Mount Justice
December 30, 15:45 EST
"Tell me if this sounds familiar. You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol, and endangered your lives. And your initiative resulted in the capture of three escaped felons, proving Warden Strange runs Belle Reve as a cover for criminal activity... Well done."
Each of us let out a large breath of relief.
"And then, there's this," Wonder Woman turned to the case. "Bio-technology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry."
"Though I am unfamiliar with the species," Icon picked one of the chips up, "The bio-component is clearly not of Earth."
Batman closed the case, "We'll take it to the Watchtower for further study."
He, Tornado, and Icon exited through the zeta tube, but Wonder Woman and Canary lingered. They spoke back and forth quietly, until Canary left too.
"Iris, a word?"
"There's something I've been wanting to discuss with you." We stepped aside from the group, and I could tell she was doing her best to speak carefully. "I know these past eight months have been very trying. I spoke with Black Canary, and I wanted to address the things that you may be feeling."
"I thought those sessions were private."
"Canary did not share anything that you have in therapy," she assured. "I came to her with my own concerns over your well being."
I assumed she meant how slow I've become in training. How the lack of sleep and food was beginning to catch up with me. "I-I can do better—"
"I'm not berating you." Her hand landed on my shoulder. "I've worked out an opportunity for you to take some time away; where you can gain answers to all the questions you must have about yourself...." Wonder Woman continued detailing her "opportunity," saying that she had to make similar decisions years ago—that nobody would think different of me if I decided to take her offer. But her words became mere background noise when my eyes landed on Robin, talking with the team, standing next to Zatanna. "...I really hope you'll consider. You'll be well taken care of there."
I forced myself to refocus, but my answer was riddled with thoughts of only Robin, "What about the team?"
"The team will still be here when you are ready."
"There's nothing to be ready for, I'm okay."
Whether she believed me or not, she smiled, "I admire your dedication. But you have some time to think about it. Let's not rush to a decision."
I found myself frustrated. After all, my mentor so clearly displayed the belief that I needed help. "Should... Should I be offended?"
"No, no! I'm only suggesting that there is more than one path towards healing."
"I don't have time for healing."
"Then you expect to continue like this for forever?"
"Like what?"
Her eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms. "I may not be in this cave as much as the other members of the League, but I'm not impartial to the clear fact that you're tired, and angry—"
"I'm not angry!"
The room went quiet, members of the team trying to hide their glances as the lights overhead flickered.
"You need a break," Wonder Woman said calmly. "But the decision is yours, and believe it or not, I trust you to make the right one."
Seemed to me like she was already set on what the "right decision" was supposed to be.
"We'll talk about this again."
"Recognized: Wonder Woman 0-3."
"Everything okay?" Wally's hand landed on my shoulder, and out of reflex I shrugged it off. "That talk with Wonder Woman seemed kind of intense."
"I'm fine." I rejoined the group, ignoring their odd looks. "You realize we were set up, right?"
"Yes," Aqualad agreed, "Cheshire and Riddler were tipped, and ready for us."
"Not the mole thing, again!"
"Mole thing?" Raquel repeated. "Again?"
"We had intel that there was a traitor on the Team."
"Namely Artemis, M'gann, Iris, or me."
"It is more complicated than that," Kaldur tried to put a hand on Conner's shoulder, but in the same manner he shrugged it off. "But your recent behavior does concern me. Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed—Superboy?"
"There's something I need to do, something I need to tell you... Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus, and found a few things out. When I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman's. The other half was human. That's why I don't have—never have—full Kryptonian powers."
"Then the heat vision?" I brought up. "And the flying earlier?"
"I've been using these." He rolled his sleeve up. "Shields. They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, the heat vision, but I think I also get angry—well, angrier. I'm sorry."
"Where did you get those?"
"From my human father, Lex Luthor."
"Lex Luthor... is your dad?" Robin repeated in disbelief.
"He summoned me to Santa Prisca."
I had barely begun to process Superboy's confession, when Artemis spoke up, "Uh, listen. Superboy's not the only one suffering from bad DNA. My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. Rest of my family aren't even 'ex-'. My dad's Sportsmaster. And he's sending my sister, Cheshire, to fly me to Santa Prisca, too."
"That's why..."
