Prologue

Don't you wish sometimes life headed giant "rewind" button? Well judging by the year I had I was about there. Everything had started in January when my best friend, Michael Stark announced along with being attracted to girls (despite the fact he had never had a girlfriend) that he was attracted to guys as well. I had known the guy for almost my entire life at that point so as you can imagine a came as quite a shock. It didn't matter that I felt like my entire world had been dumped on its head and this even changed how I even approached how I felt about him, I mean, how the heck was I supposed to even begin to figure out my feelings when I might as well have been told I had no chance with him at all.

To add to my increasing "issues" that only reassured my mother and sister I was losing my mind I was having increasing panic attacks, which never happened to me before. I liked to consider myself a pretty levelheaded person and it took a lot to rattle me, but that's exactly what I was-rattled. I had written off the panic attack (after I had figured out that's what it was) as a stress-related reaction to what was going on with Michael, but even so I felt trapped inside my own head in a way I couldn't even begin to explain. I had all but forgotten about the incident when I saw Michael some five or six months later, but following a second panic attack under almost identical circumstances I knew there was something wrong, if only in my own mind.

I did what I normally did when I was trying to figure something out, I googled it, searching everything from "panic attacks" to "overemotional". I didn't have a word for how I was feeling or acting, I couldn't explain it, I knew it had to do with my relationship with Michael, and why, following his admission everything, whether it was related to the incident or not was setting me off.

That was when I found out I was an empath, someone who could pick up and take on the emotions of others, I had nearly all the "symptoms" (if you could call them that) and after much searching I found an online community just for people like me and for the first time in what seemed like a long time I relaxed, I finally felt like I was in a place where I could say how I felt and not be laughed at.

So yeah, it's been quite a year.

 

Before I get any further in my story let me introduce myself, my name is Elaine Charles, I am twenty-one years old and live in a nondescript apartment in Chicago. Most of the time I just keep to myself, I had done the college thing and coughed up an art degree with nothing to show for it, no job, no nothing, only reinforcing the cliché of the starving artist.

Today, three weeks before Christmas, would've been like any other day if it hadn't been for my brother and his friends helping an old neighbor of ours clean out her garage. I mean, who decides to clean out the garage in December anyway? Everyone showed up in their snow-covered cars dressed in their winter jackets with hats and scarves. Ms. Clementine's garage stood open, packed from floor to ceiling with mismatched boxes.

"Remind me why were doing this again?" My brother, Ryan, grumbled, shoving his ski cap more securely on his head.

"We're doing a good deed and maybe with your earnings you can actually buy your girlfriend that engagement ring you want." I reminded him.

Ryan gave a lopsided grin. Aside from my sister, who worked as an engineer at a small company in town, my brother was about as jobless as I was, finishing school, trying to figure out how to pay off student loans, and contemplating marriage all at once.

"True." Ryan murmured, "but don't mention that to her."

I grinned.

"Cross my heart, I know how crazy you two are about each other and I haven't spilled the beans yet." I said, pantomiming an X over the front pocket of my jacket.

Taped to the top of one of the boxes in the garage was a note from Ms. Clementine.

Children-

Thank you so much for your help. Please organize each of the boxes accordingly:

things I wish to keep and store in the attic in the house

things I wish to give away

and anything else you wish to keep, just leave me a note saying what you took.

Your pay is on the kitchen counter, come get me when you're done.

Ms, C.

One of my brother's friends Jack ran a hand through his long dark hair.

"Okay, where we supposed to start?"

Sighing, I went into a leader mode, somebody had to organize everyone, it was mostly guys, and aside from Sarah, Ryan's girlfriend, I was the only other female in the company.

"Start with the stuff that goes into the attic and stack it in the back," I ordered, "or you can go inside and asked Ms. Clementine if you can put all the stuff in the attic right now, that will get things out of the way."

"Alright, we can do that." I watch as Ryan and Jack disappeared through the door into the house. They returned a few minutes later Ryan nodding his head.

"She said yeah, go head and bring it in."

While the guys moved to the boxes which turned out to contain mostly holiday decorations and a few old keepsakes into the house, Sarah, and I continued going through the boxes everything that was moved made me sneeze. I was just going through the boxes next to the Christmas decorations, which Ryan had moved when I saw it. A beautiful antique snow globe with a little fairy inside. She seemed to be twirling even though her figure was stationary her hands uplifted to the snow that fell down when the snow globe was shaken.

A small plaque on the bottom of the snow globe read:

Make a Wish-watch your dreams become reality.

"I wish I could start this year over." I muttered, "I wish Michael had never told me he was bi… And that our relationship was so much simpler, that we could be dating and that would be it."

The fairy inside the snow globe winked and then suddenly, despite the fact no one was shaking it the snow inside the snow globe began to swirl so fast I could barely see anything, and it was only then I realized the entire snow globe was glowing. It was warm and seemed to vibrate in my hands and I could barely get a breath as a white flash overtook my vision.

 

2: The Fairy's Wish

My next conscious thought was of being face down in the snow. My face was pretty much numb at this point and I couldn't quite shake the fog from my brain. Rolling over and sitting up I took in my surroundings. I was obviously outside, the wind cutting through my already soaking wet jeans. I was in the busy part of town, in Millennium Park a few blocks from where my apartment was. The first thing I took in was the glare of the intersection as cars rushed by even knots of bikers and tourists on Segways were absent.

I knew anyone who had seen me at that moment would've thought I was a complete nutcase, I was wet and out in the middle of the city with no recollection of how I had gotten there in the first place.

The other thing that warranted my attention was the soft glow that seem to hover over the snow  but it wasn't just coming from the streetlights in and around the park. A few minutes later when the activity of the streets had died down to a gentle murmur the soft glow materialized into a figure, a young woman in a sky blue dress, she was wearing a small tiara and glittering wings sprouting from her shoulders.

I blinked up at her dazed, sure I was dreaming.

"Well, don't just sit there," she said in a brusque tone, "you're soaked to the skin as it is."

Dumbly, I clambered to my feet.

"Where am I?" I asked stupidly.

The fairy, for that's clearly what this woman was, answered in that same bossy voice, "Chicago, obviously, what you think?"

The fairy began walking and I followed numbly, and while she walked she continued talking, she seemed to be talking very fast.

"The question is not "where" but when."

I blinked, unsure of what she meant.

"Yes when." The fairy finish shortly. She had stopped walking and for the first time she frowned.

"Oh dear, I was going to have my little chat on the wall over there, but seeing as you're all wet and it's freezing out here I think it's best we go somewhere warmer."

Immediately, I dug around in my purse trying to locate my phone.

"I'll see if I can get a cab then we can go back to my apartment… It's that way." I pointed in the direction of the distance skyscrapers.

"Oh never mind that!" The fairy said in that same brisk tone, "we don't need that!" It took me a few minutes to realize she had extracted a shiny silver wand from the sleeve of her dress. "Just stand close by and we'll be out of here in a jiffy."

"What's your address? Honestly, they never give us this information when they send us out on assignment!" She seemed to be talking to herself. Then she pulled a small gold object out of the folds of her robe then looked at it before nodding to herself then she straightened her dress and stood up taller, "Right then." Then she waved her wand and snow began to swirl around us again, I closed my eyes this time, unsure of how I was even still standing.

When I open my eyes again we were standing inside of my apartment and I was just about to reach for the light switch when the fairy flicked her wand and the apartment came to life right along with the heat.

I sank down into my recliner.

"Now can you start from the beginning? Maybe assure me I'm not dreaming?" I asked.

"Oh you're not dreaming, I'm positive of that," the fairy replied confidently.

"Can you at least tell me why you're here, and why I woke up in the middle of Chicago with no recollection of how I got there."

"You made a wish, didn't you?" The fairy asked, eyeing me speculatively.

It was then I remembered, but even then it was as if the memory was a long way away.

"Yes…" I said slowly.

"I wished I could start the year over… I wished my friend hadn't told me about his sexuality… I wished he was my boyfriend."

The fairy crossed her arms, the long sleeves of her dress swishing.

"Well that's a pretty tall order, and that may take some time, but I'll see what I can do. I may have to go back to the Council and pull some strings… You see, you're my first assignment in quite a while, our rules have changed."

She said this all very matter-of-factly as if she expected me to know what she was talking about.

"I'll be back in an hour, when the clock strikes ten." She waved her wand at me, "nevermind, I'll let myself in." Without another word she disappeared with a flourish, only leaving behind a few silvery sparks.

So the apartment fell silent again and I let out a long breath as I finally reached for my phone, which I intended to turn on and send a few texts beginning with "what the heck is going on?"

It was then I got my first shock instead of my calendar reading "December 2013" it read "December 31, 2012"

I blinked, that couldn't be right, when I had "left" it had been December 8, 2013.

I scrolled through my phone and checking dates I knew I had events on sure enough were all blank, even a theater date I had added a few weeks ago… Or what I had thought had been a few weeks ago.

I shook my head again. What had happened? Where was I?"

Even checking my messages to Michael the ones I had sent most of the current year were all gone as if they had been deleted (or never existed, I thought). Sighing, I tapped out the following message:

you won't believe what just happened to me!

 

3: Where It All Began

An hour later, as promised, the fairy reappeared. She looked a bit frazzled, the bun under her tiara looking slightly askew.

"Well, I'm back!" She said brightly, "Has it sunk in yet?"

I looked at her blankly.

"Uh, no, not really. I still can't believe you're actually real."

"Believe it," the fairy said with a grin, "I'm real, as real as it gets."

"Funny," I muttered glancing briefly at her glittering wings, "coming from someone like you."

The fairy, however didn't seem offended and waved me off lately walking over to seat herself on the edge of the recliner next to mine.

"Oh, you're hilarious really." She laughed lightly, a sound (as clichéd as it was) sounded like tinkling bells.

"Can we at least be formally introduced?" I asked, "I mean I can't keep calling you "fairy" and did you even ask for my name when you popped into the park earlier?"

The fairy look chagrined and awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, for once not looking so graceful.

"Yeah, sorry about that, the Council knows I'm not really one for protocol."

I smirked and resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"So," she said brightly, "let's not waste any more time… You are…?"

"My name is Elaine." I replied, "Elaine Charles."

The fairy reached out and shook my hand in a formal sort of way that seem to reflect the absent-minded way she conducted business.

"Desmell. Pleasure, and that's "Des-Mell" not "De-SMELL"."

I laughed in spite of myself.

"I know what you want, but let me tell you a little bit about me."  Desmell began. "As I said before I haven't exactly been in circulation for a while. When I was last in service there was a young woman begging me to bring her beloved back safely from Europe during the second World War, and after they were married and raise their lovely little family I was demoted into a box and shoved into the garage collecting dust-and well, the rest is history."

"Miss Clementine." I murmured, comprehension dawning.

"Evangeline," Desmell said grandly, "as she was known then." She paused before continuing. "Now that that's out of the way, I have a few rules, as I was talking this over with the fairy council earlier. First of all, I can take you back as many as three times to survey the incident in question, I can't change anything, only you can do that and even then the changes are minor even if the outcome is not."

"So…" I asked trying to grasp at what she was saying, "you can't tell me what's going to happen with me and Michael?" I asked, even though I was sure I already knew the answer.

"No," Desmell answered, "I can't, you still make the changes. I can only show you a few possible outcomes."

I nodded.

Desmell continued, pushing a strand of her brown hair behind her ear as I caught the glimpse of a glittering silver earring, which seemed to be made purely of a shining crystal. "Next, the majority of the time you are here will be spent in this world, in this alternate reality. This, however does not affect how time moves in your reality, when you go back it will be as if no time has passed."

My head spun, no wonder this time travel was tricky business, had not yet been perfected in the real world and had been relegated to the realm of science fiction.

"Thirdly," Desmell cleared her throat holding up a third finger, "you will have to wear this, you have thirty days, from now until the end of January."

I frowned.

"Why? What difference would it make if I had thirty or 100 when I go back my situation will still be the same."

"Not necessarily, if you and Michael are truly happy in this reality as everything is I can make that your reality, but if not things will go back to the way they were before I brought you here."

I nodded again, beginning to feel like a dashboard bobble head.

"Oh yes, you will have to wear this," she began again pulling a small necklace from inside the sleeve of her dress, "it will help you keep track of the days and the time you have left."

I took the necklace from her studying it carefully. It was a small coral shell with a black and white clock face on it. The hands pointed at 12 o'clock. Below the time face was a stopwatch of sorts that read  0030.

"I will tell you exactly how much time you have when we get back from our little trip, the clock won't start until I leave you at midnight."

Desmell stood up and stretched.

"Now, where were you headed tomorrow year ago?"

Before I could answer she had pulled a book out of thin air and was flipping through the pages.

Charles, Elaine and Stark, Michael-January 1, 2013…" She muttered to herself and flipped through a few more pages before locating the page she wanted.

