"She was bendable light: she shone around every corner of my day."

— Jerry Spinelli

To Owen's surprise, the library wasn't as crowded as it normally was — especially for a Monday night. In fact, maybe just four people had come to the counter to checkout books. A few more people had come and gone, some sitting at tables as they did their work, while others had walked around before leaving empty-handed.

It didn't sit well with Owen. Usually, it wasn't that crowded but there were always more people here in the afternoon. It'd been a lot more crowded a week ago, since kids had been coming here to get school books and other supplies. But most of them only got school books, not anything that actually looked interesting.

As he checked out one last person, who'd just rented a math book, Owen sat back in his chair, a frown on his face. Did no one want to read anymore? Did everyone want to be bored, to not use their imaginations? Did people just not care about books, or were they too busy to come here? And if they did care, why couldn't they check out some actual stories?

He knew he was probably overthinking this. This was the least-crowded the library had been all year. It wasn't like it'd be this way forever. This was just one night. Well, one week. Not many people had come during the days Owen had been working, either.

And it worried him. He was starting to feel like people just didn't appreciate books anymore. And if they didn't appreciate books, they wouldn't come to Owen's mother's library. Soon, no one would. Then what? His mom would have to get a new job—

"Owen." His mom stepped out of her office, closing the door behind her. "Shouldn't you be doing homework?"

"What?"

He looked up from the book he'd been reading. Quickly, he slid the book onto the checkout counter and swapped it for a sheet of paper, which — in the absence of a notebook — he'd been doing his math homework on.

He glanced down to see that he'd only gotten the first four problems done. As for the fifth, he'd started and restarted it, only to give up and read a book instead. And he still had twenty more questions to solve. Oops.

"Uh, yeah, Mom!" Owen lied, quickly glancing up at her. "I did my homework."

"Did you really?" She walked closer to him. Before he could stop her, she grabbed his book from the counter. "Or were you just reading . . ." She looked at the cover. "Half Upon A Time?"

"Um . . . I started reading that after I did my homework."

She rose her eyebrows. "Well to me, it looks like you've been working on that same problem for . . . how long have you been here? Five hours?"

Owen gave her a guilty smile. "It's a really hard problem."

"Okay, well, usually you get your homework done pretty fast. And clearly, you haven't finished it at all. Is there something that's bothering you? Anything you want to talk about?"

"No, Mom!" he said, shaking his head. "I'm fine."

She only looked concerned, now. "Did anything happen at school that I should know about?"

The image of Kara holding his hand suddenly filled his mind, and Owen felt heat rising to his cheeks. That had . . . partly been the reason he couldn't focus on his homework. Apparently touching her hand for the first time had caused him to daydream ten times more, and he wasn't about to tell his mom that.

He shook his head again. "Nope! Nothing. School was boring. Just like it always is."

Understatement of the year.

"Alright, but you still need to get your homework done, Owen! And you'll have to do it when we get home. Library closes in five minutes."

As his mom walked away, Owen sighed. It looked like he'd have to finish his work in his room. He normally was able to get his homework done while he worked at the library. Especially on an uneventful night like this, he could've finished his math homework in under an hour.

Why did he have to get distracted so easily, and just because a girl had touched his hand? Granted, he really liked this girl, and she was funny and sweet and really cool. Also, she lived right next door to him, so the fact that she actually seemed to like him was surreal to him.

Obviously, she was only hanging out with him because he lived right next door to her. It was her first day of school, and she probably didn't know many people. Soon, she'd make a lot more friends, and she'd forget all about Owen. She'd just know him as the weird, book-obsessed neighbor who'd brought her cookies when she'd first moved in.

Okay, maybe he was overthinking this. She seemed to genuinely want to be his friend, and he could tell she'd been grateful that he'd sat with her at lunch. He wondered if she'd would've done the same for him. And judging by how friendly she was, he assumed she would've. Of course, Owen wouldn't have sat with her if it weren't for Bethany, but if he saw Kara at lunch tomorrow, he decided he'd sit with her again.

As long as she didn't suddenly become popular overnight. Which definitely was possible.

He just wished he could stop thinking about her-touching-his-hand, when he doubted she'd thought about it at all. Just because she'd touched his hand — it didn't mean anything. It didn't mean she liked him. Owen tried to drill that into his head, because there really was no way she liked him, but every time he thought about it the butterflies wouldn't stop fluttering in his stomach.

