It's been five months since Célia's birthday. 

Jade got her room in her old friend's nursery. She used to have little pots with flowers and wooden furniture, enough to make it at least a little comfortable. 

But after the more and more recent panic attacks that had started to pulse up whenever she felt negative emotions, the plants decayed bit after bit. A small bed and a shelf for her clothes was everything that survived her raging phases. 

Phases where her eyes turned pitch black, her skin crippling white, the veins shimmering through. Phases where she would fall into a trance, screaming, crying, banging against the walls until her fists were bleeding.

 Sebastian had to move to the room next to her, in case something like that happened so he could stop the wave of panic before it crashed over her. But he never got to stay longer as it would take until her breath calmed. 

So for the rest of the time, all Jade could recognize was the dark, dreary room she had demolished. All by herself, with nothing but her own thoughts keeping her company.

They made her confused and angry. Nobody would explain her anything. Why she had to be locked away instead of learning how to control her powers. Why she even got them in the first place. It made no sense to her. 

Like every day, there was a soft knock on her door at exactly twelve o'clock. Like every day, she didn't reply. Her head felt too dull to speak. The door opened a bit and the light from outside fell into the seemingly small room, its golden rays gently flooding over the shadows. 

Jade was sitting on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chin, staring into outer space. She had lost the motivation to interact with others from being kept in her room like some dangerous animal. She didn't show recognition when Sebastian carefully stepped in and placed a plate with the food from today's dinner on her shelf.

A few slices of bread with a small bowl of soup. Already getting cold. The village had to suffer through a terrible harvest this year. The crops wouldn't grow as much as they used to. The fields that used to be rich and golden were now dry, heads hanging low like old flowers. Jade's green eyes flickered over to the pathetic meal, then they landed on Sebastian. 

 He was the only one who was allowed to go near her because he could calm her if it was needed, thanks to his gift. What his family, and Jade, didn't knew was the fact that he didn't use his gift for her anymore. What he didn't knew on the other hand, was that she was calm around him anyways. 

Which confused her. He used to be so annoying and loud, always with that bright smile and those piercing blue eyes, like he could see right through her and know all her secrets. And she tried to stay away from him since... since she knew him. Since her family had moved here and she made friends with Célia.

The thought of the girl made Jade flinch unintentionally. It was a swift movement but Sebastian caught it anyways. 

"Hey, cielo. You alright?" 

He slowly crouched down next to her, genuine concern in his eyes. 

As fast as the moment had came, it disappeared again. Jade's eyes didn't meet his, instead her gaze floated up to the plate of food. 

"This is my fault" 

Her voice was nothing but a whisper. 

Sebastian turned his head to see what she was looking at. A quiet sigh escaped his lips. Of course she wouldn't miss the fact that the weather had been worse with each passing day. It rained for weeks, yet still the crops looked dried out. The soil had gotten bad, poisoned by something lurking through the village. Earthquakes and small floods had increased over the year, causing minor destruction at the borders. 

Jade knew that. 

And she knew where the sudden downfall had came from. 

Sebastian looked back at the girl. Her face had turned harsh, an angry shadow of how it used to be. A pained sting shot through his gut. Seeing her like this tore at his heart. He wanted to make her feel alright, like all of this had never happened. But the look in her eyes had faded and she was back in that empty expression, too numb to feel anything. 

This conversation was over.

He got up again, pushing his hair out of his face. Sebastian took in her appearance. The hunger and exhaustion she felt was clearly showing. She had gray skin, tightly pulled over her bones. Dark rings had formed under her green eyes, which used to glow like shiny emeralds. It was just like she had already left and it was just her starved human shell sitting there in front of him.

Seeing her like that gave him a sting. He wanted to say something. Something to make her feel better or even see a glimpse of her past self again.

Since when? Since when did he care for her? She looked so broken. A young woman in which people have already given up on. Since when? 

"Since you first met her" 

Sighing, Sebastian just shook the voice out of his head and went to the door. But her quiet raspy voice made him stop in his tracks. 

"I'm sorry"

 She sounded so weak. Tired. He turned around to face her again. He didn't know what he could say to make her feel better. 

