They had been in a rush immediately after the errant wishing to get Jen out the door for the conference, but now, fifteen minutes after her new and old moms left the house, Zoe finally had a moment to breath and try to take in what had happened. Not wanting to have to deal with the new Mike right now, she retreated to her room, which was far different from how it had been this morning. Gone was the omnipresent black aesthetic, the metal posters, and really all of Zoe's edgy or gothic decor. The bed covers had gone from black to purple, and the stuffed bear, Roxie, she'd chucked in the back of her closet two years ago was sitting happily on her pillow. Zoe sat down at her vanity and took in the image before her. She was absolutely no longer a goth, with her natural brown hair and less unnaturally pale skin tone. She picked at the simple gray top and leggings, something she would have decried as basic before the wishes, and couldn't help but find the outfit cute and casual instead.
That was the thing, she was trying to reconcile two lifetimes worth of memories at the same time. Each timeline had led, ultimately, to different Zoe's with different preferences, opinions, and feelings, only now both sets of memories were bouncing around in her head. She bit her lip as she thought about the old world; she'd just been so angry, like all the time and at everything and everybody. She'd been fighting with Aunt Linda, her mom in that world, for years, which was a stark contrast with how close she was with her mother in this world.
She knew the old Zoe would have called her a poser, or a sellout or some other negative label, but Zoe couldn't deny she was happier here than she had been there. She felt terrible for having change Jon against his will like that, but couldn't deny the memories that were coming to her of Jen made her feel all warm and fuzzy. Her mom was her rock in this world in a way Aunt Linda decidedly hadn't been in the last one. Shaking her head, Zoe tried to focus on something else. What was done was done, and it wasn't like she could change anything for the next month anyways. Instead, she needed to focus on getting through the month, and especially helping her mom get through it too, since her life had changed far more radically than Zoe's had.
Maybe she could work on how best to word their wishes once they got the stone back? Pulling out her phone, her first thought was to text Athena and ask for advice, since her best friend was an amateur witch and might know something about the magic. However as she opened the messaging app, her hand stilled as she realized she didn't know Athena in this world. Never having fallen in with the Goth crowd, this Zoe's memories just thought of Athena as that odd girl who dresses like she's in the victorian era all the time. Instead her best friend was ... Lexi Starr!?
Zoe couldn't believe it as the new memories came to her. She hated Lexi Starr! The bubbly, stupidly cheerful volleyball player was the exact kind of phony that drove her up the wall. Except, Lexi wasn't like that at all, she was really friendly and genuine and always tried to see the best in others. She was a stuck-up popular chick who looked down on anyone who dared to be different. No, she was a kindhearted friend who always had Zoe's back. She was an idiot who bought into organized sports. She was a dedicated athlete who's drive Zoe admired. She was Zoe's best friend since she was four years old. They'd barely ever spoken to each other .
"AGH!" Zoe yelped as the contradictory thoughts and memories threatened to give her a migraine. She suddenly understood why so many of her memories of the new world were coming in contextually; if they'd been dumped in all at once her head might have exploded. She took a deep breath as her mind slowly sorted through the two lifetime's worth of memories surrounding Lexi. Once all the information assimilated, Zoe found herself ashamed of old world Zoe, who'd written off Lexi for surface reasons without ever giving her a chance. For all that old Zoe railed against conformity, she was eager to paint everyone who wasn't part of her chosen sub-culture as fakes and posers.
Zoe loved Lexi, they'd been inseparable since meeting in daycare, which was a different one from the one the old Zoe had attended. Lexi was popular, sure, but she was far from a mean girl like Sarah McMillan, or CiCi Scott. Zoe could say with some confidence that if the old girl had ever given Lexi a chance, the other girl would have gladly been friends with her in that reality as well. It made Zoe realize just how mean she and her friends could be in that world.
In any event she wouldn't be contacting Athena Devries. It was probably too premature to be thinking about wishes anyways, that was a whole month away. She did however shoot off a quick text to Lexi saying "Love you, Lex. Just wanted to remind you you're the best!" Even though she hadn't done it in this world, she was feeling slightly guilty over some of the things she'd said about Lexi in the old world.
Zoe walked over and flopped on her bed, absentmindedly clutching Roxie to her chest as she did so. She was exhausted. Maybe the best thing to do was to try and catch a little sleep before her mom got back from the conference, and they could work on figuring out what to do together.
