"I could take back those moments that snatched you away from me or maybe just wipe away those ten minutes when you came to me for the first time and I looked into your eyes to realise what love is." 

― Faraaz Kazi   

   Lawson's band mates were pretty cool about everything.

   After I'd knocked out their front man with my fist, they simply carried him back to their vehicle—which resembled one of those hippy vans—and mumbled their unneeded apologies. 

   "Sorry about that."

   "Yeah, uh Lawson had a bit to drink."

  "Eh... Uh... You guys enjoy the rest of your night."

   "Yeah... Lawson... Yeah—he's just going through some things."

   I told them it was no problem.

   Zoey looked tense. I preferred that over the depressed "woe's me" look. It seemed to me like she was fighting with herself on whether or not to tend to her dumbass boyfriend, or continue accompanying me on this lovely night.

   She obviously chose the latter.

   Soon as the van left, that was when Zoey and me decided to plan our act of revenge, or as Zoey put it: getting back at them—the people who beat me up. I still had the limp, but you could barely tell I was limping with my look of coolness.

   Kate and Tucker even decided to join in on the fun, though they were too busy laughing at what had just went down.

   "Did you see the blond one's face?" Kate said, laughing hard with her hand on her stomach. "When you punched Lawson, Isaac. You made the band second guess."

   I slightly chuckled. Kate had a point. The band could've tag teamed me, but that didn't particularly mean I'd be helpless either. I had Tucker, Kate, and... Zoey.

   Tucker joined in on his girlfriend's laughing. He didn't say anything, but his face was red and tears were streaming down his face. I looked at the couple amusingly. I punched the jackass, what was so funny about it? Oh yeah, I punched the jackass in the face.

   Looking at Zoey, I saw that she had her hand over her mouth. Was she laughing, too?

   "I think I'm gonna be sick," confessed Zoey. I frowned at that. Was she going to pu—

   Zoey threw up.

:: :: ::

   "...I guess it just freaks me out a little."

   Tucker was following us to Walmart in his orange car, while Kate, who was riding with me and Zoey, sat in the back with a less than okay Zoey—who back at the Vintage Things's store parking lot, threw up.

   "I mean," explained Zoey, chewing on a mint. "What's Lawson gonna say?"

   I resisted the urge to groan in frustration. Not at Zoey, but at how her jackass boyfriend was still able to make her question things, even if he wasn't here to see it. I bit my tongue.

   Zoey's anxiety kinda got the best of her, I guess. With the puking and everything. But who didn't get anxiety? I got anxiety whenever it came to playing football, or adrenaline. The adrenaline coursing through my bones whenever it'd get down to scoring for the team. I knew the feeling all too well.

   Kate laughed. "Hell to him!" She looked at me in the rear view mirror. "Isaac, he might not even remember you punching the daylights out of him, right?"

   "Yeah, that's most likely gonna happen," I tried to reassure Zoey.

   It wasn't long before I pulled into the Walmart parking lot. I'm surprised that it's barely crowded, but I feel some kind of relief. I really didn't wanna run into anybody here, not because I was hanging out with Zoey—I didn't care at this point. Because, to me, Zoey was a friend, and if no one liked seeing me hanging-out with her. Well then, I guess they're not just my friends.

   I took my keys out of the ignition and I was about to get out, until I realized that Zoey still hadn't got out the car. 

   "Are you comin'?" Kate asked Zoey.

   I stood beside Kate. "Zoey, c'mon...Don't you want to participate in a little revenge with us?"

   She looked at me, and stared at me quizzically. Like, she was trying to figure something out. "Isaac, can I- can I talk to you alone?"

   Kate patted me on the back, and laughed. "I'll leave you two alone, I'll make sure Tucker doesn't get side tracked in Wal Mart."

   "I don't get sidetracked!" Tucker insisted playfully. He had come up to the car, I guess to see if we were all ready to walk inside Wal Mart and pick out things for the prank/revenge tactic. Zoey wasn't ready, and she needed to talk to me. Was this still about Lawson?

   When Tucker and Kate left us, I got inside the car, sitting next to Zoey in the back seat. "What's botherin' ya?" I asked this with genuine concern evident in my voice. 

   She was supposed to be having the time of her life right now, what was wrong?

   "Isaac, I want you to be frank," She said quietly. Barely making eye contact with me, she continued. "Am I ruining everything for you?"

   I frowned, and shook my head. "No, you haven't done anything wrong. Besides, that's my own stuff to deal with."

