Juniper & Olive

## Personalities

Juniper is very optimistic and happy. She is, in fact, rather similar to Stem. However, Juniper has had education and tends to know when enough is enough. She enjoys being around people. especially her sibling, and is no stickler for the rules. She has a habit of procrastinating. There are only certain things that can get her upset, such as speaking of her parents or making fun of Olive. She's *very* overprotective of her sibling.

Olive is timid and shy. They don't talk very much and are rather smart. They are the type of person to get beaten down and not care enough about themselves to get back up, and feel like a burden to all of those they are close with. They are mature beyond their age and tend to follow the rules so as to not get in trouble. They fight back very little and tends to be the one crying after a fight that didn't even involve them.

## Appearances

Juniper almost always has a cheery expression. She has a headband with a star on it and she wears a baby-pink sweater along with some black leggings and pastel purple roller skates. She has at least five rubber-band bracelets on each wrist and a rainbow anklet on her right ankle.

Olive wears a very dark green sweatshirt and black leggings along with some generic sneakers. They have a cap that they tend to put over their face. Their sweatshirt sleeves cover their hands, but they have fingerless dark-green gloves underneath and if you were to take those gloves off, it would reveal several scars on their hands and wrists that look sliced. They wear round, oval-ish shaped glasses with black rims.

Both of them have bruises and scars all over them.

## Trivia

* Olive does have a crush on Azalea.
* The twins are the little siblings of Stem, and the older siblings of Nyanza. They do not know of Stem's or Nyanza's existence.
* Olive's cisgender is female. Lavender begged me to add this.
* Juniper's rollerskates have white laces that look yellow because they've been worn so much.

## Backstory

### Chapter 1- Olive

I knew that Mother didn't want me or Juniper from the moment I opened my eyes. The look of absolute disgust on her face said it all. But yet.. Juniper loved her all the same. Still had admiration for their parents, despite everything. At least, she did.. until they gave us to a foster home.

We weren't at the foster home for very long. Maybe a couple of weeks before we were transported to the orphanage. That's alright though, we didn't like the foster home. Our foster parents didn't care for us at all, much less if we got to eat or not. It was always a 50/50 chance. They left us with bruises sometimes, but only sometimes, and it was only when they got really mad. I'm startled out of my thoughts when someone calls, "DINNER!" Juniper and some of the other kids jumped down from their bunks sprinted for the door.

Juniper grabbed my forearm so we could get to the dining hall together, like we always do. The people who work here are passing out the food early, so we get ours and go sit down.

"I drew you something!" Juniper chirps in-between bites. She pulls a folded piece of paper out and unfolds it to reveal two stick figures, both green, hugging. One of them is dark green like her and and the other is light green like me. Curiously, there's these strange eyes drawn around the hug, surrounding the whole image. Some of them look like they're crying, others have a red liquid dripping out of them. "Cool." I murmur, looking down at my gloves.

Suddenly I'm knocked so violently that I fall out of my chair and into the table. I look up to see an unfamiliar kid, probably new to the orphanage, standing over me and laughing. I can't see their face that well, because my eyes are clouded with tears. Here we go again, me being my weak, pathetic, stupid self. I don't know what I did, but I know I deserved that. "HEY! That was mean!" Juniper cries, skating over to the person.

"Leave them alone!" The person watches Juniper with an expression that says they could easily take her down. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't m-mean to!" I say, "It was an accident, please don't hurt me.." The person kicks me as I try to stand up, and I fall back down and hit my head on the table. "STOP!" Shouts Juniper, throwing a well-aimed kick at them. With rollerskates, that must hurt. The person screams and falls backward, but quickly gets back on their feet.

"Stop?! Ha, you think you can stop *me?* Pipsqueak." says the new person. In one quick movement, the new person somehow sends my poor sister flying across the dining hall. Thankfully, someone catches her. I couldn't see it, because my head was shoved into the legs of the table and I was stuck, but I could hear a crash and then Juniper thanking someone, and then a scream from the bully.

The bully starts kicking me again, and then they crouch down. I start wondering what they're going to do, but I realize as soon as they start reaching for my face. They snag my glasses, drop them on the floor, and then stomp on them. I don't even know who this person is, they seemed very new to the orphanage, and yet they already had this burning hate against me.

It's because I'm vulnerable. They see me as vulnerable and they want to prey on me and I *let* them. I *let* people take my glasses, I *let* people kick me down, I *let* people steal my food and take it for themselves. And Juniper always sticks up for me, getting herself into trouble like this.. I'm such a burden to her. And that is why I hate myself.

### Chapter 2- Juniper

I screech as loud as physically possible when I see the new kid take Olive's glasses. My voice might even be damaged after that. I shove the kid who caught me off of me and chuck one of my roller skates at the bully. They'd both fallen off of me when I was thrown across the dining hall, so they were weapons now. I don't miss, and the roller skate hits the bully straight in the head.

