# chapters

path: 11312212212121122
author_id: rugal
title: The Princess and the Pauper
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Sitting alone before school you sigh as you twirl the new mind band in your fingers. You're still not sure who you want to use it on. This isn't a normal mind band, you're sure of that much, otherwise why would it be a separate spell? You're reluctant to use it on yourself for fear of what it might do. It's also partly why you're reluctant to use it on Chelsea. But you stop and think to yourself... using it on people you don't really "know" is any better? Well you're going to have to test it on SOMEONE and as weak of a rationalization as that is it's something. "You look glum." You're shocked out of your thoughts and quickly jam the band into a pocket. You look to see Alyssa Randall approaching. "Where's Joanna? You guys are practically inseparable."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh it's... yeah I guess I've got stuff on my mind. It's about Chel--Dana." you catch yourself. That's piqued her interest. "She's been kind of distant and cold the last couple of days. Bitchy really. It's just so different from how she usually is."<br/>
<br/>
"You guys always seem really close." she adds pointing out the obvious.<br/>
<br/>
"I guess so, yeah." you sigh, "I kind of wonder if it has anything to do with Shawn."<br/>
<br/>
You threw the bait out there and Alyssa's taken it. "What about her and Shawn?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing it's just you know she likes him right?" Alyssa nods. Dana's crush on Shawn isn't much of a secret. "I think something about it is making her pissy."<br/>
<br/>
A thoughtful expression appears on Alyssa's face, "Maybe it's because it's their senior year and she thinks it's her last chance to get him." You can tell she's trying to be sympathetic and that for as much maneuvering as it is it's also genuine. Alyssa may control the flow of information at school but she didn't get to where she is by being translucently insincere.<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe it's because of David. David Johnson." you add, "He likes her, he doesn't really hide it, and they've been friends almost as long as me and Jo. Maybe it's just eating her up inside." you propose.<br/>
<br/>
You can see the gears working in Alyssa's head as she mulls over the possibilities. However she just puts an arm around your shoulders in a friendly manner. "Look, I'm sure things will be fine. Sisters, even you guys, have spats. It'll pass." She gives you yet another quick encouragement to try out for the cheerleading team next year as Carrie walks by within earshot causing the blonde to turn her nose up and continue on her way.<br/>
<br/>
You watch as Alyssa walks off. That'll be enough to get her and her friends to start fishing for rumors about anything going on with Dana, Shawn and Sarah White. Hopefully it'll be enough to get Chelsea to back off as you don't want her to fuck up Shawn and Sarah's relationship for her own gain. Besides her ego could use a little bit of reining in as you figure that even she won't want to risk ruining what's an otherwise good thing. Then again there's nothing stopping her from switching into Sarah for herself to take Shawn and set herself up in a position to be the next queen bee upon Alyssa's graduation. Or taking Alyssa for herself. But you think, hope really, she wouldn't be that brazen.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So how are my favorite freshmen girls?" Karter asks as he plops down inbetween yourself and Brenda.<br/>
<br/>
"Wasn't Carrie your favorite yesterday?" Helen asks.<br/>
<br/>
"And Marissa and Patricia last week." adds Sara.<br/>
<br/>
"Tracey Haverstock, Kaylee Burton." it's Brenda's turn.<br/>
<br/>
"Cindy Olson..." you chime in.<br/>
<br/>
"What can I say, my interests change on a whim but you girls will always be my true favorites." he says, a dopey grin plastered on his face.<br/>
<br/>
"Could you maybe not do this while I'm eating? It's gonna make me throw up." Helen makes a gagging motion.<br/>
<br/>
"Is it that sickening?" Karter asks in faux-confusion.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm gonna need some Pepto if you keep it up." she shoots back.<br/>
<br/>
"What about you, Joanna?" Karter asks, "You've been strangely quiet."<br/>
<br/>
Joanna, for her part, just shrugs. "Not interested, Adam, sorry." she says curtly.<br/>
<br/>
Seemingly undeterred he throws an arm around you. "What about you, Sarah? Anything going on? Party I can crash? How's your love life."<br/>
<br/>
You squirm out from under his arm. "Not interested either. And I'm NOT sorry." you stick a tongue out at him.<br/>
<br/>
"Seriously, Karter, are you TRYING to be more annoying than usual?" Sara asks crossing her arms.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey hey, I just come to say hi and now I'm the bad guy. It hurts you know?" he clutches his chest, "Right here. I just want to be friends."<br/>
<br/>
"Too bad we know what 'being friends' means with you." Helen states.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, alright I know when I'm beat. I'll leave you ladies alone." Karter states excusing himself.<br/>
<br/>
"God he's so annoying." Brenda states after he leaves.<br/>
<br/>
"Cute though." adds Helen. The rest of you turn to her in surprise. "He is. But guys like that you can't just give in, otherwise you'll be a slut. Make them work for it. Don't give them the satisfaction of thinking that you're in their pocket, you want them to be in yours."<br/>
<br/>
What she says, of course, makes sense. The "cute" stuff at least. Karter's definitely a good looking guy, otherwise his shtick wouldn't have worked with as many girls as it has. The urban myth is that he's been with half the girls in school and though that's obviously an exaggeration the fact of the matter is he's probably the most successful ladies man quite possibly in Saratoga Falls. And he never seems down, never lets people telling him to fuck off get to him, never lets the accusations of being a shallow man-whore get to him. He seems to take everything in stride and always bounces back. Even right now you see him chatting up a sophomore girl named Renee Price.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You're barely paying attention in your next period class, a science class, as the teacher drones on about something or other. You're still mulling over the mind band laying dormant right now in the pocket of your jeans. You're still not sure of who exactly you want to try it on. Helen or Sara or Brenda or Jo? No, you don't want to anything happening to any of them should something go wrong. Carrie? Well if you wanted a Chelsea-like mind maybe but one Chelsea can some times be one Chelsea too many.<br/>
<br/>
"...right?" Vanessa Ware's voice breaks you out of your reverie.<br/>
<br/>
"Uh, sorry, drifted out for a second. What was that?" you ask her.<br/>
<br/>
She just rolls her eyes. "I SAID that Alyssa asked me if I knew anything about what was going on with Sarah earlier. Like I KNOW she wants to stick her nose in everything but some times she needs to learn that not everything needs her watchful eye hovering over it, right?"<br/>
<br/>
You nod an affirmative as Vanessa turns back around. But that strikes you with inspiration. Alyssa might be a good person to try the band on. The things she knows, the knowledge of the school and her view on things. If this mind band truly IS a mind band of some sort then having that sort of knowledge handy would be incredibly useful. Like Vanessa said Alyssa sticks her nose in everything. She's the one who runs the school although in a manner more "acceptable" than how Chelsea runs Westside; benevolent as opposed to malevolent.<br/>
<br/>
But if you want someone who sticks their fingers in every pie... you think back to lunch. To Karter. He gets around, in more ways than one, so if you had HIS knowledge you'd potentially know just as much as Alyssa with the charisma to go with it. However unlike Alyssa, Karter's a guy who's pissed off more than his fair share of girls so if something happens to him... well perhaps he deserved it. Either one of them would make a good test subject, you've decided, but which one?</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121212
author_id: rugal
title: Move Chelsea into another freshman
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>After your little chat with Chelsea you head back over to Sarah's friends who question you about who was on the phone. Helen, of course, wonders if it was a cute guy like Nick or  Lewis Crosby or... on and on with her. Helen's the talkative and high energy sort and very concerned about any possible dates that either she or her friends might have. You rebuff her and she wonders if it was David then, referring to Joanna's older brother.<br/>
<br/>
Sarah has a bit of a crush on him. He's not the best looking guy, not a whole lot better than you were really, but he's sweet and always nice to Sarah and... you mentally sigh a bit but catch yourself. You think back to what Chelsea had mentioned to you a few days ago before the party and you recall the rumors that Keith liked to hit you with that Cassie Harper definitely wanted to get with you... an idea you dismissed as him being a shithead.<br/>
<br/>
You're snapped back to reality by Sara yelling at you in Spanish to hurry up or that they were going to leave you behind, Sarah having heard enough to pick up on at least a little bit, and blushing you quickly get up and throw the remains of lunch out before heading off with the rest of the group. As you walk, chat and gossip you scope the mall out for anyone you know. Not a lot of guys really except ones there with girlfriends.<br/>
<br/>
You do see Jonathan Straussler and Monique Travers head into a jewelry store as well as Sarah White walking with her older brother who's Eastman's basketball coach; Sarah's also dating Shawn Gregory who's the right-hand man and best friend of basketball team captain Ian Carpenter. She might be a good choice for Chelsea but honestly, if Chelsea wanted to get with Shawn then you could just put her in Dana. Dana and Shawn are both seniors, are fairly friendly already and Dana's definitely more attractive. With Chelsea running her she could steal Shawn easily.<br/>
<br/>
Eventually your group reaches a clothing store in the mall. As all of you try on various things and comment on what looks good and what doesn't you mull over them as possible options.<br/>
<br/>
Helen is fairly short, only slightly taller than yourself, with blonde hair that doesn't go too far past her ears and wide hips. She's pretty enough but her personality can be a bit overbearing at times and it's easy for her to wear people out. Joanna is developing the fastest out of your little group and many a boy in the freshman class, and even a handful in the higher grades, have made passes at her. Soft features, milk white skin with piercing blue eyes, long and wavy brown hair and possibly the largest chest in the freshman class. Brenda is mixed: the product of a Mexican-American mother and a white father. As such she has auburn hair (usually tied back in a ponytail) and freckles dot her cheeks but her skin has a slightly dusty tone to it; demure in a way that makes her adorable. Sara, on the other hand, is full-on Latina having come from Honduras with her family when she was 12. Much darker, heavily accented and willing to dress more provocatively, she too definitely gets much attention.<br/>
<br/>
You continue to do a little browsing, both of the clothes and of your friends, before each of you use the extra money you all have to buy a few things you can afford. As you exit the store your phone rings once again and once more it's Yumi's name, earlier than you thought. "Hey, managed to finish the mask faster than I expected. You have anything for me?" comes the voice on the other end very brusquely.<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno, I..." you start before Helen calls over to you saying that her, Brenda and Sara are gonna take off and that they had fun. You wave goodbye and that leaves just you and Joanna who suggests you should get going too. "I think I've got something. Meet me at my place in twenty minutes, 'kay? Oh and bring the book and some materials."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"That shirt looks really great on you, Jo." you say to Joanna as the pair of you sit up in Sarah's room. You're referring to the shirt she bought at the mall earlier today, one tight enough to rather generally show off her assets. You're really not just acting either although a bit of Sarah's envy creeps through in your voice, something Joanna picks up on.<br/>
<br/>
"Sarah, look." she says grabbing your hands, "So I've got bigger boobs, who cares? You still look great. You've got like... like... a gymnast's body since you did gymnastics right? Kinda like your cousin?"<br/>
<br/>
"I still practice a little bit." you state.<br/>
<br/>
"Exactly!" she smiles at you, "Boys love that. Like look at your thighs... I'd KILL to have them be in that shape."<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head, "You're just saying that." you reply.<br/>
<br/>
Joanna looks you in the eye, dead serious. "No, Sarah, I'm not. 100% honest Gavin Brewer asked me about you yesterday. He wanted to know if you'd found anyone yet."<br/>
<br/>
"Gavin? Really? But he's a sophomore." you say. More than that, Gavin is a member of the soccer team. A real prodigy actually who's expected to take over the star role after Kyle Lakewood graduates. He's also quite handsome with his lean yet sculpted physique, sparking green eyes and a smile that drives girls in all grades wild. "Maybe... maybe I'll have to seek him out on Monday." you add.<br/>
<br/>
Joanna gives you a smile and then laughs. "You're really getting into the role aren't you Will?" she snickers.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh screw you." you retort making a face. This causes Joanna to laugh even more broken up by words like "too" and "cute". "You've taken to Joanna pretty well haven't you Chelsea?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh Will, sorry." she smiles, "It's kind of hard being mean under here. Joanna's, like, a total sweetheart."<br/>
<br/>
You roll your eyes, "Anyway can we get back to looking over this new page? The one we were trying to figure out before you just had to go and flaunt your boobs in front of me?" you say a bit bitterly. Joanna pulls up next to you and drapes an arm over your shoulder. After switching Chelsea into Joanna and putting Joanna under Yumi's mask the pair of you asked for and got permission for Joanna to stay the night at your place. You've been pouring over the book and after a while managed to figure out what needed to be done to deal with the torn page. "So if I'm reading these right what we need is... okay, hand me one of those mind bands. I'm gonna take the mask off of myself."<br/>
<br/>
Once everything is off, even your clothing since you didn't want to ruin Sarah's, you explain how you believe the next spell works. How the sigils work to change the mind band in a way that you're not quite sure of but have an idea of. You just need to test it and after drawing out the sigil you take the mind band and place it on your head. A minute or two later, a little longer than a normal mind band, it re-emerges only your name on it is a different color than a regular mind band. Placing it down you then put the mask back on and quickly get dressed as you're once again Sarah Pak. You then text Dana, who's in her room, to come in here because you want to show her something. Once she enters you're quick to spring the band on her head.<br/>
<br/>
"Dana?" you ask as she comes back to, "You alright?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm alright but... Christ what happened?" she asks, "I'm supposed to be Sarah but... did we get a mask of Dana instead?"<br/>
<br/>
"Will?" asks Joanna.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, that's me. I think." Dana answers, "It's weird. Like it feels like I've been... body switched."<br/>
<br/>
"Well that's weird because I'm Will too." you chime in, "So are you a golem? Do you follow my orders?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck no." Dana grins, "I might be you, apparently, but I'm still me too. I do what I want."<br/>
<br/>
Deciding your experiment is complete you put your hands to Dana's temple, chant the incantation and remove the strip. She recovers and after a bit of confusion heads back into her room. "It's like I thought." you say, "This band... it copies not just the mind but the anima, the life force. Everything the person in the band is. It overwrites their identity, it's like inserting yourself, a copy of yourself anyway, into someone else's body and overwriting their identity. I think."<br/>
<br/>
"Sounds useful." Joanna states, a mischievous smile on her face. "We could put... ourselves into various people. Run things from here if we wanted."<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head, "I don't think so. We can't control them. Would you want another Chelsea running around that you can't control? That might plot and work against you?" Joanna, after thinking, agrees. Not the best idea after all she mutters a bit disappointed. By now, it's about one in the morning so the two of you decide to turn in.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
You're a bit disappointed at school on Monday. You wanted to work on the book more but Joanna's family had to visit family out of town so that was a bust. Likewise they got back late so both her and her brother are staying home. Still, you might have a chance to work on it today after school which perks you up. Your good mood is interrupted by the sounds of a high pitched "Ooooh Saaaraaah!" and the site of Carrie walking her way towards you, a fake smile plastered on her face. If you could just get rid of her... but it hits you.<br/>
<br/>
You've got the anima band in your backpack. Despite what you had said to Chelsea over the weekend... well that was to dissuade HER from using it. But you? You're not ambitious or manipulative like her. You could slap the band on Carrie, put your anima into her, and have the most popular freshman working with you as an ally instead of a pest. That's a sound idea, you think, isn't it?</span></div></div>


path: 1131221221212122
author_id: rugal
title: Just forget it
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You shake the thought from your head. No, what you said to Chelsea applies to you too. These things seem like they could be dangerous... Dana was acting really weird this morning at breakfast and on the way to school. A lot more confused, a lot more uneasy. She seemed especially concerned with you and asked a few times if you were alright. You wonder if the act of even putting the anima in her, even if it was removed, has messed her up in some way and if so whether or not it's something that will pass with time. No, the anima band isn't something you can play with like you can with these masks, relatively speaking of course, so shelving any thoughts of using it is probably for the best.<br/>
<br/>
Plus using it would be like a betrayal of Chelsea's trust, going back on what you said to her. You've put a lot of work into gaining that trust and that's not something you can, or want to, throw away lightly. And so shaking the thought from your head you decide to grin and bear it and give a fake friendly wave and greeting to Carrie as she walks up to you.<br/>
<br/>
"Those are nice shorts, Sar." she says, a nickname she likes to call you that irritates you to no end.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, um, thanks Carrie." you reply, hoping desperately for a way to escape this conversation. "I got them at the mall on Saturday. At Feldman's."<br/>
<br/>
"Feldman's, huh?" you think you hear a disdainful snort somewhere in there but you're not sure, "Hmm, well they're still nice. They show off your legs really wel, you know?"<br/>
<br/>
You roll your eyes, "Yeah I'm aware, it's why I bought them." you shoot back.<br/>
<br/>
Carrie, for her part, seems taken aback by the response and you're unsure whether it's genuine or fake. "I try to pay you a compliment and you're just so... so... catty." she whines, "Every time, really. What happened to the days when you and me and Joanna could hang out together?"<br/>
<br/>
"Summer between seventh and eighth grade. Danny Michaels." you state plainly, "You got a boyfriend and suddenly you became Ms. High Maintenance. Suddenly you didn't want anything to do with your old friends. Suddenly you were too 'grown up' for us. Remember?"<br/>
<br/>
Carrie just grunts and pushes a bit of hair behind her ear, "Well, Sar, maybe I realize I was wrong. Maybe I want to make amends. <i>Maybe</i> I want you and Joanna to start hanging out with me and the rest of the girls at the top of the class." she replies.<br/>
<br/>
You just shake your head. "And that's the problem." you say, "Sorry Carrie but I'd rather throw up." And with that you head in the direction of your first class leaving Carrie to fume and storm angrily back those two weasels Marissa King and Patricia Jennings.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
At your locker inbetween 4th and 5th periods, you're mood is perked up again when you're approached by the handsome Gavin Brewer. He gives you a smile as he approaches and it's enough to practically send your heart aflutter. Sure you might have a crush on David but Gavin Brewer is, well, Gavin Brewer. "So did Joanna talk to you?" he asks taking a sip of his sports drink.<br/>
<br/>
"About what?" is all you can manage trying to remain cool.<br/>
<br/>
"About what I talked to her about." comes the simple answer.<br/>
<br/>
"She did and no, I haven't." Meet simplicity and bluntness with simplicity and bluntness you think.<br/>
<br/>
Gavin snickers a little bit, "I'm shocked. Pretty girl like you... ability to drive..."<br/>
<br/>
"It's just my permit." you reply, "Unlike you Mr. Check Out My Sweet Car."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, the 350Z..." Gavin replies with a smirk, "It's a great car. Really glad my dad got me that for my birthday. Too bad I have to ride in it by myself."<br/>
<br/>
"I can't imagine why." you say, a bit of a smile on your face, "Handsome guy like you... ability to drive..."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah and I was thinking of driving it to a movie. Say... Friday night?"<br/>
<br/>
You're surprised by the directness of that supposedly indirect offer. Even moreso that he would actively be asking you. "I'm... why me? I'm just some dumb freshman kid." you stammer out.<br/>
<br/>
He, for his part, just gives a shrug. "Why not?  No rule that says we can't mix grades. Look at Straussler. Look at Gregory. Hell, look at some of the girls Karter's been with." he says nonchalantly.<br/>
<br/>
"If you want a freshman, Joanna's right there. You talk to her enough and she's the one all the guys..." you start looking down. Your eyes raise back up with his voice however.<br/>
<br/>
"And Joanna's a sweet girl but I dunno." He flashes a smile, "Maybe I think you're sweeter."<br/>
<br/>
You can't resist. Not that smile. You eagerly accept his invitation and are surprised when he gives you a kiss, a quick peck really, before heading off to class. You practically float the rest of the way to Mr. Jacobson's science class.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"Urgh, this thing is so frustrating!" exclaims Joanna. The pair of you are up in her room looking over the next page of the book. The "description", such as it is, is even less helpful and obvious than the previous one. In fact it's not much of a description at all... just a series of sigils. You're not sure what to make of it. The two of you kind of lucked out into being able to bullshit your way past the last one on a wild guess. And if your partner hadn't thrown that mind band down on the book in frustration you wouldn't have made it past the torn page. But this...?<br/>
<br/>
"Earth to Sarah, hello!" her voice interrupts your thoughts, "Are you there Sarah?"<br/>
<br/>
"What? Oh, yeah, uh sorry Jo." you say snapping out of your reverie.<br/>
<br/>
"Good for you with getting that date with Gavin but sheesh, you don't have to space out like that you know?" comes the mildly annoyed response.<br/>
<br/>
"It's... it's not about that." you state defensively, "I'm thinking about the book too. I just don't know how we're supposed to get figure this out. It's not like we have someone who can just give us the answer."<br/>
<br/>
At that Joanna brightens up, a spark seemingly having been lit. "That's it! Oh Sarah, you're the best!" she exclaims surprising you with a friendly hug. With that she grabs her laptop off the desk and opens it. "Cindy that... bitch," the word comes unnaturally to Joanna and Chelsea's absorbed in her personality enough that saying it takes a bit of effort, "her sister was working for some professor at the college. Like he was some weird guy who had a lot of old stuff. Lots of old, weird books and manuscripts."<br/>
<br/>
"And how do you know this?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"She mentioned her sister, like, all the freakin' time. God, always 'well when <i>my</i> sister was the captain...' and 'you won't believe what my sister told me about that Blackwell guy'." she shakes her head in frustration while typing and clicking away, "She'd never shut up about it." Her eyes perk up a couple of minutes later as she loudly exclaims "Got it!" She calls you over to see. "Okay so I did a bit of Googling and this is the guy, I think. Aubrey Blackwell, professor of archeology at Keyserling College." she explains, pointing to his profile on the school's website, "Okay and then I enter his name in Google and... voila! I think that address is close to the campus, I can pull it up with Google Maps later or something." she gives you a knowing smile, "I guess the government and Google and Facebook gathering all our data is useful or something."<br/>
<br/>
"Jo... what are you talking about?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"The solution to our problem with the book!" she beams, "We just head over to this Blackwell guy's house and see if he can help us figure it out. Like if he's into old books and junk maybe he'd know how to read this."<br/>
<br/>
"And you think that's a good idea?" you ask, "Two 15-year-old girls showing up at the house of some creepo old professor to ask him about a magic book?"<br/>
<br/>
"Two 15-year-old girls and an 18-year-old girl." she states, apparently correcting you, "We can just call Yumi and have her give us a ride. What can some old guy do against three girls in their physical prime?"<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head, "I mean I guess it makes sense... kinda... even if it's a little crazy but I mean look: we've got good lives going right now." you explain, "You get to be the pretty, popular girl again but without the pressure of being Chelsea Cooper. I get to be the best friend of the pretty popular girl who has a date with the hunky sophomore soccer player."<br/>
<br/>
"What are you saying?" Joanna asks eyeing you a bit queerly.<br/>
<br/>
"What I'm saying is... I don't know." you state, "I mean I want to solve this book and see what those next spells are as much as you do but... but maybe this is a sign. Maybe it's the book or God or Buddha or whatever saying 'Hey, you've got it good. Who cares if you don't get that next spell.' Maybe, I dunno, it's not that big a deal and we should just be happy with what we've got. We've got a good thing going right now <i>and</i> we can be anybody if we want to try something different. Who else gets that chance?"</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212121221
author_id: rugal
title: We're Off To See the Warlock
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You just shake your head. You get what she means and on the surface it's a good idea but going deeper... the more you think about it... well you're not terribly comfortable with it. You don't know this Aubrey Blackwell or what he could do. With these bodies hanging around a middle aged man into old books isn't the best plan. Besides there's no way that a guy like that would ever take two 15-year-old girls seriously. You tell her that it's a long shot but after school tomorrow why not head over to the library and see if they can find something out. There's a bit of pouting on Joanna's end but she eventually agrees to drop it and go along with your idea.<br/>
<br/>
At that moment the doorbell rings so the both of you head down to answer it and are greeted by Dana.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey Sarah, Joanna." she greets the two of you, "Um Sarah...?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah?"<br/>
<br/>
Something about the way she says your name reminds you of the weird way she's been acting lately. You can see it on her face but she shakes it off. "Just I came by to tell you that I'll leave a bit of money on the counter since me and mom and dad are gonna be out again." The three of them are always out, lately, you think... something that makes you feel a bit disappointed. "So, like, order a pizza or something okay?"<br/>
<br/>
She goes to leave but you stop her. "Dana..." you start causing her to turn around, "What's wrong? Mom and Dad go out with their friends, I get that, but you've been going out a lot too. And the last few days it's like you're trying to keep your distance from me."<br/>
<br/>
"Sarah, look it's nothing..."<br/>
<br/>
"Dana, stop it." you interrupt her emphatically, "I'm not some dumb kid so if something's going on I'm gonna know and I do. Something's going on so tell me!"<br/>
<br/>
She chews her lip, "Look I'm not sure how to put it but Saturday night when you texted me and I came into your room... something happened and I don't know what. Like I blacked out but not really. I don't know how to explain it but it's left me kind of freaked out and confused." she explains.<br/>
<br/>
That confirms what you suspected, you think. "And you think I had something to do with it?" you look straight at her and letting Sarah's emotions wield a little more influence you can feel tears start to well up in your eyes. "I don't know what happened but I do know that you're being distant and it hurts. We're sisters. Heck besides Joanna you're my best friend. You're gonna be off to college in a few months and I don't..." You can definitely feel them flowing now, "I'm gonna miss you so much and I don't want us to grow apart before you leave!"<br/>
<br/>
With that you clasp onto her and bury your face in her chest sobbing. "Sarah..." she starts hugging you back, "Yeah, I don't blame you. Not at all. You're my sister, you ARE my best friend and we're not gonna grow apart, I promise."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The next day at school passes rather uneventfully minus word getting out about your upcoming date with Gavin, something that torques Carrie to no end. The real interest starts after school as Yumi stops by briefly to drop something off: four masks and mind bands that Chelsea has had the "golems" working on the last few days. You then head to the library and that's when things get interesting as you notice both Caleb and Keith and they make a beeline straight for you.<br/>
<br/>
They pull you and Joanna aside to "talk" and when the four of you are in the clear that's when they drop bombshells. They tell you lots of things really, they practically can't shut up. They tell you about Dana's suspicions that something was wrong with her sister and that she had vague notions of a "Will Prescott". How searching and Googling led her to Westside and both Caleb and Keith and how it didn't take them long to figure out what was going on.<br/>
<br/>
When Joanna wonders how they figured it out that's when you jump in to tell her about the plan they tried to enact, the one you pretended to go along with to placate them but didn't want to go through as you hated the idea of betraying her. After all, she'd done a bit for you and Caleb and Keith had, well, been jerks. Joanna surmises, of course, that that's why you wanted out of Westside. She's quite irritated but moreso at your "friends" than at you and you suspect it's Joanna's nature that's stopping her from raining hellfire on them.<br/>
<br/>
Once you're caught up on those matters Caleb tells you about new happenings at Westside: the place as gotten in a tizzy over Frank and Joe Durras, two transfers from Eastman. Both are weird: handsome and overly friendly... friendly in a manner that to Caleb seems phony. They hung around him for a bit yesterday and it was just uncomfortable, he says. He didn't feel they were being genuine or up front and he suspects that they were trying to get him to lower his guard. That underneath their smiles are a pair of jackasses that'd make guys like Patterson blush. Keith, who was with Caleb when they first started talking, agreed.<br/>
<br/>
And that's when they hit you with a proposal: get them into Eastman. They've had enough of bullies and jocks and the two-faced assholes that populate Westside. You and Chelsea, they observe, seem happy where you are and you agree that Eastman's more laid back atmosphere is definitely preferable. However after what they wanted you to pull with Chelsea and how they tracked you down you're not sure you want to let them into your little club.<br/>
<br/>
You tell them as such and all they can do is plead. They've learned their lesson and they won't try and pull that again, they promise, but no amount of cajoling and promising is going to convince you otherwise. You tell them to get lost or, in a bit of a cruel moment you admit, you'll go to the staff claiming you're being harassed by two older guys. They get the hint and after some grumbling leave.<br/>
<br/>
You and Joanna pore over any magic books you can find for the next hour but can find nothing useful in them. They're all holistic Wicca garbage, healing crystals, bogus astral projection, and other such nonsense. With that you give up, put everything back, and leave the library.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So what do we do now?" you ask as you and Joanna sit on your bikes in the driveway of Joanna's house.<br/>
<br/>
"We do what we should've done originally." Joanna replies as she looks at you, an annoyed expression on her face, "We go to that Blackwell guy's place and get him to cough up whatever information he'd know about this dumb book."<br/>
<br/>
"And like I said, do you think he's even going to take us seriously?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
Joanna smiles, "An old professor like that is going to have his weaknesses." she says as she leans forward giving you an eyeful of her cleavage.<br/>
<br/>
You turn away, "And again, not a good idea. Actually that's a gross idea." you state making a gagging motion. "We're kids right now, he's not going to take us seriously. We'd have to approach him in a way where he'd have to take us seriously."<br/>
<br/>
"We could just get out of these masks for a bit and go like that." Joanna replies.<br/>
<br/>
"And where are we going to get clothes? I live just outside of town so we'd never get there in any kind of good time without a car." you state. But you would have to be older and the mention of your old lives sparks an idea, "Actually though, you said Cindy had an older sister that works with this Blackwell guy right?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Lucy, yeah." Joanna says with a bit of a sneer.<br/>
<br/>
"So what about this: we use her. We grab a mask of her and one of us goes to this guy's place disguised as her to try and get some information about the book and all of those sigils. If she works for him he'd have to take her seriously, right?"</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212121222
author_id: rugal
title: It's not actually a big deal
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You just shake your head. You get what she means and on the surface it's a good idea but going deeper... the more you think about it... well you're not terribly comfortable with it. You don't know this Aubrey Blackwell or what he could do. With these bodies hanging around a middle aged man into the old books isn't the best plan and with a bit of convincing you bring Joanna around. You tell her that it's a long shot but after school tomorrow why not head over to the library and see if they can find something out and she agrees to it. At that moment the doorbell rings so the both of you head down to answer it and are greeted by Dana.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey Sarah, Joanna." she greets the two of you, "Um Sarah...?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah?"<br/>
<br/>
Something about the way she says your name reminds you of the weird way she's been acting lately. You can see it on her face but she shakes it off. "Just I came by to tell you that I'll leave a bit of money on the counter since me and mom and dad are gonna be out again." The three of them are always out, lately, you think... something that makes you feel a bit disappointed. "So, like, order a pizza or something okay?"<br/>
<br/>
She goes to leave but you stop her. "Dana..." you start causing her to turn around, "What's wrong? Mom and Dad go out with their friends, I get that, but you've been going out a lot too. And the last few days it's like you're trying to keep your distance from me."<br/>
<br/>
"Sarah, look it's nothing..."<br/>
<br/>
"Dana, stop it." you interrupt her emphatically, "I'm not some dumb kid so if something's going on I'm gonna know and I do. Something's going on so tell me!"<br/>
<br/>
She chews her lip, "Look I'm not sure how to put it but Saturday night when you texted me and I came into your room... something happened and I don't know what. Like I blacked out but not really. I don't know how to explain it but it's left me kind of freaked out and confused." she explains.<br/>
<br/>
That confirms what you suspected, you think. "And you think I had something to do with it?" you look straight at her and letting Sarah's emotions wield a little more influence you can feel tears start to well up in your eyes. "I don't know what happened but I do know that you're being distant and it hurts. We're sisters. Heck besides Joanna you're my best friend. You're gonna be off to college in a few months and I don't..." You can definitely feel them flowing now, "I'm gonna miss you so much and I don't want us to grow apart before you leave!"<br/>
<br/>
With that you clasp onto her and bury your face in her chest sobbing. "Sarah..." she starts hugging you back, "Yeah, I don't blame you. Not at all. You're my sister, you ARE my best friend and we're not gonna grow apart, I promise."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
The next day at school passes rather uneventfully minus word getting out about your upcoming date with Gavin, something that torques Carrie to no end. The real interest starts after school as Yumi stops by briefly to drop something off: four masks and mind bands that Chelsea has had the "golems" working on the last few days. You then head to the library and that's when things get MORE interesting as you notice both Caleb and Keith and they make a beeline straight for you. They pull you and Joanna aside to "talk" and when the four of you are in the clear that's when they drop bombshells. They tell you lots of things really, they practically can't shut up. They tell you about Dana's suspicions that something was wrong with her sister and that she had vague notions of a "Will Prescott". How searching and Googling led her to Westside and both Caleb and Keith and how it didn't take them long to figure out what was going on.<br/>
<br/>
When Joanna wonders how they figured it out that's when you jump in to tell them about the plan they tried to enact, the one you pretended to go along with to placate them but didn't want to go through as you valued the relationship that Will and Chelsea had cultivated and that the actions of the previous days had made you question who was becoming your real friends. Joanna surmises, of course, that that's why you wanted out of Westside. She's quite irritated but moreso at your "friends" than at you and you suspect it's Joanna's nature that's stopping her from raining hellfire on them.<br/>
<br/>
Once you're caught up on those matters Caleb tells you about new happenings at Westside: the place as gotten in a tizzy over Frank and Joe Durras, two transfers from Eastman. Both are weird: handsome and overly friendly... friendly in a manner that to Caleb seems phony. They hung around him for a bit yesterday and it was just uncomfortable, he says. He didn't feel they were being genuine or up front and he suspects that they were trying to get him to lower his guard. That underneath their smiles are a pair of jackasses that'd make guys like Patterson blush. Keith, who was with Caleb when they first started talking, agreed.<br/>
<br/>
And that's when they hit you with a proposal: get them into Eastman. They've had enough of bullies and jocks and the two-faced assholes that populate Westside. You and Chelsea, they observe, seem happy where you are and you agree that Eastman's more laid back atmosphere is definitely preferable. However after what they wanted you to pull with Chelsea and how they tracked you down you're not sure you want to let them into your little club. It takes mass amounts of apologizing on their part, promises stacked on promises and the concession that you and your partner run the show and that they do nothing without both of your approval before you agree to let them in.<br/>
<br/>
Joanna laments the loss of masks you just got but accedes as she digs through her backpack to get out two masks and some sealant. Caleb's up first and you wonder who you can put him in before your eye spies something interesting: Patricia Jennings and Marissa King have been skulking around the library since you got there and Marissa's now broken off, heading into the direction of the bathroom. Having her could be useful, you deduce, and so telling Caleb to come you quickly follow after her.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"Well, how is it?" you ask Marissa in the library's bathroom. As she primps and poses in front of the mirror you know you have your answer: Caleb definitely likes it.<br/>
<br/>
"It's nice." she replies tousling her shortish, curly, dark brown hair a bit. "Cute face really, mixed girls seem to turn out well." She's referring, of course, to the fact that Marissa is the product of a Cameroonian immigrant mother and a white father. "Freshman wasn't really my first choice but..."<br/>
<br/>
"But you'll make do." you say completing her sentence. "Wasn't my first choice either but whatever. Plus now I've got someone on the inside to help me keep tabs on Carrie, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, of course." Marissa answers before spreading her arms. "Hugs?" You eye her oddly and her hands go back to her side. "It's a thing she does. Probably because Patricia and Carrie do it. I'm already picking up things from the, uh, the band."<br/>
<br/>
"Good because you're gonna need to settle in fast." you explain bluntly... a little too bluntly you think so you offer her a smile and spread your arms. "Hugs?" you say pulling Marissa into a friendly hug, a site that if most saw it would be quite odd. "Alright, get going. Patricia's going to start wondering if you take too long."<br/>
<br/>
With that she exits the bathroom and before the door is even fully closed you hear an "Ugh, what's YOUR problem creep?". You follow to see Keith standing outside the door. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" you ask not shouting but in a stern manner. "You're gonna look like a massive creeper standing outside the girl's bathroom like that!"<br/>
<br/>
Keith, for his part, just shrugs his shoulders. "What do I care? Not like I'm gonna be me anyway so why should I give a fuck what whoever gets stuck under the mask has to deal with?"<br/>
<br/>
You sigh, "Okay, whatever. Look just tell me where Joanna is." you respond.<br/>
<br/>
"In the study area last I saw. She kinda told me to get lost." He answers. "By the way, think you can get me inside an athlete or someone who runs in that circle? Someone who will be around a ton of girls."<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head and head off to the study area where you find your friend pretending to look over a book. "Your buddy Keith is a dipshit." That line is pure Chelsea.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah I know. He thinks more with his dick than his actual brain." You reply, "Ugh, he asked me to get him an athlete or someone that hangs around a lot of girls."<br/>
<br/>
At that you notice Joanna smile mischievously. "Is that so, huh? I've been looking at who's here and I've got two possibilities."<br/>
<br/>
She points you in the direction of a girl you recognize as Tatiana Escoto, a Dominican girl originally from New York who moved to Saratoga Falls her freshman year. She was pretty enough and noted for having just the right thickness (mixed with a bit of muscle as she was a member of the softball team) that guys loved. The other possibility was the tall and athletic Hannah Chamberlain, the star forward of the school's girl's basketball team... although she came with relationship issues in the form of her on again off again relationship with boy's basketball player Jordan Reynolds.<br/>
<br/>
The two of you shared a look and giggled to one another. Even under Joanna's sweet nature Chelsea's cunning and deviousness was still there although perhaps thanks to Joanna's nature it's more of a prank than an outright punishment. Keith wanted to be an athlete and be around girls? Well he was certainly about to get his wish, just not quite in the way he wanted it.</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121212221
author_id: rugal
title: The Screw Up
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You decide that Tatiana would be the easier of the two to get due to the fact Sarah knows her at least in passing as Tatiana had, until recently, been dating a member of the soccer team though you can't think of who offhand. You call Keith over, hand him the stuff and follow him to the bathroom waiting outside. Once he comes back out he gives you a sarcastic remark about waiting outside the bathroom as he hands you back the new mask causing you to roll your eyes and telling him you'll text him when you're ready for him to switch. You then seek out Tatiana and ask her to walk with you to the ladies' room as you have some things you need to talk to her about. It takes a bit of convincing and re-introducing yourself before she relents and follows you.<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks Tatiana, you were here so I figured you might be the person to talk to because of your relationship with um..." you snap your fingers trying to remember the name.<br/>
<br/>
"Colin." She says bluntly and it causes the lightbulb to go off: Colin Ratliff was her ex-boyfriend's name. "And what does that have to do with anything?"<br/>
<br/>
There's an impatience in her voice, you realize. "Well it's about Gavin and..."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, that's you." she says, not sounding terribly impressed but with a noticeably softer tone to her voice. "Congratulations, freshman."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, well, thanks." you respond, "But yeah. You were around the soccer team so, like, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about Gavin. What he likes, what kind of girl he likes..."<br/>
<br/>
She gives you an inquisitive eye, "You're going out with him so I guess you could find out on your own but..." she notices a disappointed look on your face, "Look... Sarah, right? Look Sarah, Gavin's a good guy. Kind of cocky but he's got a good heart. Stroke his ego a little bit, you know? Don't be so demure though. I can see you're a cute girl and obviously looks go far but he likes a girl with confidence. A girl who can show she won't be intimidated by his rep and confidence--"<br/>
<br/>
At that moment you "accidentally" knock Tatiana's purse off of the counter spilling some of the contents on the floor. You offer to get it but she shakes her head and grumbles that she she's got it. As she's distracted you proceed to slip the final band and mask from your bag. "So you're saying he'd like a girl like... you?" you ask and as she looks up you thrust the mask at her.<br/>
<br/>
Well you TRY to. Tatiana's definitely a little brawnier compared to most girls and she easily grabs your wrist. You try squirming out and she notices the mask in your hand and takes it looking at it. "What the hell were you trying to..." she looks uneasy, "What's this for?" She looks it over unsure of what to make of it, "This is... oh God, this is... it's fucked up!" As she puts the mask down she grabs her purse and storms out of the bathroom. "I don't know what your deal is, freshman, but stay the hell away from me!"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"I'm a bit annoyed you didn't get me some jock like I asked. Don't get me wrong I like being able to grab some tits, small as they are, but I'd rather be grabbing them with the hands of that Irish guy she lives with." Kelly Trask shoots you a perfect smile. Her red lips, blue eyes and strawberry-blonde hair working in conjunction with her slightly milky skin gives off a certain radiance, a radiance that's caused the other member of the school paper (which she writes for) to dub her "Sunny" to go with her bright personality.<br/>
<br/>
"If you're good maybe I'll let you switch into him." you state, sarcasm oozing from your voice. "But for now you're going to have to deal with the horror of being an pretty girl with good grades, AP classes and a position on the school paper."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not going to complain getting to hang around, lessee, Genevieve Blake and Miss Redmond." comes the reply, referring to another member of the school paper and the 10th grade history teacher whose younger age (30) and kind of "pretty librarian" looks have made her an object of desire.<br/>
<br/>
You notice the vaguely lascivious look on Kelly's face and work to stifle it, "Fantasize all you want but you have to stay reasonably in character. I had to grab someone on short nice and thank God she was here working on something but you're stuck for now so you can't afford to screw up." you explain.<br/>
<br/>
"What like you did?"<br/>
<br/>
You want to slap her. Kelly's a nice girl, a smart girl, but with Keith in control... "Look, don't fuck up or you can pack your bags and go back to Westside." <br/>
<br/>
Kelly, for her part, runs a hand over her ass. "Sure sure, nice, sweet Kelly around everyone else. But in private..." she shakes the thought out, "So what's the plan with me in here?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know." you say with complete honesty, "Just... enjoy yourself. Enjoy yourself but don't make anyone suspect anything's up. Look, I've gotta go okay? We'll meet at school tomorrow or something."<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head and quickly head out of the bathroom. You're regret letting Keith in on the whole thing but, well, he knew and what's done is done. You just hope he can keep himself under control.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"So I got an interesting call from Carrie after Patricia and I left the library." says Marissa's voice from the other end of the line. It's evening and you and Joanna, like usual, are hanging out together in Sarah's room this time. "She said she's gonna try and sweet talk Gavin tomorrow. Stuff about how it should be her getting that date and such."<br/>
<br/>
"I dont think she'll have much luck." you respond.<br/>
<br/>
"I kind of encouraged her. Figure it'd make her look kind of desperate, you know?" she replies. "Good luck on the date." and with that the phone goes dead.<br/>
<br/>
You smile at Joanna, "Putting Caleb in Marissa's already paying off." you say proudly.<br/>
<br/>
"That's good and all but what about Tatiana?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean?"<br/>
<br/>
Joanna shakes her head. "She caught you trying to put the mask on her. I mean... what if she figures it out?" She looks at you completely serious, "We don't need to deal with shit going down because you screwed up."<br/>
<br/>
You roll your eyes and snort, "God, you too? I already to hear that from Keith of all people. Keith!" you make sure to emphasize his name.<br/>
<br/>
"I just don't want Tatiana going around and telling people you, like, tried to molest her in the bathroom or something." Joanna says.<br/>
<br/>
"And who's gonna believe her?" This gets a glare from Joanna, "Well look, if we don't want Tatiana saying anything we COULD do something about it. I've got that band we made Saturday still so we can just slip that on her and then... hunky dory, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"You tried convincing me not to do anything with that thing and now YOU'RE suggesting we use it?!" You can tell that reaction is far more Chelsea than it is Joanna.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a suggestion, jeez calm down. Maybe we could, I dunno, try getting another mask of her and golemize it and then just put her under the golemized mask." you're trying to convince yourself of it more than you are your partner, though.<br/>
<br/>
"Would that even work? That's, like, really complicated and if we go through all that trouble and she can't wear her own mask with the stuff in it..."<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh, look I don't know okay? Maybe... like I said, maybe she nobody will believe her. Maybe she won't say anything. Or maybe we can just talk to her and, I dunno, make up a story to convince her that I wasn't trying to do anything weird to her." you say, listing off possibilities as they come to you. "God I don't know Joanna... Chelsea... I'm sorry. I fucked up. I fucked up and I don't know what to do. I don't want to try and 'fix' the situation and make things worse but at the same time I don't know if we should just sit here and hope things work themselves out."</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212122
author_id: seuzz
title: A Plan and a Party
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Screw it. It's too late, and explaining your changed ideas would just piss everyone off. Just before classes resume you text Chelsea that you're ready on your end. She replies by setting five-thirty in the fuck room as the rendezvous point and time. During sixth period you tell Keith that you'll give him and Caleb a call later that evening.<br/>
<br/>
"Glad we're still on," he says, then draws you over into a corner of the classroom. "Listen, we can copy more people than just Chelsea, right?" he asks in a low voice.<br/>
<br/>
"Why do you ask," you say, startled.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, Caleb says we could. And why stop with Chelsea? Get one for each of us. I wouldn't mind having Cindy. Or her boyfriend, so I could ... You know." He grinds a fist into the palm of his hand.<br/>
<br/>
"I guess it's something to talk about later." Privately, it just makes you more determined to make a move. <br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Just in time," Chelsea says with a smile when you enter the loft. "I found out about a big party someone from Eastman is throwing tonight. There'll be lots of people there."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't tell me who," you say, throwing up your hands. "I'll start thinking about what we're doing, and--"<br/>
<br/>
"So, you're leaving it all to me," she says with a slightly waspish tone. "Okay then. Can you at least explain to me how is this supposed to work?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, first, we have to prepare masks of ourselves. I can go first, or--" Her mouth tightens into a small smile, and she lays back and puts one of the blanks over her face. You swallow and stare, for this is the first time you've actually seen it done: the mask glows briefly, and then seems to sink down into her. Her eyes open but go blank, and her breathing becomes very shallow. Still, it's enough to make you excited, as her prodigious breasts rise and fall slowly and rhythmically--<br/>
<br/>
And then golem-Gordon steps in and shoves you back. Your bowels briefly loosen, but he doesn't follow up, and just stands between you and her with his arms folded.<br/>
<br/>
After what seems an eternity, you hear a muffled gasp, and look around Gordon to see Chelsea sitting up. The mask has fallen into her lap. "Wow," she says, picks it up. Her eyes widen. "So that's ... me ... in there."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. Now we seal it."<br/>
<br/>
"I know," she says. "Remember, I got those other masks made."<br/>
<br/>
<i>Oh yeah.</i> It occurs to you that maybe you've been underestimating her for a long time. "While you do that, I'll just get my own mask made up." You draw out the mask that Caleb made of you, keeping it hidden so she won't see the telltale image, and set it on your face.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The world is black and you feel cold and wrung-out when you wake. There's no air--<br/>
<br/>
You push the mask off, and sit up with a groan. "Here, I'll take care of that," you hear Chelsea say.<br/>
<br/>
With a spasm, you knock her hand away. "Sorry," you apologize as she frowns at you. "I'll take care of it," you say. "Can you get the stuff together for the next step? You know, that golem stuff."<br/>
<br/>
"I was going to leave that to you," she grumbles, "but okay."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll watch while you do it," you offer. You just don't want her to see that your mask is already sealed, for that would lead to awkward questions ...<br/>
<br/>
As you pretend to dab at the interior of the mask with the sealant, you keep an eye on her preparations. A few minutes later, using her hair for her mask and your hair for your own, you put shells inside them. "There," you say. "Now, anyone who puts on these masks will be forced to take over our lives."<br/>
<br/>
"Lucky them," Chelsea says, and you can't tell if she's being satirical or not. "How are we going to use these things at the party?"<br/>
<br/>
You've been thinking about that too, and though it's a risk: "The easiest way is for me to go as Gordon."<br/>
<br/>
"You can't go as Gordon," she points out. "I mean if you put that mask on, like last time--"<br/>
<br/>
"I know. You'll let me out, won't you?" Her eyebrows arch in amusement. "You will, won't you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Probably," she laughs. "But why go as Gordon?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's just easiest. See, we put my mask onto him, and he can just leave here being me. Then it's just you and me--me disguised as Gordon--at the party. The two of us--you'd have to lead--get someone alone at the party. Put a blank mask on them. After that, you take Gordon's mask off me and put it on that person. Then I put their mask on." Understanding dawns in her eyes. "See, fewer moving parts. After that, we get you someone. I mean, if you still want to ..." You blush. "If you still want to come with me."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, let's see who's there," she says. She turns to the golem. "Gordon, let Will take your face off."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Your main motive in using Gordon's mask is that that way your own replacement will have no idea who you have replaced at Eastman, in case Caleb and Keith somehow get wise to what's going on. But you feel the need to make sure of your replacement. "Hang on, I've got one last message for the new me," you tell Chelsea, and dash out of the loft to catch up to your duplicate. Gordon's too-large shorts are dangling off your hips as you run.<br/>
<br/>
"You, wait," you call awkwardly to your replacement. He turns, and it's almost as startling confronting him on the gym floor as it had been up in the loft. He's very quiet. "You know what you're going to tell Caleb and Keith?"<br/>
<br/>
He thinks a moment. "Yeah, I guess. That I've changed my mind and that no one is going to be replacing Chelsea. What Keith said about Cindy. It pissed me off."<br/>
<br/>
"Good. And don't say anything about Eastman." He nods impatiently. "Where are you going to put Caleb's mask, so I can retrieve it?"<br/>
<br/>
"In the old elementary school basement. I'll give the key to Gordon, and he'll pass it on to you."<br/>
<br/>
"Right. And what about you and the, uh, fake Chelsea?"<br/>
<br/>
His dark eyes glitter. "You think anything can happen between us with Gordon around?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't mean that. I mean ... You think you can talk her into being nicer to people?"<br/>
<br/>
He smiles satirically. "If her duplicate is as perfect as I am of you?" He shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
Well, it's a try. Back up in the loft, you put on Gordon's shirt, then lay back and carefully lower his mask onto your face ...<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You blink your eyes open and sit up on your elbows, looking around. There's hardly room to move: you're sprawled on a tile floor, and Chelsea is perched on a bathroom vanity. Gordon Black is standing in a bathtub and pulling off some too-small jeans. <br/>
<br/>
"Whoa," you groan. "Is everything ... alright?"<br/>
<br/>
"All according to plan," Chelsea says. She hands you a mask. "And here's your new life."<br/>
<br/>
You take it with trembling hand, regard it briefly, then lay back and put it on.<br/>
<br/>
The new mind laps up around yours, like a gentle but inexorably rising tide. Childhood, family, friends, the day at school, the party, Chelsea taking you by the arm and leading you into the back for a confidential talk, followed by that hulking boyfriend of hers ...<br/>
<br/>
You open your eyes and groan pleasurably, even though it's cold. Maybe the second time putting on a mask is always less disorienting than the first time; certainly you've had an easier time letting the mind of Alyssa Randal overtake and then settle into yours than you had with Kelsey Blankenship. "People say you're a real bitch, Chelsea," you laugh. "And I guess they're right. But you had help this time, didn't you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, that's really a nice thing to say," Chelsea retorts. "I spent an hour stalking this girl to get her for you." She puts out a hand and helps you to your feet.<br/>
<br/>
Kelsey had such small breasts that you'd not much noticed them in your time as her, but Alyssa is much more amply endowed, and you shift uncertainly a moment on your feet before instinct takes over. "I hope it didn't bust an clothes when you put that mask on the real Alyssa," you say, looking over at Gordon, who is now pulling on his own clothes.<br/>
<br/>
"I got them loosened up first," Chelsea says. "Give me some credit. Gordon, when you're done, take it outside." He grunts.<br/>
<br/>
You pick up your various new clothes, which are a bit of a mess, and admire your dark skin as you do so. An African-American girl. More than that-- "Is Alyssa for me, or were you thinking of yourself?" you ask. Alyssa's self-confidence makes it much easier for you to talk boldly to Chelsea. "I mean, head cheerleader and all."<br/>
<br/>
"You said you wanted a different life. This is about as different as you can get," Chelsea says, and her eye dances with satire. "Besides, this is one way of getting you to see what it's like for me."<br/>
<br/>
"Very smart." You pull on panties and then start to struggle into the bra. "You have someone picked out for yourself?" Your mind flashes back to the party. "Lots of possibilities."<br/>
<br/>
"You trusted me," she says. "Maybe I should trust you."<br/>
<br/>
Yes, there are lots of possibilities, and not all of them are at the party. Alyssa sits in the middle of the upper-echelon social web at Eastman, but has threads running throughout the school. In fact, although this party is a natural place to score Chelsea a new identity, it would be easy--and maybe better in the long run--if you waited a bit and thought through more possibilities first.</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121221
author_id: seuzz
title: A Life at the Party
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I'll look around, get you someone here," you say. "Where's the other masks?" Chelsea opens her shoulder bag and shows them to you. You pull them out, look around, and hide them in the cabinet over the toilet. "I'll do the same trick you did, get them in here."<br/>
<br/>
"You need help?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just stay in sight of me, and when you see me head in here, follow and linger outside. Have Gordon run interference." She nods and exits.<br/>
<br/>
You spend a few minutes putting yourself back together, but even though the party will probably go for a few more hours, you feel yourself constrained by time if you're going to get someone here. Back in the house proper you look around. The party is being jointly thrown by the captains of the girls and boys soccer teams to celebrate a recent win by the girls, so it's heavily populated by the school's female athletes: Cindy Orson, Hannah Chamberlain, Amanda Conners, Tasha Brown, Elisabeth Pruit, among others. There are lots of male athletes too: Zach Vanderburg, Peter Robins, Timothy Johnson, Conor Nilsson, Kevin McIlroy, Mitch Kendall. And since it's Jenny and Kyle throwing the party, there's a strong mix of other types: Sammy Orson and Kristy Carlson are gossiping and laughing by the fireplace; debate people are talking earnestly by the dining room table; the pick up artists have their targets pinned in various corners. (You make a note to yourself to send Paul Zametti over to rescue Darcy Whitehead by distracting Adam Karter.)<br/>
<br/>
"So what did short, blonde and horrible want?" a voice murmurs near your shoulder. You turn with a start to find the speaker staring past your head out at the back patio, where Chelsea and Gordon are holding each other.<br/>
<br/>
A kind of double vision enfolds you, for you know the speaker in two different ways. Lisa Rickover, the girl you met briefly at Joshua Cheswick's party while you were being Kelsey Blankenship. And Lisa Rickover, one of Alyssa's associates, and one of the girls she uses to gather gossip and maintain social discipline. The sharp face under the dirty blonde hair has a hooded, cynical, and unpleasantly amused expression on her face. When you don't answer, she turns that face directly on you. "Alyssa?"<br/>
<br/>
"Huh? Oh, I didn't know you'd spotted us. Yeah." You turn back to look at Chelsea. "A little psychological warfare, I think. She wanted to tell me all the things I was doing wrong with our squad. You know, all in the spirit of being 'friendly'."<br/>
<br/>
"What a cliché," she snorts. "Blonde and perky and dating the captain of the basketball team. At least you're smart enough to steer clear of Ian." Something inside you tightens. "I wonder who invited them here."<br/>
<br/>
"It's Jenny's party, so I assume she did."<br/>
<br/>
"Who invites skunks to a lawn party?" Lisa snorts skeptically. <br/>
<br/>
Chelsea turns, and her eyes graze over you. You're seized by a sudden intuition that you don't really understand. "Listen, I need to talk to you," you say, grasping Lisa by the arm and gently leading her back to the bedrooms. She raises an eyebrow, but you say nothing as you creep down the hallway. Lisa loves a good mystery, and follows you willingly into the bathroom. "Close the door, will you," you say, as you stand on the toilet and open the cabinet door. "This is about Jenny and Kyle."<br/>
<br/>
Lisa's eyes gleam as you turn toward her with the blank mask in your hand. In fact, she doesn't even seem to notice it, and reacts far too late when you cram it onto her face. The door thumps loudly as she bumps off it, and slides to the floor. You lock the door, then drag her back over toward the bathtub. There'll be no need to loosen her clothes, as Chelsea is smaller than she is, so you just wait for the mask to reappear.<br/>
<br/>
There's a knock. "Is everything okay in there?" Chelsea says through the door in a small voice.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, just give me a moment. Is Gordon there? Have him menace anyone who gets too close." You hear muffled voices, and then the sounds of the party come to the fore again.<br/>
<br/>
After the mask reappears on Lisa's face, you scoop it up, then drop Chelsea's mask onto her. The change is instantaneous, and the new Chelsea's eyes pop open. "What the--" she starts with a frown.<br/>
<br/>
"Shhh. Hang on a moment." You open the door a crack, and usher your confederate in. There's a brief moment of electricity when the two Chelseas lock eyes, and then the fake one deflates. <br/>
<br/>
"I get it," she grumbles at her original. "I guess I'm supposed to be your bitch."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, you two are going to have so much fun together," you snicker, and give Chelsea's arm a gentle squeeze. "I'll be outside waiting." You quickly exit, bumping past Gordon. He catches you a moment, ostentatiously gives you a look over, and smacks his lips hungrily. You pull away and mutter a bad word at him, then return to the living room.<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea and Gordon--the fakes, obviously--appear a few minutes later. Chelsea smiles brightly at you, but her eyes are like twin icicles. "It was so nice running into you here, Alyssa," she says, and her fingers dig into your arm like iron spikes. "We should get together again real soon." She doesn't so much release you as push you away, and then takes off in another direction, dragging Gordon along in her wake. <br/>
<br/>
You watch her go, mouth hanging open. Why is the fake being so unpleasant toward you? Is it a put on, an act? Or is the fake--freed of having to pretend anything to you--showing Chelsea's real emotions and attitude?<br/>
<br/>
You look back toward the hallway, and a minute later Lisa Rickover appears. She glances around briefly, and her expression becomes amused when she locks onto you. She glides over. "Nice job," she murmurs. "What's this about Jenny and Kyle?"<br/>
<br/>
"Huh? Nothing. Is Lisa going to be okay for you?" She shrugs. "It was kind of a quick thing."<br/>
<br/>
"I knew I was gonna regret coming to this thing," she says with ill-disguised sarcasm. "We'll talk tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna find someone to make out with. I won't be able to look at myself in the morning if I don't." She glides away, leaving you feeling dumbfounded.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So was it because of what I-- Lisa-- said about Chelsea?" she asks. "Is that how come you picked her?"<br/>
<br/>
You're sitting in Lisa's bedroom, on the corner of her bed. She herself is perched on the window sill, smoking, and looking at you with a cynical expression on her face.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not sure. It was instinct or something."<br/>
<br/>
Lisa takes another drag and blows it sideways out of her mouth, through the open window. "What did I-- she-- say? 'Short, blonde and horrible'?" She laughs. "That's it in a nutshell, isn't it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Are you pissed?"<br/>
<br/>
She carefully taps some ash into a cup. "No. I don't think so. It's a funny thing, is all. It was kind of a shock, waking up and having-- myself-- looking down at me. Especially when I'm not quite myself."<br/>
<br/>
"What did you say to her? What did she say to you?"<br/>
<br/>
She shrugs. "I told her to just be herself. She said something about 'You get to have all the fun'. Then I told her to shut up and get out."<br/>
<br/>
You give a short laugh. "Like, it's not fun being Chelsea Cooper."<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, it gets tiring after awhile." Her gaze grows distant. "They're awfully realistic, those fakes," she says. "Gordon really was just like Gordon, except--" She shrugs again and grinds out the cigarette. "Well, here we are." She hops down from the window. "And what are we gonna do?"<br/>
<br/>
"Be Alyssa Randal and Lisa Rickover, I guess. Do you wanna switch or something?"<br/>
<br/>
"Do you?" she says with a short laugh. "No, I put you there because I thought it'd be funny if you got to be the head cheerleader for a change. And you put me here because you thought it'd be funny too, or something."<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't, really," you protest. "What makes you think it's funny?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, just--" She straddles the chair by her desk and leans her arms on its back. "You're so fucking popular, Alyssa. So fucking nice. I'm being honest, a lot more honest than the real Lisa is with the real Alyssa, you know." Her eyes glint. "Everyone loves you because you're such a <i>good</i> person."<br/>
<br/>
You feel yourself turning pink. "And there's something wrong with that?"<br/>
<br/>
"No. It's just a much different scene over here than at Westside, right? I mean, Jenny and Kyle. You. Ian. You're all so nice." She clucks her tongue. "Except maybe it's not so different. Still the jocks at the top, and everyone else scrambling around underneath, trying to stay on their good sides."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not like that," you retort hotly. "If you were at the bottom at Westside, like I was, you'd know--" But she waves you silent.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I know what Gordon and Steve got up to. That was just hassling, to keep the lines of authority clear. The lines are just as clear over here. That's why there's so much sucking up. Not that it does anyone any good. Everyone has their place and they keep to it." She fixes you with a hard glance. "You see to that, don't you, Alyssa?"<br/>
<br/>
This doesn't sound like Chelsea. (Or does it?) It doesn't sound like Lisa, either. "You sound like Chris Yves."<br/>
<br/>
Amusement washes over her face. "Girl makes a lot of sense sometimes. In fact--" She peers at you. "Maybe we're in the wrong places. If you want a good view of things at Eastman, maybe you should move over into Chris. Or, I dunno, move into Lisa, and <i>I'll</i> move into Chris. That's the thing to do, if you really want shake things up over here."</span></div></div>


