A/N: There are no warnings for this chapter. I hope you guys like it! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Megamind.
Just Another School Year
Chapter 11
The following morning, the rumors were flying even worse than before. They swirled around Roxanne's head like a whirlpool, threatening to drown her in their misery. Her visit with Megamind at lunch the prior day had not gone unnoticed, and the school was now convinced the resident "bad boy" had somehow "corrupted" her into his personal servant. The entire school was now howling for Megamind's blood, certain Metro Man would crush the "evil" blue teenager and free his beloved from whatever devious mechanism was forcing her to stray from his heroic embrace. Roxanne groaned to herself and tried to bury her face behind a textbook to hide the many concerned glances she was getting from the other students in homeroom as she waited patiently for class to begin. Why couldn't they all just keep their long, gossiping noses out of her love life?
She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she noticed that once again, when Metro Man arrived to class, he headed straight over to her.
"Hey…" Metro Man greeted her gently as she almost glared up at him. "How are you doing?"
"How do you think?" Roxanne huffed at him, gesturing to the wildly gossiping girls around them. "You know, Metro Man, I always hated the rumors they spread about you and me, but this is ridiculous! What business is it of theirs who I dance with or who I eat my lunch with? That's my choice, and I don't appreciate them accusing me of being brainwashed!"
Metro Man looked down on her in sympathy, then knelt down beside her, doing his best to try to appear meek and small, almost insignificant — a hard thing for him to do when his biceps alone kept knocking into the desks around him. "Listen, Roxy… I don't like the rumors either, and I'd very much like to believe there's no truth to them… You're a strong woman. You always have been. It's the quality in you I admire the most… But you're hanging around with a criminal…" Roxanne's eyes shot up to meet his and he softened his tone even more. "Roxy, I'm worried about you… I don't want to see you get hurt…"
"And you think you know what's best for me?" Roxanne snapped at him and he blinked. "You think you have the right to tell me who I should be friends with and who I shouldn't, you who have some mysterious history with Megamind you refuse to tell me about? If you're so worried about me, hero, why don't you tell me what it is about him that's so terribly bad it's got you shaking in your perfectly polished boots?"
Metro Man actually looked stunned as he stared at her in silence for a moment before responding, "I can see you're angry, but…"
"Of course I'm angry!" Roxanne shouted at him. A part of her couldn't believe she was actually yelling at her closest friend, a man who'd always been there, watching over her shoulder, but she couldn't stop herself. "Who are you to tell me who's good or bad? I can judge that for myself, and so far I seem to be doing a better job of it than any of you! I can watch out for myself! And if I get hurt, so be it! It's not your job to protect me!"
"B-But… Roxy…" Metro Man stammered, obviously shocked by her outburst.
"I believe Miss Ritchi has made herself perfectly clear," Megamind's voice suddenly cut in, a heavy growl from behind the super-powered teenager's shoulder. Metro Man's eyes met his and they frowned at each other, but Megamind refused to budge, crossing his arms over his chest as he insisted, "Leave her be, hero."
Metro Man slowly got to his feet, but didn't say a word to Megamind. Turning back to face Roxanne, his eyes suddenly looking very tired and disappointed, he insisted softly, "Roxy… I can tell you need your space right now, so I won't push you. But when you're ready… If you want to talk… You know where to find me. I won't turn you away." Roxanne nodded and he turned to head to his own desk, brushing so roughly past Megamind that the shorter blue alien was almost sent toppling to the ground.
Megamind glared at Metro Man for a moment as he righted himself, and Roxanne could see his jaw clench in what she recognized as a desire to fight the stronger alien. For his sake, she was glad he resisted the temptation, brushing himself off and standing tall as he moved to take his seat beside her. Drawing in a deep, frustrated breath and letting it out slowly, his vivid green eyes met hers as he leaned in to speak in a voice so low only she could hear it, "Roxanne… I think it might be best if we don't meet at lunch today." He frowned around himself at the teenagers daring to whisper about him despite his presence only feet away, adding with a groan, "I'm used to this… But I know you're not. The rumors are bound to get worse as we spend more time together… But if we minimize the time we spend together here, perhaps I can save you from some of this misery."
