Claire looked incredulously at Justin. The moment seemed to freeze, hung endlessly in time.

He was staring at her with a question in his eyes, Renee was staring at both of them with her mouth wide open and Claire just really did not know where to look. Her eyes darted endlessly around the room, deep in confusion. For the first time since she’d literally reappeared in Renee’s life, it was her turn to look severely panicked. This was seriously not supposed to be happening.

Only Renee could see her - that was the whole deal. She’d been in a room with Justin once before and he had seen nothing. Why had the invisibility worn off?

“Uhh…”

“Claire,” Renee butted in suddenly. “This is my friend Claire. Justin, Claire, Claire, Justin.”

“So that answers my first question but not my second,” Justin informed his girlfriend, eyes narrowing as he spotted how flustered she looked. “No offence, Claire, but I didn’t have the greatest day today.”

“Bad interview?”

“Yeah but don’t change the subject, Ren. Why is she here?”

“Having some girl talk, hanging out. Not a lot.” Claire covered up.

“In my bedroom?”

“We were touring the house.” Renee quickly covered up, really not knowing what to do. “But you’re home and you said you needed to talk so we can catch up later, Clara?”

“Didn’t your friend Claire die when you were like fourteen?” Justin suddenly piped up, brow furrowed. He seemed to recall a night long past that she’d spent crying in his arms because some reporter had dug that up and asked her about it.

“Well there’s more than one Claire in the world.” Renee giggled before turning her face from Justin’s view and mouthing obscenities at her dead friend. “You feeling blonde today babe?”

“Ren don’t start with me, please.”

“Okay, okay. Claire I’m sorry but you really have to go.” Much as they apparently still needed to chat about whatever cosmic crisis was going on Justin was not going to be fobbed off, especially now that he could inexplicably see ghosts.

“You girls say your goodbyes; I’ll be out in a second. Nice to meet you Claire,” Justin muttered before heading to the bathroom.

Renee immediately turned on Claire with her voice hushed as low as she could make it and still be audible.

“Shit, shit, crap.”

“Yeah, what got up his butt?”

“Clara! Why the hell can he see you?”

“I don’t know!”

“Do you think…” the blonde replied in a slow, mocking tone, “That this is maybe something to do with that ripple thing you were going on about?”

“I don’t know, only you’re supposed to be able to see me!”

“Yeah I got that part!” Renee stomped her foot lightly on the plush carpet, hands held firmly to her hips and exasperation written on her face. “But obviously somebody changed the rules! What am I supposed to say to him?”

“I see dead people?” Claire threw her hands in the air, wondering why she was taking the heat for this when she was just the lowly messenger. It wasn't like she made up the rules.

“You are so lucky your ass ain’t solid because I would so be kicking it right now.”

“I don’t know… I don’t get it, I appeared right in front of your sister and she didn’t see me. I don’t know why he suddenly can. Just stick with the hanging idea, say you got lonely and I called to tell you I was in town for a few hours, and I’ll go find out what I can. Can you handle this?”

“I’m gonna have to… just get gone, alright?”

Of course the bathroom door had to open just as Claire was about to do her vanishing act, which firmly put the nix on that idea. Justin walked back out, rubbing his hands lightly on the legs of his pants. He looked at both of them warily, not about to be the first one to talk yet wanting desperately to quiz his girlfriend on exactly why she was in his bedroom with some strange woman. Renee gave him a tight smile but he refused to return the expression, instead letting his face remain blank. This was, with the exception of the previous night, the weirdest thing yet on his list of ‘Reasons Why My Girlfriend’s Gone Mental.’

“So I’ll see you soon?” Claire asked Renee in as casual a tone as she could muster.

“Yeah. I’ll show you out.”

The girls communicated silently, a look that said they both knew there was unfinished business from their conversation but that there was no way they could deal with it now. It went equally unspoken yet understood that they were both in some serious trouble now that Claire had been spotted. Apart from the inevitable questions about who she was, it now left the pair open to discovery any time Justin happened to walk in at a bad time. That was assuming, of course, that he was the only one who was now immune to the whole invisibility thing.

All this passed between them as they both headed for the door. Justin had helpfully shut the thing behind him so Renee actually had to open it for her spirit friend or there would have been some major explaining to do. And that would have gone really well for them if Renee hadn’t proceeded to trip once again on the shirt that still hadn’t been picked up from the previous night.

