~15~

"I HAVE ARRIVED!" Leo screams proudly as he bursts forth from the ocean without even a sliver of a warning.

"GAH!!" I wail in surprise as his sudden noise and overall presence tips me off balance.

I'd foolishly deceived myself that I'd maybe be able to see his silhouette rushing up the water to the surface. But no.

He just apparated out of the water and was suddenly just there. And loud.

My arms swing out in a desperate motion and twirl around frantically to try and keep me steady. But it was hopeless. I was already teetering forward, and falling into the murky dark waters was all but imminent.

That is, until I feel a singular finger poke against my head and my entire being was held upright from plunging into the water.

"Nice catch! Your reflexes are always terrifying." Leo said as he looked at Dion with an impressed expression.

I was currently being held upright by the very tip of Dion's right index finger.

For someone who looked very translucent and squishy, he was surprisingly...strong.

Where all of this species like that!?

I gave Leo a worried look. And as if reading my mind, he lifted his arms up and furiously shook his head.

"Oh no. I am a pure weakling. He has all the muscle in our duo." Leo quickly said. "And I have all the braincells!"

Dion pushed me back into a sitting position before responding back.

"Please, don't sell yourself short. You're plenty stronger than you think. Besides," He turned to face Leo, leaning forward to whisper. "I am in possession of all the brain and brawns."

Leo gasped incredulously at his statement. But he made no further comment in the vein of arguing as a sort of iridescent shimmer cascades over the translucent surface of his skin.

Was...was that how they blushed!?

IT WAS ADORABLE!!!

"Oh mi gosh! Are you blushing!??? PLEASE tell me that's how you blush! It's to die for!!!" I squeal in childish wonder as I fully planted my ass onto the "porch" in front of my door and plopped my legs up to my caves into the water.

I hear a deep chuckle emanate from the side where Dion stood next to me.

"Yes, Melissandra, that is one of the many ways that we 'blush' as you call it." He answered.

Now it was my turn to have flushed flared cheeks.

But thankfully the melanin of my skin hid the full brunt of the effect from showing like a neon light.

"M-Mel is just fine," I shyly whisper as I look away, tucking back a stray strand of hair that came out of my ponytail from the swift movement.

A moment of silence transpires.

"Apologies if I offended you." I softly hear Dion say next.

My head whips back at him so fast I almost snapped my neck.

"I'M NOT OFFENDED!!" I desperately plea, trying to make him understand that my tone of voice wasn't because I was upset or anything. "I just get a little embarrassed and shy when people use my full name. It's nothing really-"

"But some people don't like to be made to feel that way, no?" Dion then asks. "To be made to feel embarrassed and shy is an upsetting feeling, is it not?"

"Uhm...well...actually yes. When you put it like that..."I concede to his point. But when I saw his face fall I frantically try to make him feel better. "B-but, I do not mind! Really!! In fact, it is one of my many kinks to be low-key humiliated in some way. I MEAN-"

"But you really do have a beautiful name though. I don't know why you'd feel so embarrassed about it in any way." Leo smoothly pulls himself out of the water with one arm and effortlessly sits next to me. "Unlike my name, which is so boring and flat to say."

I was sooooo thankful for Leo masterfully flowing the conversation away from my mortifying blunder, I almost felt the supreme urge to plaster him in kisses as a form of gratitude.

Who am I kidding? I definitely wanted to.

"I-it's just so long and clunky!" I hurriedly tried to match the blessed switch in the topic of conversation. "Mel just sounds shorter and cooler."

I also just registered the fact that Leo was now sitting next to me, casually leaning back and bringing one foot out of the water to assist in his balance. His actions were so smooth and casual you'd think it was the most normal thing in the world, and he was just meant to be there sitting next to me.

As if it was his birthright.

Dion on the other hand seemed to be a socially awkward wallflower.

He was giving off social anxiety vibes galore.

I would know. I remembered going to high school with 10 million of them.

