Chapter Five - Fool Me Once, Shame on You

There he was. Casey. Walking. In the mall. Alone.

Perfect!

I hadn't even expected to see him here. I was going to call him first. I was going to go to the phonebook and find his number (because he might have a different number in this new world). But here he was. In person!

I walked over to him. Maybe he would recognize me. He's always seen more to me than meets the eye. He told me he loved me. Maybe. Just maybe. I could only hope.

"Hi," I said shyly as I walked in step beside him.

He stopped and looked over at me. Oh god, his clear brown eyes.

"Hi...?" he said. "Do I know you...?"

I needed to make a good impression so he doesn't think I am psycho.

"No, but I sort of know you."

"How's that?" he said with a sort of puzzled look.

"I...I..."

"Wait. I recognize you. You're one of my sister's friends aren't you?"

NO. WE'RE ENEMIES. "Yeah. We're friends."

"Ooooooookay. Is there anything you need?"

"No. No. I just—"

"Goodbye then." he turned to walk away.

I grabbed his arm. "Wait!"

"Wait what?" he asked getting impatient.

I started getting frantic. "You're my boyfriend." I said quickly.

Silence.

"Um... I think you've got the wrong person."

God, I was so stupid! I really, really wanted him to remember me.

"No! I just... I just.. I know you're my boyfriend... From another reality... We were going out and..."

He looked seriously pissed. "You're not really my sister's friend are you? You're just telling me crazy lies about being your boyfriend in another little world? Wow. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you."

"Who says that anymore?" I demanded.

He smirked. "No one. And that's why I said it. Because I don't know you. So leave me alone."

Man. He was such a jerk in this new world!

"Look, Casey, I know you."

He stepped back a little. "Yeah, right. You don't know me at all."

I shook my head, blushing. "I know that you...you love skateboarding and mountain biking and baseball and your favorite color is green and your last name is Acosta and your dad's name is Warren and your mom's is Candi and you're 15 years old and go to Santa Martina High School and you're #12 on the basketball team and your parents are divorced and—"

"My parents aren't divorced." he snapped. "What are you talking about? They got back together last year on my sister's birthday. And anyway, telling me all those facts about me doesn't prove anything. Except that you're a stalker."

"I'm not a stalker!" I protested. I stamped my foot. "You have to believe me. You're my only hope. Only one other person believes me and he says that...that...I don't know..."

Finally Casey said in a softer tone, "I don't know you at all. But if you seriously think you once had a different life and I was your boyfriend in it, okay. That's fine. Whatever. But this isn't your other life. This is this life. And in this life, I already have a girlfriend I love and a life of my own. Sorry if we had a 'thing' in you're...um...'other life'. But not anymore. And that's just the way it is." he gave me a sympathetic look before turning around and walking away.

Obviously he thought I was a mentally insane stalker girl who had her own mental little world going on in her head as she stalked him.

I marched right up to him. I was not insane, and I was not a stalker.

"You told me you loved me." I said indignantly "Last December. On New Year's Eve. It was exactly one year from the day we met."

He stopped and stared right into my eyes. He didn't say a word and suddenly he was grabbing his head groaning, "Woah. Woah. I suddenly had this weird vision thing and it gave me a killer headache."

"It's because you remember!" I started jumping a little to reach his height. "You remember! You remember! Remember? You said you loved me and—"

He shook his head again. WOULD HE QUIT SHAKING HIS HEAD? "Having a small freak-vision that lasts less than three seconds doesn't mean I remember anything." then he started walking away again. "Please. Leave me alone!"

This new Casey was such a jerk! And so ignorant! And frustrating! BAH!

There had to be another way to get to him. There had to.

But first I needed to find Marissa.