Dead Inside

57.

Sabre sat at the edge of the pool. Dust Alex had cleaned off already- and quite quickly- and now was speaking with Entity Steve. Not far from where Sabre sat, Bright Steve was with Portal Steve, and Rainbow Steve was helping Green Steve treat Galaxy Steve, who had gotten over the shock he had been in before. Sabre felt bad for him; Galaxy was in so much pain and Green Steve had to keep him from clutching the wound in his side to spread some sort of paste on it. Green Steve was now wrapping Galaxy Steve's side with bandages he always kept with him. Alex was with them, sitting against a nearby tree and watching with an expression Sabre recognized as troubled. Sabre decided to get up and go talk to her. 

"Hey, Alex," he said, sitting next to her. "What's up?"

"Nothing," she replied, quietly, her gaze fixed on Green Steve, Rainbow Steve, and Galaxy Steve. 

"You sure?" Sabre asked. "You look worried."

"I-" Alex hesitated for a moment. Sabre blinked, waiting for an answer. He wanted to help her, whatever it was troubling her, just as he does to his other friends. 

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, hugging her arms around her knees. Disappointment sank into Sabre, but he couldn't argue. If Alex didn't want to talk, that was fine with him. 

"Alright," he said in understanding. He was about to stand up when Alex grasped his arm and gazed up at him. 

"Wait," she said. Sabre paused. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

Alex lowered her gaze. "I- I do want to talk about it, but- I only want to tell you."

Sabre blinked in surprise. "Okay."

Alex was silent for a long moment before she spoke. "Can you keep a secret?"

Sabre nodded. "Of course. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else, I promise."

Alex sighed. "I'm worried, about Galaxy." 

"As are all the rest of us," Sabre told her. "He took a hard blow." 

"No, this is different," Alex brought up. Sabre tilted his head as she went on. "Remember when you first introduced me to him?"

Sabre nodded with a slight chuckle. "Yeah, he was so full of himself." 

Alex smiled at that, but the smile vanished quickly. "Right. And all the adventures we had?"

Again, Sabre nodded. 

Alex gazed down at her boots. "Well, this adventure scares me. The spider hurt Galaxy and now he's injured and I can't help but think about the other things the spider would've done to him if it had not thrown him into that tree."

Sabre listened intently as Alex explained her fear. 

"I have never felt more afraid in my life," Alex told him. "Not even the time I raged at Origin Steve, even though I knew it would kill me." She shook her head. "I knew from the start this was different, and I was right. The entire time I had been keeping a secret that I didn't even recognize until the spider attacked Galaxy Steve."

"What do you mean?" Sabre spoke up.

Alex turned her gaze towards his. "Sabre, I have a crush on Galaxy Steve."