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━━━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━━━
AT FIRST, Kaelyn wasn't sure what to do. After all, what is one supposed to do after their heart is returned by their ex who needed it to follow through with his evil plan? She could only stare at him, eyes wide and unblinking.
He hadn't done it. He hadn't wanted to. He had chosen her. Relief, faith, it all flooded into her, warming her. It wasn't happening again.
Peter backed away from her, before looking at the scroll in his other hand in anguish, squeezing it so tightly his knuckles were white. Kaelyn said nothing, only watching his next move, head swimming with too many thoughts to possibly think about what came next.
"I can't," Peter bit out. "I can't do it again." His eyes darkened, before flicking to her. "You are all that stands between me and everything I want but I can't." Kaelyn blinked at him. "Because I want you more."
The words pierced her, cutting into her resolve and her attempt at trying not to give him a reaction to what he'd done. She swallowed thickly, mustering words amongst the bitter taste in her mouth that still hadn't faded.
"Then don't," Kaelyn said, softly.
"I can't– I'll die," Peter spat.
"Then trust me," Kaelyn said, in exasperation. "I can find a way."
"Can you?" Peter snapped. Kaelyn narrowed her eyes at him, in a warning glare to stand down and stop taking his frustration out on her. The blonde boy frowned, before stuffing the scroll into his pocket in a huff.
Kaelyn immediately felt her stance relax, seeing the immediate threat disappear out of sight. It was a visual proof that he didn't plan to do it. He had chosen her. He was continuing to choose her.
"Did you think I would do it?" he asked, suddenly.
"No."
Peter blinked at her, as if searching for a lie in the single, immediate word, before turning away, looking listlessly into the horizon. Kaelyn was still too afraid to say anything, too curious, wanting to see it all play out without her pushing.
And it wasn't a lie.
"You believe in me?" he asked, still not looking at her.
"If you want to put it like that," Kaelyn said with a shrug.
Peter turned back to her, eyes dark and mouth pulled back. "Why? Why do you care so much? It's not like you to go out of your way for someone else, not like this," he snarled, sounding frustrated by the compassion, as he finally closed the gap again between them.
Kaelyn met his gaze, calmly. "The same reason you can't rip my heart out."
The words passed silently between them, a mutual understanding, however messy or confused. Peter's face softened slightly, eyelashes tickling his cheeks as he blinked, Kaelyn watching his every move carefully.
