They couldn't hide it. It was useless to even try. I knew that my parents were planning a surprise birthday party for me. My name is Jonas, and I am turning 18 today. Everyone in my family is excited. Me, my little sister Alyss, my older brothers James and Richard, and my parents of course. They would finally get me out of the house. My Mum said that I should go out and have fun with my friends. I didn't believe her, but she really wanted me away. I knew what was going on, so I went along with it. She shoved me out the front door. I called my best mate and he picked me up. We went around London, hitting up the mall, the arcades, and even the daytime car show at Ace Cafe. My parents called later and said that they would come and pick me up later. I had to say good-bye to my friends and when Mum and Dad picked me up in the family Range Rover, they acted as if they weren't trying to hide something.

    "So Alyss, what did you do today while I was gone?" I asked her on the ride home.

    "We didn't do anything, Jonas," she answered all innocently.

    "I know what you're planning. You can't hide it from me."

    "I have no idea what you are talking about, son" Dad said.

    "Stop acting like that, or you'll make Mum cry!" James teased.

    "Zip it, James!" Mum said, turning back to face him, and to slap his leg with the morning newspaper. She was just trying to cover for herself. She would never let out a rage like that.

    "Ow!"

    "The only thing making me cry is you, so behave."

    "Yes Mum, sheesh." There was a brief moment of awkward silence, but it was destroyed when we all erupted with laughter. Dad took the exit ramp off of the A12 to go into Stratford, where we lived. None of us ever saw the lorry there.

    "Where are the ambulances?" I hear a very distant voice, as my vision is being bathed over in white. Am I... dying? The white tunnel is engulfing my vision. At the end... I see my family. Alyss is desperately reaching for me, Mum telling her to calm down. Suddenly, the tunnel starts to fade to blackness and the distant voices disappear, as it all goes dark. I knew it. I'm going to Hell.

    I begin to hear the beeping. It seems like it's been both a very long time, yet no time at all. My vision returns to greet me with the view of a ceiling of a hospital room. I'm... in hospital? Ever so slowly, my vision and hearing return to their full working capacity. Strangely, I'm aware, and well awake, but... why don't I feel very much? I'm telling myself to move my arm, but I can't feel it moving. I hear the door open. I look up the best I can and I see the doctor, some middle-aged man who I do not know.

    "Good evening," he says. Wait, it's evening? "You're lucky to be alive Jonas."

    "Oh?" I ask. "Wait! What about my family?! Where are they?!?"

    "Please calm down." He sits at the foot of my bed. I somehow push myself to a sitting up position. "You were in a tragic accident. Your family Range Rover was hit by a speeding lorry." He turns on the telly and I see the news report. Strangely though, I didn't notice it at first, but the newswoman was reporting that the accident occurred three weeks ago. All I see is the still photograph they show. I can barely recognize our car. Apparently it was hit directly at a 90 degree angle and was rolled several times and somehow, the lorry drove right over it. There is no way on God's green earth anyone could have survived that. "You were the only survivor. I do not know how, but you were."

    "How... how am I alive?" I asked him and myself in utter disbelief. So much disbelief that it borders on the verge of pure insanity.

    "You are alive," the doctor says. "Just look at yourself." I bring my hand up to my forehead. Then I look a my hand. It's artificial. So is my arm. My other arm, and both my legs. The only thing that isn't artificial, is my head. My blue eyes and blue hair are still there, as are my other facial features. But, I am a human head on a bloody robot body! What the Hell?! I never know, even to this day how I didn't breakdown and go insane. "I'm sorry Jonas. Your body was nearly completely destroyed. It took us two and a half weeks to rebuild you." My torso and chest are also artificial. I'm more machine than Darth Vader from Star Wars.

    I'm released from hospital a couple days later. I'm covered up in a black jacket. I don't want to be seen as a robot. I will admit, it was easy getting the hang of my man-made limbs, but it's really embarrassing. I would be jeered, picked on, beaten, and one day, even robbed for the few pounds I have in my wallet. I never thought my life would take such a cruel twist and put me in this living Hell.

    I'm finally released from hospital. I've gotten used to my artificial limbs, but that alone doesn't help the depression I'm in. I wear a black jacket over me, covering my arms. I feel like I would stick out like a sore thumb in society. It's particularly cold today, and it begins to snow. I don't feel all that cold though. I doubt that my life will ever get better. I walk to the cemetery and I see the tombstones of my family. Sometimes, I feel as if mine should be there as well, right next to Alyss. And James, and Richard, and Mum, and Dad. I stare at the graves for a while. Soon, I feel hungry, which comes as a bit of a surprise. I thought that I didn't have a stomach, but I guess they gave me one. The only other organs I have are my brain and heart. But since my torso is metal and carbon fibre, I can't feel it. The heartbeats. I might as well be a heartless wretch. I find myself crying at that thought. I will never find love.

