"Lizzie! Where are we going?"
"You'll see in a minute."
She laughs and rushes me into this building with no name or label. She steps up to this receptionist.
She gives the lady at the counter a folder of paperwork. The lady looks to us with a smile and welcomes us towards this walkway named VIP section. The lady opens a door and lets us through. There is a bunch of equipment, weapons, suits, and bright machines!
"Lizzie, what are we doing?"
"I talked with the General. You never got a proper introduction. All soldiers are normally given a free set of equipment. This includes a Primary, Signature Melee, and protective skin suit armor which you already have. But, you've never gotten your secondary. For-er... compensation of their mistake, the General has personally given you a whole free premium set for you to customize and build as you please. One Primary, one Secondary, one Signature Melee, one suit of armor, fully customized for free. So, get to it then."
I'm almost too stunned to say or do anything.
"Woah. I... Really?"
"Yeah. Go wild."
She smiles and I rush inside. The machines are almost like vending machines with a holographic screen where you get the basic materials you want. I've memorized a ton of parts and gun types to use. I have limitless options mixing and matching parts for guns with attachments.
.......
"Nathaniel, are you done?"
It's been a good few hours. Luckily I had already planned exactly what I wanted to do for every piece of equipment.
My primary is the Ump-45, but, modified to have these acidic-like bullets that melt everything around it making them dissolve into blue particles. The magazines also have this coruantic device that connects it to my storage. When I reload, all I have to do is unclip the mag and a new one appears. I just have to make sure there's ammo in my storage to take from.
It also has the simple attachments I wanted like an ACOG scope, extended mag, green laser, extended barrel for range, and a flash hider. I also put a selective fire on the gun to control it better for any situation.
For my secondary, I chose to have a Glock-20. It's a pretty fun gun to use, in my opinion. I give it some basic attachments: an easy-squeeze trigger, green laser, extended mag, and the same kind of bullets as my Primary. It has a built-in suppresser and a comfortable grip. I chose to leave it with the iron sights simply for the fact that I just like it better.
For my Signature Melee, I gave my Bayonet knife a comfort grip, laser heat blade that only outlines the blade, and I decided to have, ZSEN, etched into the side of the blade. The knife also has an auto sharpen fused into the knife using Coruantic.
Finally, for my armor, I colored it jet black and strengthened the graphene inside it making it just a bit heavier. I also infused it with Coruantic so that when it tears it will shortly repair after a delay while it figures out it has been torn. I had to fuck with its system to get it to only repair itself when I'm fully human.
"Yeah, I'm just about ready."
I close things down and walk outside. I see Lizzie who's grown impatient.
"It's about time, stupid."
"I actually went pretty fast!"
"Whatever. Come on, I'm hungry."
"Right, I'm starving."
"Wanna go to Pico-"
"..."
Pico is gone.
Somehow I forgot.
There is so much shit going on. I just forget about everyone who's gone now. It's slowly becoming a regular experience and feeling.
Lizzie starts to look down.
"Hey, let's go somewhere neither of us has gone to. That way it's a new experience for both of us."
"Erm... I don't really-hey!"
I pull her arm and rush to the Food Market. It's a quarter of the Underground City, so I'm sure we can find a good place.
...
She probably wants sushi, so we need to go toward the Asian restaurant side.
Hmm, let's see...
"What about here?"
She seems a little sad even though she has a smile.
"Nathaniel, these places won't be anything compared to... his. Can we not eat Asian?"
"Oh... Well, erm... Let's have shitty food then."
"Huh?"
"Let's have shittier food to just prove Pico's is the best! Plus, don't you wanna see what it's like not to be rich all the time?"
She scoffs but, shortly after giggles. She stares into my eyes with her absolutely beautiful blue eyes.
"No, Nathaniel. I've never dreamed of being mid-class for a day. That's disgusting and against everything I've ever lived by."
"Come on. See what it's like... Wait, mid-class isn't even bad."
"It is. It really is. I've never been anything but wealthy. Why would I downgrade, stupid."
"Just try it. Today will be on me."
She giggles.
"So you wanna take me on a date... Alright."
She and I smile. I pull her into the restaurant and we sit down at a table.
