The days passed on, the Spring Formal was upon us. Rose still avoided me, sticking mostly by Michael's side. She had tried several times to talk to Jake and Adam, but my brother was now traumatized and fled at the sight of her, and Jake only paid her the minimum amount of attention, spending most of his time staring at me.

"Are you sure you don't want him 'taken care of'?" Liam asked once.

I shook my head. "It won't matter soon enough."

"...That's not ominous at all."

The night of the dance I dressed in a black gown, ignoring the yellow dress from the memories. It seemed bad luck to wear the dress the original character had almost died in. Adam smiled as I came downstairs, giving me a hug.

"You look great. Sorry Mom and Dad aren't here to make a fuss and take pictures."

"It's probably better that way. Are you going to crash the party?"

Adam shuddered. "No... she's there. Besides." He gave a sheepish grin. "I kind of have a date tonight."

"Did you finally ask out Jessica?" I asked, thinking of the girl from the coffee shop who had given him her number.

"I did." He gave me another hug. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For pulling me back. You were right, before. I WAS obsessed with winning that girl over. I wasn't acting like myself. But now, I'm much happier."

"I'm glad." I blinked back tears in my eyes. "I'm going to miss you."

"Silly girl, you're just going to a dance. I'll see you later tonight." He went to ruffle my hair, but looking at the carefully constructed hairstyle, second guessed the motion, pinching my cheek instead.

But I won't see you tonight. Not if this plan works. I held my worries inside and waved goodbye, stepping outside where a nervous looking Liam paced.

"I got you flowers." He held them out, almost smashing them in my face in his hurry, before pulling back. "Sorry, didn't mean to attack you with them... I mean..."

I took them with a smile. "Let's go to the dance."

_____________________________

As we stepped into the large decorated room, I looked around, keeping an eye out for the key characters. It was difficult to spot them, everywhere in the room were our classmates, talking, dancing, laughing. Everyone was in constant motion, the sound in the room from the blaring music to the constant chatter almost overwhelming.

"Jake is sulking in the corner." Liam spoke next to my ear, his warm breath startling me into taking a step back. I looked in the direction he pointed, and soon spotted him, standing with his arms crossed, glaring at anyone who came close.

"Just ignore him for now." I answered back, pulling him forward.

As Liam and I walked towards the punch table, we spotted Michael, who was standing nearby with a anxious expression. Our eyes met and to my surprise he stepped closer.

"Have you seen her?"

"Rose?" I shook my head. "Not yet."

"She said she was looking for you!" Michael looked ready to pull his hair out with worry. "She seemed really... upset tonight. Do you know what's going on?"

"No. We really haven't spoken these last few days."

"What kind of friend are you?" He snarled, only to be pushed back by Liam with a smile.

"A thirsty one, so please excuse us, brother dear, while we grab some punch." He led me to the refreshments, muttering. "So intense. Bad for the blood pressure."

"Where do you think...?" Before I could finish my question, a girl spoke into a microphone on the stage, interrupting the music and causing all the conversations to grind to a halt.

"There you are, Blaire!" Rose was wearing a lovely pink dress, her hair piled stylishly on her head, but on her face was an ugly, twisted expression, as if she was overcome by hatred. Her eyes had a fanatical light, as she stared down at me, her hand clenching the microphone tightly.

"I just want to thank you on this special night." She smiled, but the expression was wrong. "I thought once upon a time that we were friends, but little did I know that you were always working against me. You pretended to like me, all the while SCHEMING behind my back to ruin my life!"

Ignoring the whispers that filled the room, she stepped off the stage, still holding the microphone, and approached me slowly. Liam stepped forward to stand between us, only to be pushed back by me with a smile.

"It's okay."

"PAY ATTENTION!" Rose screamed as I turned back towards her. "I didn't notice at first, when Adam started visiting me less. I figured he was busy with a school project, or a big game... but then he stopped coming altogether! I tried to call him and he blocked my number!"

She continued forward, her eyes locked onto my own. "Then there was Jake. He was always so nice... so loyal... but then he started caring less and less. Even tonight he hasn't said hello to me once!" She laughed bitterly. "Both of these events have one thing in common: you!"

Rose pointed at me. "You convinced your brother to stop seeing me! You seduced Jake away! You were so jealous of me, so unwilling to watch me be happy, that you had to RUIN it all!"

"..." I shook my head slowly. "Aren't you dating Michael? What are you so upset about?"

"... That has nothing to do with this! They belonged TO ME! They are supposed to adore ME. Love ME!" Her eyes were wide and filled with rage, she was now only a few steps away. "THEY ARE MINE AND YOU STOLE THEM FROM ME!"

"Look, I didn't steal anything..."

"You stole my happiness away, and now you have to pay the price." Rose whispered, pulling out a knife.

"BLAIRE!" I heard Liam scream, but Rose had already leapt forward, the blade in her hand flashing in the overhead lights.

