Juli walked through the woods with her hands in her pockets. She heard the sounds of Daniel and Sean talking a few yards away, Sean coaching Daniel with his telekinesis and Daniel (for the most part) succeeding in everything Sean asked him to do. Juli stood there for a second and listened, then turned to face the woods.

Ahead, she saw a little tuft of red fur peek out from the snowy landscape. She stood as still as she could, the only sign that she was alive being the steam rising from her mouth. Finally, the fox seemed to think it was safe and padded out on top of the snow, sniffing around for morsels of food.

Juli lowered herself into a crouching position. She gathered her breath and let it out in a shaky voice, raising her hands out in front of her.

"All the fear, and the fire, of the end of the world..."

The fox looked up at the sound of her voice. Gleaming black eyes met steady brown ones from across the landscape.

"Happens each time a boy falls in love with a girl..."

She moved her hands toward her in a beckoning motion. The fox's back arched at the movement, and for a second Juli worried that the animal would turn and run. However, it didn't take long for the fox to relax and slowly start to pad toward her.

"Happens grace, happens sweet; happily, I'm unfazed here, too..."

As she finished the verse, the fox seemed to gather up more courage and trot at a faster speed toward her. The fox's eyes grew less scared as it came closer and more like Sean's when he had accidentally peeked in on her in the motel bathroom.

The thought made her break concentration. The fox blinked and yapped as it turned tail and ran. It disappeared behind the tree line and vanished.

Juli sighed in disappointment and stood back up. It was crazy to think that it had been two months since all of this started, two months since they had discovered that Daniel also had powers.

She brushed the snow off her pants and headed back to the river. She came through the foliage and found Sean crouched over the old wooden dock with his bottle in the water. Daniel used his telekinesis to hold his bottle into the water, a proud smile on his face as he brought the now-full bottle back into his hands.

"Hey, boys," she said. "How'd training go today?"

Daniel immediately ran to her, the smile even larger somehow. "Oh, Juli, you won't believe it!" he exclaimed. "You see that boulder over there? I managed to lift it all by myself!"

Juli tousled Daniel's hair. "Good job, wolf boy! I knew you could do it." She looked over at Sean. "What else have you guys been doing?"

Sean came over with two water bottles and handed one over to her. "We did some practice shots with snowballs," he explained. "Daniel's getting a lot better. I'm proud of you, enano."

Daniel seemed to flourish under the weight of their praise. "What about you, Juli?" he asked. Mushroom came over and barked excitedly, prancing around in the snow. "How's your training been going?"

She pointed over her shoulder. "I managed to get a fox to come to me, but it ran away after I lost focus. I'm kind of glad it's hard to get a good grasp on my powers. I couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be to have a real-life Siren on our hands."

Sean shrugged. "It would be pretty damn useful."

They headed back to the cabin with Mushroom hot on their heels. Juli and Sean had already talked about how lucky they were to have found an abandoned and ready-to-use house in the middle of the woods this late in the winter, but seeing it just made her reiterate the fact in her head: they were really fucking lucky.

Daniel and Sean wandered for a little while longer outside of the house while she went inside with Mushroom. The little puppy wagged her tail as Juli refilled her food and water bowls. "Rest up, saekki," she said as she rubbed Mushroom's head. "You did a lot of exploring today."

Mushroom yapped in agreement and buried her face in the food bowl. Juli let out a little huff of laughter and grabbed her journal from her backpack. She settled down on one of the blankets and opened it up to a new page. She grabbed her pen. Alright, this shouldn't be that hard.

She started sketching Mushroom and the view of the outside world. It started out incredibly rough (and by rough, she meant shapes with lots of scribbles) but after a few minutes she started to smooth out the drawing. Daniel and Sean came in before she could finish the drawing, but the initial sketch didn't look too bad.

Sean peeked over her shoulder. "Looks good," he said. He reached over and pointed to Mushroom. "Although, you could probably make do with--"

"--adding a haunted plate!" Daniel exclaimed. Juli and Sean looked up as Daniel used his powers to move one of the ceramic plates over their head. "Ooh, it's a haunted house!"

