Jeremy, you're worrying again.

-No, I'm not.-

You're jumpy. You keep looking over your shoulder. Kevin and Michael have begun to notice and are debating confronting you about it. You need to let it go.

-I can't! What if Alex does something.-

I'll keep you safe.

The Squip rested a hand against the back of his neck and Jeremy looked at the ground. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten so mad at the Squip before. Maybe he was better off not knowing that Alex was around.

I'm glad you're finally coming around to my point of view.

-You were still acting like a dick before.-

You're right. I was.

The Squip idly brushed its fingers through his hair.

I'll be better about that.

Jeremy leaned back a little, ignoring the tingling sensation running up his scalp.

-Yeah, yeah.-

Your ice cream is melting.

Jeremy looked over at his hand, clutching an ice cream cone, partially melted down the side, through his fingers, and dripping into his pants. He sighed and licked melted ice cream from his fingers.

Everyone is going to think you're a slob.

Its tone was light, almost teasing. Jeremy nudged it in the side with his elbow before dumping the cone in the trash.

-Wouldn't be the worst thing people thought about me.-

The Squip was looking miffed.

You didn't finish it.

Jeremy was wiping at his pants with his clean hand.

-Why do you care? You can't eat it anyway.-

I'd like to.

Jeremy stared at it, knuckle in his mouth, trying to clean off the residual chocolate.

-What, really?-

Every time the Squip outright expressed it wanted something or felt something, Jeremy was caught off guard. It was becoming more and more common since he'd taken the red pill but it still didn't register to him as normal, Squip-y behavior.

Take your hands out of your mouth. People are staring.

-You want to eat?-

Jeremy scrubbed lightly at his skin with what remained of his already soiled napkins, examining the Squip as it considered its answer.

I can't smell or taste anything, but I, let's say, experience the pleasure you feel when you eat something appealing to you. I can tell you everything that's in it, the nutritional content, the number of calories but... I have no way to gauge how something tastes besides the data I collect. Of all the things I know, taste eludes me.

-Huh. Well. I could always fish the ice cream out of the trash if that'll make you feel better.-

The Squip wrinkled its nose in a way that caused Jeremy to laugh out loud. Who knew teasing the Squip could be so fun?

Please don't. You're already enough of a mess.

Jeremy grinned quietly to himself as Michael walked over from around a corner. He plopped himself comfortably next to him, taking up the space the Squip had originally inhabited.

"Where's Kevin?"

"He went back to the aquarium."

"Again? That's like the third time!" Michael shrugged.

"Marine biology majors, man. They're weird. He's not even the weirdest I've met."

"Since you didn't go with him I'm assuming you're sick of fish."

"I was starting to get jealous of the way he was mooning over the eels, so I had to stay away for the safety of the rest of the fish kingdom."

"Eels? Really?"

"Yeah. Really." Michael licked his thumb and wiped it over a spot on his cheek. "You have some schmutz on your face, by the way." He laughed when Jeremy made a face and smacked his hand away.

"Dude. Ew."

"I have two moms. I learned from the best." He grinned and leaned back, draping an arm around Jeremy's shoulders. The Squip had reappeared on the other side of him, sitting a little closer than necessary given how much room was left on the bench, and it almost looked jealous as it watched Michael. Maybe he imagined it. "Besides, something's up with you and I thought I'd ask you about it in private, in case it was, you know..."

Michael tapped his head and Jeremy sighed.

-What should I tell him?-

Tell him I'm malfunctioning.

"The Squip's... malfunctioning?"

"Malfunctioning how?" Michael looked way more concerned than Jeremy would have liked. He rubbed at his forehead.

"It's just... acting a little weird since I ate the pill. It wants me to eat ice cream out of the trash so it can taste it."

"What."

"Like I said... Weird......" He was squeezing his hands between his knees, giving Michael a sheepish smile.

"...Okay. So, if it starts telling you to try drinking bleach or something let me know. Is that it?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just weirded out by the whole thing."

