To Katmandu
Auto-complete
Like, nothing happened… No blink, no flash, no nothing. ‘Okay, let’s not panic’… I told myself. But it was easier said then done. Maybe I just hit something wrong. Not a big deal… I must’ve just entered something wrong. Like maybe the date... But no… It looked like a good date. I know some months have 30 days and some have 31 but they all have a 27…
Unless maybe it was the time? 1 pm? Maybe that's too specific? But that really didn’t make sense…Or maybe it was because I put ‘coffee shop’ and that wasn’t specific enough? I wasn’t really sure. I should've read the instructions before messing with it, but it was too late now.
I deleted out ‘coffee shop’ and no sooner then it was it gone did the screen go black. It flickered and flashed and took me a second to focus. I was in a booth. A diner booth… and I could smell coffee, oh halleluiah! Yeah, it was no Starbucks, but coffee is coffee you know?
But wait? How did this happen? I didn’t put a location. I shook my head a little trying to make sense of all of this and that’s when I saw him walk in… It was Gerard…
“Fuck Damn Microsoft people.” I grumbled. Good old Internet explorer and its user-friendly technology… Auto complete…. That’s how I ended up here. April 27th, 1999 1:00 pm and I did have a location, same as before …with in 20 feet of Gerard Way. Thank god he was at a diner and not like at home. I don't know how I’d explain popping up in his bedroom out of nowhere…
I looked up at him and he looked at me and I instinctively lowered my eyes back down… God! What was I doing? I mean all this trouble and I'm gonna act like I don't see him? Fuck…
I lifted my eyes back up to him and he turned his back to me so I smiled. Not a huge smile. More like a coy one, or so I hoped… I was so going to hell for this…
“Kat right?” He says and I nodded.
“Gerard.” I replied and he smiled a little. Like he was pleased I remembered him. “I almost didn’t recognize you in those pants.” I say to him as I ran my eyes down his body. I mean he looked good in a skirt but goddamn he looked better in pants.
“Yeah sometimes I wear pants.” He laughs and I pried my eyes off his crotch and back up on to his face. Fuck, Kat you can stare at his crotch later. God knows there are thousands of pictures of it online…
“Mmm.” I hummed a little absentmindedly. “Hey is it the 27th?” I asked and he smiled a little at me.
“Uh yeah.” He says and I nodded. I was tempted to ask him where the fuck were we but it seemed like it would be weird. I mean technically I was here before him, he just walked in… “You got a thing with dates don't you?” He says and I laughed a little.
Ah this was just great. I was gonna be the weird ‘date’ girl. And though in way my goal was to have the words ‘date’ and ‘girl’ come to his mind when he sees me, it wasn’t quite in the context I wanted it.
“Yeah.” I laughed back. “Hey you wanna sit?” I offer him. I figured I was on a roll… I fucked up before; well technically it was over a week ago to him, but it was just a few minutes past to me… I didn’t intended to run into him again so quickly, but I figured maybe I could take advantage. Get a feel for him so that when I do it again, I could be better prepared. Forget researching him online. I could ask him everything in person.
“You having coffee?” He says and I looked at the upside down mug on the table.
“I have to check my wallet first.” I tell him truthfully. It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford it; I was just scared to pull out a dollar bill that hadn’t been printed yet. Who knows what kind of chaos that could cause…
“Aw, it’s my treat.” He says and I laughed once more as he sat down across from me. I shifted a little in my seat, straightening my blouse as the waitress came over to pour the coffee. Oh man,. I was wearing the same thing I was last time I saw him… I wonder if he noticed?
Great not only does he think I'm broke, and weird, he must also think I don't own any other clothes, which is kind of true. I had nothing else to wear. But on the plus side, I seemed to be 22 again. I mean I had the body of a 22 year old again. I was technically the same age as him in the future so it would make sense I was the same age as him now.
But I had to figure out a way to get some money, and some clothes, and like quick. Maybe there’s something in the FAQ’s… I totally forgot he was sitting across from me and I lifted the screen open and started typing frantically. He cleared his throat and I looked over at him, my cheeks flushing lightly..
“You a writer?” He says and I lowered back down the screen on the laptop.
“Uh sort of.” I replied. “I mean it’s not my job, not full time.” I added and he nodded. “So um what do you do?” I asked eager to change the subject.
“I just came from an interview.” He tells me and I arched my eyebrows up in interest.
“An interview?” I repeated back and he shrugged as he stirred his coffee in his cup slowly.
“Yeah at the cartoon network, animation department. Hence the pants.” He says motioning with his hand and I nodded eagerly.
“Oh that’s right, you worked there!” I cried out and he sorta smiled.
“Uh not yet.” He says, obviously missing my use of the past tense. Fuck. I gotta be more careful.
”Ah but you will.” I tell him and he laughed.
