no Mercy

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It would be the day before our biggest mission yet.
Everyone was in the training room, awaiting the leadership of Reeva.

I stood the farthest away from Andy and Rebecca.
It was quite obvious that Rebecca was uncomfortable around me, after all, I did cause her attack.
She would look anywhere but my direction, which made me feel more of a monster.

"All right," Reeva announces, "When we get to the Creed Financial building, we will neutralize the mutant detection system. Once that's done, we move in. Lorna will disable communications while the girls and I secure the employees. The Mycrofts will be on the roof, giving us any time needed if or when police will intervene. Rebecca will get us into the vault, with Andrew by her side for protection. We will take what we came for and then we will leave. Violence will only be used as a last resort. Any questions?"

Lorna speaks, "The mutant detection system. You sure you can knock it out? If you can't, this is gonna be a real short heist."

"The girls and I are working on that now. Everything will be ready. Get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day."

As everyone left, I notice Andy was walking next to me.
I almost talked to him, out of pure instinct, but while I stopped myself, he then went back to the room to get Rebecca.
I didn't stop to turn around, I moved straight toward my room.

You'd think with the history he and I have experienced, we would be on a term of glances back and forward; sure as hell, I would look toward him multiple times, yet I could never know if he did the same for me.

With his time with the Hoover girl and my self-helping of isolation, it was like we were strangers, strangers with memories, that it.

"Lux." I turn my head to see my brother in front of me. "He's moved on."

I didn't reply, only pushed past him and walked away.
I couldn't help but feel my throat choke and have water already pooling in my eyes.

Was I in denial? Most likely.
I just thought that maybe, just maybe, Andy would come back to me, in any way.

It hurt to lose a boyfriend and a best friend at the same time...

❅ ❅ ❅

Two Year Ago

Andy and I were growing to be close. We were in the times of getting to know ourselves on a deeper level and becoming comfortable with one another as friends.

I liked Andy, he was a sweet guy, just misunderstood and judged.

I started to realize I was growing more feelings than before when I realized that one girl at school had eyes for him.

"Lux, guess what?"

"You manage to pass your math test?"

"Of course not. Who do you think I am?"
"Someone that can go math fairly well."

"No, no. Vanessa Locke asked me out," He gasped.

My body froze completely.
It was dumbfounding to think that someone like Vanessa would ever see Andy Strucker as a possible boyfriend; not that I doubted him.

"B-But Vanessa is——"
"Popular, pretty, I know. I can't believe I actually have a chance."

"Wait, you said yes?"

"Yeah, what kind of idiot would say no?"

He had me cornered.
Vanessa was pretty and popular, a lot of people like her, but there is a good majority that has some not nice words to say to her.

Looking at his face, he seemed so happy. He had a good chance of not being shown as the 'weird, outcast', he had the attention of a girl that was way out of his league.

I looked around to see Vanessa and her group giggling, in some menacing way, as they stare at the boy.

"Andy... maybe you shouldn't go," I admit.

"Wait, why?"

"Come on, Vanessa has never talked to you, ever. Now she suddenly wants to hang out with you? That's pretty suspicious, don't you think?"

"Maybe she wants to get to know me."

"Andy, you seriously can't be this dense. I know you want to fit in, but——"

Before I could give an explanation, he left me alone in the hallway, leaning me to pity him, as he walked away.

❅ ❅ ❅

Present

As the night grew, I gladly made myself tea to help me sleep.
Most nights my dreams never did consist of Simone, but just blazed flashes of blues, fighting on another.

With tea in my hand, I turned to the hallway, only to bump into someone, dropping the hot liquid on me.

I wince from the heat, as my body released cold to where the hot liquid seemed to burn.

"Oh, my god, I'm so sorry."

Hearing the voice made me want to melt to the ground.
I saw the platinum blonde boy quickly running away to help with the mess.

Of course, out of all people, it would be Andy.
Rubbing my cold skin, I saw him come back with napkins in hand.

