Wright Place At The Wright Time [Nate/Kat]

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver could not help but laugh at his folly.

Try as he might, Oliver could not ignore the lure of the challenge posed to him by Hayden Callaghan. Oliver wasn't entirely sure that Hayden was serious when he made the challenge in the first place - Build a flying skateboard. What fourteen year old could do that, anyway? Little did Hayden know that Oliver was no ordinary fourteen year old.

He'd created a machine that defied gravity once before, why not do it again?

Oliver could not turn down this mechanical challenge. He never was one to turn down such a challenge. He wanted to prove anyone who claimed that he couldn't do something wrong. Hayden had not claimed any such thing - As a matter of fact, the junior seemed to think it was a simple as adding wings to the skateboard. No, this time the challenge was coming from within himself. He wanted to do it to satisfy a curiosity, to see if it really could be done, and what it would take to do it.

Thus, the freshman had taken up the older (well, at least biologically) boy's offer of a skateboard to use for his experiments. In all honesty, Oliver wasn't sure if he would even be using Hayden's skateboard. It was Hayden who first suggested the idea to him, but if he did succeed, did he really want to show Hayden what he'd accomplished? It risked giving his true identity away, and if he gave his true identity away, the entire RSOR might be in danger of being found out.

Oh well, he'd get to that when the time came.

At the moment, Oliver was seated on his bunk, skateboard in lap and notebook sprawled open beside him. He was armed with a tape measure and a pencil at this moment in time, and was currently taking measurements of Hayden's skateboard, figuring that it was best to know what sort of dimensions he was working with when it came to a skateboard. He knew bicycles. He knew airplanes. He had to do a bit of research when it came to skateboards. Both of his roommates were out as far as he knew, and thus he did not feel as though he had to hide his work. Not that he would have to hide his work from Xelios anyway, as Xelios was a known reincarnate, but Nathan...Nathan Driscoll was an unknown variable.

Oliver could not shake a strange feeling when it came to this other boy. Though Oliver had not come across any blatant signs that the junior was another reincarnate, something just felt...off with Oliver. It was a feeling that he could only describe as...familiarity? Something about Nathan reminded him of someone else, someone from long ago, like an old friend he knew from elementary school but lost touch with over the years. That was the closest he could come to describing it, but he could also feel that there was so much more to it than that.

And it was frustrating the hell out of him.

There was nothing he could do it about it, however, unless he investigated more into the matter. Until Nathan gave him some sort of lead, did something out of the ordinary that made him stand out as a potential reincarnate, Oliver would have to leave be. He couldn't investigate with nothing to go on, after all.

Instead, he was jotting information down in his notebook. The page he was open to was covered in drawings and numbers. There were pictures of various models of skateboard, some with wings on them, some with what appeared to be rocket propulsion, some that looked more like vintage airplanes than skateboards. There were math problems scattered all over the pages between the pictures drawn, and then there was a diagram of the skateboard with various measurements in place. This was where Oliver was focusing at the moment. He set his pencil down once more and went to measure one of the wheels on Hayden's skateboard. Again, he was not entirely sure that he would be using Hayden's skateboard, but he could always use one with similar dimensions for his tests. He wanted to make sure he was thorough with this, as he knew from experience that it was very important to pay attention to detail. Each little detail could bring about a small mistake that one might elsewise have overlooked, which could have a huge impact in the long run.

Word count: 755
To: Nate/Kat
Notes: I'm a sucker for puns, what can I say? =P

[nathandriscoll]

Time is distorted in youth. An hour seems a day, a day a week, a week a month, a month a year, and a year infinity, an inevitable but far distant future. Childhood is built around dreaming, scheming grand plans and laying out the schematics of life, a play by play for each milestone, and how, when that sweet moment finally comes to pass it will be decidedly perfect. At thirteen no one considers pitfalls and setbacks. No one considers that life in itself is transitory and ever changing. Ideas that seemed so perfectly obvious and easy present their impossibility when the harsh reality of maturation is reached. Time that was once readily available for countless hours of dreaming is spent on living, really living. With age time tears off its mask, and rears its ugly head of truth. Time is short, time is fleeting, and with all the responsibilities in a busy world, time to oneself is a most precious prize, sought after wildly but only attained on rare, sweet occasions. Dreams of youth are pushed back a year, then another, and so very often fade into obscurity. Only those most persistent, most determined can dream and live simultaneously, and fight to bring both crashing into one another, to make dreams a reality.

