# chapters

path: 113312111211211111113212111111
author_id: seuzz
title: Sociology in a Tight Skirt
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span><i>Cheerleaders.</i><br/>
<br/>
That's where this "long-term plan" is centered. Fairfax has made it clear that it's his plan, and everyone else is just along for the ride. It's where he'd dropped in the phrase "sociological investigation." <br/>
<br/>
"Have you ever noticed how much it's the case that our school is run from the cheerleading squad?" he'd said. (This was before Mike and Carlos took off to film your video bit.) "All the girls take their cues from the cheerleaders, and most of the varsity squads take their cues from them too, because the basketball team is so tight with them. If the cheerleaders sneeze, the school social scene catches cold."<br/>
<br/>
Carlos and Mike just guffawed and giggled at each other. Fairfax continued.<br/>
<br/>
"So I'm proposing we use these tools—" With the chopsticks he pointed at a nearby mask. "To conduct a sociological investigation. By replacing and impersonating the cheerleaders we'll—"<br/>
<br/>
"Get to play with boobies," Mike snickered. Carlos fell onto his friend, howling his guts out.<br/>
<br/>
When the storm had subsided, Fairfax went on like he hadn't been interrupted. "We'll be able to investigate where the lines of communication run, how the various groups align and react to each other, and collect additional data. This will give us something like a social map of the school, and we'll be able to test our hypotheses at later dates from other locations by conducting the kind of activities that—"<br/>
<br/>
"You're joking, right?" you blurted out. "What are you going to do with his 'data'? What do you need it for?"<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax stared at you. Montoya and Hollister suddenly shut up very tight, but their eyes blazed brightly. Josiah, who had said hardly anything during this lecture, suspended his eating, and looked around the circle.<br/>
<br/>
Keith just breathed very heavily through his nose.<br/>
<br/>
"We don't <i>need</i> it for anything, Will," Fairfax said. "Just having the knowledge by itself would be very interesting."<br/>
<br/>
"Hhhkkkccchhhhhmmmpppphhhhhhgggggmmmmmhhhhh!" said Hollister through his nose. "Shut up shut up shut up," Montoya gasped.<br/>
<br/>
"My friends," observed Fairfax without looking at them, "seem to find the idea very amusing. Probably because they find the idea of guys putting on girls' clothes and cheerleader uniforms hysterical."<br/>
<br/>
Hollister toppled onto his back and sent great, wracking sobs of laughter at the ceiling. Montoya covered his face, and his shoulders heaved.<br/>
<br/>
Keith chortled uneasily, then turned worried. "So you guys, or us, or some of us, are going to turn into cheerleaders?" He jumped as Hollister loosed another canine howl. When Fairfax nodded, he followed it with, "But aren't you going to have to kidnap those people?"<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax had picked up the box of sweet-and-sour pork and eaten without replying. Not until his two friends had recovered themselves had he said, "I wouldn't call it 'kidnapping'," and proceeded to explain how the masks could hide the victims in plain sight without doing them any harm.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So, which cheerleaders are we going to be impersonating?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea Cooper is at the apex of the pyramid," says Fairfax. He lays aside the carton he's been snacking from, crosses his legs Indian-style, and grasps his ankles. "Everything presumably flows up to and down from and through her. We're going to put Josiah in there."<br/>
<br/>
<i>Josiah?</i> You can't help swinging around to stare at him, and you notice Keith does too, and that Tilley's mouth actually falls open a little. <i>The weird, big-nosed Josiah to impersonate Chelsea Cooper, the imperious captain of the cheerleading squad? The girlfriend of Gordon Black?</i><br/>
<br/>
"Mike and Carlos haven't quite got into the spirit of the thing," Fairfax says, and for the first time you hear a note of resentment in his voice. "They're still thinking in terms of panty-snatching and bra-snapping." He frowns. "But the impersonations they've chosen do happen to be perfect for studying certain group interactions. They'll be impersonating the Garner girls. Eva and Jessica."<br/>
<br/>
That gives you a different kind of jolt. Those two giggling clowns in the next room will be impersonating Eva and Jessica Garner? You get a brief vision.  You see Eva and Jessica, grinning. But those smiles are not their smiles. They're the smiles of Mike and Carlos. They've also got Mike's and Carlos's eyes.<br/>
<br/>
The vision expands. You see Eva and Jessica, walking across the school quad, the sun shining on their hair and tanned limbs. Coming over to sit with Jenny and to complain about cheerleading practice, or to ask favors. Scrunching their noses and shaking their heads and making faces at Carson when he cracks an off-color joke. Getting up and primly walking away with their firm asses shifting back and forth like boats rocking on the tide.<br/>
<br/>
But it's Mike and Carlos, and as they walk away they look over their shoulders and show their real grins.<br/>
<br/>
You close your eyes and shake your head. Your forehead is very hot.<br/>
<br/>
"What about you?" That's Keith speaking .<br/>
<br/>
"Initially, at least, I'm going to be playing Maria Vasquez," says Fairfax. "That will probably be the best—"<br/>
<br/>
"That airhead?" exclaims Keith.<br/>
<br/>
"She's Chelsea's best friend, so she's probably the only conduit we can use to get to her. But she may be a useful vantage point to collect and study the data. If not, I will shift position. But her, uh, reputation is another advantages for using her. If she has to come back after a few days with something like amnesia, no one will be surprised."<br/>
<br/>
"So who are some of the others we might impersonate?" you ask. You haven't eaten much since wolfing down half a container of chop suey, for your digestion has gotten progressively unsettled. "Kendra seems to be pretty tight with Chelsea too."<br/>
<br/>
"She's definitely a possibility," Fairfax says. He resettles his glasses. "So are Lin Pol and Yumi Saito, for different reasons."<br/>
<br/>
"Which are?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, like the Garners, they seem to move in various social circles. I've heard that they don't get along with Chelsea—" He stops at the soft snort you made. "So I'm thinking that Kendra and one of those two would be the impersonations for you and Keith to carry out."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, what if we want to impersonate someone who isn't a cheerleader?" Keith asks. He thrusts out his lower lip.<br/>
<br/>
"Who did you have in mind?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I don't know," Keith says, and he glances at you again. "I mean, you just now sprang this on us."<br/>
<br/>
"I'd rather it were a person who could, uh, contribute to this study we're making," says Fairfax.<br/>
<br/>
Keith turns a little red, and you know from experience he's about to say something unfortunate. "We'll need to think about it," you say, and twist around to plant a knee on Keith's foot. "I wanna go see what Mike and Carlos are doing with that mask you made of me."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Fairfax sends a text alert to Montoya, then leads you over to their "production studio." Your gut tenses as you prepare to look inside.<br/>
<br/>
The space is brightly lit by the photographers' lamps, and the camera is trained on the desk. Two guys are sitting behind it. Montoya grins at you, as does the other guy --<br/>
<br/>
You know what you're expecting to see, but it still takes you a moment to register that it's <i>you.</i> For a few seconds he's just a high school kid with a sloppy haircut and a shit-eating grin that curves crookedly around big teeth. There's a rodent-like cast to the dark eyes, like they belong to a rat or a rabbit or a muskrat or some other burrowing creature that peeps out of bushes or brambles when something large and dangerous goes by.<br/>
<br/>
Then it hits you in the gut: <i>That's me. That's what other people see when they look at me!</i><br/>
<br/>
He's stretched out in his chair, skinny hands locked behind his head, with one foot up on the desk. He's relaxed, amused—no, more than that, he's gleeful. He says nothing, but there's an impudent dare in his eye. <i>Yeah, I look just like you,</i> he seems to be saying. <i>Come over here and do something about it if you don't like it.</i><br/>
<br/>
Something brushes at your head, and you grab at Keith's hand, but it's too late. He's snatched your ball cap off and tossed it to the imposter. "You forgot that," he says. <br/>
<br/>
"Right, thanks," the fake you croaks back. He flaps the soft canvas hat open, and pulls it down over his head. The stiff hair pokes out from under it in all directions. "Guess we have to start over again," he tells Montoya.<br/>
<br/>
"Good, 'cos you were coming across like a total dumbass."<br/>
<br/>
"Have to get in character," your twin chortles.<br/>
<br/>
You turn away. "Okay, I just had to see it," you mutter. "I'll watch the full thing online when it's done."<br/>
<br/>
"You can stay," a voice calls, and as you don't recognize it you have to assume it's yours. "Just don't distract us!" But you've already shuffled back down to the other unit.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, it's kind of rough the first time you see it," Fairfax says when he catches up to you. You flinch a little when he pats your shoulder. "One reason is because there's no mirror effect. So you're seeing yourself reversed from what you're used to. Makes it a little uncanny."<br/>
<br/>
Whatever he means, you don't think that was what was bothering you. <br/>
<br/>
"Also, the mannerisms are off. It takes a couple of hours for memories and personality traits to come on line. So Michael was acting like himself in there, not like you."<br/>
<br/>
<i>Doesn't matter. Anyone who looks like that would seem like a jerk and a loser.</i><br/>
<br/>
"If you have any ideas about who you'd like to impersonate, we can get moving on it tonight."<br/>
<br/>
You raise your head. That soon?<br/>
<br/>
But that would be good. The face and body of a cheerleader would be a vast improvement over what you saw in that makeshift studio.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111112
author_id: rugal
title: A Little Payment from Lin Pol
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You give it a moment of thought. The entire business that started with Stephanie putting you down at the coffee shop has made you much more self-aware, and much more critical, of your own shortcomings. The mannerisms might be "off" but you know that they're not that far from reality. What you saw there, that's what other people would see; the skinny little dork trying to make himself seem like the too-cool-to-care slacker. Because people like someone who seems flippant, that's a sign of confidence right? But it's not, not in your case anyway because it's not natural.<br/>
<br/>
If you could see through it then so can everyone else. That's what they see when they look at you, you realize. You're just a snot-nosed little twit and come off less like a senior in high school and more like an immature kid trying to emulate the cool older kids.<br/>
<br/>
The more you dwell on it then the more full of disgust and resentment you feel. You feel like everyone looks at you that way. Stephanie certainly does. So does Lisa. The Garners? Mendoza, Renerhoff, Kirkham? Probably.<br/>
<br/>
So you need a new look, a new outlook even, but where to get it? Fairfax wants you to be cheerleaders? That's kind of weird but after seeing that atrocity anything is fair game at this point. So you go through the list of candidates. Eva, Jessica, Maria and Chelsea herself are out having already been "claimed" as it were by Carlos, Mike, Fairfax and Shank. That leaves Kendra, Gloria Rea, Lin, Yumi and Cindy Vredenburg... wait is that it? Are you forgetting someone? You shrug off the thought as you don't want to be bothered going off into a tangent about who you may or may not be forgetting.<br/>
<br/>
So Kendra and Gloria? They're out. They're Chelsea's minions so how would you ever be able to approach them without earning the wrath of any of the basketball players... or Chelsea herself since you're not sure how the others are going to get any of the other cheerleaders if they want to start tonight. Do they know any of them?<br/>
<br/>
Well you know a cheerleader: Yumi Saito. She hangs out with you, well in a sense anyway. It's more that she hangs out with Jenny Ashton and her friends at lunch and some times when you sit over there that means she hangs out with you too. But that just makes your stomach turn. You see her often enough that you'd see yourself often enough and you're not really in a mood where you want that to be a possibility. So you cross Yumi's name off of the mental list you'd just made. So who else?<br/>
<br/>
Michelle Estrich! That's who you were forgetting, you realize, and you go right back to forgetting her. That's another no.<br/>
<br/>
Cindy? She's gorgeous and popular, never given you the time of day of course, but she's friends with Yumi and friendly with Jenny so she can't be too bad right? But she's dating Seth Javits, Keith's long time tormentor, and it'd be awkward having to be on the opposite end of that situation even if it's just a Keithbot on the receiving end. That and you're not sure how into the idea you are of having to play the role of girlfriend for Seth, or any guy really, and all that would entail.<br/>
<br/>
That leaves you with one option.<br/>
<br/>
"Yo, man, you alright?" Keith asks but you wave him off.<br/>
<br/>
Lin Pol is friends with the rest of the anti-Chelsea half of the squad or you assume they're friends anyway. Lin joins the groups at lunch far less frequently than do Yumi, Cindy or the Garners. Only when Cindy joins does Lin and you can count probably on two hands with digits left over the number of times that's occurred. When she has joined she's never really cast much of a glance towards you or anyone really. Mostly it's just a lot of looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. So that's good right? That'd mean less of having to see yourself for any extended period of time. She also doesn't have a boyfriend or at least, once again, that's your assumption.<br/>
<br/>
You've never <i>seen</i> her with a guy around school at least nor have you ever overheard her talking about any guys; even the twins talk about guys they think are hot. Of course maybe she does have a boyfriend, after all you're now very aware of the old saying about what happens when you assume, but it seems like a safe bet right?<br/>
<br/>
"So if we're doing this," you finally tell Fairfax, "and you're actually serious about this --"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know why you'd think I wasn't serious." he replies.<br/>
<br/>
"It's just a lot to wrap my head around okay? Especially after..." you make a face. "So, okay, look, if we're doing this and we're being girls and cheerleaders and everything? I'll go with Lin."<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax's eyes light up at that and it's the most emotion you've seen from him so far. "Lin's a good choice," he states, "well they all are but she is especially. We know less about her than we do most of the other cheerleaders so being able to really get into her will be very nice."<br/>
<br/>
You raise an eyebrow at his word choice. "But there's a problem." you tell him. "You said you wanted to get started tonight but I don't really know how. None of us are close enough to the cheerleaders to just waltz in on them."<br/>
<br/>
"That's where you're wrong." Fairfax states with the faintest hint of a smile. "I actually share third period Chemistry with Lin. She, ah, approached me last week about helping her out with some home work. She said she'd pay me back for the favor so I couldn't really tell her no."<br/>
<br/>
"By help you mean you're doing it for her?" you tease but Fairfax's eyes go wide for a second and he turns to look towards the wall and you realize he actually <i>is</i> doing Lin's homework for her. But you decide not to tease him any more about it. "Okay, so you are doing that, but that's good right? It just means we have an excuse to go over there."<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax agrees and seems especially eager to head over as soon as possible and you go with him to grab what's needed to do the switch. He asks Keith if he's decided and hints rather strongly that since you're going to be Lin that he should take Kendra or Gloria. Keith, however, is noncommittal and as it's only late afternoon and the plan is starting a bit ahead of schedule he tells Keith that the two of you will come back after the switch so it would be nice if he'd decided by then.<br/>
<br/>
With that the two of you hop into your truck and Fairfax, as this is seemingly not the first time he's done this for her, is able to direct you towards her home.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Lin Pol is quite a sight. Taller and curvier than Yumi. Her thighs, nice and large but in a very pleasant way, are currently hidden under loose gray sweatpants. Her hair, dark and long, sits piled up messily on the top of her head. Her breasts, looking quite large and quite soft, are stuffed inside a white tanktop and thus manage to look even bigger. And her eyes, resting on a pretty face with obvious Southeast Asian features, are currently rolling out of their head. She was actually smiles when she saw Fairfax but, naturally, the mood changed considerably once she realized you were there with him.<br/>
<br/>
She tells Fairfax to come inside once he hands her the copied homework and says she promised to pay him back. You go to follow but Lin very quickly shuts that down telling you that the deal is between the two of them. Fairfax apologizes to you and as you'd given him your number on the ride over he says that he'll text you once it's done. He's got the mask in his backpack so with a shrug of the shoulders you watch the door close and head out to your truck.<br/>
<br/>
You're not sure how long you sit there but the minutes seem longer than you'd expect. How long does it take to get some money from her, as you assume that's what she means by paying him back, and get the mask on her. So you sit bored browsing the internet on your phone until finally getting a text from Fairfax stating that everything's done. Nobody else is home, he says, so just head in and up the stairs, first door on the left.<br/>
<br/>
You do that and enter the room to see an unconscious Lin on the floor.and a pleased Fairfax which makes sense because his little master plan seems to be starting without a hitch. He tells you to strip to your shock but he then explains that the real Lin is going to need your clothes once your mask goes on her and that once it's on and your double, your Beta as he calls it, is dressed they'll leave you alone for a few minutes.<br/>
<br/>
So you strip and at Fairfax's insistence lay back on the bead as he hands you a mask that, with anxiousness, you place on your face.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You're not sure how long you're out but you wake up in your room naked and, where's Philip? Oh god, did you...? No, no not <i>that</i> much right? You'd wanted him to give you a copy of his homework like you've had him do in the past but he seemed reluctant as if he was doing something more important. More important than helping you though? With what, some Dungeons &amp; Dragons nerd shit or whatever someone like him does? Oh but you shouldn't talk about him like that, he <i>is</i> a nice guy after all, but he's easy; just shake your tits a few times and he'll do what you ask.<br/>
<br/>
But not this time so you had to up things and promise him a little bit of pay him back for helping you. You'd said it in just the right way, that little inflection in your voice when you really want a guy to do something for you, and he'd then readily agreed. So when he came by just now with the home work, well, you had to keep your promise.<br/>
<br/>
And because Lin kept her promise you're now aware of why it took so long for Fairfax to message you back. Unfortunately for you that bit of knowledge comes with the memory of Lin Pol's pillowy lips wrapped around Philip Fairfax's shaft.</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111121
author_id: rugal
title: Lin-ner Character
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You thrill a bit as you pull the dark thong underwear up past your thick thighs and the back nestles inbetween two nicely shaped ass cheeks. You like the way your breasts move as you twist this way and that to get them into the cups of the bra. You look for something to put on, not the sweat pants though, and settle for something low maintenance. The same simple, tight white tanktop that squeezes against, and thus accentuates, your chest she'd had when she arrived and the short denim shorts that stop just shy of letting your ass hang out.<br/>
<br/>
Nothing fancy or flashy but then Lin doesn't need to wear the flashiest stuff to get noticed. Besides it's not like anything flashy will be expected where Lin had planned on going anyway. Actually flashy would be the complete opposite of what's expected and while standing out is something Lin would normally relish in, and with her body she stands out no matter what she's wearing, it would be standing out in the exact wrong way and attract the wrong kinds of attention.<br/>
<br/>
You forgo the shoes for a simple pair of sandals and don't even bother to put your hair back up. While Lin does like to look her best, some times, her mind tells you, simpler is sexier and on the right people can have a far better effect.<br/>
<br/>
"Hi Philip!" you chirp once you're out of the room; he's one of the people who prefers something simpler. You make a face as you see <i>him</i>, however, that's equal parts Lin's reaction and your own. "And you too." you say towards your doppelganger with a notable iciness.<br/>
<br/>
"What'd I do?" he complains.<br/>
<br/>
You look at him and simply scowl. Lin, from her thoughts, does not like you at all and thinks of you as a childish little dweeb. Your situation has come up among her cheerleading friends before and you're a bit surprised that the rest of them at least feel some level of sympathy no matter how vague those feelings are and how they're totally not expressed in your presence. But Lin? Not even a "that kind of sucks, I guess" from her. <i>I'm surprised she put up with him for as long as she did,</i> she'd told Cindy and Yumi a few weeks back before cattily adding, <i>though I guess that says a lot about her too</i>.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Cunt,</i> is what immediately comes to mind and its your turn to not feel any sympathy. You half wish that your mask hadn't been given that Betaizing treatment. Let her have fun under your mask knowing that you (or at least someone else) gets to parade around as the sexy cheerleader. As disgusted as you've felt with yourself the last couple of days you really don't appreciate the way she seems to think of you. But that's how <i>you'll</i> have to think of you as you need to get used to the idea of being in character so you just add a head shake to the scowling.<br/>
<br/>
"Just go." you tell him. "Home," you growl when he gives you a confused expression before adding, with emphasis, "<i>you</i> home. I can drive Philip back to the storage complex so you're not really needed around her."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but," he starts but a simple glare from you stops him dead in his tracks and he quickly averts his gaze, mutters a goodbye and slinks away.<br/>
<br/>
"You didn't have to be so hard on your Beta." Fairfax states with a hint of surprise.<br/>
<br/>
"But I did." you say as you flash him a flirty smile. "He wasn't going to leave us alone otherwise."<br/>
<br/>
"What are you -- whoa!" he exclaims in surprise as you wrap him up, pull his face down towards yours and plant a kiss right on him... and then pull away in surprise yourself as you realize what you're doing.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh god!" you exclaim as you try to suppress the urge to want to dry heave. "I'm sorry, I'm so fucking sorry!"<br/>
<br/>
"What the... the... <i>hell</i> was that about?!" Fairfax exclaims though it's more filled with confusion than anger.<br/>
<br/>
That was all Lin there. You'd gotten so wrapped up in playing the part that... oh man! Lin's thoughts are coming at you all at once. It's not that she finds Fairfax hot or wants to date him or anything but it's just... well it's certainly not the first dick that Lin's had in her mouth and it's not the first nerd she's sucked off either. But Fairfax is bigger than she (and you, you shudder) would've expected and now she's curious.<br/>
<br/>
You don't want to tell Fairfax of course, that Lin was still feeling horny after blowing him, but your mouth moves a lot faster than your brain. "Sorry, it's just... I was trying hard to stay in character and she'd just, um," you look at Fairfax and then quickly avert your gaze, "I just know what happened alright? So she's still kind of fired up and I guess I just got overwhelmed and --"<br/>
<br/>
"In character? Overwhelmed?" Fairfax ask as he calms himself down. "What do you mean?"<br/>
<br/>
"What do I...? What I said!" you exclaim. "I know what the whole 'payment' was okay?! So her emotions were all in overdrive and I guess I didn't know how to deal with it! I guess that's what it's like being the newbie though and I'll be able to work through things as I get the hang of it."<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax just stares at you wide-eyed however. "You shouldn't be overwhelmed at all," he says, "because there shouldn't be enough there to make that a problem. Not when you first put on a new mask."<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean?"<br/>
<br/>
"What I mean," he explains, "is that when you're putting the mask on for the first time it should take a while for everything to drop into place. Memories, personality, emotions, all of that stuff. It takes a few hours to acclimate so you should be getting things in drips not --"<br/>
<br/>
"Well it was more like a torrent!" you exclaim.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax eyes you skeptically. "Maybe we've had it all wrong." he mutters as he shakes his head. "Well we'll figure it out, that's why we're working through this after all. We need to get back anyway. Keith sent me a text with his choice and with you set up we can grab her and start working on the other cheerleaders." he tells you. "It's not what I had in mind but..." he mutters again.<br/>
<br/>
"Who'd he pick?"<br/>
<br/>
"Cindy." is all he says. "Call her on the way over, we'll get her out as soon as possible. I'll meet you outside."<br/>
<br/>
Yeah head back into Lin's room and grab her bag, phone and keys. Items that you may as well call your own since this is who you'll be for the next few months.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"This is so fucking cool!" Cindy exclaims as she hungrily paws at, lifts and fondles her chest, tosses her hair this way and that, grabs at her ass and hugs herself.<br/>
<br/>
It'd be an off putting sight if you were seeing it as yourself but as Lin it's practically disturbing watching your best friend molest herself like this and with as much disgust as you can muster you excuse yourself and head out of the unit and outside.<br/>
<br/>
Getting Chelsea's main rival out had been less difficult than you'd thought. You'd assumed that even if you were Lin it'd be a hard sell and while there was a bit of cajoling involved it was far less work than you were expecting. Cindy is well aware of Lin's using Fairfax -- and other guys -- as a source for homework that she doesn't feel like doing and she was even aware of Lin offering a little bit of payment to entice him this time. In this case, though, you'd told her the payment was cameoing in a video his dumb friends are doing and getting some other cheerleaders well. With only light convincing Cindy came out and the rest fell into place.<br/>
<br/>
It's a plausible enough story after all because it's not like Cindy knows what the payment actually entailed.<br/>
<br/>
That's the way Lin wants it kept too. It's one thing to be a tease, another thing entirely to be a slut and as far as anyone is aware Lin falls into the former camp. Oh sure there's the occasional whisper but those can be blown off as slanderous rumors by upset suitors or jealous girls. Lin Pol is a cheerleader, after all, and a respectable young woman who takes good classes and gets good grades. Of course she's not a slut! A slut is someone like Dorothy Harmon or Sienna Goldman and Lin is surely not on their level.<br/>
<br/>
That's why, of course, you check your phone and cuss when you see that it's quarter after five. Lin's got appointments to keep, respectable appointments, and you're here farting around at a the storage complex.<br/>
<br/>
"So we need to talk." Fairfax's voice cuts through your thoughts as he you hear a door close. "About what you told me back at Lin's." he quickly adds.<br/>
<br/>
"We will," you say without even turning to look at him, "but we'll have to do it tomorrow. I can't stick around."<br/>
<br/>
"Tomorrow won't be good since you'd normally have the mind by then anyway." he counters. "We need to get a clear picture of how things with the mind are going right now."<br/>
<br/>
"I just told you I can't!" you shoot back as you turn to him with an annoyed expression. "Lin's got things she has to do for her family so that means I have to take off and talk to you tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"I can't have you being around her family," Fairfax insists, "not until we're sure that everything's in place and there's no risk of being found out."<br/>
<br/>
"Everything <i>is</i> in place!" you growl. "Ugh, I'm sorry," you apologize, "but seriously Lin has things to do that can't really be pawned off on her parents and she'd kind of get in trouble for skipping out on them. My hands are tied."<br/>
<br/>
"You're sure." Fairfax replies and you give an affirmative. "If she absolutely has to then I can't stop you. Just keep contact with anyone she knows to a minimum."<br/>
<br/>
You thank him and tell him again that you'll see him tomorrow. Of course it'll be hard to do that because that respectable appointment is picking up her younger siblings from their sports practices. But there's an un-respectable appointment too which is the real reason you want to jet because after six there's going to be a gathering (not a party, they never call them parties) at Nancy Trent's that Lin just has to be at.</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111111211
author_id: rugal
title: Party and Bullshit
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>But before you can get to that gathering it's a relatively short drive out to Schuyler where you honk your horn as you pull up in front of the gym to grab the attention of two kids who scramble towards the passenger side door. One wins and piles into the seat next to you while the other grumbles and hops in back. "Why do you always have to shove me like that?" complains the girl in the backseat as you drive off.<br/>
<br/>
"Because I'm older than you so I get the front seat, duh." the boy replies as he leans back with an arrogant smirk on his face. "That's why I'm getting in the shower first when we get home too."<br/>
<br/>
"No way!" exclaims the girl. "I'm way dirtier so I need to use it first!"<br/>
<br/>
"Pfft," the boy responds dismissively, "I'm all sweaty. I can't go around smelling like this." He then flashes you that same smirk, "Besides if Cindy's coming over then I've definitely gotta be in top form."<br/>
<br/>
You role your eyes at this routine. "You're a little too young for her Duc." you tell him.<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh, that's why she's always checkin' me out right?" Duc replies with all the unwarranted confidence he can bring.<br/>
<br/>
"Duc, you're twelve. I don't know why you think you'd even have a chance." you try to set him straight. "Besides she's not coming over so you don't have anything to worry about"<br/>
<br/>
"And you're a fag," the girl jeers, "so it's not like you'd be able to do anything anyway. So I get the shower first."<br/>
<br/>
Now it's her turn to get your stern tone. "Kim," you say in the same sort of voice as an exasperated school teacher, "don't call your brother a fag. Actually don't talk like that at all."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh come on! You talk like that all the time!" she protests."<br/>
<br/>
"Because I'm technically an adult and you're kids so don't talk like that." you tell her putting just a bit of haughty superiority in your tone. "But yes, you get the shower first." You then turn to Duc. "If I find out you tried muscling her out of that too I'll beat your ass."<br/>
<br/>
"That's not fair!" Duc complains as he folds his arms but he knows there's nothing he can really do. Lin wouldn't really beat his ass but she would thwap him pretty good for acting like a little shit same as she'd do to Kim if she tried the same shit. "Besides, I don't <i>need</i> Cindy. I got lotsa girls at school eying me up."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh, like who?" Kim teases.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, a lot okay?!" he says insistantly. "God, quit with the interro... whatever!"<br/>
<br/>
