Octavia was making dinner in the kitchen, trying to block out everything going on outside by focusing on the pasta she was cooking. It was an old habit of hers to compulsively care for others when she didn't know how to care for herself, and as the oldest sister, she spent most of her time taking care of others. That's all that there was left to do. So, she made spaghetti bolognese, which was always Adriana's favourite, before she went to wherever everyone went to. Colette always preferred mac and cheese. Octavia would settle for whatever made either of them happy.

Colette was reading in her bedroom, and Adriana was... wherever everyone else went, so the house was a lot quieter than it had been in years. It felt wrong for the house to be so lifeless.

"Brandon, dinner's almost ready if you want some." She said as Brandon passed the kitchen.

"Do you think we're living in a parallel universe?"

Okay. That was one way to start a conversation. "I don't think I'm qualified to say. I don't know anything about parallel universes." She stirred the pasta for a second. "Do you think we're living in a parallel universe?"

"I think it makes more sense than any of the other theories."

"That's a pretty low bar."

-

Jo was sitting on EJ's bed, staring at her hands as EJ watched some porn and drank some vodka. The Blackwood mansion was empty, deserted by everyone else, including Brandon.

EJ held the bottle in her direction, but Jo shook her head. "No, thanks." She could feel EJ's stare and every instinct told her to get out. He looked at her, then back at his laptop, and then back at Jo.

"You don't get off on this?" He asked, grabbing her arm.

Jo shook her head again. "It doesn't look like that woman's having any fun." She spoke tentatively, like she had to tread lightly or EJ's temper would explode. "I think I'm gonna go home."

EJ released his hold on her arm, and she stood up, pulling her black hoodie over her head as she walked across the room.

"Don't leave, Jo. We can have fun." EJ asked in that way that tells you that you don't have a choice. Not a request, a command.

"I don't wanna have fun."

EJ slammed his laptop shut, his focus completely on the blonde in front of him.

Jo sighed. There was no way she was getting out of here now. "Why did you pick me? Why do you keep picking me? You don't know me. What about Emilia?"

"'Cause I like you." So, no response to the reminder that he still had a missing girlfriend. "I think that we're kind of the same, don't you?"

Jo looked him right in the eye, arms curled protectively across her stomach. "No."

"We are."

Jo shook her head again.

"Neither one of us has many friends." EJ paused, waiting for Jo's reaction, but she just stood there, now staring at one of his blue bedroom walls. "Why don't people like you?"

"I don't know." Jo switched to staring at his carpet now, anything but looking directly at him.

"I won't touch you," EJ said, even as his eyes scanned Jo's body. "Promise." He stood up, walking over to his desk. He picked up a small metal box and opened it, so Jo could see the little bag of white powder and the rolled-up paper. He looked up at her, grinning as he took the bag out of the box. "You ever done this before?"

"Sure."

-

Mae was doing cartwheels in the living room she shared with Danny and Maxxie. If they managed to get everyone back, there was no way her gymnastics coaches were shouting at her for losing her strength.

As a crash of thunder rolled through the sky, the lights indoors flickered off and on again.

"Hey, what happens when they go off for good?" Maxxie asked, startlingly serious. "Who fixes them? Who turns them back on?"

"Maybe they never go back on," Danny added in their typical monotone, but Mae could hear the undertones of panic.

"Danny, do we have any flashlights?" Mae spoke up, deciding that Aurora would understand if she'd lost a bit of flexibility in the circumstances.

"Probably. I don't know, I usually just use the one on my phone."

"The battery's never gonna last in them. Expedition to the hardware store for flashlights?" Mae asked and Danny nodded. "Okay, first thing tomorrow, once the storm's gone."

Maxxie didn't look all that reassured. Void tapped Danny's hand. "What about my cochlear implant? What happens when I can't charge it anymore."

-

"No, I can't- No, no, no. I can't." Jo pushed away the bottle as EJ laughed. "If I drink too much, I pass out, I swear." She chuckled as EJ took another gulp out of the bottle, smiling at her. There was something strange about that smile.

"What?" Jo asked, barely more than a whisper.

"You're chatty."

"No, I'm not." She chuckled.

"Yeah, you are."

"I'm not."

"You're funny."

"I'm not funny. I'm not funny."

"Not many people know that about you." He took another sip, gaze still on Jo. "I like watching you."

"I'm not even doing anything." Jo tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as EJ edged closer towards her, both of their backs against the foot of the bed.

"Okay, so do something."

"...Like what?"

"I don't know, like... Like I tell you what to do and then you do it."

"No, no-"

"And then you tell me what to do and I'll do it. Like Simon says."

Jo chuckled at the idea of her telling EJ what to do.

"Touch your nose." He said. Jo did it.

"I know where this is going." Jo knew he was lying when he said he wouldn't touch her.

"It goes wherever we want it to go."

"Touch your head," Jo said. EJ did it.

"Touch your knees."

Jo followed his command.

"Touch your knees."

EJ followed hers.

"Touch your breast." EJ's voice took on a dangerous edge. Slowly, Jo did what he asked.

"You're safe, Josephine. I'll always keep you safe. Always. That's why I picked you. Because you need me. We need each other."