I walk out of the boring math class. I seriously don't understand why it's necessary. If I want to be a writer I doubt I'll need some math, but I guess I can't predict the future. Either way, math is my last class so I need to stop by my locker. When I do make it, I empty most of my heavy bag. I get up and close the locker door just to see the asshole who's been making school a living hell. I sigh and turn away. I don't want to let him get to me. The principal said if we got into another fight it'll end with both of us getting detention. Can't they see he's bullying me, and they're gonna punish the victim just trying to defend himself? Whatever I just gotta get my mind off of him. "Hey, Lukey," he says. I turn my head.
"The hell do you want?" I ask. He giggles and walks forward. I turn around to fully face him. Ness, the popular kid. He's nice to most people, yet for some reason, he's rude to me. I never did anything to him as far as I can remember. He looks up to me because funny enough I happen to be taller than he is.
"What're you looking at me like that for?"
"You called me, so spit it out."
"Well, I'm sure you'd like to do that."
"What do you mean."
"You lil fag." He knows? How does he know? Not even Claus knows. I never told anyone, is it that obvious. Grant it I do dye my hair often, and I'm not the most masculine, and I guess I don't really hide the fact I look at the boys in the locker room. Damn, that sucks. Being in a room full of nearly nude boys is so hard for me. Ness shook me from my divergence. I cross my arms.
"I don't know what you mean."
"I saw the way you looked at me earlier, I don't appreciate being eye-rapped by some fag." I thought I was strong. But hearing that word now, hearing it in my face, seems harsher than when I tell myself it. Hearing it from Ness seems to hold an extra 1-2 punch to it. I start to feel my eyes well up. I shoot around, not wanting Ness to see me cry. "Well, it seems you're just a pussy, like your brother." My brother? He's going to bring up Claus? He's been out for a while, and Ness is just jealous Ninten is spending more time with him than Ness. Ness. He can make fun of me, but damn it if he brings up Claus. I shoot back around. The tear had dissolved from the heat of my anger.
"What did you say?" I ask in a tone that surprises me with how dark and menacing it is. Ness just laughs.
"Oh, the lil fag is gonna toughen up, you won't do shit," Ness says as he brings his face closer to mine, spitting in my face from his words.
"Didn't stop me last time."
"Fuck last time, now is now. And now...you won't do fuck all." I growl and punch his gut. He fell back and ran toward me, slamming his head into my gut. Ness slams his fist into my head before I can recover. I fall to the ground and allow Ness to walk up to me. When he gets close enough I slam my foot into his crotch, causing him to limp forward. I stand up and grab the back of his head to slam it into the locker. Ness growls like a tiger before pouncing. He grabs my neck, he seems to do it with care as to not fully choke me. He leans forward. "You just fucked up." I spit in his face, making him angrier and punch my face again. Ness was gonna throw another punch but then someone pulls him off of me. That same person picks me up. I look at him, and of course, it was the same guard who stopped us last time. He looks between us. Donkey Kong, the guard who always stops fights.
"What did I say, last time boys?" he asks. Ness and I look at each other, expecting the other to answer.
"Go ahead, goody two shoes," I spit in his face.
"You go you fucking faggot," he spits back. Donkey Kong growls and puts us on his shoulders.
"This was your fifth fight in a week, that's it. Tomorrow you both have to go to detention in the cafeteria."
"WHAT! Tomorrow is Saturday, I have a game to go to," Ness says. Donkey Kong picks him from his shoulder and glares into his soul.
"Does it look like I care." Man, Donkey Kong is scary. He's usually fun and enjoyable to be around, but now he's so strict. But, Ness, he's gonna miss a game. When Donkey Kong put Ness back on his shoulder I notice how disappointed and even sad he is. I can't help but feel bad and feel like it's my fault. I open my mouth to say something.
"Don't, don't fucking try." I look down at the floor and close my eyes. Donkey Kong soon stops in front of the principal's office. He pushes us in. We see Pit sitting behind the counter. He motions for us to sit in the two chairs looking at the desk. We do as he motioned and he stands up.
"I'll get Palutena, you two stay here," Pit says, walking off into a smaller room. I look around the room. Palutena is a proud lady. Proud of Smash High. A school known for its records. There were some hanging in the office. None of which really stands out to me. While looking at the records, I notice Ness glaring at me. I look at him.
