Elements

Chapter 35

When he broke the kiss, I leaned my forehead against his. I watched his face, his eyes closed and his lips curved up into a smile. I could feel my own face twisting into a smile. Why had I resisted this again?

Oh right. The crazy super villain who would stop at nothing to control me. There was that.

"Ben," I spoke his name quietly. I could hear the pounding base of the party below us and could see the flashing lights out of the corner of my eye.

He leaned back, his eyes bright and clear. "What's up?" I pursed my lips, not wanting to tell him, to ruin our moment, our night.

"We can't. We can't do this. I'm so sorry," I closed my eyes and stood up. "There was a reason that I couldn't let myself feel anything for you, and a reason I left. I left for about three reasons: so that I could finally did my life of the threat of the Puppeteer, because I was scared out of my mind that I would ruin an amazing friendship with stupid feelings, and that I didn't want anyone to get hurt in an attempt to control me. That's why I forgot Ben. You know that. Nothing really has changed. You, Anita... You're both in danger because you're close to me. The Puppeteer wouldn't hesitate to use that against me, to use you guys against me. No one can know how close we are, or any hope I have of defeating him is down the drain."

"We have of defeating him you mean. I have no intention of letting someone hurt you, through me or otherwise. We can face him together, Ells." He persisted, standing up and taking my hand.

"And what then? We face him together and then what? He'll control you, or me, and use us against each other, and whoever doesn't get controlled will get captured or killed because we won't hurt the other. We have rules that he doesn't. Evil gets to play dirty. That's just what evil does. Good has to follow the rules, and that puts us at an instant disadvantage. I'm telling you, being close to you will only put you in danger." I moved closer, looking him in the eye. "I like you. A lot. Maybe even love you. That's why I have to do this- because if I don't, you could die. I could die. The whole world could fall to the control of the Puppeteer. In the end, there's a lot more at stake here than you and me."

Ben pulled me close and hugged me tightly. "I know there is. But what if the Puppeteer ignores me? We could be wasting precious time together pretending to hate each other. Superheroes don't exactly have a long life expectancy; we have to do what we want while we still can. I'm strong, Ella. So is Anita. We can take care of ourselves." He released me, then gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Look, if it does come down to that, to one of us being used against the other, lets promise each other we won't hesitate to act for the greater good. If that means that one of us ends up dead for the safety of the planet, then so be it. I promise. Do you?" He looked me dead in the eye.

It was smart and stupid at the same time. Stupid, because one of us could end up dead. Smart, because (hopefully) at least one of us could survive an encounter with a super villain, and the world would be safer for it. "I promise." I replied, looking him in the eye.

"Excellent. Well, Ellaphant, it looks like the party's winding down down there. May I walk you back to your dorm room?"

"I would love that. Thank you."

🌜🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌛

I woke up Sunday feeling refreshed from a good night's sleep, but filled with dread for the next day. How had winter break passed so quickly?

Oh yeah, I spent almost half of it in a power coma.

Groaning, I rolled over and got up, starting to get ready for the day. "Well good morning to you too," Anita's voice came from the open bathroom door.