Chapter XXVIII

The sun was already halfway below the horizon when Vinny arrived at the entrance to the Wilham Boardwalk, the location where he was supposed to meet Alice for their date. He’d been nervous as all hell ever since she asked him out on Thursday and had trouble focusing all throughout Friday’s classes, especially the ones they had together. He wasn’t sure whether it was due to Lilly telling him about his other self, but he was suddenly far more aware of Alice’s presence and of her beauty. He couldn’t get her out of his mind, which caused his anxiety regarding the date to be mixed with anticipation of its arrival. He was an emotional mess as he switched between the two feelings and that hadn’t stopped even as he walked down the streets and toward his destination. In fact, on that very walk, he felt both like turning around and running away and speeding up his pace so he could get there quicker. He’d never felt like that in his life and he couldn’t tell whether he liked it or not.

But whatever. There’s no helping any of that now. I told her I’d be there so I’m gonna do this. I’m gonna go on a date with her.

The thought was utterly surreal. He had come to terms with the fact that he would probably never have a girlfriend in high school and so, he’d stopped even entertaining the thought. He wondered if that might have been why he hadn’t had a crush on anybody since early freshman year. He had shut everyone out so he only noticed the negative aspects of those around him, completely failing to take in anything positive. That applied even to Alice before they spoke in the diner. Her peppy attitude had annoyed him whenever he overheard her in class, and to him, she was no different from the other bubbly and excitable girls around her.

Yet that all changed so quickly and now I’m going on a date with her with all the magic shit going on in the background. Am I wasting my time? Is any of this going to matter when Harper puts Alice back to normal? Is there any point to this date?

Vinny sighed, briefly checking his phone to see if he’d received any texts either from Lilly or from Damien and Liz. The former had texted the three of them that morning to tell them about Scott Reiner and his supposed anti-magic experiments. She’d given them his address and asked if they could help. Naturally, Vinny had ignored her and he never saw replies from the other two, though that didn’t mean they didn’t call her instead.

Scott Reiner, huh? So that Eric guy’s dad is in here, too? Fucking hell…

Vinny pocketed his phone once more and stepped onto the boardwalk, wanting to push any more thoughts of magic from his mind so he could just enjoy the evening despite knowing that probably wasn’t going to happen. There were groups of people crossing the boardwalk as well as a slew of couples that would have once caused Vinny to scowl. It was already far more lively than he preferred and he wasn’t even in the pier yet. However, he quickly found himself smiling slightly when he noticed Alice just ahead, leaning up against the railing as she stared out at the ocean.

“Hey, Mendez,” he called out as he approached.

The girl glanced back and smiled warmly at him as she straightened up and waved. “Hey, Mickelson. Glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, me, too,” he replied, already feeling his stomach tightening up as he took in the sight of the beautiful girl before him.

He’d only ever seen her in either her school uniform or her diner uniform, so he couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked in her baby blue tank top and her jean shorts, with her dark black hair pulled up in a ponytail. Vinny only stared for a moment before realizing his mistake and looking right at her eyes, hoping she hadn’t noticed, though if she had, she didn’t say anything about it.

“Ready to head in then?”

He nodded. “Sure, let’s go in.”

Still feeling a bit awkward, the two of them made their way down the rest of the boardwalk and toward the entrance. Alice already had tickets purchased so she pulled them out of her purse and after receiving little yellow wristbands, they headed into the pier. Vinny had only gone a few times with his family and that was when he was much younger, but it looked just as he remembered it. There were carnival games with giant stuffed toys among other prizes and there were plenty of places to get food and go on rides. Since it was already getting dark, everything was lit up in various colored lights, and the ferris wheel in the distance had them flickering on and off in different patterns that made up a rather entertaining light show. There was so much to do that he was soon overwhelmed, so he turned to Alice.

“So what do you want to do first?” he asked, glancing down at her. “I don’t really know what’s fun here so I’m down for whatever.”

She looked back at him and frowned. “Do you not come here often?”

