It would've been the best feeling in the world if things were different, if this was just a normal day and she'd swooped in and started kissing him. It would've been a very good day if that was what'd happened.

But today hadn't been a good day. Today was a terrible day. He could feel the little scab on her lip from it being split earlier when she was fighting and bruises were still fresh on her face whenever he peeked open his eyes.

And right now he wasn't wearing his own face. It was a stranger's face, an alien face.

You're just convenient, said the little voice in the back of his head he didn't want to hear. You don't even look like yourself to her, you look human. She's hurting. That's all this is. She's hurting. There's no way she'd ever be into you the rest of the time. No way.

And as much as it hurt to acknowledge that, he couldn't be something else that hurt her, too.

She'd regret this. Look back on it and wonder why she'd made out with the weird mutant boy. Maybe even feel taken advantage of. She was hurting and that was the only reason she wanted this right now and he wasn't going to be someone else that hurt her, too. Even if it hurt to acknowledge that was all he could be, the boy that was convenient. That he couldn't be someone she wanted the rest of the time.

He pulled away enough to breathe, even though he still held her close in his arms.

"Wait. Nico, wait," he gasped. "We shouldn't do this. You're upset right now."