Third Shred of Love

Chapter 12

Everything was a lot less cheerful when you got back to the hotel.

Marc tried talking to you, but you just weren't having any of it.

Honestly you were just scared that he might say something along the lines of what he said yesterday.

"Y/N please listen to me."
"Nope I don't wanna hear it, I'm not letting you ruin my evening." You folded your black dress back into your suitcase and shoved your heels in.

"You know I didn't mean to say what I said yesterday."
"Than why did you say it?" You looked up at him.
"Hm? Why did you say it? You knew there'd be consequences." You got up facing him.

He sighed "We were arguing and-"
"And what? Marc, what you said didn't sound like an insult, you made it sound like the truth."

"It wasn't." He hissed. "You can't just decided to leave Steven because of some stupid thing I said."

You sighed sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Marc. You do understand that you're," you paused choosing your words carefully "The main personality. I don't know how it works for the three of you, but the way that I see it, is that only part of the person I love loves me back."

Marc sat down next to you.

"We don't get along. You just don't like me."
"Y/N-"
"And that's fine. It is, but you can't hide behind them forever Marc. They are part of you, not the other way around." You paused.

"I can't be with someone knowing that the real them doesn't want anything to do with me."

"It's not like that, Y/N."
"Then what is it like?" You snapped. "You push me away as far as you can all the time. The real you! And before, I'd always find an excuse, but now I'm just out of them." You ran your fingers through your hair trying to calm down.

"We'd share one good moment. I'd think 'yes this is it, he loves me too!' and then we'd just fight like a cat and dog hours later."

There was a slight pause.

"Y/N you're going to break him." Marc said quietly. You slowly looked up at him seeing his gaze fixed on his hands.

After that phrase all you could feel was fault and tremendous guilt eating at you from the inside.

Instantly, you remembered Steven in your pink room. How frail he was.

Feeling incredible blame all you could say in your defense was "Marc, he's not real."

You didn't believe that, not one bit, but you knew Marc would, that's why you said it.

It wasn't fair how he kept putting you in the shoes of the bad guy when talking about him.

"I love Steven, I really do, but he's only part of something. I can't love one shred out of three and live on a normal life."

You got up to continue packing for your flight, that was tomorrow evening.

"I love you." Marc bruited, stopping you in the doorway with your back to him.

"I love you too, but I don't believe you." You sniffed, not being able to hold yourself together any longer.

"I'm being honest." He got up "You know I'm not good with my feelings."
"Marc, that can't be your constant excuse." You closed your eyes letting the built up tears run down your face and then wiping them right away.

"You know that my sanity could easily be questioned, by me included. Doesn't some part of me loving you justify, that I really do cherish you?"

You weren't sure what to answer, you just couldn't comprehend the fact that Marc genuinely cared about you.
The both of you had so many downs that the ups were so hard to remember.

"I'm constantly trying to protect you from the real me."
"I don't want you to protect me from it, I want to know it. As cheesy as it might sound I want to love it. All of you. Sane, insane, good, bad." You finally turned around.

"You're telling me that I'd hurt Steven, but you've been hurting me the whole time I was with him, don't you see how this looks from my side?"

"I know I just-" Marc's words were cut off by him grabbing his chest and falling to the floor with a hiss.

"Marc!" You kneeled down.

"Please-be-gentle." Marc slipped in his last words as he looked up into your eyes and then dropped his head back down.

Your eyes were wide, chest full and hands shaking.

"Marc?" You whispered touching his shoulder.

An unexpected gasp of air caught you off guard making you jolt.

"Y/N-" Steven panted holding onto his shirt.
"Oh my god Steven what was that?" You uttered.

"I-I dunno," he struggled to speak.

How was that possible? Could the alter personalities physically get passed the host when he was in control?

You rushed to the mini fridge to grab a bottle of water.
"Steven," you tried to hand him the drink.

"Th-thank you." He tried to catch his breathe.

You were fascinated and alarmed at the same time.

"I uh," he put the bottle down.
"Y/N, I just wanted to say, whatever you chose to do I will always love you. Always. And I don't know what Marc said about me being emotionally attached to everyone, maybe I dunno, but love? No, I'd never be able to love someone the same way I love you."

"I know," you moved forward clinging onto him "I'd never be able to love anyone the same either.

You shared a few minutes of silence in each others embrace until you finally broke it.

"But Steven, you're not real." You whimpered.

"I know, love, I was bummed when I found out too," he chuckled.

You let out a small laugh through the tears shaking your head and hiding your face in his shoulder, new wave of tears flooding in.

"But my feelings are real, they only come from one source."

You sniffed lifting your head off his shoulder "From Marc?"
"Exactly."

You wiped your face and let go of him.
"Then why do we always fight?"
"Well Jake made sure he knew that he didn't deserve you. That's where everything escalated from."

"But aren't you supposed to help Marc?" You referred to the research you'd done where it was stated about how the other personalities did everything to protect the host.

"I dunno," he shrugged "But we definitely have our own opinions."
You swallowed nodding, eyes falling down.

Steven cupped your face with his hand and pulled you in a kiss.

As much as you tried not to cry during it, you ended up letting a few tears lose.

You felt the kiss change strangely after Steven moved his hand down to your neck.

You furrowed your eyebrows and opened your eyes, but it didn't take long for you to understand what was up.

As always, Steven saved the day. Saved you.

You smiled against Marc after figuring out it was him.

"Am I that bad?" He breathed as you pull away.

"No." You pressed your forehead against his with a small smile on your face.

"God please tell me I'm not dreaming." You thought as you felt Marc rub your shoulder, the comforting way he always did when you weren't busy destroying each other.

This was a moment you'd savior despite the future and what would happen in it between the two of you.

As heavenly as the instant was, what Marc said next made it unmatched.

"I love you Y/N, every single shred of me, and that's a promise..."

The end.