Back to school, back to work. Wanted to get this chapter done before more stuff happens. You'll notice I've been going crazy for Wreck-It-Ralph.
Roxanne didn't know how long she had been walking, or even where she was going. It's like she was on autopilot, not even thinking. She didn't become aware of her surroundings until she heard two familiar voices. She spun around to see Hal and Lizzie coming from around the corner, laughing cheerfully. She noticed they were holding hands.
They stopped once they acknowledged her. Hal's face turned very nervous.
"Roxie, hi!" he choked. "Long time, no see!"
"How you guys doing?" Roxanne inquired.
"Splendidly!" Lizzie exclaimed, her eyes twinkling. "Hal and I were just at the arcade. When we got to Sugar Rush we were simply dying for some ice cream! So now we're going to get some!"
Hal gulped. "So you moving or what?"
She sighed. "This Sunday."
Roxanne couldn't make out the expression on Lizzie's face. "That's too bad. I sure miss having you for a boss. Besides, I'm such a bad reporter."
"Well, you're improving."
"By the way, what did you think of the outfit I wore today?"
"Um…"
"I know, awful, right? I'm never wearing a thing like that again!" She let out a shriek as it started pouring down rain. "Aw, man! Did I pick a bad day to forget my raincoat or what? And the ice cream parlor's like two blocks away!"
Hal smiled. "Then we'll have to race for it! Wanna come, Roxie?"
She shook her head. "No thanks. Um, my apartment's not far from here anyway."
"Okay, suit yourself. Come on, Liz!"
Roxanne watched as the couple rushed down the street, trying to get out of the rain as well as beat the other to the shop. She had lied about her apartment being close. It was at least ten blocks away and she could get soaked. But she simply wasn't in the mood for ice cream or anything else. She just wanted to go home.
With a sigh, she started in the opposite direction. The rain hit her arms like ice cubes and her nose was already stuffing up, but she didn't care. She heard a car driving slowly beside her, but when she glanced in the direction of the sound, nothing was there. That is, until Megamind rolled down the window of his invisible car.
"Miss Ritchi?" he called.
Roxanne stood up stiffly and walked faster. "What do you want?"
"I…I want to talk to you."
"You want to talk? That's a new one. If you're looking for Lizzie, she's down at the ice cream parlor."
"I don't care about Miss Lyons! I came to see you."
"I thought I made it clear that I want nothing more to do with you!"
"But I have something to ask you!"
She groaned, but kept moving. "What?"
"Are you still leaving Metrocity?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Not telling you!"
"When?"
"Sunday."
"But that's in two days!"
"No, really? Will you go away now?"
"No, and neither will you!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Miss Ritchi, I insist you stay in Metrocity!"
"Well, if you insist…I refuse!"
"Please, stay…"
"Give me one reason why I should!"
"Because I need you to!"
"I think you've already established the fact that you can get along fine without me!"
He stopped the car and stepped out. "Roxanne…"
"Go away!"
She tried running, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him.
"Let go of me!" she cried.
"What will it take for me to convince you to stay?" he asked.
"Well, you could start by letting me go and promising to leave me alone!"
"Yeah, can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because how else am I supposed to kidnap you?"
"I told you I don't want any part of your stupid evil schemes! Now let go or I'll scream! Wait. That's what you've always wanted, isn't it? Is that why you won't leave me alone?"
"Roxanne! Please, hear me out…"
"No!"
"At least let me take you home! You could catch pneumonia out here!"
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Megamind sighed and reached into his cape. "I didn't want to have to do this."
She tried not to breathe in the spray, but it took effect before she even realized she had.
She expected to wake up in the Evil Lair, tied to the chair, but that was not the case. This time, she was inside the invisible car. At least, that's what she figured, considering she had never been in there while conscious. The only sound was the rain beating down on the windows. When her vision came into focus, she saw Megamind sitting beside her at the wheel, looking at her worryingly.
"What's going on?" she demanded. "Where have you taken me?"
Megamind glanced behind her. "Why don't you look out the window and find out?"
Annoyed, Roxanne turned her head. The glass had fogged up, so she had to wipe away the vapor to see. She squinted through the rain and couldn't believe her eyes. In front of her was the campus of Metro City University.
"W-what?" she stammered. "What are we doing here?"
