ONLY HUMAN:
"And who will tell me how it ends and how it all begins? Don't ever say goodbye. I said I'm only human. I'm only human. I said I'm only human. I'm human, I'm human, I'm human. Who will bring me flowers when it's over? I'm only human." -Thriving Ivory, Flowers for a Ghost.
Camus (Cam) wasn't human.
Technically, however, he was. He had a heart, a brain, skin, hands, feet, and humane emotions. He had all the features; all the things that made him Cam. But he was made, not conceived. He wasn't carried around in a women's stomach for nine months. He didn't have a mom or dad, unless you count the scientists that had made him from unwind parts. He was created from tithes (at least that was what Roberta told him) whose lives had been stolen from them without the slightest indication of consent.
Roberta, the only women who had become close to being his mother figure had explained it all too many times. "Just because you're different doesn't mean you're bad. Just because you were made doesn't mean you're not human. You are human, Cam. Stand by those words every day. You. Are. Human."
And as Cam stood, frozen in place, watching Risa run from him, her apologetic smile replaying over and over in his head he realized that Roberta was mistaken.
"Incorrect! Wrong! Water is not under the bridge!" He called out to the emptiness. To Risa, an ex ward of the state, he would be nothing more than a monster in her eyes. And that was all that mattered. He didn't care what other people viewed him as. He only valued Risa's opinion. And she thought he was a monster. "Frankenstein! Dracula! Abomination!" He was created by body parts of other children. The very thing that Risa despised more than anything in the entire world (other than Camus).
How could he have been so wrong about the blue-eyed girl with the dark, brown hair? He had thought that maybe Risa would eventually let go of the fact that his skin tone was multicolored, or that his thoughts weren't entirely of his own. Roberta wasn't the mistaken one. He was. Risa had tricked him.
Maybe tricked was too strong of a word; played. She played with his feelings; she kissed him, once, twice, after offering to be his friend. She had made him fall in love with her, already knowing that she could never truly love him back. Risa knew all along that she couldn't be with him, but she kissed him anyway. She encouraged the aftermath of the Heartland War, then spoke out against unwinding the first chance she got.
Roberta had been blackmailing the very girl that made him stay human; the girl that he loved. No, loves. Because even after she had run from him, even after he told her he loved her and she could only respond with a sorry-stained smile telling Cam, 'I know. I'm sorry I can never love you back. Not in the way that you love me.' Still, he needed Risa. She was the only person, only thing, that reminded Camus that he wasn't just some experiment- he was human. If he could feel love, then he was human. Simple as that. And he felt such flourishing love for Risa; Cam already knew that he wanted to be by her side for the rest of her life. What did this Connor person have that he didn't?
Cam was certainly as strong as the Akron AWOL was. Not the best looking, but Risa had once told him that it was the inside that truly matters, counts. So that could be checked off. Cam could be as loyal and courageous as Connor, he was sure of it. If the situation applied to it, he would gladly do the same.
But Connor was a spitfire; cocky, brave, slightly arrogant and with a short-temper. Smart- not in the way that Camus was. Connor couldn't name all the constellations, but he could fight. He couldn't read people.
They were both too different to be compared, he decided.
That didn't mean it didn't hurt.
He loved that girl, and she had ran. Ran far, far away. Anger flared through him and he began throwing things, items, smashing them into the ground and stomping on them. Grabbing a chair and heaving it into the wall. Throwing a heavy vase at the mirror, causing the glass and vase to break.
No. NO!
She couldn't just leave him. Not after she had pretended to care about him just to escape. She couldn't just leave after Cam had told her his feelings.
He was going to see her again.
The chances were slim. She could be dead already, today, tomorrow. (The thought was unbearable). Danger followed the previous Unwind around wherever she went, and Camus wasn't sure he could protect Risa from everything that were hurtled at him. Some things went too far out of his control. And even if Risa hated him, Cam was going to find her. He was going to take her away from all the problems and keep her safe.
And he was going to make her love him- no matter what it took.
Idea after idea flashed through his mind as the guards rushed into the room to stop him from destroying more items, or hurting himself.
Yes. Cam smiled. He was going to make Risa love him. One day, however far that it may be, he was going to make Risa love him as much as she loved the AWOL, Connor.
Because, after all, he was only human.
Right?
A/N: This turned out to be quite suck-ish. Short, too. This is my second attempt at an Unwind fanic. I just finished reading UnWholly. I just love Cam's character. He's adorable and slightly creepy/possessive at the same time. But I do ship Risa/Connor more. They're my opt. But, still. There's something about Cam. He's probably my favorite character out of the entire series, despite how controlling and annoying he can get. Reviews are greatly appreciated! I hoped you enjoyed this fanfic and not left thinking that this was a complete waste of time, because believe me, I've been there.