NOTE: THERE IS A TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER! THERE IS TALK OF (ATTEMPTED) SUICIDE (vague) AND MOCKERY CENTERED ON SAID (ATTEMPTED) SUICIDE VICTIM.

Please read with caution.

Thank you.

Note: Stormy belongs to GeekyCookie1.

~~~

Ten years ago

Across from the horizon, civilians were walking around aimlessly in the busy streets of New York City. With its lively atmosphere, two teenagers were seen running in the street, awkwardly bumping into people and saying their apologies. However when the two made eye contact, any kind of fear subsided once then and there. Together, they were safe.

After finding a spot to relax, their laughter began dying down. "My parents are going to be so mad," the male started, which felt more like an afterthought. Combing through his slightly longer pink hair, he sighed, fidgeting with his sky blue cap moving onto his denim-blue jacket.

Making note of her best friend's light pink T-shirt, black jeans, high-top heart-styled socks and black sneakers, the girl couldn't help but laugh. "You really hammered on your gift, huh?" she softly inquired. "As for your parents, I doubt they'll be upset. I mean, you did tell them, right?" she followed up, to which the male bashfully glanced away.

"Right, Jesse?" she persisted once more.

"Ah, well...."

"Jesse!"

"I'm sorry! I was so excited about us hanging out again that I forgot to tell them!" Jesse awkwardly exclaimed, fidgeting with his hands. With a sigh of her own, the girl gently held onto his hands.

"Hey, it's okay. I think the portal should be open for a few more minutes if we leave now," the girl softly assured him, giving Jesse a gentle smile. Upon looking at the curly jet-black haired girl, Jesse truly saw her soft hazel eyes for the first time, softly blushing from the girl's touch.

Upon hearing her cute giggle, Jesse merely blushed harder, glancing at her brightly multi-colored tie dye dress. "Alright, come on, Pinky," she affectionately teased, gently pulling his hand as she subconsciously held his hand, never quite letting go. Her decision only reduced the young boy to a very shy, blushing mess.

"I can't wait to start adding to your collection again! I'm so happy you chose me as your Vice President. Hopefully, we can start gaining more members, you know?" she began. "I mean, I like it just being us two, but we could be taken seriously more if we had more Avalonians join our Human Appreciation Club," she said as Jesse's eyes rolled.

"What? There's no one around us."

"Oh, right," he said, now blushing out of embarrassment. "Anyways, we need to talk about the whole HAC thing," Jesse continued as she eagerly nodded. "Of course! That's why I'm your Vice President, remember? I'm supposed to hear your thoughts," she plainly reminded him.

"Right. Well um... This should be our last meeting."

"But why?" she bewilderedly asked. "I mean, just because you're some love god, that doesn't mean we should give this up. You love HAC as much as I do. We can make this work," the girl insisted. "I could take on night hours and explore here. Then, I could just report to you and—" she began, before arriving at the location.

Glancing at the tree, she double-checked her surroundings before touching the center of the tree.... To no avail. At first, the girl tilt her head in confusion before the realization got to her. As she stepped back, she profoundly blushed out of embarrassment.

"Oh, right. I uh guess you need to activate the portal," Aliya meekly stated, her voice dropping down to a whisper as she glanced at her hands with a dreadful sigh. As he held his hand to the center of the tree, his Avalonian necklace began glowing, illuminating a bright white glow.

Within seconds, parts of the tree faded away, revealing a set of ebony black staircases leading to a forest-like opening. "I could have opened the portal too, had someone not chose to deliberate change the rules and allow those with their official Avalonian necklaces to open the portal," the girl persisted.

"Well, maybe the Senior Fae got really tired of you outrunning his guards," Jesse joked, stepping inside. "No, I think he did it just to spite me. He knows very well that I haven't gotten my official necklace yet, because he and the other higher-level Avalonians don't consider me as one," she angrily stated, before sighing.

"There's that, and the fact of you not having a special talent or colored wings," Jesse pointed out, as the girl accusingly glared in his direction. At this point, the boy's eyes widened, having realized his mistake, blushing in shame. But before he could apologize, the girl had moved on to other pressing matters.

"Are we even sure I can go in?" the girl solemnly lamented as Jesse blinked, confused by her question. "You got in just fine when we were leaving Avalon," he gently reminded her.

