28 Actually Kind Of Cute

Claire couldn't believe Six—no, she needed to start thinking of him as Alex—actually pledged his undying loyalty to her using anime as a reference. She had to give the guy some credit though; he found a middle ground that they both understood and used it to his advantage.

It was pretty hilarious though. He was so serious about it too! She had never seen anybody salute like that without it being a joke in real life before.

Though his methods were odd, she couldn't deny they were effective. The fear she had been carrying in her heart melted away. How could she be afraid of a guy who imitated anime characters because he didn't know much about humanity? That was actually kind of cute.

Considering a stone statue like Alex cute was a pretty big leap but in the moment his undeniable earnestness fit the description. He was doing his best. It wasn't his fault he had been raised to be a terrifying force of nature and he was trying to be more normal now.

Based on how hard he tried to get his point across, it was clear to her that he genuinely wanted to be her friend. Claire had wanted friends but certainly hadn't expected to find one in a hitman!

It was better to be friends with him though, wasn't it? Since they would be stuck together for a while. When he got all weird on her, she would have to remind herself that he didn't know any better.

If she put his past aside, having someone around would be nice. She had been pretty lonely and done her best to combat boredom on her own but there was a lot more you could do with two people than you could by yourself.

Once Alex learned how to act a little less statue-like he would probably be decent company. Claire needed to be patient with him in the meantime and remember that he didn't actually mean her any harm.

He had just made an ultra-serious vow to protect her, after all. She couldn't exactly doubt his sincerity.

She was out of practice having friends too. They were in the same awkward boat and could ride it out together. That was what prompted her to break out some of her family's old board games when they finished flooding the cookies and were waiting for them to dry enough to do any last minute details on top.

"We should play a game," Claire announced.

Alex tilted his head ever so slightly to indicate his interest. "What sort of game?"

"It's called Yahtzee and you play it with dice." She laid out all of the rules for him as she pulled the box out of a closet in the hall. She took her turn first so she could show him how it was done and helped him through his turn as well.

He was a quick learner and was able to make strategic choices with his rolls from his third turn onward. A very quick learner. He beat Claire in the first game. And the second. And the third.

At this point she was determined to win at least once so she said they weren't going to stop until she won a game. Alex accepted this with a simple "okay" and nothing else.

After he won the fifth game Claire felt all of her self-esteem flying out the bulletproof window. It wasn't like she was the most competitive person in the world or anything—her mom had been more of a sore loser than she was—but five games in a row was too demoralizing. Especially against someone who had never played before today.

She didn't win until the seventh game and she threw her hands up in the air and exclaimed "FINALLY!" in a triumphant voice. That used up all of her desire to play Yahtzee for the next several years.

Was there anything this guy couldn't do? You know, aside from converse like a normal human being and feel actual emotions.

"Why are you so good at everything?" Claire mumbled under her breath as she was putting the game away.

Alex's reply to her rhetorical question was both straightforward and sad. "I have done nothing but train for as long as I can remember. Failure was punished harshly so it was not an option."

Geez. She knew he was basically a robot but she hadn't known about how punishment factored in. She imagined it was rather terrible yet he talked about it so matter-of-factly. He wasn't upset about it at all.

He did say earlier that he didn't get offended so it was highly possible he didn't get upset either. What a horrible way to live. Just because he didn't know what he was feeling didn't mean it wasn't there buried deep beneath the surface.

Someday he might feel everything he ever tried to lock away all at once. The results of that sort of emotional explosion would be probably be terrible.

"I'm sorry," Claire said lamely.

"Why would you be sorry for that?" Alex asked.

Right. He didn't understand most social niceties. "You don't always say you're sorry only for something you actually did. You can say it to express sympathy for unrelated events as well."

He whipped out his phone and a minute later looked back up at her with a slightly furrowed brow. "You feel pity or sorrow for my misfortune?"

Alex had been doing that a lot the past couple of days. Looking at his phone then asking for clarification using phrases that sounded like they came straight out of a dictionary. Was he actually looking up words she used that he didn't understand so he didn't have to ask her all the time?

That was a lot more considerate than she would have thought someone like him was capable of. He was learning already.

Claire nodded. "Yes. I feel bad for you. It seems like your childhood was hard."

He shrugged. "I have no point of comparison. To me, it was what it was. But I like being with you better. I enjoy the lack of expectations and eating processed sugar and having fun. Thank you for giving me those opportunities."

That was perhaps the longest, most emotional speech she had ever heard him give. Her chest swelled with pride that he was actually expressing himself properly.

"Happy to help," she said with an unexplainable lump in her throat.