“Oh so you're some kinda psychic.” He says and I laughed too. I mean I sorta was!
“Well that’s my job.” I teased him. “Besides being an amateur writer, I'm a part time operator on the psychic hotline.” I laughed and he smiled.
“And the other time?” He asks and I grinned a little.
”I also work with a phone sex hotline.” I teased him as I leant forward on my elbows on the table and he leant forward too.
“So can I get your number?” He lowered his voice down and I laughed as I leant back once more. “No I'm serious Kat, I’d like to call you sometime.” He says as he nervously shuffled a sugar packet between his fingers…
“Are you asking me out?” I blurted out in disbelief and he dropped the sugar packet down a little embarrassed I suppose. “I didn’t mean it like that!” I say quickly and he leant back in his seat now too.
“No it’s okay.” He ran his hand through his hair and I could only imagine the thoughts going through his head now… One of those sites said something about him being awkward with girls. Great…
“No really, honestly, I would love to go out with you Gerard.” I tell him and he cocked his head to the side almost as if he didnt believe me.
“But?” He says encouraging me to go on.
“But, it’s just that I don't have a phone, and you asked for my number and you know.” I sighed a little. “I'm sorta like in limbo right now.” I tell him and he nodded.
“You didn’t work out your tuition thing?” He says and I looked blankly at him for a second. Fuck. Lying was hard. I forgot about telling him that…
“Um no… Not really.” I said and I quickly grabbed my cup and sipped from it. I should really be writing this shit down as I go, might make it easier. “But you know what?” I tell him as I glanced over at my laptop. “You give me a time, a date and a location and I promise I will be there…”
Gerard just looked at me for a second before laughing lightly. It was sorta a nervous laugh. Almost like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of me… I smiled stupidly back at him but god! What was I doing? Trying to set a date with him! I wasn’t prepared, not yet at least.
That was the whole point of me coming off to have to coffee. To sit and think and plan… I needed clothes like badly, and for that I would need money… Hmm, I wonder if I could rob a bank? Would that be wrong? Well yeah duh it would be wrong. It’s a federal offense…
But maybe something less offensive? Or less federal at least? A convenience store? That might work, but I would need a gun… Unless I'm like a burglar! A ‘Kat’ burglar! I laughed to myself, well sorta to myself. I was smiling at the thoughts in my head a little to widely I guess and it showed on my face.
“What is it?” Gerard asks and I looked up a little shocked that he was still sitting here. I had forgotten.
“Mmm, nothing. You know what, I gotta go.” I apologize to him as I stood up. I had to get out of here. Reorganize my thoughts a little.
“What? Why?” He went to reach like he was going to stop me.
“I'm running late. I'm sorry, I forgot.” I lie to him a little flustered as I grabbed my bag and my sweatshirt from the booth.
“Wait, you wanna take my number then?” He says and I smiled a little at him.
“Naw, we’ll run into each other again. I'm sure of it.” I tell him as I went to leave and then I paused a second. “Mmm thanks for the coffee Gerard.” I winked at him and then I don't know what possessed me to, but I leant over and kissed his cheek lightly. You’d think his skin would be smooth, with that cute little baby face of his. But it was sorta scruffy. Felt like he needed a shave. I took a deep breath in of him as I pulled back. His scent was intoxicating. There was no other word for it really…He sorta smiled back at me as I darted out the door.
God! Think Kat! Think! I yelled at myself as I walked down the street. Looked like we were in the city. Probably not to far from the Cartoon Network offices… I mean that’s where he said he was coming from. But I wasn’t really that familiar with the city.
I found myself thinking of this park that Kenny and I use to go to years ago when we were dating. It was right on the other side of the Hudson, in Jersey. They had benches and little trails and shit. I would go there often to think. It always seemed to give me inspiration for some reason. But they had torn it down a year or so ago to build some condos. But that was like 2007. It was 1999 now. That means it would still be there…
I ducked down a deserted alley and pulled my laptop out quickly. Probably not the best move, but whatever. I opened the screen and my mind went totally blank as the screen came up. I forgot what the name of that park was… Did it even have a name? I mean we would just call it ‘the park’ by his house.
Hmm… let’s try- ’May 10th, 1999, mid afternoon, Park in Jersey’... I typed it in and hit enter. Right away an error message came up.
“Multiple locations found. Please enter additional details.” I read softly out loud and frowned a little at the screen. I didn’t have any additional details to enter.
Okay how about. the one with Kenny. I added and I shrugged a little. I mean would my magical keyboard know which one that was? Well, there was only one way to find out. I put my finger on the enter button and squeezed my eyes shut as I pressed it. Suddenly the noise of the city faded and the only sound left was that of a bird chirping.
“Yes!” I cried out as I opened my eyes. I was in the park! The one by Kenny’s house too! Oh this was just way to easy. I totally had the hang of this.
