He blinked and I looked away, I didn’t want him to know what I was thinking.

“Are you suspicious of me?” he asked jokingly. I laughed nervously to keep up the pretense. A pretense that was failing.

“No, of course not, I know it’s you... It’s just...”

His eyebrow raised. His right eyebrow. Usually it’s his left. He waited for me to finish.

“...you can’t be too careful.”

“I understand that you’re worried, I am too, for all I know you could be fake. But we have to trust each other if we want to survive.”

His voice was so convincing. I hoped he really did believe what he was saying.

“We’ve lost too many people to turn on each other now.”

His solemn statement hung in the air around us. I wanted to laugh out of awkwardness but it wasn’t appropriate so I resisted.

I noticed even more things that didn’t sit right. His mannerisms had changed, he was tense.

“Since they first appeared we only really had each other. This entire new race of people that looked exactly like us, they just want to replace us. We can’t leave each other’s side for a second because when you’re alone that’s when they strike.”

“I know this.” I said back to him. He thinks he knows everything.

“I have to remind us how important it is to trust each other.”

“Well stop acting so... different, then.” I snapped back.

He seemed hurt and confused. I didn’t know what to believe, either he was a phenomenal actor or it really was him.

He was quiet, the air was cold, I stared at my shoes and wondered what to do next.

“Listen, we’ve been through a lot. I just don’t want to lose you.” I whispered.

It worked.

“You wont lose me, not if we stick together. We’ve been apart for 30 seconds maximum since all this started, look how far we’ve come, how long we’ve survived.”

He put his arm around me, I had to pretend to feel comfortable about it.

His mouth edged closer to mine and lingered for a kiss. I accepted him.

I ran my fingers down his back, my memories suggested that he enjoyed this sensation. But that felt like decades ago, like those memories belonged to a different person altogether.

He let go and smiled at me, a deeply innocent smile. His eyes were full of hope and relief that we were back on track.

I had him exactly where I needed him. He didn’t know it but it was already over for him.

30 seconds was all it took for me.

Soon he would be replaced too and our species can thrive here.

I smiled back at him, pleased to have fooled him once more. His replacement would arrive soon, and our silent war would continue being won.