Haruto, in his seventeen years of living, never thought he would be in this kind of situation, the kind that only happens in webcomics and corny movies.
"Can we go to the arcade? Can we go to the beach? Pretty please…?"
I can't believe I'm chaperoning an alien… Pix seemed eager to learn things about Earth, so he was always asking questions about this or that.
"What job do you have? Is it fun? Say, what's a grocery store?" It was annoying, but somehow a little charming, though Haruto was never going to tell him that.
"Quit asking me! This isn't your first time on Earth, right? How come you haven't just gone places yourself?" He was at his desk, trying to work on that project he just couldn't quite get started on.
"W– Well, of course, I've gone by myself! But it's more fun with other people, right?" Pix was sitting on the bed, his legs criss-crossed. "Don't humans always go with their friends?"
"I guess so… But, hey, I never said we were friends!"
"You let me eat your food and stay in your house!" They bickered all day.
"Alright, LOOK…" Haruto said finally. "We can go to the grocery store, I guess... I need to do some shopping anyways." So that's how he wound up taking someone from outer space to the local produce shop.
"Ah, Haruto!" An older man was smiling at him when he walked in. Mr. Watts was the one who owned the shop, and had known Haruto's family for years. "It's nice to see you today. Is that your classmate?" Pix shuffled in quite shyly, a hoodie pulled over his head snugly to hide his antennae.
"Uh, yeah…" Haruto moved along quickly. "We're only popping in for a second, I need to grab some things…" He grabbed Pix by the sleeve and practically dragged him along into an aisle. This is way more stressful than I thought… What if someone sees him and realizes he isn't human? Pix leaned over Haruto's shoulder, resting his chin on it.
"You shouldn't worry so much," he said quietly.
"I'm not."
"You are. Your face is all scrunchy." Haruto sighed, nudging his face away with a can of tuna that had a photorealistic fish logo plastered across the can. "Eaugh! Fish! Fish!"
"Huh, what is it?" There was a little gleam in his eye. "You don't like tuna…?" Pix had darted to the other side of the aisle and was cowering against a wall of soups.
"N… No! Fish SCARE me! Anything that comes from the ocean– It's so weird–" He trailed off, surprised to hear a soft, light giggle. Haruto was laughing.
"You've gotta be joking, right? You're scared of canned tuna?" He covered his mouth slightly with the back of his hand, his shoulders quivering with laughter. "Aren't sea creatures the closest thing to aliens, anyways? You're being mean to your own kind."
"WHAT? Take that back, no way! Don't compare me to those– WEIRD CREATURES!" Pix began swatting at him with his sleeves, and Haruto put the tuna down to defend himself. The two were laughing together, smacking each other with their sleeves, and causing a ruckus in the quaint little canned food aisle. Haruto eventually remembered he was employed here and pushed Pix off.
The two were walking down the sidewalk, close to the boardwalk now. The scent of summer and salt was in the cool air, and it felt nice to walk in. There was a soft, familiar twinkling tune that caught Pix's attention, making him perk up and look around.
"HARUTO, LOOK!" He looped his arm around Haruto's, then pointed. "IS THAT…?"
"Why are you so shocked? There are always ice cream trucks here in the summer when tourists come. The song gets so annoying…" He was dragged along. This must be my punishment for being a good person and saving him…
"I've never gotten to try it before! I'm going to get every flavor they have!" Pix's bright yellow eyes were glowing in the shade from the hood.
"With what money?! I can't pay for all that!" A mischievous grin spread across his face.
"Watch this." He cupped his hands together, shuffling his feet in place as if he was steadying himself. Haruto adjusted his glasses, watching curiously. Pix clapped his hands together, opened them, and…
CHA-CHING! A small light flickered his palms, and a dazzling pool of gold coins spilled out from seemingly nowhere, hitting the pavement with a small jingle.
"What the heck… Seriously, what the heck…" Haruto was stunned. He watched Pix bend down, scoop up the coins, and pop back up with a brilliant smile on his face as he presented them.
"Ta-daaa!" He seemed smug about it.
"What was that?! You can make money– ?" But upon closer inspection, something was strange. "Wait a sec, those aren't real coins."
"Ye– Yes they are!" Pix puffed his cheeks. "They're super real! Look!" He shoved them towards Haruto. "Look at that! That right there is money!"
"ALIEN money, maybe, but it won't buy us ice cream HERE…" He sighed and snagged his wallet from his pocket. He wound up having to pay quite a bit for Pix's tower of ice cream– the other boy wasn't joking about wanting to try every single flavor they had available.
