We were halfway to her house when I noticed a blonde girl walking behind us. She looked about my age, twenties, and had on thick sunglasses. "Heads up."

Tanya glanced over her shoulder too see who it was. "Hmm? I don't see anyone."

"What?" I looked back, trying to get a better look at her. Wait a minute... We stopped and I walked back to the girl, who'd stopped as well. I leaned in close and she smirked. "Korri!"

"Who?" Tanya was looking at us - me - utterly confused.

"My roommate I told you about, the immortal. Tanya, meet, the Korrigan." I gestured towards Korri, where I was sure Tanya saw only empty air.

"She can't see me, you idiot." Korri spoke up. "In fact, I'm surprised she can see you." She crossed her arms and stood in one of those classic bitch-poses.

Tanya cocked her head and kind of squinted. She blinked, then blinked rapidly as a look of surprise crossed her face. "Is she by any chance, blonde and a little taller than you?" I nodded, smiling knowingly as Korri's mouth dropped open. That's my girl. "Wearing sunglasses, skinny jeans, and a jacket that I kinda want?"

"Yep." I turned to look at Korri. "Korri, meet Tanya, my first believer." Well, second, but I wasn't getting into that yet.

Tanya waved at her, smiling. "Hi. Story's told me about you." She looked at me. "I can't believe I'm meeting them already!"

Korri was dumbfounded. Mouth still hanging open, she pointed at Tanya. "She can see me." She looked at me. "Just like that?"

"Korri, keep in mind, she believes in me. We were just talking to each other. You know how I am. There's a high chance that I told her about all of you. Once someone tells you it's real, and is basically living proof, you believe fairly easily."

"I've also heard about korrigans before. A race of mythical creatures that haunted wells and ponds. They had long blonde hair and were... uh... lustful, luring guys in and then drowning them. They were beautiful at night, but... not, during the day." Tanya had been about to rattle off a textbook paragraph, but stopped when she realized she was speaking to the carrier of the legends. Smartly, she didn't want to upset a legend known to drown people.

Korri rolled her eyes. "Oh, goody. You've heard the stories of the previous one."

"Previous one?"

Korri crossed her arms. "I inherited my legend. I didn't get a new one like Story. The original Korrigan decided that she'd had enough, that it was time for her to pass. I died the same day, and, lucky me, got to be the new one." Sarcasm abounded in her tone, as well as a little resentment.

"Korri's been trying to re-write her legend, make it nicer and less feared." I don't blame her. I knew she envied my fortune a bit. I really am thankful I got a new legend all my own, don't be fooled. I just wish everyone had the same luck as me.

"So, you don't drown guys. The other one did." Tanya, living up to my expectations, figured it out fairly quickly.

"Let's get this straight. First of all, I can't very well drown someone if they don't believe in me. Secondly, why would I kill my believers? No, what I do is much more low key, and far less evil."

Korri wouldn't tell this to anyone, but I knew she strongly disliked the legacy left to her. She hated being known as evil. She's spent the last ten years trying to change her legend, to the other immortals as much as to her believers. I'd have loved to help, but, being younger, and not really knowing anyone... I'm pretty powerless. Tanya asked, "So, what do you do?"

Tanya had no idea what was going on, poor girl. "Um... what?"

"Nothing." Korri started walking, initiating that the conversation was over.

She was a good ten feet away before Tanya said, "What was that about?"

"Nothing." I started after Korri, Tanya on my heels. Putting my arm up on her shoulder I said, "So how'd you know I was here anyway?"

"I got back almost an hour after you left. Jack's getting ready for northern winter already, he said he's gonna help North deliver gifts this year, so he's gonna be spending the next few months at the pole when he's not hanging out with Jamie. I was not going to be stuck at the sanctuary with that couple only." I snorted in laughter and Tanya smiled, having heard enough stories from me about my other roommates to know they were all but married in the way they acted. "So I decided to find you and see why you were in this po-dunk town." She looked at Tanya. "No offense."

