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Steven and Connie shared a smile in the backseat of Connie’s mother’s van. They were geeking out together about the latest book series from Connie’s favorite author.
“-and then the sorcerer and the princess kiss as darkness falls over the realm.”
“Whoa, really? But then, what happens to the princess’s -”
A screeching sound rent the air as the metal of the vehicle crumpled in on itself, and the world whirled. Steven and Connie tumbled through the air, their seatbelts keeping them as safe as they could while shards of glass glinted and twirled and spikes of metal appeared to reach out to them in this strange middle space before the car stopped rolling.
Connie hadn’t been paying attention, too caught up in a retelling of the story. She didn’t know what caused the crash. The only thing on her mind was to see if the others were okay.
She was upside down, her head meeting the collapsed roof at quite an awkward angle.
Steven had been looking out the window when they crashed. He had noticed the red and blue flashing lights catching up in the distance. The car racing up next to them. He had been about to tell the others, ask if they knew what was going on, when they crashed.
Connie undid her seatbelt with some difficulty and winced as the glass from the shattered window caught her hands and knees on her way out. She stumbled over to the other side of the car, where her mom and Steven had been sitting.
“Mom? Steven?”
Steven coughed harshly. He reached out a hand, barely able to see the colors through his blurred vision. He trusted that voice. The voice helped him down, and he collapsed into her arms, holding on.
“Connie.”
It wasn’t Steven’s voice that said that. It wasn’t not Steven’s voice either. A feeling, a desire so strong it united two people.
Be okay, it said. Be safe.
They held their hands up, and looked at them, nodding once.
Stevonnie heard the sirens, closer now. They heard the footsteps behind them.
There was Connie’s sword, thankfully not having left the vehicle, and there was Mrs. Momheswaran. She was struggling to get out of the front seat. The airbag had done what it was supposed to do.
A chokehold from behind.
An unfamiliar smell.
Panic, but still united. Always united.
Pain. Sharp, staticky pain.
Judo flip? Judo flip.
There Stevonnie stood, their assailant on the ground next to them, his knife having skittered far away.
Good. it wasn’t the police. Though as to why the police would try to strangle two (one?) young teenager(s), they weren’t sure.
Mrs. Momheswaran had escaped the confines of the car and stood in front of them, simply staring.
“Mom?” asked Stevonnie nervously, and they were suddenly engulfed in a familiar embrace.
Stevonnie let out a whimper involuntarily, and Mrs. Momheswaran stepped back to look at them better, covering her mouth in shock.
Stevonnie looked down at themself with a grimace. The bruises from the crash, the cuts and scrapes from crawling over the glass, the uh. The red stain spreading from the stab wound in their abdomen.
The world started to go fuzzy and they wondered if both Steven and Connie would have to recover from a stab wound when they split apart again.
Stevonnie began to fall, only to be caught by Mom, this time more carefully.
The red of an ambulance. The white of a stretcher.
“I did good, right?”
They weren’t sure if anyone would hear.
“Oh, Stevonnie. You were wonderful.”
They wanted to tell Dr. Maheswaran that everything would be alright, but the world was fading to red.
Instead they simply smiled. They hoped Dad Universe wouldn’t be too mad.
Hospitals weren’t fun for any of them.