Lukas was in love with Jesse? The confession jolted Romeo into a state of shock. He now knew exactly what was going on, but Jesse still seemed to be missing the point. She didn't look taken aback at all and beamed at Lukas.
"I already know that, Lukas. You're an awesome friend too," Jesse complimented. Petra, Olivia, Axel, and Romeo suppressed a laugh. "What's so funny?" Jesse asked, still genuinely confused.
"Jesse, he likes you," Olivia explained. Jesse looked even more baffled as she nodded.
"Yeah, and I know that. He likes me a lot and we get along really well. Why do you guys keep on telling me things I already know?" Jesse questioned. Olivia looked absolutely exasperated.
"Jesse, not long after you accepted me that night in the treehouse when no one else would... I fell in love. You're a sweet, beautiful, determined, brave, and intelligent young woman and I wouldn't change a thing about you. I tried to confess my romantic feelings four days ago and you didn't seem to get it... but it wasn't you anyway-- so, uh... Yeah," Lukas admitted. Jesse and Romeo's cheeks went red. Romeo was feeling highly embarrassed because Lukas had confessed his love to Romeo-as-Jesse, and not Jesse like Lukas had intended to. As he recalled the memory, Romeo felt highly uncomfortable.
"Wait... you thought Romeo actually was Jesse while he was impersonating Jesse and said 'Hey, I have a crush on you'?" Petra questioned. Her imitation of Lukas was monotonous and flat.
"Petra, I don't sound like that," Lukas sighed. Petra smiled slyly and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you're right. You sound like this: 'Good golly gosh, Jesse! I have a crush on ya!'" Petra mimicked, this time making Lukas sound like a children's cartoon character with a high pitched voice. Lukas looked highly annoyed.
"Can Romeo just tell you what I really sounded like?" Lukas groaned. Petra nodded and Romeo shifted uncomfortably.
"I mean... I guess I can tell everyone what happened that day. To be honest, I'll probably never forget anything from my time impersonating Jesse," Romeo answered.
And so Romeo began to tell the story of what had happened...
Lukas walked up to Romeo- who was disguised as Jesse, blushing profusely. "Jesse, I know this might freak you out... but I have romantic feelings for you," Lukas confessed.
And freak Romeo out it did. He struggled to not throw up. Lukas must have noticed how nauseated Romeo looked, because he asked: "Jesse? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Romeo managed to say, albeit shakily. It was one of the few lies he'd told well. Romeo was filled with equal parts guilt and disgust. Disgusted with himself for stealing an innocent young woman's identity- an innocent young woman's life- just to get all of the love she had. It was wrong of him, a sick and twisted way to get what he so desperately needed... a friend. Any friend. Because truth be told, Romeo was lonely. He hadn't had friends for a long time. So even though he was impersonating Jesse, he was justified in a way. Right? Try as he might to convince himself that his actions were reasonable, a twisting and churning feeling lingered in his gut.
"You're sure you're okay? You just went quiet all the sudden... I really hope I didn't make you uncomfortable or anything," Lukas checked. What would Jesse do? She would wave a hand in dismissal, as if the thought was silly. She was really kind like that. So that's what Romeo did.
"No, no, not at all. Just thinking about a lot," Romeo answered. Lukas stared at him in silence for a moment.
"Jesse, you've been... different since you got back from the Icy Palace of Despair. You talk different. You sound different. You act different. What happened there that... that changed you?" Lukas continued. Romeo struggled to meet his eyes.
"Well, I got powers and that changed me a bit," Romeo told him. Lukas looked at Romeo like Romeo had made the understatement of the century. The blond's shock quickly melted into worry and he stared off into space.
"Yeah, you're right. You've changed. I hate to say it, but you're sharply critical of the citizens and a bit egocentric. You're not the Jesse I used to know, and that scares me," Lukas pointed out. His tone was clearly one of heartbreak, but there was a slight bristle of anger in his voice as well. "I'm not sure I even know you anymore, Jesse," Lukas confessed. His voice was tight and anguished, and his indignation was growing. Romeo was terrified of losing yet another friend.
"Lukas... I'll show you something I've never shown anyone else," Romeo promised. Lukas' eyes lit up. The indignance and anguish were still present, but almost gone.
"Really?" Lukas asked eagerly. Romeo nodded and motioned for Lukas to follow him. Lukas and Romeo walked until they reached the Primary Terminal. Lukas chuckled a little. "Hasn't everyone seen this? It's practically floating over the town," Lukas joked. Romeo smiled slyly.
"Yeah, but no one's seen inside it," Romeo told him. Lukas and Romeo entered the Primary Terminal. The walls were made of stone and the floor was covered with red carpet. The only lighting was sea lanterns and the structure was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"It's really quiet in here. It's... calming or eerie, depending on how you look at it. I think I'm gonna go with a mix of both," Lukas stated. Romeo beamed at him.
