Noelle froze mid-step, her eyes narrowing as she took in the scene: Alice, still tear-streaked and clearly distraught, standing way too close to Juniper, who was grinning like a smug cat that had just knocked over a priceless vase.

  The tension could’ve been cut with one of Zofie’s ice blades.

  "N-Noelle?" Alice muttered, her shock evident all over her face. "Where have you...been all this time?”

  Noelle ignored Alice completely, her eyes fixed entirely on Juniper like she was some kind of feral wolf as she moved forward, hands balled into fists.

  "Is there a reason," she asked slowly in a protective rage, the words coming out through gritted teeth, "why you're hanging off my charge like you own the place?"

  Juniper's smug expression instantly hardened as her eyes narrowed back at Noelle, all signs of friendliness replaced with something more akin to the arrogant diva everyone expected.

  "...Maybe I do. You got a problem with that?" she shot back with all of her usual snark. Noelle just clenched her fists even tighter.

  Juniper met Noelle's challenging glare with one of her own, the two locking eyes like two angry wolves preparing for a fight.

  "Damn right I do," Noelle snapped, her voice low and dangerous. "You need to stay away from her."

  Juniper's smirk twisted into something almost mocking. "And why, exactly?" she drawled, one hand still resting casually on Alice's shoulder.

  Noelle bristled at the casual touch, her eyes flicking between Juniper's hand on her charge and her infuriatingly smug face.

  "Because she is my priority," she growled back, every word filled with barely restrained anger as she stepped closer, using her height advantage to lean over Juniper. "And I don't want her getting involved with people like you. I know what you are.”

  Juniper’s smirk vanished, replaced by something colder, sharper. "Ohhhh, I’m the one who can't be trusted?" she hissed back, voice dripping with venom now as she stepped forward to meet Noelle's height without flinching.

  Alice, still caught between them like a human shield, could feel the tension crackling in the air like live wires about to snap.

  Noelle didn't budge an inch. "You're right," she admitted icily before driving home her point: "You're worse."

  Juniper actually recoiled slightly at that before letting out a sharp laugh so fake it hurt to hear:

  "Wow! And here I thought you were supposed to protect people from getting hurt."

  The unspoken accusation hung heavy in silence after:

  Look who failed at that job first.

  Noelle flinched, but it was only for a moment before the anger was replaced by something icy and deadly in her eyes.

  "Don't you dare bring that up," she warned in an almost animalistic growl that sent chills down even Juniper's spine.

  Juniper, never one to back down easily, just raised her chin, meeting the other woman's glare with her own cool confidence:

  "Or what? You gonna punch me?"

  Noelle's hands curled into fists even tighter. "Don't tempt me."

  Alice, who had been watching back-and-forth like a tennis match, finally found her voice. "Guys, can we—"

  "SHUT IT," both women snapped simultaneously, silencing her in seconds as they kept their gazes locked in a heated stare-down.

  Juniper's eyes darkened even further. "You just can't stand the fact that she actually wants to spend time with me, huh?"

  Noelle's eyes narrowed even more if that was even possible. "She just doesn't know what kind of person you really are, that's all."

  Juniper laughed, sharp, brittle, and utterly devoid of humor. "Ohhhh that’s rich," she sneered before leaning in just enough to make Noelle flinch (or at least pretend she wasn't affected).

  "Let me guess: you're her big sister? Bodyguard? Mom friend?" Her voice dripped with mocking disbelief as she gestured wildly between Alice and herself like this entire situation was some kind of joke. "Because honey, nobody gets to tell her who I am except me."

  Noelle looked seconds away from actually throwing hands now, her whole body tense with barely restrained violence when suddenly...

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  Alice grabbed both their wrists hard enough to leave bruises later.

  Both women froze mid-snarl as all attention snapped back onto the usually quiet girl whose eyes were blazing fury for first time ever:

  ”BOTH OF YOU STOP.”

  Silence fell in the room like a guillotine blade dropping down right onto everyone present.

  …Then came Juniper whisper under breath:

  "Holy shit."

  The room went dead silent.

  Noelle’s face drained of all color, her grip on her own arms slackening as if she'd been physically struck by the words. Even Juniper, who had been ready to throw down seconds ago, now looked like someone had just yanked the rug out from under her.

  "...What?" Noelle finally choked out, voice barely above a whisper but laced with something dangerously close to panic.

  Alice didn't flinch this time; she held their stares unblinkingly even as tears welled up in hers again:

  "Noe...you were supposed to protect me. But you left when I needed you most." Her voice cracked raw before adding bitterly: "So yeah…I know exactly what kind of person I am around now. And it ain’t good.”

  Juniper opened her mouth (probably say something stupid), but Noelle beat her to it, snarling back:

  ”That wasn’t MY choice!”

  Alice's expression twisted, her entire face a storm of emotions as she stared down Noelle with an icy fury she'd never shown before.

