Seventeen Forever

Candi Forever

"Oh, Kaileigh! Check it out! I think I found my Endless key!" James had been trying this for about a week now- it was actually sort of entertaining. "Look, I made this sculpture of Pretty Please out of clay!" Actually, he was pretty good with clay, maybe he could even make Collin hot. ...No, that was too much. Even for James. We got on the bus, and it was time for Emily to join us once more, but surprisingly enough, she didn't talk to us. Not a bad twist on my day, actually.

"Alright, here I go! Take me to Endless!" To his surprise (but not mine), James' seventh attempt at a key was a bust. So, I grabbed his hand and brought him to Endless.

"Look at it this way; Pretty Please will love it," I told him. Then, I noticed it was silent. "Where is everyone?"

"Well, there's that whistling," James stated.

"What whistling?" I listened and the sound finally registered. "James, that's a slide-whistle, take cover!" I dove as the falling object crashed into the sand.

"What is it?" James asked. I looked in the crater.

"It's... Beefhouse!?" I was in shock. Who would beat up Beefhouse? Fortunately, I got my answer when the Foursquare announcer- whose name is Tammy, I recently found out- began echoing over the island.

"Beefhouse is out!" The crowd cheered especially loud. But, if I recall correctly, Beefhouse was one of the champions. Who beat him?

"We need to go check this out, James. He'll be fine." We ran. While on the way, Tasty Troy flew over our heads as well. We took our seats in the bleachers. Doctor Champion was in one corner, in other was...

"Candi!" I yelled. She looked different from her banner, but I realized that Seventeen's banner was never updated, either. She had the body of a young adult now, and I couldn't see her face, as she wore a mask that matched her bubblegum pink hair.

"How can she be good at this? She's only human, like us!" James said.

"Hi, Kaileigh!" Tater Tot was behind us. "You got here just in time!"

"Who do you think will win?" I asked.

"No one! These two are both undefeated. They agree to a draw every time, but it's amazing to watch," she said, eyes twinkling. Tammy blew the whistle.

"Okay, you two, I want to see a fair game! Doctor Champion starts with the ball!" Tammy says.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN THIS TIME, CANDI!" Doctor Champion rips the ball he was handed in half.

"No, you," Candi said in a teasing voice. Tammy hands Doctor Champion a new ball and he spikes it. Candi's hair suddenly forms into a ping pong racket and deflects the ball back.

"WHAT!?" Me and James scream. The ball only picked up speed with each deflection, Candi was now sitting in a chair of her own hair, while it functioned as two paddles.

"She's smug. I like her!" I say to James.

"I might be in love!" James said.

"Honestly, me too!" I said back. The match went on until Candi decided to combine her paddles, sending the ball flying faster than my eyes could follow. When I looked up, a crater stood in front of Doctor Champion. The crowd fell silent.

"Doctor Champion is out!" Tammy said, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Candi turned her hair into arms and flexed them, then they produced the words "thank you" from the muscles. Before she broke into dance.

"What is this dorky dance?" I laughed.

"It's the default dance!" James answered.

"Alright, let's go meet her," I said as the crowd started dying down.

"You think she'll let us?" James said.

"James, she's only the second person on Endless ever, and we're the third and fourth. Plus, you can ask about her key," I said.

"I'm in," he says as we walk onto the court.

"Candi!" I yell, and she turns to me. Suddenly she begins running, using her hair as legs.

"Holy crap, she's fast!" James said as we took off. Candi was frequently looking back as we ran.

"She's trying to lose us so she can warp out!" I yell.

"We're heading to the landing spot, can you warp there while you are here? We could do a pincer maneuver!" That was his most clever idea, ever.

"Take me to Endless!" When I shouted the yellow aura consumed me, and I was at the landing zone. I hid behind some rubble as Candi emerged alone, having lost James.

"Good, lost those kids," she muttered. She held her arm up, which had a charm bracelet on it, as well as a rather large cut.

"Psyche!" I yelled as I jumped out and grabbed her, right as a white aura consumed us both. I looked in front of me. I was now in someone's room, holding their bare leg. I looked up slowly in fear, and the girl stared back down at me.

"EMILY!" I screamed. She held up her bloodied arm with the bracelet.

"May we be friends forever on Endless," she said, with murder in her voice. The white aura consumed us and we returned to Endless. I was once again looking at Candi's outfit, her mask now missing.

"EMILY!" James came up behind us.

"Yes, Emily!" Candi confirmed angrily. "I should've known you'd find me here. I noticed your Endless key glowing on that necklace the other day." She sat down, blood still streaming from her cut.

"Are you okay?" James asked.

"Yeah, you get a lot of adrenaline when you get hurt on Endless, which is why I come here to... uh, never mind," she mutters in a somber tone.

"I hope this isn't the wrong time to ask, but... do you know Seventeen?" I asked.

"No, never met the bitch. Supposedly, myself, Shane, and Tristan came here for the first time not long after the last time she was seen, and that was five years ago," she said.

"Why is your name Candi?" James asked. To that, she ripped a piece of her hair off.

"It's cotton candy," she answered. She now had her head in her hands.

"Wait. Guy Pleasant told me only you and Seventeen ever came here from Earth. Who are Shane and Tristan?"

"My friends. First it was Tristan, when he was fifteen. His Endless key stopped working one day. Within a month, he forgot Endless existed, and the islanders forgot him. The same happened with Shane a few months ago. It's like he was erased from existence, at least in Endless, and in my life, I suppose. Soon, it'll be me. This is the first time my key has worked since before she even showed up." Was Emily crying?

"So when you grow up, you disappear from Endless!?" I realized. "How does everyone remember Seventeen then?" I asked.

"Dunno. Maybe she can still come here and just doesn't, she'd be what? 22 now? Can I leave in peace, please?" she asked.

"Will you come back?" James asked.

"Well, yeah. I blow off steam here," Emily said. "Actually, I have a question. Why didn't you use your Endless powers to chase me?"

"Endless... powers?" I asked.

"Oh my god, you guys are newbies. You have a power, too, like my hair." Emily raised her arm and the key returned her home.

"Well, that was life changing," James said.

"Yeah, I said she was hot," I replied.

"A hot mess, maybe," James said.

"Do you want to work on your Endless power?" I ask.

"No. Not today. This was enough Endless for one day." I took his hand and brought us back to Dubuque. He exited my home quietly. How many people went to Endless and then forgot it? Was there even a point to going there, then? And who is this Seventeen bitch? Why is she special?

To Be Continued in: Endless Forever