Chapter Text
๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ ,๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ
song of the chapter: primadonna by marina
"i know i've got a big ego. i really don't know why it's such a big deal, though."
๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ
,๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ
ย ย ย I sat in the old coat closet, the only place I could go without cameras, which included my bedroom. I'd discovered the place a year ago.
ย ย ย I smoked a cigarette, sharing it with Kenji. While he was five years my senior, he was one of my only friends. Him, Adam, and my brother.
ย ย ย I wasn't supposed to have cigarettes, but then again there were many things I wasn't supposed to have that I did.
ย ย ย Books, for example. We were supposed to be destroying them, but after begging and nagging at my brother for weeks, he gave in and let me have some.
"Where did you even get these?" Kenji asked me, furrowing his eyebrows.
"My father has a stash of this kind of stuff," I explained. "I stumbled upon it last year." He chuckled.
"I shouldn't be encouraging this," he scoffed. "How old are you again, princess? Twelve?"
"I'm fifteen years old," I answered, offended. "And don't call me princess."
"You're the daughter of the supreme commander, you're a spoiled brat, and your name is Aurora," he sneered. I rolled my eyes.
"What does my name have to do anything?" I demanded, tapping my thumb and index finger together.
"Aurora," he pointed out, staring at me with a blank look on his face. "Like the Disney princess. We've been over this."
"I still don't know what a Disney princess is," I mumbled, frowning.
"Are you serious?" he challenged, his jaw dropping. "You've never seen a Disney movie?"
"I've never been allowed to watch movies," I shrugged. He stared at me, his eyes wide.
"What?" he shot. "Of all the fucked-up things you've told me about your childhood, that's the worst."
"Really?" I questioned, my eyebrows pulling together. "I think I've told you worse."
"It's called a joke," he snickered. I rolled my green eyes, shrugging.
"Kent is back," I recalled. "With a girl. My brother is practically obsessed with her."
"Yeah, I'm figuring the situation out," he observed.
ย ย ย I immediately knew what he meant. I was training to be a nurse, and a year back, Kenji had been in the medical ward. I was focusing on his wound, and it just healed. Miraculously.
ย ย ย He studied me for a few months before informing me of his cause. He had to make sure he trusted me first. I understood. I hadn't tried to heal anything since.
ย ย Adam and I became friends after he'd been assigned to keep me out of trouble. We'd connected instantly.
"He's having her for dinner tonight," Kenji mused. My face fell.
"Dinner!" I realized, putting the cigarette out. "I'm late."
ย ย ย I rushed out of the closet and passed by a mirror, making sure my dress was adjusted and fixing my hair. I ran down the hallway to the dining room.
ย ย ย I saw my brother raise his eyebrows as I flew in. I noticed a dainty girl sitting next to him. She was gorgeous.
ย ย ย Her hair was dark, and her eyes were bright blueish green. She was fiddling with her hands, not making eye contact with anybody.
ย ย ย I nodded at her as I sat down next to Adam, who was across from her. Adam shot me a side glance of exasperation, and I returned it by rolling my eyes at him.
"I apologize, I lost track of time," I apologized.
"You're always late, I've come to expect it," Aaron said indifferently. He eyed the girl, who wasn't eating a thing. "Juliette? Are you not hungry?"
"No, thank you," she jabbed, sternly.
"Don't confuse stupidity for bravery, love," he smiled. "I know you haven't eaten in days."
"I'd really rather die than eat your food and listen to you call me love," she retorted, baring her teeth.
ย ย ย Adam dropped his fork, and I widened my eyes, gazing to my brother for a reaction. He drew a gun out of his jacket pocket and fired it.
ย ย ย I flinched, along with everyone else in the room. He had shot a platter of food across the room without a glance in that direction.
"Choose your words very, very wisely, Juliette," he warned her, his jaw clenching. "One word from me, and your life here won't be so easy."
"You're being quite dramatic," I informed him. He shot me a glance, and Juliette looked at me for the first time. "I apologize for my brother's behavior. He tends to overreact."
ย ย ย Aaron and I hadn't gotten along very well in the last three years. We'd been under a ton of stress, so we mostly fought.
ย ย We were very close before we had moved into the compound, but we rarely spoke a civil word to each other anymore.
ย ย Juliette stared at me, as if she didn't know what to do or say. I felt a need to protect her, though she must've been a year older than me.
ย ย Adam pushed a plate of food in front of her, and she picked up her fork, beginning to eat. Aaron glimpsed at them, calculating every detail.
"Do I have to get Kent to do all my work for me?" he wondered, obviously frustrated.
"Excuse me?" she questioned, her head jerking up.
"It seems he's the only one you'll listen to," he sighed. "I'm surprised you didn't tell her to change her clothes like I asked you to." I almost laughed. His obsession with clothes always befuddled me.
"I did, sir," Adam promised.
"I like my clothes," she said defiantly.
"No one asked what you like, love," Aaron smiled. "Now, eat. I need you to look your best when you stand beside me."
