I gather he wasnt too happy about that. You're just using this as an excuse to not get close to him." Chea continued undaunted. "You're doing it....again!!!"
Karen spun, with an impulse to slap her in the face.
"I'm doing WHAT again?" Karen asked.
"With Chandler. You made him leave with Phoebe after the contest. I always gathered it was because it was like you said, that he didn't belong. But it wasnt that at all was it? It was Mike, all Mike, hoping that maybe you could figure out if there was anything there at all." Chea said.
Karen lowered her hand. She couldnt deny anything Chea was saying.
"Yeah, but so what, it makes no differance now. He hates me." Karen said. "Just pack some stuff, ok? Its just better off this way."
"What and I get no vote?" Chea asked her tears returning.
"You'll thank me later." Karen said. "I hope so anyway." Karen thought as she left her friend on the deck.
Later
Karen started to pack a small duffle bag she found underneath Davys bed. She was about ready to zip the bag closed when she heard footsteps coming up behind her.
"Chea are you packed? We're leaving before the sun rises." Karen said.
"Where are you going?" A voice said. Karen turned around to find Mike looking at her. His hat was off.
"We're leaving." Karen said. "We don't belong here anymore."
"Do you mean we or do you just mean you?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" Karen asked grabbing her bag. She could feel his eyes piercing into her.
"Chea told us all about it." Mike said. "I think you just want to leave. Just you."
"And I'm gonna." Karen said. "Believe me, you'll forget all about me by next weeks episode."
She went out of the room. Mike was close on her heels. The house was dark. The others had gone to a party down the beach. Karen walked down the stairs. She put her bag down on the couch and turned to face him.
"Face it Michael, we never belonged, and how weird would it be now that you guys know we have this powerful device." Karen said. "You'll be better off."
"We don't want you to leave."
Karen sniffed.
"Let me correct that...I dont want YOU to leave." Mike said.
Karen looked at him wideeyed.
"You dont want me to leave?" Karen asked. "After all the lies I told?"
"Yeah, funny isnt it?" Mike said. "Course I'm not laughing."
"But why?"
"I think we both know." He said. "From that first moment you surprised us in the back of the pad there was an instant attraction. When we both shook hands, there it was again. I knew there was something but I denied it. I thought you felt it too." He said. "But then Chandler came."
"And you completely changed." Karen said remember how he reacted when she hugged him after the contest. Stiff, emotionless.
"Right." Mike said. "Now that you had another guy around I felt I could forget whatever it was that drew me to you in the first place. I was wrong though. It didnt go away and I got really jealous."
"You did?" Karen asked. She couldnt help but get flattered by this revelation.
"I did." He said. "Then he left, and the whole thing about the time thingamagig came up and I got mad at you.." He said. "..and at the same time it did nothing at all for my true feelings for you."
"What are those feelings?" Karen asked. He seemed to come closer.
"That I really am in love with you." He said. He moved in to kiss her. She hesitated for a moment but then let her come to her. The instant his lips touched hers she leapt back as if she was stung by something.
"I can't do this. I'm leaving tomorrow!" She said.
He stepped back, obviously hurt but stubbornly refused to let his face show this. "You can't leave, not after what I just said."
"I am and I will leave tomorrow. You will just have to forget these feelings for me, and everything. You will just have to get over it!" Karen said. She grabbed her bag and bolted. "Forget it all, Mike. It would be best for us BOTH." She said to herself as she ran out the back door. He started to give chase but she was much faster than him. After a few feet he stopped, knowing that he could do nothing but watch her run away from him.
"Mike." Micky said after he returned. The group had just come back from the party.
"How did it go?" Chea said with Micky on one arm. "Did you convince Karen to stay?"
Mike grumbled and looked quickly at them. He then grabbed a book and headed for the stairs.
"He didn't need to say anything." Peter said having a rare epiphany. "His actions just said it all."
The Next Morning
Chea left the pad quickly. She packed a few things with her, clothes and a picture. The picture was of her and Micky at one of those cheap one buck photo booths that give you four pictures on a strip. She needed that the most, her other friends would never believe where they had been.
Chea found Karen at the cave. "I'm ready." She said announcing her presence.
"Good." Karen said. "Do we have both devices?"
"Check." Chea said.
"Ok." Karen said. "Let's not spend anymore time in this place than we have to." Karen said setting the device.
Chea set hers. Now that there was two, they no longer had to hold hands in order to leave together.
