Darren Hayes squinted his eyes, trying to ignore the bright glow of sunlight pouring in through his bedroom window. His mom was practically in his face. Darren rolled over and threw the pillow over the back of his head and moaned.
"I'll be up in a minute," he said, finally sensing his mom was still standing over him. He heard her leave the room, mumbling about the mess that still remained on his bedroom floor. All of a sudden he sat up with a start. He look around him in stricken panic. The room...it felt so familiar as he sat and admired his surroundings...the pictures that engulfed his bedroom walls, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" record sat upon his stereo system - a fairly old record player.
"I am NOT dreaming, this cannot be happening to me, there's no possible way this could happen to me," he repeated to himself as he scanned the room. His eyes grew bigger by the second. He gave himself a hard pich on the arm and felt pain. Real pain. He was in the past...it wasn't 1998 anymore...
He quickly grabbed for the calender he saw lying on the floor. "Oh god, no...this isn't real, I don't believe this!" He exclaimed when he saw the numbers on the front of his calender which abruptly read 1978. He glanced down at his Star Wars pajamas. He felt a lot shorter and smaller. He played with his hands - his small 6-year old hands.
"There's no way in history this could happen to someone," he heard himself say before he fell back into a deep sleep. Now the most important question going through his head was, "Where is Daniel?"
"Daniel? Do you have your lunch sweetheart?" Mrs.Jones came over and gave her 5-year old son a light hug. Daniel nodded seriously as he stared hard at his mother, as if something didn't seem right...yet he felt like he somehow had always been here...but another feeling always seemed to hit him hard in the back of his mind...something that was far beyond a 5-year old mind. But it seemed to remind him that he once had lived in another lifetime...and now it was all in the past...and only a twist in time could prevent Daniel's original future from coming a reality once again...
Darren quickened his pace as he made his way down the cold, wet sidewalk through the light drizzling rain. He threw his yellow slicker over him and made a run for it. He for sure didn't want to make his past become his late school years again, if that's what it was going to be like from now on...he figured he may as well make the best of his childhood days while he was reliving the experience all over again, even if it meant he would never have back what he once had. A future of a lifetime...
"Hey, Doze!" Darren abruptly stopped in his tracks and lowered his head. The voice sounded so familiar...but he couldn't put a finger - or for that matter, an ear - on it. "Where do you think you're going little fatface?" The older kid snarled at him.
"Peirsen Kid!" Darren gritted his teeth and tried to remain calm. He had admitted to had been a wimpy and extremely shy kid all through school but he wasn't the same...he wasn't going to let anyone size him up. Time to remake the school years! Darren smiled secretly to himself and turned around to face his enemy. The boy glared hard at Darren who stared back with a smirk on his face.
"You know, I could make this harder for the both of us, but I won't so I'm not going to waste my time beating the crap out of you...I think I'll save it for another time..." And with that he turned on his heel and walked off, leaving behind Peirsen with his mouth hanging open in complete shock.
"Hi Daniel..." Daniel turned to see a pretty burnette coming towards him. He remembered the face...yet everything seemed so fuzzy in his mind at that moment.
"Uh...hi," He said shyly as he searched the preschool bookshelf for a good book to read, or one that at least came to his standards of his 'maturity'.
"Do you want me to read to you Danny?" The girl soothed in a sweet voice. Daniel hit himself with his hand. Of course! She's my teacher! How could I forget so suddenly? I feel like I'm from another world or something.. he thought to himself. Little did he know he was pretty close to the truth.
"Ok, teacher..." Daniel said in a five-year old voice. He grabbed for a Sesame Street book and handed it to her.She smiled and reluctantly took it.
"Once upon a time, in the land of Grover," Daniel smiled as he settled back against his teacher. He finally realized what was going on - the class had a substiute for the week!
"Darren! Darren! Over here, I saved you a seat," Darren blushed and took a seat beside his 'past-Time kindergarten girlfriend'. He had thought of her so fondly and now he had the chance to prove himself in '3-D love!' He smiled and took a place next to her.
"Hi..." He said softly without looking up at her. She smiled back at him and than leaned over and gave him a big wet kiss on the cheek and giggled playfully.
"Eeew...watch out Lizzy...boys have cooties!" her friend whispered into her ear. Darren stood up, his chair made a screeching noise as he slid it back.
"Boys DO NOT have cooties for your information Lisa!" The girls looked up with confused faces.
"Darren...what does 'for your information' mean?" Lisa said breaking the silence.
"Oh," Darren said catching himself, "you'll learn the meaning behind it soon enough..." He let out a small laugh as he went back to his drawing.
"Daniel! There's my little boy!" "Hi mommy!" Daniel let out a big grin as he ran into his mom's arms.
"Come to pick me up?" He smiled and gave her another hug.
"You bet, you wouldn't want to stay here all night by yourself would you?" she laughed. Daniel shook his head vigourously and giggled.