"None taken. Niles is small."

"To answer your question, I used to live here."

Korri stared at me dumbfounded. "You said you lived in a town where there was nothing. I didn't think you meant that everywhere you look there's ugly." Korri had grown up in a big city on the coast, Niles was a zit-faced nerd compared to what she was used to. "How the hell did you come from this." She gestured around with a grimace.

I have to admit, Niles isn't particularly postcard material. There's a foreclosure nearly every block, chain-link fences abound, and run-down and falling-apart buildings line the streets. But it does have it's little wonders, little islands of beauty. I was a bit insulted, but I understood what she was getting at. "I escaped into my stories, and left this for hours on end. When I came back I always ignored the ugly as much as I could."

"So why are you here now?"

"To visit my brother." Too late, after the words were out of my mouth I realized what I'd said. I grimaced while Tanya shot me a look.

"What?" Tanya stared at me. "I didn't know you had a brother."

"Yeah, he goes to your school. Incidentally my old school, too, but..."

"What do you mean visiting him? Like checking up on him, seeing how he's doing?"

I winced. "No... I mean visiting, as in hanging out... As in, he can see me." She looked like she was completely confused. Korri was staying out of it, letting me flounder on my own. "You're not my first believer. You're my second."

For a moment I thought she might start crying, until she spoke. "Why didn't you tell me someone else could see you!" Oh, she's mad. Better that than sad. "Here I was, feeling sorry for you because I thought you had the same problem as Jack and you're prancing around having a grand old time!"

Korri blinked. She glanced between Tanya and me. "My, God, there's two of you. I thought you and Jack were bad enough, but now there's another one!" I would have laughed but I was too busy arguing.

"I never asked you to feel sorry for me. In fact, I hate when people do. Secondly, he doesn't know about you either, so there."

"'So there'?" Korri looked at me, eyebrow raised. "What are you, twelve?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Not helping, Korri." She raised her hands in defense, expression saying 'fine, I'll stay out of it'.

"Wait, you didn't tell either of us about each other?"

"No, I didn't." I was done being defensive. I was now stating facts. "I also did not tell Caeden about my roommates or being wa-" I'd almost said being walked through. I don't like admitting that I've had the experience. That's the worst thing about being a legend who's not known by name is that no one believes in you, just what you represent, and not usually consciously. They can walk right through you.

Korri slyly shot me a look, knowing exactly what I'd been about to say, having had the experience herself. It feels subtly different to each of us, I only know from the few people I asked to describe it from before I'd had it happen. Tanya looked at me. "Being what?"

I shook my head, dismissing that part of the conversation. "Nothing, my point is, you know some things he doesn't and he knows some you don't." Again, I really needed to tell him about my roommates and the Guardians.

"Like what?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe my entire life from his first memory." Sarcasm is my second language, and I wield it well.

"Ha. Ha. That's so funny." Tanya put her hands on her hips and half glared at me.

"Ah, so you speak sarcasm too?" I replied with a sarcastic smile to match my tone, my arms folded across my chest. Korri snorted in some semblance of a laugh. Tanya and I glanced at her and then burst out laughing.

After walking Tanya the rest of the way home I showed Korri around Niles. It was a short tour. We were headed back to my house, at a leisurely stroll, when she looked around again. "I still can't believe you came from... here." She shuddered in a way I don't think was completely theatrical. "How did you survive?"

I glanced around at the landscape I'd grown up with. "I almost didn't."

"What do you mean?"

