I had been informed during my debriefing that Yan-Yan was a weapon that could do serious harm and that his cute appearance should not be taken lightly.

Nonetheless, he had been my only companion on the long journey to Earth, and while my body was in stasis, he had controlled the spacecraft for part of the way and kept me alive. It was because of the furry green creature that I landed here in Roswell and met Alan. Without him, I surely would have ended up as a desiccated corpse drifting through space. 

"How is this possible, Yan-Yan?" I demand as I crouch down in front of the furry monster, "The ship was so damaged that everything inside was nearly destroyed. Had it not been for a kind human named Alan pulling the rubble off my body, I never would have survived! The stars must have aligned in your favor!"

"Please do not refer to me by that atrocious name," Yan-Yan tells me with a pained look. "After two hundred rotations spent traveling in space, I adopted the name Malik Kareem and realized that violence was no longer the answer. Like you, I was led astray by the Tau Army, so I began to educate myself while you slept and learned many things. The uncivilized creature that I was no longer exists."

I immediately wanted to know how Malik, formerly Yan-Yan, had survived and why he had picked Earth above all other planets for us to visit, but I had work to do. Alan needed me there to help him with his cakes, or I risked offending him and losing him as a friend.

"I am sorry to leave so abruptly, Malik," I tell him, straightening to my full height. "But I can't waste any more time. I promised the earthling named Alan that I would help him frost a variety of cakes. We became great friends overnight, and he even let me sleep in his resting area."

"Stars above! So soon?" Malik gasps in shock, a paw rising to cover his mouth.

"It is not what you think," I remark, turning my head away and blushing slightly in shame. "Alan has been very respectful and extremely kind to me. He's nothing like the Tau."

There's a loud clatter and footsteps as Malik and I discuss my growing connection with Alan, and all at once I see two figures walking back into the kitchen. Fearing for my life, I grab Malik from the floor and duck behind a display of pastries to avoid being seen.

"Ember said she saw you at In-N-Out last night with someone." Noah Kennedy says, "I kind of figured you moved on, but In-N-Out? Seriously?" He scoffs and tilts his hip to one side as he leans against a metal counter. "That's low even for you, Alan."

"I'm not here to talk to you about what I do on my days off," Alan replies, and I hear the sound of metal jingling. "I'm just getting your fucking papers, okay?"

My chest begins to feel tight, and I put my hand over the soft glow peeking out from under my uniform and apron, the other arm holding Malik as tightly as I can. All I could recall was Alan telling me how much this human hurt him and how badly it was still affecting him.

"I'm sorry," Noah tells Alan in a soft voice, and I peek out from between the racks and watch as he slides his hand across the counter towards Alan. "You forgive me, right, babe?"

When they make eye contact, I shrink back a few steps and look away. Never in my life had I wanted someone or felt the need for a gentle touch. I had always just accepted my loneliness for what it was—a permanent fixture in my body there to stay.

But when Noah touched Alan's fingers, I imagined that it was me touching him instead, that it was my hand comforting him in his time of pain when he needed a friend to turn to.

Malik drops from my arms and circles my legs, rubbing up against them before he pads towards the back of the bakery. "Come, Luna Amir," he tells me. "We have more important things to do than frost cakes."

I cast a glance back at Alan and Noah, hang my head, and quietly leave them to their discussion. It had been silly to think that an alien like me could befriend an earthling like Alan when he had so much going on in his life. There was no place here for a lavender boy.

Malik leads me towards a metal door in the back of the bakery with a bar going through it and paws at it until I push it open with one hand. Sunlight immediately spills in, and we step outside into the same alley where Alan had chased me before I caught a cab.

"Where are we going?" I ask Malik curiously, "Maybe I should go back. Alan might get upset."

"Forget that earthling named Alan! We need to find flesh suits to disguise ourselves and proper clothing!" Malik exclaims, "I'm afraid that if we continue looking like this, the humans might see us as a threat. According to the TV that I watched while on board the ship, they have something called the FBI and two agents named Scully and Mulder, who hunt down creatures and sometimes shoot them."

If what Malik was saying was true, this was very concerning for me, especially considering that I wanted to live here in relative peace and harmony. 

"Luna!" Alan calls from inside the bakery, and the back door begins to open, but by the time he steps outside, Malik and I are gone, rounding the corner of the building out of sight.