The Last of Sansora

THE PERSUASION

[EVA'S POV]

Nighttime came fast, faster than I expected. There was the full moon and the dark sky twinkling with beautiful stars. The wind was cold, just how I liked it. Yet I was still sulking. Baxter had come back from work and we were both in the couch enjoying a movie together. Normally, my head would be on his lap while I put popcorn in his nostrils and then he'd blow it out....all while watching the movie. And then in the end, popcorn (which had been blown from Baxter's nose), will be scattered all over the room by the time we woke up the next morning in the same couch.

Yes, we were quite messy and wasteful but only inside.

This time, I didn't want to get weird with Baxter, well because things have changed and right now I was in a bad mood. So we simply sat next to each other on the couch like normal people. My eyes were trained glumly on my bedroom door, where Ace stormed off to after our argument earlier. He'd stayed in there ever since and wouldn't talk to me. I'm sure he was too busy planning revenge on Hudson that he'd never seen a movie in his life. Yet there he was, missing an interesting one.

Baxter suddenly burst out laughing, snapping me out of my thoughts and slapping my knee in the process of his hysterics.

"Ow!" I exclaim with an annoyed scowl, rubbing my knee to soothe the stinging pain.

"Come on, that was funny." he said, pointing at the TV. "Did you not see the look Cookie's face when Angelo took her to the opera?"

I sigh. "Yeah...must've been hilarious." I say nonchalantly.

"You were not paying attention." he accuses, shaking his head in dissapointment. "I can't believe you missed such an important and humorous part."

"I'm just..." I trail off, rubbing my nape. "I'm not feeling too good."

"Is it about Ace?" he asks, turning sideways in the couch to face me.

I nod in response. "He's mad at me for not telling him the truth."

"You lied to him?"

"No." I deny. "I didn't lie to him."

Baxter stares at me like I'm a complete idiot. "You're just contradicting yourself. You just said you didn't tell him the truth."

"I said I didn't tell him the truth, doesn't mean I lied. There's a difference." I say. Baxter frowns at me while I roll my eyes. "The point is, he's mad. And I don't know what to do. I didn't mean to hide the truth from him that I lost my powers because I knew he'll get alarmed and he'll blame himself."

"Hm." Baxter nods, understanding.

"But he doesn't have to blame himself. I couldn't just let him die....so I had to save him. And losing my powers was apparently the only way. It was my decision, but he's blaming himself for it. He didn't kill himself, did he?"

"You should go and talk to him. I think that will work." Baxter advises.

"He has the facial expression that says 'talk to me, and I'll punch you'. He clearly is pissed and doesn't want to talk to me. He asked me to stay away from him. What if he's going to leave?" I whine.

"Nothing will change until you find a way to talk to him. If you want him to stay, make him."

I shrug. "I'll try." I say, standing up to leave.

Baxter's hand grabs my wrist, stopping me.

"What? I'm going to talk to him." I snap.

"If he acts like an asshole while you're trying to reason with him, let me know." he says sternly.