The whole of team JNPR looked out at the roiling crowd, realizing that the situation was starting to get out of hand. What had started as a peaceful protest for Faunus rights was threatening to explode into an all-out riot. They had done all that they could think of to calm the masses of people, but their efforts had thus far proved to be ineffective.
Out of ideas and unwilling to abandon their posts, the team was all out of options. They stood in a line stretched across the street, the final barrier between the crowds and the house of a member of a large political party who, if many of the voices crying out were to be believed, had done all in his power to keep the Faunus from gaining any kind of standing or representation in the primarily human government. There was about twenty feet of empty space between the two opposing forces, neither one daring to enter it for fear of overstepping their boundaries.
Jaune and Pyrrha had positioned themselves at the two central positions on the street, their shields raised defensively, mainly attempting to discourage any kind of charge. Nora and Ren were slightly behind them, on the far sides, ready to prevent any from running past. All of them were scared, for this was a very precarious position they were in, and none knew what to do. They had all been to classes that dealt with similar situations to this one, but the lessons taught there didn't apply well to the furious crowds. Pyrrha looked over to Jaune, a fearful glint in her eye. What if they couldn't contain the situation?
Jaune narrowed his eyes, and Pyrrha saw his fists close tightly. It wasn't much, but she understood the message. They would hold the line. They had to hold the line. He had called for help a few minutes ago, but it was still some time away. The last estimate that they had gotten was about ten minutes out, and that had been around seven minutes ago. It was strange how a tense situation like this had the ability to stretch time.
Jaune tried shouting out to the people to calm down, and to return to their homes, but it was no use. The roaring shouts of those gathered overwhelmed Jaune's voice, making it impossible for even those close to him to hear what he said.
Another wave of strong jeers went up among the people, and to their horror, a few among them started to brandish what looked makeshift weapons, either poles of wood or metal or other items, like bricks or bottles. Pyrrha took a few cautious steps towards Jaune, hefting her shield up to block anything that was thrown and looking behind her to make sure that Nora was staying close to her. She was, and smiled nervously as Pyrrha continued to inch over. Pyrrha turned her attention back to the crowd, being ready to deflect anything that might be thrown their way.
She felt her shoulder brush up against Jaune's, and stopped moving, becoming aware of the fact that Ren was starting to back behind Jaune as Nora was behind her, seeking shelter from the risk of any projectiles. She felt good that she wasn't the only one who was starting to get nervous.
"Jaune!" she shouted to her side. Her friend's response came, barely audible over the din of the crowd before them.
"Uh, what?" He sounded just as afraid as she felt. She wasn't scared for her own safety, but rather that of those in the crowd. If they didn't back off, than her and her friends would be forced to take some aggressive action. She wanted to avoid that at all costs. She wanted to be a huntress to protect the innocent, not to hurt them.
"What are we going to do?" she shouted to Jaune, hoping that he had some idea that they hadn't tried yet.
She looked to her side, only to find Jaune giving her a hopeless look. She wanted to say something to encourage him, but nothing came to mind. Jaune returned her look for a moment, before he glanced towards the crowd and brought his shield in front of his head, saying "Oh, come on!"
Pyrrha looked as well, and found a glass bottle spinning through the air, arcing down towards them. She brought her shield up, and the green glass collided with it, shattering into several shards that clinked against the paved street, somehow audible over the shouts. A look of dread came across her face as she realized that this was only a herald of what was to come. A roar went up among those on the crowd, and more objects were hurled at them. Bricks, glass, and pieces of metal clanged off of both shields, causing their wielders to take a few small steps back and dig their feet into the ground to brace themselves against the assault.
Nora pushed herself against Pyrrha, tying to be as protected as possible from the flying projectiles. Jaune shouted out again, now almost completely inaudible over the sounds of the shields doing their jobs. "Any suggestions would be appreciated!"
Pyrrha certainly didn't have anything to contribute. She could hardly think. It wasn't a feeling that she was used to. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a green mass dart past Jaune, weaving its way agilely through the objects being thrown at them.
She was shocked to see Ren, dodging and weaving in an impressive display of his flexibility and reflexes. He seemed like he couldn't be hit at all, as if he weren't even there. Gradually, as the scene progressed, those watching grew more and more awestruck by the display, the number of thrown objects falling until there were only a few were still throwing. Even they were soon persuaded to stop by the boy's grace and ease of movement. Pyrrha smiled, happy that the situation had been settled peacefully.
