Originally, I protested having Astrid drive me home since I didn’t want to leave my car overnight at the club. Plus, it was one thing to see Freyja pummel a training construct. And another to see a living being subjected to that kind of violence.
And I thought I was a competent fighter.
Honestly, it was fear that won out and I now find myself sitting next to a Bevusian club owner as she nervously glanced at me from time to time.
“I meant what I said Dean,” she paused waiting for me to react, I didn’t, “I wouldn’t hurt a man.” When I didn’t respond, she gripped the steering wheel and frowned sadly. I felt bad, but at the same time, it was emasculating. I always prided myself on my physical capabilities and my intelligence to some extent. And for it to mean nothing to these apex predators was beginning to frustrate me.
“We don’t have to talk about it,” I muttered.
“I am so sorry; do you need me to call someone?” I shook my head. I just wanted to be alone. In two days I lost my girlfriend, got into it with my dad, and was assaulted. As much as I hated to admit it, I was close to shattering, even at my lowest point with my dad, I have never felt like this before.
Only Uncle Andres’s death compared to what I was feeling now.
Seeing that I was not going to speak any further, Astrid focused on driving me back to the dorm. Only once we parked did she try to speak with me again.
“Dean. Look at me,” she asked, as calmly as she could muster. I reluctantly turned towards her and met those chilling blue pupils. They glowed brightly as they locked onto me, slightly illuminating the dimly lit car. “Please do not hate us, many of our kind do not know how to interact with men, men of any species. It causes them to behave...irrationally.” She explained clinically, as though it were common knowledge.
“Fuck that!” I slammed a fist down on the dashboard. “That doesn’t excuse what she tried to do to me! All of you, every last one of you have caused me nothing but grief!” I held my face in my hands and let out a visceral shout.
I heard Astrid say something, but it didn’t register. Only when she touched my shoulder did I react.
“Don’t! Don’t touch me!” I recoiled away from her, somewhat surprised at my body’s reaction. I fumbled for the door handle and stumbled out of the car; I only made it halfway to down the sidewalk to my dorm’s door before falling to my knees. I tried to get up, but my legs were unresponsive.
“Dean!” Astrid called out from behind me as she bounded over to me. Picking me up into her arms, she carried me to the door, retrieved my key card from my pocket, and unlocked it. “What room is yours and what floor?” she asked, her tone panicked. I told her, my voice barely that of a whisper and she bolted towards it, unlocked it when she found it, and laid me on my bed. Astrid proceeded to stand awkwardly next to me, not sure what to say or do. After a couple of minutes of horrible silence, she asked if there was anything she could get for me before she left. She also mentioned that she would hire a tow truck to bring my car back to my place sometime after her shift tomorrow night with a nervous laugh.
“I don’t hate you; you know.” I looked at Astrid, “Heck, I barely know you. I just need some space from Bevu’s for a little while. Get my head on straight, there’s a shit ton of stuff wrong with me and I have to process it. I’m not good at that sort of thing.” I laughed morosely. Astrid smiled and a sigh of relief left her body.
“Well, happy to hear you don’t dislike me. Still, I won’t text you if you don’t want me to, especially after tonight.” She said, her eyes gauging my reaction.
“You can, I probably just won’t want to meet up for a while. I know I freaked out on you in the car, and I’m still upset to be honest. But I think you’re a good person, even half-drunk I recognize that.” Astrid nodded.
“Good...well, goodnight, Dean. I hope you can work things out, but if you need help or want to talk, just talk, let me know. I’ll send you a text so that you can have my number as well.”
“Works for me, goodnight, Astrid.” With a bow of her head, she left. Leaving me alone with my muddled thoughts until sleep overcame me.
***
I awoke and saw a couple of missed calls and texts from Joel, asking me if I had a fun night. I lied and told him it went well while ignoring his more suggestive questions. I wasn’t in the mood to entertain him with the raging headache bouncing around in my head. Groaning, I lifted myself and forced myself to the bathroom to take a shower.
“I really should drink more, who gets a hangover from a few beers?” Stripping off my clothes, I turned the shower on and waited for the bathroom to steam up before stepping in. Sliding the glass door to the shower shut, I leaned up against the wall and replayed the events of last night in my head.
I questioned myself if I should’ve been that upset at what happened. The Bevu that attacked me didn’t get a chance to do anything, so I should be fine, right? No matter how I tried to rationalize it or ignore what happened, it gnawed at my brain and made me shudder in fear. It wasn’t the fact that she touched me, well at least not completely.
It was the fact that she and any Bevu could take down any human at the slightest provocation if they wanted to. The fact that I would be completely and utterly defenseless if I were to fight them on equal terms. I was lucky last night, plain and simple. Regardless, why wasn’t I afraid of Astrid? And sure, Freyja scared me, but some part of me knew that she wouldn’t hurt me despite her posturing.
“God man, I need therapy.” As I showered, I made a mental note to schedule a time to see the campus shrink, might as well put that tuition to work.
After my shower, I turned on my television to stream some League of Legends and made myself some coffee to combat my lingering headache. As I sat down to try and enjoy my late morning, my phone rang and without looking I answered it.
“Hello, Dean speaking.”
“Dean, it is Freyja. Are you well?” Shit.
“Y-Yeah, peachy.”
“Excellent, if you are free today. I would like to formally ask to hang out with you.” Even over the phone, she was as prim and proper as ever.
“Look, Freyja now's not the best time. I’ve got a lot going on.”
“Dean, I know I scared you the last time we were together. But know, I wouldn’t bring harm upon you.” Again with that, I wasn’t a child.
“It’s not that!” I snapped, my anger getting the best of me. “I don’t need you to coddle me Freyja!” Regret immediately flooded my body after yelling at her, she didn’t deserve this. She didn’t hurt me.