Duc and Kim Pol are Lin's younger brother and sister, both twins who just entered the seventh grade and both on sports teams at Schuyler. That's about where the similarities end.<br/>
<br/>
Duc, who's on the basketball team, is far more of a preening wannabe mini-narcissist who spends an inordinate amount of time on his clothes and hair product. He insists that the girls totally love him and that, if you were to believe him, why he's practically got one hanging off of him every time he rounds a corner. That's to say nothing of his constant attempts to hit on the other cheerleaders Lin hangs out with. Cindy and the like mostly just roll their eyes and lightly humor him though Jessica, crabby as she can be, shot him down bluntly and told him to get a life and as a result she's the one that Duc will avoid.<br/>
<br/>
Kim, however, is almost his complete opposite. While Duc, not a bad player, is mostly on the basketball team because he thinks that will attract girls Kim, who plays on the soccer team, is completely serious about what she does. She's a good athlete too though some times Lin wonders if "she" is the appropriate term because Kim is boyish both in appearance, lithe with shaggy dark hair and much more preferring t-shirts and cargo shorts over "girly" clothes, and in demeanor which is crude and the complete opposite of feminine. Though she does talk about boys she likes. In a way she reminds you of Stephanie and you wonder if she'll turn out much the same over the next few years.<br/>
<br/>
You drop them off at home. Mrs. Pol is home by the time you get there and you tell her that you're going to meet some friends. Lin's mother doesn't ask where and simply reminds you to be home by the midnight curfew. Lin's generally given a fair amount of a leeway and independence by her parents because, of course, she'd never get into trouble. After all, Lin's a good girl.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You lay in the afterglow for probably far longer than you should. You want to feel shame over what just happened but you find it hard to, not with the euphoria that Lin's mind (definitely her mind) is feeling. The only thing that rouses you is the sound of a lighter and the unmistakable stench of weed. "Jesus, Justin! What the hell?" you say as you sit up with a start to find your bed mate sitting on the edge of the mattress now in his boxers as he moves the joint from his lips.<br/>
<br/>
Justin Roth's face is only vaguely visible in the dark due to your eyes having long adjusted but you can just faintly make out a grin on it... or at least, you assume that's the expression probably plastered on there. "Sorry babe, didn't mean to bogart it." he says as he extends the joint out towards you. "Figured you'd had enough shit in your mouth today."<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck off," you say growl, "it wasn't about the weed anyway as much as it was... you couldn't lay here just five minutes with me?" Though with little hesitation you take it from him and toke anyway. "I had to get him to do that shit for me somehow. Besides," you coo as you wrap your arms around him from behind, "you know if I'm going the whole nine yards it's only with you." With that he turns, takes the joint from you and kisses you deeply.<br/>
<br/>
It's as blatant a lie as Lin's ever told of course. Justin's one of her regular fuck buddies, the one she goes to whenever she wants the thrill of having to slum it. Of course Roth (probably) doesn't know it's a lie as Lin's mostly good about keeping all of her toys separate. Oh he might know that she fools around but as far as he's concerned he's the only one who actually sleeps with her.<br/>
<br/>
Lin -- and you are very insistent on it being her -- had been wanting something since her little payment to Fairfax this afternoon and that was her main reason for coming out to the house that Nancy and her college sophomore boyfriend share, a dingy place in the same neighborhood that Andrea Varnsworth (<i>CUNT,</i> Lin's voice pretty much yells in your head) lives in. The stoners, underground types and other sorts mainly keep to their own group and more often than not some of the "upper crust", so to speak, feel safe coming to the get-togethers of people like Nancy Trent where the judgment is practically non-existent and word tends not to get out.<br/>
<br/>
So Lin didn't really care who she bedded tonight she was just wanting to get <i>something</i> but when you saw Justin you could feel the the thrill of excitement from her run through you. Roth's a stoner but he's a handsome guy and an outdoorsman with a nice tan and a sinewy body and in bed he certainly knows what he's doing, he's got plenty of experience after all and being the frisky dog that he is he's more than ready to go again. But you shut him down with a small laugh and a quick kiss before getting dressed and heading back out of the room to enjoy things more conventionally.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
But conventional doesn't seem to be a thing for Lin when she's unofficially at these unapproved shindigs and it's not long into chatting with a couple of people whose names you don't catch that you hear someone call out to you. Well not call, it's not said in a loud enough way, but it's a voice that instantly catches your attention.<br/>
<br/>
"Lin Pol! Funny who you run into in the strangest places, isn't it?"<br/>
<br/>
You know, thanks to Lin's mind, exactly who it is before you even look at them so you're not surprised to see Lisa Rickover, whose face matches the amused curiosity present in her voice.<br/>
<br/>
"I could say the same to you, Lisa," you reply with a matching tone, "since this isn't an Eastman party and all."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not?" she asks with mock confusion, "Oh, well you could've fooled me because I've seen more than a few of our students here. Chris, Karter," she says to see if that gets a reaction, "Natalie and Summer." she adds when it doesn't. That does provoke a reaction.<br/>
<br/>
"Alyssa sent you guys?" you ask. There's no tension in your voice though and no hostility. There's not any reason to, not with Lisa at least.<br/>
<br/>
"Natalie and Summer, probably. Those two have no initiative otherwise." she says as she lets out a small laugh. "But when was the last time I did something because Alyssa told me to do it?"<br/>
<br/>
"They're more suggestions to you, I know." you add. "So why <i>did</i> you come here?"<br/>
<br/>
"You don't think I like to enjoy myself every once in a while?" she asks and instead of mock confusion it's now mock woundedness. "Though this isn't quite my scene. Especially not a place like this. It's too cramped and stifling." She flashes you a smile, on Lisa a predatory look. "I need a smoke anyway. Want to come with?"<br/>
<br/>
With nothing better to do you push your way through the crowd with her as you make your way to the sliding glass door and into the backyard. A far less crowded, almost empty, affair compared to the house.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, would you look at that?" Lisa asks. "Didn't I just tell you about running into people in the strangest places? Why don't we say hello?"<br/>
<br/>
You follow her gaze and are surprised to see her: an African-American girl with unmistakable kinky amber hair. You're expecting the claws to want to come out from Lin but instead there's nothing of the sort. So why? And why is she here? Well a quick trip through Lin's mind gives you a good idea and it's not something you'd have ever really figured was the case.<br/>
<br/>
So you figure that the prudent think to do is to follow Lisa's lead and say hi to Kendra Saunders.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111112111
author_id: rugal
title: Three Snakes in a Snake Pit
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Why in the world would Lin, an enemy of Chelsea Coopers, not want to rip the face off of the girl who's practically her evil vizier? It's all so simple right? Lin and her friends want to get rid of Chelsea. By extension this would mean they'd want to get rid of Chelsea's friends too, after all what would be the point of a coup if you don't engage in a little political purge as well? But it's not really as simple as you would have thought and the first little wrinkle in the entire thing is Kendra herself.<br/>
<br/>
The fact is that while Kendra and Chelsea have been friends for quite a long time, Kendra has long since grown tired of what she sees as Chelsea's bullshit. This would, you would think, make her an erstwhile ally of the anti-Chelsea group but there's no love lost between either her or them either so directly they can't be counted as allies. Indirectly, however...<br/>
<br/>
Because the truth is that, Cindy aside, Lin isn't exactly high on her own supposed friends either. Oh she doesn't hate them, not like she hates Chelsea, but there's feelings there that you recognize instantly as jealousy. Lin's not unpopular but the Garners and Yumi are more popular and more liked and it eats her up. They're not enemies to her like Chelsea is but they're definite rivals because if Chelsea goes then one of them likely gets the top spot over Lin and she feels as if that spot belongs to her and Lin would shove anyone, even Cindy, close as they are, out of the way to take it.<br/>
<br/>
Kendra, as well, wants to run the team or at least have a stronger hand in doing it but doesn't want herself front and center. She's content to hang back and work things from the shadows as the power behind the throne. So someone who wants the spotlight and someone who wants to do their thing from just off stage? As odd as it may seem it's an alliance that's had zero hiccups so far. So the two of them will find a way to ruin Chelsea, something that would threaten her standing on the squad at least and maybe even socially if beyond that if they can really do a good job of it.<br/>
<br/>
But where, then, does Lisa fit into all of this? Her finding Kendra, and Lin for that matter, was no accident on her part. Lisa after all is one of the key members of Alyssa Randall's little ring of informants and gossip hounds and while ostensibly their stomping grounds are Eastman and Eastman-related activities in reality they're fairly plugged in to what's going on at Westside too, especially when people like Lin and Kendra are feeding them information. That's mostly how Lisa became involved as well, she's mostly there to help pass things along back to Eastman and to Alyssa.<br/>
<br/>
The toppling of Chelsea would be a big deal after all so Alyssa would need to be kept up on the goings on. But at the same time Chelsea and Alyssa, if they're not actually friendly, at least know one another so if she does get taken down then there's always the risk of her running to Alyssa for help. If Alyssa finds the situation a little too chaotic and with potential to spill over into her own little fiefdom then she may feel obligated to flex a little muscle behind the scenes herself whether that means getting Chelsea back in or someone else.<br/>
<br/>
But if you control how the information gets back to Alyssa then that's another route for Chelsea blocked off and the possibility of Alyssa feeling the need to play queenmaker is severely lessened.<br/>
<br/>
But while Lisa is on friendly terms with both Lin and Kendra she wouldn't be doing this out of the kindness of her own heart. She is, by nature, something of a trickster and is likely doing this all for her own amusement as for any other reason. After all, she's been known to undercut or withhold information from Alyssa herself in the past simply because she can.<br/>
<br/>
So it's with this knowledge that you follow Lisa over to Kendra.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Kendra Saunders at a stoner party," you say with light teasing. "Never thought I would see the day. Unless, of course, you're a secret stoner and never told the rest of us of anything.<br/>
<br/>
"I could probably ask you the same thing," she responds, "I mean Lin Pol slumming it? Perish the thought!"<br/>
<br/>
You suddenly look at her with seriousness. "Chelsea's not aware that I'm going to any of the 'unapproved' parties is she?" you ask with a hint of legitimate nervousness as Chelsea often sends Kendra around to parties to act as her eyes and ears. It's to your relief that she gives you a negative response.<br/>
<br/>
"She heard about it and wanted me to check on the situation but, give her a report back, the usual.you know?" she explains. "But it's not like she knows what you get up to and it's not like I'm inclined to tell her."<br/>
<br/>
"So you're not going to tell her?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
Kendra gives you a wry smile. "Can't tell her about things I never saw," she states.<br/>
<br/>
"So I'm guessing you want to talk then?" you ask and that gets only a confused response from Kendra. "About, you know, shit. That's why you sent Lisa over right?"<br/>
<br/>
Kendra looks at you like you're out of your mind. "Lin, I only got here like twenty minutes ago. I didn't even know you were here," she insists.<br/>
<br/>
During all of this Lisa's already got her cigarette lit and the smoke causes both you and Kendra to cough. "It's not as if she <i>could</i> tell me to find you anyway," she adds and that look, a mix of amused playfulness and a hungry desire to see the outcome of this or that action, remains glued on her face. "I just saw one, then the other and, well, hail, hail, the gang's all here."<br/>
<br/>
"It can't hurt I guess," you say though with not much enthusiasm. Lin came her to get high and get laid not talk business. "The problem is that things are pretty solid for her right now. She's managed not to piss someone off for a whole five seconds so I don't know what we can really do."<br/>
<br/>
"That's what you know I guess," Kendra says and both yourself and Lisa give her inquisitive looks. "She's been pressuring Gordon real bad to get on Seth's ass about dumping Cindy."<br/>
<br/>
That's not something you'd heard before so your reaction of shock is genuine as is the small thrill that runs through you though for what reason you're unsure. Lisa, of course, betrays no emotion and internally you marvel at her ability to maintain her poker face. Never once, in any interaction Lin's had with her, has she ever not kept her cool or aura of being in control of a situation.<br/>
<br/>
"Gordon's not happy about it either. Seth's his boy after all and he doesn't have any problem with Cindy," she continues. "So publicly everything's good but privately there's some cracks there over it because Gordon's worry about what it'll do to the team."<br/>
<br/>
"That's bullshit!" you exclaim though not loud enough for your voice to carry beyond the immediate group. "Only her and fucking Donkey Kong are allowed to have a stable relationship I guess."<br/>
<br/>
"But that's good, isn't it?" asks Lisa. "If you're feeling that way then think of how others will feel. But that's only one angle of attack as well I'm sure."<br/>
<br/>
"Gloria's got her birthday coming up," Kendra adds; Gloria's birthday is next Wednesday on the fifteenth. "It's a pretty big one for her too since she'll be eighteen and all."<br/>
<br/>
"And poor Gloria," you say with faux sympathy, "living with her mother and all is probably counting down the days until then. It'll probably be the happiest day of her life."<br/>
<br/>
"Are you saying it'd be bad if someone ruined that day for her?" Lisa smirks at you.<br/>
<br/>
"It <i>would</i> be awful wouldn't it?" you ask. "I mean a day that should be all about her ruined because of drama that certain other parties stir up."<br/>
<br/>
"How would that look for the parties involved?" Lisa asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Right?" you add.<br/>
<br/>
"And then someone else is there to take charge and handle the situation," says Kendra. "Calm the situation, show some real leadership. It'd leave an impression wouldn't it?"<br/>
<br/>
"But that's all speculation of course because I'm sure everyone would be on their best behavior," Lisa states. "So we can't get too comfortable."<br/>
<br/>
"We'll play everything by ear," Kendra says as she waves a way a bit of smoke that's wafted in her direction. "Definitely make sure that bit about Cindy and Seth and the lummox gets back to Alyssa though because I think it's about time we cut this short."<br/>
<br/>
You and Lisa follow her gaze as you notice more people starting to come out into the yard. Most of the conspiratorial plotting between the three girls is done via group chats and such, rarely so face to face like this and even rarer in such a situation. Less chance of getting caught that way of course. So you all agree to break up for the evening but to keep each other in the loop of any updates or potential options.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You're not at Nancy's much longer anyway, not even enough time to try and hit Roth up for another quickie or at least a little more weed before you get a message from... Maria? She, or maybe he because it's definitely Fairfax texting you, says that everything's in order if you want to meet at the storage complex.<br/>
<br/>
Your reply is quick as are Fairfax's. Once they got Cindy everything else just kind of fell into place and grabbing them all became a fairly quick affair so you agree to come out. Besides you'll want him to know that you were able to pass perfectly in the type of situation that should've spelled disaster given his worries.<br/>
<br/>
Well what exactly <i>will</i> you tell him? You'll mention there was a party at Nancy Trent's sure but beyond that? Considering how much of a snake pit things are with the cheerleaders it'd probably be a good idea to let him in on what's going down. But then what's the point? You need to act naturally and to be honest you become very excited at the idea of being thrust into a conspiracy to assume control of the cheerleading squad.</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111121112
author_id: rugal
title: The Monkey Wrench
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"You're leaving?" asks Nancy as you get near the front door.<br/>
<br/>
Nancy Trent is a stoner and rocker who at one point played in a band; or maybe she still does, it's not as if Lin is up to date on the personal lives of everyone in the school.<br/>
<br/>
What she does know is that Nancy, in a way, is something of her opposite. Lin has a relative amount of freedom and a good relationship with her family. Bitchy as she may be Lin really does love her family and keeps her dalliances hidden as much to keep her family out of trouble as she does to keep herself. With Nancy, however, the rumor is that her parents disapproved of her relationship with her boyfriend (a relationship that started when she was a sophomore) and kicked her out when they found out she had been dating him in secret.<br/>
<br/>
Though despite that she does seem to have her life more or less together. Lin's never heard of any big trouble from her and she keeps mainly a low profile unlike her friend Jordana Trujillo.<br/>
<br/>
Like Lin as well she's larger and curvier though again that's where the differences end as Nancy is very much the metal chick with hair died a dark red and shaved on one side and likes to wear lots of black though unlike others she trades the piercings (aside from a lot of ear piercings) for tattoos up and down her right arm.<br/>
<br/>
"You care?" you ask in a way that probably comes off as bitchier than you intend it to.<br/>
<br/>
"Well I'm not going to start bawling or anything but," she says with a wry grin, "it's nice to change things up with a cheerleader or two hanging around here."<br/>
<br/>
"Or two?" you ask deciding to play dumb.<br/>
<br/>
"Mmhmm," she nods, "Jordana told me she saw Kendra lurking around here too. Figured you would know."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not Kendra's babysitter." you tell her. "We don't share everything on the team with one another. Consider it a prestige boost if two cheerleaders decided separately to show up here. Just, you know, don't tell anybody you saw anything otherwise Chelsea will have our asses."<br/>
<br/>
"Wouldn't think of it. People would stop hanging out here if they knew I was selling people out." she says with total seriousness "And it'd be nice to see you around again."<br/>
<br/>
"That's good." you smile. "Keep things on the down low and I'll be more inclined to show up in the future."<br/>
<br/>
Nancy doesn't get much of a chance to respond as at that moment her boyfriend, a slightly older looking guy she calls Lyle, built with tattoos covering both arms, on his knuckles, you can even see a bit coming from under his t-shirt, comes up, kisses her and drags her off... somewhere. Probably to get his dick wet. So you take that as an opportunity to finally escape without risking getting bothered by anyone else and head off to the storage complex.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So what do we do next?" you ask as you sit, impatiently, in the unit that's used as a makeshift studio for the videos that Mike and Carlos use to make their videos. "I mean okay you wanted us all in cheerleaders and here we are so... what now? Gossip? Play with our tits? What?"<br/>
<br/>
"The second option sounds good!" exclaims Eva, really Mike under her mask, as he reaches up to squeeze a breast.<br/>
<br/>
"There's going to be plenty of time for that once you're at home." Maria, Fairfax having gotten himself into place, states with an almost parental sternness. "In private. Which won't be for a while yet since it's best that we kill some time before we head home since we don't want to arouse any suspicion."<br/>
<br/>
He says that while glaring at Cindy who shrinks back a bit.<br/>
<br/>
"I miss something?" you ask as you eye that scene with a bit of confusion.<br/>
<br/>
"Keith, uh, Cindy's thinking of breaking up with Seth." Jessica, really Carlos, answers.<br/>
<br/>
Surprise is written all over your face as she tells you that though it's Maria who's quick to jump in. "Something I'm highly advising against." she states. "Because I need everyone being as in-character as possible for this experiment to work."<br/>
<br/>
"Pfft! Experiment?" Eva asks with disbelief. "We're chicks, hot chicks, and the point is to have fun being hot chicks. That's what you were going for right? That's why <i>you</i> got Maria."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not --" Maria starts but you jump in.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a bonus," you quickly say to defend her, "but if uh, Maria, says that it's for research then it's probably just as much for research." You want to say that he's probably all asexual or something but then you already know as better than anyone that's definitely not the case.<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks." she replies to you before turning back to the others. "Besides part of being in character is not disrupting their lives if we can help it and breaking up with boyfriends or getting them new ones would definitely qualify as potential disruptions."<br/>
<br/>
"Disruptions?!" Jessica asks with a mixture of disbelief and trying to suppress laughter. "Dude, we're dumping these girls under our masks for a few months. That's a pretty fucking big disruption."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not," Maria says as her brow furrows, "not if we keep things normal with them."<br/>
<br/>
"How are we supposed to do that?" Cindy, finally, asks. "Like I'm going to have to take Javits' cock up my cunt for the semester? Because I am <i>not</i> fucking doing that."<br/>
<br/>
"You'll have to while you're her." states Maria before turning to Chelsea. "It's not like Josiah doesn't have that as well."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," Chelsea says quietly and with a nod. "And I'm... if that's what I have to do then... I can do it."<br/>
<br/>
You want to laugh at that and Lin finds the idea Chelsea acting so reserved and less confident very entertaining.<br/>
<br/>
"That's because Josiah's a fucking weirdo!" Cindy exclaims before catching herself. "Oh man, I'm sorry Josiah, I didn't mean..."<br/>
<br/>
"No, it's fine." Chelsea says with no change in emotion. "I don't really have to care about that right now because..." he gestures towards himself.<br/>
<br/>
"Well for what it's worth I agree with Maria." you tell everyone else. "If we're not keeping these lives permanently then we don't want to mess them up. We'll figure something out about getting these girls back up to speed." Though it's a good gesture and one that'll certainly land you on the ex-Faifax's good side your reasons aren't entirely altruistic. Although Kendra, Lisa and yourself didn't decide on something happening on Gloria's birthday it seems the best bet and Cindy breaking up with Javits would throw things off.<br/>
<br/>
"And sorry but that includes being Javits' girlfriend."<br/>
<br/>
Cindy gives you a look that's practically a death glare. "You can't fucking be serious!" she practically shouts. "You should know more than anyone that--"<br/>
<br/>
"You need to calm down." Maria states, "If you just take some time to--"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm perfectly calm." Cindy bitterly declares. "You guys are the ones out of line. I'm getting out of here and going home. I'll let all of you come to your senses because if you're still pushing this shit tomorrow then I'm out."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Cindy at that point had stormed out of the unit and you'd very quickly gotten up and given chase catching up to her in the parking lot. "Cindy!" you call out but she ignores you. So you call out again but still she ignores you. "Keith!" you finally say using the name of the real person under the mask.<br/>
<br/>
"What do <i>you</i> want?" she says with bitterness as she turns to face you. "If anyone would've had my back during this I thought it would've been you. It <i>should've</i> been you."<br/>
<br/>
"I know and I'm sorry but Fairfax is right too." you tell her. "Do you want to ruin Cindy's life or make things harder for her by the time she's got her life back?"<br/>
<br/>
"Like the others said though they're going to be missing months. They'll be screwed up regardless." she counters.<br/>
<br/>
"Unless we can figure something out and we have a long time to be able to do that." you state. "Besides we're expected to be in character for this and you want to know something I've heard? That Chelsea's putting the screws to Gordon to get him to lean on Seth and break up with Cindy because she knows that'll fuck Cindy up."<br/>
<br/>
"Where'd you even hear that?" she asks. "You've only been in that mask a few hours. It's not like you have everything."<br/>
<br/>
"I've got enough." you reply. "I was at a party before I got here, and don't tell Fairfax that or he'll flip out, and I overheard it from some people there."<br/>
<br/>
"Well it's Shank under Chelsea's mask so he's not going to --"<br/>
<br/>
"In character, remember?" you ask. "If Chelsea's trying to fuck over Cindy then there's no guarantee that she won't continue to try doing it even if it's Shank under the mask."<br/>
<br/>
"You're really fucking adamant about me not kicking that scumbag to the curb." Cindy states as she eyes you up. "Why? Is that something from Lin?"<br/>
<br/>
He's very resistant to the idea of not shitting all over Javits at the first opportunity and you can't really blame him. And is that something from Lin? Well, maybe, but even still if that's who you are then you're going along with the flow. Staying in character, that oft-repeated phrase of the evening. And that character is saying why not bring in Cindy? Lin would love having her best friend brought into the plot to overthrow Chelsea, so long as she could convince Cindy to lobby for her to have the top spot once Chelsea's out of power since Cindy's word would carry a lot of weight.<br/>
<br/>
But maybe it's not such a good idea. After all the more people know about a coup the easier it is for things to leak out. Plus who knows if Cindy would even agree to it in the first place?</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111111211122
author_id: rugal
title: Mental Lin-fluence
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>The more you think about it the more you realize that bringing in Cindy is definitely not the way to go. Who knows what she'll do when you tell her. She could join or she could just as easily go back to the rest of the group and tell them what's going on and that would be a big blow to, well, everything. Not only for what Lin wants to do but for you even being part of this group. Fairfax and the rest of them, after all, aren't going to like being told by someone else that you're keeping things from them. What would even happen if they found out? Would they just kick you out of the group or worse, would they put <i>you</i> under one of those masks and turn you into a Beta?<br/>
<br/>
"Kind of," you finally admit. "Lin and Cindy are best friends so she really only wants to see Cindy happy. She knows that, even if she gets frustrated with him at times, Seth makes Cindy happy so it's like she's there in my head saying how dumb that would be."<br/>
<br/>
"You're that into her already?" Cindy asks in surprise. "I mean I'm getting bits and pieces of Cindy but not enough to where I'd feel, you know, comfortable hanging around her family."<br/>
<br/>
"I told you I was at that party, right?" you respond. "Well I was able to navigate it with no issues. Nobody ever stopped to think 'wow, Lin sure is acting weird; I wonder if that's really her' or anything like that," you brush that off however. "Anyway it's not about me and what I'm doing under this mask but you and what you're doing under that one. You're right, I know how you feel about Seth but I just got caught up in what Lin wanted so... break up with him."<br/>
<br/>
Cindy gives you a look of surprise at that considering just a minute ago you were trying to convince her to do the complete opposite. You return that look with a more positive but mischievous one.<br/>
<br/>
"If you're going to do it though then I want you to do it right," you tell her which changes that look from surprise to curiosity as you feel the more devious aspects of Lin's brain going to work. "Do it big. Drop some hints throughout the day, let him realize that something's wrong but make it so that he's not really aware of what so he's on edge trying to rack his brain. Then at lunch, or whenever but lunch would mean the biggest audience, blow up on him. Make it loud. Tell him you're through."<br/>
<br/>
"Won't that make me look like a crazy bitch though?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Nuh uh," you shake your head, "not if you fire the right shots anyway. Because word gets around about things and Lin's heard that a few weeks back Seth was up in the loft with a few of the other guys on the team. Then Steve came up and brought a couple of girls with him and let's just say that Seth might have gotten sucked off by one of them."<br/>
<br/>
Shock is all over Cindy's face. "You're kidding me! Seth has Cindy fucking Vredenburg and has to... is that even true?! Who was it?! Did he, you know..." she states while pumping a fist back and forth.<br/>
<br/>
"I think this time it was Lynette Kolaya, I think she's on the volleyball team? Or maybe she's a junior. Maybe both?" you tell her. "I don't know, it's not the first time it's happened from what Lin's heard so it gets muddled. As for whether they did the whole thing, no clue. Does it matter though?"<br/>
<br/>
"I guess not," she replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Right!" you exclaim, "Just don't put Lynette's name out there or anything that could tie it back to her. Keep it vague, just accuse him of doing things with other girls in a general sense. Word gets around so others have to have heard stuff too so you'll definitely be the aggrieved party and get the sympathy while making him look bad."<br/>
<br/>
"Impressive," you turn to see Maria standing there, arms folded and looking a bit impatient. "So is that Lin or is that you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Goddamn it Maria, how long have you been there for?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Long enough to hear you give Cindy advice on breaking up with Seth," she replies. "I thought we agreed..."<br/>
<br/>
"Well I thought about it for a minute and realized that the others were right," you tell her. "Besides there's nothing to say that Cindy and Seth can't hook back up if things change right?"<br/>
<br/>
Cindy looks at you but doesn't say anything for a minute. You're implying that maybe Keith could switch out of Cindy for Seth but if he picks up on that he doesn't say anything. "Look, I'm calmed down but I'm still gonna get out of here," she says before looking towards Maria. "I'm just gonna go drive around or get something to eat or something until I need to get home."<br/>
<br/>
Once she's gone Maria gives you a rather stern look. "So I'm going to ask you again, was that Lin or was that you?"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You head back into the unit and inform Eva and Jessica that Cindy took off to get something to eat. Not wanting to hang around with a pair of bores (as they put it) they decide to take off as well saying that they'll text Cindy and hang out with her for a while. "So what'd you do when you left?" Maria asks once it's just the two of you in the studio.<br/>
<br/>
"I told you when I got here. I picked up Lin's brother and sister from their practices and had dinner," you partly lie. "Her family eats together every night so I couldn't get out of it."<br/>
<br/>
"And you had no problem at all?"<br/>
<br/>
"I already told you that too," you answer with more than a bit of exasperation.<br/>
<br/>
"You were insistent on having everything earlier too," she states. "So I want you to give me a primer on Lin Pol."<br/>
<br/>
