Trading Joe by TheRoost (e book reader free .txt) 📕

I didn't mean for this war to happen; I didn't mean for any of this to happen. All I did was kiss a guy on a date and the next thing I know, he's assinated...by my brother...and the guy was a prince of Hekton, our enemy. Am I really to blame?

Don't answer that.

All of Jahoven is at war now; Kulper bombs being dropped on major cities, Hekton soilders raiding small villages in the mountains, and our royalty hunted down like dogs and tortured in Hekton. It's not like we're much better; we have Hekton's queen being interogated right this minute.

And where am I? I'm sipping a Makiato, a very smooth and tasty "coffee" as the neighboring aliens, "humans", call the liquid, and they built us our first "coffee shop", where I am sitting now, enjoying the peace. It didn't really matter to me that they destryoed their own planet and most died out on ours. It didn't matter that the few hundred that survive are in a speacilized containment facility, where they think they are back on "Earth", so they don't go crazy and kill us all. Sure, we look surprisingly like them, and talk like them, but we couldn't be more different. Example; we are not as soft as they are, as weak as they are, or as stupid as they are. They call us vampires; we prefer to be called Jahovens or Hektons or Milbradians. Not their silly folklore.

But right now, the Makiato sliding down my throat, making me feel warm and tingly, I thought none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered to me was Rendul, and now he was dead.

But the memory lives; that's what I'm savouring now.

All this crap started a year ago, as stated before. It seems like a lifetime ago, but it wasn't; not compared to now.

I was sitting in this very seat, sipping a smoothie, because it was Smoothie Trinite Day; the next day would be Rasion Day, and I would have to start work in the morning; no one worked in factories on Trinite day. I was enjoying my day off, relaxing in a dark purple tank top and black skinny jeans. The one good thing about humans; they had style. We took many of their clothes and made them again from our own material. My fushia-pink hair, dyed from the dull black, to my mother's dismay, was curled partially down my back and my tan olive skin was glowing that day, a rare trait, and I was trying to aviod Calasar, my neighbor who had an unnatural attatchment to me.

But that's not where I want to start my story...let's fast forward to the glance.

"Calasar," I said slowly. My smoothie had slid down my throat an hour ago, and the sun was at it's highest. Hover crafts were zooming outside the coffee shop and Calasar was blocking my view of a very important news-headline on Prince Rendul, the Hekton prince who has gone missing. Everyone was celebrating more than usual, and I wanted to get caught up; not that Calasar was helping me anyway.

"You know my name," He sputtered, his silver hair glowing in the dull light made by the infernal "lightbulbs" the humans brought. I swear, their small, deaf ears can't even hear the buzz those ridiculous electrons make. Our firelight is so much better, and cleaner; unlike those weak, smelly, putrid species, we live off 'Carbon-dioxide' and 'Carbon-Monoxide'. The smoke even has a nice, tangy smell to it. Of course they have to come and screw it all up anyway. Hoorah.

"Yes, yes, we both know that," I said, dismissing him with a wave of my hand as his plum-purple eyes lighted up with excitment, "but could you please, for the love of Jahoven, get out of my way, and leave me alone? I want to watch the news and you irritate me."

"Of course, of course," He sputtered again, quickly rising from the table, giving me a perfect view of a hot guy checking me out.

A really hot guy. Surface of the sun hot guy.

DId I mention he was hot?

"I'll leave you alone," Calasar muttered, his eyes flitting to the strangers, his expression now down-cast as, for the first time in his life, he realized he didn't have a chance in all of Jahoven to date me. At least he was gone.

And I missed all the news. Great. At least I had the hot guy.

As I glanced to spend the rest of my afternoon oogling at him, I noticed the empty seat in which his fine face was once occupying. I scanned the front counter quickly; only Yunry, the attendant, was there, and she was too busy doing her hair (which was in the most horrible yellow color I had ever seen) to notice my gaze, or care about it anyway. She was very concieted.

