Chapter XIV

Elizabeth Tao let out a sigh of relief when the bell finally rang, signaling the end to fourth period and the beginning of lunch. She had her required political science class during fourth and she considered it to be the most boring part of her senior schedule. All Mr. Callahan ever did was lecture them in his monotone voice and force them to take notes, though Liz tended to zone out hardly five minutes in, resulting in her low performance on tests and her relatively empty notebook. She considered herself lucky that it was only a semester class and would be replaced with something else after Christmas. The room was abuzz with chatter as her fellow students rushed to pack their things away and meet up with their friends before heading out to enjoy their break period. The brunette girl did the same as she slid her notebook into her bag, along with the pencil she hadn’t once picked up since third period just as her good friend, Charlotte, approached her.

“You ready to go, Lizzie?” she asked cheerfully. “Ash’ said she had some make-up test she had to take so it’ll just be the two of us today.”

“Ooh, poor Ashley. What class was it in?”

Charlotte thought for a moment then laughed. “She said it was in math so she’ll be stuck with Mrs. Randyll all break. God, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemies. That woman is such a cranky old bitch.”

Liz couldn’t help but laugh as well at the thought of Ashley stuck in a room with that ever-scowling old lady. Mrs. Randyll was a grouch to begin with, but it always felt like she had a personal vendetta against Charlotte and Ashley, and Liz could only guess that it most likely had to do with how chatty the two girls could get, which unfortunately got her roped into their punishments more often than she would have preferred.

“Well my thoughts go out to her,” Liz joked. “And I hope she survives cause she isn’t gonna want to miss tomorrow’s karaoke night. I know how much she looks forward to those.”

Charlotte smirked. “I know, right?”

With all of her stuff put away, Liz got to her feet and headed through the door of Mr. Callahan’s classroom. She normally ate lunch in Mrs. Lee’s room, which was her history class from the year prior, so she and Charlotte headed down the crowded hall full of rowdy students and made their way to the staircase. All the while, the red-haired girl talked about the boy she currently had a crush on and how she happened to get put next to him in her second period. Liz didn’t say much, content to simply listen and to enjoy how happy Charlotte was. This was their typical dynamic. She considered Charlotte and Ashley her good friends, and she knew the school saw her as the “queen bee”, but the reality was that she was often the one feeling as if she didn’t belong. It was a hard thing to describe, and so, she tended to try and push those thoughts aside and write them off as being paranoid.

Yet, there were moments when she couldn’t help herself and for whatever reason, she found herself currently in one of those moments. Her friends never treated her like an outsider. On the contrary, they were really sweet and were always looking out for her. There was nothing about them that would make her feel like she didn't belong, which was why she knew it had to be a problem with her.

There’s something wrong with me. I know there is…

Liz spared a brief glance out the window to her left, seeing the student-filled courtyard three stories below.

Why do I always get like this? Why can’t I just be happy that I have friends that care about me? I mean, I am pretty popular and I’ve had my fair share of fun in high school. I really can’t complain, but I can never shake this feeling that I’m missing something. But what in the world could I possibly be missing?

Without warning, Charlotte went silent, and Liz turned away from the window to see what was wrong only for the girl to move up against her, her body so close that Liz was almost sandwiched between the wall and her friend.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Liz whispered, but Charlotte merely motioned forward with a nod of her head, and when she turned to look, she realized what had the girl so worked up.

Damien Clark, a boy anybody in their school would recognize with a single glance, was walking their way, his head down and his hands shoved in his uniform’s pants pockets. He wasn’t looking at anybody, but most of the students in the hall were either sparing subtle glances of their own, or were avoiding eye-contact completely. The only one who didn’t react much to his presence was Liz, and that was because she didn’t see any reason to be afraid of him. It was another odd feeling that she was never quite able to explain, but unlike almost every other student she’d spoken to, she didn’t find Damien to be all that scary. Part of her felt that the rumors about him were exaggerated, and so she never went out of her way to avoid him, though that didn’t mean she’d ever bothered speaking to him directly either.

