9 009

I checked on Buddy quickly before heading to work in the morning. He told me he was fine, and I was already running late, so I left in a hurry and told him I'd see him after work. The day was busy, and I didn't even think about him again until lunch time. I'd been eating out for lunch a lot lately, more than I could afford if I was honest, so I decided to head home and make something at the house and check in on Buddy at the same time. I threw together a spinach and feta sandwich on Turkish bread, frying it until it was a perfect golden brown. Sandwich in hand, I walked out to the backyard and opened the shed door.

Buddy was sitting cross legged on the floor and looked up as the door opened.

"Hi," he said, smiling.

"Hi. I'm just back for my lunch break. Is everything ok? Do you want something to eat?" I knew he'd told me he didn't eat, but it still felt rude not to offer.

"No, I don't eat." He repeated.

"Ok then." I glanced around awkwardly. "You know, you're allowed to leave the shed. Why don't you go for a walk around town, get some fresh air, fish around in the locals' brains for useful information?"

"Would that be a good idea?" He asked. I was surprised at his timidity.

"Sure, as long as you don't go around doing any weird, alien stuff." I took another bite of the sandwich and continued through my mouthful, "You should just stay quietly near humans so you can absorb more and learn more quickly. Then you'll be able to blend in better and won't have to hide out so much."

He nodded, standing up. "Alright. Where should I go?"

I thought about it, wondering where the best place would be. Somewhere with lots of people, but where he could stay without attracting attention to himself. The only place I was sure would be busy was the shopping centre. The library might have been better in terms of being a quiet place where he'd be less likely to have to interact, but unfortunately the good people of Cobbett were far more likely to be found mooching around Kmart than elevating their minds through the timeless act of reading.

"What about reading?" I asked, a thought springing to mind. "Can you absorb information from books and things too?"

"No," Buddy replied. "Only from the minds of living creatures. And only from the creatures I'm currently morphed with. To learn from books I'd need to read just like any other human. You haven't told me where I would go."

"Oh, right, " I said, still deep in thought. "I think the shopping centre will have the most people." I checked the time on my phone. Ten minutes left of my break time.

"I have to go now, but I can give you a lift into town if you like?"

"It will be faster if I return to my light form and travel as light."

I raised my eyebrows. We hadn't yet discussed exactly how his true form travelled, nor how he changed from one form to the other. I was intensely curious, but I didn't have time right now.

"I think it's best if you stick to normal human activities for the time being. If someone saw you change, it'd be complicated." I stepped outside the shed and gestured. "Come on, I'll take you."

He followed me obediently back to the house as I tidied up my lunch things, grabbed my keys, and locked the house behind me. He double checked he had permission before getting into the car, this time belting himself in quickly and easily.

"You must learn very quickly," I noted, remembering that he'd only been human - that is, pretending to be human - for a day and a half. "How long does it take you to absorb someone else's mind?"

"It depends. The further away I am, the slower it is. If I'm touching person, it can be instantaneous."

"So you take in everything at once, not gradually?" I asked, reversing out of the driveway and into the street.

"Only if I'm touching the person. If I'm further away, it is gradual." I could feel him watching me, but I had to keep my eyes on the road. "It seems to start with the most basic instinctual information, then long term memory and learning, and so on. Emotions and thoughts seem to be the last things to transfer."

"Wait, so does that mean..." I glanced across at him, his eyes fixed on mine for a second. "Have you absorbed everything about me? Do you know my thoughts and feelings too?"

I felt myself blushing, warmth creeping across my cheeks.

"Not everything. It seems very different with humans, like there is always more that I can't access. And I haven't-" he paused and cleared his throat a little. "I haven't touched you, so there are some things yet to learn. But most things, yes."

My cheeks burned harder as I remembered some of the things I'd thought and felt. But had we really not touched? I thought back over the last day or two. I'd put my hands on his chest, but I guess the clothes meant it didn't count.

"Then do you know what I'm thinking now? Does it work like that?"

"It can. I can know what you're thinking now, if I try."

"Don't try!" I said abruptly, my thoughts having automatically gone back to my attraction to him.

"You don't want me to know your thoughts?" He asked.

I pulled into a parking bay at the shopping centre, relieved that I had an excuse to cut the conversation short.

"It just feels like a bit of an invasion of my privacy. We're here," I said curtly, marking the end of the conversation.

"Thank you for taking me." He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, then glanced back at me. I met his gaze, my breath quickening sightly as his blue eyes pierced into me again.

"Can we spend more time together tonight?" He asked directly.

I felt my heartbeat tick up a gear, wanting to look away from him and calm myself down, but unable to pull my gaze away from his inquiring eyes. I knew he hadn't meant that the way it had sounded, but I couldn't get my mind away from the idea of spending a night with him.

"Yeah, sure. Okay. I'll pick you up from here after I finish work, okay?"

He smiled at me. "Okay," he replied, getting out of the car and closing the door behind him.

I waved as I drove out of the parking lot, relieved and frustrated.

It felt like a chore to go back to work now, but I threw myself into my job with vigour just to get my mind off Buddy. My morning had been busy, but I had nothing planned for the afternoon, so instead I made calls looking for any leads. I called Emma at the police station, and she gave me enough for a short story about a spate of mailboxes being vandalised. I made calls to a few more locals, but couldn't find anything new. In a small town, there was rarely any big news, so what passed for news was generally a low bar. On some of our quietest weeks, I'd written up stories on a local woman's teapot collection, the history of a drinking fountain near the beach, and even some local ghost stories. It wasn't great journalism, but it filled the pages. Eventually I decided to walk into town and just scout around for a while. Often the best leads came from just being on the ground, listening to conversations, and seeing what was happening in town.

The sun was still high, and beamed warmly down on my face as I strolled through the main street. I browsed through a few shops, chatting to the store owners, checking out community notice boards and keeping my ears open for interesting conversations. I found an artist painting a large mural on the front of a cafe, and chatted to her for a few minutes, watching her work with interest. It turned out she had grown up in Cobbett and had moved to the city to study art, and was making quite the name for herself as a mural painter. I ended up asking her if I could do a profile piece on her and her work, which she eagerly accepted. I took some photos of her with the mural, and interviewed her while she worked. I finished quickly and thanked her for her time, and the cafe owners gave me a free coffee as I left. I began walking back to work, pleased with my productive afternoon. Back at the office, I wrote up the story and sent it off to Troy along with the photos. I checked the time, glad to see it was almost five. I shut down the work computer and made a show of tidying my desk, then left with a goodbye to Nadine thrown over my shoulder.

My stomach felt unsettled, fluttering with butterflies. I felt like I was going on a first date. Maybe I was, I thought to myself as I headed toward my car. Was I okay with that? Was I actually considering a relationship with an... an alien? And an alien I'd only known for two days, at that. I sat in the car, banging my head against the steering wheel. This couldn't work. I had to control myself. Whatever strange alien spell he had over me, I had to be stronger. Still, I thought, smiling as I started the engine, it couldn't hurt to get to know him a little better.