“Not gonna let him touch you, huh?” he snorted and revved up his engine. Lyssa and her date both looked at him. Actually, she was glaring at him and leaned in for one more kiss.
“Looks like you’re having a good date,” he said as he got out of the car.
“And I see you broke the rules. I believe you’re grounded?” Lyssa said after her lips parted from her co-worker's.
“You said I could have friends over. So I decided to do that, but they don’t have a car, and we needed some munchies. I’m also going to dye my hair. Lyssa? Purple sound good to you?” He got out of the car and started walking over.
“That would really make you look emo, but purple?” JD said, getting out of the car as well, with Alan in tow.
“Yeah, you’re right. Blue would be so much better, and it would bring out my stunning eyes so well.” Orlando never took his gaze off of his sister, and he watched as she continued to bristle.
Lyssa shook her head and folded her arms in front of her. “Then go inside and make your hair blue. I don’t care anymore. You’re going to look like a smurf.”
“Think Superman comics. It’ll have a nice blue shimmer to it,” he said with a grin.
“Okay, fine. Go away.”
He stared at her and then at her date. The young man, who appeared to be in his late twenties—possibly early thirties—had soft looking dark hair, and he kept it neat and clean cut. His skin was light, his eyes dark, and he was thin; in fact, he looked like a nerdy fellow and perfectly harmless. He wasn’t necessarily all that good-looking either. Not ugly by any means, but he wasn’t attractive. If anything, he was average. He looked like a nice guy. What was even more impressive was how unfazed he was by Orlando’s rebellious antics.
“I should get going anyway. The dog is going to need to be let out.” Her date grabbed onto her arm and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. She looked up at him with a completely dopey and love smitten smile as she nodded. “Good. I will see you at work on Monday, and I’ll call you sometime before then. Goodnight.” He paused and nodded at Orlando. “It was nice to meet you.”
The words were not reciprocated, and Orlando watched this man go back to his car. He moved to his sister and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you two were having a great time.”
“Yeah, we did have a good time. I can’t believe you. You’re so embarrassing,” she said.
“And you’re embarrassing me right now, lecturing me in front of my friends,” he said.
“At this point, I don’t care. I think that would make us even. You have no reason to flip out at me. You’re so...”
“So what? You think that was bad, it’ll be a lot worse next time. And you know Dad would be as bad, if not worse. He never wanted you to date,” he snapped back.
“Glad to know where your sibling loyalty stands,” she mumbled.
“When he comes home, I’ll be on your side, but someone has to look after you since he’s not.”
“Fine, whatever, but when you get a girlfriend—and trust me, you will get one someday—you’re going to get it back ten times worse,” she said.
“I welcome the challenge. Now, I’ve got some friends to entertain. We’ll be in the den doing manly things, so you might want to stay away.” He made a gesture for JD and Alan to follow him.
“I don’t wanna be close to you anyway. I’m going upstairs to shower.”
“Wow, that was a little harsh, dude. She not allowed to date or something?” JD said as he grabbed his bag out of the trunk.
“She can, but I don’t like it. My parents don’t either. She has a tendency to make a lot of bad relationship decisions,” Orlando mumbled as he waited.
“Oh, got it. I’m following now. You don’t want her traveling down the broken-heart road again.”
“Right.”
JD carried his things inside and took another good look around. He was clearly already lost just in the entry way. “Where am I going?”
“Straight. On the left is the kitchen, the right is the den. You can’t miss it. There’s a TV, couches, and floor space,” Orlando said.
“That’s probably the size of my house.”
“Probably.” Orlando wasn’t proud of that fact though. It bothered him to have so much money compared to everyone else he met. He’d rather not make a show of it, or have anyone else point it out. “Get comfy wherever you want. The couches recline, or I have some mats or air mattresses if you’d rather use those. I figure this was more slumber party appropriate. Besides, I don’t think you wanna go in my room.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a pit. Unless you want to sleep on top of all of my stuff, the other option is cleaning it for me.” He started to put the groceries, keeping the snacks in the room with them and preheating the oven.
JD helped Alan to a chair. “Do you need anything, man? Water? Food? Clean clothing? You do have clothes he can wear, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll get it when I go upstairs to change,” Orlando said. He glanced over at Alan. Finding something for him to wear might be a little difficult. The alien was taller than him by a few inches, and his body in general was wider in proportions.
“Please let me not have gotten rid of those pants,” he mumbled to himself as he went up the stairs to his bedroom.
There was one pair of pants he had gotten for his birthday over the summer, and they were much too large. Sent from his parents from some other country, he had planned on donating them to the Goodwill once Lyssa was done cleaning out as much extra junk as she could. He added them in the pile, but whether or not she got rid of it all already, he didn’t know.
They were nice and expensive looking, but at the same time he hated them because it reminded him of just how out-of-touch his parents were from his life. The pants were enormous. His parents couldn’t remember how big their son was. Then again, they probably figured puberty had done more for him than it actually had.
He dug around in his walk-in closet. Every piece of clothing he owned was on the floor from the morning, but only because he had to find the match to his lone black sock.