  "Bullshit!" she snapped back, tears streaming freely now like a dam breaking inside her as she let all the pain and anger bubble up to the surface.

  Her voice caught in her throat for a second before coming out in a strangled whisper:

  "I needed you and you were gone."

  Noelle's jaw clenched so hard it looked almost painful as her own expression darkened. "I didn't have a choice," she repeated through gritted teeth.

  Alice laughed bitterly. "Bullshit," she repeated back as she wiped at her eyes angrily.

  "Don't lie to me!" she yelled, her voice cracking again as months of sadness and anger poured out like water through a burst dam.

  She'd held it all inside for so long, always keeping her emotions back because that's what everyone expected of her, always staying the quiet, timid little thing.

  But right now…right now, she couldn't hold back anymore.

  "You abandoned me!"

  Noelle flinched like she'd been struck, her entire body going rigid as if Alice's words had physically hit her.

  For a second, it looked like she might actually crumple under the weight of that accusation... but then her expression twisted into something furious instead.

  "I didn’t abandon you!" Noelle snapped back, voice rising to match Alice’s volume now as years worth of frustration and guilt spilled over too: "They made me leave! You think I wanted to go?! You think you can disobey the others of a Goddess?!"

  Juniper was frozen mid-step where stood watching silently wide-eyed from the sidelines looking for the first time since this started.

  Alice just stared at Noelle with tears still falling steadily down her cheeks before whispering brokenly:

  “…Then why didn't you come back?”

  Noelle froze, her eyes going wide as that one single question hit her harder than all the others combined.

  And as she stared back at Alice, all anger, frustration, and hurt suddenly disappearing behind something far more vulnerable:

  Regret.

  Noelle’s breath hitched, her whole body going still like she'd been shot.

  For a long moment, the only sound in the room was Alice's quiet sobs and Juniper shifting uncomfortably on her feet before finally breaking silence with an uncharacteristically soft:

  "...Oh."

  Noelle didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stood there looking like someone had just ripped out her spine as realization dawned across her face slowly, piece by painful piece until it settled into horrified understanding that no amount of yelling could ever fix:

  She hadn’t come back because Alice never called.

  The room fell silent again.

  Noelle just stared at Alice, the tears on her own face starting to mix with something like disbelief.

  She had been ready to scream, fight, even beg for her former charge's forgiveness if that's what it took. But she wasn't prepared for what happened next:

  Alice stepped forward, eyes red and tear tracks still staining her cheeks, and wrapped her arms around Noelle's stiff shoulders.

  For another moment, Noelle was too stunned to respond.

  But then, as if some broken part of her was suddenly mending, she slowly raised her arms and hugged Alice back in one swift motion.

  A soft gasp escaped Noelle's throat, almost like a sob as she held her former charge against her chest.

  "...You're not mad at me," she choked out finally, as if stating the world's biggest understatement.

  Alice shook her head, her voice just barely above a whisper:

  "I never was."

  Tears finally spilled over from the corner of Noelle's eyes as her hold grew even tighter. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and after a moment or two, it became clear she was quietly crying too.

  "You… you're not mad at me," she repeated hoarsely again, voice cracking with both relief and disbelief.

  Alice, who had been sobbing almost uncontrollably just moments ago, managed a shaky smile against Noelle's shoulder as she squeezed even harder.

  "Never was," she murmured, words muffled slightly but still completely sincere as she added: "I missed you, Noelle.”

  The words made Noelle's heart ache even more.

  It felt like a dam had burst somewhere deep inside of her. Like a weight she'd been carrying for months had suddenly lifted.

  "...I missed you too," she admitted quietly after a second or two, holding Alice even tighter. "More than you know...more than you could possibly imagine," she murmured, closing her eyes and resting her chin on her former charge's shoulder.

  "Yay—so can we have dinner together?" Juniper blurted out in a way that made 'no' an invalid answer.

  Both Noelle and Alice jumped, having forgotten she was even still in the room, before pulling apart slowly to turn confused stares onto Juniper.

  "What?" Noelle asked, sounding both puzzled and a little irritated at the intrusion.

  But Juniper just grinned like she hadn't just interrupted an emotional reunion before repeating herself loudly: "I'm hungry, guys!"

  Alice couldn't suppress a small chuckle, still wiping at tear-tracks on her face as the corners of her lips curved upward into a small smile.

  Noelle shook her head.

  Juniper's grin faltered, just for a second, as she caught the way Noelle’s grip on Alice tightened slightly. Like she was afraid letting go meant losing her all over again.

  But then Juniper cleared her throat loudly, waving both hands in front of herself like an overexcited referee: "Okay okay! So is this dinner happening or not? Because I will start eating your shoes if you keep ignoring me!"

  Alice let out another small laugh (this one less shaky than before), while Noelle exhaled sharply through her nose, but when she finally spoke, it wasn't with anger anymore:

  "...Fine." A pause before adding gruffly: "But only because I'm starving too.”