Chapter XX

“We spent the happiest times of my life together, and we fought and bled together in our efforts to fight the Ijirians! You three were some of my closest friends, so I’ll be damned if I let you suffer in this fucked up world any longer than you already have! Do you hear me?! Vinny? Liz? Damien? Magic is real and we are the Magic Club!”

Lilly Harper’s words and the passion in which she spoke refused to leave Liz’s thoughts, and no matter how many times she tried to brush them aside as the insane ramblings of a troubled girl, she just couldn’t stop herself from thinking about them. She knew she should have been more hung up on the magic she displayed. Everything she did to Damien, to the curtains, and with those balls of light were impossible so Liz knew that she should have been struggling to wrap her head around it, but instead, she was stuck on Lilly’s declaration that they were friends and that she loved them. She and Lilly Harper didn’t know each other. They weren’t friends and they had never been.

So why…did I get so emotional when she said that? Why did it feel like I was reuniting with somebody I care about? And this Eric Reiner—this boy she says started our Magic Club… I feel like I do know him. He sounds familiar, like it’s on the tip of my tongue…

Liz clenched her teeth as she strode down the halls of West Wilham High the day after the events in Mr. Lowe’s classroom. It was their lunch period and where she would normally be sitting in Mrs. Lee’s room, enjoying her meal with Charlotte and Ashley, on that particular day, she was instead searching for somebody.

I need to talk to Clark. I know Mickelson isn’t here today, so he’s my only option. I don’t know where he eats lunch, but I have to find him and see what he thinks about all this. I can’t be the only one…who feels like Harper might not be lying…

She knew it was ridiculous to think that she was an alternate version of her real self—that her friendship with Charlotte and Ashley was fake and that her entire high school experience was fabricated by magic. She didn’t want to believe that because if it were true, then what did that mean for her? Was she just an imposter of the real Elizabeth Tao? Was she an invader in her own life, a barrier between her real personality and her body? That thought terrified her and yet, in a weird way, she couldn’t deny that there was an odd sense of comfort as well.

She truly did love Charlotte and Ashley. They were her best friends and they had always been there for her. She liked being popular and she liked having as many friends as she did. Yet, she had always known that there was something wrong with her. She never felt like she fit in with them, and that her popularity at school wasn’t as great as she thought it would be. She had everything she could ever ask for, and yet none of it felt satisfying. It felt like she was piloting a life that wasn’t hers, and that no matter what she did, she would never understand why.

After all, what more could she ask for?

So…what if this is the reason why? What if I am a fake? What if I don’t fit in because this isn’t where I’m supposed to be? I mean, I can’t deny that a Magic Club sounds like fun. And Harper showed us just how real magic is…

Liz stopped in the middle of the second floor hallway, noticing the boy she was looking for just up ahead, sitting alone with his back up against the wall as he munched on an apple. She could already tell that there was an unspoken rule by the students in the hall to keep their distance, so there wasn’t anybody else within twenty yards of him. Damien’s eyes seemed distant, as if he was eating on autopilot and not processing what he was actually doing. Everybody else avoided him, but she walked forward without a care in the world. The boy seemed to snap out of his haze as he noticed her approaching, though he didn’t give any greeting as she plopped herself down right beside him and exhaled softly. She could feel the stares of the other kids, but she found herself not giving a damn what they thought.

“Hey,” she greeted with a smile. “I was hoping I’d find you around here.”

Damien furrowed his brow, as if already on his guard and suspicious of her. “Did Harper send you to talk to me?”

“No, she didn’t,” Liz replied matter-of-factly. “I talked to her briefly this morning and all she did was tell me where to meet her after class if I decided to hear her out. And now she’s not even at school so I don’t know what she’s up to.” The girl chuckled. “It’s crazy though. Magic is real…”

Damien scoffed. “So you actually believed that? You know there’s got to be some trick to it. Magic…can’t be real. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“And how exactly could Harper have thrown you against a wall without some sort of magic?” Liz inquired slyly. “Or what about those lights she produced? Where did they come from and for that matter, what in the hell were they?”

