“If it isn’t my favorite knife-wielding faggot” was Curt’s loud greeting when his eyes fell on Kole and Crista from about thirty feet off.

Kole glared over at he and Scott, and Chandler and Emily, and Regan and Brandi, who were of course BFF’s with Emily. As the group approached them, Kole’s glare deepened as he spoke, “we really should make a drinking game out of how many times you find yourself incapable of calling anyone by their actual name, Curt” he growled the other young man’s name pointedly.

“Got your knife on you today, fag?” Scott put in as Kole just raised a brow in his direction.

Then Curt spoke again, “what you doin with a girl, Kole?” he asked as he sneered while pronouncing Kole’s own name.

“Look at that” Kole scoffed, “the knife musta left an impression. You actually remembered my name, this time” he then added, “and I would try to explain to you why I’d be with a girl, but I’m not sure you’d understand, Curt.”

“And what the fuck’s that supposed to mean?” Curt growled back as his eyes then moved over Crista.

Kole just glared again as he noted Curt’s eyes on his companion, “so which one’s your date then, Curt? My guess would be Scott.”

“Fuck you, fag” Curt glared.

“If that’s meant for me, no thanks, I’ve already been laid at least once today” Kole shook his head as though trying to recall. He then looked down at Crista, “or was it? Twice was yesterday, right?”

“At least” Crista confirmed as she smirked up at him.

Kole then turned back to Curt, “as you can see, I’m quite well taken care of in that area. And honestly, I’m just not feeling it when I look at you” Kole shrugged.

“Such a little prick” Scott shook his head over at Kole.

“They do seem quite preoccupied with pricks, don’t they?” Kole shook his head down at where Crista continued to smirk.

Curt glared again then before he continued, “you know, no offense to the lovely ladies here with me tonight, but I think I’m in the mood for some strange. Maybe I’ll just borrow your date, Kole. After all, you sure as fuck wouldn’t know how to give it to her properly” he sneered as he took a step closer to Crista then.

“You really wanna go there again, huh, Curt?” Kole said with an unmistakably threatening tone, “right here, in front of all your little friends, and the surveillance cameras” he had to add.

“Go where?” Curt scoffed as he just gave Kole a disparaging look from head to toe.

“You’re really gonna test your luck at even insinuating that you may try to touch another girl I like? When I already know all about exactly what kind of piece of shit you are?” Kole asked venomously.

Curt then glared as he moved another step closer, speaking into Kole’s face, “better watch it pretty boy. Maybe you’re the one who’ll get a lesson instead of your little freakette here.”

“Oh I’ve heard about the lessons you try to give us pretty boys. But I’m not sure you wanna stand that close to this pretty boy, Curt. You never know what I might pull outta my pants before you can. May not be what you’re hoping for” Kole told him with a malevolent smirk.

That was when Scott chimed in, “you better keep it in your pants, fag.”

“I think that’s advice for your little rapist friend here, not me” Kole growled.

“What the fuck you call me?” Curt growled as he gave Kole a forceful push backwards.

“Supply closet at school? Two years ago? Her name was Sammi, in case you didn’t bother asking” Kole shot back.

“You need to shut your fucking mouth right now, pretty boy. Ain’t nobody hearing that shit” Curt shot back as he took another step; despite the looks his friends gave each other at the mention of a girl who they all then easily remembered had killed herself during their sophomore year.

That was when Curt’s actual date for the night, Brandi, spoke up as she moved forward to reach for his hand, “come on, you know my parents want me home early tonight.”

“I’m supposed to just let him get away with sayin that kind of shit?” he scoffed, pulling his hand away from hers and not even looking back at his little blonde friend.

That was when the one silent boy among them, the captain of the football team himself, Chandler, finally spoke up “come on, freak ain’t worth us getting into shit with mall security or the cops” he told him as he gestured to the cameras and guards dotted throughout the mall, “you can kick his ass some other time.”

“Guess you get to live another day, freak” Curt spat back as he finally turned to join his friends. He then paused a moment before turning back. That was when gave Crista another head to toe glance and moved in close to her, “your loss” and with that he roughly pushed her purse and shopping bag from where she had been holding them with slightly trembling hands throughout the confrontation.

Crista then just glared and bent to pick them up from the floor. Of course, it was as she bent over to do so in the short skirt she wore that night, that Curt reached over to roughly grab her behind with another smirk. She then squealed and jumped back from his touch. But before he could make any more comments or gestures, Kole’s eyes were burning into him, and suddenly every bone in his arm shattered as he howled in pain and collapsed to the floor.

All of Curt’s friends, as well as Crista herself, were beyond panicked at the occurrence, which gave Kole the time to finish gathering her belongings and quickly hurry her toward the doors before the guards came rushing over at the sound of Curt’s pained scream.

“Oh my god. Did you do that?” Crista breathed heavily as they reached his car a moment later.