"Don't you remember?" Megamind asked, leaning forward. "April 15th, 2003, 12:57 PM. You were walking on this very sidewalk, wearing a red dress with black shoes, your hair tied back, and you were carrying a bag containing a notebook, a pencil case, a makeup kit, and a textbook on Journalism. I was waiting for you in this very spot."
She turned to him. "This is where you first kidnapped me." He nodded. "How can you possibly remember all that?" He cleared his throat and gestured to his enormous head. "Of course."
"What I don't recall, however, is why you cut your hair."
Roxanne blinked. "You really don't remember? It was your fault, you know."
He coughed. "My fault?"
"Well, you did set my hair on fire with a flamethrower."
He slumped in his seat, embarrassed. "Oh, that." Then he brightened up. "You know what? I believe that's the only time I've ever heard you scream."
She stifled a giggle. "Not as much as you were!"
"W-what?! What are you talking about? I wasn't screaming!"
"Yes, you were! You were running around the Lair, flailing your arms, screaming for Minion to get a bucket of water! I don't know what you were so upset about. I was the one getting burnt, there!"
He twiddled his fingers. "Yeah, well, what good is a damaged captive?"
She shook her head. That had always been his excuse.
"Hey, I put the fire out, didn't I?"
"Yes," Roxanne stated. "But my hair was so burnt that I had to go to the hairdresser's afterwards."
"If you ask me, it was quite an improvement." She stared at him. "I mean, your hair was great before but now it's even… Oh, never mind."
Roxanne glanced out the window again and then back at him.
"Okay, why did you bring me here?"
Megamind bit his lip in hesitation. "To…to let you know that…that it wasn't a mistake…when I kidnapped you."
She said nothing, only sat there and continued to stare. She finally took a moment to really look at his face. There was nothing menacing or evil about it. She had figured that out a long time ago, but now, she could not describe what she was seeing in his expression. 'Anxiety' was the best word to use. The way he was looking at her now, it was almost as if…
"Why?" she uttered.
Megamind sighed. "I don't want you to leave, Roxanne."
It was only now that she realized he was calling her by her first name.
"Why do you even care?"
"Because…because…" He looked down at his feet. "You were the first person I'd ever kidnapped and now that I've tried kidnapping someone else, I realize…you're the only person I want to kidnap. I know you don't enjoy it, and I know you've gotten bored, and I know you're not dating Metro Man anymore, and I know you hate me, but…I don't want to give it up."
He turned away from her. Roxanne was speechless. She had never seen this side of him before.
She thought back to all the things her sister had said: Since day one, Megamind's had a thing for you. Whenever he looks at you, I swear, his humongous eyes get even bigger. All the times he's kidnapped you, has he ever really hurt you?
Roxanne could feel her heart pounding fiercely against her chest. I know one thing's for sure. He's in love with you. I think you feel the same way about him.
"No," she accidentally said aloud.
Megamind turned back to her. "What was that?"
"I mean…I…" She took a deep breath. "Take me home."
He stared at her for a moment, and then started the car. Neither of them spoke until they pulled up in front of Roxanne's apartment building. The reporter was about to open the door when Megamind said:
"If anyone asks, none of this happened, okay? I…I can't have anyone knowing, especially not Minion."
Roxanne answered without facing him. "Yeah, I understand."
"And…we're never to discuss it, alright?"
"Got it."
"And Roxanne…"
This time, she met his gaze. He had difficulty getting his next sentence out.
"I…you…you'll think about what I said, won't you?"
She looked into those green eyes a long while, before nodding. "Yeah, sure."
Roxanne quickly tore her gaze away and opened the door. As she stepped out, she glanced back at him one last time.
"Bye," she muttered.
"Good bye, Roxanne," he replied weakly.
She shut the door so she would not have to see his broken expression a second longer. It took all her cognitive power not to look back. It was not until she had reached the front door that she heard the car drive away.
"Are you alright, Miss Ritchi?" her doorman Carlos asked. "You're soaking wet."
Roxanne looked down at her drenched clothes. "Got caught in the rain."
"You need a towel or something?"
"No, I'm fine."
She stepped into the elevator and pressed the number eleven. As soon as the doors were closed and no one was there to see her, she burst into tears. She had no idea where they were coming from, only that she couldn't stop thinking of how she had left Megamind like that, alone and sad. It did not make any sense! She was not supposed to be sympathizing with a super villain, especially one who drove her crazy! Yet the tears would not stop.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, playing a calming tune. She wiped her face and answered.