“Kat? Is that you?” A voice called out and I slowly lifted my eyes up to the source.
Aw fuck… Maybe I didn’t quite have the hang of it yet…
“Aw hey Kenny…”
Unless maybe it was the time? 1 pm? Maybe that's too specific? But that really didn’t make sense…Or maybe it was because I put ‘coffee shop’ and that wasn’t specific enough? I wasn’t really sure. I should've read the instructions before messing with it, but it was too late now.
I deleted out ‘coffee shop’ and no sooner then it was it gone did the screen go black. It flickered and flashed and took me a second to focus. I was in a booth. A diner booth… and I could smell coffee, oh halleluiah! Yeah, it was no Starbucks, but coffee is coffee you know?
But wait? How did this happen? I didn’t put a location. I shook my head a little trying to make sense of all of this and that’s when I saw him walk in… It was Gerard…
“Fuck Damn Microsoft people.” I grumbled. Good old Internet explorer and its user-friendly technology… Auto complete…. That’s how I ended up here. April 27th, 1999 1:00 pm and I did have a location, same as before …with in 20 feet of Gerard Way. Thank god he was at a diner and not like at home. I don't know how I’d explain popping up in his bedroom out of nowhere…
I looked up at him and he looked at me and I instinctively lowered my eyes back down… God! What was I doing? I mean all this trouble and I'm gonna act like I don't see him? Fuck…
I lifted my eyes back up to him and he turned his back to me so I smiled. Not a huge smile. More like a coy one, or so I hoped… I was so going to hell for this…
“Kat right?” He says and I nodded.
“Gerard.” I replied and he smiled a little. Like he was pleased I remembered him. “I almost didn’t recognize you in those pants.” I say to him as I ran my eyes down his body. I mean he looked good in a skirt but goddamn he looked better in pants.
“Yeah sometimes I wear pants.” He laughs and I pried my eyes off his crotch and back up on to his face. Fuck, Kat you can stare at his crotch later. God knows there are thousands of pictures of it online…
“Mmm.” I hummed a little absentmindedly. “Hey is it the 27th?” I asked and he smiled a little at me.
“Uh yeah.” He says and I nodded. I was tempted to ask him where the fuck were we but it seemed like it would be weird. I mean technically I was here before him, he just walked in… “You got a thing with dates don't you?” He says and I laughed a little.
Ah this was just great. I was gonna be the weird ‘date’ girl. And though in way my goal was to have the words ‘date’ and ‘girl’ come to his mind when he sees me, it wasn’t quite in the context I wanted it.
“Yeah.” I laughed back. “Hey you wanna sit?” I offer him. I figured I was on a roll… I fucked up before; well technically it was over a week ago to him, but it was just a few minutes past to me… I didn’t intended to run into him again so quickly, but I figured maybe I could take advantage. Get a feel for him so that when I do it again, I could be better prepared. Forget researching him online. I could ask him everything in person.
“You having coffee?” He says and I looked at the upside down mug on the table.
“I have to check my wallet first.” I tell him truthfully. It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford it; I was just scared to pull out a dollar bill that hadn’t been printed yet. Who knows what kind of chaos that could cause…
“Aw, it’s my treat.” He says and I laughed once more as he sat down across from me. I shifted a little in my seat, straightening my blouse as the waitress came over to pour the coffee. Oh man,. I was wearing the same thing I was last time I saw him… I wonder if he noticed?
Great not only does he think I'm broke, and weird, he must also think I don't own any other clothes, which is kind of true. I had nothing else to wear. But on the plus side, I seemed to be 22 again. I mean I had the body of a 22 year old again. I was technically the same age as him in the future so it would make sense I was the same age as him now.
But I had to figure out a way to get some money, and some clothes, and like quick. Maybe there’s something in the FAQ’s… I totally forgot he was sitting across from me and I lifted the screen open and started typing frantically. He cleared his throat and I looked over at him, my cheeks flushing lightly..
“You a writer?” He says and I lowered back down the screen on the laptop.
“Uh sort of.” I replied. “I mean it’s not my job, not full time.” I added and he nodded. “So um what do you do?” I asked eager to change the subject.
“I just came from an interview.” He tells me and I arched my eyebrows up in interest.
“An interview?” I repeated back and he shrugged as he stirred his coffee in his cup slowly.
“Yeah at the cartoon network, animation department. Hence the pants.” He says motioning with his hand and I nodded eagerly.
“Oh that’s right, you worked there!” I cried out and he sorta smiled.
“Uh not yet.” He says, obviously missing my use of the past tense. Fuck. I gotta be more careful.
”Ah but you will.” I tell him and he laughed.
“Oh so you're some kinda psychic.” He says and I laughed too. I mean I sorta was!
“Well that’s my job.” I teased him. “Besides being an amateur writer, I'm a part time operator on the psychic hotline.” I laughed and he smiled.
