A Promise That Should've Never Been Broken

You wake to the sensation of being carried. Opening your eyes, you see the last person you expect to- Jake. Seeing him puts a know in your stomach. What could he even be DOING here??? "Jake?" You ask, just to be sure.

"Dirk, dear me, this is all my fault, I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I'm so terribly, terribly, sorry."

You cough, splattering maroon blood into your hands. After looking at it for a second with interest, you ask "What the hell are you doing here???"

He scowled guiltily. "I, erm, I'm here because this is my fault. I made you bleed out and now I have to fix it."

You stare up at him as he lays you on your bed, wondering if he'd completely lost it. "Are you feeling okay, man?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Dirk, I'm being serious."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Jake, I was the one with the knife in my hand. I was the one who dragged it across my chest. You didn't do this, it's not your fault. It's mine." You didn't know why you were reassuring him. He just looked so... dejected, you couldn't help it.

"No, Dirk, you don't understand. This is my fault. I did this. I swear, I didn't mean to, but I did it, and now I have to try to fix it!" He fan his hands through his dark hair and paced in a circle. "And you told me, or brain-ghost you, told me it was impossible, but you're dying and it's my fault, and I can't just let you die, and-"

"Whoa, Jake" You say, raising your hand. "Calm down. I'm god tier. Dying and not coming back is almost an impossibility. It doesn't matter. -Wait, did you say 'brain-ghost me...?"

"Doesn't matter! Of course it matters! I can't lose you, Dirk. I can't."

"You won't. I'll only be dead for a matter of minutes, really. But I was under the impression you didn't want me. Not anymore." you say quietly.

To your immense shock, he leaned down and kissed you, gentle and slow. After you parted, Jake's voice was a bit unsteady. "I could never not want you."

This confused you even more than his presence. "But, then- why- you ignored me." You stammered accusingly.

His eyes soften. "Dirk, I lived alone on an island my whole life. I'm not used to having someone around all the time. And I love you, but it was quite odd having someone there constantly."

You curse under your breath, not only for the pain, but also because you completely misread the situation. "You couldn't have SAID something? I would've backed *cough* off, given you some space. I thought you hated me."

"I know that now, and I'm sorry about that as well, but right now, I need to save you!"

Slowly, you shake your head. "No, Jake, you can't. From what I can tell, you envisioned something much like this and it came true, right?"

"Erm, yes." He shifted guiltily.

You nodded, "So since you made-"

"It a reality, I can't change it back, right?"

"Um, yeah, *cough* how'd you kn-"

"But there has to be some way! I can't, I won't just let you die!"

You sigh. "Jake, I told you, I'll just come back, it doesn't matter."

Shaking his head, he whispers, "I can't watch you leave me again. I know I was mistaken for the way I treated you. I don't expect to be forgiven, however, I still love you. I cannot watch you die."

"Then leave. Come back tomorrow. Maybe we can talk then."

You were optimistic, but Jake was shaking his head. "If you die, you won't remember this. You'll still hate me."

Reaching up, despite the shooting pain it caused, you take his hand. "Hate you? *cough* I could nev*cough* never hate you. I've tried before. Sometimes I think I've succeeded. But then I'll see you again, or talk to you , *cough* and I'll realize, despite my best efforts, I'm still in love with you , and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. And *cough* that doesn't seem to be inclined to change anytime soon."

His mouth hung open. "I love you too. And I cannot lose you now that it looks as if I've gotten you back. You understand that, don't you? I have to try."

"But Jake, saving me could mean the demise of us all. Really, there are only two things that could happen. A) being you fail and B) being you succeed and throw us all into a doomed timeline. Before you do anything, you should probably ask Jane and Roxy if they're okay with dying for my sake." He got out a device. "But Jake, even if they say yes, I'm not going to let you all die just to save me. That's not going to happen."

Recapatchaloging it, he said stubbornly "Then what do you suppose I do?"

You shrug. "Try again tomorrow?"