D.O.L.L. (BoyXBoy)

Chapter Seven

Published and written on May 25, 2014

Rewritten and edited on November 10, 2016

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I burst into my dad's room, my eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed with anger. "Dad!" I yell in annoyance.

He looks up in surprise. "Rowan?" he asks. "What is it this time?"

I pause for a moment to ponder on why he said "this time" before I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I point to the D.O.L.L. which had been following me. "What is this? I didn't order anything!" I tell him. "Why was this delivered to me?"

Dad stands up, a worried look on his face. "You...you don't like it?" he asks slowly. "But I--"

"Don't tell me you bought it for me to play with!" I yell at him, annoyed. I was too angry to care about manners or etiquette at the moment, despite the fact that there were a few guards off to the side.  "Did you buy this because you thought it would help me cope with Sebastian's death?" I continue. "I don't need anything like that!"

Dad holds his hands up, as if he was surrendering. "Rowan, I swear," he begins. "I was only trying to help. And besides, the D.O.L.L. will help! I've been told that it helps people with their mental health and apparently it has a five star rating and--"

"I don't care!" I tell him. "I didn't ask you to do anything, and I didn't want you to give me anything either!"

"Then would you rather have me disappear, Rowan?" the D.O.L.L. cuts in with a sarcastic edge in his voice.

A D.O.L.L. that can use sarcasm? That's not possible... I think in confusion as I turn to look at him. Robots aren't supposed to use sarcasm or any other sort of emotion...no, more like, they're not supposed to have any emotions. 

The boy leans on one leg, hands in hoodie pockets and hood over his head. A smirk is plastered on his face. He seemed a bit carefree, and I frown. 

"Aren't you supposed to be a robot?" Dad asks, raising an eyebrow. "You speak and act like a human, so how are you a robot?"

"I'm a robot, though and through. Why?"

"What's with the attitude you're showing my son?" my dad growls. "I wouldn't have bought you if I knew that you were going to be this snarky."

The boy's smirk grew and he shifts his weight. "If you don't like it, then look for the instruction manual so you can shut me down or reprogram me. Each D.O.L.L. has their own manual and code. You can find the password that restart me or whatever."

I frown. "I looked in your box. There was no manual or chip or anything," I say in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

He shifts his weight again and shrugs indifferently. "Dear me, what a calamity. Good luck finding it."

"We're returning him," Dad suddenly announces. "Do you have any complaints, Rowan?"

"Wait," I say, giving my dad a confused look as I study the robot. "Maybe there's another solution. Maybe I could take him to Alicia, and she could fix him."

"Fix?"

Dad frowns, ignoring Xavier's question. "That young female genius robot maker? What can she do?"

"It's nothing. I'll just ask for her help. Sorry to disturb you," I say as I grab Xavier and shove him out of the room, locking the door behind me. 

~~~

"Hey," I say.

The robot looks at me, raising an eyebrow. "What do you want, Rowan?"

"What's your name?" I ask curiously. 

"What's your name?" he shoots back, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.

I chuckle, indifferent to his attitude, and pull back on the reins of the horse in front of Ali's store. "You already know my name. So I need to know what's yours, right?"

He sighs. "729BDK852 Prototype 1. I'm a Servant BDK. My attachment is emotional," he says in a practiced tone, as if it was something he had said over and over and over again. 

I blink, since I was surprised he gave me so much information. Then I slide down from my horse. "Don't you have, like, a shorter name?" I ask.

He slides down from his. "If you mean a human name, yeah, I do," he answers. "It's Sebastian."

"Seba..." I pause mid-name.

I can't.

If I call him Sebastian, it'll be like saying that I acknowledge this sarcastic robot taking Sebastian's place, even though it may not seem like it to other people. 

No.

I really can't do it. 

"Any other names?" I ask.

The boy cocks his head. "Why? What's wrong with Sebastian?" When I don't answer, he sighs. "If you don't like that, since you are my master, you can choose a name for me yourself."

I frown. Me? Choose? I look around for any inspiration from the things around me, like Brick or Rock or Bush.

"Xavier."

I glance back at him and tilt my head. "What?"

"I like the name Xavier," he says shyly. "Is that okay?"

I blink in surprise again and then smile. "Sure."

Well, what do you know? This robot has a cute side to it too.