(A/N: This took quite a while to write because I wanted to get it right. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Please see endnotes when you're done.)Chpt.3: Why Am I So In Love

Waking up and feeling all sorts of horrible was a hungover Wraith. Her eyelids began to flutter as she started to wake up from her slumber. When her eyes were fully open she found herself lying in a bed, half under a blanket and cuddling a pillow that she was holding on to very tightly. She laid there for a second while trying to remember what had happened as her recollections of events were foggy at best. While trying to piece together her situation, her nose caught a whiff of a certain smell that was vaguely familiar and it was coming from the pillow she was holding.

She pushed her hair out of her face as it was no longer in the bun she kept it in, but was instead a mess. She released the pillow from her grasp as she began to sit up and look at her surroundings. This wasn't her room. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the bed she was lying in and sure enough, this wasn't her bed. Her gaze then shifted to the pillow she was laying on and then the one she was smothering and again, those weren't her pillows, they were white while hers were black.

"What...the hell." she whispered to herself. As she rubbed her head that had a dull ache she suddenly came to realize that she was naked, which horrified her to no end. She was in an unfamiliar room laying in a bed that wasn't hers and she was in her birthday suit. She quickly got out of the bed while holding the cover up to herself in case the person who owned the room decided to come back. Her eyes darted around in search of some article of clothing that she could put on and then she saw something laying on a dresser that was next to what could be assumed to be, the room door. She quickly, but quietly, made her way over to it and realized that, that something she saw were clothes, her clothes. She wasted no time in putting them on, but another thing soon came to attention, her pants were nowhere in sight. All she had was her underwear and shirt.

As she looked around the room for her clothes another smell caught her attention. "Is that…" she thought as her nose flared a bit while smelling the air. "-bacon?" Her head slowly turned towards the bedroom door as she got a weird feeling.

She crept towards the door and placed an ear to it, she heard what sounded like someone humming to music. She slowly twisted the knob, then slowly opened the door trying to make little to no noise. She peered outside the crack of the door and didn't see anyone at first, but the smell of food became stronger. She opened the door even more so she could look around the corner and when she looked around the corner she saw someone.

Wearing a white shirt and black gym shorts was a man. His hair wa-

"Elliot?" Wraith called out without thinking. The man jolted as if electrocuted and dropped a frying pan he was holding along with it's contaminants, luckily for him, his reflexes kicked in and he managed to save it before placing it on the stove and turning around.

"Renee?! Ah damn, I'm glad it's you, for a second I thought someone snuck up here. Good uhh… morning." Mirage stated while flashing her a smile, but his breathing was sped up. Wraith felt a sense of calm in realizing that she wasn't in some random person's place, although she was confused as to why or even how she got there.

"Good morning…" she said while stepping outside into the living room. Her eyes shifted all around before falling back on Mirage. "How long was I out?" she questioned.

"W-well, you looked so at peace that I delided-...deninded...chose not to wake you. It's almost 12." he answered after clearing his throat and looking anywhere else, but at her.

She was silent for a while as if thinking about something and then everything fell into place as she started to remember everything that happened. She became slightly flustered as she realized that the pillow she had been holding onto for dear life was his- all of them were his. And the smell…it was the smell of his cologne. "Did-...did we-…?" she left it up to interpretation which he immediately caught on to.

"No...! No… I uhh… didn't want you to do something you'd regret doing so…." He stated "After you got wasted- which I'm never letting you do again by the way-... I brought you up here so you can rest and you slept like a log…" he added with a chuckle. The tone it was said in carried a hint of disappointment as he looked back towards the stove.

Wraith watched him as he went back to cooking and she couldn't help but feel strange. On one hand; she wasn't turned off by the idea of her and Mirage getting together, but on the other; she didn't want things to be complicated like they were becoming. She did enjoy his friendship, even though she tried not to show it. She didn't want to ruin it because of self sabotage on her end.

"You should talk to him."

"Oh good, you're still here." Wraith answered "You know, for a second I-..." Wraith stopped her continuation as she came to a realization.

"Oh don't be so surprised. Like I said, 'a calm environment brings less visions'. And by extension; less nightmares." the voice stated. "You realize what that means, right?" the voice added in a teasing tone.

Wraith just silently sat down on the couch while looking deeply at the table.