"What?" I ask.
"This is your fault, I want you to know that." Hearing that come out of his mouth hurts, but I don't know why. I guess I shouldn't have been looking at him changing. It's just, seeing him like that, I can't help myself. I can't lie, I've been dreaming about him. From the dreams it almost seems like I thrive for him to be nice to me, but usually, the niceties end up...sexual. It is my fault we're here. I am just a lil fag who can't control his own sexuality. I close my eyes.
"I know." I heard a small, minuscule gasp come from Ness's mouth. I look at him and see he was looking at the ground. He almost looked guilty. I shake my head. "I'm sorry." I noticed he was twiddling his thumbs, he was nervous. Palutena rips me from him when she walks in. She sits down behind the desk, with a long and annoyed sigh.
"You boys again?" she asks. Neither of us have an answer for her. She shakes her head and leans back in her chair. "It's one thing to disrupt class and passing periods. But now you're disrupting a very important meeting." I continue to look up at her, pleading that she'll allow us off with another warning. She opens her drawer and brings out two red slips. She writes something on both and hands them to us. We know that this is; detention slips. I take mine. "Now go home, tomorrow you'll meet in the cafeteria with Pit." Palutena stands up and reenters the small room. I look at Ness and see he had already left. I stand up and walk out of the room. Once I do leave I see Ness walking. Seeing the way he's walking makes me sad. He's an asshole, but I can't help but say this...I like him. I like him a lot. The way he stands up for his friends, the way he's able to play his sports, the way he's built, the way he acts. I just want to know why he hates me.
I run up to him. He must've heard my steps because he shoots around with a scowl. "What?" he asks. I hesitate a little, seeing the anger and sadness in his face.
"Why...why do you hate me?" I ask. Ness just growls and turns away. He doesn't start walking, though. He clenches his right fist and looks down at the ground.
"I just do...now fuck off."
"Please, I'll work on it. Want me to be less gay, so be it. I just don't want you to hat-" Ness shoots around, tears waterfalling off his face.
"Don't do fuck, just fucking leave will ya?..." he turns back around. "Please, just leave." He finally starts to walk away. My heart sinks. He didn't give me an answer. Does he just inherently hate my guts or whatever? I fight back tears and walk the opposite way, even though he is walking toward the main exit. Maybe if I just do everything he says he'll stop hating me. I was hoping the more he fucks with me the less I'll like him, but it only seems to have the opposite effect. I can't fight it. I'll just have to try and befriend him. But how? He's a tough cookie to crack...cookie? Cookies, perfect. I'll make him cookies. I happily speed up my walk and walk out of the school.
I make it home and don't hesitate to drop my bag and run into the kitchen. I was able to grab the flour and the sugar before Claus came out of his room with a confused look on his face. I ignore it and continue to grab the rest of the needed ingredients. "Um, what're you doing?" Claus finally asks.
"Making cookies for detention," I say.
"..." I start to mix the dough. Claus must've walked over because the next time I see him, he's in a seat watching me.
"What?"
"Why?"
"The cookies?"
"No, why did Hitler have hookers…" I tilt my head in confusion. "Of course the damn cookies."
"Oh, well, I don't want Ness to hate me, so I'm hoping Ness'll like these cookies."
"Why do you care?" I stop mixing the cookie dough. I just look down, thinking. Why do I care so much? Sure, I like him, but he's been an ass to me. Why don't I hate him? Why can't I just hate him like he hates me? "Ok, I think I get it." Claus talking broke me from my daze. I gulp and look at the dough, continuing my mixing.
"Don't tell mom or dad?"
"About detention, or the boy?"
"Both?"
"Sure, just make sure you save me a cookie," Claus winks as he stands up. I smile at him. Claus, he's an asshole to anyone besides me. Quite the opposite of Ness, actually. Ness is the nicest person ever to everyone, but me. Claus does it because he cares about me, why does Ness do it? Gah, I can't focus on that. I've gotta make these cookies.
I place the cookie dough into the oven and close the door. I clean up the little mess I made from half-assing the mixing process. I couldn't keep my head away from him. It's only like this after he's mean to me. I try to avoid him, but it just seems I end up bumping into him...literally. Here I go again, GAH I'VE GOTTA STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT ASSHOLE. That...handsome asshole.
