CHAPTER 6: The Boy Everyone Loved
2583 Words
Everyone loved Josh.
I used to think that was the reason I stopped liking him.
At fifteen, I didn't understand much about love.
I thought having a crush meant wanting someone's attention.
I thought if everyone wanted the same person, then I had to step aside.
And Josh—
Josh was the kind of person everyone noticed.
Teachers remembered him.
Parents liked him.
Girls talked about him.
Boys wanted to be his friend.
Even people who barely knew him seemed to know his name.
He wasn't necessarily the loudest person in the room.
He didn't need to be.
Some people simply had a presence that made you look twice.
Josh was one of them.
And now, after the reset, I had a problem.
Because I was starting to understand why.
---
I didn't sleep that night.
Not after the phone call.
Not after hearing the voice.
I'm the second variable.
Ezekiel.
It couldn't be him.
It shouldn't be him.
According to the equation, I was supposed to deal with one variable at a time.
Josh first.
Then Ezekiel.
Then Michael.
But somehow, Ezekiel had already found me.
Before I was supposed to meet him.
I opened my notebook.
The last message was still there.
RESET INTERRUPTED.
I stared at it.
“Explain.”
Nothing.
“Why did Ezekiel call me?”
Nothing.
“Why is he here already?”
Nothing.
I tapped the page.
“Are you broken?”
The ink moved.
I froze.
A sentence appeared.
NO.
I swallowed.
“Then what happened?”
Another sentence appeared.
YOU DID.
My eyebrows pulled together.
“I did what?”
YOU CHANGED THE EQUATION.
I stared at the page.
“Because of Josh?”
The notebook remained still.
Then:
EVERY VARIABLE IS CONNECTED.
I felt a chill.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
If Josh was one variable, why was Ezekiel already moving?
Then another sentence appeared.
YOU CANNOT CHANGE ONE WITHOUT AFFECTING THE OTHERS.
I slowly closed the notebook.
So that was the real rule.
Not one variable at a time.
Not really.
The equation had lied.
Or maybe I had misunderstood it.
Either way, I had already changed something.
And I had no idea what the consequences would be.
---
The following Sunday, I went to church early.
I didn't know why.
Maybe because I wanted to see Josh.
Maybe because I wanted to forget about the phone call.
Maybe because some part of me needed to know whether he was still the same.
I saw him near the entrance.
He was talking to an older woman.
She was laughing.
Josh smiled.
Then he noticed me.
His expression immediately changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
His eyes found mine.
He smiled.
And walked toward me.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
“You're early.”
“So are you.”
“I've been here for a while.”
I nodded.
“Busy?”
“Not really.”
He looked at me.
“You okay?”
I hesitated.
“Yeah.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You're doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“Pretending you're okay.”
I laughed.
“I don't do that.”
“You do.”
“How would you know?”
He smiled.
“I've been watching.”
My heart skipped.
“You've been watching me?”
He realized what he had said.
His ears turned slightly red.
“I mean…”
He looked away.
“I notice things.”
I smiled.
“Sure.”
He laughed.
“Don't make it weird.”
“You made it weird.”
“I know.”
We both laughed.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Simple.
Almost like the reset didn't exist.
Then I noticed something.
A girl was standing behind Josh.
She was watching us.
She whispered something to her friend.
Her friend looked at me.
Then both of them laughed.
I looked away.
The old feeling returned.
That familiar insecurity.
Everyone likes him.
And suddenly I remembered.
This was exactly what happened before.
Not this exact moment.
But this feeling.
This was why I eventually gave up.
Josh was surrounded by people.
And I didn't want to become one of the girls fighting for his attention.
But now...
I wanted to know something.
Why?
Why did everyone love him so much?
Was he really that perfect?
Or was there something I had never seen?
---
Later that afternoon, Josh invited me to stay behind.
“There are some things I need to finish.”
I looked at him.
“Church work?”
He nodded.
“You can go home if you want.”
“I can help.”
He smiled.
“Okay.”
We stayed.
For almost an hour, we arranged chairs, cleaned tables, and organized some boxes.
It was boring.
Completely ordinary.
But I didn't mind.
At some point, I noticed Josh disappear.