"I needed to hold your hand for that, remember?" the girl pointed out. "When I tried following you, the barrier went back up. So, then you had to come get me, and lead me out, so the system would register me and let us both go," she recalled, before sighing from dismay. "I really hate this new system of his," she later groaned.

"Well, we'll do the same thing we did last time then," Jesse assured her. "Besides, if the portal rejects you, then I won't go in," he followed up. "I'll stick with you until we find another way," he continued, much to the girl's surprise.

"But—"

"Aliya, you're my best friend," Jesse insisted, internally cringing at the title as it became obviously clear that he hadn't just simply viewed Aliya as his best friend. On his end, she was starting to become more than that, but he was unsure on how to voice his true feelings for her. So, he chose not to voice his thoughts at the moment.

"Besides, I'm not going to leave you behind. It's you and me against the world, and nothing is ever going to change that," Jesse followed up as he held out his hand.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

After one final sigh, Aliya accepted his hand as he pulled her inside the tree, careful not to let her fall. Once the two were inside, parts of the tree were reforming and sealing off the entrance. Although fearful, she continued holding his hand, which only added onto Jesse's frantic state as he was trying to conceal his excitement.

Upon reaching the front of the exit, Jesse quickly pulled the girl to his side, knowing she had the higher risk of getting trapped inside the portal. However in the process, the two had fell onto the ground, lying next to each other and playfully laughing. After a quick moment of peace, the two had helped each other up, while Jesse had to stop himself from staring at his best friend.

"Jesse! Jesse, get away from that Fae-maid!"

At once, Jesse glanced over to see his parents rushing towards him, and while Aliya tried to move out of their path, she was absolutely certain one of them had bumped into her harder than what was needed as the faerie landed back onto the ground. Moments later, she saw another girl running in their direction.

"Jessibear! Are you alright? I was so worried about you!" the girl exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Jesse as Aliya internally gagged, rolling her eyes. As she tried dusting off the grass from her dress, Aliya stared at her bag, their latest riches spilling out.

"Oh no," she whispered to herself, scrambling to retrieve her and Jesse's latest artifacts for their collection. "Here, let me help you," Jesse sincerely offered, upon seeing Aliya picking up their items. It also gave him a reason to reject the girl's affection, but the girl wouldn't budge.

"Nonsense, Jessibear. That wingless Fae was gifted with hands, she can get own stuff," she persisted, much to his annoyance. "Besides, she won't be seeing you any time," she followed up, as Aliya looked up.

"He's not entitled to just hang out with you, Iris. If Jesse wants to hang out with me, that should be his decision, not yours," Aliya insisted, standing up as Iris released her hand and marched directly to the faerie, the two glancing at each other side-by-side.

"It's the opposite, really. We don't want to see you with your son, anymore," Jesse's parents firmly stated, as Aliya's face dropped. Walking in front of Iris, Aliya held onto her bag, the last thing connecting her to the long-time passion the two best friends shared.

"But... But..."

"Aliya, you need to realize that you're hurting Jesse the longer he continues to be associated with you," Jesse's mother spoke, briefly touching the girl's face. "Besides, I thought we made it clear last time that collecting these outsider's trinkets was a filthy human habit," she followed up, aimlessly tossing one of the objects back to Aliya with a unnecessary amount of force.

"Mom, she's not the one to blame. I'm the one who—" Jesse began, trying to come to Aliya's defense, but his mother only stroked his chin in a loving matter.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. This disgusting freak just wanted to control you, but that's over now. You'll be happier with Iris and more higher-level friends of your own," she assured him, each word cutting into Aliya's core.

"Mom—"

"Your mother is right, son. She's been using you to store her creepy outsider's stuff in our basement and now she's dragging you into being a criminal. You know, you can't use the portal during daylight, especially not with her," his father sharply interrupted, as Aliya could only glance down towards the ground.

Aliya has gone through the portal countless times during the day and she has always been careful not to accidentally bring a human into their home. Besides, there wasn't any rules listed that the portal was forbidden during the day. So, on this account, she knew his parents were lying and surely, they must both know that it was her and Jesse's "creepy outsider's stuff," right?

"Dad—"

"No, end of discussion. Come along now," his dad ordered, as Aliya continued looking down, a mix between being betrayed and wounded by his parents, as she knew they were close with her before. But ever since Jesse got his wings and his talent, his parents had drastically changed.

For Jesse's sake, she had glanced up and gave him a small reassuring smile, briefly hiding her feelings to no alas.