In under ten minutes, they were pulling up to the driveway in his mom's car. A sunset danced across the sky, displaying bright shades of orange, pink, and purple. The sun was dipping towards the horizon, shining directly into Owen's eyes as he opened the car door. A slightly chilly breeze blew into him, a sign that summer was definitely over.

"Can you take Spike outside?" his mom asked as they walked into the house.

"Why?" Owen asked, confused. "Can't he just use his litter box?"

"He's been inside all day. He needs the fresh air."

"Oh." Well, he couldn't argue with that. After dropping his backpack on the kitchen table, Owen raced around his house, calling for Spike. Finally, he spotted his cat nestled on top of one of his bookshelves. How Spike had climbed all the way up there, Owen had no idea.

"I hope you didn't scratch any of my books!" Owen said as he stood on his tiptoes, reaching up for his cat.

Spike meowed in protest, but Owen's hands latched tightly around the cat's waist, bringing the cat down to his level. Still holding Spike in his arms, he smiled and scratched him between the ears. "You wanna get some fresh air, Spike?"

Not responding, Spike only shifted in his arms. Owen hugged the cat tighter to his chest. "I'll take that as a yes!"

He bounded down the stairs, putting on a light jacket before opening the door. Instead of staying in the driveway, he found himself walking towards the white fence that separated his and Kara's house. Absentmindedly scratching Spike on the forehead, Owen stared at her house. He wondered if it'd be weird if he knocked on her door now, asking for the notebooks she'd offered.

Yeah, it definitely would be. He'd planned to borrow some notebooks from his mom's library, but her words from earlier had stuck in his head. She'd offered to lend him the notebooks she had, though she might've just been saying that without really meaning it. But he didn't want to knock on her door just to ask for notebooks. He wanted to talk with her.

Other than Bethany and Kiel, Owen had never found it so easy to talk to another person. Kara didn't put him down. She didn't even seem to care that he was awkward and talked about books most of the time. And on second thought, asking her for the notebooks would be a little weird. If she wanted to give some to him, she'd have already done it.

By this time, he'd already crossed the line of grass that separated their houses. Without realizing it, he was hovering at the end of her driveway, staring at her front door. He was close. He could just go up and talk to her like a normal person, and ask her politely for the notebooks.

But somehow, this was even scarier than lunch had been. What if someone else answered, and it wasn't Kara? That would be embarrassing. It would be a lot easier if he had her phone number. That way, he could just text her, and she'd drop the notebooks over at his house. No problem.

Giving up on his ridiculous idea, Owen decided he'd go back into his house. He could probably find some extra notebooks in there, if he looked hard enough. His mom was always stocking up on books, so it was likely she had lots of notebooks around, too. Something about borrowing one from Kara had seemed a really good excuse to have another conversation with her, but maybe that just hadn't been the best idea.

He started to turn around, only to freeze once he heard the door open. And it wasn't his door. It was Kara's! Eyes widening, Owen searched for somewhere to hide. He couldn't just sprint back to his house — she'd see him! And if he stayed there, she'd know he'd been staring at her house. This wasn't good.

A flash of pink hair caught his eye, and Owen was sure this time that it was Kara. There was no way she could know he was standing there! Holding his breath, he quickly ducked behind the only car in the driveway, which had the word "Dolores" displayed on the license plate. Owen wondered if that was the name of Kara's aunt, or maybe a relative.

He heard footsteps coming closer, tapping lightly against the ground. As Owen stayed there, he felt his heart pounding, beating so loudly in his chest that he was sure she could hear it. Spike wriggled in his arms, and Owen held onto him tighter. If he lost hold of Spike, that would give him away for sure.

From only a few feet away, the footsteps stopped. He heard what sounded like a chuckle, so quiet that he assumed he'd imagined it. Then, he heard her walk back towards her house. Before she shut the door, he heard her call, "See you at school, Owen!"

Bewildered, he glanced around the side of the car. How had she known?

The next morning, as he headed out to the bus stop, Owen found two dinosaur-themed notebooks on his porch step. Grinning in disbelief, he looked for a note, but there was none. Either way, there was no need for one. He already knew who'd sent it.

