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Ivy

Markel settled on the space beside me, his half-burnt chips in a bowl, as he threw a smile at me. "You're glowing." He said.

I chuckled. "And you burnt the chips."

"Sorry." He grinned. "I can't cook for shit."

I smiled at him. Silence stretched for a few minutes before I broke it with something that I knew might upset him, but I couldn't help myself. "Ethan loved cooking."

I felt him freezing beside me.

I let out a breath. "I'm sorry... that was unfair—"

"No," he cut me off, sitting up and scooting closer to me. "No, it's not... you can talk to me about anything, even if it concerns someone who I might have to compete with in future."

I swallowed, nodding as I played with my fingers.

"So, he loved cooking?"

"Yeah... still loves, I hope." I smiled. "That was the only thing he thought he was good at."

"How'd you guys meet?" Markel asked.

My gaze met his now. "You're serious? You don't know?"

He shrugged. "I was out of the loop back at the old dimension, only ever been out of the facility like twice... and I only ever met Ethan once, and we were basically just kids then, and it was at an event in the facility."

"Oh, sometimes I forget you're like one of the golden ones." I teased.

"Trust me, I don't feel like that."

"I know."

"So, how did this whole story begin?"

I stopped, allowing my mind take me back to that night. "I ordered him."

His brows shot up. "Okay? wasn't expecting that."

I chuckled. "I never thought it would work either."

"He was one of the few who got sent out on rare occasions, then." Markel stated.

"Yeah. So, I was being a stupid lonely teenager, my best friend had just got with the popular guy at school, and I've had the longest crush on him for like—I don't know, years? It sucked seeing her with him every day, and she slowly began to pull away from me, hanging out with the popular crowd, and I was the pathetic ex best friend who thought she stood a chance at their table, so I kinda like, wanted to keep our friendship alive, did a lot of embarrassing things, so—you know, they would think I'm cool too."

"I find this very hard to believe."

"What? Why?"

He gave me an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? You're one of the coolest people I know."

"You're just saying that."

He shook his head. "I know this would sound cliché but—I wish you could see you the way I see you." He said, looking right into my eyes, his stare intense. "Tell me more."

I let out a breath. "Well, I noticed everyone in that circle had their own boyfriends and girlfriends, and then I thought maybe if I had my own boyfriend, they would finally let me hang out with them."

"Now that's a good high school movie plot."

"What do you know about high school movies?"

He shrugged. "I'm one of the golden ones."

A laugh escaped me. "Right."

He smiled at me. "So, I'm guessing this is the part where you order him?"

"Yeah... I got on my laptop one night, and searched about companies that made robots look like people, and uh... I dug too deep, found the site, and— I ordered him." I smiled, thinking about it. "It's weird,"

"What's weird?"

I blinked, furrowing my brows. "Ethan and I are connected, just like he is connected to the 10. Glory has never let him out of her sight, and then—" I sat up.

"What is it?"

"Why did she let him out? I mean—there was an excuse about her wanting him to take a break from the dimension, but that's a bullshit excuse, clearly. I mean... how did I manage to stumble across the site exactly when it was out in the open?"

Markel stopped to think about it. "It was usually active for just a few minutes, and not a lot of people stumble across it by that time."

"Right? But me—me who is actually connected to this whole thing in a weird way stumbled across it in record time. And Ethan, the anchor to my powers gets sent to me. That's not a coincidence, is it? Did Glory plan all of this?"

"I've heard she's capable of a lot." He said, his hand coming to rest on my tense shoulders. "But hey, I need you to forget the theories and the schemes... just—think of the good."

My shoulders relaxed a bit, a sigh escaping me as I relaxed back on the couch, folding my legs in a way that got me more comfortable. "Sorry, it's just so hard to ignore things that just click, you know? Anything could help."

"I know, V."

I bit into my bottom lip. "Well, he came on time, and I was blown away by the technology... I wondered how something so big could be not as huge as it is meant to be. I asked questions, but—he always had a response to them... but I was still curious. My parents freaked out and—I made up a story, that was half-truth, but I didn't even know at time. It was odd too. The next morning, he made breakfast, and it smelt so fucking good. I pulled him to the kitchen, and asked him to prove to me that he was a robot. I was curious."

"How did he prove it?"

"I asked him to—cut himself... I wanted to see if he would bleed, but—he didn't. I should have stopped asking questions from that point but—I never stopped."

"I can already tell there was a lot of trust issues in your relationship?"

"Obviously. I mean he wiped my memories. I should have just listened to him; I should have stopped digging... but—it was too late. I already liked him too much and I just thought I could stop the dimension, you know? Free him, free everyone." I stopped, letting out a shaky breath at the sudden ache in my heart. "All he ever did was try to protect me, he lost his whole life, trying to protect me, and for what? We lost, and Glory won."

He dropped the chip bowl at the side table. "It's not your fault, V."

"How isn't it? If I had just listened to him from the start... no one would have had to die... my parents, they would still be alive. Roman would still be human, and—"

"You'll remain the girl who stood at the sidelines, watching everyone else get their happy endings. You did what you had to do, Ivy. If only your friend could see you now."

"Everything's just so fucked up, Markel. I want to act like I got everything under control but—what if she wins again? What if we don't succeed?"

"Hey," he held both my hands. "You can't have those thoughts, V."

"But—"

"You don't know what you're capable of, yet. but I believe in you... a lot of people, believe in you."

I sighed. "I know, and that's what makes this a whole lot more complicated."

"Do you believe in yourself?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.

"I don't know." I told him. "I really don't know, Markel."

"Come here." He said, pulling me to his body, his arms wrapping around me as my head rested on his chest. "We'll work it out."

I closed my eyes, warm tears sliding down my cheeks, my heart reaching out to Ethan.

The day we got separated, was so damn clear in my head.

The day that followed, the emptiness that embraced me.

The emptiness that left the moment I saw him at the party.

The emptiness that was now covered with his warmth. It engulfed my skin, caressing me with a soft touch as the hair at the back of my neck rose.

My eyes snapped open.

He's here.

I got out of Markel's embrace, my heart hammering.

"You, okay?" he asked.

I blinked. "Ye-ah, can I um—get water, please?"

"Sure, be right back." He said, getting to his feet before making his way to the kitchen.

Immediately, I got to my feet, running straight to the window before pulling the curtains to the side.

He was leaning on his bike, which stood at the other side of the road, both hands tucked into his pocket.

A shaky breath escaped me, and in that moment, he raised his head, eyes locking with mine.

My heart was in my throat, and my palms were sweaty.

My feet ached to rush out of the house, to go close enough to feel him, to touch him, to hug him.

He stood upright, holding my gaze for a few seconds before taking his hand out of his pockets.

Looking away from me, He grabbed his helmet and put it on.

My heart pounded.

He got on the bike, started its engine before looking back at me.

I gulped down, placing my hand on the window, as I watched him drive off into the night.

What the hell was that? Why was he here? How did he know I was here?

What's happening?

__

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I personally, can't wait for the Ivan ship to get with its sailing...

Also...

I personally, love her friendship with Markel... it's quite obvious he loves her... but I wanna hear your thoughts...

#teamivan

#teamvarkel

Which ship are you gonna be entering!

An Ivan chapter coming up! Can't wait for you guys to read this one!

See y'all Friday!