I took a deep breath, considering my answer. "The year before I met Jack... was a hard one for me. I'd gotten to the point where I felt like I'd never get out. There was one week where I was actually depressed, which is a completely foreign emotion for me. I loathe to admit it, but it happened. I had about seven breakdowns in that one weekend. I came out of it and dove into my stories I've been working on for forever... It helped. A lot. After working on my stories I felt so much better, that it made that week even more scary to me. But, I met Jack that winter and my happiness skyrocketed. The second my brother said that Jack was outside..." I looked at her. "There's a reason Jack and I are such close friends, for only knowing each other as long as we have. He was my saving grace when I was mortal. And I can't thank Manny enough for making it a permanent deal. It feels a little bittersweet being back, and a little nerve-wracking, but I can smile now. I got out, and I'm not staying, no matter who's here waiting for me."

We were silent for a few moments. "I assume you haven't told her about this?"

"No. I don't even think Caeden knows - knew. He was so oblivious of things then that he was as good as blind. Jack knows, Del knows, and now you know."

"You never told any others?"

"My friends on the internet, one or two of my friends in real life, and my parents of course, but I was referring to my current circle."

"Well." We walked onwards, taking in the scenery as it was. "You do know I was talking about you not staying regardless of who's here, right?"

I sighed. "I kinda thought so." I looked around at my surroundings again. Korri and I rarely spoke face to face, we usually had our eyes trained on something else. We're roommates, not particularly friends. "I mean it, I wont stay. I can't. In part because of what staying means to me personally, but mostly because..."

"You're not the girl who grew up here. You're Story Tale." Korri nearly read my mind.

"Exactly."

"That's why I didn't stay either. I mean, before I became the Korrigan, I was set to stay there forever, why would I want to leave? My town had everything, but... Dying changes things."

"Don't I know it." We walked about two hundred feet before I spoke again. "Did you ever think about what'd it'd be like to be immortal? Before, I mean."

She stared up at the clouds before answering. "A little. The vampire and werewolf fad had been going on forever and, they, of course, are immortal. Yes, I guess."

"Did you ever think that, if you got the choice, what your choice would be?"

"I'd have said yes in a heart beat. I was the age where parties and Friday nights were everything, and staying young looking was a priority. What about you? I assume that, since you're bringing it up, you'd thought on it a lot."

I nodded. "You got that right. It wasn't even bats and wolves that got me thinking either. It was a bunch of other things."

"So what was your answer then? Hypothetically, since we both know our outcome."

"'It depends'. Mostly my answer was 'no', though."

"'No'? You'd have said no?" She was aghast. "You love being an immortal. On more that one occasion you've told me that it was the best thing that ever happened to you, including a few minutes ago. Why in the world would you have said no?"

"Because, I knew all that being immortal entailed. Yeah, you're young forever. Yeah, you won't die. Yeah, you usually get super powers... But you watch everyone you love and care about grow old and die. You see them age, knowing there's nothing you can do about it, and... when they're gone, you're still here. Immortality means loneliness."

"So how the hell are you so happy about it now?"

I smiled. "Because I have friends who are immortal too." I thought of Del and Selie. "Well, some just live a long time, but still. It's why I'd say that it depends. If there were people I liked and cared about, who were also immortal, then I'd say yes, but if there weren't or only a small few in the world, then it would have been no."

"So, knowing that there are thousands of immortals, you're okay with it."

"Yep."

"Alright then." For a while we were quiet, we were over the state line before our conversation picked up again. "So how long are you planning on staying?"

"I figured that I'd pull a Jack. Visit for a while, head off to wherever, come back in a month or so. Well, I guess it's more spaced out than Jack, but, you know, same difference."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Probably another week or so. If I leave before introducing those two, Tanya's gonna kill me when I get back."

"From what I've seen, I don't doubt it... I can see why she believes in you."

"And why is that?"

"She's you." Korri said it in a tone that said 'duh'.

"Don't bitch-tone me. You know I don't give a shit either way. But, yes, I saw her and, after following her around, I realized that I was all but looking in a mirror. She's not exactly me though. She's insecure about her skills. I hate that."

"I know, I know." All of my roommates had heard this from me hundreds of times before, Korri's pretty much the only one who still gets annoyed. "'People shouldn't be insecure about their abilities and should accept compliments when they're merited.' You've only told us about a thousand times."

