Romeo woke up in the morning, thanks to a wake up nudge from Jesse, and it seemed as if no time had passed since he had shut his eyes. Jesse was already awake and wearing her outfit for the day. She wore cornflower blue overalls, a yellow hairclip, dusty red lipstick, a white short-sleeved shirt with red sleeves, and brown loafers. Jesse was sitting on top of her bed cross-legged. "You ready to go?" Jesse asked him.
"Let me get dressed first," Romeo mumbled. He wearily got up from his bed.
"I think you should get changed in the bathroom... so I don't have to close my eyes. Meet me in the lobby," Jesse suggested. Romeo nodded and walked to the closest bathroom. He changed into his gray v neck t-shirt, blue jeans, and red converse. He exited the bathroom and strolled to the lobby, where Jesse was confronted by none other than the Blaze Rods.
"I told you this wasn't over," Aiden sneered. Jesse unsheathed her diamond sword, but Aiden immediately disarmed her.
"Stop!" Romeo shouted. Aiden's attention was now on Romeo. "I'm the one you want. It's going to be a lot harder for you to hurt Jesse if she's got someone with powers protecting her," Romeo told him. Aiden's mouth twisted into a terrible, malicious grin.
"Thank you for telling me that," Aiden said coldly. He threw his iron axe at Romeo, but Jesse jumped in the way. Her body fell to the ground. Jesse's chest began to ooze with blood in the exact spot where her heart resided. Romeo's eyes widened. He rushed to her side and began to shake her body back and forth.
"No no no no no no no," Romeo panicked. Jesse seemed to be getting weaker by the second. "Why did you do that?" Romeo questioned. Jesse took a desperate gasp for air. Her expression was dismal, as if she knew she was at death's door.
"I couldn't just let you die," Jesse replied. Jesse gasped for breath again. "Make sure that Axel, Olivia, Petra, Lukas, and Radar know that they're the best friends anyone could ever have. Tell all of them goodbye, okay?" Jesse continued. Tears rolled down her face.
"Jesse, I couldn't save you. I'm so sorry," Romeo apologized. Jesse shook her head.
"No one can save everyone. I learned that a long time ago," Jesse answered. She managed the best smile she could. "Hey... on the bright side I'll get to see Reuben again," Jesse stated. Romeo began to cry silent tears.
"Yeah. You will," Romeo agreed. Jesse's body vanished, and all that was left was her inventory... a cookie and her keyring.
Romeo let out a cry of despair and jolted up in his bed. Suddenly Jesse's eyes shot open. She let out a startled yelp, then she fell out of her bed and onto the floor.
"Ow. Pain everywhere," Jesse groaned. With support from her own hand, she managed to stand up. Romeo ran towards Jesse and nearly tackled her with a tight hug. After he hugged Jesse for ten seconds, he broke away.
"Jesse, you're alive!" Romeo exclaimed. Jesse's expression was one of complete and utter confusion.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Jesse questioned. Realization crossed her face. "Oh. You had a nightmare, right?" Jesse comforted.
"I did. You died to save me," Romeo told her. Jesse gently hugged him for five seconds. She then smiled at him warmly.
"We should wear armor to Redstonia to make sure that doesn't happen," Jesse said. Romeo beamed at her.
"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Romeo agreed. Jesse let out one of her clear, light, and warm laughs.
"How about we get some sleep first?" Jesse replied. Just the thought of falling asleep again made Romeo nervous. The last thing he wanted was another nightmare. But he did need to sleep, so he didn't have any choice but to climb back into his bed and lie down.
"You feeling sort of better now?" Jesse responded. Romeo smiled at her.
"Yeah, I'm feeling better," Romeo said. Jesse shut her eyes and Romeo did the same, and soon both of them were asleep.
The next morning, Romeo awakened from his slumber. He sat up, stretched his arms, and climbed out of his bed. Jesse was already awake, sitting on the floor, and reading Lukas' book. She had also already changed out of her pajamas and was now wearing cornflower blue overalls, a yellow hairclip, dusty red lipstick, a white short-sleeved shirt with red sleeves, and brown loafers. Romeo waved at her. "Good morning! How long have you been up?" Romeo said. Jesse craned her neck to make eye contact with him and smiled.
"Good morning, Romeo. I've been awake for about fifteen minutes," Jesse told him.
"So I can get ready for the day, then we can choose some armor and go?" Romeo asked. Jesse tilted her head, as if she was considering it, then her head returned to its normal position.
"Sure, but I'm coming with you. I don't want you getting into any trouble," Jesse half joked. Romeo grinned at her playfully.
