While Lucas and Max were nearly throwing punches over their cereal preferences for the week—Lucas foaming at the mouth about the benefits of fruity loops, and Max yelling that he'd snap and kill all the schoolkids with a shovel if he didn’t get his Nesquik—

William couldn’t help but turn around. Asher was still staring at him, now lying on his side for a better view, propping up his head with one hand. He slowly ran his right hand along his lips, pausing on the bottom one and pressing lightly, then moved his palm down his body and slipped it into the waistband of his jeans, pulling them down slightly to reveal the edge of his underwear. Blushing, William spun back around with a loud “La-la-la-la!” and bolted toward the park exit while Asher laughed his ass off.

William also enjoyed walking through modern supermarkets. So many products didn’t even exist in the seventies. Max basically had to give lectures at nearly every fruit and vegetable stand that sparked William’s amazement. With no money, they could only tour the chips, sodas, and other junk food aisles, giving him a false sense of hope that someday he might actually get to try it all.

In the end, no matter how much William begged to buy something over a buck, the guys settled on stuffing a Chupa Chups into his mouth at the checkout. Max noticed Lucas’s face turning red as a tomato by the end of the shopping trip. Seemed like from now on, Max would be handling all the grocery runs with William. Honestly, he puffed out his chest with pride while explaining soba noodles and glass noodles, watching William’s eyes light up with curiosity. Lucas promised to smack him and give him one of his notebooks and a pen to jot down all the unknown words. Eventually, the questions stopped, and all attention went to the lollipop.

“Thank the gods we’re home,” Lucas said, walking into the kitchen with his shoes still on and placing the groceries on the table. “I’m hitting the shower. I can’t take it anymore,” he said, pulling out his hair tie and messing up his hair as he headed to his room for clothes.

“Lucas is done. Overheated,” Max laughed, noticing William’s sheepish face. “Relax, he just doesn’t talk that much usually. It’s not like he’s antisocial or anything, but... it’s a bit harder for him than it is for me.”

“I’d like to see him land fifty years in the future and see how he handles it,” William stuck out his tongue, now blue. “Ha! Look, my tongue’s as blue as a Chow Chow’s,” he said, continuing to show it to Max.

“I think I might need a shower too,” Max laughed nervously. “Come on, let’s unpack these groceries before Lucas strangles us. He’s really into order!”

“Like, really into it!” Lucas shouted from his room.

Max and William decided not to piss Lucas off even more and started putting groceries away. It was already ten in the evening, and they still had to prep food for the next couple of days, clean up, all get through a round of showers, and deal with William’s teased hair—otherwise, he’d get beat up at school.

William was a machine. The long day and the crazy story hadn’t worn him out. He was enthusiastically re-lacing sneakers, neatly placing them in boxes, throwing away trash, humming random tunes while Max sorted shoes. Even though he was a guest, William acted naturally and enjoyed pitching in. He didn’t feel morally obligated to help out the guys who took him in. Cleaning was actually kind of fun. He even got to admire some of Max’s sneakers. Meanwhile, Lucas came out of the shower.

“Tomorrow must be the end of the world…” he grumbled. “You needed a helper from another timeline to clean the hallway?”

“He was your idea! I was fine with the mess,” Max laughed and flopped onto his side. “Did you find the brushes?”

“Yeah. I’ll start cooking then,” Lucas walked off.

“Noah would’ve totally trashed our cleaning efforts…” William smiled. “He’s not exactly neat or into cleaning. He’s the type to just chuck his sneakers wherever. I think Lucas would go gray if he lived with him for even a week…”

“Well, William, Lucas lives with me. That says a lot. Maybe your friend would bring out… different feelings in him,” Max smiled. “You miss him?”

“I just got here yesterday, so not really. But sometimes I catch myself about to call for Noah to look at something weird,” William shrugged. “I just worry about how he’s doing… looking for me with the rescue team…”

While the guys talked, Lucas, who’d just popped a veggie stew in the oven, decided to listen in. Arms crossed, he smiled. William really did worry sincerely about his friend. Lucas still wasn’t sure if he really came from the seventies, but people in the 21st century weren’t that kind. Somehow, Lucas and Max managed to live together and rarely fought—mostly over cleaning. The rest of the world was way more hostile. Luckily, they had each other. Tomorrow, William would need some quick-and-dirty documents and a sloppy story about being Max’s second cousin once removed. Their principal wasn’t the most observant man. Even if they didn’t change the photo, he might still believe William. Especially if the story had a teary ending.

By the time they finished with the hallway, Lucas was done cooking. William practically worshipped every bite of food. He called the broth divine ambrosia and clapped after every spoonful. Lucas figured—he must’ve been starved in the seventies. While Max was in the shower, William offered to do the dishes. Thankfully, the faucet was from around the same time as William, so he managed it fine. Lucas brought food to Max’s grandfather—an old man with limited options, so neither Fruity Loops nor Nesquik would do.

Then came the real nightmare—they had to get William into the shower.

“Quit screaming or the neighbors will call the cops!” Lucas yelled at him.

“You’re yelling louder than I am!” William flailed in Max’s arms. “You’re ripping the last of my hair out! If I ever listen to Noah again and tease my hair, shoot me! Ow—ow—ow! Let me go! I’m reporting y’all for abuse! You monsters! That shaggy perv promised me a Big Mac! If only I’d known…”

Max started brushing William’s hair while Lucas doused his head with hot water.

“Why didn’t you go with Asher?” Lucas sneered, aiming the water at William’s eyes. “You’d be screaming the same way!”

“Like hell I would!” William sputtered.