Nathan Driscoll had been one of those people. In another life he, along with his brother, had with a dream and determination made the impossible a reality, they had invented the airplane. It seemed in the very least, that much of that persistent spirit had carried over into this life. If he could invent the airplane, why could not he, of all people, make other things fly? Some three years ago the idea had come into his mind to invent the first flying car. Of course, he had not been the first to imagine the idea. He had poured over science journals, reading up on the progress other prospective inventors had made. He saw one vehicle that looked like a rocket, some sort of plane and car hybrid. It had the ability to hover, and though it seemed a great advancement to the scientific community, in Nathan’s eyes, it simply fell short.

Of course he was fully aware it had taken many years and many failures before he and Orville had invented a successful airplane, but at least in this endeavour, he was sure to have an advantage. He spent nearly all of his life reading up on the advancements made to his and his brother’s initial design. He had built numerous miniature working models of airplanes from scratch (and the lack of space in his bedroom back home lay testament to it). Thus, when the idea first came to him at thirteen to be the first man to invent a successful flying car that actually flew, it seemed quite easy. He would use his substantial knowledge of aeronautics to build it, starting small with working models until finally working up to the real thing. He was certain by the time he was twenty he would present his fully functional flying car to the scientific community, and have his name put down in the history books for the second time around.

But as it had proven to all young dreamers, time passed much more quickly than initially anticipated. Nathan was sixteen now, and was nowhere near to testing his ideas on real cars. Of course, he had taken some time off from his daunting project when his mother had passed, but even so, he had hoped to be further along than he was. He persistence came and went with waves of depression, and with a disheartening feeling, he resigned himself to the fact, that all of his prior experience gave him only the smallest edge over his competition. Advancements in aeronautics were great, and he knew that. Though however much he may have read on newer models of airplanes, he was no closer to actually working on a real one. Perhaps that was the most major of his many reasons as to why he had not come that far.

Still, he had no intentions of giving up, however frustrating it might be. Though he thought it may have been easier were his brother around to work with him again. But that in itself was a most impossible dream. Orville, had he even been reincarnated at all, could be anywhere in the world, much older or much younger than Nathan was. He was on his own this time. It gave him a bit of hope that in these three years he had managed to start testing on remote control cars. Even though it was not two tons of metal with 300 horsepower, it was better than a drawing in a notebook, and thus was a push forward. Yet it seemed, that at this point, Nathan was stuck on the remote control cars. He had picked up a new tester at the mall in Riverdale some two weeks ago, and had begun to toy with it, taking it apart and rebuilding it based on the designs in his notebook. This was a heavier car than his previous testers, and up until this point, he had barely managed to keep it in the air for longer than a minute.

Not quite certain how the school would feel about him testing his cars in the hallways, especially now that they were getting larger, Nathan had attempted another generally unsuccessful flight on the grounds. His car nearly meeting a completely mangled end as it lost altitude too close to a tree branch. One of the wings he had attached to it ripped off, and the propeller (which he had been unable to retrieve) still remained lodged in the tree. So picking up the wreckage of his vehicle Nathan headed back to his dorm, the broken wing and his notebook tucked under his arm. Perhaps before starting any homework he would draw up new plans for modifications, and spend the weekend rebuilding the car. With any luck his roommates would be out. Odd enough as he seemed to most people, he did not particularly desire odd looks from the people he had to live with because of his peculiar hobbies. He had yet to show either of the boys in his dorm his remodeled cars, trying to keep his closet obsession with aeronautics a secret. Most often if anyone asked when he was drawing up schematics for his cars, he told them it was for a class. Usually the subject was dropped at that. He supposed if any of his roommates asked, he could say he collected remote control cars as a hobby, so long as they did not see the wings on them.

