Chapter Text
When False walked into the kitchen she didn’t know what to expect. What she got was dead silence, three pairs of eyes trained on her the moment she left her room.
Unblinking.
She looked at them, they stared back at her. The tension in the room was so high you could cut it with a knife.
Finally, the silence was broken by Grian;
“Soooo, uhh, morning everyone, I guess” it was awkward, stuttered. It was nothing like his usual way of speaking.
“It’s a great morning for me! My roommate, who’s been missing for two months, shows up out of nowhere with some random guy off the street and goes to bed without explaining anything!” Gem yelled from the kitchen.
It’s not like False could blame her, she’d be mad too. But it wasn’t like she’d meant to be gone that long, she hadn’t even meant to be gone! There was also the question of how much she could even tell Gem. That information would put her in more danger. She didn’t ask for this. Neither of them did.
But there wasn’t time to dwell on that. False was in this weather she wanted to be or not, but Gem wasn’t yet. She still had a chance to be normal. Why did False even come back here? She should have left when she had the chance, Gem would wonder about her for a while, but she could move on, have a normal life, not be dragged into this. False’s life could never be the same. She was in this world of heroes and villains and whatever else there was, and she couldn’t leave, no matter how much she wanted to.
If Scar, Grian, Ren, and Doc all figured out Stopwatch, or at least the person who was forced to be her, was alive, then there’s a good chance they aren’t the only people who have…
Great, her life now would just be a series of avoiding both villains and heroes trying to attack and/or kidnap her. It all hit her in an instant, how much her life was about to change, how much harder it would be, how much she’d already endangered Gem by coming back to their apartment. False could never have an ordinary life again. Probably never got a real chance to.
The room was completely silent but her head was so LOUD. She could feel hot tears streak her face. It was too much. She never wanted this. She didn’t ask to be taken to the facility when she was just a kid. Only left with a stupid flannel to remember her father by. She hadn’t asked to be trained to her limits everyday, forced into hours of training her power until she could barely remember that morning, until her everything hurt. She hadn’t asked to debut as Stopwatch at sixteen, with the media believing she was eighteen, to become the city’s best hero, the one who had to do everything, who’s drawback wasn’t seen as a drawback, but as a perk. It was hard to form attachments when you could barely remember anything, or anyone.
She hadn’t asked to be let in on Ren and Doc’s stupid rebellion plan, she’d just been so desperate to get out at that point, to be allowed to remember things, to be able to connect with other humans and remember their faces. She’d asked for the battle five years ago. She’d asked to fake her death.
She just wanted out…
A chance to be someone other than Stopwatch, the hero’s most valuable asset. A chance to actually live a normal life. False hadn’t asked for Doc to go too far. For total amnesia. In a way, she’d gotten what she wanted. But it that way, it wasn’t permanent, and now, she was right back where she started. Except now, Gem was involved. She couldn’t let her be. It wasn’t too late yet. False could leave and never come back. She could let Gem have the blessedly normal life she never could.
At this point, that was just wishful thinking. “I’m sorry” she croaked out, apologizing for things she could never truly explain, she wasn’t even sure she understood. She peaked out of the ball she’d made of herself, her cheeks were hot and red, tears still rolling down them. The green lady was watching over the back of the couch, completely unaffected by False’s breakdown. Gem was right in front of her, crouched down, looking into her teary eyes, Grian standing behind her, also looking at False.
“I know a lot more than you think.” Gem almost whispered to her, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“A lot more”
“Oh you don’t even know the half of it, Gem,” the green lady laughed, “not even the half.”