I looked around.
“Josh?”
No answer.
I walked toward the back room.
The door was slightly open.
I was about to knock when I heard voices.
An older man's voice.
“You can't keep doing this.”
Josh answered.
“I know.”
“You have school.”
“I know.”
“And you're still doing this every weekend?”
“I said I know.”
I froze.
I shouldn't have listened.
But something about Josh's voice made me stay.
The cheerful boy I knew wasn't there.
He sounded tired.
The older man sighed.
“You're fifteen, Josh. You shouldn't be worrying about this.”
There was silence.
Then Josh said quietly:
“Someone has to.”
My chest tightened.
The older man didn't answer.
I heard footsteps.
I quickly moved away from the door.
A few seconds later, Josh came out.
He stopped when he saw me.
His expression changed.
“Elle?”
I smiled nervously.
“Hi.”
“Were you here?”
“No.”
He stared at me.
I immediately knew I was a terrible liar.
“You're lying.”
I sighed.
“Maybe.”
He looked embarrassed.
“You heard?”
“A little.”
He looked away.
I waited.
Finally, he said:
“My dad isn't around much.”
I didn't know what to say.
“So…”
He shrugged.
“Someone has to help my mom.”
I stared at him.
I had never known.
In my original timeline, I knew almost nothing about Josh.
I had only known what everyone else knew.
The charming boy.
The popular boy.
The talented boy.
The boy everyone loved.
But nobody knew this.
Or maybe they did.
And I simply hadn't cared enough to find out.
“I'm sorry,” I said.
He smiled faintly.
“It's okay.”
“No, it's not.”
He looked at me.
“You don't have to be strong all the time.”
His expression froze.
I didn't know why I said it.
Maybe because I understood.
Maybe because I knew what it felt like to pretend.
He looked down.
Then laughed softly.
“You're strange.”
I smiled.
“Why?”
“Everyone thinks I'm okay.”
I looked at him.
“Are you?”
He didn't answer.
That was my answer.
---
We sat outside the church.
The sun was beginning to set.
The sky was orange.
Josh was quiet.
I didn't force him to talk.
Eventually, he did.
“I want to become an architect.”
“I know.”
He smiled.
“You remember?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you talk about it a lot.”
He laughed.
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
He looked at the sky.
“I want to build something my family can be proud of.”
I looked at him.
“You will.”
He turned toward me.
“You sound sure.”
“I am.”
“How?”
“Because you don't give up.”
He smiled.
“You barely know me.”
I almost laughed.
You have no idea.
Instead, I said:
“Maybe I'm good at figuring people out.”
He smiled.
“Then figure me out.”
I froze.
“What?”
He leaned back.
“Figure me out.”
I stared at him.
He smiled.
“What's my biggest fear?”
I thought about it.
The answer from the original timeline didn't exist.
I didn't know.
So I answered honestly.
“I don't know.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because now you have a reason to keep talking to me.”
My heart skipped.
I looked away.
“That was smooth.”
He laughed.
“I've been practicing.”
“With who?”
He grinned.
“Secret.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Of course.”
But I was smiling.
---
That night, I opened the notebook.
I expected another percentage.
Instead, there was a sentence.
JOSH: 31%
I stared.
“Thirty-one?”
The number had doubled.
Then another line appeared.
YOU ARE LEARNING THE VARIABLE.
I nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Then:
BUT YOU ARE ALSO BECOMING PART OF IT.
My smile disappeared.
I stared at those words.
“What does that mean?”
The page changed.
YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW HIM THIS WELL.
I frowned.
“Why?”
No answer.
Then:
IN THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE, YOU ONLY KNEW THE BOY EVERYONE LOVED.
I stared.
That was true.
I had never known about his family.
His responsibilities.
His fears.
His dreams.
I had only known the version of Josh everyone else saw.
The perfect one.
The easy one.
The lovable one.
Maybe that was why I had fallen for him.
Maybe that was why I had eventually fallen out of it.
I had never actually known him.
But now I did.
And that was dangerous.
Because it was becoming harder to separate the boy I remembered from the boy sitting beside me.
---
The next day at school, something strange happened.
A girl approached me.
I recognized her.
