RESOLUTE

    It was a walk back to his apartment. For once, the bus ride to and from his workplace wasn't as miserable as it used to be. It became tolerable and easier to handle; the smells were less overwhelming and the sounds became more of background noise to him. With all the music the Z-Team compiled into a playlist for him, he didn't have to worry about the noise of people turning him off from his own job.

    The path backward was always the best part. The sound of the wind echoing through the streets and bringing Beef home on their little walks was a nice touch. But with Chase keeping an eye on him every other weekend, he didn't have to worry as much this time around. Stress was loosened from his shoulders. At least, he thought so.

    Nothing felt off. Not until he heard something land with weight behind him. Quickly pulling off his earbuds, he turned around with a firm look. He couldn't lose his guard, and he didn't have a reason to. The figure wasn't easily made out to be anybody he knew (but he swore that voice sounded gruff and familiar, in some weird fucked up way). He stopped, gaze fixed behind him.

    " ... if you're looking to rob somebody, go for somebody else that has their wallet sticking out of their pants," he managed to say. "Better question is ... why are you coming up at me like I did something? Who are you?"

“I don’t want your—” Actually…maybe this version of him, or whatever he was, was stupid enough to carry ID on him. “You know what? Why not?” His finger curled around the trigger of his gun, eyes trained on him. “Toss it over.”

Killing him would be so much simpler, cleaner, but it wouldn’t yield any answers. Maybe the threat of it would be enough, but, then again, he’d done dumber to get out of this kind of shit himself.

He gritted his teeth, circling back to his own question. “The giant, weird fucking bullshit—you didn’t see that?” he stated more so than asked, eyes narrowing. (God, now he sounded crazy, too.) “Bullshit.” No, he didn’t buy that for a second.

"When I was your age me and your father would play with Legos. He'd do exactly what you're doing right now. While I'd do what I'm doing. We'd have Lego building contests to see who would build the best contraption." Eli leaned in close and playfully looked around." I won."

Eli let him skip his homework for the night. Simply because he seemed to be having a rough day. His own jealousy regarding the Brave Brigade made Eli almost have a mental breakdown so he needed something to work on with Robert to get his mind off the stress. Starting to build he placed one piece onto another. Gradually escalating it to the point the Legos made a mini boat. Nothing fancy as he handed it to Robert. It took him no longer than thirteen minutes to build the mini boat.

He scanned the interlocking pieces of the boat, not sure he could come up with something like this. He usually followed the booklet…and what chance did he have against Eli if his dad always lost?

He picked up a green plate piece and started stacking some brown cylinder pieces on it in hopes of it resembling some sort of tree trunk. He tried to take the time to keep the pieces better organized, like Eli suggested, but…it was so, so slow. Wasn’t it just easier to grab what you need?

He tried to remember the last time Dad had cooked dinner...and he couldn’t. Not that Robert minded when he brought home In-N-Out late at night. Was it unfair? Other kids his age still had babysitters. Didn’t they? Or maybe he was getting too old. He could definitely take care of himself. If he had to.

your choices, [name]. your actions... that's what makes you who you are.

i couldn't be more proud of you.

we're so different.

i'm punk rock.

you are not punk rock.

my point is, i question everything and everyone. you trust everyone and think everyone you've ever met is beautiful.

you piece of shit alien!

that is where you've always been wrong about me. i am as human as anyone.

i get scared.

i wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, i put one foot in front of the other, and i try to make the best choices that i can.

i screw up all the time, but that is being human, and that's my greatest strength.

none of this matters, you patronizing clown.

the government gave me authority to kill you.

i'm gonna turn myself in.

he's out there alone. and he's probably scared.

you're driven by envy. you couldn't be more obvious.

parents aren't for telling their children who they're supposed to be. we are here to give you tools to help you make fools of yourselves all your own.

oh my god. why does he trust everyone?

quit messing around!

i'm not messing around. i'm doing important stuff.

hey buddy. eyes up here.

i know you won't kill me.

that haircut should be against your vows.

nothing's felt right since he showed up.

i told you to keep an eye on him!

i can be such a jerk sometimes.

take me home.

there's gotta be a better way to do this!

what the hell, dude? why did you move the door?

where is my dog?

how long have they been hooking up?

it's guys like this, they always got a whole bunch of dark, ugly secrets.

a lot of these guys, these heroes from the magazines, they're obsessed with me. 'cause i'm more jacked than they are.

i thought you wanted to see me.

you're just trying to get information out of me.

i swear to god, that's not it.

there's other parts of you that people would find very attractive.

if i had any emotional capacity whatsoever, i'd be concerned about her partying.

what are you smirking at, you idiot?

would you like a coffee?

i have no clue what you're talking about.

i've been trying to figure out a way to get it out of here alive.

good for you, asshole!

is that really how you feel?

people were going to die!

thanks for watching him, bitch!

good luck with that.

the people there are simple and profoundly confused.

do us proud. rule without mercy.

what's it called again?

your hot ex is a genius.

are you kidding me? those things aren't cheap!

your obsession with me is getting a little creepy.

well, this is why he has behavioural issues.

they sent a message along with me.

