Contact: A Legacy 1.3

Contact: A Legacy 1.3 by Leah T

At nearly noon, Dylan exited the bedroom in his boxers to see Peach making... breakfast? She didn't turn around but greeted him.

"Good morning, sunshine! I'm making squares!" she said cheerfully.

"Squares?" he asked.

"Yeah, they are square puffy things. You can check the box," she pointed at the counter were the box sat opened.

Dylan glanced over, "You mean waffles?"

"They're squares."

"Okay..." he put up his hands in defense. "I didn't know you could cook."

"I can't," she smiled widely and shoved the waffles in the oven. She stood up, but still did not face him.

"Then why did you decided to try to cook today?" he asked curiously.

"I thought you might be hungry," she said hopefully, then glanced towards his direction. "I did it for you."

Dylan was silent. What could he say to that? He had been rude to her this whole time and she was attempting to do something she never had done before... just for him. 

"Uhhh..." She is really sweet, he thought to himself. And cute... say something charming. Or thank her. That could work, right? Better than what you normally say, Doofus. "Don't burn the place down."

Peach grinned, "Mmkay!"

Dylan turned around and sat at the table to wait for his breafast, Smooth...

Hmmmm,  Peach thought. Why is Dylan acting so weird? It was almost as if he was thinking before insulting me that time. Was he going to give me a compliment? Nah... Couldn't be. That wouldn't be Dylan. If he was nice to me, I would have thought a hound had taken control of him with one of their gadgets... Oh! The squares are done!

"Eat!" Peach squealed. "Eat the squares I have so delightfully made for you!"

Dylan looked down cautiously at the waffles. They looked good, but did she do anything to them? That alien might be sneaky. He wasn't sure he could trust her yet. He took a bite and let it sit on his tongue for a bit before chewing. His eyes lit up.

"This is surprisingly not bad."

"Is it good?" she asked, bending over the table.

"Yeah, it is," he nodded and continued to eat.

"Oh yay! I followed the instructions. I wish driving a spaceship had instructions. Maybe then I wouldn't be here... But if I wasn't here, then I wouldn't be... you know, here, with you," she smiled at him.

Dylan dropped his fork.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah... I'm fine..."

"Here, I'll get you a new one," she said and hopped out of her seat.

After breakfast, they sat down to watch TV. 

"I don't see how bunnies can get so big," Peach said narrowing her eyes. "It is just... weird."

"That is a guy in a costume," Dylan scoffed. "You don't have costumes on your planet?"

"That's like dress-up, right? I understand dress-up... Like girls dressing-up to be cute like me with the ears and tail. But I don't understand why a man would want to be in a bunny suit. That is not attractive."

Dylan sighed, "It's for children. They think it's funny."

"I do not."

"Then why are we watching this? Can we please change the channel?" Dylan begged. "We've been watching kids shows for hours."

"What would you like to watch?"

"Ummm... hand me the remote," Dylan instructed.

"The clicker?" Peach asked.

"It's called a remote."

"I call it the clicker."

"Whatever."

Dylan turned it over to a show a romantic comedy. He chuckled now and again. Peach was still a little cloudy about Earth humor, but it was slightly better than the kid's show.

"What are they doing?" she asked.

"Getting married," he answered slowly. "You don't do that?"

"No... why are they getting married?" 

Dylan swallowed nervously, "Because they love each other. When you love someone, you get married. It's just... something you do."

Peach looked up at him with her big orange-yellow eyes, "Are you married?"

"No..."

"Can you hold me?"

"What?!" Dylan's cheeks turned a firey red. "I'm not going to do that!"

"Please! I've never been cuddled before and... I've never had a friend. Friends cuddle and... you're my friend right?" she batted her eyelashes and whimpered. It killed him to see her hurt.

"Oh, alright," he sighed.

Peach faced forward and scooted under his arm. She felt so comfortable. She never wanted to leave. In fact, she almost forgot all about the broken spaceship sitting in the capsule in her old clothes. 

Dylan looked at her and thought, She isn't so bad to have around. He smiled, then turned back to their movie.

Peach looked at the movie curiously, then looked at Dylan, "What are they doing?"

"Um..." Dylan blushed, "kissing."

"What's kissing?"

"You've never kissed anyone?" Dylan asked, surprised.

"No. Am I supposed to?" Peach asked.

Dylan shrugged, "I don't know. It's just something people do when they like someone. They kiss. They do it to show affection."

"Oh..." Peach paused. "Do... friends kiss?"

Dylan started coughing.

"Are you okay? Did I ask the wrong thing?" she batted her eyelashes. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, do you... want... one?" Dylan asked shyly.

Peach perked up, "Yes!"