"True. The silence can be a bit unnerving sometimes," Romeo agreed. Elation spread across Lukas' face.
"It's nice to see you smile again," Lukas replied. Genuine warmth oozed from his voice, which made Romeo feel good.
He liked to feel good.
"Thank you, Lukas. That really means a lot to me," Romeo answered. And he meant it. The two of them continued to walk down the hallway of the Primary Terminal until they got to a room with an abundance of red glass cells on the walls.
And there were people in those cells. Stampy Cat, Stacy Plays, and about seven other men and women. Stampy had green eyes and curly brown hair. He wore an orange cat hoodie, a green shirt that was barely poking out of the hoodie, blue jeans, and white sneakers. Stacy had green eyes and dark brown hair worn loose. Today she was dressed in a white and navy blue striped shirt with a brown sash worn around it, blue jeans, and brown boots with laces.
In the moment that he offered Lukas a visit to the Primary Terminal, Romeo had forgotten that he'd locked people up there. People who disobeyed him or questioned him were thrown in those cells and trapped in them.
"Wait. Jesse... those were the people who disappeared. I asked you what happened to them, and you said you didn't know," Lukas realized. He sounded betrayed. His voice was tight and full of sorrow and anger again. "Did you do this to them? I-- I--" Lukas interrogated. His voice broke before he could continue. His head was spinning. Nothing he knew made sense anymore. Or at least that's what Romeo could infer from how lost and full of pain Lukas sounded. Lukas couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears. "You did lock them up! Why?!" Lukas sobbed upon seeing Romeo's guilty expression.
"They were breaking the rules," Romeo managed to say, though his throat had seized up too.
"Like what?! All I've seen and hear people do is not do what you want. Is that a crime to you?" Lukas snapped. He directed a searing glare at Romeo. His hands were balled into fists. "Let them go! Let them go, or I'm going to," Lukas demanded. The fiery determination in Lukas' eyes reminded Romeo of Jesse.
Speaking of whom, Romeo didn't want her to die trying to escape the Sunshine Institute. (Which was what had happened to her.) He just wanted her to learn how to be obedient, cooperative, and not so worried about the losers. And have remorse for her previous actions towards him. Then they could have been friends.
Romeo started mentally kicking himself for yet another terrible decision that lost him a friend. He should have kept her by his side and walked her through the lessons he wanted to teach her. But he just had to lose his temper and send her down to the Sunshine Institute.
Romeo didn't hate Jesse... he was just mad at her. And there was no one he wanted more for a friend than Jesse.
But Jesse was gone, and it was all his fault.
Just like Fred dying was all his fault.
"Sorry" can't bring the dead back to life. Honoring their memory wouldn't make up for the fact that he was the reason they were gone.
Romeo didn't mean to kill either of them. He didn't know Jesse would die trying to escape his pris- behavioral adjustment retreat center. And as for Fred... Romeo didn't even want to think about what happened with him.
"You know what... I'm done being a bystander when there's clearly something wrong. I made that mistake with Aiden. I just sat there and watched him taunt, harass, and bully so many people. I was a coward, Jesse. I just let him do what he was doing because I was too scared to interfere. I made that mistake with Aiden and I'm not going to make it again with you." The bold speech- which had been said by none other than Lukas- pulled Romeo from his thoughts. Lukas walked with purpose to the cells in which Stacy and Stampy resided. Lukas then took a pickaxe out of his inventory and used it to pry the doors of their cells open.
"Lukas...?" Stacy gasped. Lukas nodded once.
"Yeah, it's me. You two have to get out of here, now," Lukas told her. Stampy's eyes widened.
"Can't we wait a minute to run? I'm terribly shaken!" Stampy panicked. Stacy placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Stampy! Calm down! I know it's scary that Jesse threw us in jail for demanding an answer for her behavior, but we've gotta take a deep breath and move on," Stacy replied. Stampy followed her advice- he took a deep breath and exhaled.
"I've calmed down a bit, but I still feel all queasy inside," Stampy informed her. Stacy took her arms off his shoulders.
"Okay. Now we listen to Lukas and run," Stacy added. Stampy nodded and didn't move. Stacy raised an eyebrow. "Uhhh... Stampy? That's not running. Why aren't you running?" Stacy pointed out.
"I am running, but my legs won't run with me," Stampy responded. Stacy looked highly annoyed.
"Oh my Notch Stampy, run! Just run!" Stacy shouted.
"I'm trying!"
"Try harder!" Stacy let out an exasperated sigh. "You know what, I'll just drag you," Stacy decided. She grabbed him by the arm and ran, which resulted in Stampy being pulled along like a little girl's ragdoll.
