Love Reset

Chapter 4

Floating. I couldn't describe better what sensation I was feeling after glowing brightly and then gradually vanished with the air in front of the young Dion. As soon as I opened my eyes I found myself faced to face with Aeris that I haven't had the chance to identify what weird and dazy place I am in. 

"Aeris!" I panicked, floating around or rather, squirming is the right term. The whole hovering and falling thing is still something impossible for me to master in just a short period of time. 

"Allina Alvarez." Aeris began to float around me, scrutinizing my body too much that it made me uncomfortable. I looked down and it seemed like I have returned to my 22-year-old haggard and unsexy body. 

I initiated a decent conversation with Aeris since she does not plan on speaking and just floats around me like a fairy. "Look, I am sorry I spilled a few secrets to Dion. I figured that since I'm going to disappear into nothingness. . ." I stopped and looked around me, nothing but a complete endless void, realizing that something worse than death had befallen on me. I sighed and continued "-which unfortunately had already happened. I think it is best for the little Dion to know that someone loves him."

I began to follow Aeris' direction while circling around me, if she floats behind me then I'll turn around and vice versa to look at her face. Still, observing my figure. If I would describe her aura, it resembles a fuming mom who just happens to see her child arriving home at midnight.

"Can you at least say something?" I grunted, gesturing my hands towards her as if giving all the spotlight to her which she just took.

She stopped floating like a madwoman and immediately as if it never happened, her face lit up like she just remembered something important. "What are you going on about? Disappear? Pfft! That is so old school." She grabbed both my shoulders and wiggled it as if to wake me up. She lets go of me and hovered towards the I-don't-know direction since everything seems to be complete darkness and the only thing that is visible is my body and hers.

"What do you mean? Are you not mad that I told Dion about the time-traveling thing? That is why I suddenly glowed and disappeared even though I'm just there for 2 days." I tried to follow her but as useless as I am in floating I didn't move an inch so I tried copying how swimmers swim, stretched my arms widely like a ruffian and swam in the air just to get to her direction. 

She chuckled after noticing how much of a moron I looked, but she was still gracefully flying away as if determined to leave me behind if I was too slow. "You didn't disappear because of you spilling the beans to Dion, there wasn't any rule that you have to keep it a secret anyway. You disappeared because there have been massive alterations in the past that triggered the time flow in the future."

Baffling as it sounds I understood what she was trying to say but she spoke in a vague sentence, so in a way, I still am confused as to what she was saying. What did I possibly do so impacting that clashed against the natural flow of the time? Is it because I threw a shoe at Vannesa while Dion was present with me at the scene and now Vannesa grew up and became a psychotic killer? 

"Then what happened? What changed in the future?" I asked, finally getting the hang of this floating ability in mid nothingness as I was just a step away from Aeris.

"Oh, why would I tell you that? If I tell you then the future would just change again. It is your job to figure that out." She beamed, eyes crinkling at the sides from her constant uncontrollable smiling. She lightly claps her hand, she seems to be very excited about this situation, perhaps this is her first time encountering one.

"My job? So you mean, I'll have a second chance? Didn't I just disappear?" I asked, slightly raised my voice because hiding the fact that I'm happy and not going to spend the rest of eternity here is quite difficult.

Aeris nodded in response that made me squeal in joy, she stopped in her tracks and sniffed out the air. "We're here!" She gleamed in joy.

I cast my eyes around and wondered what's so fun about emptiness and darkness. "Um, yeah, we've been flying for minutes to see the same scenery Aeris. Nothing."

"Oh, silly me. You're a human so you can't see it." She snapped her fingers that echoed around the place and the complete black abyss that loomed over us melted away like chocolate. 

I found myself in the place where anyone would say the timeline and record of all history. There were windows everywhere that almost resembled a mirror based on its weird designs and shapes, so let's say they were just mirrors but a weird kind. In the mirror, shows different kinds of landscapes, people, and events. Everything inside of it was moving, showing what happened at that particular time. I also noticed that the designs and border of each mirror were decided based on what was happening inside it. I caught a glimpse of a particular event where Julius Caesar was stabbed and the design of that mirror showcased daggers and blood that I assumed belongs to Caesar. All in all, the best way to describe this place is to compare it with a television shop and all the tv are playing different shows.

