Untouched

8. Still Sunday/ Still time to prove I'm not addicted-day

The stupid smile I stopped being able to suppress about ten seconds after I left Zach refuses to go.

Even the sound of Axel and Brielle massacring their guitars doesn't manage to erase the upward curve of my lips.

Maybe, I'm smirking not smiling. I've caught Zach's smirking twitch. I haven't even touched him, and he's managed to infect me.

Inside The Rec, everyone is positioned in their usual spots. Each of us claimed a space of floor years ago and since then, we've continued to sit in them. Axel and Brielle pluck their guitars, Suki is singing, while Seb and Hope watch from their distant spots.

I feel sorry for the younger Naturalists in our settlement. They won't get to enjoy this space. There's too many of them to fit in here without the risk of touching. They'll have nowhere to get away from their parents. Not that we get away completely.

'Hey, Kit.' Axel smiles widely when he spots me standing in the doorway. He stands up but doesn't approach me.

What's the point?

He can't shake my hand or give me a high five or hug me or worst, such as give me a kiss on the cheek like people do in the books I read.

I'm glad. The thought of him doing any of those things makes feel uncomfortable.

All that touching. All those pathogens. It freaks me out.

I see the techies doing it all the time. In fact, I've seen Zach do several of those things including allowing girls to kiss him on the cheek.

My mouth droops unexplainably, and I have to force my lips to curl upwards. 'Hey.'

'We weren't sure if you were going to make it today, but I'm glad you came.' Axel grins

'I've been looking forward to hearing the song you're working on.' It's ok to lie if it's to be nice. I'm not a bad person. 'Have you finished it?'

'Not yet.'

'I'd really like to hear what you've done so far.' Please let it be better than the other two songs you play.

I head over to the space me and Mattan always sit in. We're the only two who share a space, and the only two who can touch another person in our age range which for some reason annoys the others.

Right now, I'm alone in our space. Mattan is missing and Mara isn't in her usual spot. 'Has anyone seen Mattan?'

'I saw him and Mara arguing early,' Hope says.

I frown. 'Maybe, I should go find him.'

'You can't fix all his problems,' Seb retorts.

'He's my brother and if I can help, I will,' I snap.

'I think Seb meant, why don't you give them some time. They're a couple and some things are private. If he wants you, he'll find you,' Suki interjects, sending Seb a look. He scowls in response and she withers in front of him.

Stand up to him, Suki. Be a strong independent woman!

How she likes Seb, I have no idea. Then again, they have quite a few similarities: both have resting bitch face, both lost their biological parents, both have no siblings, both brought up by their grandmothers and they were both the last families to arrive at this settlement.

It's a little weird how similar their lives are.

Eighteen years ago, Suki's father was killed on the way to this settlement by a mob who thought he had Virulence. Suki's pregnant mother and grandmother survived the attack, only for her mother to die during childbirth. Suki's grandmother has been responsible for her since.