    I decide to leave this sad place and I go to the mall. My face is cold anyway. I head over to the snack store and I order an Icee drink. Another reason why I feel so exposed. Having a cold drink on a cold day. I take off the lid so I can drink some more of it. I leave the store. Where else can I go? No family, no home. My Aunt Selena has a key to the house, but I doubt I can get it from her. She's never really liked me. She says that my hair and eyes are unnatural. I guess she just totally abandoned me when she heard that the doctors were "rebuilding" me, with cybernetic parts and whatnot, and she's the only family I have left. My last ray of hope, has given me up. Now what do I do? My thoughts are interrupted by a girl walking into me, spilling my drink all over my jacket. Damn it.

    "Oh!" she exclaims, "oh, I am so sorry!" She blushes with guilt. Her auburn hair is long, flowing, slightly curled. Her eyes are intriguing, however. They're a bright goldenrod colour. Brightly coloured eyes are considered a rare mutation nowadays. That's why my Aunt hates me, because my eyes are a bright blue, as is my hair. Some have brightly coloured hair, others have the eyes. I have both, so I've been hated and made fun of for my entire life.

    "It's alright," I say to her with a glum smile, the first time I've smiled since I left hospital. "Trust me, worse has happened to me before."

    "Let me have it cleaned for you," she says, wanting to take off my jacket.

    "No, it's alright."

    "Please, I insist." She grabs my hood and she slides my jacket off.

    "Hey!" She gasps as she looks back at me. She's staring at my arms. Great, this is the last thing I need.

    "S-Sorry!" she says, before running off... with my jacket. I stare off in the direction she ran for a few moments, before sighing. I put my hands in my pocket and I walk off in the same direction, as the store where I purchased that jacket is off in that direction. I hope I have enough Pounds to purchase another one. That's when I pass the laundromat. That girl, she's inside, buying a cycle to clean my jacket. I walk inside.

    "Hey," I say. She gasps and turns around, her hand on her heart. I must have scared her. "Sorry."

    "No, I should be the one apologizing," she says, looking away. "I... was just... cleaning your jacket." I can understand why she would come here of all places. No one comes to the laundromat in the mall. We continue this momentary awkward silence. "So... um..."

    "What is it?" I ask her. She want to say something, but she looks as if she's scared to say it.

    "Can I ask... how it happened?" Oh, she's wondering about my biotechnology. I just came up with that word, so I guess I'll use it.

    "What, oh, this?" I ask, gesturing to my arms and she nods a couple times. I sigh. "I just got out of hospital today actually, but I was in an accident. My family car was hit by a lorry. I was the only survivor."

    "Oh. I heard about that. I'm sorry." I shrug and sigh, unsure what to say. "It... it happened to me too."

    "What?" I ask, looking at her. She takes off her jacket, revealing an artificial arm.

    This new information comes as a shock. She has an artificial arm?! How? Wait, I can't ask her that, that's not right.

   "It was a year ago," she explains. "I was about to cross the street, and a car didn't stop, and when my mother pulled my arm back, my other arm was hit by the car. It was sheared off instantly."

    "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," I say. That sounds very painful, having your arm torn off in such a fashion.

    "At first, I wasn't aware that my arm had been torn off, until I saw my Mum's face. She was so horrified."

    "Did it hurt at all?" I ask, sitting down in a chair.

    "Only when I was in the ambulance on the way to hospital. Mum says that I was screaming bloody murder."

    "That must have been Hell."

    "It was," she says, tears in her eyes. "I just never hope to ever feel the pain again."

   "Well... compared to me, you got off easy," I say carefully, so I don't hurt her feelings, "I mean, I had to be completely rebuilt and put back together. I died several times during the procedures." She didn't really have anything to say about my last bit, so it became a bit of an awkward silence. Maybe I should at least ask her for her name, I mean we're not even on a first mane basis yet. I offer my hand for her to shake. "Sorry. My name is Jonas." She smiles and shakes my hand.

    "My name is Kiara." Such a beautiful name. Then, the one operating washer beeped and stopped. "Oh, your jacket is done washing." She removed my jacket from the washing machine and she placed it in the dryer. She placed the Pounds in the money slot and turned on the dryer. "Again, I'm sorry about your jacket, Jonas."

    "It's okay, really," I say with a dismissing yet polite smile. I want to ask her out on a date, but I don't know if it's entirely appropriate, given our current situation.

    "Um... do you think... that... uh..."

    "What is it, Kiara?"    

    "That maybe... you and I... could..." Oh, she's thinking the same thing.

    "A date?"

    "Yes," she says, surprised.

    "How about Saturday night? Ace Cafe, 8 o'clock?" Kiara blushes and laughs.

    "Sure Jonas. I'd like that." A beat. I can feel a beat, in my chest. A heartbeat? Impossible! With what my chest is made of, the metal and carbon fibre, how can I feel my heartbeat? It's supposed to be suppressed by my artificial chest. How can I possibly feel it?! "Jonas?"

    "What?"

    "You're making a weird face. Is something wrong? It's not me is it?"

    "No... just..." I take her hand, her real hand mind you, and I put it on m chest. "Feel it?"

    "Your heartbeat?"

    "The doctor said that with my artificial torso, I'm not supposed to feel it. What does it mean?"

    "I'm not sure."

    "Maybe it's because..." I sigh, having to admit it. "I love you, Kiara." I then kiss her.

