Marley heard the tapping on her bedroom window but felt no need to get up. She was too engrossed in the book she was reading, and way too comfy in her comfy chair. It was just a bird anyway. The curtains were closed, and she couldn't actually see outside, but what else could it be but a bird? Soon, it’d get distracted and fly away.

She sipped from her soda, again fixing her eyes on the book in her lap. It was a really good one, and even though it was getting late, and she had to get up for school in about six hours, she wanted to finish it before turning in for the night.

But the tap-tap-tapping continued; the bird giving no sign of going anywhere.

After another minute of this, she’d finally had enough. She huffed to herself and got up from the chair. The book, along with her heavy wool blanket fell to the floor as she tromped over to the window and violently pulled the curtains aside.

To her shock and surprise, this revealed a face staring back at her from the darkness outside and she barely stopped herself from letting out a parents-awakening shriek.

"Can you open the window?" asked the face, gesturing at the inside handle. "It's me, Chase."

He'd said his name as if she wouldn't have recognized him otherwise, which was ridiculous. He was Chase Ward. Everyone at their school knew who their star football player was. Most of their town knew who he was. Sure, the two of them didn't actually know each other or hang out with the same people, but that hadn’t stopped Marley from stealing a peak or two across a crowded hallway or a sleepy classroom. Destined for greatness and bound for glory, Chase was. He was also very handsome.

She opened the window, suddenly very happy she hadn't changed out of her day clothes yet. Chase seeing her in her kitten print pajamas was a disturbing thought.

"Sorry about scaring you," he said, leaning into the room. "I didn't know if you were still up or not, and I didn't want to wake your folks."

"You were actually looking for me?" asked Marley, her voice sounding strained and squeaky. "You’re not at the wrong house?" She pointed vaguely out into the dark. "A cheerleader lives across the road. I think you know her. Kayley Fleming?"

He smiled at this. "I'm not looking for a cheerleader. It's the middle of the night. There's no game to cheer on right now."

She didn't know if he'd actually misunderstood what she meant or if he was just messing with her, but she felt silly either way. This wasn't how she'd imagined her first real conversation with him going.

"Can you come out?" he asked. "There's something I want to show you."

"Out? Now? Tonight?" She let out a nervous laugh. "Me?"

He smiled again. It was a casual but confident smile. A smile that usually got him what he wanted. "It won't take long," he whispered. "I'll have you back here before anyone knows you're gone. You'll be perfectly safe, I promise."

Maybe other girls had guys like Chase Ward outside their bedrooms every night, but this was a first for Marley. She'd never heard a bad word about Chase from anyone at school, so when he said she'd be safe, she mostly believed him. By all accounts, he was a good guy. But sneaking out the window with someone she’d never even spoken to before would be very unlike her.

"I don't know if it's a good idea," she said hesitantly, trying to be the rational person everyone always said she was, even though his broad shoulders were making an excellent counterargument.

"Marley," he said in a tone that was neither pleading nor forceful. "I'd really love for you to come with me."

Could it be true? Had Chase Ward finally noticed she existed?

While she'd gone on dates and had a couple of not-very-serious-boyfriends, boys really weren't a priority for Marley. She'd felt like there was time for that stuff later and you didn't become your school's valedictorian shoo-in by lusting after a pretty high school quarterback all day. But sometimes there'd been time for a hopeful daydream or even a night-time fantasy. That was all they had been. Hopes and dreams for a day that'd never actually come. Until now, apparently. One thing was clear. The book could wait; this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

She still made sure to send a text to one of her friends before climbing out the window and letting his big strong arms help her down to the ground. While her own text was simple and restrained, her friend replied back with an excited jumble of exclamation points and wide-eyed emojis.

"Someone send you something funny?" asked Chase as Marley smiled down at her phone. "Any world-changing news I should know about?"

She quickly shut off the screen before he could see any of the messages. "Not really," she replied. Then, feeling emboldened and surprisingly frisky, she added, "The world's not changed yet, but the night is still young."

