Chapter 15: Symptoms
2027 ‖ Washington DC, MD
Cameron steps into his apartment, well, the apartment of his future self, and immediately wants to walk out again.
Fuck these dreams or whatever they are. He's sick of his brain ripping him out of reality just to hold its middle finger in front of his eyes.
It confuses him, it messes with his memory and robs him of healthy sleep.
But it's not just that.
Every time he travels through time - if that is even what's happening - he meets Kaz.
And that is the last thing he wants to do right now.
Where is he? Chicago again?
He hears the waddling of four soft paws and a dog appears in the doorway that apparently leads to the living room. Cameron doesn't know why but a warm joy fills his body.
"Toby!" The dog answers him with an excited woof and runs over. "I'm sorry I'm late bud. Are you hungry?"
He freezes.
Where did these words come from? They left Cameron's lips without his permission.
Toby doesn't care about his owner standing in the middle of the hallway, startled, looking like a pale ghost, and is now waggling his dark brown tail.
Scary.
Cameron doesn't like how the intruder in his brain seems to be gaining control. He can already speak without Cameron having a chance of stopping him. Or maybe he's just trying to give guidance?
Cameron shakes his head, he doesn't want to think about it.
After some searching, he finds the bag with Toby's dog food and fills up his bowl. And then he feels how hungry he is himself.
He opens the plain white fridge to see what's inside. A lot of veggies, some chicken breast, jam, a frozen pizza and oh - leftovers! He takes a closer look at the plate. Fish with steamed potatoes?
In that exact moment, Cameron wishes from the bottom of his heart that this is not his future, that he is not traveling through time, he hopes that it's just a weird dream.
Yes, a balanced diet is important but he doesn't recognize the picture of the man that this fridge is painting.
The doorbell rings and rips Cameron out of his thoughts that were starting to slowly spiral into an uncomfortable mindest.
He wants to go open it but after a few steps, he stops. Should he really risk it?
Whoever is on the other side of the door could be someone who knows his future self. But Cameron won't know them. What if it's a friend or a neighbor? What if they ask him something he can't answer?
He should just act sick and send them away. Good idea.
The doorbell rings again and he takes a deep breath. Cameron walks to the door, grabs the handle, and opens it.
When he sees who's standing there, looking up into his face, he nearly throws it shut again.
He freezes.
"Hey."
No.
The green eyes seem nervous and wander restlessly from one point to another, trying to not get stuck on anything, like a wasp circling honey.
"I don't know if you remember me. We met a week ago. During my shift. You...I thought you wanted to buy weed." Kaz looks down at his hands.
Enough. Cameron is sick of it. He's done with this shit. Every single fucking time. Kaz is everywhere.
And he never seems to remember him. Cameron wants to scream, shake him, punch him in the face, do something that will end this infinite circle of confusion, and hurt feelings.
"I'm sorry but I'm kind of busy right-"
"Wait! Please!"
Cameron sighs and stops. This is too much. He needs to be consequent and tell Kaz to leave him alone.
"I know we only met once but...I need your help."
But then Kaz looks up, into his eyes. And Cameron sees the pain through his pupils, like a trembling dark hole behind green water.
Even though he knows that its a mistake, Cameron isn't strong enough to send him away.
"What do you need?"
Kaz raises his right hand. He is carrying a backpack.
"I need a place to stay. Some guy...I owe him some money. Not a lot. But he's mad. And he was at my place. He is looking for me. With his people. If they find me, they'll beat me up. Or kill me I guess. I heard them in the hallway but jumped out of the window before they broke in. I can't go back there. They are just waiting for me to come home."
Cameron takes a deep breath. This can't be real. The whole "owing someone money and now they are coming to get you" is something that happens in movies or books. Or dreams.
But this is not a dream.
But given the silver hairpin, he gets a feeling that this might not be a dream after all. This is real life. And the sooner Cameron accepts it, the quicker he can start figuring out why this is happening and how he can stop it.
"How do you know where I live?"
Kaz looks down at his hands again, playing with the fabric of his red hoodie.
"You looked familiar from the beginning but I couldn't figure out where I had seen you before. When I went home the day we met, I saw the posters and realized that it's you. You know, the ones with 'A healthy body equals a happy mind'. And then, when they came yesterday, I went to an Internet cafe and did some research. It wasn't that hard to find your address."