“Why do you have to be so dramatic all the time?” he mumbled some more as he searched. “You gotta just let them in. Be yourself.” But was his self that cynical boy they were so familiar with, or the nice guy he used to be? “You don’t always have to put on a show.” Not if he wanted them to trust him at least.
Tossing some more clothes out of his closet, he went through his donation box. “I know it’s in here somewhere...” He frowned when he reached the bottom.
“Uh-oh.” But when he stood, he saw the pants set off to the side on a nearby shelf. Lyssa must have done that. He grabbed them and his favorite pajama pants, which were black and covered in Garfield cartoons, along with a white undershirt, before changing. He combed his hair, trying to shake out his nerves. It had been a long time since someone stayed overnight.
On his way to the stairs, he passed by his sister’s room. Why did she have to start dating now when he had so many other responsibilities? And no matter what she said, she was his responsibility and always would be. He lingered outside the door, taking a moment to listen in on what she was doing.
“I know, it’s just how he is though. He thinks everyone is out to get him. He’s always been cynical, but he’s letting it shine extra right now. I think part of it is Mom and Dad being gone all of the time. The other part is Dallas. You remember me telling you about that, right?—I guess you’re right. There wouldn’t be much to be optimistic about with everything going on. It just makes me sad. I don’t want to be optimistic either, but if I’m not—I have to be though. If I don’t look on the bright side, then how is he ever going to be hopeful again? I don’t want him to fly off the deep end.”
Me? Fly off the deep end? Maybe once upon a time, but Orlando felt stable now. Things were a lot better now than they had been for a while. Did his sister really think he was crazy? That stung. He lifted his hand to knock on the door, but stopped as she co
ntinued.
“I’m glad you think so. He means the world to me. I don’t know what I would do if anything bad happened to him—I won’t do so much when my parents come home for good, whenever that’s going to be. I’m believing they'll be back soon, but that’s just me being Miss Sunshine again. Do you ever feel like it’s you versus the rest of the world?”
All the time. Orlando wanted to chime in. He wanted to talk to her, but the more he heard, the more he had to hold back.
“I did have a lot of fun, I just feel bad—I know but—I—You’re sweet, Jon. I hope you don’t mind my saying that. I just had to tell you—Really? I’d like that. We can try again next weekend, yeah. I promise this won’t happen again—I’m not sure, but we can talk about it later. I’m glad you called tonight.”
He couldn’t listen to any more of it. He ran down the stairs and threw the pants at Alan. “There you go, and it’s light. Just how you like your clothing; you know, minimal.”
“Thank you,” Alan said. He appeared much better and ran his hands over the fabric. “Where did you get these?”
“My closet. You can keep them if you want,” Orlando said.
“Do you know where you had gotten them before they were in your closet? These are not something you should have randomly acquired,” Alan frowned.
“They’re pants man, relax,” JD said.
“No, see.” He put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. “Perhaps I’m just not quite well again. Maybe my mind is, what you call, playing tricks on me. The material doesn’t seem right. This doesn’t seem normal for something that would be found here on your planet.”
“It’s silk,” Orlando said.
“My shirt is what you call silk.” Alan ran his hands over the dark brown vest he called a shirt. “Regardless, it does not matter much. I’m still feeling confused. How did you acquire them?”
“My parents. They travel a lot.”
“I see. I would like to meet them. I’m sure they have many interesting stories from their journeys.”
“Whenever they come home next, sure thing. I think you need to tell us what happened tonight.”
JD glared, and it threw Orlando off. Why was he so mad? What was he doing wrong now?
The other teen shook his head. “Maybe we should relax and chill for awhile first. You know, let his brain rebuild or something?”
“No, it’s fine,” Alan said softly. “I should explain. I’ve been enough of an inconvenience to you all, and you deserve better than that. As I had informed Orlando earlier, there was a lead from my ship suggesting that there was unusual and suspicious activity from within his school. I went to investigate. What I found confirmed this. Were you aware that there are hidden tunnels and rooms in your school, Orlando?”
He shook his head. “I knew they were in town here. I didn’t know the other towns in the area had them too.”
“They do. I do not think this is a coincidence either. I found a member of another tribe lurking near your workshop room this afternoon.” Alan chewed on his lower lip for a moment. “I lied to you, Orlando. My ship was not the one who told me of the school’s connection with this tribe. I had an inside source, and it was this source who did me in.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean inside source?” JD whispered.
“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, and I think you should do it now. Seeing you like you were, it…” Orlando stared at the ground, unsure of if he wanted to confess how he felt. He had to learn to trust though. “It freaked me out. I don’t want to do this if I’m only going to be in the dark. You can’t use us. Cadence said we had to work as a team, and you’re part of it, too.”
There was a long and awkward silence before Alan opened his mouth to speak again. “I see now why you were chosen. I’m not proud of this though. My inside source is an old friend of mine from home. It’s been a long time since we’ve last seen each other. I have this,” he said, reaching into his shirt and pulling out a silver bracelet studded with small, black stones. “This is how I knew they were here. You see, it’s a precious piece of jewelry that’s part of a—”
It was quiet again for a long time.
