The sun rose to reveal a tragic morning.
Casa da delinquents, which was normally filled with loud conversations and laughter; was now filled with the silence of loss.
All were sat in the living room wide awake even though none of them had slept. How could they?
How could they close their eyes and put their minds to rest knowing that one of them had died. One of them had to pay the ultimate price in the end.
The feeling only worsened when Chloe had finally told them about what had happened.
How Emily sacrificed herself so that she could live.
The tragedy had hit everyone hard and they clearly showed it. They just sat around the living room; doing absolutely nothing.
Beca had been hit the hardest.
Her sister had died in her arms. Died for her happiness.
But that's Emily for you.
The girl would do everything in her power to make others happy. She always put others' needs before her own.
Beca was currently sitting on the double couch with Chloe's arms wrapped around her. Aubrey in the single seater next to them, embracing Stacie who was seated in her lap.
Jesse, Cynthia and Flo had a large blanket around them as they sat on the couch with three seats.
The rest of the guys were on the ground around the coffee table.
Donald was just spinning around a screw while Benji drew small circles on the table with his wand. Bumper was trying his best to sleep; laying on his arms on the table. However it proved pointless.
On one of the sky rests Amy sat with crossed legs, hugging a soft pink blanket. It was the same blanket that she had picked up and given Emily the day they first met.
Jessica and Ashley were cuddled together, but it didn't seem nor feel like a cute, happy cuddle.
Lilly was so sad that she was actually sitting upright.
Lucky had come once or twice throughout the night, but eventually always went back up the stairs and laid down in front of Emily's door.
Chloe felt bad for the little thing. He only wanted to be with Emily and he doesn't understand why she isn't responding like she used to. The redhead just wanted to hold him and tell him everything so that he could accept the reality.
She was quickly brought out of her thoughts by a light sniff and the feeling of a small tear falling onto her arm.
Beca had been silently crying since they left the room.
Memories of her and Emily's childhood kept replaying in Beca's mind. Like the time she experienced her very first thunderstorm since her parents had died.
Flashback
It had been three weeks since they found Emily and brought the little girl home with them. The Mitchells were friendly people, but very distant.
They didn't have many friends, only business partners, and they rarely saw them.
However it turned out that it was a good thing.
People never asked about Emily and everyone assumed that Miranda had another child.
Beca slept peacefully in her bed while the heavy rain crashed down on the earth outside of their home in the city. She loved the sound of the water falling and the thunder roaring every now and then.
Her wolf senses were much more developed now and during her slumber her ears twitched at the sounds of crying.
Beca opened her eyes and looked towards the bed across from her where Emily slept.
When her eyes adjusted to the darkness and her wolf eyes kicked in; she saw a little bundle under the blanket. It was shaking and Beca could hear the small whimpers coming from under the material.
Beca pulled back the covers and got out of bed.
She made her way over to her nightstand and opened one of the drawers. Looking around she finally pulled out a small flashlight that she kept in case of a power outage.
When she reached Emily's bed, she quietly brought her head closer to the blanket and whispered. "Hey, can I come in?"
After receiving no response, she decided to bring out plan B.
"I brought a flashlight." She chuckled slightly as the blanket moved up and down, indicating that Emily was nodding.
Beca turned on the flashlight and climbed in under the covers.
Once she was fully enclosed within the bedding she saw her new sister's little face. Before she could speak, there was another loud thunder strike and Emily whimpered and pushed her head into her knees.
"Hey, hey," Beca gently soothed the girl and manoeuvred herself so that she was sitting next to Emily.
She embraced the girl in a comforting hug and was a bit surprised when Emily instantly pushed her body even deeper into Beca's embrace.
"Sshhh, sshhh. It's okay, I've got you," she softly spoke while stroking Emily's hair.
"The thunder is scary," Emily choked out and trembled as another loud roar echoed through the night.
"Hey, look at me."
Beca was met with two, big, brown eyes staring up at her.
"There's nothing to be scared of. The thunder can't hurt you."
"You promise?"
That was the moment that Beca truly felt like a big sister.
There she was. This little girl scared to the bone. Her first thunderstorm without her true parents, and yet she was searching for comfort in Beca.
Beca grabbed hold of Emily's hand and gave her a small smile. "I promise that as long as I'm here; I will always protect you. You won't have to be afraid of anything."
Emily responded by only tightening her embrace on her new sister and they were sat like that for a few minutes until Emily spoke up.
"Beca?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you sing for me please?" Beca's heart nearly melted as Emily gave her the puppy dog eyes for the first time. There was no way that Beca could've said no to that face.
"Sure. Hmm let's see. How about a song mom used to sing to me?"
The little girl nodded her head as a tiny smile started to make it's way onto her face.
Beca cleared her throat before she started singing her lullaby.
"Twinkle twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above and lit so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are."
Beca sang the song again and again, watching Emily's eyes slowly close.
That night Beca held Emily tight in her arms while she let sleep fall over her.
It was then that Beca finally and truly accepted the little girl as her own sister. She knew that they were going to have a lifetime of good memories ahead and she was going to be there for Emily throughout all of them.