"Yeah," Artemis cut Wally off. "I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out."
"I knew."
My neck craned towards Robin.
"Hey, I'm a detective. But it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us."
Wally accepted it quickly, putting a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "So... who's next?"
"I am."
"I swear I was kidding."
"Queen Bee's been blackmailing me," M'gann admitted. "She wants me in Santa Prisca, too."
"Blackmailing? How?"
"She knows my true Martian form."
"Bald M'gann? Who cares if—"
"No." She shifted into a large white... Martian. Nothing like what she had shown us before.
"Woah," Raquel muttered.
"I realized you would never accept me if you saw what I really am."
"M'gann, did we truly seem so shallow?"
"I couldn't take the chance. Being a White Martian among the Green on Mars, I endured constant rejection. I couldn't face that from—"
"From me?" Superboy took her hand, and with that he accepted the lies too.
Everyone was in the midst of a heart to heart, and I was having none of it. Wonder Woman was right. I am angry.
"Iris?" Zatanna called after me. "Where are you going?"
"Out."
I stormed onto the beachfront, pulling a cigarette tucked away in my boot. Within a few minutes, my brooding was interrupted by Wally's voice, "I hate that you do that."
"You and everyone else," I sighed through a cloud of smoke. "They shouldn't have lied."
"They were just scared."
"Yeah..." I wholeheartedly accepted Artemis and Superboys' families, and I certainly accept M'gann's true form. But after spending my entire life being lied to, I won't accept that they've done the same. "...That part doesn't really matter to me."
Wally's eyes narrowed. "I know the lying will piss you off for a day or two, but what is this really about?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You. You've been slowly digging yourself into this hole, and now you don't know how to get out. So, what is it? Is it Robin and Zatanna?"
"No."
"Is it what Wonder Woman said?"
"No!"
"Then, what is it?"
"It's everything, Wally! It's this planet, and this team, and Robin, and Wonder Woman. M-maybe it hasn't shown, but I've really tried to accommodate it all. But the fact is: my planet was destroyed, nobody is left except me. I... I'm completely alone!"
"You have the entire team," he reasoned. "You have your friend Kylie, and Robin, and me—"
"It's not the same."
"Wow..." His face fell. "Good to know where I stand then."
"That's not what I what meant."
"No, I know exactly what you meant." He got up from his seat, turning back before he walked away. "You know what I think, Iris? I think you're so scared of figuring yourself out that you'd rather burnout into nothing. And you're right, I won't know what you've been through or what you've lost, but I've been here the entire time. I watched your spend all your time worrying about letting Kaldur down, or comforting Zatanna, or doing what you think is best for Robin—"
"Don't."
"Instead of taking care of yourself," he glared. "You want to stay on this team because you want to save everyone... I say leave if you refuse to save you."
Mount Justice
December 31, 07:16 EST
"We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories." He meant infiltrating the Santa Prisca meeting and apprehending Sportsmaster, Blockebuster, and Bane. "But one thing has not changed."
"Somehow the bad guys are still getting inside intel about us."
"Yeah, but at least we know none of us were the mole."
"That's correct." Batman walked into the mission room. "The mole was Red Arrow."
I winced, squeezing my eyes shut. There was a whine ringing through the room; small but enough to irritate me. It also seemed somewhat... familiar.
"Roy?"
"No way."
"Batman that cannot be. He was Green Arrow's protégé. We have all known him for years!"
"Unfortunately, the Roy Harper we have known for the last three years is another Project Cadmus clone."
"We've learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick," Batman said. "The clone was pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League. Which is why he was so angry over any delays to his admission and why he refused to join the Team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone, or a traitor, and his subconscious programming drove him to become League worthy. So he struck out on his own as 'Red Arrow.' When he was finally admitted, his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage. Fortunately, I had already deduced Red Arrow was a clone. We were prepared."
"Savage was subdued, but Red Arrow escaped," Tornado said. "He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous."
Hardly paying attention to the news, I sought out the source of the ringing. It rippled towards me from a single point in the room, but where?
"If you guys hadn't rescued me from Cadmus..."
"W-what happened to the real Roy?"
"We don't know. He isn't at Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper is dead."