That in itself wasn't much of a give away - it was the part where Renee fell straight through Claire which was the killer.

It extracted a very loud string of profanity from Justin as Renee lay on the floor gasping and trying to get over the sick, cold feeling that was running through her body. This was more than just a hand, she’d gone straight through her and she was reeling from it. She felt physically sick, and every hair on her body was on end.

They were in some serious trouble now.

“What kind of weird shit is this?”

“Justin…”

“Tell me that I did NOT just see you fall straight through her, whoever the fuck she is.”

“I told you, Claire,” she replied quietly.

“I don’t fucking care, I don’t… I knew there was some strange shit happening with you, I knew it!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, pacing across the room and running his hands repeatedly over his stubble of hair.

“I can explain…” Renee replied weakly as Claire was frozen in spot, seriously unable to think what to do.

She didn’t think leaving the room was good, especially seeing as she’d have to vanish into thin air or walk through walls to do it. She didn’t particularly want to keep standing there either but somehow she just didn’t think she should talk right now.

“Explain what? How weird you’ve been over the past few weeks? The total schizo you pulled at VMA rehearsals and when we went shopping, the part where you were practically afraid to touch me? The part where you did a one eighty and for no reason cancelled a bunch of work when we all know Renee Anderson lives to work? The rumours I’m hearing about you sleeping around while we were on break and that you wanna get back to whichever asshole you were screwing then? The fact that you touched me like a completely different person when…” He trailed off. He’d already aired a lot of dirty laundry in front of some strange woman but he had his limits. “Me finding you in my bedroom with some weird chick who isn’t fucking solid?”

“Call this a hunch but I think that’s your suspicious party.” Claire muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

She was grimly surmising that Justin had realised on some level that he hadn’t slept with the same girl he’d been sleeping with for three years. It shouldn’t have made a difference if there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head somewhere that something wasn’t right – in fact, it hadn’t up until this point. But if on a significantly conscious enough level he was actually thinking she was a different person that would certainly explain a few things on the cosmic disturbance front; he was certainly not supposed to be even thinking there was something that wrong with Renee. Maybe the loss of invisibility was just a literal after effect of the figurative cloak falling from his eyes.

“Justin, I can explain, I swear.” It wasn't as desperate as she thought it would be - it was resigned.

“Renata…”

“Claire, give it up.”

“You better explain this to me. NOW,” Justin snapped, glaring viciously at both girls in turn, not sure whom he was angrier at. He eventually settled on Renee because he didn’t even know the other girl. Somehow he was pretty sure his trust had been betrayed here, although he had absolutely no idea how. He’d been pretty sure it was another man involved, not a woman.

“You were right.” Claire finally said, looking at the ground. “She only knows one Claire. I died when I was fourteen, I’m a ghost.”

He stared incredulously for a minute and then inexplicably began laughing. “Come on I got Punk’d already, no fair getting me twice.”

“You saw me fall through her.” Renee said quietly, finally beginning to rise from the floor.

“Is… is this why you suddenly went crazy?” Justin asked. “You started seeing her? We need to get you help baby, you shouldn’t be seeing your dead best friend, I’ll get you a doctor…” He began reaching for the phone but Renee got there first, grabbing his wrists and yanking him away, clutching him in an iron grip unexpected from her small hands.

“If I’m crazy why are you seeing her too?” She asked quietly.

“What? I…” He looked wildly around him, not wanting to think about that. “I don’t understand.”

“You wanna know why I was weird? Why I don’t seem the same person lately?”

“Renee this is NOT a good idea.” Claire butted in, sounding slightly panicked.

“Yeah. I do.” Justin replied, staring her straight in the eyes and ignoring whoever the hell the brunette woman was.

“It’ll sound insane. You won’t believe me.”

“I saw you fall through a person. Try me.” He said grimly, clutching at her arms while she clutched at his.

“You’re right. I am a different person. I’m a different Renee. From… another dimension.” She winced, knowing how ridiculous that sounded even before she read it in his face how utterly insane she was coming off right now. “I was never famous before two weeks ago. I got given this necklace and it turns out the thing was magic or something because I made this stupid, offhand remark about wishing I was famous and suddenly I was here.”

