Chapter 5

Days had passed since Allison told him about the feelings she still had for her ex-boyfriend. He didn't want to give up. He finally started to understand what falling in love with someone meant and all he could do was waiting to see if there was a chance she felt the same. But, apparently, the universe didn't want him to talk to her; whenever he had time Allison was busy, and things were the same the other way around, too.

For some reason, even though his twenty-four hours had clearly been up, John hasn't talked to the woman about the feelings Dorian had for her. Apparently John decided to let it go because of the ex-boyfriend and he was honestly grateful for that.

One night, on the day of the unfortunate accident involving the decommissioned DRN and the MX, he walked to her office, hoping she would still be there and they could finally have a chat. It was a long shot, he knew it, but he had nothing better to do in the now almost empty building. He passed a few MXs on the way who gave him weird, almost suspicious looks and Dorian knew perfectly well they were judging him.

Well, they always looked like they were judging people so it didn't really bother people anymore.

When he stopped in front of Allison's office, he hesitated for a moment. He raised his hand to knock but for some reason he couldn't do it right away. What was he supposed to say? Their last conversation was strange to say the least. Though he'd just begun to understand human emotions, he could swear she was flirting with him every now and then, and she was genuinely worried about him.

Shaking his head, Dorian finally decided to knock. Her answer came almost immediately and he entered, giving her a smile as he greeted the woman. She looked tired and stressed, but it had been a constant state for her recently, he knew that.

"Hey, where's John?" asked Allison, surprising him with the question.

John? Why was she asking about John in particular? "This late? At home, I guess," he replied nonetheless.

"Why? What time-?" she began, her voice honestly surprised as she glanced at her watch. It was already past eleven and apparently she'd been so focused on her work that she didn't even it was this late already. "Oh, okay." Dorian sat on the chair across from her and put his forearms on the armrest. "If I were you, I wouldn't go near Maldonado for a while," Allison suddenly spoke up with a small smile on her lips.

"Is she still angry about the MX?"

The woman laughed as she leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms above her head. "Angry? Oh, no, she's really happy to report that a DRN, who's not even a cop anymore, destroyed an MX."

"So she's angry," he said with a nod.

"Of course she is. But don't worry; you and Kennex aren't the only ones at the moment."

Tiling his head to the side he asked, "How so?"

"Well, not long after the accident a reporter sent me the video and asked me about it," Allison began, stopping for a short moment to bite back a chuckle. "I couldn't really stop laughing for a while and obviously she wasn't very happy about it."

"I thought you're a professional," he noted.

"Shut up," the woman told him playfully, throwing a pen at him. "Look, don't get me wrong but why are you here?"

"I had nothing to do so-" he began but his voice faded.

He had no idea where to begin. There were his feelings for her and the incident with the other DRN; it wasn't easy. Yet, he needed someone to talk to, someone who, unlike John, would actually listen to him.

"Dorian, look at me," Allison spoke up, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the desk. "Something's wrong. Tell me about it."

"It's the decommissioned DRN." Dorian stopped and tried to figure out how to tell her what was on his mind. "It could be me out there, having no idea why I'm not a cop anymore," he said, though he himself often wondered why exactly had they decided to replace the DRN series.

"But it's not you so let it go."

Even though Allison tried to be nice and he understood why she told him to stop thinking about it, he couldn't do it. "I can't. I wish I could but all I can think about is why we were decommissioned."

"You know why."

"No, I don't!" he shouted, and this reaction managed to surprise him. Had he ever raised his voice at someone? Well, someone who wasn't John in his most annoying mood. "They didn't even try to solve the problem, just chose the MX series instead."

"God, calm down. You make it sound like every single human being on the planet preferred them. It's not true, okay?"

Dorian avoided her gaze as he shook his head. Most of the time it seemed like those bots were considered perfect by everyone. Even some cops were afraid that sooner or later they would also be replaced.

"Hey, look at me. I hate them, don't I?" she asked once his gaze turned back to her. "But I don't hate you. Rudy doesn't hate you, Maldonado doesn't hate you, and John, even though he can be a giant ass sometimes, doesn't hate you either. Keep that in mind."

It was true, he couldn't deny that. They were all protecting him and never looked at him as if he was another cold bot like the MXs. No, he was different, and neither of them let him forget about it. Maybe all he needed was time to forget about it. Nodding, he flashed a small smile at the woman. "You're probably right. Thanks for the... pep talk, Allison. It means a lot. It really does."

"You needed that."

"Yeah, I did."

The comfortable silence that fell between them was broken by her phone. It was a message and she immediately typed a short reply before putting away the device. "Sorry, but I have to go."

Dorian nodded and followed her out of the office. Maybe he would tell her about his feelings the next time they talked. Maybe not. He had no idea what to do.

Only a few minutes later Allison reached her car where a man was already waiting for her with his hips resting against the trunk. The cheerful and even optimistic look disappeared from her face when she reached him. She put her bag on top of the car then stood next to him.

"We need to tell him the truth," she quietly said.

The man nodded before he let out a sigh. "I know, but not now."

"I don't know how long I can keep avoiding him or lie to him. Seriously, I don't even know how you can do this all day long, John."

"Hey, this is the best we can do, even Sandra agreed with me about it," he pointed out. When he noticed how she bit her lower lip with her eyes focused on her shoes, John reached down to take her hand. "Stop worrying, he's gonna be fine. I'm keeping an eye on him, okay?"

Finally she looked up at him with a grateful smile. "Thanks. You know, maybe you're right. After what happened today I guess this is the last thing he needs."

"Please, I'm usually right," John noted with a shrug, only to be punched in the arm by the woman. "Come on, I'm just kidding."

"I know, but you still deserved it." She took a few steps away from him to pick up her bag, subtly telling him it was time to go. "See you tomorrow."

Don't even ask. I have no idea why I felt like writing another chapter.