"Well, then... um, okay... I guess I can... um, give... you, um, one, I guess..." he said bashfully and leaned towards her.

Peach leaned forward to meet him halfway...

Am I really going to do this? Dylan thought. Just yesterday, I couldn't stand her. And now... I'm going to kiss her. Am I doing this just because she has never been kissed or because I want to?

Dylan's phone rang and he jumped up.

"Sorry, I have to get this. It's my boss," he said apologetically.

"Yeah, no problem," Peach said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "You take that and make money, you money maker, you!"

He laughed and answered his phone, "Hello?"

"Dylan! How's that painting coming along?" his boss, Colin asked.

"It's coming along great!" Dylan exclaimed, glancing at the blank canvas in the corner of the room. "I should be done within the next couple days."

"That's wonderful, Dylan, because the deadline for the painting has been pushed for tomorrow. I assume you can bring it in?" he asked.

"Uhhh..." Dylan ran nervous fingers through his hair. "Yeah! Of course. I can definitely make it."

His boss laughed, "I love how you never let me down. Be sure to bring it down town tomorrow by ten o'clock."

"Will do."

"Bye, Dylan."

"Bye."

After Dylan hung up the phone, he turned back to Peach and cowered. He started biting his nails and shuddered.

"I'm gonna get fired! I don't have anything for the assignment, Peach! What am I going to do? We're both going to get kicked out. I don't want you to have to go back to your planet, yet..." he whimpered.

"Calm, down, Dylan," Peach stood up.

"How about I help you?" Peach asked.

Dylan shook his head, "I work alone."

Peach put her hands on her dainty little hips, "I'm sorry, Dylan, but you can't be stubborn. In this case, you have to be open to suggestions. Your deadline has been moved to tomorrow and you have nothing done. Please, accept my help, you stubborn jackass."

Dylan's jaw dropped open, "Um... I didn't know you knew those words."

"Watching TV helps," she smiled.

He sighed, "Fine, you can help me, but I still don't think I will get anything done... all hope is lost."

"Are you sure going big is best?" Peach asked.

Dylan glanced back at her, "I always paint on big canvases, it's my style."

"You don't have enough time to paint on a big canvas. That's all I'm saying. If you go on a smaller canvas, you will have more time for detail, too. You could explore something else," Peach suggested.

"Silly little Grapefruit, I do not take suggestions from amateurs," he glared.

"This amateur happens to know something about cutting it close to deadlines. And my name is Peach," she growled.

"Sheesh, I thought you were a cat, not a dog," he grumbled, and switched the canvases to a smaller one.

Dylan worked and worked and worked on his painting with Peach coaching him. She instructed him to use more detail when there wasn't any or just cheered for him when he did something right. He never knew having a cheerleader when painting could do worlds for his self-esteem. He smiled to himself. After this, he was going to help her with whatever she needed... Unless it was that stupid space ship. Peach was never leaving his sight again. She was his friend and friends don't leave.

"Done!" Dylan announced.

"It's beautiful!" Peach beamed. "I'm so proud of you for being able to get it all done."

"Yeah, but I had to stay up all night..." Dylan yawned and stretched. "Thank you, for helping me. I couldn't have done it without you."

He turned around to face her.

"You want that kiss?" Dylan asked and brought her close.

Peach's heart skipped a beat as her arms wrapped around him.

Dylan's eyes caught the clock on the wall.

"Oh shoot! It's 9:30! I need to get dressed and run this painting down to my boss! I'm sorry Peach, but this kiss has got to wait until later!" Dylan zoomed past her and into the bedroom to get his clothes on.

Peach shook her head, "So close..."

"That stupid human didn't know what he was talking about. I don't see Mazyna here..." the hound muttered to himself. "He said a girl with ears was here... Oh, I see it now. Just a stupid painting. That's not what a meant! Stupid, stupid, human... He is also on my list now..."

Dylan whirred through the door and ran into Rovotz as he was talking to himself. He was, of course appalled that some human would do such a thing. Dylan stopped for a half step, but didn't have much time.

"Sorry!" he threw over his shoulder.

"You stupid human," he hissed.

Dylan's blood ran cold. Only one other person had called him a human before and that was Peach. This must be the hound... But Dylan couldn't let him know that he knew what he was.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry. I must go," Dylan stammered and kept running. Oh no... He's here.  He took one look over his shoulder to commit his face to memory just in case he ever saw him again.

Dylan inwardly cowered. This was most definitely an alien. Why didn't he try to blend in? This hound was right... Humans were stupid. They must have thought he had some kind of mental disease or something and his eyes were contacts. Dylan shivered and turned away. The hounds image was now burned into his memory, but this would not distract him from getting his painting to his boss on time.