"No, it sounds more like it's 'time to go over the rules.'" Sean didn't look amused, and he moved away from Juli to face Daniel. It wasn't until then that Juli realized just how close he had been to her shoulder; there was a distinct difference in temperature now that he was farther away. "You know what I told you about showing off."

"But...I was just..." Daniel stopped his protests after Sean gestured toward the makeshift bed. His expression turned sullen as he collapsed on the bed. "I know the rules."

"Let's find out."

Juli closed her journal and turned to face Daniel. "What's the first one, wolf boy?" she asked.

"Mmm...ah..."

"Hide your power," Sean said. He came over and sat down on the edge of the wooden table in front of their bed. "If you spin one plate in a diner, what happens?"

"People will freak out."

"And when people freak...What do they do?"

Daniel fidgeted in his spot. Mushroom seemed to pick up on his tension and rested her head on his leg. "They call the cops."

"Exactly." Sean held up two fingers. "The second rule is..."

Daniel rubbed Mushroom's head. "Never talk about it."

Sean scoffed. "Wow. Good job, Daniel. 'Cause that's usually the hardest rule for you."

Daniel scowled. "Shut up."

Juli chuckled. "And the final rule?"

With Sean's encouragement, Daniel made a valiant guess. "Avoid danger?"

"Run from danger," Sean corrected. "This is the most important one. You know why?"

Daniel messed with his hands in his lap. "Uh...I don't know. I mean, with my power, I can help us.  Juli can, too."

She shook her head. "No, Daniel. If there's any other option, you get the fuck out of Dodge. If you have to fight, then you let me and Sean handle it." Daniel seemed to deflate. She sighed and reached out to put her hand on Daniel's knee. "Listen, buddy, I know you want to help. But you're our secret weapon."

Daniel perked up at that. Sean gave her a grateful smile. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sean chimed in. "Juli's like the main attack, but you're there as our failsafe. In a way, you're the most important player. You're like the queen in chess, dude."

Daniel hummed. Something crossed his mind, though, and his eyes grew stormy again. "Do you think, if I had used my power, that Dad might still...be here?"

"No," Sean immediately said. "Daniel, you didn't even know. That shit was out of your control."

"But look what happened to the policeman!" He looked down at his hands. "Maybe this power was a curse."

Juli scooted forward and grabbed onto both of Daniel's hands. "Hey, wolf boy, look at me," she coaxed. It took him a second, but he finally made eye contact with her. "My power made me run, too. It may seem like it's a curse, but the greatest miracles are born from the greatest tragedies."

Weak protests fell from his lips, but he soon fell silent. "Juli, you're not going to leave us, are you?"

She flinched. "No, of course not. What made you think that?"

"It's just...you're never around," he confessed. "And sometimes I get really worried when you don't come back inside. I feel like one day, I'm going to wake up and Sean and I are going to be all alone."

"Daniel..." She looked away and focused on a spot in the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sean watching her. "My parents raised me to be alone. That was the message they constantly drilled in my head: always rely on yourself, because no one else is going to be there for you. Sometimes, I still believe them. That's why I'm not around as much as I should be."

"You know you're not alone, though, right?" Daniel asked.

She huffed out a laugh. "I know that now. You can't change the way you're raised so easily, though." She looked between Sean and Daniel. "I have something to fight for again, though. I won't ever leave you guys."

"Never?" Daniel asked. "You promise?"

"Do you think I was lying that night in the motel?" she teased. "You guys are my family now. I'm not leaving for a long time."

Daniel finally lightened up. She saw Sean relax as well. "Okay, cool!"

The exclamation of happiness was quickly cut off by a coughing fit. Sean moved to sit next to Daniel and held him by the shoulder as Daniel covered his mouth. The coughing abated after a few moments and Daniel rubbed Mushroom's head as she whined. "It's okay, Mushroom. I'm okay."

Sean rubbed his hands. "Alright, you two. I think it's time for us to grub out. You guys sit tight while I make us some food."

Juli raised her hand up. "Actually, Sean, I'm gonna go practice my powers for a little while longer." She looked behind her at Daniel with a smile. "And don't worry, kid. I'll stay within your line of sight."

