Kessie's Short Stories

[MNo9] Pacemaker

Originally published 7/25/2019

I know I've only met you once or twice,
But maybe you can help me out.
'Cause I don't really want some good advice,
Just some help to shed my doubts.

-Jaws, Magnet (Even Johansen)

. . .

Beck was not ready for this. He thought he was, and he even looked ready for it, but once he stepped up to the Ladan-Blaise front door, he knew that he was so, so not ready for this. With his hand shaking, Beck reached for the doorbell and gave it a ring. The wait for someone to answer the door seemed like years, although it only took a good three minutes. At first, the person who answered the door only opened it at the tiniest bit.

"Who is it?" the voice asked. Beck immediately recognized it as the voice of Leilani Blaise, 19 year old robotic genius and child convict, now currently under the supervision of SANDA Technologies and Doctor Soichiro Sanda himself.

"I-it's me, Beck." the little robot said. "I'm here to pick up Leilani Blaise."

Weighing her options a bit, Leilani stepped out into full view, allowing Beck to see what she was wearing in full; she had on a light blue tunic dress paired with dark washed capri pants. Her hair had been pulled back into a loose ponytail, and wore no makeup- the lack of said makeup made her eyes look sunken in and her eyes almost lifeless.

"You look awful." Beck told her without even considering his words.

"Been fighting a cold." Leilani mused. "I've been enjoying a cocktail of NyQuil and sleeping pills for the past two weeks."

"O-oh..." Beck stammered. "That... doesn't seem very... healthy."

Leilani smirked. "It's not." she even retorted. With a small chuckle, she started to head back inside the house. "Let me get my shoes. I'm pretty much ready when you are."

"What about Ray?" Beck questioned, trying to still get a peak at the human as she decided on her footwear by the door.

"Sleeping." Leilani insisted as she chose a pair of Grecian-style sandals. "Still trying to work on a new energy source that doesn't reject every xel replacement I give her. It's an uphill battle for both of us."

Beck gave a small nod despite her not being able to see it. Once her shoes were properly on her feet, Leilani came out side- making sure that she locked the door behind her. Awkwardly, Beck gestured for her to go first for the limo waiting for them and the human didn't act twice on the idea.

"Where is Sanda taking me today?" Leilani mused as they left the Ladan-Blaise drivelane.

"No where." Beck told her, trying to sound bold but only sounding nervous. "I thought it would a be a good idea if we just... spent the day together. I-is that okay?"

Leilani looked at him. "Where are we going?" she then asked- her tone flat and incredibly unamused. Her expression was the most horrifying part; her eyes should have shot daggers right into Beck's artificial heart and killed him right there.

"A-a cafe." he quickly told her. "It's a little far out from here, b-but I think you'd like it."

To the bot's relief, Leilani looked away from him to look out the window. She said nothing further to him, and at the moment, Beck believed it was a sign of approval. But it also welcomed a bitter silence between the two of them that the bot couldn't handle. He couldn't help but look over at her before turning away again, because staring was rude, and he really didn't want to step on her toes today. And there was still so many questions that were stuck in his mind that he needed to ask. And what better time to start with them than now? R-right...?