path: 1131221221212211
author_id: seuzz
title: Basketball Dilemmas
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Who says I wanna shake things up?" you say. "It's nicer over here than at--" You stop as Lisa raises an eyebrow. "I said I wanted to sample a different life. This is a pretty decent life, and why would I want to stir things up?"<br/>
<br/>
"Then leave things stable," she says. "Live Alyssa's life. What is she going to do about Ian Carpenter?"<br/>
<br/>
"What about Ian?"<br/>
<br/>
"He's totally in love with her."<br/>
<br/>
Your eyes widen. "Who-- What makes you say that?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't tell you everything I know," she says. "Lisa doesn't, I mean. But I hear things. I talk about things with people. Like Susie Maitland." <br/>
<br/>
"How does Susie--? Oh ..." Susie Maitland. Girlfriend of Derek Linwood, who plays on the basketball team under Ian. "Is this like an open secret?"<br/>
<br/>
"Lots of people know. They just don't want to say anything. I mean, if Ian wants to, he'll ask you out. Or are you still hot for Geoff?"<br/>
<br/>
You blush slightly. "Well, what's wrong with Geoff?"<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing," she smiles. "Are you going to ask <i>him</i> out?"<br/>
<br/>
"If Geoff is interested in me, he'll--" You have to stop. Alyssa has all but draped herself across his lap. "Guys don't like that."<br/>
<br/>
"Geoff isn't most guys." <i>He certainly isn't,</i> a little voice says in your head, and you get warm all over. "If you're going to play the head cheerleader during her senior year, don't you think you should take full advantage of it?"<br/>
<br/>
You scoot back on the bed, drawing your knees up under your chin. "If Alyssa isn't taking full advantage of it ..." you say slowly.<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe you should do it for her. You said you're going to let her out eventually, right?" You say nothing, for you're thinking. "Well, if you're not, then go for it. Open the throttle."<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't say I wasn't."<br/>
<br/>
"Then set her up with something she'd like when she gets back out. Surprise her with a nice present." She smiles sharply. "Surprise her with Geoff."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"A nation founded upon the principle of conquest is only as strong as its military." Geoff Dunholm leans casually, confidently against the lectern. "A nation founded upon the monarchical principle is only as strong as its ruling house. And a nation founded upon the principles of civil liberties is only as strong as its respect for those principles."<br/>
<br/>
He is tall, lean, masterful. His dark eyes glint over pale but strong cheekbones. His dark hair falls rakishly forward. He is dressed, as ever, casually but tastefully in a button-down shirt and dark jeans. His gestures are understated but emphatic. His voice is warm and relaxed and caressing, and even though he speaks quietly, he is articulate and audible even in the back of the room.<br/>
<br/>
"Alyssa, rebuttal," Ms. Cussler says when he's done. "Alyssa," she repeats when you don't respond.<br/>
<br/>
"Huh?" You jerk yourself back out of fantasies that had crept up all unawares on you. A titter runs through the classroom.<br/>
<br/>
"Your partner isn't here," the teacher says dryly. "If you don't want those terrorists walking out of Guantanamo and murdering <i>another</i> three thousand people, it's up to you to refute Dunholm's bullshit." The titter rises into a chorus of chuckles. Cussler fights dirty even when she's mouthing platitudes she abhors.<br/>
<br/>
You stumble up to the lectern, which Dunholm surrenders with a satirical bow. <i>Fucking Frank. Where is he?</i> You glance down at your notes before settling them on the lectern. Clumsily set them down, actually: they scatter to the ground. Cussler face-palms as you bend down and hastily gather them back up again.<br/>
<br/>
"The Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact," you start, and clear your throat to get rid of the tremble. "The safe exercise of necessary liberties presupposes a sufficient degree of security ..." <br/>
<br/>
In the front row, Geoff leans back and folds his arms. He smiles, but it's not a nasty smile. He seems to be encouraging you. Maybe because he wrote your rebuttal for you ...<br/>
<br/>
"You weren't going to win, you know," Geoff teases as everyone gathers up their stuff after the bell has rung. "Cussler wasn't going to allow it."<br/>
<br/>
"You mean <i>you</i> weren't going to allow it," you retort. You're still hot from the way the debate teacher tore you up in front of the class. "Why didn't you give me something to fight that stupid Ben Franklin quote?"<br/>
<br/>
"I left it as an exercise for you," he smiles. "You should have known it was coming, and it's easy to knock down."<br/>
<br/>
"And how would <i>you</i> have knocked it down?"<br/>
<br/>
"Liberty and security exist in a balance. When the foundation shifts, the balance has to be adjusted, or they will both collapse."<br/>
<br/>
"Well if <i>Frank</i> hadn't skipped--"<br/>
<br/>
"He didn't skip. He's moved to Westside." You stare, and he laughs. "Don't tell me I heard the news before you did."<br/>
<br/>
"Joe too?" you gasp.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course Joe too. They're not really brothers, but I assume they live together." He walks from the room with a chuckle.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean they're not brothers," you call as you trot after him, but he's bumped into Darcy Whitehead and is already talking to her. You listen to them distractedly for a bit, then hurry around the corner to your locker. Natalie Dawkins is nearby, and you jostle her in the back. "What's this about the Durrases moving schools?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh yeah!" Her eyes light up. "Ian and them are totally, uh, <i>flummoxed!</i>" She grins over the new-to-her vocabulary word.<br/>
<br/>
"Tell me something I can't <i>infer.</i>" She blinks stupidly. "I <i>know</i> Ian will be pissed," you say as though talking to a very young child. "What's the story?"<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno," she says, sounding slightly hurt. "I just heard Jenny talking about it before classes. Her and Kyle and Ian."<br/>
<br/>
Yes, Ian will be in a state. In fact, the defection of those two fast-rising basketball stars to your crosstown archenemies will send an earthquake through the school.<br/>
<br/>
In fact, you're so fixated on this bolt from the blue that you have to ask Natalie to repeat what she said. "Hannah and Jordan have broken up again," she says.<br/>
<br/>
You groan. Now you <i>will</i> have to talk to Ian about the loss of two players and a probable emotional collapse by a third. And after what Lisa told you at her house, you have flutters in your stomach about approaching him.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"What," Hannah says defensively. She shrinks back against her locker.<br/>
<br/>
You lean in closer. "Don't 'what' me, girl. You know what."<br/>
<br/>
"It's none of your business, Alyssa," she says.<br/>
<br/>
You push up next to her. "You told me you were going to give it another chance."<br/>
<br/>
"I did. It didn't work."<br/>
<br/>
"Two weeks is not 'another chance'."<br/>
<br/>
"And how long would be?" She turns on you fiercely. "Maybe we should get engaged, get married, have a couple of kids, and <i>then</i> see."<br/>
<br/>
"That's not--!" You take a deep breath. "Okay, is it you or is it him?"<br/>
<br/>
"What? Both. Neither. I don't know! How about <i>you</i> try it with--" She seems to catch herself. "With someone, and you tell me whose fault it is when you decide it isn't working."<br/>
<br/>
You regard her evenly. This is the third time in six months that she's busted up with Jordan. "How many times do you have try it before deciding? And how come it's less messed up to keep breaking up with a guy instead of giving it a while?"<br/>
<br/>
Her eyes glitter. "Maybe if you tried <i>listening</i> to me," she hisses. "Or maybe you and Lisa could try following the same play book."<br/>
<br/>
"Lisa? What does she--?" You clutch her arm. "Did you talk to her before--"<br/>
<br/>
She jerks away from you. "I thought talking to her <i>was</i> like talking to you. I guess I know better now. Maybe I should warn everyone else." She slams her locker door and pushes away through the crowded hall.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Late last night," Lisa says calmly during study hall. "I told her what <i>I</i> would do."<br/>
<br/>
"Told her to act like a cunt?" Her face tightens. "Hannah's confused--"<br/>
<br/>
"I'll say."<br/>
<br/>
"What does <i>that</i> mean?" You grit your teeth as she just smiles privately to herself. "This isn't good for anyone. For Hannah, for Jordan--"<br/>
<br/>
"For the basketball team," she says. "You <i>do</i> care about Ian, don't you?" Her expression is highly amused.<br/>
<br/>
You lean back, for it occurs to you that it might not be <i>Lisa</i> fucking things up, but <i>Chelsea,</i> stirring the pot to the benefit of her boytoy and his friends back at Westside.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's fucked things up for him for sure, coming on top of Frank and Joe Durras leaving," you say.<br/>
<br/>
A laugh bubbles from her throat. "Oh my God, can you imagine Gordon and Steve trying to handle them? It almost makes me want to go back so I can see it for myself!"<br/>
<br/>
You stare over the top of her head. It would be an interesting situation at that. But it's not your concern. In your head you keep seeing Ian as he slumped in Biology, tugging at his lip and ignoring the lecture. <br/>
<br/>
Talking to Frank and Joe, finding out why they pulled up stakes, probably wouldn't do any good, but you are curious. But even just approaching them, on top of trying to repair the damage caused by the Jordan-Hannah bust up, would show Ian how seriously you take his problems.<br/>
<br/>
But why would you do even that, if you're <i>not interested</i> in him?</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212122112
author_id: seuzz
title: Lots of Gossip
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>It takes you almost an hour of hard thinking before you realize how futile it would be to visit Joe and Frank, and that you're tempted to go see them only because Alyssa is naturally very nosy. <br/>
<br/>
But there's no reason to <i>not</i> stick your nose in Hannah and Jordan's business. So when classes are over you hustle over to the gym to watch basketball practice.<br/>
<br/>
As always, the spectacle mixes the exciting and the excruciating. Running and drills, finally punctuated by some actual play. Ian keeps things running smoothly with lots of encouraging talk. You watch Jordan closely. It's very hard to tell, because you're not familiar with his moves, whether he's messing up more than usual, but he's quite the slowest guy on the court, and at one point the ball sails past his uncomprehending face.<br/>
<br/>
Well, maybe he's not quite as uncomprehending as he looks. Or others aren't so uncomprehending. After the players retreat to the locker room, you descend from the bleachers to wait for them. In groups of two and three they emerge and leave, until Ian and Shawn Gregory and Brett Dutoit appear. "How's my three favorite basketball players," you smile as you intercept them. You peer around Shawn, but no one else follows him out. "What are you guys up to?"<br/>
<br/>
"I've got work," Brett says. He slaps Ian on the shoulder and departs.<br/>
<br/>
"Kyle asked me to stop by and help him with his car," Shawn says. "You know anything about carburetors?" <br/>
<br/>
"Um ..." <br/>
<br/>
"I don't know anything about 'em either," Ian says comfortingly. He seems to hesitate. "What are <i>you</i> doing?"<br/>
<br/>
"Looking for someone to hang out with." Again you peer around him; you're not terribly keen to go off alone with him--at least until you decide whether to act on what Lisa told you. "Where's Jordan? Maybe the three of us could--"<br/>
<br/>
"He went out the side door," Ian says, and his tone is blunt. You look up into his face: his normally elfin features are tight. "Just leave him alone, okay?"<br/>
<br/>
You feel yourself turning pink, and your mouth twists into a smile to hide your embarrassment. "Well excuse me for caring, Ian."<br/>
<br/>
"Look, I know you-- Yeah, catch ya later, Shawn." Gregory practically runs from the room. "I know you care. But you don't need to fix everything. And frankly, I think the third time's the charm in this case. Just let him and Hannah go."<br/>
<br/>
"But how is he dealing with it?" you protest. "Is he always such a space cadet at practice?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, he was distracted today," Ian shrugs. "It'll be okay. There's a bruise, but it'll go away if someone doesn't keep poking at it."<br/>
<br/>
<i>Oh, this is bullshit. Typical macho hide-your-emotions-and-pretend-you-don't-have-them bullshit.</i><br/>
<br/>
Ian leans in close. "I understand, Alyssa," he says with a quiet smile. "When something's wrong, you want to fix it, and you don't care if it's your problem or not. Shawn's the same way. That's why he's over at Kyle's."<br/>
<br/>
"Is Shawn having problems with someone?" you ask with a little too much excitement.<br/>
<br/>
He suppresses a laugh. "No, Kyle's having problems with his car, and when Shawn heard, he volunteered to help." He does laugh at the disappointment that shows up on your face. But you continue to regard each other, and his expression turns grave. "Why don't you try talking to Hannah?"<br/>
<br/>
"I did." You roll your eyes. "I went to her first."<br/>
<br/>
"And?"<br/>
<br/>
"She wouldn't tell me anything." He grunts in a knowing fashion, which makes you bridle. "Do people think I'm, like, a buttinsky or something?"<br/>
<br/>
"'Buttinsky'?" he chortles. "You sound like my grandmother. But-- Well, dang it, Alyssa, maybe they think you're just a little too obvious a person to talk to." His expression gets a little shifty. "Sometimes people have other people to talk to than you."<br/>
<br/>
"I guess Jordan has you," you say. "You're a good friend." You start to pat his chest, and then catch yourself. <i>Awkward.</i><br/>
<br/>
Worse, he noticed you catching yourself.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
But if he thought he was going to dissuade you from meddling, then he doesn't know Alyssa Randal. You put the word to Maddy and Mandy and Tina and Natalie and Summer: Who has Hannah Chamberlain been talking to?<br/>
<br/>
The answer comes quickly, and you're floored by both it and its source. "I know she was talking to Chris Yves this weekend," Summer Nguyen says. <br/>
<br/>
You almost drop the phone, and then press it close to your ear; you're not sure you heard Summer--who speaks in a very mousy way--correctly. But that's what she said. "How do you know this?" you demand. "Oh, never mind." You can guess, and you don't want to put Summer on the spot. You ask her to keep quiet--you don't want Lawrence Farmer getting wind of this--and hang up.<br/>
<br/>
You glance at the clock: It's nearly eight. Plenty of time to start digging. And dig you must. Just the fact that Hannah was talking to Yves is mightily suggestive-- You gasp as you remember Ian's expression when he talked about Hannah maybe having another confidante. If Ian knows, then it's only because Jordan knows something about it, and he would know only because-- <i>Oh, Hannah wouldn't do that to him! Ian, you moron!</i><br/>
<br/>
Making an approach to Chris Yves is tricky under any circumstance, and a phone call wouldn't work, not for something as delicate as this. But it's the adrenaline of excitement, not of nerves, that has you hopping as you skip downstairs to the garage.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
But you've got your "serious" face, your "we have to talk" face, your "this is really important and I wouldn't be sacrificing lots of other important things if this wasn't the most important thing in my world" face on when the Yves's front door opens. Mrs. Yves smiles brightly at you, and you smile back. When you ask where Chris is, she tells you to look in the "upstairs den."<br/>
<br/>
<i>The</i> upstairs<i> den.</i> The Yveses aren't the richest people in town--far from it--but to have an "upstairs den"-- Well, no wonder Chris is always bad-mouthing her folks; any kid would be hideously embarrassed to be that loaded. Well, any kid not named "Jonathan Straussler."<br/>
<br/>
You've totally sidetracked yourself with these reflections as you stick your head into the "upstairs den," so you're thrown completely off stride when Chris looks up from her book and snarls, "Oh <i>Jesus</i>, who let <i>you</i> in?"<br/>
<br/>
You gape; she sits up and throws the book aside. Her hair--short and brown--spikes out in lots of different directions, and she has a soft flannel shirt tossed incongruously over a tight corset and short skirt. She glares at you through small, rectangular glasses with blue frames.<br/>
<br/>
Possibly it's her own aggression that sparks you back to life. You stiffen as she advances on you, frowning heavily with hands on hips. "Nice to see you, Ch--"<br/>
<br/>
She jabs her finger in your face. "It's none of your business, Alyssa."<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't say it was, but if I want to help--"<br/>
<br/>
"Best way to help is to fuck off." A thought seems to occur to her, for her mouth snaps shut in a frown and she squints at you. "And who do you think needs help? Me or Lisa?"<br/>
<br/>
Your eyeballs briefly quiver, and you hope she doesn't notice. <i>Lisa?</i> You put your hand on your hip and smile quizzically, hoping to bluff out an answer to this suddenly obscure mystery. "And why would ... <i>you</i> need help?"<br/>
<br/>
"I wouldn't. I turned her down as gently as I could. I'll give her credit for guts. But she should have known--" Her face hardens again. "You don't suppose she was trying to queer things for Summer? Never mind!" She throws her hands over her ears and turns around. "I don't want you to answer that. In fact, forget I said it!"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it was Summer who told me I should come over here--" Chris wheels, her eyes blazing. "But it wasn't because of Lisa." You can no longer suppress your smile. "And the secret is safe with me." You take a stab into the lifting murk. "But I was wondering why Lisa thought she could ... make a play for your affections."<br/>
<br/>
"You'd have to ask her," Chris says very primly. "She should have known she's not my type."<br/>
<br/>
"I won't say anything to Summer," you promise. "It would make things weird. And I didn't know you were <i>Lisa's</i> type." Chris makes a "hmph"-ing noise. But as delicious as these revelations are, you've not forgotten the reason you came over. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about Hannah Chamberlain. You're suddenly very popular with several girls," you tease.<br/>
<br/>
Chris folds her arms. "She just wanted advice, and thought I was the best person to--" Her mouth suddenly drops open. "You didn't know about Lisa until I--"<br/>
<br/>
"It was fun talking to you, Chris," you gaily chirp. "All their secrets are safe with me.  I just like knowing what's going on." You skip from the room, and feel Chris's eyes staring daggers into your back as you go.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Never mind Lisa: you had no idea that Chris might be <i>Chelsea's</i> type. Or is she? Is this some other kind of game? She'd mentioned maybe moving from Lisa into Chris. Should you talk to her about her plans, offer to help? Or just let things drift and see what happens? She might be fatally embarrassed at your finding out that she'd tried hooking up with Eastman's famously "out" lesbian.</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121221121
author_id: seuzz
title: True (?) Confessions
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Life will be easier if Chris Yves isn't pissed at you, so when you meet with your friends--"the Rumorati," as they're unflatteringly called behind your backs--the next day during second period study hall, you tell them to forget about Hannah's meeting with Chris. "It was a blind alley," you say. You tap your fingers on the table. "Whatever the problem is between Hannah and Jordan--"<br/>
<br/>
"Hannah just wanted advice from Chris," Summer blurts out. Maddy and Tina exchange glances.<br/>
<br/>
"Yes, just a sisterly talk," you say, a little too emphatically. "Apparently no one else's advice has worked with her."<br/>
<br/>
"I think Hannah and Jordan have always been wrong for each other," Summer says. She seems very insistent, and stares at you.<br/>
<br/>
"Summer, sweetie, you don't know them that well," you reply with a trace of acid. Summer sits back and pouts.<br/>
<br/>
"It's weird that she keeps going back to him," Tina cautiously observes. "I mean, if--"<br/>
<br/>
"Then maybe people should stop pushing them together," you say. "If Hannah has finally decided to end it, we should support her, <i>whatever</i> her reasons."<br/>
<br/>
"But Jordan--" Maddy starts, and stops when you turn on her with a look.<br/>
<br/>
But Lisa, who's been looking around with a bored expression on her face, isn't to be dissuaded. "So Hannah comes out of the closet," she declares. "It's about time. And it's not <i>Jordan's</i> fault, and it's <i>Ian's</i> business to make sure he knows that." She smiles faintly into the ensuing silence.<br/>
<br/>
You let the atmosphere congeal and freeze. After a few awkward moments Maddy and Tina rise with the barely audible excuse that there's some books they need to retrieve for a research paper. They hiss at Summer to follow them, leaving you and Lisa alone in a deserted corner of the library.<br/>
<br/>
"You can tell me to shut up," Lisa says. "But it's a little late now."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll just tell the others to shut up about it."<br/>
<br/>
"They already knew," Lisa says. "They were trying to tell you."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, <i>I</i> already knew too. I was trying to tell <i>them</i> to shut up, and then you blew it all up."<br/>
<br/>
"Oops," Lisa says, nonchalantly. "Well, now everyone can just tell everyone else to shut up without dropping a lot of stupid hints."<br/>
<br/>
"You don't keep a secret by putting a piece of tape over you mouth and-- Oh, never mind. And I wanted them to shut up about Hannah and Chris because I didn't want them to start wondering about <i>you</i> and Chris." <i>That</i> causes her attention to shift slightly in your direction. "I know you're interested in her."<br/>
<br/>
She regards you from under hooded eyelids. "Yes, I mentioned that to you. She'd make a good ally."<br/>
<br/>
"A good something," you agree. "I'd like to help you, you know. We're ... partners."<br/>
<br/>
She sucks on a front tooth. "Put me inside her, you mean?"<br/>
<br/>
"Or put you inside Summer."<br/>
<br/>
She continues to stare at you levelly. "Put me inside Chris and I could get inside Summer."<br/>
<br/>
"Put you inside Summer and you could get inside Chris."<br/>
<br/>
She crosses her arms and legs. "What are you implying?"<br/>
<br/>
"I talked to Chris last night," you reply. "I don't make any judgments, about Chris or Summer or Hannah or ... anyone. I told you, we're partners. I want to help you."<br/>
<br/>
She looks away, but unclenches slightly. "I haven't decided on anything," she says. "I'm still exploring options." She glances at you. "I didn't land as pretty as you."<br/>
<br/>
"You want Alyssa?"<br/>
<br/>
"Been there, done that. Actually, if we're going to play 'opposites,' maybe I should be looking at-- I dunno, James Black."<br/>
<br/>
"It's nice to know how the other half live."<br/>
<br/>
"Something Chris Yves would say." She shakes herself. "Don't mind my business for me," she says. "I'll let you know what I want. And if I want help."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Afterward, you make a point of taking Maddy and Tina and the others aside and impress upon them that Hannah's secret needs to remain in close confidence. "It's her business," you tell them. "We support her if she decides to say anything, and if she doesn't. And since she hasn't <i>yet ...</i>" They all fervently swear themselves to secrecy.<br/>
<br/>
Otherwise, Hannah seems to be a dead end. There's no use approaching her again, and it probably is best to leave Jordan's side of the equation to Ian and his other friends.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
There is, perhaps, a tiny aftershock late in the day as you're walking between the cafeteria and the main building, when Adam Karter trots up and falls in next to you. "<i>You're</i> in the dog house with Yves," he chortles lightly.<br/>
<br/>
"She should know better than to try to keep secrets from me," you sniff.<br/>
<br/>
"She should know better than to try to keep secrets, period," he laughs. "She can't help having a big mouth. Kissable, but big."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe you should get a sex change, Karter, if you're so interested in kissing her."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe," he laughs. "Know any other girls who might be up for kissing a girl me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Unlike Chris, I know how to keep my mouth shut. And why are you suddenly so interested in girls who kiss girls? Didn't Joe Durras moving to Westside open the field back up to you?"<br/>
<br/>
He hoots. "That was a stroke o' luck, wasn't it? You know the inside story?"<br/>
<br/>
"No."<br/>
<br/>
"Wanna know the inside story?"<br/>
<br/>
<i>Inside story?</i> You stop and turn toward him. "What do you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing!" he exclaims with a laugh. "Oh, come on, don't mind me teasing you," he shouts as he dashes after you, for you've swung off again. "That was a bona fide offer. Maybe I can find out for you."<br/>
<br/>
"There's nothing there, Karter."<br/>
<br/>
"How do you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, what could it have been?"<br/>
<br/>
"Could have been anything." He catches your arm. "I heard they got caught snooping in the sub-basement."<br/>
<br/>
"Half the school's been down there. Look, I know you're jealous of Joe." A glint of anger comes into Karter's normally cheerful eyes. "But he's out of your hair now. You're just pissing into the wind. As for what we talked about earlier." His eyes widen hungrily. "Put your cock on a chopping block--" You snatch his crotch, and he leaps away with a grin. "And maybe I'll give you some names."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The next few days are filled with Alyssa's busy life. School work, of course. Extra-curricular activities, like piano lessons and helping to organize a food drive. The social scene consists of putting out fires: Stamping out rumors about the Irish exchange student Liam Mahon and the girl whose family he's staying with. Making sure two debate teammates, Faye Griffin and Cooper Black, don't have a bust-up of their own. There's cheerleader business, too: taking a trip down to the freshman class to encourage Sarah Pak and Joanna Johnson to try out for the squad next year.<br/>
<br/>
Come Thursday afternoon, though, you're back over at Lisa's. "I've been thinking of ways to help out with the Hannah Chamberlain situation," she says.<br/>
<br/>
"You weren't exactly a help before," you grumble as you take a bite from a chicken wrap. She spitefully flicks some ashes at you. "Okay, what's your idea?"<br/>
<br/>
"Move me into Chris Yves." You stop in mid-chew. "No smart remarks, okay, <i>Will?</i>"<br/>
<br/>
You chew and swallow thoughtfully. "And how is that a help?"<br/>
<br/>
"You don't need me in Lisa. I'm pretty sure Chris has her finger on pulses you don't. And if there's another flare up over Hannah, or someone else ..."<br/>
<br/>
She watches as you slowly and silently consume the rest of your post-school snack. "I'll help you with whatever you want to do," you say as you carefully wipe your mouth. "You don't have to pitch it as 'helping me'. I mean, if you want a more direct role in running things, you can always have Alyssa and I can get someone else."<br/>
<br/>
"You think this is about me wanting to run things?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know what it's about, and I'm not going to ask or speculate." You can practically see things like porcupine quills starting to rise off her back. <br/>
<br/>
The silence grows colder as  you continue to hesitate. Chris Yves isn't a troublemaker, but she is a radical. And she has a powerful intellect and a lot of influence. The thought of marrying--so to speak--her with Chelsea ... It gives you pause.<br/>
<br/>
"Look," Lisa says. "I'll leave it up to you. Moving over  to Eastman was your idea. I'm along for the adventure."<br/>
<br/>
"It seems a little late to let Lisa back out again," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm letting her out eventually," she points out. "The way you'll be letting Alyssa go eventually. Right?" You nod, quickly and vociferously. "So that can't be the reason you don't like this idea."<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't say I don't like it," you say with just a trace of irritability. You don't like Chelsea Cooper, of all people, thinking that you're bossing her around. "Maybe I'm just letting Alyssa affect me too much. <i>She</i> likes things the way they are."<br/>
<br/>
"Like with Lisa not being quite the trouble maker?" Her eyebrows arch in amusement.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe that's it: a selfish reason of Alyssa's, and one that has no place in your relationship with Chelsea.</span></div></div>