"A primer?" you ask raising an eyebrow. "If you don't have anything though, because you were kind of insistent that this stuff takes a while, then how are you going to know I'm telling you the truth? I could just feed you a load of shit."<br/>
<br/>
"Because I'll have Maria's memories tomorrow so anything that she would know about Lin I can check with what you've said and see if it matches up."<br/>
<br/>
"There's not really much to tell," you say. "Okay so I don't really want to say or bring this up again because eww but this should be proof enough: I've got the memory of your surprisingly larger than she would've thought nerdcock in her mouth and I wish I could burn that from my brain."<br/>
<br/>
Maria's face lights up and she starts to snicker, the most emotion you've seen from Fairfax in either guise, but quickly stops once you give him a dirty look. "Okay," she says, "so give me a little more about her."<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh, fine. Mother, father, twin brother and sister in the seventh grade. Best friend is Cindy, friends with Yumi, Eva and Jessica. She's got a lot of acquaintances stuff among a lot of social groups. Happy?"<br/>
<br/>
You'll be damned if you're going to give her the real deal on what Lin gets up to.<br/>
<br/>
"That's all very basic." she says flatly.<br/>
<br/>
"I just said there's not much to tell" you reply. "Shes pretty normal, kind of horny but what high schooler isn't? Oh, she knows people over at Eastman too. Is that good enough?"<br/>
<br/>
"You seem impatient." states Maria though not betraying any emotion. "Is something up?"<br/>
<br/>
"God!" you exclaim and throw your hands up. "That's from Lin too. Lin can be kind of a bitch some times so maybe it's having an effect on me." you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"And you said you've had all of this since you put the mask on?"<br/>
<br/>
"I told you, yes!" you reply now starting to feel thoroughly annoyed... and that's actually starting to worry you now that you think about it. Why are you feeling Lin's crabbiness? Is her influence why you're so gung ho about toppling Chelsea that you'd risk pissing off your friend for it? "Look, I'm just kind of surprised about all of this. Considering everything you've said it's probably kind of weird that I'm able to act like her with no issue."<br/>
<br/>
"It <i>should</i> take a few hours but I can't rule out that maybe other people are better or that we've had the time frame wrong or something," she says as she gets a thoughtful look. "But I can tell by how you're talking that you're curious about it."<br/>
<br/>
"Kind of."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm curious as well," she adds. "Maybe helping you understand how the different spells in the book work will help you -- help us -- see if the spells effect different people in different ways. Getting you caught up on everything will be a good thing as well just because."<br/>
<br/>
"You've explained all of this stuff to me before right? So what's going it over again going to do?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"This isn't going to just be telling you what each one does," she tells you. "This is going to be more involved. Going over the different spells, having you perform some of them and that sort of stuff. Well, performing the spells that are reasonable. I'm not going to have you do things with the golems because that stuff is incredibly complicated and labor intensive."<br/>
<br/>
To Lin that sounds dumb and boring but to you there's definitely a bit of intrigue in actually learning the magic behind these masks. Maria, however, is not done.<br/>
<br/>
"There's something else I'm curious about too however," she tells you. "This book has existed for a very long time. With the ability to make Betas under your control, surely someone could have done some real damage right? Make an army of Beats and you'd be unstoppable. Yet I don't think anyone has."<br/>
<br/>
"And you want to know why?"<br/>
<br/>
"I do," she answers, "and that's why I'm making a proposal; a bit of quid pro quo. I'll help teach you the spells but in return I want you to take on more impersonations, more aliases if you want to call them that. We make more masks with that stuff and your hair added in. You can switch around between them and we can see what the upper limit is to having them under control."<br/>
<br/>
She gives you a friendly smile though one that's urging you to accept. "So you can be Lin and another girl. Or another two girls. Or another two guys. We can work it out but how does that sound? Learn the magic in exchange for helping me with this."</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111112111221
author_id: rugal
title: The Magician and Their Familiars
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"If I'm going to be doing this for you -- and I haven't said I am just if -- then how is it supposed to work?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"It's fairly simple when you really think about it," Maria says as she motions for you to follow her out of this unit and then into the neighboring one. "So when we did the Beta thing with the actual Lin how did that go? Starting from before we even went to her house."<br/>
<br/>
You think back on what happened. There was the mask of yourself of course. Then Fairfax had used a pair of scissors to cut off a bit of your hair. Inside he had placed a bit of dirt and some fuel, just a bit of kerosene really, and lit the concoction. There was a brief flame that you'd swear was purple and soon the inside of your mask was a dark gray. From there, you'd gone to Lin's with Fairfax where he'd gone in with her, you skip the next part, and presumably placed the mask of yourself onto Lin. From there she, as a copy of Will Prescott, had to listen to you.<br/>
<br/>
You relay all of this to Maria and she smiles and nods approvingly. "That's great!" she says with as much energy as either Maria or Fairfax can muster. "So take that and then apply it to another person. We take, oh I don't know, Yumi for example. We take Yumi and we make a mask of her. Then we take your hair --"<br/>
<br/>
"My hair?" you ask as you pull a dark strand.<br/>
<br/>
"Not that hair, no, <i>your</i> hair," Maria says. "Will Prescott's hair. If we use the hair from the mask, and we tried this with our own masks, then what happens is it disappears. We'd barely gotten some from Mike into his mask and it evaporated before we could even get the dirt on it. We don't know why it does that but it does so we're forced to use the hair of the person under the mask."<br/>
<br/>
She waves you off before you can say anything else.<br/>
<br/>
"But back to my point. We take Yumi's mask and put your hair in there and do the entire process to put it under your control, then we do the same with that mask of Lin that you're wearing. So you can put Yumi's mask on and then put Lin's onto Yumi so the new Lin is under your control," she explains and all this time her focus has not left you. "Alternately, you just put Yumi's treated mask back onto her and you've made a Yumi that's under your control. So if we do that then you could switch back and forth between her and Lin."<br/>
<br/>
"Theoretically at least, right?" you ask. For as much as she pawns homework onto poor schmucks Lin is by no means some kind of bimbo and you're thankful for that because it allows you to follow the chain of logic which, unless you saw it in action yourself,  is a tad confusing.<br/>
<br/>
"Yes," comes the simply reply. "That's if you can even have multiple Betas under your control. Maybe you can only have or two. Maybe it's a dozen or two dozen. That's what I partly want to see."<br/>
<br/>
"Partly?" you ask as you eye her oddly.<br/>
<br/>
"Ah, yes, I should have mentioned this earlier," she says with a slightly apologetic tone, "but you state that you've gotten into the role of Lin very easily so I want see if that applies to others. Could you juggle multiple roles across multiple groups under multiple identities? I think any of us could but you may be quicker at getting into character than the rest of us so it makes more sense, from my perspective, to do it with you."<br/>
<br/>
"So I guess you want me to get a mask of Yumi?" you ask before quickly adding, "Or Kendra?" She's Lin's ally but can she truly be trusted? If Maria's right then having her under your control would make all of this so much easier.<br/>
<br/>
"In this case no," she replies, however, dashing your hopes, "because I still want to see into the other groups as well, cast a wider net as it were. We're pretty full up on cheerleaders so if you can find someone from another group then that would be ideal."<br/>
<br/>
While a bit disappointed you agree to what she says and tell her that you'll have a name by tomorrow. You're ready to head back to your new home but are stopped by Maria. "Does she have a curfew?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Who Lin? Yeah but it's a midnight one since her parents are pretty lenient," you explain. "Why, does Maria?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't really know," she says as she gives you a hard look. "But I would assume that she does and probably around eleven is a safe bet. We've still got time and it shouldn't take too long so, uh, do you want to...?"<br/>
<br/>
She's acting a bit nervous at that and that causes you to give her an odd look. "Do I want to what?" you ask.<br/>
<br/>
But Maria remains silent, merely gives you a look that's half-nervous and half-stern like she's trying to use the latter to hide the former. You're not sure at all what she's getting at.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
What she's getting at is taking some of the material used in regards to the spells as well as removing the book itself from the chest that holds it. Not that any of the group actually think that one will betray the other but keeping it in a neutral spot they all have access to was agreed to be the best course of action.<br/>
<br/>
Maria opens the book up to the first spell regarding the creation of a mask. You nod as he tells you about runes and materials and this and that. Once more you're thankful that Lin is no dummy and in fact she picks up on this stuff fairly easily (it must be laziness or lack of motivation that causes her to take the easy way out) which means that you pick up on it fairly easily. So after a time explaining everything to you Maria steps out saying that she wants to see if you can handle making a mask, the most basic of spells in the book, on your own.<br/>
<br/>
You study the page for a few moments replaying what your companion had said to you about it and things begin falling into place. You draw the symbol from the book and then begin mixing everything. For a time the bowl that everything is mixed in begins to pop and violently shake and you're suddenly fearful that you messed something up. Maybe you'll blow the entire complex up or maybe you've summoned a demon. Yeah isn't that how it usually goes in stories and movies like this when some goofs mess with things beyond their comprehension?<br/>
<br/>
All you get, however, is some smoke and a horrid, rancid smell. Once the bowl stomps jumping around you then place a small mirror onto the sigil and pour the contents onto it and watch in amazement as it quickly hardens. You then grab the nearby matchbook, strike one and toss it onto the concoction where you watch the fire dance and twirl. After a period of time, ten or fifteen minutes you reckon, the flame finally dies out leaving you with a dull gray mask.<br/>
<br/>
Around the same time Maria comes back in and is surprised and happy to see that you were able to do it on your own. You state that it was surprisingly easy and manage to leave out the detail about fretting over the otherworldly horrors you might have mistakenly summoned.<br/>
<br/>
From here Maria tells you that a mask isn't complete until it's sealed. She shows you the page and explains it though won't require you to make it instead opting to show you the supply of sealant the group has left. The third step, the mind band (that copies, no surprise, the mind of the person) is something you'll have to make however and after more explanation you're again left alone and find that it's even easier to make than the mask though it's a bit of a pain inscribing the required runes.<br/>
<br/>
It's at that point that Maria comes back, congratulates you and shows you the fourth step: connecting the band to the mask. She then decides to call it a night and hands the mask to you; she also hands you a cloth. You'll have to polish it constantly before it will turn blue which is when you'll be able to put a new face on it. Once you've got the face, seal the mask and attach the band and you're good to go. You ask how long the polishing will take and groan when you're told its a few days with hours of polishing with the cloth each day.<br/>
<br/>
You look at the mask and the cloth. "Isn't this a shammy?" you finally say. "Like, I mean, the kind of thing you'd wax on, wax off with right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yes?" Maria asks in confusion. "What does that have to do with --"<br/>
<br/>
"Well if it's just a shammy why does it have to be done by hand?" you ask. "This is the twenty-first century. Don't you think something automatic like a buffer would work just as well?"<br/>
<br/>
It eventually dawns on her. "Actually you may be right. Yes, that could work indeed. Ah but my old home, I know my dad has a nice buffer. Tell you what then? I'll get in touch with my Beta and tell him to do some work tonight on this. If it's ready tomorrow I'll give you the mask and band and if possible you get someone. Just give me a name before you get somebody."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
At home later that night you spend an hour or so before bed trying to think of someone who'd be a good fit for a second identity, an alias Maria had called it. Your mind keeps going back to the host of the evening's party. Nancy Trent runs in a different social scene at school but the parties of her and her group can be melting pots. There's also the freedom that she seems to enjoy and you wonder what that kind of life is like as you remember how strict your dad could be.<br/>
<br/>
So Nancy seems the best bet but you're drawn too to the name that you threw out earlier to Cindy, Lynette Kolaya. Lin doesn't knew her beyond a name so you fire up Facebook and look around before finding her. AP group, on the tennis team, friends with Brooke Galloway, not a junior. Wow, you'd had her pegged way wrong and thinking about it Lin does share seventh with her; she just must not give the girl much thought. But still that does all catch your interest and as a bonus for Cindy she might be a useful tool against Seth.<br/>
<br/>
You're ready to call it a coin flip but one other name enters your thoughts: Lisa Rickover. Eastman's gossip hungry Loki is both incredibly useful and incredibly dangerous but if put under your control how much of a boon would that be? Besides, Maria might find learning about Eastman tantalizing.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111113
author_id: rugal
title: Don't Ever Toss the Chickens Overboard
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You give it a moment of thought. The entire business that started with Stephanie putting you down at the coffee shop has made you much more self-aware, and much more critical, of your own shortcomings. The mannerisms might be "off" but you know that they're not that far from reality. What you saw there, that's what other people would see; the skinny little dork trying to make himself seem like the too-cool-to-care slacker. Because people like someone who seems flippant, that's a sign of confidence right? But it's not, not in your case anyway because it's not natural.<br/>
<br/>
If you could see through it then so can everyone else. That's what they see when they look at you, you realize. You're just a snot-nosed little twit and come off less like a senior in high school and more like an immature kid trying to emulate the cool older kids.<br/>
<br/>
The more you dwell on it then the more full of disgust and resentment you feel. You feel like everyone looks at you that way. Stephanie certainly does. So does Lisa. The Garners? Mendoza, Renerhoff, Kirkham? Probably and so does...<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi," you say.<br/>
<br/>
That catches Fairfax's attention. "Excuse me," he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"If we're going to do this and become cheerleaders then let me have Yumi," you tell him. Yeah, for all of her niceness you're sure even Yumi thinks of you that way. She's never gone out of her way to offer her sympathy. When she sits with Lamont and his crew she seems to mainly be interested in sharing gossip with Jenny giving you little more than the customary bits of conversation.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe you're just feeling worked up and maybe it's nothing but you can't help but feel upset.<br/>
<br/>
"That's fine and all but but is there any particular reason," asks Fairfax.<br/>
<br/>
You give yourself a moment to cool down. You're not really angry at Yumi since it's not like she's done anything to you. Nor are you overly upset at Stephanie or any of the others. It's mostly yourself you suddenly have a problem with. Not that you can tell Fairfax that of course.<br/>
<br/>
"Well," you start, "it's just... I know her. Not like we're best friends but when I sit with James and those guys at lunch she's there a lot with Jenny."<br/>
<br/>
"So you've been to her house?"<br/>
<br/>
"Not exactly," you admit. "I mean maybe once or twice in the company of some of the others, uh really more to give people rides, so I know where she lives at least."<br/>
<br/>
"Even still that's as good of a start as any compared to the rest of us," he says. "Plus from that would make a nice starting point for getting the other cheerleaders." He gives you an amused smile. "Isn't it kind of funny that you're the last person in the group yet you're going to be the first one set up in position?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, a laugh riot," you reply dryly. "But I do have to admit I'm interested in seeing all of this."<br/>
<br/>
"Aren't we all," Fairfax says with as much eagerness as you've heard out of him so far.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax then goes over explaining to you how the process is going to work just in case you didn't quite get it the first time. The stuff that will be used to coat your mask, the material that will be needed to copy Yumi and "seal" the mask and that once all of that is done that it's as simple as placing your treated mask on her face and her mask on your face. He assures you that with the treatment in place the real Yumi will be asleep under your form so there's no chance of your Beta (as they're called) going rogue.<br/>
<br/>
With that Fairfax grabs a pair of scissors and snips off a bit of hair -- for the Beta he tells you -- and tells you to go and relax for a bit. Once it starts getting closer to night that'll make it more likely that Yumi's at home and he'd really like to have you in position as soon as possible. But as you wait for everything to be done and for the time to come, something eats at you. You start getting a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach. This all seems a little too neat and easy right?<br/>
<br/>
You relay these worries to Fairfax but he brushes them off and says that it's likely nerves as you're new to all of this. He offers to go with you and says that with his help everything should go off without a hitch.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Well this sucks," you grumble as you sit in your truck parked across the street from Yumi's. Fairfax and yourself had gone up and knocked on the door but had only been told by her mother that Yumi was busy at the moment. Busy doing what you're not sure, maybe she just wants to avoid you. That was about ten minutes ago.<br/>
<br/>
"It's unfortunate but we should be able to get her tomorrow at least," Fairfax sighs. "I really was hoping to get started tonight."<br/>
<br/>
You're about to give a response when you notice something. The front door of Yumi's house is opening and you see someone coming out. Is it Yumi herself? Well it's hard to tell as it's dusk but not quite time for the street lights to come on making it much harder to see. But she looks to be around the same height so it's probably her right? You decide not to waste any time, signaling to Fairfax, hop out with the mask in hand.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey Yumi," you call out as you get close.<br/>
<br/>
"Huh," she asks but you're already there and you've got the mask on her face making sure to catch her as she goes slack.<br/>
<br/>
"Come on, let's get her in," you say as you point to the car.<br/>
<br/>
"Is it her's," Fairfax asks.<br/>
<br/>
You shrug. "I don't remember what it looks like," you tell him, "but if it's parked here it has to be right?"<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax goes for the back door and, thankfully, it's unlocked so you pick up Yumi and place her in the backseat... and that's when you realize she's not Yumi.<br/>
<br/>
"Will," Fairfax asks with trepidation, "who's this?"<br/>
<br/>
"I... I have no idea," you state as you look at her. She's pretty though not as pretty as Yumi. Her face is a bit broader, her nose shaped differently, her eyes spaced a bit differently and she has, you can now tell, longer hair. Nothing to take away from her appearance but enough to differentiate her from your intended target.<br/>
<br/>
"Her sister," he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think so," you reply. "She looks close in age to us and I think Yumi's only ever mentioned a younger sister. Maybe she's a friend or something but I've never seen her around school."<br/>
<br/>
"Well we can't just leave her here," Fairfax says as he begins digging through her purse eventually pulling out her keys.<br/>
<br/>
"Dude, what the hell," you exclaim.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax doesn't bother to look at you as he gets in the driver seat. "I'm going to need you to grab your mask," he simply states.<br/>
<br/>
"Waitwaitwait! You're stealing her car," you ask in panic.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course not," he replies. "We can use this mask to get to Yumi tomorrow so we can't leave the car here. We're going to go back to the storage complex."<br/>
<br/>
"Jesus this is insane," you state as you head back to the truck wondering just what you've gotten yourself into.<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks," Fairfax says as you hand the mask over to him. "When I get the chance I'll pull over to get this on her. Then you can put her mask on to get Yumi out here."<br/>
<br/>
You really don't even know what to say so you simply hop back in your truck and head back to Top S(h)elf Storage where, not remembering the code to get into the unit, you wait for Fairfax to come back.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Oh yeah, this girl is definitely not Yumi Saito and you surely can use her to get Yumi. That's because this girl, Dana Pak, is Yumi's cousin on her mother's side and even ignoring their being cousins the two of them have been close for a long time. She's probably Yumi's best friend after Jenny in all actuality and she's hung out with the both of them more than enough. So why was she over there today?<br/>
<br/>
Well because she needed to borrow a book for a class belonging to a teacher whose name you don't recognize and Dana had left hers in her locker. A lot of the basic material is the same between both schools so she's not losing out on anything by using Yumi's book for some homework.<br/>
<br/>
And yes, both schools because the intriguing part of what's come your way isn't just that this Dana girl is Yumi's cousin but that she's also a student at Eastman, the high school across town. You've never stepped foot in Eastman and don't know anyone from there yourself so it's always seemed like a bit of an alien world to you. But you guess that's just another example of how uninteresting and boring you are. After all, you think back to Catherine Muskov's party and the presence of Eastman jocks there. Or even Catherine's presence herself being a transfer and all.<br/>
<br/>
So there's probably more intermingling than you'd have ever guessed.<br/>
<br/>
You're surprised by how much you already know about this girl who, half an hour earlier, you didn't even know existed. Fairfax had said the mind comes in a few hours but you've felt like you've had to stop yourself from getting overwhelmed.<br/>
<br/>
So you have Dana Pak's mask and her mind. Maybe you can suggest using the mask to check out Eastman and see if you can help make a sketch, if not a full map, of the school for Fairfax. That'd certainly be useful for him, especially if you can convince Keith to step in for Yumi so Fairfax would have a solid connection between the two schools.<br/>
<br/>
Besides after what you saw this afternoon and what you've been through over the last week or so you kind of want to get as far away from Westside, and yourself, as possible.</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111131
author_id: rugal
title: An Alien World
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You give yourself a once over in the mirror in Carlos' weight room which doubles as the storage room for everything related to the masks. You wouldn't really believe her to be related to Yumi as, aside from both of them being Asian, there's not really much of a family resemblance.<br/>
<br/>
While Yumi has a much more striking and youthful prettiness to her Dana's is different. She's more pan faced, flatter and rounder with a broader jawline and nose. Her eyes, and you'd hate to use a term so stereotypical, are squintier and more stereotypically Asian and her cheekbones are a bit puffier. But you don't hate it and in fact like the way everything scrunches up on her face when you smile.<br/>
<br/>
Dana's hair is dark and straight reaching past your shoulders compared to Yumi's shorter hair. You catch another glimpse of yourself in bra and panties and it's all you can do to not want to rip those off. Dana's body is certainly nice: in comparison to her cousin Dana is taller. She's also bigger in other areas with wider hips and a more developed chest.<br/>
<br/>
But as appealing as it is you know you'll have more time to enjoy it. For now you need to get dressed and you're thankful that Dana made it very easy for you. Nothing more complicated than a pair of short shorts, a dark short-sleeved shirt and sandals. Yeah, you definitely look good you think as you look yourself over once more; even with a minimal amount of effort. But it's not good enough to attract Shawn Gregory.<br/>
<br/>
You feel a sudden longing in your heart at the mention of that name. Shawn's a member of the Eastman basketball team and a handsome guy. He's always been nice to Dana (and from what her memories tell you is an all right guy in general so already on a higher level of human being than Mansfield) as well but unfortunately he's already taken by a freshman no less who happens to be the younger sister of his coach at that!<br/>
<br/>
But what else goes on at Eastman? You try to pick through Dana's mind as it's like having a thousand different video screens around you. It takes a moment but it suddenly feels as if you've become hyper aware and you're able to see who the big players are at Eastman, who the power couples are and more besides. It's not a complete picture, you'd have to take time to sift through it, but it's a start.<br/>
<br/>
But even if it's only a start there's still something that catches your eye immediately about the social structure of Eastman in comparison to Westside. It's definitely something that Fairfax would find interesting as well. You need to get back and give the rest of the group an update on things anyway so this is something you'll definitely have to bring up to them.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Whoa Yumi, is that you," grins Keith.<br/>
<br/>
You shoot him an angry glare. "Yeah, I get it, arr rook same right," you ask indignantly.<br/>
<br/>
"Wh-whoa, I didn't mean that," Keith says defensively, "I was just making a joke because --"<br/>
<br/>
"No, I get it," you say apologetically. "Dana can have a bit of a fiery temper about things, especially when it seems like someone's making Asian jokes."<br/>
<br/>
"That's a very authoritative statement about this girl," Fairfax says. "How do you know --"<br/>
<br/>
"Because I do," you snap and again you apologize and back off. "I'm getting kind of a clear picture of her already. Are you sure this takes hours?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's definitely taken us hours to get into a new mask," says Carlos. "Though once you've adjusted you don't really have the same process if you put the mask on again. So like Philip could put your mask on and he'd be good."<br/>
<br/>
"But you're talking as if you're getting it immediately," asks Fairfax.<br/>
<br/>
"Kind of," you tell him. "There's a lot of stuff there and I have to sift through all of it but I'm getting a picture on her and the school."<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax eyes you oddly as if he doesn't quite believe you but asks you to proceed.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay so let's start with her," you say as you point to yourself. "She's Dana Pak and she's an Eastman student. She's also Yumi's cousin so that's why we saw her over there."<br/>
<br/>
"Eastman," Mike whistles before grinning at Fairfax. "That's a little outside what you were aiming for, huh?"<br/>
<br/>
"It is but..." Fairfax's face goes into deep thought as he trails off.<br/>
<br/>
"We can still use her to get Yumi," you tell him, "but I was also thinking that it might be interesting to get an idea on how Eastman works too. So I, uh, or someone else, can go over there as Dana and scope it out. You know, start sketching out a map for there as well?"<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax, now up and pacing around, stops to look at you for a moment before finally speaking. "That's actually not a bad idea," he says. "I myself don't know anybody who goes to Eastman but," he looks over at Mike and Carlos, "you know a couple of guys who go there right?"<br/>
<br/>
"A few guys involved in the A/V stuff," says Mike.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," adds Carlos, "but they're mainly just keep to their own corner so they don't really talk to us much about what goes on there."<br/>
<br/>
"But it shouldn't be too much different from Westside, correct," asks Fairfax.<br/>
<br/>
"There's some differences," you chime in much to everyone else's surprise. "I mean I don't have <i>everything</i> but I've been able to sort through things enough to give a basic outline maybe."<br/>
<br/>
"You have," Fairfax asks skeptically. "Well some times the mind comes in bits and pieces and it's not inconceivable that you got school related memories first. So okay, if you have something tell us. I want to make a determination as to whether Eastman would be a good option to explore."<br/>
<br/>
"Okay," you say as you take a breath and sit down. "So from what I've been able to see the cheerleaders aren't necessarily at the top of the social ladder there. Some of them are up there but others... I wouldn't say they're <u>un</u>popular but they're not all on the level that all of the Westside ones are."<br/>
<br/>
"Interesting, so who is?" Fairfax is giving you a serious gaze as you have his full attention.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a bit split. On one side you have some of the athletes. The big ones that keep coming up for me are Kyle Lakewood and Jenny Taylor who captain the boys and girls soccer teams. Ian Carpenter from the boys basketball team is up there too as are a couple of his teammates." You hesitate to mention Shawn Gregory by name.<br/>
<br/>
"That doesn't seem all that different from here," says Carlos.<br/>
<br/>
"Well the difference is not all of them are sociopaths," you reply. "It looks like they run relatively tight ships so they don't tolerate a lot of the stuff that you'd see someone like," you cast a sympathetic glance at Keith, "like Javits would get up to. But it's not just them. The head cheerleader's also at the top of the pyramid there too but not really because she's the head cheerleader."<br/>
<br/>
"That... doesn't make a whole lot of sense," states Fairfax.<br/>
<br/>
"She's also the chief gossip hound," you tell him. "She's got this, like, group of friends I guess and they pretty much control all flow of information going around the school. I guess she does it as a way to nip any potential troublemakers in the bud."<br/>
<br/>
"So she's like, what, a Bizarro Chelsea," asks Mike.<br/>
<br/>
"Something like that," you laugh. "The social groups look a little more fluid as well. The head cheerleader, Alyssa Randall, is also on the debate team. One of her best friends is also on the debate team and is dating one of the baseball players despite being on the nerdier end of the social spectrum. There's a lot of others too like, uh, this rocker girl? She's apparently really popular which isn't something I'd see at Westside."<br/>
<br/>
"I'd say that certainly qualifies as different," says Fairfax. "Here the social hierarchy is so rigid and... traditional."<br/>
<br/>
"There's another thing too," you say as another stray thought of Shawn floats through your mind. "The freshman students there, at least the girls, seem to hold a lot of power."<br/>
<br/>
"Bullshit," exclaims Keith.<br/>
<br/>