"Byeeeee!" Stampy called out. Stacy and Stampy dashed out of the Primary Terminal and Romeo couldn't see where they had gone.
Romeo could have stopped them, but he'd frozen up when Lukas began to walk to the cells.
"Lukas," Romeo said crisply as he directed a cold stare at Lukas. Lukas turned to Romeo and looked at him with contempt. "I'm very disappointed. We can't have you freeing prisoners like that... it's not very good behavior. I'm sure you understand," Romeo lectured. Lukas shook his head vigorously.
"No, I don't understand why you trap innocent people in glass containers. They've done nothing wrong, so why you see them as uncooperative losers who need to learn a lesson is beyond me. All they've done is refuse to do exactly what you want or act in a way you don't like. News flash, Jesse... the world doesn't revolve around you. People don't exist to make you happy. Human beings aren't playthings for you to throw away the second you're bored of them. The fact that you have powers doesn't mean you're entitled to control everyone around you," Lukas fumed. Romeo's eyes widened in shock, and he felt like he'd been punched in the gut.
He was frozen and speechless.
A few moments later Romeo recovered from the shock, and resumed glaring icily at Lukas.
"Fine. Don't listen to me. Continue to be a smug, selfish, and arrogant know-it-all if that's what you want. Go ahead and blatantly disobey me. Free the jerks, losers, and bad friends if that's what makes you happy. But I want you to know that it makes me very angry. You've made a big mistake in freeing those bad friends, Lukas. Now they'll never learn thanks to you ending their punishment early. But I know you have the potential to be a good friend in there somewhere. Maybe you don't see it, but I do. You can fulfill your potential... or you can waste it. It's your choice. If you can't get in line, you can just hit the road," Romeo snapped. Lukas still looked disgusted, but his expression contained pity too.
"Please remember the Jesse you used to be. The caring, sweet, kind Jesse who would hug me when I was scared and make little sacrifices to make other people happy. The Jesse who cared about her friends more than anything else. The Jesse who would light up the world like the sun and had a smile as bright as it. The Jesse who would tell people that everything was gonna be alright. Please remember, Jesse. Please. Or at least tell that Jesse I miss her," Lukas begged. He turned away from Romeo and walked out of the Primary Terminal.
Romeo finished the story with a strained sigh.
"Yeah, I was a terrible person," Romeo admitted. Jesse nodded as she grimaced.
"I- want to argue with that and assure you that you weren't that bad but I can't," Jesse sighed.
"Can I just come out and say that nothing can excuse what I've done? If anyone said otherwise I'd call them crazy. I hate how I used to be. I was a toerag. I've accepted it. Let's move on now," Romeo piped up. Petra gave Lukas a high five and pointed to him.
"Hey look, Lukas finally has a backbone!" Petra quipped. Lukas looked exasperated.
"I've always had a backbone, Petra," Lukas insisted.
"You haven't always had a backbone. You didn't stand up for yourself when you were accused of murders you didn't commit at the White Pumpkin's mansion. But you did a great job at not letting Romeo walk all over you, and that's when you finally got one," Petra responded. Jesse gave Lukas a kiss on the cheek, blushed, then stepped away. Lukas touched the spot where he'd been kissed by her and his cheeks went pink.
"Lukas... I'm really proud of you. We all are," Jesse said. Her voice was full of warmth and glowing praise. She then adopted a more awkward tone. "And, uh, as for the whole you're-into-me-romantically thing... let's just try it and see where it goes. Because I've kinda felt the same way since that night in the treehouse," Jesse told Lukas. Her cheeks became a bright shade of red. "Oh my Notch... I didn't mean to say that last part! Just pretend I didn't say that!" Jesse spluttered. She sat down and buried her face in her legs. She then lifted her head up and looked highly embarrassed. "...Can I go hide under a table?" Jesse asked quietly.
"As I recall, I hid under a table at Adara's party yesterday and it didn't work out well. Go ahead, but I don't recommend it," Romeo chuckled. Jesse smiled and stood up.
"Okay, maybe I won't do that. Maybe I'll do this... Lukas, do you want to go on a date tomorrow night?" Jesse managed to say. Olivia let out a squeal of delight.
"Yes! I'd love to! I mean... if you want to, we can," Lukas stammered. Petra beamed at them.
"Okay, now that we've gotten all of the sappy stuff out of the way... Who the heck is Hit the Target? Do any of you guys have any idea?" Petra asked.
"I think all of us should talk about it over cake and hot chocolate at Jesse's house," Axel suggested. Olivia rolled her eyes and slapped a palm to her forehead. "What? I like cake!" Axel said defensively. Jesse smothered a laugh.
"Yep, let's do that. Cake sounds really good right now," Jesse agreed. And so Axel, Olivia, Jesse, Lukas, Petra, and Romeo walked to Jesse's house. They were ready to uncover the mystery of the new villain.