"Alright."
I look around and this place seems weird. There aren't many waiters, but the restaurant is big. I picked the fanciest looking one I could-
"Hello. Welcome. Eh... What you like... drink?"
"Erm... Water... Just water."
"And for mister?"
"..."
"Get him water."
"Ah, okey."
The waitress leaves...
"Erm... Where is she."
"I don't know. Nathaniel, can we leave, please?"
"What, why?"
"You already embarrassed me and people are looking... I feel uncomfortable. Let's, please, go?"
"Come on just stick it out a little longer. How did I embarrass you?"
"She asked for your drink and you didn't answer her. She barely speaks any fucking English. She shouldn't be hired if she isn't even at least trilingual."
She seems pissed. I grab her hand across the table and she looks into my eyes.
"Just keep going with it, okay?"
"Ugh... Fine. When are they getting our orders?"
"Erm... I don't-"
"He is ya's drinks."
"Thank you."
"Eh, tis is buffet, uh, you get eh, food on you own."
"We know! We will be up in a minute, thank you."
Lizzie smiles as the waitress walks away...
She sighs.
"Can we leave?"
"Why?"
"This is a fucking buffet, Nathaniel. It's already embarrassing enough."
"What is a buffet?"
"Oh geez, all you can eat, Nathaniel. You get a plate and get whatever you'd like, as much as you'd like."
"Woah! That's amazing!"
I get up and grab Lizzie's hand and rush straight to these rows of food. I can almost hear the angelic chorus!
"Nathaniel!"
"Look, Lizzie."
I say with amazement.
I look at her with an open smile. She sighs and giggles. People are staring and whispering.
"Come on, Lizzie. Let's get food!"
We grab some plates and my goodness! The number of options I had was incredible.
...
We sit back at our table and get ready to eat. My plate is towered up whilst Lizzie's plate has only some vegetables, fruit, and a row of sushi.
"You got enough, Nathaniel?"
"Hehe, you barely got anything."
"Well, people are staring, I don't wanna get fat either."
"Really? It wouldn't hurt to just have a day, or a meal at that, to have whatever you want."
"I'm not comfortable doing that."
"Erm... Okay, yeah I get it."
...
I'm about halfway done with my food and I've noticed Lizzie has been done eating, just watching me. Almost as if she's admiring me, maybe.
"What?"
"Nothing... You're just silly."
I start to blush a little.
"Uhm... Lizzie?"
"Yes?"
"I have a question... But it might be a little personal and I don't-"
"Go ahead and ask. We are... Erm."
She starts blushing.
"We're together now... Feel free to ask me anything."
"Erm... Okay, well I was wondering... Zander had brought something up to me."
"Excuse me?! What on earth did Zander say about me that you'd believe, are you serious?"
"Lizzie, no, calm down, it's nothing bad."
"Oh... Well, erm... Tell me everything that happened."
"It's not important to my question. I was just eating out behind the school and he came back there to chill out with me. We were just talking and he unintentionally showed me something about you."
"Nathaniel, you're freaking me out. What is it?!"
"You're... You are a lot more popular than I knew... And I mean like known worldwide. Why didn't you ever tell me?"
She sighs and seems furious...
She sighs again and seems calmer, but still mad.
"Nathaniel... First off, I don't think we've ever really been close enough to really be open with each other until now. Secondly... I don't want you to see that side of me. I mean, you have every right to know. It's just... I don't want you to love me for that. You're the only person I've ever met that hasn't seen my image. You've always seen through it and just seen me for me. It's nice having the fame and money... But it's lonely. I thought Zander didn't care for all that... Only to find out he just wanted my body."
I begin to recall Zander telling me about how he only saw her body as a plus. I start to feel bad for the guy. He must feel alone now and it's my fault... Maybe it was his image to be a... player, and count them up. But, on the inside, he didn't actually feel that way.
Ugh! No, it's Zander. I don't need to feel sympathy for that asshole. I'm just overthinking it.
"Well, I'm not going to think of you differently. I just need to know what I'm getting into so I can do my part and understand you better."
"Yeah, you're right. You need to know so you can understand who I am more. As ironic as that is because all of that's an image."