I threw myself to the side, but felt a burning pain in my shoulder as the knife cut deep into skin and muscle. I groaned with pain, landing on the ground, blood seeping between my fingers.

Rose stumbled, the knife still firmly in her hand, and turned towards me once more. Letting out a scream of rage, she brought the knife down again...

Only to be stopped by Liam, who stared at her with an icy expression.

"That's enough."

Another hand grabbed the knife from her, stepping back with a frown. Jake. "I never belonged to you, Rose. How could you hurt Blaire like this? I thought you two were friends?!"

Michael stared in shock at the three of us, before stepping back, shaking his head back in forth in a desperate movement. "No, no... this isn't right. My beautiful Rose isn't like this! She's perfect and kind and lovely... she would never hurt someone..."

"Michael..."

He backed away further. "No! This is a fake Rose! I have to go find the real one!" With a desperate scream, he ran out, unwilling to face the gruesome scene left behind.

One of the worthless teachers finally had called the police, and Liam led me over to the chairs on the side of the room, pressing a wad of napkins to the wound in my arm.

"Don't worry, the ambulance will be here soon. A few stitches and you'll be good as new!" He smiled at me, the same grin as always, but I saw the fear in his eyes, the shaking in the hands that pressed against my shoulder. I patted him on the head with my uninjured arm.

"Thanks."

"I didn't like this scheme, Blaire." He whispered. "Let's not do this kind again. You can take over the world all you want, but don't... don't get hurt."

I laughed at that. "Sounds good. No getting hurt in the world domination plan from here on out."

As I spoke, I felt a vibration in the pocket of my gown. I reached down and pulled it out, looking at the blinking mission screen with a quiet sigh.

"100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

Stay in this world?

YES/NO

I stared at the two options, my heart beating quickly in my chest. I had always clicked no without hesitation, moving on to the next world immediately, hoping that this time would be the last. This time would be the time when I remember who I was, and why I was reborn over and over in these stories.

I thought about my brother, excited about his first date that night. About Katy, the school bully, who was now on her way to starting up a business empire while still in high school.

About Liam.

I still didn't know why such an important character was edited out of the story summary. I don't know why he cared so much, treated me so well. Even now the thought of leaving him, of not seeing him every day hurt.

But this wasn't my home.

I looked over at Liam one last time, a sad smile stretching across my face. He seemed to notice the strangeness of it, smiling back with a small hint of panic in his voice.

"Blaire? What's wrong?"

"Thank you for everything. I'm sorry I couldn't answer your feelings. Try to be happy."

"Why are you talking like this? It's just a cut, you're acting like you're about to die..." Tears were in his eyes, but he barely blinked, refusing to look away, as if terrified I would disappear at any moment.

"Goodbye, Liam."

I clicked the "No." button on the screen, and felt the world dissolve around me.

"BLAIRE!"

In the nothingness between worlds, there was just me. No people, no sounds, no light. I felt dampness on my face, but I ignored it.

It was time to move on to the next world.

I landed on the ground, groaning as I felt pain from multiple injuries.

I had just gotten stabbed in the last world, why am I even worse off in this one?!

Grrrr

At the loud growl, I looked around, feeling tired.

Great. A post apocalyptic story with zombies. Just freaking great. I already hate this.

_____________________________

"She's gone."

Liam stared at the blood soaked napkin in his hand, blinking back tears as a wealth of information and understanding entered his mind, his gaze becoming firm and clear. He chuckled sadly, his hand slowly closing over the stained cloth. A girl sat next to him, a girl with an unchanged appearance, wearing the same black dress, with an identical wound on her shoulder...

But it wasn't her.

"Liam?" She asked quietly, sounding confused. Liam wasn't surprised. The memories in her head probably didn't make much sense to her right now. He stood up, passing a clean napkin on to her.

"I called your brother, he'll be here shortly. Make sure to hold pressure on your wound."

"Oh... okay." She seemed as if she was about to stop him, but paused, as if unable to remember why she would.

Liam walked away.

His phone rang out with an alert. Pulling it up, a wry smile tugged at his lips as he studied the last text on the phone from a contact labeled "Future Wife."

"Sorry."

"So cruel." He whispered. "But I forgive you."

Another beep sounded, a new text arriving, this time from a contact labeled "Unknown." Slowly, he read the message.

"She doesn't remember you."

"That's fair." He chuckled. "I couldn't remember her until it was too late." He looked around. "She did fix this world beautifully though."

"She'll never succeed. No one ever has. She's lucky she hasn't been destroyed yet."

"It was never her fault... she's just had to pay the price for my mistake." He looked up at the decorated ceiling with a long sigh. "But I've found her now, that's what's important. And now that I have, I won't lose her again."

"You'll forget her again in the next world. You can't bring your memories with you."

"If that's what it take to stay by her side, then that's what I'll do." He grinned. "Besides, I didn't do too badly this time, even without memories."

"You're both crazy."

"You're probably right. But enough, chit chat, I have a wife to chase." He looked down at his phone, laughing. "Zombies, huh? I bet she'll hate that."