"Karika," you hear, the name followed by a knocking. "You aren't stuck in there, are you?"

Karika groans and stands from the arm of the expensive couch. You were able to get through everything but the part that she... died.

"Nah, Peter, just wait outside for a bit. I'm taking care of something right now."

There's no response from the other side of the door and Karika begins to pace.

"Anything else?"

You pause, watching her. "You..."

Do you really want to tell her?

"I, what?" She continues.

You shake your head. "Chris never took his jacket back because I saw the butterfly outside his window—"

"You were at his apartment?" Karika bursts, something like excitement in her eyes. "Oh, give me all the details, girlie."

You face turns red immediately and you wave your hands in the air. "No! N-nothing like that happened! He was sad and we'd both had some shocking news. He was crying and... he..." Kissed me.

"He... what?" She urges, coming close and leaning on the chair, watching you. "Come on, I need to know about my turtles in their free time, even if it's a different timeline."

"Timeline?" You ask, your brain switching gears.

She wags a finger at you. "Nuh-uh. Not until you tell me everything else. What was the shocking news? And did he...?" her eyebrows raise.

You purse your lips and place your head in your hands.

"He kissed me."

She makes a squealing noise, a total girly sound coming from someone so butch-acting.

"That's amazing! Of course, it's like him to get so attached and shocking news will do that to him, but..." She studies you as Peter bangs on the door again.

"Is everything okay in there? I heard you scream."

She exhales dramatically. "It was a squeal Peter. Give me a bit. The others aren't even here yet."

"Actually, Oliver just arrived."

"Ollie!" She squeals with a big grin and turns to you. "Okay, let's hear it. What was the shocking news?"

"Um..." You squirm in your chair, uncomfortable with the subject matter. "I don't know if you want to hear it... Besides, how do you know all this? Why—"

She puts up a finger, silencing you. "News first. Nothing can shock me, trust me. I've seen some stuff."

Your brow furrows at her choice of words and you nod. You're going to tell her. You're going to tell her... Maybe.

"But—"

"Stoooop," she whines. "Just tell me."

Biting your lip, you choose your words carefully. She might think she won't be surprised, but... wouldn't anyone be?

"I was at your apartment. You told me to shower and gave me some clean clothes. When I came out of the bathroom, some guys broke in. They showed you a picture and told you they were there to collect some debts. Then, there was a gunshot..."

"And?" She asks, still leaning on the chair, fascinated by your story.

"And... you... All I saw was you falling to the ground." You watch her expression grow serious for a moment. "That's when I got away and Chris let me stay at his apartment."

She takes a moment before nodding, that gleam returning to her eye as she stands upright, her chin resting on her hand, that elbow resting on the arm around her midsection.

"Makes sense. If you choose wrong, people begin to die that aren't supposed to."

"What?" You exclaim, your fingers gripping the arms of the chair tightly. What does she mean by that?

"Chaos theory," she explains, "when something small changes in an environment, it might shift the whole ecosystem in turn."

She looks at you with the sharpest eyes you've ever seen, making your breath catch in your throat, the serious of the moment weighing down on your chest.

"You are that small change." She shifts her stance and crosses both arms, everything about her telling you she's being completely serious. "Make no mistake: every choice you make every time you're rebooted will have a consequence, just like in real life. The only difference is you aren't supposed to be here, in our lives. There's only one person you're here for, but they might cause the biggest storm."

You can't help but grow more and more confused.

She sighs.

"Let me break it down for you."

She returns to her seat on the edge of the expensive red couch and begins to re-explain, her hands moving as she does. "Have you ever played those dating games? The ones with different endings based on your choices and whatever? Or, like, any simulation game ever?"

You shrug.

"Right. You don't remember anything. Yeah, so, it's like that—every action has an equal and opposite reaction, every action has a consequence, things like that. Except it's very real and people's lives are actually at stake."

You take a metaphorical step back. "Wait... Are you saying I need to date these guys?"

She shrugs. "If that's what you think."

More knocks on the door. "Karikaaaa, we're bored. Hurry up. I wanna play some Monopoly."

The sound of Chris's voice sets your heart jackhammering. He won't remember anything that went on between you two... How could you do that with the other guys?

"That doesn't sound very... Nice," you respond to her. "To try and date them all."

She shrugs. "That's what I was doing. They don't remember anything from the other reboots, so it's fine. I was hung up on Chris for a while too, so don't worry about that. It's not his fault he's so nice."

"What changed?" You ask. "How many times did you... reboot?" You ask, trying out the word for yourself.

"Twenty-two," she says, a dullness in her irises. "Twenty-two. I tried getting close to Chris the first five times, but everyone just kept dying. The sixth time, I decided I would try to stay away from him and from everyone else, but it wasn't long until I died of hypothermia because it was in dead-winter and I didn't have anywhere to stay. I tried to keep away from my dad because most of the time, it was him who died and I got caught up in his sins, forcing my death as well." She exhales. "Fifteen more times, I tried to save my dad however I could, but that wasn't it. That wasn't my happy ending. So I tried something else. I tried being with Ollie, but I was too much to handle for him and he ended up pushing me away for good. I stayed in that one for like a week before I died again, slipping on ice and hitting my head too hard. What a stupid way to die," she breathes. "I'm stuck in my twenty-second. Have been for a year now. Peter wouldn't reciprocate my feelings and so here I am. No one's died, so this must be my happy ending. The problem is, I'm too deep into my feelings for Peter that I can't get out."

