Remy's POV:

I had been pushed, face-first into the podium, letting out a cry of shock and sudden pain. 

"Ow! Hey!" I cried, reaching up to touch my cheek. A thin sliver-wound was cut across my face, not very big but already dripping some blood. 

Blinking away the dust, I looked around for who had shoved me, still on my hands and knees. 

Patton was behind me, wide-eyed and scared. Lia, Emile and Logan were there too, each with a matching, confused expression. Virgil ran over, with Roman not far behind him. 

I took a step forward and winced, feeling pain shoot through my foot. 

Oh god, is it twisted? Please, don't let it be twisted...

But when I bent down and looked at my shoe, I noticed a piece of shattered glass embedded in my shoe, going straight through the thick materiel and cutting my foot. Gritting my teeth, I reached down and pulled it out, making a pained hiss. 

"Are you alright?" Patton asked immediately, sitting down next to me. He saw the piece of glass and gasped. It shimmered dully, scarlet blood spattered across its surface. "Oh, no..."

"What happened?" Virgil panted, finally reaching us. "Is everything okay?" Without speaking, I held up the glass and he cringed, pressing his lips together. 

Sighing, I stood back up, careful not to put weight on that foot. "But who shoved me?" I asked. 

"Me," said a calm, smiling voice. "Sorry, but I kind of saved you from more of that."

I blinked, looking around. 

A young woman came out of the shadows, smiling quietly. Her expression was as unbothered as before, her eyes sharp and calculating but somehow disarming. A purple scarf was wrapped around her dark, fluffy hair that fell in wirey curls around her shoulders. She winked. "See that?"

Nonplussed, I looked down and suddenly took a step back. 

A shattered vase was on the floor, clear glass and water spilled everywhere. Jagged pieces were scattered in the pool, glinting dangerously. 

I glanced back at the girl, who was standing with her arms crossed and a smug look. "Daryn!" I said, finally recognizing her. "Why are you here?"

She tossed the loose end of her scarf around her shoulder. "That's quite rude. I was just trying to save you from more pain. I'm nice like that." Now fussing over pinning her scarf with a pretty, gold star-shaped pin, she didn't seem to be interested in answering more. 

"Daryn?" Emile echoed, glancing between me and her. "Who...?"

I nodded, still slightly dizzy from the violent encounter with the podium. "Remember, Andy's sister? But Daryn, why-- why would you come here?"

Daryn shrugged. "Oh, I was out on a walk. I--"

Roman cut in. "Tell the truth," he said, instantly seeming suspicious. "I haven't seen you before, I don't know who you are."

She stared at him, not looking the least bit concerned. "I know. I don't know you, either. For all I know, you could be one of Andy's... collaborators. I'm certainly not, but I don't know anything about you."

Growling, Roman took a step toward her. She smirked, raising one eyebrow, and he glared at her. "I would never," he replied, apparently trying to keep his tone even. "I would never." 

I was about to get between them, but Virgil got there first. 

"Come on, let's stop fighting," he interrupted. He walked right between Roman and Daryn, glancing pointedly at both of them with his arms crossed. 

"Now," he hissed when neither of them relaxed their stares at each other, his voice low and growling. 

Roman stepped back first, still shooting suspicious glances at Daryn. "I don't trust her," he muttered, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He flared, offended, but she just laughed. 

Virgil sighed, looking up at his boyfriend. "You don't have to," he murmured. "Just trust me, okay?"

Daryn hummed tunelessly, finally giving up on pinning her scarf. It fluttered down, framing her dark face with purple and violet hues. 

"So, Remy," she said pleasantly, as if there had been no interruption. "In response to your question, I had been taking a walk, and I saw you. So I decided to see what you were up to with such a large group of friends."

Rainbow gasped, lighting up so much she seemed to cast a glow around the room. "Did you hear that?" she loudly whispered to Lia. "She called us friends! Isn't that amazing?!"

Lia rolled her eyes, patting Rainbow on the arm. "Yes, darling."

"So..." I cleared my throat, looking at Lia and Rainbow and then back at Daryn. "Why did you tail us? Why not just come up to us and say hello?"

She thought about that for a moment. "Because you'd get suspicious, that's why. Plus, he looks kinda mean. I don't want to talk to him." She sent a look at Roman, and my friend huffed in indignation. 

"I don't look mean!" he objected, scrunching his nose at Daryn. 

"Well-- you sure weren't nice to me," she pointed out. 

Roman opened and closed his mouth, but nothing came out. Eventually, he just crossed his arms, looking slightly hurt.

Daryn paused, then turned back to me. "Did I hurt his feelings?" she whispered in a quiet voice. Her eyes, shades and layers of green and bronze and silver, were wide and concerned. "I really didn't mean to."

"I think so," I admitted. "But it's fine."

"I can speak for myself," Roman huffed. "And... sorry." He shot a glance at Daryn, seeming regretful and offended all at once, somehow. 

She was quiet, blinking as if startled. "Hm," she finally murmured, smiling hesitantly. "There's... something I don't hear often. Thanks."

Feeling a black fog settle into my gut, I glanced back at Daryn. She began to fidget nervously with her scarf again, as she did a lot, and I started to remember all the times she had done it when Andy got angry at her. Memories, awful memories started to trickle into my mind, and I shoved them away. 

Not now, I promised myself, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. I don't need to think about that now. 

