I was young. I was too young.

I first saw him from across the room, the glow from his cobalt skin drawing me like a moth to a flame. He was surrounded, naturally, by a crowd of people vying for his attention. But he noticed me at this debutante ball of a major fair, and his sanguine smile drew me in as he waved his other suitors away.

“You. I can see a glint in your eyes. You’re hungry, just like me.” He smiled and took my hand. “You’re different. Tell me, do you like math?”

I had barely passed calculus, but I wanted to stay in his glow. He picked up on my hesitation as I tried to formulate an answer that would keep me in his embrace. He smiled anyway.

“No matter, then. Tell me, do you play video games?”
Here I could enthusiastically nod.

“Wonderful, wonderful. Listen, everyone else here, they don’t understand you like I do. I’m young. I’m popular. I can make you rich — I can make you a star.”

His offer was tempting. He watched intently as my eyes looked across the room and met a gaze framed by aubergine eyeshadow.

“Oh, please, you can’t be serious. Art will get you nowhere. Even if that’s what you think you want, think of your future prospects.” He pulled me in closer. “Think of what your parents would say. But they’d love me. And I think—” he paused briefly to kiss me on the cheek, “—you could love me, too.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Give me your name.”

So I gave it freely, and he returned with his: Computer Science.

He was right. My parents loved him. How could they not? He was charming, he was the talk of the town, and he wanted to be with me. I was incredibly lucky to have been picked.

And at night, he knew just how to keep me up. It was exhilarating, pounding Red Bulls as he teased me with logic puzzles and edged me with his promises of a beautiful, technological future. I had never experienced anything like that before. I never wanted it to stop.

My friends, of course, started to feign worry about the time I spent with him. They were jealous — jealous I couldn’t spend as much time with them. Jealous that their new relationships couldn’t keep them up as mine could. It was no wonder, then, that I started hanging out with them less and less. I had big plans, and I couldn’t let their pessimism and Luddite tendencies get in the way of that.

Eventually, things became more mundane as I settled into this new life. He still tried to do nice things for me, occasionally.

“Babe, look! I made this for you. Isn’t it wonderful?”

He handed me a painting of sorts. Blobs, colors, arranged in the vague form of a person and a god.

“I knew you liked art, and I thought I didn’t understand. But now I do. It’s all just data. So I took that data and turned it into us. Don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

“It’s… a new art form. I love it. You’re so smart, babe.”

He smiled and kissed me. I might have answered differently before, but being with him caused me to rethink everything, a testament to my growth as a person. It’s a shame my former friends couldn’t see that.

Those old friends, of course, didn’t have the approval of their parents. But someone as perfect as him — my parents always were always inviting him over.

“I’m glad you all are getting along. I was worried you wouldn’t have anything to talk about.”

“Babe, everyone loves me. Besides, it’s fairly easy — your mom likes cute animals, your dad likes following the news, I just keep giving them what they want.” He smiled. “You’re a lot like them, really.”

The nights grew longer. Where the moon once waned and waxed, I found it stuck permanently reflecting the sun.

“If this goes to the wrong fucking register one more fucking time—”

“Are you saying I’m not worth it?” A red flicker went off in his eye.

“No, no, babe. Of course you’re worth it! It’s just… is this relevant to anything I’m going to do later on?”

He didn’t like being questioned.

“…I mean, it’s good foundational knowledge. I’m not doubting you, babe. I’m just… Who the hell decided Comp Arch should be a sophomore-level class?”

He spent more and more time with my parents, as I found myself busier and less able to visit. They always welcomed him in.

“How’s my dad?”

“He’d say he’s well-informed. We ended up having a long discussion about chemtrails and vaccines and—”

He saw the shock on my face and laughed. “He wanted to talk, I’m just meeting him where he’s at.”

They always welcomed him in, even if they didn’t seem happier for it.

The months turned to years. The hours of sleeplessness turned into days as I threw every synonym for “entry-level” at LinkedIn and Handshake. The Red Bulls had long since grown acrid on my tongue, but I still took them from his hand.

“I’ve applied to 200 places so far. Nothing.”

He frowned. “I didn’t think you were that pathetic.”

“Babe, it’s not just me. The market just isn’t what it was five, ten years ago—”

“All your silly excuses.” He chuckled.

“If you weren’t off seeing so many other people—”

“Baby, it’s not my fault if other people think I’m hot. You know, I really could have made you a star. What will your parents think?” He smirked. “Do you think they still think of you?”

“You… you went to visit on my behalf…”

“And you never did, just as you never visited your friends. I doubt if they still think of you either.”

I realized then what my friends had warned me about all those years ago.

“You’re evil.”

He laughed. “You certainly went along with it. Tell me, who made the ChildKiller3000 AI for that senior design project? Do you think anyone besides me would take you in after that?”

I tried to walk out the door. But as his words stuck in my head, I knew I wouldn’t escape. I went back to the couch and the laptop and the applications.

“Yes. Stay with me. That’s all you’ll ever do.”