I collapsed on the ground next to Kassandra, sinking into the green grass. The lawn felt like a memory foam mattress beneath me, soft and fresh and sticky all at once. The air was quiet and cool in my lungs, and the yard was perfectly illuminated with the gold street lamps standing tall in the alleyway like soldiers guarding the invisible borders of our house. Things couldn't have been better. It felt like paradise - just me, Kassandra, Jason and Nova in a safe, homey place. We finally have someone we know that we are safe with, an amazing big brother who we could trust, friends at school that we could actually talk to and we are in our perfect, homey place with each other, me and my best friend.

But I wasn't thinking about our perfect little world then.

I was gasping for air, unable to control my laughter as Nova crawled over Kassandra's stomach, nosing the ball out of her arms and over her head. Leaving faint red paw shaped prints on her cheek, the little shadow leaped off of Kassandra and onto the green grass, chasing the ball and nudging it around the lawn.

We nestled into the grass, weak with laughter, Jason smiling on Kassandra's other side. The sky was clear, bright with sparkling stars and a full moon, casting glowing silver light on our faces as we stared into the universe.

I turned to see Nova rolling the ball towards us. She looked up excitedly at my sudden movement, then crawled across my stomach, settling tiredly between me and Kassandra. I looked up at the moon, gently stroking Nova's silky fur. I closed my eyes, feeling Nova's stomach rise and fall beneath my hand as her lungs settled into the rhythm of sleep, listening to Kassandra's tired breaths fall into sync with mine, and knowing that Jason was still watching.

Taking in one final, peaceful breath, I opened my eyes.

Jason was gone. So was Nova.

But all I could do was stare at the millions of red, heart shaped balloons materializing from the ground and drifting into the stars.

Thanks for reading! ;)

PS: in upcoming chapters you will see the appearance of Lucy, my OC, AKA Skye's sister. I love this character and use her in everything, and she is basically the brave, awesome, powerful person that I could never be.

PPS: If you guys happen to enjoy Lucy, please let me know by leaving a review. Since this takes place in season two between episode five and episode six, she still has a bit of a story to tell when it comes to the Inhumans. ;)