I took several more deep breaths, and slowly, slowly came back to where I was. I smiled weakly back at Daryn and turned to face the podium, brushing my hand against the cool, glossy surface.

"Are you alright?" Emile asked, gently touching a hand to my back. 

Turning to look at him, I nodded quietly. "Yeah, just... shaken. Sorry."

He shook his head. "No, it's fine. It's just a lot to think about at once, isn't it?" He grinned nervously at me, his apple-green eyes kind and concerned. 

"Y... yeah." I blinked again, trying to shake the last of the thoughts out of my head. I looked back at Emile, not being able to hold back an affectionate smile. "It really is."

Daryn smirked, pulling on a curl of her black-brown hair. "Well, as sweet as this all is, I'm afraid I have places to be." She clapped her hands together, sidling toward the open window. 

"Oh, okay. B--" I stopped. "Wait, you're going to climb out through the window?"

She paused with her hands on the sill, ready to hop over. "Yeah. I don't have a keycard or a lockpick, so any better ideas, Mr. Lightbulb?"

Patton glanced at me and then at Daryn. "We're on the second story," he pointed out, looking down at the drop and shuddering slightly. "You might break something!" He glanced down again and he grabbed for the windowsill, steadying himself. 

Daryn laughed. "Nice of you to worry, but I'll be fine. How do you think I got in?" 

I stepped toward the window, feeling the rush of nausea climb through my throat and ooze into my mouth as I gazed at the drop.

We were... high up. Higher up than I enjoyed, though I couldn't exactly do anything about it. "Are you going to jump?" I asked in a small voice. 

"...yes..." she answered, raising an eyebrow. "And?"

Logan, too, came over to the window. "It is rather dangerous," he commented. "You would be quite liable to injure yourself."

She hopped onto the sill, so she was framed in the night sky. Her face was painted with shadows, her eyes shimmering brightly, the faded foam-green glinting in the darkness. Her gauzy scarf fluttered in the breeze, her hair blowing softly around her dark face. 

"Fuck your statistics," she said passionately, her voice confident and her fierce eyes narrowed dangerously. 

And then she did a tiny salute, smirking, and let herself fall backwards out into the night. 

I shrieked and ran to the window, but had to quickly back away as I felt pained fear freeze my mind. I could still see her from where I was standing, though. 

The ground rushed up behind her, and her back was facing the pavement, and she wasn't going to be able to do anything and I was going to watch someone die--

Suddenly, she turned in the air, flipping herself over with practiced ease and twisting so she was falling feet-first, her hands up and out as if she was feeling the cool breeze, her hair and scarf blowing out behind her. 

Her head was tilted in a calculating, unworried manner, looking like she was reading every possible future and they all said she survived. 

Swiftly, she flung out an arm towards the large oak tree, reaching for a tree branch. Her hands wrapped easily around the wood and she quickly swung forward, releasing the branch and landing on the dew-wet grass with a smug, self-satisfied grin. 

She dusted off her pants and readjusted her scarf, disinterested and decidedly not covered in blood or smashed onto the sidewalk. 

She was fine. 

Just like that. 

"...wow," Emile murmured. "Just..."

Patton nodded in agreement, his grip around the windowsill tightening. "Yeah."

Virgil was shaking, his eyes wide and shocked. He pressed a hand to his head, breathless, and slid to the ground. 

"See ya!" she called, then turned and walked away. 

The realization of what had just happened melted over me, my breath heavy and my body shaking. 

"Oh my god," I mumbled, a little weak from relief and dizzy from my fear of heights. "Oh my god. Fuck." I felt myself trembling but couldn't do anything about it, my mind still fogged up with terror and anxiety and relief and whatever else I was feeling, who knew. 

Logan now also seemed slightly offended. "Statistics are important," he muttered. "They are helpful in plenty of scenarios."

"Aw, Lo," Patton giggled. "It's fine."

"Daryn likes to poke people," I explained. "It's fine. She's done that to me, too, but I've learned to live with it."

Virgil glanced at me. "Do you... know Daryn well?" he asked. 

I nodded. "Um. Yes? You know that she's Andy's sister. I... saw her sometimes around Andy's apartment." I shrugged, but my voice shook slightly on the last word as I started to remember what I didn't want to. 

Lia sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Well can you please tell her to not jump out of any more windows? We need her as a witness for the trial and not injured."

Rainbow elbowed Lia. "And because we are also very interested in everyone's well-being," she added. "Of course."

Footsteps came behind us, and I turned around to see Roman looking around, confused. "Sorry, I was in the bathroom. Um... I get the feeling something just happened here," he mused. "And where's purple-scarf-girl?"

"Daryn," Logan corrected. "And she just jumped out of the window."

"What?!" Roman cried, running over to the window. "Wait. Where's she now? Why isn't she all..." he spread his hands to wave around helplessly. "...splattered?" he finished. "How the fuck? Where the fuck?!"

He glanced nervously at me, and then back out at the drop. 

Patton nudged Logan. "You can't just say that without any context! She's fine," he informed Roman. "She jumped from here to the tree and then swung to the ground. And now she's going back home, I think."

"Oh, okay," Roman mumbled. "I see now. This is a dream where someone insults me and then jumps from a window, isn't it?" He laughed nervously, squeezing his eyes shut. "Fuck."

I rolled my eyes. "No, don't worry. This isn't a dream. Anyway, I think we'd better go back to the hotel. It's late, and I'm exhausted, and a little bit terrified."

As we left the courthouse, even the air seemed to be heavier.