”You deserve worse.” Peter snarled back with equal venom.
Abby glared daggers at Peter, her eyes dark. ”Peter, I swear, if you don't SHUT UP I'm going to rip your mask off!” She took a deep breath before answering Mark. ”I know all that. But I was hurt and couldn't get home. Nyt found me and took care of me. I trust her.”
Nyt hissed at Peter, eyes narrowing.
Mark pointed at Nyt. "It's deceiving you. Why would it help you? It has no reason too." He pointed out.
”SHE CARES ABOUT ME!! She has NO reason to deceive me!” Abby snapped.
Mark reeled back at the outburst. He looked scared, well, he had already looked scared before but this time he looked petrified.
Nyt curled her tail around Abby a bit more. Half of it was so that she could be closer to her to calm her down and the other half was so Abby wouldn't kill Mark.
Peter was likewise taken aback by Abby's vehement exclamation. ”Abby, what the hell?”
Abby was breathing heavily, trying to calm down. She leaned into Nyt’s embrace, relishing the comforting presence. ”Ever since I came here, she has done nothing but care for me.” She murmured, just loud enough to be heard.
Nyt stroked Abby's hair. "Calm down." She whispered.
Mark watched their movements with each other. "I don't get it." He whispered to Peter.
If Abby could purr, she probably would right now.
”Me neither.” Peter shook his head in confusion. ”Abby, do you really believe that or are you just trying to convince yourself?”
"I think if she wasn't sure she would have left after her leg was healed," Nyt said. "She wouldn't of stuck around."
Abby shot Peter a glare but a softer one than her previous ones. Because of Nyt.
”She’s right. You guys know what I'm like. Stubborn, independent. I keep my best friends at arm's length.” She sighed. ”I gave her my knife. You know I never give that to anyone because it's so important to me. If you don't believe me, ask Caleb. Use Nyt’s name. He knows her too. I took off my mask to convince him.”
Mark's eyes shot open. "Caleb knew about this?" He asked, surprised.
Nyt wrapped her tail around Abby a bit more. She wanted to be as close to her as possible.
Peter just stared, practically slack-jawed, trying to understand everything that he was seeing and hearing.
Abby nodded, letting Nyt hold her as close as she wanted. ”He came looking for me when I didn't come back right away. When he found us… The only thing he didn't do was try to attack her. Isn't he the one who told you that an Alien was living near by?”
(I'm going to have Caleb come back to try to warn them.)
Mark nodded. "But he didn't tell us that you were alive." He said.
Nyt purred slightly.
Caleb dashed through the forest. Mark and Peter were missing and he had heard them planning to attack Nyt. Please don't be too late! Please don't be too late! He thought as he approached the edge of the forest.
It was Abby’s turn to blink in surprise. ”I told him… That was the main thing I wanted him to tell people. I told him to mention me first. Ugh, I'm gonna slap him.” She sighed.
Peter final got his jaw working again. ”Caleb was here? And he was fine with all of this?”
Nyt nodded. "And he was a lot nicer than you two." She said, glaring at them.
"We all thought you were dead. And especially after finding out an Alien lived nearby, we thought it got you." Mark explained.
Caleb got to the forest edge and saw people standing outside and people on the ground. He ran toward them.
Abby smiled a little with a brief chuckle. ”I mean technically; she did.” She gestured to how Nyt was holding her. ”But I’m definitely going to smack him for all this trouble.”
”How can you make a joke about this? We thought we were going to have to tell Toby that you were murdered!” Peter asked, exasperated.
Nyt chuckled when Abby said that. "Damn right!" She said.
Mark sat there for a moment, trying to prosses everything he had just heard.
Caleb neared the house. He slowed down as he approached them. "Good," He said, panting heavily. "None of you are dead."
Abby laughed along with Nyt. ”I can joke about it because I was never in any danger. Though I am sorry about Uncle Toby.” She gave a sympathetic wince, imagining how that conversation would have gone. ”I promise I did plan on coming back.”
Peter crossed his arms looking at Caleb. ”Something you forgot to mention in your report, young man?”
Caleb paled. "I…thought it would be better to not mention Abby because there would be questions to why she didn't come home after a while." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "And who are you calling a young man? We're the same age!"
"Damn right you left something out! Because not only is Abby alive but the Alien she is staying with seems to have a thing for her." Mark yelled.
Nyt raised her eyebrow when Mark said a thing. "What's a thing?" Nyt whisered to Abby.
Peter scoffed, ”Barely. I’m still older than you.”
Abby's face turned bright red at Nyt’s question, not sure how to explain. ”I- I'll tell you later.” She turned to Caleb. ”Seriously! I told you to say that I was alive and safe. You could have said I was holed up somewhere until my leg was healed. I was going to come back!”
Caleb rolled his eyes. He winced when Abby started ranting at him.
Nyt cocked her head. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked, confused. "Hi Caleb!" She said turning to him.
”N-no, not you.” Abby tried to reassure. ”I just don't think it's… It's kinda complicated and it’ll take time to explain.” Why does it always get more complicated when someone else brings it up? Yes, she was comfortable around Nyt. Yes, she cared about her. When Mark and Peter had showed up all she could think about was making sure Nyt was safe. She had even considered grabbing a gun to get them to listen. But she never thought about…
Peter grimaced. ”Yeah, that's a conversation I don’t wanna hear. Seriously though, Mark, you think Abby and… That would…” He shook his head unable to fathom it.
Nyt was just getting more and more confused.
"Look at them Peter. What else does it look like?" Mark asked.
Caleb smirked. "Hi Nyt!" He said waving back.
Peter had a strange look on his face unsure about what the hell he was witnessing.
Abby was still blushing brightly. ”Will you two shut up. I stayed because I am sick of this… this hate-filled fear we have towards them. I'm done with it. For years before the Sylvians came here, people dreamed about meeting others from space. We might not have had the best first impression but that was over 80 years ago. Things change… people change.”
Mark sat there in silence.
Nyt poked Abby's cheek, to show she was blushing.
Caleb nodded at Abby'ss statement. "Nyt is one of the nicest people I've met. She's nicer than most humans." He protested.
Abby smiled softly at Caleb’s support and Nyt’s gesture, still blushing.
Peter’s hand went up to his throat. He knew he wasn't the easiest guy to get along with but he wasn't quite convinced by Caleb’s statement. ”And, uh, when did getting into a relationship with one of them fall into your plans, Dr. King?”