John cautiously sat down next to his future doppelganger, letting his feet dangle off the edge of the metal platform. Future John didn't even seem to notice that he was there, he just continued to stare.

John turned his head to look behind him. Dave and Davesprite were watching from a distance. They were willing to give John some space, but were keeping a close eye on them in case his future self snapped.

He awkwardly rubbed his naked arm where his sleeve had been ripped off. "Ummm..."

Future John blinked and finally acknowledged his presence. He shot him a look and returned to gazing over the lava. "What?" he asked bitterly.

"I..." John considered carefully what to say, but he couldn't think of anything better, so he just continued. "I'm really sorry."

Silence. John looked at himself expectantly, but after a few moments he resigned to just joining him in looking out across the rolling red ocean.

A few minutes passed before Future John finally spoke. "I'm sorry too."

John jumped slightly in surprise.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you. Well..." Future John bit his lip, "I'm not too sorry." He sighed. "I hope you can understand."

John put a hand on his future self's semi-opaque shoulder.

"It's just... every thing I've done is gone now. I'm leaving everything, everything, to you and... You're just not me."

John nodded. "Could you maybe tell me about yourself? What went on the past year that made me potentially you?"

Future John sighed and looked up at the dark sky. "I met some awesome friends. I got out of the house a lot more. I competed in a spelling bee, but didn't even make it to the finals." He managed a chuckle, "Don't study with Wheeler. He'll teach you wrong. I got my own cell phone. I started learning how to program games on it. I made this one, it was kinda cool. Really simple but..." he trailed off.

"I had my first kiss..."

John perked up, unable to hid his interest. "Really? How was it?"

Future John continued to look forward absentmindedly. He shrugged. "Really awkward. A little uncomfortable."

John's face dropped. Future John glanced over at the mess of disappointment and did a double take. He raised his hands and shook his head. "No, no! Don't worry, it gets better!"

John blinked in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure most first kisses are awkward. But it turns out okay, and it gets better with practice. I promise."

John was suspicious, but he let it go. "Who was it..." He stopped when he noticed that his future self's lip was quivering.

"Everyone is going to be gone," Future John's voice was shaking as tears streamed down his cheeks. "God! Were they even ever real to begin with? They were real to me but... But maybe I... Maybe I just needed someone."

John didn't know what to say. He just let him cry. After what felt like hours Future John wiped his face with his increasingly less visible hand and choked back his tears.

"Does it hurt?" John asked, pointing to the transparent hand.

"It keeps getting worse. At first it was just a gentle pull, then like a vacuum sucking me in. Now it feels like my skin is getting peeled clean off. It kinda stings."

John cringed. "I wish there was something I could do. Something to keep you alive, like Davesprite."

Future John hung his head. It was too late. He was going to be gone any moment. He hid his pain and looked up at himself with a smile.

"I think you should take up bowling."

"Bowling!" John asked with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Future John laughed. "It's not as bad as you expect."

John smiled. "Okay. Bowling."

Nothing else was said in the next few minutes that passed. John just watched as the alternate copy faded away into nothing. The potential John that he could have become was gone, and he could never come back. He understood that every new experience he would encounter would make him an entirely different person, and pull him farther away from the image of himself he had just talked to.

John pulled his legs up from the ledge and hugged them tight to his chest. It was a lot to take in.

The clang of footprints on metal alerted John of Dave's arrival. He sat down in the space that moments ago John's potential future self had existed.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Dave asked.

"I think so."

"What did he say?"

"He said I should try bowling."

"That sounds like the lame kind of thing you'd say."

John glared at him. "He also said you suck at spelling."

"What!"

John stood up. He had just died to give himself a second chance, there was no time to waste it. "Come on, we have to get to work."