Although Kara's aunt had grounded her, what she'd received when she got back to school was unexpectedly worse.

It'd started with the laughs. The whispers. The stares. They'd followed her as she sat down on the bus, clinging to her like a shadow. They followed her the whole way to school. Even though Kara sat alone, people looked over their shoulders at her, trying to catch a glimpse at her. Things were said under their breath, things Kara couldn't hear. She assumed it was nothing.

In Kara's sixteen years of life, she'd learned that between school and home, she'd choose school. Every time, she'd choose school. It wasn't usually because of the people, since many of the people she encountered weren't the nicest. But at least here, she could learn history. She could express herself and be goofy with Owen, her first official friend here.

At home, the Countess nagged at her with every breath. After the spider incident (which Kara had been proud of at first), her aunt punished her. She took away her phone for a month and made her clean the whole house, despite Kara not getting into that big of trouble. It wasn't like she'd gotten anything more than detention on the weekend!

Compared to all the other times, this was a small mess-up. And although the principle seemed to dislike her now, at least she'd proved herself to those kids! She hadn't seen any of them since yesterday, but Kara hoped it'd done her some good. She just wanted to make more friends. And she was feeling pretty optimistic about it, too. After all, there was a chance she'd gained some popularity. The very idea brought a smile to her face.

And then, as she entered the classroom, Kara saw him. Owen. Just like yesterday, he was early to class — his notebooks stacked on his desk, his pencils all ready in front of him. Kara admired him for it. She tried her best to be prepared for class, but oftentimes she ended up losing a pencil or being consistently late for class. Today, she'd gotten better at getting here a earlier, arriving at the same time as all the other kids, since she'd taken the bus.

As Kara appeared in the doorway, Owen looked up. He gave her a smile, and she found herself grinning back. She was often tired in the mornings at school, but it was like she gained tons of energy whenever she looked at Owen. She didn't realize it, but he brightened her day. She savored her time with him, knowing that if everything went to pieces, things could change in an instant.

"Hi," Kara said, as she slid into the seat next to him. She smiled once she noticed the notebooks on his desk, the dinosaur-themed ones she'd gotten three birthdays ago.

Years ago, when the Countess bothered to get anything for Kara's birthday, it was usually just school supplies. Notebooks, pencils, that type of thing. She had so many that at this point, she'd give them to anyone that needed them more. She'd even thought about selling them, but to Owen? They'd be free. Kara wasn't the best at making friends, but she'd hoped she'd given him something he really needed. And it seemed that he had.

"At first I thought my mom might've given me these," Owen said, holding up the notebooks. "But it was you, wasn't it? You gave me these. I remember the ones you have are dinosaur-themed, and um, I knew it was you." He smiled. "That was really nice of you — to give them to me. I was going to ask for them yesterday but I forgot. So, um, thanks."

Grinning shyly, Kara started to pull out her own school supplies. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Owen Conners."

He smiled. Then, remembering last night, she asked, "How come you were hiding behind my aunt's car last night?"

It was funny to Kara how quickly Owen averted his gaze, like she'd just told him the world's biggest secret. He scratched his head. "How did you know I was there?"

Kara shrugged. "I have my ways." A chuckle escaped her lips. "Actually, I just saw you through the window. You were standing there for a few minutes, so I went out to say hi. So . . . why were you there?"

"I was . . . taking my cat for a walk."

Kara laughed. "I guess you normally hold your cat when you take it for walks?"

Owen blushed. "Sometimes. Spike just needed the fresh air. He's mostly an indoor cat, so I didn't want him running away."

"His name's Spike?" A grin came to her face. "That's a cute name. Sounds like the perfect name for a dinosaur. If I ever get one, I'll name it that."

He laughed. "That might just confuse our pets. What if I was calling for Spike, and a huge dinosaur came up to me instead? And tried to eat me?"

"Easy, I'd get a little one!"

"How little?"

"Small enough that it could live in my room with me."

"So, basically a lizard?"

"I guess. But it's kinda my life's purpose to learn how to time travel, so until I learn how to do that, I guess I'll try finding a lizard! Or whatever's closest to a dinosaur."

He sounded surprised, maybe even with a hint of excitement. "You want to time travel?"

