Scarred Beauty [Completed]

Chapter Twenty [200 Read Mark]

Olivia Hernandez

I found myself on the roof of the house, staring at the stars once again. I don't know why, but staring at the billions of stars in the sky was relaxing to me. There was a shuttering sound, and I turned to look over my shoulder, seeing Alex flustered as he crawled over, sitting down beside me. He had tried to avoid the open latch from making any other noise, which made me smile.

"Sup.." I mumbled quietly.

Alex grinned, "Hey."

We stayed quiet for a while, until I sat up on the roof and looked at him. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I crossed my legs, facing him.

"So.." I murmured. "You know about our brain thing.. right?"

Alex nodded, replying in a small voice, "Unfortunately. Meladia told me about it when I visited your father."

"Oh," I replied.

That was all I could say then. It was safe to say he didn't think otherwise of the "metallic brain" thing. He didn't mind it, unlike me, who questioned every single living wire attached to it. I still don't want to believe this.. I still wondered if we were normal, or if we were some sort of supernatural-like humans. What was worst was that no one else besides Alex's family and Jen knew about our brains.

I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them, staring out into the night. The stars weren't blazing like the other nights; they merely twinkled. The moon was still as bright as ever though, and I could hear the soft sounds of people listening to music as the night rolled by. How come Alex doesn't feel any remorse on this? How is he okay with everything..?

Suddenly, someone wrapped their arm around my shoulder, pulling me towards them. I looked to the side and saw Alex smiling down at me.

"What're you thinking in that complex brain of yours?" He asked.

I laughed a little, "My brain is the same as yours. Don't even try."

He chuckled back. After a few minutes of stargazing, Alex jumped a little, as if remembering something. I gave him a confused look, trying to hold in my laughter from the little jump. "I need to get something," he said.

He got up and climbed down the ladder, coming back up with a blanket in hand. He sat next to me and wrapped the blanket around me, pulling his jacket over his shoulders. We stared at the moon for awhile, until Alex looked directly at me. I stared back, my eyes glistening lightly.

"So, how's life?" He asked.

I laughed at his question, finding it almost comedic that he could ever ask that question after everything. "As crazy as it'll ever be."

Alex smiled slightly, "Your father told me that your birthday is coming up. On Valentine's Day, huh?"

I nodded. "It's not really great though. People around me were always smiling, in love and all happy, while I was being abused."

I suddenly heard a small chirp from behind us.

Alex turned around and exclaimed quietly, "A tiny blue bird!"

"Ocean?" I questioned. Just as called, the little blue bird hopped onto my lap, cuddling into the mess of blankets.

"Ocean?" Alex repeated.

I gave him an awkward smile, and explained, "Ocean is a bird I met earlier today, near the bleachers at school during lunch."

"Well then," Alex began. He inspected the blue bird, as she did the same to him. "We could all be friends."

~~~

The next day at school, both Jen and Alex were cautious of everything that happened. Whenever someone got too close to me, they would stand there like bodyguards and death-glare at the person until he or she backed up. In all reality, it was quite awkward and embarrassing. Especially when they just stared at the person and didn't initiate any movement. Alex was being the most protective, being the one in my grade and some classes.

In English today, we were asked what the term "love" meant to us. I instantly perked up from my seat upon hearing the assignment. It was ironic how a few months ago I had remembered so clearly that I talked to Alex about what I thought love was. But this time, I got to write it. I got to write down anything I wanted, without anyone judging me except the teacher.

And I was beyond excited.

Everyone began buzzing about since our teacher Miss Raymond said we could gather some "information", even though we all knew she just wanted us to be socializing with others. She's too nice. As I began killing the paper with my pencil, Alex poked my arm continuously from his desk next to me, trying to get my attention. I tried several times to ignore him, but now that our brains were triggered, he kept on sending links to me.

Bio-Link From: Alex James
HELPPPPPPPP ME!! IDK WHAT LOVE MEANS!!!!

I looked at Alex with a blank stare.

Bio-Link To: Alex James
SHUT UP AND DO YOUR OWN WORK. JUST BECAUSE WE GOT THIS TECH SHIT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN CHEAT.

Bio-Links were messages sent to the closest known human of having a half-metallic brain, and there was no ignoring it. When you missed a link, it would have a red beeping circle at the back of your mind, constantly nagging you to check it. Usually, when you sleep, that was when your human brain went to sleep and your techno brain went to work. It was cool too, since most of the time when you were awake, only part of your techno brain worked.

Alex poked me again. "Please!! I just need help!"

I legit wanted to slam my head on the table. And I did (almost regretting it when the collision rattled my body with trembles). I sat back up and glared at Alex, who pouted at me childishly. Sighing, I groaned reluctantly, "Fiiiiiiiiiiiine... I'll help you.."

He send me a cheeky smile, knowing he won met over.

~~~

At lunch, things were normal. Cheerleaders were nagging at Alex to hang out with them, jocks talked to Alex so they might hang out later, and a few girls who had admired him from afar wouldn't stop giggling and squealing. Everyone wanted to hang out with him. Even me, since I wanted to catch up on things. But apparently, everyone in the school thought I wasn't in a coma, but instead went on some sort of adventure to Alaska.

What does that even mean?!

Who even told them that bullshit?

Alex and I decided to go to the bleachers to eat lunch, and Ocean had found us there. We fed her some food, making sure she liked what she ate. We had a nice time with Ocean, and the breeze was blowing through our hair (or, er, feathers, in Ocean's case). We talked and talked, and even Ocean had spoken a little, chirping whenever one of us asked a question or said something to her. It was like she understood us, but we didn't know.

Alex and I decided to ask Mom if there was a way to understand "bird language", so that we could understand what Ocean was saying. With our techno brains and our human brains, we could do a lot of things people couldn't. People would usually try to insult me or flirt with Alex, but there was always that handy-dandy MUTE button, where we tapped our wrists (where the veins were located) twice.

As weird and unusual as it sounded, today seemed like the first normal day for me.