She wondered if Damien somehow noticed her staring because he suddenly looked up and gazed back at her. For just a second, the two of them faced each other, giving her a good look at his face. She had a feeling that he would have been quite handsome if there hadn’t been such irritation in his eyes or if his lips hadn’t been drawn so tightly. He didn’t trust her, and his gaze silently told her to leave him alone, so to assure him that she didn’t have any issue with him, she smiled and nodded her head in greeting. The irritation turned to surprise before he quickly looked away and continued down the hall, never once glancing back.

“I’ll never understand how you can be so calm around him,” Charlotte muttered, staring over her shoulder as if fearing Damien would come back. “He’s such a creep.”

Liz shrugged as they came to the stairs and made their way down to the second floor. “I really don’t think he’s all that bad. I mean, sure, he gets into fights all the time and I’m not going to condone that, but… There’s just something about him, Charlie. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it’s there…”

“Alright, whatever you say, Lizzie,” the other girl murmured, clearly unconvinced. “Just don’t come crying to me when he starts getting all handsy with you.”

“He would never do that,” she replied firmly.

Charlotte cocked an eyebrow. “And what makes you so sure of that?”

“W-well…”

Once again, she couldn’t explain herself. She’d spoken without thinking, allowing her emotions to drive her odd faith in Damien Clark. Liz clenched her teeth, feeling herself growing progressively more frustrated with each unexplainable feeling that forced itself out of her.

“I just know,” she finally asserted, wanting to prevent any further room for arguments.

Luckily, Charlotte took the hint and didn’t press the subject any further until they reached Mrs. Lee’s classroom. Liz went in first, ready to just sit down and get something in her stomach in order to turn her thoughts away from Damien Clark. The class was relatively empty, with only a few groups of students gathered there to eat lunch, and just as they began heading across the room, Liz stopped in surprise to find somebody already sitting in their usual spot. The girl had her hands folded on the desk and her eyes were closed, but upon hearing them, they opened and she turned to gaze up at them.

“Uh, Harper?” Charlotte began with a sneer. “That’s our spot so if you would please go sit somewhere else, that would be great.”

Lilly Harper cocked an eyebrow at Charlotte, then narrowed her eyes in unrestrained disgust. “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll get going in just a moment. I was just hoping to talk to Liz for a second.”

Me? She wants to talk to me? But why? I don’t really know her all that well and, to be honest, I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard this girl speak. All she’s ever done is sit quietly in the back of class, so…

“What do you want to talk about?” Liz asked softly.

Lilly shrugged. “Hard to explain, honestly. In fact, it would take so long to explain that it would probably take most of our lunch period to do it and, well, I’ve got other things to deal with today.”

“I thought you said it would just take a moment?” Charlotte snapped. “What the hell is your deal, Harper?”

Lilly smirked, a look of amusement coming over her. “My deal? Well, that’s not something you’d ever understand.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Which is why I don’t want to talk to you, Banks,” she went on, talking over Charlotte before turning to stare at Liz with a smile. “Look, could you just do me a favor and meet me in Mr. Lowe’s classroom after school today? I promise it won’t be a waste of time.”

Charlotte still looked furious at being so blatantly ignored but luckily for Liz, she didn’t antagonize the girl any further, giving her time to collect her thoughts before replying to Lilly’s request.

“Why?” she inquired. “We’ve never even spoken before so why do you want me to go to Lowe’s all of a sudden? I’m willing to hear you out if you’ve got something important to say, but I’ll need you to at least explain what you need me for.”

Charlotte gaped at her like she was crazy for even entertaining the request, and Liz wondered if maybe she was. Once again, she was just letting her emotions guide her response, and in that moment, they were telling her that she could trust this girl. Lilly Harper wouldn’t have come to her if it weren’t important.

Lilly seemed to consider her words before nodding. “Fair enough. Then let’s say this: Eric Reiner has called the Magic Club together for a meeting, so you’ll need to be there.”