Cameron starts to feel overwhelmed with all the information.
There are posters of him hanging around in the city? And what is that slogan? Unoriginal. And is his address really that easy to find out, should he be worried?
"Why me? Don't you have any family or friends?"
"No, I...I don't have a family. And I can't stay at any of my friends' places, they'd find me there."
Cameron sighs again. He has no choice, huh?
If he sends Kaz away, he'll either get killed or has to sleep on the street. And he can't allow that to happen. Doesn't matter if this is reality or pure fabrication.
This is Kaz after all. And when it comes to Kaz, Cameron can't say no.
He steps to the side to let the young man through. The red head's eyes widen.
"Really?" "Yes, and now come in before I change my mind."
Kaz enters the hallway and looks around while taking his shoes off. Cameron doesn't know what to say. Luckily the awkward silence is being interrupted by four white paws waddling closer.
Toby checks Kaz with his eyes, jumps up and down in excitment and then hops over to him.
"Oh, you have a dog! What's their name?" Kaz kneels down to pet him. The dog doesn't seem apprehensive at all. His tail is waggling again.
"Toby."
"That's a cool name. Hey look, he seems to like me!" Toby puts his head onto Kaz' knees and starts to pant in excitement.
"Yeah as if you guys have met before. Anyway, you should take a shower. Sorry dude but you smell."
Kaz rolls his eyes and gets up. "What do you think someone who slept on the street and had no clothes to change smells of? Fabric softener?" Fair enough.
"I'll give you some of my clothes. Bathroom is the first door on the right. But first I'd like to set up some rules." Kaz nods. "Sure."
"Okay. During the time you're here I don't want to see any kind of drugs and I don't want you to consume them either. Okay? Also, obviously no stealing or murdering Toby or me in our sleep. If you break any of them, I'll call the police."
Kaz looks annoyed. But he sighs in defeat. "Alright. You can search my backpack and clothes while I'm in the shower. I only have some weed with me."
"Okay go flush that down the toilet."
Now he looks pissed.
"Seriously? But weed is harmless!"
Cameron doesn't answer, he just crosses his arms.
"Fine." Kaz pulls out a little bag and then turns around to go to the bathroom.
As soon as he has closed the door, Cameron kneels down next to the backpack. Maybe this is finally his chance to find out what is happening. Or he could at least find out more about future Kaz.
He opens the main compartment but to his disappointment, it's almost empty. He pulls out a water bottle and a pack of cookies. There are also a phone charger and a black wallet. Cameron opens it. A few dollars, an ibuprofen, a key, probably the one to Kaz' apartment, a credit card, and his ID. And a piece of paper where an address has been scribbled onto. Cameron's address?
He looks closer at the ID. Kaz looks cute in the picture. It must have been taken a while ago. The expiration date is June of 2030.
He puts the wallet back into the backpack. The small compartment in the front is empty. Dammit. Cameron gets up and knocks against the bathroom door. He can hear the turned on shower through the wood.
"Are you hungry? I mean, I'll force you to eat anyway so I don't actually care about your answer. I'm just trying to be nice."
It takes a second before he hears a response.
"Thanks, dad."
Cameron rolls his eyes and then goes into the kitchen to take the fish out of the fridge. The cold of the fridge has given it a grey color and the potatoes look a bit sad but hey, maybe future him is actually a good chef and this will taste good. And Kaz looks like he could use the vitamins. Or just food in general.
But what is he going to eat himself? Cameron looks around and sees a pack of toast on the kitchen counter. Jam sandwich? Not the greatest dinner but whatever.
He puts the fish into the microwave and makes his sandwiches. Toby joins him and watches his movements.
Hey, Cameron might be a boring dietitian in the future with no friends and a junkie on his couch but at least he's got a cute dog.
When the food is done, he puts the plates onto the coffee table in the living room and turns on the TV. Then Cameron remembers that he promised Kaz some clean clothes. His wardrobe is full of shirts, hoodies, and button-ups.
He pulls out a pair of sweat pants, boxers, socks, and a random shirt and puts it in fro
Then he falls onto his couch and zaps through the different channels. Cameron decides to stick with the sports channel for now and starts chewing on his sandwich. Only a few minutes later he hears steps approaching.
"Seriously? Red Hot Chili Peppers?" Cameron turns around but before he can cringe about himself for apparently listening to that band, his heart stops at the sight of Kaz wearing his clothes. He looks so small and fragile. And yet so goddamn hot.