As Emily was sound asleep, Beca listened to the rain and looked at the peaceful face.
"I'll always protect you," she whispered even though Emily couldn't hear her.
"Always."
_________________________________________
Beca gave a small sniff at the memory.
Her eyes started to glassen up again and it wasn't long before the drops came tumbling down her cheeks.
"I think we should give her some space," Aubrey said as she started to stand, the rest giving silent nods and followed her action.
"No. Please stay," the cracked voice of Beca rang through the room.
Almost as if it was planned and rehearsed; all of them stopped dead in their tracks to look at Beca with expressions of disbelief.
Did THE Beca Mitchell, who is usually always closed off, just ask for them all to stay?
Beca looked down at the floor and took in a breath.
She had to do this. She couldn't go through this alone. These students that were in the room with her; weren't just friends anymore.
They were her family, and it was time that she started to act like family towards them.
That meant trusting them; showing them that she needed them.
"Please. I can't do this alone," Beca said, all the while still looking at the floor. "You..." she started, but stopped as she took her eyes off of the floor and looked at them. "You guys are all I have left."
Suddenly Beca felt two arms tightening around her and knew that it could only be a certain redhead.
The rest of the delinquents took their seats once again, but instead of feeling sorrow; they felt joy that Beca had finally started to let them in.
"I don't know what to do," Beca said shaking her head.
"Talk about her." Beca's head snapped towards Ashley with confusion running around in her mind. Why would Ashley ask Beca to do something like that.
She had lost her sister and the very thought of her brought pain to Beca's heart.
Cynthia saw Beca's face and quickly filled in before the brunette would shoot out at the sprite. "Tell us the good memories you had with her. Let us know what kind of person she was."
"Maybe if you do that, it'll make you upset that she's gone, but also let you appreciate the time you had with her," Jesse tried to convince the werewolf.
Beca pondered the thought.
Maybe this was her way of moving on. Her way of remembering Emily in the best way possible and to make them understand why she felt the way she did about the girl.
_________________________________________
For the past two hours, Beca told them about the good times that she and Emily had spent together over the years.
She told them about Emily's first birthday with them. Her first Christmas and Thanksgiving, even Emily's first Halloween where she actually dressed up like Lucky.
As everyone smiled at the thought of Emily as a little girl in a white rabbit costume, following a grumpy Beca around.
While they smiled, a few thumps were heard upstairs and Lucky came hopping down. He stopped in front of Beca and stood on his hind legs with his front paws resting on Beca's legs. He looked up at her with his red eyes.
To everyone's surprise Beca picked up the white animal and hugged him tightly as a single tear fell down her face.
Lucky must not have liked it because he was scrambling around until Beca finally put him down.
Once he was on the ground he hopped around the room like he was having a sugar rush. He ran towards someone before running back to the stairs.
When he saw that the person was still seated he went to the next one until he had done it to everyone.
Everyone looked at him with confusion and a hint of concern.
Realising no one was coming; the rabbit quickly made his way upstairs like a bolt of lightning.
"What is it boy?"
A feather could've been heard falling as the room grew even more quiet than the dead.
"No," Flo said with disbelief. "I...It can't be."
Beca grabbed her head as she heard thuds coming from the stairway. They sounded like footsteps, which was impossible.
All of the people were down here, and the only one upstairs was....
"No, no. Get out of my head!" Beca was sure she was hallucinating. She was hearing her voice; her sweet, soft, gentle voice.
As Beca looked at the ground, she closed her eyes and tried to get her mind together.
She was going crazy.
However everyone else froze when a figure stood in the doorway.
Lucky appeared and sat right next to the person's legs.
"Emily?" Stacie asked, afraid to hear the answer because there was a chance that this was all just s trick.
"Hi," Emily shyly waved at the group.
"Fluffy!"
Amy bolted towards the doorway and embraced the brunette in giant bear hug.
"Amy... can't... breath..." Emily managed to get out under the tight embrace of her friend.
"Then hold your breath, because I'm not letting you go." Amy impossibly squeezed the girl even tighter. After she heard small squeaks from her friend, the angel finally let go.
Emily was panting for breath, but didn't get the chance to get it back as she was smothered by more hugs.
"You little bitch," Stacie hugged Emily with small tears of joy in her eyes.
After everyone had had their turn; Emily walked over to the couch where Beca was still sitting with her head in her hands.
Emily slowly reached out a hand and grabbed hold of her arms.
"Hey, look at me," the tall girl tried to convince her sister. But Beca struggled to get out of her hold.
"No! Let go of me, you're not real!"
Finally Emily grabbed hold of Beca's face and forced her to look her in the eyes. "Look at me. I'm real. It's me."
Beca searched the brunette's face for any signs of a trick. She quietly smelled the air so that if something was not right then she would know. But the scent was the sweet smell of her sister. The girl's eyes were brown with a twinkle like they always were.
"E-Emily?" She choked out.
Said girl grinned and nodded with a slight chuckle before letting out a yelp as she was tackled to the floor. She instantly returned the embrace and hugged her sister back.