Said the girl oogling over the memory of a hot enemy prince and drooling over her own apperance. Nice.

As the memory proceeded, I couldn't help but think how weird the rest of the story would turn out; my own brother, Gregon, a model citizen in his own right, being put in with the rest of the humans, who will be easily manipulated to think he is their enemy. It's giving him a chance to live in a situation where they know he will die.

I wasn't really attached to him; I mean, for our people, finding an unknown sibling is common-place. Just last week, Yunry claimed her long-lost brother came home for dinner. And that Calasar actually became my shelter, my link to sanity after the prince was so savagely taken from me. And he never even stood a chance.

The memory has the power now; the smell of fresh coffee, tea, and Cinnamon Sticks tickle my nose, even though they are from a year ago. The broadcasting station still rings in my ears as I find my past-self looking longingly at the seat where he sat, just a few minutes ago.

And I jumped when I heard a silky, masculine voice whisper "Looking for someone?" near my ear. His breath tickled my nose and smelt of pepermint. Another good thing about humans; they can cook.

I turned around and there he was, goregous as ever, leaning casually behind me. His skin was a soft, easy brown, the color of tea, while his eyes were a shocking blue. The black irisis looked like pools of ink, and his lips were stained indigo from the Guava Beans, the common, sweet fruit that makes up most of our meals. His teeth, though slightly purple from the Guava, were a sparkling white, and he wore a green hoodie and orange cotton dregs; dregs are, basically, a mix of slacks, jeans, and sweat pants. They are insnaely commfortable and have a specific fit for each person, showing off their curves.

I gave him a smile. "Not anymore."

He shook his head as he strutted torwards me. Even his walk was graceful and goregous. "Would you mind if this counted as a...date?"

I laughed, beckoning him to take a seat. He obliged. "Tell me your name, stranger, and it just may be."

It was his turn to laugh; unlike the rest of him, it was deep and crackling. "Rendul."

The coffee shop was full of laughter; though only the new bar-tender, whose name is unimportant, Rendul, and myself were left in the shop. Fresh Cinamon Sticks were coming out of the oven, and my coffee was sliding easily down my throat. I haven't felt this happy in a long, long time. I couldn't believe my luck of meeting him.

"It's true!" Rendul sputtered, his delictable lips sipping his Freka tea. Though the spicy herb usually is too strong for my liking, he seemed perfectly fine with it. "You could ask anyone who was with me!"

"You really snuck into the human habitat?" I asked again, still not believeing him. My dark purple tank top was hugging my chest, the buzz of the electrons mere background noise, and Rendul looked like all he wanted was to make out.

So, I was having a pretty good time. Even when I was making out with him: which was exactly what I was doing now.

"Yes, and they are not so bad, if you keep an open mind," He said seriously when we broke apart, though wicked amusment still danced in his eyes. "They just want to understand; and they know they are not on Earth."

This nearly made me spill my coffee. "What? How? Wouldn't they have gone insane?"

"No. The insane ones think they are home. The others know they are not, but pretend otherwise. They know they destroyed their planet, and they have no wish to do the same to ours; which is why they allow all the studies to go on."

I stared at him, shocked. "That...that is amazing!"

He nodded, a smile on his face. "You have difficulty believeing that Humans are essentially good beings, though they have a natural gene that causes destruction around them, yet you didn't even bat an eye when I told you I was the enemy prince? The one EVERYONE is trying to hunt down?"

I shrugged. "That's more believeable."

He laughed, muttering vaguely about women and why we are so confusing. Please. What a human thing to say.

"So," a new voice piped in, coming from the door. "Your the missing royal parasite."

I turned to yell at the intruder, but my words halted as I saw Gregon standing in front of a bolted door, a Klukin clutched in his right hand. It's point was viciously sharp, the muzzle smoking. That thing was recently fired. My brother knew how to shoot a Klukin.

That couldn't be good.

Rendul slowly stood up, his hands spread out. I stood up as well, ready to defend him.

"I come to make peace, but it seems you already