Jeff observed Ricky.
The motionless girl was still ticking away, recharging. Jeff found himself staring at her. The strange little robotic girl made of out of springs, and cogs... compelled to do whatever he wanted. But did that extend to its mind as well? Could Jeff make her think what he wanted?
As the teenage boy looked at the strange key, he realised it was a line he dare not cross. There was something about thinking that he found abhorrent. He wanted Ricky to be Ricky. Even looking at the strange girl, and how delicate she was to pick up, to place... there was something so precious about her. Something that made him feel like he should protect her, from others that would command her.
"Precious," He said softly mimicking a golem-esque voice. Yes, she was rather precious. The more he stared at her, the more he realised she embodied so many things that Jeff found joy in his life. The boy loved the old, the antiquated. He still had a few antiques of his grandfathers, in particular an old tinder box that still smelled of smoke. Not to mention the retro-games he played to no end.
The robot was unlike any robot he had ever seen. She was of the old... and the new. She looked like she belonged on a shelf, on some stand somewhere... he really could admire her aesthetics like nobody else would.
... if only she would move though.
"Hm... well, she's unconscious like this..." Thought Jeff in the end. Finally, he made his decision. He would attempt to draw her. A little sneakily he took out an arts book he kept hidden under his bed. Sometimes he would try to draw something. Jeff was not by any means a good artist. The little creativity he would try to express was often shot down by his very demanding parents who pushed him into sports and his highly valued scholarship. He had to do what they wanted, just as much as Ricky had to do what he wanted. Jeff once had a deviant art account, but he deleted it. The comments were just... too horrible to think about.
Very gently, he sat the robot girl up, hearing the strange ticks of the sockets of her leg construct to her hips, as they found support by some kind of cog. He then moved her gently into a more natural position, as if she were just getting out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He placed her legs crossed slightly. He slipped off her shoes to leave her in her socks.
"That should do," he thought, as he sat down and got to work.
Jeff didn't really know where to start. He had never had a subject before. So he started with her mainspring as that seemed to be the subject close to what defined her. He continued to work, drawing as best he could the clothes, and the details of her body. The eyes, and that humbly vacant slightly open mouth... a poised position, waiting to be commanded....
It was... not a very good picture really. It didn't do justice to just how delicate, and masterly crafted the girl appeared to be. He found himself getting angry, and tearing the paper up.
"Damn it!" He shouted angrily. "This is all your fault!" he said to the motionless girl. Why did she have to be so... perfect? Perfect, and proper... a little puppet, to do everything he wanted. It was like it was telling him, that all the faults were within him, and not her. She only did what he told her to do. She wasn't even talking to him but- why did it feel like she was?
... It didn't take away how much he wanted to keep her though. It was like the perfect gift.
"Oh.. here's the ten dollars I owe you for the shopping," He said putting that in her blouse pocket, being just a little cautious not to touch her too intimately. "Let's see.... I got a few other things I need. When you charge up. I want you to go to the shops and buy some hair dye. Then I want you to pour it in the fish tank. "He said grinning. "I'll let you pick what colour to make the mermaids scales. It'll be hilarious!" He had to have a think on something else. "I got a few other people I want to prank in the sunlight. But that can wait. Eh... you will also call your parents and let them know you're with me and very happy about it. We'll be friends-"
Jeff found himself stopping at that. Friends? He had not called someone that in a long time. His past 'friends' didn't like him, just that he was rich. He hated them all. But Ricky was whatever the boy wanted to make of her. She had no choice... there was never a possibility that Ricky could betray him. As long as he held her key, she was compelled to his voice... his authority.
"Yeah... that could work... I order you to be friends with me."