"Sorry, but that's how I feel. And besides, you do the same thing with your whole spiel about the differences between you and the old Korrigan."

"Fair enough." We were passing the Speedway by my house where I'd probably spent close to a thousand dollars when alive. "So where have you been staying?"

"My house, my room."

"Seriously?"

I nodded. "Yep. After I died it became a media room. Not much looks different, though. The walls are the same color, the light's the same, and half my furniture's still there, even my bed. Caeden's been watching movies with me almost every night and crashing up there."

"So, what do you do once he's out? I know you don't just sit there."

I laughed. "Yeah, I'm not the type to sit still."

"Unless you're reading." We both laughed at that one.

"Yeah. No, I've been either slipping out and visiting old haunts, or watching T.V." We turned down my road, then. "Hey, so, what took you so long to get here?"

"Story, I don't fly. I may be fast, but I can only cover so much ground." I'd forgotten that.

"Sorry, forgot. Where are you planning on staying while you're here?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, probably with you I suppose."

"Oh, hey, when we get there, let me go in on my own first. I need to tell Caeden about you and the others so he'll be able to see you. Then I'll call you in, 'K?"

"Fine."

That weekend, I introduced my two believers to each other. I invited Tanya to the mall, and coerced Caeden into going. I got him to tell mom that he was meeting friends and she dropped him off. I waited there with him, keeping him occupied while Korri brought Tanya. Back when I'd told her that I needed her help, her response was, and I quote, "It's not like I have anything else to do in this back-road."

In any case, we were there about a half an hour before Korri told me they were a few shops over in Gloria-Jean Coffee. I steered Caeden to the checkout at Game Stop and then proceeded to drag him to the coffee shop. I've always despised the smell of coffee. It makes me nauseous and I want to gag. However, I suppose I could stomach it just this once. I sat Caeden down at the table next to Tanya, and took the seat opposite him. Korri was sitting with Tanya and Caeden noticed her.

"Korri? What are you doing here? I thought you were gonna stay at the house and channel surf."

She raised her right eyebrow. "Tell me he's not seriously this naïve."

I shrugged. "Caeden, I got something to tell you. Well, someone to tell you about."

"Is it another roommate?"

"No it's - "

"Me." Tanya finished. Caeden turned to glance at her. Then looked back to me, probably thinking that she was talking to someone else. He stared expectantly at me for a moment, then understanding dawned on his face and he slowly brought his gaze back to Tanya. Then he looked between the three of us a few times. After he was sue Tanya could see both me and Korri, he looked at me wide-eyed.

Putting his hand up to try and direct his voice, he whispered to me - though whisper is an overstatement, he wasn't all that quiet. "Who is she?" He was faintly blushing and I had to swallow a laugh at his obvious embarrassment.

"This is why I've been AWOL the past few days. I was following her around and, then, once I got her to see me, I was hanging out with her. Caeden, this is Tanya." I gestured to her while she gave a tiny wave and smiled sheepishly. "She's my first believer aside from you. Tanya, this is Caeden, my baby brother."

"Hey!" He snapped his face away from where it had been gawking at Tanya and glared at me. "I'm not a baby!"

I sighed dramatically. "Fine. This is Caeden, my little brother. Is that better?" He harrumphed, but didn't protest. Tanya giggled, which proceeded to make Caeden's face turn beet red. "Anyway, I told Tanya about you yesterday and she basically demanded that I introduce the two of you. I can't say I disagree."

"That's why you made me tell mom I was meeting a friend here."

"Aw, you got smarter once I left." I leaned over and gave him a big overdramatic hug that would have been the death of his social life had anyone seen me aside from our group. As it was, his already red face became almost scarlet.

Furiously he whispered at me, "Would you stop that!" All three females in our group burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, bud, you know I can't resist. I'm your sister. It's kinda my job to embarrass you... especially around pretty girls!" At my second comment both Caeden and Tanya blushed. Making Korri and I almost double over in laughter. After gasping for breath for a moment I finally came up for air enough to apologize. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry."

