Not In Love

Prologue

"MUUUUUM!"

The boy's shriek echoed through the helm. With his eyes screwed shut, the boy felt the searing warmth of the unexplained light recede. The exposed skin of him arms and cheeks were now hit with an unfeeling chill. On his knees, arms still raised defensively above his face, he took a chance to peel his eyes open. Blinking a few times to adjust to the changed light, another sob wracked through his chest at what he saw. At least two dozen pairs of eyes stared back at him; brown, blue, green, yellow, red, an assortment of inhuman colours. The diversity of their skin, sizes and shapes could only suggest his captors were anything but human. Aliens?

Overwhelmed by the sight, the boy fell silent as his next cry caught in his throat. Unable to concentrate on any particular individual, he blinked a few more times in an attempt to confirm what he was seeing. Where am I?

A man (well, if he could call it a man) stepped forward from amongst the crowd. The boy tried to shuffle backward as it approached but found himself rooted to the spot in fear. The man knelt in front of him. He was blue. His eyes red. His teeth sharp as they spread into a menacing grin. The boy felt his skin crawl and bile begin to rise as the alien studied him. Then, opening its mouth, it began to speak in a tongue entirely foreign. He had no clue as to what was being said, only that its tone was harsh, hostile and - humorous? The boy shuddered as the group behind him let out sudden hollers and cheers, some sneering at him.

The blue man snickered again with a nod of his head, before taking him by the shoulder and pulling him off the ground. Too petrified to attempt to shake him away, the boy followed as the hand pushed him away from the group and down a narrow corridor. Refusing to glance again in the direction of the creatures, he now became more aware of his surroundings. It was cold. The interior was almost entirely metal, besides some blaring screens displaying intricate patterns and diagrams he could not understand. Various technology littered the space, looking far more advanced than his Atari console back home. It was like something out of a comic book. Was this a spaceship?

At the end of the corridor was a brown, steel door. Pressing a thumb to a bright light to the left, the blue alien opened it. Pushed inside the empty, bleak room, the boy ran to huddle himself into a corner. He wanted to get as far away from this creature as possible. His captor seemed to say something else to him in that guttural alien language, fixing him with another red-eyed glare, before turning and walking away. The boy started at the sound of the door slamming shut.

And now he was alone. Trembling with cold and panic, he pulled his knees to his chest. Questions swarmed his mind. He found it difficult to focus on one thought alone. Do they know I am missing yet? Will they come for me? Why am I here? What do they want? Where am I? Who are they? Why? Mum.

Catching onto that final thought, he began to weep. Burying his head into the crook of his arm atop his knees, the boy began to hum, as he always did when he found himself alone and grieved. Hell, he had never felt so alone or grieved. Becoming lost in the melody, the boy allowed himself to release the turmoil that had been building over the past few hours.

"What are you singing?"

A voice broke him from his thoughts. A human voice. He stopped, immediately snapping his head to the door that he failed to notice had opened. In the light of the corridor, he saw a girl. A human girl. Although she worse the same brown uniform as the others, she did not look alien. Her skin was not blue. Her wide, curious eyes were not red or yellow. Her voice was high and gentle, not gruff and harsh. She could not be much younger than him, her petite height and youthful pallor made that evident. What is she doing here?

He sniffed, "I wasn't singing."

He had not meant to sound so bitter, but he was confused by the barrage of emotions he was experiencing.

The girl rolled her eyes and took one more step into the room, "Fine. What were you humming?"

The boy gulped, "Uh, it's just a song. It's by 10cc."

She nodded, urging him to ask, "Do you know it?"

She shook her head, looking to the floor, almost embarrassed, "I don't know any songs."

He was unsure how to respond. His mind was lost. It was then he observed she was holding a tray with something balancing on top of it. She noticed his brow crease as he looked at it, reminding her why she was there, "Oh!"

The girl moved towards the boy, placing the tray on the floor beside him. She caught on to the way his eyes widened and how he automatically scooted a little away from her. She was not offended. She understood. Letting out a sigh, the girl explained what she had brought him, "Dinner."

Food? Am I not a prisoner? Despite this confusion, the boy relaxed a little, seeing a dish and cup of water on the tray. Studying the thick, grey gloop on the plate, his nose involuntarily turned up.

The girl let out a soft giggle as she knelt beside him, careful to keep her distance and not startle him, "It isn't much, I know. Huhtar isn't as good of a cook as he likes to think. But you will get used to it."

Get used to it? He thought. I don't want to get used to it. I want to go home. Do I want to go home? Nothing is left for me there...

Seeing the boy in front of her had slipped into some sort of contemplative state, she cleared her throat. Extending her hand to him, she gave the boy a small smile, "My name is Asteria."

His red-rimmed, puffy eyes gazed up at her. Considering her outstretched palm for a moment, he slowly reached out and placed his hand in hers. With a weak shake, he spoke up, "Peter Quill."