"Ah!" She made a sound of satisfaction, "here we are, on a "date" at Avanti's… 11 o'clock. Yeah, I think we can make that, you're lucky I'm a sucker for Italian food."

 

The scene I recognized right down to the bright sunshine and blue skies I was looking at through the large windows and pristine glass. There I was sitting waiting for Michael, ordering a drink and muttering responses to the overly helpful waitress in as few words as possible. Finally Michael appeared, shrugging out of his jacket and sitting down in the seat across from me.

"I couldn't stand how the waitress was flirting with him," I muttered to Desmell, "I mean, I was sitting right there!"

I watched as the scene progressed, like I was watching some sort of movie, but in this case I already knew the ending.

"I can't watch this," I whispered, "it was hard enough the first time."

Desmell nodded, waved her hand, and the scene seemed to freeze, then dissolved and reform itself. The scene I was now watching was simply Michael and I sitting at the same table eating the same food only we were talking and laughing and Michael's face had none of the seriousness or anxiety I had seen before.

Desmell narrated:

"You've been dating for three weeks, you're very happy, this is everything you wanted."

"He has to leave soon… He goes back to North Carolina the end of the week." I murmured, already knowing the series of events, or at least what I perceived them to be.

"He's spending as much time with you as he can, you mean the world to him."

I smiled and continued to watch the scene.

I watched as I leaned over to wipe a smudge of sauce from the corner of Michael's mouth and he smiled and laughed taking the napkin from me. I leaned in for a kiss but he frowns and shakes his head and I know he is worried about the garlic from our food, but I don't care, I wouldn't care.

Then Desmell waves her hand like she's turning the pages of a book and the scene dissolves and reforms again this time I am looking at the entrance to Avanti's, we are standing in front of the hostess station our arms loosely around each other this time Michael leans in and kisses me. As if she is providing some commentary Desmell continues softly:

"Here his sexuality is never a factor, he was never bullied as a child, he's happy, has lots of friends and he is sure of himself."

She waves her hand again and everything around us begins to disappear, the vortex of snowflakes is back and when I am standing on solid ground again I am back in my apartment at ten to midnight on New Year's Eve.

"This is where I leave you." Desmell says softly. "When you wake up you can give this another shot," her cool fingers linger on my cheek, "maybe get this right, huh?"

I nodded, already feeling tired.

"Yeah…"

Desmell is halfway gone before she seems to remember something.

"Oh yeah, one more thing, whatever you do don't break that timepiece… You may be stuck in this reality forever if you do and then that's more paperwork for me and a whole lot a mess."

 

A few minutes later I am crawling into bed from toes to nose completely burrowed under the covers. Tomorrow was going to be interesting, particularly judging by that little preview I had earlier. It was like some weird trailer you saw in the movie theater, the good ones that didn't quite give away the ending but left you guessing and wanting more.

4: Second First Date

When I woke up the next morning it took me a few minutes to remember where-and when-I was. It wasn't exactly that far back in time, exactly 12 months previous of where I had been when I had woken up the day before.

I went through my day methodically, even though I knew what was coming in a few hours I was still nervous, even though I had lived this day before.

It was around 10:30 AM when I got the text, a text from Michael simply saying:

Avanti's 11, right?

I wrote back quickly.

Yeah, see you then:)

 

Driving there the day was the same as it had been, cold, but sunny, the type of weather that seem to make one eternally optimistic, although that had not been my viewpoint when I had left the restaurant the last time.

 

There in the parking lot was Michael's little blue Taurus, and there he was as I pulled it and getting out of the car. When he saw me, he smiled and waved, grinning to myself I pulled into the nearest parking spot.

Just as I checked my phone I saw I had one text message. It was from Michael and it simply said:

On my way, see you soon:)

The message had been sent at least fifteen or twenty minutes ago, but it was the tone of the message, that he was looking forward to seeing me that made me smile.

 

He was waiting for me in the seating area when I finally came inside, then he stood up and smiled and spoke to the hostess briefly before we were led to our seats.

We sat in our normal configuration across from each other and alternated between smiling at each other and perusing our menus. I remembered what I had ordered that day, but even though this was an alternate universe I didn't want to be that predictable. I ordered the ravioli instead-no salad.

There was the same young waitress, even though I figured she was no older than I was flirting with Michael, the response was the same, but for a different reason, Michael's attention was on me and he wasn't interested in any other girl.­ Emotions didn't overwhelm me, or at least if they did I knew what I was feeling and why, effectively "blocking" the certain emotions I didn't want to feel and letting through the ones I did. In my own reality I hadn't known I was an empath then and I felt calmer knowing that in this reality.

As we sat at the table I had so many questions I wanted to know the particulars when and why Michael and I had started dating. How I had asked him out the first time, even though in my reality I couldn't remember it because it had never happened.

"Why do you like me?" I suddenly asked him.

Michael looked slightly surprised and he considered for a few minutes before answering my question.

"I like you because your genuine, because your considerate, compassionate… Things like that." He smiled, briefly touching my hand.

"How did we ever end up dating? You turned me down twice as I recall."

Michael chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling.

"You wore me down, I guess, or maybe we're too obvious," he chuckled again, "maybe I just wanted to develop a relationship with you on my own time, on my own terms."

"So you weren't just pushed into dating your best friend." I murmured.

Michael gave a lopsided shrug.

"Yeah. I was apprehensive at first, I mean who wouldn't be, it was all about whether I wanted to risk ruining a friendship whether the outcome was worth it, but it's barely been a month so… I guess we're still figuring that out."

I smiled at him.

We ate our lunch in companionable silence, only speaking occasionally, and there was none of the awkward pauses and the surreptitious way we both reached for our cell phones when there was a lull in the conversation. We talked about everything and nothing, as we usually did, Michael only briefly highlighting our relationship when I asked.

"What about our first kiss?" I asked.

Michael grinned.

"I don't know, you tell me."

"It hasn't happened yet…" I murmured.

Michael shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just waiting for the right time."

I leaned forward smiling, having the sudden feeling of butterflies erupting in my stomach.

"Which would be…?" I murmured, almost hating the breathy sound my voice, made something that hinted at some barely restrained anticipation.

Michael chuckled.

"Not now! You don't want to kiss me right now, I probably taste like garlic."

I smirked.

"What a coincidence, me too."

"I just want the timing to be right," Michael repeated, "I just want it to happen you know."

"Yeah I know." I replied, only sounding slightly disappointed.

Any negativity I had associated with this day had seemed to have disappeared, the conversation was light and there was none of Michael's nervousness. The only seriousness I saw on his face was when he was talking about grad school and his impending job… Topics I was used to.

After Michael paid the bill we got ready to leave wordlessly pulling on our jackets and taking hats and gloves out of interior pockets. I watched him hoping he would change his mind about the kiss, but when we said goodbye he only gave me a one armed hug and a brief kiss on the top of my head. We walked back to his car in silence.

 

I was used to Michael pausing before he ever slid behind the wheel when we said goodbye, usually he gave me a hug and usually we said something to each other before he left, a promise to see each other again when he was once again in town. He was giving me that look he often gave me when we said goodbye (when it wasn't impaired by the tension of our current situation) it was clear, caring and warm.

"I guess this is goodbye." He murmured.

I chuckled.

"I don't want it to be." I said honestly.

"I'll be back, I promise." He grinned, "I always am."

"You going to LA again?" I asked, his current location always a question since he had been in grad school he had been traveling frequently.

Michael shook his head.

"Paris." He grinned again, "I have a conference there in July."

I already knew this of course, but I assumeed Michael was used to me asking about where he was it was standard protocol for us, since one never knew where he would be at any given moment.

"Bye." Michael murmured softly, but this time there was none of the tension I associated with our goodbyes, it was simply a goodbye. He pulled me close his arms wrapped securely around my waist and for a few minutes we just stood there looking at each other. Smiling, Michael pushed a strand of my brown hair out of my face the wind was currently teasing from where it had escaped from under my hat.

"You're so pretty, how could anyone, myself included, ever miss that."

I can feel a smile stretching across my face as I looked up at him my hands moving from his chest, to his shoulders and finally up to his face where I once again was looking into his bright blue eyes.

Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion as we leaned towards each other, I felt his breath on my lips knowing he was going to kiss me my heart suddenly wanting to jump out of my chest in reckless anticipation. The touch of his lips was gentle and soft, dry like mine, no thanks to the winter weather, it wasn't like those "movie kisses" that were long and passionate, but it was enough and it was exactly what I would expect of Michael, warm and tender just to show he cared even if he didn't say it.

Then he pulled back and just looked at me for a few minutes, we didn't say anything, nothing needed to be said.

"I'll see you later… Elaine." Then he got into his car and started the engine and moving away I saw him look out the window and smile, something I was sure I would never get tired of.

I walked to my car on the other side of the parking lot in a daze. Whether what had just happened was a fantasy in living color or not I didn't care, it was better than I could ever imagine.

 

5: Spilling the Beans

An hour after I returned home the same day Desmell breezed in, in a shower silvery sparks, with her same blue dress and sparkling smile.

"So how was it?" She asked without preamble.

Before I could even formulate a sentence she continued in that same bubbly voice.

"Was it everything you imagined, because of it wasn't I might as well send in my resignation right now."

As she spoke spraying fairy dust everywhere she made herself comfortable at my lone table in my apartment, setting her wand down beside her. She was definitely a speak first type of person, she made me look like a wallflower and I was pretty outgoing as it was.

I opened and closed my mouth still trying to formulate an answer and it was a few minutes before I finally responded to her rapidfire questions.

"It was wonderful!" I said with a sigh, not caring how clichéd the response was, "and he kissed me."

Desmell grinned, her fist shooting into the air in exuberance, never in my life did I think I would see some sort of fantasy creature do a certified fist pump (until now, that is).

"SCORE!" She said gleefully and I grinned in spite of myself. "At least I know I'm doing something right."

I laughed.

"You? You have nothing to do with this, the chemistry was already there, the circumstances just needed to change, even I knew that."

Desmell waved me off.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you that one." Her face relaxed and her posture became casual as she propped her elbows up on the table she was sitting at.

"So what now?" I asked.

Desmell wiggled her finger at me.

"You know the rules Elaine, you have to stay here for a month, one date doesn't make a relationship."

I nodded, she had a point.

"I already buzzed by his brother's place they were talking… Maybe I'll show you later. That's my little secret." She winked. "See you tonight Elaine," she called cheerfully, "I'm bringing the pizza."

 

The next morning, was just another day, January 2, a Wednesday and I was back to work. My mind was still spinning with what Desmell had revealed the night before in her "crystal ball" it was like watching some sort of magical movie. Michael and his brother Derek had been talking and I had been the topic of conversation.

"Are you sure you want to pursue a relationship with her?" Derek asked, "I mean, that is the best and worst of both worlds, don't you think?"

Michael shrugged.

"I don't know, part of me does and part of me doesn't, but I keep coming back to the fact what it would do to our friendship if we broke up. I mean, I've known her since we were kids."

"Well, that's your call bro."

Michael nodded again, apparently still thinking.

"When do you see her again?" Derek asked.

"Probably March, I'm not sure yet."

I had glanced at Desmell then, I would be out of this world by then, there wouldn't be time.

"Don't worry, we'll make it happen, if necessary all take you to him." She winked. For now it was the best answer I could get.

 

I was still mulling this over as I got dressed, ate breakfast and brushed my teeth, then it was off for coffee, my Pilates class, and meeting up with my best friend Harper for lunch, then back to my apartment for an afternoon of writing.

I was just setting down to organize my writing schedule before leaving the house when my phone dinged.

It was a text from Matthew.

Heading back to NC soon, had fun yesterday.

I quickly replied.

Yeah, me too.

Yeah, I enjoyed it:)

Miss you. I wrote, it was the first time I could write it and be up front about it without coming off as too forward.

Miss you too.

 

The morning went by in a blur, that is until I saw Harper at around eleven as we met at the little bistro across the street from her design shop.

"How are you Elaine?" Harper asked, "someone seems like there in a good mood." She grinned in a way that suggested she already knew why.

"I saw Michael yesterday…" I confessed, "we went out for lunch."

Harper smiled.

"I always said he was the right one for you."

I laughed.

"Yeah, try convincing him of that."

"Well it seems you didn't have to try too hard." Harper smiled.

"Well he seems to think he'll ruin our friendship." I murmured quietly.

"I don't see why not," Harper replied with a brief frown, "you guys are tight, and even if you do breakup I think you'll still be friends."

We fell into silence for what seemed like a long time. My thoughts were still spinning from everything I had experienced, so I chose my next words carefully well aware of the effect they could have.

"What if I told you I'm from another reality?"

Harper laughed.

"I'd say you're crazy!"

I nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

I paused briefly again before continuing.

