Time progressed peacefully for a while. Kevin started coming into the light more, if only because Dennis thought the local middle school was a disgusting cesspool. Hedwig was all too eager to go to school in his place, but acting like a little kid was no longer deemed appropriate. People would get suspicious if Patricia took over, so that left Kevin himself.

Lucy almost wished they could stop going to school entirely. Everything scared Kevin nowadays. The loud noise of the school bell, the crowds in the halls, the attention turned to him if the teacher ever called on him for an answer. The only time the poor boy ever seemed at peace was when he and Lucy sat alone in her apartment. Having her everywhere else was a comfort, but when they were alone, he could pretend they were the only people in the world. And the world didn't seem so scary then.

Nothing scared Kevin more than when his body began the early stages of puberty however. Other than the disgusting video they'd been shown in health class, all he knew about this stage in his development was what his mother had told him. And she hadn't said anything good.

What scared him even more was the role Lucy played in all of this. Suddenly things as simple as holding her hand or seeing her smile made his chest feel tight and his stomach turn. It was different than how they did so when he upset however. It was still painful, but…it was a sort of pain he didn't want to go away.

It didn't help that those in class who had reached their pubescent peak early held themselves with an air of superiority. They believed themselves to be better than others. Granted, the majority of them had held this belief already, but this was just a new reason to put everyone else down.

Lucy would roll her eyes at them and call them idiots. She didn't see the appeal to wearing skirts and training bras, and she claimed the girls slathering make up on every little blemish looked like clowns.

Kevin wished he shared her indifference to the world around her. He had learned early on that after a lifetime of being ignored by the world, Lucy had lost interest in it. He and the others were the only thing she still cared about. Well, them and art class.

The older boys made him feel very small, and not just because they were taller than he was. They all seemed so strong, confident, and sure of their place in the world. He was a scrawny, underfed little kid, and his bowl cut hair and baggy clothes that hid his scars and bruises didn't do much for his image. He saw other girls fawn over boys like Jake Parker, an upperclassman who apparently had sparkly eyes and perfect hair. While Lucy was not one of these girls, he worried. Why would she want anything to do with him when guys like Jake existed?

While Kevin Crumb excelled at finding flaws in himself, in his eyes Lucy Collins was perfect. She wasn't the kind of perfect that made him feel inferior, just unworthy. He'd never understand why she was so nice to him, not to mention Dennis, Hedwig and Patricia. Comforting him when he had panic attacks, keeping everything spick and span so Dennis wouldn't get upset, running around with Hedwig, gossiping with Patricia, it all came so naturally to her. Kevin was well aware that having more than one person in your head wasn't normal, but Lucy made it feel like it was. And sometimes there were moments, just singular moments, where she could make him feel like he had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

Of course, there were also times when she made new problems for him all together.

Like when some of the older kids were teasing them about holding hands as they walked down the hall. They'd asked if Lucy was his girlfriend – in a way that made the idea sound preposterous – but his cheeks still turned red at the thought. Lucy had told them to drop dead, but they weren't relenting. When the teasing turned from the both of them to just him, the boys laughing and saying no girl would ever want to kiss him, let alone date him, she stopped him.

Before he could ask why, she was pushing him up against the lockers and pressing her lips to his.

Kevin was pretty sure the others were screaming in his head, but he couldn't hear them. The tight feeling in his chest was back, as were the butterflies in his stomach. Before he could fully process what was happening, Lucy pulled away. She stuck her tongue out at the bullies, before she tugged him on their way.

******
Lucy noticed her friend was unusually silent as they sat in her apartment, playing with the checkers set he had found for her at a second-hand store.

"King me." She remarked, finally getting his attention.

"Huh?" Kevin blinked and looked down at the board. "How'd you do that?"

"It's easy when your head is in the clouds instead of in the game." She informed, making his eyes flitter downward. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"….You kithed me."

"I did that." Lucy nodded.

"Why?"

"It got those idiots to quit teasing you."

"But now people are gonna think we – they're gonna think we're a couple."

"So?" she shrugged. "I don't mind. You're kinda cute."

Kevin's cheeks lit up a bright red. "No I'm not…."

"Hey." She poked him in the arm. "Have I ever lied to you?" he shook his head silently. "Besides, if I snatch you up before another girl does, that means I get to keep you."

"You already have me." Kevin said simply. "All of uth. We're not goin anywhere."

She smiled at him and leaned over the checker's board to kiss his cheek. His face heated up again and the butterfly feeling returned to his stomach.

When he looked up again, it was clear someone else had taken the light.

"Keep kissin' 'im, he just might melt." Dennis remarked, moving one of the red pieces on the board. Kevin's puberty had been difficult for him; all these new feelings scared him, and whatever Kevin was scared of usually got pushed onto him. He bore it well, but there were times he felt the weight on his shoulders a little too much.

"Would you rather me kiss you?" Lucy said boldly, something she only was in the presence of Kevin or one of his alters. It was amazing how quickly the switch could flip from the invisible girl to the mischievous one who loved nothing more than reducing her friend to a stuttering mess.

And indeed, Dennis was stuttering, opening and closing his mouth, making several sounds but none of them were words. With a smirk on her face, Lucy leaned over, making the checker pieces slide off the side of the board. She laid her hands on Dennis' cheeks and placed an innocent peck on his lips.

Dennis stared at her; bright blue meeting emerald green. The idea that this girl – the only thing any of them had ever loved – continued to surprise him with giving them her love in return….

In that one moment, he could see a whole world in her eyes. A world where he didn't have to be the strong one, where people like Kevin's mother were nothing but a bad memory. A world where, as long as Lucy Collins was in it, everything was perfect.

"I love you…" his voice came out in a quiet whisper. "And you are the first and only person who is ever gonna hear me say that. Lucy, I dunno what we ever did to deserve you, but I'm really glad we met you."

"Me too." Lucy smiled at him.

They set up the game again and continued to play in silence. When the sun began to set, Dennis announced that he had to get home.

"You could stay, you know." Lucy called out to him as he was pushing the window open.

He looked at her over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the safe heaven the small abandoned apartment offered. Truthfully he wasn't sure why he and the others felt the need to return to their own apartment every day. It wasn't like there was anything good there waiting for them. They were just drawn back, hoping things would be better this time, but knowing deep down they never would be.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Dennis said before climbing out the window.