Part Eight: Clearing the Air

Things remained silent even after she had left; Ben and Cooper were waiting for Eleven to take hold and massacre them. But Kevin remained silent and still, smiling sadly at the ring. She had finally wised up.

"You—Aren't you going to go after her?" Ben asked nervously. He knew he had to tread carefully.

"Nope."

"You're not?!" Cooper cried out in shock.

"Nope."

"Why not?!"

"She's better off without me," he explained to his confounded friends simply, in a monotone.

"No she's not!" Ben leapt from his seat and slapped his comrade, hoping it would knock some sense into the man.

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She walked down the sidewalk, shivering, with her arms across her chest as to conserve body heat; it was a crisply cold spring morning but she hadn't brought a jacket because the green GTO had been nice and warm.

Her steps were even and determined; she was not going to go to pieces over him. She had known this might happen. He wasn't the sort to be tied down to a wife or family. She could go to Anodine without too many regrets now. There was nothing left on Earth for her; her family would be fine without her, Ben could handle their usual Plumber work, and god only knew what Kevin would do but she had no doubt he would manage quite well on his own. He had before.

But it was none of her concern; apparently he didn't want her. So what if her heart hurt as if it was being torn in half, put through a wood chipper, and then into a blender. So what if she felt physically ill or if her soul felt like it was being ripped from her? She couldn't do anything about it; there was no painkiller able to take the sting from her or even just to dull it; there was no medication to calm her sick stomach. She would just have to deal with it; always and forever the symptoms would plague her.

And although it sounded melodramatic, clichéd and although she was merely on the verge of human adulthood she knew he had been the one; he was her soul-mate. So nobody would ever fully and absolutely replace him. This sucked. Badly.

She had heard the pounding of running combat boots coming up behind her so she simply moved aside to give whoever it was room to pass her. She sure wasn't expecting a broad hand to grab her by the shoulder and spin her around, bringing her face to face with Kevin.

Her face set into a stony, uninterested expression, except for the raised eyebrow, and spoke in a monotone, "You needed something?"

"Yeah," he nodded, sounding quite calm, "to talk."

"About what?" she bit out. He looked around. The street was empty and they were in the commercial side of the town so there were no eavesdroppers but he still pulled her, by the shoulder, into a dead end alley for more privacy, saying softly, "About why we can't be together…"

"Oh I already know why," she spat at him, "because you're a prideful paranoid coward who can't accept help from anyone unless you're actually dying and now you're giving up on your life rather than fight for it—"

"And how exactly I am supposed to fight for it?!" he demanded, getting angry because of her accusation, "You heard him, I'm a certified nutjob; a dan—"

"Humans deal with the same issues and they deal well enough to live nor—!"

"I'm not human!" he roared.

"You're three fourths human, you jerkass; look, I'm not stupid, I knew from the moment I saw you, back in New York, that you have some major baggage; I don't care—"

"It isn't right," he told her, having calmed slightly, "You shouldn't have to deal with my screwy head. Please, this is best for yo—"

"No, it really isn't." she argued, "It hurts—"

"You think this doesn't hurt me?!" he demanded, "I'm being ripped in half!" and that was the truth. He could feel Eleven fighting for control, he wasn't going to last much longer. The monster was going to be freed and nothing would be safe.

"Then don't push me away," she spoke softly now, looking him in the eyes, "Let me help; I don't care if you're crazy, we'll handle this together; we're unbeatable when together, nothing short of Vilgax himself can stop us. You know that so why are you trying push me away?"

"It isn't right." He repeated brokenly.

She cupped his face, "Nothing in your life has gone right has it?"

He shook his head.

"Then why are you destroying something good?"

"Because it'll blow up in my face anyways," he told her. She softened even more, her anger and hurt dissipating as understanding took its place. He was just trying to protect himself.

"We won't blow up Kev," she assured him gently yet firmly, "we're solid. And we'll always be solid."

She reached for his hand but when she found it she felt metal. Manually opening his fist, she found the chain and ring she had left behind.

"Why did you bring this?" she asked, still softly.

He shifted his weight apprehensively, "The chain and ring will get pretty good money on the market; I don't need the money so I wanted you to have them even if we…" he trailed off.

She fingered the jewelry, asking, "So are you gonna give us a shot?"

He nodded and she smiled, clasping the necklace back into its proper place.