A/N: hey guys! soooo after a HUGE break from this fanfiction, i'm finally back! it feels really weird to be writing this story again but i've spent some time reading through my notes and the previous chapters of this au and i think i'm ready to write chapter 33. it's going to take a while for me to properly get back into this, but i'm so happy to be writing again. i've missed it so much! when i was in really bad shape over christmas (2015 for those reading in the future, if anyone xD) i was actually considering deleting this story. yep, i'm serious. but i'm so glad i chose not to. i'm super proud of this story, even if the first few chapters are pretty terrible, and i want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through this. i really do love writing and, yes, it is something i am considering as a career. writing fanfiction is such a great hobby and i love it so much. to get to 10k reads would honestly mean the world to me and even if i never get any further than 10k, i will still be immensely proud of how far this little story has come. also, i just realised i am just under 100 votes away from 1k - that's absolutely insane! anyway, cheesy author's note over, it's time for chapter 33! jfc 33 chapters is A LOT i just realised that. sorry i really am going now. also just an fyi that we are coming to the end of this au, so if you guys could comment some ideas for my next one that would be great. thanks guys! hugs and love, avery x
Rose's POV
Why do I feel like none of this is real?
My head is aching and I can't see anything. The world around me is blurry and distorted, and through my misty eyes I can barely make out people or objects. It's almost like a dream, but every time I try to wake up I end up opening my eyes right where I started off. I'd even go so far as to say it is a dream, but there's something so real about this world that it can't be. It's just too real. And everything around me is just how it should be. There's nothing wrong. I know there isn't.
But two things are wrong.
One. I have the strangest feeling that something is missing.
Two. I feel like I'm being watched.
Slowly the world comes back into focus and I feel able to stand up again. But no, this isn't right. A white light is slowly appearing in front of me, glowing brightly. I must be hallucinating. Sitting down, I close my eyes, trying to force the light away, but when I open them again a girl is standing in front of me. Her head is tilted to one side, and she is smiling. I frown, because I've never seen her before, but for some reason I feel like I've known her forever. I know her smile. I know her green eyes. I know her wavy, auburn hair, but we've never met before. At least, not that I can remember. There's something oddly translucent about her skin, something empty about her eyes. What am I thinking? I must be going crazy.
'Rose,' she says. Her voice is soft, gentle, and melodic, and again, I feel as if I've heard it before. 'How...how do you know my name?' I ask, shielding my eyes from the almost blinding light surrounding the girl. She blinks exaggeratedly, lifting her shoulders and raising her eyebrows. Her movements are delayed somewhat, almost as I they are being played in slow motion, but maybe that's just my brain. 'I don't know. What do you think?' Suddenly I feel angry, exposed and attacked, wondering who this girl is and how she seems to know who I am. 'Don't play games! Tell me!' I shout.
She smiles slowly, making me feel even more irritated and impatient. 'Tell me!' I demand. The girl laughs. 'You really have no idea?' I frown. 'Obviously not.'
'Please excuse my lapse of manners, it's just rather amusing to see you this way. I'm not used to it,' the girl says. 'What do you mean, "not used to it"? We've never met before,' I answer. She smiles again. That infuriating smile! 'Oh, Rose, I've known you longer than you've known anyone else.' I don't even question it this time. I'm going insane. I have to be. What other explanation is there?'
'Whatever I say to you, you won't believe,' she continues. 'So I'll tell you what you have to do, and you can make it up as you go along. Play pretend, play pretend like you did when you were younger. It doesn't matter who I am, because soon everything will be right again, and everything will make sense.' The girl stares into my eyes, and it feels like she's burning a hole right into me. 'If you listen to me, you'll understand.'
Through the deafening silence, she looks at me, studies my face, as if she's trying to read me. Trying to work out what I'm going to do. Listen or walk away. Walk away or listen. Make your choice, my mind whispers, echoing throughout my thoughts. I nod. 'I'm listening.'
