Well this story has received some pretty positive feedback. I just wanted to post a little blurb to you guys to let you know that I am starting back at college officially as of January 19th so updating day to day isn't guaranteed but I do plan on at least one update a week until completion of this fic.

Until next time, keep rockin', reviewin', and being basically awesome.

I woke up to the sounds of soft music playing with a crick in my neck and a post it note stuck to my forehead. Groaning, I straightened up in the desk chair I'd passed out in and glanced around the room. It wasn't my room- of that much I was sure. I spotted Max sprawled across her bed with a pillow thrown on top of her head. She was snoring lightly.

"That's right. We'd been up all night researching her ability," I recalled as I pulled the post it note off of my face and crumpled it. All of our research had lead to dead ends and creepy conspiracy sights that also turned out to be dead ends. I was pretty sure that Max had rewound at least a dozen times just to give us a few more minutes and to try to get answers out of some sketchy conspiracy theorists. It kind of sucked that none of it panned out.

Max looked completely wiped out even with that pillow hiding her face. I wondered how much energy it took for her to rewind time the way she did. I glanced over to her wall of photos and rubbed my temples as the whispers started.

"Stop it," I hissed, waving away the voices as I fumbled around for my bag and pulled out my medicine. I took an anticonvulsant. It made my episodes less frequent and more manageable and had the added side effect of making the voices harder to hear. They were still there- like an undercurrent of static in my brain as I dry swallowed a pill and put my pill bottle back into my bag.

Only Lex knew about the voices. They weren't that big of a deal. I only heard them around developed photographs. It was like I could hear the photographer and, if there was one, model talking to one another. The more I focused on a particular photo, the clearer the voices became.

An alarm went off and I returned my attention to Max as she reached over and slapped the snooze. She grumbled irritably as she stretched and dragged herself up into a sitting position. Max seemed momentarily surprised by my presence, but the surprise melted away as she remembered our late night research session.

"Not a morning person, I guess?" I assumed as I watched her trudge over to her mirror and begin pulling and prodding at her face.

"You could say that," Max grunted as she began searching around her room. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Probably a good idea. You look like shit," I grinned. Max tossed a balled up shirt at me that I nimbly dodged. It collapsed against the wall nearby harmlessly. "I'm gonna head over to my room and get changed. I really need to get to work on that Everyday Heroes Contest if I want to get Jefferson off my back."

"Yea," Max trailed off. I gathered my things into my bag and tossed it over my shoulder. As I passed her, I gave Max a reassuring pat on the arm.

"Hey, I'll see you later, alright?" I waited for her to meet my gaze and nod before finally leaving Max's room.

Max had been freaked out when she had finally gotten in touch with me last night after I had left Jefferson's room. Apparently blue haired chick was the girl Prescott had tried to off in the bathroom yesterday and was also, coincidentally, Max's best friend from about 5 or so years ago.

No, that curdling feeling in the pit of my stomach was not jealousy, thank you very much. I had no reason to be jealous of this 'Chloe' chick. Besides, Max could hang out with whoever she wanted. It's not like I had some special claim to her. I did just meet the girl yesterday. I headed to my room at the end of the hall. Lex and I were both in this weird branch that turned off from the rest at the end of the hall. Lex's room was 225- the one right across from me. Her white board had "We're all mad here..." written on it in black Expo marker. I smiled at the reference and then ducked into my own room.

I wasn't one for decoration- er go why both my whiteboard and my room itself were fairly barren compared to Max or Lex. My comforter was black and white striped and I had a pair of matching pillows up at the end of the bed. My desk only held my laptop and a few random flashdrives along with a copy of my portfolio. I had a tall, black bookshelf that was lined with several books that I had collected throughout the years.

Literature. That was where I found my peace. The written word was often the loudest. Pictures could speak volumes- literally in my case- but books came in volumes.

Music was my second haven- more often than not it was the one I managed to seek out the most often. I bent down to where my stereo was located and turned it on. My favorite Mix CD was already in and so I pressed play. The beginning chords of a Fall Out Boy song began flowing from the speakers and I let out a sigh. Pleased with the song selection, I moved over to my closet and grabbed a shirt and a pair of jeans at random to change into.