 "Don't be. This isn't your fault." He tried to sound calm but even from his perspective the words felt lame. Meaningless. 

Jade looked up, the tiniest shimer of hope lingering behind her eyes.

 "We will find a way to get through this. I'm not letting you go that easily"

 Sebastian smiled, the flash of his usual self coming back again. With this, he left the room and Jade was, once again, surrounded by darkness.

Jade had felt like she woke up from a dream, just to slip away again just as fast. The short second he had turned to her, actually showing his attention instead of turning away like his parents did, she had snapped out of the fog that clouded her brain. 

It confused her. Sebastian never showed himself like this. At least, not in public. The wide smile he usually wore was whisked away when he had spoken to her. He had shown something else but the typical happy village-boy, the role he was known for. 

 He looked at Jade with real emotions, not a showcased act. Was it fear? Pity? Even anger? 

So why did she feel safe with him? 

Maybe because he had stayed, even if he was afraid. 

Even her friend. Her sister, Célia had left her. Her father had left her, long before all of this happened. Everyone but Sebastian. 

Of course, his parents forced him to, when another one of her destructive episodes caused the walls to crack. But they didn't force him to sit down and ask if she was alright. He did that from his own decision.

Why?

Sebastian returned the following weeks. Not only for bringing food, which was decreasing at alarming rate. But Sebastian simply went to her door between the meals. To make sure she didn't loose touch. To hear her voice. 

 He told her about the stuff happening in the village, how the old Stubby, an ex-sailor, finally got his boating licence even if it wasa few years too late. How his sister was going crazy over a guy she had been meeting in town for a two now. 

Jade laughed way more often since he had started talking with her. Every time Sebastian got this fuzzy feeling in his stomach and a smile crept up his face, when he heard her warm laugh. Things started to get better.

He could feel her happiness through the wooden door, everytime they talked. And sometimes he wondered if maybe her emotions affected his. 

One night he got pulled from his sleep when he heard her screams. 

They were tearing through the silence of the night like paper ripping apart. He would never get used to the bone-shattering chills that pierced through his whole body. 

He stumbled into the hallway, his vision still blurry. His family wouldn't even call for him at this point. You could say they were used to nights like this. 

But he could feel her. Sense her emotions. It was like black smoke wrapping around his chest until he couldn't breathe anymore. Tonight was worse than usual. Those weren't screams of rage. It was fear. 

"Jade!" 

He shouted through the door, rattling at the handle. Something was blocking the entrance. Inside, he heard something crash, sounding like glass splinters, followed by heart breaking cries. 

"Jade, listen to me!", Sebastian could feel his voice getting lost in the noise, already weak. She was draining out the energy of all the living things around her. 

The door suddenly snapped open, crashing against the wall. Sebastian nearly got hit by a flying piece of wood. 

In the middle of the room, the shaking silhouette stumbled back and forth as if invisible flames kept her from moving. Shards of glass spun around her in deadly circles, cutting at her skin. She held her hands covering her ears like she wanted to block out the noise. 

Sebastian almost got thrown back by the force of energy around her, pushing him down like strong gusts of wind. He knew his powers wouldn't work now. This was different than anything he had to deal with before. Jade only had fear as the triggering emotion once before. And that was at Célia's birthday. 

Cracks withered over the ground, nearly making him fall. 

He leaned against the wall for support, trying to keep away from the tornado of shards as much as possible. With every step closer to Jade, he felt his strength weaken, his heavy breath cutting off. 

He tried calling out for her again, but it was no use. Her mind was soaked in fear, polluted by the curse. 

Glass cut at his arms, small streaks of blood already dripping from his ellbow. He was close to her now, feeling every ounce of her pain, and her sainity snapping like twings under heavy boots. 

His face was already bleeding, stings of pain like papercuts all over his body. 

He was eye to eye with Jade now, her wild gaze covered by the black tar over her eyes. 

"Jade, snap out of it!", His call got carried away in the raging wind. She didn't recognize him. He shook her shoulders, his hands burning the second he touched her, but she didn't show any kind of change. 

"C'mon! I'm not letting you go like that, remember?" His voice cracked when he looked at her torn face. It hurt him seeing her like this again. He thought she was doing better. He really thought they could find a way to cure this. 

