Love me, Love me

•~06~•

A/N: This one is a little longer (I may have gotten carried away again). It is from the POV of Anya/Purple. Don't forget to vote 😘

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I don't know what I had expected. I don't know what I was thinking heading up into space. I have absolutely no clue why the hell I decided it would be good for my anxiety to float around in the stars where people die. Or, more importantly, with people period. I've never done well in social situations so I have no clue why I figured I'd spend an undetermined amount of time with a group of total strangers but that's what I did.

I was sitting alone at one of the circular tables in the cafeteria, staring at my "lunch." I put quotation marks because I wasn't quite sure what exactly it was. Georgia gave me a silver packet a few minutes ago, smiling like she always did. I sat down and opened it, seeing a kind of brown paste. When I dipped my finger in the mixture and brought it to my lips, it tasted strange. Almost like how you would imagine grass or weeds would taste. I put the "food" aside, staring at the top of my table.

I would've talked to the others but that seemed like too much interaction for a day and I would've rather been alone. I was used to it because of where I was raised. I grew up in the French countryside with my parents. They paid enough attention to me but I preferred to be without them. I suppose they thought I was strange, always reading this book or that blog. I was more interested in sciences than pretty dolls and they didn't understand why. I've never been the daughter they wanted me to be.

"Why are you sitting all alone?"

My eyes flew upward from the metal floor of the cafeteria as I saw one of my fellow passengers standing in front of me. He was the boy from Minnesota with the dark hair. I could feel my eyes widening as he smiled at me. "Um... I came here to get away from everyone."

His eyebrows raised as he smiled wider. "Is that still the case?"

I paused for a second, not wanting to sound rude. "Have a seat."

He grinned, sitting across from me with his packet of protein shit. He took a glance inside the bag and made a face. "What the hell is this stuff?"

I laughed quietly to myself, covering my mouth with my hand. He smiled wider, meeting my eyes as I immediately became uncomfortable. I cleared my throat, avoiding his gaze now. "Why are you here?"

He seemed to enjoy my awkwardness, shifting as he prepared to answer. "My mother and I are struggling so when they offered me a steady paycheck, I thought it wise to accept."

"No, I meant what are your skills," I said, regretting my words shortly after I had said them. Oftentimes, I think I sound rude without meaning to. 

He still had an amused expression on his face as he clasped his hands and placed them on the table. "What are your skills?"

I felt breathless but I shrugged it off, looking out the wide windows on the wall to the left. "I think I'm here for science-y assistance. That's my specialty, anyway. And you...?"

"I guess we're the opposite then," he said, tilting his head to the side slowly. "I'm a hunter."

My eyes went wide. "A hunter?"

He laughed under his breath. "Yes."

"Like..." I trailed off, staring at the floor, "a hunter of animals?"

He laughed fully now, leaning somewhat back in his chair. "Yes."

I nodded, looking back up at him. "Why?"

He smiled now. "My father taught me to hunt and when he died, I wanted to keep it up for him."

I immediately felt bad for questioning him, shaking my head. "I'm sorry-"