Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Annette POV.
I grabbed the books on my desk and started putting them in the box, along with the rest of my belongings. I didn't have many things at university, but I was leaving only the bare essentials.
"Professor Hebert?" I looked up to see Victoria Stansfield and Amelia Dallon walk through the open door. My eyes widened slightly.
"Stansfield, Dallon, are you... looking for something?" I asked, frowning. If I wasn't mistaken, Amelia Dallon was studying medicine, though the details were running through my mind. And her sister, Victoria, was studying Quirk Studies, as it was commonly known—basically, Quirk psychology. The technical name was quite long, but it focused on everything related to how quirks influenced people's psychology and much more. There was a component of quirk biology, law and regulations—everything that directly or indirectly affected people because of quirks.
Both programs were extremely demanding, but I knew from the other professors that both girls were among the best in their classes, which was impressive given Amelia's work as Panacea and Victoria's as Antares. Even so, I didn't know why they were here; I'd never had either of them as students.
"No, we were looking for you," Victoria said as she approached with a frown.
"Me?" I asked, confused.
"We heard you resigned," Victoria said, ignoring my question. I frowned cautiously, as always; news travels too fast, but I nodded nonetheless.
"I did, I submitted my resignation yesterday. I'll be here the rest of the week until they find another teacher to cover my classes." Confirm her assumption, and I almost grimaced and avoided rolling my eyes.
Actually, the university president shouldn't have been so relieved by my resignation. I was determined to wait until the semester ended and winter break began before moving to Japan, but the university president was practically relieved and told me that my resignation was effective immediately and I wouldn't have to come back next week.
I almost snorted at that. She was practically saying that keeping me was more of a problem than finding other professors to cover my classes. And I couldn't blame her. With the whole Taylor, Emma, and Sophia situation, my presence at the university was a bit too much of a media spectacle for the university's liking.
Despite all the good Taylor had done for Brockton Bay and as a heroine, the truth is that I was still largely influenced by Emma's story, and Sophia was so closely linked to Emma after they escaped together, that she also influenced me secondhand.
The only reason they hadn't said anything before was because, even while I was depressed, my job as a teacher was the only thing that had kept me afloat, and I had done it well.
The quality of my classes hadn't dropped and I'd maintained the university's standards, so they couldn't fire me without cause or any problem. My resignation was practically an early Christmas present for them. Idiots.
But it was also a good thing; leaving university sooner meant moving to Japan sooner. It changed my plans about taking more advanced classes to practice my Japanese, but I suppose I could accelerate my plans just the same.
I had already hired some online tutors to help me as much as they could, and they would keep them while I was in Japan until I was comfortable enough.
According to my calculations, my savings would sustain me for a while before I needed to look for a job. I had researched several universities; English teachers were in high demand at all levels, and my teaching credentials were still valid there, so finding a job wasn't an immediate concern.
In an intrusive thought, the idea had come to me to send my application to UA in the hope that they would hire me, just to be closer to Taylor, but I was sure that would ruin all the progress I had made with her.
Calm down Annette, baby steps, slow and steady. Take a deep breath to calm yourself.
"I see, do you have plans after that?" Victoria asked casually. I blinked, confused.
"I... I have them, but I don't see how that's relevant or important to you, Stanfield. It's a very inappropriate question." I said, frowning. Amelia grunted in annoyance.
"Okay, let's get to the point. We're friends with Taylor, and we know you're going to Japan to repair your relationship. If you hurt her, I'll give you a dozen different cancers." Amelia growled, glaring at me. I shuddered and looked at her in horror, unconsciously taking a step back.
"Amy!" Victoria growled exasperatedly. "We said I would speak." She sighed wearily.
"You were taking too long," Amy mocked, crossing her arms. Victoria groaned in pain, then turned and looked at me.
"I feel sorry for her," Victoria sighed. Amelia sneered.
"Don't apologize for me, I'm not sorry," Amelia mocked, then looked at me once more. "I was serious, dozens of cancers if you hurt Taylor," Amelia repeated, and I shuddered once more. Victoria moaned even louder.
"Ignore my sister." Victoria grumbled wearily.
"She just threatened to give me cancer," I said incredulously, staring at her. "She... can she really do that?" I asked, almost horrified by the implications. Amelia just smiled broadly.
"Do you want to test me?" Amelia asked. I took another step back. Victoria hit Amelia.
"Enough," Victoria grumbled, then ran a hand wearily over her face. "Look, we're friends with Taylor. We haven't known each other for very long, but I want to believe we're good friends, and we've had our own problems with our mothers."