“Not really,” he muttered. “I never have much of a reason to come.”

“Oh…well then I’ll make sure to show you as much as I can!” Her eyes lit up, as if she really was excited to show him around. “We’ll definitely have to do the ferris wheel but that’s much cooler after sunset so we’ll save that for later. Why don’t we go there first?”

Alice pointed over Vinny’s shoulder to the giant drop tower looming over the entire pier and he immediately felt his fear of heights cause his stomach to get worse. He found himself already regretting his claim that he was good with anything she picked.

How could I forget about that one?! I hate that one!

“It’s smart to go on it before dinner if you don’t want to puke,” she went on. “Does that sound good to you?”

“Yup,” he forced himself to say, not wanting her to realize that he was scared of the ride. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go on that one.”

He allowed Alice to take the lead so she wouldn’t notice him failing to hide his nervousness as the two of them got in line to wait. As they stood, he and Alice talked a bit about school and how their senior years were going. Vinny tried to avoid talking about any depressing topics and instead stuck to pretending he actually enjoyed school. As time passed, he found himself truly understanding how he could have fallen for her in a different world. She was really fun to be around and she was already causing him to smile in a way he couldn’t remember doing for a long time. Her cheer was contagious and even standing in the line for the drop tower wasn’t enough to sour his mood.

Surprisingly, the tower wasn’t as terrifying as he remembered, though that wasn’t to say he had fun on it. Yet, Alice clearly enjoyed it and to him, that was what mattered the most. Once they got off the ride, they wandered around the game stalls until Vinny noticed the ring toss station and the handful of giant stuffed bears hanging over it. Deciding he wanted to try his hand at winning one, he led Alice over and purchased a few tickets so they could both try. To his disappointment, he wasn’t very good at the game and only succeeded in landing one of his rings while Alice made two. Neither was enough to win anything so Vinny begrudgingly decided to start looking for other stalls he’d be better at. The sun had now set and the pier was fully lit up and there was a light breeze in the air that was soothing.

From there, they checked out and tried more games without ever winning anything, though he wasn’t particularly bothered by that fact. As he watched Alice, he could tell that she was having a lot of fun, and he realized that he was, too. He was actually having fun with another person, and that meant more to him than he could ever describe. Her laugh made him laugh and her smile made him smile. He felt happy for the first time in a long time. It felt like they’d been together for months rather than just a mere couple hours.

And maybe we have been together longer. Is this what Harper’s world is like? Is this what my alternate persona experienced every day? If we destroy this so-called erased realm, then is this what my life can be like all the time?

He told himself that couldn’t be the case—that it was a far too convenient reality for him. Life just didn’t work out like that. Everything good always turned out to be bad, and he was only ever hurt. He knew that he should expect a similar result from Alice, but despite that, he didn’t. He didn’t feel as if Alice was going to screw him over, and it made him long for that other world. He wanted his memories back. He wanted to remember everything else he’d done with this girl so he could treasure it like he did this moment.

As they finished up with their games, Alice led him to a food stall selling ice cream and bought them both a chocolate waffle cone before they headed off to find a spot to sit down and enjoy them. All the while, she talked about herself and her stories from the cross country team, as well as of her good friends, and Vinny listened intently. He wanted to know more about her and he wanted to avoid telling anything about himself. When they finished their dessert, Vinny suggested they start heading toward the ferris wheel and Alice agreed, so they got up and began making their way back along the pier.

“So, Mickelson,” Alice began, her hand gently sliding along the railing of the pier. She addressed him but her eyes were directed at the moon in the sky, its silvery light reflecting off the ocean.

“Hmm?”

The girl then glanced back at him, still smiling like she had been all night, then went on. “I don’t mean to pry into any of your business, but I was just wondering why you’re always alone at school. You’ve been really fun to hang out with so…I feel like you would be really popular.”

He grimaced at her words, recalling a time where he had been one of the popular kids. Yet, it was that very popularity, as well as the people he surrounded himself with, that caused him to fall into his current situation.