“Something happened. Please, allow me to help.” Her voice was softer now compared to before.
“No, Freyja. I don’t want your help. I never wanted it in the first place!”
“You’re hurting, Dean. I can help you. As your m-...as your friend, allow me to do this.” Puzzled at what she was going to say, my anger abated for a moment, allowing her the opportunity to speak. “Come to my dorm, we can talk about this in person.” I sighed internally, feeling that she would continue to spam call or text me if I refused, I accepted her offer. If only to tell her in person to leave me alone at least for a couple of days. She then told me where she was staying on campus, some special apartment they made just for her on the south side of campus. I told her I would see her later that night and she agreed.
“One thing after another,” I mumbled and threw my phone down on my bed.
I wasted my day away by mindlessly playing League of Legends, only stopping occasionally to eat or use the bathroom. It was nice, turning off my brain and getting the odd double or triple kill as I gamed. However, after five straight losses in a row on Aram, I finally had it and checked the time.
7:30
“Ah well, looks like I better get a move on.” I shut my laptop down, grabbed a jacket, and began the trek over to Freyja’s apartment. My stomach was in all sorts of knots, making my stomach churn the closer I got to it. I must’ve looked ridiculous, a guy of my size looking around like a scared little boy walking through campus. Clutching his stomach, hunched over like he had just gotten scolded.
Regardless of my apprehension, I trudged onward. I was many things, but I never turned down a fight.
After nearly twenty minutes, I finally made it to her door and marveled at the size of it, nearly twice as high as my own. Before knocking, I took a second to check out the exterior.
If I had to guess, it was about the size of four dorm rooms put together, single story, well, single story for a Bevu maybe. And true to Bevusian form, the apartment itself was painted white and gold. Go figure.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on her door and waited. Not a second later, I heard the door unlock.
Damn, she was quick.
As she whipped the door open, my eyes widened at what was displayed in front of me.
Freyja had obviously just gotten out of the shower, as indicated by her wet hair roughly packed into two messy buns. Her bust stretched a front-tied t-shirt to its limit, perky nipples apparent beneath the fabric. A pair of high-waisted fuzzy shorts adorned her long and curvy legs. She smiled down at me, a blue blush appearing on her cheeks.
“Dean, I’m so happy you agreed to see me. Please, come inside.” She stepped aside and gestured with two arms. I said hello and made my way in. I took my shoes off and looked around, and her place was just as utilitarian as I’d expected it to be. Each room was large but hardly filled, the dining room had a table, the kitchen had its cabinets, and the living room had a single couch and a wide-screen television.
And of course, the walls were painted white with the lights giving off a soft golden glow.
Freyja made her way to the kitchen and opened up the fridge, asking if I wanted anything to drink. I told her I was fine. Clearing her throat, she suggested that we take a seat on the couch. I agreed stiffly and after sitting down, I let her start the conversation.
“So, Dean. I was doing some reading about human psychology.” Huh? Not what I expected her to say. “It seems that humans must be the ones to ask for help if they require help. Forcing them to receive help is not welcome in most cases, and thus less effective.” She overexplained it but she was right, I guess.
“Um, yeah. Yeah, I think you got it.” She grinned, a hint of smugness on her lips, proud of her astute observation.
“Therefore, I thought it would be best if w-we, watched a movie together. And if or when you feel ready to speak about your troubles, we can.” She said this while looking down at her four fidgeting hands.
I laughed suddenly, making her frown. I laughed and laughed, my previous nervousness washing away.
“What is it?” She looked hurt. “D-Did you not want to?” I waved her concerns away.
“No, I do, it sounds like fun honestly. I just came over here expecting something more dramatic, heck if I know.” I chastised myself, of course, she would suggest something like this. She was completely unaware of what happened to me last night, or the deeper issues I had with my father.
She was just trying to be a good friend.
Freyja perked up a bit and grabbed the remote, looking at me with eyes of shining blue.
“What’s the deal with that by the way? Your eyes I mean, why do they glow like that?” Freyja turned away roughly to hide her blushing face, her chest jiggling as she did.
“I-I’ll tell you later.” She stuttered. Such a stark contrast from her usual stoic self. It made me want to tease her a bit. I reached over and patted her thigh, making her stiffen at my touch.
“Whatever you say, Frey.” I chuckled. She silently turned the television on with the first honest-to-God smile on her face that I’d seen. It didn’t take long for her to find a movie; she went to her watchlist and picked The Incredibles. Something tells me this evening had a script to it that I was unaware of. Well, might as well play along.
“Ah, would you like to try some Bevusian snacks?” She asked, pausing the movie. I told her I’d be happy to, and she quickly moved to the kitchen, opening and shutting cabinets before promptly returning to the couch. She carried two bowls filled with purple balls the size of quarters and looked like they had the consistency of concrete.
She held a bowl out to me, and I grabbed it, thanking her for the suspect bowl of mystery food. Freyja tried not to watch me as I picked up one of the little purple balls and inspected it. With hopefully nothing to lose, I popped it in my mouth and bit down.
Holy. Shit.
It was like eating Korean BBQ beef, seasoned, and everything. Far superior to any I’ve had in my life.
“Good God this is amazing!” I shoved a few more of them into my mouth hungrily. Freyja ate some of her own happily.
“I’m pleased you think so, they are called Jookas. It is dried meat from the Jook beast, a herbivore on our planet. I believe they are like the deer you have on Earth here. I’m surprised you enjoy the taste so much, this kind is not seasoned.” My eyes widened at that.
“You mean to tell me that this shit is the basic flavor?” I was dumbfounded, Bevu cuisine was leagues ahead of Earth's, not that I was complaining.
"Indeed it is." She giggled before turning her attention back to the movie and hitting play.
It looks like tonight wouldn't be so bad, after all.
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