"There's a couple that are dating really popular senior athletes. There's one that's dating the basketball captain's best friend, one that's dating... you know the name Straussler?"<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax's eyes go wide at that. "Straussler's the name of the guy who owns Proteus," he says in amazement. "It's where I was hoping to get an internship once I started college."<br/>
<br/>
"Right, well, his son goes to Eastman and he's dating a freshman girl too. There's a few others too."<br/>
<br/>
"Damn, that's insane. I can't think of any seniors here who'd date a freshman," says Mike.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax's eyes begin to glimmer though. "But that does make it a much different place from Westside," he says. "I thought it would be interesting to study Westside's groups but Eastman is a total unknown."<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, are you thinking of going for Eastman instead," asks Shank. You can hear the trepidation in his voice and seeing as he was getting Chelsea you can't find fault with that.<br/>
<br/>
"It's very intriguing," says Fairfax. He then looks at you. "Will, I'd like to go home as Dana tonight. I feel like, over the night and into tomorrow, I could sketch a decent outline of social circles. From there I can email it to all of you and we could start moving into Eastman tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"Would I have to go home as you then," you ask and Fairfax shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
"As hypocritical as it is I'm not overly comfortable with that idea," he says. "We can call your Beta out, put my treated mask on the real Dana and you go home as normal."<br/>
<br/>
"So if we do this move to Eastman..." you start.<br/>
<br/>
"I was thinking of staying as Dana. She seems like a good entry point so I think I would be best positioned there. Through her we can get others for the rest of you."<br/>
<br/>
Carlos and Keith seem to be doubting it and while you don't disagree with him, you proposed it after all, part of you is starting to second guess even making the move as well.</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112
author_id: seuzz
title: Konspiracy with Keith
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span><i>Cheerleaders.</i><br/>
<br/>
That's where this "long-term plan" is centered. Fairfax has made it clear that it's his plan, and everyone else is just along for the ride. He and his three friends intend to put four of the cheerleaders on ice, and will use a set of masks to take their place.<br/>
<br/>
It has to do with some kind of "sociological investigation" of the school and the way the various groups interact—Fairfax's theory is that the cheerleaders indirectly run much of the school and he wants to trace out how it works. To do that, his gang will replace Chelsea Cooper—the captain of the cheerleader squad, through whom (he says) all the orders go—with Josiah Shank, while Carlos and Mike replace Eva and Jessica Garner. He himself will impersonate the bubble-headed Maria Vasquez—a good vantage point to observe and record the "data," he says, though he also says he might change locations later.<br/>
<br/>
"What if we want to impersonate someone who isn't a cheerleader?" Keith asks. Fairfax says he'd like it if Keith impersonated someone who could "contribute" to the study.<br/>
<br/>
Long experience with Keith warns you that he's about to say something unfortunate, so you get up in a way that you can step on his hand. "There's time to talk about that later, right?" you say. "I gotta use the head, then I wanna see what Mike and Carlos are getting up to with that mask you made of me." Surreptitiously, you gesture Keith to follow you after Fairfax tells you there's a restroom in the complex's main office.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Look, man, don't make a scene," you tell Keith when you're outside.<br/>
<br/>
"What are you talking about?"<br/>
<br/>
"You were going to argue with Fairfax."<br/>
<br/>
"No I wasn't! I was just gonna— And where do you get off telling me how I should act with these guys? I know 'em a lot better than you!"<br/>
<br/>
"So what were you going to say to him back there?" You stride along fast so that Keith has to hustle to keep up with you.<br/>
<br/>
"I was just going to say that, you know, some of us aren't really into this social experiment, or whatever the fuck he thinks it is he's running. I don't think any of us are. Are you?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's kind of interesting."<br/>
<br/>
<i>"Really?"</i> Keith stops hard. "You want to put on a mask and pretend to be a cheerleader so Fairfax can write some kind of—I dunno—a fucking term paper about—" He sputters. "I mean, it's not like he can turn it into a class for <i>extra credit!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"No, I'm not real interested in it because of that." You resume walking, and he hurries after you. "And you're right, I can see that Mike and Carlos aren't into it either."<br/>
<br/>
"Dur!"<br/>
<br/>
"I know why they're going along with it, though. Because it's an <i>excuse</i> to get inside someone's, uh—"<br/>
<br/>
You have to blink away a sudden, dizzying vision. Your brain—that treacherous supplier of wet dreams and other physiological embarrassments—has ambushed you with a vivid fantasy. For the briefest of moments you were wearing a pleated skirt—a cheerleader skirt—and hose and tight tennis shoes. Cool air was blowing up the skirt and kissing you in a spot that was hot and tender. Your legs— But they weren't your legs. They were someone else's legs. A girl's legs, and your legs were stuck inside them like they were thick hose.<br/>
<br/>
You were wearing a girl's body from the waist down, encased about you like a costume.<br/>
<br/>
You brush the back of your hand over your forehead as you fix the fantasy further. <i>Pulling on her legs like pulling on tights.</i> "So," you stammer, "you need to, uh, use this as an excuse too, in order to—"<br/>
<br/>
"But what if I don't—?"<br/>
<br/>
"Hang on a moment, I gotta at least pretend to use the head."<br/>
<br/>
"Pretend?"<br/>
<br/>
"I only said that so I could get you alone to talk. But while I'm in there, think about what you want out of this thing."<br/>
<br/>
The back door to the office opens into a short hallway, one end of which dead-ends into a small restroom. The ventilation fan roars on when you turn on the light and close the door behind you.<br/>
<br/>
Instead of using the toilet, though, you wash your hands and study yourself in the mirror. Your lanky arms are still brown from the summer. A few sun-darkened freckles are showing more vividly now in your face, where the tan is starting to fade. You smile uncertainly at yourself, and your lips tangle up on your big, yellowing teeth. (You need to do a better job of brushing them.) You tug at the long whiskers on your chin.<br/>
<br/>
You close your eyes and try to imagine the mirror returning a different face. But whose?<br/>
<br/>
Your brain, having surprised you with one fantasy, declines to supply you with another.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax's cheerleader ploy sounds interesting—it would be a wild time, that's for sure, pretending to be a cheerleader, or someone else. And you could easily go along with it, if for no other reason than that you're acutely conscious of being the "new guy" on the team. It seems best to keep on their good side.<br/>
<br/>
But Keith is going to make trouble. Keith <i>always</i> makes trouble. That's one reason it's just you and Caleb so often, because Keith gets in these weird moods where he just mulishly has to go against everyone else.<br/>
<br/>
And if Keith pisses off Fairfax and his friends, and if Keith is the one tying you to the group—<br/>
<br/>
Well, there's someone back there in the climate-controlled units who is right now sitting in front of a video camera and pretending to be you. It doesn't take much imagination to think that maybe they might decide to conduct a <i>different</i> sociological experiment, one that requires someone to impersonate <i>you</i> for the rest of the semester, or the school year.<br/>
<br/>
Or for a lot longer than that.<br/>
<br/>
You splash some cold water on your face and put out the light.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, so?" Keith says when you're back outside with him.<br/>
<br/>
"So tell me what you want out of this project."<br/>
<br/>
Keith jerks his shoulders and hangs his head.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, it sounds like you want something in particular out of this. I think I know you well enough. You're always talking about the 'hot' girls and the cheerleaders. If you didn't have a better idea for yourself, you'd be yukking it up in there with Hollister and Montoya."<br/>
<br/>
Keith peers at you narrowly.<br/>
<br/>
"If <i>you</i> were in charge of this project," you continue, "if it was you, not Fairfax making the decisions, and if it was just you and me, and I said 'Keith, dude, whatever you want to do, I am <i>on it,'</i> what would you say?"<br/>
<br/>
Keith looks past you. He shades his eyes and chews the inside of his cheek. He glances at you, then lets his eyes fall. "You'd think it's stupid."<br/>
<br/>
"What, you want to be <i>me?</i>" You try to laugh, but he just gives you a puzzled look. "'Cos that's the only stupid idea I can come up with. Keith." You grip his arm. "Whatever it is, I wanna do it with you. <i>You're</i> my friend in this group, not Fairfax and them. We should do our own thing. It's just that we need to figure out a way of doing it that doesn't piss the other guys off."<br/>
<br/>
Keith shoves his hands in his back pocket and kicks at the ground. He sucks on his upper lip.<br/>
<br/>
"So, this stuff is, like, super powerful, you know?" he says. "You use these things, you could fuck up someone's life, fuck up their friends' lives, by pretending to be them. You know?"<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh?" Prickles go up your spine.<br/>
<br/>
"You could use it get back at people."<br/>
<br/>
<i>Get back at people?</i> His meaning begins to dawn on you.<br/>
<br/>
"You know. People who've fucked <i>you</i> up, and who—"<br/>
<br/>
"Javits," you say for him. "You want to use these things against Javits."<br/>
<br/>
He looks you in the eye. His own eyes are watering.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Back inside the unit, you tell Fairfax that you and Keith have to take off. He frowns. "We still have to talk about—"<br/>
<br/>
"Tomorrow. Anyway, we got the gist of what you want to do, but I think we might have a counterproposal for you. Something that's, uh, definitely in line with what you want to do, but is maybe a little outside the box."<br/>
<br/>
"I guess that's okay," he says slowly. "But remember, we're not doing this in order to just goof off or—"<br/>
<br/>
"Trust me, we'll make sure it has a legitimate, scientific angle." You grip Keith by the elbow.<br/>
<br/>
"You wanna watch Carlos and Mike doing the video?" Fairfax asks. "It'll be <i>you</i> in there—"<br/>
<br/>
"That's okay, I'll watch it when it gets uploaded. Besides, it would be kind of creepy, wouldn't it, seeing myself?"<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax tugs at his lip, then shrugs. "We'd really like to get this project moving soon," he says. "We were kind of hoping that tonight—"<br/>
<br/>
"If we figure out something, and, you know, we've already got some ideas, we'll call or text you tonight," you assure him. "But I do need to get home."<br/>
<br/>
You just catch a look of consternation crossing Fairfax's face before you hustle Keith out the door.<br/>
<br/>
Instead of going home, though, you and he land at Starbucks, where you huddle in a back corner and talk quietly over some ideas.<br/>
<br/>
It starts with Keith nixing the idea of anyone impersonating Javits himself—he wants Seth to suffer indirectly. He is quite open to the idea of using Seth's girlfriend, though, to sabotage him, and also open to the idea of using another girl in conjunction with Cindy.<br/>
<br/>
Finally—though this might not fly with Fairfax—an impersonation of some of Seth's basketball teammates might also give Keith what he wants.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121
author_id: rugal
title: Keith's Confliction
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"So Cindy and another girl," you ask Keith as you take a sip of your coffee. "Is there anyone in particular that you have in mind?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, no, I haven't thought that far ahead," he says while shifting nervously.<br/>
<br/>
"So how does it work then," you ask and again it's just more uncomfortable shifting. "So, what, one of us takes Cindy and then just breaks up with Javits?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's... no," he replies. "That's too easy for him. He'll probably just bounce back if you do that. There's probably girls lined up to suck his dick if he were suddenly available."<br/>
<br/>
"Probably true but then how about this?" You begin tapping the table anxiously. You don't know what you're going to say and just kind of blurted something out to reassure him.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," is all he can ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh, god I'm trying to think," you continue tapping. "So okay, girls think he's attractive right? I mean he is too -- and I know that's painful to hear but it's true -- but good looks are only going to get someone so far I think."<br/>
<br/>
"So what are you saying?"<br/>
<br/>
You can feel your face turning serious as you think. "So we make it so that he doesn't seem like a good catch," you finally say. "Think of girls that could spread rumors about him or otherwise make him look bad."<br/>
<br/>
"I see," Keith says as he finally perks up. "Alright so Cindy knows Deanna Showalter right? So we get Cindy and Deanna, then Cindy complains about Javits to Deanna who then spreads it around. Something like that?"<br/>
<br/>
"More or less," you say, "Though it doesn't have to necessarily be that. But that's what I mean. We stop and we think long and hard about girls in a position of knowing Cindy or girls in general who might work best to get Javits into trouble." Your face lights up as you go. "Right, yeah, and with one of us in as Cindy things are guaranteed to go south for him real quick."<br/>
<br/>
"See, now that's a great idea," Keith says and he seems to be in much higher spirits than he was earlier. "But then who gets to play Cindy?"<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean 'who gets to play Cindy'," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I mean, I was kind of hoping to," he mutters and it's back to engaging in little nervous movements.<br/>
<br/>
"You," you exclaim. "Sorry but I figured, you know, that'd be hard given --"<br/>
<br/>
"I know, I know!" He takes a sip of his own coffee and sits there quietly for a moment. "It's sitting there in my head. If I'm Cindy then I'm going to have to be his..." he squirms at the thought, "his girlfriend. That means I'll probably have to hug him and kiss him and call him pet names and suck his dick."<br/>
<br/>
"And you're willing to do that?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," he exclaims. "Well, maybe I am. I don't like it but... but," he's breaths are coming heavier, now, and more rapidly. "But if I have to do it I have to do it."<br/>
<br/>
"If it's kicking your anxiety up that much I can do it," you tell him reassuringly. "You can be whoever and I'll be Cindy and suck Javits's dick."<br/>
<br/>
Keith, his spirits having picked up once more at that, laughs. "Yeah, okay, and when you're not sucking him off you can just, you know, suck," he says as he mimes hefting up and sucking on a pair of breasts.<br/>
<br/>
"You really think I'd do that," you ask indignantly.<br/>
<br/>
"It's what I'd do," he grins.<br/>
<br/>
"Then no I wouldn't be doing that," you tell him.<br/>
<br/>
You continue your conversation with him and soon it drifts from Cindy and replacements to general chatter. Once you're finished and leave, however, the matter of who gets to be Cindy is still unresolved. You both agree that you'll think it over tonight and when you see each other in the morning you'll have an answer.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
At home your father catches you before you even reach the stairs. He asks you about this supposed "extra credit assignment" and you tell him that a couple of friends have a video review series online and that Mr. Hawks, who teaches your Film as Literature class, is giving extra credit to students who appear in it and are able to give a reasonable critique of a movie. Your father eyes you skeptically for a moment but seems to buy it but not quite accept it as he shakes his head muttering about how he doesn't get how people watch those online videos.<br/>
<br/>
That doesn't surprise you too much though; he's an older guy and practically-minded. The type of person who probably <i>wouldn't</i> get the appeal. Though until this afternoon you didn't get the appeal either so you're not one to talk.<br/>
<br/>
You tell him that you have some homework to do and, accepting that as well, finally lets you go. Once you're in the room you decide to distract yourself from the day's events and to do that you decide to actually be diligent and get started on some math homework. However it's in the middle of doing it that you get a text from Keith.<br/>
<br/>
<i>hey man u near ur laptop?</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>yeah,</i> you type out the quick reply.<br/>
<br/>
<i>cool! fairfax sent me something &amp; i sent it ur way<br/>
he said he wanted us to look it over cuz he wants to start ASAP<br/>
so look it over when u get the chance</i><br/>
<br/>
You decide that now's as good a time as any for a break from the tedium of calculus so you open up your laptop and head to your email where you see one from Keith with a couple of attachments: <i>Fairfax made them. Check them out,</i> is all the simple message says.<br/>
<br/>
It's a couple of pages worth of diagrams listing off a bunch of students. Most are in the senior class, there's a few in the lower levels as well. It's also pretty much all girls. Rings with labels -- Cheerleaders, Bohemians, Athletes and the like -- fill the pages. Lines go this way and that as names are shown in one label then shown in another to indicate connections. As you see those connections some of them surprise you.<br/>
<br/>
Because of your conversation with Keith you're eyes are drawn to Cindy Vredenburg's name. There are the cheerleaders, of course, but there are also other connections. Jenny Ashton is one name you see which doesn't surprise you, both meanwhile are connected to Ellie Kemp who's listed under the athletes and the word "volleyball" written in parentheses next to her name. Wait, there's a volleyball team? Putting that aside, Cindy is also connected to swim team members like Bethany Lewis and Jamie Bornholm.<br/>
<br/>
Under the swimmers you see Bethany Lewis connected to names you can't quite place like Jordana Trujillo or Nancy Trent who are listed as Stoners/Outsiders. Andrea Varnsworth shares a connection with some of the BoHo group with names like Fatima Zahedi and Jelena Petrovic. Those names are connected to other names like Mia DeWitt, who you share second period with, who are in turn connected who's connected with Mindy McAdams who seems to be connected with everyone.<br/>
<br/>
On and on it goes and eventually you decide to write down names that you start to think might be useful and who Fairfax probably wouldn't object to due to connections, even if obliquely, to Cindy or rings connected to the Cheerleader ring that sits majestically at the center of the whole thing.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You meet up with Keith in the parking lot once you get to school and he tells you that they're going to detour by the gym first as that's where Fairfax wants to meet up and talk with you. Keith then asks if you've decided on who you're going to be and you tell him that you haven't. You return the question and he says he has some idea and he's written them down. You say you've done the same. So the both of you decide to pull out lists and compare.<br/>
<br/>
Many names are the same: Anita Nuevo, Kristy Suffolk, Olivia Byrne and Kelsey Blankenship are some of them. Others are different however. On your list are names like Jenny, Stephanie Wyatt, Amanda Ferguson and Tara Weston among others. On Keith's are Fatima, Ellie (who he says he's seen with Cindy off and on), Victoria Rodriguez, etc. But with all of that Keith heavily intimates that it's Cindy he truly wants.<br/>
<br/>
It's a list you'll have to narrow down as when you approach the gym Fairfax pushes himself off of the wall to greet you and it's right to business. "Who did you pick," he asks in that calm, serious voice in lieu of a proper greeting.<br/>
<br/>
"Straight to the point," you say. "Anyway Keith and myself decided that Cindy Vredenburg is going to be one of them."<br/>
<br/>
"Cindy," Fairfax asks as he gets a thoughtful look on his face.<br/>
<br/>
"It gives us a chance to see how the basketball team acts, how info is filtered out to the various gossip hounds and gives us a bird's eye view on being able to see the top rivalry in the school," you tell him.<br/>
<br/>
"And that's all great, Will. They're points I've considered," he tells you. "But you only said Cindy is 'one of them'. Who's the other? Ignoring that you never actually said which of you will get Cindy."<br/>
<br/>
* Keith can play Cindy; you'll play another girl (non-canonical): "<a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/11331211121121111111321211111211" target="_top" title="Interactive Story Chapter in Item # 2236945">Keith's Choice, Your Indecision</a>" <a href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/interactive-story/item_id/2236945/action/view/chapter_map/11331211121121111111321211111211" target="_blank" title="Open in new window."><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></span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211
author_id: rugal
title: Keith's Choice, Your Indecision
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Which one of us," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
While it's true that you never did say which of you was going to become Cindy but that's because you didn't think it really needed to be said; at least not said by you anyway. Because as much you would like feel her soft platinum hair on your head, shirts tightly hug lovely breasts and the cool autumn air on smooth legs when you wear her uniform you figure that's not your place. Keith was the one who brought her up, Keith was the one who seemed more interested in getting her and you'd rather not deny Keith a front row seat for his revenge.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I guess it just seemed obvious but then you weren't there when we planned it so my bad for assuming," you say sheepishly. "Anyway, Keith can have her."<br/>
<br/>
"You're sure about this," Fairfax asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Dude," Keith exclaims in surprise.<br/>
<br/>
"You're the one who came up with using her so it's like calling first dibs," you say to him in deference and he offers a fairly heartfelt thanks. You then turn your attention to Fairfax. "This whole thing is just kind of mind blowing so the idea of getting brought into it and then immediately getting shoved into a cheerleader," you tell him, "I mean don't get me wrong I wouldn't hate it but if I'm doing this I'd rather have a little bit of leeway so I can pick someone I think would be more comfortable and so I can adjust to the idea of even doing it."<br/>
<br/>
"I would prefer if you stayed within the circle," Fairfax states seriously, "but I suppose that's a reasonable enough mindset to have. Looking over your list I'm not seeing too many issues though the closer to the cheerleader circle the better."<br/>
<br/>
"But as long as they contribute to the study overall I'm not seeing the problem," you tell him. "The more data the better right?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's not entirely incorrect but it would be much more convenient if we were all in the same group," he replies and you can sense a bit of frustration. But whatever frustration there is melts away as quickly as it appears. "You can do it, Will, but I'd ask that if at all possible you prioritize any connection to the cheerleaders. Also I want an answer by lunch so we can get started as soon as possible and if either of you can get Eva or Jessica out to make the switch then even better; they should be our first priority."<br/>
<br/>
"Not that I have a problem with them but why's that," Keith asks.<br/>
<br/>
"They're connected to lots of other groups so they're a good first stepping stone," Fairfax replies.<br/>
<br/>
You agree to all of that and say you'll definitely give as much consideration as possible to your choice. Before you can separate to get to Walburg's class, however, Fairfax is quick to stop you and get your phone number. It'll make any communication that much easier he says.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Walburg gives a lecture that's long and droning and full of little asides, mainly a complaint about this or that related to millennials and blah blah blah. Though you sit at attention it's not him that you're focused on however. Here is where you see a fair number of girls who you have on your list.<br/>
<br/>
In one row is Brooke Galloway whose auburn hair, thick and long and curly, is her most striking feature. Near her you see Lisa... sitting next to Mansfield. She's someone that you had considered but only briefly as there's a part of you that doesn't want her "spoiled" by any of this mask business that Keith's pals are engaged in. Near the front is Kelsey Blankenship who, as ruler of the roost of this set of students, would be of huge benefit to Fairfax.<br/>
<br/>
But next to her, who your eye keeps coming back on, is Amanda Ferguson.<br/>
<br/>
If Kelsey is haughty than Amanda is queenly. Where Kelsey is pretty, Amanda is vampish with hair dyed a deep red that falls in waves past her shoulders. Kelsey at least takes some effort to feign interest but Amanda, usually, could not look any more disinterested. If you could see her face you'd bet that her eyes, a light blue, would be staring at Walburg unblinking and her lips, usually painted the same shade of red as her hair, would be parted just enough to give a visual cue as to what she thinks of the class.<br/>
<br/>
She's also probably the single most inapproachable girl in school. It's not even that she has a boyfriend -- though by how often she shuts down Ricky Golia's attempts to get frisky in class you wonder how much there is to <i>that</i> relationship -- but it's like there's a forcefield around her powered by her demeanor. A single disapproving look is enough to deflect the hopes of even the biggest playboys.<br/>
<br/>
It's that quality, then, which really singles her out to you. If somebody like Amanda Ferguson showed disapproval with Seth Javits and sided with Cindy in any potential squabble that might arise between them, would that not be a huge blow to Javits's prestige?<br/>
<br/>
So it's with that reasoning that you put a checkmark next to Amanda's name... though how you'd get her is another question entirely so next to that checkmark you add a question mark as well. She's a possibility, a very strong possibility, but still only a possibility at the moment.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Second period; Films as Literature. The class that, in a sense, started this whole ball rolling as some extra credit was your partial motivation for going to Mike and Carlos in the first place. It's a class that Mr. Hawks takes quite seriously but to his consternation not many of his students harbor the same passion. Most, yourself included, took it thinking it'd be an easy A; watch some movies, do a summary, not difficult right?<br/>
<br/>
But because Hawks takes it seriously it's more involved. The movies on the list he assigned at the start of the year were mostly older. Some were long, some were weird and foreign, most held no interest to you. Not only did he want you to watch these boring old films but he was expecting in-depth essays about them as well. The girl-to-guy ratio, compared to Walburg's, is also low so it's not one you look forward to.<br/>
<br/>
But to every rule there's an exception and the exception for this class bounds its way into the room just in front of the bell and with a final energetic burst falls into the seat next to you.<br/>
<br/>
Mia DeWitt is a tiny little thing; there's no way she more than barely clears the five foot line and you wouldn't be surprised if she fell just under it either. She's not exactly big in other areas though if any part does stick out it's an ass that seems to have absorbed a chunk of her missing height.<br/>
<br/>
Her face, like everything else about her, is pixieish with a heart-shaped face, small nose and large brown eyes that rest behind black box-framed glasses and under thick dark eyebrows. Hair, not quite bleached but dyed a pale yellow, that's simultaneously short and voluminous falls just past her chin in a sort of cultivated messiness.<br/>
<br/>
Her style is always fairly muted in color, lots of dark greens and browns and other foresty colors, that's always a very bohemian mix of sweaters or thin coats, skirts, shorts with matching leggings and so on and usually accentuated by some form of old hat: today it's a trilby but some days it might be a bowler, a beret, a newsboy cap... you struggle to think of when you haven't seen her wear one.<br/>
<br/>
But if her wardrobe is muted then her personality is not. Though she takes the class half-seriously she's quick with a joke and quick to make flirtatious overtures whether to Tim Gerard, Brad Murphy, even to you; to anyone really. There's a very whimsical and puckish manner about her as if she'd drag you along into some kind of grand mischief for her own amusement.<br/>
<br/>
She's not in any social circles compared to Cindy but with her free spirited, free wheeling manner she could show up in her company tomorrow and not find it odd. And with as mischievous and flirtatious as she is she could certainly cause trouble for Javits. So next to her goes another checkmark.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
The last group you seriously consider as you hit lunch are the athletes. Girls that are beautiful (at least the ones on your list) and in the peak of physical conditioning. The type of girl who might draw the attention of Javits or who, through fostering a relationship with Cindy could introduce her to other athletes; nicer athletes. Because of their positions as well they tend to command respect and influence and retain, in one manner or another, followings and popularity.<br/>
<br/>
You have more than a few of them in the English class you just got out of and two of them are no-brainers. First on the list is Catherine Muskov, a girl who transferred from Eastman only early last year but very quickly rose up in prominence as she helped to bring the track team up from a squad of bottom feeders to one of the school's premiere teams.<br/>
<br/>
Then there's Tara Weston who plays on the girl's soccer team as their goalie. There's something soft and demure in her face and her voice such that you can't imagine someone like that being physical but by all accounts she's very, very good at what she does.<br/>
<br/>
Some swimmers, Bethany Lewis and Andrea Varnsworth, share the class as well but you rule them out as if there's anyone that comes close to matching Amanda in inapproachability it's Andrea. Bethany, as well... apparently Fairfax flirted with her at the mall on Sunday and that gives you a thrill but you always see her with Andrea so that puts her in the no go zone as well.<br/>
<br/>
But you do share sixth period with another member of the team and one who's always been courteous to you: Jamie Bornholm. As a bonus, she was on Fairfax's diagram as sharing a connection with Cindy.<br/>
<br/>
So as Fairfax texts you to meet you in the computer lab so yourself, himself and Keith can hash things you you realize you need to make a decision.</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112111
author_id: rugal
title: A Good Way to Give Yourself Anxiety
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"So, you've made a choice," Fairfax asks as you take a seat at the table where he's chowing down on a box of (leftover?) Chinese food. Keith is already there.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I think so," you say as you search through your book bag and pull out the list. You shove it over to Keith and Fairfax who both take a look at it. "Look for the check marks."<br/>
<br/>
"Amanda Ferguson, Mia DeWitt, Catherine Muskov, Tara Weston and," Fairfax stops to re-examine the list, "Jamie Bornholm?" He takes a moment to readjust his glasses and when he speaks it's with something close to the tone of a disappointed father admonishing his child. "I said I wanted a choice, Will. You said you had a choice. These are options."<br/>
<br/>
"I have one I'm leaning towards but I figured it would be best to get together to finalize it," you say diplomatically. You then take your finger and point at a name.<br/>
<br/>
"Amanda," Fairfax says and there's a bit of surprise on his face. "That's a bold choice. Is she connected to anyone from the cheerleaders though?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think so," you admit. "But she could be."<br/>
<br/>
"She <i>could</i>," he replies as he pokes at a bit of Chinese food, "but we want to try to keep things as in-character as possible. There can be exceptions here and there but it wouldn't do us well to turn everything on its head." As he takes a bit he gets a thoughtful look on his face. "However, maybe introducing some variables could lead to some interesting results. But that would be for down the road. If you were someone in the AP group though and wanted a connection to the cheerleaders..."<br/>
