A/N: When I said that this chapter would take a while, I wasn't kidding. It took a lot of work to craft this particular scene in the overall narrative. However, I believe that the wait was worth it. Enjoy, my readers!

Chapter 7: Gone from my life

January 10, 2028

Woods Residence, Juniper's bedroom

10:15 a.m.

"Now, listen here, Juniper. Even the greatest of geniuses need their rest. But this is starting to get rather silly. It would be for the best for you to open your eyes and join the rest of us."

Juniper didn't respond at all to Hugh's words, much to Hugh's dismay. Athena shook her head. "Hugh, if Juniper could hear you I think that would make her want to stay asleep."

"Hey, I'm trying my best here!" Hugh exclaimed, rubbing his proof of friendship he wore around his neck. "We don't even know where Juniper is though. What am I supposed to say to her to bring her back?"

"Just keep talking. As one of Juniper's close friends, your words have a much better chance of reaching her," Apollo said.

Meanwhile, Robin gripped the side of Juniper's bed, the worry clear on her face. "Hey, Juniper! I know you can hear us! I don't know what happened to you, but we're all waiting for you to come back. So wherever you are, make your way back to us!"

At first, there didn't seem to be any reaction again, and Athena approached the bed so she could talk to Juniper next. Suddenly, however, tears leaked out from under Juniper's closed eyes, rolling down her cheeks.

Everyone in the room looked at the tears in wonder, unsure of what to say or do. After a few minutes, the tears dried, leaving only tracks on her face.

"Wh-what did I do?" Robin asked.

"I'm not sure. But wherever Juniper is, she needs our help!" Athena exclaimed. "Let me talk to her next! Maybe I'll be the one that will finally reach her!"

January 11, 2028

Alternate Woods Residence, Juniper's bedroom

1:30 p.m.

"Juniper, do you want anything to eat?"

"No thank you, Grandma. I'm not hungry," Juniper muttered weakly, curled up in her bed. It was true- despite not having eaten a bite since yesterday, Juniper didn't feel hungry. The judge student wasn't feeling much of anything at the moment, except for a crushing sadness that sapped her strength. Outside, Juniper could hear her Grandma set down a tray, then leave, but Juniper couldn't even bring herself to leave the bed.

The events of yesterday just kept replaying in her mind over and over again. Not too long ago, Juniper was having a picnic with Professor Courte in the woods just outside her house. During that picnic, Courte expressed trust in Juniper's judgement, despite not knowing what Juniper had planned. And now Courte was dead again, dead because Juniper made a wish without considering what the consequences would be.

While she was in the principal's office yesterday, Juniper managed to ask how Courte's murder was investigated. As it turned out, many details remained the same: Professor Means was the culprit, and Athena and Apollo defended Juniper in this alternate world. Where it differed was that during the trial, Athena called up an art club student that Juniper didn't know as a witness, and he was the one that made the statues on stage and testified about Means' presence there. Meanwhile, a boy by the name of Logan Sullivan was the current top student of the prosecutor course ,and lost to Hugh in the mock trial.

It all further confirmed that Robin never set foot in Themis Legal Academy in this world. And why would she? After all, now that her parents were no longer forcing her to become a prosecutor, there was no reason for Robin to go to a law school. Juniper had no way to know what the Robin of this world was currently doing, just that she wasn't at Themis Legal Academy.

It seemed like the Mirror Pond had granted Juniper's wish after all. Yet it appeared that the cost of that wish was Professor Courte's life, and Juniper wasn't even able to see what became of the friend she'd made the wish for in the first place- further research yesterday indicated the Newman family didn't live in L.A. in this alternate world. Juniper's plan had, for all intents and purposes, been a complete failure.

There was no point in going back to the Mirror Pond to try to fix it, if any further wishes could just make everything worse again. Juniper didn't even have a desire to go back home anymore. She deserved to stay in this world that she was directly responsible for bringing about. That was going to be Juniper's atonement for landing herself in this situation in the first place.

Suddenly, there was a knocking at her door. Juniper slowly lifted her head but otherwise didn't react. The knocking on the door continued, louder this time. When Juniper still didn't answer, there came the distinct sound of two people knocking the door, which managed to surprise Juniper somewhat out of her stupor.

"Your Grandma told us you were here," Hugh said from outside. "What happened, Juniper? Is there anything we can do for you?"

"It's not like you to miss school, Kahk Kahk," Myriam said. "You're too much of a goody two-shoes for that, Juniper. So don't bother denying that something's wrong!"

"H-Hugh? M-Myriam? Wh-What are d-doing here? *cough cough*" Juniper's voice came out raspy due to disuse.

"We're here for you! And I had to miss undercover reporter class for this, too, so you'd better appreciate it!" Myriam exclaimed.

