Believer

Victoria squealed loudly as her father burst into the room, covering her eyes in order to shield herself from the inevitable. There was abosultely no way she could have explained Revaz. Not to a life long UFO chaser like her father. As she stood there, cringing at the sound of his low gasp she braced herself for the impending doom. Perhaps the FBI would be called in?

However, there was no sound of horror or alarm from her father. Just a breatheless sigh, as though from pleasant surprise. When she opened her eyes and uncovered her face she found him standing in front of her with a dopey smile plastered across his face.

“Vicky!” He exclaimed loudly, grinning from ear to ear like a jack in the box. It was only then that she realized Revaz had clamped his hand down on her shoulder, gripping it tightly as though wanting to get her attention. Glancing down her stomach fluttered as she noted that his skin was no longer the chalky color it was supposed to be. Instead it was a muted fleshy color. No different than her own besides how much smoother it seemed. She gasped, sucking in a long, deep breath as she heard the peircing sound of her fathers laughter.

“I knew there was something going on.” He proclaimed as his eyes drifted upwards, gazing at the male standing behind her for only a few moments. “So when were you planning o introducing me to this young fellow?”

“I-I....” Victoria stammered, turning around to catch a glimpse of a much more human looking Revaz. Whatever that device was on his hand it had completely morphed his features and clothing. Even the markings on his face were gone. The only thing that indicated he was still the creature she found lurking in the barn was just the slighest hint of a violet hue in his now blue colored eyes.

“A pleasure to finally meet you.” He murmered to her father, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Victoria has told me so much about you.”

“Oh...Wait, really?!” Her father arched an eyebrow curiously as he stepped forward, offering his hand to Revaz, whom seemed to already know what a handshake was. His tone was dry with the hint of sarcasm, spawned from years spent dealing with a critical offspring. “That doesn't sound very much like my daughter. I would have thought she'd pretend she was an orphan if she ever met up with someone. What's your name boy?”

“Revaz.”

“Heh, thats an odd name. You're not from around here are you? Either way it's good to meet you. I was wondering what Vicky had been hiding these past few days. She was acting so strange!”

Victoria cringed as she listened to her father babble on. Every word was like someone jabbing a rusty nail into her chest. He always sounded like such a dimwit. Even in front of alien she couldn't stand it was embarassing!

“Yes, I'm...very far away from home actually.” Revaz smiled as he patted her on the shoulder. No doubt he could already sense her growing frustration. “Your daughter is helping me adjust though. I'm very grateful for her help.”

“Vicky, where'd you ever find this one? He isn't talking down to me. I thought for sure you'd fall for an intellectual snot of some sort.”

“Dad, please don't be like that.” Victoria gritted her teeth as she glared at her father, hoping he would see the venomous look she was giving him. “He doesn't need to hear all of this right now.”

“Fine, fine. I'm sorry Vicky. I'm still in a bit of shock. No harm meant!” Her father sighed, throwing his hands up into the air defensivly. “Will he be joining us for dinner tonight at least? Or will you be keeping him in your room for the entire evening?”

Before she had time to answer Revaz stepped forward, squeezing her forarm gently as he replied ; “I'd love to.”

Her father was overjoyed by just the presence of another male in the house let alone one that had taken interest in his child. He convinced them to both come out into the living room to talk to him while ideas about dinner were thrown around. Revaz seemed very indifferent to the tension going on between Victoria and her father. He smiled where it was appropriate, spoke only when questioned, and laughed when it was required.

The blandness of his personna did not seem to phase her father even in the slightest bit. He was obnoxious and loud enough for the both of them, and Victoria suspected that he was just happy to see any boy in his childs life right about now. After watching her spend every weekend at home during highschool while her friends went out on dates he was glad to see her with a boy. Even a 'strange' one, as he comnented to her once when Revaz was not in the room.

An hour or two later some of her fathers closest friends arrived, carry boxes of pizza and a request that their UFO meeting be hosted at his place tonight. The house where it usually took place was under renovation.

None of them paid much attention to Victoria, though they tossed around joking remarks about Revaz. Their opinions on him were no different than her fathers, and after every teasing remark had been used and the food started being passed around she grabbed the extra terrestrial by the arm and dragged him out onto the front porch.

“I'm sorry about that.” She moped as they both stared at the orange streaked sky. The only good thing about this farm was that it was in the ideal location to watch the sunset. “My father and his friends are just a bunch of idiots.”

