Too Little Too Late

Ever since Emerald Greenwood's tragic death, Bradley Kane had been beside himself trying to deal with the empty space in his life. Before she had died, she had not only been his best friend, but the girl of his dreams; she had been everything to him, and, all because of his own cowardly mistakes, she was no longer alive.

However, although he had been hiding away and rejecting both the outdoors that he loved and the friends that still remained, he had not been spending that time idle, wasting away. While some wagered he had lost a few marbles -- even he would probably agree to that -- there was one part of his brain that still toiled endlessly...

... trying to discover a way to fix his wrongs, and to return his love back to life.

He'd tried everything he could think of, even so far as to find a way to reanimate her body to life. At every path, the road was blocked... blocked by technology, blocked by science, even blocked by the people he loved. But, as fate would have it, there was still one more way -- one more thing he could try. The chance of success was slim, but if it worked, he could finally have her back.

If it worked, than Emerald Greenwood's death would never have come to be.

---

Months of building, weeks of calculations: combined, nothing in Bradley's life had taken more time or dedication. There was something about that that triggered pride in the back of his mind, but he tried not to dwell on it; he'd built this technological contraption for a reason, and it certainly wasn't for bragging rights.

Give him money, give him fame... No, all he wanted was Emerald.

After a deep breath, Bradley finally started punching in the final calculations on the front panel of his device. It stood before him cold and lifeless, heavy enough to sink the corner of the shed behind it; he wasn't sure how he'd ever be able to move it, but... If he could build this, he could surely build something simple enough to lift it.

The panel *beep beeeep*'d  at him after he pressed in the last digits. One more breath, and Brad punched the last button: Execute.

What suddenly came before his eyes was frightening; swirling purple, almost too bright to look into, leading into a vortex beyond the metal doors that had just opened in the center of his large invention.

His heart skipped a beat: beyond that portal, would he really find her? Did he trust his calculations? Did he trust that he could get back?

Silly Brad; he knew the answer to all those questions. He was brilliant, a genius in his own right... He had everything he needed. It didn't make the prospect of jumping through a rip in space-time any less frightening.

He knew one thing, though: Emerald would've done it for him.

Mustering all the bravery he could, knowing that he couldn't waste any more time anyways, Bradley leaped forward into the purple fog eminating from his machine...

...and disappeared.

The doors slid shut coldly behind him, leaving a gentle mist where he once stood; even if the machine was pried apart, no one would be able to find him. Because, in reality, the question wasn't "where" he was... but "when".

---

Not too far from where Bradley had vanished, Amelia heard a voice calling behind her, hollering her name. "Amelia, Amelia!" they shouted. She knew the voice immediately: it was Alesha's, of course. Unsurprisingly, Amelia couldn't be any happier to hear her friend.

"I'm back by the easel, I'm just working on a painting!" Amelia called in response, but Alesha had already appeared on the deck before she'd even finished giving directions.

The two embraced tightly in a hug as soon as Alesha had descended the stairs, although Amelia couldn't help snickering in her friend's ear. "So, how was your night out with Naomi?" she asked cutely, not meaning to pry, but... well. Prying.

"Oh, it was fine," Alesha said in response. "I could tell Naomi felt awkward, but she loosened right up after a while. I bet the more time we hang out, the more she'll forget how crappy she used to treat me."

"And you're really not mad at her?"

"Nah, there's no point. I've got one life to live, no reason to hold grudges... Besides, having her as a friend is way better than having her as an enemy."

"Haha, noooo kidding."

Alesha began toeing the ground once she'd pulled away, which struck Amelia as being odd. "Are you sure you're all right with it?" Amelia asked softly.

"Oh yeah, totally..."

"Then what's bothering you?" Amelia could be a blonde airhead, but she wasn't blind.

"Well... It's not that," Alesha's voice murmured in response. "It's something else. Kinda the reason I wanted to drop by, actually."

"Spit it out already!" was scoffed in response. "You're obviously dying to say something."

"Well... It's just..."

"Alesha, do you really think you have anything to worry about from me? You're my best friend. You can tell me anything."

Alesha took her time responding. "It's just awkward," she finally said. "Because I know how touchy you are about your brother's feelings. You're really protective of him and stuff, and that's not a bad thing, but... It just makes it really hard to get close to him without being worried you're going to come hunt me down and stuff."