"Good," he said, smiling back at her.

They'd walked a couple of streets over from her house and were now standing at the edge of the neighborhood park. He pointed towards the swings sets. "We're heading over there."

Marley put her phone away. "We're going on the swings?"

That could be romantic.

"Not exactly," he said, leading her along the path. "It's just past them. You see where the grass ends and the muddy dirt starts?"

Slightly less romantic.

Still, she was breathing heavier now, feeling both nervous and excited at the same time. Everything had happened so fast, making it almost hard to believe she was really there. They came to a stop on a patch of moonlit grass in between two trees. Thankfully, the muddy dirt was still a few steps away.

He glanced around before touching her shoulder.  "Are you ready?"

"I think so," she whispered, keeping calm.

"I'm really grateful you came with me. I know it's crazy, me showing up out of nowhere like this."

"I didn't mind at all, Chase."

He stared intently at her. "That’s great to hear."

This had to be the moment. She gave him her best flirty smile as goosebumps started to form all over her arms. But then, just as she expected him to lean in and kiss her, he didn't.

"It all started earlier tonight," he said, his voice suddenly serious. "I was walking home from a buddy of mine when I saw this orange light flashing across the sky. When I realized it was going to crash, I ran towards it." He grimaced, "You probably think I'm an idiot. Something's crashing into us and I run at it. Must be the football player in me, I guess. Always gotta catch those balls, you know." Tilting his head towards a nearby bush, he said. "It's right there."

Several seconds went by without either of them saying a word. He'd paused, expecting her to react in some way, but she was still trying to process the fact that he hadn't brought her there to confess his true feelings for her. He hadn't even brought her there for an extremely casual make out session or because he needed urgent help with his homework.

"So you saw a drone?" she said, as her disappointment started to make way for annoyance. "You brought me out here to tell me you found a crashed drone?"

He shook his head. "It's not a drone." He leaned down and pushed the leaves out of the way. "Look at it."

"That's not a drone," was all Marley could say.

Half buried in the grass, mounds of scattered dirt around it, lay a basketball-sized rock. Its surface was crusty and black but also shiny in the moonlight.

"It's like a meteor, right?" said Chase excitedly.

"Meteorite," corrected Marley reflexively. "If it makes it through the atmosphere without burning up, they call it a meteorite."

"I knew you were smart." He grinned at her. "That's why I came and got you." He gestured at the meteorite. "What can you tell me about this thing? I don't want to sound too stupid when they interview me about it."

"Who's interviewing you about it?"

He gestured at the meteorite. "I figure me finding this thing is a pretty big deal. It'll get me on the news for something besides throwing a football for once. If I play this right, every newspaper and tv station in the state will be talking to me all day tomorrow."

"I guess you'd at least have an excuse to skip some classes," muttered Marley.

"But I don't want to sound like an idiot. I need to know what I'm talking about. This could go national for all we know. You already taught me to call it a meteorite. Tell me more shit like that and I'll be ready for whatever they throw at me."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "This is why you showed up outside my window in the middle of the night? Because you want a space rock lecture?"

"Well, yeah," said Chase earnestly. "I almost went for Mr. Fuller, the science teacher, but he lives on Church Street. Getting there would have taken three times as long. I couldn't risk anyone else finding this goldmine and taking credit for it."

Marley was done. "I'm going home, Chase. I hope you have fun with your rock."

"You're mad at me?" His confusion was palpable in his voice. "I thought you liked stuff like this."

She was already walking away. "Normally, finding a meteorite would probably be the highlight of my fucking year, but tonight you've somehow managed to make it a disappointment."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Don't you at least want to find out why it's glowing?"

She stopped.

"There's a crack on the side of it," he said, a subtle note of smug triumph sneaking into his voice. This was much less attractive than his broad shoulder. "It's like a small hole, and when I first found it, it was glowing inside."

