"Wait till morning?! Are you out of your mind?" Jesse asked in horror, throwing her hands into the air. "My people could be suffering at this moment, and you want to stop to rest?"

"Hear me out, friend. All of us are tired and worn through." Jack said, the calmness in his voice wanting to make Jesse explode. "We don't even have a plan right now."

"Then we make one." Jesse said firmly. "The hell with rest, Beacontown is on the line here!"

"I'm with Jesse on this one." Petra said, crossing her arms. "I agree that we could all use a breather right now, but who knows what the Admin could be doing with our home."

"We haven't rested since we left the sunshine institute." Jack pointed out. "Sooner or later, adrenaline isn't going to keep you going any more. It won't help Beacontown in the slightest, if you collapse right within the admin's reach."

"Ugh." Petra kicked at the cobblestone ground in frustration. "You have a point. I guess."

Jesse turned away, raking her fingers through her hair. Her gaze fixed itself outside the large broken window of the temple, seeing Beacontown in the distance. Cast in a red glow, an unnatural structure floating right above it.

"Jesse?" Radar asked her in a small voice. "Jack's right... let's all rest."

"Fine."

Everybody exchanged glances, almost taken aback by the coldness in Jesse's voice. A blunt, almost aggressive response.

"We'll think of something, you hear me?" Petra said to her. "And once we have a few hours of rest behind us, we can go strip Romeo of his powers and beat him to a pulp."

"Sounds appealing to me." Jack said, grinning. "It's been too long since I used my fists."

"And we going to stand around and talk, or get this over with?" Jesse suddenly asked, turning back around. An unnaturally fierce look blazed in her brown eyes.

Nobody really said anything, but the atmosphere grew heavy between them. Lacking the usual confidence that Jesse was always sure to provide.

Only exchanging glances and nodding to each other, everybody found themselves a spot to sit down in. Radar huddled himself up in a corner by himself, while Petra and Jack both just slumped down against whichever wall seemed most comfortable.

Jesse sat down opposite the window that looked out on Beacontown, her eyes continuing to stare at her town in the distance. She lifted her head, feeling something nudge her arm.

Lluna snorted softly, giving Jesse another nudge with her head. Then she lay down behind Jesse, curling her neck around her from the side.

Jesse's expression softened the tiniest bit, hesitantly stroking the llama's soft white fur. For a second, the animal's reassurance made her feel better.

But then Jesse's face fell again, looking down at the stone bricks. Even Lluna she'd have to say goodbye to eventually... Stella would understandably want her back, once she's no longer stuck to the admin's side.

Jesse sighed heavily, allowing her tired body to sink to the ground, wrapping her arm between her head and the stone flooring to use it as a pillow. She kept her gaze on the window, staring out at Beacontown in the distance.

Biting the inside of her lip, Jesse forced her eyes shut. Maybe the others were right, maybe some rest was really what she needed as well.

It was becoming so hard to just stay... optimistic. How she always did it in the past, was beyond Jesse. Maybe it's just been too long since she had to stay confident in a tough situation, maybe she had just forgotten how hard it was.

Or maybe this was just too much pressure for her, and she needed to accept that. In the past few days, she's had to deal with so much fear, stress and even grief... it's not even surprising that it was beginning to get to her.

Jesse didn't even realise she had opened her eyes again, amidst all her thinking, silently staring out of the broken window.

It had grown quite in the temple, most of the others having seemingly fallen asleep.

Jesse took a deep, shaky breath before gritting her teeth again. Now that she's had some time to calm down, she could feel her entire body start to ache. Her stomach clenched in hunger. Her muscles exhausted from running and fighting for hours on end.

As much as Jesse hated to admit it, she really felt like wallowing in her own miseries at that moment. She's been suppressing so many emotions, so many fears, for so long. It was just becoming too much.

Jesse wasn't proud at herself for losing it when she argued with Jack. She knew he was right, they all needed the rest. But how was she meant to sleep, knowing her home was in the clutches of the admin? Knowing at any moment, he could turn Beacontown into nothing more than a pile of rubble?

If he did it so easily to the towns in the underneath, the the places he once called home... he wouldn't hesitate to do it to Beacontown.

Jesse gulped down a lump of her throat, realising that every moment she was lying there, was another moment that her people were suffering. What did they think of her? Ivor said Romeo's act was believable, after all...

I just want this to end.

Jesse rolled over, burying her head into her arms. As if her worry for Beacontown wasn't heavy enough on her shoulders already, there was something else weighing her down.

Regret.

Jesse lifted her head, her eyes scanning the dark room of the temple. Resting her eyes on Petra, the only other member of the Order who in their group at that moment. She was lying on her side, facing the wall, red bandanna pulled down over her eyes. It was impossible to tell whether she was asleep or not.

Jesse didn't know how long it would be until she got a moment to speak to her friend separately again, if at all before bringing down the admin. She didn't know if she could still make things right.

Even thinking about what happened back in the cabin, made Jesse's chest tighten.

Back when it actually occurred, she didn't even take in how hard it had to be for Petra to say everything she did. She had poured her heart out to Jesse, admitting all the truths that she had to have had bottled up for so long.

And what did Jesse say when Petra expressed her fear for the two of them losing each other? She told her friend to go. She told Petra to go live her dream, while she remained in Beacontown. She picked her town, over one of the most important people in her life.

Jesse slowly reached up, wiping away the tear that was running down her face.

She never realised how terrible the past few months had to be for Petra. Clearly she's been staying put against her will, she wanted to be out there, adventuring. But she had stayed, just for the sake of Jesse.

Jesse swallowed back a sob, feeling heavy with guilt. She wanted to take back what she said. For as much as Beacontown meant to her, she wasn't ready to say goodbye to Petra. Not after everything the two of them had been through together. They're friendship couldn't just end... not like that.

Fresh tears rolled down Jesse's cheeks as she buried her face back into her arms. It was all just becoming too much. As if being afraid for Beacontown wasn't enough, she was now also terrified of loosing her best friend.

No matter how many times she told herself that she could still make things right, it didn't help the fear that was building up inside of her.

___

I might have teared up writing this...

But I had a ton of fun! Seriously, in game Jesse is so INFURIATINGLY CALM during this adventure. So here, have a much needed break down.

(That sounds wrong. Moving on!)

I was also heavily over-analysing the cabin scene with somebody a few weeks ago, and has been thinking about it constantly since. Perfect when I needed that extra stretch of emotional thought for Jesse to round everything off. And make myself emotional in the process, because apparently I can't handle my own writing at this point XD

I hope you all enjoyed this one shot, and I'll see you tomorrow with whichever prompt I draw next!