Closed I Need You Now

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava had run crying through the lawn, barely able to see. How could he? How could he? She hated him right now. Philip's words still rang in her head. What, he didn’t care that Nora jinxed her? So he could love her, but others could hurt her and it was okay, so long as they meant well? And his final words. Making sure she got to class okay. Without speaking to her. Knowing how alone she felt. How abandoned she had been. And trying to make it seem like she had to choose between him and Vader. He was just, just so cruel sometimes. What sort of love was that? Hurt, broken, and terribly upset with him and with herself, Ava ran as fast as she could to the one person who would always really love her.

Still sobbing, Ava bolted into the courtyard, rushing to the door she couldn’t get through. Hand over her mouth to stifle her cries, Ava raised a trembling fist and banged on the door. Merlin, please let him be here. She needed him so bad right now. She didn’t know what she would do if Vader wasn’t inside. She slid to her knees in front of the door. Wrapping one arm around her torso, Ava bit her fist to try and calm herself.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader felt tired, halloween was just around the corner and despite his best efforts his sleep was still escaping him. He really didn’t have the time for it. He had so much to prepare and get done, he had so much that he needed to do. The teen was also worrying a little about the feast itself, about the time he would have to spend with Isabelle, when he should be working, but to not spend the time with her would mean that she might get annoyed and he didn’t want annoy her, they were dating. He didn’t really want to spend the time with her, it felt too official and despite all that he tried he didn’t like her like he thought he would learn to. It just wasn’t working for him. The boy was working, letting himself concentrate on his task, when he heard a banging on the door. It startled him quite a bit, but didn’t damage his work. He didn’t know who would need in here that badly, maybe it was Caro who was annoyed at him, maybe it was Vegeta who’d finally located the accio room. Vader tentatively went over and opened the door a little, looking to who it was before immediately opening the door wide and stepping out of the room, ”Helene? What’s wrong?” she was crying, he could see that, she seemed to almost be trembling. He immediately put his arms out and wrapped them around her, holding his best friend tightly, who would dare do this, cause this to Ava.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava melted into Vader's arms, burying her face in his chest and sobbing. She clung to him for a bit, but after a while she managed to calm down enough that she could reign in her emotions again. She pulled away, rubbing her face with her sleeves. "I'm sorry," She whispered, not looking at him. "I-i... it's just... I talked to Philip," She backed away until she hit the wall and slid down it so she sat on the ground. Ava pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, still not able to look at Timmy just yet. "I-i... ah, I can wait until you aren't busy," She offered, biting her lip to keep it from quivering. As much as she yearned to tell Vader everything, she knew that now that she was calmed down a bit it could wait.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader didn’t move as she wound her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He just kept his arms tight around hers and let his hand run up and down her back in a comforting manner. Just holding on to her lightly, pulling away when she did. He looked down at her, and could see all of the tears upon her face, the patch of his shirt wet with tears and he felt anger for what had likely happened to make her this upset. He frowned as she mentioned Philip, boy did Vader not like him. But she seemed to pull away from him, sliding down the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees as she sat upon the floor. Vader shook his head before saying, ”I’m never too busy for you Helene, you’re my family,” he sat down beside her and reached around to bring her into a hug. ”Why don’t you come into the Accio room, I can get you a cup of tea or something? We can just sit?” he might be tired and unsure as to if she should be in the accio room, but Vader wanted her to just be better, to not be upset and crying. He knew his tiredness and anger would do nothing to help this situation, so he had to put those on hold to help her. