Stanley quickly closed the book and looked at his clammy hands. His heart pounded twice as fast upon reading it. He looked up and noticed Jordan's eyes widening and taking a step backward.

"I think I understand now what she means..." Stanley muttered under his breath.

"What are you talking about?" Jordan questioned, not sure where he went with this.

"Hey, what are you two doing down there?" A voice called out from above.

Stanley and Jordan looked up; Hilary watched them from her room with the window open. She squinted her eyes and noticed that they both had something in their hands; it looked familiar.

"What's that you got over there? Hold up, don't go anywhere!" Hilary shut the window and stormed out of her room.

"He did it!" Jordan pointed and ran away from the premises, leaving Stanley alone and offended.

"Hey, wait!" Stanley exclaimed. He looked around as his face was beaded with sweat.

"You there." A voice called out to him. He turned to find Hilary standing outside the apartment complex. "I didn't think you'd stay out here, so thanks." She said with a sincere smile.

"Oh, it's no problem."

"I could've sworn you had a book in your hands, but—"

"Yeah." Stanley interrupted, raising the book in the air. "Is this yours?"

Hilary's mouth gaped upon noticing it. But she shook her head shortly after. "N-No, I've never seen it before."

"Sorry, I thought it looked similar, and it's also cute." Stanley turned away, his face tickled pink.

"You know what I think?" Hilary pointed to the book. "I think you should throw it away."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Why, though?" Stanley asked. "It seems important."

"You read that, didn't you?"

"Uh, truth or lie?" Stanley joked. Hilary glared at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to!" He cried out in desperation. "I can explain!"

"Did you read all of it?" Hilary inquired, arching her eyebrows.

"Only the last couple of pages."

"Then I guess you know?"

"It's true, I understand. But I had no idea this whole time..."

"Thank goodness." Hilary sighed in relief. "I thought I was the only one who knew about this situation. I was ready to…” She paused. “Give up on everything." Her voice trembled as her body quivered. "I didn't know what to do; I just wanted something to happen or change."

"No, I don't think any of this can be a coincidence," Stanley informed her, stroking his chin. "There's got to be something that's triggering them."

"Well, now that you mention it, I've noticed that different things seem to change in each timeline," Hilary recalled. "Not only that, but that Jordan fellow is the only one that doesn't seem to act the same."

"Then perhaps he could have something to do with all this. We should keep a close eye on him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Well, yeah, we need to find out what and where the cause is. He might know the answer to the catastrophe or could be the one that..."

"I like the plan." Hilary nodded in agreement. "If we work together, we can solve it in no time."

"Sounds good," Stanley agreed. "We should go over the details tomorrow."

"It's getting late, so we should head to bed."

"Oh, before we part, would you like your journal?"

"Sure, thank you."

Stanley handed it over to her, and they headed to the apartment before going their separate ways to the dorms.

Meanwhile, from a distance, Jordan peeked from the wall he hid behind, making sure the coast was clear. He couldn't believe what he overheard between the two of them. Not only did Stanley not get in trouble, but now he and Hilary plan on working together to stop him and the plans he made.

Jordan found himself in a bind, unsure of what to do now. Just when he lost all hope, a soft voice echoed, calling to him from the ominous shadows behind him.

"Is something the matter, Jordan?" The voice asked.

Jordan turned to face the darkness. The only thing he could see through it was piercing yellow eyes. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?”