Boney must've seen me being flustered because he ran up with his little squishy bone. I chuckle and rip it from his mouth. "Fetch boy?" Boney nods, which is absolutely adorable. I toss the bone and he races toward it, almost looking like a Loony Tunes character at first. We do this until the little timer on the oven chimes. I pet his head and smile. "Go annoy Claus for me, will ya?" Boney nods and runs off, still with his trusty bone in his mouth. I walk to the oven and pull out the tray. I see the perfectly formed Chocolate chip cookies. I chuckle and grab one, tasting it. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, but these aren't that bad. I grab the one I promised Claus and walk toward his bedroom. Claus likes his cookie fresh out of the oven, which isn't how you're supposed to eat a cookie but it doesn't really matter.
I enter his room and see Boney on his stomach licking his face. Clearly, Claus had denied playtime. Boney doesn't really like denial. It's either you play with him...or play with him. I whistle, and Boney jumps from him and runs out of the room. "You've gotta teach me that."
"Why, that'll ruin the fun," I wink. He rolls his eyes and pulls up his phone.
"So, what do you want?" I toss the cookie as if it was a frisbee. He catches it and gives a small salute. He bites into it and feels the hot cookie melt in his mouth...at least I hope. He notices me still standing in his doorway. He swallows the bite and tilts his head. "What's up?"
"Um, do you think Ness would like it?" I ask more nervously than I'd like to admit. The reason Claus would know is that he's a friend of his. They aren't the closest of friends. Ness is more of a friend of a friend, so in a way, he's just like his friend-in-law, if that's a thing….Wait, here I go again, thinking about him.
"Relax lil bro, he'll love it. Ninten has told me he likes chocolate, and he especially loves cookies. Two for the price of one," he chuckles.
"You asked him, didn't you?" Claus just winks, answering the question. I walk out of the room and chuckle to myself. Most people would hate to be in detention, I'm excited. I wait for the cookies to cool before placing each in a large zip-lock baggie. I walk to my room and place the cookies in my bag. My phone, that I put on its charger a while ago, vibrates on the dresser. I shoot up to grab it. It was a text message from an unknown contact. I pull it up.
Unknown: Hey
Me: Yea?
Unknown: Is this Lucas?
Me: Yea, who're you?
Unknown: Does it matter?
Me: Yea, it matters a lot.
Me: I'm not a huge fan of chatting to random, random strangers.
Unknown: I'm not random, nor a stranger.
Me: So I know you.
Unknown: Correcto my good friend. (I roll my eyes, I can't lie, that kinda made me chuckle a bit. I'm just imagining someone non-ironically saying correcto...my bar for humor is rather low I realize.)
Me: Clearly I don't know you enough to have you saved.
Unknown: Well, we haven't talked extensively so…
Unknown: I just wanted to say something.
Me: Yea?
Unknown: Sorry...sorry about everything.
Me: Everything? What's everything?
Unknown: I...I can't say. It sorta hurts too much.
Me: Hurts me, or you?
Unknown: You physically, me mentally. That's your first hint.
Me: You making this out to be some sort of game.
Unknown: Well, from what I know you're quite the gamer.
Me: Who told you?
Unknown: Claus, I asked him a while back. He gave me some other valuable info.
Me: Ok.
Me: That's not weird at all.
Unknown: Well, I'll see ya tomorrow.
Me: I'm going to detention tomorrow.
Unknown: I know.
Before I can reply he blocks me. I tilt my head in confusion. Who's this boy? Is this a boy? Whoever he is, he's talked to Claus and has something to be sorry about with me. GAH, why does this have to be a stupid riddle? I'm horrible at riddles. Well, he says he'll see me tomorrow, so I guess I can just wait. But waiting is horrible.
It's noon, and I'm sitting in the car with Claus. Claus has gotten his license a few months back. I had the choice to get it, but I have no real need for a car at the moment. He stops the car and looks at me. I just gulp and look out at the school. He pats my back. "Why're you so nervous, he's just a boy." Yea, but that's the reason I'm nervous. I'm nervous because he is just a boy. I turn back to Claus.
"What're you gonna tell mom and dad?"