"Stumped?"

"I just-… I didn't expect it to hit so hard."

"That's what happens."

"I don't think I should, I mean, things were great before, there's no need to complicate it."

"You should. And you know you should. So, let's get complicated!… I can't guarantee that it'll work out, but it's good to try. Besides, we know the walls you built slowly fall every time we're around him and trying to ignore it while repairing them won't fix the issue."

"But, what if-"

"You never know. And if he didn't like you… why has he taken such good care of you?"

Wraith looked up and over to Mirage who was humming along to the song on the radio. He had two plates sitting on the island that separated the kitchen from the living room. He turned around and slipped two pancakes onto each plate and just as he was turning back he glanced over at Wraith and flashed her his trademark smile with a wink. Usually that cocky smile would irritate her, but now it made her heart flutter and her mind race.

"You feel that? I know I sense it…"

"What if he doesn't accept it?"

"I'm sure he will. I mean; the story you told him before didn't scare him away, if anything it brought him closer."

"Yeah, but it wasn't the truth… I mean it was, but it wasn't the whole truth."

"You're right, but if a fraction didn't even make him flinch, what makes you think the whole thing will make him run?"

"Because, if I were him and some lady just told me she hears voices, and was an experimental weapon, I'd probably keep her at arms length."

"But you're not him and you're not 'some lady'. You're the girl who was going to-"

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

"Remember; I'm watching out for us. Confining in someone who cares will help."

"I confide in you."

"That's different…"

"I just don't want things to-" Wraith was so caught up with the conversation that she didn't notice the hand slowly waving in front of her face or the voice that called out to her

"Renee? Hello… you in there?" Mirage asked.

"I uhh-… yeah, yeah. Sorry, 'was caught up in something." Wraith answered

"No worries, I get caught up in my own head too sometimes." he said with a chuckle "Anyways, you wouldn't want your food to get cold now would ya? Unless you like it cold- which I'm judging, but I'd argue that it's best when at least warm." he added while gesturing towards a plate that had two pancakes, three strips of bacon and an easy over egg.

"He even knows how you like your eggs."

"Thanks…" Wraith said while trying to ignore the voice.

"It was my pleader-...plegur-... honor." Mirage stated as he took a seat on the couch. He was mindful enough to keep a respectful amount of distance between them.

A few minutes passed as the two ate their breakfast in silence until Mirage decided to break it.

"So um… I was thinking about what happened last night and… I was wondering if you wanted to maybe… talk about it?" he slowly asked with caution.

For a second, Wraith didn't know what to say, she didn't want things to end badly so she did what she always resorted to. Shutting people out.

"I'd rather not…" she answered

"R-right…" he said, but he looked a little hurt as he went back to eat his food, but after a few seconds he decided to try one last time "Look… we don't have to talk about it if you don't want too… but are you cermtin-...circan-... sure?"

Wraith was hoping he wouldn't press the matter, but he always asked twice before completely giving up. Especially about serious topics. Before she replied she sat in thought.

"Don't you just… want to forget about it?" she said after contemplating.

"What? No… I don't want to forget about it…" he said and then he looked over to her. "Do you want to forget about it?" he asked with slight hesitation.

She looked over to him and her gaze met his. "No… I mean, I do, but-… If we can… then I'd like to forget about it."

"Oh…alright…" he said as he went back to eating, and even though he didn't show it he had a sulking vibe coming from him.

"Talk to him."

Wraith internally shook off the voice's words. "There's nothing to talk about, really. All we did was drink too much, that's all. I won't hold anything against you because I shouldn't have gotten so drunk. So it's fine to just… forget about it. Ok?" Wraith said in a tone that suggested that she was trying to cheer him up.

"But…" Mirage paused as he slowly looked back at her. "I don't want to forget about it." he stated.

That was not what she wanted to hear, but at the same time it was the exact words she wanted to hear. "...Elliot, I know what you're suggesting and I can't- we can't do this." she said.

"Why not?" he asked.

She paused her response as she chose her words carefully. "Look, I like you, I do… but we can't...we live in two different worlds and trust me, you're better off with some other girl." she casually dismissed.

