Ghost of Her Past [Rewrite]

Chapter 10- Legends

       When Jesse awoke, she wanted nothing else than to roll over on her side, stuff her face into the pillow and fall back asleep. She was bathed in warmth under the covers, her cheeks a little rosie. The cushions were just so comfortable, it felt like she was sleeping on a cloud. Did she really have to wake up?

       "Hey, sleepyhead..."

       She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she heard a familiar voice calling her. One that shouldn't even be there. Its owner left Beacontown to go on her own journey months ago. Thinking she must've fantasized it, Jesse rolled over again, and tried to fall back asleep.

       "Come on, Jesse," The voice whined, and Jesse felt a hand on her shoulder. "You can't stay in bed all day."

       "Can and will," Jesse murmured, still in a daze. She didn't care who the voice belonged to, she just wanted it to go away. Except... it really did sound familiar.

      "Look if you don't get up soon, I'm going to have to force you one way or another."

       Grumbling, Jesse finally pried her eyes open. Her vision was still a little fuzzy, but she could see the colours of blue and red blurring together. After blinking a few times, everything became clearer and Jesse's face immediately burst with happiness.

       "Petra!"

      Petra was unprepared for the crushing avalanche as Jesse plunged into her for a hug. She stumbled back, planting a foot behind to stop herself from tumbling to the ground. Laughing, the red head wrapped her arms around the small girl, embracing the warm hug.

       "H-how-? Wh-what- what are you doing here?!" Jesse stammered as they broke apart. "I thought you were miles away?"

       "I was," Petra admitted. "But I noticed the storm clouds above Beacontown. I thought you might've been in trouble."

       "That was your first thought?" Jesse raised an eyebrow.

       Petra shrugged. "Call it a hunch."

       Jesse sighed defeatedly, but placed a gentle hand on Petra's shoulder and smiled. "I'm glad you're here. I... I missed you."

       Petra smirked. "Awe, I missed you too, you big sap." She playfully bumped Jesse's shoulder with her fist. She tightened the blue bandana she always wore around her head; her hair had gotten noticeably shorter since Jesse had last seen her. It was cut to her jawline now. She had changed her outfit too, wearing a blue vest rimmed with gold that fell below her waist, and a blue and grey striped shirt that exposed her stomach with shorts for bottoms. On her bicep she wore her black armband that she's always had, and her fingerless gloves.

       "It's nice to see you haven't changed a bit," Petra smirked.

       "I could say the same thing about you."

       Petra and Jesse swiveled their heads towards the staircase, where a tuft of blond hair was peeking out from around the corner. Lukas beamed at them, rushing over to join the two girls in the group huddle. After hugging Petra, the three stepped back, taking each other in. Jesse felt her heart about to burst with happiness; seeing even just the three of them together made it feel like old times again.

       Old times. Funny... at her age she shouldn't even be saying things like that.

       "Soo..." Petra broke the silence with a small cough. "What's going on? What's with the weather?"

       Lukas rubbed the back of his neck, bewildered. "This is the first time we've seen each other in months, and you want to talk about the weather?"