In that moment, my eyes fell towards the boys. Kaldur wouldn't want comfort as our leader, Wally and I still had tension, and I stopped myself from touching Robin, especially when Zatanna's hand landed on his shoulder first.
"The Clone Roy, the Team will find him."
"Negative. Red Arrow is a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us." Batman pressed his comm. "I'm needed on the Watchtower. Tornado, stay with the kids."
"Recognized: Batman 0-2."
"Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us."
I stepped past Aqualad, the compulsion to follow Batman being greater. Was... was the whine... coming from him?
He disappeared in the zeta tube, and I turned back to the team. "So, we go after him?"
My question was cut off by a machine whirring behind me; Red Tornado powering down before his hand could touch my neck.
"Tornado!"
"What happened to him?"
"He's totally powered down," Robin scanned him. "All functions, offline."
Zatanna held her head, "Guys, I'm sensing a low-level mystic force at play."
"You and me both," I stared at Tornado. "Same frequency came off of Batman."
"Batman," Robin realized. "He called us 'kids'... he never does that!"
"Look," Wally reached into Tornado's hand. "One of those bio-tech chips we confiscated off Cheshire."
"Something is not right," Kaldur said. "Iris, Robin, Kid, Zatanna, see if you can get Tornado back online. The rest, with me to find Ro—Red Arrow."
I wanted to beg Kaldur to put me on the other squad, but it was already too late.
"The problem's hardware, not software, but where do we start?"
I folded my arms. "Then find something to upload him into."
"Right, because I always carry an extra droid body in my belt."
"I have a thought," Zatanna said, eyeing Tornado's room in the ceiling.
"So..." I stared at the human designed droid, "Tornado built this android.... to party?"
"Not how he'd put it," Zatanna said, "but yeah, more or less."
"Recognized: Black Canary 1-3."
"Hey guys, wanted to check in and see how you're handling the—what are you doing to Red?!"
"It's not how it looks!"
"It looks like you're downloading his consciousness into a new body!"
The computer flashed with "Download Complete."
"Okay, it's pretty much exactly how it looks, but..."
Tornado's new body sat up. "Team, get out of the cave, now!"
Canary's cry burst out of her mouth, splitting Red's new body in half. The torso knocked Wally to the ground, the other half hit Zatanna, while Robin and I scrambled to move forward.
Robin leapt forward first, being caught at the arm and thrown forward. A smoke bomb he planted on her shoulder burst open, though. Followed by a wall of purple pushing her and the bomb towards the wall. It covered her like a dome, keeping the smoke in until she passed out.
"Black Canary attacked us?"
"Black Canary is the least of our problems," Tornado said. "We must abandon the cave."
With a restrained Canary, Red Tornado's old body, and only half of the new one, all of us boarded the Supercycle. "Recognized: Icon 2-0. Doctor Fa—" We didn't take the chance to find out who else arrived.
"Stay off your radios. Let the Supercycle track Superboy. Instruct her to mask all signals. We cannot allow the League to track us."
"Right, of course," Wally said. "Just one question: Why is the Justice League after us?!"
"The entire League is under the complete mental domination of Vandal Savage. Red Arrow seems to have been his means. His method was something Savage referred to as 'Starro-Tech.' An alien bio-organism infused with nanotechnology and magic. It shuts down the mind's autonomy, allowing Savage to reprogram the individual to suit his needs. Even my inorganic brain was not immune. But the process requires 0.16 nanoseconds to fully integrate with its host's nervous system. That delay allowed me to create an internal subprogram which would disconnect my power cells if I attempted to infect another person. Fortunately, the Starro-Tech is body-specific. As John Smith, I am now free of outside control."
"This Starro-Tech," Robin said, "It worked on super-powered humans, four flavors of alien, an android, even Doctor Fate, defeating all of you without a fight?"
"Indeed. A remarkable achievement, one not easily countered."
The Watchtower
December 31, 23:16 EST
The bioship was planted at the bottom of the Watchtower, while Canary, Red Arrow, and Tornado stalled.
"RT did it, wirelessly bypassed security first, as soon as he arrived. Savage shouldn't know we're here."
"Move out."
The team scattered in pairs, leaving me to scout for the next League members to arrive. I was perched on the ledge to a zeta tube, waiting patiently for a Leaguer to appear.