"I   dare   you   to   try."

"Do   you   always   get   close?"

"You’re   pushing   my   limits."

"Stop   looking   at   me   like   that."

"I’m   losing   control   here."

"You   have   no   idea,   do   you?"

"I   can’t   resist   you   anymore."

"Stay   back,   or   don’t."

"I   know   what   you   want."

"This   is   getting   dangerous   now."

"You’re   too   tempting   for   me."

"I   shouldn’t   want   this,   but…"

"I   don’t   play   fair,   remember?"

"Careful,   you’re   testing   me."

"You’re   just   making   it   worse."

"You’re   too   close   for   comfort."

"Do   you   always   push   buttons?"

"Stop   before   I   kiss   you."

"You’re   making   it   too   hard."

"I   can’t   stop   thinking   about   you."

"I   want   you   too   much."

"You   know   exactly   what   you’re   doing."

"I’m   not   playing   games   here."

"You’ve   crossed   the   line   now."

"Keep   pushing,   and   you’ll   regret   it."

"This   is   dangerous,   isn’t   it?"

"I’m   trying   not   to   care."

"Don’t   make   me   regret   this."

"You’re   playing   with   fire."

"You   don’t   know   what’s   coming."

"I   shouldn’t   be   this   close."

"We’re   getting   dangerously   close   now."

"I   can   feel   the   heat."

"Don’t   test   me   right   now."

"I   want   you   too   badly."

"Don’t   make   me   chase   you."

"You’re   distracting   me,   you   know."

"I   won’t   fall   for   this."

"I   want   you,   but…"

"What   do   you   want   from   me?"

"I’ll   never   give   in."

"I’m   trying   not   to   care."

"You’re   playing   with   my   patience."

"Don’t   make   this   harder,   please."

"I   can’t   stop   this   feeling."

"I’m   already   in   too   deep."

"You   won’t   walk   away   unscathed."

"You’re   walking   a   fine   line."

"I’m   trying   to   stay   calm."

(mix of silly, emotional, messy, sweet, and chaotic)

"you ever think maybe we were meant to meet... like, cosmically?"

"i shouldn't say this... but i've been in love with you for forever."

"shhh. don’t tell anyone i said this but... you’re my favorite person."

"you’re so pretty. it’s actually unfair. i’m mad at you now."

"i miss you. even when you're here, i miss you."

"if you asked me right now, i’d run away with you."

"i told myself i wouldn’t cry and now look at me—i'm soggy."

"can i tell you a secret? no one knows this. not even me."

"i don't want to go home. it’s not warm there like you are."

"you smell like safety. that’s weird, right?"

"you always leave the party too early. stay longer this time. stay with me."

"i don't like them. i never did. i only said yes to make you jealous."

"you were my first love. not that you needed to know that."

"you always knew me better than anyone. it’s scary sometimes."

"every time you smile at someone else i feel sick. it’s pathetic, i know."

"i think you're the only person who's ever actually seen me."

"you promised me you’d stay. why did you lie?"

"remember when we used to dream together? god, we were so young."

"don’t laugh but... i wrote poems about you. they were bad."

"you’re everything to me. but it’s fine. you don’t have to feel the same."

"your hands are so warm. i could live here, holding you."

"you were my favorite chapter. i keep rereading you."

"i’m not drunk. okay i am. but the feelings? those are real."

"i wish i was braver when it counted."

"it’s you. it’s always been you."

"do you think we missed our chance?"

"they don’t deserve you. but i was too scared to try to be someone who did."

"stop looking at me like that. i’ll fall in love all over again."

"you said you didn’t want anything serious... but i did. i wanted you."

"i’m scared. and it’s not the booze—it’s the idea of losing you."

"i tell everyone i’m over you but then you look at me and i fall apart."

"you were the only one who stayed when everything else fell apart."

"if i tell you i love you, will you leave? please don’t."

"the world feels quieter when you're near. like everything makes sense."

"you taste like trouble and i’d still kiss you again."

"god, i hate you. i hate how much i still love you."

"every version of me has wanted every version of you."

"you were my home. i didn’t realize until i lost the key."

"don’t leave yet. just one more moment like this. please."

"i think i messed up. i picked everyone else before you."

"if i asked you to kiss me, would you?"

"remember when you held my hand like you meant it?"

"you’re my what-if. and it kills me."

"can we just stay like this? pretend it’s still us?"

