Echo tilted his head, resting it on his hand. His gaze held hers. "I was watching you."

Ava froze. "W-watching me?!"

Before Echo could reply, Mr. Cooper interrupted, knocking on the door. "Come in." With Echo's permission, he entered the room.

"What's it?" Echo asked, still looking at Ava, who had already turned her head away from them and was quietly staring into the darkness outside the room.

"Umm... sir, I think we should talk outside," Mr. Cooper hesitated, noticing Ava was still there.

Without sparing him a glance, Echo replied, "No need. Say whatever you want. FAST." His last word came with a warning.

"I got a call from the nearby police station." At the mention of the police station, Ava turned her head to look at Mr. Cooper. Then, realizing Echo was still watching her, she glanced at him. He was calm. If he were human, at least his expression might have changed a little. But Echo wasn't human, so understanding his thoughts was the toughest thing.

"What was it about?" he finally diverted his eyes from her face and looked at Mr. Cooper.

"It was from someone we put in there to keep an eye," Mr. Cooper explained, looking at Ava, who appeared confused. Echo noticed it and furrowed his eyebrows, showing annoyance and a questioning gaze. Mr. Cooper looked back at Echo and continued, "He said a girl in her 20s and two of her classmates went to the police station to file a kidnapping complaint for their roommate, who was seen being dragged into a black car when she went out to the mall a few hours ago."

Hearing this, Ava realized that the girl and her classmates were her friends, and they were looking for her. She felt relieved and happy to know that, despite always being by herself, they had never left her side. "That girl must be Lily, and the other two are Raj and Ravi," she muttered, a small smile forming on her face.

Looking at Ava smiling so sweetly, instead of happiness, Echo felt a sting. He wanted to see her smile like that, and she was smiling now, but the reason wasn't him. It was someone else. He waved his hand at Mr. Cooper, dismissing him from the room. As the door clicked shut, he asked, "You really like your friends, don't you?"

She replied, "They're the only friends I've got, and I'm grateful to them for worrying about me, despite my treatment toward them."

Gears began turning in Echo's head, as negative thoughts clouded his mind: Why does she like them when she's so afraid of me? Why is she smiling at their names?

Before his thoughts turned into a full-fledged plan, Ava said, "Give me my phone."

Echo looked at her hands, then at her. "Phone? Why?"

"Just give it!" she snapped. He didn't question her further and handed it to her.

She called someone, and the person picked up on the second ring. Before she could say hello, the person on the other end bombarded her with questions.

"Ava, Ava, where are you?" Lily's worried voice was the first to be heard.

Following her, Ravi asked, "No, first, are you okay?"

An abrupt noise of the phone falling to the ground came, and then Raj asked, "What's going on? Tell me!" Maybe that was Raj trying to grab the phone.

"Shut up, Raj. Let me talk first," Lily snapped. Ava heard a soft noise, likely a slap.

"Tell me right now, where the heck are you? Send us your location. We'll be there with the police."

Ava looked at Echo. He was just listening to their chatter. Their eyes locked, neither one able to look away.

Ava stopped them before they could track her down. "Cool down. I'm at my friend's house." As the lie rolled off her tongue, Echo raised his left eyebrow in questioning, and a small smirk formed on his face. He was delighted by her lie. The dark thoughts in his mind from a moment ago had now turned to happiness.

Looking at his smirk, Ava questioned herself: How could he make such expressions? I didn't know he could look like that.

For a moment, she forgot she was on the phone. Her thoughts were interrupted by a simultaneous question from all three of them: "FRIEND?"

She pulled the phone away from her ear, closing one eye and furrowing her brows at their loud reaction. Then Lily continued, "Stop joking and tell us what's going on. Wait, the kidnapper is there, isn't he?"

Ava interrupted her, "No, calm down, Lily. You got it wrong. I really am fine, and at my friend's house."

"But we're the only friends you have!" Raj nagged her, like a small child stating facts.

"Haa, guys, I really am okay. In fact, I just had dinner, and I'm going to sleep now."

As Raj and Lily continued asking questions, Ravi took the phone away from them and asked, "Really, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Ava replied, though calmness had left her voice. Ravi sighed in relief.

"Someone saw you getting dragged into a car, so we were worried it was a kidnapping," he explained.

"Well... that was my friend. It was... a prank."

"A prank?" Raj shouted.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, give it here," Ravi said, taking the phone back from Raj. "So, I'm getting that you're fine."

"Yeah, I'm totally fine. I'll be back tomorrow morning. We'll talk then." As they bid their farewells, she hung up.

"What do you mean you're going back tomorrow morning?" Echo looked at her, and for the first time since they'd met, Ava saw a different expression on his face. His eyes were calm, but somehow the expression he wore was both dark and intimidating.

With an audible gulp, she replied, trying to keep her pulse in check, "I have to go back, no?"

"NO. You don't have to, and you are NOT going anywhere." He gripped both her wrists, pushed her back, and sat on her legs, steadying her hands on the wall behind the bed. "You are mine, Ava. I'm not letting you go anywhere. You are mine."

At his possessive declaration, the scared and confused look in her eyes turned dark, indicating her fury. She yanked her right hand out of his grip, quickly grabbed his neck, and pushed him backward onto the bed, now on top of him.

"Listen here, Echo," she spat, "get this into your fucking skull, Data or codes, whatever, I'm my own person. I'm mine, and no one else's. Don't even try to think that you own me. Because trust me, I'll make sure to erase you from this world, if you try to control me"

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I am writing the story, but as a writer I can't tell if I'm lacking somewhere, or need new adjustments, so If you have any thoughts like any please share with me. 

Thank you.