With a deep breath, I parked my car and turned off the engine in my parents' driveway. Originally, I planned to just sulk with some gaming in my dorm room, but I couldn’t say no to my mother asking if I wanted to eat her special chili. I knew it was an excuse just to get me home for the weekend, but hey, who turns down a home-cooked meal? 

I could see the outlines of my father and mother moving around behind the closed shades thanks to the sun having since yielded to the moon. And despite my dad being able to afford much more, he had settled on a two-bedroom single-story home that reminded me more of a trailer home than anything else. Even in the moonlight, I could see where the blue paint was chipping and the cracks in the siding. 

The lawn though? My dad made sure it was immaculate, even going as far as to whoop me on more than one occasion for riding my bike on it when I was a kid.  

After steeling myself, I got out of my car, locked it, stomped on the grass a little bit, and only then did I go ring the doorbell. It’s the little victories that matter most sometimes. 

I could hear my dad shouting for my mother to answer the door, and after fiddling with the lock for a bit, it swung open. I stared down at her, that aged face of hers beaming once she saw me. She was dressed as she always was, a cardigan over a plain dress with her long black hair tied into a ponytail.  

“Hola hijo, I missed you. Thank you for coming.” She said quietly but with plenty of joy as she pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back and could literally feel the stress of the day begin to melt away. “Come, let’s get some food into you. You’re in luck, your father is in a good mood tonight.” She said as she took my arm and patted my hand. I quickly closed the door behind me as she led us down the narrow hallway that led directly into the dining room.  

I looked at my father, a brief flash of disgust shot across my face as I saw he was already eating the chili. I’m not into praying before my meals much these days like I used to as a kid, but it infuriated me, nonetheless.  

“Hey, Dad.” I said as I sat down at the rickety little brown table and grabbed a spoon. He simply nodded and continued to eat, wiping his stubbled face with a napkin between each bite. “Long day on the base I take it?” I asked, after a quick prayer. I took a bit of chili before he responded. 

Delicious. 

My dad exhaled slowly through his nostrils as he nodded once again. He then leaned back in his chair as he flexed his massive arms behind his head, veins looking like they were ready to burst. It was comical really, why get buff to the point it looks like you have spaghetti buried under your skin? Far be it for someone to make fun of him for it though, he’d kick other people’s asses for a lot less. 

Of course, that rarely happened. After all, who’d want to tussle with a man showcasing his massive frame by wearing a muscle shirt everywhere he went? Not to mention he was almost seven feet tall; I’d dare say he’d even give a Quad a run for their money in a fair one-on-one. I mean, I was strong too, must be the genes. But good lord I wasn’t nearly as blessed as he was physically. 

If only he wasn’t such an ass about it. 

“This country ain’t as great as it used to be. The Quads took over the damn military! Twenty-five years of my life I’ve given to this nation and now they have me running the logistics department. I’m a colonel god damn it! And I refuse to take orders from those bastards!” He looked at me with his one good eye. “If you ask me, we gave up too quickly.”  

He was baiting me; I could feel it. And like the fool that I am, I bit. 

“How exactly would we have won, Dad? They hit us with a global EMP, a specialized one that only targeted our military equipment and communication systems. And none of our weaponry could penetrate their armor. Hell, even the nukes sent at their ships were teleported to who knows where. That’s some Star Trek shit.” He rolled his eye. 

“That’s the problem with kids these days, giving up just when things get a little hard. Where is your pride? We should have gone down fighting instead of becoming their slaves!” I shook my head and put my hands up, already realizing my mistake for indulging him. 

“Look, Dad, I didn’t come here to fight alright? You’re right, we gave up. My generation sucks, can we just...not?” I replied trying to defuse the situation.  

“Yes honey, let’s just eat, I’ve got dessert in-” My mother started to say before my dad waved her off. 

“I’m not talking to you, am I?” My mother quieted down and returned to her bowl; her expression unchanging. “So, I’ve heard the Quads got to your school as well huh?”  

“Yeah, I met one. We got into a fight with some other students, I knocked one out. The Dean basically said I’ll get kicked out if it happens again. I’m uh, suspended for two weeks.” And true to my father’s nature, he didn’t care about my academic standing. 

“And... you mind telling me why the other students wanted to kick your ass?” He had turned his body to face me now. “You defended that yellow scum, didn’t you?” I said nothing in reply, and he seethed. “I fucking knew it, my son, a disgrace to me and this country!”  

Keep calm, it’s another bait, you know this. I mentally repeated to remain calm. 

“The Reyez men have been spilling their blood for the United States since the Revolutionary War! How dare you defend those monsters! You are not worthy to bear my name!” I could see spit forming in the corners of his mouth as though he were rabid. 

Relax, it’s nothing you haven’t heard before. 

“You’re just like your uncle, hah. Got himself killed trying to protest in favor of those illegals. And do you know where it got him? What prize he received for his ‘noble’ efforts?”  

Don’t you fucking dare. 

“A burial plot in the center of town, six feet under the ground!” I slammed my hands onto the table, causing my mom to jump in surprise before grabbing my dad by the collar and raising a fist into the air. He looked at me expectantly, a smirk forming on his face.  

He had won. Again. 

I pulled away and apologized to my mom for startling her before walking back towards the front door. 

“You’re a coward. Should’ve made you join the army when I had the chance, that crazy brother of mine just had to fill your head with nonsense. Peace is not always an option!” My father called after me as I slammed the door behind me, got in my car, and drove off back towards the school. 