"I...uh...yeah. Why not?" Kaz chuckles and falls down next to him.
He looks at the plate.
"I'm not hungry." "Did you eat already?" He shakes his head.
Suddenly his voice is very quiet.
"I'm...I'm currently trying to get away from...coke. I haven't taken any in two weeks. Because I have no money. And I thought that maybe it's a sign for me to stop. It's really hard but I'm trying. But yeah I'm experiencing some withdrawal symptoms. I'm not hungry anymore. You know?"
Cameron wants to put his arm around him and pull him closer but he holds back. After all, they barely know each other. In Kaz' eyes.
"You still need to eat. Just because you don't feel it doesn't mean your body doesn't need it." Kaz nods. "I know." He picks up the plate and sticks the fork into the fish. "Thank you."
He takes a bite and Cameron can feel a shiver of relief going through his body when he sees Kaz swallow it.
"Yeah don't worry, just leftovers from yesterday."
"No, I mean thank you for everything. I still can't believe you actually said yes and gave me a place to stay. That's kind. Why are you so nice to me?"
Because I love you and would never do anything that could harm you.
"I don't know to be honest. We...don't know each other but you seem cool and, well...I don't want you to die." Kaz nods.
Then they sit in silence, eating while watching a random football game. Cameron is happy when he sees that Kaz nearly almost his plate.
When he looks over to the redhead he sees that his eyes are half-closed and that he has pulled his knees up to his chin.
"You look tired." Kaz answers with a mhm. "You can sleep on the couch. I'll get you a blanket."
Cameron gets up and takes the plates into the kitchen. Then he opens the wardrobe in his bedroom and pulls out a blanket and a flat pillow. Apparently, that's all he has.
He goes back into the living room and hands them over to Kaz who gives him a small smile. "Thanks."
Cameron turns off the TV and the light on the ceiling. Toby walks over to his own bed and lies down. Kaz has to smile while looking at the dog.
The intruder speaks up.
"See, you even got a roommate. Let's just hope he won't fart in his sleep. He tends to do that. That is why he doesn't sleep in my room."
Kaz chuckles and puts down his pillow. "I think I'll be able to handle it. Night." He takes off the sweat pants and snuggles into the blanket.
"Goodnight."
~~~~~~~~~~
At first, Cameron heard soft snores coming from the living room after he was done washing the plates. He felt tired but didn't want to sleep yet. He was waiting for him to jump back into the present. But after using the toilet, he noticed that the snoring had turned into murmuring.
Is Kaz in a phone call? Or are there other people? Did he not lock the door?
He slowly walks through the hallway and grabs an umbrella. No need to walk into a drug baron without any sort of protection.
He grabs the handle, pushes it down, and leans against the door. It slowly opens.
The street lights shine through the windows and illuminate the room. But he can't see anyone.
Toby is still in his bed and Kaz is on the couch.
But his sleep isn't calm at all.
He throws himself from one side to the other. Kaz whimpers. Is he crying? The sounds leaving his throat sound smothered.
Is he having a nightmare? Is that one of the symptoms Kaz was talking about? Should Cameron wake him up?
He walks closer and kneels down next to Kaz. His face is wet and he is grabbing the blanket.
"Please. Please. Don't." His voice is vibrating.
Cameron puts a hand on his shoulder and starts to shake him softly.
"Kaz. Wake up. Kaz."
It takes a while until his eyes slowly open and a bit longer until he seems to realize where he is.
"Cameron?"
"I'm sorry, you had a nightmare. Are you okay?"
Kaz starts sobbing. "P-p-please stay. I c-c-can't-" "Ssh, I'm here. I'll stay. You're safe, I promise."
Kaz robs a bit away so Cameron can lay down next to him. As soon as he has put the blanket over them he can feel Kaz' hands grabbing his shirt and to cry against his chest.
"I'm s-s-sorry." "Ssh, don't worry. I'm here."
He puts his arms around Kaz and pulls him closer.
"It's going to be alright."
He listens to Kaz' sobbing while slowly running his fingers through his hair. It takes a while but then the sobs become fewer and quieter. A bit later Kaz' breathing is deep and rhythmic again.
He has fallen asleep.
And then the tiredness pulls Cameron's eyes shut as well.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone