Programmed Love

Chapter Nine: Secret Obsessions

     Dominic had been dragging me throughout the entire establishment for at least an hour before we got to our destination. He'd shown me multiple rooms on our trip there, including his lab area, the kitchen, the main entrance way, and many more smaller scale rooms. In that time, he'd made small talk 'with me', often asking how my morning had been, if I'd slept well, etc. I'd been able to evaluate what he was wearing, which seemed to be a simple pair of white jean pants, no shoes, and a white sweatshirt with a depiction of a sunrise and birds flying overhead. The night before, I'd learned that his favorite color was white. 

     The door we'd stopped in front of had a sign on the surface the read 'Violet's Room'. The letters were a bolded violet with a white background. Behind the door, loud crashes and playful growls emitted. Dominic smiled at the sounds and turned towards me.

     "I'm gonna cover your eyes and make it more of a surprise, okay? I promise that she won't harm you, so there's nothing to worry about, Cutie," his angelic voice of liquid gold said with a mischievous tone. 'Cutie' seemed to be the nickname he'd chosen for me as of last night. I sent a small smile towards him with an eye roll and nodded my head in submission to him covering my eyes. 

     "Well look who's a secret sassy pants," he joked before moving behind me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder to cover my eyes with his hand. A faint 'click' could be heard as I assumed he opened the door. He placed that hand over my eyes as well and led me forwards. His body was so close to my own, I could distinguish his breathing, as well as feel the heat radiating from his body. The hold he had on me was a very comfortable position against his body, and it was so pleasant I hardly noticed the diminished sound from inside the room. Our new presence seemed to disturb the creatures in the room until they realised the people now with them. A small, familiar whine came from across the room as little trots scitter-scattered across the floor. A bright smile lit up my face as I nearly broke away from Dominic's hold to see my pizzly bear. 

     In the midst of my joy, it was diminished when I felt a rather large, wet muzzle work its way into my downturned palm. A furious sniffing was easily heard and lasted a few minutes, leaving my palm and trailing my legs, even reaching a little higher than my elbow. Whatever this animal was, it was huge. My breathing shallowed as a small instinct of fear took over. I stiffened against Dominic as he removed a hand from my eyes to pet my hair in a soothing manner. 

     "It's alright, Valencia. She won't hurt you. Now, now, Violet, this is Valencia, she's a friend," Dominic stated in a voice similar to baby-talk. At the sound of his voice, the snout disappeared from my skin and a small bark followed. The bark was a full, deep sound that resonated throughout the room. Dominic slightly moved away from me, the warmth leaving with him. 

     "I'll remove my hand now," he softly said, gently taking his fingers away from my face. When my eyes adjusted to the light, a huge creature with intermixed blue and purple fur was looking  into my eyes with its own violet ones. The animal was larger than life, its back reaching my forearm on all four feet. It was very bulky and muscularly built. My jaw dropped in amazement as it tilted its head to the left.

     "This is my pet wolf, Violet. She was bred for her spectacular size. I tried making her solely blue, but a mutation occurred that made her a mixture of blue and purple. I still love her to death, though. My very own pride and joy. She's six years old now, but still a bundle of energy. She likes little Orson as a playmate," Dominic joyfully explained, kneeling down and burying his face into Violet's fur. He wrapped his arms around her neck and brought her closer. I hadn't noticed it before, but she had her pink tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth and was panting. The room surrounding us was white themed. A large white, fluffy couch was in the middle of the opposite wall, lightly coated with the wolf's fur. The floor was a shaggy white carpet, and multiple chew toys were scattered across the floor. A white curtain with miniature yellow suns for design hung across a large window, still allowing lots of afternoon sun to illuminate the room. A large food dish sat in a corner of the room, with an equally large water dish beside it. The walls were the same white and cyan chevron stripes as my bedroom and two other doors led to conjoining rooms. A paw scanner resided on both, presumably to open them. 

     "Come here, Cutie. I wanna see if she'll let you pet her," Dominic stated. I hadn't noticed his blue eyes peeking out from Violet's fur until he spoke. Still panting, Violet sat down and swivelled her purple eyes to meet mine. A look of worry crossed my face, but I still stepped nearer to the magnificent beast. 

