"So, um, feel like I should give you two fair warnings." Wendy stopped Carol just before she could open the front door, her voice wavering slightly.

"What is it?" Carol frowned and looked her up and down, before glancing at me. I shrugged.

"So, two things, wait no three things." Wendy fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke. "My Mom… may have told people you two were coming."

"Great…" I let out a tiny groan and rubbed my forehead. The people on the porch were already staring at us.

"Confirmation of what we already expected. The other two things?" Carol just ignored them and gestured for Wendy to continue.

"These are more for Amy than you, Mrs. Dallon." Wendy turned to look at me, giving a sympathetic expression.

"Emma's here with her family." It took me a second to place the name. "Her mom and dad are here, so I doubt she'll try and start another argument, but uh… yeah."

"I know Alan Barnes, and I don't think he'd allow her to cause a scene," Carol added in, staring at the door with her thinking face on.

It looked a lot like her regular face if it didn't have a constant sour expression.

"The third thing's kind of an extension of the first…" She winced as she spoke. "A lot of people who want to thank you for healing them are here. People from Ridgewell are here. Including Jerry, his Dad, and his Sister."

My stomach did a flip. I could handle anyone else. Even the other victims at Ridgewell weren't that big of a deal. The thought of having to see Jerry was like the thought of staring down an angry Hookwolf.

"Jerry?" Carol gave me a cautious look, her lips pursing slightly.

"A kid that was at Wendy's last party." My mouth moved on auto-pilot. "I ran into him and his mom at Ridgewell before the attack. By the time I got back, it was over, they were the two worst of the injured. Got caught in the blast. Suffered brain damage. He's not in the hospital?"

"He wanted to thank you, so they got him out for the day." It felt like a punch to the gut. "He's in a wheelchair, so you'll have time to prepare for when he comes over."

What did I even say to that? What did I say to the kid stuck in a wheelchair because of my mistake? How would I let him thank me when I could have prevented him from ever getting hurt so much in the first place?

"Thanks." It was all I could say. "For letting me know…"

"What're friends for?" She gave me a small smile and leaned over to nudge my shoulder with hers.

Carol didn't say anything, glancing between us, unsure for once. Her eyes turned back to the door and she let out a sigh. One hand rested on the doorknob, as she seemed to work up the energy to open it. Her back straightened and her face flattened into her resting bitch face.

As she opened the door, a wave of sound and heat smothered me. Carol stepped in, and I hesitated for a second before following. Wendy being just behind me was the only reason I managed that.

The first thought that entered my head was that the fire marshal wouldn't be happy with this. There were too many people stuffed into this house. It made sense why some were on the porch. There was barely enough room to walk.

"Br-Mrs. Dallon!" One second we were just walking through the crowd, the next Mrs. McHarlin was beside Carol. "I'm so happy you and Amy could make it."

"Happy to be here." She gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It's a little more crowded than we expected."

"More people accepted the invite than expected." Mrs. McHarlin had a good poker face. "You both look fantastic, by the way. I love what you did with your hair Amy."

"Thanks." It was an empty compliment, so it got an empty reply.

"Thank you." Carol managed to sound a little more convincing.

"Where are my manners, can I offer you two anything to drink? Maybe something to eat?" She gestured to the kitchen, already walking in that direction.

"I wouldn't mind something." Carol followed after her.

I almost went after before getting stopped. A hand was placed on my shoulder, the thumb brushing against the side of my neck. Wendy's biology popped into my head, keeping me from flinching away at the unexpected contact.

"It's busy in there." She pushed me to the side and got around. "Grab a seat, I'll bring you a drink. Hot cocoa, right?"

"Please." Finding a spot to hunker down and wait the night out sounded better and better by the second.

She gave me another smile before heading off towards the kitchen. I glanced around, noticing how many people were sneaking looks at me. It was easy to tell from how they'd quickly look away. They acted as if it was a crime to look at a cape. I wasn't sure what was worse, the looking away or if they just kept staring.

The instant I saw the wheelchair tucked away in the corner, I hurried out of the room. If I could avoid that conversation entirely I would. If I couldn't, I would delay it as long as possible. Wendy would find me, it was her house after all.

Stepping out through the backdoor, my breath misted as I sighed. Their back porch was nowhere as crowded as the living room. It was cold out here, but better the cold than that hot noisy mess.