“So you’re just prepared to believe her?” he asked dumbfounded. “She sounded like she’s lost her mind.”

Liz nodded. “Yeah, that’s definitely true. She sounded outright crazy. And yet, I really can’t think of any way that she could have done what she did. Nothing about it makes sense. I mean, I can’t say I’m ready to just believe her that our lives here are fake and that there’s a whole other world out there where we’re actually from, but…” Liz paused and stared directly into his dark eyes before her features turned serious. “Can you really tell me that you’ve never felt like you were missing something? That something about your life was…wrong?”

The boy grimaced and tossed his half-eaten apple back into his paper bag. “Everything about my life feels wrong, Tao. It’s a living hell. I’m alone and I’ve always been alone. I’ve already accepted that. I just…” He paused, as if trying to find some way to phrase the emotions he was feeling. “...I feel like it’s too convenient for there to be a world where I’m happy—where somebody accepted me. What Harper said—”

“Can you deny that she believed it?” Liz interrupted. “Can you really tell me that her declaration yesterday was a lie? Do you really think Harper lied to us?”

He scowled. “I don’t know, honestly! It didn’t seem like it, but what does it mean if she’s not lying? That this world is fake? That our memories are fake? That there’s a world where the two of us and Mickelson were all friends? I mean, it doesn’t make sense! I doesn’t make any fucking sense, Tao!”

“And why not?” she asked calmly, despite herself not knowing what to think of it all. “If magic is real, then what’s so unbelievable about this? Why can’t you bring yourself to believe that there’s a world where you have friends?”

“Because!” When he nearly shouted that word, causing other students to turn his direction in fear, Damien’s cheeks turned slightly red and he lowered his voice. “Because that’s just not in the cards for me. Simple as that, and it’d be arrogant to think that fate has some paradise for me somewhere else. If you’re willing to believe Harper then by all means, go see her, but I won’t. I’m not going to entertain this shit.”

Liz twisted her lips in thought, and she realized that she understood where he was coming from. His life wasn’t so convenient and easy like hers was. Damien Clark was naturally skeptical and untrusting, making it nearly impossible for him to just accept what he saw in the classroom the afternoon before.

And maybe that’s why Harper used her magic on him, specifically. Maybe she realized that he would be the hardest one to convince.

Part of her felt she should just leave him be and figure everything out on her own, but a part of her just couldn’t allow herself to get up and leave him there. Her instincts were practically commanding her to find a way to convince Damien to go to the meeting place later that day. And as she thought about everything Lilly told them, she wondered if that feeling was also due to her blocked memories.

“You know what I thought was interesting,” she mused aloud. “Harper said you and I were dating in her world. What do you make of that?”

She watched him from the corner of her eye as his body tensed slightly, though he didn’t look back at her, instead choosing to reach into his bag and produce his apple again.

“Nothing,” he grunted. “I don’t make anything of that. It’s just another convenient detail Harper threw into her dumbass story. There’s no way…that you would ever fall for me.”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “We don’t know that. I mean, I don’t really know you right now, but what if I got to know you? What if we spent some time together? I already think you’re a cool guy so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to think I’d fall for you?”

His apple stopped just inches from his mouth before he slowly lowered it back down, his head turning ever so slightly to stare back at her. “W-well…why would we ever spend time together? You’ve got everything set, Tao, so why would you trash your reputation for me?”

“Damien…” she began softly, turning now to look him dead in the eyes as she spoke his first name. “I don’t give a damn what other people think of me. I will do whatever I want to, and if they don’t like it, then they can screw off. It’s my life so it’s my choice.”

She found herself weirdly enjoying the stunned and embarrassed look on his face as she watched him trying to come up with a response. Jeez, everybody makes him out to be the most terrifying monster ever created, but he’s just a shy guy. Honestly, he’s kinda cute…

“W-well…you should care a little more about that type of stuff,” he muttered, his eyes flickering everywhere except her face. “People can be nasty, you know?”