"That you went out with a friend." I smile. I nod and open the car door. I jump out and close it, with my bag, and the cookies stashed away inside. I look at Claus as he drives off. I turn back to the building. Here we go. Come on Lucas, this isn't that big...just giving cookies to a very handsome boy...dammit. I shake my head and walk into the school. After walking the long way around the school, sorta just to avoid seeing Ness, and sorta because I wasn't focused on the way to the cafeteria, I made it to the cafeteria. I walk in and instantly see him.
There were only four large tables. Each table has two seats. All but one seat is occupied, and wouldn't you know it, that one seat happens to be right next to Ness. I see Pit sitting in the fifth table, smaller than the others, as the moderator of detention. He sees me and stands. "Alright, a little roll call," he says. I sit in the seat and turn to Ness. He has his left elbow on the table and has it holding his head. He scowls at me and looks away. "...Lucas?" I raise my hand.
"Here." Pit nods and checks something off. He calls off the rest of the names. Dark Pit, Alph, Lemmy, Wendy, Pichu, and Young Link. I'm glad to have at least one friend here, that being Pichu. Grant it, we're not the closest of friends, but hey, something is better than nothing.
"Ok, so for the first half of detention you'll have to clean the entire school."
"WHAT! Is that even legal?" Ness yells.
"If you're unpaid, it is."
"So, you're paying us?" Wendy asks.
"Yes...one cent…" There were some understandably irritated groans after that. Pit chuckles and sits back. "This is a request by Master Hand-the superintendent-and trust me, you don't want to get on his bad side. It'd be best if you went and cleaned. Everyone stood up and left the room, everyone but Ness and me. Ness decided to clean this current room, which isn't all that messy. None of the rooms are truly messy, it's just a way for Master Hand to get some child labor which his name is rather apparent to this intention.
Well, now that Ness and I are alone, this is my chance to give him the cookies. I reach into my bag and grab the semi crushed cookies. Some are broken in half, while some are completely destroyed. They're a very slim few still fully built. I run to Ness. I tap his back and he turns to me, with a broom in his hands. "The fuck do you want?" Ness aks.
"Umm…" I start as I rub the back of my neck. "I made these for you...sorry that most are broken." He takes the cookies and looks at me confused. "Try one."
"Don't tell me what to do." Despite defending his position he reaches into the baggie and picks one. He didn't pick one of the fixed cookies, but rather, he picked a cookie broken in half. Strange, I would've picked a fully formed cookie...but that's just 'cause I'm a bit of a fatass. He bites into it and it seems his eyes glimmer. He looks back at me. "You made these?" he asks with his mouth full.
"Yea, do you like them." He swallows the bite he took and just looks down at the cookies, hopefully in amazement. He zips up the cookies, ensuring to take the air out, and looks back at me. He seems nervous. He's not sweating, nor shaking, but his eyes seem to be quivering a bit. He's also avoiding eye-contact.
"They're...fine." My heart breaks. I didn't want them to be fine. I wanted Ness to love them, I wanted Ness to love my work, I want Ness to love me...but, I guess some things are impossible. I slouch down and walk back to my seat. I zip my bag up and prepare to leave the cafeteria. I stop at the door and look back at Ness, who still hasn't returned to cleaning. He seems to be thinking deeply about something. I shake my head and leave.
Great, now what do I do? I have to make him like me. I can't just sit here and allow him to hate me. Before I can think about it more I trip over someone. I look back and see Pichu, picking up what he'd dropped. He looks up at me and smiles. "Watch where you're going," he says. I sit and look at him.
"You've been working hard, haven't you?" Pichu nods and kicks the things he dropped into the open supply closet next to him. I stand up and he must've noticed something off about me because he just glares up at me. "Yea?"
"Tryna get Ness's attention?"
"How-" Pichu just smirks and holds up his arms cutely. I pick him up and he crawls into my hair and sticks his head out. He does this often, as often as we meet that is.
"When you're small you can notice things without people knowing."
"So, eavesdropping in a way?" Pichu nods. I roll my eyes and shut the door to the supply closet. Pichu and I enter the kitchen to clean. He cleans the shelves, while I bend down to clean the floor. Pichu eventually brings Ness back up.
"So, when are you going to tell him?"
"Tell him what?"
"That you like him, and don't even try to fight it. I've seen the way you look at him in the locker room. That ain't just a horny look and trust me, I know what that looks like?"
"Why?" I ask as I look up, expecting to see him despite him being inside my hair.
"Forget I said that. Either way, I can tell you like him. So, make your move."