"Trouble? Me? Never!" Romeo said innocently. Jesse laughed and seized Romeo's arm briskly, but it didn't cause any pain. She ran to the nearest bathroom and gently dragged Romeo with her. "Okay, so I'll get ready for the day in here," Romeo stated. Jesse smiled at him.
"Yep. There's an unused toothbrush, a hairbrush, and toothpaste in there. I'll be right outside the door if you need me," Jesse replied. She left the bathroom and closed the bathroom door. Romeo changed into his outfit for the day: a gray v neck t-shirt, blue jeans, and red converse... and realized he was back to his regular height. He stared at the bathroom counter, which was made of quartz, had a sink installed in it, and a mirror above it. Laying on the counter was a tube of toothpaste, a white brush, and a light blue brush. The white brush was smaller with bristles that were closer together. The light blue brush was larger and had bristles that Romeo knew to be plastic. The plastic bristles were spaced farther apart than the bristles on the white brush.
"Which one's the toothbrush and which one's the hairbrush? My personal hygiene never declined when I was an Admin," Romeo thought nervously. His hand darted from brush to brush. "The tiny one's the hairbrush, right?" Romeo picked up the white brush. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw that his bright red hair was a tangled mess. He began to brush through it with the tiny white brush in his hand. After brushing his hair for five minutes, Romeo squinted at his reflection... the hairbrush didn't seem to be working well. His hair was no less wild than it was when he'd started brushing it. He let out a defeated sigh and threw the tiny white brush onto the counter in annoyance. Romeo picked up the light blue brush and the tube of toothpaste. He unscrewed the tube's cap and squeezed toothpaste onto the light blue brush. Romeo then twisted the cap back onto the tube of toothpaste and placed the tube on the counter. He glanced at the light blue brush. "This toothbrush is huge," Romeo commented. He tried to brush his teeth with it, but this attempt was ultimately unsuccessful. Romeo groaned in frustration and tossed the light blue brush onto the counter. He glared at the two brushes and his nostrils flared. Never had he been so angry at two inanimate objects. Romeo exited the bathroom and made eye contact with Jesse. "Your toothbrush and hairbrush are impossible to use," Romeo complained. Jesse raised an eyebrow.
"How so?" Jesse questioned.
"The toothbrush isn't small enough to get to my teeth, and the bristles on the hairbrush are too close together to be effective in untangling my hair," Romeo explained. Jesse burst into laughter.
"Oh my Notch. Did you put toothpaste on my hairbrush?" Jesse giggled. Romeo was offended by the fact that she'd even think he would do such a thing.
"No, I-" Romeo protested. A look of realization crossed his face. "Oh."
"The small one that had bristles with hardly any room between them is a toothbrush. The big one with more space in between the bristles is a hairbrush," Jesse told him, moving her hands to the left and then to the right. Her tone was akin to the tone of someone explaining rocket science to a small child. Jesse sighed and wrapped her hand around Romeo's wrist. She gently dragged him back into the bathroom and then let go. She picked up the tiny white brush- the toothbrush- and gave it to him. "Here. Put some toothpaste on the toothbrush. Lay the toothpaste on the counter, then move the toothbrush in a circular motion on the fronts, backs, and tops of all of your teeth," Jesse instructed. Romeo did as she said. He then rinsed the toothbrush in the sink and placed the toothbrush on the counter. Jesse turned on the sink and began to wash the toothpaste out of the hairbrush. "You remember how to brush your hair, right?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, I do," Romeo answered. Jesse picked up the light blue hairbrush and opened the bathroom door.
"Okay. I'll be right back," Jesse told him. She exited the bathroom, came back with a cushioned black bar stool, and pushed it close to the counter.
"What's that for?" Romeo questioned. He gestured to the bar stool and Jesse smiled knowingly.
"Sit down, close your eyes, and you'll see," Jesse responded. Romeo sat in the bar stool, which was very comfy. He closed his eyes... but not without a slight bit of worry that Jesse might draw on his face while he wasn't looking and giggle like a lunatic. Romeo felt a hairbrush sweep through his hair for about six minutes. Next he felt Jesse's hands running through his hair and working some sort of oil into it. His hair was then washed with warm water and dried with what felt like a blow dryer for a couple of minutes. "Okay, open your eyes!" Jesse told him. Romeo opened his eyes and saw that his hair was shiny and very well groomed. "I did this because the people at Redstonia will assume you're a homeless ruffian if you're not perfectly groomed," Jesse explained. Romeo ran his fingers through his hair... it was incredibly soft.
"Okay, now we just need to put on some armor and then we can leave," Jesse stated. The two of them exited Jesse's home and walked to the New Order Hall.