*First Draft

His eyes are cold. Why didn't I notice it before? He is smiling at me but there is no warmth in it. None. Sweat starts to form on my brow and I force my lips to curve upward. I'm such an idiot. The stupidest human. Magna warned me to keep my guard up and to never trust anyone-humans most of all, but I was swayed by the lull of a decadent voice and a listening ear.

Can anyone blame me? We don't get many humans on Cerise anymore and I am tired of only hearing my language through the toneless droning from my translator app.

The music in the background has an off-kilter beat. The off and on high pitch noises spike my already racing heart. Cringing, I clench my hands together in my lap, and momentarily squeeze my eyes shut. The Cerisians are a peaceful and hardworking group, but their imitation of Earth music, although a worthy effort, is excruciatingly unpleasant.

With a panicky motion, I survey the club. Unsurprisingly, the dance floor is glaringly empty. The pinkish-red walls mimic the ground outside, and the flashing lights move in sporadic chaos. A few patrons, mostly Cerisians, are seated at the few scattered tables. I recognize most of them as regulars, my heart drops as I realize that none of them would know how to help me or know that I even needed help if the situation arises.

My eyes dart back to my date. I could say I have to get back to work and slip out the back door. That might work. Or the restroom is also a believable place. Women on dates do that all the time. A squeal causes me to flinch and I am once again only jarred by the music.

"Are you alright?" he--Ethan--asks with fake sincerity. Or I think it's fake. His steely gray eyes penetrate mine and his silky lips flatten to a scowl. I had thought he was handsome before, but I don't think so anymore. My rosy glasses were wiped clean by his treatment of Vi, our Cerisian waitress. My co-worker, my friend.

"I'm fine," I say a little too curtly. Studying him again, I realize his nose is too long and pointy, his eyes are too close together, and his skin is so pasty that he probably glows in the sun. And to think I had wanted to kiss him.

A pang of panic sears into my chest as I play back all our interactions. A supplier, he came into the practically abandoned club with a dolly of goods and a breathy "hello" that had me quivering at the knees.

He didn't seem suspicious then. He had eyed me up and down, his Adam's apple bobbed as he took me in, and when he repeated my name my heart soared like he was singing a sweet symphony from his lips.

And now I'm sitting across from him questioning everything.

"Jade? Come on. You were talking my ear off a moment ago. So bubbly and sweet, now you look like you want to bolt."

This sounds like the perfect opportunity to make my exit. I slowly pull myself out of my seat and shakily say, "Umm, actually, I think I do need to get going. Sorry, Ethan. It was nice meeting you. Good luck with the rest of your shipments."

Ethan smirks at me, and his voice stops me from continuing my retreat. "You know in most cultures it is considered rude to accept a drink and then not drink it."

"Oh." I stare at my full glass and I see Ethan's point. This is a rude thing to do and I look at him apologetically. My palms start to sweat as I hesitantly sit back down and reach for the fruity beverage. His lips twitch in a mirthless smile as he takes in my demeanor. I take the straw and stir absently.

Sighing heavily, he asks, "Did I do something wrong?"

I shake my head, but he knows as well as I do that it is a lie.

"You know, if you don't tell me what I did, I can't fix it. I just met you, but I like you." I blink at him and take in a breath. Before the switch flipped, I was having a nice time. Maybe I'm reading him all wrong and I'm letting Magna's paranoia turn me socially incompetent. It doesn't make any sense anyway. What could the GSA possibly want with someone like me? I am no one.

"I don't like how you talked to Vi," I admit begrudgingly.

"Who?"

"Our waitress. You called her a toothless ogre."

"Her name is Vi?" he asks aloofly.

He doesn't care. Irritation rises in my chest. Clenching my fingers around the edge of the table, I shoot daggers at him with my eyes, momentarily forgetting about all the warning bells from before.

"I asked her if I could call her that. I can't physically say her true name," I explain, trying to keep my voice calm.

