I stopped.

I breathed, sighing dreamily as I slid down the back of the front door.

I found my hand on my heart, beating a little faster and a little harder than usual. The realization of it all hit me like a truck even after our revelation.

The illusion is broken.

Memories.
Every last one of my dreams... were memories.
In a past life? No...

I'm in the wrong timeline.

Because of me. Because of my contraption, I screwed up not only my timeline but also the timeline I'm currently in.

I didn't just time travel, I travelled to a timeline where Rick and I got married, had kids, and split up.

I died. He left, and I died. Old and alone.

No wonder he's so crabby in this dimension. No wonder... I couldn't recognize him.

My real life, everything that was undoubtedly me, was in another time. My time. Everything I've made for myself here was just a symptom of the aftermath. I was never a high school student at Harry Herpson. I was never meant to stay teenaged. The friends I made were an effect of my contraption. The people who looked after me here weren't my real parents. I was never adopted, my last name's not Song, I don't have---

Shit! MY PARENTS!

My feet pushed the rest of my body up with such force I thought I flew across the foyer and up the stairs. I ran straight to the room down the hall screaming,

"MOM! DAD!" With both my hands out and open, I flung the door out of my way only to stun my response and leave me breathless.

What was once my parents' bedroom was now a massive storage room.

Confusion swept over me and dread overwhelmed me.

What the hell have I done? I know I had something to do with this...

The worst feeling came from my natural response which shocked and disgusted me. The feeling of apathy.
How in the hell could I feel this way?
I'm such a piece of shit for not caring... I thought. The sting of relief overcame me and followed close behind it was the wave of immense indifference.

Why? What the fuck is wrong with me?

I dropped to my knees as my eyes started to burn, I didn't deserve the fat tears that rolled down my cheeks and onto the open palms of my hands. I sobbed, but not for my adoptive parents.

I sobbed in shame, for not caring that they were gone.

My arms found themselves wrapped around me in an effort to comfort myself. Balled up in my own hug, I looked around what was once a bedroom now covered from the floor to the ceiling with cardboard boxes full of God knows what.

Across from the room, I saw myself in a long wall mirror.

A red-headed stranger stared right straight back at me.

Slowly, I got up one foot at a time and made my way over to the mirror to get a better look at myself.

I walked with caution. As if I feared something would leap out of these boxes and attack me. There was a ghostly presence in this room that freaked me out.

When I got to the mirror, I didn't recognize myself at first.

My body looked as if it had aged. As if I was no longer a teenage girl studying for high school trigonometry, but a college woman studying for level III advanced calculus. My hands travelled all up the sides of my body, more shapely than I remember it being.
Thank God for my baby face, that was about the only thing that didn't change about me physically. Everything else was bigger and a little bit more wrinkly, but very hardly noticeable.

Like years had past me and I was living in a whole other decade...

... like I've grown 4 years older.

I had aged, and I had no idea why or how I did it.

BRR BRRR

The doorbell made me jump, even making me squeak in fear before I slapped a hand over my mouth to silence me.
Turning quickly on my heel to face the doorway, I slowly but surely put together the pieces.
My eyebrows sharply jumped from the realization.

The door! Get the door, dummy!

Bolting out of the room and practically gliding down the steps, I make it to the foyer and swing open the front door without hesitation.

To my surprise, it was him.

"Oh, h-hi Gwen." Morty grinned sheepishly. Why—why did he respond as if he's surprised I live in my house?

I noticed his face grow deeply read fast as his eyes quickly darted up and down me, scowering every inch of me from my eyes to my toes.

Make it obvious that you notice this.

I cocked an eyebrow at him, asking him without asking him, "What are you looking at?"

Morty laughed nervously. "You look... different. N-no, not at all a bad different per se. it's just... wow."

I winced at his whiny "wow." If only he knew.

It wasn't an obvious reaction though because he hadn't noticed. He was too busy... ahem.... looking at me.

"I doubt I look that different, Mort. Besides, that shouldn't really be something you should be noticing. You're a little young to be looking at women like that, don't you think so?" I said mostly through gritted teeth, straining to keep from gagging in response.

He shot me a confused look before giving me a weak laugh. "Aww jheeez, good one Gwen. Yo-you sound a whole lot like my mom."

Yeah, sure. Right.

"Uh yeah anyway, I just came here to tell you that Rick got my Dad sent into outer space—" I stifled a snicker. "He was sent to Planet Squanch because of an invitation Birdperson sent us for his wedding by this fleshy meatball robot thing—"

"A wedding? An intergalactic wedding?!" I cut him off after my ears had perked up. God only knows where this appreciation for wedding ceremonies came from. I pulled myself back, "Oh. You guys are gonna go get Jerry back."