“Part of what, Alan?” JD asked gently.
“A courtship ritual.”
Again, there was more silence, and this time it felt like the silence lasted for far longer than it should have.
Orlando’s jaw tightened. “So all of this is about some girl? You told me to ‘infiltrate’ the enemy so you could find a girl to hook up with?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean. I don’t know what ‘hook up’ means. There was nothing for me to hook up on her.” Alan frowned.
“He’s talking about a romantic rendezvous,” JD said.
“I see. If I may continue, though, you will find this all applies to the war. It has driven us apart. We are to be wed, but that will not happen so long as the fighting continues. She will not leave her people, and I will not leave my cause,” he paused again. “Are you familiar with the terms guerrilla warfare or biological weaponry?”
Orlando nodded, and Alan did not give JD a chance to respond before continuing. “That is her task. I went searching for her to try and talk her out of this madness, but she will not listen to my reason, and now I fear she’s getting involved much deeper than she should. I didn’t mean to be deceitful. You see, the bracelet, when it comes in contact with its mate, begins to glow. It is quite beautiful and bright when activated. When I first landed, there was a faint aura. I have been following it and trying to find where she was ever since I got here. It led me to your school.
“I confess I was excited at first, but what I saw when I found her again was even more worrisome, and now I’m even more afraid for your planet and especially for her. I do not trust or like this green tribe one bit.”
“Green tribe, blue tribe, red tribe? You all are sophisticated with your names,” Orlando mumbled.
“I am only referring to them by color for simplicities sake, much like you insist on shortening my name to something ridiculous because you can’t pronounce it, let alone remember it. Would you prefer I confuse you further?” Alan snapped back. Neither of the teens had ever thought him capable of anger. He was usually so calm and innocent. Both jumped back with surprise.
“No.”
“All right, now do you want me to continue?”
“What is she doing? What’s going on that’s so dangerous, and how can we help?” JD asked.
“I don’t think that you’re ready to help. You are not solid enough as a team. We are not.”
“When we are though, then we’ll need to know what to do.”
“True. I’m not quite sure yet, but she is helping the other tribe gain supplies to do something with the human natives of your planet. Not good things. I didn’t get close enough to hear the details. The blue tribe is the supplier, and the green tribe is the creator of whatever this project is. That much I am certain of. My focus is to try and stop these deliveries. Your training will be a setback, but we will find others to take your position until the timing is right.”
“So what else happened then? Why were you a vegetable, literally?” JD said.
“That I’m unsure of. During my searching I came in contact with my betrothed.”
“And?”
“And her followers here on Earth were ordered to attack me. Something one of them did to me affected my consciousness. I was there, but an empty shell.” Alan rubbed at his forehead, brow furrowed.
“Scary,” Orlando whispered. “And you like this girl, why? I mean, if she’s trying to hurt or kill you, why marry her still?”
“I take it you have never been in love,” Alan said. Orlando shrugged and then went to go and grab the pizzas from the oven as it conveniently dinged. “And what about you, JD? Do you understand?”
The other boy chewed on his lower lip. Orlando wouldn’t have thought him as the type to fall in love, or if he ever did, he’d be the one who fell hard and fast.
Clearly, the way JD looked at Cadence proved he was capable of some kind of feelings.
“I’ve had girlfriends. And I’ve had girls I’ve been intense with, if you catch my drift,” he said at last.
“Woo-hoo, so you’ve gotten laid. Don’t need to be delicate here,” Orlando quipped. He did his best to try not to let it bother him, but he was convinced he was the only virgin on the planet at this point. In some ways, he didn’t care, but it also further proved how “different” he was, again.
JD rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know you wanted to get deep into our respective personal lives.”
“I didn’t.” Orlando gave JD a glare as he walked from the kitchen to the living room with the pizza. “But anyway, to answer your question, Alan, no, I’ve never been in love.”
“Too cool for girls?” JD said.
He shook his head and decided to take the wiser option of taking a bite of food instead of the guy's head.
“Nothing? I’m kind of disappointed.”
“Oh, `cause this is the highlight of your day, right? Or are you just using this as an excuse to start our pillow fight?” Orlando finally snapped at him and then continued before JD could spout off whatever reply he was concocting in his head. “Alan, is there anything else?”
He shook his head, watching the two teens interact with one another. “Why would you start a fight with a pillow? That doesn’t seem very effective.”
Chapter Ten
Alan snored, not loudly, but enough to keep JD awake most of the night. And when it wasn’t Alan, it was Orlando. The guy talked a lot while he slept. Most of it was incoherent phrases, but it all revolved around the same topic: Dallas. Orlando also rolled around a lot. Somehow in the course of nine hours, he had rotated a complete one-hundred-and-eighty degrees from where he had started. JD was glad he had decided to sleep on the couch after all. At around eleven o’clock, Orlando brought down a couple of air mattresses. Alan got one, and he insisted JD take the other. After a few minutes of bantering, he finally let it go. If Orlando had slept on the couch, he probably would have fallen off.
Battlefield Page 9
