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 Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 3:44 pm
It had taken all day for Evan to work up the nerve to figure out what he was going to say to Lysithea. Ordinarily, he and Malcolm would be meeting up with her together, but Malcolm had come down with a cold and Evan had insisted he stay inside. Malcolm initially insisted he could make it, but within the hour he had reluctantly agreed. When he messaged Lysithea that he was sick but Evan could still be there, she seemed fine.
Now, Evan was wondering if she was coming at all.
He’d laid out a blanket on the park bench to protect a bit from the cold but even now it was sinking through. The warm food in his lap was helping some but he looked at his phone again and–
He was still alone. It was getting late, like late late, and he didn’t exactly have a way to contact Lysithea except through Malcolm. Nobody told him plans had been canceled, and he’d thought he’d be okay when he knew she was coming, but…
Now he was out, in the dark, alone.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek and looked up again, scanning the area. Nothing, no one.
He drew in another breath and wondered how late he should stay. He thought about texting Malcolm, but he didn’t want to wake him up if he’d finally gotten to rest. So, with a heavy sigh, he kicked his feet and hugged the bag in his lap.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:22 pm
For all that she didn't want to startle Evan, Lysithea hadn’t planned on meeting up with her traitor of a subordinate, and so that plan went out of the window, and here she was, a sobbing mess, teleporting almost on top of the boy, and flinging her arms around him when she realized that he was still there.
She couldn’t speak for a minute or two, but when she finally managed to get back some control, she pulled away, gasping for breath and tried to glare at the male through tear swollen eyes. “Tell me what you know about me. Tell me everything you can. I know you knew me. So just. Tell me. Tell me how the white moon kidnapped me, since I’m sure you know that if you know me…don’t lie to me, Evan.”
Of course it was dangerous but her mind wasn’t worried about how she would play off finding out. Obviously it would have been floating around somehow, maybe. Besides, she knew that the important part wasn’t how she knew but that she knew…and he better just…spill all of the beans.
“Tell me! Or…or I’ll…” What? What would she threaten? What would she do to him? He was her friend.
“Just…Just tell me.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:48 pm
Evan could have screamed when Lysithea appeared so suddenly. She was there, suddenly, sobbing and screaming.
He’d tensed, but he didn’t try to wiggle away when he realized it was her. He’d wrapped his arms around her the best he could with the food still in his lap, but the attempt at a glare hurt.
He was scared.
She knew.
“I was going to tell you,” he said, but the words felt stuffy in his mouth. “I came here to, I wasn’t going to keep secrets. I just didn’t want to scare you.”
He was scared, though. He didn’t know what had happened to her, he didn’t know if she was mad at him.
He didn’t know what she knew.
So, he didn’t lie.
“I–I don’t know of anyone that kidnapped you. You never seemed unhappy, you had–you had a lot of friends, you had a whole group, You would go out and save youma. You were in the White Moon when we met. You were rescuing people from the Negaverse. You wanted to save everyone. You wanted to make the world a better place, and you did, you always did. You even gave the Negaverse a chance. I–I’ll tell you everything, I swear, but–are you okay? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth, I just–I just wanted to spend time with you, I thought you’d leave if I said anything. I’ve just been worried. I’m sorry.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:50 pm
“And Faustite? My brother? Did you ever meet him? Did you ever talk to him? Did he say that he was trying to get me back?” She sounded desperate, sobbing all the harder and just clinging to him after he said he would tell her everything. Her mind, body and soul hurt...and she hated it.
“I’m…I just don’t understand, Evan. I just don’t know what’s going on. My senshi, one I was helping, guiding, leading he…he left...he didn’t tell me…so now I’m a failure and he just…I just…”
She drew away and covered her face with her hands. “...I’m just…so tired. Faustite doesn’t want to hug me, and I don’t know what I’m doing anymore…I feel like such a failure…I took two starseeds from two traitors but…but then I gave them back like the weak piece of s**t I am…I…” She hiccuped and shook her head, curling up into a tiny ball. “...I just feel like I have no place anywhere…”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:59 pm
Evan faltered because he knew the truth about Faustite. He knew it was all a lie. He didn’t know if she’d believe him if he told her.
“You never mentioned a brother,” he said, stumbling over his words in desperation. He wanted to reassure her but he couldn't do anything more than hold her.
Which sounded like it was what she needed.
“Come here,” he said, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. “You’re not a failure because he left. It wasn’t his path. I don’t even think this is your path. You’re not a bad person for doing the right thing. You’re not weak. You’re compassionate. I think you know that this isn’t what you wanted to be doing. You have a place. It’s not with the Negaverse. Maybe they took you from where you were supposed to be. The White Moon was your home. You were happy, Lysithea. And there were always people around who wanted to hug you, and people who love you, and people who–”
He faltered. “...We’ve been looking for you. We missed you. We wanted you to come home. But you can’t--you can’t leave the Negaverse unless you want to. It has to be your choice. We wanted you back but we weren’t going to force it on you. Even if we’d wanted to, leaving the Negaverse doesn’t work like that. You have to choose it, no one can do that for you. It’s not like the Negaverse, they can just take you if they want you. But–we love you. We want you to be safe and happy.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 5:04 pm
She gave another sob at his words and burrowed herself against him, trying to just become as small as possible. She couldn’t leave. Couldn’t think about leaving the Negaverse. Leaving her brother…she had finally come home but…she was really bad at this. Bad at everything.
It took a long few minutes of just laying against him, crying before she was able to gasp out another question. “...Who are you to me? How do you know me? You’re just a guy who owns a food truck…”
Lysithea looked up at him, wiping her nose on her sleeve and waiting for an answer.