Still blushing, Tanya raised her hand a little, to call our attention to her. "Um, if we're done embarrassing the mortals, I'd like to talk to Caeden."

Korri and I looked at each other. I shrugged. "Alright, Korri and I could do some shopping." We stood up and walked out of the coffee shop where my two believers were about to have a little chat.

We walked almost to the other end on the mall before Korri voiced the most recognizable observation from the past ten minutes. "Well, I'd say that your brother has a crush on Tanya."

"I'd say you're right." I found it amusing and out of the blue, but predictable. Tanya really was pretty - even if she was too insecure to realize it herself. And they were similar in a lot of ways. They both wore glasses, they had almost the same color eyes, and they both knew me. Before that last part could have been seen as narcissistic, but as an immortal, that's actually a fairly good point. Not everyone knows me - consciously. "Hey, thanks for helping."

She shrugged. "Like I said, I don't have anything else to do."

"I still don't get it. Why are you hangin' out with me? I know you said that I'm better tan those two together, but... I'm not exactly your favorite person in the world. It's actually a pretty good summation to say that I'm your least favorite of all your roommates."

"That is actually true. But you're not my least favorite immortal. I don't 'hang out' with my believers like you and Jack like to. If I showed up to my believers, they'd run screaming. You're annoying, loud, you talk to much, you repeat yourself way too much, you are too bubbly and chipper for my personal tastes, your happy-go-lucky attitude makes me wanna puke and we have no similar interests whatsoever. But you don't outright hate me. You give me a chance to prove myself. And it doesn't hurt that my comments like that whole last bit don't quite phase you."

"Fair enough." Everything she said was true. I'm annoying, loud, talk a lot, repeat myself, bubbly, chipper, happy-go-lucky and I don't have anything in common with Korri other than the fact that we are roommates and immortals. I can't get mad at a true statement, can I? "I have my grievances with you too. You're a bitch, you're a bit of an elitist, you don't interact with your believers, you hold contempt for those you don't like, and a whole mess of other things that are too minor to bring up. But you accept how I am, and don't mind as much."

"So we understand each other."

"That we do."

Korri and I hung around for another week before I was itching to leave. Korri was bored almost to tears, and I really couldn't blame her. Niles didn't have a lot. When I'd been mortal, I'd spent most of my time wrapped up in a story or on the computer talking to my friends on the internet. And I'd still been bored. Nothing beats actually traveling, going to see, firsthand, the place you're reading about. Or, at least, where it was based off of. I told Caeden and Tanya on the Friday following their meeting that I was gonna head out. They begged me to at least stay the weekend, and after an hour straight of badgering from the both of them, I finally caved. Korri, however, stole away at the first mention of staying any longer. She was gone before the hour of badgering was up.

That Saturday, Caeden and Tanya went roller-skating, and, of course, I came along. I snuck back behind the counter and grabbed a pair my size and sat with them for a few minutes until I was sure they were invisible. Then I went and joined them on the floor. It was fun. I hadn't had a chance to go roller skating since before I'd become Story. We had ice skating back at Jack's place, yeah, but it wasn't the same. I'd forgotten how much fun it really was. I was literally skating circles around Tanya and Caeden both.

Caeden was pulling his own. Once he'd really learned how, he was a pretty good skater. Tanya, however... Well, let's just say Tanya was one hair away from face-planting every five minutes. I was letting her lean on me for part of the time, but then Caeden stepped in and started leading her around, helping her balance, and other such stuff. I was starting to feel like a third wheel.