"This reality was created by a wish I made," I said slowly, gesturing to the area around us, "a wish I made because in my reality Michael isn't mine… Far from it actually."

 

6: Twenty Questions

Harper stared at me, her mouth hanging open. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she spoke.

"So… You're telling me you're from an alternate reality, where Michael doesn't like you and you've come here to get what you want?"

I shrugged.

"Pretty much, but there's a catch, I only have thirty days and we both have to make the decision… Not just me."

Harper nodded, but I could tell from her vacant expression she didn't really understand what I had said. I didn't really blame her, had our roles been reversed I wouldn't have believed me either.

Harper toyed absently with her food, which she seemed to have forgotten about.

"Okay, okay, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this… Why don't you come over tonight we can have a girls night in and watch movies and stuff. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this, or at least repeat it until it makes sense in my head, if that's even possible."

Grinning, I chuckled.

"Good, because I have a few questions for you too."

 

Harper, like me, lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment. Of course hers was much nicer than mine she had a balcony and a sliding door and a humongous walk in closet which she had filled from top to bottom with her favorite fashions. I showed up at her house at the appointed time with a duffel bag slung over my shoulder which contained my usual sleeping over essentials.

After ordering in pizza, watching Avatar, The Last Song and A Walk to Remember, we retreated to Harper's room, where she pulled out the futon for me and we both got ready for bed. Afterwards, we sat on her bed trying to figure out how to start the conversation we had both been holding off all evening.

"So… How do you want to do this?" Harper asked.

"Let's say, twenty questions from each of us, you ask one and then I'll ask one and we'll keep going until all our questions are answered."

Harper grinned.

"Sounds good to me!" She cleared her throat and picked at some lint on her bed spread before speaking again.

"So how did you end up here?"

"A magic snow globe." I nearly started laughing again at the look on Harper's face, "no, seriously! You know that old neighbor that lives next to my parents, Miss Clementine, me, Ryan and his friends were cleaning her garage when I found it completely by accident. I made the wish, and I ended up in the park in the freezing cold, face down in the snow."

"So how did Miss Clementine end up with the snow globe?"

"I really don't know." I answered honestly, which of course I didn't. I shifted my position on the bed trying to prevent my one foot from falling asleep before continuing. "Okay, okay, my turn, all my questions are technicalities how things ended up the way they did in this reality, for instance, how did Michael and I end up dating? Like, who asked out who?"

Harper laughed.

"Oh, that, sometime before Christmas I think it finally dawned on him," she chuckled again, "he asked you out at the Starks' Christmas party, I got the entire thing on my iPhone if you want to see it."

I nodded eagerly as Harper reached for her phone, which was currently on her bedside table. Her phone screen flickered to life and she began scrolling through the contents before locating the item she wanted. Smiling, she pressed the play button.

I bent forward as I watched the scene unfold on the little screen.

The first voice I heard was Michael's, he was laughing and as the camera zoomed in on his face I could see his sparkling eyes, the eyes I had fallen in love with.

"No way, no way Harper, can't you just drop it already? I said, I'm not going to date Elaine."

I could almost hear the smirk in Harper's voice.

"Never say never, Michael." She quipped as the camera shifted to me in just enough time I saw myself roll my eyes and shake my head as Michael had been doing a few minutes before.

I heard Harper groan in disappointment.

"What will it take for you two to see your perfect for each other!" She exclaimed, this time Michael didn't answer.

"How much do I have to bet you'll be together by New Year's? Fifty? 100?…"

I heard the sound of Michael's older brother Cameron somewhere off in the distance.

"… Make that 150!"

As the camera zoomed in on Michael's face again I saw a muscle in his jaw twitch, he hardly ever got this annoyed without reason.

Finally Michael sighed.

"Fine! One date, that's it...and nobody else," he leveled a gaze around the room to the people on and off camera, "ever bug me about this again!"

"Fine!" Harper chirped cheerfully, like a toddler that had gotten exactly what she wanted. She smirked again, presumably at me.

The camera shifted again and as Michael slid off the couch walking over to me as I was sitting on a small loveseat next to the adjoining couch. The camera pushed in on our faces, like some sort of ongoing movie.

"Elaine, I can't believe I'm saying this but," Michael chuckled nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "will you go out with me?" He shot Harper another not-so-subtle look that clearly said "you are so dead" before waiting for my response.

Even though I knew what was coming it clearly took the words a few minutes to make their way past my lips.

"Yes… Absolutely!"

"Yay!" Harper exclaimed gleefully, sounding much younger than twenty-five. "Now kiss and makeup."

Michael groaned and I saw the exasperated look on his face again that said someone had pushed his buttons way too many times.

"Not today Harper." He made a grab for her phone.

"Ah-ah-ah!" The camera wobbled as she held it out of his reach showing a blur of color, "no one's going to believe this, it actually happened, Michael Stark just asked Elaine Charles out! This is so going up on YouTube…!"

Michael made another grab for the camera, but this time he was successful in seizing Harper's phone and a few minutes later the video stopped.

When I looked up from her phone Harper was smirking, her moss green eyes twinkling mischievously.

"You manipulated him!" I exclaimed, "I never thought…"

"He likes me, he likes you… And all is fair in love and war." Harper said matter-of-factly.

I snorted as I threw a pillow at her.

"Very funny."

 

It was late on Saturday morning before I return to my own apartment when I walked in the door, having just sat down my keys on the small end table I kept there. I turned the corner in just enough time to see Desmell sitting at the kitchen table, her arms crossed a small frown on her face.

"Where have you been?" She asked.

"Out." I returned, "I was at a sleepover with a friend if you must know, but I don't see how that any of your business."

"Something's up." Desmell said suspiciously.

I was silent for a few minutes before realizing I wasn't going to get away not telling her.

"Fine," I said shortly, "I told Harper what's going on, what's really going on, she's my best friend, I thought she ought to know."

Desmell's wings fluttered in alarm.

"Maybe that wasn't the wisest thing to do… These things have rules you know, and besides you only have twenty-five days left." She gave me another disapproving look before heading for the bedroom where she began rummaging through my closet.

"What are you doing?" I asked as she elevated slightly to reach the item she wanted, my other suitcase I used for extended trips.

"We're going on a little road trip." She said, in the most serious voice I had ever heard her use, "if you really want Michael it's time to up our game."

 

7: Roadtrip

As I hastily packed Desmell continued to rush around the apartment, sometimes walking quickly sometimes hovering, her wings beating quickly as if she were a large hummingbird.

"Of course I'll have to get rid of the wings and the wand…" She continued to muttered to herself, "and see about renting a car once we get there…"

When I looked up again Desmell was standing in my doorway dressed in skinny jeans and a moss green sweater, she looked absurdly normal.

"Well you look nice…" I said carefully.

"Thanks," Desmell said brightly and she flashed a smile, looking annoyingly like your stereotypical college student. "It's been a while since I've played human."

While I packed my laptop, iPod and iPhone, Desmell was still rummaging around in her bag finally pulling out an old looking wallet and the book I had seen her consult a few days before when she had been trying to teleport back to my apartment.

"You know where we're going right?" I asked, unsure of whether she would end up where we were supposed to be instead of in Timbuktu.

Desmell flipped through a few more pages of the book before locating what she needed.

"Charlotte, North Carolina right?" She rattled off Michael's address and I nodded, then she straightened putting her wallet and the book away, "Right then, next stop, North Carolina… actually our first stop is going to be the rental car place I don't think your friend and his roommates will appreciate us popping in." She chuckled quietly to herself.

Without further preamble she marched over to me and grabbed my upper arm in a firm grip before she walked to a clear spot in the center of the room.

"Got your stuff Elaine?" She asked.

I nodded gripping tighter to my backpack and suitcase.

"I've never done this without the aid of a wand, so if we are a few degrees off target I apologize." Desmell took a deep breath, straightened, readjusted her grip on my arm and then we were gone in a swirl of white not unlike the magic that had gotten me into this world in the first place.

 

When I opened my eyes again, we were standing at the side of the road next to a rental car place to which Desmell strode into forward purposely she walked up to the counter and announced:

"My friend and I just got in from Chicago and are planning on visiting her boyfriend and we need a car."

The young man who looked up from behind the computer looked bored, he had tousled red hair and lots of freckles looking adorable in a nerdy sort of way.

"What kind of car do you need ma'am?"

"Something small and simple just enough for two people and enough for our luggage of course."

Sometime later the same young man brought around a cute little red sports car, I didn't even want to think about how much even renting it would cost, let alone buying it. Certainly nothing I could afford on my own. I was only half listening as Desmell rattled off her information, information I knew had been fabricated either by her or by the unseen "fairy council" she worked for. The information, however did go through the computer without a hitch if she had been anyone else I think we probably would have been arrested, or at least been held on suspicion of fraud. I wasn't the type of person to travel under an alias.

Within the hour we were on our way in the direction of Michael's house he shared with his roommates, three guys, I had yet to learn the names of.

As we drove along I ran some quick calculations in my head, it was Saturday afternoon and considering I hadn't told Michael I was visiting things were bound to get interesting. So I did the only polite thing I could do under the circumstances… I sent a text.

Going on a road trip with a friend… Thought I would stop by if you're available.

It was a few moments before Michael replied.

Yeah, sure… I'm not home right now that I will be soon… I'm also going out later this evening, but not for a while. There was a brief pause before another text came through. Where are you?

I replied quickly.

Just got in to Charlotte a few hours ago (more like a few minutes ago I thought) just leaving the rental place… See you in about an hour.

Michael replied.

Be home by four, See you soon.

 

The drive from the rental place to Michael's house was uneventful, but finally, Desmell, who was driving found where we were going thanks to the car's GPS, and before I knew it we were turning onto another street and pulled up to a classy looking Victorian that currently had three cars in the driveway. At a glance I didn't see Michael's red Toyota, which told me he wasn't home yet. Glancing at my watch I saw it was only quarter after three, which meant Michael wouldn't be home for at least forty-five minutes, I had a lot of time to kill.

Desmell seemed to float up the steps as she rang the doorbell and after a few minutes someone opened the door.

"Hello?" The guy looked confused and I could clearly see the "who are these chicks?" written all over his face.

Before Desmell could make the situation any worse I cut in, I at least had a plausible cover story instead of "oh, I just teleported from Chicago, I'm in an alternate universe and my companion is a fairy." That wouldn't go over too well. "Hi," I said trying to regain my ground, "my name is Elaine Charles, I'm a friend of Michael's… My friend and I are on a road trip and we thought we would stop by."

Finally the guy standing in the doorway seem to find his voice he looked slightly shell-shocked.

"Oh, well, come on in." He stammered. He was still staring at Desmell as if  she were some apparition that had just walked through the door. Desmell was beautiful, so I didn't really blame him.

Once we were situated in the living room with everyone sitting around awkwardly introductions were finally made. Michael's roommates introduced themselves as Corey, the guy that had answered the door with the Harry Potter-like brown hair, Darren, who looked like your stereotypical computer programmer aside from his movie star like features, and Charlie who was bleached blonde with striking green eyes and was easily the tallest-my guess was 6'2.

Desmell parked herself on an ottoman looking elegant and demure, all the guys were still staring at her but at least they had the decency not to be looking at her like they wanted to eat her, like some guys one only heard about in those off-color comedies. She had introduced herself as Desiree Thompson, it was the same name she had given to rent the car because her real name was a bit unusual and we didn't want to ruffle any more feathers than necessary.

For the next forty some minutes small talk was made and we talked about everything and I tried not to play twenty questions with his roommates about what Michael had been up to since I had seen him two weeks ago, besides I pretty much knew because I checked his Facebook status as often as I could.

By the time the clock struck four , I had never been more relieved to hear the turn of a key in the lock, and a few minutes later Michael appeared. He was in the process of shoving his car keys into his jeans pocket when his gaze finally settled on me, but I had to give him credit he didn't look as surprised as he could have.

I gave him a small lopsided smile over my shoulder saying the only thing I could think of to say at that moment.

"Surprise!"

 

8: A Soul in Two Bodies

It wasn't until much later Michael and I had a chance to talk. Charlie and Darren had disappeared and Corey was sitting on the couch in the living room deeply engrossed in conversation with Desmell, who was perched demurely on the floor, judging by her posture anyone would have missed took her as a model or a dancer.

This left Michael and I to our own devices and we quietly disappeared into his bedroom, as we had when he was living at home and he had the nondescript bedroom at the top of the stairs with his name on the door.

As soon as the door was shut behind us Michael took me in his arms and kissed me. There was no hesitation on his part as there had been a week or so ago but I still had to remind myself this was new to him too.

"Did you miss me that much?" Michael murmured against my lips from where we were still leaning against the door.

"I think so." I whispered, "I just want to see you." I finished lamely, unsure of what else to say.

Michael grinned.

"Well I'm here."

Michael continued kissing me slowly on my nose, cheeks and forehead.

