*If you're wondering what the picture is about, you'll find out in a bit.*
Chapter Thirteen; A Change:
Beth was roused from her peaceful sleep, as a hand shook her shoulder. She grumbled burying her head deeper into her pillow. She could hear Connor's voice calling her, telling her to wake up.
The girl reluctantly opened her eyes moving so she could see Connor. He was standing at the side of the bed, looking at her with almost annoyed eyes.
She was annoyed too, to be honest, so she couldn't be mad at him. He did, after all, promise to wake her up. She blushed as she remembered something odd in her dream.
She oddly recalled Connor kissing her forehead, even though she was asleep. She couldn't help but wonder if that was real or if it was just apart of her dream.
"Hey, Connor..."Beth tried to make her voice sound sweet, she really did, but when she spoke the annoyance was clear in her tone. The LED flickering on Connor's temple turned yellow, before it went back to blue.
Beth was certainly not a morning person, which she definitely got from her father. Hank, most of the time, didn't show up for work until at least noon.
Her mother was like one of the birds that sing in the morning, already up before it's even eight in the morning. Beth was similar to her father, but she often showed up at work at 10 am, which was early compared to her father.
The only reason she had even asked Connor to wake her up, was because she had something to do. It wasn't the most important thing in the world, but she technically had the day off.
"Sorry... I'm definitely not a morning person..."She said trying to get up, startling Princess, who was awake, but was comfortable.
Connor stepped back, watching in amusement as Princess practically fell off the bed. Luckily the small dog wasn't hurt, and she trotted out of the room to get to her food bowl.
Beth nearly stumbled getting off the bed, as Princess had been basically sleeping on her leg. Connor quickly steadied her, not even giving her an opportunity to fall.
"Thanks."Beth said softly looking up at him and smiling. For some reason, that Connor was unaware of, his face turned blue. He stepped back, after ensuring that she wasn't going to stumble again.
"No problem..."She looked up at him for a second, noticing darkened bluish hue of his cheeks. Deciding to test it, she smiled again, the same as before, and Connor's face turned even bluer.
Connor seemed to be deeply embarrassed and confused, as the look on his face said. He turned away before walking out of the room.
Beth's face flushed at the realization that he was blushing because of her, that he was blushing because she smiled at him.
Then again, he might be able to tell that that was an actual smile, instead of the normal slightly fake smiles that she gave on a daily basis. But if that was the case, why would he blush simply because she had a real smile.
She shrugged before walking over to her bedroom door, and shutting it. The girl grabbed a t-shirt and some jeans, and a pair of bra and underwear.
Beth sighed a little, knowing she should definitely take a shower. Opening the door she looked out and didn't see Connor.
She did however hear shuffling in her cabinets, and figured Connor was trying to find Princess's food."Hey, Connor..!"
"Huh..?"
"I'm gonna take a shower real quick, okay..?"Connor simply gave an okay in response."And Princess's food in in the top cabinet closest to the refrigerator..!"
Smiling silently to herself as she heard her dog's happy yip, Beth walked into her bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Slipping her clothes off, she looked into the mirror and sighed a little.
Her eyes still had dark circles, making it known how tired she was. Beth sincerely hoped that once the cases slowed down, she'd have plenty of time to rest.
Even though it was her day off, she knew there would most likely be another case, and since she was feeling much better, she wouldn't have an excuse.
As she turned the shower on she shivered, even though it was warm. Beth was thinking about all the events going on, and how she practically sobbed into Connor's chest, ruining his shirt.
She felt a sense of shame for feeling so weak, and allowing herself to be comforted by someone she had just met a few days ago. But her heart was telling her it was okay. She honestly didn't know what to believe.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
After a quick shower, Beth felt certainly more awake than she did earlier. Though she normally had her hair up, this time she kept it down.
Looking towards the mirror, she could see that it had fogged up. Giving a quick swipe with her hand, she could see her reflection.
She brushed her hair, wincing at the tangles that protested. The consistency in the tangled mess of hair, annoyed her to no end.
Walking out of the bathroom, she flipped the light switch. Shutting the bathroom door, she walked into the living room, spotting Connor on the couch.
