Time After Time || Chris Cornell

5. Everybody's Got Something To Hide

Seattle Washington, March 10 1980

(Chris is 15, Andi is 18)

ANDI: Holy shit it's dark in here. Gotta be quiet, Andrea just be quiet.

I lift myself up from the floor, and steady myself as best I can, once again discovering that I'm completely naked. I shuffle around the room finding that I'm in a bathroom as I stumble into the old claw foot bathtub.

"Hello?"

Fuck, ok what do I do? Find the light switch, just find the light switch.

I try to feel my way around the room to try and turn on the light but the only thing I feel is that old wood paneling covering the walls of the bathroom.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

Shit Andrea, just find the goddamn light switch!

Since the light switch seems to be on the outside of the door, I instead try to make my way around the room to cover myself up with something, anything just in case...

"I know you're in there, I've got a bat and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Is that Chris?

I quickly grab the shower curtain and pull it down from the rod, the little plastic rings flying everywhere just as the door flings open and I fall onto the toilet seat, trying to cover myself.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry, just please don't hurt me," I jump a little with my eyes closed as the light in the bathroom flicks on, stinging my pupils.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? How'd you get in here?"

I flick my eyes open and see a young Christopher Cornell, his incredibly young features and his short dark hair, so clean cut as if he's still straight out of the 70's, just like in those old photos of him that he showed me in his room, only he's holding a bat and scared as all hell at what was just taking place.

Well at least I'm not in the middle of a ditch somewhere...

*****

"No seriously... how did you end up in my bathroom?" Chris asks me, his insanely gorgeous blue eyes wide with wonder with his eyebrow raised, piercing me right through to my soul. I glance over his arms, seeing how toned they were under his white fitted tank top.

He's so young. I mean, fuck he looks like just a young boy. Well... you know what I mean.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy" I say as I set the record back in the stereo cabinet and turn to face him more.

"I don't even know you so how could I think you're crazy?" He says with a smirk as he leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees and the silver chain with a silver dog tag looking pendant that hung around his neck begins to sway back and forth.

"Trust me, I can just tell," I trail off and he still gazes at me raising his eyebrow again.

Ok, here goes nothing...

I take in a deep breath and begin to tell him everything, and I mean everything. I've only just met Chris in February a few weeks after my 18th birthday - Obviously in my time - and we've been together ever since, so I don't want to spoil it too much for him yet.

"... so that's how I ended up in your bathroom... naked... with the shower curtain..." I say.

The expression on his face was pretty much what I was expecting but at least he's not laughing at me like most boys do.