Galileo (Battle of the Species) (46 page)

“Hey, Brother,” Desh replied, not taking his eyes off of Lux.

“So, are you spending the break on Torres?” Renn asked.

“Yeah, of course. Why?” Desh said.

“Well, my dad and I were wondering, maybe… if you wanted to spend break on Earth with us,” Renn said.

Desh looked at Renn, forgetting about the pretty blonde.

“Adam said it’d be okay?” Desh asked.

“Well, he said that one of the reasons why Mom had started a relationship with him so soon after your dad died was so you’d have a father. Like, she meant for him to raise you and that he knows it’s a little too late for that now, but if you might be open to at least visiting, he’d be, I don’t know, honored or something,” Renn said.

Desh smiled, looking rather touched.

“I mean it's not like Camden’s that cool or anything,” Renn said, feeling awkward and a little vulnerable, inviting his brother home
.
“My dad doesn't use any kind of electronics. He's all about doing everything with your hands and feeling the soil beneath your fingernails, that kind of thing. I don’t know, I like it though.”

“That sounds great,” Desh said. “I’d like that.”

“Cool,” Renn replied, trying to hide how excited he was that his big brother was going to stay with them.

Katie came up and dragged Renn off to dance for the last song.

Desh looked back at the dance floor, looking for Lux and Leo, both of whom seemed to have disappeared. He looked around the room and spotted Leo talking with Rudy and Menkar, before feeling a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Lux right next to him.

She reached down and grabbed his hand. “Come on, we're going to dance,” Lux said.

“No, I can't dance,” Desh said.

“I don't care,” Lux said, pulling him up.

“This isn't a good idea,” Desh whispered.

“Get over it,” Lux replied, looking him straight in his eyes, then walked off, pulling him with her.

They got to the dance floor and Lux put Desh's hands on her hips, getting in close to him.

He grew more and more nervous by the second. He looked around, everywhere but at her, not sure whether he could refrain from kissing her if he did.

“I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the other day,” Lux said. “You don't want to be with me and I'm sure you have your reasons,” Lux continued. “It doesn't mean we can't be friends though, right?”

“Right,” Desh said.
Why does she smell like faina blossoms today?
he thought.

“Good, we'll just be friends then,” Lux said, lifting her hand to his chin and turning his face to hers. She stared into his diamond eyes and smiled.

“…okay,” he said, wondering if he should just do it. He leaned in to kiss her and then thought of Meta. He looked down and relaxed, deciding not to, unsure of who would be watching. He wanted Lux to be safe, more than he wanted to kiss her.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Desh said, taking a step back as he looked around.

“It’s okay, Desh,” Lux replied. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Desh replied.

Lux once again turned his face to hers and imagined kissing him in a deep embrace.

Desh's eyes grew wider and wider, watching her thoughts.

Lux grinned. “Sweet dreams…
friend
,” she said and walked away.

Desh stared at her while she sauntered off. He felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped.

“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you,” Renn said amused.

Desh looked around, embarrassed.

“You all right?” Renn asked.

“Were you reading her mind?” Desh asked.

Renn turned to see Lux walking away. “No, I wasn't paying attention.”

“Good,” Desh said, relieved.

“Why?” Renn asked.

“No reason,” Desh said.

A smile crept across Renn’s face. “Are you blushing?” he asked.

“Pfsh, no!” Desh replied, a little too emphatically.

“Brother, I think you're blushing, cause your cheeks are really red,” Renn said, grinning even more when Desh's cheeks turned a deeper shade of rouge and his hands glowed bright blue.

Desh laughed, embarrassed. “Whatever,” he said, looking away.

“Come on, I think Kia could use our help right about now,” Renn said, looking back at the tables.

Desh looked over to see Shelly and Holly sitting on opposite sides of Kia, arguing with each other.

Kia just sat there, staring straight ahead with glazed eyes, like a corpse waiting for a second death. He made eye contact with Desh and thought,
Kill me now, Brother
.

They all ended their night, discussing what the others had missed, and made their way back to the dorms. The boys sat on their beds for a while, sending pictures to each other, while Leo complained that most of his pictures had been taken mid-sentence and Rudy boasted what a good pair he and Menkar made. They had to admit; with Rudy’s new scales, he and the Janiun
did
make a good pair.