"I go back to work on Monday," he reminded me, "and I may do some work tomorrow… And there's church of course."

I nodded absently, only taking in half of what he had said.

He pulled back slightly.

"How long are you staying Elaine?"

I shrugged, "Maybe a week." I replied.

Michael sighed.

"I work, you know that I'll be gone from eight or nine in the morning to maybe five or six at night and then there are my evening activities. I can't guarantee how much time we would have."

I looked at him then, his bright blue eyes and his quirky smile.

"Give me as much time as you can, that's all I ask."

"So what do you want to do?" Michael asked.

"I want to go somewhere." I replied, "somewhere out in the open."

Michael frowned briefly.

"Did you have any where specific in mind?"

"Can we drive up to Lake Norman?" I asked, in my other reality it had been the scene of one of my favorite movies.

"Sure, I don't see why not, but we may have to wait till next weekend, or we could skip church for the day… I'll have to check my schedule okay?" He gave me another squeeze and kissed the top of my head, for now, that was all I needed to know.

 

It was almost midnight by the time Desmell  and I left for our hotel, we had yet to find one and judging by the time of day we would probably end up at some cheap roadside motel.

That roadside motel was about what I expected, nondescript, identical rooms with an unidentifiable odor that seemed to cling to everything. Desmell was still grumbling by the time I slid into bed.

"I hope the next place we go the sleeping arrangements aren't as dismal." She grumbled, "For this entire mess we should have just stayed at Michael's."

"You know that's just asking for trouble." I replied.

Desmell rolled over in the dark and I could almost see her smirk.

"What were you going to do?" She asked slyly, "sleep with him?"

My eyebrows shot to my hairline and I could already feel the blush flooding my face.

"No! Of course not! We do have some morals, not to mention Michael is too "noble" for that, he's just not that type of guy. What's got your wand in a knot?" I asked curiously, noting her sour mood since we had pulled up to the hotel.

Desmell didn't answer for a long time then slowly she spoke, as if the truth were being slowly extracted from her.

"The other guy… Corey, we got to talking, he was asking about school and I said I was taking the year off… I don't know, it got me thinking about what I really wanted to do with my life other than playing genie to a bunch of desperate humans and living inside a fifty-year-old snow globe."

I was intrigued now.

"You like him?" I questioned, my attention momentarily diverted from my own issues with Michael. "Can fairies be with a human, or do you have rules about that too?"

Desmell sighed.

"Yes and no." She replied.

I waited.

"If we ever fall in love with a human we have to give up our powers and live as a mortal until we die. If it was the right person, if I could be Desiree Thompson forever I would be."

Just as quickly the conversation turned back to me.

"So what do you want to do about Michael?"

"We're going on a day trip sometime next week, maybe tomorrow, or maybe next weekend I don't know I have to wait to hear from Michael."

Desmell fell silent, apparently thinking.

"What made you fall in love with him?" She asked quietly, the question sounded normal in comparison to the ones she had fired at me the night we had met.

"I don't know," I replied softly, "I guess it's just the type of person he is that he  would drop everything for me if I asked him." I paused and gave her a questioning look I wasn't sure if she could read in the dark, "Why?"

"Inquiring minds." She replied airily.

"What are you asking for? This reality or the real one?"

Desmell was dismissive as she ran a hand through her hair and it spread out across her pillow.

"Doesn't matter, you can tell both if you want."

I laughed shortly.

"They're pretty much the same, only in real life everything was triggered when Michael came out… I realized I really did love him and nothing else mattered, whether or not he was straight didn't make a difference and change who he was. The entire time I've known him we've been inseparable, until he left for college that is. We were always like one mind, like we could read each other's thoughts… Like two souls in one body, sometimes I couldn't tell where one of us stopped and the other began."

Desmell made a "hmm" noise in the back of her throat.

"Now to make a plan," suddenly her tone was all business, "this date has to be the most romantic thing anyone has ever seen, and mortal are not I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

9: Kiss the Girl

Sunday morning began with Desmell and Corey leaving early, they didn't however tell anyone where they were going and returned a few hours later Desmell giving me a brief smile before disappearing with Corey again, probably going to discuss something or other, but I didn't ask.

It was shortly before eleven when Michael and I departed on our day trip. The drive was uneventful and it wasn't long before I saw the lake coming into view, as blue and pristine as the photos I had seen. The area was pretty much deserted and on a flat area of land a few yards away from the water was a blanket, a basket among other odds and ends. It was the picnic I had talked so candidly to Desmell about the night before.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as I took everything in, "this is lovely!"

Michael chuckled, squeezing my shoulders.

"Wish I could take the credit, but I think this was Desiree's idea… She seems like a good friend."

I nodded absently.

"Oh she is." I murmured, if only he knew.

We sat down on the blanket and for a few minutes we just were quiet looking out at the lake and afterwards we began to dig into the picnic basket, which held a thermos of hot chocolate, a couple of sandwiches, bags of chips and two chocolate brownies in a box from the local bakery. Despite the cold weather we managed wrapped in a blanket that Michael had in the back of his car and we sat there and ate our lunch talking quietly in that way we always did.

"What if I were to tell you something," I murmured, "maybe tell you something you couldn't make sense of right away, would that be okay?"

Michael nodded slowly, but he looked mildly confused.

"Okay…" He said slowly.

"What if I told you I'm not from this reality?"

Michael raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know, maybe you're crazy?" Then he grinned, which told me he was only teasing.

I threw a dirty napkin at him.

"Funny." I said dryly, but Michael only grinned again making a halfhearted attempt to get away from me, which at the moment I knew he didn't want to do.

Michael settled back on his hands.

"So, what's this alternate reality like?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Which brings me to my other point," I continued, "the reason why I'm here… In my reality we aren't a couple, we're just friends, you recently told me you're bisexual and--"

Michael's reaction would've been funny had my topic of conversation not been so serious. He was currently taking a bite of his brownie and choked awkwardly on his mouthful before recovering a few minutes later. Eyes watering, he looked at me slightly confused, his brows drawn together.

"What?" He asked, as if he hadn't heard me correctly, which I knew he had.

"You're not straight." I murmured quietly, "and you want nothing to do with me, romantically speaking, that is."

"I see." Michael murmured and he dissolved into silence again his eyes drifting out towards the lake.

"Any other revelations I should know about?" He asked and I couldn't tell if he was joking or serious.

"I guess I should explain why I'm here and how things work…" I continued quietly, "in this universe, for me that is. It all started when I was cleaning out my neighbor's garage, you know Ms. Clementine that little old lady that always swears we're going to get married one day?"

Michael nodded.

"Well," I continued, "me, Ryan and his friends were cleaning out her garage and I found this old snow globe… It said something about "making your dreams reality etc. etc. " and I kind of sort of made a wish and ended up in the snow in the middle of Millennium Park."

"Wow." Michael murmured, he didn't say much else.

I chose my next words carefully unsure of how much I should reveal about the magic that type me into this world and Desmell's part in it. Fortunately, Michael stared me the awkward segue.

Comprehension dawned on Michael's face and I could slowly see him putting the pieces together. "So… By magic."

I nodded.

"Pretty much. My traveling companion Desiree is really a fairy named Desmell she's kind of been guiding me through this entire thing."

I paused again, gathering my thoughts before continuing on to the next part of my story.

"This brings me to the other thing that is important about my stay here." As I spoke I pulled the small watch out from under my sweater where I had hung it around my neck pulling it out where Michael could see it. "I only have thirty days to make you fall in love with me-well, about twenty-six now, and it's a decision, to be together that is, we both have to make, so you're pretty much determining my future."

Michael shifted on the blanket again, tucking his legs underneath him as he looked at me gently.

"So what happens if you don't get me to fall in love with you?" He asked softly.

I shrugged.

"I go back to my time and my old life and it's like none of this happened."

"Well that sucks," Michael commented casually, he smiled and pushed a strand of my dark hair out of my face which was getting blown by the wind coming off the lake, "it's like a bad time travel movie."

I chuckled.

"Yeah, pretty much."

 

Sometime later we are cleaning up our picnic, still talking (about normal things and not the ticking time bomb that hung around my neck). It is only then Michael noticed the piece of paper someone had tucked at the very bottom of the basket.

It was a piece of paper from one of those notepads and in a scripted feminine hand it said:

Kiss the girl.

Michael looked up from the paper and smiled at me. I could see everything, feel everything, directly from his eyes and setting the paper aside he scooted closer to me.

"Kiss the girl? I can do that." With a soft smile he lowered his head; my eyes fluttered close as his lips covered mine.

 

It was unlike the other kisses we had shared, it was more assertive, more passionate like he had put all of himself into that kiss. He nibbled at my lips, which made me giggle and our lips slid against one another as the kiss deepened. Michael pressed me back against the blanket, but I hardly felt the hard ground underneath, I didn't feel the cold, all I felt was him and everything he represented to me.

Finally, when he ran out of breath we pulled apart, but his forehead was still pressed against mine and I could feel rather than see his smile, everything about him was calm and warm.

"Come on," he murmured, "it's getting cold out here, I think it's time we go home."

Sighing, I rolled over and got to my feet while Michael did the same picking up the picnic basket and the blankets as he went. I was still smiling as we drove away from the lake, despite the weather I owed Desmell one.

 

I was still daydreaming about the date the next morning when everyone met for breakfast in the kitchen of the house the guys shared. Corey, Darren, Michael and Charlie were rushing around as they got ready for work and school. I had just turned to Desmell to ask her something and found her instead staring into space, she was just as absent-minded as I was.

"Hey you, come back down to earth will you?" I interjected, waving a hand in front of her face.

Just then Desmell snapped out of her daydream.

"Sorry? What?"

I smirked.

"Thinking about Corey again?" I asked.

To my surprise Desmell blushed, she always seemed so unflappable.

"Do you even want to hear how my date with Michael went?" I asked as I dug into another mouthful of cereal which was quickly going soggy.

Before I could answer Michael strode into the kitchen. He was wearing a dress shirt I had given him a few years ago, charcoal colored slacks and dark brown loafers. I had to admit, he looked good.

"Morning." He called to the room at large and there was a chorus of the appropriate response.

"Morning." I replied.

Then Michael walked over to my chair, leaned down, and kissed me tenderly, repeating his greeting against my lips.

"Good morning, Elaine." He whispered.

"Morning." I whispered back.

Michael continued speaking in that same low whisper so only I could hear. "I have to go to work okay? We'll talk later, I'll text you if I have time." He dropped another kiss on my lips and then straightened and a few minutes later he was out the door.

 

10: An Unexpected Romance

That day, Monday, and the following days after Desmell and I fell into a routine. Unless it was raining, we spent our time in the Starbucks downtown nursing cups of coffee and watching the goings-on of the people that drifted in and out of the coffee shop. I had also discovered a secondhand bookstore which I had taken to frequenting when I wasn't sitting around the house bored out of my mind trying to think of my next move to win Michael's heart. The motel we were staying at was on standby until we decided to return to Chicago, but at this time neither of us knew when that would be.

Today we were once again at Starbucks with our standard frappes and lattes or whatever happened to strike our fancy for the day. Between watching patrons drift in and out we made small talk and today's topic included the guys in our lives.

"So what are you going to do about Corey?" I asked. "How are things going with you two?"

Desmell gave an uncharacteristic shrug.

"They're going." She replied, taking another sip of her coffee.

I leaned forward, suddenly intrigued.

"So," I pressed, "have you kissed him yet?"

Desmell laughed.

"No! I've only known the guy for three days, two if you're not counting Saturday." She returned to stirring her coffee, looking pensive. "We're… Working up to it."

"You seem close…" I said carefully, "that's a good thing isn't it, like you've really clicked." I observed.

Desmell nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I suppose, but like I said we're taking it slow. I can't even really call him my boyfriend yet… Not really."

"Well, while you're making up your mind why don't you go on a double date with me and Michael."

"Yeah, I suppose that wouldn't hurt, I'd have to talk to Corey though…"

"What are you so afraid of?" I demanded.

"I don't know…" Desmell murmured, "maybe I'm still figuring things out, this is a big step for me. Wouldn't you say dating for you and Michael is a big step?"

I was momentarily caught off guard.

"Well, uh, we've been kind of working up to it." I stammered.

"Exactly." Desmell affirmed, nodding.

I continued, picking up her train of thought.

"… Which is why a double date is such a good idea, no pressure."

Desmell gave a wry smile, tucking a strand of her light brown hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, easy for you to say."

 

The date night (such as it was) went off without a hitch. We met up at the guys' house, told Darren and Charlie not to wait up, and left in Michael's car, me sitting next to Michael with Corey and Desmell in the back.