     "On second thought, come sit beside me before you pet her. She's more likely to let her touch her if you seem submissive."

     Nodding in understanding, I walked towards Dominic and sat down with the same violet gaze following my every move. Dominic released her, and the second he did, she pounced on my sitting form. Knocking the breath from my body, I fell backwards in surprise. Both of her massive paws rested on either shoulder, and her black nose come into my view.

     "This is it. She's going to rip my face off and I can't do anything about it," I told myself, squeezing my eyes shut and bracing myself for the pain. Two seconds passed, then three, then six and she still didn't make another move. Slowly opening my eyes revealed the wolf staring into my own face. Once she saw my eyes, she opened her massive jaws and a long, wet muscle ran across my face. Now drenched with dog spit, I would have laughed in relief. A huge smile split across my face, and she licked me again, and again, and again until Dominic busted up laughing. The sound startled the multi-colored wolf and she moved off, tackling Dominic instead and smothering him in licks, too. 

     Wondering what all the commotion was about, Orson ran over to investigate as well. Seeing the little pizzly bear, I immediately sat up and opened my arms to him. Making his baby roar noise, he barreled at me and jumped into my lap. I nuzzled my own face into his neck, and remained like that until I felt eyes watching me. Dominic had his gaze on me once more, and a gentle smile lit up his face. He'd managed to calm Violet down and she was now content with laying by his side being gently stroked by his pale hands. Sending him a curious glance, he seemed startled that I noticed him.

    "Nothing. I was just thinking. I'm glad that Violet likes you, that must mean you're a good person. She never seemed to like anyone else I showed her to," he said," Isn't that right, Violet." 

    At the mention of her name, she tore her eyes away from me and looked at her owner, nuzzling her head into his side. Orson seemed to have had enough cuddling and wiggled out of my arms, waddling over to Violet and laying by her instead. The old wolf looked at the bear in a motherly way and started l*****g his head, attempting to give him a bath. The word 'cute' rang in my head and I decided to get up, stretching my limbs in the process. 

     "So what'cha up to now?" Dominic questioned, to which I shrugged my shoulders. Maybe I'd go to sit on the couch. I hadn't noticed it before, but a tv hung above the door we came through. Dominic seemed to really spoil Violet. My curiosity got the best of me though, and I decided to question where the two doors led to.

     "Well, the door with the star and moon on it leads to my bedroom, and the bare door leads to an area where Violet can do her business if she doesn't feel like going outside," he explained. I made an 'o' shape with my mouth and tried to decide what to do next. Looking around the room, I made a move to walk towards the couch, but Dominic's voice halted my action.

    "Speaking of which, I think I have something of yours in my bedroom. You can come with me if you'd like, I'll be back in a moment," he promised, quickly getting up and waking Violet from her mini nap until she realised where he was going. I decided to just stay put, sit on the couch, and wait. I didn't know what possession of mine he might have, but I waited patiently. From the small bit of his room that I could see through a c***k, it seemed dark. Darker than what I'd expect from anything of his. Curiosity filled my mind, but the door seemed to be shut as soon as it was opened, and Dominic was already back. In his hand, he clutched a black backpack, and my eyes brightened. Rushing towards him, I yanked the bang from his hands and brought it close to me.

     "I'm going to assume that really is yours then. One of my robots came by after they managed to capture you and gave me the bag, after they emptied it of course. All they found was some food and water though, nothing too important. I figured you'd want it back anyways, however. So I held onto it in the chance that you'd survive the Arena. I'm very glad you did," he said with a smile. A genuine one. It felt like a few butterflies stirred in my stomach, but I figured that could be side effects from my earlier hangover. With my own smile as a sign of gratitude, I moved back to the couch and sat down. I longed to check for the key, but then I'd be questioned, and I couldn't allow that to happen.

     "Oh, your muteness is getting to me again. I want to try something else though that's better than typing, so hold on again. I'll be back," he repeated. He existed the main door and I listened to his footfalls as long as possible. Once he was out of earshot, I frantically searched for the sewn seam that held the key. For a moment, I thought it was gone, but it'd only shifted in its spot and had sunk lower. I visibly slouched in relief and attracted the attention of Violet. She got up and slowly made her way to me before jumping on the couch beside me. The cushion sunk to her side, and I fell atop the wolf. A small yelp was released from her, and I immediately shifted up so I was only leaning on her soft fur. She curled up in a ball and placed her head in my lap, so I pet the soft fur available to me. She was obviously very well taken care of.

     I found the remote to the t.v. between the right arm of the couch and the cushion, and turned it on. What sounded like a form of music filled the room. It was a soft, slow, and steady beat. It was nearly enough to lull me to sleep. Orson had even curled up on my lap. My eyelids were about to close when Dominic came strolling in. 

     "Hey there, little sleepy head. You could have changed the station. This is just the music Violet likes listening to. Anyway, I've brought this little device that might help you talk. It was originally supposed to convert animal's noises or thoughts into an actual language, but it only came out as the same noise because they don't use the same muscles we do to create words. Instead of ditching the idea, I put it up. I figured maybe one day it would have a purpose," he hopefully elaborated. A tiny chip-like object sat in his hand. He also carried a miniature pair of tongs, and what looked like gum. Tilting my head to the side in curiosity, he walked closer.

     "It may be a little uncomfortable at first, and weird for me to put in. But I'll show you how to do it yourself if you'd like, too. I don't even know if it'll work, but it's worth a try, right?" The bluenette asked. Still confused, I nodded my head and sat up straighter.

    "You're gonna have to put Orson aside. I have to see inside your mouth," he said. I complied and took Orson off my lap. He continued walking closer to me, and I kept following him with my own brown orbs. "Please tilt your head up, and open your mouth as wide as possible. Oh geez, I sound like a dentist. But besides that, this is probably going to be a little awkward."

     I did as he told me, and he placed two fingers beneath my jaw to lift my head higher so I was staring straight into his blue gems for eyes. I opened my mouth and he grabbed the gum-like substance. Placing the small chip into it, he put it between the tongs and carefully lowered it into my mouth. At one point, my gag reflex worked up and he muttered an apology. He had such a concentrated expression, he seemed to be on another world. I felt the sticky stuff near the opening of my throat, and he lightly pressed it back so it stuck. Then he proceeded to remove the tongs from my throat. He bent down closer, and for a split second I thought he was leaning down to plant a kiss on my lips. My face grew cherry red, but he stopped just a few centimetres away. 

     "That looks about right," he said before backing away and removing his fingertips from my chin. The device in the back of my throat was a little irritating at first, but it was easy to ignore.

     "Now, try to talk. Don't actually try to talk, just.... it's hard to explain. Use only the muscles to create the syllables, but don't actually use the vocal cords?" He ended in what sounded more like a question. It was funny seeing how he reacted while trying to explain it. He even facepalmed at the end. I nodded my head in understanding with a smile on my face, and tried 'saying' okay. A few seconds later, a feminine voice mirrored what I tried saying. 

     "Incredible! It worked! I can't believe it! Say something else," he ordered, pure happiness spread across his face. I noticed when I tried talking, the words came out delayed.

     "How...does...this...work...question mark," it was my turn to facepalm when it had to state it was a question.

     "Haha, you're so adorable! The gum is supposed to store information on exactly how it's stretched which makes the different vowels and sounds, and then it sends those signals to the little device which creates the words, and they come out through the miniature speaker on the front!" He enthusiastically said. 

     "Cool," was all I said in reply, and his smile grew. In the next moment, he was smothering me in a hug so tight, I could barely breathe. From what little breaths I could take in, I inhaled Dominic's scent. It was a sterile smell, like disinfectant, with a small hint of flowers, and oranges. I wrinkled my nose in confusion and tried pushing him off. He let go with a sigh, but immediately brightened up again. 

     "Have you ever heard this song? It's one of my personal favorites. It comes on often," Dominic said in a dreamy tone. I shook my head before remembering that I could actually speak.

     "No...I...don't...believe...so...What...is...it...question mark" the tiny speaker managed to get out after several seconds.

     "I think it's called ' You and Me'. It's such a sweet song, and it makes me want to sway," he said, closing his eyes and rocking side to side. I laughed, which came out as a sarcastic 'Ha Ha', but it was better than nothing.

     "A...manly...person...such...as...yourself...question mark...I'd...never...have...guessed," I said with another eye roll, but that time more lighthearted. 

     "And little miss sassy pants is back again," Dominic playfully said after opening his eyes and sticking his tongue out. I smiled in return before petting Violet who was starting to demand attention.

     "Do you know how to dance?" Dominic questioned after a few moments. Moving my  gaze to meet his, I shook my head. I'd never learned any of it, except for the occasional tribal dance I'd accidentally dropped in on here and there. "Would you like to learn?"

     "Sure," I said, extending my hand out to grab his already outstretched one. Gently standing, I moved closer to him as he placed his unoccupied hand against my hip. Quickly glancing down to his other hand with wide, innocent eyes, he faintly laughed. 

     "This is what the male does. The female is supposed to put her arms around her partner's neck, like this," he said before taking his hand that held my own, and placing my smaller one around his neck. He then put his other hand against the other side of my hip, and I proceeded to place my other hand around his neck. His body then started to sway, and I followed suit. It was one of the most calming things I'd ever done, and it made me slightly tired again. A small yawn escaped my lips, and the speaker decided to voice 'yawn'. 

     "Haha, that's so cute! If you're tired, you can rest your head on me. I wouldn't mind," he whispered with that same small smile that radiated sincerity. Taking up his offer, I rested the side of my face against his chest, and his heartbeat filled my brain. It seemed to quicken, but that could have been my imagination. 

     'This is just a thing friends do,' I told myself as I continued moving from side to side with him. Eventually, I felt his chin rest against the top of my head, and I could have sworn he pulled me slightly closer. 

    "Cause it's you and me, and all of the people, with nothing to do, nothing to lose. And it's you and me, and all of the people, and I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you~" Dominic quietly sang, and it felt like my heart slightly melted. The soothing sound of his heart, combined with the deep rumbling coming from his chest when he sang, swept me off my feet. I felt like I was dancing upon a cloud. 

     This continued for awhile until we'd danced around the entire room, Violet and Orson trailing closely behind. I felt like I finally understood what a 'crush' was, but I kept telling myself we were only friends. I only thought of him as just a friend, and he was just a major flirt. I'd already had my life threatened just by being around him for a night. Something was wrong with Aradella. The way she acted towards Dominic seemed more than just an overprotective sister act. At these thoughts, I was drawn from my calmed state and removed my head from the male before me's chest. He looked at me confused with a slightly sad tint to his blue eyes.

     Just as the music faded out, the sound of a door creaking open filled the room. Turning my gaze to the door, the form of Aradella stood in the threshold. Her arms were crossed against the same shirt she was wearing this morning, and her palms had been wrapped in a white gauze. A deep green glare was directed to me as her eyes seemed to glow. She stood stiff as a board and stood out terribly in the bright colored room. Her long, white legs were slightly covered by a short pair of black shorts. Tapping her fingers against her arms, the scowl deepened upon her face.

     "Brother dearest, I have to talk to you," Aradella said in a way that suggested a demand. 

     "Alright," Dominic responded, slowly releasing me from his hold in what seemed like a regretful way. When he made no move to follow his older sibling, she spoke again.

    "Alone," was spat with another ice-cold glare sent my way. Dominic turned back to face me.

    "This may take awhile, Cutie. If I'm not back by nightfall, you can have my bed," he told me while 'boop'ing my nose. In response, my face wrinkled up and he sent yet another adorable smile at me. His body turned around soon after, and followed after his sister who had already started walking.

                                                          ~                           ~                             ~

    Pure rage was seeping from my skin. Gritting my teeth in anger, I spun around to face the boy I'd known my entire life. Reaching for his hand, he visibly flinched as I took it and continued leading him away from that little b***h.

    'Just who does she think she is? She thinks she can just live a life away from our robots, win the Arena game, and waltz away with my Nic?! She'll never have him while I still have a beating heart,' my thoughts shouted inside my mind. 

    "Ella, please, calm down. You're hurting me," the voice of my beloved brother whined. I'd unconsciously tightened my grip around his fingers, and blood was starting to seep through my gauze again. Releasing my death grip, I muttered an apology before turning the corner that led to an empty hallway. Abruptly stopping, Nic crashed into my back. Sending a glance over my shoulder at him, I made sure he was alright before I let the voice of Hell take over.

     "Nic, for God's sake, let that creaton go! She's going to leave you like everyone f*****g else! There's no reason for you to throw yourself at every girl who falls in your line of sight," I seethed.

    "Calm down, Ella! She's different, and she's my friend! I don't throw myself at anyone," he ended. My love had never gotten so worked up over anything. He'd never yelled back at me when I got steamed up. He'd always listened, apologized, and left the person alone. 

    "You just met her last night! That doesn't make her your friend. The only friend you have here is me! Understand? You don't need anyone else! She's leaving first thing tomorrow whether you like it or not, then it will just be us once again. We only need each other," I told him. I tried to make him see things from my point of view. I even went to hold his hand again, but he simply brushed my advance aside. I felt the tiny c***k in my heart spread by his action.

     "I'm tired of you doing this, Aradella! All I want in this world is to talk to someone who isn't around all the time! I felt like I've known that girl my entire life! All I've ever wanted was a friend, and you always tear them away from me just because of your stupid overprotectiveness!" He yelled. His gorgeous blue eyes started turning red and puffy around the outside, and tears started filling the corners.

     "I'm sorry, Nic...I shouldn't have yelled. But you need to realise the only person who really loves you is me. I'm the only one who will stay by your side unconditionally," I said with a softened gaze. I tried to pull him in for a hug, but he pushed me away once more.

     "Just leave me alone. Valencia is my friend. Hell, she could even be my lover if I wanted her to be! And you'd have to just accept her because she's everything I would ever want!" That was the straw that broke me. Grabbing his cyan hair he prided himself in so much, I dragged him by it until I reached the first door I came to. Throwing it open, I tossed him in it and locked it. 

     "That little s**t will never be yours in any way, shape, or form. Once you realise that, I'll let you out," I ended. Without staying around to hear his response, I strutted off, digging my nails into my tender flesh and drawing fresh blood. Dominic was mine. I had to get her away from him. Dominic was supposed to be my lover. I was so close to gaining his love, I could feel it. She was just the flavor of the week to him. Deep down, I know he'll come to his senses and see his love for me in return. Then he'll clutch the knife that will be stabbed into Valencia's back. 

     Oh, what a wonderful world that would be.

                                                          ~                         ~                         ~

     'Where is he?' I mentally asked. He'd been gone for hours, and I was starting to worry. Violet had left about an hour before, probably to look for him, and Orson soon followed. I couldn't find anything interesting to watch on tv, and the uncomfortable device still remained in the back of my throat. I couldn't get it out without the help of Nic. The sun had gone down a while ago, but I wasn't tired. I couldn't sleep without knowing Dominic was alright. What had gotten into me, I didn't know, but I couldn't even find an appetite while Dominic was away. Corrine had showed up awhile ago with some dinner, and she'd stayed and given me some company for awhile, but she was soon needed somewhere else and I was left alone yet again. Right when I was about to really lose my mind, I heard a door open and close in the conjoining room with the stars and moon. Hushed voices could be heard, and crying. Pressing my ear against the door, I could make out some of the conversation.

     "Oh, Master, it will be okay," a robotic voice said. 

     "B-but she's never w-went that jealous before," the unique voice of Dominic said. No matter what the circumstances, I felt like I'd always be able to distinguish his voice from others. It saddened me when I determined he was the one crying.

     "Well you should probably get some rest. Things will be better tomorrow, I assure you," the robot claimed. 

     "A-alright," came in response with a shaky breath. The sound of a door closing came distinctly, and the sound of something falling soon came after.

     "Oh, Valencia, who are you...why are you....where are you?" a muffled sob came from behind the door. I was having an internal dilemma on whether to comfort him or not. My caring side won, however, and I slowly opened the door.

     "Who's there?" Dominic's heavenly voice called out in worry. 

     "It's...just...me," I informed him. A heavy sigh of relief rain throughout the room. "I...waited...for...you."

     "Thank you, Valencia...thank you. You are my friend, aren't you?" Dominic called out into the darkness of the room. He sounded like a small, frightened child. A small smile upturned my lips, and I decided to move towards his collapsed form on his bed. Right when he went to speak again, I placed my hand upon his, and uttered "Of course."