"Yeah! Wouldn't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that'd be really, really cool! As long as I can get away from boring stuff like school in a different era."

"I'm pretty sure they have school in every era," Kara told him with a smile. "Nice try, though." She tilted her head. "So, why were you there in the first place? Did you wanna . . . ask me something?"

Owen stared at her. He opened his mouth to answer, but just then, the bell rang. Right on cue, the teacher entered the classroom, holding a briefcase and a stack of folders. As he walked inside, the class started to quiet down. From yesterday's experience, Kara remembered the teacher didn't like it when kids talked during class. Even if class hadn't started yet.

Surprising Kara, Kiel slipped in right behind the teacher, completely unnoticed by the teacher as he casually fell into the seat beside Owen. Quickly and quietly, he dropped his bag to the floor, looking as if he'd been sitting there the whole time. Then, just as casually, he winked at her and Owen. She gave him a smile in return.

Kara was impressed. That guy was good. Next time she was late to class — which, knowing her, she probably would be sooner rather than later — she'd make sure to slip in right as the teacher did. Today, she'd made sure to get to the bus early, afraid she might miss it again. Though she had a feeling that despite her earlier arrival today, her streak of being late to class would build up. As it always did.

"Everyone, please hand in your homework from last night. I hope all of you did it." The teacher scanned the classroom, and Kara was sure he was staring at her as he said the next part. "Don't want to start off the year with a bad grade."

With that, everyone began to take out their homework. That was when the whispers started again. She thought she was just imagining them, or maybe some kids were talking to each other. Or even talking about the homework, like Kara assumed they were.

But then, as she handed her own homework in, a nickname reached her ears. One of many. As soon as she'd heard it, Kara felt a weird shiver go through her. Suddenly, she knew exactly what had happened. She knew where all the stares had come from. The laughs, that definitely had been directed at her. Even the poorly-done spider imitations, by a few people.

The nickname was "Spider Dox."

One Year Ago

On the day everything went sour, things had started off surprisingly cheery. The three of them were sitting at the kitchen table, eating dinner. The look on the Countess's face was less of a scowl and closer to a smile, which Kara rarely saw on her face. Kara was voicing her theories about time travel, and for once, neither Dolores or the Countess were shooting her ideas down.

Maybe it was karma, or the stars aligning, or even a scenario that Kara had dreamed up, but it was the first time in a long time that no one was fighting. No bickering between the Countess and Dolores — not as much, at least. Kara felt more comfortable around them than she normally did. Little did she know, it was the calm before the storm.

For two years, Kara had been in the same school. That was the longest she'd lasted anywhere. Though she had gotten in plenty of trouble in that time, she hadn't gotten kicked out. Not yet. That was what was important. She had a few friends, and at school, Kara was actually sort of happysometimes. Her grades were higher than they had been in a long time, the highest being in science and history.

She liked it here. At least, more than anywhere else they'd lived. They lived in an apartment in the city, on the third floor of a red-brick building. Whenever she wanted to just escape her home — which was often — Kara would wander through the city, usually by herself. She liked how wide it was, how it just seemed to stretch on forever. The constant honks from cars seemed to annoy people, but they were like a melody to Kara. The rumble of the subway beneath her feet.

Things were always busy here. Everything was loud and bright, and she liked the distractions. There were always new things to look at. When things were tough, it helped to look at the city. The distractions helped, and when she closed her eyes, she could imagine she was in a different century.

"Anyway," Kara was saying, leaning forward as she dug into a plate of food. "I think that once I learn how to time travel, if I could find a way to be immune to paradoxes—"

The Countess rolled her eyes. "Ridiculous. There is no proof that that would be possible."

"You never know . . . it could be. It would solve everything! No time loops, and if I ever ran into a future version of myself, I wouldn't have to worry about my existence wiping away."

"Yeah, it would suck if Kara was wiped from existence," Dolores said, though her tone was more sarcastic. She was sitting at the table beside Kara, not eating anything as she stared at her phone.

