The flames have transformed the school into a raging world of smoke and heat. With a fire retardant blanket wrapped around me, I race down the smoldering corridors, counting down the seconds I have left before Time intervenes. There's a painful twist in my stomach as Time pulls against the threads of reality, threatening to rip me back to the present. I'm pushing my powers to the edge. I've tried this so many times already, I've lost count.

But I have to give it another shot. I have to give her another chance to change both of our fates.

Sixty-nine. Sixty-eight. Sixty-seven. I'm going to make it with fifty seconds to spare; that's plenty of time. The question is, what do I say? How do I beat Fate at her own game?

Four months ago I would've been all tongue-tied. Somehow I thought I'd stand a chance at asking the most popular girl out at prom. Zaya had everything going for her, and I figured she'd have guys lined up around the block with roses and chocolates. That night, everyone kept an eye on the doors of the banquet hall, waiting for Zaya to arrive with the person who'd won her heart. She never showed up.

Zaya had stayed at school to work on some overnight project. It wouldn't be until months after the fire that I started to understand who Zaya was. Why no one had ever asked her out despite her social status. How people talked about her like she was a legend, not a real person. And there I was, believing I was the invisible one.

I reach the door to the classroom and kick it open.

Zaya's curled up in a ball under the teacher's desk, shaking and murmuring to herself. She's scared of fire, but I didn't know that before. I didn't know a lot of things until it was too late.

No, it's not too late.

She looks up at me. "Kumiko...?"

I take one, careful step in her direction and it's like moving through molasses. Something tugs at my gut, and I can't tell if it's Time or Zaya or both. I show her the fireproof blanket. "It's me, Zaya. You're safe now. Let's get out of here."

Seconds trickle by as I wait for an answer.

"I can't come with you. You know that."

The narrow window of time we have is almost gone, but I can feel us diverging onto a new timeline. Maybe this is the future where Zaya lives, where she'll never have to feel alone—

But I see her fate, I glimpse what hasn't happened but what will and I move without thinking. I'm crashing into Zaya as part of the wall collapses, sending flaming debris everywhere. That's the last thing I remember before everything stops and the world holds its breath, watching to see what will happen.

Shockingly, somehow, I made it under 500 words. That means this story is probably more than confusing. I don't know how to remedy it though. Please let me what you understood, your speculations (some things are implied and I don't plan on having them make 100% sense) but do tell me if the story was hard to follow.

I'm a little disappointed as to how it came out, but I loved the idea that came courtesy of my videogame-loving friend.