I lucked out with the shirt and had pulled out my favorite navy 221B tank top. My inner geek clapped with joy as I started undressing. I slipped on the shirt first, pulling it down and then adjusting it to make sure my black bra wasn't showing. Then I tugged on my black skinny jeans. I'd broken in these bad boys a year or so ago which meant that they were super comfortable. Pocketing my cellphone, I walked back over to my closet and began digging through the bottom of it where I kept my haphazard pile of shoes. Eventually, I found my target. A pair of slightly bulky black combat boots.

"Score!" I grinned as I tugged on a pair of socks and the boots. I walked over to my bookshelf and grabbed my hairbrush from its hiding place among the Dickens. Tugging it through my hair, I fought the snarls and tangles that had built up in my long, ebony locks overnight. No matter how hard I fought with it, the top of my hair refused to sit down. I searched around my room for a solution and spotted my battered black fedora. It had been ages since I had worn that thing but I'd brought it along for sentimental value. "Looks like it's your lucky day, soldier."

Fedora in place, I grabbed my camera and stowed it away into my bag before shouldering my bag and stepping out into the hallway. No one was really out and about as I walked down the hall but I could have sworn I heard Victoria's voice as I passed the bathroom. A shiver went down my spine. Imagine if I'd had to talk to that bitch this early in the morning.

Once I finally managed to get outside, I took in a deep breath of Arcadia Bay air. It wouldn't be long before I'd have to get to class. I needed to think of something for the Everyday Heroes Contest.

I didn't really care about winning. The sooner I turned in a decent photo, the sooner I could put all of my focus on what was going on with Max.

Inspiration struck and I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket. I dialed Lex's number from muscle memory.

"Hello," she answered groggily.

"Grab my tripod, your makeup kit, and the widow dress," I ordered.

"Um...sure?" Lex agreed. I heard the sounds of her shuffling things around. There was a loud crash and a muttered curse word before she talked clearly into the microphone again. "Any special occasion?"

"Just a little contest," I informed her offhandedly.

"We're definitely going to miss our classes," Lex pointed out matter-of-factly.

"No, we'll make it. The English teacher is out anyway," I assured her confidently. "I just have to get back to the school by Mr. Jefferson's class."

When I finally got back to the school, I realized that I had missed a few text messages from Max. Something about heading off to meet Chloe this morning and then later on that they had gone to the junkyard. I had been wondering why time kept reversing while I was trying to find the perfect spot to take my photo. Apparently, she had been trying to prove her power to the blue haired girl.

So I'd ended up hauling ass to get to school because Max couldn't keep her metaphorical "time dick" in her pants. That wasn't to mention the killer headache that I'd had to try to subdue using three ibuprofen.

I arrived barely in time for Mr. Jefferson's class. No surprise there. When you spend an hour, minimum, driving around town looking for a prime location and also having to deal with time rewinding haphazardly, you kind of expect to end up running a little late to wherever it is you're supposed to be and whatever you're supposed to be doing. By a little late, I mean you end up looking like something the cat dragged in as you come racing into class just barely in the nick of time. At least I had a printed out photo in hand when I barged into his room with my hair in a disarray and my tank top askew.

Mr. Jefferson was standing at the front of the class and he turned once he saw me enter. I stopped in my tracks, taking in deep breaths as I straightened my tank top.

"Look who it is! Miss Verde decided to join us today after all," Mr. Jefferson announced, gesturing towards me. His dark eyes scrutinized my harried appearance.

"Sorry, I was-"

"There's some crazy shit going down at the girl's dorm!" a guy yelled as he ran into the classroom and shoved into me on his way. I was sent sprawling, my hands flying out to catch me. The same pressure that I had experienced several times both today and yesterday happened and time reversed as I continued my downward plummet. My hands failed to catch me as the shock of Max rewinding time took effect and I collapsed onto the floor- my nose smashing into the tile.

"Miss Verde, I see you decided to drop in," Mr. Jefferson commented. Great, so time was up and running already.

Bright white spots of pain filled my vision as I groaned and rolled onto my back. I reached up and felt the sticky red blood coming from my nose.