I was also one of them, but I hid that fact by adopting an extreme extroverted persona to mask my scent from the preying wolves who gleefully took advantage of people with those shortcomings or personality traits.

I give him a soft smile, and gently tap the only available spot next to me as an invitation for him to sit.

Dion seems to have unknowingly sunk under the water's surface to the point his nose was submerged and we could only see his eyes.

I see them dart quickly to look at Leo, then back again at me.

He effortlessly glides through the water, and pulls himself up to seat on my left-hand side. Though he seemed to make sure not a single atom of his skin comes into contact with mine, and I see him look away and refuse to make eye contact.

Wait a minute! Did I do something wrong...?

"He's just being shy, you're fine." Leo simply says next.

My eyes widen in shock as I quickly looked at him.

"How!?" I simply say. It was like he's a master at reading other people down to what they could be thinking. I instinctively raise my hands to block both ends of my ears. "You can definitely read my mind!!" I violently accuse.

Leo breaks out in a cackle.

"Almighty, I wish!" He responds. "No, I'm just scarily good at reading people."

"Annoyingly," Dion mumbles, loud enough for Leo to hear. "And only when it seems to suit you." Dion added with a slight narrowing of his eyes at him.

Leo just shrugged at that with a cocky smile still glued to his face.

It seemed like Dion's snide remarks never seem to affect Leo, or Leo never took it the wrong way. It was like they function on the same wavelength and knew no malice was meant behind any words said.

Or Leo simply didn't care.

[He's lying! HE CAN DEFINITELY READ YOUR MIND! HE LOOKS LIKE THE TYPE!!]

[^ Please explain to me, in great detail, how one can LOOK like a mind reader. Go.]

[Why are they so hot?? If I couldn't see the translucency of their skins, I'd think they're all paid actors.]

[THEY ARE!! Do not be fooled by this fake lying streamer's lies!! Everything you see before you is a production. AND I HAVE PROOF!!!]

[Yeah, no offence Mel, but this all seems fake. I was willing to believe your 'fake space travel' as mindless entertainment, but this is a bit much. I think if I squint hard enough I can see a boom mic.]

[The sheer delusion that some people are willing to go through to think this is all fake is mind-numbing. How much money do you think she has to put such a realistic set together!? Even if you think it's 'fake' this would cost MILLIONS to make/produce!!]

[Did you SEE how much money she raised on stream years ago!? It's covering all these costs. PLUS she still gets money donated daily!]

[SHE USED THAT MONEY YEARS AGO TO BUILD HER SPACESHIP, YOU ABSOLUTE TOOLBOX!!!]

[LIES!!!]

I let out a big sigh.

My chat has been at each other's throats since Leo and Dion came into the picture. I've tried to talk reason to them but there is no convincing crazies. Especially the ones who have an irrational burning hatred for you in the first place.

Best to ignore and let the die-hard fans deal with them if they feel so inclined.

"Anything on your mind?" Leo asked me, referring to my sigh.

"I believe the phrase is, 'Penny for your thoughts?'" Dion corrected.

I chuckle.

"You're both correct. But yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind."

I hear silence as they both eagerly look at me with their full undivided attention for me to continue.

That gesture alone almost choked me up.

Fuck! I haven't been around people in forever. I'm getting soft...

"Well..."

I begin to explain to them the nightmare of the NASA scientists and Generals back on my home planet Earth. And also about the war in my comments. Then I diverge into my general state of living and how I'm running out on basically EVERY type of supply, and how my replenishing seeds are having a hard time growing this cycle for whatever reason.

What started as a slight vent burst into an absolute torrent of emotions.

I wasn't too concerned about revealing NASA's general bullshit, as I've shit-talked them on my livestreams multiple times. And I was also no stranger to telling my audience about my dire circumstances straight up as well.

But fuck! Something about talking to people in the flesh...er, whatever it was Leo and Dion were covered in, made everything feel so real and raw.

My chest felt tight, and my eyes felt heavy.

I didn't like the feeling. But I also relished it.

I missed being open and vulnerable.