"We're prepared to wait outside this door all day for you, Juniper," Hugh said. "So take your time working through whatever happened. But we'll be here when you're ready to come out."

They noticed. Despite the fact that Juniper actively hid her actions from the Hugh and Myriam of this world, they still managed to notice what was going on with her. And even though they didn't exactly what happened, they were still trying so hard to help.

For the first time since yesterday, Juniper could actually feel the urge to move. So slowly, she stretched her legs, then pushed herself off from the bed. It was then that she realized that she was still dressed in her pajamas. "I'll be out in a minute! Just let me dressed first."

Once she got dressed in her casual clothes, Juniper opened the door to her bedroom. The judge student didn't miss the incredibly relieved look on Hugh and Myriam's faces when they saw her. "I apologize for worrying you so much. But I'm thankful that you came all this way just for me."

"Of course we're not going to just leave you here moping, sss sss sss," Myriam said. "Now c'mon, let's go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Out to eat, for starters. Myriam may or may not have eaten the food that your Grandma left out for you," Hugh said.

"Hey! Now why'd you go and say that for!" Myriam shouted, red in the face.

January 11, 2028

Sandy's Sandwich Shop

2:30 p.m.

As it turned out, Myriam was the one that was in charge of this outing, taking the three of them to a small sandwich bistro out in the middle of the city. When they entered the bistro the woman behind the counter spotted Myriam and smiled.

"Hey, Myriam! Here for your usual?" The woman asked.

"Not today, Sandy, Kahk Kahk," Myriam said. "I already ate. But you know what to give my friends here."

"So that will be the BLT for Hugh and the Vegetarian Special for Juniper. Coming right up," Sandy said.

"Here, since I've already eaten I'll pay for the meal," Myriam said, approaching the counter. Juniper, meanwhile, found herself incredibly confused. In her homeworld, Myriam never gave any indication that she was familiar with an establishment like this. Yet not only did the proprietor greet this Myriam so causally, but they even knew what Hugh and Juniper's favorite sandwiches were. Was this an unexpected aspect of this alternate world?

The three friends took a seat at one of the bistro's tables to wait for their sandwiches. Hugh and Myriam chatted with each other about the day they had at school, but didn't direct any of their words towards Juniper herself. It seemed that they were waiting for her to speak on her own.

However, Juniper wasn't entirely sure how to put into words everything that happened in the past week. And if- when Juniper decided to return home, she didn't want to do or say anything to cause trouble for the Juniper that lived in this world. So Juniper didn't say anything as Sandy served their sandwiches, focusing her attention on eating the food instead.

Finally Juniper said, "A lot has been happening to me lately. First I lost someone really precious to me. Then a close friend went far away from me. It all just became too much."

"So that's what it was. That's perfectly understandable," Hugh said. "I'm glad you decided to open up to us about this."

"Yeah, that's much better than just locking yourself up in your room," Myriam added. "So come to us first next time, okay?"

Just like the Hugh in her home world, this Hugh was such a wonderful friend. Even Myriam, whom Juniper mainly knew in her home world as being antisocial and awkward, was so much more considerate in this world. Juniper felt a warmth in her heart, looking at her two friends seated across from here. In her home world, in the first alternate world, in this second alternate world- Hugh and Myriam remained her friends throughout everything.

"I'll remember to do that from now on. Thank you so much, my friends," Juniper said, smiling.

"I'm so happy to see you getting along with your friends, Myriam," Sandy said as she approached their table.

"What can I say? I'm a naturally charismatic person, sss sss sss," Myriam said proudly.

"Really now? You know, Myriam's been coming to this bistro ever since she started going to Themis Legal Academy," Sandy said to Hugh and Juniper. "And she'd always tell me that one day, she'd come here with friends."

"KAHK KAHK! You didn't have to go and say that!" Myriam exclaimed, as Hugh chuckled at her mortified expression.

Juniper couldn't help but giggle a little as well. If the Myriam in this world had the same past as the Myriam that Juniper knew, then it could mean that the Myriam back home simply had yet to find the courage to invite everyone to this bistro.

If that was the case, then once she returned home Juniper wanted to give Myriam that last bit of courage. Honestly, Juniper had been hesitant about approaching Myriam, after all the bad blood that had run between all of them in the past. Now, however, Juniper realized that there was no reason for her to treat Myriam like that anymore.

More than anything, her friends all deserved better. So Juniper was going to do her best to pick herself back up, for all the precious people she had with her.

A/N: Longtime readers of my work might recognize a name in this chapter, a little reference I decided to sneak in. Anyways, as I said at the beginning, the heart of this story is friendship. So look forward to more of these interactions in the next chapter. See you next time! Please review.