“Takes so little to entertain some people…” Max whispered, watching Lucas try to drown William. “I think we’ve peaked. Let the shower have him… Lucas, for God’s sake, stop trying to drown him!” Max grabbed the shower head, but it slipped and he ended up soaking Lucas instead. “Serves you right!”

“Oh, screw y’all. I’ll burn your nose with the flat iron next,” soaked and offended, Lucas stormed out of the bathroom.

“William, you alive?” Max laughed, barely holding it together. “Lucas is gone. Shower up, get dressed for bed, and come to the room. We’ll be waiting with the flat iron. Remember how to use the faucet?”

“Blub…”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Don’t dawdle—we’re all dead tired,” Max purred and left, heading to William’s room. He found Lucas on the couch looking defeated.

“You having an existential crisis over water? Sorry, I didn’t mean to. If you’re wondering if I regret it—no, I don’t. But it wasn’t on purpose,” Max sat down next to him, ruffling his hair and biting his lip.

“You don’t get mad at the mentally ill,” Lucas huffed, eyeing the flat iron in his hand. “Besides, I’ll wait till you’re asleep and then think about what to burn.”

“I’m locking my door tonight…”

“Did you hear William’s voice?” Lucas whispered. “When he argued with Asher? Or when he squealed from the hot water?”

“Yeah… And he definitely has hearing,” Max replied in the same tone. “While lacing up his shoes, he was humming Bowie songs… You think he’s gonna be stuck in our time for long? Or maybe remember where he came from?”

“How would I know, Max… But we could always ask him to—”

“I’m done!” William burst into the room in gray pajama pants and no shirt, a towel turban on his head. “That shower was amazing! One day I wanna soak in the tub for hours! I’m ready for stage two of torture,” he said, grabbing his nose.

The boys jumped at his sudden entrance and exchanged glances. Judging by his cheerful mood, he hadn’t overheard anything. Everyone was too exhausted to talk. Max silently blow-dried William’s hair and tried to smooth it out. Most of the teased volume was tamed, but they still needed the flat iron. Even being dunked in the ocean and rained on yesterday hadn’t gotten rid of the wild curls. William would definitely get bullied at school on day one with that hairstyle. He playfully whined about them burning his ears, but eventually passed out mid-process. By the end, their time-traveling guest was out cold on the couch with a normal haircut instead of looking like a member of Kiss. Now nobody would suspect where he came from.

“He knocked out the second he hit the bed…” Max whispered.

“Tomorrow’s gonna be a tough day,” Lucas said and left the room.

Max turned off the lights and followed.

***

“You see, and then my sister dies in my arms! I gave her mouth-to-mouth, but her heart never started again! I did everything I could! Do you understand?!” William sobbed hysterically in the principal’s office. “After her death, my mom and dad started drinking and fighting! I got beat up so many times! Once they wanted to burn my name into my back with a soldering iron! I begged them! Please, just ‘W’! ‘William’ is too long! I’ll die from the pain,” he stood up and waved his fist. “Wanna see the burns right now?!”

“No, no, no, that’s not necessary!” the principal wiped away tears with a handkerchief. “Of course I understand. You had to move in with Max. What a kind and understanding cousin you have, William! You’re so lucky! He’ll take care of you!” The principal glanced at his secretary, who sat stone-faced. “Michelle, help William. Get him a pass card and start registration. The boy wants to study so badly!”

“Yes, sir.”

William could bet his only pair of underwear—Michelle didn’t believe a word of it.

“Dear William! Make yourself at home here! Come to me if you ever need help! Michelle will get you a school uniform! I understand it was a sudden move, I really do,” before the principal could start another fit, William stood and bowed.

“You can pick up your key card after 2 PM and get your uniform at the end of the week.”

“Thank you, sir! This means a lot! I love school! Could you tell me which way to go? I want to find my beloved cousin Max!” William looked at Michelle. “I don’t think it’s worth interrupting third period this late.”

“Of course, of course! Max and the others will probably be in the cafeteria during the long break! It’s easy to find. Exit here and turn right, there’ll be a staircase. Go down to the first floor and follow the signs. You can’t miss it!” The principal smiled.

“Alright. Thank you very much!” William smiled, nodded, and left.

“Of course, of course,” they echoed after him.

Once William exited, the principal exhaled in relief. Lucas had skipped first period just to grab the fake documents. William’s ID photo still had the teased hair, and everything else was made up—height, weight, birthplace, even eye color. Anyone who looked twice would see right through them. Luckily, they only needed them for a few months until the wave from the year 3000 washed up again. William looked out the window—it faced the ocean. How symbolic. A daily reminder of where he came from and how to get back. The guys would have to give him a proper school tour and some crash courses in modern culture—or he’d end up in a psych ward. Finding that fidget spinner in their room was bad enough. They barely managed to take it away from him. Either way, William knew—this was temporary.

He stepped away from the window, turned around, and froze.

“What the hell…”

Of course this would happen to him. As if time-travel wasn’t enough of a test. Ten meters away stood Asher. Staring. Was he always this intense, or did he just have a problem with his eyes? That predatory, slightly foggy gaze from under his brows made William’s skin crawl. Asher’s hand moved to his jaw, fingers trailing slowly, pausing at his chin. His lips started curling into a smirk. His whole vibe screamed: “Don’t come closer. I bite.”

Even his uniform seemed like a mockery—shirt unbuttoned down to the fourth button, loosely hanging tie just for show. Asher’s tongue slid across his upper lip. One smirk from him was enough to piss William off.

“Alright… Let’s see who takes down who.”