"Allina!" Aeris called for probably the 12th time since I was too deep into a hypnotic state from witnessing all these fascinations. 

"You never told me I was inside the recorded history of all mankind, and look! Even the dinosaurs are here." I frantically floated towards the mirror that shows dinosaurs trying to maul each other. I flew too close to it and the next thing I know is my ears are being pounded by the deafening roars and sounds the angry dinosaurs are making.  I shakily looked up and saw enormous creatures battling just meters away from my direction. If I may be so bold to conclude, I accidentally entered their timeline and out of all the possible mirrors I could enter I just happen to be in a time where rampaging flesh-eating reptiles ruled the earth.

One smaller dinosaur, aside from those colossal creatures punching and scratching each other, happens to spot me and without even blinking charged towards my direction, and when I say smaller than the rest, it's the size of a fully grown elephant.

I didn't even have the time to yell for help, my body instinctively ran in the opposite direction. Despite the alarming situation I am currently in, Aeris had the nerve to laugh so loudly I could hear her from every direction. "Aeris! A little help here!" I shouted towards the sky since I assumed she was floating somewhere behind those tall and exotic trees.

She waited for a minute before helping me from this traumatic and blood-curling nightmare. "Alright, playtime is over." I felt a strong tug on my collar and I was harshly lifted into the air, the landscape of dinosaurs roaming the land became smaller and smaller as we flew further up into the air. We eventually reached the window back to the place we were originally at and once I know I was safe from the sharp claws of those reptiles, I gasped for air.

"Why didn't you save me a tad bit earlier before I was chased?!" I screamed in frustration, I tried to strangle her but she was to fast to fly away from my grasp. Aeris seemed to be genuinely enjoying her time with me since she was laughing even before we reached here.

"Well, it isn't an everyday thing to see a girl get chased down by a Dromiceiomimus." She kept laughing and I watched her finish trying to exact my revenge is something I still can't do since my legs are still shaking. She wiped off the tears that formed in her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Listen to me, I'll be giving you another chance since letting you disappear without a fight doesn't satisfy me." She hovered back to the mirror where she was standing before I got sucked in the age of dinosaurs. 

I disregarded the heartless thing she just did since she is kind enough to let me achieve my goal one more time. "So, what year are you taking me?" asked I.

"To the year you had in mind before mindlessly telling me to put you to the time where you first met Dion. Senior high school's first day." She had her typical thin smile on her face, waiting for my reaction but my body is still in shock for almost getting my head chopped off by a hungry dinosaur so whatever she is saying bears no fruit to me.

"Well, thank you." I managed to voice out, I squirmed like a tadpole to her direction and looked at the mirror closely. It showed the familiar scenario of students entering the school gates and rushing through the corridors to get to their assigned class.

"But I must warn you, Allina." Aeris' voice suddenly dropped dead serious, I looked to her eyes and saw that she was indeed in a serious state of mind. "If you did fail in this time around, then I assure you, you will turn into nothing. You won't even realize that you disappeared, you won't have any recollections about what you were doing and where you are. So please stay true to the contract you signed with me."

I firmly nodded my head, "Yes, I will do my best to avoid Dion and not end up with him. I'm not going to disappear this time."

We both smiled at each other, she then out of the blue abruptly pushed me inside the mirror as if we didn't just have a serious moment together.

"Goodluck, my dear!" She yelled giddily from the mirror while I was left falling against the rough wind. I felt my body shrinking, returning to my 16-year-old self. That is when I realized that the

process of falling was actually a process for my body to adjust to its timeline it is about to interact with.

I was getting closer to the ground that made me a bit anxious since Aeris isn't here with me to help me float gracefully this time and make me land on my two feet. "Aeris! Help!" I called and the next thing I know is that I plummeted on the floor of a familiar hallway, a few students were passing by and were obviously weirded out by the presence of my face glued to the floor as if I was just falling from the stratosphere, if this is Aeris' way of helping me then I would rather plunge myself to the concrete and accept my death rather than being humiliated in front of all these people.