'I'm going to start by telling you a series of statements, and I want you to tell me which ones are true and which ones are false.' I nod. 'You feel like you're dreaming,' she says. I find myself incapable of speech, as if the words have been stolen from me. I nod again. 'You feel like you should be waking up, but every time you try, you can't.' Another nod. 'You know that something isn't right, but you don't know what.' Nod. 'You keep hearing strange noises from behind you, and when you look in the mirror, it's like there's something there that you can't see.' Slowly I nod yet again, tears coming to my eyes. 'And finally, you feel like none of this is real.'
I nod.
'Thank you,' the girl says. 'I'm going to explain to you what's going on, tell you your role in this story, and what you can do to stop this. But remember that it's hurting me, and you, a lot to do this, and in the end, only you can make the choice. It's only you who can end all this. Nobody can do it for you.' Tears run down my face, and I open my mouth, but yet again, there are no words. I'm scared and confused and I want to know how I can get out of this, get out of this world that is destroying itself around me. 'Tell me,' I whisper, pleading for an answer.
Stretching an arm out slowly, the girl holds a golden, shining object in her hand. It glows brightly like a source of light, and I can just make out the shape. A key. 'This is a special key. Take it, and don't lose it, because your life depends on its safety.' I take the key from her palm, staring at it as it lights up the room. 'Now listen to me, because this is the important bit.' The girl pauses, waiting for my full attention, and I look up at her, willing her to go on. 'This is going to scare you, but if you listen to me, then it's all going to end and you'll understand everything. Okay?' Without waiting for an answer, she goes on.
'In another world, there's another version of you who's living a completely different life. But that girl is you, and in that world, you've met me before. That's why you look at me and you feel like you know me. In that world, you've been to different places, done different things, met different people, and all of those things were supposed to happen. But none of them would have happened if you hadn't gone to work that day. And by that day, you know what I mean, don't you? That day is when you hurt your foot and you stayed off work. But if you'd gone to work, all those things would have happened. And they didn't. In that other life, you met someone so special, so special you managed to save the world with him, time and time again, and you met him on that day. And now, all because you didn't go to work, the world around you is dying. You can see it, Rose, can't you? You look out of your window and you see nothing but destruction. And if you'd gone to work that day, it wouldn't be like this. It wasn't meant to be like this. But it is, and the only way you can change that is by going back and going to work that day.'
I stare at the girl with no words. 'But how?'
She smiles at me. 'This key,' she says, touching the key in my hand. 'That person you met, that special person, this key is his. This key can bring you to him. It knows you, Rose. It knows who you are and it can take you back in time to that day, and it can help you change things. If you can be strong and change what you did, this world is gone. Gone. Just like that. Gone forever. Now think. Why didn't you go to work?'
'I hurt my foot,' I croak, my voice hoarse from crying. 'How?' she asks. 'I...tripped over a loose paving stone, I think,' I reply, remembering the loose stone on the pavement by the grocery store. 'So...do I have to move the stone or something?'
The girl grins. 'Exactly! So, the original version of you tripped over the paving stone at precisely 5:29pm. You have to get to the stone before Rose 1 sees you, and get rid of it so she doesn't trip. As soon as you've done that, it will trigger a series of events that are to follow that will stop everything that's happening now.' She looks at me and smiles. 'Rose, you're going to save the world.' I nod and smile back through my tears. 'What do I have to do?'
'Take the key, and just focus your mind on where you're going. Oh, and have this watch,' she says, producing a wristwatch from seemingly thin air. 'When you get there, the time will automatically set to exactly five minutes before 5:29, meaning you have those five minutes to find the stone, move it and stop Rose 1 from tripping. You've only got one chance at this - there isn't enough power to let you try again. I know you can do it.' I wipe away my tears and stand up. 'Okay.'
She's fading away now, but just before she disappears completely, the girl taps my shoulder. I turn around, hearing a hissing sound. 'Oh, and, Rose...there's something on your back...'
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A/N GUYS IM SO SORRY this was meant to be a longer chapter but i felt like it was long enough tbh. this was SUPER hard to write so please let me know what you think, and the next part will be with you in the next week or so, hopefully - probably midweek sometime because i'll be revising for my exams next weekend :/ also, as i said before, please comment some ideas for the next au, that'd be great. i really hope you enjoyed and don't forget to vote! :)