But how do I tell her that? I really don’t want to get into my past but, well, it’s not surprising that she would want to know.

“It’s a long story,” he murmured. “Let’s just say I got burned and leave it at that.”

She tilted her head and gazed at him with interest. “Burned? So, like, you had friends but they turned on you or something?”

Despite having said to leave it that, Alice pressed anyway, and despite his preference, he found himself replying.

“Yeah, something like that. I used to be on the rugby team back in middle school,” he explained. “I wasn’t the biggest into sports but my stupid middle school brain thought joining would get me in with the right crowds. I wanted to be popular more than anything, but as you can tell, I’m not the biggest kid, so I tended to be the butt of the jokes and the weakest player.”

Alice didn’t interrupt but the look in her eyes told him that she was listening and that she wanted to hear more, and that made him feel oddly comfortable talking about a time in his life he had wanted to abandon.

“They didn’t bully me in the traditional sense. In fact, they rarely laid a finger on me. Instead, they mostly pressured me into doing stupid shit that would get me suspended, and it did. I got suspended constantly because I joined my dumbass friends on their little pranks and whatnot. Around eighth grade, after I already had a reputation for being a troublemaker, I started realizing that my friends weren’t really friends, so I started challenging them and, well, one thing led to another and fights broke out—fights I never won.”

He swallowed back his emotions and started down at the wooden walkway below him. “And when you had the reputation I did, it wasn’t hard to convince everybody who was in the wrong. My entire school avoided me, and by the time I reached high school, I just didn’t feel like trying again. Why should I bother making friends when middle school made it clear how unwanted I was? So I just didn’t. I kept to myself and I tried to avoid conflict, even if that didn’t always work.”

His thoughts shifted to Brad Fischer and Evan Wright, the two who always seemed to be his biggest enemies at the school, and who were now supposedly on his side with the erased realm.

“So yeah,” he finished awkwardly. “That’s the story. And I’m sorry for suddenly bombarding you with all that. I didn’t mean to be—”

It struck him at that moment how surprisingly easy it was to talk to her and how simple it had been to say things he had never told anybody else, and as that realization hit him, he suddenly saw an image. It was brief but it was long enough for him to take in a quiet park in the snow and Alice sitting beside him on a swing set. It was as if this conversation had happened before and he got the unnerving feeling that he had just seen into the other world. A spark of pain shot through his head but he forced himself not to react to avoid startling Alice.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” she said softly. “That sounds horrible. I couldn’t imagine being alone like that for so long.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “You get used to it, honestly. And when you do, it stops being a problem.”

“Well, I hope you know that I want to be your friend,” she replied with a smile. “Or maybe even more than a friend. And I mean that. If you ever need somebody to have lunch with or to call on the phone, I can be there for you.”

Taken aback by the genuine nature of her words, he wasn’t sure how to respond. “B-but…you hardly know me, Mendez. I mean, I appreciate the sentiment and all, but…”

“I don’t know about that,” she muttered. “Like I said the other night, it’s hard to explain, but I feel like I know you better than I do, and whether that makes sense or not, it doesn’t change how I feel. I…want to be there for you, Vinny.”

Vinny? She called me Vinny?

As the two of them continued on their way to the ferris wheel, he found himself happier than ever as he walked alongside her, like he was finally beginning to wake up from a dream—like the haze that floated within his mind was thinning.

“Thank you, Alice.”

***

Hours after departing Scott Reiner’s house, after the sun had set, Lilly was waiting quietly in Rista’s apartment. Only the light over the sitting room was on so the rest of the house was dark and quiet. She was the only one currently home since Rista, Brad, and Evan had all gone to Scott’s workshop. As for the club, Liz agreed to go help them but Damien and Vinny never replied, so she didn’t know what they were up to. And as for Jay, he should be already heading up the stairs and to the front door at that moment. She had texted him to meet her at Rista’s that night and to her relief, he had agreed. Everything felt like it was falling into place. Between her gaining some of the club’s trust and Scott’s research, as well as only having one more mana port to locate, she could tell that the end was drawing near.