<br/>
You watch as Fairfax's eyes scan the list and finally he points out another name on the list. One that makes your heart stop and curse under your breath that you forgot to cross off. "Lisa Yarborough would make a good substitute," he says. It's at that moment however that he gives you an odd look. "Are you okay Will," he asks. "You look like you've just seen an atrocity."<br/>
<br/>
"Dude," Keith chimes in, "that's his ex-girlfriend."<br/>
<br/>
"She is," Fairfax asks in surprise though his expression softens considerably. "Well I apologize, I didn't know. But if that's the case that would make it easier for her to get, if I could just take emotion out of it for second."<br/>
<br/>
"It would," you state quietly, "but I'd rather not."<br/>
<br/>
"Understandable," he replies. "But Amanda would be very hard to get. Unless you were already one of her friends I don't see how you could approach her."<br/>
<br/>
You decide to stop moping, for now at least, and perk up a bit at that. "Well that would make her a good get wouldn't it," you say. "She's so impenetrable that if we can get in it would be a valuable source of info right?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's true," Fairfax states and he eventually relents. "If you think you can get her then try and have her out there by tomorrow. But we'll need to focus on getting Eva and Jessica out there today. You did think of way to do that didn't you?"<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
"Crap," you exclaim as you smack your forehead with the palm of your hand. "I was so absorbed in narrowing down the list that it slipped my mind. What about you Keith?"<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't even give it any thought," he says bluntly. "They don't like me so I don't think it'd work."<br/>
<br/>
You can tell that's irritated Fairfax a bit so you try to placate him. "Well Jessica has this lunch period too and if I can't find her then Jenny has fifth lunch as well so I can ask her to talk to Jessica for me and see if she can send her my way or at least convince her to come out to the storage unit."<br/>
<br/>
You're not quite sure how well it works but Fairfax simply nods an approval. You promise him that you'll try and find Jenny and get that worked out and with a quick goodbye to both him and Keith you practically sprint out of the lab and towards the cafeteria.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You don't really have far to run though because no sooner do you round the corner that leads to the hall between the outside walkway and the library do you see Jenny coming from the other direction. "Hey," you call out happily, "just who I was looking... for..."<br/>
<br/>
That jovial expression is replaced by a more concerned one as Jenny is headed your way (which is good) with a pretty sour expression on her face (which is not so good). "That's nice and all but you're not who <i>I'm</i> looking for," she says as she walks up. "Though maybe you'll do."<br/>
<br/>
"You pissed about something?"<br/>
<br/>
"Carson and James dipped out on lunch," she says with frustration in her voice. "They've been flaking out a lot on me, James especially, and I've about had it."<br/>
<br/>
You note that it's James that's really sticking in her craw due to the fact that she likes him. So you try to reassure her. "They've probably got good reasons," you say. "They've been going around talking about chemicals and stuff right? So maybe it's related to school?"<br/>
<br/>
Jenny laughs in your face at that. "Like hell they are, not if I know them," she says. "No, if I know them they're up to some dumb shit prank or something childish and when I find them I'm kicking their asses for it." She sighs and seems to have calmed down thankfully. "Anyway, you said you were looking for me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to know if Jessica was with you at lunch today. I need to talk to her."<br/>
<br/>
"Obviously not if I'm marching around the halls looking for those two idiots," she replies. "There's nothing today so she doesn't have any reason to come over. What'd you need to talk to her about though?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. Mike Hollister and Carlos Montoya have their video thing right," you say to her.<br/>
<br/>
"I've heard <i>of</i> it from the Two Man Idiot Squad," she replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, they're working on one today, Bring It On or something like that I think," you tell her. This is all going to be one big lie of course but if you're lucky it's a lie that'll work. "So because of that they want a cheerleader to show up. Not to say anything but like a silent walk on cameo or something."<br/>
<br/>
"You want me to talk to Jessica about doing it," she asks. "I mean if you need a cheerleader I'd have better luck with Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"They were kind of insistent on it being either Eva or Jessica," you quickly counter. "Something about how they're filming from the neck down to conceal the identity and that Eva and Jessica have that classic cheerleader look. I guess they figured they'd have a better shot going to them than they would going to Cindy or Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea would probably drive her car into the river before she agreed to do that. Hey, maybe we should ask her then," Jenny jokes. At least you think she's joking. "I've only got study hall third period with Eva but I've get Jessica in eighth so I can talk to her there for you. I can probably convince her."<br/>
<br/>
"That's great," you exclaim. "You're a life saver Jenny, thank you!"<br/>
<br/>
"And you can pay me back by telling me if you've seen the dipshits," she responds.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head at that. "I'm as in the dark as you are, sorry," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
She grunts at that and bids goodbye. You're out of the woods which is a huge relief off your shoulders except... "Hey, before you go," you say as she walks past you. "Uh, make sure that Jessica knows it's recorded at... you know that storage complex? Top Self or Top Shelf or whatever," you ask which gets a nod. "Well that's where Carlos has his studio so tell her to come out there around four."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You spend what's left of lunch trying to think of a way to get Amanda out to the and it's causing you to feel anxious. You're not even sure how you would approach her. To start with you're pretty sure she's never spoken even a syllable to you through the entirety of high school; even Kelsey has at least told you to move in her bitchy voice.  You've never even gotten that from Amanda.<br/>
<br/>
So you're left to come up with plots and then discard them as being doomed to failure until it happens: a little before lunch ends you see Lisa and her boyfriend. Mansfield must have something to do (since both of them share their next class) because he quickly kisses her and then heads off somewhere else. That's when you can feel a heavy, dull feeling in your chest.<br/>
<br/>
Every time you see Lisa you can feel the sweat forming and your heart rate increase. Every time you see her with Mansfield you can feel the swirling in your stomach. The way she denied that you were even going out. The way Mansfield seems to lord it over you any time your paths cross. It all produces feelings of bitterness, anger and jealousy.<br/>
<br/>
At that moment those thoughts about leaving Lisa off of the list vanish, replaced by what Fairfax had told you. You could go up to her, talk to her and ask her to come out to the storage unit. You could put a mask on her and then know exactly what's been going through her mind. More importantly though, you understand exactly how Keith feels. The way he wants to use Cindy to utterly ruin Seth... you get it. As you look, Lisa seems to catch you and she gives you a friendly look and a wave.<br/>
<br/>
You could be Lisa Yarborough and you could utterly destroy Geoff Mansfield.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121111
title: Catching a fly named Amanda Ferguson
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Tonight is finally the night." you huff to yourself as you make your way into Walberg's classroom early Friday morning. <br/>
<br/>
Three long agonizing days you had to wait and watch as your average and nerdy guy companions dawned the faces of some of the most beautiful and popular girls in your school. Three days you sat idly as you saw them become sexy young women while your chosen "target" was no where to be found. Three days you watched how the new "girls" slowly become exact replicas of the real girls they are impersonating in body as well as in mind. Three days they went to their new homes enjoying their new found popularity while you stayed at home glued to social media watching them post things while you idled away at home. Three days went by where the bubbly new attitudes of these "girls" started falling into their "regular" routines and started treating you as the "invisible-ghost-boy" the same way the "original girls" did, while in public. <br/>
<br/>
To say you are ready for your turn to become one is an understatement. <br/>
<br/>
As you walk into class you spot the seat you've been staring towards the last three days and take your seat in it. Its unassigned seating in all classes but you know who takes this seat on most days, Amanda Ferguson. To say you've been a little obsessed with getting to know every detail about her through social media is also an understatement. However she rarely talks in class, her instagram and Facebook are both private to you, and she has denied both invites by Carlos (in the disguise as Jessica and earlier as himself) to come to the storage garage to film that "video", but actually make the swap. It was frusterating for sure, once the new "girls" had came into their memories they even told you Amanda was just a pretty big introvert...<br/>
<br/>
Such a mysterious and quite girl does make it very difficult to set up a swap with, but you know tonight she is going to a friends house tonight to watch movies, you know this because <i>her</i> friend has already been swapped with <i>your</i> friend Keith, thus giving you a perfect opportunity to swap with her at "Cindys" house. And you muse to yourself, "And thats how the spider finally catches the fly".<br/>
<br/>
Finally your eyes flick up from your desk and you see Amanda stride into the class room. She is tall for a girl, with dark brown eyes frames the very pale face of Amanda Ferguson. Today she has straightened her long nearly waist length dyed dark almost black red hair. She has quite a slim body too, if you had to pick which of her "assets" were bigger/nicer you would definitely pick her butt over her breasts. Today she is wearing a jean jacket over a white tank top, with jean short shorts and black ankle boots. Her face is made up and beautiful, but as always she puts too much eyeliner on it kind of throws off her face you think. You make a mental note to cool it on the eyeliner once you are her. <br/>
<br/>
Suddenly her eyes flick up and stares at the classmate sitting in her usual 3rd period desk, you. She only gives you only a slight grimace before sitting down a few desks to your right next to a few other AP snots. You only smile to yourself thinking "If she's really this mad at me for stealing her seat, I wonder what she would think of me stealing her body tonight...." <br/>
<br/>
But the reason you had chosen her spot today was not to anger her but to compare how it will feel Monday morning sitting in this exact same spot with her own body and her clothes. And you close your eyes and bite your lip slightly at that thought. You wonder how great it will feel stepping in wearing her persona, body, and clothes. Yesterday you had watched her from the back row and memorized which of her outfits you'll have to wear on Monday, but you still wondered what types of underwear you'll also be wearing as her, does she where grandma panties or thongs? ....That thought makes you gulp, you'll be stepping into a whole new world tonight you realize... Already you've learned that most of the "new" girls have already taken up to wearing thongs when asked, so you wonder how thats going to feel once you are part of the group...<br/>
<br/>
You see Kelsey walk in the classroom next and take a seat near Amanda, later during the start of class you notice them both whispering and look in your direction. You only smile and think: "Let them gossip, tomorrow you'll know exactly what they said." <br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
**********<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Its now 6:54 pm that night and you are sitting in the very girlish room of Cindy/Keith, in 5 minutes Amanda Ferguson should be here. And later you'll know everything about her: her dreams, her ambitions, her most embarrassing memory, her most secret of thoughts. All easily accessible to you because you'll <i>be</i> the most secretive most quite girl in your grade. <br/>
<br/>
</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112112
author_id: rugal
title: The Pixie or the Tomboy
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"So, you've made a choice," Fairfax asks as you take a seat at the table where he's chowing down on a box of (leftover?) Chinese food. Keith is already there.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I think so," you say as you search through your book bag and pull out the list. You shove it over to Keith and Fairfax who both take a look at it. "Look for the check marks."<br/>
<br/>
"Amanda Ferguson, Mia DeWitt, Catherine Muskov, Tara Weston and," Fairfax stops to re-examine the list, "Jamie Bornholm?" He takes a moment to readjust his glasses and when he speaks it's with something close to the tone of a disappointed father admonishing his child. "I said I wanted a choice, Will. You said you had a choice. These are options."<br/>
<br/>
"I have one I'm leaning towards but I figured it would be best to get together to finalize it," you say diplomatically. You then take your finger and point at a name.<br/>
<br/>
"Mia," Fairfax says and there's a slight questioning tone. "I only really know her as a name though."<br/>
<br/>
"We've got her for second period," Keith chimes in. "Really, really short girl with a nice, uh, backside."<br/>
<br/>
"I think I know who you're talking about then," states Fairfax. "She's part of the drama program with Mike and Carlos although I don't really know much beyond that. You would probably to ask them yourself." He gets a more thoughtful look on his face. "We probably should because if they know her that might mean getting her out to the storage unit would be a lot easier," he says. "But what's the appeal for you? Does she connect to one of the cheerleaders is she?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think so," you answer. You can feel a pit growing in your stomach. Is he going to reject this? "She's not listed like that on your diagrams and I can't imagine any of the cheerleaders hanging around the artsy people."<br/>
<br/>
"So then --"<br/>
<br/>
But you cut him off. "But -- and Keith can back me up here and probably Mike and Carlos too -- she's kind of got this whole free spirit, go where the winds take you kind of attitude."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, she flirts with a lot of the boys in class," Keith grins. "Even Will got it from her a week or two back."<br/>
<br/>
"But I don't think she really means anything by it," you quickly add. "I think that's just how she is because I've never seen her with or even mention a boyfriend."<br/>
<br/>
"So outgoing, carefree," Fairfax says as he taps his chin. "That means she's not tied exclusively to the Bohemian clique and could probably move around a bit."<br/>
<br/>
"Right I was thinking the same thing," you tell him. "So she might not hang around the cheerleaders <i>now</i> but, say, if she wanted to start hanging around with Eva and Jessica..."<br/>
<br/>
"It wouldn't look too out of place," he completes your thought. "That would make staying in contact with one another easier and it would mean being able to slip around and gather info in ways someone like, say, Maria might not be able to."<br/>
<br/>
"You make it sound like it's some kind of spy movie," Keith says.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax actually chuckles a bit at that. "I suppose I do," he says, "but in a sense it is right?"<br/>
<br/>
You can't really argue with that.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright so... Mia DeWitt. If that's who you want then I suggest you text both Carlos and Mike to make sure they're on the same page," Fairfax explains. "How to get her out should be obvious from there and we could probably get her before Eva or Jessica. Speaking of, did you figure out anything there?"<br/>
<br/>
"Crap," you exclaim as you smack your forehead with the palm of your hand. "I was so absorbed in narrowing down the list that it slipped my mind. What about you Keith?"<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't even give it any thought," he says bluntly. "They don't like me so I don't think it'd work."<br/>
<br/>
You can tell that's irritated Fairfax a bit so you try to placate him. "Well Jessica has this lunch period too and if I can't find her then Jenny has fifth lunch too so I can ask her to talk to Jessica for me and see if she can send her my way or at least convince her to come out to the storage unit."<br/>
<br/>
You're not quite sure how well it works but Fairfax simply nods an approval. You promise him that you'll try and find Jenny and get that worked out and with a quick goodbye to both him and Keith you practically sprint out of the lab and towards the cafeteria.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You don't really have far to run though because no sooner do you round the corner that leads to the hall between the outside walkway and the library do you see Jenny coming from the other direction. "Hey," you call out happily, "just who I was looking... for..."<br/>
<br/>
That jovial expression is replaced by a more concerned one as Jenny is headed your way (which is good) with a pretty sour expression on her face (which is not so good). "That's nice and all but you're not who <i>I'm</i> looking for," she says as she walks up. "Though maybe you'll do."<br/>
<br/>
"You pissed about something?"<br/>
<br/>
"Carson and James dipped out on lunch," she says with frustration in her voice. "They've been flaking out a lot on me, James especially, and I've about had it."<br/>
<br/>
You note that it's James that's really sticking in her craw due to the fact that she likes him. So you try to reassure her. "They've probably got good reasons," you say. "They've been going around talking about chemicals and stuff right? So maybe it's related to school?"<br/>
<br/>
Jenny laughs in your face at that. "Like hell they are, not if I know them," she says. "No, if I know them they're up to some dumb shit prank or something childish and when I find them I'm kicking their asses for it." She sighs and seems to have calmed down thankfully. "Anyway, you said you were looking for me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to know if Jessica was with you at lunch today. I need to talk to her."<br/>
<br/>
"Obviously not if I'm marching around the halls looking for those two idiots," she replies. "There's nothing today so she doesn't have any reason to come over. What'd you need to talk to her about though?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. Mike Hollister and Carlos Montoya have their video thing right," you say to her.<br/>
<br/>
"I've heard <i>of</i> it from the Two Man Idiot Squad," she replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, they're working on one today, Bring It On or something like that I think," you tell her. This is all going to be one big lie of course but if you're lucky it's a lie that'll work. "So because of that they want a cheerleader to show up. Not to say anything but like a silent walk on cameo or something."<br/>
<br/>
"You want me to talk to Jessica about doing it," she asks. "I mean if you need a cheerleader I'd have better luck with Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"They were kind of insistent on it being either Eva or Jessica," you quickly counter. "Something about how they're filming from the neck down to conceal the identity and that Eva and Jessica have that classic cheerleader look. I guess they figured they'd have a better shot going to them than they would going to Cindy or Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea would probably drive her car into the river before she agreed to do that. Hey, maybe we <i>should</i> ask her then," Jenny jokes. At least you think she's joking. "I've only got study hall third period with Eva but I've get Jessica in eighth so I can talk to her there for you. I can probably convince her."<br/>
<br/>
"That's great," you exclaim. "You're a life saver Jenny, thank you!"<br/>
<br/>
"And <i>you</i> can pay me back by telling me if you've seen the dipshits," she responds.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head at that. "I'm as in the dark as you are, sorry," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
She grunts at that and bids goodbye. As she's saying it though you're struck by a thought. Jenny seems pretty upset with James ignoring her for... whatever it is he's doing and you wonder why? What could be more important than spending time with a cute girl that likes him?<br/>
<br/>
Because yes, Jenny Ashton is cute. Even with the rough way she talks or the fact she'd probably sooner do some hiking in the forest than go shopping. In fact, it's that tomboyish nature that may be one of her biggest selling points. You find yourself comfortable around her and she very much puts you at ease. After dealing with the vague indirectness of Lisa, Jenny's direct nature is refreshing. Others must find it refreshing too because despite being a "dork" Jenny gets along well with lots of people, as Fairfax's charts attest to.<br/>
<br/>
And again, it doesn't hurt that she's cute. You've always thought so and have, more than once, thought about asking her out but her having eyes for James has always killed that. You like the way her hair, straight and brown and short, curls behind and under her ears. You like her bright smile and the way her eyes light up when she hits back with the banter.<br/>
<br/>
There's the farmer's tan she has due to time spent outside. Her chest isn't the biggest but you like the way her shirts always give off just a hint of what lies under them. As she walks away you like the way her jeans hug her cute little ass.<br/>
<br/>
You think about how you want that. How you have to fight down the urge to call out and tell her that James is no good and that you'll treat her right. She'll laugh, call you a stupid jackass and then smash her soft lips against your own.<br/>
<br/>
So maybe it's the fact your brain is going into overdrive that makes you want to call an audible, call out to her and ask if she wants to come out to the storage unit too. Because if you can't have Jenny Ashton as a girlfriend, maybe you can have her as your new home.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121122
author_id: rugal
title: The Tomboy
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Hey, Jenny, wait up," you call out to her. This causes her to stop and turn around, an inquisitive look on her face. "Uh, well, I didn't tell you <i>where</i> it is. You know where the big storage complex is? It's called Top Self or Top Shelf or whatever... with the fucked up H."<br/>
<br/>
"I know it," she answers.<br/>
<br/>
"Right, well, that's where Carlos has his studio so make sure Jessica knows. Mike and Carlos are going to be starting at four so tell her to come out around then," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh," she replies. "Yeah, I'll tell her. That all?"<br/>
<br/>
You're ready to dismiss her but those thoughts are still lingering in your head. You told Fairfax you were going to get Mia but at the moment you're thinking forget her. Jenny can, sort of, fulfill the same role and has the benefit of already being friendly with some of the cheerleaders. So why not invite her out too? If she doesn't want to then it's no big deal and you stick with getting Mia out there instead. If she accepts then you tell Fairfax that there's a change of plans. He'd be fine with it, right?<br/>
<br/>
So you decide to throw the question out there. "Well, you know, do you have anything going on after school," you ask her.<br/>
<br/>
"Why do you want to know," she asks as her eyes narrow suspiciously, like a detective closely examining a clue.<br/>
<br/>
"I was just thinking that if you've got nothing going on do you want to come out too," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh god, do you want me in that video too," she says as her face goes from suspicion to apprehension. "I will <i>not</i> be good on camera."<br/>
<br/>
"No, not that," you deny. "It's just, I don't know, it's something to do? If Jessica's coming out why not come over and hang out too? See how it's done and all of that?"<br/>
<br/>
It's not really an enticing offer you'll admit and as you see the gears turning in Jenny's head you brace for the inevitable sting of her turning you down. "Well, I mean, I don't really have anything going on I guess," she says. "Dad's out of town until Saturday, James and Carson... ugh! And I don't think Yumi's able to get out of family night."<br/>
<br/>
Nothing about the way she says any of that fills you with any hope so it's to your surprise when she finally does finish her thought. "So sure, if you want to hang out why not," she answers. "I think Eva's got the car today so Jessica will need a ride anyway. Besides," she says and she gets a little bit of a wicked look on her face, "if James and Carson can do their own shit without telling me about it I'll consider it a little bit of payback. We can tell them about how much fun we had and maybe we'll do it again and not invite them."<br/>
<br/>
"Y-you, huh," you say in disbelief. "You mean it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sure," Jenny says and laughs a little at that. "It'll piss them off so it can be our thing until they pull their heads out of their asses."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, uh, sure! Alright then, yeah, so four o'clock at the storage complex," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh," she says slyly. "I'll see you there."<br/>
<br/>
You're feeling overjoyed by that and you're not entirely sure why. Well, you said to Fairfax you wanted to be comfortable right? And Jenny's a friend, someone you know pretty well, so she'll definitely be a comfortable place for you. Oh but will he accept that? Well he'll have to and he would probably, if you were picking from outside the cheerleader circle, prefer her over Mia. You don't really have the time to now but you'll run it by him after you get out of Kowalski's.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
<i>found jenny, she agreed to talk to jessica,</i> you text Fairfax almost as soon as you're out the door.<br/>
<br/>
<i>so jessica's coming out today,</i> he asks.<br/>
<br/>
<i>yeah jenny seemed confident,</i> you reply. <i>gave her BS about mike &amp; carlos needing a cheerleader for a shoot.</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>great! tell them that &amp; tell them to talk to mia in 8th</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>slight change of plans maybe,</i> you tell him. <i>jenny's giving jessica a ride. wants to hang out too.</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>okay,</i> he questions, <i>nbd if she doesnt see anything</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>if she's there tho y not grab her instead</i><br/>
<br/>
It's a precious moment before Fairfax finally texts back. <i>you mean grab her for you?</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>exactly. she's right there and is friends with the cheerleaders</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>its a good idea,</i> he replies. <i>u want to use her instead thats fine.</i><br/>
<br/>
You breathe a sigh of relief at that. <i>cool thx man,</i> you text before adding. <i>so see u out there @ 4?</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>was going to stay home. if u need help mike &amp; carlos know what theyre doing.</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>no offense to them but i'd feel more comfortable if u were there.</i><br/>
<br/>
Another moment of silence before you receive another text. <i>understandable,</i> he says. <i>if u want i can come out then.</i><br/>
<br/>
So ends your conversation wtih Fairfax and you're quick, afterwards, to shoot off texts to both Mike and Carlos (so as to ensure that they're on the same place) that Jenny's going to bring Jessica out to the unit after school where you'll grab the both of them there with you getting Jenny. Both of them send you goofy excited texts back in return.<br/>
<br/>
It's now just a matter of seeing if Jenny is good on her word so you wait anxiously through the latter half of the day. In eighth period you can't help but look at Stephanie as she sits there with a look of boredom on her face as she's probably itching to get her phone back out and check to see if there's anything she's missed in the last five minutes. You'd thought about having her as a choice but it was an idea dismissed almost as quickly as Lisa. You'd like to know what goes on in her head but how would you even get her to agree to come out in the first place?<br/>
<br/>
Well whatever because your dilemma is resolved once class lets out and Jenny texts you: it took some cajoling but she indeed was able to get Jessica to come out. But she'll need to grab her cheerleading uniform first so it'll probably be closer to four-thirty before they arrive. You tell her that's fine and then send a group text to Mike, Carlos and Fairfax to update them on the time.<br/>
<br/>
It's hard to contain the nervous excitement you feel. If all goes well then in the next ninety minutes you'll be Jenny Ashton.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Jessica had made a disdainful face when she arrived wondering why the filming was here, of all places. You had explained that Carlos' uncle owns the complex which means that Carlos has himself a nice, clean, climate controlled unit to shoot his videos on. With a little reassurance from Jenny, Jessica accepted this though not happily (hopefully Mike and Carlos will make the twins a little more pleasant).<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax meets you before you can get to the unit and tells you that he'll bring her in. He gives Jenny the excuse that they have to go over things with her first, just some boring stuff really, and then do a few test takes. He says that he'll come and get you once they're ready to shoot for real.<br/>
<br/>
That's how you end up back outside in the bed of your truck, you leaned against the cab and Jenny sitting cross-legged across from you. There's a bit of light conversation for a few minutes as you update each other on the goings on in classes and whatnot. But there's a sudden turn in the atmosphere.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, Will," she says and her tone is a lot more serious and somber. "Thanks for offering to hang out with me today. I mean it."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not a problem," you tell her. "I don't think we've ever hung out, just the two of us, and when you mentioned James and Carson --"<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh, god, fuck those two," she says in frustration. "Especially James! He never... god! And now he's ignoring me because Carson has him roped into whatever bullshit he has going on that's eating all of his time. I'm going to strangle both of them, especially Carson, but especially James."<br/>
<br/>
"You alright," you ask and you notice that her face has twisted up into a look of frustrated pain.<br/>
<br/>
She lets out a small laugh, the kind that happens when you're at your wit's end, and just shakes her head. "It's nothing but..." She trails off and looks down, then looks back up. "I don't know why I'm going to say any of this because I don't like to talk about it but I guess I'm just that fucking upset," she states. "You know I live with my dad, right?"<br/>
<br/>
You give an affirmative response. She's mentioned a few times that her parents are divorced.<br/>
<br/>
"Well we've always been really close but it's just that over the last year, with work, he's had to take a lot of business trips," she explains. "That was fine because it was, like, two days here or there. But they've been getting longer and I've been spending a lot more time alone at the house. I mean it's cool that he trusts me enough but still..." She hits a fist on the bed. "So he's gone and James... I don't know if he's just oblivious or what but he's been doing more shit with Carson lately and it's just making me feel... ugh! You can guess right?"<br/>
<br/>
So that's it? You've noticed she's been getting steadily more irritable the last few weeks but you never really would've guessed it was because she was feeling lonely and ignored. Is that what you'll be stepping into when you step in for her?<br/>
<br/>
But something else hits you as well. You actually feel resentment towards James. He's not an asshole so you don't think he'd be doing it on purpose but even still his actions are obviously having a negative impact on Jenny at a point where she's already feeling bad. You want to tell him off and tell him to shape up and stop ignoring her... or do you?<br/>