Daniel grinned back. "Thank you."

She got up, stretched, and headed out. As she left, she tightened her fleece jacket around her and pulled her beanie on over her head. The door clicked shut behind her and she let out a sigh, watching the steam rise up and disappear into the atmosphere.

She looked into the house and saw Daniel watching her intently. She winked at him and turned. Now, what will my target be today?

She saw the snow ogre they had built a few days ago somewhere off to her right. She quickly fashioned a little snowman about half her height in front of the house and stood parallel to the door so she could keep Daniel in her peripheral vision. She saw Sean pause in his cooking and watch her as well.

Juli took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She focused, held in a breath, then opened her mouth. She put pressure on her chest to mimic the same feeling that screaming did, and to her joy it brought the same effect as her scream without having to make the noise. The snowman stood no chance against the shockwave and practically disintegrated, falling into a thousand snowflakes that disappeared among the snow.

She turned and saw Daniel furiously clapping. Sean made eye contact with her, and he winked at her before turning back to his cooking. She held her hand over her chest as it tightened, sure that she had accidentally activated her powers again, but all she felt was her heart pounding twice as hard against her ribs.

Juli wasn't oblivious to what was going on. Sean had hugged her three times over the course of the past two months: once when she woke up crying from another nightmare, once when she had succeeded in convincing a rabbit to come closer with her powers, and she had given him a hug when he woke up from a nightmare just two nights ago. Every single time, her face grew warm and she had this feeling in her chest.

There had only been one other person that had made her feel like this. It was a girl back in her sophomore year named Hannah. She still remembered the girl's bright red hair and green eyes, and the fact that she was completely bona fide heterosexual. Obviously, Juli had never told Hannah how she felt, and she had suffered with this feeling in her chest.

Now, though, she wasn't sure what was holding her back. She stared at Sean through the door as he moved around through the small kitchen. As though sensing her staring, Sean glanced back over his shoulder and quirked an eyebrow. Juli flipped him off and Sean looked to make sure Daniel wasn't watching him before flipping her off, too.

Juli laughed and remade the snowman. She practiced her shockwave a few more times before she got bored and looked around for another target. She turned in a slow circle until she finally spotted a rather large tree a few yards away. It wasn't huge compared to the trees around them or even the house, but it was at least a good six inches taller than her. She surveyed it for a moment, made sure it wasn't around anything dangerous, then got ready.

She held a breath and let it all out in one silent scream. The shockwaves poured out, but to her surprise the tree barely even budged. She furrowed her brow and continued to put everything she had into vanquishing this foe. Somehow, though, nothing worked.

Think, Juli, think! she yelled in her mind as her lungs started to run out of air. What...

Something clicked. The way the tree was built almost looked like Dad...

Pure rage built in her stomach. The shockwaves intensified and the tree broke at the base. It ripped itself free and flew into the foliage with a resounding crash that made her flinch. Her head felt light as she sank down to her knees, a pounding headache rattling her skull.

The door opened. Sean ran out with Daniel hot on his heels. "Juli!"

She managed a small laugh. "Well, guess we don't have to worry about the ents coming to get us," she joked.

Daniel smiled at the reference, but Sean didn't look pleased. "You shouldn't push yourself like that," he chided as he helped her to her feet. He kept a firm grip on her upper arm as he led the three of them back inside. "You're still learning how to control your power, remember?"

"Yeah," she said. "It just felt really good to let it all out, you know? That tree almost looked like..." She trailed off. Thankfully, Daniel didn't hear that last part, too occupied by playing with Mushroom to listen.

Sean, on the other hand, was definitely more perceptive than she had originally thought he was when they first met. "Your Dad?" he guessed.

She nodded and hugged herself. "It felt good to let my anger out," she murmured, not wanting Daniel to hear. He was already worried that she was going to leave them. She didn't want him to worry about her in general on top of that.

Sean walked over to the ravioli. He finished stirring it and poured it out onto three separate plates, then spooned some out into Mushroom's bowl as well. Before they went over to the table to eat, though, Sean leaned over to her. "Did he ever...hit you?"