"You and me both."

-I hate lying to him.-

You aren't lying completely. I am malfunctioning.

-Really?-

Whatever was in the pill you took altered my systems. Think of it as a car with the check engine light on. The problem is I can't figure out what's wrong, but the sensation is causing me to act oddly, as you've already noticed.

-That makes sense, I guess.-

So if I act out of turn, please understand. I'm having to constantly restart my processors once they become aware of the foreign code you introduced. I can't stop what it's doing, I've tried, but I have alarms going off on the regular. It's quite exhausting.

-Shit. I'm sorry. So it's like a virus?-

You could call it that.

Jeremy frowned, but the Squip just shrugged, not looking too bothered.

It's become my new normal.

"Kevin and I wanted to check out some of the clubs around here tonight. You up for that?"

"Yeah, sure."

Going to clubs wasn't exactly Jeremy's cup of tea, far from it, but he wasn't looking forward to the idea of being alone in the hotel room all night, Squip or no Squip. He could handle a couple hours of deafening music and drunk people.

Good choice, Jeremy. You've barely enjoyed your vacation so far.

-Whose fault is that?-

The Squip said nothing.

The streets were lit up like a Christmas tree, so bright it was almost obnoxious. They could hear the music pouring out of the building as they approached and there was already a line to get in. They stood in it for what felt like ages, freezing to their bones, as the bouncer at the door checked IDs. The bouncer only needed to take a quick glance at his to whip out a marker and brand a giant black X on the back of his hand, and then they were ushered inside like cattle.

If you're looking to drink tonight, Jeremy, I can teach you how to easily remove the marker.

-No thanks.-

They'd walked here, but someone had to stay sober tonight. Kevin was twenty-one and had Michael covered, not that Michael was a big drinker himself. He might as well volunteer as tribute.

They shuffled their way through the crowd to the dance floor, Kevin and Michael hand-in-hand, Jeremy trying to keep up behind them. The place was packed, and the music was crazy loud, but no one was actually dancing. Not really. Jeremy stood to the side awkwardly as someone elbowed past him, momentarily losing sight of his friends. The Squip seemed to notice his discomfort pretty quickly.

We can always leave. You can peruse the adult channels the hotel has to offer instead.

Jeremy felt hot, and not because of the heat radiating from the bodies all around him.

-I can handle a few hours.-

Kevin grabbed his arm from behind and tugged him through a group of drunk girls, to the small place against a wall that he and Michael had occupied.

"Thanks!" He hated how he had to shout just to be heard. Kevin gave him a thumbs up and pointed to Michael. He didn't even need alcohol to enjoy himself. Despite the lack of actual dancing going on in the club, Michael himself was more than making up for it. Jeremy kind of envied him for it, the way he could just let go and simply not care who was looking or what they thought. Jeremy had come a long way since high school, but he still struggled around other people.

Dance with them.

The Squip was urging him forward, away from where he'd planted himself awkwardly against the wall.

-But...-

You won't have fun if you don't try. Do you need me to help you?

-I mean...-

The Squip didn't hesitate. It pushed him forward a little more, closer to the crowd, until it took over for him completely. His hips moved, his feet kicked, he shimmied to and fro with the crowd, which was finally, finally starting to pick up, probably because they were all appropriately inebriated. It was weird, letting the Squip move him like this, but he felt a little less self-conscious because of it. He shouldn't rely on the Squip for these things, but it just made it so easy.

Your turn.

The Squip abruptly relinquished control and Jeremy almost fell, but he quickly corrected himself and kept moving, the same way the Squip had been earlier. He was actually starting to enjoy himself now, laughing with Michael and Kevin, only mildly annoyed when a stranger stepped on his foot or elbowed him in the ribs. He even contemplated, briefly, staying the whole night rather than escaping by midnight, until he separated himself from the group to use the bathroom.

He'd only been back into the fray two whole seconds when a girl, taller than him, confronted him. She had to repeat herself three times over the noise before he could actually make out what she was saying.