She turned back around, undeniably curious. "It was probably just hot from plowing through the atmosphere."

"You're the expert," shrugged Chase as she came back over to him and his rock. "It didn't look like hotness though."

"And I suppose you think hotness is your area of expertise?" said Marley and knelt down next to the fallen space object. "I've seen you visit Kayley Fleming and her big pom-poms. You know, those nights when you're enjoying your fame instead of trying to get more of it."

Chase knelt down next to her. "Salty suits you." Then with a smirk, he said, "Sure, I like Kayley, but if it's hotness I'm looking for, I don't need to go nowhere."

She hated that the compliment felt good. "I don't see a glow," she said, deliberately distracting herself. "It's too dark to see anything here. Where's the crack?" She took her phone out from her pocket and turned on the flashlight.

"I'll show you," said Chase and grabbed her free hand in his, placing it on the side of the meteorite. As she stared down at his fingers dwarfing hers, she had to concentrate to feel the stony surface. "Here," he said, guiding her hand to a small opening.

He was right. There was a hole. Carefully, she felt inside it with her index finger. The opening widened out inside, giving her the impression that the meteorite was largely hollow.

"That's not right," she murmured. "I don't think they're supposed to be like this."

"It's unusual?" Chase sounded excited. "That's nothing but good news to me."

Marley pulled her finger out of the hole, but to her great disgust, a wet slimy sludge came out with it. "Gross," she exclaimed, rubbing the muck off on a nearby leaf.

She pointed the light at it and Chase leaned in to study it. "Looks like snot."

"More like space snot. Make sure you mention that in your big interview. I bet that'll be the big headline." She aimed the light back at the meteorite. "If it made any noise coming down, I was too into my book to hear it. Was there a big bang when it crashed?"

Chase shook his head. "I didn't hear it at all. It kind of slowed down before crashing. Actually, it looked more like a landing than a crash." He stared at his rock. "They'll be impressed, right? This is big?”

"As rocks go," said Marley, "I've seen bigger." Then, seeing the disappointment on his face, she reluctantly added, "but it's a space rock, so I'm sure they'll be happy to interview you about it." She put on an old-timey newscaster voice. "Local boy almost hit by meteor. Neighbor girl regrets what might have been."

"Meteorite," corrected Chase.

"They'd probably get it wrong," she explained.

When they got back on their feet, they were suddenly standing much closer to each other than they had before, and Marley had to crane her neck to meet Chase's eyes.

"I really should go home now," she said.

"What about my interview? You haven't coached me yet."

"And if I cared about your interview, that'd be a problem."

"You're really mad at me." His eyes glittered with moonlight. "Is this such a bad way to spend a night?"

"I was happy to spend time with you, Chase. But not if you're gonna treat me like a talking textbook."

"What do you mean?" When she only answered by glowering at him for a second, realization seemed to dawn on his face. "You're right. I should have been honest with you from the start. I'm sorry."

She hesitated. "Do you really mean that?"

"Maybe I had the wrong impression of you." He licked his lips. "I thought you were just smarts and brains, but you're cool and funny, even if I don't understand half the things you say." Then, with a playful eyebrow raise, he said, "You're also pretty mean to me."

"I like being mean to you." She raised her eyebrows back at him. "And 'brains' and 'smarts' are the same thing."

His hand brushed up against hers and she had to stop herself from audibly gasping. This was the moment. Any second now, he'd lean in. They'd kiss, time would stop, and everything would be perfect.

"Marley," he said softly. "I want to –"

"Yes," she said, interrupting him.

But then, before anything more could happen, there was a sudden rustling sound from some nearby bushes. The two of them pulled apart as if they'd been caught doing something untoward and they both looked toward the sounds.

"It's just an animal," said Chase and let out a nervous laugh. "That freaked me out."

Marley didn't see any animal. "Are you sure?" It was a windless night, but the rustling continued. "Do you think it's hurt?"

