Kohl:

He was beautiful. Sinfully so. Blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and the innocent face that hid some intriguing secrets only the closest to him are allowed to hear.

There was no flaw with this alien boy. And he kind of made me more insecure about how I looked.

He was staring.

So was I.

“I didn’t expect…” My breathing calmed and I straightened, seeing him only reaching to my chin in the height department. “For an alien, you’re pretty human.”

“For an alien?” He arched a brow. “From where I stand, you’re the odd one.”

“Touché,” I chuckled. Our eyes met again, the light beaming from above like any classic film. It would be fun to kiss him.

“Thanks for saving me,” He said, being the first to break away.

“Don’t thank me yet.”

Pots and pans replaced the body count once the door of the elevator opened again. Food met their grizzly end in the kitchens and dining area that was a fancy as a palace. Tables were doubled over with their matching chair sets scattered as if they were the ones having the dance party while the beings were away.

The paintings here were also off the wall, ruined now by pasta sauce that happened to be laying there when they fell.

On a large theater screen played a beachy landscape with the sound of the waves added in.

I found it kind of impressive, though fake in every degree. I walked over to one of the tables, fixed it with two chairs, shifting them all to the center of the room.

“It’s nice,” I say. Hayden joined me. “A cup of tea with a date, seeing the sun fall…”

“Is that the thing you do back home?”

“For the last billion years, with the same awkwardness as the first. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s worth the hassle.” I looked over at him, changing the topic once I got him to look at me. “I know that we just met. One of us with a blaster--”

“I’m not sorry.”

“Doesn’t surprise me, surprisingly. With you looking like an angel, but with a vibe of a violent chihuahua.”

“What’s a--?”

“Doesn’t matter. My point is...we need to start trusting each other if we want to survive. Deal?”

He bit the inside of his cheek, crossing his arms. “It’s not like we have other options…”

“You got me.”

“A human who’s far from home.”

I shrugged, tilting my head with a smile I could manage. “How about we find you something better to wear?”

He agreed to that.

We were on the highest section of the ship, which gave us sometime to figure out our next steps to our survival.

For now, we explored our options. This place had two levels with it, cat walks for the upper rooms that looked to be reserved for resting, while the main was just another gathering area. Thankfully only we were occupying it.

Whoever designed this place clearly put a lot of time and thought in every curve of the structures.

Whoever did the carpet was drunk and called his throw up art. To our delight, it was well lit.

Hayden took the lead up the stairs to the rooms, the blaster in his hand just in case. The one we chose to scope out first reminded us of a hotel room. More of the beach played in the background that simulated the overlook one might have in a place like this.

In the walls were shelves of personal belongings, clothes, shoes, toys, etc. Beside them were cubbies much larger.

Odd runic words labeled them.

“Pods,” Hayden translated.

“They seem more respected,” I commented, seeing a slightly smaller one, maybe a child’s.

“I believe this is first class.”

Maybe we weren’t alone after all. Was it wrong to wake them? Was there a “perfect” time to do so?

I trace my and along the cold surface of each of them, until I realized the truth. I didn’t see a green light. They weren’t turned on.

“They drowned,” Hayden concluded. “The power, it might’ve…” He backed away from it, turning away once he saw the toys.

I don’t think it was that simple, keeping it to myself as I found something for him to change into, being the most respectful grave robber.

He and I left the room after that.

The other rooms didn’t far better. So we stopped, letting Hayden change and shower, while I took inventory of what we have.

There was a beep on my suit wrist and I pulled off the phone portion to read the message from Sharen.

Call me or die balless.

Yup, definitely her.

I checked to see if I was alone before doing so.

“Are you insane!?” She shrieked at the other end, “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Sharen--”

“Don’t you Sharen me! DO you know how worried I was? No, you don’t because your brain is on backorder,” through her rage she switched to Chinese, and I waited for her English to come back around.

“I uh, actually found someone.” I said when she calmed down enough.

“Who?!”

“A guy who was...there. Um, yeah. Look, I don’t regret doing what I did.”

She sighed, pausing for a moment. “Alright. But you need to go home. I’m canceling everything. Maybe next year--”

“I can’t quite do that, boo.”

“And why not?”

“Because…” I took my own pause, looking up from the main floor to the second where Hayden was drying his hair look back. He allowed the towel to fall on his shoulders, wearing a tank top that revealed more of the freckling dots, and pj bottoms. “Because I have no ship, Sharen. Not anymore.”

“Kohl…”

“I’m sorry, I really am.”

“Oh my gods, Kohl…” She breathed, her voice breaking. “All you had to do was collect rocks!”

“Maybe you can send--”

“You’re too low of a profile to convince anything close. THAT ship was the only way home. You’re stuck there…”

I bite my lip, feeling my heart drop. Hayden climbed down the stairs, staying there to watch as everything began to tumble down.

I was truly alone with a stranger among the stars, on a ship that was tearing itself apart. Screaming was a desirable option. To become a bubbling mess on the floor.

But this was my mess and I had to get out of it on my own.

I close my eyes. “Noted. Thanks. I’ll see what I can do.” And I ended the call, promising to call her later.

Hayden shifted closer, but kept some distance between us. “What was that all about?”

“Nothing too crazy, just checking in on my team.”

“What’s the verdict?”

I snorted, sitting on one of the arms of a sofa. “Bad news or worse?”

He studied me again before giving me something close to an answer and a tilt of the head, “Which one involves us not dying?”

“Mmm, I’ll get back to you on that one.”

He sits on the other arm, letting the hair fall over his eyes, only to push it back again with a hand to one side.

I focus on the details of his face, the parts he’s allowing me to see. His eyes were somewhere else, his attention being dragged off into space.

“Do you trust me, Hayden?” I asked.

“Yes, Kohl. I do.”