path: 1131221221212211211
author_id: seuzz
title: Partner Swapping
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I don't have good reasons for stopping you," you say at last. "And if you'll have more fun as Chris Yves ..." Her expression darkens, and you touch her knee reassuringly. "I don't mean <i>that.</i> Come on. I just mean ... More fun for you."<br/>
<br/>
"Then let me do it." And just like that, the decision is made.<br/>
<br/>
"It'll take a little while. We'll need to make a new mask."<br/>
<br/>
"Already done," she says, hopping off the window sill and crossing over to her desk. "There are four of them waiting over at Westside."<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Four?</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"Gordon was never a Boy Scout," she grins as she picks up the phone. "But I believe in being prepared."<br/>
<br/>
You find yourself wondering if your approval for the switch was even needed.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Chris seems to have calmed down since you last saw her, for her eye is only mildly satirical when you find her in class on Friday. "Can we get together tonight?" you ask. "No business or anything. I just want to make sure everything is cool between us."<br/>
<br/>
"If you've nothing else to do on a Friday night," she replies. "Me and the band are playing at the Pink Elephant, though."<br/>
<br/>
Your face falls; you should have known she'd be booked. "Well, do you have time late this afternoon? I'll see you out there when we play, but a little one on one time before hand?"<br/>
<br/>
"You can stop by," she says. "You can even help pack things, if you're feeling so generous."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll bring an extra pair of hands."<br/>
<br/>
Lisa, when you meet her a little later, looks a little dubious. "I'm not sure I can pull of a gig," she mutters.<br/>
<br/>
"You'll have everything <i>she's</i> got," you hiss, and squeeze her arm. "It'll be a great coming out party for you." <br/>
<br/>
<i>That</i> causes her to brighten; Chelsea likes being the center of attention.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Chris is down in the garage when you show up a little after five. She doesn't look especially pleased to see that Lisa is with you. "Well, if this isn't thoughtful of you, Alyssa," she says with a trace of acid. <br/>
<br/>
"Can I use your toilet," Lisa asks bluntly, and disappears when Chris jerks her chin at the door.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, I told you, I just want to make sure we're all friendly," you reassure Chris. "We're not here to talk about anything. But it's weird if people avoid each other after ... things like what happened."<br/>
<br/>
"Alright," she sighs. "Just help me pack up these cords."<br/>
<br/>
You do everything as she directs while keeping the door under observation. When it opens and Lisa appears, she has one of the new masks in her hands. You maneuver around to put Chris between you and your partner, and direct her attention to a metal crate. "Is this gonna be light enough for us to get into your car?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fitzgerald and Trantham will be along in a bit," she says. "They'll--" From the corner of her eye she catches Lisa hurrying up behind her, and starts to turn. But she's too slow, and through a quick flurry of limbs, Lisa puts the mask to her face. She crumples to the side and into your arms.<br/>
<br/>
"Coast clear inside?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"No, her folks are in the dining room. Well, one of them."<br/>
<br/>
"One of her parents?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, one of their dining rooms. Jesus. Let's just move her over there." She helps you tug the unconscious Chris over to between a Mercedes and a BMW. She sits down next to her victim and hesitates. "What's that magic word again?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh God, it's a good thing I'm with you. I'll just do it." Her face goes blank as you touch it, mutter the mystical phrase three times, and pull. Chelsea reappears and falls to the side as the mask comes off.<br/>
<br/>
You have several minutes to study the two girls. They are quite a contrast. Chelsea: short, blonde, curvaceous, with lots of things to hold and caress. Chris: tallish, wiry, even jagged. You know which you'd rather have as a girlfriend. Well, you know which would physically appeal to you. But they are both bottles of nitroglycerin. <br/>
<br/>
Chelsea stirs and sits up with a groan. "Is she--?"<br/>
<br/>
"Still out. Oh, wait, here comes the mask." You lightly pick it up off Chris's face and hand it to Chelsea, then set Lisa's mask on Chris. Lisa instantly appears and opens her eyes. "Better get changed."<br/>
<br/>
"We'll do it inside," Chelsea says. She gets to her feet and directs Lisa to follow. "Bedroom," she brusquely orders.<br/>
<br/>
"Do you know where it is?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. I was up there when-- Never mind." She gives you a quick glare.<br/>
<br/>
"But your clothes," you object, for the new Lisa is still dressed as Chris. <br/>
<br/>
"It'll be okay. No one will notice." Maybe she's right: Chris is in jeans and a t-shirt, nothing out of the ordinary.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, just--" But the two girls are already striding across the garage and toward the door.<br/>
<br/>
You pace around, waiting, for what seems an eternity, periodically checking your watch. Five minutes. Ten. <i>Christ, what is taking so long?</i> Fifteen minutes. A car pulls into the driveway, and Terry Fitzgerald and Christopher Trantham, two of Chris's bandmates, get out, nodding to you. "Where's Yves?" Terry asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Inside. She's-- Well, I don't know what she's doing."<br/>
<br/>
The two boys roll their eyes and start busying themselves with loading material into Terry's SUV. You're standing, watching rather helplessly, when Chris's sharp voice sounds behind you. "Treat that shit like your own, Trantham, and don't break it." She strides past, ignoring you. "You do, and you'll be buying a better replacement for me." Lisa joins you, watching with a faint air of bemusement. <br/>
<br/>
"You look busy now, so I guess I'll be heading off," you say. You take the golem's arm in yours. "Lisa and me have stuff to do."<br/>
<br/>
Chris barks a little more at her friends, then follows you out to the car. "You showing up at the Pink Elephant later?" she asks, leaning at your window.<br/>
<br/>
"Probably. First, I have to get-- You know." You glance over at Lisa.<br/>
<br/>
"Is that really necessary?" Chris asks.<br/>
<br/>
"If we're going to let Lisa out, it is." Lisa's mask is golemized--the better to pull off tonight's switch--but the plan is to let the real girl out and transfer Chelsea's mask onto Yves.<br/>
<br/>
"You have to do it tonight?" <br/>
<br/>
"Why?" you ask before you can stop yourself. "You have plans for her tonight?"<br/>
<br/>
Her eyes narrow. "Do we have to let her out at all?" Her gaze is piercing. <br/>
<br/>
You feel a little dumbfounded at what she seems to be suggesting. "I thought the idea was to let them out when we were done with them."<br/>
<br/>
"And we will. But who says we're done with them?" She leans in. "If you're going to be Alyssa for a few more months-- Well, if Alyssa is going to be out of the way for that long, why can't Lisa? I mean, if I'd stayed in her for a few months--" Her face tightens as you continue to stare back, but she won't be daunted. "She could be very useful," she says quietly. "And does it matter whether she comes back next week or next year? She <i>is</i> coming back, eventually."<br/>
<br/>
It's a very chilling suggestion, and one reason it makes you shiver is that it is very logical. Chris's eyes gleam at you like cold jewels, and you find that you're the one being daunted.<br/>
<br/>
"We'll talk about it later," you murmur, turning away. "I won't do anything until then."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
And you don't. It's a very quiet--even unnerving--drive back to the Rickover house. The golem doesn't say anything, and you're disinclined to talk. You start to just drop Lisa off, but then decide to come in. Quietly, you follow her into her bedroom.<br/>
<br/>
The detritus from this afternoon is still laid out. You pick up one of the masks thoughtfully. It, like the other two, is all ready to go, with a mind strip already attached to its inner surface. Your partner has the jar of sealant for closing up a mask, but all its ingredients are there too. You start to gather them up. "What are you doing?" Lisa asks, and her voice sounds harsh after all the silence.<br/>
<br/>
"Taking it back to my place," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll have to tell Chris," it says.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't care," you retort. It unnerves you that Chelsea now has three slaves--Lisa, Gordon, and her own double--running around while you have none. The latter two, of course, make sense, and their existence can't be helped. But the addition--if you leave this golem in play--bothers you. She's a spy in your own circle.<br/>
<br/>
No, you shouldn't call her that. It's paranoid. But why leave her this way?<br/>
<br/>
"Chris won't care," you say as you pick up the box. "It'll be easier having it all at my place anyway." <br/>
<br/>
Lisa shrugs. "Anything <i>you</i> want me to do?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just ... be yourself, as much as you can."<br/>
<br/>
"Easy enough." She takes out a cigarette and opens a window. You give her a sidelong glance and then mutter that you'll see yourself out.<br/>
<br/>
<i>What is she up to?</i> Maybe Chelsea is just being possessive--having had Lisa, she can't bear to give her up. But you can't get the word "spy" out of your head, even if <i>that</i> hypothesis doesn't make sense either. Alyssa doesn't share confidences with Lisa, and you're not likely to, knowing that she's a conduit back to Chelsea.<br/>
<br/>
But you find yourself wondering if maybe you shouldn't put a spy close to your partner too. Summer Nguyen: close to Chris, easy to get to, so lacking in deceit, would be perfect.</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212122112112
author_id: seuzz
title: A Bad Party
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>No, turning Summer into a secret agent is a dumb idea. It's a mistrustful idea. It's exactly the kind of thing that could set you and Chelsea against each other.<br/>
<br/>
And the thought of getting into a knife fight with Chelsea Cooper is just the thing to dissuade you from folly.<br/>
<br/>
Back at your place you drop the box onto your bed and look at the clock: nearly seven. Things likely won't get hopping at the Pink Elephant until nine. You pace the room. It's not that you're undecided about what to do; it's that you've no clear idea of what you want to do or should do, but have the conviction that you ought to be doing something productive.<br/>
<br/>
You scroll through text messages--none of them interesting, and none of them looking like they reference a crisis--and plop onto the bed. The box is at your elbow, and you pull out that stupid magic book. You've not looked at it much since uncovering the last spell: Chelsea seems to have lost all interest in recovering Gordon, maybe preferring to keep him in his currently docile form.<br/>
<br/>
You flip to the last spell, the one that let you put a golem shell inside a mask and hide Alyssa and Lisa and now Chris Yves away while you and Chelsea took over their lives. You frown over it, but see nothing interesting. You turn the page. The other side, you know, only tells you what you've already discovered about the spell and how it can be used. You look at the spell that comes next, which you've barely glanced at before.<br/>
<br/>
There isn't even a sigil, which puzzles you: only what looks like a list of ingredients. The words look familiar; you cross-reference back to earlier in the book, and decide that they are the same ingredients as used to make a mind band. As for how you put them together--<br/>
<br/>
You blink and your eyes water as you look at the rest of the spell. The words are blurry and impossible to fix. It's not like they are badly printed; it's that they seem to shift and alter and skitter across the page. You press one word with a finger, as though to fix it, and discover that the page is blank where you've touched it. You try again, stabbing at a dark patch, and find again that there is only dull parchment beneath your fingertip.<br/>
<br/>
This is alarming. You look at the page more carefully and notice an odd line across it, just below the ingredient list. You touch it, and it lifts slightly.<br/>
<br/>
It's not a line, it's a tear. The bottom of the page has been torn away. Only the top half, with those ingredients, remains. What you thought was the bottom half is actually the following page. That must be why you can't read it.<br/>
<br/>
You groan. Some moron, possibly baffled by this next spell, must have tried forcing the page open, and only succeeded in tearing part of it away. The next spell will be unreadable unless you can unlock this one; but with half the spell gone--including, presumably, the all-important sigil--that will be impossible.<br/>
<br/>
So much for quickly finding a cure for Gordon. Maybe it's lucky that Chelsea is no longer interested in her original reason for "hiring" you.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"You didn't show up last night," Chris says. She's sitting on her bed, propped against the head board. She's wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt--not much different than what you saw her in yesterday, except that her feet are bare.<br/>
<br/>
" Maybe you just didn't spot me."<br/>
<br/>
"I looked. And why would you hide?"<br/>
<br/>
"Okay," you sigh. "I skipped. I was--"<br/>
<br/>
"Why?" Her tone, though not unfriendly is characteristically sharp.<br/>
<br/>
"I was going to say, I got caught up looking through the magic book. Time got away--"<br/>
<br/>
"Find anything interesting?"<br/>
<br/>
You find yourself frowning. "Did <i>you</i> look through it?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm leaving that stuff up to you."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, have you looked at the latest spell?" A suspicion is forming in your head.<br/>
<br/>
"The one we used on the masks? On Gordon and Lisa?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, the one after that." She shakes her head. "Well, the page is torn. It's incomplete."<br/>
<br/>
"So, do we just go on to the next one?"<br/>
<br/>
"We can't get to the next one. I've told you, you can only get to a new spell if you perform the one that comes before, and since that one is all torn up, we can't get any further in the book."<br/>
<br/>
"No more toys, you mean?" She laughs lightly. "Maybe we've got enough."<br/>
<br/>
Now you do frown. "None of the spells we've got can help Gordon, and we can't get any further in the book."<br/>
<br/>
"Hmm." She tugs at her short, spiky hair. "Oh well, we've got plenty of time to figure something out later."<br/>
<br/>
She seems very blasé about it, which by now doesn't surprise you. Yet you can't get rid of the idea that maybe <i>she's</i> the one who tore it. Out of a frustrated attempt to get at the next spell? Because she figured out what that spell would do, and didn't want you figuring it out too? Or does she want to stop further progress in the book because you might <i>find</i> a cure for Gordon? "What do you mean, maybe we've got enough toys?"<br/>
<br/>
She shrugs. "Well, look at where we are, what we've got. We're doing fine." She tilts her head, and a mischievous look comes into her eye. "You getting tired of being Alyssa yet? Want to get in a little trouble?"<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean by 'trouble'?"<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing bad," she says waspishly. "But--" She drums her hands excitedly on her knees. "This girl's got ideas."<br/>
<br/>
"Like what?" Your stomach rises uneasily.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll let you know." Her smile is enigmatic. "Oh, you said you were looking through the book. Over at Lisa's?"<br/>
<br/>
"I took the stuff over my place," you say cautiously, but she doesn't react. "It seemed like a more convenient place." She just nods.<br/>
<br/>
"So, Karter finagled me an invitation over to Kristy Carlson's place this afternoon. Wanna come? Mix with the lower orders for once?"<br/>
<br/>
"There aren't any -- Oh, be that way," you grumble as she laughs. "I'll have to run back to my place to change."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You were thinking in terms of a swim, but it's too cool for that, so you and everyone just sit around the Carlson's pool. It's a small group--Chris's band and Karter's band and, somewhat incongruously, <i>you.</i> Kristy is a pert little red-head, reasonably popular, but without airs and pretentions. She definitely seems to enjoy being surrounded by boys, even though they're not paying much attention to her. And, except for Terry Fitzgerald, who is very blunt, and Adam Karter, who is ceaselessly flirtatious, do they don't pay much attention to you, either.<br/>
<br/>
Well, truth is that you don't know them much, except for Karter, who knows everyone in school. His friend, Paul Zametti, sports a shaved look, and hunches and twitches, as though being stung by invisible insects. Kent Farrell has the floppy, sloppy look that you yourself used to sport in your old life, but his faux-California accent (which you hope he employs ironically) is deeply off-putting. Chris's band mates, oddly, are rather plainer; Christopher Trantham is even a little fat. They keep to themselves around the pool, letting Karter and Yves mediate between them and you; and when you do speak directly to one, it's either a brief request or an awkward, semi-personal question that fails to elicit much personal disclosure from them.<br/>
<br/>
After thirty minutes of this, Chris follows you back into the kitchen, where you hope to get a little relief. "Having fun?" she asks with light satire.<br/>
<br/>
"Have I got cooties or something? No one wants to talk to me."<br/>
<br/>
"They don't have anything to say to you. They don't know how to act with you."<br/>
<br/>
"Do they think I'm a snob?" you ask, feeling hurt. "I like them all. I think. Terry's being kind of a jerk--"<br/>
<br/>
"He's trying to cut you down to size." She laughs as you look at her, wounded. "He's so fucking insecure."<br/>
<br/>
"This is the most ... <i>awkward</i> social get together I've ever been to." <br/>
<br/>
"Because it's the first one you've been to where you're the only top-shelf person around," she says with malicious playfulness. "No hiding out with Kyle and Jenny and Ian here. So what were you were saying about there not being any higher or lower orders?"<br/>
<br/>
You quickly turn a snarl into a snort. "I'm not trying to be a bitch with them. I don't-- and Kyle and Jenny and Ian and ... and ... We don't give a shit about things like that," you sputter.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but people down below do. Yeah, you don't make people feel like shit, but there's a gap, even if you don't see it."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I can't help it people feel that way."<br/>
<br/>
"Sure you could. <i>We</i> could." <br/>
<br/>
You eye her narrowly, and she gazes evenly back at you.<br/>
<br/>
"You ever get a good look at what Zach Vanderburg gets up to?" she suddenly asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Zach? He's kind of a shit--"<br/>
<br/>
"He's worse than that. Not a lot of difference between him and--" She looks around, to make sure you're alone. "And Lynch back at Westside."<br/>
<br/>
"<i>No one</i> is as bad as Lynch."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe, but he's bad enough. Let's pretend Kyle doesn't realize what an irredeemable turd his friend is, and that's why he puts up with it." She steps across the space between you, to lean in close. "But suppose Kyle and someone lower down--" She holds up her hands, and flips one on top of the other "--<i>switched</i> places. Only for a little while. But long enough to ... well, to <i>walk a mile in each other's shoes?</i>"</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121221121121
author_id: seuzz
title: Three on the Merry-Go-Round
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You tug at a strand of hair. "Fucking up people for the sake of fucking them up? I dunno."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not fucking them up," Chris says. "It's <i>shaking things up.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
You keep tugging at your hair. If you were back at Westside ... Well, <i>you</i> would have appreciated being Gordon Black or Cameron Huber or someone like that for a few days. No, wait, if it were the way your partner is pitching it, it would be like putting Gordon in for <i>you.</i> A faint, grim smile spreads onto your face. "It wouldn't be permanent, right?" She shakes her head. "We can't put that golem stuff inside the masks. They have to be themselves even after the change. There's no point otherwise."<br/>
<br/>
"Now you're getting it."<br/>
<br/>
"So who did you have in mind?"<br/>
<br/>
"I haven't decided yet. I'll think about. You should too." She plucks at your blouse.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Trouble is, there are too many possibilities. Or not enough. You can't decide, maybe because Alyssa is so kind-hearted she can't bear to screw with people, even if it is only temporarily. So, the next day, when you meet again: "I don't know who we should switch."<br/>
<br/>
"I've got it figured out."<br/>
<br/>
You're sitting up in your bedroom, ignoring the text messages on your phone. Chris is holding up one of your outfits and regarding herself in the mirror. Idly, you wonder if Chelsea is thinking of inserting herself into the changes. "Okay. Who?"<br/>
<br/>
"Kyle for one." She puts the top back in your closet and chooses another.<br/>
<br/>
"Kyle's a nice guy."<br/>
<br/>
"That's the point. He has to learn that it's not nice all the way down."<br/>
<br/>
"So who does he get to be?"<br/>
<br/>
"You know James Black?" The name is unfamiliar. "A quiet kid. Smart, but not much of a social life, apparently. Karter was telling me about him a few days ago. Anyway, Kyle knows him too. They were both soccer players back in middle school, but something happened."<br/>
<br/>
"Kyle did something to him?" That sounds out of character.<br/>
<br/>
"No, I think it was Zach." She snorts over a polka-dot thing and closes the closet door. "Anyway, it would be a big step down for Kyle, but not hugely weird. Basically, he'd get to see what it woulda been like to take a different path in high school."<br/>
<br/>
"Interesting. And this James Black guy would get to see--" You stop, for Chris is shaking her head.<br/>
<br/>
"Nope. He gets put into Summer."<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Our</i> Summer?" <br/>
<br/>
"I hope there's not another one," she says. "Black's got girls chasing him, but he doesn't seem to know it. He needs a little affection, and I can give it to him if he's in Summer."<br/>
<br/>
"So where does Summer go?" This is beginning to sound complicated.<br/>
<br/>
"Into Kyle, of course." <i>Of course?</i> "You know what <i>she's</i> like. She needs some self-confidence. And she'd do well with Jenny."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, God."<br/>
<br/>
"I think it's sweet," she says, and you can't tell if she's being serious or satirical.<br/>
<br/>
"No, I mean, why does it have to be this round robin thing? Why not just a straight swap of Kyle and this James Black?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because that's what <i>they'd</i> think is going on! We don't want them getting together and comparing notes, at least not during the switch."<br/>
<br/>
"Aren't they going to try doing that anyway?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. But if Kyle tracks down his double, it'll be <i>Summer</i> he runs into, and she won't know why James Black is talking to her." You open your mouth to object, but can't quite find a suitable hand hold. "So if you're okay with this idea," she continues, filling your silence, "we should talk about how to pull it off."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<i>That</i> turns out to involve a lot of work, including a last-minute trip back to Westside on Monday night, so you can meet "Will Prescott" and twitch the mask off the transformed Gordon Black. But there's no time to put it on yourself and catch up to what's been going on at home, for you have to rush back to Alyssa's to meet your guests.<br/>
<br/>
The hardest part, though, had been getting James Black to actually show up. Chris hadn't adequately conveyed what a closed-in personality he has. He's cute, in a Justin Bieber-ish kind of way, and you can understand why girls have been chasing him. But he seems painfully shy, even mulish, and your own flirtations seemed to drive him even deeper within himself, and his face was very tight and his jaw clenched by the time you'd bullied him into agreeing to come out to your house for a small "party."<br/>
<br/>
"So who else is showing up," Kyle asks. His tone is slightly bewildered, and his normally serene blue eyes clouded. He nudges James, who is sitting on your bedroom floor next to him. "Is this your idea of a good party?" James winces and keeps staring at the floor.<br/>
<br/>
"Just an intimate little Monday-night soiree," you reply with a sly smile as you close the tight circle by joining Kyle and James and Summer on the floor. "You are three of the most interesting people I know, and I thought it'd be fun to mix you up with each other."<br/>
<br/>
Kyle's eyebrows go up skeptically; James's head sinks lower; Summer just looks baffled.<br/>
<br/>
You light a candle and set it in the middle of the circle, then use the clicker to turn the main lights down. Their faces seem to retreat from the soft yellow light. "Now, everyone close their eyes and relax, and I'll start asking you questions." They just stare at you. "Nothing personal," you insist. "Just to get to know each other. Talking. In the dark." You giggle.<br/>
<br/>
They shift uneasily--and Kyle groans--but Summer closes her eyes, and James screws his up, tensely. Kyle cocks an eyebrow, then shrugs and closes his too.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll start with you, sexy," you say as you reach back to quietly draw a blank mask from a cloth bag. "How long have you been playing soccer?"<br/>
<br/>
"Seven years, I guess," Kyle says as you gently hold the mask to James's face, and catch him as he falls toward you. "My mom made me go out for it in the fifth grade. I was pretty good and had fun, so--"<br/>
<br/>
"I was asking 'sexy,' Kyle," you reprove him. "What makes you think I was talking to you?" He doesn't answer, for you've just put another mask onto him. "Summer, which of these guys do you think is sexier?"<br/>
<br/>
"Uh, uh ..." she stammers. You spare her the trouble of coming up with an answer by putting the third mask onto her face. That done, you blow out the candle, turn on the lights, and dial Chris's number; a few seconds later she appears--she had been hiding in the upstairs bathroom. <br/>
<br/>
You pull your own masks off--you've already put golem shells inside them--and when the masks reappear on your victims you press Chris's and Alyssa's and Prescott's faces onto them. There follow a few brief wardrobe changes--you into Kyle's clothes and Kyle-cum-Alyssa into hers--and then you lead the crew downstairs to the cars.<br/>
<br/>
You deal with Kyle first, driving with him out in James's car to a previously chosen changing spot as Chelsea follows in Chris's car with the others. More wardrobe changes--making Kyle/Alyssa change into James's clothes while you change back into Alyssa--and then you pull Alyssa's face off Kyle and put James's onto him. He wakes a few minutes after you've woken and stumbled out of the car and gone around to his passenger-side window. He groans and opens his eyes and looks about in confusion until his eyes lock onto your face.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't try figuring out what happened," you tell the James-disguised Kyle with a sharp smile. "You'll never get it. And don't try asking <i>me</i> about it either. Poor Alyssa's just as much a victim as you, and in a few minutes I'll have jumped out of her body and into someone else's." On an impulse, you lean in and give him a quick smooch on the cheek, then dart into the darkness and around the corner, to jump into Chris's car. Chelsea peels off and quickly turns into a side street, to park by a curb with the lights off. A few minutes later James's car goes past, but he's lost you. <br/>
<br/>
"How'd it go?" Chelsea asks, her eyes shining in the gloom. "Was he freaked out?"<br/>
<br/>
"He was so freaked out he didn't say anything," you laugh. "Come on, let's get the others done."<br/>
<br/>
It's tedious work--fetching cars from Alyssa's and returning to the same exchange spot and releasing Summer and James in their new guises. Then there's the rendezvous with Gordon so you can release the real Alyssa. An hour later you're exhausted, and collapse into Chris's car with a groan. "That was fun," Chelsea says. "Now, who do you want to be. The magician or the watcher?"<br/>
<br/>
"The what?"<br/>
<br/>
She sighs. "Look, half the fun is going to be watching what James and Summer and Kyle do, right? See what trouble they get into, and make sure they don't figure out exactly what's going on."<br/>
<br/>
"We'll both be doing that, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but one of us should be the main person. I was going to do it," she continues. "But if you--"<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, I get it. But who's 'the magician'?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's the body hopper who's switching people around. Has to be someone different each time, so no one catches on. Like, this time it was Alyssa. Next time, it'll be someone else.<br/>
<br/>
"The watcher is always going to be the same person," she concludes. "The magician gets to be someone different each time, which could also be fun. So, you wanna be the watcher or the magician?"</span></div></div>


path: 1131221221212211211212
author_id: seuzz
title: Twin Pursuits
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>If you were still wearing Alyssa's mask, you'd probably have chosen the "watcher" role. But now that you're outside a mask, you're feeling nervous about seeing Chelsea so much in charge. But that's not what you say: "You said you were going to be the watcher, so I'll let you do that."<br/>
<br/>
She nods happily. "Cool. I'll switch into Adam Karter, then, because he's friends with everyone, and it wouldn't look funny if he's hanging around with Summer and Kyle and James. You should take over for Chris, since her and Karter always hang around together." You shrug and reach for Chris's mask, which is laying on the seat between you, but she slaps your hand from it as your fingers touch it. "I'm still in her clothes, remember, so you can wait. Let's get Gordon back in circulation and back home before his dad pitches a fit."<br/>
<br/>
So you drive back out to Westside. Up in the fuck room, you put Gordon's mask back on the golemized original--which looms spookily in the dark--while Chelsea goes down into the locker room to change into some of her own things. She returns dressed out in gym clothes, and hands you Chris Yves's wardrobe and mask.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Chris Yves's sinewy personality closes around you. Oh, she is not happy. She is not happy in the least. To have her ideals--for social equality and mobility warped and perverted in this horrible fashion by ... Your eyes snap open, and your lips peel back as Chelsea swims into view. You ought to--<br/>
<br/>
You pull hard on the bridle, and she is again docile and completely under the spur of an alien intelligence. Still, you can feel her disgust. <br/>
<br/>
"Best of both worlds?" Chelsea smirks as you sit up.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean?" You can't help peering at Chelsea with a vague sense of loathing.<br/>
<br/>
"Her titties are nothing to brag about, but she's got some to play with. And you still get to go out with girls."<br/>
<br/>
"Shut up," you mutter. "Just hand me my things."<br/>
<br/>
She falls silent as you dress, and remains silent until you and her and Gordon are walking out to your cars. Then: "Can you get me Karter tonight," she asks. "Because I need somewhere to crash."<br/>
<br/>
"I can call him, see if we can pick him up for some fun." You fumble out Chris's cell phone as you slide behind the wheel of her car, then pause. "Actually, I don't know where he lives."<br/>
<br/>
"So get directions from him!" <i>Bossy little bitch.</i><br/>
<br/>
Karter sounds very pleased to hear your voice--but he always does--and he gives directions to a convenience store, where he says he'll meet you. "Weird," you murmur as you hang up. "He was at home, and he only has a bike to get around."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe he has to run an errand," Chelsea says carelessly.<br/>
<br/>
You glance in the rear-view mirror, and see the lights from Gordon's VW flashing close behind. Another pair of headlights turns into his wake. "Surprises me you want to use Karter as your hunting blind," you say. "He's a goofball."<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, he's perfect because he's friends with everyone. He's friends with <i>you,</i> Chris Yves--" She pushes you lightly. "And you're in love with <i>him.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not--! What makes you say that?" You turn onto a new street. Gordon follows. And so do the other pair of headlights.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, please!" Chelsea honks. "I was under that face for a couple of days, you know, I'm totally up to speed on her." <br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, well, I'm under it now, and I don't feel anything like--" You cut sharply onto a side street. Gordon turns too. A few seconds later, the third car has rejoined your caravan.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, okay, call it fondness," Chelsea prattles on. She squeezes your arm. "You guys have real chemistry together."<br/>
<br/>
"You're not trying to-- Did you tell Gordon to follow us?" You frown into the rear-view mirror. "Because he's right behind us, and he shouldn't be heading this way, should he?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," she says. "His house is-- Oh, that idiot!" She pulls out her cell phone, and fumes impatiently while waiting for him to answer. "Go home, Gordon!" she barks, then hangs up. "Honestly," she snorts. "I told him 'Come on' when we left the gym, and he must have thought I meant him to come with us. Those golem things can be <i>so stupid!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
You don't reply, as you're watching the pursuit carefully in the mirror. At the next intersection you go left; Gordon goes straight. The third car goes after his Bug. It's too dark to make out clearly, but it's a pick up truck. You almost mention it to Chelsea, but decide it's probably not important.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Karter is lounging against a bike rack in front of the 7-11, arms folded, and he saunters up to lean in at the driver's side window. "'Lo, Yves," he says. He looks past you, then grins. "Not on a date, are you? Does Summer know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Lean in a little closer so I can punch you."<br/>
<br/>
"You can have my seat," Chelsea calls to him, and climbs into the back. <br/>
<br/>
Karter's eyes twinkle, and he goes around the car to the passenger side. "She's not for me, is she?" he asks as he get in. "And here I am without anything for you. Unless you're planning on sharing."<br/>
<br/>
"She's out of your league," you snap. "She's a cheerleader at Westside."<br/>
<br/>
"Then she's out of your league too," he chortles. He turns to look at Chelsea. "And who are--"<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea Cooper," your partner says. There's a flash of blue, and Karter sags. "Okay, put in gear, Will," Chelsea continues. "I don't want anyone looking in the windows while I get changed."<br/>
<br/>
You pull back out into the street and drive aimlessly around until the mask falls into Karter's lap. You speak a brief word at Chelsea, and she reaches around to put another mask onto Karter. An instant later, Will Prescott is slumping next to you. He raises his head and fastens his eyes on you. He glances furtively around. "I'd ask what's going on, but I'm pretty sure you'd say it's none of my business," he says morosely.<br/>
<br/>
A shirt drops onto his head. "Just hand me that mask and finish getting changed," Chelsea snaps.<br/>
<br/>
Ten minutes later you pull into a parking lot in front of a supermarket so your car mates can swap seats. The new Adam Karter grins as he slips in next to you. "Shame that cheerleader had to disappear," he laughs. "She was stacked."<br/>
<br/>
"How long have you been dying for a chance to say that about yourself?"<br/>
<br/>
"Jealous? We can talk about <i>you,</i> if you want, Yves. What were we talking about earlier, about how you're in love with Adam Karter?" He drums his chest.<br/>
<br/>
"You're a moron and I feel sorry for ... him, that's all."<br/>
<br/>
"Like I'm a little lost puppy? Wanna take care of me?" He whimpers, but it turns into a snicker.<br/>
<br/>
You glance over at him: a big shock of shaggy blonde hair set over a mischievous but handsome face; thin t-shirt stretched over a rounded but supple torso; cutoff camouflage pants and cheap sneakers. "You <i>are</i> a ragamuffin."<br/>
<br/>
"And an adorable one, too. All the girls think so."<br/>
<br/>
You cast him a slit-eyed glance. "Okay, you wanna continue that conversation? Let's. Are you still trying to hook up with Chris Yves? First as Lisa and now as--"<br/>
<br/>
He sniggers. "It's what Karter wants, yeah. You're smart enough to know that." He runs a fingertip lightly across the top of your thigh. "The others have just been practice for the championship performance he's been saving up for--"<br/>
<br/>
"Can you let me out before I throw up?" a hollow voice says from the back seat.<br/>
<br/>
"You car sick?" you ask the golem.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, let's go with that," he replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, back to the fuck room," Karter orders.<br/>
<br/>
"If you think for one second--!"<br/>
<br/>
"That's where his truck is," Karter says.<br/>
<br/>
You bark a nasty word and jerk hard at the wheel. A long car horn blasts as you cut in front of traffic to turn onto another street. "I'm getting real tired of running around tonight. Let's get this guy back to his wheels and you back to your house, so I can go home. <i>Someone</i> didn't finish this girl's homework before palming her off on me."<br/>
<br/>
The drive back to Westside is quiet, though you're conscious that Chelsea-as-Karter keeps casting sidelong glances at you and chuckling quietly to himself. But when you pull up next to your old truck, he starts to get out. "What are you doing?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Gotta return those clothes I borrowed to, uh, that cheerleader's locker."<br/>
<br/>
"Her name was Chelsea, and maybe you should try hooking up with her. I'm sure she'd give you a tumble if you asked."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't mind my business for me, Yves," he says. His tone is mild, which tells you that you've touched a nerve. He pauses next to the open door. "You can come in or take off."<br/>
<br/>
"What? How are you going to get home?"<br/>
<br/>
"Come up to the fuck room. Give me a ride there up there, and then you can give me a ride home later."<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, I'm not--"<br/>
<br/>
"Then I'll see you tomorrow. I'm spending the night here." He closes the door, and saunters off toward the single bulb burning over the gym's side door.<br/>
<br/>
<i>What the fuck is going on?</i></span></div></div>