<br/>
Those thoughts from your talk with her earlier come back to you. She'd said earlier, jokingly, that this could be your secret thing and maybe it could be. It can be a great big secret thing that you and Jenny share, that will bring you closer together and from there... but would the others even go for it? If you asked them to let Jenny join, would they do it? Would she?</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211221
author_id: rugal
title: The New Tomboy
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Would any of them go for that? No, you realize, probably not. Well Mike and Carlos might but Fairfax? He comes off as the kind of guy who has things planned out down to when he takes a piss and for how long. You can't imagine him doing well with having a monkey wrench this big thrown in at the last second and your constant waffling.<br/>
<br/>
But as Jenny sits there, obviously having worked herself into a bout of self-pity, you keep thinking maybe you should ask. What actual harm is there in doing it? It's a bit like when you debated asking her to come out. If you ask and they say yes then that's great but if she says no? Well it's you and Fairfax and Mike and Carlos (one of them being a Beta) and Jessica Garner against her and between you five it shouldn't be too hard to get a mask onto her anyway.<br/>
<br/>
But that could just cause too much drama and start this whole thing off on the wrong foot so you decide that it's best to just drop that thought. Soon enough Fairfax will call you in and then you'll be in your new home. So why do you feel a little bad about it?<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sorry," you say to Jenny and though it comes out as an empathetic response to her problems it's more of an apology for what you're going to do.<br/>
<br/>
"You don't have anything to be sorry for," she says. "God at this point I'd take the company of a tree stump."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm better than a tree stump I'd think," you reply.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I guess so," she states and there's a slightly more positive expression on her face. "Maybe we should hang out more often though. You've got a nice little group here so that's cool."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," you say with a nervous laugh. "That'd be nice. I never have much going on so, uh, yeah. I'm sure we'll be hanging out a lot more."<br/>
<br/>
It's not too much longer before you get a text. You check your cell and it's from Fairfax. <i>all done. carlos got jessica btw,</i> it says. <i>bring jenny and we can get things started for you.</i><br/>
<br/>
You take a deep breath. Now or never, right? If you want to back out and bring in Jenny you can just send a text. But it's hopeless you realize. Everything's finalized. So with a grunt you push yourself up, scramble past Jenny and hop off the bed. "That was Fairfax," you tell her. "Looks like they have everything set up so we can head in now if you want."<br/>
<br/>
"Sure," Jenny says as she herself hops down from the bed.<br/>
<br/>
You close the tailgate behind her and head in. Fairfax is there and greets both of you. "I think you're going to like it," he says to her as he leads her to the unit, though there's a small aside to you when he says it. You trudge along behind them and jolt forward a bit as Jenny walks in, stops and then Fairfax makes sure to quickly grab her as she begins to fall.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Oh man," Mike beams as the three of you -- that is Mike, Jessica and yourself as Beta-Carlos was sent home and Fairfax is putting the finishing touches on your mask -- look at the unconscious Jenny Ashton. "You're real lucky," he says. "She's low-key one fine looking girl."<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks," you reply with a bit of confusion. "I wasn't really grabbing her for her looks specifically though."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah but it's a bonus," Jessica says in a very un-Jessica manner. "Dude trust me it's gonna be great!"<br/>
<br/>
"You've only been Jessica for like ten minutes," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"And if I'm liking it this much now what does that tell you," she grins. "So let's hurry up and undress her!"<br/>
<br/>
"You're so obvious," Mike sarcastically declares.<br/>
<br/>
"You too," she shoots back. "Are you practically going to cum yourself at her feet too?"<br/>
<br/>
"Hey screw you, it's not like that," Mike says defensively.<br/>
<br/>
"But he, or she I guess, is right," comes Fairfax's voice as he hands you your mask, the inside of which is now a dull gray color. "We have to get her out of her clothes soon because when the mask comes you're going to want to make sure your mask is on her and I don't think you'd want to risk getting her clothes messed up due to any size differentials."<br/>
<br/>
Yeah, you're right," you tell him. "So yeah, just wait until the mask comes out and then put this on her afterwards and that's it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well you do still have to seal the mask but we've already told you how to do that," he states. "Actually, you'll need this too," he adds as he grabs one of those thin bands that, when first describing everything yesterday, he said copied someone's mind. "You remember how to get that onto the mask too, right?"<br/>
<br/>
You give an affirmative and he seems pleased with that.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright, I think I can handle it," you tell them. "So could you guys wait outside or something for a few minutes? You, uh, probably don't want to see my birthday suit."<br/>
<br/>
"Not like we haven't," Mike says but Jessica nudges him.<br/>
<br/>
"If he wants privacy then let the man have his privacy," she tells him. The three of them head outside leaving only you and the unconscious Jenny in the unit.<br/>
<br/>
Her face is frozen in a state that looks to be somewhere between surprise and unconscious. Her eyes are half open as is her mouth. The rising and falling of her chest indicates that she's breathing but she's otherwise as still as a statue. With nervous hesitation you go about undressing her. First come her sneakers and then the jeans. You catch your breath as you catch sight of her panties, blue and white striped. More than that are legs that look stronger than you'd expect.<br/>
<br/>
You avoid the temptation to rub them though as you remove her shirt leaving her only in her underwear. With even more nervousness -- you're practically shaking -- that comes off as well. Jenny Ashton lies naked before you and she's a site to behold. It's not just her legs but every part of her body looks stronger than you would have thought. You realize though that it probably makes sense. Jenny's a pretty active person so why wouldn't she be in good shape?<br/>
<br/>
It really does hit you as you look at her that in a few minutes that will all belong to you. Those legs, that face, the perky but small breasts... all of it.<br/>
<br/>
In anticipation you guess that it'd be a good idea to get yourself ready so you're quick to slip off your own clothes that you toss in a pile. Even though she can't see you, you think, you're still feeling very self-conscious as you wait until finally, mercifully, the mask comes out. What was it next? The band, that's right. So you place that on her forehead and while waiting get to work on sealing the mask the way you remember being told. It shines a nice blue once you're done.<br/>
<br/>
It's not too long before the band appears and, again like you were told, you combine the two together. You grab your own mask that Fairfax had been working on and place it onto Jenny. You don't watch as her features change. It's not something you actually want to see. Instead you lay on your pack and look at the mask. Inside of it floats a name: <i>JENNIFER ANNETTE ASHTON</i>.<br/>
<br/>
With a deep breath, you grit your teeth. The world goes dark as you place the mask to your face.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"I still can't believe this," you say in amazement. Your Beta has been sent home in your place and you've been Jenny for a good fifteen minutes now. It still feels utterly surreal and you're having trouble wrapping your head around it.<br/>
<br/>
"I told you right," Jessica says with a large smile. "It's the coolest right?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's definitely something." You sigh as you take a seat in one of the chairs. "Everything feels weird though. Like all of this, the unit itself, it seems bigger."<br/>
<br/>
"Well duh," Mike chimes in, "you're smaller now."<br/>
<br/>
"But I mean even ignoring that just moving without, you know, certain parts," you tell them. "Or having certain things added I guess."<br/>
<br/>
"What are you complaining about? Jenny's tits are small," Jessica tells you.<br/>
<br/>
Well of course she'd say that, Jessica's are a perfectly nice size. You feel something stirring in you as you think of it, envy? At Jessica Garner? Because of her boob size? But why would you... well okay that's not you, that's Jenny right? You have everything you need to be her so that would include the way she'd feel about her own chest in relation to her friend's.<br/>
<br/>
"Well we need to make sure everything's good," Fairfax states before giving you a serious look. "Make sure the mental parts of the mask are functioning correctly. So to get those memories you're going to have to concentrate. It'll get easier over time but it takes a bit of effort when you first have it on. You should still be able to do it though, okay?"<br/>
<br/>
"Huh? Oh, yeah, okay," you reply distractedly.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax seems to let that pass though. He pulls out his phone and messes around with it. "Alright so this is all basic stuff from her Facebook so we can verify that it's right. First up: what's her birthday?"<br/>
<br/>
"Um, July twentieth," you say.<br/>
<br/>
God these are really basic aren't they?<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, where does she live?"<br/>
<br/>
"Twelve eighteen Maynard Road," you say. "It's a little road north of Harrison and part way between Jackson and King."<br/>
<br/>
"So something harder," Fairfax continues. "What'd she do Sunday?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sunday," you say. "Well there was lunch with Yumi, then the two of them met up with Cindy and Ellie to do a little bit of shopping at the mall even though Jenny gets bored of shopping."<br/>
<br/>
"It checks out going by what she posted here," Fairfax says and there's a bit of astonishment in his voice. "I'm kind of surprised you picked up on it so fast but that's good. Maybe this stuff varies from person to person." He closes his phone and gives you a serious look. "We're going to try and get Eva out here next and see what we can do after that. If you're feeling confident you can go home if you want but it'd probably be better to stick around for a bit and give yourself time to acclimate further."</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112112212
author_id: bloby6
title: Home Life and Dark Secrets
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Dad, I'm home!" you say walking into the front door of Jenny's apartment, even knowing her Fathers most likely wouldn't be there, but there was an off chance he came home early from his business trip.<br/>
<br/>
No one replies, so you trudge into the apartment and close and lock the apartment door behind you. You pull off your backpack and set it near the front door. It was late and well past Jenny's usual dinner time so walking over to the fridge you open it and see nothing much to make yourself for dinner tonight, so you just open the freezer and take out a microwave dinner. You pop it into the microwave and start it up. As the food heats up you decide to explore your new home, a 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom apartment. <br/>
<br/>
You begin by taking a look at your new room and you're actually surprised by how girly it really is once you open the door, actually you weren't surprised at all by it since you knew what it looked like the moment you placed the mask on your face, but seeing it for the first time it was a lot different than how you imagined it as Will.<br/>
<br/>
 "So much for being a Tomboy" you think. Light pinks and whites dotted a room covered with stuffed animals, dolls, and to your surprise anime posters, Jenny was quite big into that too, even if that was something you never really cared about. You open a drawer and examine your new wardrobe and the clothes you'll be wearing for the remainder of the swap. You then walk over to the nightstand by the bed and pick up Jenny's journal at the bottom of a stack of books and flip through the pages until you get to the blank page with todays date. <br/>
<br/>
You hear the timer for your food go off and rush into the kitchen and start to wolf done the frozen pasta. You then begin your dairy date in your journal. A ritual Jenny makes every single day since middle school. She's filled up at least 8 notebooks so far, and has always been adamant about filling them out every day. <br/>
<br/>
<i> Dear Diary,</i> you began with a small black pen and your new penmanship.<br/>
<br/>
<i> Finally decided to hang out with another new friend today, instead of the usual Ass clowns. Decided to spend some time with a boy named Will Prescott. He's a good guy kinda weird but still a nice guy overall. He invited me to hangout with him at some storage complex. It was definitely interesting, had some "life changing" experiences in there today. NO not like that! Will is a nice guy and all but all I'll ever be to him is a platonic friend, besides he was already trying to hook up with my friend Lisa, who had no interest him what so.... </i> <br/>
<br/>
Suddenly you snap out of it. Damn you are almost prying to much into Jenny's life now you guilty think. You close the journal and throw the empty pasta tray away.... But then another thought hits you, well you are Jenny now, you remind yourself and all these thoughts you are thinking are hers and all the memories are hers. All the knowledge is there, and you just need to think of something about her and your mind writes an instant story about it. You can know everything about her from her workout routine, to the time of month she gets her period, to what she does after school everyday.......Yeah about that, the reason you wanted to bail so quickly on Fairfax and the other's today. You wanted a good private testing of Jenny's body, a testing as in her daily masturbation sessions after school. <br/>
<br/>
Yes, Jenny not only writes in a dairy everyday but she almost aways gives herself a little stress relief too. Especially on the days when her father is out. While she's definitely not much of a "horndog" as you would think, it also has to do with her feeling lonely on the long weeks her father is out of town. And speaking of her father...suddenly you feel your checks get red at the thought and embarrassment. (The same embarrassment Jenny would feel if her deepest darkest secret ever got found out, something she hasn't told a soul: not to Yumi, or Cindy, or Lisa. Something she dares not write even in her journal's either).<br/>
<br/>
 The fact that she often fantasizes about her father in a sexual way, when she does touch herself. <br/>
<br/>
Yes, Matthew Ashton is a 37 year old "DILF" (her friends used to tease her about after meeting him) whom Jenny thinks about in many of her fantasies. Its strictly that too, just a fantasy, but she often thinks about his rugged face, his think lumberjack arms, and his tall stature. She can't quite pin the date of when these thoughts arose in her but somewhere in Junior year she remembered the time her father said she looks like a younger version of her mother. That night she decided to touch herself to the thought of being a new Mrs.Ashton and correcting the horrible line of events which led to her parents separation. <br/>
<br/>
Feeling hot and sweaty from recalling that memory you decide to go into her room and change out of her clothes. As you strip off her shirt and jeans you begin to feel flustered again. A little combination of guilt from prying into her mind, to the excitement of everything that is happening in the back of your mind. You are still feeling embarrassed but also a bit relieved too. As these guilty thoughts have been eating away at Jenny these last few months and she would be almost relieved to finally tell someone about these dark thoughts she holds.<br/>
<br/>
But as you strip down nude and throw on some boy-shorts and a tank top you decide to just accept the thoughts and let them consumer you, after all, you have all of Jenny's memories and personality and even though she finds her father attractive, you now do as well. You take a moment to breath and walk over to her father's room.<br/>
<br/>
Her Dad's room is the smaller of the two as he wanted Jenny to have the bathroom connected to her bedroom, you open the door and look around even knowing what you expect. Grey sheets on a bed and very clean items spot the twin dressers. The carpet still has its vacuumed look, something Jenny did a few days ago. As you walk over and lay on the bed, something Jenny has done countless times, you feel your checks get flustered again and stuff your face into his pillows. You take in a deep breath of the pillow's scent and slowly inch your fingers down toward your lower parts.<br/>
<br/>
"Daddy I miss you." you say as you slip your fingers into yourself. </span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211222
author_id: rugal
title: Jenny Joins Up
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Would any of them go for that? No, you realize, probably not. Well Mike and Carlos might but Fairfax? He comes off as the kind of guy who has things planned out down to when he takes a piss and for how long. You can't imagine him doing well with having a monkey wrench this big thrown in at the last second and your constant waffling.<br/>
<br/>
But as Jenny sits there, obviously having worked herself into a bout of self-pity, you keep thinking maybe you should ask. What actual harm is there in doing it? It's a bit like when you debated asking her to come out. If you ask and they say yes then that's great but if she says no? Well it's you and Fairfax and Mike and Carlos (one of them being a Beta) and Jessica Garner against her and between you five it shouldn't be too hard to get a mask onto her anyway.<br/>
<br/>
Oh jeez, five of you teaming up on one girl to put a mask on her so that one of you can steal her life leaving her trapped in a kind of suspended animation under a shell that makes her a robotic duplicate of yourself. When put like that it feels very wrong and you're not sure you want to put Jenny through that. So you decide to just continue the conversation, feel things out and ask Fairfax once he contacts you.<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't know it was that bad," you tell her sympathetically. "I mean you never really show it so I thought --"<br/>
<br/>
"Well yeah, I'm not going to come to school bawling," she says. "But it still sucks you know?"<br/>
<br/>
I can understand that I guess," you says. "But it's good to get that off of your chest too and just be direct about it. That's a hell of a lot better than Lisa."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh god," she groans and you think you're about to get the business from her too. "Yeah I'm sorry about that," she says to your surprise, "I kind of don't feel like I can say anything around Eva and Jessica because they're tight with her but it's really bullshit the way she's treating you."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think she's doing it to be mean or anything."<br/>
<br/>
"Nuh uh, screw that," she says and she now sounds fired up. "Whether or not she means it isn't the issue. Don't dance around the issue like that and go 'oh well yeah we were totally making out and stuff but he wasn't my boyfriend'. That's just so... I can't stand people like that!"<br/>
<br/>
"James does kind of the same thing I guess," you say before realizing that's probably a mistake.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah he does," she says before quickly adding, "not that I care about <i>that</i> though since it's not like that, don't get the wrong impression. He's just one of my oldest friends."<br/>
<br/>
"Well you've got other friends too, right? I mean Yumi --"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh god, Yumi," she wails. "I haven't been seeing her as much out of school since the year started. I guess Chelsea's really putting the screws to them now, like she wants to double up on making everyone miserable while she still has the chance." With that she falls backward and lays flat on the bed. "We're a pair aren't we?"<br/>
<br/>
The conversation hangs for a minute or two at that and, without really thinking, you start talking to bring it back. "Have you ever thought about like, I don't know, if you could have a new life," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"All the time," she states.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, okay, so what if you could be somebody else. Would you do that," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"I guess," she replies. "I mean that could be interesting."<br/>
<br/>
"Okay so who would it be?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well Kelsey's the obvious answer because she's filthy rich," she says in an amused tone. However that's dropped in favor of a more serious one. "But I guess if I could choose... then I'd probably choose Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"You'd choose her? Really," you ask in surprise.<br/>
<br/>
"Sure," she states. "I mean we're as close as sisters so I think I could pass myself off without, you know, arousing suspicion. Plus her family's pretty tight with each other and she's a lot prettier than me and, well, lots of people."<br/>
<br/>
"That's not true. There's nothing wrong with how you look," you blurt out and instantly you want to fall into a hole.<br/>
<br/>
"No, she is. She's nice and feminine and all the guys love her whereas with me..." she trails off. "Maybe I trade in the jeans and sneakers for skirts and pumps."<br/>
<br/>
"There's nothing wrong with that either," you say and you're suddenly feeling like a prisoner in your own body. You're trying to tell your mouth to shut up but it's having none of it. "Some guys like that."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh yeah," she states as she sits back up, a puckish look plastered on her face, "which guys?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I mean, I wasn't talking about anyone --"<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh, so which guys," she asks again. "Guys like you?"<br/>
<br/>
"I wasn't talking about --"<br/>
<br/>
She bursts out laughing at that. "I'm just messing with you, Will, calm down," she says. "Yeah I know there are guys who like the tomboy thing. They just don't go to Westside <i>apparently</i>."<br/>
<br/>
It's at that moment that you're thankful when your phone buzzes and you see that it's Fairfax telling you that everything's set. You can just bring her back but you decide to broach the subject with the others about bringing her in as well. "Hey, that's Fairfax," you tell her as you hop out of the bed. "They're almost ready but they just kinda want to talk to me first. So give me a couple of minutes and I'll be right back."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Oh man, you're serious," Mike asks with excitement.<br/>
<br/>
"I think he's serious," Jessica -- really Carlos under there -- says.<br/>
<br/>
"So now, at the very last second, you're trying to turn things around and you want Jenny to join our group," Fairfax asks. He's sitting in a chair, glasses off and holding the bridge of his nose. "I don't think I ever said anything about just bringing people in. You didn't just tell her about all of this and then decide to ask us did you?"<br/>
<br/>
"No way," you say defensively. "And you guys brought me in because... well, because. Look I'm not asking to bring in half the school here, I just think it'd be good both for her and us."<br/>
<br/>
"How do you even know she would do it," he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"We were just hanging out while you guys were getting that done," you say as you point to Jessica. "I didn't say anything about the masks but I kind of asked her if she'd ever want to trade lives with somebody --"<br/>
<br/>
"Okay but I don't see how --"<br/>
<br/>
"Look, just trust me, give her the right person and she'll do it I'm sure. I know who as well," you interrupt him. "Yumi. Bring her in, explain everything and tell her she can switch with Yumi and I'm sure she'll do it."<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi <i>was</i> someone you were hoping that Will would take," Jessica says. "Plus having another hand or two here can't hurt."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah and, like, if she doesn't want to do it," Mike says and then mimes shoving something, a mask presumably. "I mean I don't think she could slip away from all of us."<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax sighs but places his glasses back on. "It looks like I'm out-voted here and I'm sure Josiah and Keith would want to do it too," he says. "Fine. Bring her in but if she starts to back out then we're doing the replacement."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"This is the weirdest fucking thing ever," Jenny says in wide-eyed shock. "If I wasn't seeing it I'd think I was going nuts. Maybe I actually am."<br/>
<br/>
You're sitting in the same chair Fairfax had been in, wearing your own clothes but the body of Jenny. You'd brought her in and explained everything to her... well Fairfax did, he's good at laying everything out clearly. She didn't seem to believe it -- she thought Jessica was just playing along for some reason -- but didn't immediately bolt for the door either. Even when he'd mentioned the long-term play and replacing other people for at least the semester she didn't flinch. She did want proof though and with her permission a mask was used to copy her (and seeing that process freaked you out) and, since you'd brought her in, was given to you to put on.<br/>
<br/>
"So you've got, um, everything in there," she asks cautiously as she taps her head. "Even up here?"<br/>
<br/>
"I think so," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay so tell me something only I know. Um, let's see, something embarrassing." With that she leans in close to you, because she's not going to let them hear it, and after a moment you whisper something into her ear. "Oh my god," she says in astonishment. "Okay, yeah, I believe you guys. Oh my god. This stuff is all real."<br/>
<br/>
"Right so now that you know we want you to be involved in our little sociological experiment," Fairfax tells her. "Just tell us who you want to be, it doesn't have to be immediate, but --"<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi," she says before he can even finish. "I... I want to be Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"We can do that," he states. "If possible we can start tonight actually."<br/>
<br/>
"She's got family stuff tonight," she states. "But... tomorrow I can probably..."<br/>
<br/>
"Tomorrow's fine," he tells her. "Just figure out how to get her out here and we can make the switch for you."<br/>
<br/>
After that you, with the help of Fairfax, remove Jenny's mask.. It winds up being stored in the studio for safe keeping until tomorrow where you'll figure out what to do with it: either given the treatment of the other masks so you can be someone else (probably Mia as originally intended) or you can take it and Yumi gets put under your mask.<br/>
<br/>
The others tell you that they're going to try to get Eva and ask if you want to stay but both Jenny and yourself demure. As you get to your truck you get ready to say goodbye to her but she stops you.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, you know, this is all so..." She pauses and looks like she's at a loss for words. "Look do you want to go up to Milagro and grab some coffee or something?"</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112112221
author_id: rugal
title: Coffee Talk with Jenny Ashton
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Coffee," you ask dumbfounded. "Just the two of us?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well yeah, you and me, Eva, Jessica, Chelsea..." she says as she punches you in the arm. "Yes just the two of us you doofus. That's not a problem is it?"<br/>
<br/>
"N-not at all," you say nervously. "I'm just kind of surprised. Like I said earlier though we've just never hung out without everyone else around."<br/>
<br/>
"Well maybe I want to start," she tells you and you're suddenly aware of the way her eyes are challenging you to turn her down. "Besides I'd really like to minimize the amount of time I'm sitting around in an empty house."<br/>
<br/>
She looks at you, her eyes still challenging you but there's now a bit of pleading behind them as well. You can't really turn her down if she wants to hang out a little more. You don't <i>want</i> to turn her down. So you relent, tell her that it's fine since you don't have anywhere you need to be and agree to follow her up to Milagro.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Milagro Beanfield Warehouse is one of the many little cafes that's sprung up over the last few years with the influx of more people into the college. In comparison to most of them it's probably the one most popular with a certain set of people as you see plenty of hipstery looking guys and girls, some of the artsy crowd and you think you even manage to catch sight of Kelsey though only briefly.<br/>
<br/>
It's definitely not your usual hang out as it's the first time you've been here. You wouldn't expect it to be Jenny's either but apparently when she does get to spend time with Yumi this is one of the places they like to go.<br/>
<br/>
You both get a simple coffee and a sandwich with Jenny offering to pay and then grab a seat in a back corner. "I need to get another job," she says as she sits down. "I don't really like the idea of my dad leaving me cash when he's gone."<br/>
<br/>
"I thought you had a job," you tell her. "Don't you work at that donut place with Keith?"<br/>
<br/>
"That was just a summer thing. Dad doesn't want anything distracting me from my studies," she replies. "But I'd still rather have my own money." She takes a look at her sandwich, grimaces and picks out the tomatoes before taking a bite. "So you asked Fairfax about bringing me in, right," she asks you. "How come?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's just you're a friend and I kind of thought --"<br/>
<br/>
"Look, don't bullshit me Will okay," she tells you. "I probably know why but I just kinda wanna get it straight from the horse's mouth."<br/>
<br/>
You sigh at that. "It's because we were talking," you tell her. "I didn't really know any of that so when I heard it all I just felt," you make a face, "look, I'm sorry if it sounds patronizing or something but I just felt bad. I just really wanted to help you out and kind of, I don't know, show that you didn't <i>have</i> to feel lonely. Plus I was really enjoying hanging out with you and I just thought maybe this would give us an excuse to keep hanging out."<br/>
<br/>
Jenny lets out a tiny laugh and takes a sip of her coffee. She then looks up at you and there's a look to her, the same one she'd gotten earlier after you'd embarrassed yourself at the storage unit. "That's really nice Will but I think there's something else too," she says. "Do you like me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Do I like you," you ask in confusion. You're suddenly wondering if this place is hotter than you thought. "I mean, I do since you're my friend all --"<br/>
<br/>
"No, numbnuts, I mean do you like me," she asks again and she looks very much amused at your flailing. "Holding hands and public displays of affection and the whole thing."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I mean --"<br/>
<br/>
"Will, I'm not gonna flip out on you or anything but I'm not an idiot," she says. "Do. You. Like. Me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I do I guess. A little," you admit as you hang your head in your hands.<br/>
<br/>
"Why are you acting so embarrassed," she laughs. "I'm not trying to make fun of you or anything but if you do then you do. I just wanted to here you say it."<br/>
<br/>
"I know but," you tell her. "Was I that obvious?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well when you asked me out on a date earlier you kind of were," she replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Asked you out? But I didn't --"<br/>
<br/>
"You did, you totally did," she says and takes another sip of her coffee.<br/>
<br/>
"I just asked you to hang out," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"You asked me to get Jessica out to Carlos' makeshift studio," she states. "Then you asked me out on a date."<br/>
<br/>
"Well we're not on a date," you insist.<br/>
<br/>
"We are," she says and leans forward, elbows propped on the table and resting her chin in her hands. "You're a guy, I'm a girl. You asked me all nervous-like if I wanted to hang out even though we've never done that before. We hung out and now we're here having coffee and sandwiches. Doesn't that sound like a date to you?"<br/>
<br/>
"It sounds like," you say before sheepishly admitting that it does sound like a date when put like that. "But I wasn't trying to ask you out on one, I mean it."<br/>
<br/>