Kara chuckled, feeling confident enough to continue discussing her theories. "Also, I was—"

"Oh, Mother!" Dolores said, cutting Kara off. "I'm going out with my friends tonight. From . . ." She lowered her voice. "My gang. You know, called—"

"Don't say the name," the Countess snapped, her teeth gritted. "I can't stand to hear the stupid name you've chosen for it. And instead of going to college or getting a job, what've you done? What've you provided me?" She looked from Kara to Dolores. "What have either of you provided me?" She pointed her fork at Kara. "You, with all the times you've gotten kicked out of school." She gestured to Dolores. "And you, with that stupid gang you have!"

"M-My gang isn't stupid, Mother!" Dolores said meekly. "It's the best gang ever, with the best name ever!" She started to say the name of it, only for the Countess to put a hand up.

"I don't care, it's still the stupidest gang to ever exist!" the Countess said, shaking her head.

"It's not stupid," Kara said. Granted, she didn't know all the details of what the gang did, nor did she feel that comfortable hanging around the members of it. But it seemed to make Dolores sort of . . . happy, which counted for something.

"This is the first time I've actually seen Dolores happy," she added, and the Countess turned her glare on Kara. Unlike Dolores, Kara didn't shrink away from her aunt's gaze. "Isn't that what matters the most out of anything?"

Dolores almost looked surprised, but quickly nodded in agreement. "She's right—"

"Silence, Dolores!" the Countess said angrily. "Children should only speak when spoken to!"

The bald woman nodded, looking hurt. Kara bit her lip, wanting to yell some more. But, knowing how this always ended, she held herself back. Arguing with the Countess never ended well. And seeing how quickly the Countess tended to blow up, their arguments were often.

"That's enough, from both of you," the Countess continued. Her fingers were clenched tightly around her fork. "I usually don't allow you to speak so freely at the dinner table, but I was in a good mood tonight. And now, I'm not anymore. All thanks to Dolores mentioning her gang."

"Mother!" Dolores protested.

"I won't hear it," the Countess said, rising from her chair. She grabbed her plate, dumping it's contents into the trash before throwing it in the sink. Most of it was still covered in food. "Clean this up, Kara. Dolores, go off with your gang. As long as you bring back money. Anything that will make you less of a disappointment."

"And Kara," the Countess said, turning to her. "Get your watch collection off the table. You know I don't like looking at that junk."

With that, she stormed off to her room, slamming the door behind her. Neither Dolores or Kara moved for a moment, both of them frozen in place. Finally, Kara stood up, a frown on her face as she picked up her food. She'd lost her appetite. Living in this house, it was rare when she didn't.

"You stood up for me," Dolores said, her voice low.

Kara looked over at her, then shrugged. "Your gang name isn't stupid."

A strange expression appeared on her cousin's face. "Ugh . . . well normally I would never ask this, and as long as you aren't a little pest I guess I'll allow it . . . but do you want to go out tonight with me and my gang?"

"What?" Kara blinked in surprise, a smile appearing on her face. "You mean it? You've never let me come to your secret adventures!"

"That's because you'd never keep your mouth shut, and you shouldn't refer to them as adventures!" Dolores snapped. Then, her face softened slightly. "But, you're older now. You seem like you could be trustworthy. And if we're lucky, we might make some money. Enough to impress Mother."

Kara found herself getting excited, though she couldn't push down the nervous flutter in her stomach. "Wait . . . you mean like . . . gambling?"

Dolores smiled thinly. "A different way to make money. Mother's done it before, before she . . . you know, got put into jail."

Kara frowned. Right before she'd taken Kara into custody, the Countess had been in jail for nearly five years. And before that, she'd gone to jail another time, for longer than that. Kara wasn't sure of the specifics. Every time she'd asked either the Countess or Dolores, they'd snapped at her. Trouble had always run in their family.

"Is it illegal?" Kara asked, her brows knitted.

Dolores sighed loudly. "No, Kara. Enough questions. So, will you come or not?"

Kara considered it. Then, without thinking, she said, "Yeah. Yeah, of course I'll come!"

"Okay. But you'd better keep your mouth shut. The last thing I want is you annoying my gang members with your time travel facts!"

Kara chuckled. "I bet they would find time travel interesting."

"Whatever." Dolores smiled. "Go get changed into something dark. Meet me out here in five."

"Deal!" Kara beamed. Hastily grabbing her pile of handmade watches from the kitchen table, she raced back to her room in search of the blackest clothes she could find. Little did she know, tonight wasn't about to be as exciting as she thought.