MK ran down the hallway, his heart racing. He was alive! He couldn't believe it! Xavier Tucker was alive, that son of a gun! He grinned to himself and burst into the mess hall.

"HE'SALIVETUCKERSALIVEANDHESHEREHECAMEBAACCKK!!!!" He yelled, his voice becoming rather feminine. Joy, the Simmons, the Grifs, and the Nobles stared at him in confusion. Dexter shook his head and held up his hand to silence MK.

"Woahwoahwoah, kid. English, please!" He sighed in exasperation. MK took a deep breath, still grinning ear to ear.

"XAVIER TUCKER IS ALIVE!" MK shouted, pointing down the hall. Everybody started at each other in shock for a few moments before they got up in unison. MK went to walk out, but Val grabbed his arm as everyone ran down the hallway.

"What gives, Val?"

She looked concerned, but mostly confused. "MK... you and Charlie are dating, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Didn't..." Val trailed off, looking hesitant, but she ended up deciding to speak her mind anyways. "Didn't he like Charlie, too?"

MK was caught off guard. He just stared dumbstruck at her. He knew Tucker liked Charlie, too. They had a conversation about how they would fight for her, and they did all throughout Rebirth. Realization hit his face and he looked at his feet, his eyebrows furrowing together.

They said they would fight for her but... MK thought he won. He wasn't happy about it, but Tucker was supposedly dead. Nothing was stopping him from being Charlie's boyfriend. He swallowed a lump in his throat, feeling guilty for the anger that rose up inside of him.

"B-but she's already my girlfriend! We kissed, spent hours alone together, we basically went on dates! She said she wanted to be my girlfriend!" He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. "Tucker wouldn't-"

But he couldn't finish the sentence. If it were the other way around... if he had been presumed dead but came back still having feelings for Charlie, he definitely would have still wanted to fight for her. Even if she had supposedly chose Tucker. He ran a hand through his hair.

"You know what, I'm sorry. This isn't the time for this. He's alive, and that's all that matters. You two are friends. Go and be with him." Val looked like she regretted everything she did and walked away.

MK stood there for a while, clenching and unclenching his fists. She was right... They were friends. He walked out, trying to put the conversation out of his head. When he got back to the hospital room, the Nobles and Joy were just leaving. They had big smiles on their faces.

"I'm so happy for you!" Joy told him as she walked out.

Before MK could go in, however, Dr. Grey stood in front of the door, blocking his path. "No more visitors! He needs to rest!" She snapped.

MK nodded quickly and scurried away, not wanting to provoke her. As he walked back down the hallway, he spotted Charlie and instinctively went to her and grabbed her hand. She looked as though she was about to pull away, but didn't.

"Charlie... are you okay?" MK asked, afraid of what she might say.

Charlie was silent, looking at the floor. She looked like she was about to be sick. She just shrugged. "I'm glad he's alive."

"Yeah, me too." MK replied awkwardly. He knew they were both thinking the same thing. He didn't want to put her on the spot, but the words slipped out before he could help himself.

"Did you tell him?" He asked her rather forcefully. She blinked at him, taken aback.

"I- about what?" She sidestepped the question and finally pulled her hand away. MK felt hurt, but he told himself not to assume that she knew what he meant.

"About..." MK told himself not to. He had just gotten back and he really was happy Tucker was alive. He shouldn't ruin the happy day... but he did. "About us?"

Charlie looked as though she would love nothing more than to curl into a fetal position and disappear. She squirmed uncomfortably.

"No... but it just- it just didn't seem like the right time." She defended herself quickly. Her face was red and she was actually starting to sweat. MK knew he'd taken it too far.

"No, you're right... I'm sorry you're right, you're right!" He repeated, rubbing his forehead. "He's back and that's all that matters." He wanted to comfort her, so he pulled her close and gave her a warm smile.

"We'll all finally be together again." They seemed equally captivated by each other's eyes. MK loved her eyes, her laugh, her incredible mind. He... He loved her. He wanted nothing more than to stay in that moment forever.

Charlie suddenly looked nauseous again, and even seemed like she was about to cry. MK panicked.

"I- I'm sorry! What did I-?"

"Nothing! Nothing... I'm just not feeling well..." Charlie said, but she didn't look like she was going to pull away from him anytime soon. MK nodded.

"A-Alright. Maybe Hale has some medicine for you." He suggested and walked with her down the hallway. He knew he realized should've taken her to Dr. Grey. He wondered why he didn't just-

No, he couldn't fool himself. It was because Tucker was there. Suddenly, he felt sick. He couldn't just avoid him!

He wished he could go back to the simple time when they were just friends, but then again... Charlie wouldn't be his girlfriend. His mind and his heart were at war with each other. He couldn't just forget years of friendship with Tucker, but not could he forget years of dreaming about being with Charlie.

His mind wanted nothing more than for him to just tell Charlie and he couldn't date her because he didn't want to lose Tucker as a friend... But then again...

Then you turn back to me and suddenly I'm helpless!

They met each other's eyes again.

Oh, look at those eyes! Oh!

Oh, look at those eyes... He was helpless.

I know I'm down for the count and I'm drowning in em!