Which means I have to reach an understanding with Jay and put this whole situation behind us. I can’t leave Alice without her memories. She needs to use this place to come to terms with what really happened, and whether Jay likes it or not, I can’t take no for an answer. I’ll do my best to convince him to see my side of this, and if he doesn’t, then I’ll just have Rista help Alice anyway. Lilly sighed. I no longer have the time to appease Jay.

She folded her hands on her lap and shook her head, wondering what she could do differently that might get through to him. He had been more hostile with her than he ever had been, and it was starting to scare her. She understood why he would be on edge, especially after finding out that Rina was dead and seeing Audrey Moore alive and well, but she got the feeling that there was more to it.

The Angel brought him back somehow so there has to be something different about him. Is it possible…that the creature is still inside of him? She narrowed her eyes. You gonna answer that question yet, Angel?

There wasn’t a response and she could only scowl. Ever since Jay had been brought back, The Angel had been silent, but she could feel its presence so she knew it was still inside of her. It was staying dormant for a reason and she wanted to know what that was, but unfortunately, before she could pry any further, she heard a knock at the front door, indicating that Jay had arrived.

“It’s unlocked!” she called out, and seconds later, Jay Brooks walked into the living room.

Lilly slowly got to her feet, knowing that she had to be very careful with what she said and how she said it. Whether due to the monster or not, Jay was strangely unstable and she didn’t want to risk setting him off. He was one of her best friends and she was determined to help him the same way she was trying to help the others.

“Hey, Jay,” she greeted softly. “Thanks for coming by.”

He frowned and then glanced around the room before eyeing her suspiciously. “Where’s everybody else? Are you the only one home?”

“I am, yeah. I thought it would be better if we handled this alone. The others don’t need to be here.”

The boy scoffed. “So this is about Alice again? Lilly, how many times do I have to tell you not to go anywhere near Alice with your damn magic? She’s suffered more than enough and she’s finally been given a place where she can be happy! But you want to wrench that away from her?”

“I don’t have a choice,” Lilly replied. “This realm is coming down no matter what and when it does, her memories return regardless. You know this, Jay, and I know you’re not stupid. We should be using this place to help Alice cope, and if we don’t do that, she’ll only return to the real Wilham in an even worse state than before. So tell me…do you want the erased realm destroyed?”

Jay clicked his tongue and slowly began to pace and, as he did, Lilly began to move as well, wanting to keep him at a certain distance as they spoke. She could see the anger and pain in his eyes and was growing more and more convinced that Jay wasn’t completely himself. He clearly wasn’t fully controlled by the monster, but it was affecting him somehow.

It’s possible I can’t get through to him right now. If that thing is getting in the way…

“You know, Lilly, I’ll be honest with you,” he grunted. “I don’t want the erased realm destroyed. I want this place to last forever. Audrey and Rina are alive here. Magic never tainted the school and Nigreos and Album never ruined anything! So of course I want to stay! I want Alice to stay, too! So why can’t we put that world behind us?!” His voice got louder as he began to sound almost desperate to convince her. “Why can’t we just live here? Why do we have to go back? Why do we have to keep fighting when we have a paradise right here?!”

“Because this isn’t a paradise,” she countered immediately. “This is a lie, Jay. This world exists to keep you complacent. If not for The Angel, we’d all be stuck here, ignorant to what really happened out there.”

“And would that not be better?” he demanded. “Why would we even want to remember all that? Lilly, if we just stop all this right now, then we can live peacefully. We can be happy here.”

But she was already shaking her head. “I can’t. I don’t want to be stuck in Album’s supposed paradise. I need to get to Eric—to help him. And I want to see my sister and my family again. Not the fake ones here but the real ones. And it’s not just me. Rista has people who need him out there as well, and Damien, Liz, and Vinny… They’re all unhappy here. This isn’t a paradise for everybody.”

