Savior (Scomiche)

Zoo Trip

Scott's shiny car arrived in front of my place at the doorstep.
"Hey," he greeted with a kind smile as I got situated in the passenger seat.
"Hi," I grinned back and buckled my seatbelt.
There was still a small smile on his lips while he pulled away from the curb. I angled my body slightly towards him so I didn't have to speak to the windshield. My eyes soon formed to a suspicious squint, and I noticed him glance over at me and back to the road a few times.
He laughed. "What? Why the look?"
"I never gave you my address, yet you showed up. Exactly on time, too. How... how is that possible?" I kept my stare, trying to hold a straight face.
"You seem to be forgetting the fact that I took you home about three weeks ago."
I sighed in realization and relief. At least he wasn't a stalker. "And you remembered? Creeeeeepy!"
Scott just chuckled. "I have a good memory."
"Okay..." I replied in a mock-suspicious voice, losing my cool and breaking a smile.
His focus shifted completely back to the road, but I was still taking glimpses at him. In all honesty, I had no idea what you were supposed to wear to a zoo. But it seemed Scott and I both had the same sort of idea for simple jeans and a t-shirt. Just casual. I mean, we were just friends going after all...

Most of the drive was fairly silent with some soft radio music between us. I was mouthing the words to pretty much every song, but I was too worried of bothering him to make any sound.
"You said you sing, right?" His right hand drifted to the volume knob to turn it down, making it barely audible.
I snapped my head to face him, surprised he'd actually asked a question. "I... uh, yeah. I sing, yeah."
"That's pretty cool. Do you sing in front of people?"
I shrugged. "I did some community stuff when I was younger, won small talent shows.... um... I don't know, I haven't participated in anything in a while."
"Why not?" Scott's eyes were glued to the road, but I could tell in his tone that he was interested.
"Haven't thought of it. Plus, there's a ton of amazing singers in Los Angeles. No way I'd win."
I could see him shift a bit. Now he was tentative and shy. "May I hear you sing something?"

The forward (but still polite) question surprised me slightly, but I finally managed to agree. "Well I can basically sing all ranges. Tenor, alto, soprano... just pick high or low."
"Both?" He asked hopefully.
I wasn't ashamed of my voice, and was definitely willing to sing for him. But it was Scott. And Scott made my nerves go wild.
"Oh, I uh, sure." I bit my lip in thought. "Have you heard of the song Graveyard by Feist? Or is it The Feist? I'm not sure."
"Feist," he answered, an almost reminiscent smile playing his pink lips. "I'm familiar with it."
"Great. So, this'll be my low one theeen..." I breathed in shakily before forcing myself to begin. "The graveyard, the graveyard, all full of light.
The only age, the beating heart is empty of life.
Dirt and grass, a shadow heart; the moon sails past. Blood as ice is an empty crisis, lonely it lies.
Whoa-ah-ah-ah ah-ah, bring 'em all back to life..."
I composed myself, internally scolding my anxiety. "A little morbid, but oh well," I commented, also signaling I was done.
"Mitch, that was... wow. There's no words."
A blush as thick as syrup ran over every pore of my face. "Th-thanks."
"I'm excited for the next one. What is it?"
"I was thi-thinking Aha! by Imo... somethin', I don't know." He nodded his approval, so I quickly gathered the words in my brain before I let them spill onto my tongue and out into the air. "Eat, sleep, and breathe that you're full of the stuff. Go back, and tie it up tight. Wheat-meat-dairy-free, tee total. So happy clappy high on life, you should try it, you should know. Go on while no one's looking.
A-ha! Caught you now! Caught you red handed in the biscuit tin! Cost you to keep me quiet..."
The lyrics just poured out of my mouth without thought, letting my higher voice shine through. I may have even accidentally taken part of it up an octave, but I didn't care. It was obvious Scott didn't either, because he seemed to be in utter awe.
After composing his thoughts, he spoke. "Mitch, you definitely need to join a talent show or something. That's amazing. Your voice is incredible."
I shrugged with a small "thanks" and let his words soak in. He thought my singing was incredible and that alone made my heart beat a little faster. I cleared my throat. "Didn't you say you enjoy singing, too?"
This time I think he purposefully kept his eyes fastened to the road. "Y-yeah, I do. I don't sing in front of people, though."
"I'm not a person."
He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"
"Nope, I'm a highly trained robot who they covered with skin to look like a person, but I am not actually one, so I guess you can sing in front of me."
Scott laughed good-naturedly and glanced over only to see my 100% serious face. "I don't think so."
"I'm just a harmless little robot, Scott."
He shot me a doubting look in which I flashed my most innocent, wide smile. There was a moment of consideration, but it was quickly thrown to the side as we pulled up to the zoo, curving around to find a parking space. He found one almost immediately and parked, turning off the car.
"Maybe some other time."
I couldn't be upset with that answer, though, because 'some other time' meant that maybe he'd be willing to see me again.

