Even I knew that as much as I didn't want to feel this way, I was excited for him to return. And there was no question as to whether or not he would, because he was going to return.

Knock knock knock, on my bedroom door.

I smiled a small, mischievous smile. Called it.
But now I had to open the door, and that smile had to go. I looked in the mirror on my door and replaced it with a straight, blank line. An expression of apathy and disinterest, which I also secretly hoped would drive him crazy.

And so I threw open the door.

"Hello again," he smirked. "I see you've been well." Despite his tone and that cocky look, Shadow seemed a bit tired to me. His rings around his eyes gave the crimson of his irises a dulling effect. This wasn't concerning to me, though. Just fascinating.

"I couldn't say the same about you," I shrugged, pushing the door open a bit more and stepping aside for him to walk in.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes."

He scoffed, seemingly amused, but didn't elaborate or bother to explain why he suddenly looked this way. It was something to do with the experimentation on him, no doubt, but the fact that he didn't mention the cause at all was making me curious.

Then again, maybe he was doing it on purpose. Trying to get me to ask him things about himself. Trying to make me seem generally interested in him, which would ultimately boost his ego. That was it, right?

No, I'm paranoid.

So I decided to ask. "What do they do to you anyway? That makes you come out that way?"

He shrugged, that smirk widening just a bit.

Shit, maybe I was right about that ego thing.

"Well, if you must know, I'll tell you."
He sat down on my bed and crossed his legs. I couldn't help but stifle a chuckle because it made him look oddly human, and although he talked like one, it just didn't right for him to act like one too.

I sat down next to him and he began. "First, they usually give me shots."

"Shots?"

"Shots. You know, like vaccinations. But these weren't for protection. No, they really didn't strike me as the like." He turned his head to look at me. "They're painful, and seem unnecessary. They usually make me lethargic, or sore, or give me a sickening feeling that takes hours to wear off."

I squinted at him slightly in surprise. "Oh yeah? What the hell are in them?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Different things every time. I don't know if they're trying to strengthen me or if they're just trying to see what I can handle."

"...Sorry." I looked down, fidgeting with my hands. What else was I supposed to say? "What else do they do?"

"Oh, the second half is almost always more pleasant. They usually just hook me up to a machine that goes through its routine and makes a pattern of noises that I don't understand, or talk to me and ask me questions. There's always at least three scientists writing nonsense down on their little clipboards. It's boring, but it's not awful."
"And you have no idea what they're ever even doing?"

He nodded, but his face didn't show disappointment or sadness. He seemed to feel neutrally about it, as if this was just the way it always was and that was that. But of course, nobody could really tell that much from one's face. I thought that maybe I was making the majority of that up, but at the same time, it seemed obvious. He was kind of… readable to me, despite his smirks and his shrugs and his low, rich voice… that I already regret trying to describe to you.

I reminded myself that this was an experiment and not a person.

Not to mention he wasn't even my species. I was creeping myself out a little bit.

Snap, snap.

"Hello? Maria?" He snapped his fingers again. "Are you alive?"

I shook my head a few times and chuckled. "Yep. Sorry. Caught up in mental stuff. AS you were saying?"

"Nah, nope. No no no no no. You're going to tell me exactly what it was that you were just thinking about."

"Wow," I said sarcastically, drawing out the word for emphasis. "Pushy, are we? I don't even remember what it was."

"Nope. Lying. Start from the beginning." He uncrossed his legs and pulled his feet up to his chest, turning his body toward me. He gave the appearance of a child getting ready for story time, and I figured he was only doing it for the sake of humor.

I shook my head. "Sorry. Not gonna tell you."

He rolled his eyes. "You literally live in a giant sphere in the sky with like a bunch of people that you hardly know. There's no room for secrets up here."

I crossed my arms. "If you really wanna know, you're going to have to work for it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds entertaining. Fill me in."