“You… what?” Justin looked completely dumbfounded, distrustful, disbelieving… a lot of D words.

“I made a wish. And then from a college dorm in Michigan I’m in a dressing room at rehearsals for the VMAs, and my dead best friend is standing in front of me telling me I swapped bodies with some alternate version of myself who became famous because she didn’t give up dance and singing like I did. And I’m with you.”

There was a long moment of silence where Justin was desperately trying to read behind his girlfriend’s eyes, trying to wrap his head around what she was telling him. Everything in him was screaming that she’d gone mental and needed help. She sounded ludicrous, what she was saying was impossible… and yet he kept coming up against the fact that he’d seen her pass through this Claire person like she hadn’t even been standing there.

“Oh come on NOW?” Claire suddenly started yelling at the ceiling, diverting their attention.

Justin stared with a dropped jaw and eyes open achingly wide as he watched the woman turn into some kind of weird black mist and just disappear. He stared at the empty spot where she had stood for a minute, dropping Renee’s wrists and stepping back away from her.

He could tell himself Renee hadn’t really fallen through her and that his eyes had just deceived him for a second. That he could explain away to himself somehow and just believe that both these women were crazy, thinking one of them was dead and a ghost. However, people did not just dissolve into smoke before your eyes and disappear. They could not do that, it was not possible. So, as absolutely insane as what she was telling him sounded… it had to be true.

Because he knew he hadn’t taken any hallucinogens today.

“I knew you were different.” He began muttering as he continued moving backwards, away. “I knew.”

“Justin…”

“I fucking KNEW. And there was me thinking you just picked up some new trick from your damn boy toy when it turns out you’re not even my girlfriend!”

“Justin, please, let me…”

“What? Use me again?” He began raging, violently gesticulating with his hands, an apoplectic fury making his eyes bug out and a vein bulge slightly in his forehead. “You impersonated my girlfriend and made me look after you and spend money on you and fucking SLEEP with you when the whole time you’re some absolute stranger! And the worst part is I KNEW! I knew there was something wrong, and here was naïve little me thinking if I loved you enough I could help you and all the damn time you’re playing me and making some kind of joke out of my real relationship!”

Another thought suddenly occurred to him and he changed tack, racing towards her and grabbing her roughly by the arms, making her give a small cry of pain. “What did you do with my girlfriend?”

“Justin…” Renee began sobbing. She hadn’t expected him to get so angry or to think that she’d been using him.

“You used her, too, you ever think of that? All her hard work and you just…”

“Waltzed in and got all the benefits, I know.” She cried harder, tears falling heavily down her face, taking last night’s still not removed eyeliner with it. “I didn’t mean any of this, I swear. I had no idea what was going to happen, but then I was just here and what else was I supposed to do? I know I didn’t earn this but…” She wrenched herself from his grip, rubbing roughly at her eyes, trying to get a hold on herself again. “Claire said it was a straight swap, I took her body, and she took mine. Claire… only I was supposed to be able to see her, she came here to tell me what happened and help me through it, help me…”

“Help you deceive me,” he snapped harshly, glaring at her in what looked like hatred.

“And what would you have done if I came to you two weeks ago and told you I was from an alternate reality and I wasn't really your girlfriend, huh?” She snapped back, desperate to defend herself. “You’d have had me locked up just like you wanted to five minutes ago, the only reason you believe me now is because you saw Claire. I didn’t want to upset anything she’s worked for and I didn’t want to upset you so I played along.”

“Pretended you cared.”

“I do care!” She yelled. “You’re a nice guy and I realise how good you’ve been to me and don’t you damn well tell me I don’t care when this whole time I’ve been busting my ass trying to be her for you. I’m sorry, I tried, I just don’t know how to be her, I haven’t been through all the crap she has and you know what? I’m glad. Because no offence but your girlfriend thinks about nothing but her career and you really aren’t as high on her list as you should be. Or that high at all.”

“You know nothing about my girlfriend.” He growled at her, looking like he wanted to hit her and her gender was the only thing stopping him - that and no matter what she was still wearing the face of the woman he loved.

“We have exactly the same memories until we were about fifteen.” She countered. “You forget I’m living her life - even the parts that don’t involve you. I see stuff you don’t.”

