“Do you think this is funny?” Nate fumed, his expression darkening even further.
“I’m not even sure whatthisis supposed to be,” she said.
The thing is, Maddy really wasn’t sure why this high-school version of Nate would appear to be so angry with her, since she was sure that their paths had hardly ever crossed when they’d attended the same school. Unless…
Unless he’d actually recognized her during those brief, final moments when they’d looked at each other, or even today somewhere in the school corridors, and everything had come back to him just like it had happened with her. Glancing at him now, Nate seemed to be gritting his teeth really hard with the way his jaw was clenching. He certainly looked angry enough to be remembering everything.
He let her arm go abruptly and started pacing in front of her, shaking his head, and drawing deep, calming breaths.
Which gave her the chance to study him for a bit without being creepy.
Maddy hated stereotyping, but she and Nate were actual representations of what being on opposite sides of high-school life was like. Maddy had always been the quiet type who kept to herself, introverted as all hell, with barely any friends to her name. While Nate had always seemed to be at the center of a group, surrounded by guys and girls who vied for his attention and his company.
At least, that’s what Maddy assumed from what she’d seen because they didn’t know each other personally. They knew each other as well as two people who attended the same school did. They might have seen each other, even said hello to one another or know their name, but ultimately, they ran in different circles.
For example, Maddy knew that Nate was the quintessential athlete. Well, he certainly had the body of an athlete, which was completely logical since she remembered him playing every sport in existence.
He was tall, much taller than her, and she couldn’t help but notice his broad shoulders, trim waist, and shaggy chestnut hair just this side of in need of a haircut. Hair through which he was constantly running his hands right now and was pretty much standing every which way. He still had a face though that could make her stupid.
Nate suddenly stopped in front of her again and Maddy snapped her eyes back to his, as innocent as ever. No reason for him to know where her thoughts had wandered off to.
“Madison,” he said in a low voice, seemingly calmer now.
“Yes?”
“Today, I woke up in my bedroom, more specifically in the house I used to share with my family. I assume the same thing happened to you?”
Maddy had a feeling he wasn’t done so she just nodded sincerely.
“Except the last thing I remember is trying to save both our asses from that car. If anything, I should have woken up in a hospital bed, not several years in the past.” His voice was starting to rise in volume, getting visibly agitated. “You remember it all, too, don’t you?” His expression held an almost imploring look.
Maddy nodded again before saying, “I do.”
Nate’s gaze sharpened. “Then do you have anything to do with this?”
Maddy sucked in a breath, her eyes widening in disbelief.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Did you cause all this?”
Wow. It seemed there would be two angry people in this room in 3, 2, 1.
“You thinkIdid this. That I somehow brought us here.” Maddy let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Right. Well, if I had, do you really think I’d still be stuck here, wasting my breath in a dingy school lab?” She shot him a glare, her nerves fraying.This day couldn’t end soon enough.
She crossed her arms. “Do you think if I actually had time manipulation powers, I wouldchooseto relive high school?” She scoffed, shaking her head. “No, you know what?” From the corner of her eye, she saw Nate shifting uncomfortably, his expression turning sheepish.Good. But she wasn’t done.
“IwishI could go back in time, just so I could save myself from thisstupidconversation. Hell, while we’re at it, why stop there? Telekinesis would be great right about now, so I could fly that beaker straight to your head. Which you would no doubt deflect, of course.”
She exhaled hard, as if she’d just run a mile. And she hated running. Her face burned—whether from anger or embarrassment, she wasn’t sure. A sinking suspicion told her she’d been waving her hands around like a lunatic the entire time. Fantastic.
Daring to peek at Nate through her eyelashes, Maddy was confronted with an expression that was less contained anger and sheepishness, and more amused bewilderment, like the way someone would watch someone else lose their shit. She didn’t find that look particularly flattering.
“Are you done?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, pretty much,” she said, deflating immediately.
“Alright, since we’ve apparently established that you had nothing to do with this,” he started, throwing her a pointed look, “do you have the faintest clue on how this could have happened or even why?” he finished.
