Authors Note-I wanted to thank Chrissiemusa for helping with this chapter.

Chapter 3

Smoke billowed into the sky as fire after fire was put out. Jerome took another bucket from near him and threw the water over the house before him before collecting another. Fairies flew the empty buckets to the streams and although Aisha had come back to help get rid of the massive flames that engulfed the forest the homes were another story all together.

When she had arrived Aisha told them that she had seen the flames as she and the others were heading to where they knew Flora, Bloom and Musa had gone. She had used her powers to help and quash the blazing flames before they spread too many of the homes near the edge of the forest. After the fires of the forest had been put out she had gathered up the specialists and they all took off toward the forest to find their friends.

"More buckets!" Jerome commanded before Tethys landed beside him, holding the full bucket before her. Taking it quickly he threw it onto the flames and watched as they sizzled to death and left nothing but embers behind, the smoke making him cough.

"Hey are you ok?" Tethys asked.

"I'm fine," he smiled as the last house was dosed in water. "It looks like the village is safe again."

"Phew," she sighed, wiping her brow. "I'm glad that's over, boy was that a close one."

"That it was," he sighed, sitting on the ground as Tethys sat next to him, others cheering and hugging each other, parents holding their children and vowing to never have them in danger again. "I wonder how Flora is doing?" Jerome began, looking to Tethys red eyes.

"I don't know," she sighed, "She seemed angry when I saw her earlier." Tethys looked at all the damage from the fires, "But that could be because of all of this."

"I suppose that can be understandable." Jerome exhaled, running a through his short black hair before placing an arm around Tethys shoulder and pulling her closer to his chest, "I miss her sometimes you know," his eyes grew distant as he heard her musings.

"I miss her too."

Flora, Tethys and Jerome had all grown up together, their parents were neighbors and after visits to the local forests, attending school and hanging out on weekends, that had become best of friends, the three of them, against the world. Though when it came to the final decision after high school, about whether they should attend university of not, they all took separate paths. Flora had been accepted into the school for fairies in Magix, the best school for Winx magic in the entire magical dimension. Tethys had applied at the same school but was turned down because of her grades. Flora was always the brainiest one out of all of them.

She knew so many things about nature and practically breather it in and out everyday, they used to just live on a nature realm, study odd plant species and move on. Neither of them felt as at-one with Linphea as she did. Jerome had decided to work in Linphea after school and was given a job escorting guided tours around the various forest locations, he had knowledge of the plants but it was the animals that were his forte. He had quit his job just a few weeks ago to work in an animal sanctuary just outside their central village and had never been happier. Tethys worked in a local restaurant, delivering the best produce to them all and although it wasn't exactly the life she wanted, she was happy as long as she had Jerome with her.

It was funny and Jerome smiled for a moment. They should have seen it coming really. It was a long time ago it seemed, when the three of them sat inside their classroom one day listening to their teacher talk about plants. Flora was entirely and she drew notes and highlighted things, Tethys was reading a gossip magazine and he just sat still wanting to get the hell out of the room they sat in. But his eyes could not defer from her face.

Jerome loved Flora. He loved her personality, her love of nature, how kind and caring she was. She was the kind of girl that he could see himself marrying in the future but when she left for Alfea he didn't see her again. Tethys admitted that she liked him and things just kind of went from there.

Now as he sat on the ground, with Tethys in his arms, he realized that she wasn't the one he truly wanted to be with. It was Flora.

Suddenly the snap of a tree behind them made the two get to their feet. Jerome stood protectively in front of Tethys, searching through the darkness. Then they saw her. "Flora!" Tethys yelled, running to her side and kneeling next to her injured friend who had a multitude of cuts and bruises over her arms. Jerome had never seen Flora naked but here she was. Lying on the ground covered in dust and dirt and yet she still looked beautiful. He couldn't help his jaw's slow decline to the floor.

"Flora! Flora can you hear me?" They heard a moan which made Jerome snap back into the present before getting a blanket from an emergency stall placing it over her body, to help her against the shivering cold.

