Thirty-Seven (bxb)

Chapter Ten

"Is your name Trevor?"

For once, Thirty-Seven completely understood the words the other-guy said. Thirty-Seven was always an intelligent boy, which had, at one point, frightened the scientists. It was the main reason that the boy was never taught to read or talk beyond what he was able to pick up. They were afraid that, with the proper knowledge, that Thirty-Seven could become a national threat and that they would no longer be allowed to continue on with their research.

Even though Thirty-Seven has only been outside of the lab for a couple of days, he has been able to learn a lot. During the night, Thirty-Seven would sneak into the living room and watch the television, but he wasn't watching the children's cartoons that the other-guy seemed to think he enjoyed. He would often flip through the different channels, all of them presenting different types of knowledge, but he always came back to a genre known as the 'news.' Filled with things from all over the world, Thirty-Seven was rapidly filled with information about the world he's been living underneath. Some good, others bad.

Through the unbiased eyes of a locked away teen, Thirty-Seven saw the world as it truly was. A dying planet spinning circles around a star. A planet filled with beings that were slowly ruining it with pollution and overpopulation. With violence and horror. But he has seen other things. Like when he was coloring with the other-guy, or simply lounging with the savior. Those were the best moments of his life. No longer was he living by the repetitive schedule that he had grown so used to underground.

The world had the potential to be beautiful; Thirty-Seven knew that much.

He also knew that he was never once called by the name Trevor.

Thirty-Seven shook his head, very confused by the question. Why would he be called 'Trevor'? For as long as he could remember, the only name or statement used when referring to him was Thirty-Seven.

"Your name isn't Trevor?" Danny asked once again for verification. The kid once again shook his head. Danny's hand clenched around the missing person's paper in his pocket, his hands shaking as his grip tightened. Was the paper in his pocket a complete lie? What was the benefit of spreading false information? Danny didn't understand. If the kid were truly missing, putting an incorrect name wouldn't help bring him home.

"Thirty-Seven," The kid said quietly, confusing Danny even more. Thirty-Seven? What about the number? The kid wasn't very verbal yet, saying a few small words here and there, but thirty-seven was a more complex number. It wasn't a number that one of the television shows would teach him.

"37?" Danny asked, not understanding. Danny wanted to understand; he wanted to understand everything. Danny couldn't help but feel like ever since the two of them came into his life that he hasn't understood anything. Like who they were, where they came from, what they were, and why there were missing persons' papers scattered across the city looking for the boy. Of course, understanding why the boy said a number wouldn't likely answer any of those questions, it would be an answer to something. It might not be what he really wants to discover, but it would be a start.

A small start, but a start none-the-less.

Thirty-Seven paused for a second, thinking about how he was supposed to word his next few words. If he said a couple of words wrong, the entire meaning behind his sentence could get lost. Were fewer words better? They might be for now, until he was able to form a proper sentence. For now, the other guy and the savior would have to deal with hardly understandable sentences.

"Name Thirty-Seven," He said softly. Talking felt weird. After staying quiet his entire life, it was almost as if his vocal cords couldn't properly function. It would take time and effort before he could talk as professionally as his savior and the other guy. But Thirty-Seven was in no rush, although speaking would be nice, after living his entire life without speaking, he could see the benefit in non-verbal communication.

"Your name is Thirty-Seven?" Just saying it felt weird to Danny. What kind of name was Thirty-Seven? Most people went for names like John or Cole. Danny's never known anyone with a set of numbers for a name. But hearing that the kid had a number for a name made a weird feeling form in his stomach. Something about it made Danny uncomfortable.

Thirty-Seven nodded before returning his attention towards the coloring sheet. Danny took that as a sign the conversation was over. Danny released his tightened grip on the missing person's paper, telling himself that he could worry about its content later. Maybe he wouldn't because the more he thought about it, the more he started to think the paper was a complete lie.

And if it was, why were people looking for the kid and using means of missing person's reports to do so? So many things weren't adding up, and it seemed like the more Danny discovered, the more confusing everything became.

After a couple of minutes of Danny cooking and the kid coloring silently, Vses joined them in the kitchen, sitting in the empty stool next to Thirty-Seven. Danny didn't like calling him that; something felt wrong about referring to the kid as a number. Calling him a kid didn't fit either. Thirty-Seven was a teenager who has never been introduced to some things, which explains his excitement towards television and coloring. Seeing him get excited over such things was both sad and enlightening. It made Danny happy that he got to introduce the kid to something new that he seemed to enjoy, but sad that he didn't already know about such ordinary things.

Vses glanced down at the sheet the kid was coloring, a curious look on his face.

"You want to color too?" Danny teased Vses. The red tint of Vses's skin worsened for a couple of seconds in obvious embarrassment as he sharply looked away from the coloring sheets. "You can if you want to," Danny offered again in a less teasing way. Vses looked like he generally wanted to color, which was both heartwarming and funny. Vses still flushed with embarrassment, yanked a coloring sheet from the stack Danny had created earlier and borrowed one of the colors. After taking a few seconds to discover how to open the marker, Vses made his first mark on the paper.

Vses's looked intrigued, staring at the mark he made with wide eyes. Danny had to admit, Vses looked adorable while coloring. It was nice to have the two distracted while Danny finished the meal. Vses would stare at Danny while he cooked, making cooking an awkward task. It was nice to no longer have the suspenseful spying gaze on him while he cooked.

When Danny finally finished cooking the meal, he placed the steaming food onto the kitchen counter, glancing over towards the two coloring on the island bar. Thirty-Seven was shading his drawing, adding details that Danny wouldn't have thought to add. Vses, however, colored like a toddler. Or it seemed that way. His technique was not a good one, as he wasn't putting the same amount of care into each mark. Regardless of the difference, Danny saw that both we masterpieces. Where Thirty-Seven followed the lines, Vses created new ones, making the intended sketch different and unique in his own way.

"Dinner's ready," He hated to ruin their coloring moment, but Danny was hungry, and food would help him get everything off his mind, at least while he ate.

The two capped the markers, putting them back into the box. Thirty-Seven seemed to hesitate to leave his picture, but the urge to eat won over after a couple of seconds of thought. Adorable, was all Danny could think.

"So, you like coloring?" Danny teased Vses as he sat the food onto the table.

"Shut up." 

A/N: 

Friendly reminder: Thirty-Seven isn't completely human, therefore things such as vocial development are different for him, as his brain and how it functions is different than a human. Also, whose ready for some drama? I know I am!!