Ren put his hands up, showing that he was unarmed, and had no intentions of hurting them. He hoped that the symbol he was trying to communicate was coming across well. The humans and faunus could live together in peace, all it took was a single move of confidence, a first step, and a little bit of trust.
Eyes all stared at him, and he gave the people as warm a smile as he could. They were not monsters, even though some of them had strange features. He saw only intelligent, thinking eyes looking back at him, some still scared, some still mad, but none wanted to hurt them any longer. He didn't want to hurt them, either, and he knew that he never would. It was the way of the Hunter to help everyone they could, and there was not a faunus here who couldn't be helped.
One fast movement caught Ren's eye, and he looked to the source of the disturbance. Before he could tell what it was, an item traveling too fast to be identified whizzed past his face, and he felt the skin on his cheek split. He jerked to the side, away from the object, but it was too late. At least some damage had been done, but it didn't seem too great. As he tried to remove himself from its path, he twisted, getting a look at it.
The object was a dagger, with a twisted blade and razor-sharp edges. His quick mind allowed him to also see something else about the blade. There was a thick substance sticking to the blade, like some kind of syrup. It seemed to be a clear or light yellow substance, but that was a much harder detail to discern.
The thing whistled on by, and slammed into Jaune's shield, which he had pulled up as the thing flew, embedding itself a few inches deep in the strong metal. Ren could hear Jaune give a small, mouse-like peep, and slowly lower his shield, his eyes peeking around the side to see if any other projectiles were on their way. None were, so he lowered his guard again.
Ren put a hand to his cheek, and pulled it away when he felt warm dripping. Blood trickled down his fingers, but it wasn't much at all. The cut would seal itself in a few minutes, even if he didn't use his aura to heal it. For others, using their aura to heal themselves was particularly draining, but it was one of the things that Ren was best at. He could even heal others, if he tried hard enough.
As he reached for the power that he had used for so long, however, he found that it was already slipping away. He tried to use what he could, and he could feel the small cut close, but there was something else that troubled him. His aura still drained at a rate far greater than he had ever encountered before. The first thing he had to do was tell his teammates, then he would try to solve the issue.
Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance. As he turned, his legs were overcome with weakness, and he felt himself collapse to the ground. All feeling from the limbs was suddenly gone, and he found a considerable amount of fear setting in on his mind. Something was obviously very, very wrong.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and looked up to find his companions already on their way to his side. That was good, because he didn't know if he could've pulled himself over to them. All three were obviously worried, but the one to get closest to him was Nora, who turned him over so that he faced the sky, then shifted his position so that he was propped up by her gentle arms.
Jaune and Pyrrha kept more of a distance, wanting to give him space, but both were obviously looking him over for a cause of this sudden weakness. He doubted that they'd find anything, but he would gladly share what he had.
Before he could say anything, Nora spoke in a voice that suggested she was on the verge of tears. "Ren, what's wrong? Did something happen?" It made Ren sad to hear her like that.
He did his best to speak, saying, "I don't know…" he paused to take another breath. "Someone threw that knife, and it nicked my face. There was something on it, but…"
He suddenly stopped speaking, as he became aware of the fact that he could no longer feel his left arm. He looked over at it, feeling his hair brush against Nora, and found it lying limp on the ground. He tried to move it, but found that his fingers didn't obey. He tried again, thinking that perhaps it was some kind of fluke, but again, nothing came of his efforts. His hand simply sat unmoving.
He tried to move his other arm, attempting to make his first respond by giving it some stimulus, but found that it was paralyzed, similarly to the first. His teeth gritted, and he felt frustrated by his body's apparent betrayal, but that soon faded into the background as he realized something else even more terrible.
The sensation was spreading inwards, as if creeping towards his chest. His breathing started to quicken as panic gnawed at his mind, and he felt the need to tell his friends what was happening, in case they could not see it.
"Uh, guys? I can't feel my arms or legs! They're totally numb, I'm trying to move them, but they won't! Help!"
The words left his mouth, but he knew that they wouldn't be very useful. He himself didn't know what to do, so how could he expect his friends to know? He could feel the numbness creeping in closer, but he could do nothing about it. He wondered if he was going to die, or if there was something they could do. Maybe they could get him to a hospital. But that would mean they would have to leave the riot, he couldn't have them do that.