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava leaned against Vader, sniffling. "I'm such a bad person." She murmured, rubbing her hand over her arm. "I tried to say I'm sorry. Make it right. But he kept insisting you were my boyfriend and yelled at me for lying." She bit her lip. "I- Vader, I'm sorry." She apologized, pulling away. "He was really hurting me, and I didn't think, and I- I ah, well, I told him I thought you might be... Be gay," she shook her head. "I took it back! He called me a liar and then said he loved me, but then said it didn't matter because he wouldn't be my second choice. He wanted me to choose between you two," she rubbed her eyes, lip quivering. "I stomped on his foot and yelled at him and ran away." She didn't dare look at Vader, scared he would be mad at her too. "I... I know Philip hates me. I deserve it. I... I understand if you hate me now too." She whispered, hugging her knees closer to her chest. Nothing would ever hurt her more than losing Vader.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader shook his head lightly ”You aren’t a bad person,” he told her softly. But he listened as she talked about what had happened between her and Philip. He didn’t like Philip much but he hated the accusation that they were dating. She was like his sister, he loved her but entirely platonically. He was a little confused when she apologised to him, was about to tell her she didn’t need to when she told him why she was sorry. His entire body froze, he wasn’t….he wasn’t...why would she say that….what had he done to make her believe he might be…..He couldn’t be. He wasn’t. He felt his hands lightly begin to shake and he kept his gaze away from her. ”But I’m not, I have a girlfriend, I like girls,” Vader told her, his voice lightly shaking as he attempted to be forceful about it. ”I’m not...I’m straight,” he steadied his voice as much as he could and finally looked towards her for a brief second. The taunts from his primary days rang in his head, he couldn’t have that happen again, he couldn’t deal with those accusations, the name calling, the shoving. The words rang so loudly in his head but he tried to just focus on what she was saying. He didn’t think Philip hated her, he didn’t think he deserved Ava and he definitely didn’t hate her either, ”I don’t hate you Helene. It’s not an insult,” he paused for a moment the memories from the bullies in primary school taking over before he pushed on, ”I’m just not, you know? I have Isabelle, and I really like her. She makes me feel so warm and good,” he lied, ”And Philip isn’t worth your time Helene, honestly, he’s not worth it,”​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava listened as Vader spoke, peeking out at him as he vehemently denied her suspicions. Was he really...? No, she wasn't going to go there. If he said he wasn't, she would listen to him until he said otherwise. She leaned against his shoulder, taking comfort in his presence. "It's just- it's not fair. Why does he have to be like this?" She bit her lip. "Momma and Grandma died and left me. Papa left me when I was still little. After he came back, I..." She hugged her knees tighter. "I was so afraid, for the longest time, that he would forget me while I was at school. That I would go home, and he... he would be gone again." She nestled in closer to Vader, hating the way she felt but needing to talk about it. "And I'd met Philip before school- the kitten Papa had gotten me had been stuck in a tree so I went to get her, and I got stuck too. Philip saved me. And then he was at school- something familiar in the face of even more change. I was so upset when we weren't in the same house and I was alone again."

