June woke up to a cold bed and a note resting on the pillow next to her. She wasn't surprised, exactly, but the knowledge that she was alone now stung. When she realized she hadn't woken up naturally, that there was a loud banging at the door, she took a long moment to process her feelings and re-read the note a few times.
I could never ask you not to be a hero.
Give them what they want, clear your name, don't worry about me.
I'm sorry.
Willow was an idiot, June thought, if she figured this was the best course of action. She thought she had made it clear last night that the only thing she was sure of was that she wanted them to stay together. Apparently, Willow didn't feel the same way. She didn't even care enough to say goodbye in person.
The blanket felt weighted when June tried to shove it off, moving into a sitting position. The banging, which had previously paused for a minute, started up again, louder and with shouting in the background. June stood, then stopped. She felt sick.
She wondered where Willow went. She didn't know when she had snuck out, so there was no way of telling how far she could have gotten. Surely, she didn't just go back to her own house. June tried to remember if Willow had ever mentioned wanting to visit a particular city, and then wondered if it mattered if she had. Clearly, she wasn't meant to follow. They weren't supposed to meet again. There was no rendezvous point. Their story ended here.
Worried that they were going to knock her door down, she made her way to the stairs, not bothering to get changed despite knowing she looked awful and reeked of sex. It was just a bitter reminder now.
When she opened the door - with absolutely no plan in mind - she was met with two uniformed officers, who immediately asked her to confirm her identity in the interest of public safety. With nothing else to lose, she did.
Surprisingly, they didn't arrest her. They asked her to come to the station and answer some questions, which at least gave her some time to think, so she nodded. They let her get dressed, then she rode downtown in the back of a police car, feeling like she deserved it.
They told her to sit in the waiting room while they got an interrogation room ready, and June's eyes drifted to everyone else sitting in there - some in cuffs. Every other time she'd walked in here, she'd been in costume, either bringing a criminal in, or going to a hero meeting. Now, she was awaiting her own interrogation, where she'd be asked to betray the one person she never wanted to. Even though Willow had left her behind in the middle of the night, June felt awful at the prospect of breaking her trust.
Give them what they want, clear your name, don't worry about me.
There was a TV in the police station, mounted up in a corner above the secretary's desk. It was muted, playing the news, and June assumed that's all it ever showed. The news reporter on the screen was mouthing something, face blank. She couldn't make out what she was saying, but she didn't have to. The banner running along the bottom of the screen told her all she needed to know.
One of the officers who had driven her there came back out and told her they were ready for her. She walked behind him like a zombie, into the same room she'd gone in to talk to Willow's parents the day before. So much had changed since then, when she thought everything was finally falling into place.
The beginning of the interrogation (it was more of a conversation, really) went by in a blur. They weren't asking about Willow yet. They explained that Mind Mania had been arrested after divulging information she wasn't permitted to and then trying to flee, but that she would likely be released, contingent on whether or not the information was true, but stripped of her hero title.
It didn't take a genius to realize that the illegal information was about Willow and June.
In the end, June ended up telling them the truth, mostly. She didn't dive into the semantics of their relationship, but said they grew close, and trusted each other. She numbly told them she wasn't working for the other side, and pointed out that Flame's crimes had dropped dramatically since they started hanging out. She explained that Willow had disappeared, and she didn't know where she was.
They asked for Willow's address, and June paused. It was silly, but it seemed like she was giving up the last ties to Willow by telling them. She remembered the TV from the other room, and was comforted knowing that they wouldn't find Willow there.
They could raid the place. They could dismantle all the cameras, pick through her dirty clothes, take the weapons and gadgets and put them in her evidence locker. But they wouldn't find her - just her unmade bed.
Because she was in a different city; one half of the duo they were meant to be. June wondered if Willow was hoping she'd come after her. If she sat on June's bed last night, watching her sleep, regretting her decision to leave before she'd even made it. She wondered if Willow had hoped June would be the one to suggest they flee, for real, not just some stupid fantasy, or if she considered her too tied to her hero lifestyle to ever truly commit to something like that.
She used to like when Willow called her hopelessly heroic. It was a reminder that she was doing good, even if she meant it teasingly. Now, though, it seemed like a lifelong mistake. It was the one thing about her that prevented her from being with Willow right now.
If Willow thought she could be brave enough to run away with her, they would have gone together. She wouldn't have left in the middle of the night, leaving just her scent and some stupid note.
Being good, being a hero, was holding June back. The pressure to be perfect was suffocating, but she always put up with it because she thought it was the right thing to do. It was her destiny to help people. She had been gifted with super powers, so she'd never really had a choice. It was just natural. And she'd liked it, because it felt good to help people, and it made her happy to know she was having a positive effect on the world.
But she wasn't happy anymore. She felt hopeless. Hopelessly heroic, she reminded herself as she, yet again, did the heroic thing and told them Willow's address. It felt wrong, but it was the right thing to do, and apparently even Willow knew she wouldn't go against that.
I'm sorry.
____
peep those direct quotes from the original version lmao
YOU ARE READING
Hopelessly Heroic (Rewritten)
Fiksi Remaja"Then do it." June challenged, watching Flame's eyebrows shoot up. "I don't think you're as tough as you want everyone to think. You want to hurt me? Do it." The fire in her hand grew, and June watched it with bated breath. She was inviting the town...
