Nightshade: A SimLit | Chapter 54: The Runaway

The UFO was engulfed in flames, buried deep within the crater it created when it crashed to the ground. From the thick clouds of smoke crawled the boy who had traveled in it, coughing as he struggled to drag himself away from the fire. The world around him was unfamiliar, and his vision was blurry, slowly fading in and out...

He gave up fighting the weakness that was overcoming his body and collapsed onto his back in the tall, green grass, as his vision finally focused on the night sky. It was soothing, because up there amidst those stars was the only place he'd ever had to call home until now -- but he had never felt at home anywhere. His eyes began to flutter closed. He took a deep breath of fresh air, wondering if it was the last he'd ever take. 'So this is it,' he thought. 'I guess dying here is better than living there...'

But deep down, there was fear as everything went black.

-----

A sudden awareness of the steady rising and falling of his chest brought him out of what felt like an endless slumber. His eyes fluttered open and he grimaced as an intense ache washed over him. Groaning, he struggled to sit up and froze when his eyes met with someone else's.

"You gave me quite the scare, kid..."

Confused and startled, he began to try to speak, but it was stammered nonsense to the man sitting in front of him.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, what's your name, boy?"

He paused and averted his gaze off to the side, taking a moment to form the right words before speaking once again. "O-Orion Star..."

"Orion Star." The man nodded affirmatively. "Your spacecraft crashed just outside of my house. You're one lucky kid, you know. That crash should have killed you, yet you escaped with minor injuries and a concussion at worst, by some miracle. I suppose it just... wasn't your time."

Orion found something strangely unsettling about the man and fidgeted nervously. "W-Who are you? And... and how do you know about aliens?"

"You may call me... Grim," he replied. "As for knowing about your kind, well... humans are more knowledgeable about you than you think. Forgive me for asking something personal, but I have to wonder... how did you end up here?"

Grim. An unpleasant meaning, yet seemingly fitting for the man. Orion ignored the slight chill that ran down his spine. "Um, w-well..."

Grim interrupted. "Don't make up a simple excuse. I already have the feeling you have quite the story to tell."

Orion crossed his arms over his chest, securely hugging himself as he began to explain. "I... I ran away from home, and, um... I lost control of the UFO. That's the last thing I remember before waking up to fire and smoke... and then I ended up here somehow."

"You ran away?" Grim raised an eyebrow curiously. "Why is that?"

"M-My parents," Orion sighed. "They wanted me to become a scientist. But that would mean doing... u-um... experiments... on humans. I couldn't let them force me to become someone I'm not. Now that I'm old enough, there are so many burdens and expectations," he continued, his eyes beginning to water. "T-The things I've seen them do... I could never do it. I don't care if humans really are evil. I won't be evil, too..."

Orion's voice was quiet and his eyes soft; there was a gentleness that he conveyed unlike any that Grim had seen. Surely the young boy truly was incapable of the evil things expected of him, and somehow, he found himself feeling sorry for someone he'd been hoping to eventually rid the universe of. Even he was surprised by the words spilling from his own mouth. "I'm sorry to hear that... you can't be out there all on your own. You don't know the first thing about this world. It's safer to stay here with me."

"S-Stay here? With... you?" Orion was unsure if he should be thankful or afraid. "Um... thank you, but I don't want to be a bother..."

Grim sighed. "Listen, kid," he began, his voice lowering in volume. "It's very dangerous for people like you around here. Humans aren't very fond of aliens, so just listen to me and stay. Wear your disguise form any time you go out of this house. Pretend to be like any other normal teenager, go to school, study..."

Orion's gaze fell to the floor. Discrimination was just what he'd feared. "My disguise form... right. W-What if I still don't fit in?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine as long as you do that," Grim reassured. "And... under no circumstances do you tell anyone about your true identity, understood? Trust no one, Orion. Not a single person can know," he said. 'Especially not President Boucher and the Triple A. If they found out there was an alien at large, he would be dead in a heartbeat...'

Orion reluctantly nodded. "Alright. I won't trust anyone," he said. 'And unfortunately, that should be easy enough...'

-----

It had been a few days since the crash, and although his body still ached faintly, he was feeling well enough to go to school as Grim suggested. He sighed as he gazed into the mirror, unsettled by the boy gazing back at him. It wasn't him, and he wished he didn't have to disguise himself... but life wasn't ever fair to him. 

As for Grim, he was still unsure of how he felt, but at least the man had been nice enough to provide a place to stay and some clothes to wear. Obviously, that alien suit wasn't going to blend in very well.

'I guess I have to leave now or I'll be late,' he thought, trying to push his deep anxiety to the back of his mind. 'Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought...'

---

The school hall was filled with students and bustling with noise; in such an unfamiliar place, it was easy to feel anxious. What if he didn't fit in? What if no one liked him? The endless scenarios played through Orion's mind in vivid details, and he only felt himself panic more as a consequence. 

Wrapping his arms around himself for the only sense of security he had, he held his head low as he walked down the seemingly endless hall. He dropped his gaze to the floor when he felt uncomfortable stares fixating on him...

"Hey, Tiff, don't look now but there's a hot new student walking right past you," the brunette girl whispered to the blonde beside of her. "Kinda scrawny, though, and that pink doesn't help him look very... manly. Yeah, he's definitely a delicate one... like, he's probably a pushover that will do whatever you want, and personally I think that's kinda hot, too--"

"Shut up, Britney, and save a guy for me just this once!" The black-haired girl snapped. 

"How about both of you shut up while I go talk to him?" The blonde grinned at her friends and turned to walk away. As she approached him, she put on her most confident stance, and her voice clapped like  loud thunder. "Hey, you!"

Startled, Orion turned to the source of the yelling quickly, and let out a surprised gasp as the two of them collided.

Their eyes met, and an intense blush of embarrassment spread across his face. "I-I... I'm s-so... sorry..." 

Tiffany smirked, leaning herself in just a little closer. "Don't sweat it... I noticed you were new and came to welcome you to the school. I'm Tiffany, but my annoying friends enjoy calling me Tiff. I don't recommend that you do it. So, who are you?"

"I-I..." Orion fell silent as his mind went blank.

He took a step back, looking down at his feet. "Orion," he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You really need to learn to speak up, you know," Tiffany said, still wearing the smirk on her face. "Don't be so shy."

"S-Sorry," Orion muttered. "Um... it's nice to meet you, Tiffany," he said her name a bit slowly, as if it was unfamiliar. Human names were different from the ones on Sixam...

She nodded. "Yeah, you too."

'There's something strange about this guy. Then again, most guys are weird,' Tiffany thought. "Hey, since you're new, I'll show you to your class. I know where everything is."

"Y-You'd do that?" Orion finally glanced up at her, a slight smile forming on his face. "Thank you... I'm a little lost in here."

"Yeah, that's understandable. It's a big school. Anyway, follow me..." Tiffany turned to learn him toward the classrooms, and he followed alongside her.

As they continued to converse, Tiffany's friends watched them from the lockers.

"Well, I guess Tiff has herself a new boytoy," Britney said with a laugh.

"Yeah," the other girl replied. "But she never plays nice. I wonder how long it will take her to break him..."