path: 1131221221212212
author_id: rugal
title: Move into Chris Yves
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Hmm, that might be a good idea," you say half towards yourself and half towards Lisa, "but maybe one for another time."<br/>
<br/>
Lisa continues looking at you with amusement, "So I was right to put you there, then." she states. "You really don't want to give her up do you?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's not that." you sigh. You're trying to convince yourself of that more than you are her however; she might be a little more right than you'd like to admit. "We just got here. We've been these two for about a day. I just think we should take a little bit of time to adjust to Eastman. We've got their memories, their personalities but..." you look for the right thing to say. "Their experiences but not their experience, I guess." you say finally settling on the phrasing.<br/>
<br/>
Lisa looks up at the ceiling, her sharp features taking a more thoughtful expression. "I'm not quite sure I actually believe that, <i>Alyssa</i>." she finally replies making sure to stress out the name of your current role, "But what you say does make a certain amount of sense. God I wish I hadn't put that cigarette out."<br/>
<br/>
"One of the drawbacks to being Lisa?" you ask with a bit of a smirk, "I know Chelsea would never put something like that in her body."<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea would put the poor soul who so much as smelled like that in her presence in her place." comes the reply, "Lisa is... well, she's a whole different beast. She's like a less overtly bitchy Kendra in a way."<br/>
<br/>
"You like being there?" you ask flopping back down into a laying position and staring up at the ceiling. You're surprised when Lisa flops down next to you, mirroring your current position.<br/>
<br/>
"It could be worse, I suppose." she says, "Though in all honesty if you had picked somebody from the group I kind of wish it had been Maddie or Tina."<br/>
<br/>
"Maddie or Tina..." you say absentmindedly, "I could see you pulling off Maddie's attitude but Tina? I dunno <i>Lisa</i>," you return the favor from earlier, "she's so... folksy. You think you could be the sweet southern belle?"<br/>
<br/>
"With a mask I could." she answers without hesitation, "With these masks I could do anything... <i>we</i> could do anything."<br/>
<br/>
"It still kind of amazes me, you know?" you say. You expect a reply of the affirmative but when you're met with a simple "Hmm?" you decide to continue, "I mean that we've stuck it out together. Chelsea Cooper, the queen of the school and Will Prescott, the bottom of the social ladder: brought together by a magic book, discovering secrets and mysteries that only they know, living lives that only they can live."<br/>
<br/>
"It's kind of dorky when you put it like that." replies Lisa, "Very dorky, actually."<br/>
<br/>
"I know, I know it's just... I never expected that you would ever deign to talk to me and yet here we are." you sit back up and look over at Lisa, catching her eye with the type of warm smile that Alyssa is well versed in giving out, "It's just kinda neat. A real eye-opening experience for both of us, I think." You pull out your cellphone and are surprised to see how late it's gotten. "Damn, 9:30 already." you say before turning back to Lisa, "Sorry but I'm gonna have to get home. Mom's birthday is tomorrow so we've got family coming by. Gotta help set things up and then it's putting in appearances so I'm gonna be out of commission for tomorrow but I'll see you on Monday. We'll get a good feel for Eastman and what to do then." With that you gather your things, wish each other goodbye and then it's off to Alyssa's house.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
Monday, however, proves to be rather hectic. Being at the top of the food chain isn't exactly the easiest job... not as Alyssa at least. That's because Alyssa has her fingers in virtually every pie, your day is a long mix of playing politician, tabloid journalist and counselor for the various students that attend Eastman. Becky Torres has been trying to spread rumors about Kelly Trask and the Irish exchange student staying with her family so you have your crew work to put those rumors to rest. Then it's a round in the practically daily saga of helping Faye Griffin out with her relationship with Cooper Black. Later it's a trip down to the freshmen with Rhianna Miller to shower a little praise on Sarah Pak and Joanna Johnson by telling them they should try out for a spot on the cheerleading squad next year, right in front of Carrie Carmichael no less; Carrie always was a little too big for her britches so giving an endorsement to Sarah and Joanna is bound to give them momentum next year. You have to think about the future; Eastman's stability is Alyssa Randall's legacy after all.<br/>
<br/>
By the afternoon it's enough to leave you mentally drained. No, being at the top isn't all you thought it would be at all and you make mention of this to Lisa when you see her inbetween 5th and 6th periods.<br/>
<br/>
"Having doubts, eh?" she says, a mischievous smirk on her face.<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe just a little bit." you say as you put a few books in the locker, "Hey, about what we discussed on Saturday..." you start.<br/>
<br/>
Lisa, however, cuts you off. "I know what you're going to say. I had a feeling you might so I told Gordon to work on something after you left. Meet me in the storage room behind the bleachers after school. I'll get the key from White." she says with a quick wave before hurrying off to her next class.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="right">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"So what do you think?" asks Lisa.<br/>
<br/>
You look at your face in the compact that was in Alyssa's bag: a face that would be prettier with a bit of make-up you think. Strong cheekbones, a pert nose, dark brown eyes and surprisingly full lips. Your brown hair is short, longer than you're used to because you've let it grow a bit, but still not exactly the most feminine. Your face is adorned with multiple piercings; a stud on the right side of your nose, some gauges in your ear lobes, a few rings on one of your eyebrows. Handing the compact back to Alyssa you look yourself over further, without the aid of a mirror. Thin and wiry is the term you'd use to describe your body. A surprisingly toned stomach and small breasts covered by a ratty shirt emblazoned with the logo of an old punk band. Tight, ripped jeans cover an ass that while not bad is not great. Chris Yves is definitely a little more on the butch spectrum but you know that there's an attractiveness to her that's undeniable; something that catches a person's attention and draws them to her.<br/>
<br/>
"It could be worse, I suppose." you echo Lisa's comment from the other night, a bit of a husky scratchiness to your voice.<br/>
<br/>
"And what about what we discussed on Saturday?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Shaking things up might be a good idea." you say, "Slowly at first. Maybe not so big. I could get a girlfriend. Can you imagine it? Chris Yves finally allowing herself to have a real relationship. That'd cause a stir and whoever I get with it's bound to make all kinds of waves."<br/>
<br/>
"Summer would be nice." Alyssa chimes in referring to Summer Nguyen, junior member of her little group, "She's been hanging around Chris a lot, coming out of her shell a little more. It'd make sense."<br/>
<br/>
"It would, but..." you say, trying to think of an easy way to say this next thing, "I don't think I, Chris that is, have quite those levels of feelings for her. No, Chris is more interested in... OH!" Both Alyssa and Lisa look at you expectantly, "Jelena Petrovic."<br/>
<br/>
"From back at Westside?" Lisa asks.<br/>
<br/>
You nod an affirmative, "Yeah. Jelena's pretty much the queen of the underground both at Westside and in the city in general. It's something Chris finds entrancing." Your eyes gleam as an idea sparks in your head, "Chelsea, you want things shaken up? Imagine if the queens of cool at both Eastman and Westside hooked up. That'd be a big fucking deal." you turn to her practically beaming, this idea is brilliant you think. "That sounds like a good idea, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"In theory, sure." Lisa replies, "But that's not a sure thing you know. Chris and Jelena getting together."<br/>
<br/>
"You're right, but it could be." you state, "I dunno if it's something you'd want to go with but I was thinking... you've got Gordon making masks, right? So why not have someone wear a Jelena mask?"<br/>
<br/>
Lisa takes a second to realize exactly what you're proposing, "What, you don't mean..."<br/>
<br/>
You nod, "Yeah, I do. What do you say?"</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212122122
author_id: rugal
title: The Many Loves of Chris Yves
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Lisa gives you a snort. "Look <i>Chris</i>," she replies with a bit of a sneering tone, "if you think that I'm going to just rearrange everything just to help out YOUR love life you're sadly mistaken."<br/>
<br/>
"That might be being a little too harsh." you respond as you fumble through Chris' pockets before eventually lighting up a cigarette and passing another to Lisa. "It was just a suggestion. I can get her on my own."<br/>
<br/>
"Probably." comes the simple reply.<br/>
<br/>
"You have no faith in my ability to get her?"<br/>
<br/>
"When did I say that?" she shoots back taking a drag, "Just that the only sure thing is that there are no sure things, is all. Even for the almighty Christina Yves."<br/>
<br/>
You take a drag yourself, "You're really trying to get under my skin aren't you?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"And you're really trying to get into Jelena's pants. The only difference is that one of them is guaranteed."<br/>
<br/>
The two of you stare at one another for a moment before exchanging wry grins. "You're such a cunt." you say with a bit of a laugh.<br/>
<br/>
"So what, does that mean I'm going to have to deal with you trying to bury your face in me?" comes the glib retort.<br/>
<br/>
With a bigger laugh you give her a friendly punch in the arm. Lisa's a bitch, an unapologetic one at that, and this is probably the friendliest her and Chris have been in months, if ever, but she IS a very sharp mind otherwise she wouldn't be Alyssa's right-hand. She's right in that you have no idea how any attempt to get with Jelena would go, if she'd be interested in you at all or even what her relationship status is. Hell you'd even be doubtful on her actual orientation if she wasn't so proudly, openly out. Thankfully you'll get the chance to find out as your band is doing an open mic at a small (very small) club tonight and no doubt Jelena will be there as well. All you can do, you think to yourself as you put your cigarette to your lips, is give it a shot and hope for the best.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
It's close to midnight and the show's just about winding up. Your band and Jelena's played back to back to your surprise, a real contrast of styles if ever their was one. Your harder-edged, more raw though less musically proficient punk sound against her softer, somewhat gentler indie sound. You're hanging out with Sienna Goldman, a friend of Jelena's and member of another band who you're more familiar with though who wasn't playing tonight, out near Chris' van in the parking lot to get away from the noise. Much to your disappointment Jelena had gotten out of dodge rather quickly after her band's set... not really one to hang around Sienna had told you when you asked her about it. The pair of you had been shooting the shit when another friend of Jelena's approached, one that made your heart stop.<br/>
<br/>
Andrea Varnsworth was a bit of an enigma at school. A dark-haired beauty with a killer body owed most likely to her work as the swim team's captain yet whose popularity was not what one would think. Whether it was due to her own preferences or the machinations of Chelsea (or even a bit of both) she hung mostly with the underground: Sienna, Fatima Zahedi, Colin Garvey... the type who might enjoy spending a saturday night gathered together to watch an old grindhouse flick than go to a party. Not nerds so much as those who marched to their own beat. Still she was the fantasy of many a male student at Westside and yet here she was walking right up to you.<br/>
<br/>
"You make it hard for a girl to find you, Sienna, you know that?" she calls out.<br/>
<br/>
"Had to get out of there. The noise and shit." Sienna responds, "Plus, like, they'll let us play but won't even slip us a few drinks on the down low?"<br/>
<br/>
"They'd lose their license." Andrea replies with a sly smile.<br/>
<br/>
"So the fuck what?" comes the response, "Some times I just want a beer or something hard you know? Not too much to as, you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"It IS against the law." you shoot in.<br/>
<br/>
A dismissive noise comes from Sienna, "Fucking hypocrite, I guess that's just ginger ale that made it into that can right? Goddamn, whatever, Tiger Driver's drummer was pretty cute so I'm gonna go see where my luck gets me with him." And with only that small bit of warning Sienna's off, headed back into the club.<br/>
<br/>
"She seems like a handful." you say to Andrea after Sienna's departed.<br/>
<br/>
Andrea, for her part, replies with a giggle. "You don't know the half of it. She a great person, just very... intense." she says finding the right word. "Life's short so get drunk and fuck some cute guys is her motto. Like as in a literal motto."<br/>
<br/>
"You don't think that's a bit... out of hand? Wild?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
Andrea shakes her head. "It's not like she's getting fucked up and fucked twenty-four seven." she answers, "So I mean if she wants to cut loose every now and then who am I to stop her. She's never gotten to that point where I've felt she's gotten in over her head."<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno, guess it's in my nature to worry." you say, "Chris Yves, by the way."<br/>
<br/>
"Andrea Varnsworth, and yeah I know about you. You've played with Sienna and stuff so your name's come up."<br/>
<br/>
"My name's come up. Really." you say with an amused tone.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuckin' Chris, god she's so goddamn cool. She's just got, like, so much fucking energy when she plays and is just the chillest bitch ever." she retorts causing the two of you to burst out laughing.<br/>
<br/>
"So you want a beer or anything?" you ask once the laughter's died down.<br/>
<br/>
"Mmm, sure why not?" replies Andrea, greeting you with a warm smile.<br/>
<br/>
The next little bit, you lose track of time really until suddenly it's 1 AM, goes extremely well. Andrea's a very intriguing girl but also one who is very charming and easy to get along with. Much like Chris, she's the type of person who just seems to draw you in with her personality and by the time you part you've agreed to meet up with her for coffee and to shoot the shit a bit more tomorrow afternoon.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"The Jelena thing didn't go well I heard."<br/>
<br/>
You and Lisa are hanging out in the storage room behind the bleacher, your hideaway at Eastman you suppose, after school the next day. "It's a thing you warned me about and I didn't listen." you say, a positively phoney distraught tone in your voice, "Oh Lord why didn't I listen?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not going to gloat if that's what you think." Lisa retorts.<br/>
<br/>
You snort and give a small laugh, "Lisa Rickover not crowing about being right especially in the face of Chris Yves' disappointment." you say, "Don't fault me for not believing it."<br/>
<br/>
"Trust me, I said I'm not going to gloat about it and I mean that." she replies, "Although I am a bit happy about it I must admit."<br/>
<br/>
"Of course you are." you roll your eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"It's not for reasons you'd think." she says and you're surprised when she pulls you down a bit and plants her lips directly on your own. A light bit of kissing, at first, that very soon becomes more forceful, tongues intertwining as you lose yourself both in the surprise and the pleasure of what's happening. You place your arms around her waist, cradling it a bit, as things continue though they eventually stop.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't... what..." is all you can mutter as you regain your faculties. "I thought Lisa was into guys." is all you can stupid blurt out.<br/>
<br/>
"Yes, people exist who are into both. Surprising concept I'm sure." she smiles. "I... that is Lisa has had a thing for Chris for a while; the tenacity and force of will, her strong morals, that element that makes anyone attracted to Chris really. She's actually been a good friend not wanting to get in Summer's way but when you said you were looking into someone else..."<br/>
<br/>
"You thought you'd make her move for her." you say, "Look Chelsea... Lisa... whoever you want to be... I just don't know if..." you sigh, "Look I didn't get Jelena but I managed to get a date for today with Andrea Varnsworth."<br/>
<br/>
"Andrea?!" the tone is incredulous though Lisa soon regains her composure. "Well that's great, I'm happy for you, but part of the reason of putting one of us into Yves was to make waves here at Eastman. And if Alyssa's right-hand managed to get herself a steady partner and it was Chris Yves... imagine the waves that'd make." She gives you a smile, "Or hell, date Andrea. Have fun and all that but keep me on the side. A nice little bit of danger to spice things up from what I'm sure would be a very boring relationship."</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121222
author_id: seuzz
title: O Captain My Captain
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I'll look around, see if there's someone good," you say. You pick your jeans up out of the bathtub. "Now, maybe you could give me a little privacy?" She gives a little half-smile and prances into the bedroom.<br/>
<br/>
You give yourself a careful lookover in the mirror as you finishing preparing to return to the party. The mask smudged some of Alyssa's makeup when it went on, and you spend a few minutes repairing it after you have her clothes on. Good, strong features, a little bold, rather than pretty, and a much darker complexion than Kendra Saunders back at Westside has. Alyssa has noticed Kendra, and you share the twinge of jealousy that Alyssa feels at her sculpted cheekbones and lighter complexion. Alyssa didn't get where she is through raw beauty--though she has a good figure and a great deal of strength--and her talent on the floor is more athletic than graceful. But she has a masterful personality, and (you recognize, even behind her mask) really good personal skills.<br/>
<br/>
"Where'd you disappear to," Jenny Taylor asks when you reappear in the kitchen. "I saw whatshername and the Incredible Lunk leading you off, and you looked like you needed rescuing."<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing I couldn't handle. It was Chelsea Cooper. Do you know her?" Jenny shakes her head. "No reason you should. She's the head cheerleader over at Westside."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh. That explains--"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. Total freak. She was trying to get inside my head. You'd think it was the cheerleading squads and not the basketball teams that will be competing."<br/>
<br/>
"But you guys have, like, a league competition, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Of course. Maybe that's what it was about. Anyway, I curdled her complexion."<br/>
<br/>
"I wonder how she wound up here." <br/>
<br/>
"Didn't you invite her?" It's Jenny's party, but she shakes her head again. <br/>
<br/>
You find yourself studying her: captain of the girl's soccer team, and an excellent athlete herself. Smart, dating the captain of the boy's championship soccer team--probably the closest thing to the "queen" of Eastman in that school's more republican establishment. Does charity work ... Being Jenny might humanize Chelsea--or having Chelsea running her life might ruin Jenny.<br/>
<br/>
"I smell a mystery. I'll snoop around." You freshen your cup with some more punch and wander into the living room. Jenny and Kyle are throwing the party to celebrate a recent win by the girls' team, so it's heavily populated by the school's athletes. But since it's Jenny and Kyle, there's a strong mix of other types: Sammy Orson and Kristy Carlson are gossiping and laughing by the fireplace; Geoff Dunholm, Eddie Wasnowski, and Cooper Black are in earnest conversation by the dining room table; Liam Mahon is entertaining the Ioescomb twins with his authentic Irish brogue; Adam Karter has Darcy Whitehead cornered by the stereo. (In the latter case, you make a note to yourself to rescue Darcy by sending Paul Zametti over to distract Karter.)<br/>
<br/>
Now, where to put Chelsea? She and Gordon are on the back porch, holding each other. Gordon is looking skeptically at Shawn Gregory, who he'll meet on the basketball court when Westside plays Eastman in a few weeks--<br/>
<br/>
A light goes on over your head. Oh, it would be too delicious! Your eyes dart around the room, even though you know the search is fruitless. No matter. Tomorrow is another day.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm so glad you came," you exclaim with patent insincerity when Chelsea runs you to earth near the front door an hour later. You take her hands in yours to squeeze them, then lean close. "Stay available tomorrow," you murmur in her ear. "I've got someone picked for you, but they're not here. I can get them tomorrow, though." Her eyes narrow over her smile as you dimple at her.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"I'm glad I <i>wasn't</i> there," Ian Carpenter says. The captain of the Eastman basketball team hops lightly from foot to foot, and mimes a free throw. "I'd probably have punched that cocksucker in the face."<br/>
<br/>
"You're too smart for that, honey," you say. "And stop showing off. He's not here, and you're getting in my sun." It's too cool and the light is too weak for a proper sunbath, but you're stretched out on a lawn chair in the backyard, in a swimsuit, trying to wring what rays you can from the late summer sun.<br/>
<br/>
Ian grimaces, but keeps pacing. "Asshole's too dumb to do anything with but punch. They don't have any skill over at Westside. Just brute strength." He stops short. "Was Patterson there?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, just Gordon Black. Or, I dunno. Maybe. Which one is Patterson?" He groans. "Don't be like that, sugarpie. I've got enough to worry about over here without worrying about people at Westside."<br/>
<br/>
"Really," he says dryly. "Who's pregnant now?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'll get a stepladder and slap you. Oh, this is pointless." You gather up your stuff. "September is pointless. Did you ever know a more pointless month than September?"<br/>
<br/>
"February is twenty-eight days of sheer ennui."<br/>
<br/>
"See, that's what I mean. You could tell Gordon Black to his face that he's 'onwee', or whatever you said, and he wouldn't know what you meant. Nobody at <i>our</i> school would know what you meant, either. Except Durras."<br/>
<br/>
"Which one?"<br/>
<br/>
"The dark one. Blondie couldn't find a ball under a blanket. What happened to them, anyway? They weren't at the party last night."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know, Alyssa," he sighs. "I wasn't there either. And what am I doing here?"<br/>
<br/>
"You're here to see that video text thingie on my phone I told you about, and I'm almost ready to show it to you." You hike the towel into the crook of your arm, scoop up the two water bottles and magazine, and walk back toward the house. "Well, come on."<br/>
<br/>
"Why didn't you have it outside for me?" he says as he follows you in. <br/>
<br/>
"Because my mom said she'd throw it in the disposal if she saw it with me three times before noon, and I already used up my allotment. Besides, it's only up in my bedroom. Or are you afraid to go up there?"<br/>
<br/>
"Depends. Are you the only queen cobra that sleeps there?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm in front of you, remember, which gives me the height advantage as long as we're on these stairs."<br/>
<br/>
You lead him into the immaculate bedroom, which becomes markedly less immaculate after you dump your stuff on the bed. You grab up the phone from your desk and touch the screen a few times. "It's-- Now wait a minute, that's not-- Why the fuck does it think I want--" It vibrates in your hand. "Oh, fuck it. You figure it out." You toss it to him.<br/>
<br/>
"It's finally happened," he says. "They've invented a phone that's too smart for the average girl." He fiddles with it. "I don't even know what I'm looking for."<br/>
<br/>
"Then what kind of dummy does that make you?" You close the dresser drawer, having extracted the mask from it, and hop lightly onto the bed so you can stand behind him. "Here, let me see." You reach over his shoulder with one hand to grasp the phone, and with the other to press the mask to his face. You cleanly take the phone as he collapses sideways onto the bed. "Maybe too smart for the average girl," you snort as you connect to Chelsea's phone with the three quick flicks, "but the joke's on you, beanpole. I ain't neither. Hiya, Chels," you chirp as she picks up. "Can you get over to my place in two shakes of a lamb's tail? I got it all set up for you."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
It's actually fifty minutes before she makes it over, but that doesn't matter. You have Chelsea's mask on hand as well, so after copying Ian you just put her mask on him, which keeps him docile and mostly pleasant until she arrives. There's a quick change of clothes, and then fake Chelsea--who looks a little miffed at having to miss out on all the fun ("Was she pouting?" Chelsea asks you. "I don't look like that, do I? I think she was pouting. I should kick her ass.")--is on her way back home. "Mask is in my bathroom, along with the clothes," you grin at Chelsea. "I'll wait for you downstairs."<br/>
<br/>
She's about ten minutes in coming, and you tell your mom that Ian is "using the facilities." So, when she reappears--all six-feet-and-five-inches of her--you ask if she broke the plumbing. "All in working order, I think," she says. She's already got Ian's sunglasses on, so you can't see her expression. "Walk me out to the car?" You grin, and hold the door open for her.<br/>
<br/>
"You're a clever little bitch," she growls as you walk to Ian's car.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you love it?" you giggle. "You shouldn't have put me in Alyssa. I wouldn't have dared do it on my own. But between her and me, we decided your relationship with Gordon needed a shake up."<br/>
<br/>
She folds herself into the car. "Seriously," she says through the open window. "Why didn't you get me Straussler?"<br/>
<br/>
"He wouldn't have been as much fun."<br/>
<br/>
"But he's rich as fuck." She tips her sunglasses down. "We should take him."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you like being Ian?" You bend down to smile beguiling at her.<br/>
<br/>
"You like being Alyssa?" She takes your hand, and guides it to her crotch. "You know, Ian has a serious thing for her."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh my God!" You pull your hand away, for you could feel the erection through the cotton shorts.<br/>
<br/>
"Stay in Alyssa if you wanna have fun," and it's a most un-Ian-like leer she gives you. "Or get me Straussler. Or take Straussler for yourself. That freshman he's fucking is really cute."<br/>
<br/>
She winks, turns on the engine, and pulls back into the street, leaving you to stare.</span></div></div>


path: 1131221221212221
author_id: rugal
title: Get Straussler for Chelsea
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>At school the next day you pass by Ian in between classes and pull him aside. He's more than happy to see you and you think you see him attempt to give a "sly" thumbs up to his buddies as you drag him off to somewhere a little private. "So about Straussler..." you begin.<br/>
<br/>
"You want to move into him?" Ian asks you with a grin, "Because that's a good choice."<br/>
<br/>
You hold up a hand to silence him, "I don't. But you seem so interested that I might get him for you... maybe."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe?"<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe. I haven't decided what's up yet. But just in case I was wondering if any of our... friends at Westside have finished any new masks." you state.<br/>
<br/>
His face scruches up and his lips purse. "I dunno, I haven't had the chance to ask. You've got Will's number, right?" he asks, "Call him up when you've got the chance, ask him if he's got anything ready and if so to come by after school and drop it off."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll do that, sure." you reply.<br/>
<br/>
"One thing." he says, "I need to get back to my friends but if you want Straussler, the team's gonna be hanging out at his place after school today. Hannah broke up with Reynolds again so we think he could use a bit of cheering up, you know? Obviously YOU'LL be interested so if, by chance, you want to grab Straussler that might be the time to do it. Just get back to me after you get in touch with Will and we'll work something out, alright?" He shoots you a smile and a wave as he disappears back into the crowd. You're still not sure if you want to get Straussler for Chelsea, it's an option sure but something in your gut is making you not want to do it.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey girl, you and Ian a thing now?" a voice cuts in from behind you and you feel a hand on your shoulder causing you to jump.<br/>
<br/>
"Jeez, Rhianna..." you turn to see the very lovely Rhianna Miller smiling at you. A cheerleader, close friend of Alyssa and desire of most of the male population though she's exclusive to star receiver Kevin McIllroy, "You don't have to scare me like that."<br/>
<br/>
"Not like I tried to, you were the one with your head in the clouds." she says with a laugh, "So for real, what's going on with you and Ian?"<br/>
<br/>
You eye her not really sure how to respond. What IS going on, you wonder. "We're friends, that's it." you insist as you walk off towards class leaving Rhianna behind.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
It's later on at the gathering at the Straussler residence. Your presence there was not particularly greeted in the warmest manner as even with Ian vouching for you the others assumed you were there mainly to try and finagle information. Probably to try and protect your friend Hannah by making Jordan out to be the bad guy in the whole affair. The perils of being the queen gossip monger of Eastman you muse to them: nobody can take you at face value even when you're being honest. There's always a hidden agenda even when there's not. It takes a while but the group does manage to come around, if only slightly, and the entire group is getting much looser. The expensive wine as well as the imported beers you all are ingesting is certainly helping matters.<br/>
<br/>
As things wind down and afternoon turns to evening the group begins splitting up. Ian and yourself wind up alone, sitting on a bed in a guest room. "You could've gone with Straussler, you know. Gotten his face." he says.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head, "I dunno, I just feel like... Ian an' Alyssa have chemistry right? Johnathan and me... her... aren't so close. I don't think he likes her too much." you explain.<br/>
<br/>
"Well that's something we can change if you put me in him." he sighs, "Warm up the relationship between them. Make it less tense." He notices a disappointed look on your face when he says that, "Or I could grab a mask of Monique." he smiles, "It'd definitely be easier to stick together if we were in them."<br/>
<br/>
"Mm-mm." you shake your head, "It wouldn't be the same. She's a freshman, Alyssa's a senior. They're both pretty, they're both popular but in terms of social standing Alyssa's on a whole different level. She's at the top." Without thinking you take a hand and shove Ian onto his back and climb onto him, "I'M on top. And I LIKE being on top." You can definitely feel the bulge forming in his pants and you smile down at him, "I think you like it too." <br/>
<br/>
You then lower your face and begin kissing him. He kisses back for a moment before stopping and pulling away. "Alyssa, Will... what are you doing?" he asks, "You're drunk."<br/>
<br/>
"Only a teeeeeny little." you say indicating with your fingers, "Besides so are you, you had as much as me."<br/>
<br/>
"I can handle my booze a little better it seems." Ian replies.<br/>
<br/>
You scowl, "And so what? I remember what you said a few nights ago after that party. You wanted to see how it was from the other side. You asked me if I wanted to." You lean your face close to his, "Well we can both find out."<br/>
<br/>
The two of you are kissing once more, starting out light but growing more passionate, more heavy as he slips a hand under your shirt and begins massaging a breast. It's not much longer before the shirt is off as are the rest of of your clothes and his too.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
The two of you are laying in the bed afterwards, your head laying on Ian's bare chest and your arms wrapped around his torso. It was an amazing experience, something much more intense and draining and overall satisfying than you were ever expecting although it's not exactly how you were expecting to lose your virginity. Alyssa, while not one to sleep around by any means, definitely had experience and it was easy to lose yourself and allow her to take over. "Mmm, that was great." you say lifting your head up and smiling at him. "It's something I could definitely get used to."<br/>
<br/>
He plants a kiss on you and nods in agreement. "Ian's got a lot of stamina." he replies, "I feel up for another round."<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head and move to grab your clothes, "It's getting late, I think, so we should probably jet." you respond, "But if you want... we could get together. Make Alyssa and Ian a thing."<br/>
<br/>
Ian sits up, a thoughtful look on his face, "Ian and Alyssa huh? Captain of the basketball team and the queen of the school."<br/>
<br/>
"It'd be a combination good enough to rival Kyle and Jenny." you continue his thought, "Alyssa and Ian could be the school's new power couple. And if you ever wanna spice things up, well, we've got people making masks. Alyssa knows a lot of people. If you ever want Rhianna or Maddy or Tina or whoever..."<br/>
<br/>
You let the thought linger. Chelsea's cunning and devious but more importantly she likes being the top dog. Fortunately for you Alyssa's just as cunning as Chelsea and with her mind and Chelsea being overrun by Ian's hormones it's not a problem getting her wrapped around your finger. You can see him thinking hard about what you've said and about the events that have transpired. "Of course if you still want Straussler then I'll get him for you as well. We've got the mask with us so it wouldn't be hard." you add, "But Alyssa and Ian... doesn't that sound intriguing?" you smirk.</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212122211
author_id: rugal
title: Movin' On Up
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Alyssa, babe, I'm not gonna lie..." Ian begins. He catches your gaze and returns it. "That does sound like a great idea. It really does."<br/>
<br/>
That's not an answer that fills you with much, if any, confidence. "But..." you respond.<br/>
<br/>
"Buuuut I've done this before. Being on top, the hunky basketball player and the pretty head cheerleader. That's my thing and that's what I left back at Westside." he replies, "I came to Eastman to do things a little differently. I want to be on top, sure, but not in the same way. As Straussler though even if I'm not on top socially, though I damn sure would be close, I'd be on top in every other way. You know the whole saying about money and the movement of the world right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah... I get you." you say not doing a job to try and hide your disappointment. "Well we've got a mask with us so I guess, I dunno, we can get Straussler in here and get it and the band on him."<br/>
<br/>
"But I can't switch into him tonight." Ian points out.<br/>
<br/>
"No shit." you shoot back, "That's why we call up Chelsea and Gordon and Will and tell them to get their asses working on finishing up with the polishing of any masks they've made. One of us will swing by Westside and grab them then make the switch off tomorrow morning. Tell Straussler to meet up with us at the abandoned elementary school and we'll release Ian, the real one, throw your mask onto Straussler and that'll be that."<br/>
<br/>
Ian sighs, "Won't we, or you anyway, have to deal with Ian wondering where time's gone?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
You shrug, "It's whatever. You can just tell him he got black out drunk at the party and it's kind of screwed up his memory of the last day or so."<br/>
<br/>
Figuring this is a good enough plan as any you grab your phone and text Straussler telling him to come up to the room where the two of you are; you have something important to tell him. As soon as he steps in, however, Ian is on him mask in hand. There's a bit of a struggle between the two basketball players, one that you can't deny is exciting you (or at least Alyssa) a bit. But it's not long before Ian overpowers his teammate and the mask is placed onto Straussler's face. Once he comes to he asks what it is you wanted from him and you tell him that whatever it was has been forgotten after seeing him pass out. You tell him you have to get going but decide to give him a little bit of "advice" telling him that maybe he needs to reassess how much booze he can handle before saying your goodbyes and departing for the evening.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
At school the next day you have an eventful day of having to repeatedly squash the rumors of Ian and yourself. You pass by Straussler once inbetween classes and he gives you an affirmative that the switch off went without a hitch. Will managed to finish a mask last night, benefits of not having much of a social life he muses, and passes you the completed one (as well as a bit of stuff to golemize Alyssa's mask) in case you want to switch into Monique. Monique's a pretty girl but you're not really into the idea of becoming her. You wanted to do things more on your own terms but Chelsea still seems to believe and act as if she's running things and you're not sure if you want to give in to her; you don't tell her that though, just thank her and go on your way. Afterwards it's back to stamping out the rumors even among your own group.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm telling you, nothing happened between us." you insist, "We hung out. That's all. I have no interest in Ian Carpenter."<br/>
<br/>
"That's disappointing." Mandy replies a bit of a frown on her face. "You guys would've looked great together."<br/>
<br/>
"I really should've come to you guys first thing in the morning." you sigh, "But now you know the score so you can start getting the word out faster than I can right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Naturally." Tina answers,<br/>
<br/>
"Right, we don't need any misunderstandings about the status of anyone in the group." adds Maddy, "Right Lisa?"<br/>
<br/>
"Of course." Lisa states. She may be a snake and that's why Alyssa keeps her close but she's still MOSTLY trustworthy. She has a good thing going in the group and she's not going to blow it on an effort to try and usurp the throne. She's a bit more content keeping info close to the vest, revealing it to the group at a time SHE feels is appropriate than working to undermine things as even she wouldn't want this school descending into the tyrannical rule of an iron fisted autocrat like Chelsea.<br/>
<br/>
As lunch ends Summer makes her way to you. "So did something happen with you and Ian last night?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
You sigh. "Summer, look..." you begin trying to think of a way to be nice. The group in general, even Lisa and ESPECIALLY Alyssa, are very protective of her due to a myriad of confidence issues that she slowly seems to be getting through. "The relationship between Ian and myself... we're friends. Nothing more and nothing less. And if we wanted to be anything else, well let's just say the two of us have different views on how that relationship should go. Views that you can't really work through by snapping your fingers you know? Heck you should know how that goes just by how things are going with Chris."<br/>
<br/>
"Well me and Chris... I don't really know HOW I feel towards her." she replies, "There's a lot of stuff I have to work through."<br/>
<br/>
"Exactly." you say, "And even if the issues aren't the same the general idea is the same for Ian and myself. As it is right now though there's no relationship and one isn't going to develop any time soon."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
Practice after school goes smoothly. By the end of the day any talk of a possible relationship between Ian and yourself has been effectively silenced and you're not bothered by any questions from any of your teammates. Even Rhianna seems quiet on the issue although Rhianna has other issues of her own. "Rhianna, honey, you have to get on the ball." you tell her as she mixes up the moves of the routine you're currently working on. It's a rather common issue with her at least in practice but her dexterity allows her to move with the fluidity of water when the moves finally sink in.<br/>
<br/>
"Son of a fucking bitch!" Leslie Keys' voice cuts in sharply. She's a creature of contrasts: cute yet driven and tomboyish. Voice of an angel and the mouth of a sailor. You stop practice and make your way over towards her group where they've been practicing tossing and catching one another and ask what the problem is. "The problem is tall, dark and titless over here had her head in the clouds and I busted my fucking ass!" she yells.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sorry." apologizes Kyra DaSilva, "I've just had things on my mind. I've been kind of distracted."<br/>
<br/>
"No shit, you're always distracted!" responds Leslie still angry. "Get your fucking act together!"<br/>
<br/>
"Girls, stop it." you say stepping into things, "Leslie, it was an accident and you know that. Kyra's too nice a girl to hurt you intentionally. Kyra, if your that distracted I can't have you out here otherwise someone will get hurt. Go shower, go home and we'll talk some time after school alright?"<br/>
<br/>
After practice you run across Darcy Whitehead while making your rounds. Getting filled in you realize there's nothing much new in her life. Karter's still trying to make her a conquest, Darcy's curly hair and slightly larger and hooked nose and small chest makes a bit closer to average than what Karter goes for (she would benefit from a makeover perhaps) but like Yves she's determined and strong-willed so he must like the chase. Mostly she keeps to her studies and stays away from the romance game and that's when you think back to the mask Chelsea gave you earlier.<br/>
<br/>
You wanted to be part of the power couple but you don't want to have to be Straussler's freshman dick holder to do it. Maybe it's time to take a step back from being at the top, from being around the athletes. Maybe it's time to play a new role: the role of Darcy Whitehead. You're here with her right now, talking to her in the school's library so making a switch would be easy. However as her you'd have to constantly fight off the persistent advances of Adam Karter and you're not sure if that's what you want to deal with. You're a bit through with boys, a weird thought given who you REALLY are you think, and so your mind wanders to Kyra.<br/>
<br/>
Tall, slim, lithe, flexible, olive-skinned, head turning face with gorgeous Italian features. Her short (very short) hair and seeming lack of love life have led to whispers of lesbianism, whispers that have followed her from her freshman year to her current time as junior. She's quiet and private, however, and not even Alyssa knows what goes on with her but you ARE meeting her later to talk about what's bothering her. If you wanted her you could grab her then and make the switch.<br/>
<br/>
You excuse yourself and head to the women's restroom and enter a stall. You remove Alyssa's mask and undergo the golemization process. You quickly text Straussler, "Making a switch. Not Monique. Will tell you tomorrow." The question now is who to switch into: Darcy Whitehead or Kyra DaSilva?</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121222111
author_id: rugal
title: Wants and Needs
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You quickly get out Alyssa's phone and shoot a text to Darcy: meet up in the little girl's room. There's stuff you want to discuss with her but you'd rather do it in relative privacy, away from prying eyes. It takes a bit of a back and forth and bit of convincing before she finally agrees. Once she finally does arrive, however, you don't waste time. She has time to just barely register that there's a skinny white boy wearing Alyssa's clothes before the mask is on her face. A couple of switch offs of clothes, masks and a mind band thrown in and you're now looking back at the face that bad belonged to you the last handful of days.<br/>
<br/>
"Bet the real Alyssa wishes she could do that." she says with a laugh, "It'd definitely make her job a lot easier."<br/>
<br/>
"Well as far as anyone's concerned you ARE the real Alyssa so, you know, keep up appearances." you reply.<br/>
<br/>
"Not like I have much of a choice or desire to do anything else really since I've got her thought patterns, her emotions and such. You already know that though of course." she notices you still looking at her. "Anything on your mind? Anything you want to talk about? See, look at that!"<br/>
<br/>
You don't know what it is exactly. You look up Alyssa appreciatively. You had been inside her for a bit but you hadn't really noticed how good her body looked before. The tone and sculpted physique especially, indicative of someone who kept themselves in perfect shape, and those large lips... "Kiss me." you state, more like demand really. "Right now. Kiss me."<br/>
<br/>
And she does. It would be quite a sight for anyone really, Alyssa Randall walking over to Darcy Whitehead, gently pulling her in to an embrace. You return the favor and catching your breath you simply tell her. "Do it. Right now. In the stall." Terse and right to the point as always for Darcy. The two of you are locked into a stall, clothes shed going at one another. Pleasuring one another... or attempting to anyway. After a period of time, however, the session ends rather uneventfully.<br/>
<br/>
"That was awkward." Alyssa states as you straddle her while she sits on the toilet.<br/>
<br/>
"That's because you're not gay." you reply plainly, "Neither am I. Neither is Darcy, rather, though I'm not either."<br/>
<br/>
But as you look at Alyssa's naked body glistening with a sheen of light sweat, you can't help but be overcome again. You felt something while looking her up just a few minutes ago and looking at her again you definitely feel something once more. But it's not lust, not attraction. It's something more like... admiration? Yes, admiration is probably the correct word. A small chest, a nose and hair that betrays a hint of Jewish ancestry (the only thing your deadbeat father ever gave you; a constant reminder of how he knocked your mother up and ran off with a co-worker, one of her mother's supposed "best friends", soon after, the bastard), wide hips and a bit of a large ass that while some people definitely appreciated have always made you a bit self-conscious. You do wish that you had the more put together, tighter body of Alyssa. Or the slim athletic build and all-American beauty of Jenny Taylor.<br/>
<br/>
Once your clothes are back on after the failed experiment you reiterate your orders to Alyssa to act normally. Act as the real Alyssa would. Goodbyes are exchanged and the two of you headed off to your (very different) homes.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You pull your older, slightly beat up car into the parking lot of an apartment complex that isn't the nicest around. You insert a key into the door but the door's unlocked, not that you're surprised as more and more you're home after your mother. The key thing may as well just be a force of habit at this point, one you should probably try and break you think but at the same time it's not like it's particularly harming anything.<br/>
<br/>
"That you, hon?" Yolanda Whitehead calls from the kitchen of the small apartment.<br/>
<br/>
"Just got back from the library mom." you reply as you walk into the kitchen and head over towards the fridge. You pull out a bottle of water. The water makes you think about how maybe you should start working out if you want to look a little better. Maybe you'll ask Alyssa for some advice tomorrow.<br/>
<br/>
"Always with your nose in the books or at that job." says your mom referring to Darcy's part time job at a small coffee shop. "Honestly dear your young. Allow yourself to enjoy things a little, huh?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'll keep that in mind." you reply in a wholly unconvincing manner.<br/>
<br/>
"Darcy I'm serious." she shoots back, her tone alone would tell you that. "I know we've never had the most money and I know things have been rough at times. I know you want a better life for yourself and Lord knows I want you to have a better one but some times you need to take a step back. You're in your last year of high school and you don't allow yourself to have any friends."<br/>
<br/>
"I talk to people at school, Mom." you state.<br/>
<br/>
"And outside of school? When's the last time you've brought anyone over, or gone for a girl's night out or gone to party?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Last Friday. It was the end of the week."<br/>
<br/>
"And what about a boyfriend? You're in your fourth year of high school and you haven't had one the entire time."<br/>
<br/>
"Whatever, Mom, I'm fine so don't worry about me." you snort as you head off into your room.<br/>
<br/>
She's right of course. Darcy's a bit of a tight-ass and could definitely use a bit of loosening up. A bit of time away from the books. A bit of fun in her life. You flop onto your bed, unbutton and pull off your jeans and slip a hand into your underwear. And as you work yourself up, as you allow waves of pleasure to wash over you as Darcy herself has done all too often you realize that perhaps a boy in her life might be needed too.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So I heard you had a little talk with Alyssa in the school library yesterday." Adam Karter's grinning face causes you to roll your eyes. It was definitely NOT what you wanted to see first thing in the morning when you arrived at school.<br/>
<br/>
"We might have." you say plainly, "How would you have heard?"<br/>
<br/>
"A little bird might have said something." he replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Or a snake." you shoot back.<br/>
<br/>
"What can I say? Animals see quite a bit and they love to seek me out and tell me things." his grin continues and you practically want to vomit, "Especially the cute animals."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh give me a break, Karter." you state, "Yes your name came up. No it wasn't in the context of 'Oh Alyssa I am so in love with Adam Karter.' or whatever it is you think I would say or what you're LOOKING for me to say."<br/>
<br/>
"Darcy, you're crushing my spirits." Karter replies feigning a pain in his chest.<br/>
<br/>
"And I'll crush your balls if you don't cut it out." you say, "Scratch that. You'd probably get off on that. Don't you have other people you could bother? Carrie Carmichael's about on your level of maturity." You start to walk away but he grabs your arm. "Karter, fuck off. We only have a few minutes until the bell rings and--"<br/>
<br/>
You're surprised when he turns you around and plants a kiss right on your lips. You thank whatever God exists that you're in a more secluded spot as to your surprise not only do you not resist but in fact you actively return the kiss. You're not sure how long the kiss last as time seemed to have stopped but when it does you're left a confused, sputtering mess. Karter, for his part, goes right back to his cheshire- like grin. "What the fuck? How could you do that you asshole?! That's... that's..." is all you can get out.<br/>
<br/>
"That's exactly what you've been wanting, Darcy." he replies, "Face it, you need to loosen up a bit and I'm the guy who can do that. And take that 'loosen up' bit however you want it to. But meet up with me to grab a bite to eat, just some burgers or something, after school and I'll show you exactly what you need to do to start having a little bit more fun."<br/>
<br/>
You can hardly believe the audacity of Karter. He's a snake who's wooed as many girls and broken just as many hearts throughout his high school career. He's a pest and an annoyance and someone Darcy's convinced herself that she doesn't need in her life. And yet even though you're Darcy you're NOT Darcy. Darcy herself is deep down a bit thrilled by the attention paid to her by Karter. However she's buried herself so into her studies, so into her shitty part-time job, so into the idea of being a success that it's the type of feeling she'd never admit to herself. To her it'd just be a moment of weakness and you have to admit you're not in much of a mood to go out with a guy. Much less someone like Adam Karter.<br/>
<br/>
But his words echo in your mind as do Yolanda's from yesterday evening. The experiences, the feelings you felt... there's a part of Darcy that wants a boyfriend. That wants to have fun. That wants to be pretty. And while she'd most likely never act on those feelings herself you could. You could be Darcy Whitehead the person, not Darcy Whitehead the joyless automaton.</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121222112
author_id: rugal
title: Getting To Know Kyra
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Nice place." you say as you step into Kyra's house greeting her with a smile and a hug.<br/>
<br/>
"It's nothing much." she says quietly, "Not compared to most of the other girls on the team." She's right, of course, as most of the cheerleaders on the Eastman squad are definitely from a higher social status. Hell Eastman on the whole probably is in comparison to Westside. Kyra and surprisingly Alyssa herself are a few of the decidedly more middle class, without that "upper-" qualifier, members of the squad.<br/>
<br/>
"Well both of us are in the same boat." you smile, "You gotta remember that money's nothing but a number and class doesn't get you class." That seems to prompt a bit of a smile out of her. "You seem pretty religious." you state noticing a lot of crucifixes, paintings and other such around the living room.<br/>
<br/>
"Mom and dad are." Kyra replies, "My sister is but not quite as much. I think my brother goes along with it because mom and dad kind of make him."<br/>
<br/>
"What about you?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Not really." she answers, "It was kind of like I said about my brother. By the time I got to high school I kind of grew out of it. I don't think my parents liked that but they couldn't really do anything about it."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah my parents were the same way." you state, "Real church going folk but I never really bought into it. Mmm, but let's head up to your room. We need to talk and we need to do it in private." After the two of you head over towards her room and close the door you motion for her to sit and she takes a seat on her bed. You pull up the chair from the desk where her computer is. "So Leslie says you're distracted." you state plainly.<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't drop her on purpose." Kyra says defensively.<br/>
<br/>
"Honey, I know. I defended you remember? But she's right. Last week you lost focus when you and Lorena were holding up Ann which could've had bad results." you sigh, "I know you're fairly quiet but if there's something going on then spill it. I don't want to risk serious injury for any of my girls."<br/>
<br/>
"Look it's just... I like my privacy alright? I know what you're trying to do but trust me it won't be an issue." she states.<br/>
<br/>
You reach into your bag and grab hold of the mask and band. "I hope not but just to be sure I've got a little something here that'll definitely help you out." you state as you place the mask to Kyra's face.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Ma, Bradley's my fiance and we're getting married." Carla DaSilva states at dinner. Kyra's 27-year-old sister is a field reporter and weekend anchor for one of the "local" (a larger city about two hours away though it's media market includes Saratoga Falls) who just recently got engaged to a white-collar salesman living in the same city. In fact the reason she'd come for dinner tonight was to announce the engagement.<br/>
<br/>
"Robert was great guy though!" Ida declares. "A good, strong, handsome Italian man." Ida and Angelo DaSilva are fairly older, 52 and 54 respectively, and both take considerable pride in their Italian heritage having grown up in Italian-American families in New Jersey.<br/>
<br/>
"Robert was a jackass, Ma!" Carla exclaimed, "He acted real nice around you guys but he was a jealous jerk. And he was a jealous jerk while cheating on me!" She gives you and your brother an aside, "Kyra, never date a guy like that. Nicky, don't be a guy like that."<br/>
<br/>
"Kyra doesn't have to worry because SHE can't get a boyfriend." Dominick, Kyra's 13-year-old brother, states smugly.<br/>
<br/>
"Nicky! Don't talk about your sister like that!" Ida exclaims admonishing him.<br/>
<br/>
For your part you attempt to ignore it and keep eating as Kyra usually does when her brother's being a smartass. Kyra and her sister have never had a particularly close relationship due to the large age difference so it's not her fault she was unaware that Kyra had actually dated a jerk her freshman year. A jerk who wanted to move things way faster than Kyra did. A jerk who spread around false rumors of lesbianism because she wouldn't put out. A jerk that caused her to cloister herself from the rest of the world.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Kyra, huh?" Straussler says before school the next morning.<br/>
<br/>
"Why are you surprised?" you ask, "I told Alyssa to tell you where I was."<br/>
<br/>
"You told her to tell me you were a cheerleader." he states, "I didn't know which one." He gets a thoughtful look on his face, "Well hey, I know she doesn't get out much but I'm thinking of hosting a get together after school. The basketball team and the cheerleaders."<br/>
<br/>
"In the middle of the week?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"A little Wednesday get together." he smiles, "You got the money and the space make use of it."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Most of the rest of the morning passes uneventfully. You talk with Leslie and apologize for dropping her, telling her that being distracted isn't going to be a problem anymore. For her part she apologizes for yelling at you and that she was just pissed in the heat of the moment. She asks if you've heard about Straussler's party and you tell her that you still haven't decided. Thankfully convincing your parents wouldn't be hard as for Kyra being close to her senior year they've taken a more hands off approach telling her that she's going to have to deal with the consequences, both good and bad, of her actions. To prepare her for adulthood where you're not always going to have people to bail you out, they say.<br/>
<br/>
Lunch is spent sitting with a boy named Brandon Spinelli. They share a math class and given that math has always been a terrible subject for Kyra he's been helping to tutor her and through that a friendship developed. "I heard about what happened yesterday with Leslie." Brandon says. He's slightly chubby, wears glasses and is a bit of a nerd but he's also quite outgoing and personable such that he gets along well with most people from a wide variety of groups.<br/>
<br/>
"We apologized and put it behind us earlier." you say, "Nobody got seriously hurt so we're good with each other."<br/>
<br/>
"That's good. Wouldn't want you to get alienated from your friends." he says.<br/>
<br/>
You smile at him, "That's sweet but I'd still have you at least."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah..." he says and you notice he trails off a bit. You wonder if there's something wrong when suddenly he springs it on you. "Well hey, I was wondering if you weren't, you know, doing anything Friday... you wanna go see a movie?"<br/>
<br/>
You're a bit surprised by that. "With who?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Just us. You and me." he states.<br/>
<br/>
Oh god... he finally did it! Kyra had picked up a while ago on the fact he liked her and to his credit it was a feeling that she definitely reciprocated. Brandon was a genuinely nice guy and probably the first guy Kyra had felt genuinely comfortable around since 9th grade. She just was never quite sure if she could work up the nerve to say anything and so she was waiting for him to make a move. Well if she likes him... "Oh! Uh, yeah!" you exclaim with a smile, "Yeah, that sounds nice. I'd love it." with that you lean over and give him a quick peck on the lips which definitely takes HIM by surprise.<br/>
<br/>
You wonder though... you've decided to make Kyra into a little bit more of an outgoing person so you've decided to go to that little get together after all. But you wonder now if you should bring Brandon, your now boyfriend, along. It'd definitely make a splash for Kyra to show up not only at a party but with a boyfriend in tow.</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212122212
author_id: rugal
title: Become the new power couple
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I don't know." Ian replies as he starts to get dressed, "Like I had said before one of us should have gotten, should get, Straussler. Dude's loaded. We wouldn't need to worry about anything with him. Hell if you wanted another girl, and take that however you want, with him you'd have no problem doing it even if he's a bit tied down at the moment."<br/>
<br/>
"Buuuuut..." you smirk at him. Alyssa's very keen at spotting those little tones of doubt after all.<br/>
<br/>
"But... I do kind of like your idea." Ian replies. "Being at the top of the food chain, the head of the social scene, it's something I'm good at. Shit it's practically all I've ever really known. And even moving to another school what happens? I get the head of the basketball team." He looks a bit thoughtful and smiles, a small laugh escaping his lips, "Man if Gordon only knew where I was now."<br/>
<br/>
Shirt in hand, the last item of clothing you need to put on, you sidle up to Ian on the bed where he's sitting. "So what DO you think about Gordon now? With a new perspective and all?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"It's like... the part of me that's still Chelsea in here misses him a bit. He's a big, stupid lunkhead but he's MY big stupid lunkhead." The feminine pout in those words makes you snicker a bit, "But the Ian part? God, I can't wait to show that fucking oaf who really is the best."<br/>
<br/>
"And what about what you said, about only knowing how to be at the top?" you ask, "You want to stay there right? Because if anyone could dethrone Kyle and Jenny... it's us. You're the handsome star of the basketball team and once you beat Westside you'll be king of the school at least for a bit... so why not make that permanent?" You then wrap your arms around his neck and reposition yourself into his lap. "And I'm the head cheerleader, I run the rumor mill in this school and I'm a strong, smart, beautiful black woman." you smile down at him, "You think so too, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"I think," he replies, "that maybe you're getting a little too into the role."<br/>
<br/>
You glower at Ian, "The role? Honey, this is no role. I AM Alyssa fucking Randall and..." you catch yourself and shake your head. "Sorry, the experience and the beer has made me a little... sorry."<br/>
<br/>
Ian gives you a smile, "Yeah, alright. It happens I guess, right? Especially for someone who's never really been in this kind of position." With that he leans up and gives you a quick kiss, "But I like your idea. I like being at the top and obviously so do you. So sure, let's try it."<br/>
<br/>
After Ian drops you back off at your house, he drove you up there and you're a little too buzzed to drive your car back from the school, you take a quick shower before heading off to bed. You catch sight of yourself in the mirror after stepping out and smile: you look good, damn good, and getting Ian to agree to your idea... well, was there every any doubt that he'd do it? Chelsea might like to think of herself as the queen bee but putting her under Ian was the best thing you could've done as he's smitten with Alyssa and Chelsea... well she's certainly no Alyssa. YOU'RE Alyssa, the queen of Eastman. And it's good to be the queen.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"So is there somethin' goin' on between you and Ian?"<br/>
<br/>
Tina Branson, her folksy, southern twang is as sweet as her disposition. A real down home, practical girl who didn't take long to buy into Alyssa's "for the good of everyone" motivation for gossip mongering. "Something going on between me and Ian?" you ask, almost rhetorically.<br/>
<br/>
"Well you've been hangin' around him the last coupla days and then I heard Monique talkin' about you bein' at get together at Johnathan's place last night." she explains, "So spill it. Has the queen finally gotten herself caught up in some steamy, tabloid romance with the hunky basketball star?"<br/>
<br/>
"What's this about romance now?" you're joined by Maddy Caron.<br/>
<br/>
"Me and Ian Carpenter are a thing now." you say before Tina even has a chance to speak.<br/>
<br/>
A wry smile appears on Maddy's face. "Well good job on joining the rest of us commoners down here in the village and getting yourself a guy." she replies, a sarcastic bowing motion accompanying the words. Maddy's a snarky, take no shit kind of person with a bit of an acerbic personality.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh fuck off, Maddy, I think it's great." replies Tina... her folksiness hasn't dulled her ability to use certain words every so often. Although in this case it's a bit more good natured as Tina and Maddy are practically best friends. "Ya know, though, you 'n Ian could probably give Kyle and Jenny a run for their money if you ever wanted to."<br/>
<br/>
"If we ever wanted to, sure." you say as you put your books into your locker, "But who said we wanted to? Kyle and Jenny are a great couple. They're super-nice and Jenny's just such a good person. They're great ambassadors of the school to the rest of the community especially compared to Queen Chelsea the Terrible and Moose over at Westside."<br/>
<br/>
"Moose." Maddy chimes in.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, I read a lot of Archie comics as and I don't remember what that lunkhead of Chelsea's name is, alright?" you reply. "Anyway, I'm just saying it'd be a shame if anything happened to displace Kyle and Jenny so me and Ian...? We're just gonna do our thing and that's all so don't try and stir shit and ESPECIALLY make sure Lisa doesn't try and stir shit."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
Still despite those words, a bit sincere as they are although they'd be genuine coming from the real Alyssa, your and Ian's new status is the talk of school. You see some back patting and high fiving going on with Ian and some of his buddies, plenty of girls come up to congratulate you although you try to demure and play things off. It's practically inescapable and secretly you're lapping it all up. After school ends you make the rounds to get a little bit of gossip, including a stop by the freshman class, before eventually deciding to make a stop by the room used for the school paper as Alyssa hasn't checked in on them in a while and you figure it'd be a good idea to see if Kelly's fought off those rumors. You're instead given a warm greeting by Miss Redmond, the pretty and younger history teacher and school paper head, and Kyle Lakewood.<br/>
<br/>
You exchange a quick greeting with Miss Redmond, she's always been a fairly approachable sort and it (and the looks) helped make her one of the most popular teachers in the school. She has a bit of work to do before Kelly, Genevieve and the rest of the crew arrives so she excuses herself leaving you together with Kyle who wipes a bit of sweat off his brow.<br/>
<br/>
"Congratulations Alyssa." You're not surprised that it's the first thing he says, "Glad it's Ian. He's a good guy and deserves someone nice."<br/>
<br/>
"Someone like me?" you smile.<br/>
<br/>
He nods. "Someone like you."<br/>
<br/>
"So what's up with you being in here?" you ask, "You're not really the journalist type."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, well Miss Redmond caught me in the hall between classes. She had couple of things she needed moved around in here so I just came here after last period."<br/>
<br/>
"You help her out a lot?" you ask, "Seems like kind of a random thing to ask you."<br/>
<br/>
"Jenny's friends with Kelly so I'll hang out here every so often with her." He explains, "So we're kind of familiar, you know?"<br/>
<br/>
After the rest of the school paper crew arrives you take a bit of time to collect a little more gossip and ask Kelly how things are going with Liam. You then bid farewell and head out to your car, making a call to Ian telling him to meet up with you at your place. If you want to be at the top of the school unopposed you're going to have to facilitate a break up of Jenny and Kyle. You had originally just thought of making masks of the two of them, golemizing them and then just have them drift apart amicably. But the gears are spinning in your head... why be nice? If the split is amiable and relatively drama free people might rally behind them. You'll be on top by default but they'll still have support.<br/>
<br/>
But what if something happened to cause the break up? An action that would be almost unforgivable? Kyle seems to be on great terms with Miss Redmond... but what would happen if he was on even better terms with her? More intimate terms?</span></div></div>


