Kyle walked to the nearest mall, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. It was not far from his house, close enough that he usually avoided it because he was bound to run into someone from school. Today, he did not have the energy to care. His thoughts were still stuck on the alien sitting comfortably on his sofa as if she belonged there.
He stepped into a women's clothing store and immediately drew attention. An attendant hurried over with a polite smile.
"Get me everything appropriate for a girl my age and close to my height," Kyle said flatly.
The attendant blinked once, clearly surprised, but recovered quickly. "Right away, sir."
Kyle dropped onto one of the resting chairs near the fitting rooms and leaned back, closing his eyes. His head felt heavy. Every decision he had made that morning felt worse in hindsight. Clothes, food, shelter, excuses. This was spiraling fast.
Soft laughter pulled him out of his thoughts.
Kyle opened his eyes and felt his stomach sink.
A small group of his classmates stood a few aisles away, browsing and chatting like they owned the place. Of course they were here. And of course it had to be them. He immediately recognized the tall boy with pale skin, light blond hair, and those annoyingly calm blue eyes. Altair. Perfect, polite Altair.
Standing beside him was Lena.
Kyle's gaze lingered on her for half a second too long before he looked away. Brown hair, brown eyes, always quiet, always pretending to be kind even when she clearly was not. If there was anyone in that group he could tolerate, it was her. That did not mean he liked her.
He turned his head and stared at the floor, silently begging fate not to notice him.
"Kyle?"
Lena's voice stopped his heart.
Everyone in the group turned toward him. Kyle muttered a curse under his breath, then forced his expression into something bored and detached. He slowly looked up at them as if they were an inconvenience.
"It is you," Lena said. "We didn't see you at school. What are you doing here?"
Her smile did not reach her eyes. It looked practiced, forced.
Kyle snorted. "None of your business. Fuck off."
Her expression flickered.
"You don't have to be rude," Altair said calmly.
Kyle's eyes snapped to him. Altair stood straight, hands relaxed at his sides, looking every bit like the hero in a story Kyle hated. Kind. Respectful. Intelligent. Everything Kyle was not, and everything people praised him for.
Kyle felt his jaw tighten. "I'm sorry, was I talking to you?"
A few of the guys in the group frowned. Their shoulders tensed, and Kyle knew the look. If this went any further, fists would start flying. Not that he cared, but causing a scene here would only make things worse.
"Let's just leave him," Altair said, placing a gentle hand on Lena's shoulder. "Lena, what was the item you wanted to get?"
"It was right here last time," Lena said, glancing at the rack. "Let me ask the attendant."
She walked over to the counter and pointed at an empty space. "There was a peach shirt hanging here. Has it been sold?"
"Oh, that one?" the attendant said brightly. "The young man over there just purchased it."
Lena turned slowly.
Her eyes met Kyle's.
Kyle felt a smirk pull at his lips. So that was it. If she asked him for it, he would give it to her. He might even pay for it, just to see the look on her face. The idea amused him more than it should have.
But Lena said nothing.
She held his gaze for a brief moment, then looked away.
"Let's check somewhere else," Altair said, his voice even and uninterested. "I'm sure there will be something better."
Lena nodded and followed the group toward the exit without another glance back.
Kyle's smirk faded.
He watched them leave, a strange, unpleasant feeling settling in his chest. He did not understand why it bothered him. It should not have.
The attendant returned with a cart full of shopping bags. "Sir, everything you requested is ready."
Kyle stood and followed her to the counter. He handed over his credit card without comment. When he saw the number of bags piling up, he requested home delivery. Carrying all that back himself would have been impossible.
After leaving the store, Kyle passed by a beauty shop. He slowed, staring at the display in the window. Makeup. Foundation. Concealers.
Leah's pale blue skin flashed through his mind.
He frowned.
He needed a way to hide it. Just in case. If anyone ever saw her with him, there could be no questions.
With a quiet sigh, Kyle turned and stepped into the shop.
---
Back in Kyle's room, Leah lay slouched against the sofa, one arm draped over her eyes. The position was anything but dignified, and she knew exactly what her mother would say if she could see her now. The thought almost made her scoff.
If her mother were here, she would already be shouting. Sitting improperly. Lying around like a failure. Acting like a child instead of a captain. Leah could hear her voice clearly in her head, sharp and cutting, filled with disappointment.
Yet if her father or brother were in the same position, no one would say a word.
That had always been the way it was.
Leah lowered her arm slightly and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. She had envied her brother for as long as she could remember. He had been free in a way she never was. Free to make mistakes. Free to be lazy. Free to fail without consequences. It was not because their mother loved him more. If anything, it was the opposite.
Her mother simply did not care enough to control him.
All that attention, all that pressure, all that expectation had been reserved for Leah alone.
She let out a slow breath. And then there was her father. The Supreme General. The title alone felt heavy. Powerful. Untouchable. She wondered, not for the first time, whether he even knew she was missing yet.
And if he did, would it matter?
Maybe he would declare her dead and move on. Maybe he would treat it as a strategic loss rather than the disappearance of his daughter. Her mother might be furious for a while, then decide to have another child and continue as if Leah had never existed.
The thought made her chest feel tight, though she refused to acknowledge it as pain.
A sudden sound cut through the room.
Leah flinched as Kyle's phone began to ring.
The noise was loud, repetitive, and oddly aggressive. She frowned and lifted her arm from her eyes, listening. She was not familiar with Earth technology, but she assumed devices here were similar to those on her planet. Back home, personal devices were controlled by an artificial intelligence tailored to the individual user.
If that was the case here, then this particular device had a very strange personality.
The ringtone was filled with profane words, loud enough that Leah's lips twitched despite herself. It sounded less like a call and more like an insult being hurled repeatedly into the room.
She sat up and reached for the phone, curiosity getting the better of her. The screen lit up under her fingers.
Caller ID: Dad.
Leah stared at it for a long moment.
Then she let out a quiet, humorless chuckle.
"Looks like fathers aren't any good on any planet," she muttered.
She placed the phone back where it had been and leaned into the sofa again, closing her eyes as the ringing continued for a few more seconds before stopping.
The room fell silent once more.
And Leah was alone with her thoughts again.