Aftermath of the Witherstorm - Requested by @X_EmLee_X

"I promise, you're going to love it." Olivia insisted, wrapping her one arm around Jesse's shoulder as they lead her through the mass of trees.

Jesse smiled slightly at Olivia, but the smile faded as quickly as it came. She knew her friends were trying to cheer her up, make her smile again. She appreciated their efforts, she did. But honestly, she wasn't sure if she'd ever feel true happiness again. Too much has been taken away from her.

"Close your eyes!" Petra insisted excitedly. Jesse just silently obeyed, closing her eyes and letting darkness fall while Olivia continued leading her.

They nearly tripped a few times with Jesse not being able to see where she was going. Jesse was just about to suggest they let her keep her eyes open, when Olivia pulled on her arm, signalling for her to stop.

"We're here!" Axel said excitedly.

Jesse opened her eyes. She quickly had to blink away tears. In a large tree sat a tree house. It was very finely built, with an enormous front porch and an elaborate staircase leading to the bottom.

"What do you think Jesse?" Olivia asked excitedly. "The townspeople wanted to build us some sort of mansion at first, but Axel and I insisted they built us another tree house!"

"It's beautiful." Jesse said softly, smiling over at Axel and Olivia. But her heart wasn't in it.

"It's so much bigger than the old one!" Axel said excitedly. "It's got five enormous bedrooms!"

Jesse nodded, looking back up at the house again. She knew it was fitting for it to be larger, considering Petra was moving in with them, and probably Lukas as well. He left to go see if he could make things right with the other ocelots, but agreed to return to them if things went south.

But it wasn't the same.

"You have to see the inside of this place." Petra added excitedly, gesturing towards the house excitedly before breaking off to run up the staircase. She didn't really look like a person who had just recovered from the deadly wither sickness.

Axel was quick to follow Petra. Olivia took Jesse's hand, leading her after them excitedly. She kept at a walk however, knowing Jesse wasn't in the perfect condition to run. Jesse kept quiet the whole way. She was too afraid if she spoke, she would say something that hurt her friends' feelings. After all, they were just trying to help.

However, even Jesse had to admit the inside of the tree-house was beautiful. It didn't have the lived in, cozy feeling that the cramped living room of their previous tree house had, but it was still nice. She liked that it had a lot of space.

He probably would've liked it too.

Jesse stopped, looking out of the window. The woods were beautiful in the late afternoon sun, the golden rays dancing on the canopy of leaves. Jesse walked over, leaning her elbows on the windowsill, her gaze steadily moving over the sea of jungle trees. She recognised the area a little bit. They were close to the location of the previous tree-house, yet not there.

Jesse closed her eyes, breathing in slowly and deeply. She's been doing this for the past week, every time she felt herself close to tears again. Where had the life she loved so much gone?

"You OK, Jesse?" Olivia asked softly.

Jesse opened her eyes and nodding, forcing herself to put on a  small smile. "Yea, just... tired." She lied softly.

"We could all used some rest." Axel agreed, stretching out his arms. "This has been one hell of a journey for all of us. Not even talking about all the town rebuilding that's gonna go down in the next few weeks."

Jesse felt her heart sink to her boots. "You're going to be rebuilding again?" She asked softly. She was really hoping, after a week of her friends working in town while insisting she rested, that she would at least be able to spend some time with them.

"Yea, the town is a mess." Olivia said, pulling a hand through her black hair that was hanging loose for a change. "We'd like to see where we can pitch in and help."

"You're probably going to have me stay here while you go out, I guess?" Jesse asked softly.

"After everything you've done, I think you deserve the rest." Olivia said, smiling. "But, Petra hates building so she'll be here with you."

"It'll be fun!" Petra said, giving Jesse a playful slap on the shoulder. Jesse returned a faint smile, trying to show her. friends that she appreciated their effort.

"Come." Olivia said, gently taking Jesse's arm. "Let's all get some rest?"