Now his cold eyes are mocking me. "You know as well as I do that she didn't understand what that means even with the translator."

"I understood what it meant. She is my friend and my coworker and that was rude."

Ethan sits up a little straighter and his eyes go to the drink in front of me. "Aren't you going to drink that?" he asks smoothly. "Listen, I'm sorry if I insulted you. I didn't mean anything by it. Can we start over?"

"You didn't insult me! You insulted Vi!" I yell a little too loudly. If other humans were here they would probably gawk at us, but the Cerisians don't understand displays of emotion, so they continue their meal without a second glance.

Ethan laughs with amusement at me and then stifles it when he takes in the look on my face.

"I'm sorry, but that is exactly what she-they all look like. I wasn't trying to be mean, it's just a fact. I get it now. You grew up here and don't see them like I do. Would you like me to apologize to her?"

My resolve crumbles and my heart softens. He can't be all that bad if he is offering to apologize. His nose isn't even really all that pointy and his skin is more porcelain than pasty.

I smile at him and shake my head. "The Cerisians don't really apologize. It would mean a lot to me, though, if you just call her Vi from now on."

His smile is bright like the Golden Sun. Not cold at all, I assure myself. "Sure thing, Beautiful." He picks up his drink and nods at mine. Beaming at his compliment, I pick up my glass with him. We clink our drinks together in a gesture of friendship. "Cheers!" And I take a long swig of my bell-fruit martini.

***

"Vi!" Ethan yells to our waitress. She catches his eyes, recognizing the name that I call her. She scuttles over with a large toothless grin that she always gives human customers. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the look is more unsettling than friendly. Cerisians don't smile, but they have a strong desire to excel, so she mimics the human expression in the name of exemplary customer service.

Vi is short and stout with a grayish hue to her skin. Her coal-black eyes stare emptily back at us, and her blackish green hair is tied neatly in a bun on top of her head.

"How may I serve you?" she asks in her language. I can't replicate the sounds, but I can understand most of it. Her translator repeats the words back in the human common tongue for Ethan's benefit.

"Another round, please." There is no Cerisian word for 'please' so Ethan's translator only identifies that he wants more drinks.

"I will serve you," Vi answers through her translator. The fake smile never leaves her face.

"Thank you, Vi," he says, emphasizing her name. He then looks at me and winks. My heart flutters at his attention. Vi turns and leaves, adamant to complete her task.

My mind is buzzing. I smile at how much Ethan tries to please me. He is sitting lazily across from me, asking me many questions about myself. Speaking freely gives me pleasure.

Unabashedly, I tell him all about Magna and how he raised me in the dunes of Cerise. How he taught me everything I know. How he got too old and too sick. I took care of him as best as I could, but the illness was too much for him and he passed two solar years ago. My cheeks are wet from my unexpectant tears.

The music seems more pleasing in the background. I realize it is no longer Cerisian music but actual Earth beats. A giggle escapes my lips and my body sways with the music. The lights all around start to blur to the thrumming rhythm. My date. Ethan. I should probably ask him something.

My eyes can't seem to focus and I finally place him. He is looking at me so intensely that it makes me shiver.

A question. Right.

"E-than! Do you like traveling and supplying goods for the human estab-establishments?" I feel my cheeks warm at the stumbling of my words.

I look down and frown. I've only drank the one martini, I haven't even started on the second.
Ethan's lips twitch when I find him again.

"It has its moments. Not only do I drop off supplies, sometimes I pick up interesting things."

I'm almost floating.

Sometimes I pick up interesting things.

When was the last time Ethan smiled? Did he respond at all to my rambling? My mind is too muffled to remember.

I should go.

Ethan scrunches his face into a look of disgust. Leaning his arms on the table, he says, "This planet is kind of a shithole. The Goldilocks Alliance is wasting too many resources here. And this is one sorry ass excuse for a club. After growing up here, no wonder you are so pathetic." Hurt, I swallow his words. I'm pathetic? I thought he liked me.