"Aliya's my best friend!" Jesse finally exclaimed, relieved to get something out. "I can't just not stop seeing her!" he continued, brushing off his father's tender touch while Iris quickly came to their aid.

"Come on, baby. You know they're right. Besides, you never needed her. Not really," Iris tenderly whispered, now stroking his chin as Jesse sighed in defeat, not realizing why he had begun believing Iris.

"You're right, and I'm sorry."

With his parents sighing in relief, the couple walked beside Iris as Jesse started trailing behind them. Aliya briefly caught up to him, if only for a brief moment. "Hey, it's still you and me against the world, right? Even if we're separated?" Aliya hopefully asked, clinging onto some kind of hope in which she and Jesse could maintain their friendship.

Jesse glanced at her, if only for a brief moment. Of course, he wanted nothing more to do than agree with her. That they could work this out, but in that moment, something had changed. Instead of saying "yes" and reassuring her, Jesse rudely shoved her back to the ground, scoffing before walking away.

Glancing at his hands, Jesse sighed to himself.

"I'm sorry."

————————-

Six Years later

Day in and day out, Jesse stuck to the routine his parents set out for him. He went to his classes, hung out with his "friends" and Iris specifically, as she was the one his parents had gradually liked over time. There was Crystallia, but when it became obvious that she wasn't into guys (much less, him), his parents dismissed her as a choice.

Only now, Jesse still wished Crystallia was a choice. They might have not been close or enjoyed each other's company, per say, but still. Maybe, with Crystallia as a option, he might have been lucky to use his time by seeking out.... Her, he solemnly finished.

When he saw the glares in his direction, Jesse was naturally confused. But it only took a second to understand why. He was walking, rather than using his wings to fly. In a world where fairies relied their wings, Jesse had to fix himself or else the stares would continue. "Oh, right," he mumbled, making the adjustment.

Since their separation, Jesse trained himself to rely on his wings on his own. Before then, he often ignored his wings by spending his time walking with.... Her. Ah! He tried to think straight, wondering why she was popping back into his head now. He wasn't supposed to like her, hence why he maintained his distance through cruelty. Still, it's been years now, surely he should have—

"Look out!"

Shortly after that, Jesse smacked straight into the brick store, landing awkwardly on the ground. "Hey, are you alright?" a voice asked, helping him stand up. Rubbing his head, Jesse nodded, his vision slowly returning to him. But from the pitch and silhouette, he knew he was talking to a female Avalonian.

"Oh, good!" the girl exclaimed, perhaps too loudly. "Uh, sorry. But um, I gathered your stuff," she awkwardly finished, handing him his stuff while avoiding eye contact. At first, he was genuinely confused why she was acting like this until he began looking at her, as she was vaguely familiar to him.

Noticing that her purple curly hair had grown longer over the years, Jesse noticed her bronze T-shirt, grey shorts, tall brown boots and the countless gadgets held onto her bag strap. But most importantly, he signaled out her now fully-covered black gloves, rather than her favorite strapless black gloves from before.

Jesse tried to remember why he recalled the strapless black gloves as her favorite, before noticing the clarity of the girl's wings. In the sunlight, you could barely see any color. "Huh, that's weird. Why don't...." Jesse began, before realization hit him at once.

"Aliya?"

At the sound of her name, Aliya's purple hair turned bright. "Yeah, that's um.... that's me. The annoying and troublemaking Avalonian that everyone sees as a nuisance," she introduced herself, which made him feel pity. He thought about saying something nice, but then Jesse realized that he couldn't be seen with her.

Still, no one was around, so who would possibly know?

"You um you look nice," Aliya poorly began, fidgeting with her gloves. "I should go," she followed, preparing to leave, but Jesse had stopped her. "Hey, hey. Relax, it's just me," he assured her, holding her hand, but Aliya quickly rejected his touch, much to his disappointment.

It wasn't until he saw her gripping harder onto her gloves, that he grew concern. Why was she so attached to her gloves and more importantly, why did he care?

"Hey, are you alright?" Jesse gently asked, trying to approach her like before. "Yeah, I'm great, just let me go," she persisted, but to his dismay, she refused to make eye contact with him. "Besides, don't you got better things to do than talk to some freak like me?" she followed up, brushing him off.

"Aliya—"

"It was you and me against the world," she began, though he was initially confused by this. "Remember? That's what you said me to when we were changelings, after it became clear I was different from everyone else," she persisted as the memory came back to him.