   "But, I just feel like I'm the reason...I just feel like I'm the reason everyone might hate you tomorrow."

   I was confused. Right now, I thought I was eventually going to beat the time loop. But some evil force was trying to fuck with Zoey's head, I realized.

   "I don't think anyone's going to hate me tomorrow," I said coolly. "I hate that you would think you're the cause of that. Besides, I'd rather hang out with you then anybody else."

   She wasn't convinced. Because the next thing she was telling me was that she wants to go home.  "I'll take a cab," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, Isaac. Tonight was great, but I'm pretty sure my mom's gonna be angry at me for not coming home before midnight." She looked at the time on her phone. "It's only 11:00."

   I only needed an hour. 

   She only needed to stay with me for an hour. Then there would be no more time loop.

   "Zoey, please don't go." I held her hand in mine, and I felt that electricity again. "I want to be with you. I want to be your friend."

   "You don't mean that." She looked away from me, and took her hand out of my grasp; that warm feeling gone. "Isaac, I'm unsure about a lot of things. I'm unsure about what I want to do in life. I'm unsure about my future. I'm not good at much things you see. A lot of people my age already have things figured out for themselves. I'm sure you do."

   Before I could say anything, she was opening the car door, and got out. 

  "Zoey, wait!" I shouted. "Please don't go! I need you to-- wait!" Some people in the parking lot gave me creeped out looks, like I didn't fucking belong, or something.

   I tried to see where she went, but just like Lawrie Odin, she disappeared on me. She must've been somewhere in the dark, in this mid September weather. But the lights on the Wal Mart building didn't make it easier for me to locate her; the lights were very dim.

   I didn't see Zoey for the rest of the night.

No luck in finding her. My gut feeling told me she most-likely took a cab home like she said she would do.

   I texted Tucker sometime after, telling him that Zoey had gone home, and that I was heading home too. I thanked him and Kate for coming to the concert with us.

   She did the deed at exactly 11:45, when I was pulling up in my drive way.

:: :: ::

   I wish that I knew Zoey before getting in this time loop. I honestly do.

   I feel so fake, and stupid. And sort of like my whole life was a lie up to this point. No, my parents didn't tell me some bizarre thing, like I was adopted. Nor was I told I couldn't play football to save my life. But, what I was told, was that Zoey Graves and I were soulmates.

   I should've been her friend a long time ago.

   Lawrie Odin stood before me. He was in my room. "I'm sorry you couldn't get through to her."

   "Lawrie, what am I doing wrong?!" I asked in frustration. "Why CAN'T I get through to her?"

  "It's not that simple, Isaac," He said pointedly. "You don't see it yet, you don't."

   "What don't I see?"

   "Why do you think that you were the one put into this time loop? Anyone else could've been chosen to save Zoey. I know you question yourself about that all the time. 'Why was I picked to do this?', 'Anyone else could've been given this task', right?"

   I hesitated at first, but I eventually I nodded. It was kind of scary that Lawrie Odin was aware of my skepticism and thoughts. But I wasn't particularly surprised.

   You get me?

   Lawrie smiled. "Okay. Well think about it, you guys could be soul mates. And just know Isaac, you can only repeat  a day so many times...time is running out."

   And like that, like always, he was gone.

:: :: :: 

   I called Justice. I needed to give it to her straight.

   "Hey," she said.

   "Hi," I responded back with. "I need for you to be honest with me."

   I hoped I was approaching this the right way.

   I could feel her rolling her eyes, even when I couldn't see her. 

   "I'm always honest," she said matter-of-factly. "What's got you this way?"

   "I need to ask the question first." I looked at my watch. I should've been dressed by now. But I was still in bed. "Are you and Peyton messing around behind my back?"

   I asked a question that would most-likely have a testy response from my girl friend.

   "What?" She sounded pissed.

   "I'm not going to yell at you or anything-- I just want you to be hon--"

   "Isaac!" She said angrily. "I know what you said. And I can't believe you!"

   "Just..please, I need to know."

   "Asshole!" She then hung up, abruptly.

:: :: ::

   I didn't miss school. I should have.

   Peyton and Justice came up to me the minute I pulled into the parking lot. "Isaac!" Peyton yelled, "I heard you were talking shit about me!"

   Rolling my eyes, I shrugged. "I only asked Justice, if you and her were sleeping together. I wouldn't call that 'talking shit'."

   Justice laughed dryly. "Well, you're wrong Isaac. Very wrong," she retorted.