"No way, Ness is an asshole. If I tell him he's going to literally kill me." Pichu giggles and jumps from my hair. He runs to the open door. He was almost prancing. He looks back and gives his popular cute head tilt. "If you're talking to a small electrified rat-who is able to talk back-and in detention with a time-traveling elf boy, two spikey speaking turtles, a man from space, a dark angel, and overseen by another angel, anything is possible. I was going to retort, but there is literally nothing I can say. I just look down and hear Pichu's giggles. "Shoot your shot, who knows, you can get a shocking result." I look back at him, annoyed.
"Really? A pun?"
"What can I say, puns are the spark of life," he giggles.
"I see why you're here."
"Yea, sometimes it's hard being this funny." He shrugs and skips out of the room. I shake my head and hear someone plop at the counter coming off of the kitchen to enter the dining room. It's a decent way from the ovens and stuff, but the person I see in the opening is the last person I want to see. Ness. Ness looks at me. I shoot my head back and try to walk away.
"Hey…" he calls out. I sigh and turn back.
"Yea?"
"...nothing." He pushes back and walks away. Ness looked like he was going to say something, but seemed to back out of it. Why? He's never been afraid to say shit before, why is he afraid now. Maybe...maybe he just wants to talk. Maybe I'm thinking too much into this. Baking him cookies, being all superficial, maybe that's what he hates. Maybe he just hates fake me. Yesterday, when we were in the office, he didn't seem like he hated me then. But that's only when...I was down on myself. I have to just talk to him.
I leave the kitchen to enter the cafeteria. I see my cookies on our table, but I don't see Ness anywhere. Pit is the only person in here, and he's face timing someone. He's not showing any care to the people. I could leave school and he wouldn't care or know. I grab the baggie of cookies and reach in. I try one, and I like it. What did I do wrong? I close the bag and leave the cafeteria. I see the others foolishly cleaning, little do they know Pit wouldn't know otherwise. I'm not walking on my own fruition. I'm not even sure where I am. Why, 'cause I'm just thinking, and talking to myself as if someone is listening to me...or reading what is being said.
I finally break out of my own head due to crashing straight into the wall. I shake my head and just see Wendy giving me a half concerned and half confused look. I just nervously chuckle. She just slowly walks away. As I continue through the hall I notice the door up to the roof is open. I walk through and up the stairs. When I get out I look around. The city is beautiful. Especially from the school. We get sight of the distant skyscrapers, pleasant parks, and even the large lake, and it's attached beaches. While looking around at the scenery I see Ness sitting at the railing. His feet were under the railing and surrounding one of the poles attaching the railing to the roof. His feet swinging off the school. I walk over to him. What better place to talk to him than this.
"Ness, what're you doing up here?" Ness sighs. His sigh was somber. I've never heard this, he seems sad. I've only seen two Ness', his happiness, and his bitchiness. I decide to sit next to him, in the same way, he's sitting. I turn to him. He looks down at the ground, almost seemingly in awe.
"Too much…" he turns to me. His eyes were different, again. He seemed to be pleading with me. Like I had something that belonged to him but wasn't going to give him.
"Too much what?" I ask, realizing he answered a different question. I question I didn't ask, but I may have meant to ask it.
"Do you think the ground hurts?"
"The ground? I don't get it." Ness stands up and places a foot on the railing. He looks down.
"If I fell-or jump-would it hurt?" That's when it hit me.
"Of course it would, it'll kill you."
"What if you intend to die, what if you've been hurting too many people, and the only way to repay them is with your dead body."
"Ness, get down. We're going back to the cafeteria." I grab his shirt and try to pull back, but I'm naturally weak so I don't get to move him much.
"Lucas, you should be jumping at the chance to push me off. I hurt you...I hurt you because of my own selfish fucking mind." He leaned forward and so he slid out of my hands. I was able to attach both hands to his.
"Ness, you never hurt me." Ness turns his hates.
"That's what I hate about you, you lil fag, stop fucking lying. Just...Just stop being a fake bitch." I look down and let go of his hand. He doesn't move, though.
"..."
"So, do I hurt you?"
"..."
"Answer me, Lil fag."
"..." I hear Ness's angry growls and he must've turned around because he grabbed the collar of my shirt, forcing both of us to look at each other.
"Did. I. Hurt. You."
"...Yes…" He nods.
