[Contains NBM/MBM, headless stuff ahead]

I don't really know how, but I've got myself a new friend. A detachable friend, who's sole purpose is to convince me to become detachable, too. Emily wasn't pushing me like some sleazy snake oil salesmen, quite the opposite, and I suppose she's another detachable friend I made today, but I don't think she'd put in this much effort if she wasn't trying to sell her therapy to me. I want to do it, deep down, mainly for my best friend, but I am still apprehensive.

Besides, I think Em is amazing. The fact Emily built her is one thing, the fact that she is actually, you know, like a human as well? I thought she would be a one trip pony with some stock phrases and be a bit of an airhead otherwise (if I was listening to what Emily was explaining to me), yet here she was seamlessly fitting in, for now.

We went to the bus stop around the corner from Emily's shop at the end of the high street, teaming with shoppers and getting out of town before the rush hour kicks in. Em was in somewhat of a trance, perhaps not as much of one I was in about 20 minutes ago, but bemused nevertheless. I guess she didn't really have a grasp of what the outside world looked like.

"Are you ok?" I enquired as we waited under the shade of a tree for the next bus.

"Oh yes, I'm great, thanks! I know what you're thinking, but I do know what a busy pedestrian street looks like. It beats being on a shelf, that's all."

"But I thought you never left the shelf?"

"I did do sometimes, usually to get my makeup done. What I meant was that I have most of Emily's memories, but it might take a while everything to kick in."

It wasn't long before we boarded the bus, heaving with passengers. The heat was stifling thanks to the combination of hot weather and all those people in the confined space. I'm used to it but never look forward to it, but Em was clearly very impressed by it.

"Wow, so many people!" She muttered into my ear. "It's like the week before Christmas..."

"You really never got out much did you?"

We found a pair of seats near the back, and I made sure there wasn't an old or pregnant lady standing before we took them.

"What does pregnant mean again?"

She really didn't go out much.

"When someone has a baby in them." I tried to explain the concept most 5 year olds had mastered in as hushed a tone as possible. Em stared into the distance for about 30 seconds, almost as if she was my phone freezing when I had 300 tabs open at the same time, then looked back at me and smiled.

"Of course! I remember. Don't worry, that sort of thing shouldn't last long."

We pulled away from the high street and made our way along the route. Annoyingly, it goes in the opposite direction to my place for a while, so it takes a good half an hour to get home. I checked my messages whilst Em looked out the window, relatively speaking a naive child still, although she was about 7 now when it came to basic human physiology. There was a notification from Bella, my best friend.

"You been to The Body Shop yet? Heard Emily had a sale on the therapy thing. If you want to do it, she's the best one to go to. I know it's a bit expensive, but  I've heard some nightmare stories from back street vendors. I know you'll love it as much as I am. I'm typing this whilst my legs are on the tread mill and I'm in the other room watching Netflix! Imagine all the stuff we could do together! The last thing I want to do is put pressure on you, but I promise the procedure isn't anywhere near as scary as it sounds. xxx"

She was right. I know it isn't, but I'm still not entirely sure. This isn't a tattoo on your ankle, this was more than even major surgery. You're technically not human anymore, which is a pain as you have to do a lot of paper work changing IDs, passports, that sort of thing. Maybe after spending some time with Em will ease my mind over it?

I was about to reply to the message when my Windows 95 operated woman found enough processing power to stop looking out the window.

"How about I show you something?"

"Uh, yeah... sure?"

I was distracted thinking best how to negotiate a proper reply, whether or not to mention Em, so I stupidly didn't anticipate what was about next. I leaned to the side put my phone in my pocket, and ended up with Em's head on my lap.

"Em! What are you doing! We're in... uh... a bus?"

"I know that! I see these go past the shop all the time."

She wasn't getting it.

"No, you're head! Why did you take your head off!"

I was startled enough by the action alone, even if I was a little used to it now, yet I had no idea what people would do if they saw this in public. It's a bit more normal than it used to be, but I didn't want to take any chances. Bella had a few odd looks last me and her were together in town.

"I wanted to show you! Isn't that why I'm here?"

"Yes, I know, but here? What if people get startled?"

"Well, I've done it now. Is anyone screaming yet?"

I looked around, trying to find a pale face or a vacant expression of fear, but no one seemed to care at all. Most people were in front of us anyway, and there were about 9 people who could see us. The only attention we drew was from a girl in front of us with headphones on, who glanced for barely a moment, looking down and smirking at Em, who smiled back.

"Um, no, I guess not..."

We sat in silence for what seemed like hours whilst I gathered my thoughts and reconfigured yet another outlook on detachability in the last hour. There wasn't much of a fear of public perception surrounding all of this, I generally don't care what people think. Strange how comfortable I was with Em's head on my lap, though. It felt like a whole swathe of heavy concern had dropped from beneath me, and I was a step closer to flying (or falling if you want to be accurate). I started brushing Em's hair out of instinct, my new pet beaming with joy as her scalp tingled, her muffled purring not even audible over the sound of the bus revving and stopping...

"Jane?"

"Yeah."

"Why is that man wearing a clock on his hand?"

Confused, I glanced over to a rather overweight guy, clearly having finished his shift at some fast food place, snoring his head off with his arms crossed, showing his flashy yet clearly fake Omega.

"That's called a watch, Em."

"Oh, sure, sorry, I'll get better remembering stuff soon. Just need some time. Also, are we there yet?"

"We're about 10 minutes away."

"Ah, that's a long time... Is it?"

"No, not really. I guess it's relative, but I suppose being a display piece made your perception of time a bit crap."

"I guess so... Are we there yet?"