It wasn't without people though. Off to one side, I recognized Mr. McHarlin talking to some other guys as he worked a grill. I was pretty sure I recognized Alan Barnes in the group. A group of women sat at a round table next to the grill, chattering away happily to each other. Their kids were out in the snow, yelling as they played.

On the other side of the porch was a fire pit with some lawn chairs arranged around it. Most importantly, there was a porch swing with no one next to the pit. That was the good news. The bad news was that I recognized a certain redhead sitting in one of the lawn chairs, her back to me as she talked to some girl who looked twelve but acted fourteen.

Between having to deal with the bitch that was Emma and having to deal with the crowd, there was an objectively easier option. So with a grumble, I walked over to the swing.

"Come on Mads, really, Molly? The best MSI song is Never Wanted to Dance." She was too focused on talking to the other girl, Mads, to notice me take a seat in the swing. I saw a chance to mess with her and took it.

"Their best song is Bed of Roses." She heard my voice and didn't seem to recognize it at first.

"Bed of Roses? What are you, emo or some-" I gave her an innocent smile when she realized who she was talking to. It definitely wasn't a shit-eating grin.

"Bed of Roses is pretty good, but it's not Molly." We both blinked as Mads kept talking, and stared at her. "Their older stuff was a little more traditional, not as experimental. Guess it just depends on preference."

"... Going to be honest I just listed off one of the three songs of theirs I know by name. I don't really listen to them often." It seemed the wrong thing to say, as she frowned.

"You're missing out! They started doing interesting stuff in their later albums. Things get faster, get heavier, though I guess if you like the more traditional stuff like Bed of Roses, then you might not like their later stuff. I'd still try it out, it's cool." She smiled at me and I blinked, just feeling a little confused.

"Thanks for the tip. I'll give their more recent stuff a listen to." Was this what normal conversations between teenage girls were like?

"Mads, do you realize who that is?" Emma finally got her voice back, and Mads blinked.

"... No? Should I?" The makeover had done a better job than I expected.

"My name's Amy Dallon." Mads smiled at me, then her eyes widened.

"You're Panacea."

"Yep."

"... Emma, don't you need to apologize to her?" Emma sputtered a bit as Mads looked over at her.

"You were awful to me at that last party, and never apologized." It was petty, but Emma was awful enough of a person for me not to feel bad about raking her over the coals. "Even if it was mostly your friend, Sophia."

Emma's face remained deadpan as she stood up, dusting herself off. Folding her hands in front of her, she gave me the fakest smile I had ever seen.

"You're right. I said things I shouldn't have. We were having a bad day and we took it out on you. It wasn't right to insult a hero like you, who had done so much good work for this city. Considering how many people here at this very party have been healed by you, and want to thank you, I'd be silly to not apologize. I hope you can forgive me, Panacea?" She laid it on thick, making her voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

Mads put her face in her hand as Emma continued to stare at me with that fake smile plastered on her face. I could see people looking and whispering out of the corner of my eye. The bitch had done that on purpose, trying to attract as much attention to me as humanly possible.

"Apology accepted." My smile was all teeth as I ground the words out.

"Great!" She kept the fake cheer on as she looked at Madison. "I'm going to get a drink, you want something?"

"I um…" She looked unsure, glancing between me and her. "I'll just go with you."

"Okay, Mads." Emma kept up the cheery tone as she left.

Mads pushed herself up and watched Emma go, stepping over to me. It set me on edge. She seemed to be her friend, so what the hell was she going to try to do? Insult me, threaten me, try something stupid?

"If you want to talk about music some more, just text." The last thing I expected was for her to pass me a slip of paper with her number written on it. Did she just carry these around or something? "And, uh, sorry about Emma."

With that she hurried after Emma, leaving me staring. As she slipped in the back door, Wendy passed her, holding two steaming cups.

"Emma had a crazy grin, and Madison looked nervous, what's going on?" She held one of the cups out to me and I took it, breathing in the steam. Swiss Miss was nowhere near as good as what Babel made, but I couldn't complain.

"She apologized," I used my free hand for air quotes while talking low. "And basically announced to everyone who I was and that I was sitting here."

"While there's a bunch of people who might be looking for you so they can thank you. And you can't even ask them to leave you alone without looking like the one in the wrong." Wendy sighed and leaned back on the swing, one arm going over the side. "What a bitch."

"Madison gave me her number as well? Said to text me if I wanted to talk about music?" Somehow that was the weirdest thing.

"You got a girl's number, huh?" Wendy waggled her eyebrows at me, and I gagged.