"Recognized: Captain Marvel 1-5, Icon 2-0, Doctor Fate 1-7."
I took the big gun out first, landing on Fate's shoulder with a chip on his neck. That turned Captain Marvel's attention backwards, as well as Icon who fired a beam of energy my way. I lunged right, dodging swiftly as a beam of purple light pushed the chip on my hand onto Icon's neck.
The only one left was Captain Marvel, soaring towards me with his fists held out. I hesitated on what to do for a moment, hands pointlessly held up in defense, but then I slipped from my own body.
"Shazam!"
I came back to my senses as Billy's body collided into mine.
That's when M'gann, Raquel, Zatanna, and Aqualad finally arrived.
"Too bad Curro-tech doesn't work as fast as Starro-tech. We could use these guys."
"It is a small miracle Queen Mera and doctors Roquette, Spence, and Vulko were able to reengineer a cure and vaccine at all."
"I got a better sense of it in Captain Marvel," I sat up gripping my forehead. "That's Klarion's magic, inside the Starro-Tech. If he's in there with Savage..." Then we have no chance at winning this without the League.
Wally called for our attention. "Hey if you guys aren't busy."
"On my way," Aqualad pulled me to my feet. "You four rendezvous with Robin and Superboy."
"I'll be right behind you."
I ran through the nearest door, landing inside of the massive main room. "Oh no..."
Wonder Woman's angry face met mine.
"Uh, w-we can talk about this."
It was a useless peace offering, as her lasso caught me by the arm. It ripped my body towards her, and her fist punched me into the ground. With the wind knocked out of me, I barely opened my eyes in time to see her boot rising into the air. I tumbled left, seeing the ground shatter where my head used to be. Before I could even attempt to stand up, her other foot kicked me across the jaw, sending me flying over the second floor's edge.
I landed hard on the ground level, spotting Robin and Superboy still fighting, and a Red Tornado with no arms or legs.
"Any of you want to switch dance partners?" I wheezed out.
"Not even a little bit." Robin glanced up. "Look out!"
Wonder Woman was plummeting towards me, attempting to crush me with her foot again. A jet of purple light struck her in the air, knocking her into the nearest wall, but doing little to actually stop her.
I rained fire with more blasts of light, each one dodged as Wonder Woman zigzagged in the air. When she raced towards me, I caught her fist in a handful of purple light. The impact reverberated through the air, sending a gust of wind out in every direction.
By the expression on Wonder Woman's face, though, it seemed to only make her angrier. That meant my time was running out.
I twisted her arm, launching myself onto her neck as my legs tangled around her. Using all of my weight, I threw her forward, bringing us both to the ground. There. we began to fight tooth and nail, scratching and punching until a mix of our blood was dripping onto the white floors. In the chaos, Wonder Woman grabbed the back of my head, slamming it down into the ground. Then again and again, until she could seize my neck and wrap her lasso around it. Instantly, she stood up, planting her foot in the center of my back. With that she slowly began to pull harder, threatening to break the fingers I had between the rope and my skin.
My fingers began to go numb, and I could do nothing but gasp for air. There was no way to move, no way to overpower her.
And that's when I realized Wally was right.
I don't really want to save myself.
Wonder Woman could end it right now, and she might be doing me a favor.
"Iris!" Robin had tossed up another of his smoke bombs.
I pried one of my numb hands out from beneath the lasso, letting a last spark of purple strike the bomb. Only it wasn't a smoke bomb; it was a flare with a pulse so strong that it rumbled through the room, and so bright that it threatened to blind anyone nearby.
Wonder Woman's grip loosened as she shielded her eyes. I didn't waste the opportunity to rip myself out from beneath her.
I grabbed the lasso, holding it steady as my foot hit her in the center of the stomach with all my might. Refusing to give her the chance to recover, my fists hit her left and right, until with a final strike the Curro-Tech landed with my fist into the side of her neck.
Finally, she fell lifelessly to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Robin rushed to my side, pulling the lasso's loop off of my neck.
I could feel the blood dripping from my nose and lips, the burn from the rope against my neck.
"Woah, what happened to you?" Rocket arrived with the rest of the team, who all appeared for the most part unscathed. I was too busy catching my breath to answer, and merely pointed down at my unconscious mentor. "That's... pretty badass."
