Disclaimer: I do not own the Star-Crossed production franchise. I gain no monetary value in doing this, just willing to part my writing into others. For all intents and purposes, I just want to entertain faithful readers of the fandom and soon-to-be aspiring writers of our future. :D

"Ivni, Illana, Ivni!"

And so I did. Mother asked me to do what she wanted, so I ran. As fast as my little feet could carry me. I saw other families doing the same. They made their children escape, away from the smoke, away from the fire, away from the unfamiliar stench that filled this planet...

And away from Atrian blood.

I could remember hearing our weapons being used; to stun, to incapacitate, and if all else failed, to kill. We were left with no choice anyways. Others were being captured, some I even saw being ruthlessly killed. And all my ever fearing self did was hide in the shadows of the dense forest; kept on running like my mother had said.

I was little that time, and the dead of night was the perfect way to evade them. To be honest, I didn't know what they even were, and I was too scared to figure them out. I first saw them like green tattered monsters, blending in with the soft grass they were treading on. They were holding black sticks that shoot out loud noises that made several Atrians crumbling down the ground, bleeding... dying. Some of them were wearing what looked like goggles that blocked their faces, some had eyes just like us, like normal beings. They were hollering some sort of language I did not understand and it was followed by loud explosions from either sides.

It was horrifying.

I ran so fast and so far, the rush of air trailing behind me. It was all until after a few minutes that other sounds started blaring too. Red and blue spectrum twisting back and forth, wailing its irritable chant to no end, even sounds of raging winds coming from an aerial craft... I ran as far away from those angry voices— those things that haunted me still, until they lessened and lessened. Until they were gone.

Soon, there were no more sounds to be heard, all but the faint winds whispering in my ear. The calmness, the soothing voices, the peacefulness, it felt surreal after the ordeal I've went through. The first few minutes, maybe hours, that I've stayed in this planet. But it was so dark. Incredibly dark.

I was lost.

It was cold that time, my breaths were giving strange mists and I shivered from the unnatural elements that I wasn't used to. From running, I turned into slow a walk. I didn't know how much time I've spent, but all the way I had walked straight, to whatever direction it was. The murky forest was very different— different from my own planet. I couldn't describe the place, except that it was filled with dirt and soil instead of the crystal waters I've been used to. I didn't know any plants or animals that lurked here and it was eerily silent. Strange that I haven't heard anything except the small pitter-patter of my foot beneath the leaves. The very mystery itself was how could I still breathe in this terrifyingly mysterious world.

It was hours I guess, until I saw a treeline, the one that ended the forest to an opening. I saw a clear field, flowers scattered across the untrimmed grasses spreading over the horizon, a big pod overlooking beyond the trees.

There was a boy crying in the middle of the field, a huge stone where he had lain himself.

I felt his fear, the anguish in his emotions that circled around him. He seemed like an Atrian, but his tribal uniform looked peculiar. It was vibrant and colorful, filled with patterns I could not distinguish from the fabric it was made from. Out of curiosity, I peered my head across the treeline, looking at him in interest. He also seemed lost, somehow feeling alone in this world that he knew nothing of.

"Itrejivil?"

He gasped in surprise and looked up towards the sound of my voice. I hid myself by his sudden reaction.

And it was then that I realized he wasn't an Atrian.

He was an alien.

"Who's there?" His voice sounded unknown but commanding, even though the voice itself was light as a crumbling feather. He craned his neck, looking right at me, but I knew— I knew he couldn't see me. The darkness made sure of it.

But I could see him, in the dim light of the stars and the moon above the night sky, shining above him— for him. I then saw his unmarked face, no swirls or curves that gave his own identity in his soft, light unmarred skin. No markings. I've also never seen such strange curls of hair before. The way the brown flickered off the light just to give it a slight glimmer of shine. And those eyes. I had never such solemn green eyes. Those were particularly rare in my planet.

He was so strange. And yet, I couldn't stop looking at him... as if I was trapped in some sort of magnetic pull towards him.

My chest gave a strong beat when I noticed the strange boy slowly rising up from the rock and carefully tip toed towards my direction. My eyes grew wide and panic started to spread. I stumbled down and ruffled the leaves, making a soft noise and thus, revealed myself to him. I eventually recovered my fall and started to run, but then I was stopped when he called— no, beckoned.

"No, wait!" His voice was frantic. I looked behind and saw him holding out, palms open, his hands as some sort of gesture. "Please. Don't go." His voice then turned soft, mellow. Pleading.

