Android Boyfriend (Part II)
Word Count: 1,023
Part 1
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You felt bad. You felt really, really bad. Even you weren’t dense enough not to notice the changes in his behavior. Whenever you’d enter a room he was in, he’d immediately leave and he no longer went out of his way to greet you. Eventually, it got to the point where you would rarely see him at all. He seemed to have figured out your schedule and habits almost perfectly in order to avoid you. You weren’t sure why you were feeling so guilty. Androids didn’t have emotions or the capacity to feel them, or at least you didn’t think they did. That was what was bugging you. It was the fact that you didn’t know. You didn’t know if he felt anything and didn’t know if he truly understood what you were feeling. Perhaps not knowing what he was thinking, or rather if he was thinking at all, was what unnerved you about him. You need answers, or at the very least, for him to stop avoiding you.
The next morning, you woke up far earlier than you normally would which was completely out of character. As quietly as you could you walked down the hallway and into the living room. Like normal, he stood in front of the bookcase with a book in hand. You glanced at the book in his hands, trying to figure out which one he was reading when he noticed you. He closed the book quickly with a loud thud and held it to his chest. He started immediately walking away from you and into the kitchen. Panic took over instantly, he wasn’t even going to give you time to collect your thoughts!
“Wait!” you exclaimed grabbing his arm before he could walk out of sight. The material was not dissimilar to human skin, but it felt slightly off. To your surprise though, it was ice cold. It’s not that you were necessarily expecting him to be warm, he just looked so alive. He turned around to face you, his expression as blank as always and a hollow smile pressed to his face.
“Yes? What can I help you with, user?” he asked. You didn’t think you would ever get used to his tone. It was probably the least human thing about him. His voice wasn’t choppy or robotic, it just lacked emotion.
“We-we...um...we need to discuss something,” you mumbled still clutching his arm tightly. More so out of nerves than fear of him walking away. He opened his mouth and then shut it back. He’d never done that before, was he trying to say he didn’t want to talk?
“It-it’s always okay if you don’t want to do something I ask of you! Say and do whatever you want to!” you demanded. This time, he didn’t open and close his mouth. He just froze for a moment before something about his demeanor changed. His expression stayed the exact same, but his disposition was just off.
“User, you should not say things like that.” His tone didn’t change as he spoke, nor did the smile fade, but the message was clear. The warning made your blood run cold. You shuffled a bit. You didn’t want to control him, but it did keep you safe. You knew this and yet...
“I meant what I said,” you said quietly. He just continued smiling and shook his head.
“User, giving an android explicit permission to deny orders any time is dangerous and-” he started to explain but you cut him off.
“I know,” you stated. Something within him seemed to snap at that moment and he pulled out of your grasp and darted down the hall. You gasped and then immediately chased after him. You rounded the corner just in time to see the door to the guest bedroom slam shut. The lock clicked and you just stood and stared completely dumbfounded. Guess he hadn’t wanted to talk with you after all. Gathering what little courage you had, you walked over to the door and knocked.
“I’m sorry for the other night. I know I shouldn’t be scared of you and I promise it isn’t your fault at all! I don’t hate you even if I am a little, okay, a lot, scared! Just...please don’t feel the need to avoid me because I’m being irrational. This is your house too,” you rambled.
“User, as I said before, you do not have to apologize to me,” he repeated with the same monotone inflection. Yet, the door clicked and he opened it to face you. His clothes were always pristine,though rarely unique which meant you typically didn’t notice them. Now though, you looked at him more closely. He wore light-blue collared shirt and a pair of black dress pants. Although, unusually, he wasn’t wearing any shoes. You’d never seen him without his black slacks on. It was oddly humanizing to think of him running from you barefooted through the house. You couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. He stared down at you with those doe brown eyes that somehow always appeared cold even with the warmth of their color. For once, a ghostly smile wasn’t present on his face. Though, his gaze practically swept the confidence you had out from under your feet.
“Al-also! Please don’t call me “user”. I’d prefer it if you called me by my name,” you said quietly. Maintaining eye contact was already hard enough with a normal person, but maintaining eye contact with an unblinking android was near impossible. It was tempting to glance away or look down at the floor, but somehow you refrained. He nodded briefly and another silence settled between the two of you.
“...Can I call you Omi, then? You know, because “OMI-0175″?” you interjected finally. He seemed to mule over it for a moment before nodding once more. You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face.
“A-alright! I’m gonna go have my coffee then... Good morning, Omi!” you stammered before speed walking into the kitchen. You were surprised that Omi was starting to feel more like a roommate than an invader.
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