“Think that’s a discussion for after we’re out of the parking lot” Kole stated as he unlocked the doors and slid into his place behind the steering wheel, Crista rushing to get into her own seat as well.

“Shit” Crista breathed as they pulled away, “was that you being a witch or you being an alien or... what the fuck was that?”

“Beats the shit outta me” he returned with his own deep breath.

“But I mean, can witches actually do shit like that?” Crista asked, part afraid, part downright curious.

“According to Hollywood” he scoffed.

“So, our money’s on alien?” Crista asked a moment later.

“No idea” Kole repeated as they finally pulled back onto the highway as he sniffled a bit.

Crista then narrowed her eyes as she looked back across the seat at him, “are you bleeding?” she asked worriedly as she noted a drip of blood coming from his nose in the dim light of the car.

That was when Kole moved his hand up to wipe away the offending drop, looking down at the blood with more than a bit of worry. He then pulled off the road to deal with the situation. As he wiped a few more drops away, neither of them said much, Crista just watching him worriedly.

“Do you have cancer or something?” she finally asked fearfully.

Kole just shook his head, “I think there might be a few other possible explanations” he answered with a scoff.

“Do you think that’s from... what you did to Curt?” she asked with more worry.

“I don’t know. Did you get a nosebleed after you and Star chased those other assholes off today?” Kole asked her as he removed the now bloodstained glove he wore that night.

“No, but Star did that, not me” Crista answered sadly, her worry continuing.

“Guess we’re just not like the original recipe kids, huh? Maybe we’re just batteries for them or some shit” Kole shook his head as he sniffled again.

“But if we don’t have.... then how could...” Crista shook her head, “do we or don’t we have powers on our own? Cause it sure looked like it, but now...” she just shook her head sadly.

“Maybe we’re the limited edition” Kole scoffed again.

“Well, I guess that’s better than... no edition... like we were last week” she told him sadly. She then sighed softly, “at least now we know we can defend ourselves from the shit he does... to some extent, anyway” she shrugged sadly.

Kole took a deep breath as he finally started the car again, “I don’t wanna just defend myself. I wanna fix it. All of it.”

The next day at school, the first bell of the day rang as Sky and Star exited their car. Star headed into the building to begin yet another school week of hell as Sky curiously looked over at where Kole had parked next to them, but didn’t appear to be in much of a hurry to leave his own car. Instead, he stared at the school with a less than jovial and somewhat thoughtful look.

Sky narrowed his eyes again and moved to open Kole’s door, “nope, I’m not a Monday person, or a morning person either. But I also don’t wanna have to repeat this year again. I’ve done enough of that sort of shit” Sky smirked as he got into the car and lit a cigarette.

“Show me how” was Kole’s only greeting, still staring straight ahead.

“Um, how what?” Sky asked as he took a drag, offering another curious look at his companion.

Kole then finally looked over at him, his expression a bit intense, “how: How did you and Star go back in time and fix things?”

Sky choked a bit on his next drag as he looked back over at Kole warily, “do things really appear to be that fixed?”

“All the more reason to do it again, right? Show me how. Cause me? I have some shit to fix” Kole told him plainly.

“Um, Kole...”

“What? You did it just to escape a lab! I think dead girlfriend and baby trumps that, right?” Kole told him pointedly.

“Yes, I suppose it does” Sky admitted with discomfort, “but---”

“But what? We need to fix this Curt shit once and for all. And if we can’t just kill him. We can at least stop the worst shit he’s done, right?” Kole asked desperately.

“Ok, first” Sky attempted, “I’m not even sure you can do that” he began.

“Well, I shattered his fucking arm with my mind last night, so I think I’m good” Kole returned bluntly.

“You did what?” Sky asked with more than a bit of shock.

“How Sky? Tell me how you did it” Kole pressed.

“Me and Star were desperate and we needed to escape and it just happened. We needed it to happen and it did. Unfortunately there’s no rule book here” Sky told him sadly, “and more importantly, the only reason I think we could do that time travel shit is because we’ve always been this. Any point in time we ever go back to; this is still what we are then, now, forever. But if you go back...” Sky just shook his head as he took a sad drag.

“What? What if I go back?” Kole prodded.

“Kole, if you go back, even if you can; it won’t work the same way.”

“But you can’t know that. No rule book, right?”

“But I know that when we went back three years, we were virgins again. We didn’t have... our scars anymore, even. We were physically, exactly what we were three years ago. But we’ve always been this; it’s the only reason we can remember all our other lives. Cause this is what we’ve been in every one” he attempted, “but if you go back to become who you physically were two years ago... Then you won’t be what you are now; physically or mentally.”

“Big deal. I’ll be able to save her though” Kole whispered.

“No, you won’t” Sky told him sadly, “you won’t even remember that you have to. You’ll just have to relive it all, every step; cause you won’t know not to. Do you really want to live that life all over again?”