Glitch [ON HOLD; TO BE EDITED]

Water and Wires

It was rainy out that evening. Emma hated the rain. She couldn't fathom how anyone could like it. Whenever it rained it always left you feeling frigid and drenched. It was unsettling just as it was uncomfortable. Still, she trudged through the muddied old sidewalk on the way back from the library. She hid her newly acquired book inside her coat to protect it from the rain. She couldn't lose or ruin another book. She'd already lost three books since she started coming to the Creek Library. The walk from the library to her apartment wasn't that far and she usually didn't mind it. She only wished she'd remembered to bring an umbrella with her.

Arriving at the entry of her apartment complex was a relief. She ducked under the awning and set her book on the small dry patch of cement by the door. After a moment's fumbling for her keys she was able to retrieve them and get into the complex. She could hear someone jogging up behind her as she propped the door with her foot to grab her book. 

The strain the door put on her foot was relieved in an instant. She straightened up, hugging her book to her chest. Google, her next-door neighbor–an android–was holding the door for her. In his free hand he held a light grey, almost metallic looking umbrella, drenched in rain water. Somehow, even as the rain whipped sideways through the streets, he'd managed to stay completely dry. His dark tresses held form just over his eye, styled the same as usual. His usual blue top was half covered by an open jacket to match his umbrella.

"Thank you." She musters a smile, suddenly conscious of how silly she must look right now by comparison. Her hair is drenched, along with her clothes. She bites her lip and hurries inside. She doesn't look back as she ascends the steps but hears the door snap shut beneath her. It takes her a moment to find the right key to her apartment. I really need to color-code these somehow. Red for my apartment? Or purple? She thought to herself, opening up her apartment. 

She left the door open as she took off her tan raincoat and hung it on its hook. Google passed her door on his way to his own room, shaking out his umbrella but being careful to keep it a certain distance away from his body. She waved to him out of habit. He caught it out of the corner of his eye and waved back, a slight smile forming on his lips.

Then the door was closed and Google's could be heard shutting close-by. Emma kicked off her boots and slid across the hardwood floors like an ice skater all the way to the couch where she flopped down on it. Book in hand she drew up a blanket and began to read. 

She hadn't even gotten through three chapters when she heard a swift knock at her door. Why was someone at the door? Was there something I had planned that I'd forgotten about? She wondered as she tossed aside her blanket and rolled onto her feet, book in hand. The knock came again, louder this time. She couldn't imagine who was at the door. Unless her cousin had decided to surprise her with a visit. He liked to do that from time to time.

With the locks off the door she cracked it open a slight bit to see who was there. To her surprise, Google stood before her, looking miserable and disoriented. She opened the door a slight bit more and greeted him. "What's up? Something the matter, Google?"

He groans and asks to come in. She furrow her brows, surprised by the abruptness of his request. Still, she steps aside, holding open the door for him to step into the small entryway. She'd known Google for at least a year now and they'd become pretty good friends. Besides, she wanted to help him. Something was obviously bothering him.

He took off his shoes and set them next to hers on the mat before doing the same with his jacket. He looked to her, not knowing where to put his coat. She closed the door behind him and took his coat from him to pin it up on the hooks. "C'mon, this way." She took his arm gently and guided him into her living room.

She sat down on the edge of the couch. He stood rather stiffly beside her, not uttering a word even as uncomfortable as he looked. "So what's bothering you so much? You're obviously upset by something."

He looked down at her, impressed by her perceptiveness, though it was not very hard to decipher. "My joints are suffering from water damage." He uttered quietly and held up his hand to demonstrate. He tried to make a fist but his knuckles all cracked loudly and twisted awkwardly. Emma bit her lip and took his hand between her own. She helped him to straighten out each of his fingers and slowly readjust his joints to the point where they were once again as flexible as hers. 

"There we are. All better. See?" She helped him make a fist once again. She drew away a moment later, letting him play with his newly adjusted hand.

"Thank you, Emma. You must be tired of fixing us older models all the time." He laughed quietly, shaking his head. 

"Not at all." She shook her head immediately. She was used to repairing androids. She herself was partially an android, albeit a more recent and water proof model. She wasn't born an android but instead made into one after an incident that occurred in her childhood. A car accident gone horrific. They'd made it so she'd be able to walk again. Her skull was whole once more. She didn't have to worry about doing everything one handed anymore. Severed spine, split skull, and a shattered arm. Her parents had figured it would be easier to just have it replaced.

Only she and her parents knew about it though. Emma never liked to tell anyone about it. It made her feel, well, different. She'd thought about telling Google at one point but quickly thought better of it. Instead she continued to pretend to be wholesomely human. Even around her cousin. 

"I'm surprised." Said Google. "Most people usually find my programming to be rather tedious and arduous to work with." He was still exercising his limbs, checking that they were all properly functioning.

"Okay, Google." Emma said rather abruptly. 

Google snapped upright and turned to face her. "How may I be of assistance?"

"Tell me your missionary objective."

"Primary Objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible." He chirped back his automatic response.

She pats his shoulder, smiling now. "I think you work just fine, Google."

He glowers at her for using his automated programming even though he knows she's heard it a million times. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

Grinning, she reaches up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek before bouncing back on her heels. "Nope."

He rolls his eyes and pats her head once before settling in on the couch where she'd been sitting. "What are we watching?" He did a quick scan of the room to find the TV remote. At the same time he pulls up a web browser in front of him to find the top rated shows on Netflix. 

This was a natural occurrence for them. Google and Emma always had their apartments open to one another. Google hated thunder so he preferred to stay in her apartment when it stormed. She never knew why thunder bothered him so much but rain was no big deal. She didn't think to much of it either. Several times they'd brought up moving in together and splitting rent fees. It'd be cheaper for both of them and his apartment had a spare bedroom too. They'd never finalized anything though. 

She left him to find something to watch and went to make a bowl of popcorn to share between the two of them. It wasn't long before they'd settled in to watch a show together. She enjoyed the time she got to spend with her best friend. 

(Ah! That was a long first chapter but I had a lot of fun writing it! Let me know what you thought and if you'd like to see more and I will definitely publish some more. I have a lot of cool ideas for where to take this story. Until next time, Buh-Bye!)