We walked home together; I felt Dainu's joy behind me. When I reached my house, I told Dainu to wait outside, and went into the house. Mom was cooking dinner. I told her that I would be back in a few minutes, and that I had something to do real quick. She granted permission, and I quickly burst out the door. I thought about putting Dainu in Kyle's house. I believed he can be trusted and, besides, we're friends. I don't think he will freak out if he sees a green-skinned human-looking alien in his house. As long he doesn't know about it, right?

As I got to his front door, I signaled Dainu to hide in the bush, just in case. He didn't asked why, or commented, he just did as he was told. I knocked on the door twice, and Kyle answered. He was wearing blue pajamas with a plaid robe. He looked like he woke up from a nap.

"What?!" he yelled, as if his ears were blocked with cotton. He rubbed his sandy eyes, and looked at me clearly. "Oh, hey, I remember you. You're my friendly neighbor, Haley."

"Kaley," I corrected nicely.

"Right," he said. "So what's up? What can I do for you?"

"Well, I have this project to do for school," I lied, "and since you're an artist, I was wondering if I can borrow some of your art supplies."

He didn't give me any suspicious looks or asked why. All he said was, "Sure, no problem. Come in and make yourself comfortable."

When Kyle excused himself to the bathroom, I signaled Dainu to come out. I told him to go around the house and stay in the backyard. I also told him to stay low and quiet so none of the other neighbors can see him.

When I stepped into Kyle's house, I noticed that it was full of interesting works of art. His house was kind of junky too. There were clothes and socks on the couch, empty cans of pop on a coffee table, sketch paper in one messy pile, and shoes everywhere instead of in one neat pile. He wasn't much of a neat person, but he was a heck of an artist. There were many paintings and drawings of landscapes and abstracts. They were so beautiful. The colors were so bright and full that it looked like something from a dreamland. The landscape paintings looked beautifully detailed. His paintings somehow made me feel so relaxed and mesmerized.

He came back and noticed me looking at his works of art.

"You like them?" Kyle asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Thanks," he said proudly. "These are my best works of art."

"You should sell them. You can make lots of money off of them."

"I would, but I don't want to give away my beautiful masterpiece. I don't want to part from it. Once you make something, it's hard to give them away. You become so attached as if they're a part of you. You know what I mean?"

I nodded.

"So, what supplies can I get for ya?" Kyle asked.

"Um..." I should have thought about the types of supplies I needed. "Some paint?" I guessed.

"What kind of paint? Oil, acrylic, or watercolor?"

"Acrylic?" I guessed again. Then I reassured myself. "Yeah, acrylic. That's what I need. Some blues, whites, and pinks. And some medium paintbrushes, and a painting knife."

"Sure, will do," he said, and left to his room to get the supplies.

I let out a sigh of relief. Whoever said lying was easy?

I started hearing footsteps and other noises from another room. Other than Kyle and me, there was no one else. I got up, and peeked through the door that led to the kitchen. There I saw Dainu in Kyle's fridge, eating up his food. I cannot believe this!

I barged in. "What do you think you're doing?!" I whispered, with a strain of frustration in my voice.

"I am famish. I have not eaten in days," he said.

I sighed exasperatingly. "But I told you to wait for me in the backyard."

But he was not listening. He continued to devour the food satisfyingly. Then he paused. He picked up a bottle of mustard he had noticed in the fridge. He looked at it, examined it with fascination. He seemed really interested in that mustard for some reason. He popped open the cap and to my eyes, squirted some into his mouth. I cannot believe he was doing that. It looked so gross I wanted to gag. I didn't expect something like that from him. That was the first bizarre thing I witnessed from him. And besides, I hated mustard.

When he finished, he licked his teeth, smiled and said, "Mmm. I like this yellow substance."

"Um...that's mustard," I said disgustedly, making a yucky face.

"Mustard," Dainu said, letting the word flow through his lips. He ate some more of it.

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't take anymore of this. I had to get back to the sitting room before Kyle notices me gone. I told Dainu to go back to the backyard when he's done eating and to not leave any mess. I don't want Kyle to see any evidence of any suspicious activity in his kitchen.

I scurried back to the couch just before Kyle walked out of his room. He showed me his paints and brushes for me to choose from. I picked the colors and brushes at random. He gave me some artist advice on how to properly blend colors together and which brush size is better for certain strokes. We ended up having a nice conversation about our lives. I talked about school, my friends, and fussed over the people I hate, like Carmen. Kyle talked about the college he was in and that he was majoring in art, and how he always wanted to save enough money to travel to from different countries to explore other works of art. I thought that was pretty cool.

