It was a nice spring day. Juliet was enjoying the fresh air and cool breeze from the open window in the kitchen. James had a parent-teacher meeting today, so it was unlikely for him to be home before eight. Veronica had already gotten home after school and ran to her friend's house to do the homework. Well, of course there would be more than just homework but Juliet was absolutely sure that games would be out of the question until they ended up with their homework. When you are principal's daughter it is hard to hide that you had skipped classes or hadn't done your homework.

Juliet remembered pretty well the first and last time Veronica had paid no attention to studying. Her first year was pretty uneventful. She had been jumping with anticipation a week before she got to start school because it would have made her a big girl just like Clementine. It was her second year when the problems began. Her enthusiasm had subsided gradually and she had been more interested in chatting with classmates than learning anything. That was when James had had to step in. He hadn't yelled at her, as Juliet expected him to do. He had just talked to her in a quiet and calm voice but that appeared to be very effective. Juliet had had to admit that she herself was scared by his behavior. Anyway, after that conversation Veronica changed her attitude drastically giving her father no reasons for worry or disappointment.

That was the reason Juliet let her spend some time with her friend and thought about what to do with this rare quiet evening. It had nothing with her need to be alone; she doted on her family and enjoyed every moment with them, but it didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to an evening on the couch watching television and eating ice cream.

She had just got it out of the refrigerator when her attention was attracted by something outside. Well, it was more a feeling than actually something she saw. She felt like she was being watched, but there was nobody on the street. An unpleasant shiver ran through her. The open window no longer seemed like a good idea nor did the evening alone in the house.

Juliet closed the window and returned to the living room trying to calm herself. What could have happened to her in the middle of the day? And if anything happened, she could always call for help, right? There was no need to call James right now. She had been watching too many horror movies, that's all. Yes, she definitely couldn't distract him from his job with her unreasonable fears.

- I'll check the door to be locked, and then I'll sit on the couch and stop thinking about it. -

She began to speak aloud, to break the oppressive silence. When had she become a coward? It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

She had almost reached the door when she saw the knob turning. She broke into a cold sweat. Did that really happen with her? She had had to grab something or at least run away but instead Juliet stood still watching in horror as the door opened.

-You? - She whispered, instinctively recoiling and pressing herself against the wall.


A/N: Finishing Choice I promiced to try my best in answering all your claims and questions. Most of them were covered in Choice 2: Free from the Island, at least I hope so. But I still had Ashkelon's suggestion and that's how this third part began.

Tell me what you think about this new twist in James/Juliet story. Are there any things you'd want to see for sure and so on? Your opinions are appreciated and important for me.