Fixes to the Timeline

Chapter 5

Of course Dave had seen televisions before. His family had had one, even if they hadn't been able to afford the fancy new ones with color. But the one Klaus showed him was absolutely nothing like he was expecting. It was like they had a movie theater in their living room, but instead of a grainy projector it was just a huge screen, so thin he thought it had to be built into the wall instead of simply hanging on it.

He was so amazed by it all that it thankfully distracted him from how nervous he suddenly found himself. He'd invited Ben along on a whim, not really thinking beyond knowing Klaus would probably appreciate it. Besides, Dave was a friendly guy, he liked meeting new people and hanging out, and he'd heard so much about Ben he was excited to actually get to know him. But this wasn't just anyone. This was Klaus' best friend and closest sibling and Dave really didn't want to mess this up. He just desperately wanted to make a good impression.

Thankfully Ben was incredibly easy to get along with. The three of them had a very similar sense of humor and they talked and laughed constantly. And the movie they picked was absolutely fantastic. Their sister was an amazing actress and getting to hear stories of what she'd been like growing up and the various antics they used to get up to really just made it even better.

When Klaus left to grab snacks after the first film, though, all of the anxiety came flooding back. Having Klaus there had made it so easy, but now without him to play off of Dave panicked and suddenly had no idea what to say. His brain tended to shut off entirely in moments like these and he would just say whatever nonsense came to mind. Not ideal when trying not to put off the brother of the man he'd really like to spend the rest of his life with.

"So," he said with no real idea what was about to come out of his mouth and just hoping he wouldn't sound like a complete idiot. The quiet always did make him uncomfortable. "How have classes been?"

Nice, that wasn't too bad. Maybe he could get through this after all.

"Not bad," Ben said. "It's been difficult getting used to studying and having responsibilities again but honestly the structure it provides has been kinda nice."

"That's good," Dave said. "I never did graduate highschool." And there it was. He really hadn't lasted long, had he?

It wasn't that he was ashamed, exactly. It was common enough for kids to drop out of school to help supplement the family's income, especially where he grew up. And while education had always been important to his family, he'd never had the sort of ambition his brilliant sisters had so ensuring they could go to college was one of the few decisions in his life he'd never regret. It was just that there was so much about himself that was unremarkable and he couldn't help but feel inadequate next to this family of literal superheroes.

Sure he'd only really spent much time around Klaus, Five, and now Ben, but this entire family just seemed so smart and amazing and he was worried he'd never be able to impress any of them. Klaus already knew all his secrets of course and for some reason didn't seem to mind, but Dave didn't exactly want to go around announcing anything that could be perceived as a shortcoming to these people. His usual strategy was to get people to realize he was amusing enough to have around before they found out how otherwise boring he really was.

"I think, technically, none of us did either," Ben said and that was a relief. Maybe no one in this family would be the type to look down on him for it then. "I'm not sure Dad's curriculum was exactly approved. I wasn't really sure what to do with my second shot at life, though, and figured this was somewhere to start. What about you? Any ideas what you want to do now?"

"I honestly have no idea," Dave laughed. He wondered if he should have some sort of stock answer for this he could throw out, but he didn't want to be insincere with Klaus' family, even if he was worried about giving the wrong answer. "I didn't even know what I was going to do after the war and now suddenly I'm in the future? Still can't wrap my mind around that. I worked a bunch of odd jobs but I don't know if any of that knowledge will get me anywhere here. I mean, it's not like I have any references."