[Dedicated to potatohoranbear for the awesome fan art above!]

THE FIRST QUESTION THAT CAME to mind was the obvious one, "Why won't you take me with you to Junito? I mean, you made it perfectly clear that you want to show we're willing to cooperate. So why not?"

Loudrix exhaled loudly, as if he'd known all along that I would ask that very thing. Of course I was going to want to know his reasons, and not to assume things like he had before. The only thing I wanted was to see the world - and his world now that I knew it existed.

"For multiple reasons," he muttered. "You are but one. Not even a leader. You may be one of the only humans who want to cooperate with us. What if there are some of you who do not wish to know of our world? What if they feel threatened?"

I sighed and sat back in my seat. "Well, how else were you planning to get in touch with us? I sure as hell know that if you were to send a letter to a world leader asking to chat things would be a little crazy. But if you were to take me with you, I could talk to them first, show that there is no harm going to come to us."

Louis' blue eyes were intently locked on my face. He looked deep in thought, his forehead wrinkled with a frown. I knew I had him stumped. I was right - going straight to world leaders would only cause havoc, but if someone more inferior, like myself, was to present proof of life outside Earth, things could work a whole lot better.

Louis cleared his throat. "Flora, I trust you at the moment. But your desperation leads me to believe you're after something." He leaned forward and clasped his hands together as he asked, "Just what is it that you want from me?"

I just looked at him. I was positive that I'd told him before why I wanted to go with him. Not only to help him with his research but to live my dream of leaving Hoveton and seeing new things. And he wasn't wrong - I was desperate.

"I am desperate," I started, "but I'm not desperate to make a move against you. I want to help you, and that's one reason why I want to go."

He raised a brow. "And the other reason?" 

"I want to see new things," I almost whined. "I've been stuck in this town all my life, Loudrix. I want to explore the world and see everything that I can. Obviously when you arrived in my back yard and started mumbling things about your life on Jupiter, I was intrigued. Intrigued and desperate to see it for myself. Honestly, I don't want us to be enemies."

There was a silence between us. I shifted in my seat as I waited for him to say something. He gave me an unfathomable look and pointed a finger at me, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I will make you a deal."

"A deal?" It was my turn to raise a brow. 

"Yes," he mused, inhaling deeply before continuing. "I'll take you with me to Junito, you can see our world, talk with my leaders and help me prove that you are not a bad race. But only if you promise to not be so horrid to me any longer."

I gaped. "I'm being horrid to you?"

"A little. Which leads me onto my question. Why are you so tough with me? You know I am not from here and you scold my as if I am an infant when I come across something new."

I paused.

There was a reason, and it was ridiculous. I didn't trust many people, that was all, and it was all due to a relationship gone horribly wrong just after I'd left secondary school. It had ended in tears, lies and blood (which was my doing, as I'd punched the guy) and I'd sworn to never open up to anyone else or be a softie like I had been when I was a teenager. 

Some believed that to have others treat you nicely, you had to be kind to them. Well, let's just say some people don't seem to have even a shred of kindness within them. I'd learnt to be tough - with the help of my few friends, Jason being one - and I'd never let anyone break me since.

"I'm a little mean to everyone new that I meet," I told him. "I suppose it's just a thing that's become a habit since I was younger and naive..."

"How so?" Loudrix questioned. He appeared to have leaned closer to me, almost intrigued to be hearing a little more about myself.

"If I tell you this, can I ask you to keep all questions 'til the end?" 

He nodded. "Yes."

Excellent, I thought, it's time for back-stories with an alien. 

"When I was in school, I met this guy. We spoke a lot and eventually got together and everything was good while - it lasted. He was nice, romantic and always willing to do things for me. Basically, perfect boyfriend material. However, he was also what we call a 'popular bloke' - everyone loved him and I was accepted into his groups of friends, who all seemed lovely too. 

"I genuinely thought that what we had was amazing. I couldn't think of losing him or being with anyone else. But it was round about my sixteenth birthday that I started to realise I was attracted to both males and females, and obviously being a little confused and unsure of who to share this with, I wrote it down in the diary I was keeping. I used to write a lot in my diaries, actually... 

"I invited him over one night and he got nosey when he found the diary in my room. I said it was private and that only seemed to taunt him more. And so, he went snooping and found out that I was into boys and girls. Of course, he took it the wrong way and thought I was cheating on him with another guy or a girl. He left in a strop and the next thing I knew, the entire school was calling me names and using the word 'lesbian' as if it were something negative. Let's just say he turned out to be the biggest knob ever."

Once again, there was a silence and it was only filled with our breathing and quiet murmur from the TV. Loudrix looked towards the window and then back at me with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I was trying to take it all in. So, this male you were partnered with believed you were seeing another behind his back?"

"Yep."

"And he then decided to start rumours and false accusations in spite of this? All to get back at your for something you never committed?" His tone was sympathetic and I found it rather odd. I had been the one to feel sorry for him - because he was stuck on our planet, had no connection to his home and been betrayed by his own people. The tables had drastically turned.

"Yeah," I muttered. "You can tell that my life in school was just wonderful."

"I sense a sarcastic tone," he mused. "Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Ah, I'm getting better!"

"Yes."

"Why do you keep saying yes?"

"Ye-oh... I don't even know myself,"I laughed. "Sorry. But yeah, that's why I don't trust people easily any more. You let everyone in and then everything gets shít. That's life unfortunately. But yeah, I'm sorry for being rude to you. Don't forget that you were rude also."

"I apologise," he said. "I was scared."

