A Portal To Truths...

Build It Up Then Pull It Down

-1 month earlier -
FLASHBACK...

The air outside was freezing, surprisingly on a Summer night. A mission for us had gone wrong. It was all my fault. Petra, Axel, Olivia and I had been chasing a vicious thief. They'd been snooping around Redstonia after the re-build and had stolen Ellegaards most valuable items. I say them, as they wore a hood the whole time so we could never tell if they were male or female. We couldn't even distinguish by their voice which was bad enough. I mean, we feared the worst - what if those items were used to create another villain like the Witherstorm? We couldn't have that so we tracked them down. Unfortunately, the thief tricked me into thinking they were doing what they were doing for good... for their pet. They lied and told me their pet was sick and I believed them, against everyone elses better judgement. And that caused Petra and I to become trapped down a moss covered hole in the ground. Stupid really.
And now here we were. 3 hours had passed since being stuck and we were shivering.
Sadly, I cleared my throat "Petra..."
I felt terrible. And so stupid. Axel and Olivia were out there with this thief who had promised to hurt them if they got in their way - Because of my poor judgement, they were in danger.
She tilted her head toward me. She was sat on a stone block leant against the corner of the hole "What?". She sounded seriously annoyed.
I was sat pretty close to her, so I could tell just by her mannerisms she was still pissed with me. "I'm sorry.."
"Sorry's not gonna get us out of this Jesse" She replied bitterly whilst shivering.
"I know but I just thought-"
"Well don't. That thief still has Ellegaards items and now Axel and Olivia could be in danger if they go near. I mean, they had a diamond axe Jesse! One slice of that and they'd be goners!"
"I know okay! You can tell me you told me so if you want" I snapped back. She was right but it didn't mean I liked hearing it.
The next few moments were tense and silent before she sighed "I don't wanna say that. I just don't get why you were so easy to believe them. They were clearly a liar."
"I.. I guess it's just the story about their pet. It just.."
"It got you thinking about Reuben?" She asked, more softer.
I nodded "Yeah. I miss him Petra"
She looked at me, listening intently as I carried on "I mean, every morning I wake up and, just for a minute I can pretend he's just in another room or rooting around outside looking for carrots. And then I get to remember all over again that he's gone"
By this point, I had tears in my eyes. I was never the kind of person to cry so this, this was significant. Petra seemed surprised as she sat closer to me, looking sympathetic and sad.
"Hey, look, I might not be the best person to give advice but what I do know is that Reuben loved you. And he wouldn't want you to fail or make bad decisions because of him would he?"
She smiled to try make me feel better. Her smile was actually quite infectious so I returned the smile slightly "I suppose not. He'd probably boot me in the legs with his head"
"That was his signiture move"
We both chuckled a bit as I wiped my eyes. She folded her arms to stay warm as she raised her eyebrows to herself "Don't think I've ever seen you cry before"
"Hey, don't make fun"
"I'm not I'm not, it's just different for you. I mean you can do tough, supportive, caring, adventurous. Need to work on the scary though".
I hit her playfully and she laughed "Sorry. But now you can do sad.. anything else you can do?"
I thought about it. What else could I be? Being a hero meant you needed to fit a criteria of being selfless, resilient, brave, strong...
"Uhh, I can make cookies?"
Because that was totally linking to everything you just said. Nice Jesse, nice.
"Perfect. Maybe the heat from the cookies will warm me up." Petra shivered.
Perfect time for me to be selfless. I sat up and took my jacket off as neither of us were wearing armour for a change. I handed her my jacket "There you go"
She looked up at me "Wait really? Don't you mind?"
"Nope. I'm as cool as a cucumber". I lied. I used to do that all the time when Reuben was cold. It was nice to give a jacket to a human and not receive it back smelling of bacon.
She stood up and smiled as she put it on "Thanks Jesse. You're amazing you know that?"
"No proble-"
She cut me off by hugging me. The hairs on my arms stood up and my body felt warmer than ever for the time our bodies were close. I wrapped my arms around her back for a second before she pulled away. I didn't want her too though. It felt nice.
A light bulb switched on my head as she smiled at me, our faces close. Do it now Jesse. Do what you wanted to do them years ago when you first met her.
Without thinking, I leant forward and kissed her. Why? I don't know. I hadn't felt feelings like this in so long and without Reuben - I had little love or appreciation left in my life. But Petra made me feel better.
Suddenly, she jerked back quickly just as our lips touched and shouted "Woah what the hell?!"
Crap. I felt so embarrassed. My face went red "Sorry I just uh-"
"You just what? God I'm your friend Jesse!"
"I know that, I just-"
"Don't you ever do that again okay? I don't care that way about you and I never will do"
"Petra, I-" I went to lean forward to show my apologies but she pushed me back
"Don't. Just.. ughh".
She sounded so disgusted. So horrified that I had even done that. When I first met Petra, it was all I wanted to do. I fell hard for her, and to hear her say that. It stung so badly. I wanted to tear up all over again.
It was like she had fixed me and in the same instant broken me. So foolish Jesse, you'll never get love like that or love ever again.
I looked up, trying to blink the tears away as Petra stepped away. Wait what?
A figure. Was that.. Maya? Oh crap. She'd seen that.
She smirked before quickly shouting "Hey Axel and Olivia, your loser friends are here"

I wish I wasn't.