"Al—"

"Oh, and do you remember when I say those exact words to you, just before you left? Do you remember the way you pushed me to the ground, the same way your parents did, scoffing as if our friendship meant nothing to you?" she angrily continued, clenching her fists. Once the moment came to him, Jesse couldn't bring himself to answer.

"Do you?" she repeated, this time the way she asked came across as her being exhausted than angry. From her sigh alone, Jesse sensed she was just tired of everything and that only made him feel worse about the whole situation.

"I knew everything was going to change, but I really thought we could have made our friendship work," she continued, glancing down as Jesse sighed, walking towards her and tried placing a tender touch on her shoulder. Once again, she abruptly backed away from him, this time glaring at him with years' worth of flared up anger and betrayal.

Jesse could only recall the Aliya he knew in the past, now seeing she (like him) changed, and he was merely a fraction of what led her to become like this. That had pained him, most of all, as he never wanted to truly hurt her that day, but it happened, and now he was paying the price.

"So, forgive me if I'm not empathetic to you or your girlfriend's charity case," she say, directly snapping at him.

"Aliya—"

"Don't touch me!" she exclaimed, now reaching her limit with him. It was such a sudden change that it caught him off-guard. Jesse just wanted to spend some time with her to catch up, not to get yelled at by his best friend too.

"You... You were supposed to be different. But, you're just like everyone else in this forsaken place!" she exclaimed. "I even gave you the benefit of the doubt by taking your bullying tactics at half-value for years, because I knew you didn't mean any of it, but this time..." she trailed off, clenching her fists harder.

He couldn't hear what she had said, but it had something to do with water, which was odd.

"I'm sure if you explained what I did wrong—"

"Ask your girlfriend about it. She's been bragging about it all morning."

He must have been appear wounded by her words, because guilt was reflected on her seconds later. He wanted to tell her why she was looking guilty, when it should have been him. Even if he currently didn't know what he did wrong, he knew enough of his prior actions to know she was deeply affected by them.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be yelling at you, but..." she trailed off, before sighing. "If you wanted me dead, you could have just said so to my face instead of making a whole spectacle about it," she concluded, walking away as his eyes widened by her words.

Him wanting her dead?

"Aliya, wait!" Jesse exclaimed, but the girl was now from far out of reach to hear him. It only after she left that he heard laughter, and began investigating the source, brushing off any dirt he had on him. As he made his way towards the large crowd, Jesse aimlessly glanced around before his eyes lingered up, to which a gasp was released from his lips.

There, as far as anyone could see, a shapeshifter appearing as Aliya had mimicked the motion of jumping forward before teleporting with a noose in their hand. Moments later, the noose hung over their (her) neck, seemingly hanging themselves (herself) and swaying their (her) body across the tree trunk.

After pretending to be dead, the shapeshifter ditched their Aliya form and bowed to the crowd, disappearing in a millisecond as Avalonians actually began clapping, as if this was just some magical play on hand. Then, when someone found him in the crowd, they began praising him.

"Oh, babe, you finally made it!" a voice happily cheered, hugging him from behind. "Did you love the show? I dedicated this part just for you!" she excitedly declared. Then as if it could get any worse, she began discussing the origins of her idea.

"Yeah, I was walking aimlessly one night when I found that Fae-Maid loser trying to hang herself. She didn't know it, but that loser basically gave me the most brilliant idea to expose her as being an attention seeker," she started, laughing as if this was all a game to her.

"So, I talked to a few of my friends, who loved the idea and the next thing we know, my idea is a hit, which only makes sense because I'm such a genius."

"You... You..." Jesse begun, but he couldn't find his voice. How could he? How would he be able to find the words to describe what an absolute terrible idea this was? Did no one think about how other victims of suicide (attempted or not) would have thought about this? Did no one stop to think how this would have an effect on Aliya or her family?

How did no one flag Iris and her friends down to stop this? Why would Iris possibly want to dedicate a show of an attempted suicide enactment to him? Especially knowing that Aliya was his best friend! How could he had failed her and lead the girl to nearly end her life?

"Then she wanted to confront me for making fun of her suicide attempt, so I told her if she wasn't such a loser, then the wingless freak could have gotten it right the first time," she finished, laughing harder before happily sighing.