Roxanne frowned and shook her head, determinedly reaching out to rest her hand over his in a gesture she knew would not go unnoticed. As his cheeks colored even more at the action, she insisted, "I don't care about the rumors, Megamind. Let them gape. If you are going to suffer under this kind of brutality, then I will stand beside you. We will face them together."
"R-Roxanne…" Megamind gasped, stunned by her sentiment – and the determination with which she had sworn it. "I can't… I mean… Why would you…? You don't need to… Not for me…"
Megamind's face was completely flushed purple as he tripped over his own sentences, suddenly unable to form a complete thought as his eyes spoke them for him, and Roxanne's heart constricted in her chest. He wasn't used to anyone standing up for him, that much was obvious… She was probably the first person ever to do so, and certainly the first to do it openly in front of everyone. The gesture had stunned him silent and struck him breathless, his eyes refusing to leave hers in apparent disbelief. She smiled at him warmly, squeezing his hand tight where she still held it as she reaffirmed her decision. "No, Megamind. I mean it. You're not alone any more. You have me. We will face these blasted rumors together. They will just have to accept that."
Megamind stared at her in breathless silence for a moment before he seemed able to find his voice again, and when he finally managed to speak, his voice was soft and laden with awe, despite a protective undertone he wasn't able to hide from her. "No… You can't… You can't do that, Roxanne… Not until… Not until you know…" His eyes grew shy and secretive, pulling away from hers, and a heavy sigh escaped his lips as she stared at him in confusion. Until she knew what? Was he hiding something? Before she could ask him what he meant, however, his eyes hardened in determination as he seemed to strike upon an idea, his eyes finally meeting hers again as he instructed her firmly, but gently, "Listen, Roxanne… I'm not going to meet you at lunch today. I don't want to make these rumors worse for you." Roxanne moved to say something, but he shook his enormous blue head and held up his hand in a firm gesture to silence her, his expression unyielding. "No. We'll have the afternoon and this evening together… The warden told me I could leave with you right after shool, so meet me out front after detention. There's… something I want to show you." Roxanne was now completely confused, her blossoming reporter's instincts screaming to ask him any of about a hundred different questions, but before she could ask even one, Megamind rose to his feet and gathered his books in his hands. He paused to cast her a look that clearly commanded her not to ask where he was going, then insisted calmly, "Ignore the rumors, Roxanne. We'll handle them together – if that's still what you want after tonight. Out front, after detention. I'll meet you there." Without hesitating another moment, as the teacher began to enter the room, he turned and bolted out into the hall, laughing as Mrs. Green called after him and sentenced him to detention yet again.
Megamind never returned to homeroom.
Megamind didn't show up for any of his classes that morning. In fact, it was well after lunch before Roxanne even saw him again as he headed out to run laps on the track outside for gym. His vivid green eyes had met hers for a moment as they took their places with their classmates on the track and waited for the teacher's signal to start running, but though his eyes screamed of what she knew was a deeply-rooted fear that she would dump him, he didn't say a word to her. He simply pulled his eyes away, forced his focus ahead of himself to the pavement, and threw himself into the run as though his life depended on it, racing around the track with the intensity of a man desperately trying to distract himself from the thoughts plaguing his mind, but losing the battle no matter how hard he tried. Roxanne simply could not catch up to him, and even if she could, she knew he wouldn't speak to her – yet. Whatever was on that overly-large mind of his was a secret she knew he would only tell her after he got out of detention. She wondered where he meant to take her to discuss it.