He wasn't watching TV though, he was just staring into space. This reminded her of when he was in the elevator. This made her wonder, why was he making a report to Cyberlife, now of all times.
"Connor."Beth said moving in front of him. As she did this, she noticed his eyes weren't even open. She tapped his shoulder, but he didn't react.
Getting slightly concerned Beth did it again but this time his LED started blinking yellow, before his eyes opened up to look at her."Making a report to Cyberlife..?"
The Android only nodded in response, looking at her. Beth smiled at him, walking into the kitchen. Princess was at her food bowl, eating happily.
"Hey girl..."Beth whispered reaching down to pet her dog. Princess whined a little, but continued eating."Beth, are you going to eat anything..?"Connor came up behind her.
Looking up at him, she just shrugged her shoulders. In the morning she had a hard time eating for some reason, it just made her feel weird. Not sick, just weird.
"You should eat something."She shook her head, she honestly didn't feel hungry."Con, I can't eat in the morning."
Connor stared at his LED blinking yellow."And.. why is that..?"He tilted his head slightly, making her want to mentally awe at him. He looked like a cute puppy doing that.
"I just always feel a little.. nauseous in the morning..." She answered, keeping it simple. Connor still looked concerned but he didn't question it.
"C'mon, I have somewhere to be." Beth said grabbing her keys off the counter."And where is that..?"The Android asked curiously.
"You'll find out."
Beth felt a little bad for her vague answer, as his face looked visibly deflated. She still didn't want to tell him though, so Beth simply smiled at him before walking towards the door.
Connor stood there looking visibly baffled, his cheeks turning blue. He only stood there for a few seconds before Beth called out to him.
"Hey Robo boy..! You coming or what..?"Connor sighed at that.'Robo boy..? That was new.. but then again so was her calling him Con...'
As Connor walked out locking the door behind him, he turned to find Beth already at her motorcycle. She smiled a little before holding up a spare helmet.
"You might be an Android.. but that doesn't been you can't be too careful." She told him, handing him the helmet.
Giving him another smile she put on her own helmet before swinging her leg over the motorcycle.
Connor noticed that the motorcycle seemed to be made for someone of her height, and as such it would be slightly awkward, considering that he was 6 foot and Beth was only 5 foot.
Somehow though, it wasn't that awkward, as Connor only had to adjust his legs slightly. He honestly didn't want to use a helmet, but he wasn't about to upset her.
When they arrived at the place, Connor gave her an odd look. It was a hair place. Why exactly would she choose now of all times to go there..?
There was a small compartment on the side of her motorcycle, that she stuck the helmet in. He noticed that it had a handprint scanner, which meant probably only she and maybe people she trusted could open it.
"Um.. why are we here..?"He asked.
Beth looked up at him, standing back up."I have an appointment..."She said glancing at him, as she started walking away.
He followed her, not asking anything else. Beth walked into the hair place smiling as she spotted someone.*Look at the picture*
It was Veronica, one of Fiona's friends from high school, now the owner of the small hair place. Her niece, Ava, was sitting down on one of the benches, a coloring book on her lap.
"Hey, Ronnie..!"
Said woman looked up smiling as she spotted Beth."Here for your appointment, shortstack..?"Beth shook her head at the nickname.
"Of course."Beth answered, noticing how Veronica looked over her shoulder, at Connor."And who's this cutie?" The Android turned blue at that.
"This is Connor."Ronnie smiled at the Android, but there was a slight grimace behind it. She wasn't the biggest fan of Androids, but if Beth liked him, he couldn't be that bad.
"Veronica Jennings, but most people call me Ronnie."Beth took an opportunity to look around,it wasn't very crowded.
There would probably be more people coming in later, including Ronnie's employees. Connor nodded, shaking the woman's hand.
"Hey Ava."Beth said kneeling in front of the girl. Said girl smiled before tossing her coloring book down on the bench, and throwing her arms around Beth's neck.
"Bethy..!"
The detective smiled hugging the small girl back. Ronnie's older sister Cassidy, was Ava's mother, and frequently let Ava stay with Ronnie.
