Sector 10

Chapter 16

"Ai? Is that you?"

Jon took a few steps towards me. I slowly dragged my hood down and gazed up at him with my tear-stricken face.

He caught his breath. "I'm sorry," he whispered as kneeled down. He hugged me tight and pressed his lips to the top of my head. "I should have visited you or something." I could feel him minutely shaking his head.

I could only sob into him, wetting his shirt. He's the one that's sorry? I remember once thinking that Jon needed me to survive this place. But maybe it was the other way around.

A gust of wind blew towards us, causing me to shiver, so Jon invited me inside. I seated myself at a long island and he whipped up a cup of coffee. I silently watched him, unsure whether to tell him why I was here in the first place.

He eventually slid a mug over to my side of the bench walked around the island to sit a stool away from me. The air between us was still and quiet until Jon started talking. "How have you been?"

"Fine," I said, sliding my fingers around the rim of my mug. Then I changed my answer. "Lonely, I guess."

The corner of his mouth raised in thought and he asked, "you don't need to answer, but why'd you go?"

I raised my eyes from my coffee and replied, "I just thought... that I wasn't the kind of person you should be associated with." As a matter of fact, the only reason I'm here was so I could kill you.

"I've found that I shouldn't be associated with a lot of people in this Sector," he paused. "But I like you, Ai. I do, I really do."

"Why?!" I exclaimed.

"I don't know, Ai. I like being around you. You're kind of quiet, but you give me something to look forward to. You've taken me to all these cool places and despite everything, you can be really thoughtful. You make me feel like I'm not just the son of a rich man." He stood up and stepped towards me, taking my hand in his and pulling me out of my stool. He looked me in the eyes and said, "when you left, life was just so much more boring. I like trying to make you smile. I like the small instances when you do smile. I like you, Ai."

Before I could utter another word, Jon's hand hugged my check and he brought my lips to his. It was a soft, light kiss, but my breath was taken away as I experienced what I thought I'd never be able to. I raised my hand and held the wrist of one that was on my cheek. I stroked the inside of his wrist back and forth with my thumb. It was like the world around us evaporated; it was only us and us alone. His lips were warm and supple, and his other hand was still locked onto mine, even when he pulled away. Not knowing how to act, I looked up at him. He was giving me his puppy dog smile.

"Do you like me back?" he said.

I nodded. Suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of fatigue, I rested my head against his chest. He was surprised at the gesture at first, but then started softly stroking my hair as I drifted to sleep. Too many nights without being able to get a decent sleep. Maybe that can change now.

---

I woke up a few hours later to find myself under a woollen blanket, on a couch in Jon's loungeroom. I sat upright to find Jon sitting sideways on the stool of his piano. His chin rested on a raised leg as he scrolled through his phone. When he realised, I was awake he said, "oh, I left your jacket on the bench because I thought it'd be uncomfortable."

It was helpful, but there were also some gadgets that lived inside my pants. I could feel the indents of them from the sides that I slept on. I stood up and walked over to my jacket, emptying my pockets, and sliding the contraptions and mechanisms under the jacket.

"You wanna do something?" Jon asked, "Watch a movie, maybe?"

I nodded and we both sat down on the couch together, facing the widescreen TV. He flicked through a few movies then said, "have you got any preferences?"

I shook my head. After passing a variety of genres, he clicked play on a movie called La La Land.

It was a musical. I figured Jon had already seen it countless times before because he sang along to some of the songs. We spent the rest of that night binging movies or tv shows, although it became background noise as we talked time away. Jon sometimes returned to his piano as I explored the rest of his apartment room. We eventually moved to the balcony to watch the sunrise. The sky I was familiar with – the pitch black – transitioned into a blue before exploding into pinks and oranges as the stars disappeared. It took a bit longer for us to see the sun peek out behind the many high-rises in the distance.

"I think I'll start heading home before I get too tired again," I said.

"Alright," Jon replied before we both stepped inside.

I snuck all my gadgets into my pockets again and put the jacket back on, pulling my hood over my head. Jon joined me outside on the balcony again.

"See you 'round, Jonathan," I said.

"And to you, Ai."

I lugged myself on top of the barrier of the balcony and looked for a potential hook for my grapple. I aimed the gun at a space on a wall near the top of a building. I pulled the trigger and the line projected out towards the wall. As soon as it latched on correctly, I was sent flying, falling then rising as the wind rushed to my face. I never got sick of this sensation. The brief moments of flight before gracefully landing upon a surface and finding the next position to fire it to again. I made my way to the top of an apartment block that overlooked the railway for the monorail. When I could finally see it in the distance, I waited for the perfect moment to leap atop it. To make sure I landed (and stayed on), I used the grapple in the air to drag myself down on top of the tram. The monorail landings weren't always the best, but it worked.

Once I got comfortable, I pulled out my phone.