"Well you did and I'm glad you did," she states. "because I've been enjoying it; you're easy to be around when you're not being a spaz. Maybe I was enjoying it so much that I was thinking of seeing if you wanted to do something tomorrow too before all of that got derailed."<br/>
<br/>
Jesus Christ you think to yourself. So you were about as transparent as glass but apparently she was okay and wanted to get together with you some more... and now you blew that because you're going to be doing Fairfax's dumb plan that you've now got Jenny involved in so she can replace...<br/>
<br/>
"So how do you feel about all of this," you say trying to quickly change the subject to something just a little less embarrassing for yourself. "I mean these masks and everything."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't really know what to think," she admits. "There's a part of me that sees this and I'm like... oh man, that's really cool. But then at the same time it's kind of scary to think that there could be someone out there walking around as your friends and classmates and you'd never suspect a thing."<br/>
<br/>
"You're really fine with that by the way," you ask. "Like using the mask to become Yumi. Fairfax told you that this would be for the semester at least. That's like three or four months where the only time you're only going to be seeing her is in a mirror."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not <i>fine</i> fine if that's what you mean," she tells you in a more serious tone. "But I was telling you the truth back there. I love Yumi but at the same time I guess I'm jealous of her. I think I always have been but it's been getting worse over the last few months. I keep thinking, like, she's got everything that I don't and what if I had it?" She lets out a deep sigh. "So I'm not exactly fine with it on the one hand but I really want to do it on the other. I guess I'm accepting of it. Besides better it's me under there than one of you guys running around and being able to do whatever you want."<br/>
<br/>
She takes a few more bites of her sandwich and you finally get started on yours.<br/>
<br/>
"What about you," she asks. "You're fine with being a girl?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well if I'm going to be you I wouldn't know," you joke and she flips you off. "No but seriously, I guess there's worse things. Like I could be the one stuffed under one of those robot masks."<br/>
<br/>
"Is that what you're going to do," she asks. "Use my mask?"<br/>
<br/>
"Probably, I don't know. I was originally going to get Mia DeWitt so maybe it'll just be her."<br/>
<br/>
"Don't think I'm going to be pissed if that's what you want," she tells you. "I mean I guess if someone was going to use my mask then I'd rather it be you compared to, I don't know, Keith. Oh man," she moans, "it's too bad Fairfax probably wouldn't like you getting a guy because maybe we could find someone who'd look good with Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Once you're finished with your coffee and sandwiches it's become evening and you both agree it's time to get home because it's been a long day. Besides, both of you have homework to worry about. Jenny laments having to be at home by herself and laments that it's probably to late to ask that they make Eva into your Beta instead of Mike's so that you can keep her company.<br/>
<br/>
But to your surprise she does thank you for today and gives you a quick peck on the cheek before she goes to her car.<br/>
<br/>
You're on cloud nine for pretty much the rest of the night. You do your homework as best as you can but occasionally a little fluttering feeling comes up and you feel as if you can't concentrate. You then think back to what she said at Milagro. You've thrown enough wrenches into Fairfax's plan that he might get really pissed if you try to change anything else but at the same you keep wondering if maybe you should try and find a guy that'd fill a role Fairfax would want and -- more importantly -- look good with Yumi.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121122211
author_id: rugal
title: Back Where You Started
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You're tempted to go with a guy; very tempted. After all what Jenny had said to you basically meant it would be a pretext, now that both of you are mixed up in this mask business, to continue dating right? Or maybe she was just teasing you again. But you want to try it all the same. Plus it wouldn't just be Jenny but it'd be Jenny under a mask of Yumi Saito. There's something very appealing about the idea of the pretty and feminine Yumi with Jenny's brash tomboy personality.<br/>
<br/>
You presume, however, that it wouldn't be a good idea. You've pushed Fairfax pretty far already what with coming up with your own scheme with Keith to grab someone outside the cheerleader circle, not even going after the person you decided on and then getting cold feet about the second person and cajoling him into allowing her to join the group. How much farther, realistically, could you push him before he kicks you out or worse?<br/>
<br/>
So it's with a bit of reluctance that you decide to hang up those dreams -- for now at least -- and go back to the original idea. Come this time tomorrow you're going to be a girl.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You manage to worm your way into a parking space between two smaller cars as you arrive at school. You take a deep breath, lock up the truck and head into the school and head towards the gym. The same gym where you met Fairfax yesterday and where you're meeting him today. That's not the reason for your apprehension though because, as you approach the gym, standing near him and checking out her phone is Jenny.<br/>
<br/>
It was Fairfax's idea as he'd texted you about it last night because he wanted to know first thing in the morning if you were going to go ahead with being Jenny or do something else; he'd also wanted Jenny there since it was her mask and so she should get a say. You're still worried that he's reached his limit with you but obviously via text message you can't really be sure.<br/>
<br/>
If he has reached his limit then he doesn't betray it, much as you haven't really seen him betray any emotion over the last few days aside from when you asked about bringing in Jenny. "Will," he says giving you a simple greeting.<br/>
<br/>
"What's up," you return it before giving one to Jenny as well. "You ready for all of this," you ask her.<br/>
<br/>
"About as ready as anyone could be I guess," she answers and you note there's a bit of apprehension in her voice."<br/>
<br/>
"That question goes for you as well," Fairfax says to you with his typical seriousness, "so it would probably be prudent to get right down to business."<br/>
<br/>
"Right, yeah," you say as you inhale another deep breath. "Jenny doesn't really mind if I use her mask," you tell him before turning to Jenny, "right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Huh? Oh, yeah," she says. "I told you that yesterday. I don't know why you're asking me again."<br/>
<br/>
"I just figured that Fairfax, um, Philip would probably want to hear it from you," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a good assumption," Fairfax replies. "So that's what you're doing then?"<br/>
<br/>
"Actually," you say and pause. You look over at Jenny who simply cocks an eyebrow. "I'm not. She can do a straight swap with Yumi," you say to her surprise.<br/>
<br/>
"You're not... but I figured you would," she says in shock.<br/>
<br/>
"I honestly gave it a lot of thought and didn't even decide until right before I got here," you admit. You give Jenny a serious and sympathetic look. "I kind of decided that it wouldn't feel right after, you know..."<br/>
<br/>
"What you don't want a house to yourself," she replies wryly.<br/>
<br/>
"No not that part, I mean --"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, right, that," she says. "Gotcha."<br/>
<br/>
If Fairfax picks up any on what that means then he ignores it really well. "If you don't want to use it that's fine," he tells you. "But that means you're going to have to make a choice again. You were going with Mia DeWitt originally, correct?"<br/>
<br/>
"I was but I wasn't married to the idea," you tell him, "otherwise I wouldn't have brought out Jenny."<br/>
<br/>
"Well the advantage was that she could show up and hang out with someone like Cindy or the Garners with no problem," he says before quickly adding, "We were able to get Eva yesterday as well so that's where Mike will be. But anyway, since Jenny is going to be Yumi I'm not quite as concerned with you picking someone with an overt connection to the cheerleaders. But Mia <i>is</i> part of the artsy bohemian crowd so I'd like it if you stayed there."<br/>
<br/>
"So it's Mia then," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"If you want," he replies. "If not, all I'm saying is that I would like whoever you do pick to have some connection with that group."<br/>
<br/>
"You know, if you don't want here Will there's some other people," Jenny chimes in, "uh if it's cool if I bring up some suggestions."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't really see why that'd be a problem," you shrug.<br/>
<br/>
"Well I'm the new one here so I didn't want to be," she says and then shrugs, "whatever. Okay so you want the bohemians right? Then why not go for the queen bohemian herself?"<br/>
<br/>
You simply give a blank stare. You look at Fairfax but he doesn't seem to have a clue either. "I seriously don't know who that would be," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh christ," she grumbles, "Jelena Petrovic. You know who she is right?"<br/>
<br/>
Hearing the name is like a light bulb going off in your head. You don't share any classes with her and to be honest you don't think you've ever talked to her. But you definitely know who she is. She's got a willowy look to her and likes dark clothes and long flowing skirts. You've also heard that she plays in a band that performs around town, even the Warehouse, that mythical (for you) house of what you'd assume is teenage debauchery. More importantly you've seen her plenty of times in the presence of Andrea Varnsworth and that causes your heart to skip a beat.<br/>
<br/>
"That could work," you tell her. "The problem is I don't know her and don't even share a class with her."<br/>
<br/>
"I've got a couple of classes with her and I've talked with her," Jenny tells you. "She's in one of the drama classes and is pretty chill so if I gave her something like the story you gave me yesterday I think she'd agree to come out."<br/>
<br/>
"Well you are good at convincing people," you say with sincerity. "I honestly never thought Jessica would come out there."<br/>
<br/>
"It took a <i>lot</i> of convincing," she says. "Thankfully Jelena would probably be a lot easier."<br/>
<br/>
"So those two are good for you," Fairfax asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Three, actually," Jenny jumps back in. "I actually don't have a lot of girls from that crowd in my classes but there's another one that I've got in choir first period. Paris Morrow doesn't ring any bells I take it?"<br/>
<br/>
"I can't say that it does," you admit.<br/>
<br/>
"I thought not. You'd know her dad though, Stephen Morrow," she asks.<br/>
<br/>
Much like with Jelena's name that causes another light bulb to turn on. "Yeah that's the big deal lawyer who's got advertisements all over the place right," you say. "Oh shit, she's <i>his</i> kid?"<br/>
<br/>
"One of them," she corrects you. "She's got a twin sister, Peyton, but I don't share any classes with her so I don't really know anything about her. But Paris and I are both altos so I'm able to talk to her a lot since we're grouped together. The catch is that she's a junior."<br/>
<br/>
That gives you pause. You remember at Catherine's party when Stephanie had introduced you to that girl, Bailey. You didn't have a problem with Bailey per se but you didn't like what you'd thought Stephanie was implying. Not that you think Jenny's implying that at all as much as throwing out a name.<br/>
<br/>
"But yeah she's in a lot of AP too classes and is part of the jazz band so, I dunno," she shrugs. "But I've seen her hanging around some of the artsy looking juniors and even some of the seniors like Emily Sparks and Mia so I guess she falls into that group."<br/>
<br/>
"That might not actually be that bad of a choice," Fairfax says to your surprise.<br/>
<br/>
"I mean I guess I can see why," you say, "but, you know, she's a junior."<br/>
<br/>
"Well we have the cheerleaders good and covered so maybe I can say the same thing about the seniors," he states as he rubs his chin. "She's got her fingers in a lot of pies so to speak, she's got some money and it might be interesting to get a window into the lower classmen too."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I mean, Jelena and Mia seem good too," you tell him. "Give me a bit to think about it and --"<br/>
<br/>
"You don't have 'a bit'," he tells you frankly. "Don't think I'm angry or anything, it's just that you come off as a bit indecisive. If I give you a bit then the entire thing could change five times before lunch. So I'm going to ask you to make a decision right here, right now."<br/>
<br/>
He's seriously putting you on the spot right now? But if you thought that was radical the kicker is even more so.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm going to warn you right now though, there's no changing it this time. Whatever you choose is what you're sticking with. There's no going back."</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211222113
author_id: rugal
title: Expectations vs. Reality
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Fairfax says he's not upset and his voice remains the calm and measured tone that you've only ever heard him speak. Even his criticism is logical and reasoned and you can't deny that there's at least a nugget of truth to it. After all that's why you didn't bring up the option of moving into a guy so you could... well, that's an opportunity come and gone you assume so there's no point in dwelling on it. But even still it's to your surprise that he seems to be leaning towards this Paris Morrow girl despite being a grade lower.<br/>
<br/>
"You make a good point with that junior girl," you tell him, "but I remember on Monday you were wanting everyone to be cheerleaders. Or at least it seemed like you were wanting us all to be seniors. You've changed your mind on that?"<br/>
<br/>
"Not me, as such, but circumstance," he states. "I finalized that plan when it was decided to bring you into our group but Jenny constitutes an extra member albeit one who <i>does</i> want to be a cheerleader. So essentially with her we can do the same thing we were going to do in the first place whereas you," he stops and gives it a few seconds of thought, "you're like an advanced scout or a wildcard. So while I'd like you to stay in certain parameters you have a little more flexibility of movement in a sense."<br/>
<br/>
"So that's why you're pushing for her," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a suggestion so you're not bound to it," he replies. "I would say though that the possibilities it opens up are intriguing and it might be interesting to, once this is done, check on the junior and sophomore and even freshman classes. Or maybe to look into the teachers. If we want to understand the school then we need to understand it at all levels. So if you wanted to then you could say that it's my preference."<br/>
<br/>
It's definitely a logical argument, as you'd expect, and a convincing one. But something about you can't quite shake the feeling that buried under all of that reasoning is a bit of disappointment and thus a bit of punishment. They get to be the big dog senior cheerleaders, you're stuck as a junior in a social group that's out on the fringes. At the same time if it's a punishment then it's a mild one; if Fairfax truly wanted to punish you he could easily tell you that you're going to be Wendy Silbert or someone on that level.<br/>
<br/>
So you figure that potentially walking into a bear trap isn't a good idea.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright," you say in defeat, "I can't really argue with any of that." You look at Jenny. "Tell this Paris girl to come out to the storage unit after school. I'll text... well I guess I can't do that," you say. "I was going to say I'd text Mike and Carlos but that might be pointless so I guess you or Philip can text Eva and Jessica and tell them what's up."<br/>
<br/>
"Right, I'll tell them," Jenny says. "I'll talk to Yumi at lunch and try to get her to come out. I don't think she's got anything going on today so she'll want to hang out."<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax nods. "From there, once you two are set, we'll get Cindy out and do Keith's swap," he says. "After that, if there's time then we'll try for Maria and Chelsea. If not we can make an attempt tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
Breaking for now so you can all get to your first classes before there's even the risk of being late you're left to wonder just who Paris Morrow even is. All you've got is a name, not even enough to speculate on what she might look like. Tall? Short? Fat? Skinny? You honestly wouldn't even know how to start though you suppose you'll find out soon enough.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Carlos has a mirror set up in his gym, for what reason you're not sure. Just for a bit of narcissism before or after a workout? Or maybe in anticipation of what was to come and to do what you're doing now.<br/>
<br/>
You're looking into the mirror, staring at a reflection that is equally alien and familiar. You don't look like someone in desperate need of a sandwich but you are definitely on the skinnier side of the weight spectrum. Nothing much is going on downstairs but you are surprised at the size of your chest. It's not big, certainly would you in no way be competing with someone like Chelsea Cooper, but it's certainly bigger than you would have thought given the frame it rests on.<br/>
<br/>
Your nose has just the tiniest bit of Roman tilt to it and your eyes, a light brown, give you the vaguest impression of constantly questioning everything they see. It's a cute face with a bit of a boyish quality that, far from detracting, gives it just enough character. Short hair, dyed a pale seafoam and styled into in an undercut, falls loosely and just a bit over your right eye.<br/>
<br/>
You throw on your clothes: jean shorts with an intentional ratty quality to them worn over dark tights, a large dark t-shirt with an image related some band and the sleeves (and most of the sides really) cut off that drapes loosely over your torso and a pair of black Doc Martens.<br/>
<br/>
From how Jenny had described her -- being in the choir and jazz band -- you were expecting someone mousier but Paris Morrow instead looks like she's only a couple of gauges and tattoos away from being in one of the bands that would probably be playing at the Warehouse. According to a voice, one that belongs to Paris herself, in the back of your head that's more or less the plan. The band part at least though the gauges and tattoos are definitely coming once she hits college.<br/>
<br/>
Getting her hadn't been hard. According to Jenny she was more than happy at the idea of helping out with one of these videos. Not that she knows who Mike and Carlos are but when Jenny said they had a keyboard and were looking to someone to add a little bit of music... well it's not like Paris was going to pass up the chance to put her years of learning piano to waste. Naturally the only thing she'd found was a group of guys jamming something on her face and... well, that's the last thing she remembers.<br/>
<br/>
The last you remember is taking the now treated mask of yourself and putting it onto the girl and then putting her mask on and waking up naked and confused and taking a minute to get your bearings. The memories, the personality, everything that makes this girl herself on a mental level came at you like an onslaught and you find that you don't really need to concentrate too hard to get what you need. Her mother's job, for instance? The fact that she's a successful general practitioner is there almost before you can even finish thinking of the question.<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax had said that stuff like this took a while -- hours or maybe even a night's rest -- to get but you'd had no trouble at all. Maybe he'd misjudged, maybe you're just good at getting into character.<br/>
<br/>
For most of this, pretty much a few minutes after the mask had been put on Paris, you'd been on your own doing what Fairfax would text you. Yumi, it turns out, had arrived not long after you'd gotten the mask on Paris so that had to be dealt with.<br/>
<br/>
Upon waking up you'd sent your Beta over to the other unit where the studio is, since that's where they're at now due to this one being occupied as it were, and you figure now that you've gotten acclimated you figure that it's best to go check in on how things are going over there.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Yo," you greet the assembled group -- Fairfax and Keith, Eva and Jessica and Jenny -- as you walk in. There's only curt, perfunctory greetings returned as you see Yumi laid out on the floor. "What, are we observing a funeral or something," you say dryly.<br/>
<br/>
There's no response to that, just a few looks. Then about a minute later you hear heavy breathing. It's not you and you think it might be Keith but to your surprise you notice it's coming from Jenny. She looks at her friend and her face looks like a confused mess. Her breathing is becoming faster, her face is twisting up.<br/>
<br/>
"Are we observing," she mutters herself more than anybody. "No, no that's not it. But I... I..."<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, Jenny," you ask with genuine concern in your voice. "Are you alright?"<br/>
<br/>
Everyone's turned to look at her but she seems to have completely zoned everyone else out as she continues to look at Yumi laying in a weird suspended animation. She beings, very slowly at first but increasing in speed, shaking her head. "I can't," she manages to get out in between breaths, "I can't..." Her breathing picks up and there's a hard sniff. "I'm sorry! I can't... I can't do this," she suddenly explodes.<br/>
<br/>
Before any of you can react Jenny suddenly shoves her way past all of you and bursts out of the door.</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112112221131
author_id: rugal
title: Jenny's Worries
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>For a moment nothing's said. Everyone just looks at everyone else in dumbfounded silence. It's Eva who's the first to break it by saying what everyone else is thinking.<br/>
<br/>
"Um, okay, so like what just happened," Eva asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Jenny had a nervous breakdown or something," Jessica responds as she shifts uncomfortably.<br/>
<br/>
"You think she's alright," Keith asks.<br/>
<br/>
Both yourself and Fairfax remain silent. It's been mostly the two of you dealing with bringing her into the group and acclimating her and the entire idea was yours in the first place so you feel doubly responsible. "I'll go talk to her," you tell them.<br/>
<br/>
"Do you think that's a good idea," asks Jessica. "I mean what if she sees you and --"<br/>
<br/>
"Look, I'm going to go talk to her okay," you cut her off. "Someone has to and I kind of feel like I'm the one who should take responsibility."<br/>
<br/>
"Understandable," Fairfax says quietly. "There should still be some time before the mask is finished and a little longer than that before Yumi wakes up."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I'll try and be quick but," you say as you head out the door, "but no guarantees I guess."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You don't see Jenny in the hallway just outside the units but once you exit the actual building you do see her standing by her car. As you approach her she seems to hear your footsteps because she turns around and you can tell immediately that she's trying not to go into full on bawling. "Hey," you say in as comforting a voice as you can manage, "are you okay?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh god, Will," she wails. "I just.."<br/>
<br/>
"It wasn't what I said was it," you ask her.<br/>
<br/>
She shakes her head. "No, not really," she sniffs, "that was just the last straw I guess." She takes a few heavy breaths to try and calm herself. "When I saw what you were doing at first I didn't know what to think. I was just so confused and," another breath, "and at the same time I thought that it seemed kind of cool."<br/>
<br/>
"I understand," you say as you take a seat on the trunk of her car. If she has a problem with it she says nothing. "I remember when they showed me I had the same kind of reaction. Like the whole thing was just completely unbelievable but at the same time it's like... there's actual magic and that's exciting."<br/>
<br/>
"It's also kind of scary," Jenny admits. "When I talked to Eva and Jessica today, if I didn't know then I probably would've never guessed. Nobody else really seems to have noticed anything off about them either. And you," she says giving you a hard look, "you're not acting like her one hundred percent but at the same time there's little things about Paris that you're doing, like the way you inflect and whatever, that are dead on."<br/>
<br/>
"I get it," you tell her. "Fairfax took my mask for a spin on Sunday and was goofing around with James and Carson and Bethany Lewis at the mall. Apparently nobody knew the difference and on Monday I was all confused about why everyone thought I was hanging out with them the previous days."<br/>
<br/>
"It's not just that though," she says as she joins you on the trunk. "But when I saw Yumi just laying there on the ground and then I saw you come in, all of that shit just hit me like a ton of bricks. Like the reality of it just came crashing down on top of me and I didn't really know what to think. It's like... there's my best friend and I'm about to take over her life and she's going to become a robot version of me." She sniffs a bit. "I was trying so hard to psyche myself up and then the moment came and I couldn't even do it like a fucking coward."<br/>
<br/>
"There's nothing cowardly about it," you say as, without thinking, you place an arm around her and she rests her head on your shoulder. "The entire reason you're even with us right now is because the same thing happened to me. Probably the big reason I could do this is because I don't, or didn't I guess, have any idea who this girl is but if someone wanted me to become, say, Lisa I'd probably chicken out at the last moment again. So the apprehension... I totally understand."<br/>
<br/>
"Goddamn it, Will," she moans, "why the fuck didn't you just ask me out <i>before</i> any of this?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's not like you would've said yes," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"You don't know that," she replies. "I agreed to come out with you before I even knew what the fuck was going on didn't I?"<br/>
<br/>
"So you would've gone out with me if I asked?"<br/>
<br/>
"I would've considered it," she states, "the market for guys is kind of at a low point right now anyway. Especially when they're apparently becoming girls."<br/>
<br/>
"So you're telling me you're not into girls," you tease now that the atmosphere seems to have calmed.<br/>
<br/>
It's to your surprise when Jenny lifts her head off, grabs your face and plants a nice, big kiss on your lips. "Well seeing as I just kissed a girl and felt nothing I think we can say I've safely established my heterosexuality," she says and the more characteristic smile is on her face. "Hey, so I think I'll see if I can go through with it," she follows up. "Go back and tell them that. I just need a minute or two to re-compose myself."<br/>
<br/>
You agree to do that and hop off the car. As you walk into the building you feel flush and your stomach is full of butterflies. Jenny might not have felt anything but you most certainly did.. and so did Paris.<br/>
<br/>
And that's how you learn that Paris Morrow is bisexual.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So do you think she's actually going to do it," Keith asks to no one in particular. Jenny and Yumi are in the studio while the rest of you are now in the weight room. Well all except your Beta. You found that he started getting on your nerves really quick and sent him home not long after.<br/>
<br/>
"Well it's just the two of them in there," Eva says, "I don't really see what else she <i>can</i> do."<br/>
<br/>
"She can just tell Yumi about what's going on and ruin everything," Jessica states cynically.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think she's going to do that," you jump to her defense. "None of you had any doubts when you started doing this?"<br/>
<br/>
"Can't say that we did," Jessica replies with a tinge of the characteristic bitchiness you've long since come to expect from the Garner girls.<br/>
<br/>
"Well I did," you tell them, "and look where I am now."<br/>
<br/>
"Stuck as a junior," asks Eva sarcastically and then laughs. "Sorry, now that we've got everything it's kind of hard to not want to indulge their natural bitch state."<br/>
<br/>
"God, why couldn't they have been more like their brother," you groan. "He's cool."<br/>
<br/>
"He's a square," Eva states. "Maybe if he was Marcia Garner he'd be better off."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh god can you imagine Marc as a girl," Jessica states as the two of them begin to giggle. She then takes her arms and places them on Eva's shoulders. "He wouldn't be as pretty or as close as us, right dear sister?"<br/>
<br/>
The two of them look at each other hungrily for a moment. "Okay yeah maybe there are some drawbacks to having everything because that actually feels kind of weird," Eva states as she draws back.<br/>
<br/>
You, meanwhile, hide your face in an attempt to hide your blushing. "Anyway," you say, albeit slightly muffled, "I have faith in her. It's just seeing something like that with your best friend can be a shock."<br/>
<br/>
"Well I don't think there's going to be much of a problem because she's been texting me back as I'm giving her instructions so I'm pretty sure she's following them," he states and then his face takes on a more serious tone. "Unless she's lying."<br/>
<br/>
"She's not lying," you say in defense yet again.<br/>
<br/>
The group of you continue to wait for a few minutes, how long you're not quite sure as you're just browsing around on your phone instead of paying attention to the time. Eventually, however, into the unit steps Jenny followed closely behind by Yumi. There's a tense atmosphere for a moment as nobody is quite sure what to say or think. You decide to eventually break the silence.<br/>
<br/>
"So... did you do it," you ask. "Everything went off well?"<br/>
<br/>
Jenny looks away while Yumi looks at you stone-faced. You start wondering if maybe the worries of Eva and Jessica were correct. But slowly a smile begins to form on Yumi's face and eventually she gives you a thumbs up. That's more than enough to tell you that it's really Jenny, the real Jenny, under there.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121122211311
author_id: rugal
title: Twins Who Aren't at All Alike
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"That's really you under there," you ask Yumi in amazement.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, it's me and it's actually Yumi under my mask and not a Beta," she says with a roll of her eyes. "Of course it's me."<br/>
<br/>
"That's great then," you say excitedly. "How does it feel?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fucking awesome," Yumi exclaims as she lifts her right leg completely vertically over her head, drops down in a split and then, with strong leg muscles alone, pushes herself back up to a standing position. "No way could I have done that before."<br/>
<br/>
It's all you can do to keep your heart from bursting out of your chest. Yumi Saito with Jenny Ashton's exuberant personality... it's as wonderful as you'd thought it would. You think of Yumi pulling you down to the ground on top of her, those strong legs wrapped around you as she practically devours your face. But if only that was Jenny proper you sigh.<br/>
<br/>
Or rather Paris sighs.<br/>
<br/>
"Anyway that's good," you tell her while trying to regain yourself. "We, well these ones,' you say as you motion towards the Garners, "were kind of worried that you'd get cold feet again."<br/>
<br/>
"Once I calmed down I didn't really have any doubts," she states. "I just hope Yumi's not mad at me when she's let out."<br/>
<br/>
"Right, about that," you ask Fairfax, "what <i>are</i> we going to do when it's time to move on? These people are going to be missing a couple months of their lives and when I had my own mask on I remembered everything you did on Sunday. I knew from the memories that it was you, not myself having done it, so we can't really use the masks to catch them up either."<br/>
<br/>
"It's something I'm working on," Fairfax says. "We have plenty of time to get everything worked out however. More importantly," he turns to Yumi, "we're going to get Cindy out here now. It might be easier if you stick around."<br/>
<br/>
"Do I have to," Yumi asks. "I'm feeling kind of drained from all of this."<br/>
<br/>
"You don't <i>have</i> to but it is advised," Fairfax explains. "It takes a few hours for the memories to effectively come in so it lessens the risk of anyone noticing anything."<br/>
<br/>
"Please," she says while rolling her eyes. "I've known Yumi since the first grade. Memories or not I think I'm in a good position to at least fool her family for a few hours."<br/>