“I beleive they only seem less intellegint to you because of your resentment towards them.” Revaz droned while crossing his arms over his chest. “They seemed no different than any other member of your species. Your father is a credit to human kindness.”

“They think I'm some sort of freak because I don't waste my life searching for alien evidence like they do. And my dad is only acting like that because he thought I was an Old Maid in progress!“ She puckered her lips, feeling a sour sensation wash over her when Revaz sided with them. It was almost like jealousy. Or not nearly as intense. “How did you do that to yourself by the way?”

“It's just a hologram.” He shrugged, gesturing to the device on his wrist, which had altered in appearance and now at passing glance looked like some sort of wrist decoration. “The device created a hologram over my body that makes me seem human. I cannot morph myself in appearance though I understand why that was your presumption.” She cringed, disliking the instrusive way he kept peering through her thoughts. “A hologram is just...easier.”

“Oh...” She lowered her gaze, stepping down the porch steps until her bare feet were touching the grass. “I suppose that makes more sense. I'm surprised none of them noticed that your eyes are purple tinted though. If they knew who you were they'd probably worship you like some sort of god.”

“You're angry again.”

“Yes, yes I am! If you already know that why do you bother saying it?” She fumed as she turned around to face him, annoyed and just a tad offended that this being who wasn't even human, was more respected and embraced by her father in less than two hours than she had been all her life. It wasn't fair. Revaz didn't even do anything to earn it!

“You should learn to calm down. It's not good to be so...emotional.” With an expression that was as bland as white toast he stepped past her, crushing the blades of grass beneath him as he wandered along. She trailed after him like a lost puppy, feeling even more pathetic with every step. He paused about half way through the feild; too far away from the house to go back and not close enough to the barn to go back to hiding in it.

“I know that I'm whiny all the time you know.” She whispered as they both stared up at the sky. “I hate being so down on my luck all the time.”

“So you fancy yourself as misfortunate then?”

“Isn't that obvious?!” She half snarled at him, argravated and jealous of her newly found 'companion'. “I've lived in this backwater town all my life and not a day passes that I don't feel as though I don't belong here. I HATE ufo theories. I think it's all a bunch of stupid hogwash dreamed up by drunks and people with low IQ's. But because of you I can't!” she stumbled back a few paces as the blood rushed to her cheeks. “I feel like I'm dreaming. And that any minute now I'm going to wake up. But everytime I turn around and I think the dream is over there you are!”

He wasn't blinking. He had stopped when her rant first began, and though Victoria backed up serveral more paces he had not moved to follow her. The corner of his mouth twitched like he wanted to say something but was too polite to interupt her.

As she stomped through the dried, brittlw grass the back of her heel slipped into an undetected pothole. It was the swiftest she had ever been silenced, by nature and her own two feet, at that. Victoria fell backwards onto the hard earth with a thump so soft it made no difference to any of the horsefly's buzzing about through the blades of grass.

She groaned, staring bleakly up at the sky as her mind flooded with complete and utter embarassment...again. For the millionth time in her short life Victoria had managed to make a fool of herself. Besides moping and snarking at her fathers alien obssesion it was the only thing she was really good at.

She wanted to slip into a coma. Or perhaps die from a concussion. But the orange steaked sky never faded and though her foot ached from a possible sprain there was nothing wrong with Victoria. She would live to see another day.

“You are hurt?” Revaz's voice called out to her. It was as mellow as ever. Completely void of genuine concern, as though he already knew the answer to his own question. Being able to read thoughts probably helped.

“I'm fine.” She mumbled numbly, unable to understand why he hadn't just turned and walked away after her angry little rant. She lay there in the grass for some time, listening to the crickets chirping and trying to ignore the now throbbing pain in her ankle.

He ignored this insistence, kneeling down beside her to take a closer look at the damage. “You are not okay. Your ankle is sprained. You lied to me.”

Victoria grimaced with pain as he pressed one hand down on her ankle, examining it the way a Doctor might have inspected for broken bones. He was precise though he took none of her discomfort into consideration.

“Stop it!” She cried when she couldn't stand it any longer, lashing out just enough to smack Revaz across the arm. At first he didn't seem to react to it. It took several minutes before he finally turned his head towards her, withdrawing from whatever train of thought he may have been having.

“I'm fine, okay! It's just a sprained ankle.” Victoria hissed. “Leave me alone.”

