Xavier blinked. "A... what."
"A date. With my friend. Her na’s Reva. She’s part of the team that built the custom OS. Bit of a tech-head. Likes blades, drones, and fixing broken bots. She saw your photo on my feed and got curious."
"You put my photo on your feed?"
"Private feed. Chill."
Xavier sighed. "So let get this straight. I get full access to so black-market, top-grade OS, and in return, I have to... date so girl?"
Angel nodded. "That’s the deal. One evening. One date. No obligations. No strings. Just... et her, talk, vibe, that sort of thing. You can even ghost her after that. But she’ll never let install the OS unless you say yes."
Xavier leaned back. "You sure you didn’t just set up on a tech simping mission?"
Oliver was trying so hard not to laugh, he covered his mouth with his jacket sleeve.
Angel shrugged. "It’s the easiest deal you’ll ever get. Say yes, and I’ll call her right now."
Xavier sighed again. "Fine. One date. That’s all. I’m not joining her cult of soldering irons or whatever."
Angel fist-bumped the air. "You won’t regret it. She’s hot. Smart. And she built a drone that once hacked a police carrier in under twelve seconds."
Oliver muttered, "Now I wanna date her."
Xavier rolled his eyes. "You need help."
Angel grabbed her holotab and started sending ssages.
Xavier just stared out the window.
This week was getting weirder by the hour.
"By the way..." Angel glanced at her holo-screen and tapped it a few tis. "Reva’s asking if you’re free for that date. She wants to et in an hour."
Xavier blinked. "An hour? That’s too fast. What the hell am I even supposed to do? I’ve never dated anyone before."
Angel chuckled as if she expected that exact reaction. "Don’t overthink it. Reva isn’t your typical girl. She’s chill. Doesn’t expect much. Just take her sowhere you like. A market, maybe. A mall, eat sothing. Go to the VR Do, or the gravity theater, or hell, ride those neon sky-bikes near Sector Twelve. And if things go really well..." She leaned back and smirked. "You might even get laid."
Xavier rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no. I’m not sleeping with strangers anymore."
Angel laughed again, shaking her head. "Suit yourself, virgin lord."
’Well, I haven’t told her about Maximillian’s girlfriend. But that’s not sothing worth bragging over. Even I want to forget that. My plan was to lure him sowhere and kill him, but the fragnts and stuff...’ he sighed.
An hour later, Xavier stood near the park’s edge, hands in his coat pockets, watching people pass by. The place wasn’t just a patch of green. It was the Skyward Bloom Reserve, a vertical eco-park with transparent pathways curling around giant bioengineered trees, all lit up in neon underglow. Floating benches hovered lazily around, and interactive drones zipped through the air, offering snacks, drinks, and dumb facts about local flora.
Angel and Oliver had basically forced Xavier to change his clothes again—despite him having already done it a few hours ago. Now, he wore a fitted black coat with subtle circuitry lines glowing across the sleeves, casual but sharp—like soone who wasn’t trying too hard, but still gave a damn.
"This is stupid. This is not anything serious so why put up so much effort?" he wondered to himself.
At first, Xavier thought about having Angel or Oliver feed him live tips through his glasses, but then he rembered—Reva was Angel’s friend. And one of the top hackers in the sector. If he tried to play so smooth operator with backup in his ear, she’d figure it out in five seconds. Maybe three.
So, he decided to wing it.
Angel had texted him just before he left, "Be nice. She’s hot. Don’t ss it up."
Xavier rolled his eyes at that. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. Especially not soone he didn’t know.
He looked toward the entrance. And then... she arrived.
The mont Xavier saw her, his thoughts crashed.
Angel had forgotten to ntion one little detail.
Reva wasn’t human.
Reva walked in like she didn’t belong to the world but could still bend it to her will. Pale white skin, smooth like porcelain. Her fra was tall, graceful. Not too thin. Her walk was steady, confident, like she didn’t care who stared.
Her hair was silvery-white, straight and long, reaching below her shoulders, shimring faintly under the neon do light. Her eyes? Silver too—sharp, calm, but a little unreadable. They glinted like microprocessors wrapped in moonlight.
And those ears. Pointed. No doubt. Xavier stared for a second before pulling himself together.
’Elf. Cyber-elf? Alien? Whatever. Angel could’ve ntioned that.’
She wore a layered black coat over a tight-fitted dark bodysuit with hex-pattern sleeves and a glowing band around the collarbone that shifted between hues. High-tech. Clean. Minimal. Her boots clicked softly as she approached.
Xavier stepped up, adjusting his jacket subtly.
"Reva?"
She stopped in front of him, tilted her head slightly. "Xavier. You’re sharper than I imagined."
"I try."
They stood for a second, both asuring each other. Reva then glanced around the park—the glowing trees, hovering koi-bots floating in an artificial stream nearby, a few neon butterflies fluttering by the air vents.
"Nice choice of venue," she said. "Quiet. Private."
Xavier rubbed the back of his neck. "Angel didn’t give much ti to plan. Said you wanted a date in an hour. I didn’t even get to nap."
Reva gave a faint smile. "Don’t worry. I’m not here to test your planning skills." She looked out toward the edge. "Want to walk?"
"Sure."
They started walking along the edge of the do park. Beneath them, layers of the city lit up, buildings shifting hue as holograms changed overhead. Music drifted from sowhere, not loud, just ambient synths.
"So..." Xavier looked at her. "You’re not human, are you? Are you an elf?"
She raised a brow. "Sharp and blunt. I like that."
"I just like knowing who I’m walking with."
Reva nodded. "I’m not from Earth. But yes, you can call an elf if it makes it easier."
Xavier chuckled. "Noted."
Reva smiled again, faint but real. "You’re surprisingly composed. Angel said you were either cocky or kind, depending on mood."
"She talks too much."
"I think she talks just enough."
They walked past a floating stall selling molecular cotton candy. Reva paused, eyed it, and then shook her head.
"You don’t like sweets?" Xavier asked.
"I like logic. Sugar isn’t logical."
"Okay, now you sound like a robot."
She smirked. "Would it make you uncomfortable if I was?"
Xavier shrugged. "I’ve t worse."
Reva looked at him, amused. "Good answer."
They passed a neon-lit koi pond where the fish holograms responded to motion, forming shapes when soone passed by. Reva leaned forward slightly and watched them with a flicker of interest.
"You’ve never been here before?" Xavier asked.
"No. I don’t go out much. I live off the grid mostly. Angel set this up."
Xavier glanced at her. "So... why ?"
Reva turned to him and t his eyes. "That’s a secret!"
They walked a little more. The conversation flowed—tech, systems, cyber-laws, weird food, movies, ch fights. At one point, Reva pointed to an aerial theater pod overhead.
"Ever watched a movie in one of those?"
"No."
"Want to?"
Xavier thought for a second. "Sure."
She nodded an shot a smile at him. "Then let’s go. And maybe after that... who knows."
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