She shrugged once more. “I can handle nasty.” When he didn’t reply, she went on. “Look, one of the reasons I’m willing to at least entertain Harper is because I do feel as if I’m missing something. It can’t be a coincidence that we all felt a strange familiarity with Lowe’s room or with the name Eric Reiner. And for that matter, Harper proved that magic has to be real. So…I can’t just write this all off as nonsense. At the very least, I want to investigate it and the only real way to do that is to entertain Harper’s requests, if only for a little. I’m willing to do that alone, but…I would like it if I had a partner.” She raised her hand for him to shake as she grinned teasingly. “So why don’t you come with me later, Damien?”

He hesitated and she could tell he was trying to think up any way to decline. “But…how am I supposed to take her seriously with Brad Fischer working with her? You know how that asshole gets. He has to be in on this somehow.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I do know how he gets,” she responded. “And yesterday…there was something different about him. Brooks was a similar thing. Neither of them seemed like their normal selves, so what if they weren’t? What if they were different versions…say, from another world?”

Damien shook his head. “You really believe this is possible?”

“I do,” she said firmly. “So please. Let’s look into this further.”

“You…” He clenched his teeth then begrudgingly took her hand in his and shook. “...are a hell of a girl, Tao.”

“Liz,” she corrected. “Apparently you and I are boyfriend-girlfriend so it’s weird if we aren’t familiar with each other. My name is Liz, Damien.”

His incredulous expression only increased before he chuckled ever so softly and nodded. “Fine then. Yeah, you’re a hell of a girl, Liz.”

***

While Lilly and Brad only came to school to tell Liz where to meet them, Jay decided he would remain behind for the day. He still had so much to think about and he decided he needed to speak with Rina, Audrey, and Alice again. His phone had practically been exploding with texts and calls after his outburst the previous day and thus far, he had ignored them all. In fact, he hadn’t even arrived at school until just before lunch period started so that he wouldn’t have to see them until he was ready. But now, he knew he didn’t have a choice. No matter how much it might hurt him, he couldn’t put it off any longer. So, committing himself to joining up with Lilly, Brad, and Rista after school, he walked down the flight of stairs that led to the bottom floor and entered the courtyard, ready to go to where he normally ate lunch with them in this universe.

But what am I even going to say to them? Even setting aside the fact that I acted like I’d lost my mind yesterday, I haven’t seen Audrey since the day she died, and Rina…well, our relationship has always been complicated. Can I really face either of them, especially knowing they aren't real?

He didn’t have an answer for that question. He wasn’t even sure how he was supposed to handle his current existence within the erased realm. His memories were overlapping, but he remembered everything in the forest the day Rina died, and he remembered the days spent in this blissful paradise that followed. But they were so disconnected. One moment, he was a wreck, being controlled by a monster and the next, he was back at school as if he’d never jumped from that balcony—as if he had never lost anything.

This world… It’s like my own personal reset. Everything bad that’s ever happened to Alice and I has been wiped from the slate. It’s…wonderful, but Lilly wants to get rid of it. She wants to destroy it despite what that might do to Alice and yet, I don’t blame her. I saw Liz, Damien, and Vinny yesterday. I saw how this world is hurting them, so it’s only natural that she wants to help them. I just wish…

...that saving Alice and saving the club could be one in the same. But they aren’t, so I’ll do what I have to in order to protect her.

Jay exhaled softly and spotted Alice, Rina, and Audrey sitting at their table, talking to each other in quiet tones that were drowned out by the rambunctious chatter that surrounded them. For a second, Jay paused and just watched them. It was a sight out of a dream and one he wished could last forever.

I’d do anything to make this last forever…

Feeling his body twitch ever so slightly, Jay proceeded forward once more and was soon noticed by Alice. She immediately jumped to her feet and when Audrey and Rina glanced back at him, they, too, jumped up and faced him with expressions of anger and relief.

