spellbound | d:bh x hp [ currently on hold ]

twenty - nine ; surprises & takeaway

happy christmas, everyone.

l o n d o n - 2 0 3 8

A few hours had passed, and still no sign of Markus, Simon, North, Josh, and Connor.

"Where did they say they were going?"

The three of us — Sil, Hank and I —are at my flat, worried as bonkers.

"They didn't!" Hank exclaims, then proceeds to show us a note — if you could call it one. It was like a holographic version of paper and ink. "They just left me this note."

It said : We'll be back in a few hours with a surprise. Signed North, Simon, Connor, Josh, Markus.

"How many hours had passed?" I ask.

Sil took a look at the note's status. "Nine."

"Well, shi—" I start, but a foreign voice cut me off.

"Yes?"

I looked at it — him — who opened the door and almost had a headache. It was Connor, but taller?

Sil stood up and raised his wand. Instinctively, I did, too. "What in Merlin's—"

"Nines, you ruined the surprise!" I hear Josh from the other side of the door say.

Nines?

I share a confused look with Hank and Sil as six androids pile up in my flat, carrying bags.

"Well, uh," Markus cranks up a smile and raises the bags he's got in his hands. "Surprise?"

"Accio!"

The bags from Markus' hand were in front of me in a second. Astonished, he whispered audibly to the new android beside him, "Now, that's the magic we told you about."

I took a look inside and I saw takeaway from different restaurants. "Food?"

"Yeah," Simon said. "Surprise!"

"And you guys were gone for that long?" Sil asks, suspicious.

"We didn't know what food you guys would like so we went to different stores," Connor said and looked at me shyly.

"Yeah, no shit. It's a mix of different stuff in these," I say, gesturing to Markus' bags. "What more in the others?"

"We went to pick up this guy, too," North nods at the one they call Nines.

Hank stands up and tells us to come with him to the balcony. "Come on, guys. I'm hungry!"

How is he not bothered by the new guy?

As they all brought the bags to the balcony — I was thankful for Dad that he picked this flat for me, it was pretty spacious and the balcony fit us all with space to spare —, I proceeded to ponder over Nines as Sil levitated a table towards the balcony door.

He wore this fancy suit that looked like he didn't have a neck. RK900 was written on his left chest.

Oh. That's why they call him Nines.

Also, he looked very eerily similar to Connor, the RK800 I've come accustomed to. He was just taller, had heightened cheekbones, gray eyes, and a weirdly spick-and-span demeanor.

He radiated an aura of coldness — I wonder if he's deviant.

While examining him, I didn't notice that the android was now looking at me, and turned to fully face me.