To be anyone Else

Chapter Two- Memories

As we were swept away by the pathfinder, I made a wish.

To have everyone forget about me, to have me not even exist. Then I never would have made those mistakes. Then I wouldn't be holding everyone back, then I wouldn't be causing unnecessary stress and worry. Then I never would've felt any of this stress.

We got to Everglen, and a cheerful Biana and Fitz greeted us. Dex was busy fiddling with a gadget, and he held it up when Sophie and I walked in.

"Hey, Sophie, Keefe! Look, this is the Wiper. It can wipe away anyone's memories, and can then replace them. Smart, huh?" He said. I smiled thinly.

"Yeah." I went to the back of the room while they all talked. Sophie looked at me worriedly, but didn't say anything. As I sat there, a plan formed in my mind... a good one. After all, I was the creator of the Great Gulon Incident. Ah, that was a masterpiece... for a moment, my mind drifted to happy thoughts of it until I was snapped back into my sadness. I listened to the rest of them talk.

"Ooh, we should have a sleepover! We can invite Tam and Linh..." Biana squealed. The rest of them nodded, and began to plan. Wait... Tam? Sleepover? This did not sound good.

A few months ago I would be scheming pranks to play on everyone, trying to get Sophie to notice me, and intoning about how my bed head hair would be better then everyone else's, but now I sat in silence, guilt and envy washing over me. My eyes trailed to the Wiper, my biggest hope. Maybe the sleepover could even help me... so I agreed to the sleepover, which made Sophie grin excitedly, probably thinking I was happy now. Ha.

At last, we had suffered through several party games and Biana makeovers, some talk about the Neverseen, and a trip back to Candleshade to get my pajamas, everyone settled down and whispered for a few minutes before they drifted off to sleep.

Now was my chance.

I reached over toward the table where Dex had placed the Wiper, and grabbed it. I stared at it silently, turning it over in my hands, and crept over to where Linh lay. At that moment, a hand grabbed me in the darkness. I whipped around. It was Tam, half engulfed in shadows.

"What do you think you're doing?" He shadow whispered to me. I glared at him.

"What I do is my business, Bangs Boy," I hissed silently back at him.

"Don't touch Linh. I see that wiper in your hand... why are you so weird all of a sudden?"

"I'm not being weird. I'm taking away..." My voice trailed off as I pondered telling Tam what I planned to do. We didn't like eachother anyway. He wouldn't stop me, would he?

"I know exactly what's running through your mind right now. Stop. It's just not worth it." His eerie shadow voice whispered over me. My heart raced. Did he? I simply stared at him in the dark as my response.

"They need you, Keefe. I never would've admitted that before, but this is worse then suicide. Don't do it." Something in his eyes... Tam understood, he'd been through this. He hadn't done it for one reason.

His eyes flickered over to Linh the same moment mine flickered to Sophie. But I had to do this. Sophie could survive without me.

"You can't stop me." I murmured to Tam harshly.

"But I can." The shadows suddenly overwhelmed, and suddenly I was in pitch black darkness. Completely blind.

"You've been practicing." I muttered.

"Of course I was, while you were moping like an idiot all this time. You could be better then this. You refuse to move on." He said. I wondered if he was talking about my crush on Sophie. Had it been that obvious?

Slowly a plan formed in my mind as to how to get out of this.

"Fine, Bangs Boy. I won't do it." I sighed. The shadows faded a little.

"I'm watching you. Don't back off that promise." He replied threateningly. I nodded, and the shadows left. Immeadiately I jumped on Tam, pressing the Wiper to his forehead. Dex had explained earlier how to use it, so I carefully pressed a button, and suddenly I had access to Tam's memories. I fought the urge to explore them, knowing I had to get this done as fast as possible, and quickly erased all the ones with me in them. Dex had made it super easy to use.

After Tam, I went to Linh, Biana, Dex, Fitz, and finally, I found myself standing in front of Sophie.

You have to do this, I told myself. My heart beat violently. I couldn't. But I had too.

So I pressed it firmly against her mind, and entered Sophie's memories. I saw them all, of her living, the genius, with humans. I saw teasing, I saw meeting Fitz, her- ugh- kissing Fitz, and finally I saw her first meeting me. My heart broke as I saw her, oblivious little Sophie, as I noticed her hurt hand, flirted a little with her, I saw her, so young, so vulnerable.

I clicked the button to delete it, and went on to the rest of memories of me. I fought back tears as I wiped my life away, literally.

And then, I grabbed my things, took the Wiper, and silently left the house after wiping away Della and Alden's memories.