The crawling numbness spread further, into his abdomen, and he saw the others react to something. He tried to see what it was, but found that moving his head was increasingly difficult. Nevertheless, he managed to raise it far enough to follow his teammates eyes, and found that there was a small spot starting to spread between his legs.
Despite the dire situation, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. There was nothing he could do about it, of course, with his body shutting down. That was probably going on, after all. Perhaps he was going to die.
Tears came to his eyes. He didn't mind dying too much, but there was so much that he wanted to do. He hadn't become a fully-fledged hunter, or returned to his home, or told Nora how he really felt.
The feeling of a hole filling his chest overtook him, even worse than the cold numbness that would soon consume him. Death was no enemy, he had always known he would die, but had never considered going without Nora. Maybe she already knew how he felt. They practically spent every waking moment together, after all.
He still had to tell her. There was no room for "maybe" in his heart. As the feeling of death spread further and further towards his chest, he struggled to breathe. He tried to lean up, but found those muscles as unresponsive as the rest. A sad sigh left his chest. He'd have to do it from his awkward position, then.
"Nora, come here."
She blinked away tears, and her eyes widened. "What Ren? Do you need something? What can I do?"
By now, Pyrrha and Jaune had gone back to controlling the crowd, but both were looking back over their shoulders, worried about their friend's condition. There was nothing they could do about it, though, and the faunus were starting to get unruly again. They had to give them more attention if they wanted to keep another injury from happening.
Ren drew in another ragged breath. Breathing was becoming significantly harder now, and he didn't know how much time he had left. "I just…" the muscles that made breathing possible started to go limp as the others had, and he hurried up. "I wanted you to know; I love you. Always have, always will."
His breath stopped, and his eyes fluttered shut. He didn't want to go yet, but it was like falling asleep. There was simply nothing he could do.
Ren's head lolled back, and Nora pulled him close. Tears flowed from her eyes, and a cry came from her mouth. A horrible, visceral, throat-tearing cry that bounced off the buildings and streets around her. She hugged him, hoping that she would hear his voice again, or feel his touch, or even smell his breath.
She didn't.
Her sobbing intensified, and started to talk. Not to herself, or to her friends behind her, but to Ren. "Please, don't leave me! I love you too! Please just don't go!"
Her words didn't bring him back, and the whole thing replayed in her head. Just moments ago, he had been gracefully dodging through waves of projectiles, and brought the crowd to a peace. Then something had happened. Someone had thrown a poison dagger, the coward, and taken him from her.
She hugged him tighter, and her fingers tightened in his hair. How could someone do that? How could someone simply strike out at the one who had borne no ill will towards them at all? Ren was the most peaceful person there. He hadn't even had his weapons out.
Ren's head started to slide back towards the ground as she let him back down gently. She didn't want to leave his side, but there was nothing to do about it. She had to make whatever bastard that had done that pay.
She tried to place him back with all the grace that he had displayed before, but by such a comparison, her movements were jerky and unpleasant. She couldn't hope to give him the lithe quality he had always embodied, body and soul. She laid his head against the ground, and dipped her head down with him. They'd never kissed before, but now Nora scorned all of those missed opportunities. She was a fool for never telling him before.
Her legs straightened, and she blinked away the tears in her eyes. Now was not the time for sorrow. She could feel sorry later. Now was the time for justice. Magnhild had fallen several feet away, and lay still, behind Pyrrha. She and Jaune were still being forced to handle the crowd, shouting and pleading with them to calm down, but it was all simply a low, rumbling din to Nora's ears. Her mind was in chaos, and the small, imperceptible words that she muttered to herself were not in her own voice.
She stooped down for a moment, fingers wrapping around the shaft of the hammer and pulling it up, placing it in a smooth motion over her shoulder. Tears were still flowing down her face, but she could see through them. At lease, as much as she needed to.
Her steps away from Ren were slow, and she continued to murmur to herself, then her eyes start to scan the crowd, and she tried to pick out who might've thrown the knife.
Unfortunately, there was no way to tell. Some people looked sad, some people looked like they were getting angry again, and some even looked like they didn't care about what was going on.
