Disclaimer: We own only Laruëalas, Jupiter, Jiana, and the twisted effigy of a plotline.

Chapter 26 – Trunks Briefs

The last thing I had expected while I was sitting in Jiana's room after she'd gathered her diaries and left was to see her sister in a tree. When I looked out the window, however, Laurëalas was sitting there and apparently concentrating on something with her eyes closed. Now that I was facing the open window, I could smell her terror.

I quickly removed the screen from the window, set it on the floor, and went out the window, landing under the tree she was in.

"Hello?"

"Hi," she answered without opening her eyes.

"You all right?"

"Peachy with a side of keen. Why?"

"You smell terrified."

"Uh huh."

"Stuck up the tree?"

"Yup."

"How?"

"Scared of heights."
"Then what are you doing up there?"
"Hiding from Jiji. I gave some people sugar-highs and she's mad at me." If they were anything like Goten and I had been, it was understandable.

"Ah. You want help?"

"Yes, please, if you don't mind."

"Okay, jump. I'll catch you."

"Not a flippin' snowflake's chance in any seventh Frell."

That one threw me for a loop. "Huh?"

"No way!" I sighed, flew up to rescue Laur from the tree, and set her on the ground. "Uh, thanks."

"Wouldn't want you getting yourself killed." I teased, distracted by my prior thoughts.

"Well, I know I certainly wouldn't, but just out of curiosity why do you care?" I shrugged indifferently. "Oh. You like Jiana."

I blinked in surprise, and Laurëalas grinned. "Well it's about time someone did!" Between her accurate appraisal and her very . . . positive . . . reaction, I was thoroughly taken aback. "Not that she's unlikable or anything, but she's so different from anyone at school… or in town. And she's built walls around herself from them making fun of her so much. I thought if would be forever before anyone could see past them! Oh, I was babbling wasn't I."

I gave up, merely grasping the last bit and feeling anger boil up inside me. "Who was making fun of her?"

"Um… no one in particular really," Laur said quickly, obviously picking up on my rage. "It comes with the territory of being intelligent and living in a world of your own. Jupiter got it worse than she did. I just got teased for being related to the two of them." She shrugged dismissively. "It wasn't so bad for me though. I learned to be invisible. Jiana can't do that. She doesn't even realize it, but she just isn't capable of standing along on the sidelines. She has to be in the center of attention and doing her own thing. She can be very stubborn sometimes. I think though that she mostly just wants people to acknowledge her as normal, which won't happen because she isn't." She smiled faintly. "I wouldn't want her to be."

"You really like your sister."

Laur started slightly. "Yeah. I really look up to her. It's strange, but a lot of the time it seems like she's the older one. She's more mature, definitely, though more times than not I'm the more responsible one. Well, I'm glad someone's finally taken an interest in her. It'll be good for her once she gets over the initial shock of it. Too bad it's someone fictional. You really couldn't stay here, and she won't want to leave here, even if it's possible."

Laurëalas left then, leaving me to muse over what she'd said on my own. She knew Jiana better than I did, she was probably right in her assessment. Anyway, if the diary I'd been reading was any indication, there were other fictitious characters she'd prefer. Namely one Harry Potter. I growled faintly, flying up into the tree.

The number of people in the house was growing at an alarming rate. There were now about forty, and Jiana had left, driving off again. I wondered what she could be doing, but was startled out of my thoughts by three teenagers, all fifteen or nearly so, walking out of the house.