The buzzing in my head is getting louder, the room is moving all around me. The music. The music is droning on like it's far away. My heart is being squeezed and my lungs are constricting. I can't seem to breathe.

The GSA? He is talking about the GSA.

I stand up to leave, but my body stumbles. I have to go. Using the table for stability, I stand. Swaying, I start to move from the table. A hand grabs my bicep.

Aren't you going to drink that? His words repeat in my mind. My heart is thrumming. Magna is turning in his grave at my stupidity.

"Did you put something in my drink?" I accuse as I turn toward him. His eyes aren't cold, they're blazing. His lips. Those once silky lips are flat and stern.

"I'm doing you a favor, really." A favor? He pulls his arm around me and starts guiding me toward the exit. I should yell. What word would best get a Cerisian's attention? It's getting really hard to think. No words pop into my head. Then-

"Danger!" I scream. Ethan tightens his grip around me and with his other hand muffles my face into his side.

The music is probably too loud and their translators are probably not on.

I'm so stupid. Pathetic. I can't stop the tears from flowing. My free hand tries to push him away. He doesn't move and I'm too much like sludge.

"Jade, think of it as an adventure." A sob bursts from my lips. "Shh." He squeezes me even tighter.

I'm pummeled by heat and my feet sink in burning sand. We are outside, he somehow got me outside. No. He can't take me, I won't let him. Magna said if the GSA gets a hold of me, it would be worse than death.

With every bit of energy I have, I try to get away from him, but I only trip. My knees hit the ground, and he drags me.

"My ship is just ahead," he murmurs, unfazed by my struggle. "Fighting will only make things worse for you. It isn't my style to beat weak women, but I'll do what I need to do. Do you understand?"

Needles prick at my neck and terror grips my stomach. I was only thinking about what the GSA would do to me, I wasn't really thinking about what Ethan could do.

Suddenly, he lifts me up in his arms and I am being carried. Everything is spinning, all I see is the sun and the reddish-pink slowly disappearing from view. Metal screeches in harmony with his heavy footsteps. My vision blurs and I am lowered onto the floor. There is a buzzing noise and orange lights that flicker on and off.

My tongue feels dry and heavy. "Ethan. Please. Let me go." He pulls me up against something hard and my hands are pulled behind my back. A heavy object is placed on my wrists and I realize that I am being shackled. How? How did this happen so fast? It was a normal day, until it wasn't.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. Just do as I say and it will be alright. I'm not a monster. You're just a job, nothing personal. I may even uncuff you if I think you can handle it."

Confusion compounds my brain and the tears won't stop coming. "Please." I try again. The words come out in a whisper. Ethan doesn't say anything else, I hear his footsteps as he walks away.

The world gets darker and darker. My head is throbbing, my ears are ringing. I try to wish it all away. The orange light is mocking me. I shouldn't have accepted the drink. I shouldn't have been dazzled by a kind voice. Loneliness has a way of making me act stupid.

The engine purrs and the spacecraft shakes. Despair wraps around me like a blanket.

The tears come more rapidly. If Magna were alive, he would be so disappointed in my judgment. My eyes slowly start to close and a chain is being jangled across from me.

Widening, my eyes instinctively try to seek out the source of the noise. My vision is blurry, but I make out the figure of a large man sitting on the floor. Another prisoner of Ethan?

"Who are you?" I croak. The lids of my eyes feel heavy. Too heavy. Maybe there isn't really anyone there. Before I get an answer, I lose the fight, my eyes close, and sleep takes me.

A/N

What did you all think about characters and the world-building? First- person present is new for me, so hopefully I did a decent job. Let me know if I screw up the tense anywhere 🙃.

This chapter was a tad bit longer than I normally write. Hopefully it didn't feel that way?

Thanks for reading and giving my story a chance. I hope you stick with it! Please vote if you enjoyed it ⭐.