Time Stop

Chapter 1

It was a regular day. Sorta. I was heading to school (See:Torture) when I had the hella best idea for an art piece. My thoughts don't stay in one place, so keeping it in my head was impossible. I had to draw. But of course, school's a bitch, so I stopped time. Oh yeah, by the way, I can stop time. Don't ask me how. The power just popped up around my 14th birthday, and I don't know anything else about it. I like to think that I'm some sort of X-Man, or at least X-Enby in my case. It's a pretty useful superpower, but I've never really told anyone. Too much to explain, and I already have too much to explain about myself. My gender, my pronouns, why my name is too masculine for being gender neutral and why I'm adopted. Too much unnecessary time lost. Anyway, I had just put the finishing touches on my sketch when I saw him. He was walking around, looking very confused. 

I yelled "Hey!", but he was too far. And then he was gone. I sighed. I shouldn't linger between space time, or whatever. School is the most certain thing in my life. School and art. I resumed time, hoping that no one would be too confused by my apparent teleportation. 

After school, I walked home. My parents asked if I wanted to be picked up like my brother and sister, but I refused. I don't really know why, but I'd rather walk home instead of just sitting in one place. Before I entered, I stopped time. I don't know why. It just helps me focus my jumble of thoughts. All was still. Except for some movement to my left. There he was again, just as confused. 

He was closer this time though, so I yelled "Hey!", as I ran over to him. The first thing I noticed was his eyes. They were a deep green, like a forest after some good rain.

"The hells going on?" He asked me. 

I replied with the seemingly obvious "Time got stopped. Possibly by me, possibly by yourself." 

"That's impossible. I gotta be dreaming." Because all cute guys are idiots. 

"Impossible my ass. I've been doing it for 3 years." He looked at me with a look even I couldn't read. Why was I telling him this stuff? Stuff I hadn't even told my parents, my closest friends, my siblings. This dumbass could tell everyone and ruin my small bit of normality. 

"Dammit," I said "When you get out don't tell anyone, you hear me?" He nodded, still quite confused. 

I was heading back out to my house, when he called. "Wait, I didn't even get your name!" I ignored him and headed back to my front door. 

Before I resume time I hear him say to himself, "Nice to meet you stranger, my name's Theo."

Theo. His name is all I can think about during dinner. While Dad makes dinner and quickly heads to his garage workshop. While Mom comes in late as always. While Axel and Maya get into their 13th fight this day. Through all of that my usually busy mind is focused on one thing. Theo. 

"Hey sweetie, is something bothering you?" Mom. She always knows when somethings up with me. If she had a superpower, it would be that. Because of it, she was the first person I came out to. 

But I still haven't told her about the whole time stopping thing, so I lie. "It's nothing. Just school stuff." Mom nods, and lets it rest. She's cool like that. I watch, a bit cautiously, as she looks at her tablet and brushes a strand of jet black hair. She and Axel have black hair, a shade bluer than mine, with dark brown eyes. My eyes have more amber in them. I still can't focus, so I head off to the garage. Dad is always there, fixing something, tinkering with another thing. 

"Hey Kiddo!" he shouts from under our car. 

"I didn't know that the car needed fixing?" I ask sarcastically. He's always trying to make the car better, but mainly he just gets Mom angry. 

"Well no, but I just was-" 

"Trying to make Mom angry?" 

"Well no I-" 

"Oh, you want Axel and Maya to walk to school!" 

"No! Stop!" He pops his head out from under the car, with a look that could be interpreted as angry. 

He sighs and asks, "What's up bud?" 

I answer "I'm fine. Just needed to get my mind off things." 

He raises an eyebrow and says "Girl troubles?"

"Boy troubles." I blurt out. The thing with dad is he's so easy to talk to. Sometimes. He doesn't really get my whole Non-Binary thing, but he tries and says the right things at the right times. But mostly it's hard to hide from him just because he's so loving. So I tell him a veiled truth.  

"I met this cute boy at school, and I think I might have been an asshole to him." Why oh why did I say that? 

"Well," he says "you could just go up to him tomorrow and apologize to him." What a concept. It's not like I know that I share classes with him. I met this guy outside the flow of time and was an asshole when he really didn't know what the hell was going on. I was a grade A idiot. But I can't tell Dad. 

"Yeah, I shouldn't worry about it." Dad smiles and slides back underneath the car, ending the conversation. But not my rushing mind.