The Ally

Chapter 6

I listened intently as Xynar went over his initial plan, detailing where exactly he had landed his spaceship and how we were going to get him to it.

As he spoke, I found myself captivated by his presence.  There was something undeniably compelling about him - perhaps it was the intensity of his gaze or the smooth, confident cadence of his voice that enveloped me completely. His form was surprisingly appealing; his eyes burned with passion, and his voice flowed smoothly.

You could spend the whole day listening to him without getting tired. I couldn't resist smiling. It almost reminded me of my boyfriend when he gets caught up talking about his own passions.

"...and then, I'll quickly start the ship while you also run back home." he concluded. "I feel like it will be a mutually winning situation." he added proudly, folding his arms across his chest with a nod of satisfaction.

I was nodding along, but as his words echoed in my mind, I caught myself.

I didn't catch most of what he said. I almost felt embarrassed to ask him to repeat himself. I had thought I was following along, yet it seemed I had gotten distracted. The distraction wasn't significant, yet it managed to throw me off track completely.

"Uhm..." I started, hesitating as I tried to gather my thoughts.

"What is wrong?"

"Can you please go over the plan one more time?" I felt my cheeks heating up hoping he wouldn't ask any further, sparing me the discomfort of admitting my lapse in concentration.

"Why? Did you not understand the first time?" His tone was not unkind, but it carried a hint of surprise.

"No, it's not that. I just didn't understand," I replied, avoiding eye contact, hoping he would simply explain without asking too many questions.

He watched me intently, and it became increasingly uncomfortable as I struggled to maintain eye contact. My heart began to beat faster, and my cheeks flushed even hotter. This time, however, the warmth spreading across my face wasn't just from embarrassment.

Why is this happening please stop.

It was as if he had a moment of realization, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion. He shook his head dismissively. "Pay attention this time."

I nodded.

"To summarise all that I have said before," he began. "I suggest we go to the ship now. I can only turn both of us invisible for 5 minutes. Then it wears off, and there's a cooldown time of 7 minutes before we can use it again."

"You can turn invisible?" I asked, slightly surprised. Despite all the strange things I had already seen, this new revelation caught me off guard. "Okay, I shouldn't be shocked, actually. But why the limitation? And why didn't we turn invisible when you were bringing back Ria?"

"I am glad to see you are actually paying attention this time. But there is no time to explain the irrelevant in detail."

"How is turning invisible irrelevant?" I pressed, this time in total disbelief.

"Because it is normal where I come from." He said briefly as though that settled the matter. "Now let us go. I will explain the rest of the plan when we get there." he continued, starting to walk in the opposite direction of my neighbourhood.

I hesitated for a moment, glancing towards the familiar path that would take me home. I pulled out my phone out to check the time. It was still early, if I could manage to finish this before the time my parents get home then everything will be okay. With a deep breath, I steeled myself for what was to come, slid my phone back into my pocket, and hurried to catch up with Xynar.