"i forgive you. even though it still hurts."

"i lied. when i said i didn’t care. i always did."

"you look so good right now. it's annoying. stop it."

"you make the world feel a little less heavy."

"i saved every text. is that weird?"

"i love you. even if i forget this in the morning, i mean it right now."

caretaker.

i'll  stay  until  you  fall  asleep.

you're  not  a  burden.  not  to  me.

you  don't  have  to  act  tough  with  me.

let  me  help.

if  you  need  to  cry,  i'll  look  the  other  way.

you  don't  have  to  talk.

let  me  handle  it,  just  for  a  minute.

rest,  i'll  watch  over  you.

i  don't  care  if  you  think  you're  fine.  i'm  staying.

deep  breaths.

just  lean  on  me.

you're  safe  now,  okay?  just  breathe.

i  know  it  hurts.  i'll  sit  here  as  long  as  it  takes.

i'm  not  leaving  until  i  know  you're  okay.

you  don't  need  to  hide.

let  me  take  care  of  you  this  time.

shh.  i'm  right  here.

you  don't  have  to  put  on  a  smile  for  me.

i  don't  think  less  of  you.

i'll  be  here  when  you  wake  up.

you're  allowed  to  lean  on  me.  that's  what  i'm  here  for.

you  don't  have  to  be  okay.

scoot  over,  i'm  not  letting  you  sleep  alone.

your  hair's  a  mess.  let  me  brush  it.

don't  apologize.

cared  for.

i'm  tired,  that's  all.

please  don't  go.

i  don't  know  what  i  need.

you  didn't  need  to  come.

you  shouldn't  have  to  see  me  like  this.

i  hate  feeling  like  this.

i  was  trying  to  push  through.  i  think  i  made  it  worse.

this  is  so  embarrassing.

can  you  just...  stay  a  little  longer?

i  didn't  think  anyone  would  notice...

i'm  not  safe  in  my  own  head  right  now.

why  are  you  being  so  gentle  with  me?

i  don't  want  you  to  fix  me.

today's  just...  one  of  the  harder  days.

i  didn't  know  i  needed  to  hear  that.

can  you  stay?  after  i  fall  asleep?

sorry.  i  didn't  mean  to  flinch.

i  don't  always  know  what's  going  to  help.

this  is  the  nicest  anyone’s  been  to  me  all  week.

i'm  sorry.  i  know  i'm  a  lot.

i  don't  even  know  why  i'm  crying...

i  think  i'm  broken.

you  didn't  have  to  do  all  this  for  me.

i  don't  want  to  be  a  burden.

i thought i told you to stay back.

i love you too much to let you get hurt like this.

this affects me, too, you know.

every time you leave, i sit up all night waiting, praying you'll come back alive.

you keep pulling stunts like this and something bad will happen.

do you have a death wish or something?

this isn't fair to me.

i deserve better than this.

i didn't get any sleep last night because i was so worried about you.

you promised me you'd stop going out at night.

i don't like hearing this.

you've been risking your life, and for what? so you can feel like a goddamn hero?

i said i would handle it.

what the fuck are you doing here?

you told me you'd stay put.

so much for laying low.

you remember how bad it was last time.

seems like you haven't learned anything.

i believe you promised me you'd lay low.

i can't keep doing this.

don't give me that look.

we'll discuss this later.

this stops now.

i'm tired of picking up the pieces once you've left.

you keep throwing yourself into danger.

you don't give a shit about yourself, do you?

i'm sitting here, worried out of my mind, while you're out doing god knows what.

that was really stupid of you, and you know it.

i thought you knew better than this.

what's your excuse this time?

you do realize what this does to me, right? seeing you get hurt like this? you know it hurts me, too?

you really don't give a shit how this affects me, huh.

that was the dumbest possible thing you could have done.

i need you to stop throwing yourself into harm's way.

that was completely unnecessary.

they had it handled.

you didn't need to step in like that.

why do you think you're invincible?

the last time you pulled a stunt like this, it nearly got you killed.

i can't just sit here and watch you get hurt.

what are you trying to prove?

you just like fucking with my heart, don't you.

this shit hurts me, too, you know.

you're not the only one affected by this shit.

you've got a lot of people counting on you to come home every night.

what happens if you don't come back?

you think we can just carry on without you?

you think i can handle things if you end up dead?

i'm not sticking around to watch you get hurt.

you're not even slick.

you think you're invincible, don't you.

quit pretending you've got everything under control.

let someone else do it for a change.

you can't keep putting yourself through shit like this and expect me to just sit back and watch.

i'm done with this.

next time you do this, i'm not coming back.

promise me this is the end.

look me in the eyes and tell me you'll stop doing this.

let the authorities deal with it.

you're making a big mistake.

is it worth dying for?