I Think I Have a Crush on an Alien

Carter sighed as he stared up at the night sky. He lay on his back in the grass of the backyard peering at the twinkling stars above as he so often did in his moments of brooding. Carter, a stereotypically handsome high school boy, found himself facing the stereotypical dilemmas of a stereotypical handsome high school boy. He fought the urge to check his phone for the hundredth time since he sent that risky text to Rebecca, a more than stereotypically gorgeous high school girl. Rebecca and Carter had been playing the “just friends” game for months now and Carter was ready to take it to the next step. The message he sent read;

“I feel like we both like each other…”

Carter gave in and looked at his phone again, knowing full well that he would have heard it chime if Rebecca had responded to him. He groaned in frustration at the lack of notifications and contemplated throwing the device actress the lawn when it started jingling. Carter's heart dropped as he saw that Rebecca was calling him? Who called people these days? There’s no way this could be good news. Why couldn’t she just let him down easily with a text that said “lol” at the end?

Clearing his throat and with trembling fingers Carter picked up the phone. He tried desperately to sound casual but of course his voice immediately cracked.

“Hi- hem, hem, hey Rebecca,”

“Where are you?” she asked urgently.

“Uhh at my house..”

“But like, inside or outside?”

“Out back”

“Go inside”

“What?”

“Please, just go.”

“Rebecca, what are you talki-”

“CARTER! I’M NOT KIDDING!”

The line went dead. Carter pulled the phone away from his face and stared dumbly at it. It may have been one of the weirdest things Carter had experienced in his young life but the urgency in Rebeccas voice made him nervous. He started to scramble to get up and high tail it to his back door when suddenly a bright light bloomed in the sky above him. He stared up at the stars he had just been gazing at as the brightness seemed to grow and grow and grow. He was so mesmerized by it, he forgot he was certainly not supposed to be outside.

“Carter!” he heard someone shout. Snapping his attention away from the light Carter saw… Rebecca sprinting towards him across the lawn. Rebecca lived on the other side of town and there was no way security had just let her into the compound. He stood stock still as she barreled towards him and did nothing to stop her as she tackled him to the ground. Carter had become a statue in the wake of this moment.

“I told you to go inside,” she whisper yelled at him, her big brown eyes giving him a pleading look as they now both lay on the grass. The light seemed to be getting closer to them and as it did Rebecca's beautiful face changed. Her eyes and hair seemed to be growing right before his eyes. Her olive complexion began to darken to a deep and true green. When her full lips parted again her teeth had elongated ever so slightly and her incisors were now real fangs. Something about her was still completely alluring to Carter and he tried to push the thought from his mind as the absurdity of it bubbled to a laugh on his lips.

Rebecca's eyebrow quirked up ever so slightly as she noticed the small smile Carter was currently trying to hide. She could tell he was utterly bewildered but she knew she didn’t have much time. If her body was changing to it’s true form her ancestors must be close and there could be no good reason as to why.

“I was already on my way over to talk to your mom,” she blurted out to him as way of explanation.

Carter knew Rebecca’s family worked for the government and had often been invited to the White House to dine with him and his own family. While Rebecca's father was not Secretary of State, Carter knew his role in foreign affairs was well respected and his mother put a lot of trust into him. Why Rebecca would be the one coming over to discuss something with Madame President was beyond Carter's imagination.

“My parents have gone missing,” she stated bluntly as Carter continued to just stare at her new face. “I was coming over here to warn your mom about it. I have no idea what’s going on but that big light is coming from my planet. I felt them the second they breached Earth's atmosphere and knew they would be coming for me.”

She glanced up as the light continued to grow. The fear glinted in her eyes only for a moment before she looked back at Carter.

“Your mom knows all the background of me and my family so you can ask her anything you want, though I’m not sure she’ll tell you. I was worried about you, I should have just gone to your Moms office but when I asked the guards where you were they had no idea. I was scared you had been taken and it was all my fault.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

Carter reached out to comfort her, touching her shoulder. He had brushed her skin in passing before. He remembered almost every time because it had always sent a lighting jolt of energy through him. He was hyper aware whenever she was around. Rebecca's skin had not only changed in color, it had become smooth as glass and cold as ice. He worked not to flinch back at the feel of it but she noticed the hesitation before he rubbed her shoulder awkwardly.

Shrugging away from him she started to stand up. “Look, we don't have a lot of time and I should be leading them as far away from the White House as possible.”

Finally Carter had the gall to speak. “No! I mean, don’t go. Stay here, where could be safer than here? You know this place is fortified to the maximum and there are plenty of escape routes…” He trailed off realizing he was spilling the secrets of the United States to someone who seemingly wasn’t even of this planet. She looked down at him grasping her hand, he hadn’t even realized he had taken a hold of her.

Carter scrambled up to stand eye level with her and she sighed.

“Your fortifications are nothing compared to the might of the Impireacht. They will destroy this city in seconds and you need to tell your mom that.” She glanced away from Carter and he could tell she was fighting back tears.

“My parents…” she swallowed hard and started over, “my parents and I weren’t always entirely truthful about our kind.”

“It’s okay,” Carter replied even though he had no clue whether or not it was.

“I should have gone right to your mom tonight but I don’t think I have time to get inside, through security and tell her everything. Can you give her this message the second I leave?” She asked him, her now giant brown eyes looking pleadingly at him. Carter only nodded in response.

“Okay, um highlights, your mom knows a lot but not everything. The technology and weaponry within the arsenal of the Eachtrannach is beyond anything the human race has created. We didn’t tell your mom or any of her predecessors because humans are almost as bad as the Coimthioch when it comes to craving power and we knew it would only be a matter of time before they tried to force our hand and we would have to leave our post on Earth. Your nuclear stuff might be close but my people are not as easily broken as humans.” As she said this she pulled a knife from her pocket and slammed it to the hilt into her arm. That glass like skin just rippled around the blade and as she pulled it out went back to smooth.

“I don’t think she realizes just how strong we are as individuals. I’ve never done that little demonstration for her before.” Rebecca half smiled at the shock on Carter's face.

“I don’t think I’m going to remember the Echh word you just said.”

“Your mom knows that one. My parents must have known something was amiss because they were able to get a message to me. Just tell your mom that our Ceannasach Declan, basically our king, has died.” she rushed the last words out and quickly glanced up at the sky. The glow had continued to grow, enough now that Carter was sure even people that were not out stargazing would be able to see.

More swiftly than he had ever seen a person move, Rebecca pecked him on the cheek and spun away. Just before she crossed the lined bushes she turned and called, “I feel like we both like each other too!” then she disappeared and almost as swiftly the light above winked out.