There was no admission fee, so we headed right in and grabbed a map.
"Where to first?" Scott asked as I tilted the map, trying to find the YOU ARE HERE indicator.
"We're closest to the monkeys," I told him, pointing loosely in one direction, eyes glued to the paper in my hand. "But the sea creatures are this way." I gestured to the opposite direction. "And they're close by."
"Does that include sea lions?" There was an mild excitement in his tone, as if he was trying not to get his hopes up.
"I'd assume so, why?"
"Sea lions are just my favorite animal of all time."
I nodded. "Then we'd better get going!"
He grinned and began walking the path to the sea lions, me trying to match his pace. But let me tell you, it's not easy to keep up with such long legs when you're a little twig with short ones who rarely gets physical activity.

It didn't take long to reach the large fountain where the sea lions swam. Scott stood as close as he possibly could and gazed at them. I don't think I'd ever seen him so happy. Correction: I know I'd never seen him so happy. Granted, I had only seen him a few times prior, but it was easy to pick up his personality from that. This wasn't it, though. This was new and joyful and stunned, all by a simple creature. I found myself watching him more than the animals in front of me. The way he covered his mouth when they began to do a trick, the way his eyes danced when they swam close, the way he tried to lean closer even though a glass barrier was obviously still there.
I got bored of the sea lions pretty fast, but I stayed there as long as Scott wanted to. He was having the time of his life just watching. It's just my personality, though. I move on fast while I could tell Scott enjoyed every second he could.

When Scott finally dragged himself away from the pool, he was a mess of apologies. I told him to quit. There was no reason for him to apologize. So we moved on to different exhibits. We saw the giraffes, lions, tigers, monkeys, reptiles, and almost everything else. Most of the time Scott was fairly quiet, but he didn't seem to be embarrassed to speak to me anymore. I could feel a new aura of comfort surrounding us. He was so fun. Even without many words, he was just enjoyable to be around. And seriously, it seemed like he had the time of his life. We had bonded, and that was the most important thing to me.
As we sat at a table, devouring some Dippin Dots, he stared off at the settling evening sky. It was around six and the night was beginning to leave its mark.
"Scott?" I asked quietly, almost shaking in trepidation.
His eyes shifted to me, his spoon poking at his treat below. "Hm?"
"Can I ask you something kinda personal?"
Days ago he would've been creeped out, but today he was relaxed. "Sure."
"What's up with you?"
His eyebrows drew together. I had phrased the question so gently and kind, I think he was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Like... why do you force yourself to be so quiet? I can tell there's more you want to say. You seemed to have a lot of fun today, but you never give it your all."
Scott's eyes drifted to the red table below. He knew I was right. I felt bad because I could tell he felt vulnerable and embarrassed. But I had to cease my curiosity. This was how.
And though my brain told me not to, my heart told me to go for it. "And Scott?" His eyes looked back up. "Why isn't this a date?"