"I knew it." His grip loosens but I just grab them, preventing him from moving. He looks back at me.
"But you didn't hurt me."
"What do you mean?"
"While you hurt my body, you didn't hurt my mind." Wait...I figured it out. I look up at Ness. "You hurt physically…"
"..."
"But you hurt yourself mentally. Mr. Unknown." Ness grows a small smile.
"You figured it out?"
"Yea, but you didn't give me many other choices." We walk back to the railing and sit down. Ness looks at me. He wants to ask me something, but can't seem to find the words to ask it. Maybe along the lines of, why are you fake? Why do you feel the need to put up a fake persona? "I'm scared." There's a long silence between us. I look down at the far ground. If I did fall-or jump-I wouldn't have to fake anything, I'd be dead. Maybe Ness has a point.
"Me too," Ness randomly says. I look over at him.
"What?"
"I'm scared too." He surely sounds scared. He seems stressed, pressured, and like he has the weight of the world plastered on his shoulders. Every wrong-doing, every mistake a person has done, is on him. He looks like...me. "I've been fake too. Luke...I don't hate you." He doesn't hate me? He doesn't hate me. But why fake hate. I understand faking joy, happiness, and love. But why fake a negative. This is the only occasion where two negatives don't equal a positive.
"Did I do something wrong, is that why you "hate" me?"
"No, you didn't do anything. I can't ever hate someone like you."
"Like me?"
"Yea, someone who's precious, and just needs help." I'm precious. What, what does that word mean. He clearly can't be using that word correctly, no way I'm precious. "I've been calling you a lil fag because I'm a lil fag. That's all I am. A stupid bundle of sticks that needs to be burnt."
"You are stupid. Stupid for thinking you're just a lil fag. You're more than that. You're the star Baseball player. You're everyone's friend, you're basically the school as a whole. You're-"
"That's why Luke. Everyone expects so much out of me. Good grades, good plays, perfect record, perfect life, perfect everything." That's why he looks so stressed. So much is put onto him. So much is expected out of his life.
"You didn't let me finish." He looks at me. His glossy, violet eyes are shining onto me. "You're not any of that to me."
"I'm not?"
"No, to me you're just Ness. A boy with beautiful eyes, good friends, good intentions...and the boy I like." Ness nods, not seeming to hear what I just said. It soon clicks in his head.
"I'm what?"
"You were always someone I would dream to be. Handsome and able to get what you want. Able to hide your true feelings." Ness looks down.
"Do you have the cookies?" I reach over to my side and grab the baggie. I hand it over to him, slightly confused as to why he wants them. I thought he hates them. He reaches in and grabs another half cookie. He reaches out for my hand. I sorta pull back, but that's just my body's fear of being hurt by him again. He soon softly grabs it and pulls it toward him. He gently places the half into my palm. He reaches into the bag and pulls out another half. He smiles at me. "Luke? Can we both agree we're both broken and need to be fixed?"
"Broken as fuck." He chuckles which makes me happy. He puts a hand on my hand and, using his other hand, connects our two halves together.
"You think if we work together, and if we stay together, we could be whole?" I smile and use my other hand to hold both of our connected hands together, surrounding our newly formed cookie in a tight bubble of...togetherness? I guess that works.
"I'm sure of it. But, what if people see?"
"Then I'll talk to my lil fag."
"So I belong to you now?" I happily smile. He grins slyly.
"Well, you did make these cookies for me." He breaks the bubble of our hands and takes a bit of the newly formed whole cookie, eating half of each half. He hands it back to me, making sure the two halves stay together.
"I thought you hated them?" I ask as I shove it into my mouth. He swallows and stands up.
"I love them." I stand up after him. We smile as we look at each other. Before we could say anything more, Pit clears his throat. We look at the entrance of the roof. Pit is standing there with crossed arms.
"What're you doing up here?" Pit asks. We don't answer since he's not someone who we want to know about our situation. Not because we're still hiding it, but because he likes to take things out of context.
"Nothing." Pit angrily points at the door.
"Then get back down to the cafeteria and do your work." He walks away and leaves us to look at each other. Ness leans forward to kiss my forehead. He leans back and gives me a cute smile. Ness doesn't hate me. Ness cares for me, he loves me. I love him. All I needed was a talk. We didn't need the cookies...we are the cookies.