"Yeah, I know it's not who you are. It's like a job. You have to act differently. This is a serious side of you. It'll help me understand why you act so differently at times and it'll help me understand what's going on at times."
"Mhm... So, first off, I own three worldwide businesses. One is for makeup and beauty products. Another one is my restaurants I own with delicious rich food, each of them being five-star restaurants. The last one is a company with the government including the president. It's mostly banks and companies helping deal with government money and people's money. I'm mostly just used there as an image... Just so they can look better."
"Woah... That's... Holy shit, Lizzie."
"Please don't start-"
"Why the fuck are you being done that way?"
"Huh?"
"How the fuck are you supposed to enjoy yourself? How are you supposed to have a childhood? How can you even handle school?"
"Nathaniel, it's not a big deal."
"Lizzie. I've gotten by, not doing a single thing. I haven't gotten to enjoy my life, but that's for separate reasons. Still, I feel free to follow whatever I choose. I'm free, Lizzie. You should have the choice, I mean... What do you wanna do in life? Like personally, whether you think you can or not."
"Erm."
She blushing with a shocked look.
"I erm... I mean... I've always liked the idea of... Well, it's stupid. Nevermind!"
"Lizzie, come on. It's just me. It's not stupid, it's who you are!"
"Well... Promise you won't make fun of me!"
"Lizzie, it can't be that bad."
"Promise!"
"Okay, okay... I promise you, Lizzie, I will not make fun of your passion in life."
She rolls her eyes with a slight grin.
"Well... I've always wanted to have a little tea shop."
Her eyes light up. I can tell she's about to go off on a whole story about it.
"Just a cute little place to go to that's just around the perfect corner. People would go there and relax or go on little dates and just drink tea or coffee or even just a bit of a break-before-work kind of place. The money wouldn't ever be a problem even if it goes into debt because of my other businesses. I-"
She stops and looks at me getting embarrassed.
"This is stupid."
"No! It's... It's cute. It's you. That's what I want. The genuine you; the genuine Lizzie Zaeva."
"Nathaniel. You aren't just playing me, are you? Like, you aren't just trying to act like-"
"No, Lizzie."
I say quite offended.
"You've known me forever. Do you really think I'd go through the trouble for you if I didn't genuinely think I like you? I don't care about you in any way except for who you are on the inside and how you treat me."
"Ugh... I know... It's just scary. I'm so scared of being used. My entire life that's all people have ever done to me... Except for Zander for a long time. But, I guess I was wrong. That makes it scarier... I just wish it was easier... but I just have to have faith."
I finished my food.
"What else do I need to know?"
"Everyone seems to love me for donating and thinking I'm a great person for it."
She sort of leans in and whispers.
"It's just my dad who donates. If it were up to me I think it's a waste."
"What?! That's horrible!"
"Shush!"
I give her a stern look...
"Listen... It's not that I don't care, it's that I don't trust them. Anytime we've donated we get praise and bullshit, but they continue to have problems that should be easily fixed with the amount of money we donated. I just find it bullshit. It's either not going where it should, or they are just milking shit. When we donate, other people choose to donate acting like they are good like us or some garbage like that."
"Oh... Yeah, no, that's not right. I understand what you mean."
"My father, Zied Zaeva, is running Mayor and pretty much guaranteed to win... He's soon going to run for president... The mayor thing is just to get a feel really. I'm not sure how he's just gonna become president after that but, I do know for sure he has people on the inside. He hides shit from me and could care less about me. He throws money in my face and expects shit from me. I'm not allowed to fail... Not at all."
"You told me the day of our project that your mom was a psychopath. What's up with that, if you don't mind me asking of course?"
She sighs. She looks sad.
"You don't have to-"
"I'm gonna tell you, Nathaniel! We have to build better trust. That means no secrets."
"Oh, I... Yeah, I guess that's fair."
"This is very secret... Nobody knows except my parents, so, don't tell anyone."
"Who would I tell, Lizzie?"
She laughs.
"I guess... Well, first off, you do realize you don't need to call me by my name, right?"
"Hmm... What else would I call you?"
She sighs but smiles.
"You can call me cute little things, now that we are together."
