Before him, you didn't know what you knew now. There was no war, no aliens taking up residence in the same apartment complex as you. Sure, they had a few weird names, but mostly they were normal, and you thought nothing of it.

Until...he came and broke down the barricades around your heart.

It started as you walked out of your apartment, backpack slung on your shoulder. It was your final few months in school, and you were feeling a little...sick? Time went by too fast.

"Hello," someone called and you turned.

It was Orion, the man who moved in next door. He had a coffee mug in his hand, a shirt on mostly, and his belt still needed to be buckled. You smiled at him in a friendly way. He was helping you with math and your last paper. So you didn't mind him much. He was nice.

"Hi," you returned, stopping. You felt like being social for once, before you graduated and found yourself without friends. You gulped at that thought, but then you thought about Ryan and the others you were pretty good friends with, just like Orion.

"Going to school?"

You nod a little. If he was being a little too social, you were going to politely excuse yourself and then buy a can of pepper spray.

"Do you need a lift?" Something about the way his eyes glittered with worry made your hair stand on end, and you felt like you should say yes, but as your mouth formed around the word, you shook your head.

He gave an easy smile and the feelings you had disappeared. "Alright then. I thought you would like one since it was supposed to rain."

As soon as he spoke, the building shook with the clash of thunder and the power went out.

"Ugh!" Your shoulder drop and he produces a flash light, offering it to you. "You know, about that ride..."

So you found yourself in the passenger seat of a beat-up old car with peeling paint and ripped seats. A motorcycle helmet sat between you and him as he put the car in gear.

"There is a towel at your feet," he offered as he swung into traffic, picking up speed. "Dry off with it if you want."

You found it and grimaced. It smelled like oil, and when you turned it around, you found out why. The towel had once been white before it was used to check the oil a countless number of times. "No thanks."

"Not the white one. The green one." He took the white towel from your hands and pointed again. When he moved, there was a sparkle of silver and you looked. Orion wore jewelry?

"What's around your neck?" You dried off your face and arms with the correct towel.

His eyes remained on the road, but he dug around under his shirt and flashed a weird-looking pendant. "Just a trinket."

"It's pretty."

He nodded and flashing red and blue lights lit the interior of the car up and you groaned. "Were you speeding?"

"No," he said as he pulled over and then he caught sight of the rear-view. He muttered something that sounded like barricade, but you didn't understand.

The officer walked towards the car and tapped at the window with a flash light. Orion rolled it down and gave a smile to the officer.

"How may I help you? Or are you truly bored, Barricade?"

"Don't play your games on me, Prime. You went through our territory pretty darn fast back there."

"Excuse me," you piped up. "What territory?"

Orion rubbed his face and he leaned back in his seat. The officer pulled off his shades (why was he even wearing them?) and he laughed. "A human girl? Where ya takin' the pretty thing, Prime?"

"May I go if I have not broken any human agreements?"

The officer stroked his chin. "Eh. I'm jus' tryin' to make a livin'. I'm sure you know the feelin'." He tapped the hood of the car with the flash light.

"What was that about?" you asked, watching Orion's face. His jaw clenched. "Are you going to talk to me?"

"It is a trivial thing you should not worry about on your way to school, child," he whispered. "Try to forget that happened." He parked in front of your school and you got out, but you didn't forget.

All through school, you thought about the officer, about Orion's reaction, what he said when he saw the officer coming.

Who really was Orion, and why is everything becoming so weird? Is it just because you've made some weird friends? Or is it because you're just weird?

ooo

Orion was waiting for you in the parking lot, and while you didn't tell him to pick you up, he must have sensed your distress. While you giggled internally about that, you ignored the insults from the bullies behind you and had you walked slower, you would have gotten a shoe full of egg. You turned as you got into the car, into the safety zone. The bullies went away and you released the breath you were holding.

"Are you well?" Orion asked as he drove. He was tapping the steering wheel. You nodded and he smiled at you. "I have something for you I need you to keep safe."

He shifted, dug around in his pocket, and then produced a chain. Dog tags clanked against each other. You took them.

"Keep them safe," he whispered.

"What even is this language?"

He kept silent. "Just keep them safe, child. I will come back for them when I need them. Okay?"

You sighed. You hated being kept in the dark. "Okay," you mumble, hoping the Internet would uncover some secrets for you. You perked up a little as he parked outside the complex.

Orion walked up the stairs behind you and he walked into his own room while you walked into yours.

You logged onto the computer and to your complete amazement, the Internet knew nothing about the symbols etched into the tags. You laid the dog tags out on your thigh, sighed, and then stored them in a drawer under old homework assignments.

You thought about the officer, then you got up and walked to your sketch book and started sketching his face. You had completed down to his shoulders when your mother got home. You greeted her with a wave.

"I'll be out until midnight. You have food here?"

Food included the following: Crackers, Twinkies, and maybe leftover ramen. To her, that was appetizer, main course, and dessert, so you nodded. She left in a party dress and left you alone in the room.

As soon as you heard her car leave, you got up and grabbed the food and walked next door to Orion's apartment.

He greeted you with a smile, and then he waved you in.

You stayed with him and his friends for as long as you could stay awake. They were playing some complex card game that you couldn't keep track of, so you ate your ramen and Twinky quietly until you were too tired to stay awake.

You walked back into your apartment and as soon as the door hit the doorjamb, there was a knock. It had to have been Orion, and so you ran to the door without hesitation.

But behind the door, it wasn't Orion.

It was the officer.

"Hey," he said as he lowered his shades. "Name's Barricade. Can I come in?"

And then he stepped into the apartment.

And into your life.