Chapter 7
Mordecai was almost in tears as he ran to Skips' house where he found the yeti fixing his van but when Skips saw Mordecai out of the corner of his eye, he rolled out and sat up, spots of grease on his body.
"Mordecai." The yeti said as he wiped the grease off his fur. "What are you doing-"
The blue jay stopped just a couple steps away from him and took a few deep breaths before speaking. "I-I need to talk to you."
Skips didn't miss a beat. "Is it about Benson?"
Mordecai swallowed and nodded and that was all Skips needed to drop the rag and move to his house where he opened the door and stepped aside to let the panicked avian inside.
Skips shut the door and skipped over to his bed. Mordecai sat across him and the yeti waited for them both to be settled before looking at him. "What happened?"
The blue jay tried to keep the tears in as he explained everything to the wise yeti across from him, throwing his hands out as his tone became more desperate and heartbroken the closer he got to the end.
When done, Mordecai felt himself about to break down. He was both terrified and angry. His mind had been throwing out thought after thought of Benson and he wanted to vomit, just from seeing the pain in Bensons eyes before he shut the door and knowing what he'd done made a knife go through the blue jays heart.
"I can't do this Skips, I can't keep anymore of this up. Seeing Benson like that just tore me inside and I had a breakdown outside his office door until Pops saw me and bought me downstairs for some hot coca.
Skips mused Mordecai's words over in his head and after seeing the sadness in his eyes, he clicked his tongue. "I'm so sorry Mordecai, really I am, but like I said, I can't do anything about it. This is on yours and Bensons own accords and its Bensons emotions and "Morgans" emotions that have caused this to happen."
Mordecai went quiet. "I need this antidote Skips. And I need it as soon as possible because I'm terrified of doing something I'll regret. I've already broken Bensons heart-" Mordecai paused to wipe the tears from his eyes. "-I just can't take this anymore..."
The yeti thought hard, the desperation in Mordecais tone making it hard to think. He finally drew a sharp breath and Mordecai looked up, his eyes wet with tears. "Alright, look, I'll try to get this antidote finished as quickly as possible-"
"Oh thank you Skips."
"-but I can't promise you it'll done before the month is up."
Mordecai's smile faltered. "What?"
"You've just got 3 more weeks Mordecai then you'll be back to your former self."
"But I can't wait that long!"
"Well you're going to have to."
Mordecai felt anger simmer in his stomach. His fists clenched and he stood from the bed. "I can't believe this! 3 more weeks?! Do you have any idea what could happen in that time?!" Hot, angry tears rolled down his cheeks. "I've been avoiding Benson all morning because I don't want to see him after what happened last night! In 3 weeks, he could find out and then what? Will I get fired for lying to him? For breaking his heart?! I don't know!" The blue jay stormed over to the table in the corner, throwing books onto the floor and his eyes dirfted over them, fury in his eyes before a hand was on his shoulder.
"Mordecai, calm down." Skips spoke in the softest tone possible. "This isn't you. This is Morgan."
Mordecais eyes grew wide and he felt like he'd been socked in the stomach. He staggered back onto the bed and placed his head in his hands. Tears fell through the cracks of his fingers as he cried.
"I'm so sorry Skips I just...I don't know if I love Benson or not." He said, looking up at the yeti and wiping his tears away. "It's so confusing."
"It's alright Mordecai, I understand. Emotions are a tricky thing, especially with a female." He paused. "Your minds been all over the place hasn't it?"
Mordecai nodded. "Especially since last night. I only got a few hours of sleep." He mumbled.
"Yeah that'll do it. What occured last night between you and Benson didn't help with your change at all, it knocked your emotions out of whack completely and now you don't know what to think." Skips paused. "I'd try talking to a girl about this."
Mordecai stared at him. "Wait, what?"
"Because you're experiencing female emotions, speaking to a female who knows what you're going through would help a lot because you'll get a better understanding of what it is you have to do."
The avian sighed. "Alright, I'll do it. I'm gonna need all the help I can get for the next 3 weeks. Wait, why are you only telling me this now?"
"Because it just came to me. If I'd known you'd been experiencing your emotions going out of line, I would've said something."
Mordecai took this all in then finally stood. "I'm gonna go talk to Eileen about this. Wish me luck Skips." He went to the door and opened it. Skips smiled as it shut.
The bell of the coffee shop dinged and Eileen looked up from cleaning the table. When she saw Mordecai, she smiled then frowned then the final look of shock and surprise showed on her face. Mordecai gave a slight wave to the mole, who dropped the rag on the table and ran over.
"Mordecai, is that you?"
He froze. "What-how-you-"
"Come with me."
Mordecai had no choice but to follow her to the back room where they sat next to each other on stools.
"How the heck did you know it was me?"
"It's pretty obvious Mordecai. You're just your female counterpart."
"Except I'm not." He mumbled.
Eileen looked at him. "What'd you mean?"
Mordecai met Eileens eyes and as soon as he had, he told her everything; from the change to what he had said to Skips.
Eileen felt like she'd been slapped. "Oh my gosh Mordecai I'm so sorry. Being a girl is not easy but I'm sorry for what you've had to go through."
"It's okay. Skips told me to talk to a girl about what went on last night since you'd probably understand my emotions that're running wild at the moment."
She smiled. "Thankfully, I can help. And don't worry, I completely understand the emotions part."
"So do you have any idea of what I could do about this Benson thing?"
Eileen paused to think. "Well, you said that you've been avoiding Benson all morning?"
"Yeah."
"So he doesn't know?"
"No."
"I wouldn't tell him until you change back. It could send him into shock and he'll start to act different towards you."
"So what'd you think I should do?"
"I think you should just not tell him at all. When you change back, act like the lie Rigby told wasn't a lie and just be your normal self."
Mordecai thought this over. He smiled. "That's actually not a bad idea. Ok, now that that's all done, what should I do about avoiding Benson? Should I confront him and apologize?"
"Personally, I think you should. Maybe if you tell him that you're sorry, you'll have closure."
The avian paused. "Thanks Eileen but um...there's something else I haven't told you..."
"What?"
"I, um...I think I'm getting a crush on Benson."
Eileen stopped.
"As the days went past, I started to fall in love with him and when last night occured, I was so head over heels with him that I couldn't think. And that kiss...that kiss sent me into shock. I-my mind shut down. And now...now I don't know what to think."
The girl sighed. "What I think you should do is aologize to him and if he asks further, just speak from the heart. Tell him how you really feel. If it's a no, let him down gently. If it's a yes, tell him you like him but say that you can't make it work because you're new and you don't want to get into a relationship so soon, which I'm guessing would be the honest truth if you did like him...Mordecai."
Mordecai went red, but he sighed and stood. He smiled. "Thanks so much Eileen."
"Hey, it's no problem. You know, I liked having this conversation even if it was very unorthodox. I just miss Margaret and having some "girl to girl talk" made me feel like I was back to talking with her."
Mordecai felt a pang of sadness when the robins name was mentioned but he shrugged it off. There was a more important matter at hand.
He turned to the door and the two walked back to the coffee shop door.
Mordecai stepped out into the night but held the door open to smile at the girl. "Wish me luck Eileen." He said before dropping his hand.
Eileen smiled as it shut.