I continue to look confused. She sighs again and smiles staring into my eyes.
"You can call me things like Babe or Baby. things like that, y'know?"
"Oh... Uhm... Okay! I'll keep it in mind."
As in I'll look it up later in my free time like I tend to do when I don't understand normal things.
"So are you gonna tell me about your mom?"
"Yes, just... Give me a second."
"..."
"She... She hated me. I was born with this teal hair color. I know it sounds crazy, but I've had to dye my hair black every third day of my life since I started school. I was hidden from the world till I had to start school and everyone was shocked with my hair."
"Damn... Well, I believe you. It's not the craziest thing I've heard lately."
"She was very religious and thought I was some sort of demon or spawn of Satan. She tried to kill me multiple times as I grew up... My asshole of a Father never reported it to anyone because he... loved her. He'd stop her every time but eventually, she tried killing him. That's when he decided it was too far when it was his life at risk, not mine! When she left me and dad, he's been nothing but a dick bringing home chicks every night saying they're the one. The next day they're gone. My mom... she was sent to an insane asylum. I haven't seen her since. "
"Damn... I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
"Yeah, it's fine. It's old news now."
"Why do you keep dyeing your hair now?"
"Really?"
"Uhh."
"Nathaniel, look. If I chose to do that, people would think I dyed it teal and think that I'm becoming a rebel. People would judge me and think I'm not okay in the head."
"I don't think so."
"It doesn't matter what you think. People will look down on me."
"Do you like your natural teal hair color?"
"I-I mean, I think it'd be fun to have colored hair but... No! I'd disappoint a lot of people.
"Who cares what they think, Lizzie. I mean, if you don't like your hair color then I get it, but that's not the case. It'd be a whole chunk of your day you'd get back. Plus, it's who you are."
"Nathaniel... You need to stop. I have my way of living and-"
"No, Lizzie! That's not a way to live! Answer me this, are you happy?"
"I... I mean... Nathaniel."
She starts to tear up. Maybe I shouldn't push her to change so much. I move to sit next to her and put my arm around her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. I just... If I'm honest, I want you to be yourself. I don't like that you have to live based on what other people think. You should be able to feel like you can be yourself and not be forced to act a certain way."
"I know, Nathaniel... I feel most like myself when I'm with you... I know I've told you that before but, you just don't realize how drastic of a change that is."
"You should feel free to be who you want; not be someone you aren't. I want you to be you. I know my opinion doesn't matter-"
"No! I mean... No. Your opinion means a lot to me. It's just for my reputation and public image, you aren't really a big voice... Fuck!"
I guide her out leaving an expensive level unit on the counter. It's clearly much more units than the actual price, so they wouldn't bother us for leaving...
Lizzie wraps her arms around me crying.
"Lizzie-"
"Shh! Just be quiet... please."
She sobs...
I can't imagine what she's going through. She has lived her whole life stuck on expectations and rules. She's so trapped and now... I've been her only way to ever feel even the slightest bit herself. It must be so hard being bottled up with your own personal self and opinions; not able to be yourself...
I take her outside to a hill. I sit down with her. She's still sobbing...
"Lizzie?"
"..."
"Come on... Babe, I wanna see your eyes."
She looks up in an instant. She's almost smiling but her makeup is run down and her eyes are watered. I gently wipe off the tears from her eyes. I smile and stare...
"That's better."
She giggles a little and sniffles.
"Shush, stupid."
She laughs.
"Look... It's beautiful isn't it?"
"The sky?"
"The stars, Lizzie."
"Yeah... It is... I never really sat down to look."
"A friend of mine showed me before... I used to wash my face and look into the mirror to reflect on myself and relax; just take time to think and slow down. Now I look into the stars. So peaceful yet... mysterious."
"What do you see when you look up there, Nathaniel?"
"Hmm."
I look up into the stars...
"Well, it's fearful... But, I see a glimmer of hope... But right now it's just a little out of reach."
"Why?"
I look into her eyes already staring back into mine.
"The only way to reach is with the help of the ones I trust and love."
We stare at each other... Slowly she starts to lean closer, and as do I! Uncontrollably, it only feels right to...
Our lips touch...
To kiss!