"And from experience, it almost never turns out well, so we're worried about her. She's fine in Japan, at UA, she's happy, so if you're only going there to hurt her in some way, we can't just stand by and do nothing." Victoria said firmly. I blinked slightly and opened my mouth before closing it.
My body calmed slightly as I looked at the pair. They were genuinely worried about Taylor, and that was a real relief. It was truly heartwarming to hear that Taylor had friends who cared about her, even here in Brockton Bay. Still, I raised an eyebrow in their direction.
"Giving me cancer." I mocked them both. Victoria groaned and Amelia shrugged. "I'll let the threat go. I know you're worried about Taylor, and I'm really glad you are. It's good that she has such good friends," I told them honestly. "And I'm serious about repairing my relationship with her. I know I messed up, I know there's a long road ahead, and I'm prepared for it to be difficult and arduous, but still, I want to try." I told them honestly.
Both girls stared at me, narrowing their eyes at the same time as if they were looking for lies in my words; they really were sisters, their expressions were identical even though their personalities were really opposite.
"Good," Victoria said, sighing in relief, then smiled broadly. "I'm glad we understand each other, come on Amy!" Victoria said as she grabbed Amelia's arm, who growled and glared at me one last time.
"Fine," Amelia spat out before sighing. "I really hope you do well, not for yourself, but for Taylor," Amelia sneered before letting herself be dragged along by her sister. Neither of them said goodbye or waited for her to say goodbye; they simply hurried out of the place. I could only blink at the truly bizarre exchange that had just taken place.
I could only sigh wearily and repack my office things. I decided to ignore most of the exchange and focus on the rest; after all, I really needed to.
I finished packing my belongings in silence and carried them to my car, and instead of heading towards the small apartment I had been renting, I headed towards… home for the first time in weeks.
I parked in front of the house I remembered better than the back of my hand and sat down with my hands gripping the steering wheel. I always felt a sense of relief, comfort, and happiness whenever I came home after a long day at university, but now… now I could only feel anxiety, nervousness, and sadness.
I sighed wearily, turned the car off completely, and took a deep breath before getting out. I looked around the house; there were… several things left lying around. I even saw the mailbox overflowing with letters. I resisted the urge to take them inside.
Finally, I approached the door. Out of habit, my hand went to the doorknob to open it, but I stopped halfway before reaching for the doorbell and gently pressing it. I ignored the awkwardness of having to ring the doorbell of the house that had been MY home for over twenty years.
"Just a moment!" I heard Danny's voice from inside, and I gently closed my eyes to prepare myself. I heard movement inside the house before the door opened, at the same time I opened my eyes.
"Annette?" Danny gasped breathlessly as his eyes widened in shock, I smiled sadly at him.
"Danny," I said gently. I felt a deep sadness as I looked at Danny. Because of everything that had happened, and because of his current appearance. He definitely hadn't been taking care of himself; he was much thinner than the last time I saw him, and his makeup couldn't hide the gauntness and dark circles under his eyes. "Can we talk?" I asked softly. Danny's eyes widened even more.
"Y-yes, of course, please come in." Danny said quickly as he opened the door and stepped aside. I nodded as I entered, looking around. The house was just as I remembered it, although… colder, somehow. And it wasn't strange; the house… slowly emptied out.
There were six of us: Danny, Taylor, Zoe, Anne, Emma, and me. Now, only two people lived here, and it seemed like neither of them was taking proper care of themselves. Taylor was in Japan, Anne was at university and didn't want to get involved in the drama, Emma was who knows where with the villains, and I would soon be following Taylor to Japan. Only Danny and Zoe lived here now.
"Is this Zoe?" I asked as I stopped and looked at Danny.
"Y-yes, she-"
"What do you want?" Zoe said as she came down the stairs, interrupting Danny. I looked at Zoe and felt another sharp pang of sadness. Zoe was my sister, long before we both broke up with Danny. Seeing the resentment in her eyes was truly painful. I tried to ignore her expression and focus on… on her, and it really wasn't any better. In some ways, she was worse off than Danny.
"I've come... I've come to say goodbye." I said honestly. That seemed to stop us both.
"G-goodbye?" Danny asked, confused, but with a trembling voice. I nodded.
"I'm moving to Japan." I told them directly, without needing to sugarcoat it. They both stared at me in shock before Zoe laughed maniacally.
"Moving to Japan? Why? To try to repair your relationship with a daughter who doesn't want to see you?" Zoe grumbled. I looked at her sadly.