"Congratulations team," Tornado spoke from the floor. "You have won the day."
The computer turned on. "Happy New Year, Justice League."
Wally pulled Artemis into his arms, "I should've done this a long time ago."
"No kidding." She leaned in to kiss him, and I found myself smiling for Wally.
M'gann turned to Superboy and kissed him too.
No matter how happy I felt for my friend... the pride I held in taking on Wonder Woman... the relief that everyone in the team was alright... nothing... nothing at all, could stop my heart from dropping at the sight of Zatanna grabbing Robin and pulling him into a kiss.
I felt the air leave my lungs, and every emotion and thought from before drained away.
Raquel was talking, but I couldn't even pay attention.
I was just watching them, mouth parted, heart aching.
I tried to force myself to look away but I couldn't. Not until Kaldur grabbed my shoulder, with a sympathetic look. None of it comforted me, though. Nothing could.
*****
Hours passed as I sat on this random edge in the Watchtower, staring out into the surrounding galaxy. Every breath felt shallow, and my mind couldn't help but replay the scene over and over again.
"I am proud of what you did here today." Wonder Woman took a seat next to me, speaking carefully again. "Aqualad has... told me what happened."
"Nothing happened."
"There's nothing wrong with being in love."
"I'm not in—" I couldn't finish the sentence as it was too great of a lie to tell. "You would think that with everything I've been through, something as small as this, wouldn't bother me, but... it hurts just as much. Only this time, it's really my fault."
She put her hand above mine. "You may be the strongest person I know."
"I don't want to be strong anymore," I admitted quietly. "Wally was right, I pretend to be strong for everyone else so I don't have to be strong for me. It doesn't change that I'm lost or angry, really it—" I couldn't fight the urge to cry any longer, "It's pushed everyone I love away."
"You know, I never wanted a protégés," she said suddenly. "I never wanted to train someone, or take them on missions, especially at such a young age. But you fell out of the sky, and I found myself fighting to be your mentor, fighting Batman to let you be on the team, fighting for you to have a spot on the Justice League."
My watery eyes widened at her confession. "Why did you do that?"
"Because I saw a warrior with an earnest heart," she sighed. "In some ways, I suppose I saw myself in you. I'd always been told what I was supposed to be, then suddenly that changed. I came to Man's World, only with the notion that I should save people, but I had no idea who I was or what I wanted."
"How did you figure it out?"
"By accepting my place in the world around me, and accepting the help of others."
Gotham City
January 12, 17:00 EDT
"These turned out pretty good," Kylie stopped by, after an hour of fake smiling at spectators. They'd stand for a few minutes, tilt their heads, and nod. Then they'd throw compliments like "You should be so proud," or "You're so talented," and move on. "Has anyone mentioned buying it in the auction?"
I shook my head. "You?"
"No, but someone who works with Gotham Times wants to talk to me about an internship over the summer."
"That's great."
"Hey, don't feel bad," she consoled. "Most of these showcases don't actually get to sell their stuff. It's more of a bragging right."
That isn't what was bothering me. "It's okay, I'll probably give them away for free."
"How 'pained artist' of you," she snickered, as the next batch of people began to flood in, "Oh, the second cycle's starting. Have fun smiling at rich, old people."
It felt nice to represent something that didn't require a fight—something I made—something else to feel passion for. But Kylie was right; this showcase was more talk than anything else. The flow of people began to dwindle, and most of the attendees only focused on the social aspect rather than the displays.
I stayed put by my work still, throwing smiles here and there for those that passed by. Ultimately, though, it seemed like this experience was over.
I stepped back, taking a short moment to stare at my work. At the collage of dimly painted canvases and pencil shaded pages in frames. My own head even began to tilt.
"What's the collection called?"
"Home."
"You're really talented."
"Thanks." I glanced right seeing a boy with dark glasses and a mischievous smile on his face. "What're you doing here?"
"I wouldn't miss this. Why, did you not want me here?"
"Of course I'd want you here... You're my best friend."
We shared a genuine smile as the rest of the team arrived behind him. Wally was there with Artemis latched to his arm. Kaldur, Raquel, M'gann, and Conner all followed. Then, there was Zatanna who raced in and laced her hand with Robin's.
