Author's Note: Last chapter Alice had a run-in with a man from her past. From what you may or may not know about the legal system, you can be arrested for violating a restraining order, which is what happened in this story. To find out who this man is and why Alice has a restraining order against him, you'll have to keep reading.

In this chapter, Odette's secret will be revealed, yet it is only the beginning of her drama.

If you have any predictions on any of the characters and their story arcs, I'd be really interested to hear them!

The Same Boy You've Always Known

Think of what the past did

It could've lasted

So put it in your basket

I hope you know a strong man

Who can lend you a hand

Lowering my casket

It was a dangerous game Odette played at, watching them silently from behind the bushes, waiting for her moment to strike. The two boys, she watched their every move, switching between her real vision and her lenses. They looked so different behind glass rather than in real life. Rare specimens ready to be captured for all eternity.

Her eyes focused in on one. She watched him chew his lip in concentration, completely oblivious that she watched him intently just feet away. For just an instant she shared with him that moment, his silent intensity. She wanted to be with him in that brief second of time forever, to feel how he felt. To always know that sometimes through all the hate and anger and depression that sometimes he felt at peace. It was in that, that Odette knew he was capable of being healed and of moving on.

She held her hand up to the trigger to capture that peace, and pushed down. There was a bright flash of light, and her target jumped up from the bench to look at her accusatorially.

"Odette!"

You left the flash on you idiot!

Feeling the scold of her sister, Odette hung her head in disappointment, and went to join the boys at their picnic table. She knew she had missed the shot, and it was hard to gauge if Eli would ever show vulnerability like that again when she had her camera around.

"Friggin' paparazzi." Eli mumbled, going back to his book.

"Adam doesn't mind, do you Adam?" She turned to the other boy at the table, who was hiding his laughter poorly from behind his comic book.

"Nope."

"Great! Smile!" She pointed her camera up at his beaming face, knowing Julia would be smiling at how the second use of her flash would irritate Eli further.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his eyebrow twitch. Her sister's laugh echoed in her mind.

Do it again 'Detta!

No Julia, he's already irritated enough with me.

It'll be funny!

Julia had always loved to irritate Eli. It was her way of knowing that she mattered to him. She always used to tell Odette "If I wasn't important, he wouldn't get mad. He'd just ignore me." And as much as it made sense, it was how Odette had always known her sister needed help. Her mindset wasn't healthy. Love couldn't be equated to a frequency of fighting.

Odette knew that Julia would never be mad at Eli for the night she died. By fighting with her, he had proved that up until the very last second of her life she knew he loved her. And if Julia wasn't mad, Odette couldn't be either. Though she would never say it aloud, Odette believed Julia was the most guilty for her own death.

They were sick kids, the three of them. And it terrified her the way Eli's parents expected her twisted mind to save the both of them. But she had to try.

"Eli, would you please think about coming to group tonight?" She knew the answer before she finished talking, but she was too stubborn to give up and take his previous "no"s as an indication.

He didn't even look at her as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'm going to finish this book in the library."

He needs your help! Follow him!

And say what Julia?

Anything! Say anything! Pick a fight with him. Hit him. Anything so he can't ignore you!

Following Julia's direction had always been the easier way to get through life, even in the wake of her death. When Odette did what her sister told her, it shut her up. It kept the peace that she craved. But being obedient was turning her into her sad, sick sister. Picking fights with Eli just so he would remember who she was and why she was there. Odette's parents had given her away, they didn't want daughters anymore. She and Eli were the only people in this world capable of keeping Julia's memory alive. And Odette was afraid if she let him out of her sight for too long, he would forget her. There would be no evidence that she had ever had a twin.

Twins. They had never been alike. Julia had always died her hair darker, and Odette had always died hers lighter. Julia liked when the lead singer of a band screamed, and Odette liked when they enunciated. Julia wanted leather and Odette wanted lace. The only thing they had ever had in common was Eli. They had both loved him.

It tore Odette apart inside, knowing he would always be out of reach. He had chosen Julia, both in life and in death. She wanted to make him smile. She wanted to heal him. She wanted to cultivate a love for each other out of the pain they felt for Julia. And that was how Odette knew that she was sick too. That she needed help so she wouldn't end up dead like Julia.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?" Eli's friend looked up from the pages of Hellboy at her. A beautiful story about the humanity in beasts. Odette had only found a few comics she had liked out of Eli's tremendous hoard, but she remembered the story had resonated with her. That there is love and hope out there for everyone.

"Would you want to maybe come to group therapy with me tonight? It might help Eli to see there's nothing wrong with it if he knows both his friends are behind the idea."

"Um...yeah. OK. For Eli."

They both knew Eli wouldn't actually come. Odette had asked Adam because she needed someone else to understand. She wasn't sure why he had agreed.

"Thanks Adam."

They sat at therapy that night with a empty plastic chair between them. They kept their lie alive together, pretending Eli was just running late and going to arrive any second.

"Odette, who did you bring with you tonight?"

"My friend." She wasn't sure if he was OK with her calling him that, but she couldn't think of anything else. They'd known each other two weeks. She wondered if you could really tell if someone was a friend in two weeks time. She tried to think back to when she had met Eli and realized he was her friend.

"Adam." He interjected.

"Welcome." The group leader turned back to Odette. "And how has Julia been since we saw you last?"

"Noisy." She smiled weakly up at the group. Adam sat there, completely lost, as they talked about Julia as if she were still alive. "Her demands have been less hostile though since I moved in."

"That's good. Adam, is this the first time you're being introduced to Julia?"

Twelve sets of eyes turned to stare at him. He swallowed. "No, I know about Julia."

"Actually that's not quite true." She hoped this was the right decision. But if Eli had chosen only one person to let into his life, Odette could trust him too. She reached out for his hand, squeezing it gently, though she could not bring her eyes to look at him.

"Adam...I'm schizophrenic. And that means sometimes I hear things and see things that aren't real, but my brian thinks they are. And since Julia's death, in order to cope with it, my brain is convinced that she's still alive. After she died I spent a while in a psychiatric ward learning to get better control over her" She gestured her hand to the snack table. "She's over there right now eating all the peanut butter cookies."

He looked at her earnestly, not entirely sure what to say. "I could go steal a cookie for you if you really wanted one."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she began to laugh uncontrollably, reaching forward to hug him. It really hadn't been that funny, but it was exactly what she had needed to hear. "You're wonderful Adam!" Odette felt a release in her body as relief swept over her. She wasn't alone. Out of the death of Julia, and the loss of Eli, something wonderful had happened. She had gained a friend.

And then a though occurred to her that was entirely her own, without any influence of Julia. Perhaps she had been wrong in allowing her sister to make her believe that she had to be the one to heal Eli on her own. Perhaps Adam was the key to helping both of them.