She was glad she was holding a plate. It kept her hands from creeping toward her face. "...Yeah."

Sean wasn't one to get angry very often. In the past two months, she'd only seen him get truly pissed off at that old guy back at the gas station. But now, his gaze seemed like someone had charged it full of black ink. "He should be glad I'm not back there."

"Sean, I appreciate the anger on my behalf, but he's a police officer. I don't need Past Sean to get in the same amount of trouble that Current Sean is in right now." She shifted her plate over to one hand so she could put her other one on Sean's shoulder. "Really, I'm okay. I'm stronger than I look, remember?"

He didn't look convinced, but he was only interrupted by the sounds of Daniel complaining about the ravioli. He gave her a playfully exasperated look and went to go sit down to eat dinner. Juli followed suit and watched the sun go down outside as she ate.

After he finished, Sean left to go look for his map. When he left, Daniel gave Juli a mischievous grin. "You wanna help me prank Sean?"

"Oh, hell yes," she said. They brainstormed their idea for a few minutes and put it into action. Juli grabbed an old bathrobe from the bathroom and went outside to position it. Daniel took over with his telekinesis and Juli quickly went back to the bed as Sean started to come outside. She made herself sound as scared as possible. "S-Sean!"

He came out with a lit candle. "What's wrong?"

Daniel pointed at the porch with his free hand. "There's someone at the door!"

Sean went to investigate. Juli covered her mouth with one hand and focused. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Sean froze. He looked scared out of his mind. "H-Hello?"

Juli held back a laugh. "I'm lost. I don't know where to go. Can you help me?"

Sean glanced back. He saw Juli with her hand over her mouth and scowled. He got closer to the door and whirled around the moment Daniel let the bathrobe fall in a fit of laughter. Juli snickered. "The look on your face, Sean!"

"Yeah, it was priceless!" Daniel cackled.

Sean glared at them for a few moments, but a smile broke through. "You guys are assholes," he said. He came over and set the candle down on the table, followed shortly after by the map. He spread it out over the table and sat down. "Alright, you two. I think...it's time for us to hit the road. Daniel, you're not getting better. We're almost out of supplies."

"No, I'm okay," Daniel insisted. He let out a short little cough that he tried to suppress with his fist. "It's just a cough."

"Yeah, a bad cough that won't go away." Sean let out a sigh. "Trust me, Daniel. You need some medicine." He pointed to a spot on the map. "Look, here."

"'Beaver Creek?'" Juli asked. "What's that?"

"It's where Karen's parents..." He shook his head and reiterated, "our grandparents live."

"So what?" Daniel asked.

"So we can go there and...they'll probably help us."

Daniel frowned. "Why do you always force us to run, Sean? What if they...don't like me?"

"They're family, right?" Sean managed a smile. "Besides, they owe us for what Karen...for what Mom did."

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked. "It would be cool to spend Christmas with our grandparents."

Sean's smile seemed to come a little easier. "Man, they're gonna love you. Grandpa's super cool and...I'm sure you guys will be best buds."

"Well..." Daniel thought about it for a moment and finally nodded. "Okay. But Mushroom and Juli have to agree on it! They're part of the team."

Mushroom whined and moved her head in a cute little circle. They took that as a yes and looked to Juli.

She crossed her arms. "Last time I visited my grandparents was at a funeral," she said, her dry humor clearly not going over well with the Diaz brothers. She moved past it and shrugged. "As long as they have food and a warm bed, I'm in. When do we leave?"

Sean spread his arms out. "Tomorrow. The sooner, the better. We have a long road ahead."

"Hmm...We should do something fun for our last night here!" Daniel exclaimed. "How about a game of dice? If I win...I get to draw on your guys' backpacks!"

"You know if I win, I'm going to draw a dick on your backpack, right?" Sean asked.

"In your dreams, chingu," Juli replied. "Game on."

They played three rounds before calling it quits. They looked through the scores and Sean let out a victorious laugh. "Look at these scores. Told you I'd win!" He looked between Juli and Daniel with a smirk. "You know what that means."