"Rio," I heard someone say my name but couldn't distinguish who it was.

"There's some crazy shit going down at the girl's dorm!" the guy from before yelled as he came barreling into the room. He looked down at me and I gave him a meek wave before collapsing back onto my back to try to battle the awful headache that was forming.

"Zachary, do not come barging into my room like that again!" Mr. Jefferson yelled.

"There's some girl on the roof of the dorm. She's gonna jump!" Zachary insisted before running out of the room. I struggled into a sitting position as the class erupted into chaos. Jefferson tried to wrangle in the students but there was no use as they all went hustling past me and out the door. Max was the only one to stop. She helped me to my feet.

"Oh my god, Rio, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yea, I'm fine," I wiped at the blood under my nose. "Let's go see about this girl. Maybe you can help."

Max nodded and we left the room side by side. My equilibrium was completely out of whack but I struggled to keep pace with Max. I did my best to keep from letting on to the fact that I wasn't feeling quite right. We rushed over to the dorm side by side. Once we got there, it didn't take much guesswork to figure out who the girl on top of the building was.

"Kate," I gasped.

"Kate!" Max cried out. I watched on in horror as Kate fell from the rooftop. Beside me, Max panicked and rewound time. It wasn't enough. Kate jumped yet again. Max tried to rewind a second time but she couldn't go back far enough. I looked over at Max. Her nose was bleeding profusely and she looked like she was about to fall over. She was going to kill herself if I didn't do something. My eyes looked up at Kate as she took up position at the edge of the rooftop yet again. I had to do something."She can't die... She can't die..."

My hand reached out towards Kate and I felt something in the air. It was as if I could feel strings- wrap my fingers around the invisible threads. I knotted the threads around my fingers and yanked.

It felt like a rod of hot iron had pierced through my abdomen. I cried out and fell to my knees but when I looked up at the rooftop Kate wasn't moving.

"Rio? What's going on?" Max asked. I turned my gaze on her but I couldn't lower my arm. I could still feel the threads of something wrapped tightly around my fingers. The strings were pulling against my grip- trying to escape my grasp. Max was staring at me in shock. "What did you do?"

I looked around us and realized that no one was moving- not even an inch. Even the rain that had previously been pouring down on us was frozen in mid air.

That's when I realized what had happened.

I had made time stand still.

"Max. Go!" I jerked my head in Kate's general direction. "This is your chance to save her. Go!"

The threads in my hands strained. Max stared at me for a moment before finally taking off towards the dorm. I couldn't help but notice the way she staggered as she went. If she said the wrong thing and Kate decided to jump, would Max have the strength to rewind again?

Minutes went by as Max and I operated together as the girls outside of time. The invisible strings were straining too tight and felt like they would snap in my hands. My brain felt like it was pulsing against my skull. White spots danced in my vision and I felt a hazy buzz creep up my neck. I couldn't hold on any longer.

"I'm sorry, Max," I gasped as I let go and collapsed sideways onto the sidewalk. The grainy texture of the sidewalk rubbed against my hurt cheek and tore off the band aid along with scraping my arms. I hissed in pain as my partially healed cut was ripped open. A pair of hands were on me and my upper body was lifted off of the ground as someone turned me onto my back and pulled my head into their lap. Rain splattered against my face and bare arms.

"Rio, are you okay?" Lex had been the one to rush to my aid. Of course. I craned my neck to try to get a glimpse of what was going on on the roof. Kate's back was to me so I was sure that Max had to have at least made it up to the roof. "Stop moving. You're hurt. What the hell happened?"

"I fell," I brushed off my sister's concern as she forced me to look away from Kate.

"Did you have an episode?" Lex asked me, brushing loose strands of my hair out of my face as her hazel eyes searched me for any signs that I would slip into another episode.

"No.. I don't think so," I insisted. Then it hit me. I felt the slight pressure of Max trying to reverse time and it was like a chord in me snapped. All of the muscles in my body stiffened and I felt the air leave my lungs in one short cry. My eyes rolled up into the back of head and I was greeted by an all consuming darkness.