The restaurant Michael and Corey had chosen was not terribly fancy but it wasn't fast food either, a family restaurant that served a little bit of everything. The dinner was like many of the other outings Michael and I had, light conversation, with laughter thrown in, ending with who was going to pay the bill. It wasn't the most "romantic" date ever, but that wasn't who Michael and I (or Corey and Desmell) were. That was what made the date fun.

My other hobby during the dinner other than exchanging conversation with Michael was watching Desmell and Corey out of the corner of my eye. Desmell was talking and laughing, much like Michael and I were that there was the barest hint of nervousness I detected from her, which for her was saying something.

Michael and I talked quietly as we left the restaurant, Corey and Desmell were doing the same their heads close together, what they were saying barely audible. The drive back to the motel was quiet, things had simmered down quite a bit from an hour ago.

Upon arrival back at the motel everyone parted slowly, Michael and I were still talking, discussing mundane things including Michael's work schedule for the following day. Corey and Desmell were on the other side of the car when that their quiet conversation was broken by Desmell's abrupt and distinctive laughter. As Michael and I headed for the nondescript door with the number "22" on it. The other couple in our company lagged behind and when I turned around at the door they were holding hands and smiling at each other in a way that suggested it was as if nobody else in the world existed.

When I looked up again they were kissing and for a beat Michael and I just stood there awkwardly under the porch light not sure what to do or say. It's not like Michael and I hadn't kissed, it was just we were a little more particular about when and where we happened to be affectionate.

"Well, that's nice." Michael chuckled and he looked at me and grinned his blue eyes twinkling in silent laughter.

"Should we take a page out of their book or… Are we back where we started?" I questioned cautiously.

"If you want to…" Michael said slowly he leaned closer, momentarily blotting out the light from the outdoor lighting.

The kiss was short and sweet;  it wasn't like either of us was going to stand there making out in full view of the public, even I wouldn't put myself on display that much, and I was very affectionate.

Finally, we pulled away and Corey and Desmell had done the same finally running up to our room under the overhang, Desmell awkwardly fishing around in her handbag for the key card.

That was what the evening came down to, the last tender smiles of our significant others, the last few stolen kisses between Corey and Desmell under the exterior lights, and one last meaningful look between Michael and I, which sometimes said more than a simple kiss. I was still hiding a smile by the time the door shut since our companions were still trying to steal kisses, until Desmell, still laughing, pretty much had to shut the door in Corey's face.

Needless to say, Desmell and I slept well, so well neither of us noticed our well-worn (slightly lumpy) mattresses. We were too caught up in our own dreams and fantasies as we slept peacefully with smiles on our faces.

 

The next day, Thursday,  I still coming down from my post date high. I paid a visit to the secondhand bookstore at the moment I didn't want to stay cooped up in the motel which was beginning to have that smell of being lived in and the smell that said it wasn't aired out as often as it should be, and I didn't feel like staying at Michael's house, which was currently unoccupied.

I stayed in the bookstore for a good hour, I had read a book and a half by then at least killing some time before I knew Michael and the others would be home. I was just coming out of the bookstore half a cup of coffee still in my hand and a bag with the two books I had decided to buy, when I ran into something hard and solid and the sound of somebody making a noise that sounded like "ooomph"

Everything happened so fast I barely had time to process it my handbag, my purchases, and my coffee went everywhere, spilling in half a dozen directions.

The person I had bumped into was a nondescript businessman, who was now hastily attempting to clean up the mess continuing to mutter "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" in a way I was beginning to find annoying. The coffee wasn't worth saving, the cup was now empty its contents spread over the sidewalk as I fought to separate the items and protect the paperbacks I had just purchased from getting soaked with the liquid. The man was also attempting to pick up the items from my purse ranging from tissues to my wallet.

"Don't worry," he was saying in a way I assumed he thought to be reassuring, "your next cup of coffee is on me." And he made a show of digging into his wallet to pull out a business card.

I took the card but refused anyway, the entire experience had ruined the atmosphere I had just created within the bookstore, the serenity was gone.

It was just then I heard something crunch under the man's foot and he stepped back to inspect the item he had apparently been stepped on. It took me a while to figure out what the item was but as soon as I recognized the cord that had been attached to the now shattered pendant, I recognized the timepiece, the timepiece that was my talisman in this reality.

It was as if everything was happening in slow motion, the man was apologizing again, but I didn't really hear him, it wasn't his fault anyway, dropping everything had broken the timepiece which I had shoved into my purse when it had gotten in my way when I was reading.

Desmell was going to kill me or something much worse.

 

11: The Flaw in the Plan

"You what?" Desmell asked, her tone dangerously low.

Not looking at her I continued to chew my lip, studying a particular coffee stain on the kitchen table as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

I had returned to Michael's house without saying much to Desmell, and it was only now I came clean to her about what had happened between the time I had left that morning and when I was leaving the bookstore.

"I broke the timepiece." I whispered, so quietly I wasn't sure she could hear me. "I broke the timepiece okay?"

Desmell didn't yell, in fact, she didn't exactly seemed like the yelling type she only groaned, her head sinking into her hands.

"Well there goes my promotion, Cynthia and Cena are going to kill me."

I chuckled inwardly, and I was worried about her killing me. I didn't even think about what effect this would have on her.

"Okay…" I murmured, "two questions, one, who are Cynthia and Cena and two, what are we going to do? Is there any way out of this?"

Desmell gave me a wan smile and sighed again.

"Cynthia and Cena are the head honchos of the fairy council, everything any fairy does goes through them every wish, every rescue… And to answer your other question I'm going to do the only thing I can do when my position, get down on my hands and knees and beg for another chance."

 

Desmell left the following morning, disappearing in a flurry of sparkles they could've very easily been mistaken for fog. She returned what seemed to be a few hours later unsmiling but looking determined.

When she drifted into the house again I looked up from the book I was reading expectantly.

"So, how'd it go?" I asked.

Desmell sighed, something it seemed she had been doing a lot in the past few days.

 

"It could've gone better... they could've taken my magic for what happened, but they didn't, I think they realized it was an accident."

"So what happens now?" I asked cautiously, "am I stuck here in this time and place forever or…?"

Desmell looked nervous, she chewed her lip.

"Not exactly…" She said carefully. They want to see you… BOTH of you, I guess they want to hear what happened firsthand."

I nodded, as is going to see a council of fairies was an everyday occurrence. I guess it didn't sink in until later what was actually going to happen, and everything that had happened didn't just affect me anymore. This wasn't going to be easy to explain to Michael… No matter how well I knew him.

 

The meeting with the fairy council was set for 8 PM the following evening. Michael, Desmell and I met outside the house as soon as darkness fell, none of us saying anything. Michael had taken the news of our summons surprisingly well, it seemed like nothing surprised him anymore, not since I had randomly showed up on his doorstep a few days before.

"Now hold on both of you I don't want to lose anybody in transit, then I'd really be in trouble." She didn't laugh.

Michael did as instructed, me holding on to Desmell's arm and Michael holding onto my hand.

"Ready?" Desmell asked.

Michael and I nodded.

The trip this time was quite different. Unlike my trips by magic before where they had been over in seconds this seemed to take a while. We seem to be floating through space that was increasingly getting colder and colder, and yet I wasn't shivering; it was like I was frozen, like I had been running in place and not going anywhere. After a while I couldn't even feel Michael's hand in mine anymore or even the texture of his skin. At some point I closed my eyes, the blurring motion and temperature getting to me like the most extreme amusement park ride.

 

When I open my eyes again the first thing I was aware of was the warmth of Michael's hand again, which he squeezed in a reassuring way, but he still hadn't spoken and I was sure he was just as stunned by the trip as I was. The second thing I was aware of was our surroundings. No longer were we standing outside Michael's house in North Carolina, but we were standing in a long hallway lit by torches and candles in front of a pair of large closed doors, like some sort of medieval castle.

Letting go of my arm, Desmell walked up to the door and knocked twice and it was a few minutes before a regal sounding voice answered.

"Come in."

Slowly the doors opened of their own accord and the three of us walked into the large room. It was like some sort of throne room with two large chairs at one end of the room that were raised from the tile floor. As we got closer I took in the two figures who were clearly the fairies Desmell had mentioned earlier.

The taller fairy on the left I assumed to be Cynthia she had a large crown on the top of her head was dressed in flowing blue and turquoise robes and had just as striking blue green hair that fell to her shoulders, unlike Desmell, she bared no resemblance to a mortal. The fairy next to her was dressed similarly, although slightly shorter with a kind round face. She wore red, yellow and orange robes although her hair was a violent shade of violet. This had to be Cena.

Desmell addressed the first fairy, sounding about as nervous as I had ever heard her sound.

"Counselor Cynthia, I have brought the humans as you asked."

"Thank you Desmell, you may leave us… I'll call for you later."

Desmell nodded and retreated, the large doors of the chamber closing surprisingly softly behind her.

This time it was Cena who addressed us, her voice just as regal and sharp.

"I assume you know why you're here?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." I stammered, unsure of what else to say.

With a wave of her hand Cynthia produced a scroll out of thin air and unrolling it as she perched a pair of half-moon spectacles on her nose and skimmed down the parchment before locating what she wanted.

"Elaine Rose Charles and Michael Nathaniel Stark… These are your given names correct?"

We both nodded too stunned by her grandeur to speak.

"You both are here because of a wish made by Ms. Charles on December 8, 2013, which has seemed to give everyone including your guardian fairy a fair bit of trouble." She frowned momentarily before continuing. "In all my years on this council many humans ask to be united or reunited with their true love so I passed your wish, although the issue of Mr. Stark's sexuality rose questions even if the problem didn't exist in this reality." Her eyes shifted to Michael who was shuffled his feet nervously.

"May I say something?" Michael asked, he had spoken for the first time since we had entered the room.

Cena nodded.

"Permission granted." She said smoothly.

"The fairy that has been helping Elaine, her name is Desmell? I thought her name was Desiree?"

"Young man, Desiree is simply the alias we gave her when she is traveling as a human," Cena answered, "seems to me she likes it better."

"And another thing…" Michael began.

Cena nodded for him to continue.

"Why would altering my sexuality be a problem?"

"We aren't supposed to intervene in the natural affairs of humans, I'm not saying we couldn't change it as Elaine and Desmell were trying to do, but it could get messy if there was ever a problem between this reality and the one Elaine came from."

This time I spoke, my voice coming out sounding rusty and unnatural.

"Why did you grant my wish then?" I asked curiously.

"I love a good love story." Cena sighed her expression softening, her hair flickering from violet to a soft blushing pink. "When love is involved magic can always fudge things a little bit." She winked.

Cynthia looked momentarily annoyed before clearing her throat again.

"This brings us to our main issue why you are here-the timepiece for this wish that was broken outside the bookstore."

"It was an accident!" I blurted, "honestly!"

"We understand that," Cynthia replied, "if it was easy to manufacture these timepieces it wouldn't matter, but they require a large amount of magic and broken or lost they waste a large amount of time and energy. So as punishment… A penance if you will, you both have to go back to the real world and live your real lives for twenty-four hours, after which you will we brought back here, and time will be restarted on Elaine's wish, within reason of course."

"Punishment?" I asked. "Why both of us, why not just me?"

"Because of the amount of energy required for this wish, it takes two people." Cynthia explained.

Cynthia continued.

"This brings me to my next point." She waved her hand again and the doors magically opened revealing Desmell who still looked nervous.

She addressed the younger fairy.

"Desmell, you  will return to yesterday and retrieve the timepiece before it can be broken while Miss Charles and Mr. Stark go on their errand."

Desmell nodded.

"Yes Counselor."

Cena spoke up next.

"We are allowing 1 quart of fairy dust for this errand and two-time jumps for the three of you, one for Desmell to return to yesterday in this reality and one for Ms. Charles and Mr. Stark to go to whatever date in the current year they choose in their reality."

Michael and I looked at each other, we had never been expected to be given this option.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked. Just as I spoke I smirked. "Or should I say when."

"When did you say I came out to you? January 1st?" Michael asked.

I nodded.

"Well, let's start there. They say you can always learn something from your past, or an alternate reality....past… Maybe I can learn something from mine."

Cynthia nodded.

"A wise answer young man."

Then Cynthia waved her hand again and a large pouch appeared in her hand. It was emerald green and tied with a drawstring and for the first time since Michael and I had entered the room she fluttered down from her throne and handed it to me.

"This is the fairy dust for your journey, since you will be undertaking it alone. Do not let anyone in your lives know you are back in their reality, at least not yet, you will be there for only twenty-four hours… Figure things out before the magic brings you back."

We nodded.

Cynthia looked stern.

"Well then? You can go. You are expected back in this chamber by 8:30 PM tomorrow evening."

We nodded again as I carefully poured out a handful of the delicate fairy dust into my hand, it sparkled like the colorful sand I played with when I was a kid.

Cena spoke next.

"Throw the dust into the air and speak clearly to the date and place you wish to go."

I threw the dust as instructed speaking loudly and clearly my voice echoing in the large room.