Nora had never felt her blood boil as hot as it did in that moment, and she snapped. Her mutterings started to increase in volume, and she stepped past Jaune and Pyrrha, who were starting to hold their shields up again. One of them tried to say something, but she didn't give even the slightest reaction. It wasn't that she couldn't hear them, it was that the other voices were louder.
"Nora, what's going on? Is Ren alright? What are you doing with Magnhild?"
Nora felt her throat raise into another scream, but this time it was aimed at others. "Which one of you threw it? Which one of you animals killed Ren?"
Sounds of shock resounded from all around her, not just in front, but also from her friends behind her. Jaune's voice came in a loud whisper, probably loud enough that the foremost in the crowd could hear it, saying, "Are you crazy? What are you doing?"
Nora bared her teeth in a snarl that would make even the most animalistic of faunus back down. She also drew Magnhild off of her shoulder, and made it ready for battle. She was going to grind whoever had done it into a red paste, and it was going to take weeks to scrape them out of the road.
None came forward, and Nora felt anger again. If they weren't going to show themselves, she would force them out.
She took another few steps out towards the crowd, and shouted again. "Who did it?"
There were a few seconds of silence, where no one dared to move a muscle, then, from somewhere of the group, a brick came spinning over the heads of the onlookers, and before anyone could move, collided with Nora's cheek, making her stagger backwards a few steps.
Her fingers tightened around Magnhild, and she shifter her momentum from backwards to forwards with one stiff leg before charging with all the strength she could muster. She didn't know who had thrown it, but they were going to die.
The first few people in front of her got out of the way, but the ones behind them had no warning. Nora simply bowed her head down, and rammed through them like a raging bull. Bodies were knocked to the side, and she threw more than a few enthusiastic elbows on her way. She might've been short, but she could hit like a truck when she wanted to. She also made sure to catch a few ribs and chests with Magnhild, no one had tried to stop the thrower of the knife, so they all deserved as much.
After ploughing her way through countless people, s
he came to a halt in front of a particular faunus who looked the part. He wore a dark hoodie, a bandana over his face, and had two handfuls of brick
That was enough for her. She struck out with Magnhild, swinging the war hammer over her head, then brought it crashing down.
There was barely a second between coming to a stop and the impact with the boy's skull, but in the brief meantime, the screams had already started. People cried for her to stop, but the only thing that she heard was the delicious sound of skull shattering. The boy fell, and the splatter of blood, brain matter, and other fluids made a wet, sickening splash as it hit the hot asphalt.
Nora looked down at the body, still twitching, like it had some kind of prayer to save itself. She'd never killed a person before. She might've come close when she was a kid, but this…
Her body started to turn on her, and before she knew what was happening, her stomach was forcing its contents out of her mouth. It fell, acidic feeling burning the back of her throat, and the disgusting splattering sound was more than enough to make others around her start to vomit as well.
Nora was confused, though. She had slain countless Grimm, and had never felt something like this. Never felt guilt strong enough to bring her so close to the edge. It didn't make sense, though. She hadn't done anything that he didn't deserve, so why were tears flowing again?
She doubled over as the pressure started to become too much. Pressure from inside her head, pressure from inside her body, and pressure from the people around her. People were starting to shout at her again, and this time, she could hear every word. "Monster!" "Murderer!" "She's crazy!"
These words cut deep, and she didn't want to hear them. She wasn't crazy, they were crazy. They were the ones who hadn't stopped Ren from dying, not her. They were the ones that had killed him. They were the ones who deserved to die.
Her body seized up again, and the fire inside of her blazed again. She turned, and swung her hammer in a wide arc, not looking to see what she would hit. It didn't matter, they all deserved it. Steel met with flesh and bone, and Nora drove her weapon though, not letting it slow or stop when it met their weak bodies.
By her rushed look, she thought she counted three people brushed aside like tissue paper. More voices than that screamed, though, and she saw a few droplets of blood hang in the air for a moment before falling back down to earth.
She didn't pay the drops much mind. There were more people to make pay. She was sure that Ren would appreciate this. He was never a violent person, but he appreciated justice. That was all this was, justice. They deserved every bit of it.
By now, the crowd was starting to react in a more radical way, most people running away from her, and some of the larger individuals starting to surround her in hopes of stopping her. She wasn't about to let them keep her down. They wouldn't just piss on everything she loved and get away with it. They would all die. Every last one.
