Sophia
I had always been fascinated by the humans. I had taken an interest in them for a long as I could remember, hearing my father's stories when Roman and I were growing up, I never really understood the human world until I was in it some ten years later, but even then I was still learning, setting my own boundaries, but even those were seemingly undefined. I expressed myself as honestly as I could and expected others to do the same.
From the day Roman and I and the others set foot in Marshall High, my policy had always been to be friendly, unfortunately given the animosity a lot of people had to the integration program that was easier said than done. So for us, particularly for me, making friends was difficult because we always had the stereotypes and the prejudices stacked against us; my people and I were outsiders, encroaching on an already inhabited planet.
I so desperately wanted to find friends, maybe even someone special I could share my life with, but whether that would be human (unlikely) or another Atrian I couldn't be sure, I didn't exactly have Roman's complex to save the world.
So lies my dilemma.
I had few suitors vying for my attention, the only one who seemed to be interested at all was Emery's friend Lukas, who was a little overbearing at times, but at the moment I saw him more as a friend then a potential boyfriend, although I wasn't quite sure how to formulate the sentences to let him down easy… Not my area of expertise.
Then there was Taylor, but that in itself was an enigma, a situation I couldn't move forward or back from. I was drawn to her, but in what way I couldn't say. I felt compelled to help her to give her everything I knew she must desperately be missing. That was how I ended up kissing her in the first place.
The first time I kissed Taylor was at the pool party. Why did I have this pull towards her, I always had, well ever since a few days ago when she had bailed me out and stood up for me at the swim meet at the last moment… When others had realized the consequences of me getting poisoned.
I found her in the gyrating crowd among the crowd on the pool deck amid blaring music that was like an entity in itself. She was in the shallows talking to people in passing, but other than that she was alone, her entire demeanor surprisingly detached.
It was when the last person drifted away I finally made my way up to her standing thigh-deep in the cool water. I raised my voice over the throbbing music.
"Thanks for giving me a chance," I said, "that really meant a lot." Even if I never swam on the swim team again at least I had a chance to find out who I was here, to be me.
Taylor nodded, but once again her entire demeanor suggested her mind were somewhere else.
"I figured everyone deserves a chance… Why not you." Taylor shook her head, "it's not worth it all this fighting, all you have is a bunch of people thinking they know better."
"Thanks." I said again, and then before I could think better of it I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. I knew someone may question it, although I didn't know why, I was simply expressing how I felt and showing I cared.
When we pulled apart Taylor only stared at me.
"Why did you do that?" She asked, she didn't book offended merely surprised as if she didn't know what to do next.
"That's how I show I care about people. I like you, I care about you."
Taylor frowned her fingers still touching her lips and it was a few moments before she spoke again.
"Girls don't-girls don't do that." She finally managed her last two words coming out slightly breathless, "but really it's all right I don't care." Her lips pulled up in a smile but her expression was still uncertain.
Then we parted and I didn't see her for the rest of the night my mind was still spinning curiously, but there was no one I could ask, no one I felt comfortable asking not even Emery and she was probably closer to Roman and I than anybody; as close as a human could be.
I went back to the sector that night still perplexed; what I was feeling wasn't just a human thing and it wasn't just an Atrian thing; this was a "me" thing.
The second time I kissed Taylor was after the would-be hurricane presumably set by the Trags, but me and Lukas were still figuring that one out. The crowd was breaking up after the tension of the hurricane watch; too much had happened in the past few hours to even keep straight. It was like the school was its own little bubble and life existed within it and whatever happened outside of it was separate.
When I caught up with Taylor in the cafeteria she looked as shaken as everyone else, her blonde hair was tousled and her makeup was smudged; she looked like she had been crying.
"Drake broke up with me." She said in a hollow voice.
I was immediately concerned.
"Oh no, why?"
Taylor sniffed, and her voice wobbled.
"He doesn't think I'm worth fighting for."
I smiled at her, hoping to convey my sympathy, then I stepped close to her and kissed her softly. The kiss just long enough to be lingering.
"I think you're worth fighting for." I said softly.