   "But is it true?" I asked. "You and Peyton are doing stuff behind my back."

   Peyton and her exchanged a look. 

   "We may've hooked up in the past, but who doesn't?" Peyton said almost casually. "You and Gwen hooked up. Why are you bitchin'?"

   My friend had it very wrong. I held up my hand. "Wait—I've never hooked up with Gwen."

   Justice crossed her arms, and gave me a bitch face. "Gwen told me awhile back that you and her—"

   "Unfucking believable," I responded with, "You know she lies!"

   Walking away was very tempting to do. I wanted to avoid a confrontation, but sometimes it's best for a confrontation to happen, because there's no longer the elephant in the room, staring you right in the face.

   Peyton and Justice exchanged looks. "Isaac, you're acting weird," she said. "Is there something me and Peyton don't know about?"

   "I know what you're trying to do Justice. You're trying to turn the tables, and it's not gonna work. We can't continue being together. I'm sure you'll be fine with Peyton." I turned around and promptly began to walk inside the school. And let me tell you, I was sweating, and I couldn't think straight. My hands were shaking.

   "Isaac, you don't know what you're leaving behind!" Peyton yelled.

   "You'll regret it!" Justice added on. 

   I ran to the bathroom, and screamed. The time loop was getting to me big time. This shit wasn't easy at all. It was hard. "Why can't this be easy?!" I yelled. "It's like I'm cursed!"

   Tears sprang at my eyes, and my blood was boiling out of frustration. You're lame Isaac. How could you ever think that there was ever a possibility that you could save Zoey? Just like your girlfriend, she even thinks you're pathetic.

   "Stop it!" The voices in my head needed to cease.

   You can't save Zoey. She doesn't want to be saved by you.

   It's hopeless; it's all hopeless.

   Time was running out, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. So, in some messed up way, I fell asleep on the bathroom floor.

:: :: ::

   Someone was nudging me with their foot. I hadn't opened my eyes just yet, but I could already feel that my head was fucking pounding. "Where am I?" I mumbled holding my head. 

   "Dude, did you get drunk or something?" 

   Looking up, withstanding  my headache, I saw Pierce Sanders.

   We didn't hang out much because he was a basketball player, and he liked to party. Not that I didn't like to party at times, but Pierce Sanders was one heck of a partier. He liked to throw them, attend them, and even bring the booze. And I just wasn't that guy. I had to be in the mood to get drunk.

   Nonetheless, Pierce was cool. 

   "Nah, I didn't get drunk," I replied with a crack in my voice. "I, uh, fell asleep."

   Pierce laughed, as he helped me off the ground. "I won't say anything, but tell me where you hid the booze."

   "It wasn't booze..." I began, but thought better of it and decided to change the subject. "Pierce, what time is it?"

   "It's lunch time."

   "Zoey," I whispered.

   Pierce looked at me quizzically. "What'd ya say man?"

   "Nothing."

   Walking out the bathroom, and saying goodbye to Pierce. I walked to the parking lot. 

   As usual, Zoey was sitting in her car. She looked to be at peace for some reason. She was all smiles.

   Hesitantly, I approached her car. 

   She didn't see me at first. But when she did, she threw something in the back seat. I didn't know what that could've possibly been.

   I knocked on her car window. "Zoey?"

  She gave me an even brighter smile, and rolled down the window. "Hey," She said enthusiastically, "Are you here to tell me how fucked up I am?"

   I frowned, but still wore a smile. "Huh? Are you okay Zoey?"

   She shrugged, and gave me a hazy look. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe just suspended for a couple days. You're girlfriend Justice decided to make me her punching bag, but...I don't know, she threw a couple insults my way. She was more mean than usual." Zoey then looked at me, and twirled her hair around her finger. "But why am I telling you this? You're her boyfriend after all!" 

   I put both of my hands in the windowsill and leaned in. "What do you mean she was more mean than usual?"

   "Nothing..." She picked up a bag of Cheetos that sat in the passengers seat. Opening them she asked me with a laid back smile, "You want some chips?"

   "Nah."

   I saw all of the signs. She was stoned. She must've gotten some MJ from Lawson, or one of his cronies.

   Damn it.

   I wasn't going to get through to her. Especially, when she crashes and the feeling of depression creeps its way back in, she would want to off herself again. And right now, I was sick of this struggle, and wasn't necessarily ready to see her cry and harm herself.

   I walked away from her green van feeling even worse.