I didn't know what came over me, didn't know what he wanted or what he asked for me, but somehow, it made my legs rooted to its place. It's as if I understood him. I could see it in his eyes filled with water. The fear. The loneliness. I couldn't understand what had happened to that boy a long time ago. He was so downtrodden about life, and it was again, so much strange that he could ever feel this way when, after everything we've been through, I was supposed to be the one in that loathsome misery.

"Did you..." He sniffed. "Lose your big brother too?"

He rubbed using his arms to brush the slobber out of his face. I chuckled inwardly. He was such a messy boy. But manners aside, I just sat there, listening to his voice, identifying what emotions he was emitting so I could understand what he's communicating to me. He felt sad, hurt, and lost. I didn't know what to say, really. But I waited patiently, taking it all in what his emotions had said. I didn't respond of course, just let the silence drift off until at least one of us gives in. And I think he was okay with that. Okay with me not answering whatever question he had made. And then after awhile, his whimpers turned into soft murmurs.

It was wise of him trying to keep several paces away from me. I didn't know what would happen if he should ever gain his distance. I was scared out of my mind that time. It felt like I have to run away from this person, but being with him somehow makes it safe for me too. I didn't know that time. But the way I saw it, he was just as young as me, naive of things that we could barely understand just yet. Yes, I thought of it like that. I chose to be ignorant instead of being curious. If I were to reveal myself, it could probably scar him just as much as it could scar me... So I didn't. I just sat there and listened.

"I lost my big brother this afternoon, when a space ship crashed near Bunkhead. I just saw him this morning... and now he's gone." He sniffed.

He felt sad, and then I felt something tugging in my chest. I wanted to comfort him that time. Whatever boundaries we had, he and I were pretty much the same. We were both alone in this world, or it felt like it. And it's not just how the strangeness happening all at once, maybe I should blame curiosity for being part of this as well. But it wasn't like that. Not like that at all. I just wanted to know him, and more importantly, learn the people that inhabited this planet— how they very much looked like us in face, in features, even in emotional aspects, judging from what I felt then.

But I couldn't. Even if my sanity bent the entire moral code I uphold, I knew that this was wrong. I didn't even know him, nor the fact that he knows me as well. For what it's worth, he could be dangerous. His skin maybe acid, or his touch could cause an allergic reaction. It was not safe— never safe. We were different.

"Are you coming out?" His voice sounded insistent, his eyes telling me he wanted something. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

I just sat there again, waiting patiently for whatever happened.

"It's okay. My parents don't know I'm here. They thought I'm still at home sleeping. I can stay here all night." He then assured.

I think he was explaining a story, something that I should nod in case I he could actually see me, which I doubt. But, he was feeling okay now, if not, happy. Like he found a new friend.

Wait,

Was I his new friend?

"I'll just be over there, sitting." He pointed towards the rock. He then turned his back, my eyes widening in surprise. He leaned towards the rock, crossing his arms and legs, achieving perfect comfort in his little size.

I waited again, and waited. I just stared at him and him back. I still knew that he couldn't see me. Even I couldn't see the darkness around me. But him, him I could very much see. What was amusing was, I didn't know if he was challenging me to a staring contest, or some kind of game— you know, like a normal kid would do. But I did just that. I gazed at him; mine to his soulful green eyes, and his the darkness. I was clearly at an advantage.

It didn't stray me though how far I've gotten from exceptionally terrified, to being so much fascinated about this certain person. At one point, he was crying so much, he was practically creating a river of his own mess, and then the next, he wasn't.

Were the people always like this? If they were, everything would be far more diverse than I've originally thought.

After what felt like half an hour of this fun game of sorts, his eyes began to flutter. I chuckled at him very quietly. Surely, he was losing. In any case, it could be a little while longer before he'd fallen asleep, a gesture that he was tired, a very Atrian trait. Something that made me think a little. But I didn't budge though. It was wrong thinking like that. I don't know what would happen if I woke him up and startled him or something.

So I watched him breathe in and out, his slow soft humming as he exhaled.

And then I had the sudden burst of interest of wanting to come close to him. He was asleep, which means he couldn't do me any harm... so long as I stayed quiet that is. I stepped out of the treeline, but my knees were still bent, carefully sneaking up to him.

This felt so wrong.

But never was I to miss this opportunity. This maybe the only time an alien and an Atrian would ever come this close.

