Long Away

Chapter 34

The next morning Ben took it upon himself to clean up their new garden. It was easy to see that the last people who lived here didn't do much work outside after the winter. There were still rotting leaves everywhere, and the hedges were in desperate need of a trim. Luckily, the weather was nice that day, so it was a rather relaxing task for Ben. While he raked the leaves, he tried to picture what else he and Roger could do with their garden. There was a small porch, that currently only had a bench on it, but it could easily fit a table aswell.
Lining the porch were patches of soil that Ben assumed used to be flower beds. Now all that grew there was weeds. Another thing for him to work on. Maybe he and Roger could plant something nice, he thought.

His planning got interrupted when his boyfriend stepped out of the house.
"Honey, phone call for you," he called out.
"Who is it?", Ben asked surprised.
"Freddie. I don't know what he wants, but apparently it's crucial he asks you, not me." Roger shrugged.
"Huh. Okay, I'm coming."
Ben put his rake down in the grass and hurried inside.

With the phone in his hand, he sat down on the sofa.
"What's up, mate?"
"Morning, Ben. Brian just called me. He said he may have found something that could help us figure you-know-what out." Ben looked around. Roger wasn't in the room anymore, but he lowered his voice regardless.

"Really? That's great! What do we do now?"
"Can you come over for a couple of hours? Deaks is out for classes, so he won't be back until five or something. Brian said he could show us what he found."
"Sure, but what do I tell Rog?", Ben asked.
"Oh, just tell him I need your help with something and didn't say what it was. He knows I would do that."
Ben chuckled.
"We all know you would. I'll see you then, Fred."
"Marvelous. See you, darling."

Ben hung up and went to look for Roger. He found him sitting at the desk in their bedroom, writing something down.
"Hun? Freddie asked if I could come over to help him with something. I don't know what it is but apparently it will take a few hours."
"That is so typical for him," Roger said.
"Do you mind if I go?", Ben asked.
Roger shook his head.
"No, of course not. I'm busy with something anyway."
"Alright, sweetheart. I'll see you tonight." Ben gave his boyfriend a quick peck on the lips before heading outside.

Half an hour later, he was at Freddie's door. He and Roger kept one of the spare keys, so he could walk right in.
"Hey guys, here I am." He waved to Brian and Freddie who were sitting at the table with some large books in front of them.
"Hello, dear!"
"Hey Ben! Come take a look at this."
Ben took a seat next to Brian, curious what he had found.

"So, as you know I've been reading through every bit of literature about time theory that I could find. But there was nothing at my University's library that looked like it could explain anything.  Now, I asked my professor if he might know of any other resources, and he gave me these books. However, they are not authorized, so I have no idea how reliable they are. According to my professor, some of the theories in here have already been debunked before the books were even printed. But he said there might be some parts that could be accurate."

Ben nodded along as Brian explained.
"I see. I assume you found a possible explanation in there then?"
"I did." Brian opened one of the books at a marked page. It showed a graphic which was just a bit too sciency looking for Ben to understand, with a long block of text underneath.
"Come on, Astro-boy," Freddie nagged.
"Tell us what it is already."
"Alright, so what it says here is all based on the theory that time is an illusion caused by our brains' limited ability to comprehend space. In other words, everything is happening at once, and, under specific circumstances, it is possible for rifts to occur in the time we perceive."

"And what are those circumstances?", Ben asked.
"Apparently if-" before Brian could finish his sentence, the sound of the apartment door being unlocked echoed through the room.
"Oh, hi Brian, hi Ben!"
Freddie looked up in confusion.
"Deaky? You're back early."
Brian quickly slammed the book shut.
"Yes, one of my lectures got postponed, so I have a couple hours before I have to be on campus again," John explained happily.
"What are you all doing?"

None of them had a good excuse ready. They helplessly looked at each other.
"You look like I interrupted you on some top secret mission," John laughed.
Ben and Brian chuckled nervously.
"Wait, did I?"
Freddie looked at Ben.
"Do you want to fill him in on this?"
Ben cursed internally. Would Freddie ever stop this?
"Fill me in on what?", John asked. He sat down next to Ben and looked at him with big eyes.

Ben hesitated. As always, his first instinct told him to lie, but did he really need to do that this time?
"Well," he began.
"I know this is gonna sound like a joke.  But believe me, it's not."
"Okay, what is it?"
Ben took a deep breath. Somehow it didn't get easier to tell this story.
"I am from the future. I ended up here right before I moved in with Rog and Freddie. And I don't know how this is possible, so we are trying to figure that out."

Brian opened the book again on the relevant page.
"This is what I could find so far."
John's eyes grew even wider as he read through the text.
"Huh. That is... Interesting."
"That's it? That's all you're going to say?", Ben asked surprised.
"To be honest I don't know what to say. Are you really not kidding?"
"I wish I was," Ben said.
John quietly scanned the page a second time. Ben grew more nervous with every passing second.
"This does seem to make sense," John said eventually.
"Is there any way I can help?"

When Ben returned home in the evening, he was actually kind of relieved that Deaky knew his secret now. Maybe, with more people already in on it, it would be easier to tell Roger some day.
Ben closed the gate of the front yard behind himself. As he walked towards the door, he noticed a bike leaning against the house that had not been there this morning. He assumed that it was from the upstairs neighbors, and didn't pay further attention to it.

"Honey, I'm home!", Ben called out when he went inside. No response.
"Honey?" Ben looked out the window to the back yard. And sure enough, there was his boyfriend on the porch. But he wasn't alone. Ben forcefully pushed the door open, making both Roger and Emma flinch.

"Oh, you're back," Roger said, visibly relieved.
"Yeah, I am. What is she doing here?"
Emma put on that smile of hers that Ben had come to despise so much.
"I was just-"
"About to leave," Roger finished her sentence. She looked at him as if he had slapped her in the face.
"If you say so..."
"Yes, we both say so," Ben growled.
Emma sighed.
"Alright then. It was really nice spending time with you, Rogie. See you soon!"
Before either he or Ben could react, she pulled Roger into a tight hug. To perplexed to say anything, they watched as she ever so slowly left their house.

***
Hey guys! Your favorite girl is back again! I'm sure you were all terribly worried that she wouldn't show up again, but I got you. You're welcome.

Tay