Page 54 of I Think I’m in Love with an Alien

Zeltron was only the first of my many alien crushes. And now I’ve met a real one.

I pick up a toy blaster that’s for sale nearby, strike a heroic pose, and quote the commander. “‘Fear not, for the stars guide our path!’”

“Classic Zeltron,” Tad says. “Always the optimist, even when faced with a black hole.”

“Optimism is the light that drives darkness away,” Jaz says sagely.

“Plus, it helps to have a genius sidekick like Doctor Nexus,” Poppy adds.

Who knew window-shopping could be this much fun? I find nostalgia in things we pass, and I don’t need to collect everything or take it all home. I have these moments instead, happiness percolating away, and I decide to take Ravik’s cryptic advice.

It doesn’t matter who knew what when.

I matter to Seeker, or he wouldn’t have told me; that’s what counts. A few booths down, he’s checking out a selection of futuristic gadgets, each one promising the power to warp reality or bend time, though the fine print says for entertainment purposes only.

“Ah, the Quantum Multi-Tool,” I say. “With this, I can repair my ship’s FTL drive, change the bozon flow of a frackulator, or convert a microwave into a particle accelerator!”

“Useful,” Seeker concedes. “But what about this Cloaking Wristband? Invisibility has its perks. Sneaking past guards, avoiding awkward social situations—”

“Is that something you’re worried about?” I cut in, surprised.

His voice wavers slightly, hinting at the hidden weight of his words. “Not normally. But here, if I misread cues or say something wildly incorrect…”

The unspoken consequences are clear; I don’t need him to finish that sentence. The desire to protect him thrums within me, and I find myself lost in his rare, wonderful gaze. Electricity zings through me, just from a look. I need to know if he feels this too.

But I’m scared to ask. Scared to get an unwelcome answer. So I just drink my fill visually because sometimes it feels as I’ve been thirsty my whole life, and only now has anyone thought to offer me a cool, refreshing drink. To me, he is that—and more.

I’m so scared by how much I like him already.

20

Seeker

I gaze into Jen’s eyes, seeing sparks of gold I didn’t notice until today.

The sunlight has tinted her skin. Humans don’t change their hues intentionally as my people do. And they don’t use colors to convey purposeful meaning. I’ve not yet been able to work out how or why they change colors. Sometimes it’s emotional and sometimes it’s environmental. And some humans don’t display other colors at all, for various reasons, while others paint on bright hues.

When I caul my gaze with the secondary membrane, I can see additional light spectrums, but the colors are too overwhelming to remain in that spectrum. I blink again, trying to approximate the way she sees the world. I wonder how my eyes look to her, if she finds me strange or engaging, or some amalgam of the two.

What’s she thinking right now?

Before I can ask, she breaks visual contact by ducking her head and moving down the table. “Oh, a replica of a Holo-Map Projector. I’d never get anywhere on time without GPS. I don’t even know how to read a paper map.”

I can’t admit that I’ve never seen one. Other humans might find that odd. I’m not entirely sure what she’s referring to, but extrapolating from context, I suspect it’s a geographic representation of their world, imprinted on paper. But for there to be any helpful detail, everything would need to be magnified in great detail and thus require an incredible amount of paper. How would one even carry something so large? Humans are truly fascinating to me.

“I have gotten lost on multiple trips,” I say then. “Sometimes I have found wonders I didn’t know about. And I wouldn’t have seen them had I stayed on my planned route.”

She doesn’t know it, but I’m not just talking topographical marvels like cascading green water or the shimmer of ethereal lights in a sentient forest. I’m also talking about her. If the agency had retrieved me on time, I would never have met Jen.

“Check this out!” Poppy calls.

It’s another replica of some sort. From what I’ve gathered reading the boxes, these are all souvenirs related to human entertainments. This one says, Positronic Screwdriver. A screwdriver is a human tool used for construction and assembly. But this item looks nothing like that.

“Dang,” Tad says. “I used to be so into Doctor Y.”

I’m not familiar with that, but I know better than to mention it. Jaz doesn’t say anything either, and I have no idea where Ravik has gone.

“It’s one of my favorites,” Poppy says. “I loved the ninth doctor, but I’m in the minority. Everyone loves ten for some reason.”