3rd Person P.O.V

A new day dawned in the town of Sherwood, Ohio. The sun's rays spilled into a bedroom window through a crack in the curtains, disturbing the sleeping figure in the room. 17 year old Heather Duke was even less pleased when a loud and rapid knocking could be heard on her bedroom door. She knew immediately who it was.

"Mom! It's too early on a Saturday morning! And it's summer vacation as well!" Duke complained, rolling over and preparing to go back to sleep.

"It's 10am, Heather. And besides, your cousin will be here soon. Or did you forget?" Elizabeth Duke, Heather's mother, questioned. This quickly woke Duke up, and she jumped out of bed and quickly raced to get ready. She had almost forgotten that her cousin, Juliet Solace, was coming today. Juliet was Elizabeth's niece, being the daughter of her younger sister, Catherine. But the reason Juliet was coming was because her parents had lost custody of her, and Elizabeth had been named as her legal guardian. The reason Duke was so excited was because she hadn't seen her cousin since they were twelve years old, because at the time, Juliet's father had been offered a big promotion at his work, and had moved out of Sherwood with his family, and Duke's family had lost all contact with them shortly after. Once Duke finished getting ready, she headed downstairs to join her parents. Time seemed to pass far too slowly for the green-clad teen's liking, and she was beginning to get more and more antsy with each passing moment.

"Heather, calm down. Otherwise you'll wear yourself out." Matthew Duke, Heather's father, told his daughter.

"Sorry Dad." Duke said, smoothing down her blazer out of habit. Not too long after, a car pulled up outside the house, and a teenage girl got out of the back seat and briefly glanced at the house, seeing the three people waiting outside, but turned her attention to retrieving her suitcase. Duke immediately noticed that despite the warm temperature, her cousin was wearing a black long-sleeved cardigan. Of course, she couldn't really question it as she herself currently wore a green blazer. The woman who had been driving the car went to speak with Duke's parents, which Duke presumed was about some sort of final legal stuff, so she approached her cousin. However, Duke immediately noticed the way Juliet flinched, and could guess the reason why, since she'd overheard conversations between her parents when they thought she was asleep.

"Jules? It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. May I hug you?" Duke asked, using her former nickname for her cousin in the hopes that would help. After a few moments, Juliet nodded, and Duke gently pulled her into a hug, letting go after a little bit so she didn't make her cousin too uncomfortable. Juliet then seemed to make several motions with her hands, but Duke recognised it. When they were younger, the two had learned sign language, so they would have a secret way of communicating with each other, and had also decided it might come in useful in the future.

"What do you think the social worker is talking to your parents about?" Was what Juliet had signed.

"Not sure. Probably some sort of boring legal stuff that means you stay with us permanently." Duke signed back, to which Juliet gave a nod. The two headed inside, and Duke led Juliet upstairs to her new room.

"Mom and Dad put you right across the hall from me, so if you ever need me, I'm directly opposite you. Even if it's the middle of the night, you can come to me." Duke told her.

"You won't get mad if I do?" Juliet asked, a little nervous about what response she would get.

"No, of course not. I might be a little grumpy about being woken up, but please don't let that stop you in the slightest." Duke reassured the brunette.

"Okay. I'll try to remember that." Juliet said, which earned a smile from Duke. The two girls got to work unpacking Juliet's things, although Duke made a mental note to take her cousin shopping, since she didn't seem to have many clothes. Once they were done, Juliet pushed her empty suitcase under her bed, before sitting down.

"I'll let you get settled. But if you need me, I'll be right across the hall." Duke told her. Juliet gave a nod and a smile, before watching her cousin leave the room. She knew it would take her a little while to feel comfortable about being back in Sherwood, Ohio again, but she knew that with support from her cousin, aunt and uncle, she'd be able to get through it. Although it was going to take a while for her to truly open up about what had happened in the five years she hadn't seen them. But those kinds of things did take time, so no one could blame Juliet for not wanting to reveal everything at once.