Liz felt as if she’d been shot in the chest as an overwhelming amount of nostalgia went through her body, followed by a wave of sickness, before everything went away as fast as it arrived. She let out a soft exhale as she watched Lilly’s smile turn smug, as if she’d just achieved a victory in whatever game she was playing.

“That’ll be all,” she said as she got to her feet. “See you later, Liz.”

With those abrupt words, the girl turned and left the classroom, leaving Liz and Charlotte to stare after her in confusion.

“What the hell was her problem?” Charlotte growled. “Since when did she get all cocky like that? Seriously…”

Liz managed a weak nod before slowly sitting down in the desk Lilly had just vacated. “Y-yeah, tell me about it.”

What just happened? How did she do that to me? My head feels like it’s spinning and I’m barely keeping my body from shaking. And she…looked like she knew that would happen. Eric Reiner… The Magic Club… I don’t have a clue what that means and yet…do I?

“I wonder if she’s drunk or something,” Charlotte went on as she took the desk across from Liz and spun it around so they were facing each other. “I bet it’s some sort of prank. She’s probably just jealous that you’re a million times cuter than she is, Lizzie. I wouldn’t let her bother you.”

Eric Reiner? I know that name, I think. It’s familiar but…who is it? Who is he?

“Lizzie?” her friend pressed. “Lizzie, what’s the matter?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to find the right words. “I… I don’t…” Liz stopped, took a deep breath, and went on. “I think I’m going to have to bail on our trip to the cafe later.”

“What?!” Charlotte hissed. “You can’t be serious! Are you actually going to—?”

She stopped mid sentence as Liz turned a determined look her friend’s way, and spoke with as much conviction as she could muster.

“I am. I can’t really explain why, but I just have this feeling…that I have to be in that room after school. Whatever Harper wants to tell me… Whoever Eric Reiner is… I have to know…”

***

Alright, that’s all three of them down, Lilly thought with satisfaction. That look in Liz’s eyes when I brought up Eric and the club… It was the same that Damien and Vinny had when I talked to them, so I’m sure she’ll be there. All that’s left for me to do is not screw up this chance.

Lilly smiled to herself as she rounded a corner and took the stairs down to the first floor. Her confidence was growing the longer she was in the erased realm, and with Brad and Natalie’s memories returned to them, she was slowly putting her world back the way it was supposed to be. For the moment, she didn’t have any interest in dealing with Evan Wright, so if her plans in the clubroom succeeded, that only left Jay and Alice to deal with before she turned her attention to actually breaking the erased realm down.

The only issue is…what am I supposed to do about them? I can’t leave them the way they are. I know that. But at the same time, whenever I look at them and see how happy they are here, I just… She bit her lip in frustration, knowing she couldn’t afford to be so indecisive but also failing to find an easy answer to the dilemma. Whatever. Rista still hasn’t made contact with me since before my date with Vinny so I couldn’t bring their memories back even if I wanted to. Maybe…the best thing I can do right now is at least gain this world’s Alice and Jay’s trust.

With that in mind, once Lilly was on the first floor, she headed straight for the courtyard where she knew her good friends always ate lunch with the erased realm’s knock-offs of Audrey Moore and Rina Davens. Every time she looked at the two of them, she felt her hatred for Album increase. Despite the happiness those recreations brought Alice and Jay, they still only existed for manipulation. They were evil because of the happiness they brought. It enabled Album to create a world that fixed the issues of the real one, allowing her to turn Alice against them and acquire the information that eventually resulted in the rest of them being locked within this realm. Part of Lilly wondered if there might be a way to get rid of the fakes, and as that question went through her mind, the Voice of Darkness was quick to reply.

“Yes, there is a way to get rid of them and it just so happens to be the same way you’d get rid of somebody in the real world.”

Lilly grimaced. So you’re telling me I’d have to kill them? And what would happen if I did that? Would they vanish or…?