Renn lay in bed that night, with a feeling for the first time in weeks, like everything was going to be all right. He thought about Meta and wished she could have seen it.
She would have loved it
, he thought.

He leaned over to the picture frame next to his bed and dragged his finger on the screen, switching the picture to him and Meta, smiling in each other’s arms on Janjala. He tapped on the screen, animating the two of them.

“This is me and Meta on Janjala,” Renn’s image said. “Is there anything you’d like to say?”

“Just that I’m really happy to be here with Renn,” Meta’s image replied, before the image froze.

Renn traced Meta’s face with his finger as Ava dimmed the lights even further, hiding the pretty girl.

***

A few days later, Renn packed his things, getting ready for the school break
.
He took off the sleep regulator, setting it on his bed when it had automatically unlocked for the First Years earlier that morning. All of his roommates had already left, but Renn was lagging behind. He looked around his room one last time, knowing he’d have a room just like it when he returned, but it wouldn’t be the same.

“You ready, Brother?”

Renn turned around to see Desh in the doorway, wearing nothing but black leather and fur, bound together by hammered metal.

“Oh my gawd, what are you wearing?” Renn asked, breaking into uncontrollable laughter.

“I grew up on Torres. These are Toran clothes. They’re really cool there,” Desh said.

“You can’t wear those on Earth or else I’m not taking you with me,” Renn said, wiping away the tears from laughing so hard.

“Can I borrow something, then?” Desh asked, trying to be patient.

Renn dug out a pair of jeans, socks, boxers, and a t-shirt, handing them to Desh.

Desh looked at the boxers, then handed them right back. “I’ll wear the pants.”

“Those aren’t shorts, you wear them underneath the pants, and you’ll keep them afterwards, thank you very much,” Renn added.

Desh changed into his brother’s clothes and stuffed his fur and leather into the duffel bag he was taking with him. “This better?” Desh asked, facing Renn.

Renn looked Desh over and smiled. “Except for the cat eyes and the fangs, you could pass for a human. Here, one last thing,” Renn said, walking over, putting his favorite baseball cap on Desh’s head.

Desh took it off and looked at the front of it, reading the logo. “Uncle Eddie’s Bait Shop?” Desh said, and then put it back on.

“They’re the best,” Renn replied with a smile.
He looked down at Upgrade. “Come on boy, let’s go home.” The dog barked and jumped off the bed, following the boys out the door.

***

The students went back to their homes, finding familiarity in their hometowns, whether this was a good thing or not, depended on who one asked.

Leo went back to Crystalline as somewhat of a celebrity. Starbucks had submitted a press release to the Federation News about a brave Crystallian on their sponsored planet, who was breaking records. He showed everyone the Prodlinhide suit and told them all about the warm-blooded creatures he had met. The Crystallians listened in awe while Leo retold stories of boys who could fly and women who could fight Eminites.

All the neighborhood boys whispered and sent each other messages, so they were all aware when their childhood crush, Lux, returned. Not that they had the guts to do anything about it when she did, but even if they had, Lux probably wouldn't have paid attention, oblivious to the admiration from any boy other than Desh.

Desh, however, went to Earth with Renn, both brothers welcomed home with a fatherly hug from Adam. Desh stepped out of the hover-truck and looked around, smelling the fresh sea air. “Wow, so that’s what a real ocean smells like,” Desh said.

“Yeah,” Renn replied, enjoying the scent.

Desh looked over towards his brother in time to see Max run up and raise his front paws to Renn's chest.

“Down boy,” Renn said, scratching the Border Collie’s neck. “You miss me?”  Renn raised one hand in the air, grabbing the dog's attention.

“Sit!” Renn said, while Max stood there panting and wagging his tail.

Renn grinned. “Roll over!”

Tail wag.

“Play dead!”

Max bolted for a squirrel, with Upgrade keeping pace.

Renn laughed. “Good boy.”

***

Cybernex closed the portals on Earth in order to keep Renn and Desh safe. And they were safe, until the eggs the Aranea had buried deep into the ground the year before began to shudder. Bony tails pierced black gel eggs, allowing the young and poisonous Aranea to crawl out. They sniffed the salty air, searching for the scent of the heirs, and screeched as they walked towards the quiet town of Camden, Maine.

THE END