I stood up and brushed my uniform, I must be careful about my actions since anything I do now may affect the future since Dion is here in this school. If I should go with my plan, which is to transfer out of the school then I would be done here in no time, so I must go to the principal's office at once whilst avoiding Dion with all my might.

"Excuse me, you're blocking the way." I heard from behind me. I turned around.

"Oh, sorry! I was just-" My jaw dropped open, if anyone here has the ability to read my mind then they will cry in horror after they hear what horrible plans I have for Aeris freaking Dior. What stood in front of me was Dion Aoki, the teenager one. This school is bigger than the local mall and out of all the places, Aeris just had to make me land in the part of the school where Dion is coincidentally going.

My thoughts aside, Dion also had the same expression as me. Shocked. But also kind of relieved from the sight of me. I furrowed my brows and he thought that he should explain why he was shocked to see me.

He seemed entangled with his words that the words he is trying to say came out as nonsense mumbling words. He is suddenly sweating, averting eye contact and I could definitely hear his thumping heartbeat from here.

If my memories of all those romance novels I read are correct, then the symptoms he is displaying are the symptoms of being in love. Yes indeed, this is definitely the logical explanation.

In love with who?! Me?!  No freaking way.

Before he could have a chance to straighten his words I chose this opportunity to dash away, disregarding the teachers who called out to me to not run in the hallway. My thoughts were jumbled but I have all the time to reconnect them, just kidding, I don't have enough time, I only have 3 months to finish my mission and it is just the first day and I already failed. Why is it always the opposite of what I had planned keeps happening? I'm supposed to avoid him not make him fall for me at first sight.

Well, of course, he would fall for me immediately, I am a beauty. I thought as I stare at my reflection at the ladies' restroom where I ended up after running away. 

God, I missed my sexy and beautiful self. I should maintain this once I return back to the present.

Amidst my self praising session, a sudden realization had dawned upon my fresh mind. This is what Aeris was talking about. Originally, Dion and I took 2 years before finally confessing to each other. He did not fall for me at first sight, he developed his feelings for me brick by brick. This never happened before, its because I messed with the past Dion.

I helped him when he collapsed, saved him from the bullies, and regretfully I told him I was his lover from the future. But only a moron would believe something impossible like 'lover from the future', and unfortunately, Dion is a moron. So believing in my words back then would only lead him to believe that our love is so beautiful, he must be thinking that I traveled back to the past to throw a shoe at his bullies.

"Okay, Ali. You got this. Just go to the principal's office and tell them I'm quitting school."

-

"No." The balding principal deadpanned the moment I finished my sentence.

"No, you do not understand! I'm going to disappear soon if I don't transfer schools!" I begged but the principal's stone face did not falter.

 "Miss Alvarez, your still a high school student. Bring your parents and then I will consider answering your unreasonable request." He then continued tending to the stacks of paperwork strewn across his messy table.

"Fine." I grumpily stood up and walked towards the exit. If he won't let me transfer then I'll just skip school for the whole 3 months and actually enjoy my teenage years. I won't let this beauty go to waste this time.

"Oh, you will be escorted back to your classroom by Mrs. Susan. To make sure you won't be cutting classes." The principal looked at my eyes as if he just read my mind. I gulped down the lump in my throat and smiled instead before leaving, Mrs.Susan quietly following behind me.

The corridors were empty since classes had already started, although I missed this kind of atmosphere I can't help but feel uneasy since I am already bound to disappear in less than 3 months since I already interacted with Dion, what's worse is that he is already head over heels for me. Soon enough, we reached my respective classroom and I entered. The teacher at the front took notice of me.

Breathe, Ali. Just avoid him, the classroom is big there is no way he will be in a radius of 2 meters with me.

“Ah, miss Alvarez you are late! Well, anyway your seat is next to Mr. Dion Aoki.”