“And the other time?” He asks and I grinned a little.
”I also work with a phone sex hotline.” I teased him as I leant forward on my elbows on the table and he leant forward too.
“So can I get your number?” He lowered his voice down and I laughed as I leant back once more. “No I'm serious Kat, I’d like to call you sometime.” He says as he nervously shuffled a sugar packet between his fingers…
“Are you asking me out?” I blurted out in disbelief and he dropped the sugar packet down a little embarrassed I suppose. “I didn’t mean it like that!” I say quickly and he leant back in his seat now too.
“No it’s okay.” He ran his hand through his hair and I could only imagine the thoughts going through his head now… One of those sites said something about him being awkward with girls. Great…
“No really, honestly, I would love to go out with you Gerard.” I tell him and he cocked his head to the side almost as if he didnt believe me.
“But?” He says encouraging me to go on.
“But, it’s just that I don't have a phone, and you asked for my number and you know.” I sighed a little. “I'm sorta like in limbo right now.” I tell him and he nodded.
“You didn’t work out your tuition thing?” He says and I looked blankly at him for a second. Fuck. Lying was hard. I forgot about telling him that…
“Um no… Not really.” I said and I quickly grabbed my cup and sipped from it. I should really be writing this shit down as I go, might make it easier. “But you know what?” I tell him as I glanced over at my laptop. “You give me a time, a date and a location and I promise I will be there…”
Gerard just looked at me for a second before laughing lightly. It was sorta a nervous laugh. Almost like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of me… I smiled stupidly back at him but god! What was I doing? Trying to set a date with him! I wasn’t prepared, not yet at least.
That was the whole point of me coming off to have to coffee. To sit and think and plan… I needed clothes like badly, and for that I would need money… Hmm, I wonder if I could rob a bank? Would that be wrong? Well yeah duh it would be wrong. It’s a federal offense…
But maybe something less offensive? Or less federal at least? A convenience store? That might work, but I would need a gun… Unless I'm like a burglar! A ‘Kat’ burglar! I laughed to myself, well sorta to myself. I was smiling at the thoughts in my head a little to widely I guess and it showed on my face.
“What is it?” Gerard asks and I looked up a little shocked that he was still sitting here. I had forgotten.
“Mmm, nothing. You know what, I gotta go.” I apologize to him as I stood up. I had to get out of here. Reorganize my thoughts a little.
“What? Why?” He went to reach like he was going to stop me.
“I'm running late. I'm sorry, I forgot.” I lie to him a little flustered as I grabbed my bag and my sweatshirt from the booth.
“Wait, you wanna take my number then?” He says and I smiled a little at him.
“Naw, we’ll run into each other again. I'm sure of it.” I tell him as I went to leave and then I paused a second. “Mmm thanks for the coffee Gerard.” I winked at him and then I don't know what possessed me to, but I leant over and kissed his cheek lightly. You’d think his skin would be smooth, with that cute little baby face of his. But it was sorta scruffy. Felt like he needed a shave. I took a deep breath in of him as I pulled back. His scent was intoxicating. There was no other word for it really…He sorta smiled back at me as I darted out the door.
God! Think Kat! Think! I yelled at myself as I walked down the street. Looked like we were in the city. Probably not to far from the Cartoon Network offices… I mean that’s where he said he was coming from. But I wasn’t really that familiar with the city.
I found myself thinking of this park that Kenny and I use to go to years ago when we were dating. It was right on the other side of the Hudson, in Jersey. They had benches and little trails and shit. I would go there often to think. It always seemed to give me inspiration for some reason. But they had torn it down a year or so ago to build some condos. But that was like 2007. It was 1999 now. That means it would still be there…
I ducked down a deserted alley and pulled my laptop out quickly. Probably not the best move, but whatever. I opened the screen and my mind went totally blank as the screen came up. I forgot what the name of that park was… Did it even have a name? I mean we would just call it ‘the park’ by his house.
Hmm… let’s try- ’May 10th, 1999, mid afternoon, Park in Jersey’... I typed it in and hit enter. Right away an error message came up.
“Multiple locations found. Please enter additional details.” I read softly out loud and frowned a little at the screen. I didn’t have any additional details to enter.
Okay how about. the one with Kenny. I added and I shrugged a little. I mean would my magical keyboard know which one that was? Well, there was only one way to find out. I put my finger on the enter button and squeezed my eyes shut as I pressed it. Suddenly the noise of the city faded and the only sound left was that of a bird chirping.
“Yes!” I cried out as I opened my eyes. I was in the park! The one by Kenny’s house too! Oh this was just way to easy. I totally had the hang of this.
“Kat? Is that you?” A voice called out and I slowly lifted my eyes up to the source.
Aw fuck… Maybe I didn’t quite have the hang of it yet…
“Aw hey Kenny…”