"W-w-what? No. I don't-... I don't want 'some other girl'. I want you… you're the woman I felt a real colec-...contec-... spark with, not 'some other girl'." he said with a bit of distress

"It was just an infatuation caused by the alcohol, you'll be over it within a week, so just… cut out the middleman and let's not…" Wraith replied as she shook her head from side to side

"No, no… It's not some crush." He responded "Ever since I met you I felt this way. When we fought with and against each other in the arena, I grew to admire you and these feelings became stronger. I just could never find the curnage-..cornage-...the right words to tell you how I felt." he responded, but he sighed after he finished in shame at how he fumbled his wording.

"Elliot…" she said but she trailed off.

"I know I shouldn't have kissed you without your permission last night, but-... I just don't want things to slip away, y'know? I felt as if I would have missed my chance to be with you, I wouldn't have gotten another. And I-" he was starting to ramble but was cut off by her placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I get it… You don't have to explain. I feel the same way too, but I-..." she paused again to think. "I need time to think it over, okay? I'm not saying 'no', I just-…I just don't want to destroy our friendship. It's important and… I wouldn't want things to be complicated if something goes wrong." she explained to which Mirage immediately responded.

"Ren, I really, really like you… there is nothing you can say that'll change that." he said as the two locked eyes. He gently grabbed her hand that laid on his shoulder and held it as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

For a second the two just stared at each other, trying to think of the next words that should be said. Wraith slowly took her hand back and looked down to the space between them. "…There are things I haven't told you and kept from you that just won't sit right." she said "I don't want you to get your hopes up about something that could go badly."

"We won't know… until we try…" he stated "We all have things that we keep hidden and in the dark. There are things I haven't told you either. But, sharing something that hurts with a loved one can help… I'm not saying you should tell me what's wrong because that's up to you… But what I am saying is-..." he said as he gently reached out and grabbed her hands. "If there's something bothering you and you think it's hard to tell, I'll be here to listen. Nothing you say can ever change the way I feel about you." he finished. She looked at him with an unreadable expression.

"He's right."

She then looked at their hands then closed eyes then took in a deep breath. "Alright… I'll tell you, but I need you to listen… no interruptions."

"I'm all ears."

Wraith took in another deep breath as she pulled her hands back and interlocked her fingers on her lap. "When I told you about my past I-... I didn't tell you everything because I was afraid that you'd run away. It's also the same reason I didn't tell anyone else or Wattson, even though I doubt she'd judge..." she paused for a second. "I told you that I was working at an IMC facility as a scientist and researcher and that I got into an incident that caused some memory loss … That wasn't the entire truth. Although I was at an IMC facility… It was for-…" she paused yet again, but this pause was longer. "It was-… it was a psych ward." she choked out her forehead in the palms of her hands. "I was put there by my colleagues after they turned on me to perform… experiments that I remember all too well, as it's the reason I have the powers I have now."

It had been a minute or so since Wraith had spoken, but it seemed her story wasn't over as she looked anxious. She was lightly biting her nails and it looked like she was thinking. She had opened her mouth a few times to say something, but she stopped to think.

"The side effects of those experiments were these nightmares, headaches, the voices that chatter in my head, a pain in my arm when I use my powers and of course; memory loss… I-... I can't remember anything besides waking up in a Lab, strapped down to a table and being experimented on… 'Subject 61137' aka Project: 'Wraith'… that's what they called me… They wanted to perfect the art of dimension hopping, which was just an idea at first- a concept, but they realized it was possible through experimenting on me…Their phase tech is deprived from me… Phasing is different from entering a rift, it keeps you in the same dimension while moving you either further in time or back in time for a few seconds, although I can hold it for longer if I push it. It always brings you back to your time, in your dimension, which is why they wanted to further test me to see if they could create rifts…"

"Did they ever learn how to do the portal creation thing?" Mirage knew he shouldn't have asked, but he couldn't help himself.

She shook her head from side to side "As far as I'm aware; I am the only one that can create rifts in time that are stable enough to allow me to travel to other dimensions. I've never tried to, of course, but I can see them whenever I enter a portal, which is why they wanted to further test my limit…until I escaped" she explained.

"I'm at a loss for words…" Mirage said to break the silence.

"It gets crazier…The only reason I escaped that place was because another me from another dimension saved me." Wraith said

"You mean another you saved you?" Mirage questioned

"Yeah…it's like… I could hear her in my head. She wasn't like the other voices. It's hard to explain. She opened a portal and came in" she answered.