You nod, still not quite sure. This is only your second time through... She's rebooted twenty-two times?

"I saw you die," you admit, voice wavering, "if I wouldn't have died, would you have rebooted a twenty-third time?"

She shrugs. "No idea. Haven't met anyone who went through what I did. All I know is that if I see that butterfly, the one you did, my life is about to end. I haven't seen it for a year."

More banging on the door.

"Hold on a minute. Frick," she shouts, suddenly angry. Turning back to you, she continues. "I used to be quiet and gentle and bright. Since the Rebooting happened, so I like to call it, I started seeing the darkest parts of me and my dad, and I learned more about the past I thought I'd forgotten. And what sucks the most is..." She takes a deep breath and places her elbows on her knees, hanging her head as she leans forward. "If you're here, maybe that means I screwed up."

You stay silent as she takes a moment before standing up.

"I guess it's time for you to meet the guys." A shaky breath slithers from her lips. "And if you choose Peter... I'll back off. Especially if he's the one that leads to a happy ending."

She takes a step toward the door but you stop her with a question.

"How do you know there's a happy ending?" You ask, squeezing your fingers to stop their trembling.

She hesitates, her eyes darting over to the door to the freezer. Her feet move slowly over to it as if she fears what's inside. Pulling it open, you see the steam from the cold enter the storage room, and she steps inside, keeping the door open with a stopper. She comes back out with a piece of paper in her hands, shutting the door behind her, and walks over to you briskly as if the item burns. Pain laces her face.

"I found this when I woke up, just like you found a note to you."

Love him. He will bring your happy ending.

You stare at the note, your shaky fingers touching the words. It's so much shorter and simpler than yours. Down at the bottom is an address, the same one scribbled on your note.

"I think I changed too drastically to carry out whatever it was I was supposed to. I had my father to help me until I started refusing it, separating myself from his eminent death."

She pauses.

"There are some rules I've come across. One: you can't leave the town or you'll die. Not immediately, but you will die within the next hour. I tried running away a few times. Two: the butterfly is a warning of your oncoming death. Obviously, as I've said it before. And three: if you fall for any of them, it'll be really hard to move on later. Love, emotions, and feelings will cloud your judgement and mess with your mind and heart, especially if you're supposed to move from one guy to the next in the blink of an eye in order to save them all. Another thing, you will always end up with one of them, no matter what. Even if you decide to try not choosing any of them to be around, you will end up with one of them. Those fifteen tries to save my dad, I attempted to stay away from all four of the guys and couldn't. I'd always end up around one of them and they would always be interested in a romantic relationship with me." She shakes her head. "Wow, I sound super egotistical."

"Karika!"

Chris's voice again.

You watch the door, pulling his jacket close.

She eyes you in understanding, sadness glinting through. "You're going to have to take off the jacket. It'll spook him if he walks in and you're wearing it."

You look down at the army-green jacket and its worn-out cuffs. You don't want to let it go. It feels safe, like a safety blanket or a stuffed animal you've had since childhood.

"I know it's hard. But Chris wasn't your happy ending. If you want to see me die all over again, keep it. Because he probably actually won't be spooked out about it. I'll lie and tell him you were cold and he left his jacket here, but that'll make him even more curious of you because he's seen what you look like in his clothes. I'm sure you're aware of how attached he gets."

You nod. "You warned me before. So did Oliver."

She nods and you sigh, removing the jacket.

"I don't know if you met Max in your first round, but he's not here and I haven't heard from him for a few days. None of us have. Sometimes he drops off the radar, but he always comes back with the biggest smile anyone's ever seen, like he was never missing."

You shake your head. "No, not yet."

With a smile, she nods. "Well, then maybe that means you have one less guy to manipulate."

At that word, you stiffen and she laughs. "I'm joking. It's not manipulation. Care for them, but don't fall for them romantically. I know the heart wants what it wants, but," she takes the jacket from you and tosses it on the far couch, "you need to approach this as you would a game. You'll need to be cunning and think outside the box in order to get through this, but don't let this change you. Stay true to who you are. You are you even without your memories. Who you are and who you've become is deeply rooted within you and that ultimate factor will never change. You're a good girl, Cora; I can see that."

She tilts her head toward the door, telling you to get up. "Come on. Let's introduce you to the boys."

She opens the door and bright sunlight beams through, a collective groan coming from the other side. Oliver, Peter, and Chris stand there, Peter leaning on a counter and looking at his phone, Chris looking out the window with a smile, and Oliver watching his feet. They all look up at Karika and smile, your heart kicking into over-drive as their eyes switch to you.

"Guys, this is Cora. She'll be joining us from here on out." A guile grin sweeps across her face. "Play nice, or you might just end up dead."