Chapter 3

It has been a few weeks since Celeste had arrived on Earth, and she has nearly fully adjusted to life on Earth, though she has yet to walk among the daylight crowds and socialize with people, as advised by Tristan until she has fully learned Earth's social culture and lingo. They did not stop them from visiting the city sights at night or early morning, with Celeste covering her body up, of course.

One morning before the usual crowds flooded the streets, the two took a ride on Tristan's scooter through the city to see the morning sights, the shops already open and ready to receive customers, and the surfers and beachgoers enjoying the morning waves. "Hold on!" Tristan told her before they sped through the streets with Celeste's hands wrapped around him from behind.

"This is most excellent!" Celeste hooted as they banked around a corner and continued on through a green light. "Thank you for taking me on this wonderful ride, Tristan!" Tristan barely heard her over the rushing wind, however. They stopped at a red traffic light, where Celeste pulled off her helmet to get some better air.

"Celeste, put your helmet back on!" Tristan warned her, afraid that someone would see her.

"Tristan?! Is that you?!" came a voice from the sidewalk. They both looked over and saw Audrey standing nearby, a cigarette tucked between two fingers and an armload of shopping bags in the other. "Who the hell is this ugly bitch that's with you? Man, did you pick her up at the clinic or something?" she rudely asked.

"Why, feeling jealous, Audrey?" Tristan shot at her. "I'll have you know that Celeste is a wonderful person despite her skin condition."

"Tristan, I wish to notify you that this Audrey possesses a terrible stench about her, and she has a venomous tongue and attitude that only a Fergresa would want to become intimate with," Celeste remarked, earning confusion from Audrey.

"She's basically saying you're a bitch, Audrey." Celeste slipped her helmet back on and Tristan flipped Audrey the middle finger before taking off, leaving Audrey and her foul words towards them both behind.

When they reached Tristan's apartment, Celeste went to the sofa while Tristan changed clothes for work, as he had to work that afternoon until closing time. "So, what's a Fergresa?" he asked Celeste from the other room.

"A Fergresa is an alien species well known for their vulgar language, but it is how they express their feelings and satisfaction towards one another," Celeste explained. "Calling a Fergresa a bitch is a compliment towards them."

"Audrey definitely needs to date a Fergresa then." That earned a laugh from Celeste.

"I doubt Audrey would want to, as they are bloated in shape and have plenty of sticky tentacles." This made Tristan laugh now. "I do not understand why you would wish one of your kind to be violated by a Fergresa."

"Audrey's a major bitch, and she was a major bitch to me when we went on a date together the day I met you, so she's got what's coming for her."

"She was very rude towards me. I would've hurt her had it not endanger my position of remaining in secrecy."

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Shortly after Tristan and Celeste left, Audrey, now in a sour mood, went to meet with her friends Tiffany and Nikki at the mall's food court. "You seem upset about something, Audrey," Tiffany quickly noticed, though with Audrey's usual attitude, this was nothing new.

"I ran into Tristan with some new girl earlier and she had the nerve to insult me, that stupid blue bitch!" Audrey huffed.

"What the hell are you talking about? What blue bitch?" Nikki curiously asked.

"She was some woman with blue skin and weird-looking horns riding with him on his dumb scooter. She looked like he picked her up from the clinic or something." Audrey sipped on her drink. "I hate that woman, and I barely even know her!

Nikki grew more curious. Could this be that woman Tristan told me about? she wondered. Nikki excused herself, lying that she had somewhere important to be, and took off.

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Suffice to say, Nikki was a tad bit curious if this same woman Audrey was speaking about was the same woman Tristan met after the failed date with Audrey, and so she headed for Tristan's apartment. There, she headed up the stairs to his apartment, but she did not knock on the door, instead staring through the window. Inside, she spied Tristan and Celeste sitting together on the sofa. Is that the woman Tristan told me about? she wondered. She could see why Audrey called her a "blue bitch," but what stood out was the pair of horns upon her head. Horns? There's no way those can be real, but why would she wear fake horns? She continued watching, where the two booted up a video game and played together for a while. She waited well over an hour before she suddenly heard Tristan's voice from inside.

"I gotta head to work now. You just hang tight until I get back later tonight, okay?" he told her as he gathered his knapsack. Nikki panicked and dashed down the stairs, where she reached the bottom by the time Tristan exited the door. Nikki hid herself around the corner while Tristan took off on her scooter; Nikki went on her own way after that, choosing to pursue her investigation into the mysterious Celeste with Tristan's permission at a later date.