path: 113122122121222121
author_id: rugal
title: The Devil and Tina Branson
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"So how'd the boys treat you?"<br/>
<br/>
It's in the evening now and Ian and yourself are sitting in his car outside your house after a small, informal dinner. It was a question that, for whatever reason, you hadn't gotten around to asking. You're wondering how Chelsea is adjusting to her current position."Lots of back patting and shit like that." he replies looking ahead, "You know, guy shit. A couple of them thought it was about time I finally took the hints."<br/>
<br/>
"And the rest?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just lots of congrats on getting the head cheerleader and most popular girl in school." he answers.<br/>
<br/>
"Hmm, Kyle Lakewood was happy for you." you say, "Said that Ian's a great guy and it's good he could find someone nice."<br/>
<br/>
"So is Ian a great guy?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
You give him a smile. "Well is Alyssa someone nice?"<br/>
<br/>
"She is." he turns to look at you, "Most of the time. Speaking of nice people... so how are we supposed to usurp the king and queen position from Kyle and Jenny anyway?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know. I've just been running ideas through my head." you state plainly, "And even if I did know it's better if YOU don't. If something were to happen to Kyle and Jenny we need as many people out of the loop as possible. Less chance of tracing it back to me... back to Alyssa, that is."<br/>
<br/>
The explanation is one that doesn't seem to perk Ian up. "That's not a good omen." he shoots back, then looks you dead in the eye. "You're not going to, like, kill them are you?"<br/>
<br/>
You hold his gaze and you're not quite sure whether or not he's being serious. "If you mean put golem masks on them... it's a possibility. We got handful of masks from our from Will and Chelsea and them so we could put one on one of them and start having them act a little different. But that's just A option. I'm gonna weigh through as many possibilities as I can before deciding the best way to go about it."<br/>
<br/>
"Another benefit of being Alyssa, I assume?" asks Ian.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm great at sorting through stuff like that. I, she, wouldn't have gotten to where she is today without being a good analytical mind." you explain. With that you give Ian deep kiss and smile at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, babe, alright? We can have some fun then; I think I'll be in the mood for a little fooling around."<br/>
<br/>
You wave goodbye and bound up to your room. You were feeding your partner a line of bullshit, of course. You've decided on a course of action and it's not the seemingly more benign option you presented to Ian. Alyssa's a person of strong morals and convictions but you? Well you're a good person of course but you're also a bit impatient. So in your mind the quickest way is the best. Besides if need be you'll repair the relationship between Eastman's stars after you've firmly established yourself and your partner in their former position.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"...Lord, oh Lord what the..." you hear a frantic voice as you come to. "What the hell's goin' on, I don't... oh Lord..."<br/>
<br/>
You had gotten to school fairly early in order to catch Miss Redmond in her class room as she was getting her plan for the day ready. You'd thrown one of the blank masks onto her before she had a chance to react, then it was a matter of putting the Alyssa mask you golemized onto her face after the mask, now reading ANNETTE MARGARET REDMOND, emerged from her. Then, naturally, you pushed Miss Redmond's mask to your face. And that's when you woke up to a voice and a face coming into view that you recognized as Tina's.<br/>
<br/>
"Ms. Branson?" you ask as you push yourself off the floor, "What are you doing here?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't 'Ms. Branson' me you... whoever you are! Whatever you are!"<br/>
<br/>
You look down at yourself, a bit of blonde hair falling into view, and notice that you're still dressed in the clothes you were wearing as Alyssa. "Oops, looks like screwed up." you mutter, then look over at Tina. "How much did you see?"<br/>
<br/>
"Enough." she states authoritatively, "I saw Alyssa go into this room so I followed figurin' I could talk to her but then I saw you layin' on the ground, you were some guy I've never seen here before, and then you were Miss Redmond. So don't even think you can fool me."<br/>
<br/>
You then look over at Alyssa, reach into her bag which is now on the floor and hand her a mask. "Put that on her. Put it on her then hold her. Then give it to me when it comes back but make sure she does NOT get away, you understand?" you explain. And with a nod Alyssa descends on her terrified subordinate.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"Wakey wakey, southern belle." you say to Tina as she comes to. She's surprised to see herself, dressed in Miss Redmond's clothes, smirking at her.<br/>
<br/>
"Wh-what have you done..." she stammers nervously.<br/>
<br/>
"If it ain't obvious, sweetie, I've become you." you reply. Her voice, her intonations but none of the sweetness that usually comes with them.<br/>
<br/>
Tina scoots back away from you. "Where's Alyssa? What'd you do to her?" she asks nervous.<br/>
<br/>
"Gone, sent her out to do Alyssa things." you reply, "Didn't see a real point in keepin' her around seein' as you knocked yourself out for a few minutes after comin' too. Ain't a good idea to struggle, sugar."<br/>
<br/>
"You're... you're me..." she stammers, "You're..."<br/>
<br/>
You smirk; it's a cold smirk. An unnerving one. One that makes Tina shudder. "To show you just what it is I'm capable of." you say, "I've taken Alyssa, Miss Redmond and you. I can be anywhere, anyone, so you better think long and hard about what I'm about to say to you." you explain. "You know who I am... or at least who I'm not. You've seen me and that's not a good thing, not at all, and I could get rid of you. I should get rid of you. Take this mask I'm wearin', apply some stuff to it, then shove it on your face makin' it so you're my servant."<br/>
<br/>
You then walk over and before she can react you pull Tina up from the floor. "But I'm not gonna do that. That ain't the kinda person I am. So I'll bring you in. I've got a little plan I had goin' before you interrupted." you say, "So now I'm in a bind but I figure havin' you on my side would be a good thing, right? So that's how it's gonna be. You're gonna help me, Tina. You're gonna help me by keepin' my secret, about Alyssa's secret or Miss Redmond's. Who's gonna believe you anyway? I've got your mask here anyway, I've got all your memories, your personality, everything that makes you you. You don't play ball and I could trap you under a mask and take your place. Nobody would ever know. You understand, don't you?"<br/>
<br/>
Tina can do nothing but meekly nod an affirmative, tears looking like they're beginning to form in her eyes. You wonder, for a brief moment, if you're being too harsh with her but dismiss the thought.<br/>
<br/>
"Great!" you exclaim, "So here's the deal: Kyle Lakewood and Miss Redmond... you ever notice they spend a lot of time together? They're friendly, he's always helpin' her? Well what are they doin' some people might wonder. So I say give 'em somethin' to wonder about."<br/>
<br/>
"You... you're gonna..." she starts.<br/>
<br/>
"Create a little scandal, yeah." You smile towards her as an idea pops into your head, "Or maybe I won't be doin' it. Maybe you wanna show that I can trust you with my secret. Hell, maybe you wanna get a little close to Kyle yourself."<br/>
<br/>
You've got Tina in the palm of your hand. You can see it on her face, her mannerisms. She looks at you as if you're the devil... something that'd frighten anyone but especially a religious girl like Tina. The devil? For the jocks like Kyle that made your life hell, sure. Or the stuck up princesses like Jenny with their noses held high in the air... the type who'd never give you the time of day. Maybe you need to show her that you're not such a devil. Let her go and just check up on her to make sure she's keeping mum. You've already got her witless as it is.</span></div></div>


path: 113122122122
author_id: rugal
title: Cousin Love, or the Cross-Town Caper
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"No." you repeat the word with a much more forceful tone.<br/>
<br/>
"Will, come on. I know Caleb pissed you off but I didn't--" Keith starts.<br/>
<br/>
You cut him off. "I'm not in the mood, alright? Asshole beaned me in the head with a heavy fucking backpack." You glare at him, "And I'm guessing he sent you around to try and clean up his mess right?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's not it at all!" he protests, more like whines really. A really annoying whine.<br/>
<br/>
"Just get out of here, Keith." you state as bluntly as possible. "When I want to talk to you guys again I'LL seek YOU. Otherwise stay away from me, got it?"<br/>
<br/>
You don't even give him a chance to respond before closing the door in his face and trudging back up to your room. Were you harsh on him? Yeah definitely but at the same time what you said you honestly meant. Your anger will probably subside but for now you really want nothing to do with either of them for the time being. Not when you're able to hang out with Chelsea Cooper, no matter how secretly.<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea Cooper... maybe you should give Caleb thanks for that you think to yourself sarcastically. She can be overbearing, she can be demanding, she can be bossy, snarky, a bitch. But you remember what she said to you when you had put yourself down, words that sounded an awful lot like encouragement. "Hey Will, don't be so down on yourself. Even the queen can find something redeeming about you." was the message you took from it. And even if it was under the guise of being other people she took you out and showed you a good time. It took a lot of willpower to turn her offer down as well and it had nothing to do with Kelsey thinking Karl was kind of cute. You suspect that somewhere under the looks, the attitude, the manipulation, there's a halfway decent person.<br/>
<br/>
Or maybe hope is a better word. You hope she's actually a good person. You hope this pseudo-friendship can continue. You hope, perhaps, that she realizes that you're a swell, thoughtful and attentive person. That you could be just as good as Gordon. That you could be something more. You shake the thought away. It'd never happen, of course, so better to focus on what you have instead of what you can't have.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
School the next few days is rather uneventful. Time that would've been spent with Caleb and Keith is instead spent with James Lamont, Paul Davis, Carson Ioegger and Jenny Ashton and, at least one lucky time, with Yumi. All of them question if something happened with you and your friends. Every question answered with the same story. Every story responded to with the same sentiments of hoping that things subside quickly. The real interesting thing happens on Tuesday when Gordon pays you a visit inbetween classes. Ostensibly the excuse is that you've been stealing looks at his girl and in turn he's gonna take a little payment back as he reaches a meaty hand into your backpack.<br/>
<br/>
You're distracted by the giant forearm pressed against your throat and pinning you to the wall and the grimacing face mere inches from your own that you only just barely notice a faint blue object in his other hand. "A little present from Chelsea for what you've done for her. Have fun with it." he says quietly in his usual, gruff tone.<br/>
<br/>
At home you hold the mask and band in your hand as you sit in your room. Have fun with it eh? How? Chelsea has her claws everywhere so her getting people isn't hard but you? You're not too keen on being Caleb or Keith, or making nice yet. James and Paul are just sort of bland and Carson has a it of a dirty vibe to him; maybe because of his unwashed bandana. There's Jenny: she's cute and you've certainly thought of her more than once while pleasuring yourself. To be honest being Kelsey wasn't a bad experience so you're not averse to being a chick, especially if it's just something to fool around in. But why Jenny? If you could somehow get her alone... well Yumi's in your Top Five Girls You'd Like To See Naked list.<br/>
<br/>
You're shocked out of your reverie when you hear a knock on the door and Umeko's voice asking if she can come in. Turned out her dorm's washing machine was on the fritz and since her adoptive parents live out of town she figured it'd be easier to just bring some clothes of hers that needed washing over here and pick them up tomorrow. She notices the mask in your hand and asks if she can see it and without a second thought you hand it for her to look at. And that's when you notice that, thinking it might be funny, she puts the mask up to her face...<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Oh God!" you exclaim as you finish working yourself up and relax on your bed in the warm, sweaty afterglow, your chin-length bob haircut a little more wet and messy.<br/>
<br/>
Umeko's body is taut and firm. She's roughly around the same size as Yumi although slightly taller (maybe an inch or two) with a slightly bigger chest and perhaps an extra five to seven pounds. It's a nice body though and one you're a bit disappointed that you'll never get to experience in quite the way you wanted. Poking through Umeko's mind has told you that she was never really interested in you physically. Or any guy for that matter.<br/>
<br/>
Who she was interested in were girls and specifically a cute little freshman living in her dorm named Rhonda Turner. With a grunt you bring your hands up to your face and pull the mask off. After coming to you look at the new Umeko mask. You have her right here in your hands, able to see her whenever you see fit, able to make her do whatever it is you want to do. It's a feeling that, though disheartening due to the revelations to you of her sexuality, is also exciting.<br/>
<br/>
About as exciting as your mom telling you that you have another visitor coming. A knock on the door and you're greeted by a rather tall girl. Taller than you by a couple of inches and you're around 6'1". Even beyond that she's a sight with her incredibly toned, athletic build, pretty face, wavy brown hair and warm smile. "Uh, wh--who are you?" is all you can stammer at out as she closes the door.<br/>
<br/>
"Hannah Chamberlain, star forward for the Eastman girl's basketball team; but you can call me Chelsea." she beams.<br/>
<br/>
You'd have done a spittake if you were drinking anything. "Chelsea?!" you exclaim, "But how did--" you catch yourself and calm down, "How'd you get an Eastman basketball player?"<br/>
<br/>
"Eastman played Westside today. The girl's teams." she answers. That explains it; Eastman's girl's team is a force while Westside's... is kind of the opposite so nobody at Westside pays too much attention to the girl's team. "Even if nobody cares we still have to cheer so it was just a matter of hanging around after the game until I had a chance to grab her." She notices the mask in your hands. "I see Gordon gave you my little present. Who's that?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh it's just my cousin." you reply, "Didn't mean to get her really. It was kind of an accident."<br/>
<br/>
"Well since you like girls so much, here." Chelsea says teasingly causing you to blush. She pulls another completed mask out of her bag and handed it to you. "Grabbed Yumi while I was at the game too. The Eastman girl's team and some other people are having a little mid-week party to celebrate the win so I figure we'd crash it; Yumi's got friends and cousins who go to Eastman so her being there won't be strange." She pauses to hand you the bag she was carrying. "Yumi's stuff. She was DEFINITELY a little confused. Cunt's gonna talk shit about me, maybe she shouldn't leave her stuff out in the open."<br/>
<br/>
Peering into Yumi's (you assume) gym bag you notice some make up, brushes, a pair of clothes and some non-athletic shoes. Seeing the clothes thing reminds you, "Hey, um what if I wanted to go to the party as my cousin instead?" you ask. "She's a freshman at Keyserling so there might be less chance of any rumors and stuff getting out." A weak excuse you realize.<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea thinks it over for a minute. "I guess that's fine. Keyserling's one of the schools trying to recruit Hannah so I can just make up a story about running into her while I toured the campus."<br/>
<br/>
"What about the real Hannah?" you ask, "Won't she be there?"<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea smirks, "Won't be an issue. You remember the golem mask spell? I kinda used it on a mask of myself and slapped it on the real Hannah." She explains, "Actually, I kind of want a break from being Chelsea Cooper so I'm gonna spend the rest of the week as Hannah. I'll still call and we can get together and maybe figure out the book though." With that she hands you another blank mask and some golemization material. "Make one for you if you ever feel like you need to get away too." With that goodbyes are exchanged and with a wave Chelsea's gone.<br/>
<br/>
You smile to yourself. You wanted Yumi and instead got her AND your cousin. And with the golem mask spell... well spending time as Kelsey was fun; way better than being plain ol' Will Prescott so you might take Chelsea's suggestion to heart. You line up the masks in front of you on your bed and look at them: Yumi, Umeko, and one future Will golem. The golem masks certainly make going out as someone much easier. The question is who to go to that party as? Who to be? Being a cheerleader able to float between cliques might be fun but you're kind of interested in getting a preview of the college life and digging into the inner-workings of Umeko's...</span></div></div>


path: 1131221221221
author_id: rugal
title: The Offer
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"You're enjoying that aren't you?"<br/>
<br/>
Hannah sits on your bed as you continue stretching. "I've never been this flexible. Or full of energy. Besides, I've gotta keep myself in shape somehow, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"The party starts at 8." she states plainly.<br/>
<br/>
"Right it starts at 8. We've got plenty of time so I'm gonna get a small workout in." you reply.<br/>
<br/>
"You'll be all sweaty and smelly."<br/>
<br/>
"I've got perfume." you state, "And time enough to take a shower.<br/>
<br/>
Getting Yumi was fairly easy. You were lucky enough to run into Yumi before school started. It took a bit of convincing to get her off into a more secluded area near the bathrooms; just a matter of convincing her you've got some problems that you feel you can't talk to anybody else about. Friend problems. Lucky for you Yumi considers herself a bit of a support network for things like that. You put the mask of herself onto her face just as a way to get her out and into a stall. You weren't going to risk her clothes ripping when you threw your mask on after all.<br/>
<br/>
Yumi's body felt fantastic. So flexible, so full of energy, fit and toned with excellently strong legs. Yumi was perhaps the most naturally gifted member of the cheerleading squad. She worked hard to keep herself in shape and worked hard to make sure she was always on top of her routines. She was a threat to Chelsea and so had to work that much harder just to stay on equal footing. And unlike most of the other cheerleaders Yumi held no disdain about interacting with the "lower classes". Jenny Ashton was one of her best friends after all. Looks, abilities and a generally good attitude made her a popular figure and if it wasn't for Chelsea's tyrannical rule of the school a case could be made that Yumi might well be THE most popular student.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Well that was fun." Hannah stated. She pulled her car up into the driveway of Yumi's, your own for now, house. "Wasn't it?"<br/>
<br/>
"I guess so." you role your eyes a bit, "Until Steve and his band of idiots showed up."<br/>
<br/>
It's the truth. The party WAS fun. Yumi's a nice enough person that you had no problem getting along with anyone there. The fact she has cousins that go to Eastman made things easier too. The Eastman group, on the whole, was fairly open and welcoming, the second time you've been to a party like that with them and you start to wonder if all the "utopia" stories about the place are true. Probably exaggerations but the students there definitely seem nicer and not quite as bitter as the Westside set. And some of that Westside set had decided to play a little visit. You're not sure how they knew about the party or its location but Steve Patterson and some of his cronies decided it'd be a good idea to crash it. Lots shoving, lots of shouting, lots of machismo. They eventually left but not before a damper had been put on the party causing everyone to leave earlier than intended.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm guessing you don't like them." she said.<br/>
<br/>
"Me or Yumi?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"You."<br/>
<br/>
"But that doesn't... ugh, whatever." you reply in exasperation. "Yumi puts on airs, she's too nice to say anything outright, but she isn't a fan of the hierarchy system. She hates the way people like Steve or..." you look straight at Hannah, "or Chelsea enforce these rigid rules. The way they terrorize people they see as beneath them which is most everyone."<br/>
<br/>
"I knew that about Yumi." Hannah says as she leans back in the driver seat as much as it'll allow, "She doesn't do much to hide it. Lin and the Garners just plain hate me too."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think Yumi hates YOU. She hates what you do."<br/>
<br/>
You see what looks like a thoughtful expression on Hannah's face but it washes off quickly enough. "What about Will? What does Will think?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"I can't stand it." you reply with a sigh, "Nobody on that level can. Me, my friends... heh, Yumi's mind is telling me that's practically all that Jenny and her friends talk about."<br/>
<br/>
"So what? It's just high school. Shit happens and you deal with it and move on." Hannah states.<br/>
<br/>
You give off a sarcastic laugh, "You think it's that easy? You don't deal with the shit. You're on the other side so you never have to deal with the the effect your actions or Patterson's actions or Gordon's actions or Lynch's or Lester's can have on the people they shit on." You grunt in annoyance, "It's like an unmanned drone. So what if you dropped a bomb on some wedding? You're on the other side of the world and completely disconnected from it all. You've never had Gordon run his fist through your face because he didn't like that you were looking side-eyed at his girl. You've never had Lynch nearly pop your head with a headlock, make you tell him you'd be grateful to suck his dick and then for good measure slam you into a locker. Head first."<br/>
<br/>
You notice what seems to be a look of genuine concern on her face. "Will, I didn't--"<br/>
<br/>
"Know? What about Jenny?" you ask. "She's a pretty girl. She's a sweet girl. She's one of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met at Westside and that goes for both the Yumi and Will halves of me. That girl would go out of her way help someone who needed it even if it was just lending them a shoulder to lean on. And YOU do everything in your power to hold her down, to ruin her self-esteem. And for what? To stick it to Yumi just a little more?"<br/>
<br/>
You can tell that she looks upset now. "But you've been hanging around me, Will! You know that I'm not..." she protests but catches herself. "You don't get it. You don't get what being at the top means. You don't understand how many people are gunning for you. How many are just WAITING for you to make a mistake. Kendra's a snake and she'd eat me whole the second she felt she could. Gordon's..." she looks down, "Gordon has problems. As bad as you think he is now trust me when I say I'm the only thing keeping him heeled. If I let go of the leash..." she shakes her head.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, I've seen glimpses of a good person under the facade. A nice person." you state, "But if being the queen is apparently so much pressure, so much that you'd kill that person and replace her with someone so mean you have to ask yourself if it's worth it." You give it a thought, "I guess I sort of get why you said you wanted to take a break."<br/>
<br/>
"I think the break's gonna be longer than a few days." she states, "More like an extended vacation. These masks... in more ways than one they let you become someone else. They let you see the world through a different set of eyes, get a different view on things. Step back and take stock. I think I want try more viewpoints." She turns and gives you a smile, "I have an offer for you though. I'll make another mask of myself, no golem stuff, and it'll be yours."<br/>
<br/>
"It'll be mine? A mask of you?"<br/>
<br/>
She nods, "You said being at the bottom sucks so you can try being at the top."<br/>
<br/>
"You want me to step in for you? You want me to be Chelsea Cooper?" you ask not sure if you can believe what you're hearing. "You're not afraid I'll fuck your life up?"<br/>
<br/>
She flashes a smile, "Maybe it can give you a new perspective. Maybe having things turned upside down will be for the best. Maybe you can look at a way of being a Chelsea that isn't a miserable cunt to everyone who crosses her path." She looks at you and you can see a warmth there, and not a warmth that comes from being Hannah but a genuine one that comes from deep down in the core of the person behind the mask. "Around you I think I don't have to be Queen Chelsea, I can just be Chelsea and it's kind of a liberating feeling. We'll keep in contact as much as possible no matter what you want to do. I... kind of like being around you, Will."<br/>
<br/>
Your heart stops in your chest. You're not sure how to take that but having Chelsea freakin' Cooper say something like that about you... and to just step into her life? You were wanting to get away from being Will for a while. You're not sure if it was going to be Yumi or Lin or Jenny or someone entirely unexpected. But Chelsea Cooper has dropped right into your lap, in multiple ways, and you wonder if you should just search around for something else or take an opportunity that's been practically gifted to you.</span></div></div>


path: 1131221221222
author_id: rugal
title: Your Cousin Yourself
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You're mulling over the possibilities all day Wednesday. At lunch time Yumi mentions that someone stole her stuff during the game last night. Of course you know who did it and mull over the possibility of telling her that you know who did it, a chance to try and get her alone in private to make the switch. However you're so worried that it won't work, that she'll want to talk about it in front of the rest of the group and you don't want to risk exposing Chelsea so the opportunity passes. If you want her you'll have to tell Chelsea, her golem anyway, to have Yumi meet up with the two of you in the Fuck Room to do it safely and in private.<br/>
<br/>
You're still not sure what to do until you get home and you see Umeko's mid-'90s Civic parked in the driveway. "Will, hi!" she say in a rather chipper manner as you open the door. You give her a greeting and tell her you'll be down in a minute since you have to put your stuff upstairs. You were surprised to even see her in the house since nobody else was home until remembering that your mom gave her one of the extra keys so she could get in and get her clothes.<br/>
<br/>
You come back down with the both the Umeko mask and the golemized mask of yourself that you made last night. She's noticeably taken aback by the sight of them given what happened last night. You tell her it's because they're magic, something that the person who had given them to you said but that you didn't believe until what happened. You tell her to have a look inside one of the masks and reluctantly she grabs the one of herself that you hand her. You use that opportunity to shove it into her face; if you're gonna take your cousin's place for a bit you want her mask as up to date as possible. You divest her of her clothes: a small tight-fitting shirt, short jean shorts and sandals as well as underwear, and once her mask re-appears you grab it and shove your own onto her.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"going as czn, meet me @ north hills round 7. bldng F apt #2148. hav 2 get 2 class. phone #'s xxx-xxx-xxxx."<br/>
<br/>
You shoot the text off to Hannah, you're a bit lucky she had contacted Will's phone to ask what was going on, then grab your keys and head back to Keyserling. You sit through your afternoon class, a rather boring archaeology class, doing your best to not get distracted. It's nothing against the subject itself, ancient cultures are a pretty fascinating thing, but Prof. Blackwell is a combination of complete dryness and droning verbosity that his points are almost always drowned out in a combination of wordswordswords from himself and general apathy from the students. You're relieved when class finally ends around 5:00 PM and Blackwell DOESN'T inform you of any tests for once.<br/>
<br/>
Once you're back in your apartment you throw your bag in a corner and flop onto the bed. "That you Umeko?" Justine Millar, one of your roommates (it's a small off campus apartment with four girls including you and Justine), pokes her head out from the bathroom and her stringy hair lets you know she just got out of the shower.<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh yeah. God I hope they get the washing machines fixed soon because I really don't want to have to keep running to my aunt's to wash my clothes." you groan.<br/>
<br/>
"At least you're getting it for free. Same with Lynne and Sam. I'm stuck with the laundromat." She replies stepping from the bathroom wearing a robe.<br/>
<br/>
"Your parents haven't down to Florida yet so why not take your shit over there?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
You hear a sharp laugh come from the bathroom. "You're kidding right? They got me out the door pretty much as soon as I graduated so they could get down there and take it easy. It's just a matter of finding the right house." she answers. "I know my dad. 'Justine your free ride ended with high school.' and my mom's just gonna back him up. So I'm stuck."<br/>
<br/>
"You going somewhere?"<br/>
<br/>
"Eric got that internship at the news station so we're going out to dinner to celebrate." Justine replies practically beaming. They'd been dating since the beginning of their senior year of high school.<br/>
<br/>
You give her a smirk, "The best filet mignon 'experience' and college credit can buy, huh?" you tease.<br/>
<br/>
"God, shut up!" she exclaims playfully throwing her wet towel at you causing the both of you to laugh. "So you doing anything yourself later?" she asks a minute later after you both calm down.<br/>
<br/>
"Gonna hang out with that basketball player from Eastman." you answer. "The tall girl that was here last week. The one Keyserling thinks they can get on a hometown deal even though she's getting recruited by schools like Maryland and Rutgers."<br/>
<br/>
"Cradle robbing?" Justine teases.<br/>
<br/>
"Now it's your turn to shut up." you shoot back, "No she's 18 so it's only a year's difference. Plus I'm not into her like that PLUS I've heard she has a boyfriend anyway so that kind of eliminates my chances. She's pretty cool so we're just hanging out."<br/>
<br/>
"Chad and his boys are throwing a party tonight. Why not hang out with her there?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
You give a shrug, "I dunno, maybe? We'll see what happens."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Think I should change into something else or go like this?" you say twisting and turning in the bathroom mirror. You're still wearing the clothes from earlier.<br/>
<br/>
"It's just a high school party and a smaller one so I don't know if it matters." Hannah replies as she lays on your bed.<br/>
<br/>
"It matters to me." you reply, "I want to look nice."<br/>
<br/>
"Will..." she starts.<br/>
<br/>
"Umeko." you reply, "If I have to call you Hannah, you have to call me Umeko."<br/>
<br/>
"Umeko," Hannah corrects herself, "You look nice in that don't worry about it. I'm guessing you'd look nice in anything."<br/>
<br/>
"I cannot be modest." you say in a jokingly dramatic fashion, "This beauty I possess is such a curse. But thanks anyway. Flattery will get you everywhere honey."<br/>
<br/>
"Honey?" she asks bemused.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm into hot girls. You're a hot girl. I kind of want to jump your bones." you state bluntly.<br/>
<br/>
You've been a bit surprised in the few hours you've spent as Umeko. Your experiences with her she's always been fairly sweet but on her own, well she's not a bad girl by any means but she's hardly the archetypal Good Girl she is around family. She's your typical college girl, likes to party, likes to partake in various typical college substances and a lot more open about her sexuality (both her preferences and generally liking sex). Probably a bit of rebellion due to the fact your aunt and uncle, while good people, are fairly strict and conservative.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm mostly fucking with you." you laugh, "You're taken and we're going as friends anyway. I don't actually want to leap on every girl within my field of vision."<br/>
<br/>
Hannah, for her part, just shakes her head. "So what's up with the Korean?" she asks, "I thought she was your cousin."<br/>
<br/>
"Japanese. Umeko's a Japanese name; means plum child." you explain, "And I, she, was adopted by my aunt and uncle as a kid so... yeah. Happens you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Excuse me for not knowing every Asian at a glance." she replies in a huff. That response is 100% Chelsea.<br/>
<br/>
You ignore that little pout and give yourself another once over in the mirror. You then grab a band and quickly tie your hair back. You're satisfied with the results: Umeko Prescott is a girl that can look her best with minimal effort. You slip on your sandals and grab your purse and keys. "We'll take my car." you state.<br/>
<br/>
"You know where Amanda's place is?" Hannah asks.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't but you can tell me. Shouldn't be too hard right? Unless you suck at directions." you say.<br/>
<br/>
You stop before heading out the door however; Justine mentioned a frat party tonight. You're not expecting much out of a high school party while a frat party is, as always, a big deal. Anyone who's anyone is there and Umeko's definitely an anyone on campus. Then again there's nothing stopping you from popping in the Eastman party for a bit, letting Hannah get her car and then heading over to the frat party yourself. Or just ignore the party in general, you don't need to be at EVERY one after all and two parties in one night might be overdoing it.</span></div></div>