"Chicago, Illinois; January 1, 2013, Avanti's, 11:00 AM."

12: So Little Time

 

It was like the oddest sense of déjà vu, like I had lived this day before (which I had, twice within two different contexts). When the swirl of dust cleared Michael was no longer next to me but getting out of his car across the parking lot as he had been that day. Everything after that seem to like it was scripted, hitting a mark when and where, the words I almost knew by heart.

"Hey." Michael said quietly, he waved and smiled his eyes twinkling and I was brought back to the first time this scene had happened with such an unexpected outcome.

We took the table we had that day the one at the far end of the one dining room across from the window that glared sunlight in an overly cheerful way. Something I was feeling until Michael had dumped his news on me.

We made our small talk but in a way that made me feel like I was observing the conversation rather than living it. I knew what was coming, everything from the way Michael cocked his head when he was talking to the way I was nervously playing with my napkin looking down at the table because I couldn't formulate the right words to say what I wanted.

I swallowed awkwardly around my mouth full of sandwich, once again forcing the words past my lips, words that didn't seem so hard to say in an alternative reality but in this reality could cost a lot.

"Michael? Do you think I'm pretty?"

In hindsight, in whatever reality I was in the question sounded stupid even to him and he knew me better than anybody. I needed something, particularly now, that said somebody found me attractive; it was one of those days I felt as if I could fade into the wallpaper and nobody would notice.

I knew that conversation word for word how he kind of talked me down in that way of his, in the way a friend would to make you feel better. Then he ran his fingers over the table as if he were trying to memorize the pattern in the tabletop as I had been doing earlier, trying to keep his fingers busy, trying to get his thoughts in order.

"… While we're on a more serious note…" He began, his blue eyes suddenly dead serious in a way I didn't see very often and in a wash here it was, here was the numb shock and the panic attack that followed a few minutes later (not that I knew that's what it was at the time) that  numbness that spread throughout my body, and three-hour conversation that had followed, which was probably one of the most honest conversations Michael and I had ever had.

I knew the shock would come, but unlike last time it wouldn't last I would be back in the alternate reality before that.

"I'll talk to you later." Michael mumbled as he hugged me goodbye, but I could feel the stiffness in his posture that said he was uncomfortable too, for everything that had been said and every thought and feeling I was hinting at, but not saying.

 

The magic kept us within a very strict timeframe, there were certain places we could and could not go, which is probably why Michael showed up at my apartment later that evening shortly before dinner. We were once again eating together, not that I minded.

"Do you remember anything?" I asked quietly, "do you remember anything of our other lives?"

Michael nodded slowly, but he was still frowning.

"How can I have memories of both? What it is to have that uncertainty about my sexual orientation, but know I'm straight." He continued frowning.

"Now do you understand how I felt?" I asked, my tone rising slightly. "I didn't know what to think, yeah, I had to be supportive, blah, blah, but I was so in shock…" I shook my head and chuckled darkly, "I thought you were going to tell me you had cancer or something."

Michael laughed now, amusement replacing the seriousness.

"Not that that's funny… But it was something serious, at least for me. I can't remember ever feeling so guilty, like I had years and years of pressure on me for something I couldn't control."

I nodded.

"Yeah, you explained that, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't understand that. I can empathize but I can never really truly understand what you went through without living it myself."

"What happened to you?" Michael asked frowning, as we continued to talk, "it's like you spaced out on me for a few minutes, like your body was there but your mind wasn't."

I nodded in understanding, chewing my lip contemplating how much I should actually tell him.

"I had a panic attack, when you told me, like I said I was in shock."

"Have you have them before?" He looked concerned now as he leaned closer.

I shook my head.

"That was before…" I stop myself, wondering if I should reveal this piece of information.

Michael continued to look concerned and he had reached across the table where we were sitting to take my hand.

"Before what?" He asked.

I took a deep breath hastily rearranging my next few sentences in my head.

"Before I found out I could sense and read people's emotions… Particularly with you."

Michael raised his eyebrows, small ridges forming in his forehead.

"Me? Why me?"

"We're close, because I've always had this emotional connection to you… I can sense you sometimes, like I'm living inside your head, but not all the time. That day you told me it was like I was getting all your emotions in regards to your sexuality what you felt and what you had felt. It's like I overloaded."

Michael nodded, I could tell he still didn't quite understand, but for somebody who had agreed to travel by magic and negotiate with a council of fairies, he was being relatively open-minded.

I grasped at straws.

"Like right now you're feeling confused, I know this is a lot to take in, but you've been really great about this and I thank you for that… Whether you're my boyfriend or not."

Just then Michael glanced at his watch.

"What time did Cynthia say we had to be back?" He asked.

"8:30 PM." I glanced at the clock on the wall as I spoke it read slightly after 6:30 PM which gave us a little less than two hours.

While we waited we watched a movie speaking little after a long conversation that day and I knew each of us was still trying to digest all the information we had learned from the other.

It was shortly before 8:30 PM when Michael and I began preparations for our departure. Inside the pocket of my sweatshirt I had the pouch of fairy dust.

"You ready?" I asked Michael, who nodded, "just hold on, I said firmly,"I don't want to lose you."

I made one last check at the clock and tossed the fairy dust into the air and yelled "fairy council" the dust beginning to swirl around us like some odd kind of snow. The trip went smoothly until what must have been about halfway through when, due to the sensations I felt while traveling through time and space, I had lost track of where Michael. I was shocked to realize when I collapsed on the floor of the meeting hall where the fairy council resided, he was no longer beside me.

"What happened?" I asked groggily as I picked myself up from the cold stone floor, "where's Michael?"

Cynthia, Cena and Desmell took in the scene, talked amongst themselves and exchanged a worried look I didn't like the looks of.

"What?" I asked my panic rising.

"He's lost, somewhere in the time space continuum…" Cynthia explained gently, all hardness in her voice gone.

"It's like a file on a computer." Desmell explained.

I let the revelation that she knew about modern human technology pass.

"So can we get him back?" I asked.

"Yes, but it won't be easy." Cena replied, her tone grim.

13: The Search Begins

I followed Desmell, Cynthia and Cena into a small room just off the main hall. It was a plain, unfurnished room except for a small spindly table; the walls calming shades of blue and purple.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, still looking around the room, "what is this place?"

"Call it our inner sanctum." Cynthia explained, "usually only the highest level fairies are allowed in here," she glanced at Desmell as she spoke.

"It is the place where we do the most complicated spells," Cena continued, "such as we would have to do to bring your friend back."

I nodded.

"Why am I here?"

"We need you," Cynthia explained, "our magic can only fine tune we know the general place where Michael is that we don't know exactly where he is."

I frowned.

"So how am I supposed to help you?"

None of the fairies in the room answered and Cynthia was already walking over to the table pulling pouches and vials out of her robes and straightening her sleeves which brushed the table softly.

"You're an empath, are you not?"

I nodded again, still unsure of where she was going with this.

"My abilities don't work here, it was part of my wish I wanted that part of me gone too."

Cena snorted.

"Whatever for? You're connecting do something else beyond yourself, to other things and people."

"Yeah," I shot back, "you try dealing with people's emotions when they're scared, or mad, or anxious and don't even get me started on the panic attacks… Not my fault that the thing that trigger them in the first place and led to my breakout as an empath was my best friend coming out as bisexual! What would you have wanted me to do? I was in shock!"

Cena nodded.

"I see." Was all she said.

This time it was Desmell who spoke up.

"Elaine, I can give you back your abilities for a little bit, if only in here, but obviously you will have them when the time on your wish runs out."

I nodded.

"Fair enough."

Desmell nodded and waved her hand, the magic swirled around me like fog before clearing and settling to the ground again. Then everything came back full force, the worry, anxiety, and deeply buried concern I got coming from Cena, but her calmness was comforting.

"I need you to find Michael," Cynthia said in a businesslike tone, "reach out and find him for us and then we can use that and locate him and find where he is."

"How?" I asked, "I've nothing to go on, usually when I can connect to him over a distance it's because I've gotten some sort of message from him, or if I happen to dream about him… I don't think the time space continuum has Wi-Fi."

I continued to pace back and forth in front of the table, continuing speaking as I did so.

"My connection with him is like a radio signal it's stronger in some spots and weaker in others."

"Can you go off a memory?" Cena asked, as she exchanged a look with Cynthia and Desmell.

"Sometimes," I replied, "but it has to be strong, very strong."

"What memory would you like to use?" Desmell asked.

"I remember when we were driving around looking at Christmas lights a few years ago," I began, "it was really late and I got tired and I was just leaning on Michael's shoulder… I ended up lying across the seat with my head in his lap."

When I looked up again all three fairies were nodding and smiling, even Cynthia, who was clearly was the most serious of the three in the room.

"We can work with that." Cynthia said briskly as she began dumping vials and pouches out on the table, then she began to stir the air with a hand which seemed to grow and expand like a miniature tornado until the swirl of magic and fairy dust was the size of some sort of large looking glass. Then the dust began to solidify as if I was looking into a mirror, but instead of my reflection I was watching the scene I had just described unfold before my eyes.

I focused on Michael and the warmth in his eyes. I tried to remember the heat of his body and the shift of the car as it drove along and the feeling of his hand in mine. It wasn't an issue of remembering it was an issue of feeling Michael's energy outside the memory and following it back to the source, which was easier said than done.

I closed my eyes and focused trying to find Michael's aura in the shift of noise and energy. Memories and sensations poured through me, kisses and laughter which gradually became fainter and fainter. It was as if I were walking down a long dark tunnel without even knowing where the end was only guided by the faint outline of something.

Suddenly my eyes flew open.

"I know where he is!"

"Where?" Desmell asked, she looked alarmed and concerned but curious.

"Our childhood, somewhere in November…" I began.

"When?" Cynthia asked, her voice like a whip in the quiet room.

I couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth.

"November 1995." I answered, "We were in elementary school."

14: Michael and the In-Between

I stood to the side listening as Cynthia, Cena and Desmell talked amongst themselves discussing the best way to make the time jump, which would be quite extensive.

"Not all four of us have to go, Cena said, "I say Cynthia, Desmell and Elaine go… Bring Michael back, and we'll go from there."

We all nodded.

"I'll do the time jump." Cynthia began, she began explaining things as she went, "it's quite different than simply traveling by magic," she explained, " and we just don't have one person to worry about we have three," then she addressed me, "and Elaine, you are much more susceptible to the time shift than Desmell and myself."

I nodded pretending I understood, all this sci-fi fantasy stuff made my head hurt; it was like something you would read about in a book.

Seeing my confused look Desmell picked up the explanation.

"She means, in other words the fabric of time is much more unstable for a human than it is for any magical or supernatural creature, like, it can literally tear you apart."

She said this way too cheerfully for my liking.

"Let's get a move on," Cynthia said briskly, "no telling what shape Michael's in now. I don't want to be picking up his limbs as we go."

I chewed my lip, I didn't like the sound of that.

Cynthia constructed another portal similar to the ones I had seen before like the spell I had used to view my memory, but it shimmered like the transporting fairy dust Michael and I had used on our trip the day before. As soon as this portal glimmered in front of us we each step through, Cynthia first, then Desmell, then me.

 It felt like I was being suspended in ice water, and I wasn't really walking on anything solid I was simply drifting and floating in some undefined space.

Cynthia consulted some watch like device she had pulled from her robes.

"You were close Elaine," she murmured, "but it would've been better if you could have given me a specific date… Oh well, we're going to have to walk for a bit."

I wrapped my arms around myself in effort to ward off the unnatural chill, I forced myself to keep moving. Sensing my unease Desmell took my hand, and we continued down the bluish black tunnel together, Cynthia leading the way with her lit wand. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Cynthia stopped in a place that looked so much like the rest of the space around us.

"Well here we are," she said pleasantly, "November 1995. It would really help if I had the specific day."

"I think it was a Monday…" I muttered, "between 11 AM and noon."

Cynthia nodded and began tapping portions of the tunnel with her wand.

"Well, this is about as close as I can get." She said as she tapped a particular section of the tunnel with her wand three times making some circular motion as she did so and before my eyes a shimmering silver door appeared out of thin air.

She put a hand on the doorknob before turning back to Desmell and I,

"Well, after you."

 

When the door opened I recognized the location, my school cafeteria in elementary school. It was filled with chattering children and I recognized the orange stools affixed to the long brown tables. There I was at such a table, my seven-year-old self sitting alone working away at my meal avoiding the cold meat and soggy steamed vegetables.

Watching the scene it came back to me: Michael going over to the table that held the condiments ketchup and mustard, (sometimes it was barbecue sauce on the days that barbecue sauce was called for.) Then he turned around and began looking for a place to sit and I remembered why I had immediately realized he was a loner, even then.