“But it can be!” he vehemently insisted. “It’s over, Lilly. We lost. Nigreos and Album beat us and we’re lucky as all hell that we’re not dead. We were given a place to live so let’s accept that as our loss and put it behind us.”

“We haven’t lost,” Lilly snapped. “Just the fact that I have The Angel is proof of that. If we destroy this place, I can fight Nigreos and Album. They aren’t the gods they made themselves out to be. They can be killed and I will kill them, if I have to.”

“Just stop this!”

“I can’t. Jay, I’m sorry, but I will do what has to be done. I will bring Alice’s memories back and I will take this realm down.”

“DON’T YOU DARE!”

His scream caused her to flinch back as his face contorted into a glare of pure hatred that she never thought she would see directed her way. She tensed up and she could feel The Angel squirming inside her but she kept it in check, refusing to allow it to unleash against Jay.

“I hope this doesn’t destroy our friendship,” Lilly replied calmly. “I love you, Jay. You’re one of my best friends and I hate that it’s come to this, but I have to get to Eric. I wanted your blessing. I really did. But it’s too late now. I’ll do what I have to do to win this war against Ijiria.”

Jay frantically shook his head, his eyes wide and his breathing ragged as he regarded her. “Are you really going to do this to me? You? Of all people, you? I thought I could at least trust you, but I guess I can’t.”

“You can trust me, Jay—”

“NO I CAN’T!” he snarled, taking a threatening step toward her, and she could see that the conversation was deteriorating far faster than she had been ready for. “If I could trust you then you would be doing everything in your power to save Alice! You would want her to be happy! Don’t you see what you’re trying to do to her?! In that world, Audrey and Rina are dead! Alice lost her friends, lost her leg, got herself tortured…! She suffered so much and now she’s free from it! She’s safe and happy and you want to throw her back into that hellish life?!”

“I don’t have a choice,” Lilly said firmly. “I can’t change the past. What happened in our world can’t be undone, not even by a place like this. She’ll know something’s wrong here. We all had a feeling before our memories returned. Alice needs to accept what happened…and so do you…”

“No,” Jay spat. “I don’t have to accept anything. I just have to help Alice! I have to help her! I failed everybody else, after all! Audrey is dead because of me! And Rina… I led Rina to her death! She followed me into the forest and now she’s dead! The three of them were my family when my actual family didn’t want me! I cared about them more than anything! I would have died for them and it was me who got them killed! I couldn’t save Audrey! I couldn’t save Rina! And I couldn't save Alice.” His breathing was heavy and his body shook as he spoke as he continued moving toward her. “But now I have a chance. Alice can live here and if you want to get in my way…”

Lilly swallowed nervously but held her ground, refusing to back down as Jay walked right up to stand in front of her, his face right in front of hers.

“Then you’re our enemy, Lilly.”

The sensation was so fast that Lilly didn’t even realize what had happened until it was too late. Her hand lurched up and grabbed Jay by the face as her lips began to move.

“I’m sorry, Harper. I really am.”

No! Don’t!

“Coreas,” her mouth said on its own, and to her horror, shadows exploded from her palm, engulfing Jay’s face and sending his body lurching backwards, bursting through the balcony doors in a spray of glass before disappearing over the side with a feral scream.

What the hell did you do?! she snarled internally as she sprinted forward, avoiding shards of glass, before coming to a stop by the railing of the balcony.

“Jay!” she shrieked, but the moment she saw over the side, a feeling of dread washed over her.

Jay's body was convulsing on the ground as inhuman screams escaped his lips while his limbs began to grow, turning more spindly and spider-like. At the same time, claws grew from his nails and she could see his skin turning gray in the dim light of the streetlamps. Hair sprouted around his body and his teeth turned sharp and jagged as he raised his head to turn his pitch black eyes toward where she stood. It was a sight she recognized and a sight that still haunted her nightmares, and she could only remember the last time she had seen that monster.

She’d hoped to never see it again, but she had already gotten a nasty feeling that wouldn’t be the case.

“What did I do?” the Voice of Darkness asked in a smug tone. “I saved you from that.”