"Yeah, okay..." Daniel grumbled. Juli raised her hands in surrender and got up to grab their backpacks. She deposited them in front of Sean and sat back down. "You can draw a...dick on my bag."

"Mmmm...let me think," Sean said. He uncapped a marker and started to draw. Daniel messed with his hands in his lap as he watched his brother draw, obviously fearing the inevitable. However, his fears were never realized as Sean turned the backpack around and revealed an awesome drawing of a wolf. "Ta-dah!"

"Whoa, it's so cool, Sean!" Daniel exclaimed. "Thanks!"

"Your turn," Sean told Juli.

"If you're going to draw a penis, at least make it look realistic," Juli said. Sean stared at her for a second, obviously unable to tell if she was serious or not. He didn't say anything and started to put marker to fabric. "Now that you're not saying anything, I'm actually kind of scared."

"Shh," Sean said. Juli rolled her eyes and waited for Sean to finish. He twirled the backpack around and made a big show of displaying the realistic fox he had sketched onto the front. It didn't quite pop out because the backpack was black, but she could see it from a certain angle. "I wish it showed up more. I actually really like that."

"So do I," she said. "Thanks."

They stared at each other for a few moments. Juli was acutely aware of the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. She wondered if her sound powers only stretched to her voice, or if she could manipulate the sounds she heard. If that were the case, right now she'd be able to topple buildings.

Daniel finally interrupted them. "How about another round?"

Sean broke their staring contest first and looked out the window. "Nah, it's bedtime. Gotta get up early."

"Aww, okay," Daniel pouted. "I'm going to finish my comic book, then." He dug around in his backpack, his search only broken when he heard Mushroom scratching at the door. "She's gotta pee!"

"Okay, okay," Sean said. "I'll take her out for a walk."

Daniel scrunched his nose as Sean set the board game on the table. "You're gonna go smoke! Gross!"

"If that's the case, I'll join you," Juli said. She got up and smoothed out the seat of her pants. "Daniel, don't smoke. You still got time."

"Besides, it's our last night," Sean said. He waited for Juli to get to him before he opened the door. "We can do anything!"

"Get some rest, wolf boy," Juli called as they walked outside with Mushroom racing ahead of them. "Good night."

Daniel was already out. Juli huffed out a laugh and leaned against the door. Sean lit up a cigarette, took a drag, and handed it to her. She did the same and looked up at the sky. A thin trail of smoke left her slightly parted lips.

"Are your grandparents going to like me?" she asked.

Sean glanced at her. Something shifted in his gaze and he leaned down to grab a piece of paper that had fallen out of the bathrobe. He pulled a pen out of his pocket, put the paper against the door, and began sketching. "I'm sure they will. They're pretty nice from what I remember. As long as you don't mention Karen, you should be good."

She nodded. She took another drag from the cigarette and sighed.

Sean finished whatever he was sketching and put the paper in his pocket. "Did you mean what you said?" he asked.

"About what?"

He thought for a moment. "About...us being your family and never leaving us."

She took one last drag and handed it back to Sean. "I promise that if I ever leave you, it won't be by choice," she said. She crossed her heart with her finger. "I swear."

Sean stared at her. He held the cigarette up to his lips and walked over to her. "You swear?"

She looked up at him. She didn't usually like the smell of cigarettes; they reminded her too much of Mom. They just reminded her too much of Seattle in general. But now, with the moonlight in the distance and Sean right in front of her...she figured they weren't that bad.

"I swear," she repeated.

For a moment, she thought Sean was going to kiss her. There was a part of her that wanted him to. She wanted to know what he would taste like, which was such an oddly perverse, yet thrilling, thought. Sean didn't lean down though. He just took the cigarette out of his mouth and turned back to watch Mushroom.

She hid a disappointed sigh and watched as the pup rolled around in the snow. Maybe next time.

-

bruh i thought this was going to be a bland chapter but then this -waves hands aggressively- happened

are you guys ready to see little shroom die :')

remember to vote and comment, stay hydrated, and love yourself. take care! :)