Worlds Apart

"No, no, I do not mind at all. The entire point of a question is to have it answered, right? That actually kind of resonates with my views of Earth. The others and I constantly discuss things about the Earth and we always come to the same conclusion: it's perfectly imperfect."

"Well, I'm glad to be able to answer a question of yours for a change."

We share a laugh before returning to the scenery. After a few moments, something that I've been wondering for a while suddenly pops up. And I need to know the answer or I'll go insane.

"So speaking of questions being answered," I start, "You got room for one more?"

"Always," she replies,

"Your markings: were you guys born with those designs or do they just form after a certain point?"

"Well, we actually create our own designs. We also create the noise and the effects it can have once activated. It remains for a few years, then we create another whenever we desire if we so choose."

"I see. Wait, so you actually wanted to be tickled?"

"It was-...as you would put it, a 'drunken dare'. After a few generations of watching the Earth, we stepped down to obtain some of your alcohol. Soon after, your ancestors created the torture method of tickling. Now, with us not fully grasping that it was intended as a form of torture, it was brought up during a wager that you humans would just exterminate yourselves during that time. And clearly, I was wrong. But I got my revenge. Xen thought that you would not discover technology until the 25th century. And now, she has paint brushes that allow the activator to have her do anything they wish."

That's just hilarious. Even aliens aren't exempt from the temptations of alcohol and dares. I laugh before saying,

"Woah, that's hardcore."

She joins in my laughter, saying,

"My intention was never particularly meant to be nefarious. In fact, it is the reason why we specifically requested qualified, mature, intelligent females. I just had her grab me some of your food."

We share another laugh as I blush. She thinks I'm intelligent? Aww. But I guess we kinda missed the maturity mark with Mandy.

"Also, the effect of our markings are only as potent as the activator wishes. Which is why the level of torture was so grand earlier."

Hm...interesting.

"So you're saying that there's a way to make it more pleasu- uh- I mean, pleasant for you?" I ask, fumbling the hell out of my words,

"Yes," she answers, "It just requires a gentle touch instead of merciless pokes."

Uh-huh. So she just needs a gentler touch is all? Well, with the assault that she endured earlier, surely she needs someone to alleviate that torment. I shift my body to face her, hesitantly raising my hand, saying,

"So-...So you mean if I just-..."

She grins, rolling over on her back, saying,

"Go on. I do not mind."

That's all I needed to hear. I bring my hand to the heart at the center of her belly, causing the markings to glow. This time, instead of a popping sound, it creates a humming sound as her body lightly vibrates. Val lightly giggles in response to my touch, looking me in the eyes. Don'tthinkabouthercutenessdon'tthinkabouthercutenessdon'tthinkabouthercutenessdon'tthinkabouthercuteness!

To keep my mind off of it and to hopefully dissuade her from reading my mind, I start circling my hand on her tummy. But the results of it are far different than I expected. Instead of giggling more, she...moans. I stop my hand movements and she stops giggling. This may not have been such a good idea. She then cements my thoughts of this being a bad idea with her markings turning from white to yellow. I remove my hand, relentlessly apologizing my ass off,

"O-oh my- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know th- it was an- I thou-"

"I-it- it is perfectly fine," she profusely accepts, sitting up, "It was only an accident. You had no idea of knowing. I should have informed you better. Please, forgive me."

"No, no, you did nothing wrong. There's nothing to apologize for. I should've been thinking before I acted. It's my fault. Touching you was a big mistake from the get go."

"But...I-...I was not...opposed to your touch."

Now it's my turn to blush. Before I can say anything else, she says,

"Listen, the past is the past. It happened and now we can either dwell on it, or move past it."

Ok, good. She's not too disturbed by me practically molesting her.

"I agree," I cosign, "There's no point in putting energy in something we can't control."

"Exactly. So how about we pretend that that never took place?"

"You read my mind."

We share a laugh before laying back down on the ground, simply enjoying each others' company. But now it's completely different. I swear, I can feel...something with her right next to me. Not only that, I swear, she just said something. But I couldn't hear what. Which is impossible. She's right next to me. Even the slightest whisper wouldn't be that quiet.

CHAPTER 3

I'm awoken by the rays of the sun beaming down on me. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess. And that expression is proven even more as, like usual, I'm the first one up. My crew is still snoring away and Xen and Liy are still in their tents. But something immediately catches my eye. Val's tent is completely taken down. Sweet. Now I have someone to talk to. But where is she?