My eyes blinked open and I was absolutely certain I was in some sort of clinic. It wasn't sterilized-smelling enough to be a hospital but I was still surrounded by a medical mix of glaring white and slate grey. My entire body hurt as if someone had kicked the living shit out of me. My abdomen clenched and I fell into a coughing fit that only managed to increase the pain tenfold.

"What the hell happened?" I groaned as I straightened back out on my back and squinted against the fluorescent lighting. Slowly, I propped myself up against the wall behind me so that I could look around. The room I was in was small and cramped- kind of like a nurse's office of some sort. I looked down at myself. I was wearing the same outfit as this morning. My arms were bandaged up a bit but I couldn't remember what I had done to injure them.

The door off to my left opened up and a tall, lithe woman with short, curly auburn hair walked in with a clipboard in hand. Her metal-framed glasses were perched on the end of her hooked nose and her lips were pursed pensively.

"I see you're finally awake. Perhaps the crowd in the hall will finally disperse," she mused as she placed the clipboard on a counter.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice coming out as a froggy croak. My throat felt ragged.

"You're in the my office. I'm Nurse Haskins," she pointed to the bronze name tag that was pinned on her white button up shirt. "Although, if I had had my way about it, you would be in the hospital."

"The hospital? What happened?" I wanted to moved but every small movement ached.

"You had a seizure during that whole 'Kate Marsh' episode. I didn't realize attempted suicide could be a trigger but, by all means-"

"Attempted suicide?" I asked, trying to remember who Kate Marsh was and what I had been doing before the episode. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my brain telling me that something important had happened.

"She was on the roof of the dormitory, prepared to jump. Some other girl got up there- Maxine I think her name was? Anyway, she talked the Marsh girl down. They hugged it out. I checked out Miss Marsh before she was taken to the hospital," Nurse Haskins informed me in a bored tone- as if students tried to kill themselves every day at this school. I made a mental note not to rely on this woman for sympathy...ever. "Now, I am required to ask you a few questions. Considering the fact that your episode lasted five minutes-"

"Five minutes!?" I exclaimed, bursting forward into an upright position. I immediately regretted the melodramatic reaction as my muscles protested.

"Four minutes and forty-eight seconds, to be exact," Nurse Empathy corrected. "Your sister, Alexandria-"

"Lex," I corrected without meaning to.

"Miss Verde insisted that you would be fine and not to call 911. The faculty was frazzled enough with the Marsh incident that no one really felt like arguing with her.

"Where is my sister?" I asked.

"Out in the hall. Now, as for my questions-"

"I want to see my sister," I cut her off. I was feeling unreasonably agitated with this woman. She was just trying to do the routine questionnaire but all I could think was that I needed to see my sister. It was like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. I needed Lex. "I need to see her. Now."

"You can see her after I am done. There are just a few questions I need-"

"I need to see Lex," I insisted adamantly. My hands balled up into fists in my lap.

"Miss Verde, you need to calm down," Haskins ordered.

"I need to see my sister!" I screeched, my fists coming down on the cot I was sitting on with a loud 'thunk'.

"You need to calm down," the nurse edged towards me like a veterinarian approaching a scared animal and I went off.

"Lex!" I called out as I hopped off of the cot. My sore legs buckled under the sudden weight and I was only saved from a collision with the floor by Nurse Haskins fast reflexes. I could feel the fast rise and fall of my chest as panic set in. I couldn't think straight. All I could think of was Lex.

"Lex, Lex, Lex, Lex," I mentally whispered her name over and over again to myself. The door to the nurse's office opened and I flung myself at the person in the doorway as soon as my brain registered her name. "Lex."

Something no one would ever understand is that Lex and I were two halves of one person. Where one baby was supposed to be in our mother's womb, she instead got two. Our entire existence since birth had been codependent. When everyone else left us- friends, boyfriends, family- we were still there. We always had been. As teenagers, of course we branched out and gained some independence but whenever things got overwhelming we could always seek reaffirmation in one another. Body issues? Same body. Identity crisis? We knew each other better than anyone. Boy trouble? Being identical twins paid off a few times on that front. After my episodes had started, we'd grown even closer. When your own mind is short circuiting, it's hard to feel grounded to reality. Lex reminded me of who I was. She kept me from being sucked in by the vortex of confusion and despondence that loomed around every corner.