She was one of the girls who liked Josh.
She stopped in front of me.
“Are you friends with Josh?”
I hesitated.
“Sort of.”
She smiled.
“Don't get too close.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
She shrugged.
“Just saying.”
“Why?”
She walked away.
I watched her go.
That was weird.
Very weird.
I tried to ignore it.
But during lunch, another girl said something similar.
Then another.
By the end of the day, I had heard the same warning three times.
Don't get too close to Josh.
I didn't understand.
Was he hiding something?
Was there some rumor?
Was this part of the original timeline?
I needed answers.
So I went to church.
I found Josh near the back.
“Hey.”
He looked up.
“Elle?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why do people keep telling me to stay away from you?”
His expression changed.
Just slightly.
But I noticed.
He looked down.
“Who told you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Josh.”
He sighed.
“People talk.”
“About what?”
He looked at me.
“Me.”
“That's not an answer.”
He smiled faintly.
“You really don't let things go.”
“No.”
He laughed.
Then became serious again.
“There's a rumor.”
“What rumor?”
“That I…”
He stopped.
I waited.
“That I use girls.”
I blinked.
“What?”
He looked away.
“They think I flirt with everyone.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
“Then why don't you tell them?”
“Because I don't care what people think.”
I stared at him.
“That's not true.”
He looked at me.
“You care.”
He didn't answer.
I continued.
“You care so much that you pretend you don't.”
He looked surprised.
“You really do notice things.”
I smiled.
“Maybe.”
He laughed quietly.
Then he said:
“That's why I like talking to you.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“You don't treat me like everyone else.”
I didn't know what to say.
He continued.
“You don't care if other girls like me.”
I almost laughed.
“You're assuming a lot.”
He smiled.
“Am I?”
I looked away.
Maybe I cared.
Maybe more than I wanted to admit.
---
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Not because of Josh.
Because of the equation.
I opened my notebook.
The percentage was now:
JOSH — 39%
I frowned.
Then the number changed.
40%.
I watched.
It stopped.
A new line appeared.
VARIABLE STABILITY: LOW
“What?”
The notebook changed again.
YOU ARE ALTERING TOO MUCH.
I swallowed.
“What am I supposed to do?”
The answer came.
LET THE TIMELINE BREATHE.
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
Nothing.
Then—
A loud knock came from downstairs.
I froze.
My mother called my name.
“Elle!”
“What?”
“Someone's looking for you!”
I frowned.
“At this hour?”
“Come down!”
I slowly walked downstairs.
The front door was open.
A boy was standing outside.
I couldn't see his face clearly.
He stepped forward.
My heart stopped.
It was him.
Ezekiel.
But he was fifteen.
The same age as me.
He looked exactly like I remembered from high school.
Except—
He wasn't supposed to be here.
Not yet.
He looked at me.
“Elle?”
I couldn't speak.
He smiled.
“You finally remember me.”
My blood went cold.
I stepped backward.
“How do you know me?”
He looked confused.
“You don't remember?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he reached into his bag.
He pulled out a notebook.
My notebook.
Or something that looked exactly like it.
He opened it.
There were three names written inside.
ELLE
JOSH
EZEKIEL
But there was no Michael.
Not yet.
Ezekiel looked at me.
“You shouldn't have changed Josh.”
I swallowed.
“What?”
He stepped closer.
“You weren't supposed to make him fall for you.”
My heart stopped.
“How do you know?”
His expression became serious.
“Because I remember the original timeline.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“I remember everything.”
The world went silent.
“Then why don't I remember you?”
He smiled sadly.
“Because you're the one who was supposed to forget.”
I stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
Before he could answer—
the notebook in my hand began shaking.
Words appeared.
SECOND VARIABLE DETECTED.
Then:
RESET FAILURE: 12%
Ezekiel looked at the page.
His expression changed.
“We're running out of time.”
I stared at him.
“Time for what?”
He looked toward the dark street behind him.
Then back at me.
“To fix what you changed.”
My heart pounded.
“And if I don't?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Ezekiel.”
He looked at me.
“What happens?”
He whispered:
“Someone won't exist.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
He looked at me.
Then said the one thing I wasn't prepared to hear.
“Michael.”
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