He felt tears forming in his eyes when he pulled her into a hug, his skin instantly burning from pain. Her body stiffened, before going completely limp. Like something had flipped a switch, the noise and the shards stopped, raining to the ground with tingling melodies. 

Sebastian sunk to the ground, Jade shaking in his arms. He heard heavy sobs, her tears soaking his blood-red shirt. He could feel his own chest heaving, the adrenaline leaving him to his pain of a hundred cuts. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do this, I'm sorry..." 

Jade's voice quivered, shivering from tears. She was breathing too fast, as if this was the last time she would get oxigen. 

Sebastian pulled her closer, stroking over her back. His arms held her tight, as if she might slip away if he didn't. 

He didn't know what to say except for whispered words of comfort. Jade had buried her face in his chest, where she silently cried. He held her, allowing her to take her time until her breath calmed. 

"I'm sorry" , she whispered again. 

Sebastian leaned his head on her's. "Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault", he answered, just as quiet. "Do you wanna talk about it?" 

Jade pulled back, her eyes red and swollen. "My mom. I had a dream about her.", she shifted nervously. "And my father". She spat out the word like it was something disgusting. 

Sebastian carefully observed her. 

"Is this where the scars came from?" 

His question startled her, because she looked at him with her eyes widened in fear. There was nothing left of her old, playful self. 

She rubbed her arms. "I fell, that's why" , she was quiet, as if somebody else might hear them. 

Sebastian nodded as if that made sense. He lifted his shirt a bit, to reveal his stomach covered in old bruises and cuts. "I used to fall a lot too", he chuckled sarcastically at his own words. 

Jade's lips curled into a soft smile, finally meeting his eyes. "I guess we're both clumsy" 

For a moment, the night seemed less dark than before. 

Jade let out a weak breath while shaking her head. "Gods, now we're bonding over trauma", she rubbed her nose. 

Sebastian tilted his head with a crooked grin on his scratched up face. "See, cielo? And you always thought that I didn't have any problems"

Jade laughed, her eyes sparking. "You're lucky I don't know what that nickname means", She got up with a groan and went to pick up the mess around them. She didn't notice the soft smile on the boy's face. 

A few weeks after that night, when her door opened once again, Jade didn't see the black haired boy she had been expecting. 

Instead, the girl standing in the doorframe was Célia. 

She had changed a lot since they had last seen each other. Her brown, curly hair had grown at least three inches and she had changed her way of dressing. More clean and ordered. More mature. She looked so... grown up.

Jade slowly stood up and looked at her with a blank expression on her face. Célia awkwardly started to play with a loose strand of hair, avoiding her gaze. 

She glanced around, shifting uncomfortably. Her old room looked sad. Demolished furniture was packed up in a corner, ripped curtains hung loosely from their pole. It made Célia feel even worse. 

She finally took a deep breath. "I... I want to apologize"

 This wasn't what Jade had been expecting. 

The words suddenly started flowing like waterfalls. "I was so stupid. I was angry at you for something that wasn't even your fault. I- I blamed you for "stealing" a gift that turned out to be something terrible. You basically saved me and this is how I thank you?. And now you have to carry the consequences, but that should be me!", her voice cracked.

"I should be locked away! You went through all of this and I didn't even-... I didn't even-" Célia started to tear up. "I am so sorry Jade" Tears were now streaming down her cheeks and her eyes were filled with guilt and shame. "I know, nothing could make up for what I did to you. And ,you have every right to be angry!" 

She locked her eyes with Jade's. "Please come back" 

Jade could feel her eyes burn and tried to blink away tears of her own. She wanted to be angry, but but just seeing her friend again was enough to make her rage cool down. She hurried over to Célia and embraced her. 

She immediately hugged back. Jade smiled, relieved. She had been missing her friend so much in the last few months. 

The knot in her chest dissolved as she finally got her friend back. Jade felt happier.

 And with this happiness finally able to grow, the sun burned brighter as if she had been waiting to be freed again, the dead plants around the house started to bloom with beautiful colours and the cracks all around the nursery finally disappeared.

And at this moment, everything was fine.