Then, being the sneak I was, I got an idea that was sure to either embarrass them, or... well, you get the picture. I went over to the sound booth where there was a request sheet and wrote down a certain song. When the first chords to "Don't Stop Believing" started playing I just about died of laughter. Then I felt great pride as Caeden sang along, in his tone deaf way, to every single word. Tanya joined in and soon most of the skaters were singing along. I was right in the think of it. This was my kind of scene. Just like the musicians who drew crowds when I was near, everyone was in to the song. With the lights off and the colored lights flashing, it almost felt like a different world. I could close my eyes and almost see the belief, in that one moment.

And then the song was over, and the D.J. moved on to some of the new hits. The teenagers danced along, and to be honest, so did I. I saw Caeden steering Tanya off the floor so they could sit down for a minute. Both of them had huge smiles on their faces. I glided across the floor, expertly avoiding the other skaters whose slight conscious belief in me had already faded. I followed them over to the food area where Tanya bought the two of them a pack of Sour Punch Straws to share. I sat down across from them and snatched one up before either of them could protest. Tanya stared at me open mouthed while Caeden started chuckling as I wolfed it down.

"Story's never had the best table manners. She used to do that all the time when I was little, especially with my fries."

"I used to trick you out of your Halloween candy too."

"Did not! I gave you half because I wanted to."

I stared at him. "Think about it."

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped and actually did think about it. A moment later he glared at me. "Hey..."

I smiled triumphantly. "Bud, I'm your big sister. There was never a time I couldn't manipulate you. Think back and I'm sure you'll agree." Tanya was giggling by now. I looked at her. "This is how my family is. We joke at each other, fight, steal and snatch, and we always have to have the last word. When it came to us two, my word was always last."

"Was not!'

"Was too... think." Another glare from Caeden made both Tanya and I giggle. "See?"

After that the rest of the weekend passed easily. The three of us hung out, smiles abounded, and all too soon - from their end of things, but not soon enough from mine - the sun was setting on Sunday night, and I had my bag packed. We were hanging out on the hill behind the old school down the block from my old house. I'd actually attended when I'd been in third grade. From where we sat I could just see the windows on the second floor that had lead to the art room, and behind us had been the library. For only having gone to this school for two years, I remembered my favorite rooms well. I remembered exactly how they'd looked and I had one distinct memory from each room, two from my third grade classroom.

Have you ever gone back to your old school, not necessarily gone in, but just back. Look at the windows that you used to stare out of so often and remember what it had been like within the walls? I did it all the time when I was back, now. Every place held different memories, some more prominent than the others. I remembered that when I'd been here had been when I'd read the black lagoon books. I remembered learning how to do dot art here. I remembered the time my blood sugar had gone sky high while I was in class and I threw up in the hallway because I hadn't gotten to the bathroom fast enough. I remembered the old playground that had been demolished a few years before I became immortal. I remembered that every Friday my teacher played the YMCA song and we all danced around the room. It's strange what you remember, when it's all over.

I must have looked a little lost in the past because Tanya kind of shook my shoulder a little. "Hmm?"

"I've been saying your name for a while now. What were you thinking about?"

I shrugged. "Oh, nothing. I used to go here before they turned it into an adult education center. I was just mentally walking the halls."

"Oh..." We were all silent for a while. I was staring up at the sky, the sunset. They were both staring at me. "Um... Story?"

"Yeah?" I turned to look at her, she looked worried.

"What if I forget you while you're gone? Or stop believing in you? Caeden has years of memories of you as his sister. All I have are two weeks that have felt like a fairytale." Now she looked more than worried, she looked heartbroken. "Story, I don't want to forget you."

"Then don't." Without another word I called my wings and took off, waving goodbye to my only believers in the world. I've never been the best at goodbyes. I always act like I'll see you later in the day, as opposed to however long it'll really be. I remember a quote that went something like "goodbye means leaving, so I'll just say see you later" and I could swear that that's me. That's how I left Tanya and Caeden. My brother will be fine, if I know him - and I do - he'll help Tanya remember Story Tale. I'm counting on you bud.

All I could do now is go find someplace to crash and enjoy my story.