Carefully Flora lifted herself up, sitting with her back against the tree as she pulled the blanket around her body tighter. Her eyes remained closed. "I can't…see," her eyelids squeezed tightly.

"Flora, open your eyes," Tethys softly commanded.

"I-I can't." Flora said as she shook her head.

"We need to get you to a doctor," Jerome explained, before taking one of her arms and placing it over his shoulder, careful that the blanket was still securely wrapped.

Sitting beside Flora on the bed as Tethys walked away to fetch a doctor, Jerome felt less then comfortable. "Jerome," she sighed, turning her head to look at him. Of course this plan had worked perfectly. Looking like Flora was working out great for her and now being able to see with Musa's sonar hearing was an added bonus.

All Tamara had to do now was trick these two into believing that she was real. Luckily they hadn't made her open her eyes; otherwise they would have seen that she was not Flora at all. Unlike Flora's jade eyes, the ones that sparkled in the light, Tamara had two unmatched colors in her.

"Do you remember, when we were kids, sometimes the two of us would hang out together without Tethys?" Tamara asked.

"Yeah," he smiled. "I remember."

"And, we'd walk around the park for ages, just eating and talking about random stuff." He nodded. "Well…why did we stop?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, though Tamara could see the fear in his eyes.

"I mean why did we drift apart after all these years? Why didn't we keep in contact more often, why didn't we go out and have fun like we used to?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I guess that's just what happens to friends sometimes."

"You know this attack may have been a blessing," she smiled. "Maybe the reason that Linphea was attacked was so I would come home, so I could see you."

"But you can't see me." An eyebrow rose higher on his forehead.

"No, I can't," she sighed before moving her hand and touching his right cheek, watching as his light blue eyes closed at the touch. "But I can feel you…I miss that."

"I have Tethys," he replied but that didn't stop his hand from touching hers, "And you have Helia."

"Why don't we forget about them," Tamara suggested making Jerome look to her with wide eyes. "Just for one moment…how about we try to get back where we left off." Jerome leaned in closer towards her, her fingers guiding his face towards hers. "Kiss me."

Just before their lips met Jerome pulled his face back away from Tamara. She could hear his heart beating faster then it had been before, she moved her body just slightly to cause the blanket to slide off of her shoulders. She giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck causing the blanket to fall down around her waist.

"Flora I can't do this." Jerome said as he tried to pull away from the girl in front of him.

"Don't you love me?" Tamara asked as she pulled away and turned her back away from Jerome.

"Flora I have always loved you." Jerome replied, "I have loved you since we were younger. But I can't." Jerome was shaking his head as he continued, "I can't do this to Tethys."

"You can't even spare a kiss for me?" Tamara asked as she slowly turned her face toward Jerome with a pout on it.

Jerome looked at the face right in front of him. The sight of Flora sitting half covered caused him to lean forward and wrap an arm around her back. She trembled from the touch of his arm around her waist. He pulled her in close to him before he lay back on the bed with Tamara above him.

"Flora I have dreamed of this for years." Jerome whispered as he looked up at the beautiful young woman in front of him.

Before Tamara could say anything Jerome placed his lips on to hers. After separating Tamara looked down at the young man with a smile on her face while her eyes remained closed. After a few moments Tamara bent down and kissed the man below her.

"I'm back with the doctor." Tethys called out into the home as she entered the door.

There was no reply so Tethys brought the doctor into the living room and told him that she would be right back. She walked down the hall and lightly knocked on the door to the bedroom that she had left Jerome and Flora in about an hour before. When she did not hear a response she slowly opened the door.

Tethys was speechless at what she was seeing. Jerome was in the bed sleeping; next to him with her arms around his bare chest was Flora. Tethys took a few steps forward stepping on a part of the floor that creaked. The sound caused Jerome to open his eyes slowly and turn his head toward the sound. The look on Tethys's face caused Jerome to sit up quickly waking Tamara up.