ย ย ย I figured he was being unnecessarily cruel to her, and I almost didn't recognize this version of him. I fixated my glance at him, trying to understand what was going on inside his head.
๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ ,๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ
"I believe he is being ridiculous," I informed Adam as we paced along the hallways later that night.
"You can't say things like that, kid," he scoffed, shaking his head. "Especially not to me."
ย ย ย We both stopped in our tracks when we heard yelling and commotion. We exchanged a glance before rushing into the next hallway. Juliette was running, but soldiers were lining up and cornering her.
"Seize her," Aaron decided. A soldier stepped forward. Juliette was on the ground, sobbing her eyes out.
"Don't," she begged, trembling. "Please, you don't want to touch me."
"I never said I did," the soldier sighed.
"That was a direct order, soldier," Aaron cautioned.
ย ย ย The soldier clutched onto her arm. As soon as their skin touched, the man went limp, screaming in pain. My eyes widened as I realized what was going on.
ย ย ย I observed my brother, whose expression was impossible to read. She finally fell to her back and kicked his chest.
ย ย ย He collapsed onto the ground. She sobbed, pacing backwards as people desperately moved away from her.
ย ย ย I began tapping my fingers again to keep myself calm. The noise was way too much for me, and I needed to distract myself.
"Somebody help him!" she screamed, her eyes wide and tear filled. "Somebody help him! He needs a doctor!"
"Julietteโ" my brother began, rushing over to her.
"Don't touch me!" she shrilled, her voice breaking. "Don't you dare touch me!" Aaron had gloves on, so he wiped her tears away.
"Juliette, you need to calm down," he instructed.
"Help him!" she cried, falling to her knees.
"Kent, Curtis, take care of this!" he ordered, picking her up.
ย ย ย ย She fainted in his arms as he headed towards the elevator. I bolted after him, jumping in just in time, startling the boy.
"God, Rory, you weren't supposed to see that," he informed me, speaking softly.
"You made a complete spectacle," I said indignantly. "Of course, I saw it."
"Why do you smell like cigarettes?" he accused, frowning. "Where did you get cigarettes?"
"Father had a stash in the closet with all the alcohol," I confessed, fiddling with the sleeve of my dress.
"Have you been drinking too?" he interrogated.
"No, he would murder me if I stole any," I pointed out. "He won't notice a cigarette."
"You didn't eat tonight," he observed, glancing over at me.
"Yes, I wasn't hungry," I deflected with a shrug.
ย ย ย Cigarettes tended to take away my appetite, but I didn't mind. I was surprised he even noticed. He'd been too distracted to pay any attention to me lately.
"You're never hungry," he pointed out, sighing.
"Don't get all overprotective on me," I warned, rolling my eyes.
ย ย ย The elevator opened, and we exited into his room. His room was a bit less lavish than mine, but that was because I appreciated fancy things. His room was big, but simple.
ย ย ย Juliette had begun trembling in her sleep, a layer of sweat forming on the forehead. I went to her side.
"She's shaking and sweating," I listed to my brother. "Those are typical prodromes of a fever."
"Will you handle it?" he questioned.
"Yes, I will look after her," I promised. "That was insane. It was like . . . it was like Mom, but opposite." His face grew dark and stern.
"I'm going to shower," he decided. "Watch after her, and don't touch her without gloves."
"May I sleep in your office?" I asked. "On the couch?" He sighed, turning to me as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Why?" he demanded, obviously irritated.
"Nightmares," I admitted, my face flushing a bit as I peering down at my lap. He pursed his lips and nodded.
"Fine," he agreed. "Just keep an eye on her."
๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ ,๏ฝก๏ฝฅ:*:๏ฝฅ๏พโ
ย ย ย I studied Juliette's face as she slept. I took the hot towel from the nightstand and placed it on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered opened.
"Juliette," I greeted her.
"What's going on?" she grumbled, sitting up and scanning the room, her eyes wide. "Where am I?"
"You have a fever," I recounted, stroking her hair with a gloved hand. "I'm a nurse."
"How old are you?" she demanded, her eyebrows raising.
"Okay, technically I'm training to be a nurse," I corrected, rolling my green eyes. "I'm fifteen, but I will be turning sixteen soon."
"Stop bothering her and leave us," Aaron called out to me. I ignored him.
"You're quite pretty," I complimented, though I kept my expression and voice neutral. She stared at me like I'd grown an extra head. "I'm serious. You're gorgeous. I love your eyes."
"Thank you," she said quietly, blushing.
"Leave us," Aaron repeated, his face firm.
ย ย ย I sneered at him, getting up and leaving the room. I almost ran right into Adam, who was standing outside the door.
"Watch where you're going, Kent," I cautioned.
"Is she okay?" he asked me desperately. I raised my eyebrows, wondering why he cared so much.
"Yes, she is fine," I mumbled. "Just a fever. Oh, and almost killing someone."
ย ย ย He shot me a glance, but I ignored it. I hadn't been making a joke, I was just stating a fact.