Elon was waiting for me outside the bathroom. He was standing there, looking at me. Did he heard what I said? Maybe he did.

"Nola..." he tells me as he walks up to me. "What did you just say?"

He did. He heard me. Is this really it? Looks like it's time for me to confess to him.

"Elon..." I'm so nervous, but I have to do this. "Elon... I'm in love with you. Please... please... be my.... b..b....boyfriend."

He just looks at me with a blank expression. Then he looks away. He turns around and then turns back to me. Is he thinking about it? Could it be that he has feelings for me too? Maybe, just maybe...

"Nola, thank you. Thank you for telling me. I'm sure it was hard of you to confess your feelings."

"Elon... tell me... do you love me too?"

"Yeah, I do. But... I love you... like a sister." No, Elon. Don't say that. "I love you like a friend. But no, I don't love you like that. I'm sorry, Nola, but we're not going to be a couple, ever."

Elon... how could you... I put everything into my confession. Why do you hurt me? I wanted to tell him that but I couldn't. I just stood there, frozen with shock. I felt a sinking feeling.

The bell rings but instead of going to class, I just run away to hide.

== Elon POV ==

I couldn't concentrate on my last classes. Even when I was expecting this reaction from hers, I couldn't bare it. I'm sorry Nola that I hurt you, but this was the eventual outcome. Be angry with me if you want, do whatever you feel like doing to me, just get better, please. Not just for me, forget about me, this is all about you. I want you to feel better. I want you to live your own life.

I clearly can't cope with this by myself but I'll tell Heather later. After classes end, I head straight to the psychiatrist and tell her everything.

"Good for both you you," she comments, "and I'm sure she is devastated."

"But what happens now?"

"Consider this a detoxification of the mind. It's filled with nothing but wrong ideas and ill-advised notions. Her clinging on to you was her trying to hold on to these beliefs. Now that you have rejected her feelings, she should now be in the process of realizing what her life really has become. She is now going to force herself to detach from you, and thus may finally be able to go on her own to the bathroom."

"I feel so guilty about it. In fact... I felt like telling her yes. I felt deep down inside, I wanted to accept her."

"You're being guilt driven, Elon. As I told you in our many sessions, you have been programmed to do her bidding. We are now in the process of undoing the indoctrination you have gone through. I'm glad you didn't give in and did the right thing."

"Doctor, is the pain I'm going through the same as hers?"

"I'm sure hers is worse. You had willpower but she didn't. But do consider it as the same pain if it makes you sympathetic to her. You two are going through impactful changes. It hurts now, but it's needed for the healing to finally begin."

The session was cut short that day as she felt I was going through some heavy burden right now. Outside the school, much like how I walk Nola home after her session, she would wait for me after mine. Not today, I just walk home alone.

I return home and enter the apartment.

"ELON! YOU GET BACK HERE! THOSE DISHES AREN'T GOING TO WASH THEMSELVES! AND YOU BETTER THIS TIME GIVE ME MY SPONGE BATH AND DEFLAKE MY FEET FROM ALL THE CALLUSES AND MY HUSBAND NEEDS YOU TO REMOVE THIS MOLE ON HIS LEG SO YOU BETTER GET TO THE PHARMACY RIGHT NOW AND BUY SOME CREAM AND SOME LATEX GLOVES-" I close door and lock it while Mrs. Uro's tirades are now nothing but angry muffles.

I lay on the bed for a moment. Nola is probably at home, crying on my bed with my mom trying to comfort her. I wonder what my mom is going to say? I'll talk to her later. I guess no soccer practice either. I better call Heather then.

I dial the phone and she picks up almost immediately.

"Elon," she answers, "what happened? Nola was crying when I called her. She yelled at me to never call her again."

"Nola finally confessed her feelings for me."

I only heard silence for a moment before she responded, "I see. How is she?"

"Devastated. I can't talk to her now. I'm going to keep my distance from her."

"But she's going to need to use the bathroom eventually."

"Yeah, but she won't use it right now. I just want to lay in bed for a minute. I just wanted to let you know."

"Alright, I gotcha. Feel better," and she hangs up.

The night comes. This is around the time she goes number 1. What am I going to do? Is she still crying? Will she be crying while she goes? Can I talk to her afterwards? No, I should talk to her before. It's going to be awkward if I go with her while this is going on.

