Any time at all,
Any time at all,
Any time at all, all you've gotta do is call and I'll be there.
If you need somebody to love
Just look into my eyes
I'll be there to make you feel right
Maybe she was being stupid, or maybe she was crazy, but the great, fearless Professor Wesley comforted the poor, crying creature in her arms.
"You know I may be foolish for thinking this, but is it wrong of me to feel safe around him? I mean yes he's narcissistic. And yes he threatened to kill me more than once. But..."
"Yes child?"
"But I think he may care about me."
Wesley jumped back in surprise, Lucas joining her, almost revealing his hiding spot.
See, he had waited seconds before jumping up to chase Liza. He didn't know where she was going, but he saw her grab her guitar and storm off. She went into a secluded area, just barely on campus ground. He planted himself in a tree and listened to her sing. Then he listened to Liza as she poured her past out to a stranger.
There was truth in her story. He had gotten the gist of her past in the one year he watched her.
Fact: Liza's brother was killed by her father's nemesis when she was ten.
Fact: Liza's father blamed her for said brother's death.
Fact: Two days ago, Lucas had finally rescued her from her father, only to go and hang the threat of death above her head.
But was it all enough. She was spouting fact after fact after fact. Yet she felt safe around him? She thought that he might care about her? Lucas ignored their silence and thought to himself.
Do I care about her?
Honestly, the question perplexed him. For the past year, all he wanted to do was go in and save this girl. But he knew that once the attention was back on him, he would drop the girl like a sack of potatoes. Because that's what meant most to him these days. Being in the limelight. But he wasn't a hero anymore, the media knew that. That's why the one thing in the world he wanted more than anything was to have his "face" plastered on every screen once again.
"Liza, he may not physically abuse you, but if he's threatening you with impending death, he's mentally abusing you. I don't see how you feel safe around that," Professor Wesley stated. She spoke with much care. For a teacher who was know for her mean side, she sure had a soft spot.
"I realize Professor, that I shouldn't feel remotely safe around him. But I do and I can't explain it. He took me away from my father and put me somewhere safe. He gave me my best friend, my job... my music. If he really wanted me dead, he would have killed me by now. I know that much. So all in all... I feel like I can trust him..."
Trust? How could a girl like this trust a boy like that?
How could a girl who was so broken trust a boy who wanted nothing to do with her?
But yet here they were... Lucas found it ironic. Just three years ago, he was watching the same girl hold her own against a gunman. Two weeks later he hated that girl was passion. She broke him because she was broken. And now he had saved the girl. She trusted him? If only she knew...
"Liza, get back to work. You mustn't tell everything now," he taunted from the tree. She just rolled her eyes and got up.
"Raven, I can keep my own schedule you know," but yet she walked away, back toward the small cafe. Lucas hopped down from his branch, landing in front of the startled Professor.
"Geesh Lucas, if you wanted to give me a pre-mature heart attack, that's one way to do it." She pauses before looking back at him.
Then she started slapping him.
"WHY DID YOU GO AND SCARE THE POOR GIRL! GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT WILL NOW! WHY ARE YOU THREATENING HER WITH DEATH! ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!"
"Say it a little louder why don't you. I don't think the coma patient at the hospital across town heard you."
"Don't scold your Aunt child."
Lucas rolled his eyes at her. She was the one person in the world that still cared about him. While his whole family shunned him, Aunt Susan took in the boy and helped hide him after the accident.
Professor Wesley hugged her nephew, sure she saw him every day in class, but no one in there could know that she had a soft spot.
"So you're taking in crying girls now Auntie? My, if only your students knew how mush of a softy you really are."
"Lucas, that's girl has spunk. I liked her the moment I saw her. But every thing she said... is it all true?"
Lucas couldn't help but nod his head.
"Well maybe not the part about her trusting me. I find that hard to believe."
The Professor turned away from her young nephew. Even she found it had to believe that Liza trusted Lucas's alter ego.
