"That any way to treat a friend?"

"You’re not a fucking friend. That stupid ass potion you gave me didn’t work. Tina still left with Bette"

"Duh, why do you think I’m here?"

Eric’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "How did you know?"

The homeless man kept his head down so Eric could only see his blonde/grey beard.

"Does it matter? Now’s not the time to get smart. I told you to keep Tina away from Bette and you didn’t"

Eric sucked his teeth, "Its not that easy. She met Bette a totally different way than before. How the fuck was I supposed to know?"

The homeless man sighed and spoke low, "They always end up meeting somehow"

Eric looked at the homeless man as if he was crazy when a female voice came from the hallway.

"Baby? Baby who was at the door?"

Eric turned to the woman that had come out of his bedroom. He nearly ran over to her, grabbed her roughly by the arm and pushed her back inside.

"Stay here" He growled.

He quickly closed the door just as the homeless man leaned over to try and get a look. He saw a flash of red and a glimpse of her naked body before Eric closed the door. The homeless man laughed to himself.

"She’s cute"

Eric scowled as he walked back into the living room, "I don’t give a shit. She’s not Tina"

The homeless man shrugged, "That’s for sure. Have you at least TRIED to get her away from Bette?"

Eric nodded, "I have a plan set in motion. It won’t be long before Tina’s back on my doorstep"

The homeless man nodded, Eric could see a grin forming on his face, "Good. Just don’t sleep on Bette Porter. That’s why I’m gonna help you and see this through. She’s not winning this time"

Overcome with thoughts about his plan for Bette and Tina, he almost didn’t catch what the homeless man said. Finally, he looked at him suspiciously.

"Are you gonna tell me why you’re really helping me or what?"

The homeless man started to grind his teeth, "Just trust me"

"How am I gonna trust someone who doesn’t even show me his face?"

The homeless man grumbled, "You really are a selfish idiot. Never satisfied with what you have"

He walked up to Eric and pulled his hood off. He looked up at Eric, looking him straight in the eyes and watched as Eric was nearly floored with what he was looking at.

Eric looked into older, honey colored eyes. His face was much more wrinkled and covered in stress lines but his body type was more or less the same. His beard still had blonde hair but also had traces of grey. Eric felt like he was looking into a mirror, a time warped mirror.

Stunned, Eric tied to reach his hand up to touch the man’s face, or rather his own face when his hand was slapped away.

"Yes, we’re the same person. Get over it"

Eric scrunched up his eyebrows, "H-how?"

The older version of Eric shook his head, "We’ll get to that later. Tell me about your plan"