Telling Mike all about what happened to me felt somehow freeing, and I wanted to talk to people about the stuff that was on my mind more. I didn't want to tell Steven, Warren, and Jess all about what had happened to me, and that much I was sure of. I didn't think they could really handle it, but there was something that had been bothering me for a little while that I felt I needed to talk to Steven about. 

"Steven?" I asked softly, standing in Steven's lab where he was working. It was a bit hard to catch Steven at a time when he was alone, because he usually never was, but Warren and Jess were both out getting groceries, so I had the perfect chance to talk to Steven.

"Yeah Gill?" Steven asked me gently, stopping whatever he was doing to give me all of his attention. 

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course." Steven and I both sat down on two metal tables so that we were facing each other for a proper conversation. 

"The first day that Peter had me, he started filming me. He was talking to the camera, and was acting like he was talking to you, and it seemed like you two knew each other, and he was saying that he would give me back when you gave him all of your designs. Who was he?" 

"Peter was my roommate in college, he and I were working together to create a universal cure for all diseases. We were planning on being partners for life, but then Peter sold all of our research to some man who offered him millions of dollars for it. We had a falling out, and I left."

"Why would he contact you now? Why did he need your research bad enough to kidnap me for ransome?"

"I don't know. I never gave it to him."

"Is that why it took you guys so long to get me back?"

"Yeah. We were trying so hard to find you. Peter kept sending me a new video everyday, but eventually I just quit watching them, because I couldn't stand it anymore. All three of us were working tirelessly to find you, but we couldn't."

"How did you finally find me?" 

"Warren was driving through a neighborhood in the next city over, on his way to talk to someone who he thought could help us, when he saw a house with a thick wooden fence in it's front yard. He thought this was weird, since none of the other houses had fences, so he went and peaked over it, and waited there until he eventually saw someone take you outside on a leash to go to the bathroom. Warren came right back to the house, and got Jess and I immediately." 

"Have you seen all of the videos?"

"No. I've been trying to make myself watch them, because I want to know what you went through, and I want to be able to help, but it's just hard. I just...can't stand seeing you being treated like that." Steven looked down solemnly, and I kind of regretted bringing the subject up to Steven in the first place. 

"Sorry." I said softly, looking down to avoid eye contact. 

"It's not your fault Gill. You don't have anything to apologise for." Steven sounded so honest, and sincere, and I couldn't help but look up at him, and give him a small smile. 

"You know, for a little while there, I thought you guy weren't coming for me. Peter managed to convince me that I really was just a filthy animal, and I thought you guys were glad that I was gone."

"Gill, I-we would never, ever leave you with a man like him. We were all in horrible shape for months, and barely keeping ourselves alive, because all we wanted to do was find you and get you home. We love you too much to abandon you like that." 

"Thank you Steven. I love you too." 

***

Mike didn't tell anyone else, not even Bell, about everything that I had told him, and I really appreciated that. Not only that, but Mike didn't really treat me differently at all, which was also great. He did make sure I was ok more often throughout the day, and just find little ways of letting me know that he was there, and that he cared about me. I really didn't deserve him. 

In truth, I didn't deserve any of the people I had in my life at that time. Everyone was far too kind to me after I was the source of so much distress, worry, and trauma for them. Steven, Warren, and Jess were having even more trouble sleeping than before, and it seemed to be harder for them to let me out of there sight, and wanted to keep me within arms reach at seemingly all times. I wasn't complaining about this though, because I found it hard to be away from them too, but it was easier if I was with someone like Mike or Bell instead. 

I still didn't believe that I deserved to have the people in my life that I did, but it wasn't until one night when I couldn't sleep that I realised that the people I loved needed me just as much as I needed them. I was sitting on a couch in the library, petting Button to calm myself down. Button was sitting in my lap because he wanted to, and I pet him because he liked it when I did. I never gave Button any sorts of orders, or indications that I wanted him to do something for me, and I definitely never got upset with him, so if Button did something, it was because it was what he wanted to do. 

I wanted to go crawl into bed with someone, preferably Steven, but I didn't want to wake anyone up, or make anyone feel uncomfortable, or anything like that. So, I sat in the library petting Button instead, figuring I would either fall asleep on the couch eventually, or wait out the night and hang out with Steven when he woke up. 

However, the heavy silence of the library, and the loneliness I was feeling do to the lack of human compassion at the time were both interrupted by Steven padding into the library. He looked as though he had just woken up, and in need of a hug, or some comforting words, or something along those lines. 

"Can I sit with you?" Steven asked me quietly, and I nodded, moving my legs off of the couch so that Steven had room to sit beside me.