     He jumped up at me and brought me down to him, practically using me as a teddy bear. I landed on top of him, but he didn't seem to mind, he just tightened his grip further. I brought my hand up and patted his shoulder reassuringly. One of his arms moved off me and found my hand, giving it a small squeeze. He then brought my knuckles to his lips and gently kissed them. My face reddened, and coherent thoughts failed to come to my mind.

    "A-are...you...hungry...question mark," I asked, cursing the machine for catching my stutter. 

   "Only for you," came his reply. His voice had deepened, but the meaning flew completely over my head. Tilting my head to the side, I moved off from laying on him.

    "What...question mark," I asked in confusion.

    "Oh, right, I forgot how innocent your cute self is," he laughed to himself. I puffed out my cheeks in defiance and crossed my arms.

    "I'm just kidding, Cutie, but now that you mentioned it, I am a bit hungry," he said, a small growl escaping his stomach. He shifted his position to a standing one, and I copied him. Motioning for him to follow, I continued walking until I got into Violet's room. Scanning the room for the tray of food, my eyes were met with a sleeping wolf and bear lying side by side with an empty dish in front of them. I stood in shock for a moment before shaking my head.

    "Never...mind...It...seems...like...they...beat...us...to...it," I said with disappointment. This earned laughter from Dominic.

    "That's alright, I won't starve. Do you want that vocal thing out yet? It's probably not too safe to sleep with it in," Dominic explained with a caring look. I nodded my head, and he led me back to his room. Motioning me to sit down on the bed, he tilted my head up again and grabbed tongs laying at his bedside. 

    "This may be harder to get out than it was to get in," he informed me, and I muttered 'okay'.

    He wasn't lying when he said it would take longer. It seemed like forever before he was able to peel the gum away from the back of my mouth. I released a puff of air in relief when he was finally able to remove it. He took the device out of the gum and placed it near his bedside with the tongs, then threw the gum in the garbage. I should have asked why his room was so dark while I still had it in. 

    "There we go. All done," he stated, releasing my chin from his hold yet again. I nodded my head in satisfaction and stood to take my leave to find my own room. Before I left the room, Dominic called out to me.

    "You can sleep in here if you'd like. I mean, I'd hate for you to get lost finding your room or anything. It'd probably be easier to stay in here, and the bed is softer, too," Dominic proposed. Looking back at him with a surprised expression, I dwelled on the thought for a moment. The bed seemed to be big enough for more than two people, and we were friends. I told myself that it was normal for friends to sleep in the same bed, but I still blushed at the thought.

    "Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to," he trailed off. Weighing my options, I decided to turn around and walk back to him. Sitting beside his body laying on the bed, he rolled over to make more space. When I decided there was room for me to lie down, I did and found my way under the covers. Looking up revealed why his room was so dark.

    A painted sky of stars and galaxies filled my vision. It seemed to have been painted with glow-in-the-dark paint, and all the colors matched beautifully. The moon made the largest appearance, and what looked like two birds flew together in what looked like a heart shape. An entire landscape filled the ceiling. I reached up feeling like it was so real I could touch it, and Dominic reached out as well.

    "Beautiful, isn't it? I want to find a place one day where the scenery is as gorgeous as this. Someplace far away from my possessive sister where I can build and create my own robots in peace...maybe I'll even have a friend by my side there," he softly said. I nodded my head, because it sounded like a good idea. I didn't notice that his attention had turned to me, for I was too engulfed by the painting. I wasn't brought back into reality until I felt a warm hand clutch mine and bring it back down to the bed. My attention then turned to him, and he turned his body to face me.

     He wrapped an arm around my side and brought me closer, and I didn't object. I enjoyed his warmth. I enjoyed even his presence. Friends were really nice to have in this world. I rested my head against his chest once more and listened to the steady beating of his heart. This day's emotions had tired me out, and within moments I was asleep in Dominic's arms. My hold on him unconsciously tightened in my sleep, and he softly chuckled.

     "Don't worry, little Valencia, I'll never leave you. Sweet dreams," was his final sentence before kissing my forehead and drifting off into his own dreamworld.