Time seemed to freeze, for a split second, as Juno gazed up at the cold eyes that seemed to pierce through her. Her mind started spinning as she thought of ways to explain this situation. "I..." she opened her mouth trying to think of something to say.
"I didn't realize you had a hobby of eavesdropping june..." He said as the veins on his arms seemed to pop out in his rage. He looked on coldly as he stood up and approached her. "I-I... s-s" Juno stumbles on her words, fumbling back in fright, noticing him approaching her. She shifted further and further away until her back was pushed up against a wall. Thousands of excuses and apologies swirled in her mind but not a single one escaped her lips. Juno looked up at the man looking down at her as she watched his face closely.
A shadow was casted over half of his face but it couldn't hide his expression. His usually gem like eyes had become dilated; looking down at Juno with rage. Those long legs knelt down bringing his face even closer to Juno's. His eyes slowly narrowed in a cold glare as he looked Juno straight in the eye. "I have always disliked you June... But I've never been this frustrated with you..." Pierce said pressing his hand on the wall behind her. His hands balled up into a fist as he clenched it tighter and tighter. Juno looked towards the exit in panic as his arm went between her and the exit. "What am I saying I'm just frustrated in general..." He mumbled under his breath as his eyes became slightly unfocused. Juno looked towards him in suprise hearing his mumble. 'What is going on with Peirce..?' Juno thought looking at Pierce with uncertainty. With a long sigh Pierce put his arm down and sat next to Juno.
"Well what are you waiting for..? get out of here june." Pierce said looking at the scenery in a daze. 'Leave..? That easily..? No name calling or calling me a mute..? Hes not even going to tell me to forget what I heard here or question why I'm here..?' Juno thought while staring at Pierce in shock. Suddenly a game screen popped infront of Juno.
~Side quest~
Objective: Learn about Pierce's situation in greater detail. Find a way to help leviate some of his stress and anxiety.
Reward: Pierce's affection increase.
Failure: Pierce's affection towards the target will decrease.
*Accept/Reject*
'T-This again..? Why do I keep seeing things like this recently..? I really am crazy...' Juno thought with a sigh glancing between the dazed Pierce and the quest screen. 'M-Maybe I should accept this quest... No! What are you thinking Juno... We agreed we would ignore these weird pop ups... Yeah... But I've never seen Pierce like this... He's always been a cocky jerk or Mr. perfect to everyone else... Should I really ignore this..?' Juno thought in a daze while staring at Pierce. "Didn't you hear me? Get out of here you bug!" Pierce yelled at Juno snapping her out of her daze. "Ah!?" Juno yelped in shock hitting the reject button on accident. 'O-oh no...' Juno watched the screen disappear without a trace. With the screen gone she began to wonder if this was for the best. Looking at Pierce again she saw his look of annoyance that urged her to leave. 'Yeah... Like usually I'm not wanted here... or anywhere... I should just leave him alone." Juno thought while standing up and walking towards the exit. With one final look at the frustrated Pierce she left the roof for good.
'Was leaving him on his own like that really a good idea..? Maybe I should at least have tried to comfort him... what am I thinking? I can't even form a proper sentence much less comfort someone...' Juno though in a daze with her head on her desk. She couldn't shake these thoughts throughout the rest of the school day. Grace even noticed her unusual behavior and asked what was wrong. Juno avoided the conversation of course and said she was just tired. This lasted all day untill school was over and everyone was leaving.
With dragged out steps Juno began to walk back home. Like usually no one picked her up and she was one of the last people to leave the school. Today she left earlier then usually, the thing with Pierce still fresh on her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about the quest screen that popped up earlier and how the time limit for that trial quest was about to expire. After a long walk back she finally made it back to her house. She stared at the door for a few seconds not expecting anything. After a few seconds of nothing she looked at the quest screen that had been in her peripherals since she left the nurses office. The timer told her she had 15 seconds left before the quest was considered a failure. Juno looked on intently at this floating screen, she still considered a hallucination.
'What am I doing..? Nothing is going to happen even after I see that timer hit 0... Everything will be the same as any other day. Why am I staring at this hallucination with such attention..?' Juno thought, her mind completely focused on the screen that's timer had dropped to 0. A few seconds passed with nothing happening. 'Ha... See nothing happened Juno... What did you expect? You're just going crazy.' Juno though looking down at the door in self-deprecation.
*Ring, Ring, Ring* Junos phone suddenly began to ring loudly in her pocket. The number was Grace's. Junos eyes dilated in shock seeing the caller ID. With slightly trembling hands she answered the phone.
"Grace..?" Juno said quietly.
"Juno..? I um... I didn't know who to call right now... I feel uneasy..." Grace said quietly.
"What is it Grace? where are you? Do I need to go to you now?" Juno said in alarm.
"No no. I'm in my room right now I just feel like I saw someone outside my window... It scared me but I don't see anyone right now... I guess I just wanted to talk to someone and my parents are out right now so I guess I'm just jumpy right now... Sorry Juno." Grace said looking out her window.
"Its no problem Grace. You're my best friend I am always here if you need me. Are you sure you don't want me to come over?" Juno said with concerns.
"Yeah I am oka- AHHHH" Grace said before Juno heard a loud scream and crash to the ground. "G-Get off of me! Let me go!!!" Grace screamed loudly the phone sounding inches away.
"Grace... hahaha... HAHAHAHA. I love you so much Grace." Juno could hear a mans slightly husky voice through the phone.
"GRACE!? OH MY GOD GRACE!!!" Juno screamed hearing the mans voice through the phone. 'What do I do!? What can I do!? This can't be happening!!!" Juno thought as tears streamed down her face. Her hand holding the phone trembled hearing this situation. "Leave Grace alone!!!" Juno screamed loudly shaking like a leaf. There was no response from the other side of the phone insinuating that she wasn't on speaker.
"I have been wait for this day forever..." The mans said in a low voice seeming to whisper slightly.
"Let me go!!!" Grace screamed as Juno listened to the struggle. Juno ran in the house and grabbed a phone in a drawer next to her bed. With trembling hands she put a number in. After a few seconds someone picked up.
"Juno? what's wrong? you never call me." A man said from the other end of the phone.
"Mr. William's please go home right now! I'm on call with Grace right now and someone broke into the house!" Juno said in a fluster without taking a breath. "What!? I am just down the street I'm going right now!" Grace's dad said hanging up the phone.
"Don't touch me!" Juno heard Grace scream along with a loud crashing sound.
"GRACE!?" Juno screamed in worry. She quickly called the police keeping her phone close by.
"Grace!?" A muffled voice was heard through the phone appearing to be coming from downstairs.
"Shit..." The man on the other end of the phone mumbled.
"DAD!" Grace screamed loudly as she continued to struggle. The sounds of struggling got louder and louder untill it just stopped. The silence was eerie it lasted for a few seconds before a loud bang was heard. Someone was banging on the door screaming Grace's name.
"Grace are you in there!? are you okay!?" Grace's dad yelled through the door. With a loud sound the door opened. Grace was on the floor unconscious alone. The messy room from the obvious struggle and a single window was the only evidence that anyone was there. The police arrived soon after that but they were unfortunately unable to find the culprit. Juno sat near the phone for several minutes in a daze even after the call ended.