I survey the area, seeing if I can spot her or some clue to tell me where she went. That's when I notice that the door on our ship is open. Putting two and two together, I head over to the ship to surprise the invader. But as I reach the doorway, I spot Val sitting down with a bunch of papers in her hands, giggling as she observes them. Wait a minute, is she...wearing my clothes? Yeah, that's my avocado tank top and Hello Kitty shorts. I didn't think she'd have any interest in wearing clothes. Oh, that's just precious. They're so loose on her. But something about those papers she's laughing at catches my attention. OH, SHIT, MY DRAWINGS!!!

I rush inside, trying to think of something that seems believable.

"Oh, hey, there, Val," I greet, grabbing her attention, "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, Alex," she says before turning her attention back to the pictures.

Ok, something believable. Something believable. Alright, she doesn't know that Dani can't draw. Aaaand I just now remembered who the hell I'm thinking in front of. Please, don't judge me.

"I would never dare dream of it," she says with a chuckle.

I make my way over to her, sitting right next to her and saying,

"So what do you think? I didn't make you look fat, did I?"

"No, no," she giggles, "I really like it. You have a real talent for drawing."

"Aww, well, aren't you sweet?"

She looks at me, smirking and I smirk back at her. Wow, just look at those eyes. Just my luck that the greatest being I've ever encountered has my favorite color in their eyes. And it absolutely works with the rest of her. Emerald green and hot pink are a match made in heaven.

She gives me a room brightening smile as her markings turn violet, confusing me. Then, I remember what it means when her markings change color. So to stop things from being awkward again, I say,

"Uh-...shoot. I'm sorry, I-"

But she stops me, bringing her finger to my lips.

"I am not offended," she assures, "For me, violet means that I am happy. Your words are making me feel good."

Aww. Looks like my brain isn't completely useless after all.

"Well, I'm glad I could make you so happy with just my words," I say.

Her smile grows even larger as I return one of my own. My attention then turns to my clothes on her body, making me uncontrollably snicker.

"So," I start, pinching the shoulder strap of my tank top, "What happened? You just got bored?"

"Oh, I am so sorry," she says, "I should have asked for your permission beforehand. I just always wondered what human clothing felt like since it is regarded as such an integral part of your species. I have made attempts to wear some in the past, but Xen and Liy would bully me for my taste. Honestly, I fail to see the appeal."

"It's alright, but is there any particular reason they're still attached to your person if it's not appealing to you?"

She shrugs before saying,

"I just got lazy."

We share a laugh at her comment, enjoying the mutual relatability of it. Then, I get a random thought. It's a longshot that she'll actually let me do it, but it's worth a shot.

"So..." I start, trying to formulate the words I'm trying to say into a sentence without sounding pervy, "I mean-...You know-...If it's just that uncomfortable for you...Do you want me to-...you know...help you?"

She gives me a look that I can't quite pinpoint what it means. She then confuses me more as her markings turn...orange? Before I can even question her about it, she says,

"O-ok. I mean...only if you want to."

Oh. Ok. Alright, then. Didn't expect her to actually agree to that.

"Um, alright, then," I say, standing up in front of her, "Well, for this to work, I'm gonna need you to lift up your arms."

She does as instructed, raising her arms in the air. I then grab the bottom of the shirt, pulling it above her head, exposing her bare torso to the world once more. Also, revealing her-...chest...

"Um...what do I do now?" she asks, stopping my mind from being so enthralled on her,

"Oh, right," I say, trying to push my lewd thoughts away, "Well, you don't need to do much. I'll just get you out of these."

I kneel down in front of her, grabbing the waistband of the shorts and pulling them down her tender thighs as she lifts her legs to quicken the process. And there we go. She's fully naked again. With me on my knees in front of her. With her legs spread apart from assisting in the removal process. Giving me a full view of her lower lips.

Before I can lose control of my mind and make her uncomfortable, I stand up, folding my shorts, saying,

"Alright...And...And there you go...Your body's free, once again. Hehe."

Silence. Shit, this just turned really awkward, didn't it? She starts to say something, but we're interrupted with Mandy practically screeching,

"WE'RE ABOUT TO BE ON THE ROAD AGAIN! MOVE YOUR ASSES!"