    I didn't know what was going on. I had just... kissed her. Without thinking! What the bloody Hell was I doing?! I guess I had just gotten ahead of myself. Kiara pushes herself away from me.

    "Sorry," I say, feeling total remorse.

    "No, no," she says, her face very red, "it's okay. You just... surprised me, that's all." The awkward silence is only broken by the sound of the running dryer. "Jonas..."

    "What is it?" I ask.

    "Since... your family is dead... um... do you have a place to stay?" She avoids my eyes. I sigh and shake my head, wiping my forehead. "Oh. Do you... um... want to... stay with... me?" Her question surprises me. I think to myself for a moment. Her expression shows that she's hoping I say yes. I don't want to hurt her feelings... ever. I would never hurt her feelings. I can't. I take her tender hands into my own and I give her a smile.

    "If it's not a problem, then I'll gladly stay with you." Her faces lights up and she laughs, hugging me. She's crying some happy tears.

    "Thank you," she whispers. We stay like this for a while before the dryer goes off. "Oh, your jacket's done." She opens the dryer and she pulls out my jacket. She offers it to me. I take it and I put it on. Kiara hugs me. We both feel the warmth. "So, shall we head home?"

    "Your place?"

    "Yes." We hold hands as we walk out of the laundromat and out into the street. It's a cold drizzle, so my jacket looses all of the heat from the dryer quickly. We hurry to the bus stop and the bus comes a minute later. We ride the bus to the west end of London where Kiara lives. She owns a nice little house in Kensington. The bus stops at the bus stop and we hurry up the street toward her house. We get to her house and she unlocks the gate and we hurry to the front door and we finally get inside and out of the rain.

    "Nice little place," I complement as I take off my shoes and leave them by the front door.

    "Strewth, it's cold," Kiara complains, shivering.

    "Here," I say, taking her soaking wet coat off.

    "Thanks," she says. She walks down the hallway and she turns on the heater. She runs to her bedroom and she comes back with a blanket over her shoulders.

    "Wow, you're looking comfortable," I say, taking off my own jacket.

    "It's bloody freezing out. Oh! Let's make some tea," she walks into the kitchen.

    "Hot tea?" I ask, just to make sure.

    "Of course. Why would I make bloody cold tea?" she laughs. She has the tea brewing in minutes and soon we have nice steamy cups of precious heat. "Ah, that's much better." We sat down on the couch sipping our hot tea.

    "So when will your parents be home?" I ask. Kiara chokes up in surprise and coughs. "Sorry." She sets her cup down.

    "My parents... left me," she answers and begins to cry. "They left me in hospital to die! Mum said it was my fault for losing my arm!"

    "So, what happened?"

    "Dad came to my room late one night, saying that it was all my fault, and that I had two choices: they stay with me, but I remain armless, or the let the doctors give me a fake arm, but they leave me." I know she's telling the truth, so this makes her parents look like a real pair of knobs.

    "That's rubbish." Kiara glares at me. "I mean, they're rubbish. God, that's so stupid. Why would they do that?"

    "I'm not sure. They just left me." She holds onto her fake arm. "I just don't understand why they would do that." I have to hug her to keep her from crying. "God, why didn't they want to pay the bloody hospital?!"

    "So that's why they left. They're just cheapskates." I hold her chin up to have her look at me in the eyes. "Just forget them. You have me now." Kiara smiled, happy tears falling from her beautiful face.

    "Thanks Jonas... so much." Damn it, now I'm crying, but we kiss anyway.

    I wake up to find some grey light coming through the window. It must be early morning. I look over and I see Kiara asleep under the covers next to me. Wait, we slept together?! I throw myself out of the bed in surprise.

    "Kiara?" I ask. She groans and sits up with a yawn.

    "Good morning Jonas," she says tiredly, stretching her arms. It's a chilly British morning. I look out the window while she dresses. "So Jonas, what do you want to do today?"

    "I don't know," I say. I never really did get to really celebrate my 18th birthday, now that I think about it. "Kiara?"

    "What is it?"

    "How old did you say you were?"

    "I didn't. Oh! I'm sorry!" she blushes and laughs nervously. "But I'm 17, Jonas. Why do you ask?"

    "I'm not really sure. I guess I just never really got to celebrating my 18th birthday."

    "Oh yeah. I'm sorry." We're quiet for a moment. "Oh, I know."

    "What is it, Kiara?" I ask her. She comes over to me, an inspired smile on her beautiful face.

    "We should go out today and have fun, to celebrate your 18th birthday." What? She wants to do that?

    "You really think so?" I ask her.

    "Of course! I know we're different from everyone else in this blasted world, but we shouldn't let that stop us from having the fun we deserve." Wow, she sounds like such an advocate.

    "I don't know," I say after a few moments of thinking about it. She gives a cry of dismay.

    "Come on Jonas. I just want you... us... to be happy. Please?" The look in her pleading eyes are too much to ignore. I eventually fall for it.

    "Alright. Let's go have fun." She is right though. We should do this. It'll be better for us.

    "Oh yay! Let me finish getting ready, and we'll go."