We both silently did our best to clean the tea from the floor, picking up the broken pieces of the cup.
He took the napkins and left the scene.

It was awkward and weird to say the less of our exchange.
It truly seemed that we've broken apart so much so that we couldn't even hope up a conversation.

I left to the kitchen to fix myself another tea, but when I walked in, there I saw Andy, with a mug in hand.

"Thought you hated coffee before bed," I spoke.

"T-This isn't for me," The boy admits. He then hands me the tea, carefully. "Chamomile with three sugars."

"You knew about my tea? I never knew."
"Yeah, well, I just observed and it stuck with me."

Before I could reply, he then gives me something in my other hand.
I look to see it was two melatonin gummies.

"How do you have these gummies?"

"They were in the nurse room. It's not hard to get there and come back when the water was boiling; it's like right down the hallway," He sighed, "You just... you look tired. Please, go to sleep."

He then left afterward, probably to his room.
I stare at the gummies in my hand and ate them. Andy may be on my bad-side list, but he wasn't wrong. Some sleep was needed and the bags under my eyes proved it.

All I could remember was slipping in my bed, drinking my tea, as I enjoyed the peace and quiet that became so rare and so adoring.

The next morning I was awakened by my alarm.
The mission was today, I actually gained some sleep, it seemed to be a good-sided day for me.

As I got ready and headed to the lobby, I saw the Strucker boy, on the couch and waiting for Rebecca...

❅ ❅ ❅

Two Years Ago

My mother sent me to grab us pizza for dinner.
I knew Johnny's Pizza was the way to go, both Andy and I adored the restaurant; their pizza was simply to die for.

As I was about to walk into the restaurant, in the window, I saw a familiar boy sitting.
It turned out to be Andy, sitting alone, sadly eating pizza.

In curiosity, I walked into the building, making my way toward the depressed-looking kid.
"You okay, Andy?"

Knowing my voice, he sighed to me, "You were right, Lux."

I sat down on the chair in front of him. "What did I do?"

"You warned me, about Vanessa. I was stupid not to believe you. I mean, how could I be that dumb."

"Wait, wait. The date was today? This is the date?"

"Can't you tell?"

There I saw a pretty red rose laid down on the table, lonely and dull, and noticed his slight change of completely dark wardrobe to a more colorful palette.

I pressed my lips together, seeing that Vanessa did actually ditched him, with not a care in the world.
Leaving a poor boy with a broken heart.

With a sign to myself, I sat in the chair in front of him. "Hope you don't mind."

"What are you doing?" He questioned, seeing me eat a piece of his box of pizza.

"I'm joining you. You're not wasting this pizza for just yourself."

"You don't have to do his, Lux."

"I'm not gonna leave you like this. You deserve a lot more than shitty Vanessa."

Andy chuckled, watching me with eyes of endearment. "Thanks for sticking with me."

I looked at him, our eyes locked.
My heart and stomach fluttered butterflies, I held my breath in anticipation. My cheeks gave a pink glow, which he smiled too.

"Yeah, well... let's hope we both stick together for a long time."

Andy looked down then to the flower. With the red rose now in his hand, he lifts it to me.
I hesitantly took the flower in hand, admiring it gracefully.

"I'm pretty sure we're stuck for life," He states.

❅ ❅ ❅

Present

Watching him wait for another girl, that wasn't me, it was to imagine.
I wouldn't ever think that he would be with someone else, and I think he thinks the same.

Seeing her come out to a hallway, her pretty brunette hair and black clothes, nervously wrapped her arms around him, even giving him a kiss on the cheek; despite how much Andy love when it's placed on his forehead, I began to think Jack was right.

Maybe Andy did move on, he preferred a girl like Rebecca compared to someone like me.
Maybe Andy let her kiss him because I wasn't what he wanted all along.

There was a gleaming millisecond the Strucker boy looked to me when Rebecca talked to him.
We locked a single glance when he looked down to the Hoover girl.

Thinking back to what he said at the pizza restaurant after his failed date, I only muttered to myself, "What a lie that was."

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