our universe

- S W O R E -

"Juniper?" Teddy's voice was a faraway sound, drowned out by five words that played through Juniper's mind on a loop.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

Her worst nightmare come true. Her mouth felt dry. She couldn't speak, couldn't move. Couldn't even blink.

"Junie, please say something," Teddy begged. He gazed at her imploringly, but her head was elsewhere.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

Teddy was still pleading with her, distress plain on his features. "Talk to me, please. Say something. Say anything, Junie. You have to—"

"Who?" Juniper interrupted him flatly. Her eyes were trained on the wall behind him. She feared that if she looked directly at him she would break. And she couldn't break, not in front of him. He would not see her cry. Instead she was numb. Unfeeling. Her heart had shriveled to stone.

Teddy looked pained, "Juniper—"

"Who?" Juniper repeated, jaw clenching. Her tone was eerily calm.

He hesitated, trying to gauge her reaction. Teddy could usually read her like a book, but Juniper wasn't going to give him the chance tonight.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

"Cleo," he blurted in a rush, tripping over his sentences to explain himself. "It was just the once— and I swear it didn't mean anything to me. I regretted it as soon as—I'm so sorry, Juniper. It was a stupid mistake and— please, say something."

Cleo.

He'd cheated on her with Clementine Greenwald. Pretty, red haired Cleo, who'd had her sights set on Teddy since the first day of the year. When? She almost asked. How? Where? Details, she wasn't sure she wanted them. But was leaving it to the imagination worse than knowing? Why? Why did he do it? The answer to why would kill her. The one detail she didn't need, because she already knew.

Juniper wasn't enough.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

I cheated on you, Juniper.

"Junie—"

"I think I'm going to be sick," Juniper said abruptly, monotone. She wasn't lying. Her stomach was roiling, waves of betrayal rolling through her, stabbing her in the gut. She clutched her abdomen, room spinning. She need to get out of here.

"Junie, I— trouble are you okay?" Teddy's concern for her overrode anything else, forgetting himself as he reached out for her. "Let me—"

His touch was a white hot poker, searing into her skin. A firebrand, flames licking every inch of her body. The nickname, trouble, slapped her in the face. Pure agony. How dare he use that name against her? He couldn't call her that anymore. Not now. Not after— the name had become a weapon, sharp and grating. It was all too much. She snapped. Juniper jerked away from him, "Don't touch me."

Stricken, Teddy backed away, "Juniper I'm—"

That was it. Juniper had let her emotions get the best of her. They were all bubbling to the surface now, her heart cracked neatly in two. Her eyes began to gloss over. No. No crying. That was the one thing she couldn't do. She would not cry in front of Teddy. Not like this. She would not let him see her vulnerable.