The new kid shrieks, falling backward. There was a mark on their head where I hit them, which they deserved for smashing Olive's glasses like that. "What the he11!" they yell from somewhere by the table. "I could say the same thing!" I shout back, and then I run over to Olive. I quickly realize that the kid who caught me was already tending to them. I finally get a good look at them.

The kid is a purpley-pink stick figure who is currently applying bandages to my sibling's face, glancing now and again at their shattered glasses. She's also wearing glasses, but they're rectangular, unlike Olive's oval-ish ones.

I start to walk over when somebody tackles me to the ground. I turn over, and see that it's the same bully as before. I punch them, and am able to scramble away just in time for the to not grab me. For a bully, this one sure was slow, and weak. Maybe this was one of those rich kids- to be considered rich at the orphanage, you had to own a device of some sort.

Most of the kids don't, and the kids that do aren't usually allowed on the devices for very long. They also usually had nicer clothes, either stuff they brought with them from their original home, or stuff their parents left at the orphanage when they dumped their kids here. A lot of people say that rich people are snotty and stuck-up, but I don't think so.

Maybe this was the type of kid everyone was always talking about, when they say rich people are mean. Anyway, I've managed to get myself into a position where I wouldn't fall over if the kid tackled me again. I notice their bleeding nose. I can't tell if I did that, or the kid did that to themselves. The bully tries to punch me, but I dodge and end up smacking them in the eye.

I don't know what this person has against me, but they are *very* persistent in trying to knock me down. They ended up punching my face, which gave me a black eye, and then when I kicked them in the stomach, they fell over crying. This kid is bratty as heck. I brace myself for another hit but it doesn't come. There's a supervisor blocking the kid from hitting me. Wait. A supervisor. Uh-oh...

***20 minutes after some recovery***

"Now *what* was happening just now?!" cries the supervisor at the both of us. Both me and the bully start talking at once. What I was saying was, "This m0ron decided to smash Olive's glasses, so I decided to smash their face." What the other kid was saying was, "This girl's sibling looked at me weird, and I had to put them in their place. This idiot was defending the kid that looked at me funny." The supervisor looked at both of us. "One at a time, please." she says, and then nods to me. "I saw this kid smash Olive's glasses. Nobody here gets away with smashing *my* sibling's glasses and gets away with it."

The supervisor turned to the bully. "Why did you smash that child's glasses?" The bully looked outraged. "They looked at me funny!" they cry, like it was obvious. The supervisor looks absolutely shocked at this explanation. "You ***smashed*** another child's *glasses* because they looked at you funny?" the supervisor asks, almost like they couldn't believe it. "Yes." says the bully defiantly. "Punish them!" The supervisor looks at the bully, their look hardening with fury.

"Listen here, you spoiled brat, you do *not* destroy others' belongings because *they looked at you funny.* Do you understand me?" the supervisor says it in a tone that gives no other options then, "Yes, ma'am." And that's what the bully says, with a shamefaced expression.

### Chapter 3- Olive

I watch as the kid who'd given me bandages tried to fix my glasses. Well, the frames of my glasses. "You don't have to do that.." I say. "Yes I do, people have glasses for a reason. Can you see?" asks the kid. "Just a bit blurry. It's really not an issue, don't waste your time on me." That was a lie. I almost couldn't see from how blurry it was. The kid looks up. "I'm not wasting my time. I'm helping people." I pull my legs to my chest and rest my head on my knees.

"Are you sure you can see?" I nod. I don't know if I nod in their direction, but I nod. *I'm so stupid. I can't even interact with someone without my glasses. The reason people fight is because of idiots like me who can't even pinpoint someone because my stupid eyes don't work.* "Hey?" asks the kid. "How many fingers am I holding up?" They hold up a hand, but it just looks like a pink blob to me.

"Four?" I guess. "I was holding up one finger." The kid takes something off of their face and places it on mine. Suddenly, I can see again. I quickly take the glasses off of myself. "No, no, you don't need to do that.." The kid is determined. "Yes I do. I can see without mine. You need them." I sigh as they put their glasses back on my face. "Alright.. but you need to take them back later. I'm going to break them.."

"No you won't, I trust you. Wait, what's your name?" asks the kid, genuinely confused. "My name is Olive." says Olive. "That's a nice name." says the kid, "I'm Azalea.. I've always hated that name. Call me Z or Azel." Olive was confused. "Why do you hate that name? It's very pretty.." Azalea stiffens. "It's something my mother used to call me.. before the accident.." I felt panicked now. Had I triggered Azalea? "I'm so, so sorry! I shouldn't have asked, it's my fault.." I say, struggling. for words. "No! No, it's fine. I told you, that was my choice.""Alright.." I mumble.

Someone walks up behind me, but I pay no attention.

"Olive? Who's she?" asks Juniper out of nowhere, which made me jump Azalea winces. "I'm a boy.." Juniper gasps. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't assume.." Azalea looks up. "That's alright." Juniper sits down next to me. "Soo.. what's your name?" asks Juniper to Azalea. "My name's Azalea, but please just call me Z or Azel." Juniper looks around. "Nice to meet you, Z! My name is Juniper." Juniper says cheerfully.

