Robot meets Girl

Curtis sat on his rainbow computer chair as he played Kingdom Hearts. “Who do you think is hotter? Sora or Riku?” He glanced back to see Madison lying motionless on his bed. “Earth to Maddie.”

Madison cleared her throat. “Sora.” Madison wasn’t one for words once she left the hospital. Maybe her heart had taken enough pain and she wasn’t ready to move on yet? Was that what she was going through? A broken heart?

“I feel the need for a piercing,” Curtis said, turning off his PS2 and grabbing Madison’s hand. “Honey, I’m not going to let you cry over a guy that doesn’t realize how good he had it with you, so let’s get off our asses and get parts of ourselves pierced that we shouldn’t get pierced.”

***

Nate stood at his shut door, listening to the scientists talk about him like he didn’t exist. Nate was feeling trapped and worried. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. How could he have been so stupid? What did being a robot have to do with his feelings for her? If he loved---liked—her then shouldn’t he go to her and tell her? Why was he being such a jerk to the only girl that could love him, too?

Nate opened the door to see a group of scientists looking at him. “I’m going out.”

“It’s too late, Nate.” Elisabeth Bam, the woman who played his mother in this project, took a step toward him. “You need to relax.”

Nate was feeling trapped again and smirked. “Okay.” He went back into the room and glanced at the window, which was a few feet from his bed.

***

Madison and Curtis entered Permanent, where Curtis had gotten his other piercing and small rainbow tattoos.

“Hello?” Curtis asked to the empty room, looking at the pictures that could be tattoos to the right and rings to the left. “Anyone here.”

A boy with tangled dark brown hair—almost as dark as Madison’s—came out of the back, his green eyes meeting Curtis’s.

Curtis noticed how the boy’s skin was pale and wondered why they didn’t hang out with him. Did he go to their school? Live in the same neighborhood? “Hi.”

The boy smiled, a pink tint melted onto his cheeks. “Hi.”

Madison raised an eyebrow and cleared her throat. “Hi. My friend, Curtis here, is hoping for an eyebrow ring.”

“Oh...yeah.” Curtis blushed as well, embarrassed that he was acting different around this boy. Why was he acting weird? It’s not like he hasn’t met another gay guy before. What was different about him? His skinny body? The fact that he was tall? Or that even though Curtis has met him five seconds ago, that he knew that this boy was scared of being himself.

“Uh...Cool. Go ahead and look for a ring.” The boy walked over to the corner, getting away from any contact.

“Well, I’m gonna go over to Stacy’s Books.” Madison left them alone so that they could talk.

“So...What’s your name?” Curtis asked, getting out a ring.

“Julian.” Julian met Curtis’s eyes for a second, giving him a nervous smile.

“Here.” Curtis handed Julian the ring he chose and their hands lingering for a millisecond. “You should really hang out with us sometime, Julian. You’d fit in perfectly.”