Harry Macer was a young man of 29 years. He was also a high-functioning autistic. As he carried up a large cardboard box three flights of stairs, because water damage had rendered the elevator unsafe, he thought about his life.

Born in New York, Harry excelled in school but failed at socializing with his classmates. He wore the same outfit every day and stared at people. They called him weird, but he didn’t care. By age ten, he was accepted into the ‘New York School for the Gifted’, a school that provided talented students with an environment where they felt welcomed and acknowledged. It only had an adverse effect on Harry, however. No longer being the smartest kid in the grade only encouraged him to abandon his social life. This caused his grades to improve so much the young boy was moved up two grades, making socialization all but impossible as his peers were now much older than him.

Five years later, Harry was completing a Ph.D. in Business Analytics, because it was what he was best at. His parents passed away, but evoked no reaction from him. Harry, having no siblings, inherited a small fortune and a medium-sized house. After weighing the pros and cons for several minutes, he made a choice that would affect the rest of his life; he remodelled and rented out his childhood home, choosing to live in a small shared apartment.

Harry’s roommate was… a human. And like all humans, she had loud, illogical emotions. She was annoying in how she asked him personal questions, like ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘How are you?’. Being a freelance programmer meant she had little to no interaction with other humans, and used Harry in a selfish attempt to reduce her depression. He gave her no attention, and kept to himself. This would pass, and then there would be quiet.

Except, as the months went by, Alex’s questions hadn’t ceased. They became less annoying and more enjoyable. She was a person of habit, and Harry found himself waiting each morning for her to wake up and ask how he had slept. To compliment his cooking. To admire his business sense. When Harry earned his degree, he realized he did not want to leave. So he didn’t.

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Making up an excuse for not moving away was easy. Harry didn’t need to change locations for his job, he worked at home. And in this economy, it made financial sense to split the rent. Never mind the fact that he had well over half a million dollars, spread out through various investments. When he gave his reasoning, Alex had a strange look on her face. As if she knew something. But that was impossible.

So they continued their routine. Unchanging, for three years. Every Saturday, Harry would go to the grocery store three blocks away and buy food for the week. On his own, he would only look for nutritious and cheap items. Because of Alex, he would add some type of sugary cereal, fruit yogourt, processed meat and, on rare occasions, chocolate. Alex, in return, would prepare their dinners. They both shared the chore of cleaning up, although Harry took great care on eating neatly on the nights Alex offered to wash the dishes. If she asked, he would even walk her dog.

But three years passed, and Alex did something unheard of; she invited someone else to their home.

Maurice was a graphic designer, and had worked with Alex for some time. Their friendship had built, so Alex invited her over, under the pretext of brainstorming for their next project.

Dinner was pasta and tomato sauce. While it seemed like a normal dish to the average spectator, Harry knew Alex only made it when she was in a great mood. He ate quickly and left, saying he needed to recheck his investments after rumours a company was bankrupt. This was a lie. Instead, he accessed spy cameras hidden throughout their apartment. They were there only for safety purposes, of course. It was natural he should listen in to a possibly dangerous person who had deceived Alex. Only he could be trusted with her.

Their conversation moved from topic to topic, but Maurice eventually asked about Harry. He seemed a bit strange. And, it was here her voice lowered, was Alex safe with him?

Of course, Alex defended him. He was most definitely autistic, but he was really nice and insanely smart. His antisocial behaviour was probably a defence mechanism after childhood bullying, or something similar. She had never asked. But, Alex stressed this, Harry was a great friend. Friend.

It was here Harry was able to truly confirm his feelings. He, the childhood prodigy, who never had any friends, who didn’t mourn his parents’ deaths, who saw life as a giant spreadsheet… was in love. And she didn’t love him back.

If Harry couldn’t have Alex, no one could.