“Bitch.” Justin spat back at her, but he jammed his hands uncomfortably in his pockets as he realised that she actually had a point about that; hadn’t he come here because of rumours he’d heard about what she’d been up to behind his back? That was the worst part - she wasn't wrong.

“Look…” Renee took a few deep breaths and began pacing the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this. But it happened.”

“I can’t believe I slept with somebody who wasn’t my girlfriend.” He muttered.

“Because most guys ask the woman who looks like his girl if she’s actually from an alternate universe. It’s not like you did anything wrong.” She replied, a hint of her usual sarcasm coming back. “Look… I’m sorry about last night, I’ve been trying not to go that far with you but I was drunk and you…” She couldn’t fill in the gap.

“I what?”

“I meant it when I said I care. Obviously not the way a girlfriend of three years would…” She trailed off, unable to look him in the face. “But I think you’re a real nice guy and I think you’re cool and I honestly wanted you to be happy. I’m sorry I had to lie but you gotta understand I had to.”

“I knew you were different.” Justin sat down on the mattress, holding his head in his hands and speaking from behind his palms, muffling his voice. “I think I knew the whole time. You acted different, you walked different, it was like… and then last night you touched me completely different to how she does and then I really knew.”

“I’m sorry.” She wanted to cry again but there was little else she could say.

“You’re telling me she’s gone?” Justin’s eyes welled up with tears that he refused to let fall in front of this stranger who had masqueraded as the woman he loved.

Renee stared at him, somehow feeling in her gut how upset he was yet knowing also that she had no idea how deep it ran. Maybe she didn’t like her alter ego so much and maybe she thought that she was only going to break Justin’s heart. Maybe she was pretty sure of that, actually. But whatever else he obviously loved her; maybe he’d had a right to find that out for himself, the proper way. Maybe it wasn't her job to protect him from that, much as she wanted to. Maybe she’d been going about this whole making the choice thing the wrong way.

“Maybe not.” She said quietly, and Justin’s head immediately raised itself to look at her. “Claire said that if I find the necklace again, I could reverse the wish and put us back. But I’ve only got like another week or it becomes permanent. I was supposed to make a choice about whether I wanted to stay or go.”

“Quick ride to being famous, huh?” He said spitefully. “Bet I know what you decided.”

“Justin… it’s complicated. Besides from the fact while I love singing I don’t actually like being a celebrity that much, you gotta remember that I now know what happens either way, in both lives. And I know what that does to my family, what it does to you as well as me. And in some ways I know more about what’s been happening with Renee lately than you.” Renee pleaded with him to understand, though she didn’t really feel a sympathetic vibe coming from him just then. “I have a lot of people to think about. I mean had.”

“Had? You made a decision then?” He snorted. “You’re staying rich?”

“You choose.”

“What?

“It’s only fair. I hurt you, I didn’t mean to but I did and I took your girlfriend away. So you pick.”

It was futile leaving him either option and she knew that. She doubted that in this state of mind he’d even stopped to consider that maybe her mother would like it better if she had a Renee that stayed a little closer to home or that her sister would prefer somebody who would stay lower key. She couldn’t tell him Renee had cheated, she’d done enough damage for the day and besides she doubted that he would believe her after all of this. He didn’t exactly trust her any more. However… this was the best apology she could come up with.

“Where’s this necklace and how fast can we get you to it?” He replied, his jaw set and his eyes glittering harshly at her.

“We?”

“You think I’m trusting you to actually do this thing? Your promises mean shit to me.”

“Fair enough,” Renee replied quietly, a dull ache forming in her stomach as she looked at the lean, handsome figure sitting on the bed in jeans and a polo shirt. She’d seen what it looked like under there and he was beautiful.

More to the point he was a genuinely beautiful person once you got to the core of him. She’d seen that beneath the exterior of mild cocky ass he liked to front. It felt bad that she’d so obviously hurt him and worse that he hated her.

“I don’t know where it is exactly, but in my world I got sent it by my grandma. We could start there.”

“I’ll get us first flights I can manage.” Justin got off the bed and went to start making calls. “But you’re staying here. I’m not having you skip out and leave me stuck.”

“Not an issue but whatever makes you feel better.” She said to his retreating back as he stalked out of the room.