"Here, take this!" Pix said, handing him one of the coins. "In case you ever go to outer space… Hehe." Haruto didn't think there would ever be any situation where he'd find himself in space, but in its own way, the gesture was still charming. He kept the coin in his pocket as they walked back home.
CHAPTER FOUR: INTRODUCING BIJAN!
The house had been startlingly quiet all day. Pix wasn't so sure what was wrong with Haruto, but he had been cooped up in his room. He decided to try his hand at cooking, thinking it would cheer anyone up to be presented with a meal. He rolled up the sleeves of the purple hoodie he always wore, got into a stance in front of the counter which was filled with ingredients, and braced himself. Bad fortunes awaited.
I will not lose…!
"Umm… What's that?" Haruto mumbled, peeking out from his bedroom door. Pix was standing with a tray of… something. It looked kind of like a science project, and an evil one.
"It's… breakfast!" Pix smiled bashfully. "You haven't eaten all day, so… I thought I'd cook…" Haruto shakily accepted the plate with a very pale face.
"Th-thanks…" It's moving! The food is moving!
"Yeah, sure! Say, why don't we go out and do something? You've been in here all day."
"Ah, I don't know…" Haruto sighed, looking over his shoulder. His desk was filled with scattered papers, most of which didn't even have anything written on them yet. He still didn't know how to start the project he was assigned… But Pix was right, it would be good to get some fresh air. "Well, okay. My friend Bijan wants to hang out. I guess it would be fun to go see him for a while, and you can meet him." He stared at Pix a moment. "Uh, maybe we should disguise you a little."
So, they wound up walking down the street with Pix wearing a large sunhat and tinted, fashionable sunglasses. It looked kind of funny, since he was wearing one of Haruto's plain grey school t-shirts with his sister's very stylish accessories. It earned a few glances from neighbors as they walked down the sidewalk.
"Your sister is so fashionable," Pix said, adjusting the ribbon on the sunhat. "Her clothes and room are super pretty. You said she's away somewhere?"
"She's in another state for college," Haruto replied. "It's always been me, her, and our mom. They both really like clothes and things like that."
"Oh, yeah. You said your mom's at a fashion show for work, right? What's a fashion show, anyway? Those aren't a thing in space. Is it like TV…?" Haruto shook his head.
"Nah, it's not a TV show. It's kind of boring… People dress in fancy clothes and walk down a stage, and everyone kinda just sits there and watches." He glanced over to find Pix looking pretty amazed.
"Wow, that's pretty weird! They just sit there? Are you guys sure YOU aren't the aliens?" He grinned and skipped along, with Haruto hurrying to follow.
Bijan's house was only a few blocks away. It was a large, beautiful brick home with a landscaped and very well-tended yard, and even a small fountain.
"What!" Pix was in awe staring up at the large house. "That's a fancy place! Has your friend always lived here?"
"Yeah. We've known each other since we were little." Haruto stepped up to ring the doorbell, and a few moments later the door swung open to reveal a boy of Haruto's age, with flat, long black hair, darker skin, and very, very dark eyes. He wore very baggy and colorless clothes, similarly to Haruto, but his shirt had some sort of illustration on it of a band in front of lightning bolts.
"Hey." Bijan smiled at Haruto, then glanced over his shoulder at Pix. "Is this the… friend you told me about?"
"Yeah. This is Pix." He moved to the side a little, gesturing.
"Hi there!" Pix was smiling, but the sunglasses hid the glow in his eyes.
"Oh, hey. I'm Bijan. Uh… Can I ask why your skin is blue?" He shifted awkwardly in the doorway. Pix began to sweat a little.
"Uhh… Umm…"
"He's– He's a cosplayer!" Haruto blurted. "He just dresses up a lot, that's all…"
"Uh… What character?" Pix and Haruto both looked at each other in fear.
"It's… my own character," Pix said quickly. "It might seem kind of weird, but it's just me." Haruto looked less nervous, and managed to give Pix a small smile of assurance. Bijan scratched the back of his head.
"Oh, alright, that's cool, then. It's, uh, nice to meet you… Hey, Haruto. Did you want to hang out here, or at the park?"
"Ah, I don't really care. What do you think?" Bijan glanced into the house with a sour look.
"Uh, my dad is home, so… I was thinking the park, maybe…"
"Gotcha. Sure thing." Haruto smiled, and Bijan seemed to become much less tense. "Let's head to the park, then."
It was a very unique sight to see the three walking down the sidewalk to the park. Pix trailed behind Haruto and Bijan, who were talking about something he didn't know anything about.
"I'm really excited," Bijan said, a smile on his face. "I hope we get close to the stage." His shoulder brushed against Haruto's.
