Fix the future by changing the past

Young Atlas

Jim woke up from the sound of his alarm ringing. Well, he would have woken up if he was truly asleep. Jim was laying in bed his arm over his eyes, trying to block out the rays of sun that filtered through his curtains. He hadn't gotten much sleep, if any, the previous night. Another troll habit that he didn't appreciate. Jim was the type of guy that liked to sleep throughout the night, and whenever he couldn't he would often become a bit slow and groggy, it always left him feeling uneasy, sick even. 

With a groan, the teen reached over to his alarm to stop its infernal noise, before sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, hand tiredly rubbing his face in frustration. “Great, here come the sleepless nights…” he grumbled.

He looked at his slowly-turning-blue hands still finding all ten of his fingers intact, he got up and took his glamour mask before carefully making his way to their home’s shared bathroom on the top floor to take a better look at himself and wash up for the day. Locking the door behind him, he looked at himself in the mirror, taking note of any new changes. 

Apart from the now protruding tusks and tougher skin, nothing else changed. With his observations completed, he started to wash up before a thought came to mind as he washed his face from sleep. God did he look awful. Did the sun affect him yet? He needed to find out. so , walking over to the window where the morning sun shone, he hesitantly placed his hand under the beams of the sun. It was unnaturally warm, uncomfortable, but tolerable.

With another sigh, Jim put on a once too big grey hoodie to ensure that he minimised any burns throughout the day before his glamour mask, which showed him wearing his signature blue sweater vest before walking downstairs only to be greeted by the sight of his mom drinking coffee. “Mom?” he asked, walking down the stairs.

Barbara looked at her son with a gentle smile on her face. “Good morning, kiddo.” she greeted. “If you’re looking for Douxie, he’s in the basement. Something about working on a new spell?” she wondered, gently tapping her chin before shrugging and taking another sip of her coffee.

With a slight hum, Jim walked into the kitchen and pulled out a few ingredients he would need to make their lunches with. “Have you eaten breakfast yet, mom?” he asked, twirling a knife in his hand as he proceeded to chop up a few vegetables for the lunch he was preparing, before switching his attention to the sliced ham he brought out of the fridge and frying those for their fried ham sandwich breakfast.

“Hm, I ate a peanut butter sandwich with my coffee. I'm good.” she said with a content smile before a worried expression crossed across her face. “I don’t know if Douxie has eaten yet though.” 

Right on queue, Douxie opened the door of the basement. “Are those ham I smell?” he asked with a hungry hum and licking his lips. Douxie had moved in the night Barbara found out that he had lived in the small room behind the bookstore. It wasn’t suitable for anyone to live in! Let alone a teen, she would argue.

Hopping up the last of the basement stairs, Douxie entered the dining room and sat down just as Jim served him his sandwiches, ones he hungrily ate but shared with Archie. 

Jim packed the simple lunches he made for Douxie, his mom, Claire, and Toby before walking over to the recycle bin and picking out a few emptied cans, causing Barbara to raise her eyebrows in curiosity. Noticing the intrigue from his mom, Jim simply smiled at her and took a bite out of one of the metal lids of the can. “Troll diet.” Archie provided for the shocked woman, who only nodded in understanding, only now remembering that her son is actually a troll wearing a magic mask that makes him look like his human self.

“Personally, I prefer silverware.” Jim spoke nonchalantly with a shrug before stuffing a couple of the cans into a paper bag and taking a seat next to Douxie as he bit into the can in his hand.