path: 11312212212221
author_id: rugal
title: What's a Party Without a Little Drama?
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"God, I feel like such a midget next to you." you say to Hannah as the pair of you walk up towards the front door of Amanda Conners' house. It's not QUITE in the same league as the super-rich neighborhood where families like the Carlsons or Strausslers live but it's still a fairly upper-middle class gated community and a rather nice house.<br/>
<br/>
"Well you practically ARE." she replies, "You Asians are like the people version of those little purse dogs. How tall are you anyway?"<br/>
<br/>
"Wow that's, like, totally not racist at all." You roll your eyes and give a little snort. "5'1", anything else you want to know? Let's see I weigh 110, my favorite color's purple, I'm a Cancer, I'm adopted but you knew that, I like old movies and old pictures and I'm starting to get into cars..." Hannah shoots you a glance that basically asks you if that's all. "Look, I'm short yeah but could you please tell me what it's like at the top of the beanstalk?"<br/>
<br/>
"6'3" is kinda tall but c'mon, it was just a question." she whines.<br/>
<br/>
"I'd have to up on you." You're met with another glare, "Okay okay. Sheesh, can't take a joke." you say throwing your hands up in defeat.<br/>
<br/>
You finally decide that standing around in front of the door when the party's on the other side isn't a good idea and ring the doorbell. You're greeted by a blonde about half a foot shorter than Hannah. "Hey Hannah, you actually made it great!" the greeting is bubbly and chirpy and you're not sure how much, if any, is just putting on airs. You've heard that Eastman isn't the oppressive autocracy that Westside is so you decide to give it the benefit of the doubt. "And who's this?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Umeko." you say extending a hand, "I go to Keyserling. Met Hannah when she did a recruitment tour of the campus last week and we hit it off." you lean in close and quietly (well as quietly as you can above the music) tell her "Actually I'm from John Rollins playing the role of a Keyserling student to get them in trouble for recruiting violations. Don't tell anyone though." you say referring to Keyserling's inter-state rival in all things athletic.<br/>
<br/>
The three of you share a laugh and Amanda invites you in. "I like her already Hannah." she says as she leads you into the living room where assorted things are set up. From what you've seen you're estimating thirty to forty people; both the boys and girls teams (well most of the boys team anyway, a few are missing) and probably a dozen or so assorted others. "Have fun. Mingle. There's some hors d'oeuvres on the table over there."<br/>
<br/>
"Ooh la la. Any booze?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
Amanda stares at you for a second and you briefly wonder if maybe this wasn't the right situation to be snarky in. Then she offers you a smile. "Ian and Shawn brought some beer. It's in the refrigerator. Knock yourself out. Just don't throw up all over the rug."<br/>
<br/>
* * * * *<br/>
<br/>
"So a high school party must seem lame compared to a college party huh? Especially a small little shindig like this." Ian Carpenter shoots the question your way as he flops down on the couch in a small side room. It's eight of you now: yourself and Amanda and Hannah; girls team members Tamara Bowen and Kayla Peyton; the head cheerleader, Alyssa Randall; and boys team members Brett Dutoit and Ian.<br/>
<br/>
"It's not so bad." you reply with a small shrug, "Less bros with muscles and shell necklaces trying to pick me up, figuratively and literally." You take a sip of your beer, probably your third one, "Better beer too. The frat guys are into that cheap shit. 'Who cares? Long as it gets you drunk, brah!' Still tastes like shit, brah." you make retching face causing everyone else to laugh.<br/>
<br/>
"So do you get hassled a lot up there?" asks Kayla.<br/>
<br/>
"About as much as any pretty, petite Asian girl in a campus full of drunken, meatheaded white boys." you reply. "They never have any lucky though."<br/>
<br/>
"You've got a guy?" it's Tamara's turn to ask the question.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head. "Not exactly. Not my thing, you know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oooh, so you're..." Kayla's eyes widen a bit.<br/>
<br/>
"Asexual? Yeah." you giggle a bit, "No, yeah I'm into girls. Ugh you always get those assholes who think they're gonna be the one to bring you back though. Like I'm going to see his majestic cock in all it's white boy glory and just throw myself on it; like they're gonna conquer my pussy. Fucking, pun intended, sexual imperialism is what it is."<br/>
<br/>
You notice Alyssa shoot a glance Hannah's way and then turn to you. "So you didn't go to school around here right?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Nah, I went to Mountridge High. I've got a cousin who goes to Westside though." you answer.<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly you hear the doorbell ring and Amanda, looking a bit confused, stands up to answer it. Conversation continues for a minute until you hear her voice from the house's entranceway. "Get the hell out of here!" she yells.<br/>
<br/>
The rest of you look at each other and decide to go see what the commotion is. "Go away." You hear Amanda continuing.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, we just wanted to congratulate you girls on a job well done!" you hear a male voice say. A male voice that causes you to stop in your tracks until you're behind everyone. "YOU girls, however, we're gonna give you a nice, hard fucking in a couple of weeks." the voice says to Ian as you arrive where the everything is going down. You poke your head through the gaps of people and your suspicions are confirmed: Steve Patterson has managed to shove his way inside along with Seth Javits, Darren Green and Ryan Schuler.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you girls say? Wanna jump on a real winning team?" says Ryan as he pins Amanda between himself and the wall.<br/>
<br/>
"What about you?" Patterson's attentions have suddenly turned towards you. "Small little girl surrounded by all these big ol' basketball players. Gotta be kind of intimidating huh?"<br/>
<br/>
"Get fucked." you tell him trying to hold your composure.<br/>
<br/>
Patterson laughs, "Yeah that's what I was hoping for when I came her--" he's cut off by Ian, Shawn, Brett and Derek Linwood shoving them back out the door. The rest of the basketball players soon follow.<br/>
<br/>
"Get out of here. Unless you think you eight to four puts you at an advantage." he says with grim seriousness.<br/>
<br/>
Patterson looks as if he's ready to throw down but Amanda appears with her cellphone. "Throw a punch," she states, "and I call the police. Unlawful entry, assault, battery. You want to risk it?"<br/>
<br/>
Patterson looks at Amanda, the boys team and the assorted partygoers that have spilled out. "Fuck it." he says patting Seth on the chest as everyone piles into Ryan's SUV, "This was real fun! We've gotta do this again some time!" he calls out before the four of them leave.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Well that was something." you say as the pair of you stand in front of Hannah's car back at the North Hills apartment complex. It's close to 11 o'clock now, Patterson and his gang's antics kind of put a damper on the party. "Christ even when I try and get away from them those guys still know how to cause trouble for me."<br/>
<br/>
"You're a lot different under there." Hannah replies, "More..."<br/>
<br/>
"Outgoing?" you say, "I guess it's like you said before you can get caught up in these things. I was so used to Umeko being the good family girl that I never really noticed that she's not quite the way she is around family. It's nice though; I guess it's easier to be confident when I can just hide behind her face or her personality." You look up at her, "What about you? You've been decidedly less bitchy tonight. Positively nice in fact."<br/>
<br/>
She gives you a shrug. "Hannah's a... nice girl. Like you just said it's easier to go with the flow." she replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Really." you say smiling up at her, "Because even before tonight you've been nice to me in little flares. Nicer to me than my so-called friends." You cross your arms under your chest, "You know what I think? I think you're not the bitch you like people to think you are. I think under everything, deep, deep down," you poke at her stomach a bit, "you're a pretty decent person. And I think being around someone who's not your circle or being someone OTHER than Chelsea is allowing you to let that decent person come up for air."<br/>
<br/>
"Is that what you think?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"It is."<br/>
<br/>
To your surprise she wraps her arms around your waist, leans down and kisses you. "I'm single." she says pulling back, a bit, "We broke up a few days ago." With that she leans down and kisses you again, deeper this time. More gently. More lovingly. She pulls back again. "I think I'm into girls too."<br/>
<br/>
"You or Hannah?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Like we established, it's easy to get caught up in the masks."<br/>
<br/>
You look at her a bit surprised, "I'm kinda buzzed right now.<br/>
<br/>
"So am I." she smiles.<br/>
<br/>
You're really not sure what's going on but it's reminding you a lot of the last party. Is that where this is leading? Is that what Chelsea, or Hannah, or whoever she thinks of herself as, looking for? You look at her warm smile, deep brown eyes, wavy chestnut hair. You should invite her up. You'd probably get lucky. More than that a part of you, and you're not sure whether it's the Will part or the Umeko part or the buzzed part, wants to just lay with with her. To be held. But much like before you worry how it could change things. Could it make things more awkward? Ruin the friendship you've cultivated with Chelsea? Maybe it's best to just let it go, give it a few days and see where it goes.</span></div></div>


path: 1131221222
author_id: gotastic77
title: Insist on talking things through
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Hold on," you shout, trying to wrap your head around Chelsea's rapidly-growing scheme. "Chelsea I really don't feel okay with this whole thing."<br/>
<br/>
She pauses and stares at you, eyes widening. "And why not?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just the idea of masquerading as people who have no idea what we're doing... It seems so wrong. Like an invasion of privacy or something."<br/>
<br/>
"That's kind of the point, Will," Chelsea continues. "So what would your bright idea be? I still want to go to this party, and I definitely want to give these masks a whirl."<br/>
<br/>
You take a few seconds to try to think your way through a solution that works for both your paranoia and Chelsea's enthusiasm, when suddenly it hits you: "Let's go as each other!"<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea looks like she's about to scream her lungs out in disapproval, but then she takes a second to think. "Actually, Will... that's not a bad idea." You sigh silently in relief as she continues, "That'll give us way more flexibility with how we act at the party, and we don't have to worry about mixing up backstories with the real Kelsey. And I guess wearing your body around  won't be <i>that</i> much more revolting than what I was planning in the first place."<br/>
<br/>
You force out a stunted laugh, not sure how much Chelsea is really joking. "Yeah, well, I'm not looking forward to wearing around your body either." That was pretty much a flat-out lie. Chelsea was such a hottie, the thought of getting into her skin was actually turning you on.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, Will, let's do this." Chelsea turns around and pulls out two more masks. "Lucky for us I already had some more ready to go. We'll take turns getting them set up, who should go first?"</span></div></div>


path: 113124
author_id: seuzz
title: The Coward's Way Out
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I don't know what you're talking about," you gasp at Chelsea. "I don't know what you're going on about!"<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea's expression curdles into fury.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't be this way, you fucking—!" She chokes on her own rage. "What, do you want me to <i>beg?</i> I <i>am</i> begging!"<br/>
<br/>
"No, I'm serious, Chelsea," you insist. "I'd help. Really I would! But I don't know what this is all about! What makes you think I—?"<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea snatches the book from you, and wallops you with it.<br/>
<br/>
"Because you're the fucker who—!" She wallops you again.<br/>
<br/>
"Get out!" she screams. "Just get the fuck out! If you don't want to—! Fuck you! Fuck you fuck you <i>fuck you!</i>" She punches and kicks blindly at you.<br/>
<br/>
So you run, down the stairs and across the gym floor and out the door. You fall into your truck cab, panting and sweating. <br/>
<br/>
But Chelsea has followed, and she kicks and smacks at the nose of your truck, until you turn the motor over, slam into reverse, and peel out.<br/>
<br/>
Your mind is such a whirl on the drive home that you're lucky you don't wrap yourself around a light pole.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You toss and turn in your bed that night, fighting off feelings of shame and inadequacy. <i>Chelsea Cooper was asking me for help,</i> you blush to remember. <i>She was begging for it. And I ran away.</i><br/>
<br/>
Well, what else could you have done? You had no idea what she was babbling on about. You still don't. Something to do with her horrible boyfriend—a man-mountain of mean muscle who runs the school's varsity basketball squad. And something to do with that book, too. <i>How the fuck did she get ahold of it? You sold it to Caleb. Did he sell it to her or to Gordon? Or (and this is more likely) did they take it away from him?</i><br/>
<br/>
Funny that he wouldn't have mentioned that to you, though. Unless it happened just today.<br/>
<br/>
Funnier still that he would have told them that he got it from you. Funniest of all, that Chelsea would have called <i>you</i> instead of Caleb if whatever-her-deal-was had something to do with that book.<br/>
<br/>
That's the mystery you concentrate on, in the dark, under sweaty, twisted sheets. Anything to distract you from the really ugly fact: That you had a chance to do <i>something</i> with Chelsea Cooper, the head cheerleader. And instead of manfully stepping up, or bravely bluffing your way through, you crumpled and ran away.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You text Caleb late the next morning (a Saturday), to see about getting together. Maybe if you talk to him he can clear up some of the mystery. If nothing else, he can fill you in on how that book got from him to Chelsea.<br/>
<br/>
But he texts back that he's doing some extra work out at Salopek and won't be able to get with you until this afternoon. So you text your friend Keith Tilley to find out what he's up to. <i>Movie credit for hawks,</i> he replies. <i>Come with?</i><br/>
<br/>
That would be Mr. Hawks, the instructor in your Film as Literature class, which you share with Keith. You could stand to get some extra credit in there, so you agree to rendezvous with him at the Silver Cineplex up by the mall.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, so I guess I'm turning into quite the cineaste," he boastfully informs you as you walk together to the ticket counter.<br/>
<br/>
"You mean 'cine-ass,'" you correct him.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah yeah. Have your fun. Let's  just see how good your paper is when you write it."<br/>
<br/>
"What paper?"<br/>
<br/>
But Keith has done at double-take at something behind you. "Hel-<i>lo,</i>" he murmurs. "Look who's here."<br/>
<br/>
You turn. Four classmates from Westside are approaching.<br/>
<br/>
Two of them you can do without: Andy Tackett and Karl Hennepin. They're two of the "creative arts" types at school, dressed in dirty jeans and sloppy t-shirts; and Hennpin crowns his mane of poofy blonde hair with a stupid fedora.<br/>
<br/>
But with them are two girls. One of them you can put a name to as well—Mia DeWitt—because she's in the Film class with you and Keith and Andy and Karl. You don't spend a lot of time scoping out Mia in class, because she usually sits on the other side of the room, a few rows behind you. But today, right now, you get an eyeful: She's dressed in skin-tight jeans and boots, and a black t-shirt that clings tightly to every curve of her hourglass torso. Her long, reddish-brown hair, which falls in gentle curves past her elbows, is kept in place by a knitted cap that she wears at a rakish angle, like a beret. A tartan-plaid ribbon hangs around her neck, at the end of which dangles a laminated card.<br/>
<br/>
The other girl is tall, with a bold, Romanesque nose, and dark, straight hair that hangs to her shoulders. She's dressed in distressed jeans and a tie-dyed t-shirt, and her eye, when it fixes on you, is friendly but direct.<br/>
<br/>
There's a brief exchange of greetings as you all catch up to each other while purchasing tickets and making seating choices. They're here to see the same movie you and Keith are: <i>Quo Vadis?</i>, an old 1950s Bible epic that's getting a special screening. <br/>
<br/>
Keith tries jostling in close to Mia as you cluster at the concession counter. But, as neither Karl nor Andy seem to be paying much attention to the other girl, you sidle up to her with some small talk. You start by introducing yourself, for names didn't get exchanged.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm Rachel," she replies. "I've got you for English."<br/>
<br/>
You stare, trying to place her. "Do you sit on the other side of the room?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. But I've seen <i>you.</i> You sit with Caleb."<br/>
<br/>
"You know Caleb?"<br/>
<br/>
"I've got him for Physics. Last period."<br/>
<br/>
"Huh! Well, um, I'm sorry I didn't— Haven't— Um—" You blush, and have to dig under your cap at a scalp that suddenly turned hot and itchy.<br/>
<br/>
"It's okay," Rachel coolly replies. "You're probably too busy scoping out Andrea to notice me."<br/>
<br/>
Andrea Varnsworth is the captain of the swim team, and probably has the sexiest body in school. Now you really do blush hard, even after Rachel adds, "I'm just teasing."<br/>
<br/>
"What's going on back here?" Mia demands as she looks over her shoulder. Her jaw falls open when she sees your face. "Oh my God!"<br/>
<br/>
"We're just flirting," Rachel says. You gasp in outrage, and pray for the floor to open and swallow you when Andy turns around to grin at you.<br/>
<br/>
"Listen, I'm sorry I embarrassed you," Rachel says a little later, as your group, arms full of popcorn and sodas, is wending its way to the auditorium. "I don't usually have that effect on guys."<br/>
<br/>
"It's okay," you assure her. "I was just— Um—"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah?"<br/>
<br/>
"I guess it, um, seemed kind of rude. Me being, like, I don't know you when you, um, know me."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know you," she corrects you. "I just remember seeing you around."<br/>
<br/>
<i>I don't remember seeing you,</i> you silently (and miserably) reply.<br/>
<br/>
But now that you have seen her ...<br/>
<br/>
She actually is kind of pretty. The fact is, she's got a nicer face than Andrea, whose expression can be very hard and is a little too ... Slavic ... for your taste. Rachel has a big nose, but she also has big, almond-shaped eyes, and her dark hair, though not full or fluffy, has some body.<br/>
<br/>
And there's nothing much wrong with her below the neck, you decide as you give her a quick up-and-down while holding the auditorium door open for her. She's very tall—almost as tall as you—but slim, and from the way her tie-dyed t-shirt drapes off her shoulders and bosom (which has a pleasing heft) you can tell she's got an hour-glass figure. Her hips aren't noticeably wide—not the kind of wide bell-shaped bowl that you like in a girl—but her ass is well-shaped. From the way they fill out the legs of her jeans, you'd guess she has a good-looking pair.<br/>
<br/>
She winds up sitting between you and Mia, and because Keith is pestering Mia from the other side, you get to chat some more with Rachel while the stupid ads and trivia slides play. She's not interested in this movie, she tells you, but came along at Mia's invite, as a kind of double date. <i>Weird,</i> you think, because neither Karl nor Andy seem to be paying the slightest attention to her. Her other classes, it turns out, are an intimidating mix of math, science, and engineering. <i>I don't have a lot of time for movies or TV,</i> she informs you.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You like Rachel enough that, when the show is over, you lobby for everyone to go out and get something to eat, or at least hang out afterward, but no one else is interested, and Rachel pleads that she has other stuff she has to do. But she smiles warmly when she says that she'll see you at school on Monday.<br/>
<br/>
So excited are you that it drives all thought of that weirdness on Friday night from your head. Not until Monday morning, when you glimpse Caleb loping along through the parking lot as you're still looking for a space, do you remember that you were going to talk to him about that book and about what happened on Friday.<br/>
<br/>
But maybe you won't now. It suddenly seems very trivial—just something weird that happened, and which will be a distraction from what you really want to talk to him about: Rachel Bell, and your burgeoning sense that maybe you've got a potential girlfriend on your hands!</span></div></div>


path: 1131241
author_id: seuzz
title: Hustled and Bustled
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Caleb has disappeared inside the school by the time you get a parking spot, so you have to catch up to him inside Mr. Walberg's classroom. You find him slouched in his desk with a sour expression on his puss.<br/>
<br/>
He doesn't look like he wants to hear about you and a girl, so you tell him about Friday night instead. "Fuckin' weirdest thing happened to me last Friday," you open as you drop into your own seat.<br/>
<br/>
"What? You got laid?"<br/>
<br/>
"No! Fuck you! Although on Saturday I—! Okay, but I think I <i>almost</i> got lucky with Chelsea Cooper!" You waggle your eyebrows meaningfully at him.<br/>
<br/>
"That wouldn't have been weird. That would have been fucking psychotic. On her part."<br/>
<br/>
You snort. "Yeah, well, she called me up Friday night. Lemme say that again. Chelsea. Fucking. Cooper. Called me up Friday night." You can't help gloating as Caleb's frown deepens. "And get this. She called me up to the fuck room. The <i>fuck room!</i> Her and me. Alone. There. Late on a Friday night!"<br/>
<br/>
You can tell that Caleb is about to say something really cutting. But then his eye flicks to something behind you, and a glimmer of fear shows in it. You feel a bead of sweat pop out on the back of your head, and you get the sudden sense that something horrible, like a panther or a python, is creeping up behind you, fixing its awful eyes on you. You glance back.<br/>
<br/>
Jonas Martin, one of the thuggish basketball players, is giving you a hard, gimlet-eyed glare. <br/>
<br/>
<i>Shit!</i> Did he hear what you were saying? Because if he did, and he repeats it to Gordon Black, Chelsea's bad-tempered boyfriend, you won't just be dead, you'll be positively <i>massacred.</i><br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, it was one of those really good dreams," you stammer as you turn back to Caleb. "You know, the kind you can't help having when—" Frantically, you gesture him to follow you as you lurch to your feet.<br/>
<br/>
You're outside, at a corner of the school where no one can overhear, when you resume.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, seriously, cards on the table," you tell Caleb in your soberest tones. "I really did get a call from Chelsea on Friday night, and she really did ask me up into that, um, clubhouse of their's. But, you know, nothing else happened."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," Caleb drawls. "I'm so glad you're asking me to believe only two impossible things instead of three." But his expression is hard and his stare unwinking.<br/>
<br/>
"But she wasn't making any sense," you continue. "She had some kind of problem, and she was asking me to help fix it. But— Well, here's one part I don't understand, but maybe you can clear it up for me."<br/>
<br/>
You glance around, you don't know why, feeling as though you're about to impart an important confidence to Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"You know that book I sold you, the one I found in the used book store?" you say. He looks startled. "Well, she had it up there with her. Did you sell it to her or something?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb goes deathly white and grabs you by the shoulders. He hauls you off in back of the Agricultural Annex, where no one is likely to hear or even see you.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb insists on hearing your whole story, from beginning to end, top to bottom, even after the tardy bell has rung, and grouses that he really wishes you'd told him about it over the weekend. He seems particularly fascinated by your account of that statue of Gordon, and about how (according to Chelsea) Gordon "did something" to himself.<br/>
<br/>
But he won't explain why he's so fascinated, and he won't say anything about how Chelsea came to have that book. Instead, he just keeps mumbling that <i>We need to get up there</i> while glaring off into space. "Dude," you finally complain, "you haven't told me what's going on!"<br/>
<br/>
"Because it doesn't concern you, Prescott," he snaps back. "Remember, you said you didn't want anything to do with it?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't even know what 'it' is!"<br/>
<br/>
"Good. Just keep telling yourself that ignorance is bliss."<br/>
<br/>
<i>It's bullshit,</i> you want to retort. "You got something going on with Chelsea and Gordon?"<br/>
<br/>
"What? No! What would I—? Listen, you need to get back to class," he advises with a clap to your shoulder. "Come find me in the library before you go to second, bring me my shit."<br/>
<br/>
"Where are <i>you</i> going?"<br/>
<br/>
"To the library. I've got some research to do."<br/>
<br/>
"Who the fuck do you think you are, ordering me around?"<br/>
<br/>
"I know exactly who I am," he retorts in a very annoyed voice. Then he fixes you with a shrewd glance. "And I'm pretty goddamned sure I know who <i>you</i> are too," he adds.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
He won't say tell you anymore, and he practically frog-marches you back into the school with the reminder to bring him his stuff when class is out.<br/>
<br/>
Mr. Walberg pauses when you reenter the room, and gives you the silent treatment until you are settled in your desk, before he asks you for a tardy slip. When you say you don't have one, he orders you to the office to collect one.<br/>
<br/>
So, with one thing and another, by the time it's done, you might as well have skipped first period entirely. You're in a black mood when you find Caleb, to hurl his bag at him. He hardly notices as it flops with a thud onto the table in front of him, for he is entirely absorbed in his cell phone. "And don't expect me to eat lunch with you today, cocksucker!" you snarl, but he just waves you off. You storm off to second period, mouthing more obscenities as you go.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb doesn't bother to show up to fourth period, either, and you are so preoccupied with his assholery that you forget entirely to look for Rachel, even though she's in that class. In fact, it's not until after class ends, and you're standing in the doorway waiting for Keith to join you, that you glance back into the room and spot her. <i>Shit!</i> you think. <i>I should to ask her if—</i><br/>
<br/>
But before you can duck back inside to invite her to lunch, a meaty hand grabs you by the shoulder and spins you around. You only have to time to gasp a quick <i>Erp!</i> at the sight of Gordon Black—that slab of bad-tempered muscle—glowering down at you before he grabs you again and thrusts you through the hallway before him, using you like the blade of a snowplow to barrel your way through the crowds.<br/>
<br/>
It's a long trip, which gives you plenty of time to crap yourself, as he pushes you past the main office, the cafeteria, and out the double doors onto the breezeway that leads to the student parking lot. But then he steers you sideways, into the gym. <i>At least we're not going to the portables,</i> you think with a gulp. <i>So it can't be that bad. Unless he wants someplace super-private to—</i><br/>
<br/>
You almost faint on your feet as you recollect what you said to Caleb in first period, in front of Jonas Martin. That bastard must have blabbed to Gordon, and now Gordon is taking you off to a quiet, private spot, out of sight of teachers, administrators, and the rest of the student body, to go sick-medieval on your ass.<br/>
<br/>
Mounting the steps to the fuck room is like mounting the steps to a scaffold.<br/>
<br/>
At the top, on the short landing, Gordon bangs a meaty fist against the fuck room door. It flies open, and Chelsea appears before you. Her face is grim and unsmiling as she thrusts something blue at your face ...<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You wake to consciousness with a hard gasp, and look around. You're find you're outside, on the grass, behind the portables—those old, crate-like buildings that are slowly falling apart behind the school. There's no one else around, and no voices. No sign of Gordon, either. Your bag is by your hand.<br/>
<br/>
Slowly you get to your feet, and feel yourself all over for damage. You seem to be whole, with nothing broken or bruised. In fact, you don't feel so much as a scratch on you, and nowhere do you hurt.<br/>
<br/>
<i>I should be a battered, broken heap,</i> you think. <i>And I should have felt every punch.</i> Did you shit yourself unconscious, and frighten Gordon into dropping you outside the school? That would be mortifying. Though maybe better than the alternative.<br/>
<br/>
You pick up your bag and scamper back to the school. Lunch is still in progress, and you duck into a restroom, where you check the status of your underwear. (As clean as it was this morning.) The numb shock is wearing off, though, as you exit, and you are trembling hard as you make your way to sixth-period math.<br/>
<br/>
You've got that class and seventh-period study hall to wonder what that was all about. And the longer you puzzle over it, the more you wonder if it really had anything to do with what Jonas overheard you bragging about in first. The more you think about it, actually, the more it feels to you like a sequel to Friday night.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Maybe this is my chance for a take-back,</i> you ponder. <i>Maybe I should go find Chelsea, tell her that whatever trouble she's in, I want to help. Show her there's no hard feelings for—</i><br/>
<br/>
Well, for sending her thug boyfriend to mug you during lunch. It would probably look pretty pathetic now to go crawling back to her. Especially when you don't even why she wanted to see you Friday night.<br/>
<br/>
<i>I could tell Caleb about this,</i> you then think.<br/>
<br/>
Except he's treating you almost as bad as Chelsea is.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe they should both just fuck off. There's a girl you want to catch up with.<br/>
<br/>
But you're in such a bad mood, you might screw things up with her before they get started.</span></div></div>


path: 11312411
author_id: seuzz
title: Plot Plinko Placeholder
chapter_content:
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path: 11312413
author_id: seuzz
title: Something Like Witchcraft
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>The problem with looking for Rachel, you realize almost instantly, is that you don't know how to find her. So you spend nearly ten minutes at your locker, fruitlessly thumbing texts to Andy Tackett and other people before giving up and trudging out to your truck.<br/>
<br/>
Then, when you're halfway home: <i>Hey will are u looking for me?</i> It's from Rachel.<br/>
<br/>
You hang a hard right across another lane of traffic to dive into the parking lot of a strip center. With the motor running you thumb back a reply: <i>Yes wat u doing now?<br/>
<br/>
Waiting in gym for friends to finish stuff,</i> she replies, <i>watching basketball practice. Come down sit with me when u r done?</i><br/>
<br/>
You're not sure what she means by "when u r done," and you sure as hell don't want to hang out in the gym. So you suggest meeting her for a sandwich someplace later.<br/>
<br/>
<i>That be fun,</i> she says, and suggests Besandwiched at five. You race home to inform your mother, and to cadge a little money off her, to augment your own sadly depleted cash reserves.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Besandwiched is one of the many kooky eateries that surround Keyserling College. You don't know why there are so many such places, but there are. Maybe it's a reaction against Keyserling itself, which has a reputation for being a very tech-y, hard-math, hard-science, hard-engineering kind of school. But anyway, there's a bunch of eateries with names like The Flying Saucer, The Crystal Cave, The Milagro Beanfield Warehouse ...<br/>
<br/>
Besandwiched is one of the more over-the-top. Everything there is occult themed, from the names of the menu items to the decor. The most hideous has to be the bone-white, eight-foot, man-faced moon that's painted onto a pitch-black wall on one side of the dining room. Wherever you sit in the restaurant, you can see it out of the corner of your eye. It's like sitting in front of a train tunnel, and the moon-thing is the front of a deranged Thomas the Tank Engine knock-off, charging out at top speed to run you over.<br/>
<br/>
Rachel brings a couple of friends with her, which both a relief and kind of annoying—part of you wants her alone with you, but part of you is also glad for a buffer—and she introduces them as Lily, Ella, and Audrey. They are all three of a type: skinny, frizzy-haired girls with horsey teeth and bright eyes. They fall into the booth with you, laughing.<br/>
<br/>
But Rachel is a lot more quiet and sober than her friends, and you're feeling tongue-tied, so mostly you listen while they gossip and catch up on the day. But after you've gotten your food ordered, Audrey fixes you with a bright, mischievous eye.<br/>
<br/>
"So, who did <i>you</i> get to hang out with today?"<br/>
<br/>
"Um ... no one," you confess. The question seems to have an ulterior meaning you can't grasp. "Just went to class."<br/>
<br/>
"So what class do you have in the gym?"<br/>
<br/>
You stare. "I don't. I'm not taking a—"<br/>
<br/>
"Audrey," Rachel says in a level voice.<br/>
<br/>
"Up at the top of some stairs?" Audrey asks. She takes a long sip of tea while giving you a meaningful look. You stare.<br/>
<br/>
"Audrey," Rachel says again in that same warning tone.<br/>
<br/>
"So, did you hang out up there by yourself?" Audrey says. "Do you have a <i>class</i> up there?"<br/>
<br/>
Lily and Ella break out in muffled giggles, while Rachel looks embarrassed.<br/>
<br/>
It takes you a shamefully long time to figure out what she's talking about. When you do, you blush hard, and hang your head. <br/>
<br/>
You can't believe they're laughing at you about that, and you have to bite down hard to control your anger. Really, how would <i>they</i> like it if Gordon Black grabbed <i>them</i> between classes and hauled <i>them</i> into the gym for a beating?<br/>
<br/>
Or whatever he did to you. You are still not sure what that was all about.<br/>
<br/>
"What's it like up there?" Ella asks. Her eyes flash with curiosity, and there's a hungry shadow behind her grin.<br/>
<br/>
"Up where?" you blurt out. "Up in the fuck room?" The name tumbles out before you can catch yourself.<br/>
<br/>
Ella and Lily burst out laughing, while Rachel squirms. "Yeah!" Ella exclaims. "Is it, like, decorated and stuff?"<br/>
<br/>
Lily pokes her. "Ask him to take you up there the next time he—" <br/>
<br/>
Ella shrieks and punches her friend in the shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
<i>The fuck?</i> you wonder. <i>Do they think I actually </i>wanted<i> to go up there with Gordon?</i><br/>
<br/>
Then, more wonderingly still: <i>Oh my God, maybe that's </i>exactly<i> what they think! Maybe they think Gordon was taking me up there to hang out with at lunch!</i><br/>
<br/>
And that thought is chased by a still wilder idea: <i>Pretend that's what was going on. It's less embarrassing than admitting the truth!</i><br/>
<br/>
"Well, you know, it's invitation only," says someone in a studied, casual tone, and you're horrified to realize that it's you. "So, you know, you get the invite, and you can go. But, you know, I'm not sure I could bring a, uh, a <i>guest.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
Ella laughs, but Lily's expression turns deeply skeptical. "So why do <i>you</i> get to go up?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
For a moment you're deeply insulted—why <i>shouldn't</i> you get invited to visit the fuck room? But of course it's a totally reasonable question. Almost you confess the truth. But some part of you is still hot about being teased. So:<br/>
<br/>
"I'm tutoring Chelsea," you say, thus doubling—tripling—quadrupling!—the bluff.<br/>
<br/>
Their eyes widen. "Ooo!" Lily says. Audrey asks, "Are you some kind of math whiz?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," you reply with unintended honesty. "But I'm still pretty good," you add, shading the truth to just short of a felonious lie.<br/>
<br/>
"So how'd you get a job tutoring Chelsea?" Lily wants to know.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, we just got to talking and, um, it sort of happened. Today, uh, that was our first session," you stammer, for you sense that the lie is on the brink of getting completely out of hand. "Maybe we'll have more of them—"<br/>
<br/>
"Is she paying you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Paying me?" You gape.<br/>
<br/>
"With what?" Ella asks. Her smile turns to a smirk. "What's she <i>giving</i> you in return for these lessons?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, jeez!" Now you blush extra hard, and the whole table bursts out laughing. Even Rachel, who has been looking very embarrassed all this time, manages a smile.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
If nothing else, that every mortifying conversation smashes the ice, and the talk after is pretty free and easy. It doesn't last long, though. The other girls have boyfriends, and one by one over the next thirty to forty minutes they show up, and since there's not enough room at the table for you all, the party breaks up, with Lily, Ella, and Audrey either moving to other tables or going off someplace else. Soon you're alone with Rachel, so it all works out.<br/>
<br/>
But one of the things you learned, to your slight discomfort, is that Rachel is something of a math and science whiz—certainly far above you in talent and ability. Oh, it's not that you are insulted that a girl should be better at this stuff than you. Only, it's kind of an embarrassing thing to learn after you pretended like you were tutoring Chelsea in the same subjects. Embarrassing enough that, before the end of the meal, you return to that story you spun. Not to retract it, but to salve that embarrassment. "So, you don't think it's stupid, do you," you ask her, "that I'm, uh, tutoring Chelsea in math?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," she says. "Why would I?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, because—" You blush again; you did an awful lot of blushing over dinner. "Well, I told you I'm not that good at it."<br/>
<br/>
"As long as you're better than Chelsea," she says, "you'll do fine."<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe it's more like we're studying together. That's helpful. Good for both us."<br/>
<br/>
"Sure." She hesitates. "Does her boyfriend study with you too?"<br/>
<br/>
"Huh? Oh. Well, we've just had the one time, you know, like I said," you stammer. "And, uh, Gordon was there. For part of it."<br/>
<br/>
"Right."<br/>
<br/>
Your heart is thumping hard. Is it because of the lie? Or because of the question that's just occurred to you, and that you'd like to ask except you're terrified she'll turn you down: <i>Do you think </i>you<i> could tutor me?</i> It would be a good excuse to hang out with her some more.<br/>
<br/>
But you're too scared to ask it, so the conversation peters out. Not long afterward, you part for the evening, but with mutual assurances that you'll see each other at school tomorrow.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You actually see her friends before you see Rachel. You're up to the school the next morning when you spot Ella and Lily—thick as thieves, as the saying goes—loitering at the front of the breezeway that leads past the gym, chatting a mile a minute to each other. They do a double-take at you, and break into wide, welcoming smiles. You saunter up with a smile of your own.<br/>
<br/>
But you've only just time to say "Hi" and to learn that they're waiting for their boyfriends (Noah and Chuck), when a massive figure looms up behind them. "Chelsea wants to see you," Gordon says, and there's a fell light in his eyes.<br/>
<br/>
Ella and Lily exchange a secret glance, then look to you for your answer. They seem keenly interested in how you'll reply.<br/>
<br/>
It seems like a no-brainer: You told them yesterday that you're tutoring Chelsea. So here's a chance to nail down that story with something that would look like proof. Hell, maybe you could even suggest to Chelsea that you tutor her, thus turning a lie into a truth!<br/>
<br/>
But maybe there's more cred to be had in flipping him off in front of them. To show your independence.</span></div></div>


path: 113124132
author_id: seuzz
title: How to Replace an Absent Friend
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"That's cool," you tell Gordon. "I'll catch up to her later."<br/>
<br/>
Gordon's face darkens. "Chelsea wants to see you <i>now,</i>" he growls.<br/>
<br/>
Your heart goes into your throat, and you come within an ace of giving in.<br/>
<br/>
But the presence of the two girls, who are listening with a glinting interest, gives you just enough courage to defy Gordon.<br/>
<br/>
"I <i>said</i> I'll talk to her later. I've got her number, I'll text her when I can— I gotta get to class, man," you gasp as Gordon's brow lowers. "Tell her I promise I'll catch up to her later. See you guys around too," you tell Ella and Lily.<br/>
<br/>
Gordon steps in your way, but you slither around him. As you saunter—on trembling legs—down the breezeway, you expect at any moment to feel powerful hands on your shoulders. But you make it to the double-doors to the school without being grabbed, and without yielding to the urge to glance behind. Once inside the school, though, you do chance a look back. Then, though there's no sign of pursuit, you break into a sprint and book it for your locker.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb is absent from first period, so you have to wait until second before you can brag to anyone about your date last night. Keith listens politely but with a slightly bored expression as you tell him about meeting up with Rachel and her friends, and he only grunts and says, "That's cool," in reply.<br/>
<br/>
Andy Tackett, who sits in the next row over, is more interested. So interested, in fact, that it makes you nervous. So very interested, in truth, that a horrible thought occurs to you. "Rachel's not seeing anyone, is she?" you ask him.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think so," he replies with soft amusement. "I don't think she's seeing <i>anyone.</i>" His reply satisfies you, until it occurs to you (after class starts) that by "anyone" he was implying that she's not seeing <i>you</i> either. But by then it's far too late to make a sharp reply.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb isn't in English, either, so he must be absent. Which is a relief, because it makes it easy to saunter over to Rachel's desk and ask if she wants to hang out during lunch. She replies that she usually takes lunch with Ella and Lily and other friends, and invites you to have lunch with her and them. You eagerly accept. So giddy are you that, when you bump into Keith on the way from the classroom, you heedlessly invite him along too.<br/>
<br/>
So you wind up eating in the cafeteria—something you rarely do—with half a dozen kids that you never have anything to do with. Talk is free and easy, though, and to your relief Keith carries a lot of it without saying anything too freaking embarrassing. If anything, he and Mitchell Belz, Audrey's boyfriend, hit it off. Keith is doing something with YouTube videos—you're not interested enough to ask him what—and he and Mitchell more or less make plans to hang out and talk about it some more.<br/>
<br/>
Though you try concentrating on Rachel, you find out more about her friends. Lily and Ella are on the track team, and Audrey was too before she had to drop off on account of her parents wanted her concentrating on her academics. All three of them are of a type, then: skinny, high strung, prone to giggling and squirming, and tend to overshadow their boyfriends. Lily's boyfriend, Noah Baker, is on the school baseball team. He's quiet and doesn't talk a lot, but he's not a sulker, and he slaps hands more than once with a passing acquaintance as lunch progresses. Chuck Johnson—Ella's boyfriend—is even quieter, but you learn he lives out in the country, on a farm, and is taking agriculture-oriented classes. He and Noah are solid, good-looking kids who don't look prone to getting into trouble.<br/>
<br/>
That leaves Mitchell as the odd man out. He's a smirker and a joker, dressed all in black, with a shaggy mop of hair dyed an unnaturally deep black. Ella must have told him about your supposed "study sessions" with Chelsea, because he asks about them, and about her, and about whether you and her are gonna get your sines and tangents tangled up. You retort, with frightened frivolity, that you don't kiss and tell—a reply that fills you with horror when you realize that you said it in front of Rachel. "Besides, it was just the one time," you add with a flustered blush. "I don't even know that there's gonna be a second time."<br/>
<br/>
The worst part doesn't come, though, until after lunch, as Keith troops out the cafeteria door with you. You're halfway to your lockers before he drawls, with a studied nonchalance, "You didn't tell me about no study sessions with Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"What?" His observation makes you jump, like a hot knitting needle to your ball sack.<br/>
<br/>
"I said, you didn't tell me about no study sessions with Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's none of your business."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh," he says. "It's Mitchell Belz's business, but it ain't mine?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it isn't anyone's business." You flush.<br/>
<br/>
"Is it my business you're gettin' bizz-ay wit' Rachel Whatsername?"<br/>
<br/>
"No!"<br/>
<br/>
"Then how come you busted a gut telling me all about her in second? But you don't say nothin' about no study date with Chelsea Fucking Cooper?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because I knew you'd make a big deal out of it, and I don't want people making a big deal of it. It's no big deal!"<br/>
<br/>
Keith leans insolently next to you as you open your locker and start changing out your books. He sucks on a tooth.<br/>
<br/>
"It ain't no big deal," he muses, "when you hang out with the head cheerleader, one on one, so close you can smell the—"<br/>
<br/>
"It wasn't one on one!" you exclaim, anxious to correct his misapprehension about a meeting that didn't even occur. "Jesus, you think Gordon would let another guy get one on one with his girlfriend? He was there the whole time! It was horrible!"<br/>
<br/>
"It was still you and Chelsea—"<br/>
<br/>
"Look, are you fucking jealous?" you ask as you slam your locker door shut. "Is that what this is? You think I'm holding out on you or something by not telling you— What the hell was I supposed to tell you?"<br/>
<br/>
He smirks in your face.<br/>
<br/>
"Listen," he says, "I ain't gonna piss all over your fairy tale in front of anyone else, you don't gotta worry about that. But don't fuckin' lie to <i>me,</i> man. In fact," he adds with a cheerful insolence, "maybe we should get together tonight, put a little meat on this story of yours, so it ain't such <i>obvious</i> bullshit."<br/>
<br/>
He slaps you on the arm—a gesture that makes you want to punch him in the face—and swaggers off toward his own locker.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You'd love to eat out with Rachel again, but you're worried that it'll look needy and stalker-ish. And besides, the meal yesterday ate up a significant portion of your meager savings. So you take supper at home.<br/>
<br/>
You can't help noticing your dad, and the querulous looks he keeps giving you over the table, but he doesn't fuss at you like he sometimes does, and in fact he hardly says anything except to grunt at your mom's occasional questions and comments. But after supper, as you're coming in from taking out the trash, he stops you to ask, "What was that about at work today?"<br/>
<br/>
"What was what?" you ask. The question makes no sense.<br/>
<br/>
He starts to reply, but is distracted by a call from your mom. After giving you a puzzled and angry look, he stalks off to see what she wants. It's an errand to the store, it turns out, so he leaves without clarifying.<br/>
<br/>
You'd left your phone up in your room during supper—something your dad insists upon—and you absent-mindedly check it after plopping at your desk to start your homework. You almost ricochet off the roof when you see that you've got a text, and who it's from.<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea Cooper wants to know if you can get together tonight.<br/>
<br/>
You'd completely forgotten about that thing with Gordon this morning, so at first her request floors you. Only after you recover a sense of balance do you realize this must the sequel to what you told Gordon: that you'd talk to Chelsea later.<br/>
<br/>
And it turns out that she <i>does</i> want to talk to you!<br/>
<br/>
<i>Sure I can see u tnite,</i> you reply. Your thumbs are trembling as you tap the answer in.<br/>
<br/>
She says that would be great, and asks you to come up to the school. But that doesn't sit well with you, for it immediately brings back memories of last Friday, and that weirdness. It also brings back memories of yesterday afternoon, when Gordon hauled you up to the fuck room and—<br/>
<br/>
Well, you still have no idea what happened up there, except that you got knocked out.<br/>
<br/>
So you counter with the suggestion that you meet at the municipal library instead. Your heart is beating at the back of your throat when you add, <i>We could study together after we finish talking.</i><br/>
<br/>
You almost faint when she replies, <i>That would be great!</i> followed by some smiling and thumbs-up emojis. <i>Meet now?</i><br/>
<br/>
You're hauling ass downstairs when a nifty thought occurs to you: You could text Keith to come out to the library too, and surprise him with who you're studying with. It'd wipe the smug grin off that asshole's face.</span></div></div>