"Hey, cupcake. Can you do me a tiny favor..?"Beth asked the little girl pulling away from the hug. Ava smiled nodding, her eyes shining.
"Can you go and.."Beth pointed towards Connor, who was standing awkwardly."Show him your coloring book. Or really.. anything to keep him occupied for me, will you..?"
Ava nodded enthusiastically, before skipping over to Connor. The RK800 stared down at the small child nervously as she skipped towards him.
He hadn't really been around children before, and as such didn't really know how to react.
"I'm Ava! What's your name?"She smiled up at him, clearly exited.
"C-Connor..."He was so nervous that he was stuttering."Aww... Are you nervous..? Don't worry I feel like that whenever I meet someone new.. but you seem nice."
Connor didn't voice his complaint, as the girl grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to the bench, but he gave Beth an almost pleading look.
"Have fun, Con!"
Ronnie smiled at the interaction giving Beth a knowing look."You wanna talk..?"The shorter woman looked up and smiled, but then it faltered as she saw the look Ronnie was giving her.
"Yeah.. preferably somewhere out of his hearing range..."
Ronnie nodded at that before leading Beth over to a chair. It was farthest away from Connor and Ava, and it was unlikely he'd be able hear, as long as they didn't talk so loud.
"Same style as we talked about?"Beth only nodded as she sat down in the chair. Even though Ronnie wasn't as close to Beth as she was with Fiona, they were still pretty close.
"So.. who is Connor to you..?"Ronnie started to comb Beth's hair, grabbing her hair cutting scissors as well. Beth sighed in response thinking carefully about her answer.
"He's just my.. partner at.. work..."Beth lied, letting out a tiny ow as Ronnie pulled on her hair. It was intentional, if Ronnie's smirk indicated anything.
"Okay.. okay... He's my.. friend."She said as Ronnie actually started on the style Beth had picked."You sure about that..? He's not anything more..?"
Beth looked down feeling a little guilty. She was about to get something off her chest, that could get Connor in trouble, if Cyberlife find out about it."I.. I don't know... Yes, I like him more than a friend..."She admitted.
She certainly didn't love him, they hadn't known each other long enough for that. Beth had developed a small crush on the Android though, which had been there since the Ortiz case.
If there was any chance that he felt the same way, that would make him a Deviant. She almost hope he didn't recuperate her feelings, that way he wouldn't be in danger of being shut down.
"I think he feels the same."Ronnie was almost done with the right side of Beth's hair."Maybe.. but he can't..."The girl responded.
Ronnie stopped for a second, before looking down at Beth."Why not..?"Beth didn't want to answer, but knew she had too if she ever wanted to get her hair finished.
"I.. to Cyberlife.. he would be a.. Deviant... If they found out they would completely deactivate him, or at the very least they would reset him... I don't know which sounds worse..."
"Then don't let Cyberlife find out."Ronnie stated, starting back on Beth's hair.
"It's not that easy.. he makes regular reports to them... If he tells them..." Beth almost got teary eyed. She didn't want anything to happen to Connor.
"And what if he doesn't..?"
"Huh..?"
"What if he doesn't tell them?"Beth looked back up at Ronnie, before sighing."I don't want to take that risk..."
"Love can be worth the risk.. and yes I know you're not in love with him, but that might change.. but if you never give him a chance... You'll never find out."Beth smiled at this, before glancing in the mirror.
It was clear that Ronnie was almost done, by the look of things. Her hair was much shorter now, but Beth liked it.*Picture below*
It just felt right.
It was silent except for the giggling of Ava, and Beth was grateful for it. She didn't want to talk about that subject anymore. She didn't want Connor to accidently hear, as it would be embarrassing to have to explain.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
Beth sighed as she relaxed at the Kitchen table, a cup of chocolate milk in her hands. Connor was sitting in the chair across from her, looking at the photo album.
He had asked if he could look at it, and Beth just couldn't bring herself to say no. Connor was adorable with his head tilted, almost like a puppy.
She watched as he flipped through, looking at all the photos. Then he suddenly stopped at one of them, simply staring at it.
Before she could ask him, he looked up at her, more specifically her newly cut hair."Is this why you got your hair cut like that..?"Connor moved the album where she could see it.
