The clock struck 7:50, as I approached Kai’s house, not being far from my parents house. As I approached the front door, I noticed the house looking more worn down than it used to, the weeds in the grass growing dominantly in the yard. I walked up to his door, giving 3 loud knocks. Kai, walked to the door, opening it for me before smiling. “You’re always early,” He allowed me entrance into his house, it was quiet and had a very ominous vibe to it, a lot darker it seemed… Especially where his mom had always been a home maker, and his loud, drunk, step dad wasn’t screaming about something. “Where are your parents?” I asked curiously, as we made our way into the basement “They’re here,” He said a reassuring smile, I thought nothing of it, they probably have been getting better, which would be great, seeing as Kai was miserable a lot of the time he was at home. We walked up to his table, and he pulled a chair out for me to sit, as he sat directly in front of me. He stared at me for quite a while, before resting his elbow on the table, and he held out his pinky. I gave him a confused look “What?” I asked, wanting to know what exactly was going on. “Kat, once you make physical contact with me, you are to answer my questions openly, and honestly as I will allow you to do the same thing with me, agreed?” He asked me, not blinking as he spoke. I shrugged my shoulders, maybe now I could get an answer on why Kai did what he did. I wrapped my pinky around his, and he smiled. “That’s my girl. Now tell me, Kat. What is it that scares you the most? What feels your heart with dread?” I sat for a moment looking away from him, before looking back at him. “Honestly, losing you. Now that is a reality, and my worst fear has been realized, I would say that it’s now living in a world without you being part of my life, I feel my worst fear everyday.” I said shaking my head, as I looked into his unfeeling eyes. He was being so weird, so emotionless compared to the Kai I knew. “I had to do what I did, because I didn’t want to bring you down with me, as I first went down the path I did. I also, wanted to show you how our fears strengthen us. You’re stronger now, having lost me, aren’t you?” I chuckled “So I was a human experiment for you?” I asked, laughing sarcastically. “That didn’t answer my question, Kat, and I told you, you ask me after,” He said disregarding my comments. I sighed deeply “No, Kai. I’m a husk of who I once was, existing is painful, breathing is painful, I hate the entire world, and nothing is colorful anymore,” “There it is! You did get stronger, building a wall around you, to toughen yourself. Now, if I disappeared again, you wouldn’t hurt nearly as bad, because you know what to expect.” I thought about what he was saying, understanding his point. “Did you fuck anyone else? Or date anyone else?” He said, a hint of jealousy in his voice. I chuckled “No, people repulse me. I don’t want anything to do with it. You’re still the only one I ever have been with. I haven’t even kissed anyone else.” “So, even though I disappeared, you stay 100% devoted to me, did you not?” I shrugged my shoulders. “I would say heart break left a scar on me, but I guess if you want to put it that way I stayed devoted to you the whole time. Which you probably didn’t do with me, huh?” He chuckled “Well, Kat, that must be another fear of yours. That I left you for some slutty, hotter, thinner girl, with perky tits. Who likes to suck dick and will let me fuck her in the ass? Isn’t it?” I didn’t answer for a moment, almost repulsed with when he get said to me, was being so weird. and he tugged my finger lightly to help get my attention. “You’re not acting like Kai,” I commented, my face getting red. “Answer the question, Kat,” He said, jumping over my comments. “Yes, Kai. I’ve been terrified of that. And if you found your little slut, and put your dick inside a bunch of girls, then it is what it is.” I commented, feeling the bitterness of those words leaving my lips like a penny in my mouth. “Well, I think this worked out well, you learned to relish in your fears, when they became reality, letting the bitterness consume you, until you were reunited with me, showing you are devoted to me, even if I break your heart. I would say you have proved yourself worthy.” “Why would I need to prove myself to you, Kai? Hadn’t you know and trusted me enough to know I wasn’t fucking going anywhere instead of torturing me mentally? You’re not even the same warm, person. You’re… cold, and unfeeling. What did I do to deserve it?” He shrugged his shoulders “Nothing, you’ve always been good to me, Kat, I just needed to see if you would stay with me no matter what, and to show you what strength you build during living your worst fears, then how you come back, like a fly to the light, to me, and you have. Here you are. That is what you want right? Me?” I chuckled “I don’t know anymore, Kai. You’re not even you! I don’t know who Kai is right now. Why are you acting so fucking weird!” I exclaimed, trying to fight back tears. He chuckled “I realized the fucked up world we live in, the shit and filth that surrounds us everywhere. I realized that creating fear, creates the ultimate power, with that power I want world domination. You can be part of that, part of me, you always have been anyways, I always have had a soft spot for you, yes it got hard, but I knew I had to do what I did.” That’s when he pulled out a huge stack of letters, from his inside jacket, pocket. “Look, I still have them. Every letter you ever sent,” My heart grew warm to see this, each one carefully opened and read. “Made it so hard to try and not respond sometimes, but I had to do it. You must understand why,” “Yeah, because