"Yeah, and I was hoping to ask if you'd like to join us. We might as well go to the wedding too, you know?" I nodded at him, resting my hip along the frame of the door. I sighed dreamily again.

With the sincerest, most genuine smile on my face, I told Morty, "I'd love to."

He smiled back at me, his cheeks flushing red again. "Awesome possum! Umm, ye-yeah great. I'm... really looking forward to having you with us." Morty takes a reluctant step towards me, trying to go in for a hug with his lips stuck halfway between puckered and awkwardly open.

"Uhh, ok well I guess I'll see you in a few then!" I backed up out of the doorway, hands up in defence as I reach for the knob.

"Sure, yeah o-ok. Whatever works your boat— er, uhh I mean whatever fl-floats... if it floats, you know, make it work!" Morty's demeanour hasn't changed one bit since he knocked in my front door.

".... ok byeeeeee!" I shut the door quickly but politely on him before things got even more cringeworthy.

Dragging my fingers down my face, I pulled at my cheeks and squished them as a subconscious coping method. Things just couldn't have felt more yuck.

Would something happen to me if I told Morty the truth about who I am to him?

Rick knows, and nothing bad has—

... oh right, the growth spurt.
.... and my family.

Of course I'm going to be thinking about this nonstop for the rest of the week but for the next couple of hours, I'm gonna enjoy living it up at Birdperson's wedding!

***

Spritz after spritz of my sweet perfume finished the look it only took me a good half hour to finish. My makeup was done effortlessly, the biggest struggle for me was having to get out of my warm inviting shower.

In the boxes towering in the now storage room, where I had hoped to find accessories for my look, were all empty. Useless, empty cardboard boxes that just stood there like decoration.

Taking in one last good look around the room, I abandoned it, locking it behind me so I'd never go back in there again.

My dress zipped up and fitting snugly on me, my hair done up, my jewellery spread flat on the countertop of my nightstand before I wore them. Taking it all in in the glance of my full body mirror was the last step.

With my shoes waiting for me downstairs, I looked at myself proudly reflected.

My black high neck dress was bodycon and backless. She had long sleeves that hugged my arms and somehow made my fingers look longer. My nails were painted a bold cherry, complimented by two gold rings on my left hand and three more on my right including a thumb ring.
My earrings were two basic golden hoops with pearls hanging off of them.
The dress had two long slits running up the side, stopping at just the right length that it didn't expose any unnecessary bits.

This was the dress I had lined up for Prom.
This timeline's Prom.

I wondered if going with a floor length gown was considered bad luck to wear to a wedding as I stared in the mirror, lost in thought.

How am I supposed to tell Morty that we're related?

"Morty! Would you say that you love me like a close friend or like a nana?"

I grimaced at the thought of confrontation about it with Morty, yanking at a knot in my hair a little too hard as I finger-combed it. The things I'll stress over, like honestly.

My thoughts grew crowded again as I listed all the things that I easily stress out over.

One protruded from the rest.

Rick and our awkward relationship.

Of course, this is super out of our elements for the both of us. We didn't expect to find each other like this. Everything in my position was set with intention, not something I'd hoped for when working on my project. Going to the same school as my grandchildren. Living in a house so close to Rick, knowing damn well that he'd be the one to help me get out of here.

Why the hell did you have to fuck up the machine? I'm sure I've burdened Rick enough being here, now I'm on my hands and knees begging for clarity?

Maybe he's just pretending to be grateful that I'm here. He's done it before. It's so weird if you really think about it: Rick and I.

Maybe he's just acting all sweet now to soften the sincerity of just how fucked I am. I've been stuck here because of a malfunction in one of my inventions and have been living with false memories to further cement me to this timeline. What that means for my future, I have no clue.

Maybe Rick's really just annoyed to have me awake being in this timeline. Maybe me being here has triggered the same pain he felt when he left me, when he found me in the living room, when he first saw my memories in the scanner.

Maybe...

But I shouldn't think like that...
I've got a wedding to attend after all, that'll distract me from my pessimism.

Then came the honk from outside.

Perking up, I ran out of my room and strided down the felt steps into the foyer. With my snakeskin strappy pumps in my hand, I slid them on with ease before unlocking the front door.

First thing I saw was the spaceship Rick drove by the curb. Summer, Morty, and Mrs Smith all dressed up for a wedding.

Rick had noticed me first. His eyes widened, his eyebrow raised subtly before he snapped forward again and slumped into his seat, noticeably tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

I decided to think nothing of it and strutted up to the vehicle, joining Morty in the backseat before we all took off at superspeed.

This was going to be a different kind of Rick and Morty adventure, I could tell.