The way Magnhild transformed in her hands was fast, taking only a second, and before those around her knew what was happening, she was holding a grenade launcher instead of a hammer. A wicked smile came across her face as the expressions around her changed from anger to horror. They didn't know what they had gotten themselves into.
Without hesitation, she fired at the closest one, barely five feet away. The grenade barely had time to arm itself as it spun through the air, pounded out of the chamber with great force. When it hit the man, the light off of the explosion was a bright pink, but soon faded, engulfed in smoke. Nora felt the air rush past her face, and the shockwave of the blast rack her body, but she didn't care. Pain erupted in her ears, but her blazing aura immediately set about repairing her shattered eardrums.
The faunus on either side of the man were knocked to the side, one smashing heavily into the wall of the closest building, and the other being thrown to the street. He started to move slightly, but he wasn't going to be able to do anything.
Pyrrha and Jaune had been utterly stunned by the sudden outbreak of violence, but their wits were starting to return to them. Jaune blinked and shook his head, making sure that what he saw wasn't his imagination playing tricks on him, then turned to Pyrrha, a desperate look on his face. "We have to stop her!"
Pyrrha found herself in total agreement. Unfortunately, she didn't know how possible it was going to be to get Nora to stop her rampage without using force, and that was something that she didn't want to have to resort to. Nora was her friend, she couldn't just attack her, even if she was doing horrible things.
She didn't know that her friend was going to give her the choice, though. Another grenade went off, and another couple of bodies were thrown aside. That one had been closer to Nora, and she had skidded back a few inches. At this rate, she was going to kill herself before either Pyrrha or Jaune could do anything to get her to stop. They had to try, though. They would be terrible friends if they didn't.
Jaune started to sprint after her, and Pyrrha followed his lead, making sure that her shield was ready, just in case the worst came to pass, and Nora attacked them. She didn't want to believe that it was even a possibility, but what was happening right in front of her eyes was proof enough it was.
Jaune called out, saying, "Nora, what are you doing? Stop!"
It was like she didn't even hear them. She fired another few grenade rounds over her head, at an angle, so that they would fall in the midst of the fleeing crowd, then gave Magnhild another spin in her hands, returning it to its hammer form. The faunus who had started to try pacifying her had tried to take advantage of the opportunity, but as they closed in, the silver head of Magnhild met with the ground just in front of Nora, and another explosion rang out amid the shouts and screams.
The concrete and asphalt around her shattered, making a sizeable crater. Those close to her were thrown into the air, and collided with one-another midflight. Another series of shouts rose from the group, but before Nora struck out again. Pyrrha and Jaune watched in horror, unable to speak as she brought her hammer swinging up, and struck the whole group out of the air, bones audibly shattering and people being thrown in an arc in the direction the hammer had gone.
A burst of speed kicked Jaune into high gear, and he ran as fast as his legs could possibly carry him, shouting as he went, "Get away from her!"
The remaining faunus did so, and Jaune bowed his head in much the same way that Nora had only moments before. Pyrrha saw what he was going to do, and knew that she needed to help. She was in better condition than Jaune, so matching his speed wasn't too much of a challenge. It was still far faster than he had ever moved before, though, and she felt that she would get tired quickly at this pace. As they got closer, Jaune didn't seem to be trying to talk her down anymore, so she figured that she would try.
"Nora, stop this, please! You've done enough!"
To her surprise, Nora actually responded this time. She looked to her side towards them, tears flowing down her reddened face. It was the strangest mixture of misery and rage that she had ever seen, like she was forced to do this, and yet took some horrible enjoyment out of it. "Pyrrha, I have to do this! This is what they deserve!"
They were within ten feet of each other now, and Pyrrha could tell what Jaune was about to do. She could also see that Nora was, whether she knew it or not, bringing Magnhild up to strike Jaune in the head. She didn't want to believe Nora was doing that on purpose, but it was becoming more and more impossible to ignore the possibility.
She sprinted a little faster, and placed herself between Magnhild and Jaune, putting her shield to her chest, hoping that it would be able to protect her. In the final seconds before the thing hit, she saw Nora's hands speed up, and her arms tense as she drove her weapon harder.
A feeling of dread filled Pyrrha' chest. She knew what she was doing. She knew exactly what she was doing.
Magnhild hit the bronze shield Akoúo̱, and Pyrrha braced her arm for the brunt of the blow. Both of her feet left the ground before she was hit so that she would have more control over her body when it was inevitably knocked into the air.
