“Good evening Ms. Dadalian, oh, and Ms. Vanswell,” Tipsy quickly follows up with, not knowing that Cocoa would be coming over.

 

“Hi Tipsy, still as formal as I last saw you.”

 

“Tipsy, I told you to be less formal!” I quip, maybe sounding more serious than intended.

 

“And I’ve told you it’s programmed into me to be formal with guest and with you,” she retorts, flicking her tail triumphantly.

 

"Remind me to reprogram her," I whisper to Cocoa, who chuckles. I'd never reprogram Tipsy; she was perfect as is.

 

Soon after Tipsy leaves, Cocoa and I head over to the kitchen for dinner.

 

When it comes to food, Cocoa can be a little picky. Despite having most of her favorites like ravioli and lasagna, she still has a hard time deciding. We usually crawl through the list of choices for a good 10 minutes before she comes to a decision. It can be rather annoying.

 

"Um, maybe ravioli. No, I feel like pizza," Cocoa says lazily as she moves her fingers up and down the panel.

 

"Come on Cocoa, you do this every time," I tell her, getting slightly impatient.

 

"I know, Random, but I just can't decide. It all looks so good."

 

I sigh, walk over, and hit "ravioli".

 

"There's our dinner."

 

Much like my breakfast from earlier today, the food begins to cook unseen from us at a high tempature. I designed it this way so I'd never have to wait to eat anything. While it cooks, we get our drinks from 2 slide panels within the counter, both filled with hot chocolate, mainly because Cocoa loves it.

Soon after, our ravioli plates are dispensed from within the wall through a vertical slide panel and slid across the table to their appropriate spots, covered in garlic and herb sauce with diced onion and mozzarella cheese melted on top. The ravioli themselves are filled with meat and various spices for added flavor.

 

"I always forget how amazing your home is, Random," Cocoa says, taking small bites of her ravioli. "Thanks for letting me stay the night."

 

"Don't mention it," I tell her, flashing a smile. "Parents at it again?"

 

"Yeah, but it's nothing major. I just don't want to be around for it."

 

The conversation grows silent after that. The only thought going through my head are would my parents be fighting if they were here or would we have a civilized relationship. If anyone knew what it was like not to have a family, it would be me.

 

After our meal is finished, I push the "clean up" button and watch our dishes be taken away and the counter get wiped clean.We both then head out to the living room where Tipsy is and sit down on the couch. Tipsy jumps up between us and lays down, purring. I reach for the remote and turn on the TV to see if anything interesting is on the news.

 

"Weather patterns show sunshine for the remainder of the week. No abnormal conditions like last year to look out for. Possible shift from hot to cold may invoke strong storm showers next week. We advise you to be careful on any travels you may have planned. "

 

"That's nothing new," Cocoa points out.

 

"Even with our weather remaining normal, we should still be alert of the abnormal conditions just west of us. We are keeping a close eye on what's going on and we hope it does not reach us and continues going south-west. That's all for the weather."

 

"And that's enough."

 

I pick up the remote and turn off the TV. After I do, Tipsy leaps down from the couch and scurries off. I turn to Cocoa who seems to be lost in a daydream. Turning to the clock, I see it's almost 10pm, and ask Cocoa if she's ready for bed. She says she's not but follows up with an accidental yawn, trying to hide that she really is. We both chuckle and head to my room.

 

"Need help cleaning, Random?" Cocoa asks me as she steps over various gizmos, gadgets, and some of my clothes. It was a mess in here, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

"Nah, I can find what I need with it like this. See," I pull off a blanket and reveal her bed.

 

"Same old Random," Cocoa says smiling as she takes off her shoes and crawls into bed.

 

Tipsy happens to burst into the bedroom before the sliding door closes and finds a nice spot to sleep with us for the night. But it isn't so pleasant a night.

 

My nightmares strike again, only this time with increased force. After about three hours of sleep, I begin tossing and gripping the covers as tight as I normally do, and the same mysterious voices flood my mind.

 

"Random, Random..." An ominous whisper echoes in my mind.

 

"Come back to us Random, we want you to come back to us."

 

The voice continues to repeat the same lines over and over again, and I begin crying out "no!" over and over again.

 

"Random, wake up!" Cocoa yells to me.

 

Cocoa and Tipsy both try and calm me down, but I flail around too much, and end up knocking Cocoa backwards, causing her to scrape her arm. Soon after, I jolt awake and look around. I see Tipsy sitting in front of me and Cocoa sitting where I knocked her to.

 

"Are... You okay... Random?" was all Cocoa could mutter as tears started to swell in her eyes. I tried to approach her, but she backed away with each step.

"Cocoa..." I whispered. "It, it was another nightmare..."

 

Feeling regret, I try to get up and leave the room, but Tipsy swats her claws across my face.

 

"I apologize Miss Random, but you are not about to leave your friend, Cocoa, alone. Look at the pain she is in."

 

After scolding me she points toward Cocoa, who has tears streaming down her face. I've been alone for so long that when Tipsy said "friend" I had forgotten what that word meant until now, that there were people who cared and wanted what was best for me right here.

 

"Now instead of moping, you can apologize to her instead."

 

Tipsy was right; I sent Cocoa into shock and right now she was afraid of me. She had only seen me freak out twice, and both times I woke up almost instantly, so this must have been more traumatic.

 

"Cocoa..." I whisper slowly turning toward her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you."

 

It takes her a few minutes to stop shaking and calm down, but when she does I approach her and give her a hug. I can still feel her shaking, but it's to less of a degree than before.

 

"I promise I won't attack you again," I whisper in her ear. Tipsy then comes up behind us.

 

"Good. Now that the two of you are calmed down, you should tend to your wounds."

 

"One of which you gave me," I say sarcastically to Tipsy, but we all just laugh.

 

I help Cocoa up andshe and I go to clean our wounds in the bathroom while Tipsy stays behind.

 

"You still want to stay the night?" I ask Cocoa as I finish bandaging her arm.

 

"It's already 1:10am, Random. I'm not about to leave you."

 

The comment she gives makes me smile and blush a little.

 

Once our wounds were taken care of, we both headed back to my room to finish our well-deserved sleep.