“Nope!” came Light’s reply. “All that would accomplish would be turning the erased realm’s Lilly Harper into a cold hearted murderer!”

Fantastic. So getting rid of them isn’t an option. I guess I’ll just have to find some way to get around them and the best way to do that would be to interact with the four of them. Maybe then, I’ll be able to figure something out.

Lilly emerged out into the rather hot courtyard and glanced around the numerous tables full of excitable students enjoying their lunches. She’d been doing her best to observe the erased victims over the past week so she was quick to find the table where the four of them were sitting. Alice, Jay, Rina, and Audrey were all gathered around a table on the far left lawn, laughing with each other and just having a good time. Jay, in particular, didn’t look anything like the boy she remembered. There was never a time when she saw him that happy, and it made her want to turn around and run away at that very moment. Yet, she knew that wasn’t an option, so she grit her teeth and was about to cross the lawn, when her name was suddenly called out.

“Hey, Lilly.”

She turned around in relief at having an excuse to put off her talk with them as she saw Brad hurrying over to where she stood. After explaining everything to him the previous day, she had decided to give him his space to take everything in and process their strange reality. Her plan had been to wait for him to approach her, and it seemed that time had already come.

“Hey,” she greeted. “I was surprised to see you at school today. I’d have figured you’d stay home.”

The big boy grimaced. “Honestly, I wish I had, but…I can’t, can I? Obviously I never thought you were lying, but getting to see everything for myself, well…we really aren’t in our world. This…erased realm is insane.”

“Tell me about it,” she muttered.

“So, can we talk for a moment? Or are you busy?”

She glanced once more at Jay and Alice’s table before turning back and shaking her head. “No, I’m not busy at all.”

She and Brad then moved off of the path and up against the shaded wall of the main school building where they were apart from the other students while still having a good view of the courtyard. From where they stood, she could still see her friends, and for a few seconds, she watched them going about their lives with a soft smile on her face before Brad began the conversation.

“So…who’s that girl with Brooks, Mendez, and Rina?” he asked. “My memories from this world tell me her name’s Audrey, but…I don’t remember her from the real world, so…who is she?”

Lilly’s smile turned sad at the question. “She’s…an old friend of Jay and Alice, but in the real world, she passed away when they were in middle school. I don’t know the details of how she died, though… All I know is that Rina blamed Jay for it, and that’s what caused them to split up.”

Brad furrowed his brow. “She died? But then…why is she here? I thought you said every difference in this realm is caused by Reiner’s absence?”

“Almost every difference,” she corrected. “Audrey…was put here by Album intentionally to get Alice to turn our names over to them. In fact, it’s because of her presence here that Album and Nigreos knew to find you guys out in the forest.”

“O-oh…” He watched them for a moment with a sad look on his face. “And now…Rina’s dead, too? They…killed her?”

Lilly nodded. “They did. Audrey and Rina won’t be in the real world when we break out of here. Jay and Alice…have lost a lot.”

Brad clenched his fists and shook his head. “Then I failed, didn’t I? When I saw that man…Nigreos Noctis, out on that road, I knew they were the ones you guys warned us about. I didn’t want Evan and Rina to get hurt, so I tried to stand in their way, but… I failed. Everything goes dark after that moment and I…”

She gently placed a hand on his shoulder to let him know that she was there for him. “Brad… If you failed then so did I. We did everything we could and it was never enough. Even with Eric’s magic, we still couldn’t beat them, so there was never anything you could have done. You should be proud that you stood up to them at all. That, alone, says a lot about you.”

He sniffled and it almost seemed like he was fighting back tears, so she refrained from looking up at him. “Thanks, Lil’. I just wish I could have done more. I went out like a bitch and wasn’t there when you guys needed me. Everything happened without me and now, being here, I see just how powerful magic is. In this realm, Evan’s somehow worse than he was back there. Tao replaced Rina as the popular girl, and then there’s everything going on with Clark and Mickelson. I guess…I never realized how much Reiner helped us.”