"We got such a huge turnover, but that only made sense as since everyone here dislikes that pathetic freak. I know I dedicated this whole thing to you, but really that freak was truly the real inspiration of this masterpiece. But yeah!" she concluded. "Oh! You never did tell me. What did you think of the show?" she asked, excitedly glancing at him.

"If you wanted me dead, you could have just said so to my face instead of making a whole spectacle about it."

Staring at the fair-skinned girl with long ebony hair and her dark purple eyes, Jesse noticed her sunflower dress and matching flats. Jesse saw her smile grow bigger as she patiently waited for his answer. Sometimes, he wondered how someone so beautiful like her could be so cruel?

But then, he thought back to the way he treated Aliya, and realized he truly wasn't that better. Even if he didn't mean it like she insisted, Jesse did it countless times to her. So, his guilt intensified after realizing that Aliya reached her breaking point, and tried to keep herself alive because of him, but he had failed to see how badly she was hurting.

All of Avalon treated her like a joke, and she had reached the point to end everything and failed. So to then, see other Avalonians laughing and praising at the sight of her death must have negatively impacted Aliya, especially when one looked from the perspective of everyone being better off without her. So, what did he think about it?

"Are you out of your mind! How could I possibly love this!" Jesse angrily exclaimed, startling the girl. "Iris, did you forget why kind of fairy I am? I'm a love fairy, I promote positivity, it's embodied in everything I do," he continued, sighing as he knew Iris couldn't know the real reason he was upset.

If she knew about him talking to Aliya (rather accidentally, than intentionally), Iris would report the news back to his parents, and... he wasn't trying to think about the consequences.

"So, this sends out a negative response to the kind of fairy I am. I can't believe you would think so lowly of me, especially if I'm meant to be your boyfriend at one point. Do you truly not love me?" he followed up, maintaining a mixed look of being injured and betrayed as Iris gasped.

"No, Jessibear—"

"It's Jesse," he corrected, and found himself oddly satisfied when her face fell. He could feel himself wanting to smile, but resist the temptation of performing the action.

"How, how can I make this up to you then?"

"You can make this up to me by discontinuing any further showings of your production, establishing that it was your idea and emphasized how I had no association to this whatsoever," he began, as Iris nodded.

"Okay, that's fair," she began. "I can issue my personal grievances to anyone who might have been a surviving victim of suicide and use that as a promotion for my dad, so that works. What else?" she asked. How she could use this incident as a publicity stunt, he didn't know, but that was a subject for another day.

"Then from there, you can apologize directly to Al—" he caught himself nearly saying her name and saved himself before Iris could find out. "That freak and her family," he finished, much to her disgust.

"I can handle everything else, but you want me to apologize to that freak and her equally weird family? Are you out of your mind, Jesse! Why would I want to do that?"

"Because it's either your pride or me."

"Jesse—"

"You chose to make fun of her suicide attempt. You chose to encourage her death as a good thing in front of everyone, so now you get to be the one to apologize."

"But—"

"You can either let go of your pride long enough to make a meaningful apology, or you can forget about being my plus-one for my birthday bash this weekend," he finished, feeling that was enough to tempt Iris into picking the latter.

"Who would you bring as your plus-one, anyways?"

"Anna."

"You mean, that inconsiderate little—" Iris angrily exclaimed, before heavily sighing, knowing she would not allow him to be seen with Anna.

She's been swooning over Jesse for years now and with Aliya out of the way, she was on the verge of finally working out a marriage proposal with his parents. There was no way she was going to lose everything to Anna.

"Fine. I'll apologize to them this week," she reluctantly agreed, more out of defeat than actual guilt. "I'll even try to see if I can get your parents to allow that freak to socialize with you long enough to confirm the deed," she insisted, to which, Jesse resisted the urge to break his cover.

Jesse knew he should have gotten used to everyone referring to Aliya as a freak, but honestly? Hearing the insults on repeat irritated him so much. Why couldn't everyone see that Aliya was special like the rest of them?

"Good. Thank you for understanding, Iris. Maybe now, you'll start discuss more of your outlandish ideas with me before executing them. Okay?" Jesse finished as she nodded.

"Thank you."

——————

Even though Jesse felt better for defending Aliya (in his own way), he knew it wasn't enough. He had to also apologize directly to the girl's family, and the first thing that's going to pop out is Iris's "dedication" that involved making fun of their daughter. Just the thought of seeing them with that in mind made him cringe.

