Magic Mirror

The harrowing expression on Kevin's face appeared so complete, Gwen mistook it for calm. She approached him with an unwavering determination to open his eyes to a clear and present danger. He's sitting by himself, etching a portrait into the concrete floor of his garage with the chipped end of a screwdriver. It disappoints her. She wishes she could offer him praise, but Kevin's not much of an artist. Desperately, she wants to find something – anything – redeeming about this man. He was surreal. Everything about him was just unacceptable. Gwen had never met a character quite like him. And for this man to choose her… that is quite a thought.

He had always been too complex for her taste, but she supposed she liked it. Hell, she did like it. She put up with his crap, and often called him out on it.

What had happened the previous morning, however, was completely incongruous.

Distain bled through his words, "What do you want, bitch?"

A sharp sensation blurred her vision, as if acid was pooling in her eyes. He had been ignoring her, pretending not to see her, acting as though she had not ran up to him… as though she was not there. As though she was not in as much pain as he was. And it stung.

"Maybe you've forgotten, but I do have a proper name, Kevin."

Carefully twirling the broken tool in his hand, the young man sat upright, finally letting his eyes behold the sight of her. "I haven't forgotten, yet. But I'm trying to."

That fucking killed her.

The urge to viciously force her fist into his ravishing face nearly took a hold of her. Instead, the unexpected happened. Tears slipped from her wide eyes. Then, it was as if a dam had exploded. She was crying. A lot.

Sniffing, she tried to resume the desperate topic…

Despite her faltering tone, she changed the subject.

He didn't appreciate how she was acting. Pathetic was one label he had slapped upon her as of yesterday, but now, he'd given up. He was done. To him, this crying girl before him was dead. The fact that she was trying yet again to evade the problem at hand irritated him even more.

Panic swelled her pupils, alarmingly enlarging them. Acting on a whim, she had changed the topic. This mindless escape had not saved her at all. Then, Hell broke loose. Everything poured out from her heart to her mouth.

Slackening his grip on the chipped screwdriver, Kevin reminded himself that violence was not the answer. Not when Gwendolyn was involved. No matter how much he wanted to jab the tool down her throat, he forbid the thought to linger, nor seize his desirable actions.

Her faith in herself trembled like the fairground lights. A sudden twist in the depths of her conscious surged her arm to reach out for the seated young man, but he had built walls. And she couldn't find any possible way around them. Not without destroying them. And yesterday, she had hacked away at every last brick with her vicious words. Words that, five minutes later, she deeply regretted.

Today was the other side of the magic mirror; it was her turn to cry, to suffer his biting words. But none of the consultation was really his intention. It was all banter, really. She may have wounded him, but only for a moment. That didn't mean he wanted her to taste the vile poison, too. He would only allow her to suffer his pain, until his punctured ego was treated. It was possible that Gwen could be the one to heal him, these gashes she'd verbally caused. Or, perhaps, to be completely happy, he would let go of her, and never look back… Love is sacrifice. Love is pain.

But like any wound, it took time to heal.

Drenching his eyes with the scene before him, he perceived the sobbing girl differently at this second look. And now, with a broken soul and streaming tears, she was as intimidating as ever. Love is surreal. Love is magic.

A/N: This piece was mainly to focus on tensions that I realize occur between many couples and which I can identify with. I watched my best friend go through the worst possible breakup any teenage girl could face. Thus, I was tragically inspired. There really is no thorough incident as to WHAT caused this encounter between Gwen and Kevin, but eventually, a buildup of tensions between the two exploded. Do not let things mount to an un-concealable level. There are conflicts and matters we all must face throughout our entire life. And all this pain, the things that feel bad… it will make you a stronger person, and more like yourself. Never give up!