I swear to God I'm gonna kill her one day. I turn to Val and, unsurprisingly, she's as yellow as a taxi. Definitely gonna end her existence at some point. But for now, we've got knowledge to cram. So I help Val to her feet before we both step out of the ship. She then turns to me, saying in a bashful tone,

"I should-...probably...um...check with the others to...see where we are going next."

"Oh, sure-...sure," I reply.

She gives me a small wave before heading to Xen and Liy, leaving me with my idiots.

"Ooooooooooo," I hear the three say from behind me,

"Oh, shut up," I say in response to their infantile behavior,

"Hey, don't take your frustration out on us, you dog," Jaqui says, putting her hand on her hip,

"Yeah," Mandy chimes in, "Whatever happened to 'looking beyond the body and studying what's on the inside and gawk gawking the brain' or whatever?"

"Oh, she's studying Val on the inside, alright," Dani adds, causing all three of them to laugh,

"You know, you're all just a bunch of bitches," I say back to them, turning away so they don't see me blushing,

"Wow, do you kiss your Deinlite with that mouth?" Mandy jokes, earning more laughter,

"Oh, hardy har har," I mock, turning back to them, "What about you? I see how you look at Xen. You wanna tell us what's going on there?"

Now it's her turn to blush, saying,

"I haven't the slightest inkling as to what exactly you are referring to and frankly, I'm not too sure that I appreciate the insinuation."

"Yeah, you mind saying that with her over here?"

"...I don't need to take this abuse."

She huffs away in a dramatic manner, leaving us to laugh at her instead. Good. Now I won't be bullied throughout this entire trip. And I can actually get some work done.

3 months have passed and our knowledge on Deinz grows larger and larger. And as per our agreement, the incident with Val and I was never brought up or acknowledged. We're just enjoying each other. It's not awkward. It's not forced. We're really becoming quite close. Whenever she's not quizzing me about Deinz, we're just conversing about miscellaneous things about both of our planets. Our conversations range from silly subjects like what are the best animes and how many Deinlites would it take to purify the universe, to more serious things like death and the mind and our perception of how it works. She's easily the smartest being I've ever met. I love picking her mind. I love being with her. I...I think I...like her a lot.

"Wake uuup~" I hear a soft voice say, "Come on, sleepyhead. It is time to wake up. Rise and shine. Wakey wakey and however the rest of that phrase goes."

I arch my back, stretching as I awake from my slumber. But I'm immediately interrupted from my stretch as I soon notice something covering my eyes. What? What's going on?

"Everyone, everyone, calm down," I hear Liy saying, "You are in no danger. We just wanted to show you all the gratitude that you deserve for committing to our planet this much."

"So," Xen adds, "Using our knowledge that we have obtained from your planet when it comes to celebrating momentous occasions, we came up with the perfect means of celebration. We really wanted to make it count seeing as your time here is halfway over."

"Now, as you all have probably deduced, you have been blindfolded," Val says, "Keep those on, while we lead you to your surprise."

Alright, then. If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was an early bachelorette party. I stand on my feet, waiting for them to lead us to where we're gonna go.

"Ok, you guys, over here," Xen says from the left.

Alright, we're gonna be following them. That's new. So we follow her order, turning to the left and walking forward. After moments of going that direction, we hear Val on the right, saying,

"Alright, now this way."

We turn right and follow. After a while of walking in various directions, I feel a wall in front of me. I feel for a way around it, eventually finding one. Then we hear,

"Ok, you can take off your blindfolds now."

I bring my hands to my blindfold, removing it from my eyes. After they finally adjust to the light and overall consciousness, my mind immediately pauses. Before me is the greatest thing I could possibly encounter. Tables among tables of various alcoholic beverages. Wine, Tequila Sunrises, Screwdrivers, Margaritas, Long Islands galore. I'm...I'm home.

"Surprise!" the three angels behind us say in unison,

"We hope you enjoy," Liy starts, "Obtaining this amount of alcohol was not easy."

"Somehow, concocting the various recipes of these drinks was even harder," Xen continues, "So we apologize if the quality is not to your standard."

"Don't even worry about it," Jaqui says, already finishing half of a bottle of wine, "This is already plenty. Plus, it's impossible for anyone to make alcohol taste bad."

"Debatable," Dani objects, "And have you no shame? You couldn't at least wait to see if they wanted any?"