"Don't even joke like that Wendy, she looks like she might be twelve… Is she twelve?"

"No, she's fourteen, the same age as Emma."

"Oh thank god, it'd be so weird if some preteen just gave me their number."

"Mhm. Someone incoming." She spoke quietly, and I looked over to one of the kids shyly approaching us with a parent a step behind them.

"Are you Panacea?" The little girl asked, her voice so quiet it was hard to hear.

"I am."

Before I knew it, I had fifty pounds of child attached to my chest, holding on for dear life. I held my cup of cocoa off to the side and felt Wendy pluck it out of my fingers. Slowly, I reached down and patted her on the back of the head, even as her parent tried to pry her off of me.

"Thank you." It was practically a whisper as she let me go, her parent giving me a small smile before carrying her off.

I didn't deserve those words.

For a moment we both sat quietly. I stared down at the cup of hot cocoa in my hands. Wendy was watching me, but she didn't say anything either. All she did was sip her drink while watching the back door.

"Another one coming." She murmured, and I glanced over to see a woman stepping out. She looked over and spotted me, moving to come over.

This was going to be a long night.

~Her Bark's Worse Than Her Bite~

Another mother left with her son and I felt like utter shit.

Each person who came and thanked me added a little more to the weight on my shoulders. I kept having to bite my tongue, to stop myself from telling them to take their gratitude to someone who deserved it. Part of me wanted to lash out so badly, tell them to fuck off, and let me stew in peace.

The only things keeping me sane so far were Wendy and my bracelet. She warned me of anyone coming over to give their thanks and ran to get me more hot cocoa when I was out. She also discovered the reason everyone was coming outside was because Emma was letting everyone know where I was, the bitch.

The bracelet provided the best possible distraction I could ask for. Diving into the internal structures of the wood gave me an effective way to tune out the reality of the situation. It made me feel dirty though, to be experimenting with my powers in the middle of a party. From the outside, I was just fiddling with it.

I finished the last bite of a lukewarm hotdog, hoping food might help me. It didn't, instead it just left me feeling slightly nauseous.

"Okay, that's enough." Wendy stood up and offered me a hand. "Come on, get up."

"What?" She just ignored my words and grabbed my hand. Her cortisol levels were higher than normal, her heart rate was increased, and there was tension in her jaw.

"Come on, that's enough of the gratitude parade. I want to show you something." Despite being frustrated, she didn't let it show in her voice. The same cheery tone as she always had.

"Okay."

Part of me was too tired to try and argue against it, the other part didn't want to frustrate her any more than she already was. So as she pulled me along with one hand, I followed. Leaving my mostly empty cup of cocoa on the swing.

We went through the back door, slipping through easier now that it seemed some people had left. The downside to there being fewer people was that it made it easier to see around the room. So I fixed my eyes firmly onto the back of Wendy's head. I couldn't handle seeing Jerry right now, maybe not ever.

"Where do you two think you're going?" Carol's voice stopped us in our tracks, just as we were about to climb the stairs.

She glanced between us, a frown on her face, holding a cup in one of her hands as she stared. I realized I was still holding Wendy's hand.

We both yanked our hands away from each other, having the same thought. I didn't need my power to tell that Wendy was embarrassed, blushing red and fidgeting in place.

"Well, Mrs. Dallon. I wanted to give Amy her Christmas present. Since there's no guarantee we'll see each other on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the best chance I might get, right?" She clasped her hands together, an awkward smile on her lips.

Carol looked over at me. I just didn't have the energy to be embarrassed. A slow shrug was all I could manage. She read something from my expression. Her frown deepened. Her eyes went to Wendy, who nodded and glanced at someone in the room. I didn't try to see, not wanting to risk seeing that wheelchair.

"Well," Carol quietly sighed and straightened some of her hair. "Okay, just don't be too long."

"We won't Mrs. Dallon." Wendy relaxed and smiled at her before grabbing my arm and dragging me up the stairs again. Carol rolled her eyes and turned to walk back towards the kitchen.

She dragged me to her bedroom and shut the door behind us. It was my first time in her bedroom. For some reason, I expected more. It was just a boring plain room, with pictures, some exercise equipment, and a single Miss Militia poster inside her closet door. The only thing that stood out was the pitcher plant I had designed.

Wendy went over to her closet to dig something out. Wandering over to the pitcher plant, I reached a finger out and brushed it across a leaf. Its biology was simple compared to what I could do, but it was a nice distraction.