path: 1131241321
author_id: seuzz
title: Checking Out What's In the Library
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You quickly thumb in a text to Keith, telling him to come meet you at the city library for a study session. He doesn't reply until you're on the road.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Nah,</i> he says. <i>Just stane in.<br/>
<br/>
Surprise guest at lib,</i> you promise. When he asks who, you tell him, <i>Girl.<br/>
<br/>
Nah dont want get w u n rachel.<br/>
<br/>
Not rachel.<br/>
<br/>
Dude u cheat on her already<br/>
<br/>
No tutor thing. U come so no cheating,</i> you add.<br/>
<br/>
There's a very long pause, time enough to reach the library itself. Then Keith says, <i>Ok c u n ten.</i><br/>
<br/>
You can't wait to see the expression on his smug face when he finds you at a table with Chelsea Cooper!<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Except it takes you awhile to find her. She's not in periodicals and she's not in any of the reading rooms. At first you tell yourself she's just late, but you're starting to panic—<i>I will look like such a loser if I can't show Keith who I've got here with me</i>—by the time you text her to say that you're at the library.<br/>
<br/>
She tells you that she's back in the stacks, and gives directions.<br/>
<br/>
She's in a far corner you hardly knew existed, a little cubbyhole tucked into the deepest part of the library, with about a dozen bookshelves screening you off from the rest of the building. There's a small table tucked into this corner, and Chelsea is huddled at it. She looks up from her phone with a glower as you appear, then quickly recomposes her features into a very blank smile.<br/>
<br/>
"Hi, Will," she says. She shoves her bag out of the way so you can set yours on the table. "Thanks for coming!"<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks for asking me. Er, um."<br/>
<br/>
Your tongue suddenly freezes to the top of the roof of your mouth when it sinks in that you're actually talking to Chelsea Cooper, for a second time in your high school career. There's a golden radiance that seems to pour off her, and a sexy good health. She is small but compact with a good shape—large but firm boobs—and clear skin and silky golden hair that bobs gently in loose curls. You have a quick vision of yourself, scooping her up into your arms, burying your face in hers, and making a snack of her mouth. A hot sweat breaks out all over your body. <br/>
<br/>
"I, uh, I'm sorry for blowing you off this morning," you say as you fall into the chair opposite her. Her expression turns puzzled. "Gordon told me you wanted to see me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh that!" She laughs, but it's unconvincing. "That's okay! A big lummox like Gordon, he messes things up all the time. But now we're here and—"<br/>
<br/>
You phone chimes, and you jump. It's Keith, telling you that he's arrived. Your text to him suddenly seems like a bad idea. You'd like Chelsea all to yourself, and what will she think of you inviting a friend along to ogle her? Almost you decide to blow Keith off.<br/>
<br/>
Fortunately, you're stress-nauseated brain is able to vomit up an alternative.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, um, I got a friend meeting us up here too," you stammer at Chelsea as you tap in a reply telling Keith where to find you. "I, uh, we were going to meet to study anyway, up here. That's how come— Well, that's one reason I, uh, said I'd come out here. I mean, I would've come anyway!" you hurriedly add. "If it was just, um, going to be us." Your face starts to burn. "But he was coming anyway. Um. You mind if he joins us?" The scalp under your hat is itching and burning with sweat.<br/>
<br/>
"Sure," Chelsea says. Her smile is very fixed and has nothing to do with her eyes. "The more the merrier." She leans across the table, her grin fixed and glassy. "Is he going to be tutoring me too?"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You can only stare in horror as the implications of her question sink in. She heard the rumor that you started—that you are tutoring her in math and other subjects. <i>Is this a sick joke on her part?</i> you wonder. <i>Is Gordon going to pop out from behind the shelves, haul me off, and beat the snot out of me for making up lies about his girlfriend?</i><br/>
<br/>
"Erm," is all you can say as you stare back at her with goggle-eyed fear.<br/>
<br/>
She titters, and leans back in her chair. "Well, I could use the help anyway," she says.<br/>
<br/>
So that's the scene when Keith swaggers out from behind a bookshelf and stops dead with shock when he sees you. His jaw drops, and he sways on his feet. The sight of him so gloriously wrong-footed fills you with a gleeful courage.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, Keith," you say. "Chelsea says she's up for <i>both</i> of us tutoring her. This is my friend, Keith," you tell Chelsea. She giggles and grins at him.<br/>
<br/>
Keith stares at her, flicks a quick glance at you, then staggers over to flop like a gutted fish into the chair next to you. His jaw remains anchored to his chest as he stares at Chelsea. Her eyes drop, and she says, "Um."<br/>
<br/>
You jog Keith in the arm. "Man up," you growl. "It's a study session. Get your math out." Keith bolts upright and fumbles at his pack.<br/>
<br/>
The whole point of inviting Keith out, of course, was to "prove" to him that you are so tutoring Chelsea. Even better, this might be a chance to establish an <i>actual, real, honest to goodness</i> business relationship with her, one that ... <br/>
<br/>
Okay, it feels very silly as the fantasy runs away with you, but you follow joyfully along as one fancy trips over another: Chelsea being impressed with your tutoring skills. Chelsea wanting to make this a regular thing. Chelsea inviting you over to socialize with her friends. Chelsea's friends being charmed and attracted to you. You becoming a casual, cool, and comfortable member of her gang, giving friendly hugs to Kendra Saunders and Gloria Rea and other cheerleaders, and fist bumping with Gordon and Steve Patterson and other alpha jocks.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, so what math class are you taking?" you ask Chelsea as you pull out your own calculus book. "I mean," you correct yourself, "what's your assignment today?"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Well, it turns out that she's <i>not</i> taking a math class, that she's taking classes like Interior Design and Dance II and Marriage and Family Life. In fact, the only "real" classes she seems to be taking are a French class and English, and the latter is an AP class. But she plays along with your pretense anyway, clearly improvising a line how she "doesn't have a head for math" which is why she didn't put a math class on her schedule, but how she now "regrets" not signing up for calculus, and how she wants some "private lessons on the side" for when she has to take the SATs. It's all very bright and unconvincing, even though she says it with an eager and ingratiating smile. You can feel Keith bristling all over with skepticism.<br/>
<br/>
But you play along by trying to explain the basics of calculus—though you barely get them yourself—and she struggles to maintain a glassy-eyed interest in the topic. You expect her at any moment to call an end to the charade, but she insists on watching you do your own homework, and on trying to follow as you do it. "It's so amazing," she keeps saying.<br/>
<br/>
Her phone keeps going off while you work, and she is constantly checking it, but an hour and a half pass before she gets a text that causes her to declare that she has to go. "But you guys stay and finish up," she says as she gathers her stuff and departs.<br/>
<br/>
Keith gives you a long, steady look after she's gone. "What?" you finally demand.<br/>
<br/>
"That wasn't Chelsea Cooper," he says.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, I know it looked like Chelsea Cooper," he says, "and it talked like Chelsea Cooper, and it smelled like Chelsea Cooper—"<br/>
<br/>
"How do you know what Chelsea Cooper smells like?"<br/>
<br/>
"But it wasn't Chelsea Cooper."<br/>
<br/>
"So who was it?"<br/>
<br/>
He mulls the question, then says, "It was some kind of hypnotic hallucination that you manifested with the raging boner you have for her." He leans forward. "Teach me how to do it too!"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You don't linger at the library after Chelsea has gone—Keith insists on being pestilential—and go home. Your dad glances away from the TV as you pass through the living room, long enough to grunt, "I'm gonna want those things dry-cleaned before he gives them back."<br/>
<br/>
"What things?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"The suit your friend Caleb borrowed."<br/>
<br/>
You have no idea what he's talking about, but you assume it is something to do with Salopek, so you tell him you'll pass the message along. You do, in a short text you toss at Caleb after you're upstairs. You also ask where he was today. He just answers, <i>Will do.</i><br/>
<br/>
But you hear a lot more from him the next morning. You're loping your way across the parking lot toward school when your phone rings. It's Caleb, calling direct. "Man, I need a huge favor from you," he says in a guarded tone. "Can you call your dad, get him to come out to the school? Tell him there's something wrong with your truck? Like it won't start?"<br/>
<br/>
"What's going on?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
There's a pause. Then he says, "Look, I'll explain it all when we get together after school. You want in on this? Do me this favor."<br/>
<br/>
"Want in on what?" you ask. He's making no sense.<br/>
<br/>
"You said you wanted in on this. Now's your chance."<br/>
<br/>
You don't remember telling Caleb you wanted in on anything. In fact, you haven't seen him since Monday morning, when he freaked out after you told him about that weird meeting with Chelsea.</span></div></div>


path: 11312413212
author_id: seuzz
title: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You're pretty sure that someone is crazy, and you're not sure that it's not you.<br/>
<br/>
"Wait, lemme understand," you tell Caleb. "You want me to call my dad, and tell him there's something wrong with my truck?"<br/>
<br/>
His breathing sounds labored as it comes through the phone. "Yeah. Tell your dad—"<br/>
<br/>
"No! This is stupid! Why do you—?"<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, I'll tell you all about it—"<br/>
<br/>
"No! Dude! He'll kill me!"<br/>
<br/>
"Look, last night you—"<br/>
<br/>
"If I call him away from work, he's gonna be mad, and if there's nothing wrong with my truck when he gets here he's going to <i>murder</i> me!"<br/>
<br/>
"So what you do is—"<br/>
<br/>
"No! Where are you? Are you in class already?" You squint at the school.<br/>
<br/>
"No, I'm skipping. That's how come—"<br/>
<br/>
"Are you ever coming to class again?"<br/>
<br/>
"Who are you, my mother? Look, if you do me this favor, Will, I'll—"<br/>
<br/>
"No!"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb lets out a deep sigh.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, man," he says, and he sounds deeply aggravated. "I guess you weren't serious last night, or you'd do this thing for me."<br/>
<br/>
"Serious about what? What are—?"<br/>
<br/>
"I'll talk to you later. Maybe." The line goes dead.<br/>
<br/>
You stare at the screen of the phone. <i>What a jackass!</i> you think. <i>Fine, let him be his weird, stupid self. It's all okay.<br/>
<br/>
Because,</i> you comfort yourself as you hike your bag back onto your shoulders and turn toward the school, <i>I'm pretty sure I got a girlfriend, and I'm pretty sure he don't!</i><br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Keith is loitering near your locker when you get into the school. "So," he says, "you gonna set up another tutoring thing with Chelsea?"<br/>
<br/>
That's right! Not only do you got a girlfriend, you're also tutoring the head cheerleader! Sort of. Maybe. So you can't help preening a little when you answer, "I'll have to talk to her about it."<br/>
<br/>
"Can I come too?"<br/>
<br/>
It's not until after you've parted that the obvious pun on "come" and "cum" occurs to you, so when you reply it's just tell him you'll have to see. And you caution him that you probably won't be seeing that much of Chelsea. "I have to be kind of careful about that," you say. "I mean, since I've got a girlfriend and everything."<br/>
<br/>
"And she's got a boyfriend," Keith reminds you with a snort.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, that too."<br/>
<br/>
"And who's this girlfriend you think you got?"<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, it's not official, but—"<br/>
<br/>
"It wasn't official with Lisa, either."<br/>
<br/>
"Shut the fuck up. And would you do me a favor and go eat with Carson and them at lunch?"<br/>
<br/>
"How come?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because I'm gonna be eating with Rachel and them, and you're right, it's not official between us, and I don't want anything"—you poke him in the chest—"or anyone, fucking things up for me."<br/>
<br/>
Keith flushes. "Then maybe <i>you</i> better come eat with Carson and them too! Cocksucker," he grumbles as he turns away.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb is skipping, so there's no reason for you to stay in your seat during fourth period English, and as casually as you can manage you wander over to where Rachel is sitting. (She doesn't seem to have any friends in this class.) You start by perching on the desk in front of her, which is empty, then you slide into it. Your plan is to simply camp out there with her during class. But Ms. Gladstone makes you move back to your usual seat. It's probably your imagination, but you can't help thinking, with a blush, that the entire class is watching and snickering silently at you.<br/>
<br/>
You follow Rachel to lunch, which you take with the same batch of her friends. The girls, naturally, want to know if you've had another tutoring session with Chelsea. You should probably have pretended you didn't—it would make things easier between you and Rachel—but you yield to the temptation to strut a little in front of them and the guys, so with a shrug you admit that you did. That sets off squeals and knowing looks. They ask how it went.<br/>
<br/>
You feel Rachel's gaze upon you, so you decide to underplay it. In fact—<br/>
<br/>
"It kind of sucked, actually," you tell them. "Like, it made me realize I don't really get this stuff as good as I think I do." You turn a hopeful face toward Rachel. <i>Am I really about to say this?</i> you wonder. <i>Am I really about to make myself look dumb in front the other guys?</i> "I think I kind of need tutoring myself. Or, at least, a really smart study partner."<br/>
<br/>
Rachel's eyes narrow. "You mean the three of us? You, me and Chelsea?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oo, a three-way!" laughs Mitchell Belz. Audrey punches him.<br/>
<br/>
There follows a lot of laughter and teasing, which you manage to take in a good spirit. After lunch breaks up, Rachel pulls you aside. "Do you want to get together for a study session tonight?" she asks. "Seriously?"<br/>
<br/>
Your "Yes!" is probably a little too excited, but she takes it with an indulgent smile, and promises to text you after supper to set up a time and place.<br/>
<br/>
You're giddy the rest of the day.<br/>
<br/>
But then the roof caves in.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
It starts right after you get home. With your bag still on your shoulders, you barge into the kitchen for a post-school snack, and to ask your mom what's for dinner. She wheels on you. "Will," she says in an even but steely tone, "your father is <i>furious</i> at you."<br/>
<br/>
The news catches you in the gut, and you stop cold with the refrigerator door open. "Wha'd I do?" you squeal.<br/>
<br/>
"There was nothing wrong with your truck," she replies. "As you obviously know," she adds with a glance through the kitchen window at the driveway, where you parked.<br/>
<br/>
You stare at her with your mouth hanging open. Your dad is mad at you? Because there's nothing wrong with your truck? You can only answer her frown with the protest, "I thought he'd be <i>glad</i> there's nothing wrong with it!"<br/>
<br/>
White spots show in her cheeks. "He missed nearly two hours of work on account of it. Did you talk to him?"<br/>
<br/>
"No! I—"<br/>
<br/>
"Mom, what's for supper?" your little brother asks as he saunters into the kitchen.<br/>
<br/>
"Robert," your mom says, "I want you to go to your room. No," she corrects herself, "I want you go over to Shawn's house, and stay there until I call you when supper's ready."<br/>
<br/>
"What?" he exclaims. Then, as she frown between you and him, his eyes light up. "Ooh! Someone's in <i>trouble!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"Robert!"<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, I'm going to Shawn's!" He quickly backpedals from the kitchen.<br/>
<br/>
That's when it first occurs that you might be in the worst trouble you have ever been in your life.<br/>
<br/>
It turns out that you have no idea.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
So (your mother informs you to your utter bewilderment), your dad left work to drive out to Westside to check on your truck, to find out why it wouldn't start. And why did he do that? Because your mom called him and asked him to. And why did she do that?<br/>
<br/>
Because <i>you</i> asked her to.<br/>
<br/>
It makes no sense, and you feel like you're going crazy, when she further explains that <i>you</i> showed up at the house at around ten, having taken a taxi home from Westside, babbling something about how you forgot a really important assignment at home and had to skip school to come get it, and how your truck wouldn't start and that's why you had to take a cab, and begging her to call your dad so he can go out to check on what was wrong with it.<br/>
<br/>
So that's what he did. He came home to get the spare set of keys to your truck, drove out to Westside, found your truck, tested it out ... and found that it started up perfectly.<br/>
<br/>
And when you protest that you never came home, that you were at school all day, and that as far as you know there was never anything wrong with your truck—<br/>
<br/>
Well, that's when your mom loses it and sends you to your room to wait for your dad.<br/>
<br/>
And then when <i>he</i> gets home ...<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The long and the short of it is, you're grounded. You're beyond grounded. Both your phone <i>and</i> your truck keys are confiscated, so that you will have to take the school bus to and from Westside for the next month. Your mother won't even look at you—she is so angry—because you insist against her own furious testimony that you did <i>not</i> come home that morning. In fact, she is so mad that your dad, who is usually the one to explode, actually winds up being the calm and conciliatory one.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know what's going on with you," he gravely informs you after sneaking up to your room just before dinner, "but you need to think long and hard about what you're going to tell your mother. I've never seen her so mad at you."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not calling her a liar!" you protest. "I just don't know why she thinks—!"<br/>
<br/>
"Give it a long, hard thought, son," he says. And he actually looks a little gray in the face.<br/>
<br/>
You thrash on the bed after he's gone. <br/>
<br/>
Of course you connect this crisis with Caleb's weird-ass request of you before school, so you've got lots of reason to ignore him when a text from him pops up on your laptop.<br/>
<br/>
Then you get one from Rachel, asking about that study session she proposed.</span></div></div>


path: 113124132123
author_id: seuzz
title: Schooled and Scuttled
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Fuck Caleb. You can't put your finger on why he's responsible for this disaster. But there's no missing the coincidence between that weird-ass call he made to you this morning—<i>Dude, call your dad and tell him he has to come out to the school to check out a problem with your truck!</i>—and the story your mom and dad told to explain your grounding.<br/>
<br/>
But you'd love to talk to Rachel. Except you're grounded. For the moment, though, you can shoot her a quick reply: <i>Hang on, brb.</i><br/>
<br/>
You tiptoe downstairs, on the lookout for your mom, and make it to your dad's study without running into her. He looks up from behind his desk with a serious expression.<br/>
<br/>
"I forgot to tell you," you say after shutting the door. "I made plans to get together with, um, someone for a study session tonight."<br/>
<br/>
"You're grounded," he replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I know. But this is actually more of a tutoring session."<br/>
<br/>
"You're grounded," he repeats.<br/>
<br/>
"She's really smart, Dad, way smarter than me! And—"<br/>
<br/>
"'She'?" Your dad's eyebrows go up.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, she—"<br/>
<br/>
"You're not going on a date while you're grounded." Your dad's voice falls into a growl.<br/>
<br/>
"It's not a date, I swear!" <i>Please don't strike me dead with lightning,</i> you pray to any gods that might be frowning at your half-lie. "Can we study here? In the dining room? For thirty minutes?" you plead. "So you can see I'm serious?"<br/>
<br/>
"You can't get any real studying done in thirty minutes."<br/>
<br/>
"But—!"<br/>
<br/>
"Hold on."<br/>
<br/>
Your dad sits back in his chair and gives you a very long and speculative look. "She's <i>tutoring</i> you?" he finally says.<br/>
<br/>
You grimace. "It's less embarrassing if you call it 'studying together' but basically ... yeah."<br/>
<br/>
"Tonight?"<br/>
<br/>
You nod, and gulp.<br/>
<br/>
He stares you down for a very long time. Then, with a deep sigh, he leans forward in his chair.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, tell you what, ask her to come out here. But you're not having a tutorial. I'm going to <i>interview</i> her for the position. And if I like what I hear, you'll have these tutorials <i>every</i> night. Not just when you feel like looking at a pretty girl."<br/>
<br/>
Again, you nod and gulp. But your heart sinks. "What if she doesn't want to do it every night?"<br/>
<br/>
"Then she doesn't want the job."<br/>
<br/>
"But Dad! There's no way she's going to want to— I mean, she's got a life!"<br/>
<br/>
"Does she have a job? I'll pay her for this. Salary negotiable, but I'll make it attractive. If," he adds as your heart leaps, "she's worth what I'm prepared to pay."<br/>
<br/>
"Yes sir!"<br/>
<br/>
Your dad stretches across his desk to hand you your phone. "Set it up for her to come by tonight. Oh, and Will," he says as you turn to the door. "Delete the messaging app from your laptop and tell your friends not to bother texting or calling you. You're grounded."<br/>
<br/>
You make a face, but nod.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You quickly outline the situation to Rachel via text. She sounds ambivalent about taking a job as your tutor, but she does agree to come by to talk to your dad.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb pesters you a few more times while you're talking to Rachel, but you delete his texts without replying, then delete (as per order) the messaging app from your computer, and return your phone to your dad. He tells you to stay upstairs—<i>out of sight and out of danger</i> as he puts it—and to leave Rachel to him.<br/>
<br/>
Still, you can hardly suppress your excitement when you hear a car in the driveway, and your heart ricochets off your ribcage when the doorbell rings. You pace your room, jumping and twisting and punching excitedly at the air.<br/>
<br/>
It seems forever before there's a soft knock at your door, and your dad comes in.<br/>
<br/>
"That is one damned impressive girl," he says after he's shut the door. "You've got yourself a tutor."<br/>
<br/>
"I told you she was smart!"<br/>
<br/>
He gives you a sidelong look. "Yes, she is." Then he says, "You're really excited for this."<br/>
<br/>
"Well—" You blush. "I wanna get my grades up."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh. Well, I told her I'd be administering some quizzes of my own, to check your progress. She gets bonuses based on how well you progress. And if you don't progress, then she gets fired."<br/>
<br/>
You feel your face fall.<br/>
<br/>
"So you better apply yourself, son. I'm taking a big risk myself, agreeing to this while your mom is still so mad at you."<br/>
<br/>
Then he puts out his hand. "Your phone," he reminds you. "You can tell the girl tomorrow how excited you are to start."<br/>
<br/>
Despite the awfulness of the day, you are almost bursting with happiness even after you hand your phone over.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Your mom is barely polite to you the next morning at breakfast, and you can tell by your dad's face that he is feeling the Arctic chill as well. It's a relief to escape the house, even though it is cold and rainy and you have to stand at the corner for ten minutes with nothing to read or look at online while waiting for the bus.<br/>
<br/>
At school, you find that Caleb has finally returned from his recent vacation. You try to snub him, but when he says "Hey" to you, you turn to give him a glower. "I'm grounded," you tell him.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh?" he says, sounding unconcerned. "Wha'd you do?"<br/>
<br/>
You almost fly out of your desk at him.<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't do anything! I didn't do a <i>fucking thing!</i> But my dad—!" You're so furious you can hardly speak. "My dad left work to come up to the school yesterday, to check on my truck, because supposedly it wouldn't start!"<br/>
<br/>
His eyes widen. "Whoa, really? What was the deal?"<br/>
<br/>
"There was no deal! There was nothing—! What the <i>fuck</i> was that about yesterday, when you called? You <i>wanted</i> me to call him and say my truck wouldn't start! And then— Well, then he wound up here at school, checking to see if my truck wouldn't start!"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb looks confused. Or at least he tries to look confused. There's a shiftiness about his eyes. "Well, I didn't have anything to do with it. <i>I</i> didn't call him. Did you?"<br/>
<br/>
"No!"<br/>
<br/>
"Then who did?"<br/>
<br/>
You grimace. You could tell him that it was your mom who made the call, but then you'd have to tell him about your supposed appearance at home, and how she's convinced you came home yesterday morning when you didn't.<br/>
<br/>
And that would be too weird a thing to try to explain. You slump in your desk. "Never mind," you mutter. "But my folks are mad at me and now I'm grounded."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's not like you have a life anyway, Will."<br/>
<br/>
You get up and go find another seat. But Mr. Walberg makes you move back when class starts.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You do have one idea for getting out of trouble with your mom. You <i>were</i> at school all day, and you've got witnesses to prove it. Teachers. So after class you ask Mr. Walberg for a note stating that you were in class yesterday. He looks askance, but says he'll write something for you to take home, and that you can pick it up from him this afternoon. Mr. Hawks, in second period, is quicker to comply, and with a poker face immediately scrawls out a note for you. Afterwards, though, you're not sure it will do you much good. His scribble is indecipherable.<br/>
<br/>
But then the whole plan falls apart in third period. Mr. Peters—an avuncular, middle-aged man with a chuckle and a dull-as-ditch-water lecture style—says that he doesn't remember you being in class yesterday, and when you ask him to check his attendance record he only laughs and confesses he doesn't even bother taking attendance. "I just fake it," he tells you with a wide smile.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I <i>was</i> here yesterday," you insist. "So could you write a note to my mom saying—"<br/>
<br/>
"I couldn't swear you were here, Will." He chuckles again, good-naturedly. "A note to your folks would be like swearing to it, and I couldn't swear to it." He sends you back to your seat with a pat to the shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Fucking stupid jerk-wad asshole,</i> you mutter to yourself after you're slumped in your seat. This class is right in the middle of the time you were supposed to be at home, leaving a giant hole in your alibi. And you don't have any friends in here who could swear to your presence yesterday—not that their word would carry any weight with your parents anyway.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
So you're in a foul mood at the start of English—but it evaporates the moment that Rachel walks in through the door. She looks directly at you and comes over with a smile and a "Hey Will." Her voice is soft and deep, and her eyes twinkly. "So I guess we're going to be studying together."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh, yeah," you gasp. "Thanks."<br/>
<br/>
"Thank <i>you</i>," she replies. "Your dad was really generous."<br/>
<br/>
"So, are we getting together tonight?" You are erect with more than hope.<br/>
<br/>
"Sure," she says. "But you're grounded, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Right. So we have to do it over at my place in the dining room."<br/>
<br/>
"Sounds fine to me. We can snack while we work." She gives you a trailing glance over her shoulder as she glides over to her seat.<br/>
<br/>
Caleb is giving you a look when you turn back around in your chair. "Nothing," he says when you ask what he's staring at. "So that's your study partner. Interesting."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You hang back after class, to go with Rachel in to lunch, and that's how you only just miss witnessing it: Gordon Black grabbed Caleb and hauled him off right after class let out. You don't hear about it, though, until you bump into Carson Ioeger on your way to the cafeteria. You're pissed at Caleb, but the news still shocks you. "You know what it's about?" you ask Carson.<br/>
<br/>
"No," he says, "but I know how we can find out." He gives Rachel a narrow glance, then adds in a low voice, "You have to shake the skirt, though."</span></div></div>


path: 1131241321232
author_id: seuzz
title: The Interrogatory Mode
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Carson is acting very mysterious, and you are briefly tempted by his words.<br/>
<br/>
But you've got Rachel with you, and you know what, it's just Caleb. Fuck him.<br/>
<br/>
"Whatever, man," you tell Carson. "You can tell me about it later." You turn to Rachel. "You ready for lunch?"<br/>
<br/>
She blushes a little behind her smile. "Sure, Will," she says, and precedes you to the cafeteria, so that you have to hurry to catch up.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
She's more inquisitive today than previous days, and she tugs you away from her friends, to sit at the end of the table, a little apart from the others, so she can have you all to herself. After setting up a time for her to come over to your house tonight—7:30—she asks about Chelsea. "So are you still gonna be tutoring her?" she asks as she bites down hard on a chalky carrot stick.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know." You feel a blush rising up your cheeks. "Maybe. Oh, no, can't," you remember. "I'm grounded."<br/>
<br/>
"You could have her over to your place, same as you're having me over, right?"<br/>
<br/>
A grin fights its way onto your face. "Are you jealous?"<br/>
<br/>
"No!" But she blushes again a little. "I'm just thinking, if I'm tutoring you and you're tutoring Chelsea— How did you set that thing up, anyway?"<br/>
<br/>
"It just happened, is all."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, tell me how it happened."<br/>
<br/>
Your grin widens. "You are jealous!"<br/>
<br/>
She gives you a look—a patient, almost motherly look—and says, "Well, where were you when the idea came up?"<br/>
<br/>
"Um—"<br/>
<br/>
<i>I was at Besandwiched, with you and your friends, and you asked why I got hauled up to the fuck room, and I improvised a bullshit lie about how Chelsea wanted to talk to me about tutoring her. That's where the idea came up, and then in some weird way I don't understand it came true.</i><br/>
<br/>
Well, you can't say that. "At the library. We just ran into each other and got to talking." (i}That's sort of the truth.<br/>
<br/>
"And the next day she asked you to come up the loft to ... talk about it?" Rachel's eyebrows go up.<br/>
<br/>
You blush hotly all over, like you've broken out in an instantaneous rash. Rachel didn't say it aloud, but it's the obvious, teasing implication: <i>Did Chelsea ask you up to the fuck room to talk? Or to do what the fuck room was designed for?</i><br/>
<br/>
"Yes! God, it's like you <i>are</i> jealous!"<br/>
<br/>
"Had you ever been up there before?"<br/>
<br/>
You gasp with shock, and no little delight. <i>Does Rachel think I'm in and out of the fuck room all the time or something?</i> You almost fall over with suppressed laughter. "No!" you exclaim. "Just that one time! To set up, you know, a time to meet!"<br/>
<br/>
"So why didn't she text you? Does she text you, Will?" With spidery fingers she goes for your midriff. You gasp and flinch and chortle and blush. "If I looked on your cell phone, would I find all kinds of— Oh my God, you're ticklish!"<br/>
<br/>
"I am not!"<br/>
<br/>
"You are!" She tickles you all over, and you try folding yourself in half. Out of the corner of your eye, you see everyone else at the table staring and grinning at you as Rachel tickles you under the table. You almost pass out from sheerest delight.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You've completely forgotten about the thing with Caleb when you roll into sixth period, and even when Carson, who shares that class with you, crooks a finger to beckon you over, it takes you a moment to figure out what he's talking about. "So what's going on with Chelsea and Johansson?" he asks you.<br/>
<br/>
"What?"<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea and Johansson," he repeats. "What's going on with them?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know what you're talking about."<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea and Johansson," he says through gritted teeth. "Your friend Caleb. What's the secret project they're cooking together?"<br/>
<br/>
<i>Secret project?</i> you think. <i>The fuck is Ioeger babbling about?</i><br/>
<br/>
Then you remember the incident before lunch: Gordon hauling Caleb off toward the gym.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh!" you exclaim. "I don't know. What makes you think there's some kind of secret project?"<br/>
<br/>
Carson starts to reply, then does a small double-take at Josie Holden, who is sitting in the next row over and listening with undisguised interest. "Stick around after school," he tells you, "and we'll talk."<br/>
<br/>
"I can't. I'm grounded and I have to take the bus home."<br/>
<br/>
"You have to take the <i>bus?</i>" Carson's whole face lights up with astonishment.<br/>
<br/>
"Shut up. My truck got confiscated."<br/>
<br/>
"Wha'd you do, get caught being sucked off by your new girlfriend? In the family room?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck you!" You turn to leave.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll give you a ride home. Or do you <i>have</i> to take the bus?"<br/>
<br/>
You flip him off over your shoulder as you trudge back to your desk. Because although you <i>would</i> accept a ride from him in other circumstances, he was being a dick.<br/>
<br/>
And besides, the last thing you talked to Rachel about, before parting after lunch, was about <i>her</i> driving you back to your place.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
But the world is determined to be weird and ugly. You're turning into G wing, on your way to Astronomy, when you're grabbed from behind by someone very strong, and frog-marched through the crowds.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Not again,</i> you think with a sigh. <i>This is almost getting boring.</i><br/>
<br/>
Down the length of the wing you are hustled, and out the door. It's a longish trip out to the portables, which gives you plenty of time to speculate on the identity of your abductor. Gordon? He'd take you to the gym again, surely. Steve Patterson? He's never bothered you before. One of the football players? It's been a couple of years since Dominic Kleason or Roy Nelson hassled you. The Molester? David Kirkham? Seth Javits? Your captor's mitts feel too big to be one of them.<br/>
<br/>
The flock of students perched in front of the portables looks up with obvious amusement as you're carried past them. "Sucks to be you, asshole!" one of them calls. You're forced to the very back of the cluster of dingy old portables, which are rotting away in the weedy back lot of the school, and thrown against a door. "Open it," a hoarse voice commands, and after you oblige you are thrown into the dark interior. When you turn around—<br/>
<br/>
<i>Well, goddamn,</i> you marvel. <i>It really was Gordon all along!</i><br/>
<br/>
The burly ballplayer doesn't give you time to react, but after throwing the door shut advances on you in two terrifyingly big steps. Before you can scramble away, he grabs you about the shoulders with a brawny arm to pull you close. Then, with his free hand, he grabs you by the face.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Is he trying do some kind of Star Trek Vulcan thing on me?</i> you wonder as he pulls at your forehead while muttering under his breath. You try twisting away, but his grip is too strong, and because he isn't hurting you—except once, when his thumb slips into your eye—you cease to struggle. <i>This is the weirdest beating I've ever gotten,</i> you find yourself thinking.<br/>
<br/>
After a minute of this, Gordon gives up and thrusts you away. He looks deeply puzzled, but he doesn't say anything. And you don't say anything either. You doubt the question at the front of your brain—<i>What the fuck, man?</i>—would get an answer.<br/>
<br/>
Then he turns and grabs something off the old teacher's desk. You just have time to see a flash of blue before he is shoving it in your face. It's like getting punched with a croquet mallet, and you tumble backward on your feet.<br/>
<br/>
Then you are floating, and the darkness deepens about you.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You are groggy when you waken, and you are shaking all over when you sit up. You feel sick, and you sit very still while your gut decides whether or not it wants anything to do with your still-digesting lunch. <br/>
<br/>
The feeling passes pretty quickly, though, but you still feel weak as you get to your feet. You're not surprised to find yourself still in the dark, dank, moldy old portable, and you find you don't much care. You feel only slight relief at having the place to yourself—Gordon has vanished.<br/>
<br/>
Classes are still in session, but even though you have time to get back to class, you scoop up your bag—thankfully still intact—and trudge to the library, where you try to gather your wits during the remaining minutes of class. <i>The fuck is going on with Gordon?</i> you wonder. It's weird enough that he grabbed you once, to hustle you up to the fuck room, then drop you off at the portables. But twice now? Chelsea has also been weird—like, she's been paying attention to you. Caleb has also been goofy.<br/>
<br/>
As near as you can tell, it all goes back to last Friday, when Chelsea summoned you up to the school. What that was about, you have no idea, and you don't even remember the conversation that clearly. Something about Gordon hurting himself, though why Chelsea thought you'd be interested, you don't know.<br/>
<br/>
But Caleb was interested after you mentioned it to him. That's when <i>he</i> got weird. You find yourself wishing you'd gotten more interested in all this shit earlier, before you got distracted by—<br/>
<br/>
The bell rings, dismissing classes, and the noise startles you into awareness of your surroundings. Like, you didn't even notice that Kendra Saunders and Gloria Rea, two of the cheerleaders, are sitting at a nearby table. Is it your imagination, or do they both give you a close but hooded look as you get to your feet?<br/>
<br/>
<i>I need to talk to someone about all this shit,</i> you tell yourself as peep into the hallway—scouting the scene before chancing a dash to your locker. <i>Maybe I should talk to Carson.</i> He's smart, and he had some news he wanted to tell you anyway, it sounded like.<br/>
<br/>
Or maybe you should have a serious talk with Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
Or maybe you should confide your troubles with your new girlfriend.</span></div></div>


path: 11312413212321
author_id: seuzz
title: Confiding in Carson
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You don't want to lay too much on Rachel. It's probably weird enough for her, finding herself going out with a guy like you. (You are going out together, aren't you?) You don't want to scare her off by laying some heavy shit on her about the weird run-ins you've had with Gordon and Chelsea lately. Particularly because you'd have to confess to her that, uh, you've lying about your history with Chelsea.<br/>
<br/>
You also don't want to talk to Caleb. Like, you <i>told</i> him about last Friday, when Chelsea summoned you up to the school, and he just weirded out on you. And then he made that bizarre request yesterday morning, which you still feel like is somehow connected to the shitstorm going on at your house.<br/>
<br/>
That leaves Carson as the only one you might talk to. Yeah, he's an arrogant prick, but he's smart and he's got more guts than just about anyone you know. He's also already said he wants to talk to you about something.<br/>
<br/>
So you turn on your heel and dash off toward his locker, shoving your way as fast and hard as you can through the surging crowds.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Carson is wearing an extremely pained expression by the time he drops you off in front of your house, but it also looks like he doesn't <i>disbelieve</i> you, exactly. Also, he agrees to pick you up in the morning.<br/>
<br/>
You gave him your story from the beginning, but of course there was lots of backing-and-filling as you remembered to add details and as he questioned you sharply. More or less (though not in this order) this is what you told him:<br/>
<br/>
<i>Last Friday night Chelsea Cooper called me out of the blue and asked me to come up to the school, and she took me up to the fuck room and asked for my help because Gordon hurt himself somehow. I didn't know what she was talking about so I just left her—</i><br/>
<br/>
"Fucking amateur," Carson snorted at that point.<br/>
<br/>
<i>—and since then my life has gotten weird. Gordon hauled my ass up to the fuck room and I got punched in the face and woke up behind the portables, and then on Tuesday Chelsea wanted to meet me again up at the library so I could tutor her in math, and then </i>today<i> Gordon hauled me out to the portables and punched me in the face again and knocked me out—</i><br/>
<br/>
"What do you expect after you took a job 'tutoring' his girlfriend?" Carson wanted to know.<br/>
<br/>
<i>—but the really weird stuff is happening at my house. Caleb called me yesterday morning and wanted me to call my dad and pretend that my truck wouldn't start, and I told him to get bent, but when I got home yesterday afternoon, my mom told me that my dad came out to the school to check on my truck, and he did that because </i>I<i> came home in a taxi and told her my truck wouldn't start, and I swear to fucking Jesus, Carson, I didn't do no such thing, but now my mom is mad at me 'cos I'm basically calling her a liar, and that's how come I'm grounded.</i><br/>
<br/>
As already stated, Carson looks very pained when he drops you off, but he says he'll talk about it with you some more tomorrow when he picks you up. Before letting you go, though, he asks if Caleb ever explained how come he wanted you to make that phone call to your dad.<br/>
<br/>
"No, and he's being a dick," you reply, "which is how come I'm telling <i>you</i> about all this instead of him. He's been totally useless. Anyway," you add, "after I first told him about Chelsea, he started skipping school. Today was his first day back."<br/>
<br/>
You half-expect Carson to dismiss you with a shake of his head, but he just repeats that he'll pick you up tomorrow. You watch and wave as he pulls back onto the street and shoots away.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Your mom continues to be cool toward you, but she's not rude. Dinner is still very awkward, though, with minimal conversation, and your dad takes your place to help clean up the kitchen. But when seven-thirty rolls around—the time that Rachel is due to show up for your first tutoring session—you are downstairs at the dining room table with your stuff spread out, and are nearly bursting with excitement.<br/>
<br/>
You spend two hours working with her, as she patiently explains the fundamentals of calculus to you—what it is and what it's supposed to do, and how it connects with mathematical concepts you already understand. She does a marvelous job of making it all clear to you, so that exercises that were just rote work start to make sense, and the rules and techniques you're supposed to follow become much more intuitive and easy to remember. Your dad comes in at one point to listen for a few minutes, and you can tell by his expression that he's impressed and pleased by what he hears.<br/>
<br/>
There's no flirting or even touching while you work, but it's not hard for you to read a soft, blushing interest in Rachel's face when she's looking at you. Her eyes are big and expressive, and she squirms a little (but smiles!) when she catches you staring at her. She's very quiet and professional, though, and never once alludes to any kind of "connection" between you, so you have to flatter yourself there's a connection by reading it into her smiles.<br/>
<br/>
You walk her to the door when the session is over, and she tugs you onto the front porch.<br/>
<br/>
"Listen, you're grounded," she says, "so you can't walk me to my car. But I'll pick you up for school tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"That'd be great!" you exclaim. Then you remember the deal you already made with Carson. "Except I can't. I'm already getting a ride from Carson Ioeger."<br/>
<br/>
"So cancel on him. I want to pick you up."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't got a way of contacting him."<br/>
<br/>
"Then I'll text him. I've got his number."<br/>
<br/>
You squirm on your feet. It's awfully tempting, but he did listen to you this afternoon, and he acted like he'd have something to say to you tomorrow. So you shake your head.<br/>
<br/>
"Let me give you a ride home tomorrow?" she suggests, and when you happily nod, she kisses her fingertip and presses it to the corner of your mouth. "Thanks," she says. "I'll see you tomorrow." She casts a couple of glances back at you as she walks to her car, and you can hardly keep from taking off like a rocket as you watch her go.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You're still in the shower when Carson stops by to pick you up on Friday morning, and your clothes are sticking wetly to you as you run out the door with him. Annoyed as you are with him being so goddamned early, you're also glad for the early escape. You're happier still when he stops at a donut shop on the way into school, where James Lamont is waiting for you both.<br/>
<br/>
Over a couple of donuts and coffee the three of you talk. The other two are very serious, and they listen intently as they ask for your story again. To your surprise, they are most interested in something that you hardly even remember mentioning to Carson yesterday: that book you sold to Caleb, which wound up with Chelsea.<br/>
<br/>
"I picked it up at Arnholm's," you say, and tell them how it creeped you out. How it purported to be a book of magic or something, and how Caleb even tested something out on you using something he made with it. "I don't remember what it was supposed to do," you say. "Something like mind-reading, though, I think." You expect them to sneer and jeer, but they look very thoughtful. You also explain again that Chelsea had the book when you saw her on Friday, and that you don't know how she got it away from Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, see, here's the thing," Carson says, and he leans on his elbows as he fixes you with a piercing glance. "Gordon hauled Caleb up to the fuck room yesterday, and Caleb and Chelsea had a long talk, and we think it was about that book."<br/>
<br/>
"How do you know?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Never you mind," James says, but Carson hushes him.<br/>
<br/>
"We have our ways. But Chelsea was talking to him the way it sounds like she talked to you. Gordon hurt himself somehow, and she wanted Caleb's help fixing him. That's the word she used," he adds. "'Fixing' him."<br/>
<br/>
"Which is funny," James says, "because her boyfriend looks as fucking healthy as ever."<br/>
<br/>
"She was also talking about a book," Carson continues, "and she was accusing him—pretty goddamned loudly, too—of stealing it from her."<br/>
<br/>
You feel your eyes widen. "What did Caleb say?"<br/>
<br/>
"He said he didn't take the book, but that he'd help her look for it."<br/>
<br/>
"And what did she say?"<br/>
<br/>
Carson and James look at each other. "She said, 'I'd love that. And if you fix Gordon, I'll even let you <i>be</i> him. For a little while.'" Carson grimaces. "What does that even mean?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sounds obvious to me," James says. "Eww."<br/>
<br/>
But you say nothing, for a feeling of vertigo washes over you, and it takes awhile to mold some fresh and hideous intuitions into cogent thoughts.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Masks and disguises. The dangers and temptations of imposture.</i> That's what the book promised.<br/>
<br/>
In a flash you understand how your mom could have talked to you at home while at the same time you were at school.<br/>
<br/>
But of course, the idea is totally crazy and completely preposterous.</span></div></div>


path: 1131241322
author_id: seuzz
title: Plot Plinko Placeholder
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>This is a placeholder chapter for a poll: "<a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/polls/item_id/2264668-Book-of-Masks-Plot-Plinko-4" target="_top" title="Choose a path for the interactive.">Book of Masks: Plot Plinko [4]</a>" <a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/polls/item_id/2264668-Book-of-Masks-Plot-Plinko-4" target="_blank" title="Choose a path for the interactive."><img border="0" height="12" loading="lazy" onmouseout="$(this).css('opacity', '.4');" onmouseover="$(this).css('opacity', '1');" src="https://www.Writing.Com/nw.gif" style="opacity:.4;" width="12"/></a>. To give extra votes to this choice in that poll, send GPs through the tip form below.<br/>
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path: 1131242
author_id: seuzz
title: Plot Plinko Placeholder
chapter_content:
<div><span style="font-size:1.47em;"><div> <span>This is a placeholder chapter for a poll: "<a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/polls/item_id/2264175-Book-of-Masks-Plot-Plinko-1" target="_top" title="Choose a path for the interactive">Book of Masks: Plot Plinko (1)</a>" <a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/polls/item_id/2264175-Book-of-Masks-Plot-Plinko-1" target="_blank" title="Choose a path for the interactive"><img border="0" height="12" loading="lazy" onmouseout="$(this).css('opacity', '.4');" onmouseover="$(this).css('opacity', '1');" src="https://www.Writing.Com/nw.gif" style="opacity:.4;" width="12"/></a>. To give extra votes to this choice in that poll, send GPs through the tip form below.</span></div></span></div>