"Oh, man, me too. That'd be so cool… I've never seen them perform, so I really want to be up close." Pix perked up a little, but didn't ask about it.
At the park, there wasn't very much to do. Haruto and Bijan were still chatting excitedly about some performance, sitting side-by-side on the swings. Pix climbed the playground structure and sat on its roof, staring silently at the sky.
Those two sure are pretty close. The entire time they'd been hanging out, in fact, Bijan seemed to naturally gravitate towards Haruto. I get it… He is really nice, anyway. I bet he has many friends here on Earth. The clouds streaked across the sky, which was slipping into a softer shade of blue, and kept to himself.
Haruto glanced over at him, watching him stare off into the distance. The sky slowly melted into an indigo backdrop, and the trees were lit up with the sun. The light caught on Pix's wispy hair, making it seem almost iridescent. Sitting on the plastic blue roof of the playground, his legs drawn up close to his chest, he looked very lonely. Haruto couldn't help but feel a strange sense of empathy for him.
I wonder if he misses home…
Bijan was still talking about the upcoming show.
"It's gonna be really great– Uh, hey, Haruto? Everything okay?"
"Gimme a sec."
He stepped off the swing, making his way over to the playground structure and beginning to climb it. Pix looked down, surprised.
"What are you doing up here? I– I thought you were busy talking." Haruto pulled himself up onto the roof.
"Scoot over. Let me sit, too." He settled onto the plastic, which was warmed by the sun. "What's up?"
"I don't know a lot about this planet," Pix said quietly. He looked a little embarrassed. "I've spent some time here before, and I've met a lot of people. I've seen a ton of cool things, but I've never been able to really… be involved in any of it, you know? Most people just think I'm a freak."
"I don't."
"Huh…?" He turned his head to look at Haruto, who was sitting very close to him. It made his heart feel strange, like it might hop right out of his chest.
"I don't think you're a freak," he said. "There's nothing wrong with you. Sure, it surprised me at first, but you're pretty nice, right? So there's nothing wrong, then." There was a small, very genuine smile on his face. "I don't know much about your planet, either, but you don't think I'm a freak, do you?"
"No, hehe… I suppose not." Pix's cheeks were flushed pink. "Maybe eating fish out of a can makes you a LITTLE weird, though…"
"Hey! I just complimented you, didn't I?!" Haruto tried to wrestle him, and Pix was laughing. They wound up nearly falling off of the structure together, and took that as a sign that it was time to climb down.
When the sun finally began to slip down the sky, the boys made their way back to the neighborhood. The crickets were singing already, and the trees looked pretty with the orange light flittering through the leaves. Pix trailed ahead, seeming very happy with the way his shadow danced beside him. Bijan and Haruto walked slowly behind, and Bijan was very quiet. When they finally arrived at his house, he lingered awkwardly for a moment, as if he had something else to say.
"It was good seeing you, Haruto," he said quietly. "And, umm, it was good to meet your friend, too." His voice dropped a little, and he shied away. "You guys… are closer than I thought." But before he could elaborate or say anything else, he disappeared into his house, closing the large mahogany door behind him with a click.
The summer nightfall was beautiful, and the sun disappeared seemingly fast from the time they'd left the park. Haruto was falling behind again, because as soon as Pix noticed they were alone on the sidewalk he began to float, taking the glasses and hat off and laughing with pure glee whenever leaves smacked him in his face. Haruto thought he was really silly. He's kind of my opposite, huh? But it didn't matter, because even though they were just getting to know one another, he really didn't mind having him around.
"Hey, about earlier," Pix said quietly, settling down and walking beside Haruto, his hands intertwined behind his back. "Thanks. Y'know, I've been to Earth a lot, but I've never met a human as nice as you."
"Really?" Haruto stopped walking for a moment. The two were standing beneath a streetlamp, the light casting a hazy glow onto the boy in front of him.
"Uh-huh…" Pix seemed to get bashful again, looking off to the side. "Look, I– I have a secret!"
"Mm? What is it?" Haruto raised his eyebrows.
"I'm not actually evil." There was a stretch of silence, then laughter from the both of them.
"I think I knew that already, Pix," Haruto said, continuing to walk. "C'mon, let's go home." Rather shyly, the other boy followed, staring at his sneakers.
Way later on, Pix was alone, curled up in bed, wearing a large, soft sweatshirt and silky pajama pants. It was quite a comfy room, and he appreciated the warmth. His thoughts wandered over to the window. The moon made the sky glow a soft, deep indigo, and the light seeped into the room. Pix sighed happily, drawing his legs up to his chest and closing his eyes. It's really nice being here… The quiet, content feeling carried him off to sleep.