Digital Mutation (Book Five)

Epilogue

A few weeks pass where Michelangelo tries to move on with his life, but whenever he stops to think, all he wants is to go and check on Annalise. He misses her more than anything, but he forces himself to stay back. She has to get back into the swing of things at school and get used to therapy.

By the time day nineteen without Annalise comes around, he's had enough. He vows to go and visit her one more time before he leaves her alone for good. That's all he needs.

But, fate has different plans, and on Saturday evening he gets a text from Annalise asking him to come over. He runs from the lair as fast as he can and doesn't stop until he reaches her place. When he finally lands on her fire escape, his heart is pounding and he's a sweaty mess.

He knocks on her window and waits. The curtains open and Annalise appears. Her face lights up just at the sight of him, making his heart feel like it may explode, and she pushes the window open.

"Mikey, hey!" she greets, leaning onto the windowsill.

He smiles. "Heya, Lisey. How goes school?"

She sighs. "It's school. Not much to say."

"That's good, really good," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Glad you're getting back in the rhythm of things."

She nods in agreement and they lapse into silence. She looks better, he notices. Her hair is all washed up, she's got less acne than before, and despite the dark circles under her eyes she just seems to be a little brighter.

"So...uh, it's weird, not having my channel anymore," she says, tapping her fingers on her arm. "You know, I still end up doing running commentary while I'm playing video games even though I'm not on camera," she admits, tousling her thin hair as if that will give it volume. "I'm really weird, aren't I?"

"I love that about you," he blurts. She blinks a few times, cheeks turning pink, and he pedals his hands in a circle. "Um, I...I mean, it's...it's not that weird! It's cute!"

She covers her mouth with her hand as she giggles. "Oh, thanks," she murmurs. She bites her bottom lip, averting her eyes from him. "I...really missed you, Mikey."

He bows his head. "I missed you too. Missed you so much it hurt," he says as he sits down on the beanbag chair that Annalise sometimes leaves on the fire escape. He gives her a hopeful look, resting his head on his hand. "Is...that why you wanted me to come over?"

She nods, blushing right to her ears. "Yeah..." She chews her lip again. "I didn't expect it, really, but...I just don't want to stay away from you." His eyes widen and she adds, sputtering, "N-Not that I was gonna, I just know I needed time and—" She covers her face. "I'm sorry, that's so stupid. I mean—"

"I'm in love with you," he says.

She goes utterly still, then her hands fall from her face, revealing her shocked expression. Any honking cars or passing pigeons seem to have frozen and Michelangelo feels like he, too, is stuck. He didn't mean to say it out loud, at least, not yet. He was just thinking it as he watched her talk and it came out. What kind of lovestruck idiot—

"You...what?" she repeats.

He breathes a little too fast as he stands up, but admits it again. It's out now, there's no going back. "I...I l-love you, Annalise."

She stares at her hands, silent, and he feels his world crumbling. This is it. She's going to smack him with the friend-zone, or worse, the brother-zone. He braces himself as she climbs out of her window and looks up at him.

He feels her hands caress his face and his eyes flutter open, meeting hers as they get nearer, and she presses her lips to his. His mind goes haywire, like the last time he thought eating coffee beans on a pizza was a good idea. He shuts his eyes, leaning into it a little although he's unsure of what exactly to do, and she pulls away.