I'm going home!
The words echoed in his head, despite his mixed feelings.
Tobey laid back on his bed, looking up at his ceiling, deep in thought. Becky, his friend and secret crush (although by now it was obviously not a secret anymore), had just told him that she's Wordgirl. Sure, he wasn't the first person she's told, but he knew that by her telling him, she trusted him completely. Not only did she trust him, she obviously had returned his feelings. How could a day get any better?
How? By seeing that his friend/love interest was happier than she had been in a long time. Why? Because…he didn't even want to think about it.
She's going home, he thought with a sigh. Why did her home have to be so far away? Why did she have to be from a planet millions of miles, light-years even, away? Why'd he have to fall in love with the only alien on Earth? After all, who knows what could happen? She could get lost forever in space. She could make it there, but once she gets there her people kill her on the spot for abandoning the planet. They could hold her hostage there and make sure she never leaves again. She could go to space jail (or whatever their justice system was). But the absolute worst fear he had was what he feared was what was the most likely:
She could love it there so much that she forgets about Earth, and him, completely and decides to stay there for good.
That was the last thing he wanted. He dreaded the fact that he was letting go of the girl he'd been in love with since he first saw her six years ago; but if it meant making her happy, it was definitely worth it in the long run. Besides, you know what they say. If you love something, let it go…
What a stupid idea.
But, nevertheless, he wasn't about to deprive her of her one chance at true happiness for his own selfish desires. So why did I have to be so stupid as to fall in love with an alien? Because, he thought, she's the most amazing person I've ever known. I mean, how could I not fall in love with her?
Tobey glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand and saw that it was getting very late. So he decided to at least try and get some sleep.
~…~
Over at the Bottsford home, Becky was also lost in thought. As she sat on the living room couch, she stared out the window at the stars with a dazed look on her face and a smile on her lips.
"Becky?" Sally called. No response.
"Beeecckky?" She called again.
"BECKY!" She yelled. Becky was startled out of her train of thought to see that her mother was impatiently calling her.
"What?" She asked.
"Bedtime, missy, it's getting late." She demanded. Becky nodded, but before she could go upstairs to bed, Sally stopped her.
"What's with you tonight? You seem so…airheaded, spaced out. Kind of out of it." Sally asked. Becky smirked at the fact that her mother had just called her 'spaced out', due to the statement's irony. She'd been thinking about how excited she was to see her home planet, and was imagining what it'd be like. But she wasn't about to tell her parents that. Not yet, anyways. Maybe…
"Oh, uh, nothing's wrong. Everything's fine. I was just…thinking about some stuff is all." Becky said, trying not to lie but at the same time not letting on about the truth behind her 'spacing out'.
"What 'stuff' could possibly have you so distracted?" Sally asked.
In truth, it was only partly Lexicon that had her distracted. The other part was thinking about Tobey and the amazing night they'd had.
"It's nothing, I swear. I was just thinking about stuff that happened today. I'm going to bed….goodnight." Becky said as she headed upstairs to her bedroom. Sally exchanged a worried glance with Tim as they observed their daughter's unusual behavior.
"I think we both knew this day was coming…" Tim said with a shrug. The two had in fact noticed Becky's unusual behavior lately. They had noticed that lately she had seemed a bit depressed, but anytime they asked, she'd just get angry, deny that anything was wrong, and leave. But now her acting happy and dazed…they knew something was going on that she wasn't willing to tell them about.
Upstairs, Becky sighed with delight as she sat down on her bed, looking out at the window once more, admiring the stars.
A moment later, there was a knock on her bedroom door.
"Becky? Can we come in?" Sally asked.
"Sure." Becky said happily. Sally and Tim quietly opened the door and walked into her room shyly.
"What's up?" Becky asked with a smile as she continued gazing out the window.
"We think we know what this is all about." Sally said.
"What what's about?" Becky asked, still dazed.
"You're acting strange lately, and we think we know what this is about." Tim explained. Now Becky was paying attention. She could tell by the tone of her father's voice that they were serious.
"Acting strange? How am I acting strange?" Becky asked innocently, the smile fading on her face and being replaced by a look of curiosity.
"Look, Becky, you've been distracted and depressed for weeks, and whenever we ask you to join us for family activities, you always tell us you're too busy. And now, all of the sudden you're all happy. We know what it's about, we've been preparing for this day since the day we adopted you, and we need to talk about it right now. It's as good a time as ever." Tim explained.
"Alright, then go ahead. I'm listening." Becky said with happy eyes and a smile.
"Well, we've always known this was coming….we think maybe you're starting to wonder about your real parents." Sally explained. Becky was now fully alert and curious as to what they had to say, as well as nervous about the possibility that they had somehow figured out her secret identity.
"M-my real parents?" Becky asked nervously.
"Yes. So we're here to say that we understand clearly your need to know about your past, and we know that it doesn't mean you don't love us, and we support you all the way. Now, we don't know anything about your parents, but we can tell you every detail about the day we found you." Sally explained.
"Uh, o-oh…" Becky said quietly. She honestly didn't know how to respond to that. "I…"
She thought about it for a moment. She vaguely remembered the day she was discovered by her foster parents; enough, that is, to satisfy her curiosity.
"Guys, it's not like that. I was just thinking about…what I wanted to do about…" Becky said nervously, trying to think of a lie. "About my low art class grade. But then I thought today that I could get an art tutor or something. So I've been happy."
"Becky, don't lie to us. We understand your burden; it's a very normal thing for adopted children to experience at one point in their lives. We get it. Your real parents are somewhere on this planet, and you want to know where; you want to know everything about them. We'd even be willing to help you look for them, if you'd like. Or, if you prefer, we'll let you do this on your own. It's all up to you." Tim said. Becky sighed. They had no idea. But…they were being so supportive. Maybe telling them was worth a shot?
"What? No, I never think about that. In fact, I haven't thought about that until you mentioned it. I'm happy with you guys, I don't need them." Becky explained, hoping they'd buy it, as they'd bought every other ruse she'd told them. "Clearly they feel the same way about me." She mumbled, loud enough for her parents to hear, partly out of actually feeling that way and partly as a way to convince them that she didn't care, which was a complete lie
"Becky, you know that's not true; we're not stupid. We know this is what's wrong. Please understand, honey, that we know you love us, no matter how badly you want to see your real parents. We don't see you any differently just because you want to know about your past. Everyone should know their past, after all. Most importantly, though, no matter what you do, we'll always love you and will always respect your decisions." Sally explained, kissing Becky's forehead. They left her to think about what they'd said, as they knew that it was a tough thing for her to think about.
Becky laid back on her bed with a miserable sigh. Now a new dilemma arose…
Trust my parents with my deepest secret and trust that they'll be supportive and allow me to go, or keep lying and live the rest of my life wondering about whether or not they'd support me in my journey?
I can tell this story's going to be good, on account of the fact that I have now posted four abnormally long chapters. I am so happy with this story…X3 but anyways, review!