The Lucky One (a Star Wars fanfic)

Chapter 9

Rider's pov

The only person I have ever called my friend has just left me. I can't even begin to describe the pain I am now feeling. All I know is that as he left, he took a part of me, the best part, with him.

When I first realized what was happening to Anakin, I was too afraid to act, too afraid that saving him would blow one of my biggest secrets. I feel ashamed to admit that even though I knew that I could save him, a part of me didn't want to take the risk.

Even though he hates me now, I don't regret what I did. I doubt that I could live with myself if I didn't even try to save him. Each day, knowing that if I just tried, he still might be the Anakin I love, I couldn't handle that.

I stand up quickly, knowing that I still have a chance at catching up to Anakin. If I do, hopefully I can convince him to listen to me and explain to him the entire story.

I begin walking toward the door, a new sense of purpose settling in. I am going to find him, and when I do, I will convince him to listen to me.

When I am only a few feet away from the door, I hear a low moan, causing me to pause mid-step.

I turn around to see Shawn lying on the floor, his body tense from fear.

With a sigh I walk toward him, knowing that I can't leave him after everything that just happened to him.

When I am only a few feet away from him, he begs, "Please, Anakin. I'm sorry. I promise that I won't do it again. Please, don't kill me."

I kneel beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please," he moans, making me feel bad that I am one of the people who put him in this position.

"It is okay, Shawn. I won't hurt you," I whisper, meaning it.

After releasing a shaky sigh, he slowly opens his eyes.

He looks at me a few seconds before asking in a quiet tone, "Rider?"

"Yes, it's me," I say just as quietly, not wanting to scare him.

"You saved me. Why?" He asks after a few seconds of silence, his tone filled with confusion.

I spend several seconds trying to come up with a reason, but every time I cannot come up with a reason that he might want to hear.

Why did I save him? Because it was the right thing to do, and I had the chance to.

"You were dying. Even though we don't know each other well, because there was a chance that I could save you, I tried," I say with a smile, knowing deep down that saving him was my best option. He made a big mistake, but that doesn't mean that he deserves to die for it.

With a large smile, he sits up. I watch him warily, a little worried that he might try to kill me or escape, maybe even both.

As he comes closer to me I have to try extremely hard to resist the urge to back away from him, afraid of him getting near me.

When his arms wrap around me in a tight hug I force myself to relax, seeing that there is no ill-intent within his actions.

"Thank you, Rider," he whispers as he hugs me a little tighter, his voice sounding strained, as if he is trying hard not to cry.

"Anytime, Shawn," I say with a smile, and even though I don't fully understand why, if he needed my help once again, I would offer it without hesitation.

After a few more seconds he pulls back from the hug and looks at me with a huge smile on his face.

I try to smile back, but thoughts of Anakin make it so hard to force that smile onto my face.