"Uuuuggh, you want to ask him out, don't you," Amelia groaned.

"Well... yeah."

Amelia rolled her eyes, hand on hip. "It's not that I'm protective of him, it's that I'm protective of you. Seriously Alesha, Brad's kinda messed up right now. He's not over Emerald, and I'm pretty sure he'd put your heart through the shredder if you tried to get close to him. I honestly don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Well, that's kinda why I needed to talk to you," Alesha said, this time actually smiling. "I figured that you could do some probing for me. You know, see if he'd be open to the idea? That way, you can be sort of a bridge between us, and neither of us get hurt."

"Weeeeeeeelllll..." Amelia thought about this for a moment, before finally just shrugging dismissively and smiling. "I guess there are worse things you could be asking me to do. I'll try. Just don't get your hopes up or anything."

"Thank you, thank you!" Alesha was all smiles and laughs; she was so happy, should couldn't help but do a few hops of joy. "I know I'll owe you for like, forever, but this totally means the world to me, Mia!"

"Yeah, just, don't say I didn't warn you." Amelia smirked, but in the end, gave her friend another hug; as happy as she wanted Alesha to be, she knew deep down that this was just another way for her to get hurt.

As Alesha said her goodbyes and started to walk off the lawn, she noticed something very odd looking about the contraption that Bradley had built in the corner of the yard. The noise coming from it seemed off, as was the color... It sent chills up her spine, and not in a good way.

"Whatever you're doing, Brad," she murmured to herself, worredly biting her lower lip. "I hope that it's the right thing to do."

---

The sunshine around the Kane household melted away into sunset... But no, not because time was moving forwards. Back, back, back Bradley went -- he could not see path back in time, but he swore he could feel it.

It took only a fraction of a second; that would make sense, though, when you're distorting time itself. As the world seemed to rematerialize around him, Bradley suddenly tried to get his bearings. Were his calculations right?

Well... almost. He was in a different place in the yard then he'd programmed -- dangerous, really, since he couldn've accidentally appeared inside something solid instead -- but all in all, he was alright. The car beside him, which in present times was a crisp pile of metal in a junkyard somewhere, told him all he needed to know: He'd made it.

As he rushed up the stairs to his house, carefully watching to make sure no one was around -- most of all himself -- he did his best not to make any noise. However, it wasn't until he crossed the front door and stopped in front of the living room window that it finally hit him:

Bradley was in the past...

... And Emerald was alive again.

Although the first he saw of Emerald was the furiousity she was showing towards his brother, he didn't care; she was there... Living, breathing. Beautiful as ever. He felt his heart stop in his chest, before it resumed pounding, surging blood through all his veins so quickly he could feel the heat and sweat dripping off his palms.

The arguing intensified -- it was so painful to his ears, but he couldn't interrupt just yet -- but finally, after Travis' final note, he saw Emerald disappear around the corner.

He turned just early enough to see her appear from the open front door. There she was... only a few feet of air between himself and the woman he loved. She didn't see him yet, and he was glad of it; there was so little in him yet to contain himself from jumping to her and squeezing her, but Bradley knew that he had to keep one thing in mind: this was the past, not the future. She didn't know she died... And she'd just had her heart crushed.

Bradley watched as Emerald descended the steps, his heart still drumming loudly in his ears. He stayed silent for a moment, but as soon as he watched her burst out into tears, he couldn't stand it any more.

"Wait... wait!"

Emerald swivelled around, wiping the tear streaks from her face. "Brad?" she said in a weepy voice. "I... Just, just go away."

His stomach turned in on itself. "Em... Em, are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay, Brad," she said, almost wimpering. "W-we just broke up... I can't believe it. I-I would've forgiven him, if h-he'd felt bad about it, b-but... He cheated on me, a-and then he dumped me."

"Em, I'm so sorry," Brad said, trying to sound comforting -- but it was hard, when all he could feel was contempt for his brother. "It's going to be okay, though. It's not the end of the world."

"Oh, don't you feed me that pretentious bull crap, Bradley." Emerald's voice was suddenly fueled with anger as she pushed his comforting advances away. "Don't say things like that when I know you don't mean them!"

"B-but--"

"Here you are, acting like Travis cheating on me and dumping me isn't a big freaking deal, when you refused to even try dating me because it was so utterly important that it had to be perfect for you!"