Karen closed her eyes. She didnt want to be the last place she saw to be the pad. She felt the warm light explode around her. Instantly she was gone.
A few minutes later Karen opened her eyes. She was in Uncle Jessups lab. She looked around then went to the stairs. She took them two at a time. When she reached the top she threw open the front door.
Karen burst out laughing. She was back. The hustle and bustle of the neighborhood was back. All the familiar places were where they should be.
"Oh Chea we're back." Karen said. "Come on, let's go home."
Karen looked behind her. She didn't remember Chea coming up the stairs with her, she had moved pretty fast.
"Chea?" Karen asked. She went back down the stairs. It was empty.
"Chea?" She said again. Pull yourself back together. It's entirely possible she ended up back at the loft!
Karen closed the door. She ran down the street at record speed. She ran up the stairs. She tried to open the door but remembered that Chea had the keys. Karen thought for a minute and check underneath a secret key place. She was in luck, the key was still there. The door opened with a creeky sound. Karen went in a few steps.
"Chea?" She asked again. "Are you home? If you are, please answer me?"
She started to get worried now. Karen sat down on the couch. If she hadn't come back, where was she?
"Oh no." Karen said now realizing the truth. "She never left!"
A burst of light entered the room. Karen closed her eyes. So this what it must look like, she thought. She opened her eyes. On the table there was the other device.
A note was attached.
"Karen,
Turn on the tv, now.
Love Chea"
Karen got the remote and turned on the tv. An episode of the Monkees was just getting over with. There was a band scene. As strange as it seeemed, it felt like Mike was looking at the camera more than normal. The camera then panned back to Micky who gave her the same look.
"Knock it off this is creepy!" She said out loud.
As if in response the camera panned off him and onto the beach where a woman stood with her back to the camera. The woman turned to her. Chea.
"I guess you figured out by now that I am not with you. But I couldn't leave here." Chea said. "Micky discovered a way to make it seem like I left with you but I really went forward a moment in time. Plus we discovered a button to send it to anyplace we want. I sent it back."
Karen felt the tears in her eyes. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you." Chea said. "I'm in my happy place. You go to yours. I think a certain Mr Bing will be VERY happy to see you."
She walked off the screen. The tv shut off.
Karen sat down and thought. Was Chea right? Were we supposed to be in our own happy places?
Is it too late to restart my romance with Chandler? I killed it before it could start, but I had good reason. She told herself. She stood up, and looked in the mirror. Now she knew what she had to do.
Karen packed up some clothes, and changed what she had on. She still had 60's clothes on. She picked up the device. She took the other and put it away in a cabinet, in case anyone ever came in and found it. She clicked the time she wanted to arrive in Friends world and hit the button.
All at once, she was gone.
Karen walked up the stairs to Chandlers place. She had her duffle bag with her. She knocked on the door.
It took a few minutes but Chandler answered the door.
"Karen!" He said with a note of surprise. He had no shirt on. He must have been dressing for work when I knocked, she thought.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Did I take you away from something?" Karen blushed. She had never seen him without a shirt so it was an unexpected pleasure.
"You could say that." Chandler said. Karen raised her eyebrows.
"I could come back later." Karen said about to leave. She turned slightly.
"Chandler whos at the door?" Karen heard a familiar voice. She looked behind her.
"Oh my god." Karen said. "Monica??"
Monica Geller, Ross Gellers sister, stood behind Chandler in nothing but an oversized shirt. It was suddenly pretty obvious to Karen why Chandler was the way he was.
"Karen I can explain." Chandler said.
"You don't have to." Karen said. "It was gonna happen eventually. After all you live across the hall from each other."
"So you're not upset?" Monica asked. This is the first time they had met.
"Oh no. Why should I? I mean we effectively broke up, right? You moved on." Karen said tryiing to fight her tears, but she had no idea what kind of tears she was fighting. Anger? Sadness? Or maybe even a little bit joy?
"I gotta go." Karen said. "I only stopped by to say hi." She said. She moved quickly, suddenly she felt like she was being watched by the whole building.
"Bye." Karen said and bolted down the stairs. Chandler and Monica went back into his place.
Karen stopped halfway down. She started to sob. She sat on a windowsill and searched for a kleenex of some kind. She wiped her tears and blew her nose.
Chea said to go to her happy place, Karen thought. But her happy place was no longer that if the man she wanted had moved on. And It had only been two days!
She couldnt blame him. He thought whatever they had was over and she moved on with Monica. She had wondered what would happen to him once he left.
But one question now remained. What was she gonna do now?