"You've got to change its soil out. It's not getting enough bugs to rely on them alone." The testing had been done outside at the park, where there had been plenty of bugs to crawl out of their holes. Wendy's room was just too clean to get the numbers required to sustain it.

"Oh, okay, I'll do that tomorrow or something. Come over here, I got your present!" I blinked.

"I thought that was an excuse?" She laughed at me and moved over to sit on the bed.

"I was trying to surprise you but had to give the secret up to your mom." I walked over as she explained, sitting myself down beside her.

Without a word, she passed a small jewelry box over to me. It was unwrapped and wasn't any bigger than the palm of my hand. I glanced back at her, noticing just how nervous she looked. I pulled the top off.

It was a friendship bracelet. It was probably hand-woven, with a dark green base and bright red flowers sewn across its length. I picked it up gently, one finger tracing the dips and ridges of the thread. There was one similar, blue and pink, made by Vicky for me when we were ten, back at the house.

How long had this taken her to make?

"I was going to buy you something but ran out of money. We had some craft supplies lying around and I remember making these sorts of things back at summer camp when I was younger so I figured it'd be better than nothing I figured Christmas colors for the Christmas season and it does seem like you like green so -" Wendy stopped talking all of a sudden, and I turned to look at her.

Why was she blurry?

"Amy, you're crying." I blinked once and felt a tear roll down my cheek.

It landed on my hand, and my fingers tightened around the bracelet.

"I-If you don't like the bracelet, that's fine, it was kind of a stupid gift anyway, did it so I didn't give you literally nothing, I'm sure I could figure-" She started rambling, looking a little panicked as she reached for the bracelet.

My fingers tightened more as she tugged on it.

"Why?" It was barely a whisper, as I couldn't understand it.

"Why a bracelet?" She just looked confused.

"Why are you putting up with me?" I stood up, keeping a tight grip on the bracelet. Wendy stared on confused as I started pacing back and forth.

"I ruined your first party because I couldn't help but respond to the needling from Sophia. I drag you out to the gym to basically be my fitness coach for free. I've used you as a guinea pig for testing medicine. I act like a bitch to you at the Mall because of my own damn problems. Even at your own damn party, you've had to sit outside with me the entire damn time because I'm too pathetic to be able to handle some people saying thanks to me. You put in the time to hand-make me a damn friendship bracelet."

I whirled to face her. Tears were still rolling down my face, but I didn't care.

"I use you as a damn emotional sponge. I complain and I cry and I make you deal with it." I squeezed my eyes shut and grabbed my hair, wanting to rip it out. "I'm a hero. I should be strong enough to deal with this. I shouldn't be dumping everything on you. Using you like this. It's pathetic. I'm fucking pathetic."

"I couldn't even accept your fucking Christmas gift without causing a scene."

There was a soft rustle, and then I felt fingers on my head. They slowly worked my fingers out of my hair, pulling my hand away. I let it fall limp at my side, even as she wrapped her other hand around the fist clutching the friendship bracelet.

Her biology was a mess, but it painted a clear picture. I made her worried and I made her sad.

"Amy. Do you think I don't enjoy talking with you?" She used a finger to brush away a tear, even as I kept my eyes shut.

"I… I don't know how you can. I'm both an insufferable bitch and a pathetic failure, somehow at the same time."

"Come on." I felt her tug on my hand, and I let her lead me to her bed. She pushed me to sit down and then sat down next to me. Her hand didn't leave mine the entire time.

"Amy. I want you to listen. I mean really listen. Okay?" She squeezed my hand once, and I nodded.

"Okay. Do you remember that first real conversation we had at the restaurant? After that first workout? You told me about how you disliked working at the hospital. I got you to consider experimenting more with your powers. Do you think I would have done that if I didn't care?"

"No."

"Do you remember the trip to the mall? Despite the fact you were in a bad mood, I still went with you, I still tried to help you. You managed to piss me off then, but I didn't leave. I could tell you were going through something. Even if you lashed out, it wasn't because you were mad at me. Do you think I would have stuck around if I didn't see a reason to?"

"No."

"I would have loved just to sit out there and chat, but you're a hero, which comes with responsibilities. I get that, I get that you don't want those but you stick with them. So I stuck by you to try and make it easier for you. It had to stop, and then we could just hang out. Do you think I don't enjoy being around you?"