“Does all of your species behave so stubbornly when they clearly require aid of is it a trait that is exclusive to you?” He didn't sound like he was being sarcastic, or even mean for that matter. Still Victoria found herself completely enraged. The anger was just enough for her the feel through the grass for the nearest pebble and fling it at him. It bounced lightly off his forehead before vanishing back into the tall blades from wence it came.

“I hate you!” She spat venomously with tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

“You don't hate me, you hate the things I keep asking you.” Revaz lost his composer after the childish attack and latched onto her, taking her by the shoulders and squeezing them tightly. “Your jealous of me. I can feel it. That is why you are behaving so badly.”

“Let me go.” She flinched when he touched her, alarmed by how long and bony his fingers were. Trying to wriggle free didn't help her all that much. They struggled for awhile in silence, hissing angerily at each other like two cats on the varge of a violent fight. Without thinking Victoria lifted her unharmed foot and swiftly kicked him in the knee once or twice until he buckled foreward, having lost his balance.

He landed on top of her, which might have given way for an assortment of panic from Victoria given that he no doubt weighed enough to suffocate her to death. But the fall was so abrupt that neither of them could have stopped it when their lips touched. They stared at each other for a moment in silence, her with a look of horror and him without an expression at all. And they looked into each others eyes with the same acknowledgment that this was a kiss. Victoria's first kiss for that matter.

At first she didn't know how to react. In truth Victoria had always imagined her first kiss would be with one of the pimply boys in town. One with crooked teeth and bad breath who she was settle for only out if desperation. Revaz's lips were nothing close to those of an awkward, hormornal youth. They were cool to the touch, and she found them remarkably soft.
Neither of them seemed to know the proper way to react. Unable to read Revaz's expression, Victoria was forced to focus on her owned mixed feelings. In truth though she should have found this event quite horrorific, and should have pushed him away the very moment it happened a part of her almost liked it. When he parted his lips she found that his breath had a very distinctively sweet scent to it. She was entranced by the way that his mouth slowly opened, embracing hers as though it were a natural thing for it to do.

Her hands fumbled through the grass restlessly, gripping into the earth as a little voice in the far regiond of her mind began to scream. It screeched on and on about how wrong this was, and that she would regret it later. But Victoria didn't listen.

Instead she parted her lips the same way he had, moaning softly when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The sensation was new, and fasnicaiting to her. So much that her arms eventually ended up wrapped around his back, pressing into the thick leathery fabric stretched across his shoulders in an attempt the control some of the sensations stirring within her body.

The kiss happened for a very long time. So long that when it ended they were both out of breath. Victoria let allowed herself a moment to actually think about the situaition. As her numbed senses returned a feeling of disgust washed over her. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach made her realize what had just happened. She'd had her first kiss with an alien. The very thought of it made her tremor as she briefly imagined all the vile and disgusting that had ever been in Revaz's mouth. For all she knew he ate cats and drank pond water!

“I need to get back to the house.” She whispered uneasily, fumbling across the ground in search of a stick that she could temporarly use as a crutch. While the one she found was not exactly the finest stick on the entire property it seemed sturdy enough.

“You are upset again.” Revaz sighed, sounding as though he were disapointed with her. He was sitting in the grass with one knee drawn to his chest; watching her cautiously. “I thought you said it upset you that you hadn't been kissed yet.”

“I know, I know!” She grumbled, angry at herself for being stupid enough to let it happen. She could have stopped him. This mess might have never happened if she'd used her brain for a change. “It's not that, iy's just...something I can't explain right now.” She replied while turning her back to him, preparing for the agonizing hobble back to the house.

'"You are upset because it wasn't that you have not been kissed before that matter, you just did not want to kiss me.”

She shuddered at the genuine truth in his statement, wishing she had the nerve to tell him off again like she had done in the past. “We shouldn't have done that Revaz. It was wrong.”

“Why?”

“Why? Why?! Because you aren't human you idiot!” When Victoria turned around to face him Revaz had stood up. His expression was blank again but one of his eyes flinched at her statement, as though he was hurt but reluctant to let her see it.

“I...understand your offense then. And I am sorry. I will not bother you any longer. Have a good evening Miss Victoria.”

He turned, abandoning her in the middle of that grassy field with only a rotting stick to help her make her way back to her home. As she watched Revaz vanish back into the barn Victoria felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt wash over her. It stayed with her all night long.