“Yeah, it really puts it all into perspective, huh?” she whispered. “Before my memories came back, I was alone and depressed. I wanted friends but I was too stubborn to accept that, so I was alone. I guess I…needed the club to force me out of my shell more than I ever realized.”

“Yeah, and I never got my grades up here. I was still in danger of failing my classes,” he added. “God damn it. Reiner always pissed me off and yet, whether I like it or not, we needed him. That bastard really was a great guy.” Brad paused as he reached his hand up to place on hers. “I’m not going to be useless this time. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Let’s bust this world down and bring ours back. Let’s save Eric fucking Reiner.”

His presence was comforting, and she found some of her earlier confidence slowly returning. “Yeah, let’s do it. Thank you, Brad.”

“Of course. Now, go to Alice and Jay. Talk to them. That’s why you came out here in the first place, right? Lunch is gonna end soon so just get to it.”

She frowned, then glanced up in surprise only to find him smiling back down at her, letting her know that he’d seen right through her.

“R-right,” she stuttered. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

He gave her an encouraging pat on the back, which helped her more than she could articulate as she bid him goodbye and crossed the courtyard. At first, they didn’t notice her approach, but just as she was passing by a few tables, Audrey looked up at her. Lilly forced a pleasant smile as the other three turned to stare at her as well.

Alright, I can do this! Come on, Lilly Harper, don’t be such a loser! Just talk to them! It’s not that hard!

“H-hey, guys,” she greeted with a half-hearted wave. “You mind if I join you for just a moment?”

The few moments of silence that followed were the most awkward she’d ever felt in her life. Audrey, Jay, Rina, and Alice all just stared at her in confusion, as if wondering if she was pulling some sort of prank on them. In fact, their stares were so similar to Vinny, Damien, and Liz that she was beginning to realize just what her loner personality had done to her reputation.

“Er, don’t take this the wrong way, Harper,” Jay began after clearing his throat. “But why?”

“Uh, well, I just, um, wanted to hang out for a bit, you know? I’m kinda sick of sitting alone and all that, so I just wondered, well, um…”

She was stuttering over her words so much that she would have been surprised if they understood what she was trying to say. Luckily, Alice came to her rescue.

“Well, I never really thought the day would come that you would want to hang out with us so, sure, by all means.”

She indicated the seat between Jay and Audrey so Lilly quickly sat down, not wanting to give them a chance to change their minds. The two on either side of her scooted apart with uncomfortable looks though neither made any move to protest.

God, if Brad’s watching this then he’s probably laughing his ass off.

She didn’t try looking for him, but something told her that she wasn’t far from the truth.

“So, do you have a lunch, or…?” Rina began with a cocked eyebrow.

“Hmm? Oh, uh, no. I didn’t, uh, I ate it already.”

Very articulate, Lilly. Good job.

After sarcastically berating herself, she took a moment to eye Rina, realizing just how different this world’s version of her was now that they were in such close proximity. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail rather than hanging down like she remembered, and she was wearing significantly less makeup. The girl also seemed far happier, just like Alice and Jay, which only served to prove just how badly Audrey’s death had messed them all up.

“So, Harper, are you feeling any better?” Jay inquired. “Last time I saw you, you suddenly burst into tears and ran off, and now you’ve skipped practice the last two days. What’s up with that? Is something wrong?”

“Not to mention you’re a little more cheerful than I’ve ever seen you,” Audrey added with a smile. “So I can’t really tell if something good happened to you or if something bad happened.”

“Oh, well.” She wasn’t sure how to answer their questions since every explanation involved magic. “I guess you could say…both? Uh, it’s just personal matters, but it’s not that big of a deal. I’ll be back at practice…next week at some point.”

Alice smirked. “Well, Coach isn’t gonna like that. She’s been having a fit the past two days. She also said you’re not responding to her emails.”

Oh right, I haven't even checked my emails here. Not like it really matters though.

