The hivemind is conquering for me?

Walking back over to everyone, I took a seat on the second couch we now had and had Lena sit next to me. The silence was deafening. No one wanted to speak, which was good. It meant they truly felt bad about how they acted.

The silence stretched for a short while while I kept up my fake mood before I became curious about something. ”Gabrielle. Tomorrow is your first day as a teacher’s assistant. Are you excited?”

Gabrielle practically jumped out of her seat when I addressed her. I found it comical, but didn’t let it show on my face. She began furiously playing with her hair before replying. ”He. Hehe. I don’t know. Maybe? I’m just here to help you-your friend and my ward Hailey to the best of my abilities. This wasn’t the career path I had in mind, but I don’t mind it at all. It’s better than risking my life looking for answers.”

”Answers? Answers for what exactly?” I asked curiously Gabrielle’s eyes turned wide and her expression pale. ”I. uh. I need a drink. Be right back.”

Nerissa shook her head ever so subtly. That woman was letting her fear of rejection run her life at this point. That and her current emotions for Apollo are leading to a fallout of crazy proportions. ’But if anyone could handle such a delicate situation, it would be Apollo.’ She thought and smiled at her cunning friend.

I felt Nerissa’s smile permeate through her helmet and looked at her slightly confused, but I shook it off as Janine got my attention. ”Apollo, can I speak to you over there please?” Lena and I then looked at each other, at which point she just silently nodded her head at me while caringly rubbing my knee, as though giving me reassurance.

’Wow, she is really good at this bit.’ I couldn’t help thinking before standing up and following Janine over to the stairs.

Once there, Janine stood on the second step to match my height and was about to say something before she sniffed and asked me confused. ”Can I smell another Sepiida on you?”

”Is that what you pulled me over for? Cookie thief.” Janine opened her mouth to rebuttal, but hastily closed it and composed herself. ”I pulled you over here to apologise. I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have touched your things. That was wrong. Can you forgive me? I feel terrible.”

I let out a dejected sigh. ”Janine, I feel like everyone is taking advantage of my forgiving nature, allowing themselves to do selfish things, such as taking my treats. It wasn’t the actual action of eating my food that upset me. It’s the fact that everyone can think that they can say sorry and it invalidates what they did.”

*sniff*

Janine began leaking from the eyes and looked towards her feet. I immediately felt a pit in my stomach seeing her cry. ’Shit. Did I take it too far?’ I couldn’t help thinking before I spoke up. ”Janine, I-”

Skin connected against skin. Lips against lips. I felt the slightest pressure of tongue against my lips that I instinctively greeted. Her arms wrapped around my neck while mine went directly to her hips.

Our lips connected and disconnected a couple of times before Janine pulled away, leaving me stunned. ”I never want to be a source of negativity in your life Apollo. Never. You mean too much to me. So I am sorry today, but going forward, I will be doing my best to make sure I never utter the word again.”

”Um...” I replied confused, still feeling the tingling against my lips. Janine giggled before explaining. ”Well, I am supposed to be your Sepiida, aren’t I? Kissing should sell the act in front of the new bloods right? Besides, I don’t mind. You have very nice lips and are a good kisser. Anyway, I need a drink. Be right back.”

I watched Janine walk to the kitchen and pressed my fingers up to my lips. ’Wow... What a kiss. They have been getting way better recently. She is going to make a woman incredibly lucky in the future thats for sure... Wow.’

Meanwhile, Janine walked into the kitchen and once out of view of Apollo, opened the freezer and stuck her head inside as she allowed her embarrassment to expel outwards. Her entire body turned red as well, being glad she decided to wear a bodysuit today as she had less skin to hide until she calmed down.

’That kiss...’ She still felt tingles on her lips. His tongue against hers. The raw passion. She understood why everyone was all over him all the time, it took everything not to moan out in delight. He was too good at something so simple.

Janine couldn’t help remember the first time they kissed... How disappointed she felt that she didn’t feel this way. She wanted to feel this way because of how compatible they were... She owed Sophia a life debt for allowing her to be who she was meant to be. To feel exactly what she should be able to feel.

She felt angry at her alien mother for keeping these sensations away from her for so long with the gene locks and behavioural modifications. She swore to herself now if she ever got the chance, she would kill her for this. Having to hide her true feelings until the right moment. Who would force their own child to endure such burdens? She hopes the whole pathetic species gets wiped out. Better yet, she hoped they were already gone, but she knew that wasn’t true, having recently been connected to their collective...

Her train of thought, and the freezer, allowed Janine to cool down and turn back to her sexy blue self. She took a deep breath and suddenly realised there was a figure to her left.

”So, you can turn red? That’s a new one.” Gabrielle commented, prompting a scowl to form on Janine’s face. Gabrielle raised her hands and spoke again. ”Take it easy Janine, I won’t tell anyone. Honestly, you think too hostilely of me. I am a friend here. But wow, you are rare huh? A Sepiidan with Psionic power... That’s like winning the empire lottery. Only one in trillions.”

Janine frowned. ”Speak of it to anyone outside of this home and-” ”-Alright, alright! Geez. I thought you said you were giving me the benefit of the doubt? Always so negative towards me Janine. My lips are sealed. Goodness.”

Janine promptly ended the conversation and walked away, causing Gabrielle to shake her head. ”Like I would do anything more to upset my son...” She muttered under her breath, before quickly looking around to make sure no one heard what she said

...

The next few hours went by with a different tone. After that kiss, I couldn’t exactly pretend to be upset anymore and the night passed by merrily with drink and games. It was a few hours past midnight and I was walking Gabrielle home. Lena had passed out in our guest room after declaring she was just going to the restroom, so I didn’t feel the need to kick her out. It was a guest room for a reason.

”As we were walking, Gabrielle looked up to the sky and sighed. ”I don’t think I am going to get used to seeing the sun for multiple days at a time. I’ve only ever lived on planets close to Ecumenopolis 1’s twenty four hour rotation.”

”I don’t mind it, though that being said, I lived underground for the majority of my childhood. A nice bright, warm sun is something I won’t be taking for granted anytime soon.” I then thought of home world’s three brown stars. They were not hot at all. I wagered I could probably stand inside the one closest to the planet and be fine, even without Sol’s influence on my resistances.

We walked a short way before Gabrielle spoke once more. ”You have mentioned living underground before. What was the reason for you to live like that for so long? You were not a prisoner were you? Sophia told me herself that getting close to you was also a business tactic on their families part, so I am just curious.”

Before I could respond, Onyx gave me some additional context that I didn’t previously have and then I replied. ”Oh, it was nothing like that. It was just safe down there. I got everything I needed. I spent most of my childhood training to be honest.”

Gabrielle then looked downtrodden. ”So you never had a normal childhood? I. I’m sorry you had to go through constant training. You should have had a normal childhood. Going to the park. Playing with friends. Scraping your knees and having your mother kiss them better. Growing up without a care in the world. Participating in hobbies you want to try. Giving them up when you no longer liked them. Having a row with your mother when she forced you to keep up with them... I’m sorry you never got that. You are a wonderful man, you deserved that. Not being kept underground and forced to train because of your heritage. Because your planet was taken from you... You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”