"It is no trouble, really," Val assures, "There is plenty for everyone. Help yourselves."

"Well, yeah, but still, common courtesy, you know? Mandy, back me up here."

"Hm?" Mandy replies, downing a Mai Tai.

Dani gives her a look of unamusement, making me laugh. I then turn my attention back to the platters of the cups of sunshine. Ok, with how much time has passed, I think it should be about 11:30 or something. A bit too early in some areas. However, with how time here works, I'm pretty sure it's around two hours ahead. So I'm pretty sure just a few drinks wouldn't hurt.

I grab a raspberry mimosa, bringing it to my nostrils to give it a whiff. Good Lord, that smells like joy. I give it a sip, immediately melting at the flavors. This tastes amazing. I bring the cup away from my lips, looking to admire the beautiful drink again. But for some reason, the cup's empty. Ok, I guess I was thirstier than I thought. Alright, as long as I just remember to pace myself, I should be fine.

I grab a wine glass and open another bottle, filling the glass half way full of the red liquidy goodness. Hm. Ok, this cup isn't nearly as big as the ones we use at home. So just a little more should be a good amount, right? Sure, what the hell. I fill up the cup a quarter more. Ok, that should be good. I take a small sip, savoring the taste of the simple, yet satisfying treat. God, that's delicious. I place the glass down, discovering that, yet again, my cup is empty. Ok, ok, that's enough. No more.

But of course, just as I say that, I spot my kryptonite: the coconutty pineappley goodness just sitting right in front of me. No. No. It's just a drink. It should be here when I'm ready to have another one. Oh, who am I kidding? Mandy's gonna inhale it long before I give it another look. No. She's too preoccupied with the others to even look in this direction. Plus, with Dani nagging her, that should dissuade her from this direction. That Colada is mine. I just need to wait.

Hang on, where'd it go? I look around, trying to find it to no avail. I eventually glance at my hand, finding the glass of the island sexiness. Ok, just one more. Yeah. It's not even that much. This shouldn't really be that effective, should it? Plus, with how much time passed between me taking out my blindfold and now, it should be around 5:00 now, right? Yeah, sounds about right.

After a few more drinks, I feel myself getting a little buzzed. Ok, I've got to stop now. I would just die if my first time letting loose around a different species ended up with me making a fool out of myself. My drunken state is something I wouldn't dare expose to my worst enemy. Mostly because I live with four of them and they'll bully me forever. So to avoid further temptation, I walk over to the wall, waiting for myself to sober up.

After minutes of posting against the wall, Dani stumbles up to me, giggling with a bottle of wine in her hand. Fuck, I forgot how much of a lightweight she is. She trips over herself, spilling some wine on the ground. I catch her, saving her from falling.

"Whoopsie daisy," she slurs before giggling more, "I alm- I just- d-I'm almo- dieded. Thaaaaaanks, frieeeend."

"No problem, Dani," I reply, laughing at her drunken state, "Just be careful, ok?"

"Nonononono. I mean it. If- if y- if- if y- i- if you weren't here, I'd be doomed. Hehe. Dooooomed. Dooooooooooomed. Heh."

"Happy to help. Now, what do you say about putting down the bottle, ok?"

"I'm DRUNK!"

"I can see that. So you wanna give me the bottle for a second?"

"Okay."

She holds out the bottle...to the opposite side. I chuckle before reaching over and taking it out of her hand. She giggles again before saying,

"You're such a nice lady. The world needs more nice ladies."

"Thanks," I reply, putting the bottle on the table, "I try."

"Y-yeah. Tha- that's why you're such a nice lady. You know how to try. You're the friend best, Alex."

"You're the friend best, too, Dani."

"No, you are. You don't understand. Dude, I frickin love you, man."

"I frickin love you, too."

I rub her head, consoling her as she sputters and slurs more empty nothingness.

"I take it you all are enjoying yourselves," I hear Val's voice say from beside me.

I look up to see her, standing over me with two steaming mugs.

"Eh, you could say that," I say, looking down at Dani,

"YOU'RE the only one with the dildo in yer butt," she blurts out, making us both laugh,

"She seems quite inebriated," Val comments,

"Yeah, just a bit," I reply, "I think I'm just gonna take her back to the ship so she can sleep it off. Tomorrow's gonna be a bitch for her, though. You mind if we just stay behind and look after her? That hangover's gonna hit her like a truck."