"That's not true, Em!" Brad responded quietly, sheepishly. "I was just afraid of screwing things up with you, that's all."

"Oh YEAH?!" Emerald suddenly lurched out in fury, so much so that Bradley was afraid she was going to actually hit him. "That's ALL!?" Her voice continued to crack, and between each word he could hear her sniffles, trying to fight back the tears. "I can't freaking believe you, Bradley! So afraid of screwing things up, you freaking screwed up everything for me! I lost Travis to my cheating, lying sister because of you! You ruined everything!"

"I... I didn't do anything!"

"Yes you did Bradley! Don't you think I know you enough to know who's behind this? Heck, you even had to be the one yourself to tell me that he was cheating on me!" She paused a moment to sniffle her nose, but not long enough -- she was quickly back to screaming in his face. "I'm not stupid Bradley!

"Listen," Bradley began, though thoroughly shaken. "I know you must hate me, and I totally acknowledge how utterly stupid I was... But please, just hear me out for a minute, okay? Just walk with me for a minute, try to cool off... Beat me up for all I care, just please, don't leave."

"Yeah, like I seriously care what you want right now, Brad," Emerald growled dismissively. "I honestly can't believe you. Just... stay away from me, alright? Just stay away from me."

The words hung heavy in Bradley's head... Painful, throbbing. It would've been better if she'd just stuck a knife in his belly and gotten it overwith; he didn't even have the energy left within him to try to stop her from running to the car.

He knew the truth, but to hear it aloud -- to hear it from her? He wasn't sure there was anything worse.

Brad approached the curb to watch her go, but as he heard the engine starting to rumble down the street, sanity suddenly struck him -- he had to stop her.

He had to stop her.

His voice had never sounded so wretched, but at least it was loud. "EM! Emerald! PLEASE! Stoooppp!!"

He ran and he ran, so much faster than he ever had... His knees ached, his feet pounded, but the pain was so much less than the realization of what was coming next.

He ran... and he ran... And he ran. He could hardly breathe, but it didn't matter. He simply didn't care. Emerald was driving away, and even though he knew he couldn't stop her... He had to try. He just had to.

Finally, though, his breath ended, and his legs quaked. As he queased to try to get the oxygen back into his blood, his eyes turned to the corner ahead of him, knowing all too well what lie just beyond it.

He wanted to keep running, but he knew he couldn't; he knew that if he did, he couldn't stop the inevitable, and he knew that he would see something that he knew he could not bear.

For a moment he waited, hoping she'd return, but she didn't; instead, all he heard was the grinding crunch of metal and wood only just around the bend, and a muffled scream that dug a dagger through his heart.

After that, there was only silence. Bradley knew the sirens would soon come, and then the car driving himself and his brother to the scene... Part of him wished he could stand there forever, but the rest knew he couldn't handle another moment.

As he used the handheld device from his pocket, a large set of metal doors opened on the massive machine in the corner of a yard on Savannah Street. Between them, a rip in space-time formed, and on the other side, a lithe blonde boy jumped through...

... but there was barely enough steam left within him in order to pull himself away.

As the adrenile from the near-impossible escape from the machine subsided, Bradley quickly shut the doors and shut off the machine. There was something remarkable about the fact that he actually travelled through time, that he actually managed to return...

... but that was the last thing that was on Bradley Kane's mind.

---

"Yep... Yes... Yes, sir... No problem. So that's everything? ... Oh really, right now?"

As Travis spoke what sounded like a one-way conversation on the phone, his mother stood anxiously in front of him, waiting for the final verdict for her son.

"That's absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for everything!" Travis finished, before finally hanging up the phone. "It's done," he said to his mother as he tucked his cellphone into his pocket. "Everything's finalized, Mum. I'll be outta your hair as soon as you let go of it." The last was said with a laugh.

Meredith, though, was so overjoyed she didn't even catch it. "Oooh, goodness! My baby boy, just buying his first house! I'm so proud of you, sweetie!"

"Mooommm," Travis groaned, rolling his eyes. "I told you already, the house isn't quite mine yet. Just renting to own... I'll pay it off when I get the money, yeah, but--"

"--but, it's still your own place! I can't wait to come see it! You just let me know anytime you're okay with me coming over and I'll get the place just as right as reign and oh my goodness, I can't believe you're getting so big--"

After Travis had listened to his mother reminisce about the good ol' days of him in diapers for another few minutes, he finally pried himself away from the house and hopped onto his motorbike, leaving the house on Savannah Street for the last time as a resident.