She spoke softly, not even remembering if Vader already knew everything. "I made a friend. Paolo. We were excited, and I wanted to make papa a really great painting so he would think of me whenever he saw it. So we got on our brooms so we could see the castle better. A prefect stopped us and told us it was against the rules so we stopped." She bit her lip. "I was in the student lounge with Philip. And everything went bad. I got a howler from Papa, then Philip yelled at me, then one of his cousins showed up and boil jinxed me when he wasn't looking." She bit her lip. "He never apologized. He says it was okay because she meant well." She swiped at her eyes. "There have been some good moments- he surprised me with a picnic and we had fun at the dances we went to. But... those few moments are all there is. He's never there. He knows how alone I felt, how scared I was. And he says his way of showing love was making sure I got to class safe. By trailing me, I guess. Not speaking to me."

She let out a bitter laugh. "I... I don't know what would have happened if I didn't have you." She brought a hand up to lay on his chest. "I love you, Vader," She murmured. "Not in the way everyone thinks I should, but I really do."

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader listened as she spoke, listening as she talked about what had happened, what had happened before school, with her family. Vader was admittedly a little pleased that the attention was taken off him, even if the situation was clearly weighing on him greatly. The teen lightly moved his hand up and down her arm in an attempt to comfort her, to provide her some physical support. He listened as she talked about Paolo, about getting into trouble, about his cousin cursing her, about him and his family being so unkind towards her. He let her say everything, listening to the little laugh and then as she placed her hand on his chest and he gave her a little smile. ”Helene, Philip should always treat you well, there should be only good moments with only the little bits of bad,” he was ignoring his own words, putting aside his own feelings that things with Isabelle was good but not great. He tried to be good to her, kind and caring but at the end of the day he didn’t care for her in the same way she felt towards him. No matter how hard he was trying. ”Does he still make you feel all good and warm inside?” Vader asked recalling what she had once said to describe the feeling of liking someone, something he had not yet felt. Even if he pretended he did with Isabelle. ”You know how much you mean to me too? If I didn’t have you, I don’t think I’d have gotten through the last semester. All of the water and food you were passing me. You’re my first real friend, my bestest friend,” Vader told her, ”I want you to always feel happy and safe and I’ll always be there for you like you are for me. We’re family,” He hoped that would make her feel a little bit better, perhaps help remind her that she was loved and was so necessary in his life. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava couldn't help but feel like Vader's touch was gently piecing her back together. She sniffled, rubbing at her face with her sleeve. At least she had finally run out of tears. For now, anyway. "I don't know," She admitted softly. "I... I know maybe it's bad, but I still care about him. I really do." She laughed a little, running her sleeve across her face. "But I... I can't just ignore how he's been. I feel like... like anyone could hurt me, and no matter how bad it was, he would be okay with it." She shook her head before turning and laying it on Vader's chest again. "And... and he doesn't want me to spend time with you. He said he wouldn't be my second choice."

At his words, confirming their bond, she reached out and took his hand in hers. "I don't care what he thinks. If it's really you or him, it's you." She stated firmly. "Every time. If he really loves me, then he'll have to accept that. I don't... I can't. Not without you." She bit her lip. Boys were so stupid. She wasn't going to turn away from the only person who had never left her alone. No matter what happened, it would always be her and Vader.

"Vader?" She asked softly. "We'll always be friends, won't we? Even after we leave school?"

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader couldn’t understand caring about someone who treated them badly. He didn’t care about Vegeta given that the boy treated him like garbage every single time that he saw him. He made fun of him, bullied him and just made it awful, but he always put that aside that person wasn’t in his life and he would never care about them. It didn’t matter that Vader maybe found Goku a little cute. Maybe...it was probably a fleeting like because Jigoku was nice to him. He shook his head at her, ”He definitely shouldn’t dictate who you are friends with helene, that’s really controlling and bad,” he wouldn’t have said any different if it were him or if it was someone Ava had just met, he didn’t get to dictate to Ava who she spent her time with. It didn’t matter how he felt that was just wrong. He let her take his hand but he felt like he could hit the other boy, so frustrated with his attitude towards both Ava and him. But he pushed that away and just squeezed her hand lightly. He hoped Philip would give up and let Ava be happy in peace but he’d support her no matter the decision. ”Of course we will Ava, we’re family,” he promised her with a little smile. He could never give up their friendship, not after it had become so pivotal in his life. Not when she meant so much to him, not when it meant so much to him. ”Face it Helene, you are stuck with me forever,” He had a wide grin on his features, a bright smile. He wanted to reassure her that this friendship was definitely forever. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava nodded as Vader confirmed what she was thinking. Philip couldn't behave the way he was. The thought of not speaking to him at all, ever, made her heart ache terribly, but it was nothing compared to what it would feel like if she chose him over Vader. She hated the thought of ever being without him. She squeezed his hand back before letting go to turn and wrap him in a hug. "Good," She murmured as he told her she was stuck with him forever. "I have way too many lego's that need to be built for us to not be friends anymore," She joked lightly, burying her face in his neck. She still felt terrible, but she wasn't crying anymore. She knew she would manage to be okay, whatever happened. Even if it hurt her beyond belief right now.