Guessing his dorm would still be empty now, Nathan pushed the door open with much difficulty, kicking it shut as he fumbled to get a grip on all the pieces of his car. Unbeknownst to him, his notebook slipped out of his grasp and onto the floor as he hurried to get a better hold on the broken wing as it slipped from his grasp. So determined with getting the car put away as quickly as possible, he did not immediately notice that he was not alone, though when he did. “Oh…uh…hi.” He looked over at his roommate, Oliver Winchester, a freshman. He had papers strewn out about him, and a notebook open, leading Nathan to assume he was working on homework. Nathan glanced awkwardly from side to side, wondering how he could explain himself. If he had worked so hard to keep his roommates from finding him strange, he would have certainly failed now. He shuffled slightly to the side, hoping Oliver would not elaborate on the car in his arms. Though Oliver himself seemed to have his own oddities, Nathan was not particularly keen on sharing his, especially after his experiment had just failed.

tagged; Oliver
words; 1, 318
lyrics; demolition lovers by mcr
notes; More inspiration than I thought I had xD

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver continued to measure the skateboard, all the while pondering where to even start. As simple as Hayden figured this to be, it was not as simple as adding wings to the skateboard. Especially if Hayden wanted to remain in the air for longer than a few seconds.

This, of course, was assuming that Oliver would tell Hayden of his successes. Much to his chagrin, Oliver would more than likely have to keep them a secret, because really, what kind of fourteen year old could design a flying skateboard?

Orville Wright reincarnated, perhaps.

Oliver remained within his own thoughts, adding what he deemed to be the final measurement (for now at least), until he heard a commotion over at the door of the dorm. The teenager observed none other than Nathan Driscoll struggling to get ahold of a remote control car. Though Nate tried to hide it, Oliver still caught a glimpse of one wing hanging off the side of the remote control car. This was curious, and definitely caught his interest.

The freshman started forward, under the pretense of helping Nate pick up his scattered things, but in all honesty he wanted to get closer to that car. Oliver bent down to pick up Nate's notebook. As he did, he was hit with the shock of a lifetime. Schematics, much like the ones that he drew within his own notebook. Only these seemed to be for a car with wings and...a propeller?

A flying car?

This wasn't the only thing that caught Oliver's attention. He knew that he was staring at the notebook for perhaps a bit too long, but he could not help it. Every time that he thought he was finished mulling it over, he caught note of something new. In this case, it was the writing. It was distinctly familiar, in a way that Oliver found odd. He and Nate had not been around each other enough to get an idea of each other's handwriting.

"Cool flying car,"[/color] Oliver commented with a small smile, but his eyes carried a searching look, at both the car and at Nathan himself. Oliver had never experienced anything like this before. Maybe Nate was a reincarnate. In Oliver's experience, when he came across peculiarities such as this, it would be enough for Oliver to search a bit further into the idea that whoever he was talking to might be a reincarnate. While this was the case with Nate, there was something else there as well.

Now, more than ever, Oliver could not shake the feeling that everything about Nathan screamed familiarity. He was not sure what to make of this sensation. He wasn't sure where to even begin.

Making conversation seemed like a logical start.

Peering down at the schematics one last time, Oliver made to hand the notebook back over to his roommate. "I couldn't help but notice that you added a fixed tail to your model,"[/color] Oliver started, unable to stop himself. He knew he had a secret to keep, but something was pushing him to keep talking, and far be it from him to stop it. "In my exper- er, I mean, from what I've read, a movable tail will work a lot better for control."[/color] Oliver managed a small smile, though if Nate were to look closely at the hand holding the notebook, he might spot that Oliver was in fact shaking. Why did he feel like this? Why had he taken such a leap? The most logical explanation was, of course, that Oliver had gotten a bit overly excited at the sight of another person working on a sort of flying machine - but that wasn't it. Well, it wasn't everything, at least. Something was compelling him to share this information with Nate. He looked Nate in the eye, and caught something there. He didn't know what it was yet, but he could not pull his eyes away no matter how hard he tried. "Here,"[/color] He blurted out, referring to the notebook, though it was only a side note at this point. What the hell was going on?

Word count: 720
To: Nate/Kat
Notes: I'm proud of myself for how quickly I got this done after just getting up, haha. XD