"Are these yours, I?" she asked excitedly.
I still hadn't completely adjusted to the sight of them together, and it made me hesitate. "Uh, yeah."
They shamelessly took very close looks, and like everyone else, they stared for a moment, and tossed out compliments.
"This is really what it looked like?" Robin turned to me.
"How what looked like?" Wally asked.
"Mayilea."
The team all turned to me in surprise.
"Uh, yeah," I said awkwardly. ""This here was Demis Tower," I poined to thick smudges of green, purple, and black that made up a tower overlooking a city at night. "Highest point in the capital city. Uh, this one is the palace." It was a large oil painting of a golden castle, with shadows of children walking inside—Dastras. The painting next to it was of a village house, surrounded in flowers and faceless, playing children. I'd like to think my house looked similar to this, and that some of those kids were my brothers.
"This is my, um, my sister," I held my finger up towards the pencil sketch of the beautiful general, then her almost life partner to the left. "And Fenix."
Zatanna pointed up at the last sketch. "Is this Robin?"
My heart suddenly felt ten times heavier. "Yeah, I, uh, made that a long time ago."
So that I could capture how beautiful he was in my memory. How safe life seemed when I looked into his eyes. How every little piece of him made me feel at home.
A hand landed on my shoulder—Artemis, giving me a comforting smile. All of them were giving me comforting looks actually.
"It's okay." I smiled so they wouldn't look at me like that anymore, but I don't think my expression was as convincing as I wanted it to be. "I'm okay."
Central City
January 12, 23:00 EDT
When I had tucked the last of my things into my suitcase, I found myself staring at nothing. I thought about how today was the last time I'd see the team and Kylie for who knows how long. How this would be the last time I'm in this room, or this house. Everything would change again, and all I could do was persuade myself that it would be okay.
"You done packing?"
I was broken from my thoughts to see Wally at my door. "Think so. Wonder Woman said not to bring much. Amazons have their own clothes and paint and whatnot."
"Well, you can just leave everything here for when you come back," he smiled, letting himself into the room and taking a seat next to me. "How do you feel?"
"Uh, honestly? Terrible."
"Then don't go."
"I need to go because I feel terrible. The therapy and the team, it's all great—you've been great—but you were right," my voice faltered, "I don't know what I'm doing."
"I know, I just wish you could figure it out here."
"Me too."
Wally pulled me into a big hug. I held him tightly as a few tears escaped at the thought of having to leave him. Within the past few months he'd done more than I could ever describe. His whole family took me in and cared for me as if I were their own daughter. They gave me more love than I'd ever received in my entire life. I could never repay that.
"Bring a souvenir for me, okay?"
"Okay? " I laughed, through my sniffles, before seeing the time. "I should get going, she'll be waiting for me."
Mary and Rudy were waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, wiping their own tears away as they wished me well. I nearly lost it when Mary shoved my key back into my hand, "That's yours now. Your room will be waiting for you."
I took my luggage from Wally, hugging him one more time, only to be stopped at the porch. "You really weren't gonna tell me?"
My neck craned towards Wally's sheepish smile—my leaving was supposed to stay between the two of us. That plan obviously failed when he shut the door and left me alone with Robin.
"It's easier that way."
"So, you'd just disappear and let the team wonder where you went?"
"Wally was supposed explain everything once I was already gone."
"I'd think I was more important than that."
"You are," I argued. "Why do you think I couldn't tell you? I want to stay because of you."
"Then what do I have to say to change your mind?"
I didn't answer him because there was no point. This was for my own good, and his. "It's not permanent."
"How long, then?"
"I don't know," I said truthfully. "But I'm leaving regardless of whether you approve or not, and I don't know when the next time I'm gonna see you is, so let's not argue for once."
He backed down. "I'm gonna miss you."
I stayed in his arms longer than I should've. "I'm gonna miss you too."
He pulled away, staring at me the way he always does—the way where time would stand still and he was all I could see. But if I give in—if I lean just a little closer—I won't leave.
I needed to make something out of what's left of me; who I am, what I want. I couldn't do that with my heart set on him.
I removed myself from his arms. "I'll see you, Bird Boy."
Then I left him at Wally's doorstep and didn't look back.