"So… the voices… are they good or… bad?" Mirage hesitantly asked.

"Both. They're good because they help keep me safe…but they give me headaches with all of the rambling they do… There is one voice that talks to me like I am to you. She's… different." She explained

"And special, don't forget special and kind and informative and-"

"That's who I was talking to last night when I said 'shut up'. I don't have to talk aloud when I speak to her, but it slips out sometimes." Wraith continued.

Mirage sat in thought for a second as he took everything in "So… what's it like to have the voice talk to you? Is it… scary?"

"At first it was… it was horrifying… but now It's normal… and she's what kept me alive ever since I left that facility. Until now, she's been the only thing that I trusted. When she talks to me it's usually to warn me… But when I'm alone in a place where I feel safe, we either have conversations about anything and everything or we don't talk at all… And that pretty much concludes it… "

"I can apologize for what you went through, but… for some reason I don't think that'll be enough." Mirage said after a minute of thinking.

"It's… fine. I've been dealing with it for… as long as I can remember." Wraith answered with forced chuckle. "It was hard to explain because I never thought I'd let anyone get close to me again to tell them the truth. You're the first person I've told everything to and… I don't know if it was the right thing to do or-" As she was talking a gentle embrace surrounded her.

"I can't change or give you back your past, but I can help build you a future. And maybe one day you'll be able to get what was lost back…" He stated, but then he let out a small chuckle "I'm not really good with words when it comes to stuff like this…"

Wraith felt her face becoming redder and redder as the hug carried on. Her chin rested on one of his forearms as they rested around her. Her teeth tightly clenched together as she slowly raised her hand and grabbed ahold of one of his arms.

"Oh- I… r-right sorry." he sputtered out as he started to break the hug, but before he could release her, her other hand quickly came up and stopped him.

"A-are you okay? Did something happen?" he said as he froze.

She mumbled something he couldn't make out.

"Sorry, what? I didn't catch that." he questioned.

Her gripped slightly tightened around his arms as she shifted a little as if uncomfortable and then. "I-… I said… 'tighter'…" her voice was so uneven and nervous.

Without another word Mirage tightened his hold on her, but then his arms dropped down to just above her waist and before she could process anything, she felt herself slide backwards as her back was firmly pressed against his chest and one of his legs was on the side of her as his arms wrapped around her again.

After a while of enjoying the comfort, she gently removed his arms from around her as she turned around and placed a hand on his chest and applied pressure. Mirage had a confused look as his back slowly made contact with the couch, that look was quickly taken by surprise as Wraith slowly crawled up his body. Her knees rested at his sides as she sat just above his waist and her hands rested on his chest.

"So…you said there were things you didn't tell me… Now I'm not saying that you should tell me what's wrong…but…" Wraith said but she trailed off as her hand slowly played around in his hair. She had a coy expression as her head tilted to the side a little.

Mirage chuckled and then sighed. "You're right…" he said as he trailed off. "Alright…here we go… 22 years ago the IMC came to Solace. They came and preached about bringing peace, safety, order and justice to the outlands. For a while it was like that, Solace was a better place with them here. However… What we didn't know was that it was all a hoax for something they were planning." Mirage looked up at her as he continued to talk. "I never told you or anyone else this, but…I'm the youngest of four brothers… Elon… Ricky… Richard and then me… Elliot. The four sons of Evelyn Witt, famous engineer." he continued, but he went silent for a few seconds.

Wraith could see the pain that was written across his face as he spoke out. She lowered herself down and her head rested on chest and one of her arms moved around to his neck in a hug.

Mirage raised his arm, wrapped it around her and pulled her closer as he started to talk again. "Elon, my oldest brother, went off to be a part of the Frontier War for the IMC… My second oldest brother; Ricky, went with him because he claimed he didn't want Elon to be alone." he said with a chuckle, but then as he exhaled his voice became filled with sadness and hurt. "A-…a few years went by… and then the IMC showed up at our doorstep... told us that 'hey your sons are MIA and we don't know what happened or where they are.'... bullshit."

His voice carried a hint of hate and bitterness, more emotions she hadn't heard from him. Getting upset or maybe even a little mad, but the tone was a 180 from everything she had seen up until that point. His voice was overtaken by another tone as he continued on.

