Starcrossed

doctored her cuts, but it was almost impossible to see him. As the minutes ticked by and Helen healed on her own, Lucas became visible again and Helen could see that the grooves of worry dug into his forehead loosened and went away. He dabbed at the leftover blood and sighed.
    “Why didn’t you get out of Hector’s way, Helen?” he asked softly, breaking the long silence. “Why didn’t you block with your hands?”
    “He’s faster than me,” she replied, but they both knew that wasn’t the whole truth, and as she took in his skeptical look she continued. “I knew if I started blocking him he’d just get angrier, and then I would eventually have no choice but to hit him so hard he wouldn’t be able to hit me back.”
    “That’s sort of the point of fighting, you know,” Lucas said with a touch of a smile.
    “Then I don’t want any part of it,” Helen said seriously. “I don’t want to hurt people, Lucas. Can’t you teach me something else?”
    “Like what?” he asked, at a loss.
    “Like what you did in the hallway at school that first time we saw each other. How you spun me around and stood between my legs so I couldn’t get at you? That didn’t hurt me at all, but you still had me beat. Or what you did on your lawn that night. Remember? I was on top of you and then you did that thing with your hips?” she said with building optimism. He nodded and looked away.
    “It’s called jujitsu. It’s for hand-to-hand fighting and I’d rather you never got that close to your opponents. But I’ll teach it to you if you want,” he said quietly.
    Looking up at Lucas, Helen realized she was still seeing spots. She had to brace herself by putting her hands on his waist. As the spots went away she could see the color rising in Lucas’s cheeks, and she felt waves of heat coming off his skin. Helen could smell his scent and it made her feel quiet and still, almost drowsy.
    “And flying,” Helen said, suddenly breaking herself out of her languid mood. “You still have to teach me how to get airborne. Once I learn that, I can just fly away from the bad guys.”
    “I’ll teach you how to fly,” he said softly, nodding his head and looking down. Helen searched for his eyes, but he wouldn’t look at her. She wiped a hand across her face and it came back streaked with blood.
    “Am I really that hideous right now?” she asked as she leaned away from him, suddenly self-conscious. To Helen’s surprise he didn’t reply, he just pulled her against him and held her.
    “Promise me something,” he said into her hair. He waited for her to nod before continuing. “Promise me that next time you fight you’re not going to just stand there and let the other guy beat the crap out of you until he’s too tired to lift his arms.”
    “If I can avoid it, believe me, I will,” Helen said with a little laugh, but Lucas pulled away from her so he could look her in the eye.
    “I won’t watch that again. You understand me?” he said sternly.
    She nodded slowly and saw his face relax a little. His eyes were so intense she had to glance around for something else to talk about.
    “Your shirt,” Helen said, pointing to the bloody print of her face on his chest. “Which reminds me. I’ve ruined these workout clothes Ariadne gave me. Should I change into another set, or are we done?”
    “We’re done. You can put your street clothes back on after you wash up,” he said briskly as if to banish the heavy mood he had fallen into. He took her face in his hands one last time and examined her former cuts. After a few moments he released her. “You certainly do heal fast. But you’ll still have some impressive bruises, so if I were you I’d avoid your father for the rest of the night.”
    “I’ll just tell him you abuse me,” Helen said with a shrug. She jumped off the examining table.
    “And I’ll tell him you like it,” he teased back, his voice rich and slow. Helen looked up at him, feeling drowsy again. For a moment he was just a breath away from her, but then he backed away.
    As he walked out of the locker room he stripped off his bloody shirt and threw it in the garbage. Helen’s vision stabilized again, and she watched his bare back moving away from her. The last cobwebs clearing from her eyes, she decided that if Lucas was gay then she was going to have to get a sex change operation. He would be so worth it.
    While she cleaned up she got a chance to examine her mouth. Her left front tooth was