The day dragged by for Roxanne, her classes seeming to take longer than usual as she found herself watching the clock, willing time to go by faster so she could go on her date with Megamind and find out whatever it was he was afraid would scare her away. Instead of speeding up, however, the hands of the clock seemed to slow down to a crawl, dragging out her misery. What on Earth could Megamind's big secret be? She found herself wracking her brain, trying to figure out what it was he was hiding. Had he committed some crime once he hadn't told her about? A theft maybe? She supposed it probably had something to do with the guards' claim that he was an escape artist, which seemed the most likely case. Whatever it was though, she found herself both looking forward to and dreading the revelation… Would his secret be as bad as he thought it was? Would it change how she saw him? Or would it only make her love him even more? She groaned as she eyed the clock again, watching the second hand slowly tick around the face, taunting her. She just wanted to get this over with. She hoped it would end better than Megamind feared.
When the time finally came for Megamind to get out of detention, Roxanne found herself waiting anxiously outside for him exactly as he'd told her to. The big-headed blue alien was obviously just as anxious as she was to get this over with, wasting no time as he hurried out the front door to meet her by the curb, a very serious and determined look in his eyes she hadn't seen before. He wasn't smiling either as he approached her, the corners of his lips turned down in a committed frown as though preparing himself for a blow he wasn't sure he wanted to receive. "Megamind… Megamind, what's wrong?" Roxanne asked gently, her tone soft and concerned as his eyes finally lifted to meet hers as he moved to stand beside her. "You're acting very strangely and it's making me nervous… What's going on?"
Megamind shook his enormous head, his focus seeming to steel as he forced his gaze down the road as though waiting for something. He sighed softly, then insisted in a tone that was measured but calm, "You'll get your answers soon enough, Roxanne… But not here."
Roxanne did her best to hide her frustration, her blossoming reporter skills aching to ask him so many questions she knew he wouldn't yet answer. She would simply have to be patient. "So… Should I get my car?" she asked in a voice she hoped hid her curiosity well enough from his attentive ears, but the fear in his eyes didn't fade, and she knew he'd caught the undertone despite her attempts to mask it.
The blue teenager shook his huge bald head and insisted simply, "That won't be necessary." Roxanne blinked at him, unsure what he planned to do, but before she could move to say a word in response, she was startled to hear what sounded like a car speeding towards them – but there was no car in sight! As the sound of tires screeching to a halt assaulted her ears, Megamind stepped forward towards the curb expectantly. Roxanne couldn't help but gasp when she saw a door appear out of what seemed to be thin air, opening exactly where the driver's side door would be in a car as Minion stepped out in a body totally unlike the one she was used to seeing him in… Instead of the usual small monkey body, his glass dome was now housed in a huge robotic gorilla body – and he looked concerned as he rushed around what she was beginning to realize was an invisible car and straight towards his boss. "Minion! You're late!" the blue alien was scolding him as Roxanne could do little but stare at the two in open-mouthed shock. First Megamind shows up to take her to the Homecoming dance on a flying jet-bike, and now this? "I told you to be here ten minutes ago!"
"Sir! Sir, I'm telling you, this is a mistake!" Minion protested, pleading with his master as Roxanne began to realize the two seemed to be at odds today for some reason… She'd never seen them fight before… The oddly intelligent fish frowned at her for a moment as she blinked at him, flaring his fins in an obviously agitated manner, then focused back on Megamind. "You can't do this! You've worked too hard…"
Megamind's face instantly flushed purple as he shouted roughly back at the fish that had always been his best friend, "I know what I am doing, Minion! We've already discussed this!"
"But, Sir!" Minion pressed him anyway. "You have to trust me on this! You can't trust her! She's…"
"MINION!" Megamind's voice boomed at the fish in a tone of unquestionable authority, daring him to challenge him again. Minion seemed to shrink away from his anger into the bottom of his bowl as the blue teenager growled, "It is NOT your place to question my orders! You are simply to obey them! If you dare to question me again, I will turn you into cat food! Is that clear?"