"After that, Richard went off as well… to join that damned war… My mother and I pleaded, but the reason he was going was to find Elon and Ricky… My uncles went with him, but…" He trailed off as he took an even deeper breath. "One day while on a mission, Richard's platoon was hit by an airstrike… My uncle, among the few remaining soldiers, was critically injured and everyone else was KIA… including Richard, although his body was never recovered."

"I-...I can't even imagine what it must have been like going through that…" Wraith said as her hold on him tightened.

"Yeah… it was bad…" He responded "My mom wasn't the same after that. She tried her best to be strong, but… I ended up picking up on it as her mental state began to d-d-deterlo-...derte-... fade… At first it was small stuff like; forgetting where she left things even when it was right in front of her… and then it became more dragsimc-... dragmick-... serious… One day she passed out and-…" he stopped as he deeply inhaled. He waited a few seconds to collect himself. "When I arrived at the hospital the doctors diagnosed her with… Alzheimer…ever since then I've been looking out for her on my own. Lately she's been stable… for the most part. When I joined the games a few years back, she fell in love with 'Mirage'… It's part of the reason why I love having the cameras on me… I know she's watching…" he said with a sniffle and with a chuckle that sounded all too forced. "Y'know… she always says 'You look like the guy on t.v' and… I'd go… 'mom, that's-... that's me… I'm your son.'… It's just hard, y'know…? To remind her that I'm her son when I come to visit." he fell silent once again.

Wraith broke the hug slightly to look up at him. His eyes were teary, but none fell, he had sorrow written all over as he stared off into nothing. It was something that she was all too familiar with. She rested her head back on his chest and her hug tightened again.

"I'm sorry I made you relive that.." Wraith whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

"Nah, it's fine… I actually feel better…" He immediately responded "...Thank you…"

"No… thank you…" she said while pulling herself up to meet him face to face. "You know… this whole sharing is… nice…and I-... I think this could work out." her eyes moved around his face that was being pulled by a small grin.

"Told ya…" He said as his grin grew into a smile. Suddenly Wraith planted a kiss on his lips. When she pulled back Mirage had a weird look as he looked away.

Wraith frowned slightly as that wasn't the reaction she was expecting. "Did I do something wrong?" She was about to say something but then her eyes widened as she realized why he had reacted that way. She felt her heart skip a beat and then her face became hotter than it had ever been before as her hands pressed against his chest.

Mirage continued to look away as he spoke. "S-s-sorry, I-I- uhh… I didn't-... It just… happened on it's own an-..." he sputtered out but trailed off as he heard Wraith giggling.

"It's okay. I'm actually kinda happy I can get to you like this." She said with a cocky smirk as he looked up.

"W-well, it's kinda easy, when you're dressed like that." he responded as he eyes wandered down.

Wraith raised an eyebrow as she followed his eyes down to where he was looking and in a split second she disappeared leaving Mirage in shock. He sat up and looked around when a spark of blue flashed in his peripheral view. Wraith reappeared at the other end of the couch covering herself by pulling her shirt down.

When Mirage saw her face all he could do was laugh.

"It's not funny!" She cried out in a tone he had never heard her use. It sounded like she was angry, but it was so drowned out by the embarrassment that was also present.

"It's a little funny." He said while calming himself down. "You know... you should wear your hair like that more."

Wraith was silent for a second as she looked away from him. "W-what did you do with my pants?"

"Nothing… You're the one who decided to strip and throw them at me. I tried to stop you, but you were so addoant-...ada-... a-ado… stern about wanting to sleep nude."

"I did what?!"

"HA!"

END+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++END+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++END

(IMPORTANT A/N: I went out of town and didn't have a way to write...type?- whatever. But, when I got back I spent more time writing this because I believe in quality over quantity, which is why this one took longer to come out. A new chapter may come out every Friday or Saturday and if there's a delay, I'll explain.)

Song Name: Remedy For A Broken Heart (Why am I so in love) By XXXTentacion

I hope you enjoyed this and if you'd like to see more, let me know.

(Extra A/N: …I recently watched that new Venom movie: "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" and I may or may have not based the voice of the void in Wraith's head off of Eddie and Venom's interactions.)