The streets were eerily deserted.

Of course, silence was to be expected at this time of day. But there was an odd stillness that clung to the atmosphere that felt unsettling and wrong. The streetlights still flickered uncertainly; something they'd never used to do before. Miles' footsteps and Aaron's echoed as if they were in a large, empty room.

Miles kept his phone protectively in hand.

"Aaron," Miles stated plainly when Aaron let out yet another pained grunt. "You're being problematic."

"I can't just erase my wound!" he argued through a pant.

"You shouldn't have come."

"Oh," scoffed the blond, "like you'd have walked these desolate streets all by your lonesome."

Miles didn't say anything, but Aaron had a point. It was daunting enough now, walking like everybody and nobody was watching at the same time. He felt like there should be eyes on him; that's what the horror movies led him to believe. But what eyes would be on him when there was not a single other soul here?

"Talk to me," Aaron urged, and Miles glanced at him surprisedly. "I don't like the silence."

"What is there to talk about?" Miles inquired. They had left the school hardly five minutes ago, going a separate way to Lia and Eira. Miles didn't know where they were headed, but he guessed that was the point - they needed to walk as far around as they could to search for others. With a while until they had to meet back at the school, they weren't going too fast.

"I don't know. I just need to hear conversation."

Miles cast Aaron a contemplative glance. The boy - and Miles had noticed this before, though he hadn't put much thought into it until now - reminded Miles of what some of his friends used to be before they were Altered. Hair that was untamable, legs just a little too long, eyes that relied on emotion to find their gleam. Aaron must have been at least half a head taller than Miles, but when he was hunched over in pain they stood at almost exactly the same height. He was pleasing to look at but not artificially handsome; the latter being something that the Alteration could be blamed for in Miles' friends. Nothing about Aaron sparked the words exciting or adventurous or wild in Miles' mind, which meant Aaron was almost a direct opposite of Miles.

An introvert and an extrovert, a wallflower and a thrill-seeker, one tentative and one a daredevil; walking down the side-walk together while scrambling simultaneously for a conversation topic.

Miles said, "Tell me a story."

And Aaron said, "I'm no good at coming up with stories."

So Miles said instead, "Then tell me what you are good at."

Aaron didn't respond.

Miles looked at him. "I won't laugh."

Aaron seemed unconvinced.

"Just because I'm Unaltered doesn't mean I don't know how to behave. I'm not a bully." Miles knew of many people who would like to dispute what he'd just said, but Aaron didn't know that. "I'll tell you what I'm good at. Programming. I'm a massive geek. My friends used to tease me all the time, before they were Altered. I love writing computer programs."

Aaron let out a whine. "Oh, you're stupid if you think that's a humiliating talent. Computer programs change the world."

It was, to Miles' surprise, oddly encouraging to hear words like that from a stranger. Not that he was teased anymore, with most of his peers having been Altered by this point - but it was nice to hear regardless. "Oh, come on. I told you I wouldn't laugh. You wanted conversation, remember?"

Aaron, with a sigh, caved in. He replied, "I dance. I've been doing it since I was like, eight years old."

Miles struggled to be surprised. If Aaron hadn't told him, he would perhaps have guessed - Aaron looked like a dancer. Light and fluid and nimble. "What kind of dance?"

"All kinds. Mostly. Ballet and hip-hop and even contemporary, once upon a time." Now that he'd revealed the answer, he seemed more relaxed giving further details.

Miles raised an eyebrow, a small smile creeping onto his lips as a memory resurfaced. "My boyfriend tried ballet, once. It was a joke - a dare, I'm pretty sure, now that I'm thinking about it. He went for hardly two lessons before he sprained his ankle and swore never to dance again." Miles snickered. "He's the most uncoordinated person you'd ever meet, I assure you."

That made Aaron, smile, too. A small smile, albeit existent. "You should have brought him along with you tonight," he said. "I'd love to see that."

Miles' smile faltered at Aaron's words. How he wished Ty was here by his side - it would make the entire experience significantly less terrifying. Thinking of how abruptly he'd said farewell to Ty earlier upset something in his stomach; now that it seemed something dangerous was happening in the city, he wished he'd made that goodbye a little more heartfelt.

Just in case anything happened.

"He's sixteen," Miles responded dejectedly. "I wish I could have dragged him along after me. Though really, you should be glad I didn't - he'd be complaining the whole time."

If Aaron noticed Miles' temporary disappointment, nothing he said or did suggested it. "This is just something that's freaking us out even though, come morning, we'll probably be laughing at our own stupidity. Hopefully, you'll be able to see him tomorrow; tell him all about this silly trap our gullible asses fell into tonight."

Hopefully.

"Oh," drawled Miles lazily, amusement hidden in his tone. "Please. If this all proves to be nothing and we just go home tomorrow, I'll be sleeping for the entire day." That was likely true; during the hour of one a.m. was not an ideal time to be exploring the city with a stranger, and it was taxing on energy, that's for sure.

What neither of them mentioned was that, even if the notification meant nothing, their clothes were still spattered with blood and Lia was still a murderer. Would tomorrow really be normal, even if this little expedition proved that they were all overreacting? There was still a dead body to account for, Aaron was still wounded, they'd all still run away from home. If tonight wasn't normal, tomorrow wouldn't be either; nor the day after, or the day after that.

"I wish humans could hibernate," Aaron added, a yawn conveniently following that statement.

"If only," sighed Miles in agreement. "I'd hibernate every season."

"Every season? That's not hibernation," Aaron said, and he looked a little worried. "That's death."

Miles looked enlightened. "Is it? You don't say."

This earned Miles an amused grin from Aaron, even though he hadn't said anything especially funny. "I'm glad we're talking. This is much better than silence."

Miles was surprised to find that he agreed. "Then let's keep at it."

So they did.

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+1159 Words.

I don't know about you, but I'd be exactly like Aaron in a situation like this. I'd need to talk to someone!

Please vote and comment and let me know what you're thinking of the story so far!

-Reb <3