Stormy was more than likely to murder him on the spot, as she loved Aliya dearly. No doubt, she would start wrecking havoc with the girl's parents following suit. Oh, and if Lillian and Jaxon were there, knowing the whole thing, then he was definitely screw.

It's like everyone enjoyed making Aliya's life miserable until her family came out. No doubt when word got out, they would all try to find him before he found them. So, this was only his chance to clear the air before his untimely death. If they didn't kill him, surely his parents would for going directly to them.

But if he truly wanted to make things right with Aliya and her family, then this was it.

After aimlessly wandering through the forest for hours, Jesse finally arrived at a small woodsy cottage house. "I can't believe it took me this long to find her house when it's the only house in this ever expanding forest!" he exclaimed to himself, more frustrated by the process it took for him to get at this point.

He found himself glancing at the sky, where the once brightly lit blue sky began slowing down, the sun reaching its midpoint peak alongside the swirling clouds, illuminating a dazzling sight of a blue and pink sky. Then when Jesse started glancing at the time, he had no choice but to stop himself.

It took him six years to finally seek out Aliya, and it was to apologize over something he directly had no influence over. He had came here on the account of making amends, but was that truly it? Or did, Jesse want to preserve whatever ego he had left? Holding a bouquet of flowers he managed to get before the shop closed, Jesse took a deep breath and braced himself for the worse.

However when he had arrived at the front entrance, the door was already open. "Come in," a woman grimly insisted, and when he had glanced up, Jesse knew she needed no introduction. Although he had fond memories of Stormy as a kid, those memories sorta faded when he got attracted to the tales of her reputation in Avalon.

"Thanks," Jesse meekly said, entering the brightly colored place with its (well usually) lively atmosphere. He was only inside for five seconds, and already he saw his life flashing when Aliya's father began marching towards him, but secretly grew relieved when her father made his way to Stormy instead.

"You let him in?" the older male questioned, adjusting his bow tie. With his standard blue shirt and jeans, the male had taken off his glasses before clearing them, his hair showing signs of aging through grey streaks.

"Félix said we would have a visitor. Besides, who am I to ignore the man, Issac?" Stormy protested in self-defense, crossing her arms as Issac merely sighed, before glancing back to Jesse in annoyance. He knew Jesse as (or was) a good kid, often teasing the possibility of him and Aliya being a couple when the two kids were older.

Chances were, if this didn't happen and Jesse was genuinely seeing them just because he wanted to say hi, Issac would have greeted the boy warmly.

But when Félix warns you of a terrible disaster, no good comes out of it, especially when that disaster is having your daughter mocked for nearly dying, how could he possibly look at Jesse the same way? Especially since that event was dedicated to someone who has bullied his daughter for the last six years and his (supposed) girlfriend tells Aliya that she should have gotten her death right the first time.

Now, he wanted to kick Jesse out of his house. But more importantly, he burn any sight of Jessaliya's merchandise he had lying around, and storm straight to The Senior Fae's house to confront his daughter.

"Stormy—"

"Fine, he promised to let me see my future if I let his prophecy come true by opening the door."

"But—"

"Besides, I gave her permission," his wife chimed in, essentially ending whatever was about to spark between her husband and her best friend. Glancing over to his wife, Issac saw her floral-teal dress and her hair being in a semi-tight bun. "I'm convinced you love her more than me, Amara," Isaac softly teased, kissing her forehead as she chuckled, returning the gesture.

"You know, I love you both," Amara insisted as Stormy grinned from her words. "That's why I haven't left," Stormy responded, standing beside her best friend. The trio were actually enjoying themselves until they heard Jesse shuffling his feet, and now the attention had turned to him.

"Can I bash his head?" Stormy asked, only half-joking as Amara glared at her. "If you go for the head, I can tie his legs like a pretzel," Issac chimed in, the two discussing their half-joking punishments for Jesse, who increasingly appear more alarmed by the minute.

"Stormy, no," Amara insisted and groaned when her husband chimed in, "Issac, no," she answered, separating the two before sighing. "Both of you, stop it! You're scaring him," she insisted, making the two look at Jesse. "Yes, Jesse isn't exactly our favorite right now, but he came here. Right? That has to at least mean something," she said, much to Issac and Stormy's dismay.

"I guess I could use a punching bag and pretend it's Jesse," Stormy reluctantly said, as Issac sighed. "I love you, hon, but you're no fun," he teased and sighed once more. "I guess I could just buy a pretzel and pretend it's Jesse," he insisted.

