Dance or Die: a Fanfiction

Chapter 11 - From the Home of Miss Nicholas

Shianne was frightened about this sudden request from a government-run agency. What had she done to be asked for an interview by the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Studies? She was just a young woman living independently in a small apartment, nothing noteworthy in her past. Unless... it was about 2004.

Answering the door had never been so scary when the day came.

"Hello," a middle-aged man said warmly, "Doctor Simon Max, I think you got the note I would be coming today."

"Yeah, I did," Shianne said, trying not to shake. She invited him in, and she noticed a thick black messenger bag he slung over his shoulder. As he sat on the couch, she went to sit in the chair across from him. She tapped her fingers on her knee nervously as Dr. Max took out a small notebook and pen from his bag.

"Miss Shianne Nicholas, am I right?" he said. She nodded briefly. "In 2004, you were staying at a Brian Kary's house, right? How did you come to know him?"

"Yes, and he's the older brother of my sister's husband, Colin."

"Did you stay because of that, or were there other reasons?"

"I was going to the college nearby, and Brian had tons of free space and I was almost out of money from paying for the college. Also, my sister Dora basically dragged me over there."

"Is it true that there were five men that came and stayed for a little over a year?"

"Yeah! They were kinda weird, in my opinion, but I liked them."

"Can you give me an account of their stay?"

"I'll try to remember..." Shianne thought deeply and silently for a while.

----

"Shianne! Can you get the door, I think he's here," Brian shouted to the young girl on the couch. The doorbell had just rang a few times, but she didn't feel like getting up. She was used to people coming and going, due to Brian's reputation as a kind man willing to house any college student that needed a bed to sleep in for a while. This was a little different, as Brian seemed a little too excited for this arrival. Shianne reluctantly got up from preparing for her weekly evening show and walked to the foyer, unlocking and opening the door with a tired face.

She blinked at the stranger, a man slightly taller than she was, with long black hair and wearing a shiny red and silver jacket. He smirked at her, then looked down at the moderately-sized, nondescript bag he held.

"This is my stuff... Where do I put it?" he said. Shianne had nearly forgotten she was in his way, and stepped back, letting a smiling Brian take the wheel and show him around. She took her seat on the couch in front of the television again, waiting for her show to start as she cuddled into her hoodie and overheard the black-haired man and Brian talking about odds and ends around the house. As they disappeared upstairs, she heard the theme tune of her show, went to sit back on the couch, and glued her eyes to the screen, oblivious to her surroundings for about half the program, even as the newly-settled-in man sat beside her.

"Whatcha watching?" he abruptly said, making Shianne jump and gasp, glaring at him. She put her hand over her mouth in exasperation, trying not to look angry, but the man just watched her, curious. "Sorry."

"It's-it's okay, it's only a commercial break now," she said, looking at the television to see an ad flicker brightly across the screen. "I should say sorry, though..."

"Why?"

"I looked at you like you hit me or something," she said, nervously giggling, "Um... what's your name?"

"Solomon Olds. Call me Soli, or if you want to know my real name..." he leaned closer to her, looked around warily, and whispered, "it's Siron Kut. Sounds kinda weird, huh?"

"Kinda... I'm Shianne. Shianne Nicholas."

"Oh, that's a nice name."

"This is a little off topic but... where is your name from? Your... 'real name.'"

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but believe it or not, I'm an alien. Some planet out in the sky right there is where I'm from," he said, pointing out the large window to their left, the starry night showing a little bit, but in the light pollution from the city, most of the stars weren't visible. Shianne was now very confused, and she decided to seem like she let it slide and continued watching her favorite show. Soli left the couch, to her comfort, and she watched the rest of her show in peace, the question of him really being alien floating around in her thoughts. Brian had taken in some real oddballs sometimes, so she wasn't too phased. She recalled a man who insisted he was an android from the future and that the world went apocalyptic in the year 2067, and laughed at the memory.

Over the next couple weeks, the Solomon guy ended up fitting in nicely. Her sister, Dora, and Brian's brother and Dora's boyfriend, Colin, didn't mind him at all. He was a little reserved, but he opened up to them eventually, showing his wackier side at times. One day, almost exactly two weeks after Soli arrived, when Brian was out and it was just Colin, Dora, Soli, and Shianne at home, someone rang the doorbell. Curious, Shianne jumped to get it, Soli following soon after. When she opened the door, a blond man in a blue and black hoodie was standing there, holding the same type of bag Soli had.

"Hey, Derek!" Soli said, the blond looking behind her and smiling.

"Hey there!" he said before looking at her, grinning, then walked over to hug Soli. She soon called Brian to say that a man named Derek had come to our house.

"Oh yeah, Derek Mount, he's the second one, he'll be staying here too," Brian had said. Second? Did that mean there were more? She let that slip for a second, because Dora was telling her to hang up and come to the group. Shianne did so, another question coming to her mind as she sat down, something related to what Solomon had said a couple weeks earlier. Could Derek be alien too?

No, his answer was when she asked him in private. He told her that he is definitely a human, originally from Sweden, which grabbed her attention. He didn't sound foreign to her, so she inquired further. She was disappointed when she found he couldn't fully explain it.

Derek proved to be a good companion to Colin, as they got along very well, Dora often teasing him about spending more time talking to the newcomer than to her. Shianne also befriended Derek, but part of her still kept her sights on Soli, who had become even less shy when Derek came around. She was curious about the alien aspect of him and still wondered if it was true or not. In her eyes, as well, he was kind of good-looking, which she never admitted to anyone but Dora one day.