“Where the hell have you been?” Audrey demanded, quickly stepping over the bench to approach him. “I’ve been worried sick, you jerk! Couldn’t you at least answer your damn phone when your friends are calling you?!”

“Yeah, what’s the deal here, Jay?” Rina snapped. “You’ve got a ton of explaining to do!”

He wasn’t sure what to say in response, so instead he just turned and stared down at Audrey, her childlike features contorted in irritation—an expression that he found oddly cute. It was a surreal sight for him. Her body was clearly that of a high school girl, but her face and attitude still resembled the girl he remembered from middle school. Before he knew it, he had wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, relief flooding through his body at the touch of a friend he had believed he would never experience again.

“J-Jay?” she stuttered. “What’s wrong?”

He smiled sadly, knowing he was attracting the attention of tables around them but realizing that it didn’t matter in the erased realm. “I’m sorry for everything. I should have answered your calls, but…I wasn’t feeling well yesterday. My mind was kinda blurred, and I spent most of the night asleep. I’ll be better about that next time.”

Tenderly, she hugged him back and for that minute, he was in middle school again. No matter what happened in the future, this would be a moment he would never allow himself to forget.

“Well…that’s fine, I guess,” Audrey muttered. “But you still owe me an explanation. Why did you say I was fake yesterday? That wasn’t very nice.”

“And why’d you run off with Harper and Fischer all of a sudden?” Alice cut in as Audrey released him. “What exactly was going on with them?”

Jay stepped back and regarded the three girls for a moment before smiling cheerfully. “It’s hard to explain, honestly. But you guys don’t have to worry about it. Lilly isn’t going to be a problem. I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother us again.”

Rina frowned. “Bother us? What do you mean? It was weird and all, but she wasn’t exactly bothering us…”

“Maybe not,” he admitted. “But it’s going to stay this way. I promise you guys.”

Yes, she’s an issue. I owe Lilly everything. I know that. She’s done so much for me. But Alice has always been my priority. Whatever the cost, I can’t let that girl get in my way. This world needs to be preserved. For Audrey. For Rina. And for Alice.

Once again, he felt his head twitch, and for a moment, he furrowed his brow, feeling like the world had become blurry, but after a moment, everything became clear again. Jay could see the worried expressions on his friends faces so he forced another smile and motioned for the table.

“I’m feeling much better today so why don’t we have lunch?” he suggested. “Unfortunately, I will have to skip practice later, but I should have everything figured out in a few days or so.”

Alice cocked an eyebrow. “You’re skipping practice again? Why? What are you doing?”

“Lilly just needed my help with something,” he replied. “But it shouldn’t last too much longer, so don’t worry about it. I’m just helping out a fellow cross country member, yeah?”

They all just stared at him awkwardly and he knew he was being stupidly suspicious, but he also knew there was no way he could explain anything without revealing magic and the erased realm, so they would simply have to accept his vague explanations. For the moment, the three of them seemed content to do exactly that as they took their seats around the table. Those who had been watching them lost interest and went back to their own meals, giving Jay and his friends the privacy they preferred.

While they did grill him a bit more here and there, he was mostly able to brush aside their questions and focus on just hanging out with them. Now that he was conscious of the real world, he wanted to just enjoy their presence. He never thought he would get to have this high school experience with them. He remembered talking about the future with them back in their secret hideout, and how they were excited to grow up. Audrey, in particular, always had high hopes for the future, so the fact that she got hers taken away was nothing more than a cruel joke. When high school finally arrived, it wasn’t the dream they had been awaiting but a nightmarish reality that turned everything on its head.

But here we are, in our senior year, hanging out at lunch like we used to. In this world, nothing bad ever happened. It was all undone by Album’s magic. Maybe the Masters weren’t the villains we thought they were. They gave us this place where we can be happy, free of the tragedy that the real world brought us. How could this be considered bad?

Though, as he thought that, images of the Magic Club came to mind, reminding him that not everybody got the treatment they did.