“Well, I’ll make sure to get back to her,” Lilly muttered awkwardly. “So don’t worry about me! I’m perfectly fine, and you can assure the coach that I’m doing training on my own while I deal with my…er, business.”

“Okay, are you high or…sick maybe?” Rina asked with genuine concern.

Lilly sighed. “No, I’m not—! Why does everybody think I’m high? I’m perfectly sober and healthy. I’m just…feeling a little more sociable than usual. What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, I’m sorry,” Rina quickly defended. “It’s just…this is so unlike you that I’m a little worried. If something’s the matter then you can tell us, you know?”

“T-thanks, but I promise that I’m okay,” she responded. “Look, you guys have always been so nice to me, and I’ve only ever blown you off. I know I’ve acted like a bitch and you don’t deserve that. Let’s just say that I’ve done some personal reflection and I want to be different. So…I’m reaching out a hand. You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to, and I understand if you don’t, but I thought this needed to be said. I mean it.”

As she spoke, she made sure she looked at each one of them in turn so they could see how much she cared. No matter how much it hurt her to be in Jay and Alice’s presence, she needed their trust if she wanted to free them from their memory spells. This was her first step toward that goal.

“Wait, what the hell is that?”

The Voice of Darkness suddenly spoke up, and a cold feeling settled over Lilly’s body, causing her to shiver.

What? What’s wrong? she internally demanded.

“I sense something—something unnatural. But I can’t figure out why it would be here in a place like this?”

“Yes, I sense it, too. It’s close. Should we do something about this?”

What?! No, don’t do anything! We can’t risk revealing anything to these people! No matter what you’re sensing, just leave it be for the moment!

“I can’t do that, Harper. This could be dangerous, and you are our priority. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t give a damn about anybody else but you. You’re our host, so I will do what it takes to protect you.”

Do not—!

“Wow,” Alice murmured, forcing Lilly to cut off her argument with the voice and pray that her features didn’t reveal any of her internal problems. “Well, I’m not sure what changed, but I’m glad. If you’re open to it, you should join us on one of the post-practice dinners the team goes on. I’m sure the others would appreciate that.”

Another shiver ran down her spine and she could feel her body breaking out in a cold sweat as the Voice of Darkness began reaching its senses outwards.

“Er, yeah, I’ll definitely do that,” she stammered, all the while internally shouting for the voice to stop. “Just give me a time and a place and— Ah!”

She cried out in pain, her hands going to her head. And at the same time, Jay Brooks grunted, too, gripping his own head.

“What is this? What is inside this boy?”

Stop it! Don’t do anything to him, you hear me?! Whatever you’re doing, cut it out!

“Harper, Jay?!” Rina exclaimed. “What’s the matter? Are you guys okay?!”

Audrey was quick to jump to her feet and rush around Lilly so she could stand beside her friend. “Jay, what’s wrong?”

“I…I don’t—Ah! Damn it!”

Lilly struggled to get herself to speak as both of their bodies convulsed, so she quickly grabbed the table with her left hand to prevent herself from falling to the ground. She could hear Rina and Alice trying to get through to both of them, with Audrey suggesting they call the nurse, but just as Lilly tried to assure them everything was fine, the pain gradually began to subside. Other students were now looking back at them and mutters had spread around the table. As her breathing got slower, she felt a presence behind her, and turned back to see Brad standing there.

“Are you okay, Lilly?” he immediately asked. “What the hell happened?”

Him being there had Alice, Rina, and Audrey looking over at them in confusion, but when Jay slowly raised his head, their attention quickly returned to him.

“Jay, are you okay?” Audrey repeated. “What’s wrong with you?”

The boy stopped and stared at her before blinking a few times. His eyes went wide and he hurriedly turned to look first at Alice, then at Rina, before finally stopping on Lilly. They stared at each other for a moment, and it was then that she realized what had happened. The look in his eyes—that ever familiar look of pain and sadness—confirmed it before his words could.

“Audrey?” he uttered, turning his gaze back toward the girl. “You’re…alive?”