Back inside the apartment, Celeste booted up Tristan's old Super NES and began playing Super Metroid. "I must say, this Samus Aran and I are quite similar to each other," Celeste remarked as she shot some aliens with laser fire.

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Tristan arrived home at about 8:30 that night with a pizza for dinner. "Celeste, I'm home!" he called, but received no answer. He checked the bedroom, the sitting room and conjoined kitchen, and the bathroom, but she was nowhere to be found. Tristan ran outside and called out Celeste's name, but received no reply. After a few calls, one of Tristan's neighbors came out to check what was going on. Tristan explained he was looking for a friend of his.

"Oh, could it be that woman on the roof?" she asked him. "I saw her leaving your apartment about a half hour ago heading for the roof.

Tristan thanked his neighbor and sprinted up to the flat roof, where he found Celeste sitting on one of the air duct systems staring up at the starry sky. "Celeste, what are you doing up here?" he questioned as he went to her side.

"Forgive me, I recently felt a desire to observe the starry skies of your world," she answered while continuing to gaze upon the stars. Tristan noticed she appeared to be searching for something, and Celeste noticed his curious gaze. "Well…The truth is that I'm homesick and the worst part is that I very well may never be able to go home again now that I am stuck here in Earth."

Tristan suddenly gave her a big hug, surprising her for a moment. "Believe me, I know the feeling. When I left home, my father didn't want me to come back. I ended up taking everything I owned, all the money I had, and I came down here to this city. I've been here for nearly three years now, and while I may be closer to home than you are, there's no way I can go home, and I really want to see my parents again."

Celeste stayed silent for a moment, feeling sorry for Tristan. She was instantly reminded of her own parents when she left home to join the Galactic Federation, but chose to drop out after only three years at the academy.

"Mother, Father, I have decided to leave the Galactic Federation. I feel as though the life of a soldier is not for me," she told her parents at their home on Tendricide. She waited for a moment for them to accept her decision.

"By the High Scapario, what would compelled you to make this decision?" her father spat out, shocking Celeste for a moment.

"I do not understand, your reports home say you are among the top of your class and you are ranked top in your combat assignments. Why would you give up such an opportunity, especially when your services would be so extremely valuable to them?" her mother questioned her.

"I don't…I don't like the military service. I have found it to be uneventful and not as exciting as they proclaim it to be. I want adventure and excitement," Celeste explained.

"I don't care what you want, you must do your civil duty as a civilian of Tendricide!" her father argued while her mother tried to quell his anger.

"I refuse!" Celeste shot back.

"Then leave! Go seek your adventure out in the galaxy because I don't care anymore! Pack up your things and leave!"

"Please stop this!" shouted her mother.

"Fine! I'll leave!" Celeste added. She then packed two duffel bags of clothes and gear and left home, never looking back, and never returning again.

"My father threw me out when I was younger. I was training at the Federation academy, but I felt bored and displeased by what we did there; I wanted adventure and excitement, so I dropped out. My father disapproved and he disowned me and forced me to leave." Tristan reached over and put an arm around her for comfort. "I miss my homeworld, and I miss my family very much, and the worst part of all, I won't be able to continue the life of a bounty hunter anymore now that I'm stuck here on Earth." Tristan noticed tears welling up in Celeste's eyes, so he came forward and gave her a hug, making her flinch in surprise.

"I know it must suck, but don't worry, because I promise I'll help make life here on Earth exciting for you." Tristan pulled her closer, tightening his embrace on her. "Besides, life here for me was kinda boring until I found you in the wreckage of your ship, so I want you to stay as long as possible. I've always wanted to meet an alien since I was young, and my wish came true."

Tristan released Celeste from his grip, and and she gave him a kindred smile. "Thank you, Tristan." She leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, which made her cheeks flush red.

"So, I brought pepperoni pizza home." This got Celeste excited, as pepperoni pizza became her favorite after she had eaten it enough times. The two went back to the apartment, where the enjoyed the pizza together (Celeste eating most of it with upmost satisfaction), and then the two retired for the night. "I promise that we'll do something together outside around people, something you will enjoy," Tristan told her before he went to bed.

Celeste curled up under her blanket on the couch, her mind drifting between her bounty hunter adventures and of the times she has spent living with Tristan. When she thought of how he hugged her and made his promise, it made her blush, especially when she remembered how she kissed him. "Hopefully life here on Earth will be more interesting," Celeste told herself before she drifted to sleep.