Chloe stood at the side and smiled.
She smiled not just because her friend was back, but it seemed that Beca's heart had healed somewhat.
Soon Beca finally let go and helped Emily up from the floor. "Thank you," Emily said and looked to all of the delinquents.
"For?" Stacie qwerked an eyebrow.
"Bringing me back," Emily responded as if it was obvious.
When nobody replied in return; the girl tried to refresh their minds. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a few red berries along with a note.
"For a while all I saw was black. Like I was in space, but there were no stars or anything. Then I started hearing voices and I wanted to wake up, but i couldn't."
Emily held out the note towards the others and Aubrey took it and began to read it thoroughly.
Stacie got curious and leaned over the blonde's shoulder.
"Eat these when you wake up," Stacie read aloud. She looked up at Emily who was holding out the red berries.
"Are those?"
"Necromacy berries," Flo finished Stacie's sentence with a half smile and a frown of curiosity.
"Wait, so none of you know about this?" Emily was confused. If none of them knew about the note or the berries; then that must mean that none of them had brought her back either.
"Well then if you guys didn't bring me back... then?"
Emily couldn't say anything else before she was brought into another hug by Beca.
"I don't care, just as long as you're here and not ever leaving me again."
As Beca was still embracing Emily with a smile on her face, Stacie approached with a smirk on her face. "So much for the badass Beca."
Beca's eyes widened and she quickly, but gently pushed her sister away.
"I don't know what you're talking about and I AM still a badass. I just missed my sister a teeny bit ok?" Beca said crossing her arms causing everyone to chuckle and laugh.
Chloe stood there and smiled when she realised that things were like they were again.
The house would be noisy again with all the chatting and laughter. Emily was back and she was her bubbly, positive, energetic self. And Beca...
That very thought brought a frown to the redhead's face.
And Beca would just go back to being her friend again. Nothing special was going to happen between them.
As Emily was bombarded by questions left and right, all of them got settled into their seats. Lucky off course hopped up into Emily's lap the moment she sat down.
Everyone was seated except for Chloe and Beca.
Chloe had her head hung low, but looked up when she felt a hand on her arm.
She was met with the steel blue eyes that she adored so much. The waves of brown hair that seemed to be falling endlessly from the girl's head, and that smirk that always caused her insides to erupt into butterflies.
Beca flicked her head to the side, motioning for Chloe to follow as they made their way into the kitchen.
"You okay?" The werewolf asked once they were out of earshot.
"Umm... yeah. Great actually, I mean Emily's alive, Nilrem's gone and everything can go back to the way it was." Chloe put on her best fake smile, but to little effect.
With all the time that the group had spent together, Beca had learned to read each of their faces.
She knew by the look of their expressions how they felt, and chloe was no different. There was a look of sadness and even a sense of loss.
It was risky, but Beca had an idea of how to cheer her up.
"But...what if I don't want things to go back exactly like they were?" she asked with a grin.
Chloe looked at her flabbergasted.
She couldn't be meaning what Chloe thought, could she?
"Wh-what do you mean?" Chloe asked as Beca moved closer to her.
Once she reached the redhead, she gently took her hand in her own and stared deep into her eyes.
"I mean I don't want to just be your friend anymore."
That was all it took before Chloe leapt onto Beca, smashing her lips against hers.
Although it was quick, their lips moved in sync, like they had been kissing for thousands of years. Finally they both felt complete.
After a few more seconds they finally pulled apart, both having enormous smiles on their faces.
"Yes," Chloe said with a nod.
Beca looked at her confused and chuckled, "But I haven't even asked anything yet."
"Doesn't matter my answer will always be yes."
"Awww."
Beca and Chloe were snapped out of their transes and turned to see the group in the doorway.
Flo, Benji, Ashley and Jessica had looked at the couple with adoration. Cynthia, Amy and the rest of the guys were winking and showing thumbs up towards Beca, while Lilly kept a blank face.
Emily had to use all of her strength not to squeal, jump up and down and clap her hands at the two.
Beca turned to Stacie and Aubrey, who both had giant grins on their faces.
"Oh yeah. You're going to be a real badass Mitchell," Aubrey said trying to contain her urge to laugh.
"We're only the first," Chloe shot back.
"You're next."
The grins on both of their faces fell and Beca threw her head back in laughter as the two blushed furiously.
That was just the beginning.
All of them we're going to have the best time of their lives these upcoming years at the academy.
They had this new house and more importantly: they had each other.
As laughter and chatter exploded throughout the house; someone was watching them.
The boy watched and listened to all of the joy and happiness.
With a final look he smiled and disappeared into the forest, fading into the darkness.
Beca was happy, but this was definitely not the end.
There were more mysteries now, and maybe even more dangers. But she would be here for her new family, and she knew that they would be there for her.
However all of her worries could wait.
For that moment she could enjoy what she had.
_________________________________________
Author's notes
Wow.
Can't believe I actually finished the story. And I can't believe that it's doing as well as it is.
Well guys that's the end of this story, but there will be a sequel.
Thanks for all of the views and the support.
Hopefully you'll like the next story.