There was no reason for her to have been friends with him, he wasn’t powered, wasn’t part of the white moon he was just…just a guy.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 5:17 pm
“You saved me,” Evan answered quietly. “You didn’t just fight the bad guys, you helped people. Even unimportant nobodies with too much baggage and too many problems.”
He didn’t want to let her go; he wanted to pull her close again, rub her back again. He was small, he had to work extra hard to wrap his arms around her and try to make her feel safe.
“When you first met me, I was just a guy working in a bar. The Negaverse had attacked me. I went through a lot of s**t. But you were there for me. You could have just saved me once and been done with it, but it wasn’t like that with you. You wanted to make sure I was okay, wanted to make sure I stayed safe. You checked in on me and–even Senshi need to eat. You worked at my food truck with me. Your name was Cambria. I might be able to find yearbooks with you in it, I don’t know. You weren’t Chaos. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to upset you. I don’t think you were ever a part of them. You just wanted to help them, and I think they took advantage of you. I’m sorry,” he said, and he’d never said it enough. His eyes were wet, partly out of grief and fear and partly because her tears made his eyes wet, too.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 5:20 pm
Lysithea sniffled as she thought over his words…the name Cambria was a pretty one, and she liked it…it…
“What was…my last name? Do you know what it was? If…so you really think I was never with the Negaverse to begin with? You think my brother just…is lying to me…?”
Would that even make any sense? If…well. If he was just trying…Lysithea closed her eyes and tried to push that thought as far away from herself as she could. “...Evan…do you know my brother? Do you know Faustite? You didn’t answer me…”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 5:28 pm
Evan hoped with every fiber of his being that it wasn’t a mistake to tell her everything he knew. “Dempsey. Was your last name. I know Faustite. He’s been to my food truck before. He’s the one that can eat anything. He paid me in a starseed once, but you took it. I think you were trying to return it. But you weren’t wearing black back then, it was before. I don’t know what happened. I hid in the kitchen afterwards. I thought you two were friends. But you never said he was your brother and he never said you were his sister. I thought he was someone who was trying to leave the Negaverse, or figure things out. You were trying to help him. But I don’t think it worked. I don’t know why he’d lie to you. It doesn’t make sense, it’s not like he’d have to do that to protect you.”
Honestly, Evan didn’t know. The words tumbled out now and he reached his long sleeve to wipe at his eyes. He was trembling, not just from the cold but because his nerves were shot. He hadn’t panicked like this in a long time.
He didn’t want to lose Lysithea.
“I really don’t think you were with the Negaverse. I’ve seen baby pictures of you. You’ve talked about old friends. You were Cambria for as long as I’d known you, and before then, too. I don’t know what the point of telling you that would have been, unless he was trying to guilt you into staying. He knew you before, he would have known how loyal you were. How much you cared about your friends and family. That’s–that’s all I can guess. I’m sorry.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 5:29 pm
Lysithea shuddered slightly and grew quiet, nodding and rubbing her head. “...None of this sounds familiar. None of it sounds even…possible…I…I just don’t understand…Faustite…he wouldn’t lie to me…my brother wouldn’t…”
Wouldn’t what? Lie to her? Keep secrets? Wasn’t that just…what he did all the time anyway?
With a shudder, Lysithea shook her head slightly. “...I worked on your food truck? Did…did you replace me?” Of course he had but…if he lied…if he lied she really wouldn’t know what to trust anymore. Everything felt off kilter. Like she was falling down a deep pit and there was nothing to grab on to…
She didn’t like it.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 5:42 pm
“No,” Evan answered firmly. “I got more help, but I didn’t replace you. I went out by myself, at first. Because I thought that I could find some way to bring you back. I knew something bad happened to you.” He couldn’t say that he’d been there for it, so he said, “There was a fight, and that’s when it happened. I think. I don’t know, I wasn’t there. I didn’t see. But I knew something had happened because you’d never ignore me. You wouldn’t abandon me. You didn’t pick up the phone, you didn’t show up. You were just gone. And I thought that I could find you again if I just gave you somewhere to look. Mac and Cheese is my comfort food, it makes me think of home and being safe. That’s why I always have some. You helped me get all of this off the ground. When we first started, I was too scared to talk to people. I didn’t want to drive the truck, I didn’t want to talk to people. But you were there, and you did all that hard stuff so I could just do what I wanted to do. I love cooking. I love bringing people a little bit of comfort. And you helped me do that.”
He was rambling now but he couldn’t stop himself, the words just tumbled out.
“I tried to do it alone, but it was hard. I’d go to say something and you weren’t there. I had to take orders and work in the kitchen. I had a sign–you said you’d eaten there before, maybe you saw it. It said we were understaffed. I asked people to be gentle because it was hard for me. But I had this hope–this stupid hope–that she’d just smell the food and remember home. That she’d come by, take a bite, and know. So I had to do it. It wasn’t about the money, it was about her. I didn’t know what else to do. Sometimes I had help, but mostly it was just me. And then this girl, Ana, she came by a few times. She asked for a job. And I needed help. So I said yeah. So–she’s helping me. But I didn’t replace you. I can’t. There’s no one like you. You’re my best friend. Even if you don’t know it. Even if you forgot everything, I can’t forget you.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 5:43 pm
The fact that he had mentioned her…mentioned Ana caused Lysithea to relax just a little bit. He hadn’t lied…he hadn’t…said that she still had a job there…hadn’t…
“Is she nice? The one helping you out? Does she do all right? Fill my shoes all right?” How much was she like…like Cambria had been. Obviously not enough that Evan had just…known. But. But…it had worked, hadn’t it? If this wasn’t all just a big lie…if this was all really the truth, it was…it would…
Drawing in a breath, she finally moved away from Evan, kneeling on the blanket and wiping at her eyes again. “...I don’t think…I can stay for the picnic…I…I don’t think I can really eat right now…my stomach is in so many knots…”
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