Though, then again, it's only because they resisted. If Eric had accepted his fate and come here with them then maybe they could have been happy, too. The gem would never have existed and they could have all been happy with us. Yeah…it’s their fault. They could have been happy, but they fought.

So how can Lilly dare to try and destroy this paradise when she and Eric brought it on themselves? I can’t let her. I’ll stop her, and Rista, and Brad, and whoever else wants to fight this world.

Slowly, Jay’s smile turned dark and once again, he could feel his vision growing slightly blurry. For a moment, he wondered why that was happening, but that wonder was quickly shoved back inside of him where it couldn’t bother him.

I owe you so much, Lilly, but please…just accept this ending.

This is where we were meant to be…

***

Without warning, a sudden pain began to spread through his body, starting from the back of his head. He cried out in surprise, his hands going to his skull, but before he could shout out and demand to know what happened, he found himself stopped, his eyes growing wide as images returned to him. They were his life, but they weren’t. Almost everything was the same, with the exception of a few details that then split off into a completely different reality. Images of a boy he didn’t know sending him flying across the room before slamming into the wall came to mind, as well as a forest and two individuals in white and black suits.

There was fear and anger, and it could all be connected to people he hated. The Magic Club, a name he hadn’t heard in months, began to assault his mind, reminding him of his failures and the incident that took place at Christmas of his junior year. Everything fell apart because of them, but when he did as he was asked and avoided them, they brought him right back into another catastrophe—one brought about by the tiny orange stone that ruined his life.

Without warning, he and Rina became the targets of a powerful magic that they didn’t stand a chance against, and it was then that he remembered that house in the woods, with rain pouring down around them, and those same mages standing just ahead of them. He remembered fighting them and declaring his feelings for Rina, and he remembered Album Luz stabbing him with her arm, something that should have finished him off. Yet, he persisted, and when Jay Brooks reached the clearing, the two of them fought until there was nothing left.

Then, none of it ever happened. He lived his life as if the Magic Club didn’t exist—completely oblivious to the trauma he went through.

“What the fucking hell?” he growled, realizing that he was currently kneeling on a carpeted floor, his hands shaking and his heart beating fast.

Slowly, Evan Wright raised his head and remembered just where he was. It was a random apartment that he’d never been in until that day. Just after school ended, he’d been approached by two people and they’d asked him to come with them to this place, and those two were currently standing right in front of him.

Lilly Harper and Brad Fischer.

“Evan? You okay?” Brad asked carefully, kneeling down beside him with a look of genuine concern. “Do you…remember?”

Evan grit his teeth. “Remember? Yeah, I fuckin’ remember. Didn’t you get stabbed, too?”

“I did,” he admitted with a grimace before a sudden smile overtook him. “So you’re back, huh? It worked?”

He narrowed his eyes, gradually getting to his feet as he surveyed the room. “What worked? What the fuck did you do to me? What in the living hell is going on? And for that matter, who the fuck is he?”

Evan indicated a man that hadn’t been there before, who was now standing in the corner of this apartment’s main room, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked to be in his late-teens, early twenties, with dark brown hair and a stern expression. At the moment, the man was regarding him like he was disgusted, which only made Evan immediately dislike him without even knowing who he was.

“He’s a friend,” Brad assured him. “I promise.”

Evan turned to stare at the bigger boy, still struggling to gather his thoughts and process the conflicting memories swirling around in his head. Another scan of the room showed that Lilly Harper was the only Magic Club member present, however, he now noticed a young girl that was probably around eleven sitting quietly on the couch. He didn’t know who she was either, which only made him more suspicious, so he turned and addressed Harper next.

“What’s going on?” he demanded sharply. “Who’s the little girl? Where’s Reiner and his other fucks? Why’s it just you? And what’d you do to me? And…”

He paused, his thoughts suddenly overwhelmed by memories of that day in the forest when he and Rina followed Jay to save Alice. A feeling of dread washed over him and before he realized it, the question he wanted the answer to more than anything came to his lips.

“Where’s Rina?”