"Are you ok?" I asked as Steven sat pressed against me, and pulled my into his lap in a hug.

"Yeah. I just had a bad dream is all." 

"About me."

"Yeah." Steven breathed deeply, holding me close to him, buried his face in the crook of my neck, and breathed deeply, as if trying to calm himself. 

"I'm ok. My name is Gillian Matthews, and I'm a seventeen year old boy who goes to a private school. I live here with Warren, Jess, and you. I have a boyfriend, named Mike. I am a human being, and what happened to me was wrong, and not my fault." I stated, having memorized the mantra that Steven used to have me say when something happened to help reassure myself that I was ok. I was hoping it would help Steven see that I wa sok too, and judging by the way Steven help me tighter, and chuckled wetly against my shoulder, I would say that it worked. 

"Good job Gill. You really have made a lot of progress. I'm really proud of you." Steven seemed to begin to grow tired again as his voice lowered, and his world became almost slurred. 

I pulled away from Steven's hold enough to guide him so that he was laying down across the couch. I curled up on top of Steven, using his chest as a pillow, and holding onto his shirt in both of my fists. Steven kept his arms wrapped tightly around me, making sure that he wouldn't lose me, or something along those lines, and he both of us soon fell asleep again. 

***

Going back to being Sunshine was hard, but I wanted to do it. It felt important to me that I learn to move on, and go back to being a superhero again. I had become Sunshine in the first place, because Ty died trying to do what was right, and fighting for a cause, and he wanted someone to keep doing what he did. He told everyone so himself as part of his last words. 

Besides, after unlocking my powers, I don't know how I was supposed to just sit back and table Sunshine anyway. If I had powers, and the ability to help people, than I don't know how I could have expected myself to do anything other than that. I wasn't ordinary, which meant that my responsibilities weren't ordinary either. So, just like Ty, the only thing I felt I should keep doing no matter what, was help those who couldn't help themselves for as long as I was able to do so. 

Steven, Warren, and Jess didn't feel the same way I did. All three of them thought that it was a bad idea for me go back to being Sunshine, but Steven seemed more upset than Warren and Jess. He insisted very firmly that I wasn't going to go back out as Sunshine anytime I brought it up, and I settled on the idea that my only choice if I wanted to get back out there was to sneak out one night, much like I did the first time I went back to being Sunshine after getting my powers in the first place. So that's what I did. 

It wasn't an easy task to accomplish, because Steven seemed to somehow know exactly what I was up to, so he was reluctant to leave me alone at all, but I finally managed to convince him that he and I should both try to get some sleep that night, and I snuck out of my bedroom window. 

The night was relatively quiet, and nothing really happened. I was just walking along the streets, and just kept walking forward, not seeing any reason to stop, until I came across the old paper mill at the edge of the city. This particular paper mill is where Ty was murdered, and I was never able to bring myself to go back there, even after I had killed Pip, simply because the thought of Ty's body in that building, even though it wasn't there anymore, made me want to puke the second the building came into view. 

However, I walked right up to it, sat down, and stared up at the building anyway. 

"You're missing out on a lot around here Ty." I said softly, knowing that I wasn't going to get an answer. "A lot has happened since you died. I don't think you would believe any of it if you were still here.

"I miss you Ty. We all miss you. Steven, Warren, and Jess are all pretty messed up, and I don't think any of us can make it a day without thinking of you. Steven's different than he was when you were still alive. He's more dependant, and he craves physical affection. He's scared." 

I continued on like that, just talking to Ty, knowing that the conversation was going to be completely one sided, and just catching Ty up on everything that had happened since he had died. Eventually, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder, and I darn near jumped right out of my skin. I lept to my feet, turning around quickly, and preparing myself to fight whoever was there if they tried to hurt me. 

When I saw that it was just April, I lowered my fists, and stared at her, slightly embarrassed. April crossed her arms over her chest, cocking one of her hips to the side and just stared at me for a moment. I let my attention wonder to how the yellow light from my eyes danced over April's face, making her look like one of Ty's drawings. 

"Ben told me about what happened to you." April eventually said, startling me a bit. "Nothing like that has happened to either one of us, but we're both glad that you warned us. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." I replied. 

"What are you doing here?"

"This is where my best friend got killed. I was just... talking to him."

"Do you come here often?"

"No. Do you?"

"No. I don't like the night. It's hard for me to grow plants, or even stay awake myself when there isn't a lot of light."

"Do you...photosynthesize?"

"I definitely do something like that. But there's no sunlight at night. There's not even any stars because of all of the light pollution." April said, looking up at the sky, and that's when I got an idea. 

"Maybe I can help!" I exclaimed excitedly. 

"How?"