"You're cute!" In a sudden burst of confidence, Jeremy decided to respond.

"Thanks. I heard you the first time, but I just wanted to hear you say it again." The girl blinked at him, tilting her head, eyes slightly narrowed, clearly not able to hear what he'd said over the music. Jeremy felt like he was dying inside a little. What a douchey thing to say, jeez, what was wrong with him? He wanted to crawl into a ditch and stay there.

Forget it. She wants to dance with you.

The girl wasn't giving him much choice, anyway, since she was tugging him by the wrist into the swarm of moving bodies. He was starting to have flashbacks to Jake's party, and not just the most recent one. He didn't have time to contemplate on it long, because she was grinding on him, a little clumsily, clearly drunk.

Don't just stand there.

-You aren't helping!-

Follow her lead. You'll be fine. Michael and Kevin are nearby if you need an escape.

He could do this. He was nineteen god damn years old and he could grind against a drunk girl in a club and not make a fool of himself. He pressed a hand against her side and pressed in, trying to match her movements and smiling to hide how out of his league he felt. Jeremy tried not to think too hard, matching pace with the booming music until it felt easier, felt right, felt good, even if he was feeling claustrophobic and uncomfortably sweaty.

Which was about the time the Squip interjected.

We're leaving.

-Why?-

A little frazzled he peeled himself away and allowed the crowd to swallow him up, barely getting a wave to the girl he'd just been dancing with until he couldn't see her anymore.

-Is it Alex? Is Alex here?-

Before he could even start to freak out, the Squip responded, quickly.

Something is wrong with me. It's best we leave now. I'll inform Michael for you.

-What's wrong? Are you okay?-

Jeremy pushed through a few more people, narrowly avoided getting hit in the face, and finally, finally, made it outside into the cool, nighttime air. He felt chilled immediately as the air cooled the sweat on his skin, and he'd wished he'd brought a jacket along with him. That was the least of his problems, though. The Squip had gone silent, unresponsive, which only fueled his sudden sense of urgency. The hotel wasn't too far of a walk from here, and he walked quickly.

It was back by the time he was safely inside the room.

I'm fine.

-You're fine? What was that? What happened?-

The moment passed. There's nothing to worry about.

-You wouldn't talk to me! I thought you shut down.-

That was on purpose.

-What the fuck.-

I was processing something. I couldn't talk to you at the same time.

-Could you stop being so cryptic for five seconds? I'm worried about you.-

The Squip crossed its arms, annoyance clear on its face. It took a moment to respond.

I didn't like what she was doing to you. I needed to get you as far away from her as possible.

Jeremy stared, not able to fully parse what the Squip had just said.

-We were dancing.-

I would hardly call that dancing.

-You pushed me into it.-

My mistake.

Jeremy looked at the floor, looked up at the Squip, down at the floor again, slapping a hand to his forehead as he looked back up once more.

-Holy shit. Were you jealous? Was that jealousy.-

The Squip looked back at him silently, unimpressed. He knew it wanted to be dismissive, to deny it, say some stupid shit about how it was a computer and couldn't feel emotions like that, but based on the last few months, they both knew that was a lie. So it said nothing and stared him down instead, tapping its foot impatiently.

-Oh my God. Oh my God. Holy shit. You were.-

Jeremy wanted to be mad because, despite all of his hangups and reservations about the night, he did end up enjoying himself. But honestly? This was hilarious. The sullen, serious way it was looking at him wasn't helping matters. He started laughing. He laughed so long he had a stitch in his side and his eyes were watering. The Squip was jealous of some random drunk girl dancing with him at the club and it was its own fault. He couldn't believe it was jealous at all. And to think he'd thought the worst.

Are you done?

Jeremy cleared his throat and looked back up at the Squip, wiping his face. It hadn't looked very happy before, but now it looked worse. It looked tense and incredibly uncomfortable, and he felt a little bad about laughing now. It clearly wasn't used to getting laughed at, and it likely hadn't experienced what it'd felt before. Probably. He sighed a little wearily.

