Chapter 231

Dustin had abandoned his Paris costume in some random alley, moving carefully through the city. When he was done, he'd turn himself in, but for now he had two things he needed to do, and that meant staying free for just a little longer. 

The thought of a life sentence weighed heavily on him, but he was the one who'd gotten carried away. Not only had he hurt James, he'd hurt her too. So, with one last deep breath to steel himself, Dustin walked through the door of a little tailor shop. 

The bell rang, feeling both foreign and familiar. The crowded shop looked much the same as he remembered it, with clothes in various stages of completion scattered amid bolts of fabric and spools of thread. A young guy was carefully pinning a pattern to a piece of cloth, and he glanced at Dustin only briefly before returning to his work. 

Someone was bustling around in the back. Fear froze Dustin as he heard her voice, saying she'd be right there. 

He knew he had to do this, had run through it a dozen times in his head. But when the moment of truth arrived, all words fell right out of his head. How did one even begin here? 

Louise poked her frizzy head out of the back, then froze, glaring at him. 

"The hell do you want?" she asked, stomping forward and grabbing a pair of scissors, holding them like she was ready to throw them at him. Really, he couldn't blame her. 

"Hey, Louise," he managed to croak, raising his hands to show her he meant no harm. 

"Fiore, drop what you're doing," she said sharply. The guy looked behind him, his eyes widening when he realized just how ready Louise was to fight. He glanced at Dustin, then waved his hand. 

Vines appeared out of nowhere, wrapping Dustin up and keeping him from moving. Ah. So that was Rose without the costume. 

"I just want to talk," Dustin said slowly, squirming slightly against the vines. Man were they tight. 

"Then speak," Louise replied. If looks could kill...

"I'm sorry." The words he managed to squeeze out were little more than a whisper, but they were enough for Louise to be taken aback. The vines loosened ever so slightly, but not enough that he could get out. 

"What?" Louise asked, refocusing her glare. "You think a cute little 'sorry' is going to undo everything? This isn't - " 

"I know it won't!" Dustin cried, clenching his fists. "I know it won't fix anything. I just had to say it before I go turn myself in. To you, and to James. If you know where he is, please tell me. I need to at least see him before I get locked up in solitary for the rest of my life." Tears started to brim at the corners of his eyes. 

No. Villains didn't get to cry. He had to hold them back. 

"I got carried away," he continued, his voice falling to a whisper. "I got lost in my role as Paris and did a lot of things I shouldn't have. It was one thing when it was just a game between me and James, but then so many other people got involved. After I joined Twin, people died. I can't take that back. The only thing I can do is surrender and let the military do what they will with me. Whether that's killing me or locking me in a cell by myself for the rest of my life. I...I have to accept it." 

One lonely tear managed to escape his composure, rolling slowly down his cheek. And then, before he knew it, Louise had wrapped him up in a hug. 

His brain short-circuited. Where were the scissors? Was she preparing to stab him? Even if she wanted to kill him now, he couldn't do a thing about it. His only real regret would be not getting to apologize to James. 

But when Louise's sob-choked voice reached him, he relaxed and more tears squeezed out of his eyes. 

"I'm so glad you're back. I hated hating you, you dummy. I miss the jokers I used to go to high school with, even if you always made fun of me." She pulled back, wiping a tear from her face. "Welcome back, Dustin." 

Dustin nodded, no longer able to hold back his tears. The vines had slipped away at some point, so he hugged Louise, just crying into her shoulder until he was able to pull himself back together. The whole time, she patted his back, not making a single sarcastic comment. 

When he was finally done, Louise dabbed his face dry with a piece of scrap cloth, then grabbed his hand and told him and the Fiore boy to follow her. She headed straight for an elevator, then took it up to a corner apartment. Dustin only realized it was her place when she opened the door and pulled him inside. The entryway had a photo of her in her grad dress hanging in it, the one she'd spent so much time painstakingly putting together. 

"Haven!" she called, running to the living room. A pretty girl sat there watching TV, looking a little bit lost. 

"Huh?" she replied, looking confused. "You're back early." 

"I need your help with something," Louise said, sitting across from her and dragging Dustin with her. The girl - Haven presumably - looked at him funnily. 

"Hi," he said awkwardly, staring at the floor. 

"What is it?" Haven asked. 

"I need you to find James. I know you just dumped his ass and probably never want to see him again, but please, I just need this one favour. Dustin needs to talk to him." 

"Dustin?" Haven asked, frowning in thought, then suddenly seeming to have a lightbulb go off in her head. "Him? Paris?" She moved defensively, and Dustin prepared for her to attack him, but Louise slapped her hand between them. 

"He's done with being Paris. He said he wants to apologize to James, and then he'll turn himself in to the military." Louise paused, then took a breath and continued. "I want to at least offer him this. He might be the only one who can get through to James right now." 

Dustin chewed on her words as Haven sank into thought. Fiore was probably behind them somewhere too. 

"What happened to James?" he finally asked quietly. 

"He's too stuck in his fantasy," Haven replied with a sigh. "He's convinced he's the hero and he's in the right no matter what because he was chosen and whatever else, and he won't listen to anyone. Not even me. So I left." She pulled her knees into her chest and rested her chin on them. "I think he's forgotten where he ends and Achilles begins." 

Ah. So he was just like Dustin. He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. 

"Guess we always were two peas in a pod," Dustin muttered self-deprecatingly. "I wanted to apologize to him anyway, but we can probably have a heart-to-heart while we're at it. If he wants to. Otherwise I'll just say my piece and go." 

Haven looked at him quietly for some time before nodding. 

"I'll take you to the old hideout. Just promise you won't do anything stupid. If you do, I'll drag the military right into it." 

"I promise," Dustin replied. "I think the only thing I want right now is to see him one last time before..." 

Before he was never allowed into the light of day again. He missed his best friend, and if there was any chance he could repair what he'd destroyed, he'd have to take it. 

Once he agreed, Haven hopped up from the couch and started heading for the door. Dustin followed her, leaving Louise and Fiore back in the apartment. He couldn't tell whether they trusted that he wouldn't try anything, or they trusted that this Haven girl was strong enough to contain him.