"Is everything okay Jerome?" Tamara asked as she slowly sat up.

"How…How could you?" Tethys asked with a shake voice.

As Jerome was starting to open his mouth he collapsed down back onto the bed unconscious. Tamara slowly stood up and formed a ball of pink energy in her right hand, before Tethys knew what was happening she was sent flying back through the door that she had just entered. Tamara giggled as Tethys hit the wall of the hallway with a loud thud.

The sound was heard in the living room by the doctor that had arrived just a few minutes ago with Tethys. He stood up and moved to the hall to see her unconscious on the floor. The doctor ran down the hall to check on her condition. As he bent down and started to extend his hand toward the unconscious girl he felt something hit the side of his head. Tamara laughed as she opened her eyes to watch the doctor slowly slide down the wall of the hall leaving a streak of crimson red where his head had hit the wall.

"You two were just complete fools to think that I was your friend," Tamara laughed as she walked over to the door of the room, "Now all I need is a change of clothing."

Tamara walked down the hall and found the master bedroom. When she entered the room she walked over to a walk in closet and started to throw clothing on the floor until she found something that she liked. What she had grabbed was a crimson red tee shirt and a pair of black jeans. After changing something caught her eye in the closet. After walking over to the item she slowly pulled out a long sword.

A smile grew one her face as she exited the closet with the sword in her hands and proceeded back down the hallway. After walking back into the room that Jerome was in she repositioned him so he was laying on his back. She then proceeded to push the sword into his chest as she laughed.

A few moments later she walked back out into the hallway. Tamara then cast a levitation spell on Tethys and guided her into the room that she had just exited. After placing her on the bed next to the lifeless body Tamara looked at the couple in the bed. She then bent over Tethys and wrapped her arms around Jerome and smiled before walking back out of the room. On the way out of the house Tamara grabbed the leather jacket that the doctor had taken off while he waited for Tethys to call for him.

About an hour later Tethys started to move around. She could feel her arms around someone and knew that it was Jerome that she was laying next to. She hugged Jerome tighter to try and get him to hug her back. When he did not move she slowly moved her head closer to his.

"It's time to wake up." Tethys whispered.

Again there was no movement from Jerome. She began to move her hand down his chest. When she felt a cold sensation she lifted her head up to see what she had just touched. When Tethys looked at Jerome's chest she saw his sword sticking out of the middle of it. She backed away from what she was seeing and fell to the floor.

"Jerome!" Tethys yelled as she started to crawl back away from what she was looking at, "This can't be happening."

After a few moments Tethys remembered what had happened before she had blacked out. She slowly stood up and moved to the door of the bedroom. When she exited the room she saw the lifeless body of the doctor laying on the floor of the hallway. She then ran all over the house looking for Flora.

After searching everywhere she finally found a note sitting on the counter of the kitchen. She picked it up and read the note. What she read shocked her. She ran from the house looking for any authorities to inform them of what had just happened. As she ran down the street a voice called out to her.

"Tethys is everything ok?" A voice yelled out from the distance.

Tethys turned to see Flora and the others returning. When she saw Flora she dropped to her knees with tears flowing from her eyes. Flora and the others ran to where she had just dropped to the ground.

"How…How could you?" Tethys asked with a shaky voice.

"How could I what?" Flora asked as she tried to place a hand on her friends shoulder.

"How could you kill Jerome?" Tethys asked as she turned to look at Flora with hate in her eyes.

"Jerome's dead!" Flora yelled, "What happened."

"You should know!" Tethys yelled, "You're the one that killed him with his own sword."

"Flora could not have hurt anyone." Helia said as he walked over near the young woman on the ground.

"You would defend her," Tethys said with venom in her voice, "She is your girlfriend."

"We just got back from the dark forest." Bloom said.

Tethys looked down at the ground and everyone could see tears dropping to the ground below her.

"Flora we have been friends since we were young," Tethys said without looking up, "But our friendship is over." Tethys turned her face to look at Flora, "I never want to see you again."

The last words broke Flora's heart.

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