Suddenly, we heard a crashing sound in the kitchen. It sounded like pots and pans falling on the floor or something. Kyle sprung up alarmingly and grabbed his bat from the front door, preparing for battle. I was so scared now, my heart started to pump fast.

"It was probably nothing, Kyle," I said trying to stay calm. "Don't worry about it."

"Someone's in here," he said.

Kyle kicked that door and jumped into the kitchen. I was right behind, trying to tug him away. But he jerked his arm away from me. Dainu was on the ground, picking up the pans that fell on the floor. Dainu's back was toward Kyle, so Kyle didn't get a good look at his face yet.

"Hey, what'd you think you're doing here?!" he shouted, hold his bat high. Dainu turned his head in alarm. Now that Kyle saw his green skin, he became terrified. I saw his mouth dropped and his eyes widened, almost white and sucked into his sockets. Dainu just stood there, didn't know what to do or what will happen next. I had to do something before this gets out of hand.

"Oh, my God!" Kyle whispered.

"Kyle, listen to me," I spoke. "He's not what you think. Just give him a chance."

"Run, Kaley, run!" He grabbed me arm and pulled me away. He started to run for the front door, but before he could make it, Dainu teleported right in front of him. Dainu thought that I was being kidnapped, so he started defending for me. Both Kyle and Dainu got everything wrong. Dainu took Kyle's bat and broke it in two with the clinch of one hand. Kyle pushed me out of the way. Kyle tries to punch Dainu, but Dainu dodged. No matter how many times Kyle throws a punch, Dainu would dodge every blow real fast. This was starting to look like a Bruce Lee movie. Then Dainu grabbed Kyle by the collar and raised him high to the ceiling. His strength was incredible! He was like a living Hercules. Before Dainu could do anything, I stepped in and screamed, "Stop!"

They froze.

"Don't hurt him!" I told Dainu slowly. "Kyle is our friend. You like Kyle, don't you, Dainu?"

Dainu looked at Kyle. Kyle was still afraid, guarding his face with his hands. Dainu smiled enormously at him.

When Kyle and Dainu settled down, they sat on the couch. I was in between them, because Kyle was still nervous and didn't want to sit by Dainu. Dainu continued to look at Kyle, smiling. It was so awkward.

"So," Kyle asked. "Where did it come from?"

"He's from a planet called Yarth," I said. "Dainu says it is very peaceful and beautiful there. Kind of like a paradise."

"Oh," was all that Kyle said.

"I found him in the forest," I continued. "He was just wandering around, lost, not knowing what to do."

"But you discovered me and helped me," Dainu added. "I am very grateful I have you. And I like your name, Kyle," he said to Kyle. "Your name is like river of delicious milk, flowing softly among a valley."

"That's nice," said Kyle in a shaky voice.

"Isn't he sweet?" I said to Kyle. "He would say the nicest thing about your name. It's so beautiful!"

Kyle nodded slowly.

"By the way, he needs a place to stay," I told Kyle.

Kyle looked at me like I had made a joke. My eyes told his that I wasn't. Kyle got up, placed his glass on the table, walked towards his room, and slammed the door.

"C'mon, I know you can keep him," I called to him. I was standing right in front of his door, but he didn't want to come out.

"Go away," he called back.

"I can have him knock the door down," I said. This time, he opened the door.

"Kaley, listen, I don't trust it. I can't keep it here. You don't even know what it's doing here."

"He, not an 'it'," I corrected.

"OK," he said sarcastically. "You don't even know what he's doing here, or what the heck he really is!"

"He's my friend," I said matter-of-factly.

Kyle was about to say something else, but it couldn't come out of his mouth. He only nodded and said, "OK. Fine, whatever." He walked towards his bed sleepily and plopped himself on the bed, groaning.

"So...he can stay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "He can stay. But only temporary. I'm not going to be the babysitter here."

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"

He groaned some more.

I knew I could trust Kyle. He will definitely keep Dainu, whether he likes it or not. I just hope he doesn't break his trust.

Dainu was asleep too. He looks so adorable when he sleeps. He's like a little puppy lying there so peacefully and quietly. I smiled at him.

You'll be safe here, Dainu, I thought. Don't worry about a thing; I won't let anything happen to you. I promise.