It felt kind of strange, moving away but... really not... but Travis felt so good about finally getting out of that house -- and finally no longer sharing a room with his crazy little brother -- that the strangeness of it all was gone the second he pulled up to his new house.

Small and -- like he told his mother -- not-quite-his, but it was a place of his own all the same.

How he'd managed to score it, he wasn't quite sure -- something about Clark Peddler getting a fantastic deal on some of the piping... -- but then again, he knew his Dad was able to pull quite a few strings around town.

"Aaaaah, yes, good ol' Dad," Travis laughed to himself as he looked around.

He hadn't been inside long when the front doorbell rang. He jumped, since he hadn't been expecting anything like that so soon, but his heart quit racing as soon as he saw who it was.

"So... What do you think?" Travis asked after he finished giving his girlfriend the 'grand tour' of the few rooms in the house. "I know it's not really much, but... Well, it's set up pretty nice, I guess."

"It's perfect, I think," Jade said with a smile, resting her hands within his. "I mean, I'll be perfectly happy with it, if you decide to have me move any with you anytime soon. It's a little small, but I think we're both used to cramped quarters."

"I, er..." Travis coughed a little in mouth. "Well, I'd kinda like the place to myself for a little while, you know, since I've never actually gotten to live by myself, and... well... I mean, you know," he mumbled. He wasn't exactly sure what to say; while what he said was the truth, it wasn't the whole truth. He just honestly wasn't sure he was ready for that big of a leap just yet.

"Oh... well, that's alright, then," Jade muttered in response, closing her eyes, trying to smile. "I just figured... Oh, nevermind. That's just fine."

Travis cringed. "What's wrong?"

"It's just," Jade started; and for a moment, Travis thought he'd never seen her look more frazzeled. "Everything about my parents' house reminds me of Em. I can't take it anymore! I need to get out of there! I feel like I'm losing my mind... I mean, I feel more neurotic than your mother lately, and I know I'm not a headcase! I... I just don't know!"

"Look, Jade," Travis said, gently grabbing his girlfriend's shoulder. "I'll have you move in as soon as I'm ready, okay? I just need some space for myself for a while, to try and get on my feet in my job, to get accustomed to being away from my family... Heck, I just walked through the front door two minutes ago and you're already talking about a huge step in commitment. Let's just take it slow, alright?"

"Al-alright," Jade stuttered. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that. I just don't feel like myself, lately."

"That's alright, honey," Travis soothed. "I don't think anyone's really been themselves for the last couple months. Things will all go back to normal soon, you'll see."

"Yeah," was mumbled in response.

"I mean, so long as you aren't being all stupidly paranoid that I'm gonna be having other women in the house every night and st--"

"WHAT?!" It was as if Travis had suddenly flipped a switch, and Jade's crazy button and been triggered to On. "Don't you dare even joke about that, Travis!"

"What?" he mimicked in response. "It was just a comment, jeeezz."

"You don't understand!!" Jade continued to yell. "Here I am, having a freaking mid-life crisis, and you're not even trying to be sensitive to it! All I do when I'm home is see everything tied to Emerald, all the memories about how we cheated on her and lied to her, how we killed her, and now I'm paranoid that the same thing could happen to me because it's not like you have a track record for being faithful either... So don't you dare make jokes like that at me, you... you... you..."

"Jade... just calm down," Travis said slowly, his eyes still wide. "Jade, sweetie... I love you. I have no intention of doing anything like that, and you know it. Now could you please stop freaking out, because it's starting to freak me out..."

"I... I..." There was a moment when Jade wasn't sure whether she was going to explode or collapse, but in one sudden moment she felt the tears welling up behind her eyes, and a surge of sadness welling up from within her. "I'm so..."

And, before she could finish, she collapsed on Travis in tears. "S-s-s-so sorry," she gasped through a fit of tears. "I don't know what's wrong with me!"

Travis just continued to pat her on the back, totally oblivious on what to say. Everything he'd said so far just seemed to upset her -- at this rate, his next sentence was going to turn her into a murderous banshee.

After a few minutes of silence and sobbing, Jade finally pulled away.

"Are you going to be alright?" Travis asked softly.