"Yeah, you literally came flying out of nowhere and then squashed me. Nice to meet you too." says Azalea. "I'm still really sorry about that.." says Juniper. "That's fine. I was hanging out with your sibling while you got yelled at. You two are really cool." says Azalea. *Did.. did he just refer to me as cool?* I wonder. That was new. The only person who'd ever given me compliments was Juniper.

But why would anyone give *me* a compliment? It was directed at Juniper too, but Juniper was actually someone worth giving compliments to. I might think about this for a while.

### Chapter 4- Juniper

***About 2 weeks after chapter 3...***

I woke up today and Olive wasn't in their bunk, as usual. I wondered where they were, and if they were sitting alone in the dining hall, crying because someone else had taken their glasses. I hopped out of bed, still in my pajamas, and tied my skates on. These were the only thing I kept from home, my roller skates. I got them from a store when I was around 5 or 6. Of course, Mother didn't care to check if they fit or not.

I grew into them by the time Olive and I turned 9, and taught myself. With a lot of trial and error, which made me look all scraped up. Now, I'm an expert. I can skate on carpet without falling. I finish tying my skates and I hop to my feet and go outside. I'm going around the hallways to meet up with my friend, her name is Orchid. She has a little brother named Raven, who is 2. I like to call him Grape.

By the time I get around to the dining hall, I stop because there is a very short child hugging me. I whisk him into my arms. "Hello, Grape." say affectionately. "Junipah!" cheers the little stick. Orchid comes running. "You found him." she gasps, out of breath. "Raven!" she cries at her little brother. "You can't run away like that! I need to be able to see you.." I shrug as the little stick clambers onto my back for a piggyback.

"He'll be fine as long as I'm here." I say. "I know, it's just.." I nudge her. "Nothing's going to happen to him, Orchid. The orphanage is safe." She nods mutely. I can't blame her, either. She lost her other brother in a car crash, or so she says. I think there's something more to it that she won't tell me. "Down!" demands the dark purple toddler in my arms. "Alright." I say, gently lowering him. He makes a happy noise and goes to hug his older sister.

"I'm going to go find Olive." I say, starting for the stairs. "Oh, Olive? They're hanging out with this pinkish kid." says Orchid, picking up her little brother despite his protests. That's weird, I've never seen Olive hang out with anyone. Maybe by 'pinkish kid', Orchid meant Azalea. "Thanks. Bye, Grape." I say, patting the little stick on the head. "Bye, Junipah!" Grape shouts as skate off.

Sooner or later, I find Olive. I was right when I guessed they were hanging out with Azalea. The two are sitting in Olive's favorite corner and chattering. Well, more like hardly talking. Olive is just generally not someone who likes to talk, and Azalea is someone who needs a subject to talk about before they talk to you, so I think they're just sitting and enjoying each other's presence while sometimes making comments about things to each other.

"Olive?" I ask. Olive jumps, and then gets up and comes over to me. "Hmm?" they ask. "Just needed to know where you were. Is he being nice to you?" Azalea had better be nice to them. He knew what he was up against, and Azalea was a pretty weak-looking stick. "Yes.." says Oive quizzically. "Okay, you can go back to what you're doing!" I say cheerfully.

### Chapter 5- Olive

"That was weird." Azalea says, "But then again, Juniper is weird." I nod in quiet agreement. Juniper isn't weird, she hunts me down like this all the time. It just felt awkward this time, like she was interrupting something. Maybe it was because Azalea made me feel.. some kind of way. I guess this is what having a friend that isn't my sister feels like.

But then again, it felt like much more than that. I've never heard of thinking about a *friend* all the time, or dreaming about them, or enjoying when they hold you- wait. Enjoy. Enjoyment. Was that was this was?.. It might be. I haven't felt joy in a long time, so long that I might've forgotten what it feels like. Maybe this was it, and I'm just not used to feeling happy.

That sounds like me, to be so stupid and useless that I can't even figure out the difference between happiness and just having someone to talk too. I wish I wasn't so dumb, I wish I could feel *pure* happiness, just once. That's all I really want.. to be happy. But I know that I don't deserve it, that there are people who need happiness even more desperately than I do.

I can feel the tears start coming. *I'm such a crybaby.* "Olive? Are- are you okay?" Azalea asks softly, interrupting my thoughts. I nod, and wipe my eyes. Azalea shouldn't worry for me. I'm not worth worrying over.

"Did I say something wrong?" asks Azalea. "Wh- what?! No, Azalea, you're fine, I just.. thinking." I cry in response. Azalea still looked worried. "Do you want me to take you back to your bunk?" Azalea suggests. "It doesn't matter, I'm okay, really." Azalea still looks like he wants to make me feel better. "If you say so.." he says.

WIP- Spades