"One night and one more time. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great"
-Fall Out Boy

Bethany sat on the couch staring blankly at the television screen. Sophie was off with Jack, and Katherine was watching fan videos of her favorite show on her laptop.

Bethany didn't really care about what was on, but she didn't have anything better to do. She turned to Katherine, "Hey, sis. If you won't be terribly grieved by my absence, I'm gonna head to the shed to try out these new arrows." Katherine let out a noncommital noise, too engrossed in whatever new fan video she was watching to care.

The shed out back had been converted to a shooting range after the sisters' parents divorced. Bethany sighed as she remembered the day her dad had left. It was five years ago, two weeks after Bethany's high school graduation.

She ran outside, crying. She found her dad moving his weed whacker out of the shed⎯ His last belonging in the house. He had looked at Bethany silently with tears in his own eyes. He gave her three things that moment. His wooden bow, which he had sometimes let her use was first. Then he gave her an egg she knew to be holding the child of his phoenix. Lastly, he gave her his courage.

When Bethany left for college the following September, she needed that courage. Witches weren't exactly welcome at her school. She hid the phoenix among her possessions while he was still young. She named him Vulcan, after the Roman god of fire.

Vulcan was her only companion for four years besides her best friend, during which she majored in psychology.

However, she was never able to pursue her dream career in psychiatry.

When Bethany returned home, she discovered that her mother had been arrested for the illegal sale of narcotics.

Katherine and Sophie had spent the month following the arrest in a girls' home a few towns over. Her own house was for sale.

Apparently their father had disappeared. So, at the age of twenty-two, Bethany was forced to become a mother and father to her two little sisters. They had been living this way for four years, in their mother's house. Katherine, now eighteen, had begun to work full time like Bethany to aid in the support of the family. At night Katherine attended an online college that the family could barely afford. Although Bethany had faith that Sophie would have a good life, she knew that her youngest sister would almost automatically lean towards to colleges that were small, cheap, nearby, and not overnight.

Bethany's attention was regained by the moment at hand when Vulcan squawked at her. Having a grown phoenix in the actual house was a bit of a fire hazard, so he was kept in the haphazardly fireproofed shed.

She opened the door of his birdcage. He perched on Bethany's arm. "Vulcan, I swear that the only good thing that came out of that divorce was you," she said to him. She patted down the yellow feathers that stuck up on his head and he looked at her oddly.

Sometimes she could almost believe that he understood her. Suddenly the bird's proud head whipped around to look behind himself.

He flew from his perch on her arm to a dark corner. Now Bethany heard what Vulcan must've heard. The sound of a child softly crying. She followed Vulcan to the corner where the crying was coming from.

There, she could find no person, only a doll and a childish drawing laying on the floor.

The doll, Bethany assumed, must have been there unnoticed for years. The drawing was the most disturbing. It was scribbled in black and red crayon. The picture resembled a woman's face, mutilated and cruel. Above it was scratched:

It's too late.

Bethany gasped in horror. She had no idea how that picture had gotten there. The child who had drawn it was obviously mentally disturbed. Bethany noticed only then that the crying had stopped. Then, she looked at the doll. She picked it up in a shaking hand. The last thing she remembered before taking a nice stroll down memory lane of nightmare avenue was the shed door slamming shut.

Bethany heard crying as she held the doll tightly in her hand. She recognized this cheery wooden house anywhere. . . This was Sophie's school.

She was startled by the sound of the lunch bell ringing, allowing a raging sea of hyperactive children to come stumbling out. She immediately noticed Sophie, who sat down alone by the tree she was next to. Three kids who couldn't have been much older than her stomped over and demanded her lunch money. When she refused, the kids began cornering her.

She wanted so desperately to spin on her heel, to take away that pain and fear in her eyes, but she knew she could not, for she was only a spectator.

"Hey, you!" She heard a shrill cry. "That's right, dimwit. I'm playing my cards, too!" A curly head came into vision. She'd recognize those green eyes anywhere. "Give the girl her lunch back."

"What are you gonna do if I don't?" The largest smirked while he threw her lunch in the garbage. "Oopsie."

"Then I will be forced to use other ways of getting you to apologize."

"Come and get me, small bean!" The tallest sneered. Jack huffed and stomped over to the boy. "See, you're too scared to⎯"

Bethany gasped as he heard a loud smack, and the boy was on the ground, clutching his jaw.

Jack did the last thing she anticipated, landed a kick in his stomach, "What's that? You don't like being treated the way you treat others?"

"You little⎯" Cooper started, but Jack placed his book firmly on his mouth.

"It's a real shame, these are new boots," Small Jack started. "My mom would kill me if I stained them with blood."

The horror was visible on the boy's face as Jack slowly took his shoe off his face. He took off running in the other direction. The other one followed after and the last reluctantly took a glance at Jack.

"Beat it, punk." The green-eyed boy glared down his nose at him. The boy nodded and scampered off as well.

Jack smiled at his victory and faced her sister, who looked at him in awe, "My name's Jack. Jack Smith. What name might a pretty little lady like you go by around here?" He wiped his hands on his shirt and held one out for her sister to shake.

Young Sophie turned bright red, "S-Sophia Smith," She stuttered, and Jack looked at her incredulously.

"Smith?" He repeated. Sophie turned even redder.

"Grandger! I'm Sophia Grandger. . . Heh," She smiled abashedly. "But you can just call me Sophie. . . Or Soph. . . Or Little S. . . But it's alright if you⎯"

"Girls talk too much sometimes," Little Jack sighed. Young Sophie pouted and kicked him lightly. "That's what you call a kick, Grandger?"

Sophie put her hands on her hips, an action Bethany had come to know as her 'well, excuse me' stance, "It wasn't supposed to hurt."

"I can teach you to fight if you want," Jack said, smile growing on his face.

"Nah," Sophie smiled. "I think I like being saved by a handsome knight better."

Jack nodded, "You know what? I like you. Be my friend, and those bullies will never bother you again." He smirked flirtatiously. "Wouldn't want a cute face like yours to get ruined."

Sophie nodded as well. She sauntered confidently up to him and placed a small peck on his lips, "The knight in shining armor has received his prize." Bethany squealed happily.

"Twas a pleasure, rescuing a lovely damsel such as you," He smiled. Jack always smiled, he was a happy boy. "Here, you're probably gonna wanna eat something."

Jack plopped down next to Sophie and tore his sandwich in half. Holding one piece out to her, he said, "Have some of my lunch."

"It's okay, you can have it⎯" Sophie started.

"Nonsense," Jack dismissed her with a fake accent. "The princess needs to eat."

"Sophie smiled and took the sandwich, but not before they made a toast, "To new friends!" She smiled.

"To new friends!" Jack smiled back.

(Written by @mum