I'm going right now.

"ELON I FELL ON THE GROUND WHILE TRYING TO PICK UP MY DONUT THAT ROLLED UNDER THE COUCH! HELP ME UP ALREADY! MY HUSBAND ALREADY ATTACHED THE CABLES YOU JUST NEED TO CRANK THE PULLEY AND-" I close the door, leaving the Uro's to their own devices. I knock on the door of my original apartment and my mom opens.

"Honey..." she gives me a hug and leads me inside.

We both sit down on the couch as I ask, "How is she?"

"She's terrible. She just stopped crying now."

"I see. This is around the time she needs to use the bathroom so I'm going to talk to her."

"Yes, my son. Go on. I'll make you some tea."

"No mom. Your tea is weird. It makes everyone jumpy. I think it has too much caffeine in it."

"No. It's chamomile. There's no caffeine in it. Oh.... maybe it's the coffee."

"Coffee?"

"Yeah. I add a bit of coffee to it."

"Why do you add coffee to tea?"

"What do you mean? It's an important ingredient in tea."

"No. You can make tea without it."

"You can?" She seems astonish.

"Try it right now, mom."

"Yeah... okay..." and she heads over to the kitchen with some inspiration. My mom can be weird at times.

...

...all the time. Anyways, I head on over to my former room and knock on the door. "Nola, it's me, Elon." No response. Normally, she can't get the door open fast enough before she glomps me to the wall. It wouldn't be so bad, if she kept her hands away from certain body parts of mine. I knock again. "Nola, please, answer the door. This is around the time you go to the bathroom. You're going to have to face me eventually, might as well be now."

I wait but nothing. She's not answering. I might as well just let her know through the door.

"Nola, I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings. It wouldn't be right. Our current relationship has been built with the wrong ideas. I've gone through it for all these years and never questioned it because that's what I was told to do. But now I realize just how wrong our parents were, and you do as well. You know this is wrong. You know that you should go by yourself. We didn't help you, we just made you worse, but I'm going to help you now, Nola. I'm not leaving you, ever. I meant what I said, that I love you. I do, I truly do. I love you more than anyone. I love you more than any other girl. I will never leave you for anything. But even I know that I can't live for you. We're going to separate and I'm going to live my life by myself for the first time, and you should to. I want you to look forward to life, make your own friends, and maybe eventually find a boyfriend that will love you, and transfer that affection you have for me to him. I'm not going to leave you, Nola, but we have to let go of each other. So please, try to go by yourself. That's the next step now to finally being free."

"Elon..." Nola, she's responding. "I'm in the bathroom." Indeed, she is. The voice is coming outside the room. I head over there and open the door. She's already on the toilet. Oh man, I wanted to avoid saying those things while she was on there. In fact, this conversation is still going. No, I don't want to talk to her on the toilet.

I sigh as I enter and look at her, sitting on the toilet with her panties down. A sight I've seen for too long. Though she's not looking at me, just cocking her head to the side. But even in this angle, you can tell she's been crying all day. Here eyes are red. Poor girl. I turn around as usual, but I have a feeling she's going to want to continue the conversation right now.

"Elon..."

"Yeah..."

"Elon..." She wants to say something, but can't seem to say it. I don't blame her. This is still shocking her. I wish there was something I could do to make her feel better. "Elon... Elon!" Huh? She shouted.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"I can't go!"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go! My pee won't go!"

"But I"m right here."

"I know!" she's shouting. "Elon, it won't come out!"

I turn around, "Are you serious?"

"Elon, it's starting to hurt!"

"Come on, Nola. I'm right here. You've always went the second I appear."

"Elon! I'm scared!"

Oh man, she's panicking! I run up to her. "Nola! I'm right here. Don't be scared. I'm right here!"

"Elon! Help me! It' won't come out! It's starting to hurt!"

Damn. If she holds it in, she's either going to faint and then it comes out, or it's going to damage her internally. But what can I do? This has never happened before. What can I do? What is happening to her.

She's crying so much. She' panicking, and I have no idea what to do....

...

....

......

Except, I may...

.....

.................

..........................

I grab her face gently....

...

...

...

I then kiss her.

...

...

And it worked... what have I done?