"You're timing is impeccable, Dad."
"What happened, honey?" Richard Ritchi said, hearing the tone in his daughter's voice.
"I just…I…I'm leaving Metrocity…I mean Metro City in a couple days and…"
"You're having second thoughts?"
She sighed. "You read me like an open book, Dad, even over the phone."
"What's the reason? Friends? Work? You miss getting kidnapped?"
In a normal situation, she would have screamed at him, but she didn't know what to say.
"I understand you've gotten tired of the same thing happening to you every other day or so, but honestly, I think you enjoyed it all."
She groaned. "Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know!" The elevator doors opened and she headed down the hall. "What should I do, Daddy?"
Her father chuckled on the other end. "I thought you were too old for fatherly advice."
Roxanne took out her keys. "I've been wrong a lot lately."
"Well, I can't tell you what decision to make. My advice is that you do what your heart tells you."
She said nothing as she unlocked the door. Her sister was there to greet her.
"Roxie, my god!" she exclaimed. "You look like you fell into one of Blue Boy's tanks!"
"Gee, thanks, Rach," Roxanne muttered.
"Is that Rachel?" her dad inquired. "Put her on, would you? I haven't heard from her in a while. You'll think about what I said, okay?"
That's exactly what Megamind said. "Okay." She handed the phone to Rachel. "It's Dad. He wants to talk to you."
As her sister chattered away, Roxanne went into her room to dry off and change into her nightgown. Once she was warm and dry, she sunk into her bed. Then she noticed that Rachel had left the scrapbook there. She picked it up and turned to the first page.
She stared at the alien face for a long time. She thought back to that day and laughed at how surprised she had been when she had realized how not scary Megamind was. Sitting over a pit of sharks had been a little frightening yet very cliché, but also exciting.
She could still remember how annoyed the villain had been as Metro Man carried him by the cape in one hand and her in one arm. From his glare, she had been able to tell that it was her he was upset with, not Metro Man. She could still hear his last words before being dropped off at the prison.
"This isn't over, Miss Ritchi! I will be back and we will meet again!" And again and again and again, she thought with a giggle. "You may not fear me now, but mark my words, I will make you scream!"
That part may have never happened, save the flamethrower incident, but he had certainly made her cry today.
Do what your heart tells you. Her dad's words echoed in her head. What was she to do?
She continued to flip through the scrapbook. Memories flooded back with every clipping she saw. She stopped at the magazine interview and read one of the questions the reporter had asked: "What's it like being kidnapped by Megamind? What's it like being in a super villain's presence?"
This had been her answer: "It's kind of boring, actually. He can't think of anything original."
That hadn't been true. There were a few plans which weren't cliché, but were also ridiculous. She recalled the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Kittens, the Robot Chickens, the Potato Cannon… Ridiculous, but funny.
Then there were the plans which were actually clever. Her favorite was the annual April Fool's Day kidnapping. His idea of an April Fool joke was calling Metro Man saying that he had kidnapped her, when in reality, he hadn't. It made her laugh thinking about it now, but a part of her wished she had been there to see Metro Man's reaction.
Was that why she had felt so jealous of Lizzie? Because she was getting in on all the action while she herself was moving to, as Rachel would put it, 'boring old Lansing'?
The kidnappings may have become repetitive, but that afternoon on April 15th was the best thing that had ever happened to her. And she had to admit, she had gotten used to waking up with a sack over her head, hearing Megamind and Minion's muffled voices, and seeing the super villain in his chair, petting the dome of a Brainbot, saying something cheesy, but also challenging her to a round of banter.
He would win some. She would win most of them. At least in those, she never knew what to expect. Sometimes she'd catch him off-guard and make a crack at his invention, starting another round. Sometimes he'd be on the verge of crying whenever she won, sometimes he'd groan in annoyance, but other times, he'd have a sort of look of admiration.
Was that what she missed? Not the danger, not the plans that always failed, not the publicity that came afterwards, but those little conversations and moments? Or was what she missed the very person behind it all?
Do what your heart tells you. There were so many emotions racing through it that it was hard to decipher its message, but there was one thing she could hear for sure.
Then she knew exactly what to do.
Gonna leave you hanging. MWAHAHAHAHA!