The hammer connected, and she was flung at least ten feet away. As soon as she was hit, she leaned her torso back, making her body flip. She passed a few inches over Jaune, who she could tell was trying hard to keep his focus on what he was doing. She threw her torso forward once she was past him, and she turned again in air, keeping an eye on what was happening.
Jaune's shoulder connected with Nora's waist, and both were brought to the ground. Pyrrha's feet hit the ground again, and she immediately started running back towards them. Nora's back hit the ground, and Magnhild fell to one side, barely in her grasp. Pyrrha knew what she had to do, and sprinted towards her.
Before she could reach the two, they started to fight. Nora kicked and screamed, and Jaune tried to keep her down, not letting her pick the hammer up to continue her rampage. When Pyrrha got to them, she bent down, and wrapped both hands around the weapon. With all her strength, she tore it away from Nora, and threw it as far as she could.
Nora kicked and screamed more, but Jaune held her tight. She wasn't going to hurt anyone else.
Above them, Bullheads swooped down, and they could see in their open hulls soldiers, who had been called to deal with the riot, but now saw only corpses scattered around the street, and two Huntsmen restraining a third. As they came in for landing, the troops came pouring out, riot gear ready, looking around, confused.
Pyrrha looked toward them, and when they started coming towards her, she started to break down. What was she supposed to do? Ren was dead, Nora had snapped…
She looked back at Jaune, and saw that he was still fighting with Nora. She had mostly given up her struggle, but Jaune wasn't taking any chance. No sudden change of heart was going to cost any more lives.
A few of the soldiers approached her, and asked "What the hell went on out here? We got calls for a riot. This doesn't look like a riot."
Pyrrha tried to hold her composure together, succeeded for a few moments, then lost it. Tears started to streak down her face, and her body began to shake. She felt weak. She should've done something earlier, something that would have stopped Nora before she did any of this.
In a wavering, unsteady voice, she did her best to explain the situation, and when she finished, the soldier had a grim look on his face. It was clear that he was just as mortified as her, but he still had a job to do. "I see. Well, I wish there was another option, but we're going to have to take your friend into custody. No personal loss justifies…" he looked around at the bodies, unconscious and dead "…this. Everyone accepts certain risks when they become Huntsmen."
Pyrrha started to outright sob now, and the man sighed, looking down at the ground. "Look, I can't do much about it, but we're here now. Your job is done. Someone is going to have to take the girl back, and you'll have to go for debriefing anyways, so-" he hesitated, like he was about to say something he shouldn't. "-you could ride with her, if you think its safe. She'd je guarded, so neither you or she could try anything, but I don't see any harm in letting you go with her. Maybe you could calm her down."
Both of them looked back at Nora, and saw several more men putting handcuffs on her behind her back. She didn't appear to be fighting anymore. All she was doing was crying. Pyrrha's heart cracked a little, and she immediately looked back to the man. "I want to ride with her. Jaune will too, I'm sure."
He nodded, and said, "Alright, You'll be riding in that Bullhead over there." He pointed, and Pyrrha immediately started to walk in that direction. Before she could get far, though, the man started to speak again. "I'll have the body sent to Beacon. As for everything else…" his voice trailed off, and it was clear that he didn't quite know what to say. "I suppose your Headmaster will have to deal with. Goodbye. And good luck."
Pyrrha didn't say another word. Instead, she simply kept walking to the Bullhead. Everything started to meld together at that point, her experience becoming a haze of blurred images and distorted sounds. She didn't know what to make of anything, and simply sat there, troubled.
When the doors of the vehicle closed, and it started to rumble as it left the ground, she was jolted out of her shock. Nora sat directly across from her, arms behind her back, tears dripping down her face. Guards sad on either side of her, ready to react to anything. A pair of arms started to slide around Pyrrha, making her give a startled cry, but when she looked to see their owner, she calmed down. "I'm sorry Jaune, I'm just a little jumpy."
He looked like he was just as much of a wreck as Nora, barely able to cope with the insane twists the day had taken. She found herself in a similar boat.
She wrapped her arms around him, and they leaned into each other, trying and failing not to look at Nora. Whatever happened next, nothing would ever be the same. They both knew that, and there was nothing they could do to change it.
.
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Author's Note:
Another fun time. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, all that jazz.