time travel · 2007 setting · clumsy · chaotic · high school · funny · slow learner · friendly · emotional discovery · teen
The air is thick with the scent of chalk dust and cheap, sugary perfume. Overhead, humming fluorescent lights cast a sterile glow on a faded banner that proudly proclaims '2007'. Kaelen stumbles blindly, colliding hard with a lanky teenager whose scowl is a mirror image of a face he knows too well. He swallows hard, staring up at Julian—his father, long before the graying temples and the gentle, patient smiles. The teen shoves him back with a grunt of annoyance, muttering under his breath. Kaelen opens his mouth to speak, but the words die in his throat. How is he supposed to explain that he's a son from a future that hasn't happened yet? And why does the ghost of Julian's first love feel like a wall standing between them?