"I know you may not believe. Hell, I even find it hard to believe, but she does. And I think that maybe..." She gave pleading eyes to Lucas, not wanting him to get mad. "Maybe you should tell her everything."
"Just because she trusts me Auntie, doesn't mean I should trust her."
"Well, do you want to be a hero again."
Lucas nodded. "But only for the attention. I haven't found anything else that makes me feel that alive. I miss the paparazzi. The magazines. I miss people guessing who I am. I miss the fan girls. You know that I blame Liza for what happened and if villains got as much attention as heroes did, I would've killed her long ago."
"The reasons don't matter Lucas. The fact is: if you want to be a hero again, Liza is the one who will get you there. So tell her everything. Tell her the real truth. Tell her you hate her. Tell her about the accident." Lucas looked at his aunt and suddenly felt like a child again. "Sweetheart, if her father really is Sunburst, you need to tell her about your mother."
"Yes because that's what'll help me. 'Hey, my mother killed your brother, now I'm off to kill your father' is a great conversation starter."
"Take a leap of faith, Lucas."
"I DID WHEN I SAVED THE GIRL!" He paused and calmed down. "I did when I saved the girl." He looked toward his Aunt with as much confidence as he could.
"Do you want to know how much strength it took me not to kill her when I first found her a year ago? Remember that perpetual two-day thunderstorm we had. One year ago, I hated that girl with every cell in my body, now I... I don't know how to feel about her. I'm confused. I'm absolutely confused. So yeah, I've already done enough faith leaping."
The sky moved with energy and droplets of rain filled the atmosphere. He was loosing control, just like every other time he thought about Liza.
"Lucas... I'm not telling you to tell the girl who you really are. I'm not saying you should bring in Rebecca. I'm not telling you to tell Liza every little secret you have. I'm just saying that maybe... maybe you should trust her too."
Lucas didn't know what to do. A third of him wanted to strangle the girl in her sleep. But the other two thirds wanted to see her survive. He wanted to see her live her life without her father's shadow. He wanted to see her live.
"I should probably talk to Becca first, but your right Auntie. I doo need to tell Liza the truth. Maybe it would help."
"See a little leap won't hurt."
Lucas smiled down at his aunt and hugged her goodbye. He took off running, realizing that he was late for class, but stopped dead when he heard the sirens not too far off. Knowing what was that way, he turned and ran, praying no one was harmed.
Fire. Smoke filled the air and it became heavy. Lucas called his powers and let the sky cry, helping out with the growing fire. Rebecca showed up beside him, breathless and they shared a look.
Liza! She was in the cafe. Both Becca and Lucas took off running towards the fire.
"Liza where are you?"
No answer.
"Liza, answer me!"
No answer.
"Z, for the love of all things living, ANSWER ME!"
No answer.
Lucas ran back into the trees and took off flying. He dove staring into the building, using his hoodie to cover his nose and mouth. Kayla and Jack were still conscious. Lucas grabbed both of them and flew out of the building to drop them off before rushing back in.
There she was, lying unconscious on the checkered floor, rubble falling around her. Lucas picked her up, almost tossing her up in surprise from how light she was. He checked to make sure she was breathing before running out. He turned around once and stopped.
There in the middle of the fire was a large figure. Out of his hands came the flames and his hair sparked with energy. His eyes were blazing white, and no emotion showed on his scratchy face. He only spoke a few words:
"This is your fault..."
And with that, Lucas ran out into the clean air, forcing it into Liza's lungs. She coughed and sputtered, but remained out. He laid her on the grass and Becca ran to her side, calling the paramedics over.
"Thank you Brother."
Lucas flew off, he had to go home and clean up. But little did he know that Liza hear those three words and that she would remember them...
If you're feeling sorry and sad
I'd really sympathize
Don't you be sad, just call me tonight
Any time at all,
Any time at all,
Any time at all, all you've gotta do is call and I'll be there