The photo he was looking at almost looked like Beth, except for the eyes. It was Maia, with her bright green eyes sparkling, and her hair cut almost in the exact same style that Beth had chose and was now wearing.
"That's my mom.. she had her hair cut short before she had me.. by the time she had me though, she had let it grow out."For once, Beth didn't sound sad while talking about her mother.
The real reason she had gotten the haircut wasn't just because of her Mother. It was also because, she felt some sense of rebellion in the hair style.
She wasn't sure why that was, but that's just how it was. Her mother was 19 when she had Beth, but before that she had been a very rebellious teenager, who came from a religious family.
Beth never knew her mother's family because they had practically disowned her mother, when she became pregnant. She had become pregnant before her and Hank had gotten married, and her family hated that.
Beth didn't know what exactly she was rebelling against, but she didn't really care. For now she could just pretend that it was simply to be closer to her mother, in some weird way.
"You really loved your mother, didn't you..?"She looked back up towards Connor, now recalling the words that Ronnie had told her.
"Yeah..."Beth sighed looking back down at the table.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
*Extra Scene for Chapter Eleven*
"Hey, Lily?"Liliana looked up at Simon."I want you to meet someone."
The AX250 nodded at this grabbing Simon's hand as he offered it to her. He pulled her up without effort, and led her over to a room."Here she is..."
He led her inside the room revealing a older woman. Liliana knew she couldn't be an Android, they hadn't made any models that looked above age 30.
This woman looked to be in her forties, and had dark hair. Her wrinkles were clearly not artificial, which showed that she was not an Android."I thought you didn't trust humans..."
Liliana was still inspecting the woman's appearance, before she realized something. This woman looked familiar. Not like she had met the woman before, but more like seen her somewhere before.
Like in a picture...
"We don't normally.. but she has proven herself to be fully trustworthy."Simon answered.
Liliana gasped as she realized why she recognized the woman. It was from a picture with Hank, Beth, Cole, and.. Hailey in it...
Hailey being.. Hailey Anderson, missing wife of Hank Anderson, Biological mother to Cole Anderson, and stepmother to Beth Anderson.
"What's your name.?!"Liliana's nearly yelled out, almost sounding angry. This woman had been missing for almost eight years now, and yet she was okay, and hadn't come back.
"Woah! Lily, calm down..!"Simon grabbed Liliana by her waist, like he was scared she would attack the human woman.
However, now matter how pissed Liliana was at this woman, she wouldn't get violent with the woman.
"Haily.. Anderson..."The woman hesitated with the last part, and Liliana broke. Instead of yelling more at Hailey, she started to cry.
"Why..? This is where you've been..? Why didn't you come back..?"Hailey seemed confused.
"Who are you..?"
"I'm Liliana.. Collins... I know the the Anderson family... They told me about you.. how you just disappeared one day and never returned..."Hailey widened her eyes.
"Is this seriously where you've been..?"
"Well, not the whole time.. but I've been helping Deviants who were abused or mistreated."Hailey answered walking closer.
"Why'd you leave them..?"
"I knew that by helping Deviants, I would be putting them at risk... How's Cole..?"Liliana started to cry more at that, the poor woman didn't even know...
"You don't know..?"Simon had stayed silent during the confrontation, and was now watching silently. He wanted to comfort Liliana, but didn't know if she'd let him.
"Know..? Know what..?"
Liliana tried to stop the constant slide of artificial tears down her cheeks, and moved closer to Hailey. The woman stared at her, trying to figure it out.
"I'm sorry to have to inform you.. your son Cole.. he's.. dead..."Hailey stared at her in disbelief, not saying a word.
The woman didn't cry, but Liliana could tell she wanted too. Hailey was greatly saddened, and felt as though a permanent hole had formed in her heart.
She had never regretted leaving so much before.. until now...
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
*Sorry, no action this time. Will definitely be in the next chapter.*
*I decided to wait awhile to update the OC descriptions to add Ronnie or maybe even Hailey in there, since I plan on adding more to the current OC's and fixing errors.*
*Next chapter we finally get to The Stratford Tower*