Awakening Part Two. A week before Serran's depatrue from SB 6

Posted on 07 Mar 2024 @ 1:48am by Theo Winters

1,404 words; about a 7 minute read

(February Log)
"Previously in Part One

He leaned in a little closer about to reply and fill me in on what was going in that head of his when three Orions entered the place.

"Shit, shit, shit," Ren said, "I know that one."

That one was the largest and ugliest of the three. He saw us and started walking toward us.

Now the continuation:

A split second before the Orion started toward us it hit me what Ren was about to confess, or at least I think it was what he was going to confess.

So yeah, maybe he was right I was a little dense. I had no idea he liked me the way I think he likes me. He was. He is my best friend, but I don't think I liked him the same way.

I mean, who am I to judge, my dad is gay. I just had no idea that Ren was anything other than straight. I mean he was the first one of my friends to lose their virginity (with a girl) and as I said before he had a reputation around the station and it wasn't a good one. But there weren't even whispers that he liked guys.

"Of course, he could have just been playing the long gamegetting me all confused and flustered just so he could call me a dork for falling for his elaborate scheme.

We were going to have our conversation, but we had more important things to deal with at that moment.

The large Orion, his name was Darrin looked between me and Ren as he got up to our table.

"Did he cheat you, the way he cheated me?"

Now I was even more confused. "Cheat on me?" I asked my voice rising an octave, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yeah, you heard me. He cheated my friends and me out of a lot of credits. We'll take it out of his hide if we have to. You didn't know? I find that hard to believe."

"It's true," Ren spoke up rising to his feet. He doesn't know anything."

Darrin gave Ren a curt nod before turning back to me. "We got no beef with you. You can go now."

"I'm not going anywhere," I said. "I may not be in love with you but you're my friend and I'm not going to let them hurt you."

By this time, the other two Orions stepped into our personal space.

"Let's keep this quiet and civil. We're all going to go right through that door. Or..." he lifted his shirt revealing a disruptor in his waistband.

I will admit to being concerned. Okay, more than concerned. There didn't appear to be any easy way out of the situation.

Most teenagers, even Fleeters would have freaked out and panicked in a situation like that, but neither Ren nor I were most teenagers. Ren's mother was an engineer and his father was an Intel officer. So Ren could handle himself, and if it was true that Ren had swindled these assholes then he had to have a few tricks up his sleeve.

As for me, well, let's just say I've been through some shit in my so far pretty short life (watching your parents killed while you watch will do a number on anyone. Soren has helped me deal with it. He has taught me a few unarmed combat tricks. Most importantly, he taught me some meditation techniques and how to set my emotions, some of them anyway, aside and look at things logically.

So neither one of us panicked or did something rash or stupid.

"How far do you think you'll get if you kill us in the middle of the station?" I asked. "You wouldn't make it back to your ship."

Darrin gave me a smile that didn't get close to reaching his eyes.

"That may be true," he agreed, "but you'd still be dead."

He of course had a point and we had a huge problem.

"And," he continued, "dying from a disruptor can be very, very painful. Not a fun way to die."

"But if your friend here gives us back what he took, then we'll leave and you two can go back to making out."

I gripped the table tightly, color rising to my cheeks (so much for all those lessons in logic Dad) "We were not making out."

"Look kid, I don't care what it was you were doing. It's no skin off of my nose."

He turned to Ren then and what had passed for a smile faded altogether

"You have what you owe us? Just give it to us and we'll be gone."

"I don't know what you're talking about Ren said.

I've known him for three or four years and thought I understood him. I wasn't so sure then, and I'm not so sure now, that I did. I was still thinking the whole unrequited love thing was just a load of bullshit. I wouldn't find out until later how true it may or may not have been. What I was certain of at that moment was that he was feeding these Orions shovels full of horse shit. He was, in other words, lying through his teeth I'm not sure where that Terran saying comes from, but I like it.

Suddenly an idea came to me. I turned away from Darrin and his chums and turned my focus on Ren.

"You lying piece of shit," I said with as much venom in my voice that I could muster. "First you tell me that you love me, (he hadn't come out and said that remember).

"Then I catch you with Ryan (up until that night the only one I caught him with had not been a guy) And now you're pulling your shit on other people.

Ren shot me an Are you crazy? look and was afraid I'd miscalculated and just gotten us deeper in the weeds (another Terran saying I'd never had explained to me, but that seemed appropriate.)

Whatever else Ren is, he is not stupid and he caught on to what I was trying.

"I only said those things to make you feel better about yourself and to get access to your daddy's stuff."

Darrian's eyes were cutting between us and I was pretty sure he wasn't buying what we were selling. That would have been nice but wasn't a requirement.

We were drawing attention to ourselves, which was kind of the point. To help sell our little charade, I shoved the Andorian backward.

Then Ren did something I'd never seen him do, he took a swing at me The blow hit me on my right cheek and I fell to the ground. If we lived I was going to have to talk to him about overplaying his part.

I was knocked on my ass landing on the ground I picked myself off the ground as Darrian grabbed at Ren I took advantage of that to do some grabbing of my own

I yanked the disruptor out of the back of his pants

He shouted something that Dad would ground me for a week for saying it.

"Put the gun down dumbass, you don't know how to use it. As a matter of fact, I did. Sortta.

"You're the one that said it was a horrible way to die. Right? Are you willing to take that chance?"

He hesitated just long enough for station security, and my dad to burst into the room, as the doors slid open.

After everything had been sorted out Sorren looked at me for a long time. "Say goodbye to your friend, you disobeyed the rules(not exactly true, but close enough) You're coming back to our cabin and you're grounded until we leave."

I gave him a brief nod of my head and was about to say something when Ren took my hand.

"Thank the Universe, you're okay. Are you starting to get it now?"

I nodded "I think so, but I have to be honest, I'm not sure I like you the way you like me."

"That's okay if you don't. but maybe this will help and he kissed me. I couldn't help myself, I kissed him back It was brief, but real nonetheless.

"Can Vulcans smirk? Because Dad couldn't hide the smirk that came on his face.

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