You can't really authentically do that with pixels on a tv screen.

"I've had it up to HERE with everyone's bullshit!" I finally continue to rage. Feeling myself nearing the end of my ranting rampage. "I'm ready to legit throw myself into the water and end it all. No matter how hard I try it just isn't good enough! I'M not good enough! I'm so sick of it!! I'm just trying to do my best!!!"

I wail into the cold air of the brightening sky and I began to heavily heave as I didn't allow myself to breathe enough oxygen while I was angrily pouring out my soul.

I then feel a large object clasp tightly onto me.

"But you ARE doing your best!" Leo furiously protested. "Don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise!"

He'd wrapped his arms around me in a tight bear hug. His near jelly-like body texture not being sticky, but almost smooth and absorbent. Like I was being sucked in for a warm hug by an impermeable object.

If that even makes sense.

Before I could even process the hug I was being given, I feel something else, equally soft, smooth and absorbingly warm gently cover my left hand.

I quickly look to see one of Dion's hands had tentatively covered mine and he was giving me an almost proud look.

"You're doing great....sweety," He shyly says under his breath while making direct eye contact.

My throat closed up.

"W-well guys! That's going to be it for the stream. C'ya, bye!" I hurriedly say as I lift my one free arm from under and around Leo's hug and aggressively tap and rip off my ear device.

I slam it down to the floor next to us and a moment of deafening silence permeates the air for a moment.

"Uhm..."Dion begins to say.

"Yeeeah..." Leo speaks next, "Is everything okay-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH HAAAA HAAAA HAAAAAAA!!!" I burst open like the floodgates.

Tears freely flow down my face and my body violently shakes from the sheer torrents of unrestrained emotions bursting forth from me.

"Oh my gosh! What did we do!? Did we break her!?!?" Leo begins to panic, letting me go immediately in alarm.

"I-I-I..." Dion was at a loss for words as he continues to hold my hand out of sheer fear.

Then a shrill ringing sound comes out from within my ship, and I see Leo bolt for it through my tear-blurred vision.

"Gghu...mahdajkdlbuhahaha!!!" I was crying so hard I couldn't even catch my breath.

I hear Leo come back and sit next to me, holding what appeared to be a large tablet. Again, I couldn't see. He could be holding my ray gun attempting to kill me right now and I wouldn't know.

The loud sound of ringing gets abruptly cut by the sound of a call being answered.

"Bitch, what do you mean 'C'ya bye!'," Carol's annoyed voice fills the air as she mimics a high-pitched squeaky annoying voice to try and mimic what I'd said before signing off and ending the stream. "Why would you suddenly just end the- OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED TO HER!? WHAT DID YOU ASSHOLES DO TO HER!?!?"

From the sounds of it, Carol was about ready to jump through her screen and beat multiple asses.

"N-nothing! We just hugged and held her hand and she exploded," Leo quickly defended themselves. "D-did we push a wrong button or something? How do we fix her!?"

He sounded desperate. And the urgency in his voice to make me feel better drove my tears to fall harder.

"Aaaah, I see..." My blurry vision of Carol seemed to fold her arms as her demeanour calmed down significantly.

"Well first of all, put the tablet down at an angle where I can see both of you, and continue hugging her. And you, don't you dare let go of her hand! I'd say hug her too if you feel comfortable." Carol ordered.

"A-are you sure?" Leo question.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" Carol snapped.

Leo flinched and hurriedly dropped the tablet at an angle between the step and the door frame, and quickly wraps his arms back around me.

A moment later, I feel Dion remove his hand from over mine and wraps both me and Leo in a hug. And I proceed to completely lose it.

Both my hands fly up in a desperate grab as I hold onto their arms for dear life.

It was then that Carol spoke again.

"She hasn't had real personal contact with any living thing in almost half a decade. Just let her have her moment."

Carol's explanation seemed to ease the boys.

They both let out relieved sighs, and I feel their hugs tighten on me.

I squeeze back and let myself fully cry in peaceful relief.