NotANoob101

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Alicia listened to Juliette's instructions in French, but only understood the "thank you" part. Although she had been around during Juliette's French lessons with Jake, she didn't pay attention to them much. All she focused on was the two having a good time. "Shock," Alicia repeated. That must've been it. How else could she explain everything? She barely heard Juliette's quiet comment. She always forgot about the tragedy Juliette faced as a child. Juliette just didn't seem like the person who had any darkness to their life. The kind of person who could go through anything bad with a smile. But maybe that wasn't true.

Alicia shifted around in the seat. "I must've fallen hard when I fell," she chuckled, rubbing her back. She had no recollection of being slammed against the wall by Juliette.

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"Maybe some photosensitivity," Alicia agreed. She smiled and nodded, "Thank you. I really need someone like you around, especially now." The black car pulled up to them. Alicia didn't even realize it was Juliette's car. She thought they were honking for another car to move or something. When Juliette stood and motioned to the car, Alicia took the hint and entered the back seat.

The interior of the car was nicer than any car she had ever been in. Even the seats were better than her bed- which happened to be the living room couch. Thinking of Jake's now abandoned room made her stomach sick. She couldn't think about it and yet she had so many questions.

"So the glowing on you I saw wasn't a hallucination but... It wasn't real either? And the bright lights," she added, covering her eyes just remembering it. Her skin felt irritated, almost as if she had a sunburn. She wondered if she contracted some sort of skin infection from falling into the dirty hospital floor.

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Alicia backed away slightly as Juliette leaned forward. Having lived with parents who weren't so affectionate, she wasn't used to so much touching, platonic or not. "Uh, no, I don't remember anything." She didn't understand what meant by "not necessarily hallucinating." Did she really see something? "All I remember is you and Jake and the beeping and that's it. Then I woke up and there was all this light." She tried to remember the gap but couldn't. Maybe she fainted and the hospital lights woke her up? Or did Juliette put her phone light in Alicia's face? She couldn't be sure. "Now we're here."

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Alicia sat beside Juliette on the steps. Under normal circumstances Alicia would have been delighted to hold hands with Juliette, but right now she needed the help. "Thank you Juliette," Alicia said, voice dripping with sincerity. Her mind was much clearer than before and she could remember the moments leading up to Jake's death, just nothing after. "Hey, when you were talking to Jake there was this... I don't know, this glow? I didn't see much, but then there were these things behind your back. Almost like wings," Alicia tried to explain but quickly added, "I'm not sure, I could have been hallucinating or something before the black out. What was it?"

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Alicia used Juliette as support as she walked. Her stomach churned. The last thing she remembered was watching Jake's eyes close for the last time. Then she blacked out. Did she faint? She couldn't be sure. All she knew was she couldn't bare to see Jake's body any longer. It made her feel sick.

Some of the light from the fluorescent bulbs was blocked and Alicia lifted her head, curious to see what was causing the shadow. "Oh, Katherine," Alicia said in the best greeting she could muster. Even though she only crossed paths with Katherine a few times, she was a hard woman to forget.

Earth's gravity felt like it got ten times stronger, causing Alicia to rely more on Juliette's support. She just wanted to be home. She wanted to forget about today.

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Alicia didn't expect Juliette to fight back. Actually she didn't expect anything in this mindset. She didn't have time to resist Juliette's counter and was sent slamming into the wall. Now she was much angrier. Her anger towards her brother subsided, instead fury over the pain in her back grew.

As she began to stand and recover, she saw Juliette send forth a magnificent light. There was no escaping the light as it engulfed Alicia. Immediately she felt a burning sensation and it scared her. She didn't know what was happening. Her rage faded away into confusion as she fell back into the ground with a loud thud.

"Juliette," she murmured, unable to recall the last few minutes, "I want to go home."

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Alicia didn't respond. She looked at Jake who was motionless on the bed. How could he have left so quickly? He didn't even get to talk to her before dying. She sat in the hospital for hours waiting for him to wake up. Juliette didn't go through the pain Alicia did, so why was she the one Jake last spoke to?

Her mind was fogged and she struggled to think. Her body felt tensed and ready for anything. She shifted her attention from Jake to Juliette who was still on the floor. Rage filled through Alicia as she jumped towards Juliette, ready to attack again.

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The moment Juliette expressed her condolences was the moment Alicia realized that Jake was truly gone. The whole world began to spin and go on its side. She became weaker and less attached to the world around her. The embrace of Juliette could hardly be felt. Jake was gone in an instant and there was nothing she could do about it.

The doctors pronounced his death and left the room to give the women a moment. Alicia didn't even really hear or react to any of this. Her mind became distant and away, but her body stayed.

A rush of energy filled the young woman. She couldn't explain the surge. It wasn't adrenaline, it was something more than that. Alicia grabbed Juliette in what might have initially felt like a hug, but quickly switched her grip to grab her shoulders. With as much force as she could muster, she threw the French woman and screamed an ear-piercing scream.

She could see Juliette lying on the ground, but she also couldn't see her. Her eyes shifted from their natural green to a deep red as she walked towards Juliette.

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"Thanks," Jake murmured, thanking her and the Queen. He held the mini sword in his hand. He didn't feel much different now that he was a knight, but it did sound good. The faintest of smiles appeared on his lips. He kept his gaze to Juliette as he waited patiently for more words. Her hand on his head soothed him greatly as the world around him grew darker and his senses faded. His sight slowly turned into a tunnel with Juliette in the center. Her brightness almost sucked him in, beckoning him to follow it. He could see the faint outline of wings around her and wondered if he could touch her wings and the bright light. The more he was guided into the light, the less pain he felt until finally the pain was no more.

Alicia watched the interaction with tears in her eyes. She did her best to hold back any audible cries. Jake slowly closed his eyes. At first Alicia thought he was sleeping, then the steady beeping of the heartrate machine switched into a solid beep. Alicia's jaw dropped. Nurses rushed in to check on Jake and to see whether or not he was gone.

"What happened?" Alicia asked, popping up from the chair so hard it knocked over. "Is Jake okay?"

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"Hurts," Jake mumbled. He struggled to say even the simplest phrases as he felt pain and exhaustion was over him. His eyes shifted from his clearly troubled sister to Juliette. Somehow a glow had appeared around her. He thought it was pretty. The young boy wanted to reach out and grab the light, but he couldn't move well.