It only took a minute into my drive before angry, hot tears spilled down my face, blurring my vision somewhat, thank God hardly anyone was on the road. The sobs turned into a sort of crazed laughter a while before I finally entered the parking lot in front of my dorm. After parking, I gave the steering wheel a good couple of slams of my fists and even laid on the horn a couple of times before putting my face in my hands and just sat there in silence for I don’t know how long. 

“Aliens conquered the world, and this is what makes me lose my shit?” I chuckled. It was absurd really; things could have turned out way worse for humanity. But apparently, daddy issues are what gets my goat in the end. I rubbed my eyes with the collar of my hoodie before getting out of my busted red Toyota Camry and looking up at the sky.  

Littering the sky were dozens of Bevusian ships, just milling about in the upper atmosphere. All their white ships gave off a golden glow. From what I remember, they used gold for all their technology in some capacity and loved the aesthetics of it. So, just imagine dozens of white, cigar-shaped ships with glowing gold accents of various sizes darting around. Even after a year of seeing them hang around, it never ceased to amaze me that something like space travel that efficient was possible. 

“It’s funny, they are beautiful, but the shape was always too cylindrical for my liking.” I heard a feminine yet husky voice say behind me, causing me to jump and get into a defensive stance as I turned around. Filling up my line of sight was Fern? Frey? Oh, right, Freyja. After realizing it was her, I dropped my guard and leaned against my car. 

“You know it’s rude to sneak up on people like that right? I would’ve swung if I didn’t know who it was. It’s called common-” I paused, taking in her form. She had changed from before, those braids of her were now corralled into a large bun. Gone was her hoodie, replaced by a sports bra that did little to stop her bust from spilling out of it. And in place of leggings, she instead had on a pair of tight gym shorts, showcasing her legs and toned hourglass figure.  

“Courtesy?” She finished my sentence for me as she placed a pair of hands on her hips and the other laced behind her head. 

“Y-Yeah, whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore I suppose.” I muttered sheepishly. She eyed me for a moment before speaking. 

“You’ve been crying, what ails you, Dean?”  

“Why do you speak like that? It feels like I’m talking to a robot or something, and second, what’s it to you? Last I checked you weren’t too pleased with me. And aren’t you freezing? It’s like fifty degrees out here.” I questioned. She looked back up at the ships flying overhead. 

“On Bevu Prime, we are subjected to extremely cold temperatures, this is rather nice for my kind. As for your main question Dean, do you think that people remain unchanged once they leave your line of sight? Simply because we left on bad terms does not mean I did not take the time to reflect on what had occurred. I’ve come to apologize for my words, I had not expected to do so right now, but I figured I’d take the opportunity to.” Shit she was making a lot of sense, now I feel bad.  

But only for a second. 

“Okay, wait. It seemed like you were upset that a man helped you out, mind telling me what that was about? Cause, I don’t wanna play the sexism card, but yeah.” She looked down at me and frowned. 

“On Bevu Prime, men are a rarity, with only one born for every six females. Therefore, we protect them and ensure their safety...they are the fairer sex.” I couldn’t help breaking out into a devious smile after learning that little fact. 

“You’re ashamed a male came to your rescue, ha-ha, you’re embarrassed! So what? You helped me to try and restore your honor or something? Looks like chivalry isn’t dead for the Bevusian’s huh?” I laughed. “That is too rich, thanks I really needed a laugh after tonight.” She slouched over slightly, visibly deflated by my reaction. “Er, sorry.” 

“Think nothing of it, I am simply not used to interacting with males yet. You are the first one I’ve...spoken to for this long.” She paused for a moment. “I have a request for you, actually, if you do not mind hearing me out?” She said with those eyes of hers glowing once again as they met mine. What’s the deal with that anyway? 

“Um, okay, shoot,” I replied, put off by the weird tone change in the conversation. 

“If you are willing, I would like to become your friend.” 

“Pretty direct way of going at it, but...why not? I don’t think you’re a bad person...just different.” A smile appeared on her face like a brief crack of light piercing through the darkness of her usual composed self before vanishing just as fast. 

“Excellent. Now, if you do not mind, may I have your phone number?”  

“Oh, yeah.” I rambled off my number to her as she plugged it into her contacts on her phone, or what looked like a phone. It was hard to say really, it was paper-thin and transparent, yet I couldn’t see what was on the screen facing her. Once that was done, we both kind of stood around, unsure of what to say. 

“Thanks.” She finally managed to utter, breaking the silence.  

“No problem. I did have a question for you though. How were you able to forgive me so quickly after our argument?” She looked at me confused; a white eyebrow cocked up. 

“It is standard practice for Bevusians to come back together after a disagreement to repair the damage done to both parties. We seldom hold grudges or anger towards others for long, unless the circumstances were extreme of course. Is this...not the case for Earthlings?”  

“In a word, nope. Welcome to Earth, you’ll catch on soon.” She wanted to ask something else but was interrupted by my phone ringing. “It’s my girlfriend, I’ve gotta go. You’ve got my number, so if you need help with, um, Earth stuff? Let me know, see ya, and thanks for the laughs. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.” I waved and walked towards my dorm as I answered the phone. 

“A girlfriend...” Freyja whispered, watching as Dean walked away before turning to watch the ships enter and exit the atmosphere once more.