The orange grass surrounded me on the blue rock in the colorful world. The purple sky above my head grew darker with every passing minute. Xabier leaned against my back, his knees tucked under his chin. He reached around with his lightning speed to grab my hand - a common thing for us. He stretched his legs out in from of him. With being seven feet tall, his feet touched the ground, while mine would never come close.
Even in the dimming light I could recognize the green discoloration in his skin that stretched across his arms and face. Sometimes I couldn’t help but admire the difference from mine. My bare feet seemed ghostly white compared to his.
Coming to Bellerophon with Dad for the summer made me feel out of place. It was galaxies away from our home on Earth, but it was Xabier who had made me feel at home in the first place.
He squeezed my hand. I was brought back down to . . . well he had gotten my attention.
My plain brown eyes stared back into his fluorescent purple irises. “Emily,” he pushed into my thoughts, something only his kind could do. “Is there something wrong?”
“Please,” I asked aloud. “Can we talk normally? I don’t really want to be the only one talking.”
He smiled in reply.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” I tried to reassure. But I knew he wouldn’t be convinced.
Xabier wrapped his arms around my diaphragm and held me tightly. We had grown close over the summer, spending almost every waking moment together.
His black hair blew out of his face from the breeze in the cool night air.
“Xabier,” I pulled away from his grasp. My hands rested on his chest. He didn’t say a word. “You know what the date is right?”
He nodded.
“And you,” I paused. I didn’t know how to word what I wanted to say properly. “You know I’m going to leave soon,” I said quietly.
He sighed. “Yes I-”
I cut him off. “But I don’t want to go.”
“I wouldn’t either.”
I chose my next words carefully as I studied the details in his eyes, something I couldn’t get enough of. “Xabeir, I don’t want to go . . . I think I love you.”
He froze. His legs became stiff and his arms wouldn’t move. I didn’t notice him breathing at all either.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you, but-” He still didn’t move. I could feel my eyes starting to swell. This wasn’t what I wanted to happen. The plan was to leave at the end of the week. Plenty of time to convince Dad to let my stay. But what if Xabeir didn’t feel the same?
Suddenly I was in his arms, pressed tight against his hard chest.
“Emily,” he said. “Emily, I’ve been wanting for so long to tell you. I feel the same.”
It was difficult to sigh. “I don’t want o leave.”
He placed a green hand on either side of my face and kissed my forehead before pulling me close again. “If you really mean it, then find something, do anything you can to get out of it. You don’t have to leave.”