"I'm pretty sure pretzels are just a human thing," Stormy pitched in as Issac glared at her. "Don't go and ruin my dream, Storm. Ugh, great. Now, I can't even imagine the taste of a pretzel. Thanks a lot," Issac exaggeratedly stated as Stormy playfully shook her head, while Amara merely groaned to herself.

"I'm married two kids, I swear," she mumbled to herself, before turning her attention to Jesse. "Oh, you brought Aliya flowers. How thoughtful," she complimented, noticing his pink hair suddenly glowing.

"But it's going to take more than flowers to get her to forgive you," Stormy insisted with Issac nodding. When she had said that, Amara pinpointed the exact moment his hair returned to normal (well as normal as someone with pink hair can get).

"I just don't understand. Aliya has been nothing but sweet to you for the years," he continued, the two women nodding. It was truly a puzzle to them why Jesse would switch the way he treated her, especially since he was already considered a part of the family.

It was a major blow to the trio.

"She defended you from Avalonians making fun of you for collecting human artifacts, even encouraging you to keep going when you had doubted yourself," Stormy pointed out, fondly recalling the memory. "But more than that, she help you create a whole club out of your hobby to normalize your interest," Amara continued.

"Plus, when Avalonians were appalled by your interest, she was right by your side, engaging you in the topic because she knew you loved the human world," Issac pitched in.

"Often, she would come home asking us what we knew about the human world, trying to gather as much information as she could to surprise you," Amara followed, much to his surprise.

Aliya never told him that.

"Really?"

"Why do you think she still the artifacts from the last HAC outing?" Stormy obviously stated, much to his surprise. "She kept them?" Jesse asked, stun from the news. "Just follow me," she said, leading Jesse to their basement, while Issac and Amara stayed behind.

When she had turned on the light, Jesse could hardly believe his eyes. There in pure sight, Jesse saw their artifacts polished and retaining their mint condition from the day they got them. But, his eyes lit up towards the fork, that had its own the shelf above the rest.

"I can't believe she kept herself busy to keep our stuff preserved, especially my comb," he whispered in awe, holding the fork close to his chest. "But why? Why should she keep our stuff then expand it? I mean, half of these things I haven't even seen before," Jesse asked her, as Stormy softly smiled.

"Every year, she kept adding to the collection in hopes that you would change your mind about ending HAC," Stormy simply answered. "Even when she got ridiculed by everyone else or had a bad day, Aliya kept going because of you," she continued, which caught his attention.

"Because of me?"

"She loved the friendship you two shared. While she adored Lillian and Jaxon, it was you who always knew her best. So every time you bullied her, whether it was a taunt, an insult or just some cruel act, Aliya always brushed any incident that involved you off, like the day you shoved her into the mud in the middle of a rain storm."

"She told you?" Jesse asked, then regretted his question. "I mean, I don't care, I just—" he said before eventually giving up. "No, she didn't tell us. Aliya doesn't really tell us a lot of things any more," Stormy answered as Jesse looked up, glancing at the fork.

"Then, how did you know if she didn't tell you?" Jesse curiously asked as Stormy merely smiled. "I can see into people memories, love. It's what I do," Stormy explained to him.

"It's how I knew of the incident at the Avalon Plaza, even with Felix's foresight. It's also why all of us are so disappointed in you," she continued, the word affecting Jesse harder than it should have. "We just want to know why you chose to assist Iris in this," Stormy calmly explained, careful not to let her temper get the best of her.

"I didn't assist in any of this, I swear. I didn't even know about the whole thing until Iris told me she dedicated the whole thing in my name," Jesse insisted as Stormy glanced at him. "If I had known, I would have stopped her," he persisted as Stormy now gave him a skeptical look.

"If it really came down to losing your best friend or your reputation, can you truthfully say you would stop Iris from preventing something like this happening again?" Stormy simply asked, crossing her arms. "Yes," Jesse answered, but his hesitation and his flicker of dishonesty told Stormy otherwise.

"Even if you wouldn't, Aliya would do the same for you."

"What do you mean?"

"You were the one who saw the girl for what she was, and Aliya wouldn't be able to stand the thought of losing you. Yes, she has two other friends, but before she met them, she was lonely and dealing with everyone ridiculing her, that... that affected her in ways no child should ever go through," she finished.