I watched my younger self waved him over and as he sit down next to me, in a way that had become a well-formed habit over the years, the way we would sit together knees almost touching under the table with our heads close together, something that became more common the longer we had known each other.

I was so caught up watching the scene I didn't notice Michael, the present day Michael, a few feet away watching the same scene. He watched the entire thing thoughtfully with a small smile on his face. I was just taking this in when the air seemed to ripple and the scene dissolved around me the only things staying constant were Cynthia, Desmell and I, but Michael seemed to flicker like the air around him, like the holograms I saw in science fiction movies.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"He's caught in a time snap, his body has been in the time stream so long it's rejecting anything remotely stable." Cynthia explained. "He may be going to another time and place, but that's totally random."

Before I could think I grabbed Michael's hand, it felt cold and lifeless and it seemed his mind wasn't connected to the rest of him he stared at me blankly his blue eyes slightly unfocused.

Holding onto him I could feel myself being pulled and for a few brief moments I saw another scene something that had taken place weeks, months or maybe even years later. My ten-year-old self standing up to the blonde haired bully all 4 feet of me, like a small but strong coiled spring. A ten-year-old Michael was standing at my shoulder his hands in the pockets of his jeans looking uncomfortable, even in that moment I knew why Michael and I had been attached at the hip.

Just as quickly the cafeteria came back into focus.

For a brief moment Michael came back to himself and blinked in surprise when he saw me holding onto his arm.

"What happened?" He muttered. "I saw us, I saw us on the playground you were telling off Eli for bullying me…" He looked down at me briefly and smiled. I smiled at return, no other words needed to be said.

The moment was short-lived however I felt the air shift again and Michael freeze my arms, he had turned cold again like he was physically being pulled away from me.

"He's snapping again." Cynthia said, "hold on to him Elaine, we have to keep at least part of him in this time." She sounded exasperated, frustrated and stressed all at the same time.

This time it took more effort to pull Michael back it was as if he were being stretched in some type of time warp tug-of-war. It took everything I had to pull Michael back, but I could feel where I was in the time snap too like part of my body was disconnected or like something that wasn't plugged in all the way.

Unlike the last time I couldn't see or hear anything it was just some sort of white fog, something that didn't quite clear until I could feel Desmell pulling me back. I was still holding on to Michael who was limp and groggy in my arms, the dead weight of his body almost made me fall over.

"Come on," Cynthia urged, "let's get out of here." She waved her wand again and the same silver door appeared, which Desmell, Michael and I darted through. It wasn't until we were back in the time stream I let out a sigh of relief, Desmell and I had propped Michael up in the nearest space and finally he had cracked open his eyes but he still looked dazed and disoriented.

"Where did you go?" I murmured automatically stroking the side of his face.

Michael shook his head, he was a few shades paler than normal and to the casual observer he looked like he was going to puke.

Michael's words came out slowly, his voice slightly slurred.

"Dunno… Exactly… Another time…" He stuttered, "C-c-cold…before I was born, some type of riot, there were gunshots…" His face paled another degree and he winced. "Ow!" His hand reached for his left shoulder and in his hand came away it was covered with blood.

"We got to get back." Cynthia said quickly, "not much I can do here." Before anyone could speak she was walking quickly up the tunnel back the way we had come.

 

I was grateful when I saw the glimmering exit of the portal the and the closer we got I saw the beginnings of the room we had been in and where I knew Cena was waiting.

A few short minutes later the four of us tumbled out of the portal and there was Cena; upon seeing Michael's condition she looked alarmed. Quickly she removed her shawl and threw it over his body.

"Let me see that." She bent down to study the gunshot wound, but after studying it for a few minutes she shook her head. "Our magic isn't strong enough, I can heal but… Anything human made is resistant to magic… I could do more harm than good."

"He needs a doctor," I said, "there's not much else we can do here and we still have to travel back to North Carolina. Magic or no magic he's not going to make it, he's already going into shock and I don't have anything… I don't have anything!"

For a few brief moments Cynthia and Cena talked amongst themselves before Cynthia nodded and knelt down by Michael who was still lying on the stone floor wrapped in Cena's red and orange shawl. Cynthia muttered to herself passed her hand over Michael's wound, paused and past her hand over his body again this time Michael's eyes closed and his face relaxed… He seemed to be sleeping.

"I put a magic patch on the wound for now, that should hold him until you can get him to a human doctor, he's in an enchanted sleep for the next few hours, he should awake by the time you get back to North Carolina."

Desmell and I took this information in silence before Desmell pulled her wand out of the back pocket of her jeans. She waved her wand a few times and Michael's body was elevated so it hovered oddly between the two of us. Then she waved her wand again nodded at the two other fairies and we began to move backwards and I felt the odd sensation of traveling by magic again the great distance and odd stretch as I was being plunged into ice again, but this time I didn't have Michael's hand to hold.

What seemed like a few minutes later we arrived back in front of Michael's house, its shadow looming oddly in the darkness. Immediately, I pulled out my cell phone intent on calling an ambulance, but Desmell put her hand on my arm.

"What are we going to tell them if they ask how he got shot? I don't think telling them he was time traveling and got shot by accident is going to go over well."

 

 

15: Truth, Lies, Time and Magic

Explaining Michael's condition to the paramedics was interesting, but finally Desmell and I concocted some story about there being a break-in and Michael getting shot accidentally. The credence of the story was backed up by Corey, who didn't need any amount of magic to solidify the lie. He would have done anything for Desmell had she just asked.

While I rode in the ambulance with Michael, Corey and Desmell followed behind in Cory's car, following our excursion nobody was really talking much and everyone was focused on Michael and his well-being following the trip.

 

While Michael was treated for the gunshot wound, Desmell, Corey and I waited anxiously in the waiting room and the story of what had been going on and how we had ended up in our predicament came out from all parties involved.

"So tell me again, Des, what happened?" Corey inquired his expression open and curious.

I saw Desmell sigh and I thought I saw her roll her eyes as if she didn't want to repeat herself again.

"You want the real version, or the fake one?" She asked dryly. "Frankly, I don't want to say too much, not here, we're too exposed."

Corey raised his eyebrows.

Desmell continued.

"At least wait until Michael is out of surgery, while he is recovering we'll be in a room by ourselves, I'll tell you then."

 

Michael was out of surgery a short time later. The procedure hadn't taken that long but it was waiting for him to wake up from the anesthesia that took a while. He was still groggy by the time he was moved to a room where he would stay while he was under observation and could recover from his injury. It was in this time period Desmell began re-accounting our adventure in the timestream to Corey.

Corey, being the perfect audience looked intrigued when time travel was mentioned.

"So you're a fairy and you can time travel? Cool! So how did Mike get shot? Really."

Desmell and I exchanged a look and Desmell side and pulled her hair back in a ponytail as she spoke.

He was caught in a time snap or two, which I think took a lot out of him… One wasn't even in the current year or century. Nasty stuff."

Corey frowned. "A time-what?"

Desmell sighed again and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"A time snap, it's kind of like a ripple… It happens when a mass is unstable in the time space continuum and it's just kind of ping-pongs from one time period to another. I still don't know where he was when he got shot… Only he knows that and he could barely speak when we pulled him out of there." Desmell muttered shaking her head.

"So what about you?" I inquired, looking at Desmell, "did your trip to find the timepiece go okay?"

The fairy nodded.

"It wasn't too difficult, just a matter of retracing your steps and stopping you before you put it in your bag. I was back in less than half an hour."

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the pendant on the silver chain and handed it to me from where I was sitting on the other side of Matthew's bed.

"How does twenty-two days sound? Heaven knows we've wasted enough time with all this time traveling, technically we're not supposed to do it that much… Only in emergencies."

"Like my love life." I muttered just loud enough for Desmell to hear, she smirked.

Our conversation was interrupted by a soft groan and we turned in enough time to see Michael opening his eyes.

"Corey… Elaine… What-what happened?" He shifted and winced. "Ow!"

"What do you remember?" I asked gently.

Michael frowned.

"Not much. The last thing I remember we were going to see the fairy council."

"Do you remember the time jump?" Desmell asked.

"Sort of…" Michael muttered, "bits and pieces."

"Do you remember where you were when you got shot?" Desmell asked next.

Michael was quiet for a while before he answered, he seemed to be thinking.

"You said you were in some sort of riot." I reminded him.

Slowly Michael began to speak.

"I remember seeing a newspaper… I think it was in the late 60s or early 70s around there. Maybe some sort of civil rights movement… I don't know, they mentioned something about gays and lesbians…" Michael shook his head.

From Michael's fragmented sentences I was slowly forming a picture and carefully I began to speak.

"In my reality you're a writer, you write a blog and post articles on LGBT issues and events, particularly how they relate to LGBT Christians. I remember you posting something about some sort of riot that happened in the 60s or 70s police just opened fire and a lot of people were killed."

Michael nodded slowly, but I could tell he was still pretty out of it.

"I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you…" I murmured, reaching out to squeeze Michael's hand, "wish or no wish, timepiece or no timepiece, I love you as a friend or as a boyfriend… No amount of magic could change that."

 

16: Little Talks

Michael was in the hospital for almost a week and I hardly ever left his bedside except to eat, shower and change clothes which I did every couple of days. Finally, when he wasn't pumped up on pain medication we had time to talk and sort things out of what we wanted to do, what we had wanted to do before he had gotten shot.

"So what you want to do about the wish?" I asked one afternoon when we were eating lunch in his hospital room.

Michael shrugged and laughed.

"I don't know," he replied, "it's your wish."

"But it's your life," I countered, "this concerns you and your future, our future."

Michael seemed to consider this.

"I'll think about it." He said slowly.

I glanced at the timepiece.

"Well you got twenty-one days to figure it out."

 

It wasn't until the following afternoon Michael and I really talked.

"So what do you want to do? Go back to my reality and just be friends or stay in this reality and be my boyfriend?"

Michael's sighed.

"In the end it doesn't really matter," he said softly, "I love you either way." Smiling, he reached up and stroked to the side of my face. "What do you see for us?" He queried, "I know you fell in love with me but what you really want out of this?"

"I love you." I stated, "I've always seen my future with you, or at least I can't imagine a life without you in it, but at the same time I can imagine you dating anybody else either."

"Is that so?" Michael asked chuckling quietly his blue eyes twinkling as he pushed a strand of his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes.

"Yep!" I confirmed a momentary grin lighting my features.

Seemingly without thought I reached for a pad of paper someone had left on a nearby table. Quickly, I made two columns one titled "pros" and the other titled "cons".

"Okay… Let's weigh this, what are the pros and cons of the outcome of my wish?"

"Pros or cons first?" Michael asked.

I grinned.

"Pros. Let's start with the good stuff first."

"Okay…" Michael began slowly, "Pro one, we'll be together."

"Won't that go on both lists?" I asked, "I mean, will be together either way."

"Right." Michael said carefully.

"Pro two," I continued, "I can kiss you."

Michael chuckled.

"Pro three," Michael began, picking up where I had left off, "we can go on dates, real ones, but I guess that's what we were doing in this reality."

"I guess so…" I murmured. "Moving on… Pro four, I can send you sappy romantic texts."

Michael laughed, a full out laugh I hadn't heard in a while.

"Okay, maybe not that."

Shrugging I chuckled to myself.

I continued, my voice softening.

"Pro five, I don't have to hide how I feel about you or not worry about what people think about us or your sexuality or otherwise."

Michael nodded. "That's a good one." He smiled at me from where he was propped up in bed.

"In my reality I feel like I have to keep it a secret, all the time, I haven't told that many people what you told me about your sexuality… And it's hard to hide how I feel about you… Not without you drawing a line between us."

"Pro six, in your reality it's almost 2014 and I'll be done with grad school in five months." He grinned.

I grinned back seemingly without conscious thought. "This is true." I conceded as I wrote down his point.

"Okay…" I said taking a deep breath, "onto the cons."

"One, nothing will change, if I go back I'll pick up where I left off and I'm still stuck in the same position I was."

"That's only if you learned something from this experience." Michael said wisely.

Rolling my eyes, I shoved him in his non-injured shoulder.

"Now you're starting to sound like those corny gurus in those time traveling movies!"

Michael shrugged and grinned.

"Well, if the shoe fits…"

"Oh shut up." I said good-naturedly.

"Okay, counting the other point I wrote down before this brings me up to con three…" I murmured.

"Three," Michael began, "maybe it isn't fair to me in your reality if you ask me to be your boyfriend, like, you're not accepting me for who I am."

I frowned.

"I don't want that." I murmured. "The question of your sexuality never bothered me, I mean it was a shock but I can manage… It's just because of what I feel it's a bit… Jarring."

I wrote this down.

Michael continued:

"Four, we've messed with time enough."

I nodded without saying anything my head bent over the paper as I continued to write.

"If we dated there may be more pressure on us and on our friendship…" I began speaking as the thoughts formed in my mind.