Jesse reluctantly allowed Olivia to lead her to one of the bedrooms. It was a beautiful room, almost as big as the whole previous tree-house. Jesse wondered what it would be like to have her own space, not having to share a cramped room with her friends. Would it be nice? Or lonely?

Jesse lay down on the large double bed, staring up at the ceiling. Sleep. It didn't sound very inviting. After all, that's what she's been doing for most of the past week.

Jesse turned around, hugging one of the pillows to her chest. How could everything change so rapidly? Their quiet, calm life, thrown away in a heartbeat. The Wither Storm took so much from them, so much from the world. During the whole battle Jesse had kept optimistic. She was always afraid, but she didn't show it.

She had hope. Hope that once the whole mess was over, they could return to their lives and everything would be normal again. Her hopes all shattered on that last day. That last day it felt like her whole world had been torn away.

Jesse's friends had been doing everything they can to help her through the darkness of Reuben's death. While they helped with town rebuilding, she was allowed to stay in whatever temporary home they could set up at the time. At first, Jesse didn't want to do anything else. She'd sleep through the days, finding it as her only escape from the harsh cold of reality.

Jesse wanted to be happy again, more than anything. She knew the pain would fade, she knew the grief would pass. But could anything be the the same again? They lost everything, even their home. And honestly, she wasn't sure if she could make peace with this new life in her heart.

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Jesse wasn't sure how or when she fell asleep, but when she woke up again it was dark in the room. Through a gap in the curtains she could make out the moon, it's light filling the night with a gentle glow.

Jesse sat up in bed, not really feeling tired any more, her body well rested. Something on her bedside table caught her eye.

A handmade envelope lay there, with a scribbled note on top of it. Jesse rubbed her sleep-filled eyes, turning on the bedside table and picking up the paper. She squinted her eyes to read the note.

Found this near the old place. Thought you would want to have it.

Jesse carefully started to open the envelope, which kind of look like Axel made it himself from scrap paper. Inside, Jesse found a faded image. It felt like a cold hand clasped around Jesse's heart.

The image was faded and slightly bent, but the memory was clear. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down at Reuben's face, smiling at the camera. His black button eyes shining, his pink muzzle smeared in white cream. Jesse could almost hear her and Axel's hysterical laughter, Olivia's horrified shriek as she realised Reuben got up to her pumpkin pie.

Fresh tears welled up in Jesse's eyes. She hugged the photograph to her chest, choking back sobs. Why did things have to change?

Taking a big, shaking breath, Jesse lay the photograph back on her bedside table and got out of bed. Tears still running down her face, her breathing jagged, Jesse began pulling on a pair of jeans over her pyjamas. Wrapping herself in a slightly over-sized jacket, Jesse carefully opened her door and stepped out into the hallway.

It was quiet, everybody in the house fast asleep. Jesse timidly walked down the hallway, praying that no planks would creak beneath her feet. She didn't want to wake anybody. She needed to do this.

Jesse slipped out of the front door, and swiftly walked down the staircase. She was glad that she didn't have to use a ladder, her body still sore from the battle.

Jesse knew the forest by heart. Even in the dark, she could easily navigate her way through the dense trees, dry leaves making gentle crunching noises beneath her bare feet. Jesse loved the calmness in the woods, the usual night-time sounds she hadn't listened to in so long. Just for a moment, she could forget everything that's been haunting her and relax.

Finally Jesse started seeing familiar trees, sights she used to look at every day. Her pace slowed, her eyes scanning the surroundings. It looked different than it used to.

Trees were knocked down, craters scattered about the beautiful landscape that she once called home. The damage that the storm did to the forest was heartbreaking.

Jesse walked along the trees, her arms wrapped around herself. She hadn't been there since the day it all went wrong. Axel and Olivia told her that almost nothing was left, but she had to see for herself. Now she understood why they tried to keep her away. The sights were heartbreaking.

Jesse stopped in her tracks her eyes widening slightly. She had expected to find something. Maybe a battered structure, or wooden debris scattered throughout the area. Something that reminded her of the little house that used to stand there.