"Is that why she switched her gloves?" Jesse asked as Stormy shrugged. "You have to ask her yourself," she answered, refusing to say more.

"But—"

"Look, at the end of the day, it's not us you're apologizing to, so save your words for her. Even if what you're saying is true, that still doesn't excuse the other acts you witnessed with Iris and chose not to stop her," Stormy wisely informed him, as Jesse sighed.

"I wouldn't even know what to say," Jesse insisted. "All I have are these flowers and I'm not even sure if she's going to take them," he added as Stormy placed a gentle grip on his left shoulder, giving him a smile to match the aura.

"Just speak from the heart. After all, you are a love fairy. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

————————

Arriving to the other side of the house, Jesse glanced at a few pictures hung up in this part of the area. While all of them involved him, Lillian and Jaxon together with her, he was alarmed to see several red "x's" on Aliya's face alone. In fact every picture hung up had red "x's" solely on her, as if she became disgusted with herself over the years.

"Hey, creeper."

"Ahhh!"

In that moment, Jesse jumped as Aliya's bleak tone and stealthy movement caught him off guard. On cue, she rolled her eyes. "I see you found my hideout," she pointed out as Jesse nodded.

"Yeah, your family—"

"What are you doing here, Jesse? In all fairness, you shouldn't even be here. It was part of the protocol your parents sent us, but clearly that didn't extend to you breaking and entering," Aliya sharply stated, interrupting him once more as she crossed her arms.

"Your family let me in and I came to apologize," Jesse explained, as he held the bouquet of flowers. "For you," he awkwardly finished, his confidence leaving him as Aliya's eyes pierced into his soul. "Oh," Aliya softly said, her eyes softening at the sweet gesture.

"Um... Thanks," she sincerely said, accepting the bouquet of flowers. "Oh, you found your comb, I see," she followed up, glancing at the fork. "Yeah! I...." he was about to begin, before realizing that wasn't why he was here. "Look, I... I know I haven't been a great best friend to you," Jesse began, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"I've been a jerk to you ever since we separated from our last HAC outing, and Aliya, you didn't deserve those years of torment from me," Jesse continued. "I let everyone tell me what to do, that I neglected those who actually let me be myself. I neglected the one person who was there for me the most. Aliya, I told myself what I was doing was right in order to maintain distance, but really I made everything so much worse for you without realizing it," he insisted, before grabbing one of the pictures she hung up.

"I was stupid for believing people who said you were holding me back. If anything, I was holding myself back for never taking your feelings into account. I know, it's been six years, but Aliya, you are worth so much more," he insisted. "You're more than just a red x, and I'm sorry I was never there for you when you were always there for me. You were hurting and I failed to notice. If I had saw the signs, I would have—" he continued, but Aliya cut off.

"It's fine."

"But it's not fine!" Jesse angrily exclaimed, confused by why she was less angry with him when earlier she was so upset with him. "You feel like you are just some red x drifting through life, but you're a star shining into our lives!" he insisted, only confusing the girl.

"Okay, my allegory sucks, but what I'm saying is, you are not worthless. You have a lot more to offer, and I was foolish to see that till now. You're amazing, Aliya, inside and out. I just wish everyone else knew that too," he sincerely finished, softly smiling but faltered when no reaction came from Aliya.

Believing he had truly ruined their friendship, Jesse's smile grew smaller as if he was trying to hold himself together. Then, glancing at the fork, he gave his comb back to her.

"I guess I should leave this with you, then," he said, but caught off-guard by the rush of her warm embrace. In that moment, Jesse didn't care if he was late in terms of his routine or how his parents would react to him secretly being with Aliya, not once, but twice today.

"I missed you so much. I just feel like a screw-up and I... I..." she tried to explain in the midst of her voice breaking, even trying to break the connection, but Jesse only held her closer. "Hey, I'll be here for as long as you need me to be. I'm not leaving anytime soon," he assured her and that was a promise he vowed to keep.

In this moment, being here for his best friend for the first time in six years, well — it's the happiest feeling he got since being away from her. Yet, they both knew tomorrow would be different. For him, he would have to go back to avoiding Aliya, while she would have to keep her distance from him.

However in the time, they had to themselves away from the pressing eyes of society, the two felt whole again. For once since their separation, Jesse and Aliya truly felt it was them against the world and having that feeling again wasn't something neither one of them wanted to lose.

Not now, not ever.