&&genius-level intellect

Sighing, Kara looked back up at him, voice stern as she tried to conceal her anger and frustration. "I can understand having someone like your dad cause others harm and wanting to leave. I do. What I don't understand is how you call me your best friend and just leave without telling me where you were going? What if something happened to you?!" The tone of her voice changed, shouting now. "I deserved that much! Do you have any idea how it felt for me to come back to work the next morning and see your desk empty? How I felt when your texts and phone calls dropped?" She could feel tears falling down her cheeks by now. She wasn't expecting to cry, but she didn't realize how angry and hurt she was by his actions either.

Her reaction was almost exactly what he expected, and yet he found himself frozen at her words. Because every time he let himself imagine someone missing him, he talked himself out of it. Told himself that they couldn't miss him, because what was there to miss? The son of a mass murderer who was one day going to hurt everyone he loved? Someone who didn't know how to function as a real human and instead was just pretending. Owen wasn't as messy, Owen got to act and tell stories. Owen was loved. Maybe Winn never was.

“I was worried about you, Winn. After what happened with your dad… between us… you just left without saying goodbye. No one knew where you were. I didn’t know where you were.” She didn’t realize she felt a bit of anger coursing through her veins either. How could he just leave after telling her how he felt? He was her best friend… and despite how much she wanted to push aside her feelings and make sure he was okay, she couldn’t ignore how she felt either. Angry, hurt, confused...

It was a name he hadn't heard in almost a year. Winn. He was positive that he was never going to hear it again, that no one was going to miss Winn Schott and he could live his life hiding in plain sight as Owen. "That was kind of the idea." He muttered knowing that it was harsh, that it wasn't fair to Kara. He was the one that left, he was the one who didn't say goodbye. Just quit his job with an email to his supervisor and a few belongings before deciding that the rest could be donated.

Aside from Alex, Winn was the most important person in her life. He understood her, related to her. Winn being in her life helped her overcome her internal battles, and she never felt isolated or alone with him by her side. So, why was it difficult to tell him how she felt? We are too. Those three words haunted her. But his kiss— that kiss… Why was she scared to stop him that night? She wasn’t afraid to protect National City from danger, but she was afraid to tell Winn how she felt. Now that Winslow Schott Sr was back in prison, Kara decided she couldn’t let her feelings stay hidden. Despite finding the courage to confess her feelings, Winn was nowhere to be found. Panic filled Kara as days turned into weeks, but that all changed when she discovered a new musical spotlight for The Newsies, and the main actor was Winn himself. The missed calls and texts left unanswered confirmed her suspicions that he had run away, and it seemed he had taken on a new identity in the process. 

Within seconds, Kara bought a ticket for the show that night and flew to New York in what she hoped would be a happy reunion. From the beginning to the end of the performance, Kara smiled in her seat as she watched her best friend. Once the show came to a close, Kara excused herself before the curtain call and used her superpowers to sneak backstage and hide in his dressing room. While she wanted to confess her feelings, Kara was more concerned about how Winn was doing after what had taken place in National City. 

Her concern for his well-being and her feelings for Winn made her pace about his dressing room. She was not about to fly back to National City because not only did she need to tell him how she felt, but Kara needed answers as to why he left— if he was okay... Hearing the sound of the door to his dressing room open made her stop pacing, and she took a deep breath. “I didn’t realize you wanted to be on Broadway someday.” Kara greeted him with a small smile. “H— hey, Winn. It's been a long time."

So he took off, went to do the only other thing he could think of. A place where he could pretend to be something other than what he was. Theater was something he loved in high school, every time he stepped on that stage he could be someone else, tell a different story. He didn't mean to end up making his Broadway debut in a leading role, but he was proud of how far he had come.

It was during Santa Fe that he first thought he saw her, his eyes glancing over the audience as he connected with Jack's desire to run. The heartbreak as he realized that what he had was overwhelming and he was in over his head. It was only a moment of recognition before he slipped back into Jack Kelly, reminding himself that Kara was across the country in National City, not sitting in a New York theater.

"I know you can't see it now." She says, knowing she's fighting an uphill battle and is failing with every step. "But one day you'll understand why it had to be this way."

"What if I need this?" She asks, knowing it's a low blow. It's not fair. But, then again, none of this is. "What if I need you to be safe? What if I need to know that you're somewhere no one can get to you because I can't live with myself if something happens to you again?"

Maybe he was too blinded by the trauma to see the meaning of her words, to actually pause for a moment and try to see where Sarah was coming from. He trusted Sarah with his life, she was the one who taught him everything he knows now. She had never given him a reason to not trust that she was doing things for the right reasons, but being stuck in a house with John Casey for an indefinite amount of time certainly didn't help Winn process everything that had happened.