Driven Mad (Book 1 in the MAD Series)(An Avengers Fan Fiction)

Betty Ross

Betty clung tightly to Bruce, refusing to let go of him as her arms stung mercilessly. She closed her eyes, letting the tears stream down her face, just needing to sit there with him. She knew that he would always be there to protect her, even from herself when she needed it. She felt lucky, so overly lucky to have someone like him. She needed him. Desperately.

Blood was dripping from her arms and down Bruce’s back, dripping down the back of his tuxedo. Her red and gold dress that Tony had given her as a bridesmaid dress was now soaked in her blood. It splattered against the gold, fading slowly and gently against the red. She felt the sticky red liquid against her skin, certain parts of the strapless dress clinging awkwardly to her body.

Betty had never done something like this to herself, not until then. She’d been happily geeky as a teen, never feeling the need to do something like that. But when she’d realized that her blood was turning black, she’d panicked and she’d needed to know if that was really her blood or just some trick. She’d sliced her wrist open and she’d realized that it was no trick, her blood truly turning black, which terrified her. So, in this inexplicable fit of emotions that she didn’t even recognize, she’d repeatedly sliced open her arms, not even thinking of the consequences.

What had possessed her to think that she should do that, Betty didn’t know. She’d seen countless stories of where people had died from it, seen it countless times with her own eyes. Why she’d felt this sudden need to do something like that to herself, to inflict those wounds, to harm herself, to leave her own bloody signature on the masterpiece of her life… She’d never felt the compulsion to do something like that, never in her entire life… But she had felt this awful compulsion and she couldn’t resist it, not any longer. She’d not given up… She’d just given in.

All of these years, Betty had tried so hard not to give up on life, not to give up because of Bruce leaving for so long. Betty had felt this total emptiness in her life, a feeling that she couldn’t go on without him. After Bruce had left after the Abomination, Betty had sunk into depression, but she had gotten back on her feet. Finally, she’d gotten back onto her feet and gone back to normal, but now she felt like she was going under, giving up and giving in.

The fact that Bruce had done this awful thing too had come to a complete shock to her. How could her Bruce cut himself so viciously like that? That had been his coping, but how had that helped him? How could that stinging, murderous feeling help anything in life? It was bizarre to her and it was even more bizarre to her that she’d done it herself. But it didn’t matter as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his lips gently pecking against her neck.

Bruce’s breath washed gently against her neck, warmth washing over her skin. Her eyes were still watering but she’d stopped crying for the most part. She knew that she’d be alright eventually, that her wounds would heal and her scars would fade away, out of sight. She knew that she would survive and that even this would pass, even though it didn’t seem like it’d ever fade, like it would never go away. She felt like her mistakes would haunt her for the rest of her life, but she knew that it was just one moment in time and that it would eventually all be over.

Bruce started to pull away, but not before gently kissing her on the lips, gently yet passionately. Through her tears, he kissed her, the two sitting on the dark floor, caught in each other’s embrace. Betty never wanted to leave, feeling the pain of what she’d done to herself already subsiding. She felt safe in his embrace, finally saved from herself, feeling once again like herself, not what she’d become, not what she’d done. She felt free.

Bruce’s lips felt natural against hers, and even though they’d kissed hundreds of times, Betty still felt the same butterflies in her stomach that she always felt. Her heart fluttered with gratefulness and happiness and excitement, which still felt bizarre to her. She’d never felt this way before Bruce and she was confident that it meant that he was her soul mater, there for her forever and always, never to leave her side. She knew that she could survive without a man, but she couldn’t survive without BRUCE. Bruce was the only person in the world that she needed, able to make her feel like she was flying no matter what the circumstance. She loved him. And she needed him.