When Jade responded with nothing but a shake of her head, her lips sealed tight, Travis carried her gently to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed; he waited for her to fall asleep, before, with a grumble, he grabbed the keys to his motorcycle and headed out the door.

---

"Bah... Bart... Bartender..." Travis Kane could hardly sit upright in his seat, but gosh darnit if he couldn't still holler at the bartender if he wanted to.

"Another drink pl-- Oh..." Travis watched as the poor guy dropped another glass on the ground. "Oops," he joked.

"Not funny," the bartender responded with frustation. "You keep breaking my concentration."

"Well sooooorry," Travis said hotly. "I'll leave you alone... As soon as you fill up this drink."

The bartender groaned, but, Travis was a paying customer, and he didn't seem to be disturbing anyone else in the bar but him. As long as he could shut him up, maybe he'd leave in peace.

As Travis finished his drink and stumbled up from his chair, he slammed a few simoleans on the counter. "Well, I guess I'll leave." He stopped a burp in his mouth, before noticing that man -- he had some really amazing muscles!

It wasn't until he started looking intensely on those muscles, though, that he noticed the newest occupant of the bar.

At first, he didn't believe his eyes. "L... Lolly?" He asked, his voice still a bit slurred. "Is... is that you?"

She laughed, doing a bit of a "Ta da!" movement in response. "Yeah, it's me! Got a makeover a few days ago, I decided to keep the look going. What do you think?"

"By George, it is you!" Travis, a bit slow, finally 'got it'. "You look... Well, you look great! The dress, the hair! Real nice, Lolly, real nice!"

"Haha... Well, thanks, Travis. I appreciate hearing that from you."

"I think that calls for another drink!" he said triumphantly. "BARTENDER!"

It was another few minutes before they finally pulled away with their drinks, Travis knocking his down like water, and Lolly gently sipping hers like the oh-so-proper lady she was.

"So, how've you been?" he muttered through the rim of his glass, looking at her through the pink liquid.

She shrugged. "Alright, I suppose. The baby's doing great, though his father's still not really doing much to take care of him. Been a little rough, but nothing I can't handle."

"Ah' know whatcha mean," Travis said, smirking. "Jade? She's being toooottally bonkers right now. Like, I have never seen a girl freakkout thad mucsh. I swear, she's on somethin' reeeaaaallly weird from the doctors or somethin', cuuzz oooooo'eeeee she is... ya know... weird."

"Hmmm, really?" Lolly asked sweetly in response.

"Really."

"Well then," Lolly said gently, her lips turning up slightly in a smile. "Why don't we go somewhere a bit more peaceful and relax for a bit, hmm? Get out of the noise in here, go somewhere where we can get our lives off our minds for a while. How does that sound to you?"

"I think that sounds... fancy," Travis responded stupidly, before covering another burp. Man, this new bar? Wicked.

It felt like they'd walked for miles -- even though they'd hardly only walked across the street -- because Travis was having a hard time keeping upright outside of leaning on poor Lolly for support. It wasn't until they finally stopped at the edge of the beach that Travis finally realized exactly where they were.

"Well... This was real nice, Lolly, but I should prolly really get home, you know?" He said, almost giggling.

"Yeah, I guess, I just--" Lolly stopped midsentence. "Look, I just know you're having a rough time right now, and so am I, and just... well, it's nice to have someone around who can sort of sympathize, with having crazy and weird partners and everything. I just thought that I'd cash in on that 'friendship' card thing you'd told me."

"Oh, well... I mean, if you need me, I'm here for you, always am, you know that Lol'," Travis hiccuped. "What is it exactly that choo, ya know, need?"

"Well, I just..." Lolly pulled in closer, resting her fingertips against Travis' side. "I just want to be close to you, Travis. Close to someone. Someone who really knows me, cares about me..."

"N'I care about you, hmm?" Travis grumbled stupidly in response, now having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

The flickering of his eyelids drew Lolly's gaze to them. "I always forget how pretty your eyes are," she said slowly, sweetly, as she stared into each green iris, back and forth. "The one part of you that never seems to change, either."

"They're my mum's!" Travis said cockily, his face beaming.

"That they are."

Before Travis even felt her hands move down, before he even saw her move closer, Lolly's lips pressed against his, and their body's entwined...

... He tried to put up resistence, but failed; it was already too little, too late.