path: 11313
author_id: seuzz
title: New Friends
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"I got rid of that thing because I didn't want to get mixed up in it," you say. "Not so you could treat me like a fucking guinea pig."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb steps back as though slapped. "If you don't trust me--" <br/>
<br/>
"I don't trust that book!" you exclaim. "Look, Caleb, dude, buddy. I'm not going to put my head in a fucking guillotine just because you think it's a nifty contraption."<br/>
<br/>
"I tried it, and it's okay," he protests as he holds the metal strip out to you.<br/>
<br/>
"You said you didn't even know if it worked! Maybe it's safe with you, but what about with me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fine," he says, and grabs up his back pack. Something inside it clinks. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. If I haven't chopped my own head off," he adds sarcastically. You lean back, feeling very tired, but he pauses at the door. "Do you still have the key to that place? The basement at the old school?"<br/>
<br/>
"Huh? Oh, that." He's referring to the old elementary school near your house; a little over a year ago you had broken into its basement--accessible through an outside door--and then attached your own padlock to it. "Yeah, why?"<br/>
<br/>
"Can you let me have it?" he says. "I need someplace to, you know, carry out these experiments."<br/>
<br/>
"What's wrong with your house? If you burn that school down--"<br/>
<br/>
"You'd rather I burn down my <i>own</i> house? Anyway, I'm not gonna set anything on fire. I just don't want my mom finding this stuff."<br/>
<br/>
You snort, but dig through your sock drawer. "I don't even know if my lock is still on it," you say as you toss the key to him. "Ten to one the maintenance guys found it and took it off. I haven't been out there in months."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, no harm, I guess, if they have," he says. He thanks you for the key and leaves.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Life continues. You try once again to forget about that crazy book, and about Caleb's request, but your refusal seems to have dropped a shadow between you. All that week he is distant and uncommunicative, and when the weekend comes he is nowhere to be found when you call him up. On Monday he mutters that he was working on "that stuff" and couldn't be bothered. You ask him if he found someone else to help, and he shoots you a sharp glance before shaking his head.<br/>
<br/>
And you find your own attitude toward him cooling. <i>Resentful son a of a bitch.</i> So you didn't do him a favor. It was a wackadoodle thing for him to ask of you, and it's not hard to hold it against him that he seems to hold your refusal against you. Another week passes, and when the weekend comes you don't even bother calling him.<br/>
<br/>
Instead, you start to hang out with other people.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Can I see that paper you wrote for Walberg?" James Lamont mutters to Carson Ioeger.<br/>
<br/>
"Why would you want to copy from a guy who's dyslexic?" Jenny Ashton waspishly asks. "Yeah, Carson, you talking about I'm. Get a C- on last your essay you didn't?"<br/>
<br/>
"A cucumber suck go on, Jenny," he retorts. "A mark of exemplary intelligence it is to be able to craft in non-standard word order sentences."<br/>
<br/>
"I'd copy down half the words you use so I could look them up later," Yumi Saito says as she swirls her smoothie. "But I wouldn't know how to spell them, and you probably don't either. I think you're making them up." She sucks noisily on her straw.<br/>
<br/>
"B-I-T-U-M-E ... N," Carson says to her as he hands a sheet of paper to James.<br/>
<br/>
"Way to be a rude asshole," Paul Davis frowns.<br/>
<br/>
"I wasn't being rude," Carson says. "I was just spelling for your not-girlfriend the kind of asphalt she can go suck on." Paul turns quite red.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, well, it's not like <i>you're</i> going to get a girlfriend by being such a jerk," Jenny says.<br/>
<br/>
"It's not like I'm going to be getting a girlfriend period," Carson says serenely as he scratches under one of his pits. "It's tremendously freeing."<br/>
<br/>
The harsh words notwithstanding, the tone around the group of five--six, including yourself--is quite mellow. Only Paul seems to have taken Carson's insults badly, though you do notice that Yumi is rather pointedly not looking in Paul's direction. The mellowness may be because the lot of you are sitting at one of the tables in the courtyard of the municipal library for a supposed study session, but you've known these guys since middle school, and know that the barking is all for show, and that none of them really have any teeth.<br/>
<br/>
"What about you, Will," Jenny asks. "You're the only guy here who's had a girlfriend. Is it really better being outside a relationship than in one?"<br/>
<br/>
You can't help cringing a little, even though you can tell by the glint in her eye that Jenny means the question kindly. You hesitate, because it's a question that has naturally been preying on you. Before you can speak, Carson jumps in. "Come on, Prescott, back me up," he chortles. "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have lost that love at all."<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't lose it if it was never there," you snap. The silence that ensues only confirms that the banter had no meanness in it, for eyes fall in embarrassment. "Oh, what's the point," you shrug. "You don't want to hear about it again, and I'm sick of thinking about it."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sure it was there, Will," Jenny says gently. "Lisa wouldn't have led you on."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, <i>that</i> makes me feel better. I guess I fucked up with her."<br/>
<br/>
"No, she fucked up with you," Carson says, and again it's not a surprise that he'd so quickly back Jenny up once the conversation turned serious. "Sometimes girls let guys get away, if they're too stupid to know what they had or could have had."<br/>
<br/>
Silence falls, or maybe you just don't notice any talk as you begin again to muse about Lisa and what you had with her. Soft afternoons and soft hands and soft glances and-- Well, not all of it was soft; part of you got pretty hard. <i>Tingly.</i> That's what it was, the soft parts and the hard parts all of them were tingly. Like everything had been sprinkled with pixie dust. You don't emerge from the reverie until you hear yourself murmuring, "It was like magic."<br/>
<br/>
"There's nothing magic about love," Carson sneers. "It's just body chemistry Darwin invented to fuck us up so we'd fuck each other. There's nothing more embarrassing than acting like a person in love."<br/>
<br/>
Weirdly, instead of leading into a discussion of love, Carson's comment provokes a discussion about magic--and even more weirdly you find yourself hotly exclaiming that you know a little bit about it: "I found a book of magic a few weeks ago."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, that occult stuff is all over bookstores like shit on a stable wall."<br/>
<br/>
"No, I mean a real, old-fashioned grimoire, like something out of Harry Potter." That provokes hoots of laughter even from the girls, and you feel yourself turning very red as you insist on what you'd found at Arnholm's. When James demands to know what happened to this "grimoire," you have to admit that you don't have it any more.<br/>
<br/>
"I would pay five bucks just to look at something that actually <i>looked</i> like a grimoire," Carson says.<br/>
<br/>
"Have it ready, dude," you exclaim as you jab a finger into Carson's bemused face. "Have. It. Ready."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Can I borrow that book from you," you ask Caleb the next day. Your feel your eyes crinkle, for after the bad words that have passed between you on the subject, it's damned awkward to ask him for it. "You know the one I'm talking about."<br/>
<br/>
His glance at you is hooded, even suspicious. "How come?"<br/>
<br/>
"I just want to show it to someone," you shrug.<br/>
<br/>
He shoves a book into his locker and tugs two more out. "It's not something that should be getting any publicity."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not gonna try anything with it. I'm not even gonna tell them that it's, you know, magic," you lie. "I was just talking about old books with someone, and that's the oldest book I know of. It's gotta be, what, a coupla hundred years old?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know anything about that," he says. "Maybe it's a fake, done up to look old."<br/>
<br/>
"Still, come on. Can I borrow it?"<br/>
<br/>
He closes the locker and looks you up and down with a frown. "I'll think about it."<br/>
<br/>
Well, it was worth asking about. But "I'll think about it" is one of the English language's many synonyms for "No."<br/>
<br/>
So imagine your surprise when he calls you up Saturday morning and cheerfully asks to meet you at the elementary school. He's in a bright mood when you find him, though you can't miss the satire in his smile. "Wanna borrow the book, huh?" he says mischievously. "Change your mind about coming in as a partner with me?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," you say through gritted teeth. "I just wanna borrow it."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, thing is, I'm not gonna loan it to you unless you give me some security. You know, a deposit."<br/>
<br/>
"I haven't got any money."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't want money. I want you to put this on." From his bag he pulls out an oval object. It shines a deep and brilliant blue, and as he holds it up you see that it resembles one of those old-fashioned tragedian's masks.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Again with the creepy things.</i> You draw back. "What is it?"<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, it's security. You let me put this on you, and you can borrow the book. When you return the book, you can have this thing. I keep it until then."</span></div></div>


path: 113131
author_id: seuzz
title: A New You
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"What is it?" you warily ask.<br/>
<br/>
"You're so full of questions," he laughs. "Shit and questions. How about you tell me who you're going to show the book to?"<br/>
<br/>
"Carson Ioeger," you admit. "Him and James and Paul. Jenny." Caleb's eyes glitter even as they narrow. "What?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, okay, you can borrow it. Those are good guys." He extends the blue object. "But you still have to leave me a deposit."<br/>
<br/>
"What is this 'deposit'?"<br/>
<br/>
His mouth twists. "You were right about the book being magic," he says. "It doesn't <i>like</i> it when strange people handle it. It didn't like <i>me.</i> Not until I used it to make one of these things, and put it on. Then it calmed down."<br/>
<br/>
"Then maybe I don't want to borrow it," you frown.<br/>
<br/>
He shrugs. "Then what will you tell Carson?"<br/>
<br/>
You have a sudden vision of Carson's laughing face, and the laughing faces of the others, and they all merge into the merry, satirical stare Caleb has turned on you. Resentment flares inside you. "Fine!" You grab the thing from Caleb and fumble at it. "What do I do?"<br/>
<br/>
"Lay down so you don't hurt yourself. I said you had to put it on, but that just means laying it on your face. It's like it makes a, um, a kind of impression. That way the book recognizes you. Or something."<br/>
<br/>
You feel your eyebrow twist skeptically, and the feeling that Caleb is peddling a bald lie becomes even stronger. But Caleb's your friend. He wouldn't hurt you, even if things have been kind of strained between you lately ...<br/>
<br/>
You drop to the ground, and with a mild oath jam the thing to your face. "Turn it the <i>other</i> way, doofus," Caleb laughs as you rub your nose. "Like it's a mask."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
James gently turns the page with a frown. "It isn't even real Latin," he snorts.<br/>
<br/>
You jab at a word on the new page. "That's Latin, I know that much."<br/>
<br/>
He turns a disgusted eye at you. "Did you take three years with Leavey like I did? No? Then shut up." He pushes your finger off the page. "A lot of the words are Latin, but the sentences are junk. A first-year student with Google Translate could write better than this garbage."<br/>
<br/>
"The pictures are pretty," Jenny says. "They look like something in Arabic or Sanskrit."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's still like a grimoire, even if the stuff is all fake," you insist.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course it's fake," Carson hoots. "It's sixteenth century Khalil Gibran. But it's good enough for me." He pulls a handful of bills from his pocket. "There's your five, Prescott," he cheerfully says as he slaps them on the table.<br/>
<br/>
You take the money with a smile: Carson could have always used "fake" as an excuse to avoid paying up, so it's really gracious of him to accept this oddball book as a real grimoire. "And those faces on the front page are really neat," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh yeah." He pulls the book from James. "I wanna make a copy of those." He ambles over to the school Xerox machine before you can stop him.<br/>
<br/>
"Copies!" Jenny suddenly exclaims, then ducks her head at the glare that Mrs. DeWare, the school librarian, has shot at her. "Sorry," she says in a much lower voice as she digs inside her school bag. "I forgot that Paul asked me to get these back to you, Will," she says as she shuffles through a pile of papers. "Also, he says thanks." She hands you two sheets.<br/>
<br/>
You blink down at them. "What are they?" You recognize the handwriting as your own, but can't place the contents. They're lecture notes from History.<br/>
<br/>
"Are those the right ones? It's supposed to be the notes from Fernandez's class that he borrowed from you."<br/>
<br/>
"When did he borrow them?"<br/>
<br/>
"I dunno. Yesterday, I guess," she says. "He said he missed History because he had to go to the nurse's office. Didn't he borrow them from you after school?"<br/>
<br/>
"Definitely not yesterday," you snort. "I wasn't even--"<br/>
<br/>
"Why did he have to go the nurse's?" James interrupts.<br/>
<br/>
"He ran into Tanner." Jenny makes a face. "Tanner's fist, to be precise."<br/>
<br/>
"Jesus!" James says. "If it was bad enough to go to the nurse's, why didn't he say anything to Sagansky about it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Jenny says. "It was just Tanner, and Paul wanted an excuse to skip. Besides," she adds in a low voice, "if he got Tanner in trouble, it would just mean that <i>Kirkham</i> would come looking for him." <br/>
<br/>
You ignore this all-too-common gossip about bullying, still being wrapped in the oddity of these notes. You don't remember taking them, but then you hardly remember anything from History anyway, even when you are paying attention and taking notes. The oddity is in the supposed timing: You skipped school entirely yesterday. It was a Monday, and Caleb had intercepted you just outside school and talked you into making it the third day of a three-day weekend. You'd wound up in the Suffolk Wilderness Park, outside of town, hiking up and down trails and talking about nothing, and pretending to be studying the flora when any rangers happened by. It had been a fun time, with no talk about the book or magic or anything. You try to remember when you might have loaned notes to Paul, but you can't place when it might have occurred. <br/>
<br/>
The thump of the book as it lands in front of you pulls you out of these puzzled reflections. "Ah, screw it," Carson says. "Maybe you can make me a copy for me later?" You look up at him. "Toner's all fucked up or something in the machine."<br/>
<br/>
You tuck the notes into one of your own textbooks, and would have forgotten them entirely, except there's an odd quasi-sequel in math class, when you get back a quiz. Again, it's an assignment you don't remember doing, and the date at the top is Monday's. But then the lecture resumes, and you're distracted by equations.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb calls you around seven. "You get the book back?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I got it here. You wanna come by and pick it up?"<br/>
<br/>
"Let's meet at the school. I'll give you the dingus in exchange."<br/>
<br/>
"Can't you just get rid of it? I don't want it, whatever it is."<br/>
<br/>
"You should get rid of it yourself," he says. "It's dangerous. I mean, you can trust me with it, but--"<br/>
<br/>
"What is that thing, anyway? I didn't like the way it knocked me out."<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, that was just a side effect. But come meet me, and I'll tell you all about it."<br/>
<br/>
You sigh. "Supper's in half an hour, and my dad's suddenly interested in us all eating together again."<br/>
<br/>
"You'll be back in plenty of time," he says, and it sounds like there's a giggle in his voice. "You'll see. Hurry up."<br/>
<br/>
Caleb's car is parked by the school when you arrive, so he must have already been out there. There are two more cars there, but you don't recognize them, and assume they are connected to the recreational center that has been established in the cafeteria of the old school. Caleb himself is loitering on the other side of the building, near the outside door that leads into the basement. He grins as you approach. "How was school?"<br/>
<br/>
"You were there with me. You know what it was like."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, the Molester was in fine form, wasn't he?" he laughs. "One of these days I'd really like to fuck him up."<br/>
<br/>
"And I wanna fuck Cindy Vredenburg. I guess we both can dream." Caleb claps his hands and howls with delight. You glare--is he drunk?--and hold out the book. "So here you go."<br/>
<br/>
"Hang onto it. I gotta show you something in the basement." His grin is manic as he opens the door. He starts to go down, but stops you with a hand to your chest. "Dude. Don't freak out at what you see. Seriously. Do. Not. Freak. Out." You stare at him, and then follow him slowly down the wooden steps.<br/>
<br/>
The basement is a junk heap of old desks and cabinets and shelves and other office detritus. The light is very dim. But in the gloom you see that the two of you are not alone. There's a third figure. It turns at your footsteps.<br/>
<br/>
You stop and gasp.<br/>
<br/>
It's you.<br/>
<br/>
Will Prescott--or someone who looks just like you--stares back from the middle of the room. He's dressed just like you, too. No, wait, it's a shirt and pants like you own, but it's not the clothes you're currently wearing. All that's missing is the dirty ball cap that you've got pulled low over your brow.<br/>
<br/>
"Brilliant, isn't it," Caleb says, and you jump. "He looks just like you and he acts just like you. We can send him back to your place, and he can have supper for you. Then we can talk."<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck?" You finally find your voice.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't worry, there's nothing bad here," Caleb says. "He has to do what you say, so it's not like he's dangerous. He's just a fake version of you. I made him using the book."<br/>
<br/>
"You ... You <i>made</i> a <i>copy</i> of me?!"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, and he's just as dumb as you. I got a copy of me I sometimes send to school when I don't wanna go myself. You didn't notice the difference." He nods his head at your double. "No one will notice the difference with him."<br/>
<br/>
You stagger back. "What the <i>fuck--!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"I said, don't freak out. I'm not <i>replacing</i> you. Although, you can use him to replace yourself if you want." He opens a drawer in a nearby desk and pulls out another blue mask. "And if you send your double home you can be this guy. I made it for you."<br/>
<br/>
Numbly, you take the proffered mask.</span></div></div>


path: 1131311
author_id: seuzz
title: A New Life
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You stare down at the mask. It is a brilliant blue color, and the dim light of the basement glints off it. Maybe it's a trick of the light, but you think you can see a dim image floating inside it. <br/>
<br/>
A movement catches your eye: the other Will Prescott has started to fidget. "I still don't get what's going on," you tell Caleb. "What is ... he?"<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, it's a golem. A thing, a slave." He sighs as you just stare dumbly back. "Okay, it's complicated, and I'll give you the short version. The book? It has these recipes in it for making things. A recipe for masks, like what you're holding." You almost drop the mask as you flinch from it. "There's also a recipe for a mud-man thing. So I made up a mud-man. Well, a couple, actually," he says, and for a brief moment sounds discomfited. "Anyway, if you put one of these masks on a person, it copies them. Like taking an impression."<br/>
<br/>
"Like you did with me," you blurt out, and cold tingles skitter up and down your spine.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," he says with terrifying cheerfulness. "Then if you put that mask onto the mud-man, it turns into a duplicate of the person. Body, brain, everything. That guy?" He points to your double. "He remembers everything you did up until last Saturday. And he can act just like you too." He blinks at what must be the horrified expression on your face. "And I told you not to worry. He can't hurt you. He's your slave."<br/>
<br/>
"Because he's my double?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's more complicated than that. But in this case, yeah. How about you tell him to go home? It's getting close to dinner, and you don't wanna get in trouble."<br/>
<br/>
You lick your very dry lips. "Go home," you croak at the other you.<br/>
<br/>
He shrugs. "Whatever you say, boss." You draw away from him, but not so far you can't hear him mutter, as he passes, "Fuckin' weird, man. Stay safe." You gulp.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay," says Caleb. "Now that <i>he's</i> gone, how about you try <i>that</i> thing on." He gestures at the mask you are still loosely clutching.<br/>
<br/>
"Why? What is it?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's someone else," he grins. "There can't be two Will Prescotts running around, right? I mean," he laughs, "one is bad enough. You can be <i>this</i> guy while he's being you."<br/>
<br/>
He points at the mask, and you look down at it. Yes, there's definitely a face in there. You turn the mask over, and jump a little. The name CAMERON CRAIG HUBER seems to float over the inner surface. You look up sharply at Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
He grins. "Yeah, can you believe it? Put it on, and you'll turn into <i>him.</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"Why would I--?" you squeak, then stop. <i>Oh ... There would definitely be advantages to being him.</i> "But won't I be his slave?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Not in this case," Caleb says. "You'd still be yourself, way down on the inside. But you could act just like him. Have all his memories, his talents, all that. You could go home as him and totally fool his parents. Go to school and totally fool everyone there. Including--" He waggles his eyebrows.<br/>
<br/>
Your knees give way and you fall to the floor. And since you're already down there ...<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
It's like an ocean pouring over you and into, and you can feel every ripple and every eddy and every bubble. Fragments of memories coalesce around you, little kaleidoscopic windows into days and years long past. They slosh and combine and slide and then reconfigure into ... Whoa, so that's what a four-dimensional image is like. Something that stretches through <i>time.</i><br/>
<br/>
You open your eyes. Caleb is smiling down at you. "What's your name, dude?"<br/>
<br/>
Two different names instantly flash into your mind, and you briefly hesitate over them, before coming down firmly on the one that seems more intuitively right. "Will Prescott."<br/>
<br/>
"Awesome. From the way you were looking at me, for a moment I thought you wouldn't remember the right one. What's your other name?"<br/>
<br/>
"Cameron Huber," you reply without hesitation. A loose grin spreads over your face. And then, just as suddenly, you sit up. "Where the fuck is Mitchell?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," drawls Caleb, "I had to use him to get Cameron out here. He wouldn've come if <i>I'd</i> asked him.<br/>
<br/>
You blink, but the question remains; it just acquires a different meaning. "Where's Mitchell?"<br/>
<br/>
Now Caleb looks a little uncomfortable. "Yeah, um, that," he mumbles. "Let's just say Sean Mitchell isn't himself anymore. Just like Will Prescott isn't himself anymore." He nudges you playfully with his foot. "Just like Cameron isn't himself anymore."<br/>
<br/>
"So what did you do with him? Last thing I remember-- he remembers-- a thing. Sean was pushing a thing onto his face." You frown. "How can I pretend to be Cameron while he's still around? He is around, isn't he?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sort of," Caleb says. "It's complicated." <i>Again with that word. Caleb is not being very helpful at explaining things.</i> "He's, uh, he's pretending to be you. Will Prescott, I mean."<br/>
<br/>
"Pretending to be--?! How the fuck--?!" The penny drops: Cameron is at your house, looking and acting like you. "<i>He'll destroy my life!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"No he won't. He doesn't even know he's you. You see--" Caleb perches on a nearby table. "I put some extra special stuff in that mask of you. Now, if you put that mask of you on a person, it puts them to sleep. They disappear under the fake face. He's at your house now, eating dinner, but he's just a-- Well, he's not even a zombie. He's a sleepwalker, I guess. And he'll stay asleep as long as that mask is on him."<br/>
<br/>
"But what happens when we take the mask off? When I go back to being myself?"<br/>
<br/>
Caleb's look is pitying. "There's a big mirror over in the corner. Go look at yourself, and think about Anne Starkey, and tell me why you'd ever go back to being yourself."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Yeah, maybe you won't go back to being yourself, not after you get a good look in the mirror. "You got one of these guys for yourself?" you ask Caleb as you pull on Cameron's--your--shirt and pants. "Or are you--" you jerk your chin at him.<br/>
<br/>
"I got Sean," he says. "After you go, I'll switch back into him, and see you at school tomorrow. And after we let a few more people join our club, maybe we can start switching and sharing. I wouldn't mind having a go at Anne sometime."<br/>
<br/>
"More people?" you frown.<br/>
<br/>
"Like Keith," he says. "And Carson and James and Paul?" he adds. "Maybe Jenny? Yumi? We show them these masks, like I showed them to you, and let them switch with other people. Like, put them in for ... Oh, I dunno. Whoever they want to be." You stare, dumbfounded. "That's the main reason I let you take the book and show them, so they wouldn't be totally gobsmacked when you tell them about this. I think it'd be fun to have a little club," he says softly.<br/>
<br/>
You're thoughtful as you pull on shoes. A club might be kind of fun at that.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll let you approach them," Caleb says. "But in a day or two. You should have some fun first. Then you can switch back to yourself, just long enough to bring one of them in. Maybe James first. He seems pretty level-headed. Oh, and one more thing--"<br/>
<br/>
You are struck by the flinty expression that has settled in his eyes. "You wouldn't come in as a partner with me, even after I offered you two chances. It's too late for a partnership now. Remember, I'm in charge of this little conspiracy." He holds up the book. "You can't do anything without me."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Caleb remains behind as you saunter back out with a rolling gait in your stride. Cameron is a big guy--as befits the captain/quarterback of the Westside football team. Your new body feels strange--very large, like a big, ill-fitting suit--when you're thinking about it, but it feels natural when you forget about it.<br/>
<br/>
You crawl into your car--a tight fit behind the wheel--with a grunt; the enclosed space again leaves you feeling like you're an outsized guy. You adjust the mirror and regard your face. Kindly hazel eyes twinkle from deeply under a strong brow; you have a tight smile that doesn't show many teeth. Thick whiskers run down your cheek and under your chin and jaw line, to spill down your throat and merge seamlessly with the mat of hair on your chest; they also merge through short side burns with the close-cropped auburn hair that clings tightly to your scalp. You scratch a hairy calf, and feel yourself stiffen as you think about Anne. <i>Yeah, Anne ...</i> <br/>
<br/>
You pull out your cell phone and call her. "Hey, how's my little bassoonist," you tease in a low voice when she answers.<br/>
<br/>
"Flautist," she corrects you. It's a little game that they play: Cameron has had her playing everything from the sousaphone to the piccolo. <br/>
<br/>
"They're all just different words for mouth organ," you tease. If she were here, she'd jab you hard. "I can get with you now."<br/>
<br/>
"You finish with Sean?"<br/>
<br/>
"The jerk didn't even show up. You can bring your flute, and I'll bring mine."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm at home," she sighs.<br/>
<br/>
"So ten minutes from now don't be at home."<br/>
<br/>
"You could come by here."<br/>
<br/>
You growl hungrily. "Can't you leave the house for a study session?"<br/>
<br/>
"It sounds like I'll get more studying done here."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, that sounds like a challenge. You really wanna see how little studying you'll get done if I stop by?"<br/>
<br/>
"If we do a study session tomorrow, I know <i>you'll</i> get more  of what <i>you're</i> interested in," she giggles.</span></div></div>


path: 11313112
author_id: seuzz
title: Gym Rats
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Maybe you're letting your hormones run away with you. From the back of your head you feel a jab of intuition: Don't push her. "I'll let you make plans for tomorrow. We'll do whatever you want."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you have practice after school?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"It'll make it easier for you to manage me."<br/>
<br/>
"Or you'll be a beast," she giggles. "You'll be all wound up."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll be exhausted. I promise."<br/>
<br/>
"Not too exhausted, I hope."<br/>
<br/>
"Make up your mind, won't you?" The phone is feeling slick in your hands as your palms sweat in anticipation. "Can I stop by tonight anyway? On my way home? Just for a minute?"<br/>
<br/>
"How come?"<br/>
<br/>
"Loan you a book and give you a kiss good night?"<br/>
<br/>
"Give them to me tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"I can't give you a kiss goodnight tomorrow morning, you silly girl."<br/>
<br/>
"Then save it up and give me a <i>big</i> one." You hear a faint voice, and Anne's voice becomes indistinct. "I have to go. It's time to eat."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll see you tomorrow," you murmur. "Lots of you, I hope." She says her goodbyes, and you fall forward to rest your forehead on the steering wheel. You're hoping your cock will fall as you take deep breaths, but you have to give up, and it doesn't settle down until you're several blocks from the school.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Come on, get it up, you pussy," Ethan Nieves says in a soft but rough voice. "That's only six."<br/>
<br/>
Your eyes are clenched shut, but you can picture the stony look on his face. Your mouth is torn into a rictus, and you feel the tendons bulge and strain in your neck as you push the barbell up. Your elbows briefly lock as you fully extend your arms, and then you carefully lower it back to your chest, inhaling deeply. Again, you push it up. "Seven," says Ethan.<br/>
<br/>
Your arms are trembling badly as you lower the weight again; your pecs heave and strain as the bar touches them. You shift your fingers a little. You have to get up to eight ...<br/>
<br/>
"Up ... up ... up ... That's it," Ethan says encouraging. He helps you guide the weight back into its cradle. You sigh deeply and press a palm against your chest as you sit up, trying not to groan. The weight on the end of the bar--it's like a millstone--catches your eye, and you allow yourself a brief grin. In your old form, you certainly couldn't have lifted it, let alone both it and its twin, even once.<br/>
<br/>
You stand, and Ethan slides onto the press as you take the spotter's position behind him. Hoarse chortling and the clink of metal comes from the other guys, most of them on the football team, who are with you during second period doing weights in the open loft over the gym floor. Sean Mitchell, Erik Carstairs, Marcus Johnson, Nathan Hall and his brother Kevin ... Ethan lifts the weight and lowers it, but you keep an ear cocked at the others even as you count off for him.<br/>
<br/>
"Five ... six ... This is where you turn into a pussy," you tease him. He grimaces like you did. You glance over your shoulder; voices are getting loud from one of the machines over in the corner. "Seven." A rough shout and some hoots come from behind you. "Come on, get eight. Come on, buddy." Your fingers flutter near the bar. You don't like the noises you're hearing, but you can't leave Ethan. "There you go."<br/>
<br/>
"Go for nine," Ethan mutters.<br/>
<br/>
There's a thump behind you, but you don't glance back. "No, I need you up," you retort as you grasp the bar, but he's already lowering it again. You curse softly to yourself. "What's going on back there," you bark as you glare down at Ethan. He's letting the bar rest briefly on his chest, then strains as he lifts it again. You screw up your eyes so you won't look away, even though you're desperate to see what's causing all the thumping behind you.<br/>
<br/>
Ethan's teeth clench, and his face turns purple. When he's got the bar high enough, you grasp it and put your own muscle into lifting it back into its cradle. Ethan's eyes pop open in surprise, but once the bar clanks into its cradle, you wheel around.<br/>
<br/>
It's a scrum, and a quiet one, which tells you it's serious. Very serious. "Hey, off! Off!" you yell as you dash over and grab at a burly form in a t-shirt. You've barely time to see a snarl on a face before you have to jerk your head away from the thrown elbow. You duck and charge in, grabbing someone around the torso, then swinging around to pull them away. It's Marcus Johnston, and his expression freezes and falls when he sees who you are. You glower at him, then jerk your head at Ethan as your spotter materializes behind him. "Help me break this up!"<br/>
<br/>
It seems to be five guys, piled onto each other, clawing and scrabbling at each other. With Marcus's and Ethan's help, you yank them up one by one--and Ethan and Marcus have to push Kevin Hall back against a wall and pin him there with their hands--until there's only two: Scott Bickelmeier, sitting atop Dalton Douglas with his hands at his throat. You grab him around the neck and head and wrench him off.<br/>
<br/>
And once Scott is off, Douglas sits up and kicks him viciously in the groin. Scott strains against you, and you kick him in the back of the knees, buckling his legs. He falls backwards on top of you, and both of you crash to ground. You shout in pain as hard weights drop onto the pair of you, and your vision is clouded as the players you pulled off the first pile jump onto the new pile--the one that has <i>you</i> at the bottom.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"And who are you gonna get to replace them?" Coach Porter quietly asks.<br/>
<br/>
You kick at the grass. "I dunno. Some of the other wrestlers. Haney? Ratliff? Maybe some of the lacrosse guys?"<br/>
<br/>
"You can't keep doubling up," Porter says. "You already have Mitchell and Nieves doing double duty."<br/>
<br/>
"I'll get some juniors. Even sophomores."<br/>
<br/>
"They're not ready." He shades his eyes and looks out at the half dozen football players who are making a lazy jog around track. "You play with the team you got."<br/>
<br/>
"They're no good anyway," you retort. "Buncha stoner--" You catch yourself as he looks over at you sharply. "Stone-age cretins," you lamely cover yourself. "And I can't discipline them."<br/>
<br/>
"Then why are they doing laps?"<br/>
<br/>
"They barely are. Look at them." The Hall brothers had just smirked when you'd ordered the bunch outside to jog around the track, and had shrugged insolently when you'd insisted. Them and Douglas and Carstairs are in one knot, and their jogging is only pro forma. Johnston and Mitchell and Bickelmeier are in the other knot, behind them, jogging just as slow. You can tell just by watching what is going on. The assholes--that'd be Douglas and his buddies--are purposefully going slow so the others will catch up, and they can hassle them as they pass. The others are hanging back so as not to give them the satisfaction.<br/>
<br/>
"So what are you going to do?"<br/>
<br/>
"I wanna kick 'em off the team."<br/>
<br/>
"And you can't do that," Porter insists. <i>Why does he let those assholes Black and Patterson have free reign over the basketball squad, but he won't let you run your team? Oh yeah, it's because the basketball guys are going to the championship, and your guys would rather hang out by the river and smoke pot and drink beer. Five years ago Westside won the football championship, and that's why you went out for football when you reached the school. It's just your luck to be stuck with these assholes when it's finally your turn.</i> And then you have to wince at Porter's next words: "Black runs a tight ship. Talk to him about how he does it."<br/>
<br/>
<i>Because he's a fucking monster,</i> you think to yourself, but just nod your head.<br/>
<br/>
Porter gives what is supposed to be an encouraging slap to your arm and walks back toward the gym, leaving you to watch the approaching joggers. As they draw up, Dalton and his pals slow to a walk. "Get moving," you growl, but they just snigger as they pass.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You let Bickelmeier, Mitchell and Johnston go in early while you force the others to stay on the track; and when they are on the far side you go in so you can change for class. You're not surprised to see Mitchell in the locker room, waiting for you. "So what was all that about, anyway" you ask. His face and nose are bruised, and there are dark red stains down the front of his shirt.<br/>
<br/>
"They were talking shit," Sean says. "Like always."<br/>
<br/>
"It wasn't this bad when it was you and <i>Scott</i> fighting," you observe. "I thought it'd be easier after you guys made up, or whatever you did."<br/>
<br/>
"Scott used to be their pal, so they're making it hard on him."<br/>
<br/>
A brief, meaningful pause seems to descend. "How did he change?" you softly ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Not the way you're thinking," Sean says, just as softly. "It was around the time <i>I</i> changed."<br/>
<br/>
"Huh." You hear voices from outside in the gym. Sounds like the troublemakers are coming. "We should talk about this later."<br/>
<br/>
"Yes we should. We got lots to talk about." He backs out of the locker room while holding your eye.<br/>
<br/>
You snatch up your own clothes and quickly follow; you'll change in a bathroom some place, though it feels like a chicken shit thing to do. But what does Caleb--for that's Caleb under Sean's face--want to talk about? Why did he stick you into this situation? Maybe you should ask him just to let you have your own life back.</span></div></div>


path: 113131121
author_id: rugal
title: The Not Quite Idyllic Life of Cameron Huber
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Cameron's own mind is urging you to not chicken out and to put these assholes in their place. You yourself, however, are doing everything you can to put that voice in its place because you're not a fighter and while Cameron Huber is tall and strong neither is he. His strength is still enough that you could probably take any one of those assholes one on one but you know if they want to throw down they're not going to do it in a "chivalrous" manner and even someone like Gordon Black--much less Cameron Huber--would have trouble taking on Douglas, Carstairs and the Hall brothers at one time.<br/>
<br/>
You feel a bit of a pick-me-up at lunch when you see Anne and give her a long, deep kiss. "Guess you really did have a lot saved up there," she giggles.<br/>
<br/>
"That's only half of it," you smile which causes her to giggle even more.<br/>
<br/>
Clasping her hand in your own the two of you head into the cafeteria and you take stock of her out of the corner of your eye. Anne is tall, close to six foot if not right at it, and well put together; nice sized breasts and wide hips you note. Her face is smattered with light freckles and her hooded green eyes and curly red hair give her a bit of a vivacious, mischievous look. But it's her personality that Cameron loves. Anne could gain fifty pounds overnight and Cameron would feel the same. You take the opportunity to give her a small peck on the cheek and once more she giggles and with a sigh rests her head on your shoulder as the two of you get your lunch.<br/>
<br/>
Due to the fact that most of the football team doesn't see eye to eye, to put it lightly, Cameron tends to sit with Anne's friends although the Venn diagrams between Cameron's interests and theirs don't much intersect so for the most part he remains quiet which actually suits you just fine. You don't pay too much attention to the conversation, something about Brent Pruitt's uncle or whatever, and as the bell for lunch finishes you and Anne wave goodbye though she jabs you in the side once you're out of sight.<br/>
<br/>
"Ow," you cry, "What's that for?"<br/>
<br/>
"You didn't have to be so quiet."<br/>
<br/>
"Well it's not like I talk much anyway," you reply.<br/>
<br/>
Her face scrunches up, "I know but you were so morose I guess. Kind of standoffish."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah I know, sorry," you state and look down, "It's just Dalton and his buddies. Scott and Sean stop fighting so it's like they decided to be even worse. Coach won't let me kick them off either." You grunt in frustration, "It's not fair. He gives Black free reign over the basketball team but won't let me get rid of the guys who are dragging the entire team down."<br/>
<br/>
Anne looks up at you, a soft expression on her face. "Oh Cameron," she states in an even softer voice, "Don't let it get to you and don't get in any fights. Just let things slide and I'm sure Coach Porter will see things your way after a few days."<br/>
<br/>
"Hopefully," is all you can mutter out before pulling her in close to you, "So am I gonna see you tonight?"<br/>
<br/>
"No can do," Anne shakes her head, "I'm getting together with Danielle, Deanna and Brent to do some studying for a test Motague's got us doing." She notices your face fall a bit so she gives you a quick peck and a warm smile, "Maybe I can make it up to you after school tomorrow though."<br/>
<br/>
With that you watch her leave with a dopey grin on your face. Is she finally going to let you... Anne and Cameron have fooled around. He's even gotten blow jobs from her but they haven't gone all the way. Well that'd be one way to relieve stress.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
"So how are things?" Sean asks when you meet him at the elementary school later in the evening. "You enjoying Anne?"<br/>
<br/>
"Not as much as I'd like to," you grumble, "And you should know damn well how things are going. I'm sick of Dalton and his boys' shit. It's going to come to blows at some point and I'd rather avoid it all if at all possible."<br/>
<br/>
"So just let it pass," Sean shrugs.<br/>
<br/>
"That's what Anne said, too," you grumble, "But you know as well as I do that they're not going to drop it." You pause to see if he says anything but you get nothing so you add, "But maybe I <i>do</i> wanna drop it."<br/>
<br/>
Sean raises an eyebrow. "Drop it how?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"By dropping Cameron," you reply with a hint of despair, "Dropping back down to my old life."<br/>
<br/>
Sean gives you a queer look, "Is that what you really want, Will? To go back to your old life and be a target of assholes like the Molester again?"<br/>
<br/>
You fold your arms and look down but not at anything in particular, "Maybe not," you say, "But I know I don't want to be Cameron and deal with those assholes anymore."<br/>
<br/>
"But Cameron can take care of them," he states with a confident, almost demanding tone, "That's kind of what I want to use these for, you know? Put the jackasses like Dalton or the Molester in their place. Maybe bring in some guys like James or Tilley. Maybe even someone like Jenny. Put us all in a position to be higher up than we are and stick it to the bullies."<br/>
<br/>
"Add in more people?" you ask in astonishment and Sean nods. You just grumble however, "I really don't think that's a good idea."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I don't want to do it without your approval," he says.<br/>
<br/>
"We'll worry about it later, then," you respond, "But I still want out of Cameron."<br/>
<br/>
"You're not gonna drop it, are you?" Sean asks and you nod an affirmative. With that Sean makes a motion to you, "Alright out of the mask then."<br/>
<br/>
You do as requested and black out as you remove the mask. You wake up after an indeterminate amount of time and are disappointed when you see the same arms you've had for the last day. "What the fuck?!"<br/>
<br/>
"Relax Will," Sean states, "I fixed up the mask so that you'll be able to grab someone else." He notices you eye him queerly, "I'm not gonna give you the nuts and blots but all I'll say is put Cameron's mask on whoever you replace and they'll listen to you. That way you can take them and Cameron doesn't have to disappear."<br/>
<br/>
With that he hands you another mask, band and what you'll need to seal it and combine it all together. He says to contact him tomorrow once you've performed the switch and that to make it easier he'll be out of a mask and going to school as Caleb.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<br/>
You trudge through your first two classes and a few times you pass by Dalton or Carstairs who intentionally bump your shoulder which only serves to irritate you more. You catch no sight of Anne at all during the morning which adds a growing anxiousness and restlessness to your mood. By the time your third period class, Mr. Cash's chemistry's class, you can barely contain yourself. Cash is a bit of a hard ass anyway so you do something Cameron doesn't do all too often and decide to cut class. Instead you head over to G-wing where the arts classes are and step inside Ms. Willett's class.<br/>
<br/>
There you see Ms. Willett and Anne both strumming acoustic guitars with Ms. Willett singing and Anne backing her up. Neither notice your presence so that once they finish they're both surprised when you give a very genuine clap.<br/>
<br/>
"Cameron!" Anne exclaims when she sees you and after setting her guitar down she practically leaps into your arms and gives you a giant kiss. "What are you doing here?" she asks once she's drawn away.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm still stewing over yesterday and Dalton and Carstairs decided to try and alpha male me in the halls so I figured..." you shrug.<br/>
<br/>
"It's not a good idea to cut, Cameron," Ms. Willett replies wryly and you smile back.<br/>
<br/>
"But you're not going to mention anything to Cash, right?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
Ms. Willett makes a face, "Eugh, no. Mike's an ass so I think I can overlook this."<br/>
<br/>
It's a little song and dance Cameron and Ms. Willett do the times he does decide to cut Cash's class. Third period is Anne's study hall and Ms. Willett's free period so Anne usually hangs out with her to talk music or practice things other than her flute.<br/>
<br/>
"So is that something you came up with, Anne?" you ask her.<br/>
<br/>
Anne shakes her head, "No, it's Jen's but it's just... it's a lovely song so I had to join in." Due to how often she's around, Anne tends to refer to Ms. Willett by her first name and definitely looks up to her as a mentor. "Anyway, I'm gonna put this guitar back. She's got something else that requires a bit of a trumpet so I'm gonna get that if you want to hang around and watch."<br/>
<br/>
"Wouldn't dream of missing it," you state with a smile as she heads to the other side of the room.<br/>
<br/>
Anne really is a sweet, gentle girl and her bright disposition lifts your spirits in the way her looks raise other things. And you enjoy hearing the passion she shares for music since it's not just the flute but other instruments she plays and takes whatever music classes she can. You've got your gym bag with you and the mask in it and you're struck by the thought of why not use the mask to grab Anne? It'd probably be a more relaxing existence than Cameron's.<br/>
<br/>
But part of you feels that'd be wrong because she just seems so... pure. But you look at Ms. Willett who's busy tuning her guitar. Ms. Willett's one of the younger teachers, in the latter half of her twenties if Cameron remembers right, and definitely on the cute side. With her dark brown hair pushed back by a tied up bandana, striking blue eyes and just the traces of a half-sleeve tattoo peeking out under the sleeve of her shirt she gives off the artsy indie chick vibe which is appropriate given that she regularly does performances at coffee shops and other venues around town.<br/>
<br/>
And that's an idea. Caleb wanted to help deal with the bullies so what better position to do it in than from a teacher; especially a younger one that's quite popular with the student body?</span></div></div>


