Rehash

Five.

The only thing more perplexing than Zed wanting my help, was my immediate willingness to hear him out. There was just something about a lonesome renegade android on the loose, and the strangeness of it all, that made Zed impossible to resist. 

I swore it had nothing to do with the way he looked. No matter how much I pictured Alan rolling his eyes and scolding me for thinking with my dick -- telling me how Zed was made from plastic, metal, and oil. 

My brother was right, of course. As usual. 

Also as usual, I didn't listen to well-meant warnings. 

I glanced over my shoulder, realised we'd sooner or later be caught by security drones if we stayed outside, and finally gestured Zed to come along. While cautiously keeping an eye on my environment I lead Zed to the entrance of our apartment complex.

He came to a halt on the doorstep. "Where are you taking me?" 

I sighed, wondering about the same thing for different reasons. This was insane. "Look, we can't stay here," I explained. "I'm taking you to my apartment's storage room first. You wait there until I say the coast is clear, got it?" 

"Okay, got it."

Zed wrinkled his nose at our dirty, dusty storage room, but stepped inside without complaint. 

"Stay here and don't make a sound," I warned him one last time, before running upstairs. 

The apartment was empty as expected (Alan wouldn't be home for hours knowing him), but we'd left quite a mess that morning. Or rather, I'd left a mess and Alan refused to clean up my shit. I hastily kicked some dirty laundry underneath the couch and brought a used plate to the kitchen while making my laptop dial Alan's number. 

"What do you want?" Alan grumpily answered the call. 

"Just checking if you want me to save you some dinner. For when you get home in say... a few hours? You are going to stay at the university for a while, right?"

There was a silence on the other side of the line. "What?" Alan finally deadpanned. "What did you fuck up this time?"

"Nothing!" 

"Then what are you going on about, saving me dinner?" 

"I'm doing it just because!" I bristled. "Do you want me to save some or not, dickwad?" 

"...Alright, save me some. I'll be home around ten." 

The suspicion had hardly left Alan's voice when the call ended. He was right to be suspicious, but at least he was going to stay away for a while. That was all I needed to know.  

I found Zed with his arms wrapped around himself in our storage room. He looked genuinely relieved that I'd returned, and was quick to dart out of the room when I gestured him to come out. I guessed nobody liked being alone, locked in a dark space. Not even androids. Ava had done a perfect job, making him human.

We hurried up the stairs and I was grateful we didn't run into Ned or any of our other neighbours. The fewer people who saw Zed, the better. 

I breathed a sigh in relief once I had ushered Zed into our apartment and closed the door behind us. It was a very short-lived sigh of relief as Zed scanned our living room and then grinned at me. 

"Love what you've done with the place," he remarked. His sparkling eyes lingered on the dirty socks and underwear which were still accidentally poking out from below the couch.

I scoffed and turned away to hide my embarrassment. "You want me to hear you out or not? Sit down."

Zed did as I asked, a small smile playing on his lips. I watched him make himself comfortable on the couch, and for the so-maniest time it struck me how bizarre this was. There was a fucking war android, which wasn't even supposed to exist, sitting on my couch. In my apartment. In my living room.