Leaning back in what was now officially her chair, Shelby thought about how her own question applied to her life.
'Herobrine has a purpose, however violent it is, he still has a purpose.' the young woman leaned her head back on the wooden headboard, sighing quietly.
"Hey Shell, can you help me with this?" a familiar voice asked. Whipping around, she saw her good friend Jack holding too many ingredients in his thin arms.
"Sure." she answered, smiling broadly.
"I would do anything for you, Jack." she whispered to herself. Plucking some of the small glass jars from the precarious pile balancing in the smiling young man's grasp, she chatted absentmindedly with him.
"You're such a klutz, Jack, I'm surprised you haven't dropped anything yet, we go through so many bottle a week I'm surprised you still have a job." As if on cue, a small purplish bottle crashed to the floor and spewed its contents across the stone floor.
"I'll get it," laughed Shelby. Jack smiled gratefully at her as he carefully placed the rest of the delicate ingredients on the table.
"You're much better at this than me, Shell." he said, organizing the bottles into their cluttered chests.
"I don't think that's a fair assumption." she replied frowning.
"It's not particularly fair to assign people to invent things!"
"You're just a genius compared to me." he said stubbornly.
"I-I like that about you." Jack added quietly, looking up and taking a step towards her.
"Thanks, Jack." Shelby replied quietly, her mind numb as he closed the distance between them.
Watching through the small gap between the door and the wall, the jealous Notch watched as the sandy haired boy and Shelby kissed. A young, blonde haired girl with crooked glasses and a winter hat came running down the hallway with a large box of materials, almost crashing into him.
"Oh! I'm sorry, forgive me Notch! I need to give this box to Jack and Shelby for their experiments." she said quickly, panting as she talked. Notch smiled at the young teenager.
"It's alright, Maddie, I'll take it to them, I need to speak to them anyways."
To her relief, the strange leader of their village took the heavy box and she raced back to do more chores for various people. Finally alone, the leader slipped a tiny bit of gunpowder into the bag of sand that was used to make windows. Smiling coldly, he pushed open the door, startling the two inventors.
"Oh..! Notch! You have our lab materials... Why?" Shelby said, blushing furiously as she gratefully accepted the box.
"I needed to tell you that we need an extra-large glass window, ASAP, the one in the library cracked and a creeper nest was discovered not far from the east wing."
Jack and Shelby fumbled around clumsily lighting a furnace and getting the sand prepped as Notch walked silently out of the room, nonchalantly putting as much distance between himself and the soon-to-be last place the pair would be seen alive.
"Hey Shell, can you hand me the tweezers? I think there is some gravel or other impurities in the sand." Jack said, frowning.
"Sure." she replied, and while he leaning over to grab the tool Shelby was holding out, the world went white and silent, except for a gentle ringing.
Blinking her eyes rapidly, Shelby suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg and she cried out in pain. Looking over, her swimming vision saw Jack, his side burnt and smoking, with blood dripping down his face. His eyes focused on her face for a moment, settling on her for a moment before clouding over.
"No! Jack!" cried Shelby, and she dragged herself over to him, touching his cheek before passing out.
Shelby woke trembling, resting her head in the arm of her warm, and slightly shocked friend. he had sat next to her when he heard her moans.
"Shelby?" Herobrine said tentatively. She lifted her head up and wiped off the small tear that was trickling down her face.
"I-I'm okay." she said, her breath rattling as she inhaled slowly. She looked over to see the white eyed man she'd managed to befriend.
"I-I'm okay." she repeated, glancing back over at him.
"I am now"