A/N: WARNING: This chapter reveals some parts of how The One Series ends. Not all of it, just some. Consider yourself warned.

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ChapterFour

September 2020

Andrew got in line at the cafeteria. He saw the food displayed like a buffet. It looked fresh and ready to eat. Not the rubbery mystery meat from Beacon Hill Secondary.

After he paid for the food, he saw one of the girls he ran into talking to another girl and some weird-looking blond guy. It seemed he was from another time period too, one far from the past.

He walked up to them, ready to put on his act as the arrogant ass. Plus, he had questions, and the two modern-looking girls had answers.

Andrew smirked, "Ladies, blonde guy."

The three looked up at him, seemingly shocked by his behavior. He asked, "Can I join? I got questions. You all got answers."

One of the girls asked, "Why?"

Andrew eyed the thing in her hands. He asked, "Is what you're holding a phone? It looks like it."

"This? Yeah, it's the latest iPhone. Why?"

Andrew raised an eyebrow. Maybe he wasn't supposed to know that, but he was too curious about his future. He asked, "Like an iPod?"

"I guess? I mean, it's from the same brand."

Andrew nodded his head, and said, "Well, the name's Andrew Hawthorne. I'm sure you know who I am by now."

"I know," she said, seemingly warily, "I'm Cora. I'm sure you forgot my name."

He said sheepishly, "Yeah, I kind of did. Sorry."

The other girl said, "I'm Alanna. This guy here is Gideon."

Andrew looked at him. He could be cute if he just got a haircut and wore Abercrombies.

Cora asked, "Why are you asking about my phone?"

Andrew chewed on his lip ring. He could feel what he wanted to do could be dangerous, but he had to know. He needed to know his future. Maybe he could contact his thirty-one-year-old self. Was he married? To who? Does he have kids? What does his career look like? He was sure UTurn probably split up long ago, but when was the question. Knowing Alyson, the band probably lasted for a total of ten years.

He asked nervously, "Can...can I see what I'm like now in 2020?"

Cora's eyes widened. He added, "I'm from 2006. I'm not this Gen-Z kid; I'm a Millennial, which would make me thirty-one now."

He watched the two girls do finger-swiping motions on their phones. It was strange. He didn't see buttons on their phones, unlike his BlackBerry. No, these phones were clearly from the future.

Cora looked up, and showed him the screen of her phone. She said, "I'm on this app called Instagram. I found your profile."

"Can I hold the phone?"

"Sure, but don't drop it. iPhones break too easily."

Andrew held the phone carefully. He saw his profile picture. He had subtle facial hair and much shorter hair with a smoldering look in his face. He gently touched the screen, scrolling down to see the photos. He figured this was a photo-posting social media platform. Sure, on MySpace, one could post photos and such, but this one was all pictures.

He saw the photos. Some of them were of himself, either looking casual or looking sexy with his ass sticking out. His body was clearly bigger with both muscular arms and a six-pack. He knew he was on his way there, but to see his final form was shocking.

He saw other photos of himself with a woman. She looked like Alyson based on her facial features. Her hair was much darker, no longer the blonde ambition she was at seventeen. He noticed a photo of two hands. He clicked on it, seeing wedding bands. He tapped on the photo to see Alyson's name tagged on it. He was married to her.

Andrew could feel himself getting emotional. He was going to be married to the love of his life one day. He wasn't sure when that would happen, but he knew it was going to happen.

He tapped on his profile photo, wanting to see if they have kids. He saw a total of three children: A boy who looked to be about ten-ish, another boy who seemed like he was around five, and a baby girl. The two younger kids shared both his and Alyson's features: Black hair and blue eyes on his side, and curly hair from Alyson's side. Yet the older boy had flat, straight hair. He looked like he belonged to another woman.

The conclusion he came to was that he got another woman pregnant when he was in his early twenties. Why? He would have to see when he gets there. It seemed his 2020 self had nothing to do with that woman, and that he and Alyson shared custody of the boy.

Curious, Andrew wanted to know what Alex was doing now in 2020. He handed the phone to Cora, and asked, "Can you look up Alex Tredinnick for me on this Instagram thingy?"

He watched do what seemed like typing on her phone. She handed the phone back to him. Andrew saw Alex's hair was no longer blonde, but dark brown. It suited him well. He noticed Alex also had facial hair, and had larger arms and a six-pack. Interestingly, he saw photos of Alex holding a black dog; sexy photos of himself; some dance videos from something called "TikTok"; and a recent photo of him and another man.

He tapped on the photo, and read the caption. It was the first time Alex had shown his boyfriend. They both seemed very happy with each other. Alex seemed have come out, most likely as gay, and grew comfortable with his truth.

A part of Andrew felt proud of Alex. It was something that was bound to happen. Yet the other part of him felt bad for Amanda. He knew her relationship with Alex was on a path to eventually end, but when and how was the question. He could only hope Libby had nothing to do with it.

Andrew looked up at the group. He could tell they seemed concerned for him. He asked Cora, "Can...can I DM myself?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Alanna asked.

"I don't know," Andrew replied nervously. "I don't want to do anything that hurt both of us."

"Then maybe it's best to leave him alone."

Andrew nodded his head as he slouched in his chair. He wasn't sure what to do next. He just knew he couldn't tell Amanda who Alex had become in 2020. It was better to let those two deal with that in 2006 than sometime in the strange future.