Jack

**Jack** is the protagonist of the episode One More Minute by Creeped Out's second season.

Jack is a typical teenage boy. He appears to be clever, friendly, and slightly reserved around his crush, Carrie. He has two best friends named Carlos and Rich, with whom he often plays the video game Kingdom of Teven. Jack has a caring relationship with his mother, and is close to his younger brother, Aiden. Jack, Aiden and their mother live in a small apartment together.

Jack shows a mischievous streak when, after being told it is time for bed by his mother, he instead blocks his door so the light won't show through and gets back onto Kingdom of Teven. Carlos and Rich both decide it's time to get off the game, so Jack has to find other players online. He greets and begins playing with a mysterious player who seems to always be online called Paladin.

Some time later, at school, Carlos invites both Jack and Carrie to his party that Sunday. The day of the party, which starts at 6 PM, Jack plays with the Paladin. His mother tells him to go soon or he will be late, but he isn't worried, sure it will only be a quick 15 minute game. However, Aiden soon appears and asks how the party was. Jack looks at the clock and sees that it is now 10 PM. Jack looks at his mobile phone and sees dozens of texts and missed calls from Carlos, Rich, and Carrie. He is confused and upset.

The next day, when his friends ask him why he wasn’t at the party, Jack lies and tells them that he accidentally locked himself in his bathroom, making his friends laugh. Carrie then tells Jack that she recently downloaded the video game and was wondering if he could teach her how to play. Jack invites her to play the video game with him and his friends. They all play together, but eventually the others leave to go do various night time activities. Once again, Jack continues playing with the Paladin.

Suddenly, his mother enters, frustrated at Jack, and tells him to go to the kitchen. Jack looks at the calendar and sees that even though it should be February 6th as it was when he started playing, it now reads March 6th. Jack is disoriented and confused as his mother asks why he is getting bad grades at school and being distant with her and Aiden, caring only about going straight to his room to play Teven. At school, Jack's friends are angry with him as well. He has apparently falsely claimed to be sick and missed 10 days of school, has barely spoken to Rich and Carlos all month, and was mean to Carrie, who is now dating Carlos. Jack apologizes to his friends, explaining that he doesn't remember doing any of these things. They seem skeptical but decide to tentatively forgive him. At home, Jack makes dinner for Aiden and his mother to show he is sorry.

Seemingly a few days later, Jack is giving Aiden a turn on Teven with Carlos and Rich. After Aiden and his friends leave the game in order to go to bed, Jack again plays with Paladin. This time, as he stops playing, he finds himself in a completely different room. Jack notices that he appears much older in his reflection. Aiden enters, now a teenager, and tell him to get ready for school; at the breakfast table, he sees that his mother has a new partner named Bob. Jack is familiar with none of this, but there is a framed photo on the wall of 18 year old Jack, 16 year old Aiden, his mother, and Bob. Jack explains to Aiden that he has no memory of the past 5 years, but Aiden, annoyed at a brother who has been ignoring him for years to play video games, doesn't quite believe him. He seems to think Jack is having a sort of mental breakdown. Jack then asks if he is a bad brother, to which Aiden replies that he simply doesn't know him.

At school, Jack comes across an older Carlos. Carlos is angry at Jack for approaching him and claims they are not friends anymore as Jack cared about nothing but Teven. He says Rich moved away years ago, and he and Carrie broke up before high school. Jack goes to take his math final, but he doesn't recognize any of the math, as he is still mentally his 13 year old self. Jack argues with his teacher and gets sent home.

His mother forgives Jack for his outburst at school, seeing that he is clearly distressed. At home, Aiden and Jack come to an understanding, and Aiden agrees to give his brother another chance, seeing that he really believes he only experiences the last few years as ten minutes playing a video game. Aiden invites Jack to go get pizza, jokingly saying as he leaves to get ready that he hopes Jack can pull himself away from the new Teven update for long enough

After Aiden leaves, Jack hears the Paladin talking, even though his TV is off and his headset unplugged. Jack asks who the Paladin is and he answers that he is Jack. The Paladin temps Jack with the game, saying that Teven is a world where he really belongs, as opposed to the real world where he is now hopelessly confused and an outcast. He tells Jack the game will let him escape. Jack seems to be listening and starts to turn on the game. Aiden returns to ask Jack if he's ready, and is hurt seeing that Jack is about to abandon their plans again. The Paladin tells Jack he has a choice, and Jack looks back and forth between Aiden and the screen, unsure of what to do.