"I spoke with Taylor before she left. We didn't work things out; she's still angry with me, but she's given me the chance to do so, and I'm moving to Japan to try and win her back." I explained honestly; I owed them at least that much. I had shared more than half my life with them; I wasn't going to completely disappear, even if they were angry with me.
"Were you able to talk to Taylor?" Danny asked breathlessly, and I could see a hopeful expression on his face.
"I did it, I talked to her," I said without hesitation. Danny almost seemed excited, and I just looked at him sadly.
"Then she... us-"
"There is no 'us.'" I interrupted Danny, and he seemed surprised. I sighed wearily. "I talked to Taylor for me, for myself. Taylor... she's decided to give me a chance, not us." I clarified immediately, and Danny's expression changed instantly, ending in a completely devastated look.
"But... we, I... I miss her too, why..." Danny tries to say, confused and hurt, I sigh.
"Because Taylor is the one who matters." I interrupted him again and looked at Danny intently. "Taylor is my priority, my relationship with her is my priority. You... you'll still not take sides, you won't choose Taylor over Emma and... Emma... Emma is no longer a priority. So I ask you, Danny, have you made a decision?" I asked Danny directly; he just bit his lip and looked away.
"I... they're both still my daughters," Danny said, closing his eyes. I sighed in disappointment. I understood, I truly understood. Emma... Emma was still my daughter, just as much as Danny's and Zoe's, even if I hadn't given birth to her. But Emma had already made her decision, and I couldn't keep clinging to it, not when my relationship with Taylor was more important.
"Then I can't help you." I told him honestly, even though it saddened me.
"So now you're forcing him to choose? Between my daughter and yours?" Zoe mocked.
"No," I said immediately, glaring at her. "Don't do it," I warned Zoe. "Your daughters are my daughters, just as Taylor is yours. Even if we didn't give birth to them, we both raised our three daughters as if they were our own. Don't try to divide us just because you're angry," I snapped. Zoe seemed apologetic, though she quickly disappeared.
"You say that, but you're choosing Taylor over Emma." Zoe mocked, and I shook my head.
"Think what you want, Zoe, but I've supported Emma, even when I shouldn't have. I tried, I really did, as difficult as it was, but she... she's made her choice. She made it when she got together with Sophia, she made it when she decided to bully Taylor, when she locked her in the locker, and she did it again when she decided to go off with her."
"Emma made her decision, Zoe, whether you like it or not, and... it's time for me to make mine. And for the first time in a long time, I've decided to put myself and Taylor first," I said firmly, looking her straight in the eyes. "You can see things poorly if you want, but that won't change anything. My decision to go to Japan is final, I just... I just came to say goodbye." I told her honestly. Zoe looked at me more intensely; I almost expected her to start yelling or something worse. I tensed my body, preparing for any eventuality, but she just turned and went back upstairs.
I could hear the loud slam of the master bedroom door closing, and then more noise from her throwing things around. I almost wanted to sigh with relief despite the sadness I felt.
"I'm sorry," I told Danny honestly; he just nodded sadly.
"So... this is it?" Danny asked, completely devastated. I stopped.
"I... I don't know," I told him honestly. "I don't know what will happen, I don't know what will happen in the future or how all this will turn out, but... maybe it is. And I'm really sorry about how this ended, Danny. I love you, I love Zoe, but it was time for me to choose what's best for me and for Taylor." I told him honestly. Danny looked at me sadly; I could see him blinking rapidly to hold back tears. My heart almost broke. I tensed my body to keep from going to his side and trying to comfort him.
"I'm sorry for everything," Danny said shakily. "I... take care of Taylor," he finally said, then turned and walked away from me, going straight to the bathroom and locking himself in. I closed my eyes as I took deep breaths. Finally, I opened them and looked sadly at the place where Danny had gone. I sighed shakily, looked at the house, a house that held so many memories, and finally turned away.
I closed the door behind me before hurrying to my car, my hands trembling as I got in, sat down, gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white, and then banged my head against the top of the steering wheel.
"Damn it." I groaned shakily as I tried to compose myself. Finally, I took a deep breath as I calmed down. I used my quirk, which allowed me to multitask with extreme precision, and started the car efficiently.
I had to pack everything. Japan was waiting for me, Taylor was waiting. I could feel a huge sadness the further I got from home, but… also a little relief, and hope, as I thought about Taylor. I never expected to rebuild my whole life from one moment to the next, especially not on the other side of the world and not at 40, but… maybe it was for the best.
Author's Notes: I wasn't sure whether to include one from Annette, I wasn't going to, but after the last exchange between her and Taylor, I tried to write something and this chapter came out, I hope you liked it.