But all that was left of large oak tree that they used to live in was a bare tree stump.

Jesse walked over to the stump, kneeling down beside it. She ran her hand gently across the coarse bark. She could see her hand trembling as she did so.

It was all gone. All the storm left was this, a broken down tree stump, wood splintering at the ends. What they once called home, was gone.

Silently, Jesse broke down.

Leaning onto the tree stump, burying her face in her arms, Jesse cried.

The night dragged on, as she mourned.

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Jesse woke up at the crack of dawn, confused and disorientated. She was lying beside the stump, curled in a ball on the ground. Her body felt stiff and freezing cold, her eyes puffy and stinging in the light.

The sun was shining above the trees, it's golden rays shining down on Jesse. The air was crisp, but somewhat refreshing.

It took Jesse a mere few minutes to register where she was, and why.

Jesse used the stump at a prop, shivering as she hauled herself to her feet. She probably should've dressed warmer the previous night, but then again she didn't intend on sleeping outside.

But something felt different. It felt like a weight had been lifted off Jesse's shoulders. A new will inside her. She wanted to go home, she wanted to see her friends again. And she did something she hadn't had the desire to do for days.

She smiled.

Jesse started walking back home, enjoying the feel of the undergrowth beneath her bare feet, enjoying the cold breeze on her face. For the first time, she felt like she could have hope again. That with time, things will get better.

As Jesse started to make her way up the staircase, she could hear talking inside, arguing. She knew her friends were probably worried about her, and this made her feel guilty.

Jesse carefully opened the door and stepped into the welcoming warmth of the tree-house.

"Jesse!"

Within seconds Axel, Olivia and Petra were by her side, all talking anxiously.

"We woke up to find you gone! Where were you?" Axel asked, his voice almost having a hint of anger.

"You look like you've slept on the ground all night, Jesse what happened?" Petra added, brushing dirt and leaves off Jesse's jacket.

"We were worried sick!" Olivia added, pulling Jesse into a somewhat relived hug. "And you're so cold!" She pulled away with a gasp.

"I'm sorry." Jesse said softly, looking down at the floor. "For everything."

"What?" The others all looked a little confused.

"I've been really unfair to you in the past few days." Jesse explained softly. "All you were trying to do was make me happy, and I silently pushed you away, I didn't even try..." She broke off.

Immediately her friends' faces softened.

"Jesse, that's not your fault.." Petra started.

"I went to where our old tree-house were." Jesse went on, not looking up at her friends.

They all feel silent, realising that she saw the heartbreaking sight. But to their surprise Jesse looked up and smiled faintly.

"I know it's time I put the past behind me." She said softly. Her voice wavered slightly as she spoke. "Things won't be the same again, but I have to make peace with that. We all have lives ahead of us and we... I... need to stop living in the past. It's the only way we're going to have a good future."

By now Jesse's voice was properly trembling, tears brimming her eyes. It was obvious that this was a big step for her to take, and a hard one at that.

Jesse friends all embraced her in a large hug, her small figure buried in the middle of the group.

Jesse buried her face in between her friends, appreciating the support they offered. She knew it would still be a while before she was properly over Reuben's death, over the fact that the life she loved had come to an end.

But she knew it was time to start over, and this time she was ready.

___

I actually really liked writing this one! At first, when you said "aftermath of the witherstorm" I wanted to do it like immediately after battle. I decided to change it however, as I actually did write a story based on that, before I even started wattpad. (No, it's cringy as hell, I ain't posting it xD) And it's pretty long. I felt like if I did a one shot of the exact same time, it would just be weird for me, so I hope you liked this!

Fun fact, in a future chapter of SBTL, Jesse will briefly mention visiting the tree stump that was left of their tree-house, to mourn her past. That's kind of where I got this idea.

Ok, enough rambling I hope you enjoyed XD If anybody has any more requests, feel free to leave them in the comment whether they are one word prompts, actual plot lines or sequels to previous one shots I've done!