Thanks for the reviews. Sorry about the late update. Now on to the story.
Chapter 7: Boiling Points.
After filling the cabinets and refrigerator with the groceries, John and Cortana were trying to set up their new, king sized bed.
It wasn't too hard as the instructions were included. Cortana had picked out the covers and pillows (Why do we need seven?" asked John.)
They were a dark, navy blue.
"There." Said John, snapping the final part into place.
"Good. Tonight we'll be a lot more comfortable." Said Cortana.
There was a rap on the door.
"Who?..." said John, opening it.
"Spar- John. I need your assistance on one of the ships."
"What is it?"
"I ummm…. NeedtocleansomthingbeforeRtasgetsback." Blurted the Elite.
"Cortana?"
"What?"
"Should I go?"
"Sure. I want to clean up around here anyway." She smiled sweetly. "Go on. What do you need help with, anyway?"
"Well. As you know, earlier back in the store I was buying jelly beans."
"Yes."
"They were… unpleasant to my stomach. They came back."
"Ugghhh… This won't be fun." Said John, rolling his eyes.
Cortana giggled and said "See you later." As the pair ventured off.
She got her wallet. Cortana hadn't earned any money but John gave her several thousand. For that she was very grateful.
"Hmmm… while he's out, I'll get him something for a change." She said, thinking out loud.
And so she set off, into the vast Cairo station.
It was huge. Not as big as it seemed when she was an A.I but still… the size of the place was a bit over whelming.
The halls were swarming with life. Even though she'd been in the body two days, everything was strange to her. Metal was very odd as was plastic.
But Cortana pushed these thoughts from her mind. She wasn't here to ponder about what things felt like. She was here to shop.
She entered a strange store. It was odd. The cloths were all leather…. And revealing. Cortana spotted a magazine rack.
"Hot scientists bare it all?..." she realized where she was. An adult novelty store. During her many delves into the internet this kind of thing appeared often enough. It seemed quite popular among humans. Especially males.
Such things puzzled her.
She quickly got out of there. "I wonder if John would know anything about that…" Cortana thought, choosing her next store carefully.
This time she got it right. There were jeans and shirts and other cloths. And a grunt running around with a pair of panties on its head.
"It off head! It off head!" squealed the little creature, tripping.
Cortana laughed a bit, watching an Elite care taker pull it off. A pair of hunters stood outside the door, making a strange sound, like laughing.
"Hmmm. That's weird." Said Cortana.
She traversed the isles, looking about.
"So, what the… Oh…my…God…" said John, staring at the horror before him.
"What? It was just some stomach indigestion."
"Let's get going then."
"Agreed."
Cortana was trying on cloths. She was especially fond of the colors blue and purple and she loved jeans.
She came out of the changing room.
"I wonder what John likes? I haven't even asked him." Cortana thought.
She paid for the articles before walking out of the store. She sat on a bench, gazing out into the abyss of space.
A marine walked up to her.
"Hello, miss. I'm Chester- uhhh, but my friends call me Chet. You waiting for someone?" he said, obviously trying to look calm.
Cortana looked at him quizzically.
"No. I'm just sitting here."
"So, you want to go out sometime?"
Cortana sighed heavily and said "Respectively, no. I have a boyfriend. You might know him as Master Chief."
Chester called Chet looked like he was about to piss himself.
"Sorry I bothered you." He said quickly before half walking, half running away.
A figure moved behind Cortana….
"God, what is this crap?" said John.
"Elite intestinal juice." Said the arbiter, wiping his hand on the wall.
"Is it poisonous?"
"No. And we are done, for now. Want to go get something to eat?"
"Yeah, but I'm going to get Cortana first. And take a shower."
"Right. The buffet then?"
"You're on."
"So, does John know about the marine?" asked Kelly, venom in her cold voice.
"He was asking me out. I said no." Cortana retorted. "I will not take her bait…." She thought.
"Hmm. I really don't know what he sees in you. You look like a dyke to me…."
Cortana's burning blue eyes narrowed. "You're just trying to piss me off. It's not working. Go bother a pack of innocent children somewhere."
Kelly curled her hands into fists. The pair stared each other down, not exchanging words. Nothing needed to be said.
Kelly's fists unclenched. "You're not worth it. John won't stay with you long. He's mine." She said, a cruel smile pulling acrossed the Spartan's face.
"John loves me. He isn't going anywhere. He shot his way through a flood army to get to me. I highly doubt he would waste the time on a bitch like you." Cortana snarled.
"Watch what you say to me little girl." Said Kelly, stepping forward. She was only a foot away. Cortana left her bag on the bench and stood up. She was almost a foot and a half shorter than the Spartan and far less heavily built, but she wasn't going to roll over and have John taken from her.
John was traversing the lobby when he saw two figures arguing…. "Cortana? Kelly?!" he growled and ran.
"Cortana, if you know what's good for you, leave." Spat Kelly.
"Not a snowball's chance in hell." Said Cortana.
"Your funeral." Said Kelly raising her fists.
Cortana assumed what she figured was a fighting position.
Kelly swung and so did she.
Cortana closed her eyes.
"Kelly stand down!" came a voice.
Her fist collided with something soft. Cortana opened her eyes.
"John?" her fist had struck him in the back.
"It's okay Cortana. I didn't feel it at all. Now Kelly, be reasonable." Said John.
"Why John? Why pick her?" said Kelly.
"She knows me better than almost anyone. Probably knows me better than you. Also, she's been there for me a long time and I could rely on her. She wasn't like the Spartans…. Sweet, kind, full of personality. I love her and nothing you could ever do could change that."
The Spartan looked like she was on the verge of tears. A battle hardened, war torn warrior was on the edge. The tears ran down, warm droplets on her cheeks.
"Whatever John. We're grown and you can love whoever you want. And I hope you're happy with her. I hope it doesn't blow up in your face….." she paused and began to walk away.
"Like it did for to me."
Sorry for the long delay. School just started up and everything's been REALLY hectic. From now on I'll try to update every other weekend. And also Please review. And I know this chapter sucked. Badly.
