A Love Triangle Most Unusual (Season 1)

The Woman in the Mirror

The sound of Leo returning from his date woke me up. He usually makes a lot of noise, opening the door, dragging his stuff in with him, and rummaging through the bathroom. Not that I mind. It's just how he works.

Stirring slowly, I blinked and groaned. I tried to sit up, but my entire body felt like it had been hit by a bus. I tried to sit up and immediately fell back down, my head too heavy to hold up. My hair was falling into my eyes, making it difficult to see.

Damn, I know I got that pandemic mullet going on, but I didn't realize I needed a haircut this bad, I thought to myself and I ran my fingers through long, silky strands. What the hell? Did Leo put a wig on me as a prank?

Sitting up, I looked over at Leo, who was taking off his jacket. I noticed him take out a few Valentine's day gifts from his girlfriend, including a new framed photo of the two of them.

God, why am I the only person I know who is single forever?

"Good morning," I said, and he turned around, surprised.

"Oh," he said. "Hello," and immediately backed away, covering his mouth. I frowned. He should know that I'd spent the weekend self-isolating in our dorm. Why was he treating me like some stranger? "Sorry, I didn't realize you were here," he spoke, covering his mouth with one of his shirts as a makeshift mask.

I raised my eyebrows. "Uh...why not?" I asked.

Leo looked around, still nervous. "Um, if you're looking for Dave, he probably left, sorry. Or maybe he's getting food downstairs, I don't know. I'm sorry, I literally just came back...I'll give you some privacy," he said, blushing and running out.

"Leo?" I asked, confused. "Where are you going? You live here!" I yelled, as he walked out the door.

I stared at the spot he left. However, before I dealt with him, I really needed to pee. I walked over to the bathroom and rushed in without even locking the door, deciding to confront him about his weird antics later.

As I looked up at myself in the mirror, I immediately saw a pretty girl staring back at me and almost peed myself.

"GAH!" I exclaimed, jumping backward.

Someone's trapped in this bathroom mirror!

The girl also jumped back, clearly scared me. I quickly stood back up, brushing myself off, and took a step closer. The girl in the mirror did the same.

Confused, I raised my hand. The girl did the same. I spun in a circle and looked over my shoulder to see what she did. She followed along with me, without me. Then, slowly I brought my hands to the sides of my face, feeling long hair instead of the short locks I was expected.

There was no doubt about it.

There is no girl trapped in the mirror. The only person in this bathroom is you, the voice in my head hissed.

"No way," I said, but already I knew it was true.

I was the girl. And the girl was me.

I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself, but I was already hyperventilating.

Stop hyperventilating! You're gonna use up all your oxygen and pass out!

I know, I know, I replied, but it was too late.

My head started to throb, and my eyes struggled to stay open. My vision grew blurrier and blurrier, until I found myself on all fours on the bathroom floor, breathing heavily. The jade bracelet on my hand started to fall downwards, and I groaned, overwhelmed by all my senses. In a moment of impulse, I grabbed the cold jade, and slipped it off my hand, placing it onto the floor next to me. As I did, the pressure behind my head lessened, and I leaned forward, resting my head on my hands and passing out peacefully.

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"Dave! Are you okay? ...You alright?"

The first thing I noticed was that I was face-forwards on the bathroom floor. 

"Agh, uh, yeah," I coughed, sitting up. "Sorry, can you-?"

"Yeah sure," Leo replied, and helped me to my feet.  I groaned and brushed myself off, struggling to straighten myself. I checked myself, trying to make sure.  There are some benefits to having a roommate, I guess.

"Sorry for the mess," I apologized. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, it's fine," Leo said graciously. "I just got back in from work.  Your, um...there was someone here earlier," he said, looking embarrassed.  I stared at him, a bit confused, then realized who he was talking about.  "I think she left, sorry..."

I looked at my clothes. I was still wearing the shirt and pants that I was wearing to bed. Except, I was missing something.

"Shit! The bracelet," I gasped, and started crawling across the floor like a madman.

"What are you looking for?" Leo asked, confused.

"This, this bracelet," I panted.

Leo's a good one. Although he clearly didn't understand what was going on, he walked over and helped me look for the jade bracelet. I eventually found it, hidden away a corner.

"Glad you were able to find it," Leo grinned.

"Yeah, thank you," I replied absentmindedly. "I'm just-uh, I'm just gonna shower quickly, if that's okay?"

"Sure," Leo replied. "I'm gonna quickly do my laundry, but I'm going to shower later so let me know when you're done."

"Okay, cool," I replied. "Won't be a minute."

I knew that there was no need to check because it was all just a delusion - really, probably a hallucination brought on due to lack of sleep, nothing to worry about really - but I needed to check.

I walked briskly over to the bathroom and locked myself quickly inside. Then, after taking a deep breath, I turned around to face the mirror.

I steeled myself, bracing myself once more. But all I saw was my normal face. A twenty-something guy, staring back at me.