"Jake! It's so nice to see you!" Jake's sister Jen greeted as she hugged her brother. It was the next day, and the two of them had arrived at Jake's parent's house. Also known as Dylan's former parent's house. More of Jake's family soon came to the door to greet him while the former thief quietly looked on.
First, Jen's husband, Phil, was the next to come to the door. Then, Jake's parents have come to greet their son. Finally, two bouncing children, Jake's young nephew Ben and niece Aria came to ask all sorts of questions. Man, those two of them really grew in the past three years, huh? Dylan was feeling quite lonely as he observed the life that he had lost. Well, that was until all the attention shifted off Jake and on to him.
"Oh, you must be the man that Jake told us he was going to bring," Jen said. His former mother was always a social butterfly, so it wasn't a surprise to see she was the first one to greet him. Still, it was so strange for Dylan to be talking to his former mother like this.
"Uh... Yes. My Dylan Green. Jake told me all about you." Mainly because he used to be Jake, but that was the same difference, right? After he said that, however, the two children ran up to him and started asking all sorts of questions that children asked adults. Man, it was strange to think he was like this three years ago. Even if he wasn't conscious for most of that. Thankfully before Dylan could even speak, his former Grandfather Lloyd chimed in.
"Hey, now. Don't harass our guests. We don't want to scare him off now, don't we? Come on, why don't you show me your games again." The two children followed their Grandpa into the house. Then the husband, Phil, was next to greet Dylan.
"It's very nice to meet you, buddy. The name's Phil. Here let me carry your stuff for you." Dylan happily gave Phil his bags, while also cursing himself for feeling attraction towards Phil. First, he was having sex with his former self, and now he was attracted to his former father? Man, what a mess. Anyway, that left Dylan with Jake and the two woman.
"Well, why don't you join us for some Tea, Dylan?" Marina, his former grandmother, asked.
"That sounds lovely." The four of them then finally entered the houses and sat down in the living room. Another strange thing Dylan was experiencing was drinking tea. As a child, Dylan did not like tea at all, but as an adult, he found the flavor nice.
"So, Dylan," Marina began. "What do for a living?" Both Jen and Jake reacted in shock that their mother would ask something like this right off the bat, however, Dylan was prepared.
"Wow, going straight into the hard questions, huh? Well, I used to work for the Rosewall Shipping company, but then that got close down, as I'm sure you heard. So, I'm currently looking for new work." Dylan replied. Marina had an understanding look when he said that.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. You know I also have a friend who lost his job when Rosewall shut down. I'm sure you'll get back on your feet soon, so worry. " Dylan almost let out a sigh of relief when he heard Marina's response. Going over a cover story with Jake last night was really paying off.
"Please, excuse our mother. She can be quite nosey, but I guess she just wants the best for Jake," Jen piped up. Jake was looking quite embarrassed with everything going on around him. "So, why don't you tell us how you and Jake meet. I'm sure that's not a story that's as uncomfortable to answer as the last one."
"Well, you would be right. Though there isn't much of a story. We just ran each other at the gym one day. Although, at first, we couldn't stand one another. I guess things have a funny way of working out." Dylan then reached out and gave Jake's hand a bit of squeeze. Jake looked a bit panicked since that last part wasn't what they rehearsed, but he seemed to calm down when Dylan held his hand. Honestly, Dylan still didn't know what to think about Jake. He was a real piece of work when he was Chastity, or Chastain or whatever. But it seems like being in the mirror and living in this era really changed him.
"Well, we better unpack our stuff now," Dylan said after finishing his tea and then turned to Jake, "You said you had something to give to Aria, right?"
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot," Jake replied. The two then got up, thanked Marina for the tea, and headed to their room. At this point, Dylan had given up on using the mirror to do anything. He had to agree with Jake that it was too risky. However, now that he knew that his family came from a line of magic users. Perhaps there were other artifacts or spell books that could help him make his life better, or even free that thief from the mirror. Sure all magic had a cost, but if Dylan was the one performing the spell at least he could somewhat control it. It was better than leaving his fate up to the thief in the mirror, which Dylan should check in on later. Who knows what that thief will do if someone else finds him.