"Would it be worth our friendship?" Michael asked, that slightly confused adorable frown creasing his brow.

"I think so…" I murmured, "but that's just me."

Michael nodded again as we concluded our conversation. For the moment I was glad Corey and Desmell were out of the room, I couldn't think properly when they were chattering away or with Desmell acting like some sort of constant timer.

"Well, I'll think about it and let you know what I decide," Michael concluded, " if all goes well you'll know my decision." He smiled and reached across the bed covers to squeeze my hand.

 

A week later Desmell and I were preparing to leave to go back to Chicago. We had elected to depart in a remote area so no one saw us disappear so it would be a bit of a drive between Michael's house and the rental car place. Desmell had selected a grassy knoll a few miles away from the rental place as our point of departure.

Outside of Michael's house everyone was saying goodbye. I said goodbye to Charlie and Darren before turning my attention to Corey who was completely wrapped up in Desmell and they stood on the stoop kissing passionately, as I watched them out of the corner of my eye I managed an amused smile. I turned my attention back to Michael and we embraced. It wasn't just the hug I craved but also the kiss, knowing I may never have the chance to do so again. Finally we pulled apart and he gave me another squeeze.

"I'll see you in March." He murmured, "or possibly sooner depending on what happens."

"Yeah…" I murmured unsure of what else to say, I just want to hold him close, drink him in and soak up every moment I had left with him. Then we were driving away and I watched the rearview mirror for as long as I could until Michael, his roommates and the house disappeared.

 

"What are you going to do about Corey?" I asked Desmell after we had driven for some time in silence.

"After I fulfill your wish regardless of what you decide I will give up my magic and go back to him. I put a tracker of sorts inside him so I can find him again and so his memories of me, of Desiree, are preserved."

I frowned.

"How?"

"When I kissed him I gave him a little bit of my magic it's sort of like a GPS tracker… It's not enough for him to feel it or be affected by it, but it's enough for me to find him again when the time is right. I can deactivate the tracker anytime I want."

"What did you tell him?" I asked.

"I told him I would see him over spring break." Desmell replied, "which is most likely true I should know what I'm doing by then."

 

After we had returned the rental car Desmell and I walked a ways down the highway and soon we came to the trees and grassy knoll she had mentioned earlier. The trip back was just as painless but before the magic overtook me I was left wondering if I was making the right choice; I still had a little over two weeks until the deadline on the wish.

17: Time's Up

The last few days of my wish past agonizingly slowly. Life returned to normal (or as normal as it could be in an alternate universe) but even as I went about my day-to-day activities I found myself watching the clock, both the timepiece in my wall clock with surprising regularity like I was counting down the days until my own execution.

When I opened my eyes on the morning of January 31st I blinked once before closing my eyes again. The wish expired today at 1 PM, even though the wish itself hadn't been started until eight or 9 PM in the alternate universe. The day seemed to move more slowly than others, even the days before it leading up to now; like time wanted to take it's time and go at the pace exactly as it saw fit.

So I went through my day and it was sometime after lunch there was a knock on my door. Not expecting anyone I was curious and went to answer the door as it was still cold outside for the end of January and I didn't want to keep the person on the other side waiting any longer than necessary.

I stopped short when I opened the door and as cliché as it sounded my mouth fell open. There standing on my porch was Michael.

"What-what-are you doing here?" I stammered knowing the question was far from original.

Michael smiled, that particular dimple showing in his right cheek.

"I made my choice." He said softly and it was only then I noticed he was holding a bouquet of flowers which I was sure would shrivel up in the cold weather.

"Oh." Was all I could reply, very eloquent Elaine, I thought.

Stepping closer he shoved the flowers, two dozen long stemmed roses, into my arms.

"The wish doesn't expire for another twenty-five minutes." I blurted.

"Maybe I could come inside?" Michael's eyes twinkled.

"Yeah, sure, of course." I mumbled as I turned to lead him inside still carrying the flowers which I intended to find some water for hopefully I had a vase big enough.

We talked casually as I absently arrange the flowers, and while I was doing so found the note on a piece of stationary with birds and flowers on it the message in Desmell's small elegant handwriting.

Michael, Elaine,

hope this finds you well. One last minor instruction: stand outside the apartment at 1 PM as the wish expires then… You'll know what to do… and it should bring you and Elaine back.

See you soon,

D

Once the flowers were arranged to my satisfaction I returned to the living room and showed Michael the note. He read it quickly before nodding then he looked up at me frowning.

"What does she mean 'you'll know what to do'?"

I shrugged.

"Beats me. When you least expect it Desmell starts speaking in riddles… Must be a magic thing." I laughed shortly and Michael managed a smile.

The clock on the wall read quarter till one and the timepiece read fifteen minutes. Those last fifteen minutes seem to take forever and for a long time Michael and I just sat in silence unsure of what to do or say. Finally, at five till we made our way outside, but this time I remembered to grab my coat, regardless of the fact I would be outside for less than ten minutes.

"Five minutes." I whispered. I was unsure why I was even whispering, like I didn't want anybody to know or see what we were doing something about what we were doing seemed almost reverent, or magical.

"Five minutes." Michael whispered back and I could feel his warm breath against my cold skin; I could already feel my nose starting to freeze and knew it was turning red as we spoke.

Those last few minutes past agonizingly slowly and the only thing keeping me there was Michael's arms securely wrapped around my waist. Then the timepiece shifted to single digits going from thirty seconds to fifteen seconds and finally to ten.

"Ready?" Michael asked his voice barely above a whisper.

I was about to ask "for what" but he seemed to already know. His gloved hands gently framed my face as they had that day in the Avanti's parking lot, which now seemed like ages ago.

"Ten…" Michael whispered.

"Nine…" I murmured back, unsure of how I had a voice at all.

"Eight…" Michael said softly as he pushed a strand of my dark hair away from my face which had escaped the hood of my coat.

"Seven…" I rasped as I struggled to drawing another breath, which seemed to be harder and harder to do.

"Six…" Michael said confidently as he stroked my cheek, then my jaw.

"Five…" I wheezed, unsure of what was happening to my voice whether it was just nerves or the cold or a little bit of both.

"Four…" Michael murmured gently, he was stroking my hair again.

"Three…" I managed, "two…" I gasped a second later.

"One." Michael whispered so softly I could barely hear him then his hands came up around my face again and I felt the soft cool leather of his driving gloves and he lowered his head his lips meeting mine. Then an unnatural thick snow began to fall, which picked up by some unnatural wind, but contrary to what one may think the breeze almost seemed warm and the light that engulfed us seemed to have a soft glow. It wasn't any of the chaos I had experienced when I had fallen headfirst into the snow globe, but at least I was making the journey back with someone I trusted.

At some point I lost track of where we were or that I was even clinging to another human body, and my next conscious thought was of being headfirst in an old musty smelling box and a strong hand pulling me out of a pile of packing peanuts. I coughed and spluttered, sure I had inhaled at least a week's worth of the packing material.

"Hey! Elaine! Geez what are you doing?"

When I turned it to see who had spoken I found myself looking into my brother's hazel eyes and his tousled dark brown hair which was identical to my own.

I blinked, shaking my head trying to clear it.

"Yeah …" I replied slowly, "I think so…"

I wasn't even sure of what anybody else was doing at the moment and I was more than a little relieved when I heard a car door slam and turned my head in the direction of the sound. There at the curb was Michael, his hands in his pockets waiting for me.

Carefully rising from where I was crouched by the boxes (oddly enough my legs hadn't fallen asleep) I looked down one last time at the box I had been going through and there is sitting on top of everything was the old snow globe with Desmell winking at me from between the swirling flakes.

I smiled to myself as I walked out of the garage to meet my boyfriend.

"Thanks." I murmured to the little fairy figurine, "thanks for everything."

Unbeknownst to Michael and I there was a figure watching us from the upper room of Mrs. Clementine's house and had I looked up at that moment I would've seen the old woman smile then a lace curtain fall back into place…as if it had never been disturbed.

 

18: Desmell's Reward

Six months later

I looked on proudly as Michael received the hardcover folder that would hold his doctorate degree (or at least the piece of paper that said he had a PhD in computer science). He was one of thousands, but he was the only one I cared about, he had always been the only one I have cared about.

Sometime later we found each other and greeted each other with a hug. "Congratulations." I murmured into his shoulder.

"Thanks." He murmured. I would have kissed him if it hadn't been for all the watching eyes, including those of our parents.

The last six months had been a journey from Michael and I, transitioning from being friends to being more than friends in the "real" world seemed a little bit more difficult, but not much, we flowed easily from one day to the next but it was hard to tell where the friendship ended and the relationship began. But that was the way it was supposed to be I guess. If anything, it had taken our friends and families longer to get used to our relationship them anyone else I think even after six months most of them were still in shock particularly my mom and dad.

 

One afternoon I was in the art studio working on a painting that had been sitting dormant since the beginning of the year. The picture had transformed into an image Michael and I, and above us was some ethereal being (with Desmell as the inspiration), but I wouldn't tell anyone whether she was a fairy or an angel and as far as the composition was concerned it didn't matter.

 Any inspiration I had since my meltdown the year before had soured my creativity. It had been good for a while, but had dried up and I was repeating ideas. I had been blogging most of that time even while in the alternate reality; it was one the few things I could do to pass the time. The writing seem to erupt from me and it was only now I picked up a paintbrush again bringing whatever was in my head to life on the canvas.

"I think you have my nose wrong." A voice said from behind me.

I whirled around my paintbrush still in my hand and came face-to-face with Desmell her light brown hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail she was wearing a periwinkle colored blouse and short shorts, a grin splitting her heart-shaped face.

"Desmell!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Desmell shrugged.

"Checking in and goodbye. Turns out you were my last assignment." She grinned in spite of herself.

I blinked and found myself grinning back.

"Does that mean--?"

Desmell grinned and nodded.

"Yep! I go back for my "retirement ceremony" tomorrow and then I am headed off to Charlotte next week."

Shoving her hands into her very tight jeans pockets Desmell continued:

"After everything that has happened Cynthia and Cena thought it was fair to reward me, since I did go above and beyond," she chuckled, "they decided to grant my request to become mortal so I'm thinking I'm going back to Charlotte, catch up with Corey, maybe go to college… I don't know."

"Did you go see Corey over spring break?" I asked.

Desmell grinned again her cheeks flushing slightly.

"We started making plans then, and I came clean to him told him everything, although I think it took him a few days to process it." She chuckled lightly, "at least I can start my life as human being honest."

"So… You inviting anyone special?"

Desmell smirked.

"Well that all depends…"

 

The following evening a small group of fairies included Cynthia, Cena, and Desmell were gathered in the main hall of where the Fairy Council met. Also in attendance were Michael, Corey, and myself as we waited for the ceremony to begin.

The hall was much as it had been the night Michael and I had been there, except it was much more brightly decorated and there was a small platform between Cynthia and Cena's chairs. The two fairies in their respective seats, Cynthia holding the same scepter I had seen the night I had met her and Cena smiling benevolently on the gathered crowd.

Desmell was dressed in robes of a flowing seafoam green and her shoulder length hair was twisted into a knot on top of her head she was grinning and when she wasn't talking to the other fairies she only had eyes for Corey who spotted her immediately across the room. At some point he leaned down and whispered in her ear but I'm pretty sure he said "you look beautiful" and she grinned and giggled and tucked that particular strand of hair behind her ear.

It was shortly before midnight when the ceremony began. Desmell had to take a vow that said she renounced her title and magic and then a bright light shone upon her, lifting her into the air and she was transformed from her ceremonial robes into regular street clothes a green sweater and skinny jeans. As the light faded Corey came forward and caught her

Just then Cynthia spoke up.

"Young man, do you love her?"

Corey nodded, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Ma'am, I do." He replied and I smiled at his seriousness.

Just then Desmell stirred in Corey's arms, blinked and looked around her as Corey carefully helped her to her feet.

"Desmell, do you love this young man?"

"With all my heart." She replied, pausing to look up at Corey who was smiling down at her.

"Well then, from this day forward the fairy Desmell will live out her life as Desiree Thompson, to find love and comfort with this young man… Corey Harris."

Desmell, now Desiree, beamed and then she and Corey lovingly embraced, Corey lifting her off her feet as she yelped in surprise but returned his kiss. The main hall exploded in cheers of fairy and human alike and at the front of the throng were Michael and I cheering louder than anyone else and was only after the noise had died down Michael turned to me.

"Guess she got her happy ending."

"Yeah," I replied, "I guess she did, but I guess that's what happens with love when you aren't really looking for it."

Michael only murmured a response, one I barely heard.

"Or when you can't see that it's right in front of you." He smiled at me then, and we shared our own kiss. The party continued on around us at astonishing volume, but like Corey and Desiree who were still standing on the small platform between the fairy thrones, Michael and I barely noticed anything.