Highstrung Robot

Chapter Four: Dangling by a String

"Just drop it, okay? It's fine." She persisted, biting her tongue.

"You're not telling me something." Jake stated plainly, picking up the box and putting it back where he found it, continuing his search for the pink fabric.

She didn't say anything in reply, just shutting off the machine and cutting the fabric with the edges she made.

Reaching blindly behind a small stack of boxes, he pulled out a sheet of light pink fabric. He walked over to Adelaide, setting it down next to her sewing machine. "You're still not telling me something." He said blatantly, walking behind her and resting his chin comfortably on the top of her head watching what she was doing.

"Thank you." She muttered, taking the new piece of fabric and matching it up with the white one she had already had.

He draped his arms over her shoulders, letting his hands dangle limply in front of her face. He continued to watch her in silence, waiting for an explanation but excepting to not get one from her anytime soon.

As Jake predicted, she stayed silent the entire time, finishing the top of the dress. "Alright, top done...now to do the skirt..." She grabbed the other pieces of fabric she had, tracing out a pattern on the length of it.

"Why are you making this?" He asked in his usual emotionless tone. Subconsciously, he began snapping his fingers making small colorful sparks fly out from them, landing over the table and fabric.

She stared at the sparks in confusion, turning around in his arms. "Since when were you able to do that?"

"I think I always could, but I'm not sure really. I just do it." He continued to snap, making bigger sparks that fizzled away before they burnt anything and looked at Addie, noticing how close she was.

She turned back around, continuing to sew. "Hm. Interesting. Oh and to answer your question we have a dance to go to. It's with the French on Eris. There's a nonprofit charity event for Mars, and floaters along with the Chinese are going to attend." She explained, stitching up the loose end. Suddenly she gave him a sideways glance. "You do have a suit, right?"

"Who do you take me for?" He asked incredulously. "Why the hell would I have a suit? I don't wear suits." He lifted up one end of the fabric, twisting it around his finger absentmindedly.

"Of course not..." She sighed, reaching over for her fabric bucket and taking out a bunch of black fabric. "Okay, checklist, do you have a white button up shirt? With a collar?"

"No. Again, why would I have that?" Jake dropped the fabric he was holding, slamming his hand down on the black sheets of fabric Adelaide was pulling out. "I'm not wearing a suit, if that's what you're thinking."

"Um, yes you are. It's a formal event, and we can't walk in there looking like slobs if we really want to get some action towards saving Mars put forward." She tugged the black fabric to her, setting it under the pin cushion.

"I'm not wearing that." He pulled away from her, crossing his arms sternly over his chest. "I don't think my choice of dress should be such a problem, especially since I don't look like a slob. I am clean and my clothes are intact, that's all there is to it."

"Jake, that's not how a formal ball works. I've been to plenty, and if you wanna look bad then you won't wear a suit." She looked at him pleadingly. "What if I made it for you?"

"No. I don't like suits and I've never liked suits." He said, sitting down on Addie's bed, making himself comfortable and taking up most of it.

"You need to make a suit or we're gonna look like idiots!" She pouted, crossing her arms. "Please. I promise I'll use my softest fabric."