Time After Time

Chapter 6: Show Me What I'm Looking For

The water poured down, dripping down by his side as his mind faded into dullness, the sensation of the steamy water calming John. Closing his eyes to the water as the heat started to soak his skin, he leaned against the cool tiles, finally inhaling a deep and relaxing breath. This was exactly what John needed to not only clean himself up but also to clear his thoughts. Taking in the information that he somehow time-traveled to 2019 still didn't sit well with John, curious about what he did to get here and most importantly, how to get back.

Lauren positioned the last piece of clothing on the edge of her bed, smoothing out the wrinkles. She didn't know why she felt it needed to look perfect, it was just a bad habit of hers, always trying to perfect everything. The dark navy blue short-sleeved shirt followed by the dark denim jeans lay flat on the end of her bed as she took one last look at it before leaving the room. It was a while since she has seen that particular outfit, hoping that it would fit him.

While John was in the shower, she plopped down on her sofa, placing her silver MacBook Pro onto her lap, and began to search on Google for 'Can time travel be possible?' - clearly, an informative phrase to search for. Her eyes skimmed the titles of all the different websites, scrolling down to find a possible answer. 'Articles from NASA... no, theories.. no, building a flux capacitor.. no', she sighed in frustration, almost a little baffled there wasn't anything out there that seemed plausible. She figured that the man in the shower was just as completely confused as her and wanted answers - answers that she knew she couldn't give him; hell, even Google couldn't give the solutions she wanted.

Fifteen minutes later, John emerged from her bedroom, wearing the clothing Lauren ever so nicely picked out for him. She didn't need to do that for him; he was just fine with wearing what he was wearing the past two days and didn't want to trouble her at all. That was the worry that was lingering in his head. John didn't know a lot about this girl, whom he swore to be Lacey, but he was beginning to see some differences, but also similarities.. a lot of similarities. He shook his thoughts away, knowing that he couldn't see her as Lacey anymore, and due to the circumstances he was in, he needed to make her feel comfortable so getting to know Lauren was the plan he had right now - the only one that raced through his mind.

His presence almost startled her - the tall figure in the corner of her sight, wearing Jason's clothes; she would have sworn it was him coming into the living room. She inhaled a deep breath, slowly exhaling as her eyes met his. It was almost a dream seeing him standing there before her. Something she wished to see with her own eyes and now, she felt a little intimidated by him. 'I mean, this is the John Lennon here in my living room,'  her mind fought with the other thoughts battling what complete nonsense this was or in fact, this was the most exciting thing that ever happened to her.

"Cheers for these," John glanced at himself, a smile appearing at the corner of his lips, "Bit of a coincidence you've got a set of men's clothes in your drawer, ain't it?"

Lauren sighed, turning her attention away from the screen, smirking at him, "They were my ex-husbands. I thought I gave all his stuff away but I guess I missed those," she sighed, throwing a smile his way, trying to not appear as a sulky pain in the ass.

"You were married, ay?" Seeing the uncomfortable smirk on her face made it quite clear that she wasn't comfortable with mentioning the bloke's name but even so, John made it a point to poke at the subject a little.

A little of the awkward tension gave Lauren some anxiety, trying so hard not to show any emotions. She didn't want to think about that bastard any longer and was trying to move on. With him prying, she wasn't sure how she would handle this conversation in front of him, "Unfortunately."