I was only a few inches away from his face. He looked better close-up. The details of his face were carved into my young, forgetful memory. The freckles, the dip on his chin, the water pores on his nose. If I wasn't a child back then and without everything that had ever happened, happened, I would've never forgotten the details of his face.

Slowly, I reached out to touch his hair, but it was a very quick touch-and-go feeling. I already checked if I had gotten any ailment from touching him. But there was nothing. I reached it out again to touch it, longer, then away, then waiting, then touching again even longer. Eventually I had been brushing his hair to the sides so his face wouldn't look messy.

He did a little groan and my hand stifled away again. He shifted uncomfortably but only slightly. I paused to look at his face. Still asleep.

It was then I wanted to risk it all, to offer my bets and trade them my life, if only to satisfy my curiosity. I wanted to feel him. This, alien.

So my hand reached to cup his cheek. I touched it. My prints lingered for quite awhile, feeling warmth all over it. It was a strange warm, but it felt good. This was probably the most fascinating thing I ever did in my entire life; everything else now was just a question of existence.

The warmth lingered when I pulled away, holding my wrist as if blocking my blood from entering if there were any signs or symptoms.

But still nothing.

Fascinating. Truly fascinating.

I decided to curl up next to him. My clothes were all but wet and dirty, but I think he didn't mind. It's not like he could smell anything unearthly anyways. I put his arm around my shoulder, an affectionate gesture of discovery of our kind, and faced him. He didn't budge. He actually felt all the more comfortable. He even leaned towards me, but everything I was acting on was purely unconscious, innocent. Not knowing what the world entailed for me and I was so curious to discover it all.

Sleep took over from all the running, panting, and staring. It didn't even take me an ample amount of time until I was pulled away from consciousness too.

I woke up, the air was foggy and the darkness had turned to mending blue. So they also have sunrises and sunsets in this planet. When I looked at him, thankfully, he was still asleep, but now his muddy back was turned and he was now hugging the huge hunk of rock in front of him.

I heard rustling of feet, the same type of sounds the aliens made when they were looking for something. I heard two people calling out their languages.

"Grayson!" A soft feminine voice said.

"Grayson! Where are you?" Another but different gravelly voice said.

I stood up again and ran for the treeline, hoping they don't find out I was there. But still, out of curiosity, I watched and looked again. The darkness wasn't helping much anymore, so I walked a little further from the treeline just to make sure.

"Grayson! There you are!" A tall, slender alien came to him, woke him up and picked him off the ground. "Goodness, don't you ever run away from us ever again! We were all worried about you!"

"It's okay dad," The boy I came to share a fascinating night with rubbed his eyes, yawning. "I was with a friend."

The tall man's eyes widened. "What friend, my dear boy?"

He came pointing right at me, beyond the treeline, but the off chance he knew I wasn't there was sure.

The man glanced at the female alien, and then nodded. She quickly trailed off the pathway and picked up a device in her pockets to her ear.

"Come on, we'll take you to the house now. It's not safe here anymore."

"Okay, dad."

Something about this didn't feel right. Their conversations were full of doubt and worries. I had this eerie feeling creeping off my neck, and I knew by then that this won't end well.

Right when they stepped out of my sight and into the paved pathway, I heard barking noises that scared me so much. Their emotions felt like rabid and wild, a well-seasoned hunter hunting for his prey.

And I was the prey.

I stood up and ran again, but only to be stopped by what seemed like a dozen men pointing their dangerous black sticks at me, and animals whom I figured out was the cause of the barking, snarling noise.

I didn't want to hear the screeching sound the sticks made when they pointed it at us. I didn't want to crumble down the ground.

I just felt terror personified.

I started to mumble and cry of course, I was still a kid back then. They took me and cuffed me something metal, from both legs and feet. I wasn't able to move at all. I was helpless. What could I do? There was nothing to be done anyways.

Thinking about it, there were many mistakes in the story I had. If I could've just avoided the treeline, I would've ran longer and gained distance from the green monsters. If I would've never touched him, I may be guilt free from risking myself to utter horrors like death or the plague. As a matter of fact, I never would've sat there waiting, staring and ogling like a stupid, curious, innocent girl if he just ran away from the sight of me.

But,

If somehow fate's design would be reversed, I would always repeat it over and over and over again.

Because it helped me be reminded that there were good things out there, out from the nightmare we've been cursed upon.