And she was finally here.

"What are you doing up, Rio?" Lex chastised me. We'd sunk down to our knees, our arms wrapped tightly around one another and my forehead buried into her shoulder.

"I couldn't think, Lexie" I whispered, tears pricking my eyes as the panic finally wore off.

"Oh, Rio," Lex sighed, her hand coming up to comb through my hair soothingly. She pulled away from me and locked her gaze with mine. "Look at me. Breathe."

I stared at my sister's face- the one that so many people thought looked just like mine. There were subtle differences though. Lex had a few random freckles in the corner of her right eye and her chin was a little more pointed than mine. We'd spent years spotting the differences. Our eye color was the main difference. Hers were a brilliant mix of gold, amber, and brown with flecks of green if you looked close enough. Mine were slate grey- like the sky on a stormy day when the clouds were dense enough to block out the sun.

"Let's get you back on the cot, dumbass," Lex patted my cheek playfully and helped me to my feet. My arm wound around her shoulder and she walked me back over to the small cot that was tucked away against the wall. With some assistance, I seated myself back on the cot. Nurse Haskins was watching the whole ordeal with a snobbish pinch to her features.

"Thank you very much for your assistance, Alexandria, but-"

"But you have some questions?," Lex interrupted her, crossing her arms defiantly. "You can ask them with me here."

"Very well," the nurse assented begrudgingly, moving to close the door that had been left slightly ajar. She turned back to face us with a blank expression on her face. "Now, how long have you been experiencing these episodes?"

"About six months I guess," I shrugged.

"How long do they usually last?"

"Not long at all. A minute tops," I answered honestly.

"She had one really bad one. It was around the time she entered that photography contest. The one that got her the scholarship here," Lex put in. She looked at me, trying to get me to recall the incident. "Remember? You were telling me you didn't really want to enter the contest and then your eyes rolled up into the back of your head and you collapsed. You were out for almost ten minutes. We had to take you to the emergency room."

"It wasn't a big deal," I argued.

"The doctors didn't understand why but she was perfectly fine when she came to in the hospital. She even changed her mind about the contest- wanted to use her brain while it was still good for something," Lex continued, turning back to the nurse.

"I'm surprised you didn't suffer brain damage after a seizure of that length," Haskins scrutinized me with her olive green eyes.

"Look, can we move on to the next question?" I shifted in my seat from discomfort.

The questions went on for about ten or fifteen minutes before she reluctantly gave me the all clear to leave. Lex gave me some ibuprofen that I dry swallowed thankfully before we walked out into the hall. Three people were waiting out in the hall for us. My brain managed to recall their names with only a slight struggle: Max, Warren, and Daniel.

"Hey guys," I greeted them meekly.

"She lives!" Warren announced proudly.

"I'm really relieved to see you're okay, Rio," Daniel informed me.

"You scared the shit out of me," Max gasped as she rushed forward and wrapped her thin arms around me in a surprisingly strong hug. I hesitantly returned the gesture, my arms wrapping around her small frame.

"I'm sorry, Max," I whispered. "I don't know what happened. Honestly, I don't."

"You don't remember anything?" Max inquired, pulling away from me to look up at me with a questioning gaze.

"You wanna fill me in?" I asked hopefully.

"She usually gets her memory back bit by bit," Lex offered, coming to a stop beside us.

"I bet I'll get it back quicker with a snack," I hinted, my stomach grumbling.

"Come on, let's get you some grub before you waste away," Lex rolled her eyes. Our small group of people started heading down the hall and I soon recognized where we were in the school building. Once we made it outside, I looked up at the sky and felt my jaw drop.

"Holy shit," Lex mumbled.

"Is that a solar eclipse?" Daniel asked.

"Max, there wasn't an eclipse on the calendar. I would have known about it. I would have known," Warren insisted.

"There's something really ominous going on at Blackwell, you guys," Max stated.

"Nah shit, Sherlock," I breathed.