Chapter 26
Keegan collapsed onto her bed, slumped and upset.
"Keegan?" Niles asked quietly.
She turned to him. "I don't know what to do, Niles. How can they fight Headmaster without me? And how do I fight something with the exact same powers as me?"
"You ever hear of 'perception is reality'?" Niles said.
Keegan looked up blankly.
"With this kind of power, limited only by imagination?" Niles said. "If you believe that he's more powerful than you, he will be. But if you believe you can defeat him…"
"I don't get it, Niles," Keegan muttered.
"You've got to think faster than him!" Niles said. "You've got to have a better imagination! He comes at you with the scythe, you block it with a shield and wail on him with a hammer. He makes himself huge? You be even bigger, big enough to crush him underfoot. If he says to you, 'I am the most powerful thing in the universe', you say, 'I'm much greater'."
Keegan gave Niles a hug. "Thanks, Niles," she said. "I wouldn't have thought of that. You're brilliant."
"Marry me, Keegan?" Niles muttered quietly.
She sighed. "Not now, Niles. I want to find my parents."
"Hmm?"
"My parents! What if Monte Beck really is Headmaster? I have to find out."
"Your dad?" Niles said. "Well… where is he? When was the last time you saw him?"
A tear flowed from Keegan's eye. "I have no idea! After I found you, and Max, I completely forgot about my parents. Oh my God, I am such an awful person! What could my parents think of me? It's been three years since I even…" Keegan curled up and started bawling. "Oh, God, Monte, I'm sorry… and Chrissie, oh, what have I done to you…"
Niles held her tightly. "You call your parents by their first names?"
"That's the way they wanted it. Oh, God…"
"Keegan, you're not a bad person," he said. "You've been a wonderful friend to Max, and… I can't even begin to describe what you are to me."
She looked up at him. "It's not right. It's not right! There's more to life than just two people. What about the rest of Max's family? I never talk to them, they probably don't even like me. …I'm such a geek. Headmaster's right, I've wasted my life."
"Come on, let's track down your parents," Niles whispered. "I bet they'll be so glad to see you… even if your dad is Headmaster."
Keegan giggled through her tears.
"It's never too late," Niles said. "I still love you. Max still loves you. I bet your parents still love you. We have a lot of life left… exactly as much as you want, am I right?"
She held him tightly. "You're so wonderful, Niles."
"Your handiwork."
"I do wanna marry you, Niles. Just not now."
The two of them slow-danced together for several hours. Nothing could have stopped them.