"So was I a little," I admitted. "I mean, it's not everyday that you find an extra-terrestrial being in your town. A boring town I may add."

The next half hour was filled with questions, some so bizarre the both of us ended up laughing loudly. Before I knew it, the clock had struck midnight and I was in no way, shape or form, tired. Loudrix didn't seem to be either and he simply continued to chat away with me as if the two of us had been the best of friends forever.

We were both sitting beside one another on the couch, the TV playing re-runs of an American sitcom I had forgotten the name of. Loudrix watched the screen closely, occasionally asking what something meant or what something was. 

I slowly glanced over at him. "Louis?"

"Loudrix," he corrected with a grin. "I believe you said if others were to hear my name they would be curious. With you, we can use my birth-name."

I sighed. "Alright, Loudrix. Did you really mean what you said?"

"About what?"

"About taking me to Junito with you?"

His head turned in my direction, his wide blue eyes blinking ever so quickly. Sometimes he looked like a dishevelled mess while other times he looked like a mischievous school-boy. Right now, it was hard to tell in the flickering television lights, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of something in his eye. 

He nodded slowly. "Provided you treat me as an equal."

"I will, I promise," I said, a little too quickly. "And I'll help you find your ship, no matter how long it takes."

"Thank you," the alien replied, grinning widely. His eyes crinkled at the sides.

I wanted to reach out and hug him tightly, grateful for a few things; a) existing and b) agreeing to take me with him. To say I was excited was an understatement. In fact, the understatement of the year. I was over the moon - no pun intended - and couldn't wait for the trip that would literally be, out of this world.

FOR ONCE, LOUIS WAS AWAKE before I was. Even more surprisingly, he was pulling out everything needed to make pancakes with. I stood there in my pyjamas, watching him carefully as he pinching the items between his fingers and carried them to the counter, almost as if he were afraid of them.

"Pancake making?" I asked as I entered the kitchen.

He jumped and ended up knocking over a glass. It shattered into shards across the floor and Louis squealed in surprise.

"I am so sorry," he gasped out as he bent down to pick up the splinters of glass. "It was an accident, I swear it wa-ouch!"

I glanced down to see he had cut himself and I just shook my head. He'd been on Earth for two weeks and though he was making remarkable progress with the basics and when I went to work, he remained in the house, some things were still a little strange for him. Including his first sighting of blood.

"It's blood," I told him calmly, stepping carefully over to him. "Give me your hand."

"But it's red! I do not like this, no, no, no, no. I cannot believe what I am witnessing, Flora. Red!"

"Yes, I know it's red!" I  said over him. "Now come over here and let me clean it for you. The last thing you want is for it to get infected."

"Infected?!" he blurted. "What?!"

As he flinched and complained about the red blood, I tended to his wound, cleaning it carefully before placing a plaster over the top to keep it clean. He inspected his finger for a little too long and the more he stood there, ogling at his bandaged finger, the more tempted I was to recite the famous catch phrase from the movie E.T.

"What colour is your blood usually?" I asked.

"Blue," he muttered. "And yes, I was attempting to make pancakes. I've been watching you make them and I wanted to try it and see if I could replicate your skills."

"Hm, you failed spectacularly," I chuckled as I cleared up the glass with a towel and shook the shards into the bin. Louis watched me, still with his finger held up for inspection. I just chuckled every time he winced a little. Sometimes he was honestly like a child.

"I was trying," he repeated. "I didn't even get to begin before disaster struck."

"I can see that."

I helped him make his beloved pancakes, showering a reasonable amount of strawberries on top and sneaking in a few raspberries while he wasn't looking. For the last week and a half I had been trying to sneak some food into his human diet to see if he noticed. If he didn't, he liked it. I'd started with small things like fruits and vegetables. I'd discovered his hidden liking for beef and I couldn't have been happier. Slowly, he seemed to be adjusting to the taste of food on Earth.

"I think I should take you out around town sometime soon," I said as he slumped down on the couch. 

Loudrix was far more comfortable round the house now. He slouched like a human, his speech had improved and he was no longer frightened of silly things like his reflection or the mail. I'd even allowed him to explore the wondrous this that was the internet, and he'd got the hang of it within a couple of hours.

"Really? I think that would be good," he said with a large grin. "Perhaps after I am accustomed with the town we could start looking for my ship? It has to be around somewhere, surely?"

I nodded. "Hopefully. If it landed in somewhere like America, we're screwed."

"America? That large place you showed me on the map of the world?" he asked and I nodded. "Oh, yes. That would be a problem. Too much distance."

"Exactly, and besides - you don't have identification. You'd be taken in for questioning."

"Damn," he breathed.

Yeah, he'd also picked up some rude words along the way which may or may not have been my fault. The first time I heard him use a profanity in a sentence had been so unexpected and humorous. I'd laughed and asked him to say it again.

"Yeah, so we could go out tomorrow?" I asked him. When I glanced over, I saw him with his mouth stuffed. He looked like a chipmunk. I cleared my throat and said, "Is that alright with you?"

He nodded, cheeks still full.

"Mm-hm," he mumbled.

"Excellent," I said. I sat there, wondering just how this was going to go. Would he blow his cover? Would he suddenly revert back to his weird-speaking, human-insulting self? Would he perhaps not be convincing enough as a human? There were many faults in the plan but we'd just have to go for it. If you didn't try, you'd never know.

And I just hoped it all went well.

Thank you for reading! x
Alien joke: What hot drink do aliens enjoy? Gravi-tea!
Cazza