Reality Check

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A/N - YOOO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE READING THIS! I'm so grateful that people actually enjoy my fanfic enough to keep reading! The theme song for this chapter is "walking in the wind" by One Direction and I highly highly recommend that you listen to it! It sums up all the feels and I was listening to so many songs while writing this to capture all the emotions,,,, And if this chapter doesn't make you cry ... idk what will lol

Walking in the Wind (by One Direction)

"Yeah, you will find me, in places that we've never been. For reasons we don't understand . . ."

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Bethany had forgotten what it was like to be herself, and this new feeling of wholeness was taking some getting used to. It was comparable to trying on high heels for the first time, or when she first got her hair cut a few inches shorter. In time, the feeling would fade, and she would feel completely normal again. Her two perspectives of the world had changed, and instead of being kept separate, they were joined together.

Despite this strange feeling, she couldn't be more grateful that her memories had returned. Now that she had her real memories, along with the memories she'd gotten from both her fictional and nonfictional selves, she spent a lot of time thinking over everything that had happened within the past three years. Getting split into two halves meant forgetting who she was, and she forgot what was important. She never wanted that to happen ever again.

As Bethany got ready for school that morning, it took all of her willpower not to run to the library, right then and there. She was done with her rules, and she didn't care whether she got into trouble or not. Those things didn't hold as much importance compared to Owen's safety. She had to get him out of that horrible place.

She couldn't imagine how traumatic it must've been for him, trying to fight his way out of the book when there was no way he could've escaped without her help. Most of all, she felt guilty. She should've saved him before any of this happened. She should've tried going back for him when he first went missing, back in her father's comic book. Then again, her, Charm, and Gwen were on a time crunch to find her father, but Owen had been in danger. Her father could've waited if it meant taking a quick detour to save her best friend from Nobody.

When she was finished getting ready for the day, she was tempted to sprint to the library and borrow a copy of Pick The Plot to jump into, since Kiel was currently borrowing her's. More than anything, she wanted to throw the book open and jump straight in without a second thought. It was tempting, and it would give her some peace to see Owen again. If she started running to the library now, this could all be over within a few minutes.

But no, Bethany couldn't do it. She had promised Kiel that they'd do this together, and she knew how important this was to him, too. As much as she resented the idea, she'd have to wait until tonight.

Ditching her idea, she hurried down the stairs, her mind dancing with thoughts about Owen. She couldn't wait to see him again, and she figured he would also have a lot of questions pertaining what had happened. She would have many questions, too, but mostly, all she wanted to do was hug her best friend after three antagonizing years of separation. She wouldn't rest until he was safe.

All because of Nobody's plans, Owen had been trapped in a time prison in the fictional world — without Bethany even knowing! It made her even more furious, and she hated the faceless man with every fiber of her being. He had taken Owen from her, caused Kiel to suffer, and he'd separated her into two halves against her own free will. Once she returned Owen back safe and sound, she was ready to punch some justice hard, right into the middle of Nobody's nonexistent face.