"Come on...I have to make a quick stop by the grocery store and than we'll go home and maybe you and your brothers can have a round of soccer, how would you like that Daniel?" she suggested thoughtfully as the two walked out to the car hand in hand. Daniel nodded with a big smile.
"And a snack?" he asked with pleading eyes. Mrs.Jones looked down at her son and smiled.
"Of course! Anything for my little soccer pro!"
"Darren! Come on, I have to stop to pick up some groceries before we head home and don't you forget, you have your art drawing of a castle to do," Mrs.Hayes reminded her son as they climbed into their blue 70's station wagon. Darren did up his seat belt and nodded slowly. I know, shouldn't be very difficult at all, he thought to himself with a sly smile forming across his lips.The ride to the store was a very talkitive one, so Darren had turned on the radio to see if Michael Jackson or U2 would play to break the unweary silence until his mom had abruptly shut it off.
"Not right now Darren, can't you see I have a headache right now?" She sighed and pulled the car into an empty nearby parking space, a short distance from the front enterance of the store.
"Come with me," she said, unbuckling his seatbelt. Darren moaned.He had always dreaded grocery shopping with his mom as a kid because it took her over an hour just to be picky about the certain foods and whether to buy this or if it would be 'Non-usable' in the household.
"Do you want a buggy ride Dazzy?" she asked, her voice becoming kinder. She lifted him up into the shopping cart and he made himself comfortable for the joy ride through the store. Hmm...wonder if I'll bump into any one I know... he laughed. All of a sudden he felt sick and miserable. He didn't belong here,his real life was back home, in the future....so why was he back in the past? Alone and as a frightened young soul with no one to help him get back to where he really belongs?
"Ooooow!! Mommy! It hurts!!"
"That's an unbehaved, unbrought-up child!" Darren's mother scolded as she tried to not seem obvious to the scene the young boy next to them was making. He sat in the cart,holding his knee tightly.It looked like he had cut it somehow from what Darren could see. The boy's face was tearstained and red. He noticed Darren staring at him and a blank expression seemed to come over his face. Like all of a sudden he was finding comfort...as if he knew this person.
"Hi," Darren said,finally making the effort to say something to keep the kid from 'inspecting' him. "Hi," was all he answered back.
"My name is Darren," Darren said, trying to sound like a 6-year old rather than a 26-year old. GOD, I'm a man in a boy's body, my body! The thought cursed his mind again but he shook them away. "What's yours?" he asked when the boy didn't reply.
"Um, Daniel," He continued to stare at Darren's face, something gave him the weirdest feeling as he listened to Darren talk.
"You like soccer kid? I, uh, mean, well, I mean, that's what you are, so I called you 'kid', honestly I didn't mean nothin by it!" Darren defended his adult self. Daniel cocked his head to one side as if he couldn't quite take in what Darren was saying.
"When were you born?" Darren blurted out all of a sudden. What the hell am I doing? he scolded himself.
"July 22nd,1973," Daniel smiled proudly that he had said it all correctly. Darren's eyes widened at the prospect. Could it be possible? Could it be possible that Daniel had gone back in time too?
"Are you ok?" Daniel's expression seemed frightened. Darren nodded, "Um, yeah...Daniel?!"
The buggy lurched forward and Daniel's mom pushed the cart in the other direction. All of a sudden something struck through Daniel, as if he had just had an amazing brainstorm. "Darren!!Darren!!!!!" Darren's frown of disappointment lit up into a great big smile as he stood up on wobbly legs and jumped up and down, trying to get Daniel's attention. Did he finally figure it out, had Darren somehow changed the old thoughts from Daniel's head so that he now realized who really was inside and what was going on?
"Daniel,.....do you know?!" Darren called.
"Darren! Hush, you don't know that boy, now sit down and don't make a huge deal out of nothing!" Mrs.Hayes frowned.
"Darren!!" Daniel called out again.
"Mommy,can I go see that boy, please? He's um, a friend of mine in kindergarten really..." Darren lied.
"Well than...you'll see him tomorrow, now stop whining and sit." Darren decided to put on the act and finally burst into tears.
"Don't start with me again young man!" At that moment Daniel rode by in the cart his mom was pushing. His eyes looked sad. He knows... Darren's face fell. This time, in all his life, he felt like both of his worlds were really falling apart before him. He reached his hand out to touch his friend.
"Daniel..."
Tears stung at Darren's eyes as he tried to force them back. Daniel just sat there, looking helpless and forlorn. Then, finally, just before Daniel disappeared from sight, Darren was sure he heard him whisper...
"See you in the future Daz..."
Darren sighed unhappily as he swung his short legs over the side of the bed the next morning. Little did he know what was in store for him...
He glanced at the same calendar that had told him what year it was. "It's Saturday...I wonder if there's any way that I could possibly get mom to track Daniel down...." He wondered aloud. I need you more than ever, don't let me down now Dan...