I’m some fucked up experiment to you, I don’t matter to you at all, and thank you for giving me closure, I’m going to go now,” I said as I stood up, my heart beating hard against my chest. Who the fuck was this? This wasn’t Kai, my Kai Kai who wanted to watch movies and cuddle all night. This wasn’t Kai who loved me, or wanted to keep me safe, this was… Something else. Something happened to him… And maybe I was better off never fucking knowing what happened. That’s when Kai grabbed my hand, “Don’t go… I suppose I haven’t been sensitive to your feelings. You are more than just a social experiment. I want you now more than ever, knowing you would commit to me no matter what, and even you if you don’t want to believe it I stayed true to you as well,” Tears fell from my eyes. “We were going to get married, and run away together.” That’s when Kai’s face softened, seeming to listen to what I was saying to show him my point of view “We had it all planned out, fuck, had I known I would have been a lab rat, I would have stayed here. We could have been happy, always and none of this would have happened. You encouraged me to go, I wish I’d stayed,” “I wish… You’d stayed too,” He spoke, taking me off guard. I looked at him. “If you loved me, and wish I would have stayed, you would written to me, answered my phone calls, told me why you left, you can’t even begin to imagine what I have been through!” I said, my voice cracking, as I tried to not scream out the pain I had felt, 463 days of hell “I wanted to kill myself, I almost did, so many times,” I said, looking into his dark, cold, eyes. “Even now, RIGHT now, as you try and convince me that you care, you are looking right fucking through me, because you don’t care. I don’t know what game you are playing right now, or why you would do this, but god damn it, look at me!” I scolded. He gave me a confused look “I am loo-” “No! You aren’t! LOOK at me. Look at what you did to me!” I grabbed his face with both my hands and in that moment, I saw him. Saw that familiar, doe eyed expression. He stared at me for quite some time, examing my eyes, looking past whatever weird, controlling, thing he had going on, before finally speaking. “You’re right,” He whispered, my hands slowly dropped from his cheeks. “You changed too… That sweet, innocence, you carried within you so naturally, is… Not there. I wanted you to be stronger, but it looks like I poisoned you.” He said, his defenses dropping more. “Tell me, what this is about, Kai. Or I’m done. You gave me closure, now I can finally do what I have wanted to do for so long, and I will.” He held out his pinky again, “Not this shit, tell me without the pinky,” I said getting irritated. He sighed deeply “What do you want me to say? You are the only person on this god forsaken, shit show who brings warmness to my heart. The only person who could keep me from going too far over the edge. The only person who I care lives or dies. When you left, I forgot that. Now, it’s too late to turn back. I’ve been reborn, and now, there will be a revelation. I will take over this world, and the way to do that, is through fear and devotion.” I just stared at him as he spoke, sounding so alien from himself. “I will never hurt you, but I want you beside me. No matter what, you know my vulnerable side, you are my weakness. It most situations that would make me want to destroy you, but it only makes me want to have you around me. In order to do this, I need your hand in this. We could be together again, you want me, that’s what you want, I can give that to you, all I ask is that you help me,” he said while reaching across the table, and touching my face. “You sound crazy, Kai, like Charles Manson,” I stammered, every instinct in me, screaming at me to run far away, but my heart wanting me to stay put. He chuckled a bit. “You want to know everything, I guess I could tell you everything. Last year… My parents both died. My mom shot my step dad and then shot herself. Right in front of me. I held her while she took her last breath. Gurgling blood on me, her brains smearing all over my pants from the back of her head, and into my hands. I called my brother, he came from his office, and told me not to tell anyone about it. It ate at me… That’s when I stopped writing, or calling… Something about that night did something to me, Kat. The world is an ugly, filthy, piece of shit. I want to watch it burn,” I didn’t say a word, as I watched him grow increasinly familiar, from a complete, sociopathic, freak. To Kai. In seconds. He was still in there, and I wanted to save him. He began to break down in front of me, tears falling from his eyes. He burried his face in his hands, sobbing hysterically. I got up from the chair and walked behind him, wanting to console him. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and held him there, resting my check on his head, he grabbed onto my arms tightly, keeping them around him. “Kai… I’m… So sorry, I wish I wouldn’t have left. I could have been here for you, helped you, this was my fault…” I said, caressing his head. He began to calm down after, sobs turning into silence as suddenly as they had began. We both stood there for a long time, before he broke the silence. “I need you, Kat. To keep me grounded, if I am to succeed, I need you.” He said, putting a warm hand on my cheek. I grabbed his hand back, and nodded slowly “I want to help you come back to where you were… Where WE were before I left. All I ever wanted, was you,” I said with a single tear falling from my face. He wiped it away with his thumb, before he pulled me into a deep kiss. My lips moving with his, all of the hurt, and pain being kissed out of me, and the world seemed to feel right again…