-Yeah. I'm done.-

The Squip seemed to relax a little, dropping its arms.

I didn't mean to alarm you.

-It's fine. She, uh. She wasn't really my type, anyway?-

I know.

-Thanks for helping me out there, though. I probably would've stayed glued to the wall if you hadn't pushed me.-

Of course.

Oh. This was starting to feel extremely awkward. Crap.

-Guess I'll just go to bed then.-

Jeremy.

He'd just turned to kick off his shoes and grab a change of clothes, but now the Squip was approaching him. Jeremy looked over his shoulder at it, noting how it seemed to have finally shaken off whatever it was feeling before. It stopped a short distance away and held out a hand, smile a little too mischevious for how it'd been acting a moment ago. Cautiously he took the Squip's hand, confused, curious.

Your dancing tonight was fine, but have you ever tried ballroom dancing? It's much more elegant and less chaotic. You might like it.

-I, uh. I danced the horah at my Bar Mitzvah. Does that count?-

No. It doesn't.

-Oh. Okay. So...-

The Squip took a quick look around the room.

The space is a bit small, and I'd have to modify the steps, but I believe it could work. Just as a demonstration.

Before Jeremy could really protest it was pulling him close, almost chest-to-chest, its free hand pressed against the small of his back. The sudden closeness had him flushing.

-But. What.-

I think the Vienna Waltz would be the most fun.

It was winking at him at all Jeremy could do was look back dumbly. Its sudden mood change was giving him whiplash and he was painfully aware of the Squip's leg pressed close between the two of his.

-I... I don't know how to...-

You may not know any of the steps, Jeremy, but luckily, I do. Put your hand on my shoulder.

He did, no questions asked.

-Like this woah.-

It'd been quick, the smallest little dip, and suddenly the Squip was spinning them around the room, faster than his untrained feet could ever possibly keep up, but it didn't matter. The Squip was leading, fully in control, waltzing them around the room like it'd been doing it its whole life. Every time he was afraid he was about to bash his knee into something, the Squip quickly corrected it, faster than he could blink. Jeremy had always assumed this kind of dance was slow and boring, designed for old stuffy rich people, but the Squip was absolutely proving him wrong.

And like that it was over, lasting only a minute, maybe two, and the Squip was dipping him much more dramatically than when they'd began.

Typically, the Vienna Waltz only has a slight dip, but I thought you'd appreciate the change. And, of course, there are several variations.

The Squip was smiling at him as it lifted Jeremy back up to stand. The smile was smug and self-assured, but big, genuine. It made the corners of its eyes crinkle. Jeremy had never seen it smile like that before.

No compliments on my impromptu dance demonstration? Nothing? I'm disappointed.

Jeremy didn't really think about it. He didn't really care what it probably looked like, some weirdo kissing thin air, but the Squip was real enough to him. It was still holding his hand. Its other hand was brushing carefully up and down his spine. And Jeremy leaned in to kiss it, not expecting to feel much of anything there, and pleasantly surprised, shocked even, to feel resistance there. The outline of an actual mouth against his. It surprised him enough that he pulled back almost immediately, face red.

-That, th-that was really great!-

Jeremy cringed to himself as the Squip pulled away, trying to work up some kind of excuse, but the Squip cupped his chin, lifting his head to force him to look at it. It brushed its thumb along his lower lip, eyes dark.

We'll talk about this later.

It pulled its hand away just as the door behind them swung open, causing Jeremy to nearly jump out of his skin. Michael and Kevin climbed inside, Michael dancing along to whatever was on his headphones, and Kevin holding up a bottle of tequila triumphantly.

"Michael said you weren't feeling well so we brought the party to you!"

"Oh. Thanks, guys."

Jeremy clutched the bottle of tequila to his chest when Kevin thrust it at him.

"You get first shot."

The Squip was gone and Jeremy had never been happier for alcohol in his life.