He went back to his bed and sat down with a glum expression on his face. An expression of unhappiness and loneliness. Darren leaned over and picked up an old Star Wars toy off his floor and played with it in his hands until he finally couldn't take it anymore. He dressed in a hurry, grabbed his jacket and rushed downstairs. He had to find Daniel,no matter what it took!
...Just a Twist in time and everything could be different...
"Where are you off to? Stay in the area so I can keep a close eye on you if there's any trouble, Darren," his mom warned him, glancing up from her coffee for a brief second. Darren shook his head and proceeded out the door. Ok...think Darren, think...where was Daniel's house located at? He racked his brain for the slightest answer but something seemed to keep him from knowing. God Damnit, I practically lived at Daniel's house everyday when I was living my original life...why can't I remember where it is...I got it! Darren smiled to himself, as if he had just come up with a brilliant idea. I'll look him up in the phone book!He raced back into the house, almost knocking his mom over as she was stepping out onto the doorstep.
"Darren! Don't be running around like that and watch where you're going for goodness sake!" she scolded him as she followed him back into the house. Darren ignored her and ran to the phone book which was lying on the family dining room table. He grabbed for it but just as he was about to look up 'Jones' his mother reached over and slid the book away from Darren's grasp.
"Mom!" he whailed.
"You don't need to be drawing and doodling in it again Darren, how many times have I told you not to be doing that?" she sighed heavily. "Anyways, you have plenty of coloring books for that job." Darren slumped back against his chair and moaned.His chin began to tense up and he felt the tears coming on...
"Whaaaaaaa," he wailed. His mom stood up and grabbed him by the arm.
"Stop it right now! I'm not in the mood for you tantrums right now," she told him. Darren began to kick his feet and arms wildly, trying to struggle free but it was no use.His body was much smaller and to weak to wriggle away from the force of his mother. "Now, when you can behave better I'll let your grounding off ok?" she asked softly as she stared into her son's red, puffy eyes. Darren wiped a tear away and nodded lowly. Hugging his mom again made him feel like he really was a kid all over again. He knew this wasn't a dream any longer and he also knew the only way he could make the future right again was to find Daniel...
"Watch out! Here it comes!!" Daniel took a few tiny steps back and ran towards the soccer ball and kicked it with all his force. The ball was sent rolling right into a miniture goalies net. "Yeah!!! I won!!" Daniel cried happily as he ran around waving his arms around in the air. Oliver made a
face and sat down on the grass.
"So...so what if you won, I let you, squirt." Daniel made a face at his oldest brother and laughed. Oliver shook his head and smiled.
"Hey Dan...who's that kid you were talking about earlier today?" Oliver said jumping to his feet. Daniel glanced down at the ground and bit his lip. Should he tell? There was no way anyone was going to believe his story - not in a million years.
"Um, just a friend I made in, um, preschool, that's all..." Daniel let his words trail off. Oliver nodded. "All right then."
"Daniel! Oliver! Come in for supper!" They heard their mom call them from the kitchen. "Race you!" Daniel said with a grin and ran ahead in front of his brother into the house.
Darren stared blankly at the Michael Jackson poster on his wall and continued to fiddle with his fingers. "Help me," he said aloud. "Where are you Daniel?" He kicked the wall angrily. "Why aren't you looking for me too?" He chocked back a sob and fiddled with a Darth-Vader doll. All of a sudden there was a light tap coming from somewhere, almost scaring the living daylights out of Darren.
"Come in!" he mumbled, thinking someone was at his bedroom door. "I said come in damn-" he was about to say just as his eyes fell upon a blond haired boy who was sitting outside his bedroom window on the roof. The boy stopped knocking when he saw Darren look up at him.
I can't believe that it's Darren, we were lost in the past and now two men from the future finally found themselves... Daniel thought. Darren ran over to the window and quietly slipped it open, careful not let his mom know he was up to anything. "Daniel!" he sobbed, grabbing his friend into a tight hug. They remained that way for what seemed like several lifetimes until Daniel finally pulled himself back and brushed away a tear that had begun to fall down his cheek.
"What's happened to us, Darren? Why are we here?" The questions began to pour out of him. Darren shook his head and sat down on his unmade bed. He put his head in his hands and coninuted to shake his head in disbelief.
"I don't know but I wish I did...Daniel?" Daniel glanced up, disturbing the thoughts that were racing through his head that moment. "Do you think," Darren paused, "we'll ever get back to our own world, where we really belong?" Daniel shrugged.
"I really can't tell you Daz...If only I knew the reason why we're back in this old place...this just all seems to weird for me, you know? I'm still having a hard time bringing all this to heart...it's like a dream, it really is like a dream, and than when you began talking to me in the store the other day everything seemed to hit home so hard I dont know what took me over..." Darren slowly came over to his friend and gently sat down next to him.
"I know how you're feeling, I mean, about all of this, what's happening to us...all I want to do is go home Dan..." Darren collapsed against Daniel and let the tears flow and they sat most of the night together and alone in an old forgotten world...