"That's the problem!" I whirled to face her, knowing my eyes were still red and puffy. "I'm a bitch that lashes out at people. The first person I find who I don't tell to fuck off, I just dump my problems on you!"

"You're not as bad as you say you are!" She jabbed a finger into my chest, glaring at me. "You've got problems, I know that. When you're not mad about something or beating yourself up, you're one of the nicer people I know."

"You're joking." It sounded impossible.

"You force yourself to go to the hospital constantly, despite hating it, because you think it's the right thing to do." I tried to stop her but she didn't let me. "You invited me with you to the best gym in town. Sure you wanted my help, but you could have just left it at the gym. You took the time afterward to hang out and try to be my friend, even when you were exhausted."

"At the mall, you were pissed off, I could tell you were pissed off, and you pissed me off." I flinched a little and she squeezed my hand. "You bought me a pizza to try and make up for pissing me off, despite the fact you were still mad. Most people don't do that Amy, they'd just lump the person they made mad in with everything else making them mad. You actually tried to make up for it, right away."

"I'm not a good person." She was wrong. Plain and simple.

"I don't believe you, but even if you aren't, I don't care." Her other hand joined her first, desperately squeezing my fist. "Even if you've got some deep, dark secret, that doesn't change the fact I like hanging out with you."

"Why? It can't just be because I'm 'nice', I'm not! I'm a bitch."

"You listen to me!"

We both went quiet. I stared at her, and she stared down at our hands. It was so unexpected that it punched right through the guilt and self-deprecation. It made me think about my interactions with her: the gym, the restaurant, the trips to the park to test things out, the mall. She was always paying attention, always trying to help me, and…

I did listen to her.

"Sometimes you get too caught up in your own head, but when I get through to you, you genuinely listen." She was nervous, her tone hesitant. "I… My parents still think of me like a kid, a baby that needs coddling. My other friends at school, they listen but they don't really. They all think they've got it figured out, so they just nod along and keep doing whatever stupid shit they're doing."

"Do you know how many times I've told Vicky she's being stupid with Dean?" That made me blink and stare at her. "I've tried to explain to her how she keeps fucking it up like, ten times, but she doesn't listen! Just goes and makes the exact same mistake over and over again."

"That kind of thing happens all the time, and it's infuriating because I'm trying to help but they won't take me seriously. I don't even know why, it's like I'm cursed or something. Even when it's something really important like my parents owing money to the damn mob or something, people just won't let me help!"

"Wait what?" A part of that rant stuck in my brain.

"It's why I like hanging around with you so much. When I get you to listen, you-"

"No wait a minute, your family owes money to the mob?" She froze as I asked, glancing over to give me a sheepish grin.

"I, um… Can you pretend you didn't hear that?" I glared at her and shook my head. The guilt was still there in my gut, but this? This was something more important than feeling bad about myself.

"I've been complaining about stupid shit this entire time, and your family has criminal debts? Why didn't you tell me about this? How long has this been going on?" In my head, I turned over our interactions again. Was that why she was eager to be friends with me? For safety?

"I have no idea how long, but I didn't find out about it until the day before the mall, I think? Maybe two?" Her hand was still on mine. She was nervous, but she wasn't lying. "My parents never meant to tell me at all, I overheard them one night. My Grandpa had debts to some 'bad people' and he died, so they expect my parents to pay."

"What 'bad people' are we talking about?" I tried to wrap my head around which gang it might be.

"I don't know. He didn't visit often and lived alone in an old place close to the old South Ferry Station. Mom and Dad haven't told me anything about the people bothering them. If it's just been phone calls, in-person visits, or what."

"Besides." She squeezed my hands again. "I thought we were talking about you hating yourself?"

"You might be at risk, that is way more important." Self-pity could wait until after she was safe.

"So you don't deny that you hate yourself?" She gave me a concerned look and I brought my free hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose.

"I, gah, no? Maybe? I guess? I think I'm pathetic and a failure, but that's not relevant right now!" Her look turned into a glare.

"How is that not relevant? My best friend just admitted that she hates herself!"

"My best friend just admitted that she might be at risk because her Grandpa owed money to the wrong people."

We both glared at each other for a solid minute. I could tell she was frustrated, I was frustrated as well. Eventually, Wendy let out a long sigh. Her fingers delicately pulled at mine, undoing the death grip on the friendship bracelet. I let her do it, expecting her to take it back. It didn't feel like I deserved it.

