Chapter Two

"My mom was telling me another story from when our parents were in high school last night..." She took a long sip of her coffee. "When they were in high school, there was someone in the Glee club with them. Someone who you're named after. Rory Flanagan. He was an Irish exchange student, staying with my mama B."

"Okay...?" He wasn't quite sure what was so urgent and unbelievable about another one of her parents' high school years. They were always telling her about them. And if this guy was his namesake, why had he never been told about him before?

"Apparently there was a guy, Sebastian, who had a thing for your dad B. Your dads almost broke up... but somehow this Rory kept them together."

A t this point, Rory was really beginning to wonder why, if this was true, his dads had never told him about it.

"But he wasn't really Rory Flanagan. And he wasn't really Irish." Sugar paused, glancing up from the spot on the table she had been staring to look at Rory seriously. "He was you."

Rory almost choked on his coffee. "That makes no sense, Sugar."

"But it does, Rory... Once you hear the whole story... It all makes sense.."

He saw something in the girl's eyes that shook him. He knew at that moment that she believed every word she was saying.

"It's you from now. You go back in time to when your dads were in high school to make sure they don't break up..."

"Sugar..." He stopped short, not sure what to say. Sometimes she got like that, believe in impossible things. Just like her mom, Brittany, used to do. Rory had heard many stories about his best friend's moms from when they were in high school. "Time travel isn't possible..." He didn't want to hurt her. She was a dreamer. But all this was frustrating him. "And I'm not from Ireland."

"No, but you can do a killer accent, and you know it." Sugar insisted.

Rory couldn't argue with that. "But if it really was me back then, then why don't our parents recognize me?"

"Who says they don't? Maybe they think it's a coincidence... That's why you- Well, both of us- need to change who we are somewhat. Play a character. We can't very much introduce ourselves as their future kids."

Rory sighed in frustration, running his fingers through his hair. "How would we get there, Sugar? Not like we can just go to the store and buy a time machine..." Logic was always the enemy of these fantasies, and Rory knew it.

"You know how my Mama B and your Dad B are always in my basement working on something, but they won't tell anyone what it is?"

Rory nodded. All his life, he was a frequent guest at the Lopez-Pierce household. Their respective B parents were always in the basement, door locked, working away at something. When asked what is was, they would say only one thing: It was going to change the world someday. That had stopped recently, and they both claimed it was done. But still, they wouldn't let anyone else in on their secret.

"I think it's a time machine... My mama B always used to talk about ti-"

Rory cut her off. "That's just it, Sugar. You think. Nothing for certain. This could- No, this is all your imagination."

The look in Sugar's eyes at that moment was like a knife in Rory's heart. He didn't mean to hurt her, but sometimes her fantasies got too far and someone needed to stop her.

But then she calmed down, and reached into her purse. A moment later she put an old picture on the table in front of Rory.

It was definitely a picture from their parents' high school years- he recognized almost everyone in the picture.

But in the back, right next to his dads, was a shockingly familiar face. His own.

"H-How is that possible?" Rory manged to choke out.

"It's you, Rory." Sugar said calmly.

The boy was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke up. "I'm in."

I DO REALIZE I KIND OF MADE IT LOOK LIKE BLAINE AND BRITTANY ARE DOING BAD THINGS IN THE BASEMENT BUT IS SWEAR THEY ARE JUST MAKING A TIME MACHINE

GOSH GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER

Well, it's 4 am. time for sleep, I think.