"I bet that's exactly what happened," said Chase and nodded to himself. "My meteorite hit it and sent it flying into the bushes. It's probably been bleeding to death all this time."

"That's horrible. We should do something. Maybe it's not too late to take it to the vet."

He shrugged. "Or put it out of its misery."

Marley handed him her phone. "Here's the light. You should go check on it."

Pointing the light on the ground ahead of himself, Chase stepped in between the bushes. It only took a few seconds before he clearly found something.

"Holy shit," he yelled.

"What is it?"

"I'm going to be rich." He looked back at her with a massive grin on his face. "It's an alien."

"Seriously, Chase? Don't kid around with me anymore. Is it a fox or something? Please tell me it's not a cat."

"Look for yourself." He waved her towards him. "I'm pointing the light right at it."

Even though she didn't really believe Chase, Marley still felt wary as she approached the illuminated spot.

"Holy shit."

"Exactly," said Chase.

It was a big slug-looking creature with several short and thin tentacles sticking out of his back. Around it was a small pool of the same goo they'd found inside the meteorite. As the creature – the alien, Marley thought with a shudder – twitched and convulsed, small splatters of the space snot splashed around, hitting both Marley and Chase's sneakers.

"We have to call someone," said Marley, grabbing the phone and backing away.

"Obviously," said Chase. "I just want to be sure I know what we're dealing with here. Then I'll call the local news station." He rubbed his hands together. "Do you think it's safe to touch it? I want to be in the pictures they take, and it might look the best if I hold it up for the cameras."

"You've lost your mind." Marley's hands trembled as she fumbled with the phone. "This is not just some vanity news story anymore. We should call the police or the government or something." She pointed at the alien. "This is way more than anyone in this town can handle." An image of the local morning show hosts sharing a cup of coffee with the tentacled alien flashed before her eyes.

Chase smiled patiently at her. "They'll all know eventually, Marley. It's not like I'm trying to keep anything secret here. I just want to make sure I get the credit I deserve." He pointed at the alien. "I found it. It's mine." He gritted his teeth. "Nobody else gets this than me."

Marley stared in horror at the guy she'd been crushing on for months. She had no words. How could he not understand? How could he possibly care about fame and attention when there was an actual real-life alien in front of them?

The look on her face must have shown more of her fear than she'd intended, because suddenly, Chase's face softened. He held out a hand towards her. "Come here," he said.

"I'm calling 9-1-1," said Marley quietly and unlocked her phone.

He was fast and before she knew it, he'd placed his hand over her phone, covering the screen. "Wait," he said, his voice now even softer than his expression. "Once you make that call, we'll only have a few minutes alone."

"This could be an invasion," said Marley, not meeting his eyes. "Maybe there are thousands of meteorites all over Earth right now. Maybe there's more on the way." She pried her phone free from his hand. "Lives could depend on us warning people. I'm calling for help, and then I'm out of here."

"Don't," he said. "Please don't."

"Are you going to try and stop me?" she asked as a pang of worry shot through her.

Suddenly his lips were on hers. For a moment – a couple of moments, really – she let him kiss her, and even kissed him back a little. Then, allowing her rational mind to take control again, she let out a frustrated yelp and pushed him away.

"Chase," she said breathlessly. "Where did that come from?"

"I couldn't help myself," said the tall handsome young boy who'd been the star of so many of her fantasies. "I think I really like you, Marley." He reached for her. "We could really have something here. This could be a great moment for us."

She took a step away from him. "This?"

He nodded, the moonlight shining in his big blue eyes. "The headlines write themselves. If we play this right, we'll be the football star and the valedictorian who saved the world. Everybody will know who we are, and everything either of us have ever wanted will be ours."

"No," said Marley plainly.

The confusion was immediate. "No? I don't understand."

"I know you don't." She walked up to him. "You don't actually like me. You just know I have a crush on you, so you're using that to try and get me to stay. It's not cool." Then, standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek. "Have a good night, Chase."