"We're both really stubborn, you know that?" She didn't take it away. With gentle fingers, she wrapped it around my wrist. "I've been using you to ignore my problems for a while now. The instant you find out about my problem you ignore everything else to try and help me."

"Wait, you've been using me to ignore your problems?"

"Yes, stupid." She gave a bitter laugh, tying the bracelet off. "I can't fix what's going on with my family. My parents would never even let me. So I focused on what I could fix. I could help you. It's a little selfish, to be honest, but it's only one of the reasons I liked hanging around you. Like I said, I think you're a better person than you give yourself credit, and you listen when I say something."

"... It's kind of annoying, to be honest." I blushed a little in embarrassment and she gave me a confused look. "Vicky calls me out on some things, but she's my sister, there's things… I can't tell her. You're really good at making me talk about stuff I'd rather keep hidden. It's really hard to ignore your advice when you're so damn confident about it, you know?"

"I try my best." She grinned and I rolled my eyes.

"You're… easier to talk to than anyone else. I think it was mostly just luck. If it wasn't for the fact I wanted to go to the gym and needed someone to guide me, I'd have never asked you to hang out again." I frowned at the thought. "Right place at the right time, and then you just did your thing. You bugged me into talking when I'd usually just stew on it. You've helped me."

"You're not mad about me using you to ignore my problems?" It was my turn to laugh.

"I've been making it really easy… I'm a little mad that you didn't tell me, but considering how many secrets I keep, I'd be a hypocrite." There were some I couldn't share, but…

"They can't be that bad." I grimaced and shook my head. They were that bad. But I had to let one go.

"I'm the reason Jerry's stuck in that chair." A moment passed when I expected her to pull away.

"Amy." She gently pulled me into a hug. "You can't heal brains. You couldn't fix what happened to him. That's not your fault."

"No, that's not what I meant." I pushed her away and stood up. Raising the arm with the bracelet, I refocused on its biology. It's material warped and shifted, running down my hand.

I was taking a massive leap here, putting a ton of trust in Wendy.

I wanted to though.

"I'm the reason Leet's tinkertech exploded like that." The wood took shape in my hand. A small knife, its edge dulled, to get the point across. "I fought him and he tried to hit me with a flame attack. I was already furious at him, I saw red and threw a weapon at him. It hit his device and caused it to go critical. I'm the reason Wendy…"

"You're Sequoia." Her stare was fixed on the knife, her expression unreadable. I could imagine the cogs turning in her head, or maybe grinding to a halt with the revelation.

"I fucked up, and because I fucked up, two people got brain damage. Maybe permanent brain damage. They could have died. How many more people could have died because I got angry? Because I was playing at being a hero I'm not? Hell, I could have died, and gotten two Wards killed as well! Fuck!" I almost hurled the knife into a wall.

"... You're an even better person than I thought." Wendy's tone was calm, and I turned to stare at her.

"Did you not hear what I said?"

"I did." She stood up and stepped over to me. "I'm not going to tell you that you didn't mess up. I'm no hero, I don't know enough about fighting and that to say. All I can say is this."

"You, Amy Dallon," Her hands grabbed mine. "Fought to protect people. I heard some of the stories before you even showed up, one of the people you saved is here. You are a healer, you had every excuse to sit outside the park and just heal the injured as they came out."

"You didn't. You might have done it in a secret identity for some weird reason I don't get yet, but you didn't. You got some armor, made a wooden spear, and ran into the park to protect people." She slowly pried my fingers open and took the knife from me. "Even if you messed up at the end, you tried, at risk to yourself."

"You're a hero, Amy." She held the knife up. "This just shows it even more. It makes it even more undeniable to me."

"Even if you doubt yourself..." My fingers touched the wood and pulled it back into a bracelet as she handed it back.

"I'm never going to stop reminding you." Her fingers found mine, interlocking as she squeezed my hand.

"Just never stop trying. Okay?" She smiled at me, softly.

The tears came back before I could stop them. There wasn't any hesitation from her as she pulled me forward. My head wound up on her shoulder as I buried my face into her neck. Her arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me closer as she patted my back. I threw my free arm around her back, holding on tight to her dress as my shoulders started to shake.

I was an awful person. I was a pathetic loser who couldn't handle her shit. I was a bitch who lashed out at people. I was a degenerate who loved her sister. I was a hero who hated helping people.

I didn't deserve Wendy. But she didn't care about that. She believed in me anyway. I had to try and be better.

"Okay."