Minion's voice seemed unusually small when he replied meekly, "Y-Yes, Sir…"
"Good," Megamind practically snapped, snatching the keys from the fish's robotic hand. Holding his head high in a very confident fashion, he instructed Minion as he stalked his way around the car, "Now, you have tasks to complete, I believe? That body should be more suitable to accomplishing them. Get to it! You have your orders, and I trust you can follow them as I have laid them out. Is that right, Minion?"
Minion nodded, slowly floating back up from the bottom of his dome. "Yes, Sir. I will carry out your orders. I will not let you down."
Megamind nodded in satisfaction, then gestured to the fish in dismissal as he commanded, "See that you don't! Now get moving! I have business to attend to with Roxanne."
"Yes, Sir," Minion obediently nodded, then pausing only to cast Roxanne a wary look she didn't quite understand, he hurried off down the road to carry out whatever orders Megamind had given him.
Roxanne's attention was drawn away from the fleeing robotic body of the alien fish as she heard Megamind sigh from across the invisible car in her direction. Meeting his brilliant green eyes with hers, she noted he seemed even more anxious than before as he apologized for his friend, "You'll have to forgive Minion… He's, uh… a little over-protective at times, but we look out for each other." He gestured towards where the passenger side door would be and insisted, "Please… Get in. We'll be leaving in just a moment." Without another word, he disappeared inside the invisible vehicle and closed the door, vanishing entirely from view.
Roxanne hesitated for a moment, unsure what to think of the scene she had just witnessed. Whatever Megamind planned to do with her, it was obvious Minion did not approve, despite his eventual submission to her blue boyfriend's stern commands. Megamind was definitely anxious, but considering how hard it was for her to convince him she actually cared about him in the first place and how convinced he seemed to be she needed to know his secrets before committing herself to defending him, it was exactly the reaction she would expect from him. He was nervous, yes, but would he actually hurt her? She just couldn't bring herself to believe he could be dangerous. Shaking her head to shake off her own anxiety, she drew in a deep breath, stepped forwards until she could feel the invisible car's door, and finding the handle, opened it and got inside.
Megamind watched her in silence as she closed the door behind her, her sharp eyes scanning over the car's interior with an intense curiosity. The upholstery was entirely black leather, the console custom-designed to house all sorts of unusual lights, switches, and controls the likes of which she'd never before seen. "Wow, Megamind, this is… This is impressive!" Roxanne couldn't help but compliment him, her eyes finally meeting his in awe. "Did you build this yourself?"
Megamind nodded his oversized head, a small smile reappearing on his lips as he couldn't resist the urge to brag about his accomplishments. "Oh, of course! Well, the frame is off a man-made machine, but I've completely redesigned it. You'd be amazed at what this baby can do! The invisibility mode is only one of its features, but a very important one!" He bit his lip for a moment, his smile fading, then cleared his throat anxiously as the nerves reappeared in his eyes. He glanced away for a moment, then asked softly, "Roxanne… Did… Did you mean what you said earlier today?"
As Megamind's vivid green eyes met hers, the expression on his face strained and obviously doubtful, almost sad, Roxanne realized there was no doubt in her mind what her answer was and had to be. "Every word of it," she insisted, her tone as steady as a rock.
Megamind's gaze remained fixed on her eyes as though trying to read the sincerity of her statement as he asked again, clearly testing her commitment, "You would really be willing to stand against those mindless drones, against Metro Man, with me?"
Roxanne smiled at him gently, reaching out to rest her hand over his as she insisted honestly, "Yes, Megamind. I will stand beside you."