He gaped at her. "You're going home? I'm offering you to share something amazing with me, and you're just going to leave? Are you crazy? We could be great together. You're not like Kayley Fleming or any of the other girls." He straightened his back, managing to seem even taller than he had before. "I could have anyone, and I'm choosing you. Isn't that why you're here? Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It was what I wanted," she said, a newfound clarity giving her voice a sharper edge than before, "but sometimes we don't get what we want. And sometimes, we realize we don't want it anymore anyway."

Something changed in Chase's eyes. He thrust out his arm, gripping her wrist tight. "No," he growled. "If I say you stay, you stay. I'm not like the rest of you. When I want something, I get it. Always."

"Let go of me, asshole," cried Marley as she struggled to break free. "You can't force me to help you."

She tried to punch him, but Chase grabbed onto her other wrist as well. Holding her in place, he said, "I was making it so easy for you too. We could've had a fun time together, but you had to be difficult, didn't you? You're a real –"

He was interrupted by three slimy tentacles slowly wrapping themselves around his body. As Chase let go of her to deal with this new complication, Marley flung herself away from him as far as she could and landed ‘ in the mud with a great grimy splash.

Chase screamed for help as the tentacles pulled him backwards into the dark bushes, but there was little Marley could do but watch and hope the alien wasn't coming for her next. Then she heard a loud gulping sound and the quarterback's screams came to an abrupt stop.

Her clothes were stained with mud as she got back on her feet. She let out a sigh of relief as her phone lit up, showing no signs of having been damaged. As she tapped the three digits, she walked further away, putting the swing set between her and the devouring creature hiding in the night ahead of her.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" said a crackly voice on the other end.

"There's an alien monster here." Marley's voice came out as a combination of whispering and screaming she previously would've thought impossible. "I know you won't believe me, but it just ate someone and –"

"Where are you calling from, Miss?" asked the emergency dispatcher.

"Dixon Park. There was a meteorite, and the alien must've been inside it. It came down behind the swings. Now it's got these super long tentacles and it's –"

"Someone will come by and take care of it. We advise you to stay as far away from the creature as possible."

"You believe me?"

The dispatcher let out a barking chuckle. "You're not our first call of the night, Miss. Just find a place to hide, and someone will come by and take care of it as soon as they're able."

"How many are there?" asked Marley. "Is it an invasion?"

The line was quiet just long enough that Marley wondered if they'd lost connection, but finally, the dispatcher said, "I hope not, but I suspect all our lives are about to be very different either way."

"Thank you," said Marley, the scream now gone from her voice, leaving nothing but whisper.

The alien was still in the bushes, showing no signs of coming for her. This made her think it really was too hurt too actually move anywhere on its own. The dispatcher hadn't actually asked Marley to wait in the park for the people who'd come and "take care of it" and she wasn't exactly wanting to stay around anyway.

Less than thirty minutes had passed since she'd left her bedroom with Chase, but she felt like a whole new person now. The former version of her would have wondered why she wasn't feeling worse about Chase's sudden death, but the current version knew other things were more important now. The dispatcher had said their lives were about to change. Marley thought she was right. Even if there wasn't an alien invasion afoot and the creature of Dixon Park was only one of a handful, there probably wouldn't be much time for good books and comfy chairs over the next few days. Also, Marley wouldn't be wasting more time on fantasies about handsome quarterbacks. Her priorities had changed.

Even if it was just for tonight, she knew what she wanted. She started walking home, happy to leave the park behind her. If the world as she knew it was about to be a thing of the past, there was one thing she wanted to make sure she'd done.

She'd get back in her comfy chair and finish that damn good book.

As a helicopter flew past the moon, and sounds of cars and sirens rang out from a few streets over – presumably all headed for the park she'd just left – Marley smiled to herself.

At least she'd gotten that kiss before he died.