Sweet/Vicious FANFIC

Chapter Two: JULES

Theresa Adler.

That's the name on the file. That's the name that keeps repeating over and over in my mind as I sit at Ophelia's computer. Theresa Adler. She has to live every day with what happened to her while the DA lets her pain gather dust in a filing cabinet. Something needs to be done.

And we need to be the ones to do it.

"Here it is," I say, pointing to the post on the screen. Harris rests his palms on the desk and leans forward to read it.

"Story checks out," he says, nodding.

"Yep," I say. "Same date and time, just like Ophelia said. This is the one. This is our next target." I check the file again and this time look for the name of the perpetrator. "Christian Peterson."

My phone buzzes with a text:

Ophelia: INCOMING.

"Rats!" I say before closing the tab on the screen. "Someone's coming!"

Harris snatches the file from my hand and slips it into his shoulder bag, then throws the bag under the desk. We make sure there isn't anything lying around that could expose us as the vigilantes, but Ophelia's apartment is such a mess it's hard to find anything besides old pizza boxes and empty beer bottles. We hear footsteps coming up the stairs, so we fall onto the couch and turn on the TV - trying to act casual.

Ophelia storms into the apartment, looking panicked. She scans the room before finally speaking.

"Uh, Harris?" she says. "There's someone here to see you."

He instantly perks up. "Fiona?"

Ophelia laughs nervously. "Uh, nope. Guess again!"

He strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Just give me a sec, I'll get it."

We wait in an awkward silence that drags on far too long.

"Screw it," Ophelia says. "You'll never guess." She pokes her head into the hallway and waves to someone. "Come on in!"

A tall girl with shoulder length curls and deep brown eyes appears in the doorway.

Harris jumps up so fast he startles me. "Evie? Evie! Oh my god, Evie!" He runs up to her, wraps his arms around her and lifts her into the air.

Evie laughs and slaps him on the shoulder. "Put me down or I'll kick your ass!"

He does as she says, holding her at arms length. "Evie, what are you doing here?"

Her smile falters for a second, but she recovers quickly. "I needed a break from school, so I figured why not visit my big brother? I went to your place but no one answered so...here I am!"

I figure Harris is too excited to remember to introduce me, so I stand up and hold my hand out to her.

"Hi," I say, giving her my best smile. "I'm Jules, it's so nice to meet you!" She shakes my hand and introduces herself. I turn to Harris. "You never told me you had a sister!"

Harris opens his mouth to say something but Evie interrupts. "That's because he's intensely jealous of me." She nudges him with her elbow, teasing him.

Harris throws his head back in laughter. "Jealous? Me?"

"You know it." Evie smirks at me. "I was always beating him at Mario Kart. It made him so mad."

He shakes his head defiantly. "Nope. Not true. I am the Mario Kart champion. Yoshi is king!"

"Hey," Evie says. "You want a rematch? Anytime, anywhere."

Ophelia rests an elbow on Harris's shoulder. "I'm totally down for that." She smiles at Evie with a sparkle in her eye.

Harris shakes his head. "Nope. No way. I am not going through that humiliation again."

Ophelia raises an eyebrow. "There's nothing wrong with losing to a girl, Harris."

"It has nothing to do with that," he says. "And hey, shouldn't you and Jules be working on that project?" He widens his eyes at us, like he's trying to communicate something important.

"He's right," I say. "We better get to work."

Harris and Evie start to leave. I notice Ophelia fidgeting with her fingers behind her back, then she clears her throat.

"Hey, um," she says. "Evie, if you ever wanna play Mario Kart, let me know. I have the classic SNES version too, if you're interested."

"Cool," Evie says. "I might take you up on that while I'm in town."

Once they leave and we're alone, I give Ophelia a knowing look.

She avoids my gaze and shrugs. "What?"

"You just tried to woo Harris's sister with video games."

She scoffs as she takes a seat at her desk. "Uh, no I didn't."

I slap her arm. "You did, for sure."

Her cheeks flush red, but she still denies it. "First of all, I don't 'woo' people. Secondly, she's Harris's sister. That's, like, Rule Number One of BFFs: no hitting on siblings. And thirdly, I'm with Evan."

I try to hold back my giggles, but I can't. "You're blushing."

She hides her face behind her bright green hair. "Am not. Shut up."

I lean on the desk next to her, and as soon as she opens up the S/V forum, we turn serious again.

It's time to get to work.