A weak smile slowly pulled at the corners of Megamind's lips as he blushed, his eyes refusing to leave hers as he seemed to lose the ability to talk for just a moment. His gaze dropped to where her hand rested over his, his hand shifting until he could squeeze the tips of her fingers gently in a gesture of speechless affection that wasn't lost on Roxanne. Smiling warmly at him, she waited patiently for him to recover his voice, squeezing his hand tenderly back as he finally lifted his eyes back to hers and practically whispered, "You'd be the first to ever say that to me… I want to believe you." He sighed as she blinked at him, dropping her hand to fish for something in his pocket. "I need to show you something," he insisted as he rummaged through his pockets. "Something important. Oh, blast! Where'd I put that thing?" Roxanne tried not to laugh as he gave up on his pockets, squirming around in his seat to lean over it to the backseat where he'd tossed his bag. The future reporter tried desperately not to stare at his firm, round backside as he began to dig through his things, his voice drifting steadily back to her. "Minion doesn't think I should show you, but I think he's wrong. If you're going to stand with me against these dim-witted buffoons, then you should know… Ah! Got it!"
Roxanne was completely unprepared for what he had been looking for.
When Megamind turned back around in his seat, a sly grin on his lips despite the anxiety that still haunted his eyes, he held in his hands what was obviously a black blindfold. Roxanne's eyes widened as she saw it and he cleared his throat, explaining in a hurry, "I have to blindfold you, Roxanne. I'm sorry, but I can't let you see where we're going. I promise I won't hurt you."
Roxanne stared at Megamind in a mix of sudden anxiety and uncertainty. He had to blindfold her? Why? "Where are you taking me?" she asked suddenly, her voice coming out a bit more nervously than she'd intended. "Why can't I see where we're going?"
Megamind sighed, huffing a little in frustration. He was obviously impatient to get going… "You'll understand when we get there," he insisted simply, his tone a heavy groan. "Look, the location must remain a secret, even to you, at least for now. Once I know how you feel about it… Well, we'll see how this goes." His eyes grew pleading, his grip on the blindfold tightening as he inched in a little closer to her and insisted, "Roxanne… I want to believe what you said to me this morning, but I can't let you make that choice until you see what I need to show you. You're just going to have to trust me on this… If you want to know my secrets, you have to let me blindfold you."
Roxanne stared into his eyes in obvious uncertainty. She had always felt as though she could trust him, but the blindfold and the apparent secrecy of their destination and whatever secrets he was hiding there unnerved her. Even so, his eyes were nervous, pleading with her to let him do what he needed to do, pleading with her to trust him. She could see his anxiety level rising with every second of her silence, his eyes betraying a deeply-rooted fear he was trying to ignore that she would leave him screaming and never look back. As she gazed into his vivid green eyes and watched him lick his lips, barely breathing, it slowly dawned on her that blindfold or not, he was trying to open up to her… To let her in to see his deepest secrets, the secrets he'd probably never shared with anyone apart from Minion. Whatever his secrets were, he wanted to share them with her, even against the advice of his best friend and confidante. He was risking everything on the gamble that he could let her into his secrets and she wouldn't hurt him with whatever she found there… Sighing softly, her decision made, she tried to relax in her seat as she gave in, "Fine… You can blindfold me then." He smiled and moved to bring the blindfold to her eyes, but suddenly getting an idea, she stopped him as she pointed a finger at him and stipulated in as serious a tone as she could muster, "BUT in return, you owe me an ice cream sundae!"
Megamind chuckled softly as he realized she was teasing him, his cheeks flushing a soft shade of purple as a mischievous grin broke out on his lips and he conceded, "Roxanne, I promise you, if you see my secrets and still want my company, I will buy you all the ice cream sundies you want." Roxanne smirked and nodded at him, then closed her eyes as he brought the blindfold to them and gently fastened it behind her head. When he'd finished tying it in place, he asked softly, "Is it too tight?"
Roxanne shook her head. "No. It's fine."
"Can you see anything?" Megamind asked, obviously testing her range of vision. She could hear his arms moving as she assumed he was waving his hands in front of her face.
"No, I can't see anything," Roxanne assured him.
"Good," Megamind breathed in relief, then fastened her seatbelt for her before strapping himself in. "Then we can be on our way!"