<br/>
"That's true," Fairfax grumbles before looking at you. "You're staying as well, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sorry but I really can't," you tell him apologetically. "Paris has an essay due on Friday for Hawks that she has to finish. Well, I guess I have to finish."<br/>
<br/>
"You're sure," Fairfax asks as he eyes you oddly. "That's not an excuse?"<br/>
<br/>
"Why would it be," you ask in return.<br/>
<br/>
"Because that's very specific," he states. "You were speaking with an air of authority so I just wondered --"<br/>
<br/>
"I know you said it takes a while for the mental stuff to come," you say, "but I'm not having any issue at all."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I know it can come in bits and pieces and if that's one of them," he trails off. "I guess I can't argue if she needs to be home."<br/>
<br/>
Both yourself and Yumi bid goodbye to the others and wish them luck with Cindy. Yumi sends her Beta home and, since Paris had rode up here with Jenny (Paris and her sister share the same car and Paris told her to just drive it home today), offers you a ride back to Paris' house which you graciously accept. The entire ride back you steal glances over at Yumi and quickly avert your eyes when it looks like she's about to catch you.<br/>
<br/>
Yumi Saito is very pretty and you've thought about her more than once but you've always felt very intimidated by her presence too. This is probably the most extended contact you've ever had with her... even if it's not <i>her</i> so to speak.<br/>
<br/>
Once you're back at Paris' -- she actually lives in Acheson close to the middle school -- you tell Yumi to make sure that she and Cindy try to talk to Peyton a little bit tomorrow.<br/>
<br/>
"Peyton... that's her sister right," she asks. "Any reason why?"<br/>
<br/>
"She's got gymnastics with Yumi after school," you tell her, "and just thinks Yumi and them are cool. I'm gonna rub it in her face but make an effort to talk to her at least."<br/>
<br/>
She assures you that she will and drives off. You take a moment to look at the house from the driveway. It's certainly nice which should come as no surprise given who owns it. For the next couple of months this place will be your new home so you decide you better familiarize yourself with it real good.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You go over the essay again -- one regarding the themes of one of the stories in the Canterbury Tales -- and, satisfied with it, tear the pages out of the notebook and place them into a binder. Sure you could have easily typed it out but Paris has always preferred the act of writing something over merely typing it. Humans have been writing for thousands of years so why fix what isn't broken?<br/>
<br/>
She was always different like that, whether that's just her natural or state or a kind of subconscious obstinance she doesn't particularly know nor does she care. Paris and her sister Peyton are twins and visually is about where the similarities between them end. Peyton was always bright, smiling and outgoing; pretty and popular. Like Paris, she too has spent most of her life since childhood learning an instrument; the cello in this case and she's certainly talented. Talented enough that she'll probably be in the chamber orchestra next year.<br/>
<br/>
Peyton too was always the apple of her parents' eye. It's not that they treated Paris badly or anything but Peyton's personality and interests clearly aligned more with her parents in comparison to the quiet, bookish and introverted Paris.<br/>
<br/>
Paris has always had a good relationship with her sister however and her sister has always, in turn, tried to help her out always trying to get her "little sister" to come out of her shell and while Paris always appreciated it she eventually gave up on trying to be like her sister and withdrew even more. She studied, took her piano lessons and, realizing that she enjoyed playing music, took to learning the guitar as well.<br/>
<br/>
It was through that activity that she met Ian Patton and got involved with his circle of friends. Being part of the artsy crowd more focused on their poetry, paintings, music than fashion and gossip (though there was surely plenty of that) was very much agreeable with Paris' natural temperament. Now being the quiet one didn't get her labeled as "shy" but "introspective" which, when Paris thinks of it, is probably all the same thing but it sounds nicer doesn't it? At the very least it's an environment she's comfortable in which has allowed her, finally, to start coming out of her shell and stepping out of Peyton's shadow.<br/>
<br/>
And while Peyton has done what she can to keep in shape as she greatly desires to join the cheerleaders one day and be like Yumi Saito or Cindy Vredenburg, Paris admires seniors like Jelena Petrovic and Sienna Goldman. She considers them the coolest of the cool and desperately wants to join or start a band. It was during the summer when she finally decided to drastically change her look, chopping off her strawberry blonde hair in favor of what she has now, though the color has changed every few weeks.<br/>
<br/>
It was around the same time that the twins met and befriended Cara Fuhrman and the same time when Paris was finally confronted with her sexuality; another thing that differentiates her from her sister. Though that crush on Cara came and went Paris did develop one on Jenny after talking with her a few times in choir which was part of the reason, in addition to being able to perform some music, she was so eager to come out to the studio this afternoon.<br/>
<br/>
It's something that Peyton (the only person she's brought it up to) has asked her about, both seriously and teasingly: she's never shown romantic interest in guys but is showing it in girls so why not just say she's gay? For Paris it's because she's just not sure if that's how it is or if it's only because it's something "new" where, when you get it, you focus on that for a while to the detriment of everything else until things normalize.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"So, did you enjoy your afternoon," Peyton asks with a teasing tone and followed by exaggerated kissing sounds.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I did," you reply with a bit of a smug tone. "It was especially great when Yumi showed up and I got to hang out with her. Have you ever hung out with Yumi? I have. She's really cool."<br/>
<br/>
"I guess that's why she wasn't in gymnastics class today," she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"The guys doing that video needed a cheerleader and Jenny's, like, her best friend so..."<br/>
<br/>
"That's just not fair," she whines as she falls onto your bed. "Maybe I should become friends with whoever Jelena's friends with. Then I can lord that over you."<br/>
<br/>
"You don't even know who their friends are," you counter. "You've got gymnastics with Yumi and Gloria and orchestra with Eva and Yumi right? Have you ever, I dunno, tried <i>talking</i> to them?"<br/>
<br/>
"I can ask you the same question," she replies.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't have any classes with any of those people though," you argue.<br/>
<br/>
"You see Jelena and her friends around at lunch right," she asks. "Talk to them there or something."</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211222113111
author_id: rugal
title: A Day in Paris
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Maybe I will," you say defiantly in response.<br/>
<br/>
You hear Paris' sister, your sister now, snort-laugh. "You are so not going to do it," Peyton teases.<br/>
<br/>
"Watch me," you respond. "I'm gonna do it."<br/>
<br/>
"Well first I can't watch you, we don't have the same lunch remember," she says.<br/>
<br/>
"Quit being so pedantic," you say as you roll your eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"And second," she blows right past your remark. "You wouldn't even have the first idea how to approach her."<br/>
<br/>
"Pfft, you're one to talk," you say with yet another, larger eye roll.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh ho, what's this," Peyton asks as she sits back. "My baby sister makes friends and suddenly she's got a mouth on her."<br/>
<br/>
"Only to you," you tell her. "That hasn't changed."<br/>
<br/>
"You're seriously going to talk to your big sister like th--WAUGH!" Peyton cries out in surprise as the pillow you were using to support your back gets hurled right into her face.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm gonna talk to them," you insist. "But you better promise me that you'll talk to Yumi tomorrow."<br/>
<br/>
"Huh," she asks as she sits herself back up once more and moves her hair out of her face. "Why do I have to promise you that?"<br/>
<br/>
"Because if I'm gonna do it then <i>you're</i> gonna do it," you say as you give her as forced smile and affect a sickeningly sweet voice. "After all, as your dear twin sister I just want to help you."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, my evil twin maybe," she replies as she moves to let her feet dangle off the side.<br/>
<br/>
You giggle a little at that. "Anyway, I mentioned you to her when we were hanging out," you tell her. "Don't worry, I didn't try to embarrass you. I just told her that my sister's in orchestra and gymnastics with her. She'll be on the look out for you now."<br/>
<br/>
"Well thanks, I guess," she replies. "Ugh, I shouldn't get all flustered at the thought of trying to talk to the cheerleaders."<br/>
<br/>
"Butterflies when you talk to pretty girls huh," you tease. "Are you sure you're not the gay one?"<br/>
<br/>
"So you're finally dropping the 'I'm totally bisexual' act," she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"I never said that," you reply. "I mean I might find a guy I like. I'm keeping my options open."<br/>
<br/>
"I guess crushes are 'options' and Jenny Ashton and Cecilia Fletcher are both guys now" she asks as she throws the teasing back at you. "Seriously though, stop with the song and dance for your sake. You're gay, who cares?"<br/>
<br/>
"Mom and Dad will," you say suddenly losing the confidence you'd just had.<br/>
<br/>
"God no, Paris, they won't," Peyton replies. "Heck, they'll probably be relieved. Remember how awkward it was when I brought Robby home? I'd imagine they'd much prefer a sweet, gentle girl to a boorish, horny guy."<br/>
<br/>
She's referring, of course, to Robby Dawson (who was neither boorish nor a horn dog towards Peyton) who, last year, was her first boyfriend. Or at least the first boyfriend that she explicitly told her parents about. That went over like a lead balloon because, as much freedom as they give them, their parents still have a bit of the "our baby girls" mentality so the idea of them dating still comes off as foreign.<br/>
<br/>
"That's going to make it worse though," you tell her. "I mean if I get a girlfriend and bring her home --"<br/>
<br/>
"It'll probably be really weird and awkward, yeah, but that's because they're our parents and, like, that's how parents are about that stuff," she says as she stares at you with complete seriousness. "It's not because of what you think. I think you're just, you know, projecting. Nobody cares about that stuff nowadays; it's no big deal."<br/>
<br/>
You sigh at that. "Yeah, you're probably right," you say quietly.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course I'm right. I'm your wise, and beautiful, big sister after all," she states proudly.<br/>
<br/>
"You're lucky I don't have another pillow," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
There's no tension there and very quickly she reaches over and embraces you in a sisterly hug.<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks, I really appreciate it Pey Day," you say in a bit of a joking tone.<br/>
<br/>
"I totally rescind that and I hope you end up alone and unloved," she replies as she quickly pulls back. Paris never seems to like the mood between them to get too serious for too long and is quick to defuse it. "I liked it better when you were all quiet and I didn't know what a goofy weirdo you were."<br/>
<br/>
You both have a laugh at that.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay so I'm going to a run over to Panera to grab something to eat," she tells you as she hops off of your bead. "Wanna come with?"<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh, yeah, sure," you reply as you get up to find your boots. "I haven't had anything since lunch so I'm hungry anyway."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
At school the next day you do what you can to keep your head down during choir. Paris' feelings and thoughts came on strong pretty much from the moment you put on her mask and they haven't really abated. Not that you believe that you're losing your sense of self totally but when something triggers an intense emotional reaction you feel overwhelmed by the girl's own thoughts and feelings. The benefit of this, however, is that it means you can essentially go on auto-pilot; everything about her comes naturally so you don't need to give it much thought.<br/>
<br/>
Which is good because you feel doubled up on all of those emotions as you stand shoulder to shoulder with Jenny as you sing. The butterflies and feelings of joy that make you practically want to shiver as you can barely contain them. They almost come bursting out in full when she tells you that Yumi told her that Fairfax wants to get everyone together at the storage unit after school so she's going to give you a ride out there.<br/>
<br/>
Your own feelings mixing with Paris', you can only give a wide-eyed, dopey stare as you stutter out an affirmation. You feel yourself blushing furiously as the bell rings and you head from Mrs. Hayes' room to Mr. Stemple's for practice, where Paris plays guitar in the jazz band. Very quickly you spot another girl, slightly thicker than you with wavy brown hair. "Saraaaa," you moan as you place an arm around one shoulder and your chin on the other.<br/>
<br/>
"So how'd it go," the girl asks without even missing a bit. "Was Jenny everything you thought she'd be?"<br/>
<br/>
"She is so cool," you whisper before speaking at a more normal volume. "And I got to talk to Yumi too. I told Peyton to stop being a wuss and talk to her today because she's cool too."<br/>
<br/>
"Well I'm glad for you," she states as she casually removes your arm. Sara Schmidt is one of the trumpet players for the band and has been Paris' closest friend since freshman year. That's pretty much why she knew exactly what you were getting at before you'd said anything. You're starting to suspect that underneath the introversion and shyness, Paris is just naturally goofy. Or maybe she's goofy <i>because</i> of it.<br/>
<br/>
"Those guys are all pretty nice," you tell her. "They want me to come back and I guess be their official sound person or something and since Jenny's friends with them..."<br/>
<br/>
"Aren't you lucky then," Sara replies as she looks towards the door. "It's an embarrassment of riches for you."<br/>
<br/>
You follow her gaze to see Cecilia Fletcher walk in, one of the other large objects of desire for Paris (and you're left to wonder just how many crushes, big and small, does she have anyway). She's taller with dark hair that flows just past her shoulder blades and a kind of aloof prettiness. She's never once talked to Paris though she doesn't seem to talk much in general and you suspect that mysteriousness is partly what grabbed Paris' attention. She's also a talented saxophonist and any time there's a solo part for the sax she tends to be the one who plays it.<br/>
<br/>
"You should talk to her," Sara says.<br/>
<br/>
"Nobody but a few people talk to her," you sigh. "I don't have a chance."<br/>
<br/>
"You never know unless you try," she replies trying to encourage you. "I mean you want to date <i>someone</i> right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, yeah," you say casually brushing it off. "Anyway are you doing anything later?"<br/>
<br/>
"Hanging out with Ian and some of the others at Meredith's," she states. "If you want I can pick you up from that place and we can go over."<br/>
<br/>
You make a face at that. "Meredith can be so overbearing but she does usually have the good stuff," you say. "I don't know I'm going to try talk to Jelena and those guys at lunch today."<br/>
<br/>
"You think they'll invite you to hang out or something," asks Sara.<br/>
<br/>
"Never say never? Ugh, but probably not," you say as you muster up dejection. "But it can't hurt to try right? At the very least I need to introduce myself to them."</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112112221131111
author_id: rugal
title: Lunchtime Nerves
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You don't have much of a chance to talk to Sara after that as the bell rings not long after and, as he usually does, Mr. Stemple starts practice almost immediately. Stemple's a good teacher but when you're practicing then, to him, you're practicing and he can thus be stern. Never to the point of being an overbearing tyrant but he wants the band to always be in tip-top shape which isn't hard as it's full of talented players. Cecilia, of course, kills it whenever she gets a solo as do some of the others. You yourself don't get much of a chance to solo though mainly because it's more standards today.<br/>
<br/>
After that it's Hawks' class where you make sure to turn in the essay you had to finish yesterday. It's one of the more frustrating classes, interesting material with a bore of a teacher, but it's also thankfully a class that's shared with Cara, Leah Price and Kelli Taft, the only class you share with Cara actually. You don't really go on about any of what happened yesterday to them as it's not like they know about Paris' inclinations. Instead you just give them a truncated version of going to help out "some seniors" with their video project through a friend.<br/>
<br/>
You also share your next place, Mr. Muniz's Algebra class, with Kelli and for Paris it's a nothing class.<br/>
<br/>
Lunch comes up however and you still have to work yourself up into doing what you said you were going to do. So you take your usual spot sitting with a few of Paris' friends though not Sara. Some are also in the jazz band such as Felix Padilla (a drummer) and his girlfriend Janelle Pelletier (who plays bassoon), both of whom are also seniors, though all are part of the same overall larger crowd.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm really hoping I get to do some more solo practice tomorrow," you say with a tone of disappointment. "But Stemple loves his Ellington so I never really get the chance."<br/>
<br/>
"You'll get your chance," Erica reassures you. "It was like this last year too. He just likes to start off with what he says are the essentials."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah but you and Felix and a couple of others are like his favorites. I feel kind of superfluous," you say as you unpeel and start eating a banana.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't you want to start a band," asks Erica Silver.<br/>
<br/>
"Sure," you respond once you finish your bite, "but I don't even know anyone else looking to do anything. I was thinking of going over to talk to Sienna and Jelena and those guys though."<br/>
<br/>
"Goldman," asks Meredith Ritenour. "I've heard a lot of things about her you know."<br/>
<br/>
"Things like what," you ask. She doesn't try to be but Meredith can, at times, come off as a bit condescending and pretentious. Probably what coming from a fine arts family will do.<br/>
<br/>
"Just a lot of crap," Janelle rolls her eyes. "I don't think you can believe all of it though."<br/>
<br/>
"Well you're friends with Fatima right," asks Felix. "So you'd know."<br/>
<br/>
"I know that she's never said that Sienna does anything shady," she responds before turning to you. "But you should definitely go over there. Fatima's really nice so none of them can be that bad."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, okay," you say as you put down your food and stand up. "I'll be back."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You steel yourself as you see them sitting over there. Right now it's Jelena, Sienna and Fatima. You've often times seen Andrea Varnsworth in their company too and even, though Paris doesn't know him, Charles Hartlein among others. It's a bit of a motley assortment you think though maybe no more motley than your little cabal of body snatchers.<br/>
<br/>
You take a deep breath and head over. "Hi," you nervously greet them. That results in some head turns.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," says Sienna in a rough voice that makes it sound like you've already pissed her off.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh! Um, n-no," you stutter. "I just... I wanted to say hi. Um, that's it really. Sorry for bothering you."<br/>
<br/>
You begin to walk away but another, calmer voice cuts through. "You're not bothering us," says a softer voice that you see, as you turn around, belongs to Fatima.<br/>
<br/>
"You wanted to do more than just say hello I'm guessing," comes the huskier, calmer voice of Jelena.<br/>
<br/>
You turn around feeling flushed with embarrassment. Awkwardly meeting new people is something that always puts Paris on edge and you can feel the comfortable goofiness of earlier smothered by the nervous desire to slink away. "Well it's just... I've heard of you guys you know? And I just wanted to say that," you shift uncomfortably, "that I think you guys are cool. Like with your bands and everything."<br/>
<br/>
"I mean that's nice and all but local bands are a dime a dozen," Sienna replies flippantly.<br/>
<br/>
"I know but," you say as you take another breath, "but I was kind of wanting to start a band myself and I just kind of wanted to tell you that, you know, that you are inspiring people."<br/>
<br/>
"Well it's definitely a nice thing to hear," Jelena says as she points to an open seat next to her. "Do you want to sit down for a little minute?"<br/>
<br/>
Your eyes go wide at that. "S-sure," you say as you slide in next to her.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think I've ever seen you around, so what's your name," she asks, "since I suppose it's good to get introductions out of the way."<br/>
<br/>
"It's, um, Paris," you answer. "And you probably haven't because I'm a junior."<br/>
<br/>
"That would explain it," she says. "Do you play any instruments though?"<br/>
<br/>
"I... yeah, I play guitar for the jazz band and I've been taking piano lessons since I was a kid."<br/>
<br/>
"The jazz band," Fatima asks. "I remember that they were supposed to be pretty good last year."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, you haven't asked any of them," asks Sienna.<br/>
<br/>
"I haven't but I've never gotten the impression most of them are interested," you sigh. "Plus I don't know what you're going to get out of a bunch of trumpeters and the like."<br/>
<br/>
"Do some ska thing or whatever. Shit, you can make a band out of two guys with spoons and a bucket," Sienna says.<br/>
<br/>
"But it is hard work and not everything's going to go to plan," states Jelena. "I didn't even intend to join up with my sister's band. They just needed someone to fill a spot that opened."<br/>
<br/>
"Right," Sienna adds. "I was in the same spot as you a few months back. I kinda ran into my guys by accident."<br/>
<br/>
"But you don't want to just leave everything to happenstance because that's not reliable," Jelena says giving you a warm smile. "That's what you came over here for, right?"<br/>
<br/>
Your eyes go wide and you look down. "N-not wholly but... a little I guess," you admit.<br/>
<br/>
"It's fine. It's certainly not the first time it's happened," she explains. "A lot of the time it doesn't amount to anything so I really do hope you keep up with it."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, good luck," Fatima adds.<br/>
<br/>
"It's real nice having a fan club though," Sienna grins. "So if you ever wanna, like, hang out or something? We'll help ya out."<br/>
<br/>
You look at her with shock. "You... you're serious," you ask. Sienna nods and the other two don't seem to have a problem with it. "Um, well, I can't tonight but.. I'll talk to you guys at lunch tomorrow? I don't think I have anything going on then."<br/>
<br/>
"Sure," Jelena says and you feel yourself blushing immensely. "Just talk to us tomorrow and we'll see what's up, yeah."<br/>
<br/>
With that you say goodbye and head back to your friends with a big, dopey grin plastered on your face. "Oh no, it went terribly," Meredith jokes as she mock-sympathetically places an arm around you; obviously how it went is written all over your face. "Look at her, she's all confused. Poor girl."<br/>
<br/>
Everyone, yourself included, has a good laugh at that though with your head still swimming you don't say much the rest of lunch.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Paris' sister is pretty nice," Yumi says. "I'll definitely try and get her ready for a spot next year or even this year if anything opens up. Nobody knows how long Michelle's going to actually last."<br/>
<br/>
You're sitting around in the unit with herself and the Beta-Jenny. The Garners, the now-and-current Cindy and Fairfax are all out getting Maria at her place with the cheerleaders having determined that it'd be easier to just get her there than to try and bring her out here after the cheerleaders brought up that Maria would probably forget which end of the house is which.<br/>
<br/>
"You might as well just say 'your sister' you know," you tell her. "I mean if I'm living like this for the next few months it's probably easier to just try to think of myself as her. Speaking of," you take a glance over at Jenny and then quickly avert your eyes when she notices. "Paris has a big time crush on you."<br/>
<br/>
"Wait, Paris does," Yumi asks in surprise.<br/>
<br/>
"She likes to claim she's bisexual but I think it was just a long time denial thing because she wasn't interested in anyone until recently," you explain. "Or I guess she liked to think that she wasn't. The more I look through her head the more I see there were little hints here and there. But it's like the dam burst recently."<br/>
<br/>
"I guess I should've figured," she states, "there was always little things about how she acted but that's with hindsight. Oh man, and I did that with you yesterday," she laughs and smiles in a way that's more reminiscent of the real Jenny. "Maybe I should just tell my clone to date you."</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121122211311111
author_id: rugal
title: The Apparent Tiebreaker
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>She's not serious about that is she? Of course she's not serious. Her being serious about that is completely ridiculous. So of course, given how obviously not serious that proposal is, the first thing you say in response is, "Are you serious?"<br/>
<br/>
Yumi gives you a confused look. "I was obviously joking," she says with a tone, and look, of disbelief. But that sly, mischievous smile slowly creeps its way back onto her face. "Were you <i>hoping</i> I was serious?"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I mean, <i>Paris</i> was," you say in embarrassment.<br/>
<br/>
"And who are you, then," she continues pressing. "This is way too good. You actually look pretty cute all flustered like that and now I've got me thinking," she says. She looks at you for a moment then over to her Beta. "Hey Jenny," she says to her, "I want you to look at Paris. Do you think she's cute?"<br/>
<br/>
"Cute," Jenny asks. "Um..."<br/>
<br/>
"I don't mean in the 'are you attracted to her' sense. I mean as a general thing," Yumi states. "Do you think Paris is cute? Tell me truthfully."<br/>
<br/>
You fidget nervously and feel yourself turning red as Jenny, even if it's her robot duplicate, looks you up and down. And you can feel Paris' voice in the back of your head. <i>"Oh man, she's looking at me! I hope I look all right,"</i> it frets.<br/>
<br/>
"Well in a strictly hetero way then yeah," she declares.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright then, so if I asked you to kiss her would you do it," asks Yumi.<br/>
<br/>
The Beta eyes her oddly. "Do you want me to kiss her," it asks making a face. "Because you know I don't swing th --"<br/>
<br/>
"Yes you do," Yumi suddenly states both to the surprise of yourself and Jenny.<br/>
<br/>
"Y-you don't have to do this for me," you nervously tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Who said I'm doing it for you," she asks as she eyes you. "I mean maybe a little but this is for me. These things have to do what we tell them so I want to see how far it goes. If I told her she was attracted to girls would she be?" She then turns on the Beta. "Jenny, you're attracted to Paris. You look at her and think she's cute and you want to be with her and hold her and kiss her and do all of that stuff. Do you understand?"<br/>
<br/>
Jenny just looks at her in wide-eyed shock but she nods and when she looks at you it's with a sudden longing that wasn't there a couple of seconds ago.<br/>
<br/>
"Well," Yumi says impatiently, "go over there; talk to her. She likes you so make her feel good."<br/>
<br/>
"Um, hey," Jenny says awkwardly as she comes over to you.<br/>
<br/>
"H-hey yourself," you nervously reply back. "Wh-what's up?"<br/>
<br/>
Jenny just shrugs at that. "Just, you know," she says. She gives you a nervous smile. "You look nice. I, uh, like your hair. It's a nice color."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh," you exclaim as you grab a bit and give a small laugh. "I'm probably gonna change the color in the next couple of weeks. I was thinking a light blue?"<br/>
<br/>
"That'd look nice," she states.<br/>
<br/>
"What are you waiting for," Yumi exclaims. "Kiss her! Romantically! With tongue!"<br/>
<br/>
You look at her in complete shock but can't even get a word out before Jenny grabs and suddenly, with deep passion, her lips are against yours and her tongue is probing your mouth. You can't get over the absurdity of it. With a simple command Yumi's turned her own double into a lesbian who's currently tongue wrestling with you. And all you can hear is Paris in the back of your head.<br/>
<br/>
<i>"Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod this is heaven,"</i> she excitedly squeals and, weird as it is, you agree.<br/>
<br/>
As this is going on you suddenly feel a vibration in your pocket and hear a chime. It's your phone's text alert... but it's probably nothing important, you think, and so ignore it.<br/>
<br/>
You're not sure how long this kiss lasts afterwards but eventually Jenny pulls away and looks at you with a smile on her face. You can feel yourself burning up and don't even want to know what type of dumb face you're making. You look at her though and then look at Yumi. "Th-this," is all you can stutter out.<br/>
<br/>
"You're not disappointed I take it," she says with a laugh.<br/>
<br/>
"This can be... you can keep her like this right," you ask expectantly. The adrenaline and endorphins and hormones mean you're basically in full-on Paris Mode at this point.<br/>
<br/>
Yumi shakes her head. "Sorry, no can do," she says to your disappointment. "That was just a little test to see how deep that control goes. The answer is pretty fucking deep."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Now feeling completely bummed out though not as much as you were in the immediate aftermath of that answer, mainly because Paris' emotions have cooled considerably, you spend the next little bit -- forty-five minutes maybe -- talking to Yumi about what it's like being in your current positions with you under the face of some junior girl you hadn't even heard of until yesterday and her being her best friend.<br/>
<br/>
Eventually though you see the door to the unit open up and in walks Maria Vasquez, one of the most gorgeous creatures to walk the Earth. You can feel your heart flutter as you see her: dark hair that's long, thick and straight. Eyes that are large, dark pools. A chest, fairly average in size, but that's offset by wide hips and one of the most fantastic asses you have ever seen.<br/>
<br/>
"You got her," you ask. "That's you, isn't it Fairfax?"<br/>
<br/>
Shes looks at you and nods but you notice that her eyes are full of worry and fear.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, what's wrong?"<br/>
<br/>
"We screwed up," Cindy states as she comes marching into the room afterwards and looks at you angrily, "because <i>someone</i> didn't check their texts."<br/>
<br/>
"My texts," you ask and then suddenly remember your phone going off during that little make out session.<br/>
<br/>
"Look, we're not in deep shit yet," Jessica says as she's followed by Eva.<br/>
<br/>
While Cindy turns and says something to the twins you pull your phone out and look and suddenly your eyes go wide. You go to show Yumi the text but a voice cuts through everything.<br/>
<br/>
"What a... quaint little space," it says with as much venomous derision as it can muster. "Of course, what else can you expect from a bunch of fuck ups."<br/>
<br/>
You don't have to even turn to know who it belongs to. But, as is often the case in situations such as this, your response is automatic and you find yourself looking first at Yumi who simply shakes her head in wide-eyed horror and then you follow her gaze to see exactly what you thought.<br/>
<br/>
Standing in the doorway is Chelsea Cooper and you know from the way the others are acting that this isn't Josiah Shank in a Chelsea Cooper mask. No, this is the real deal.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
From how it's explained what Cindy said was true: it's your fault that Chelsea is here. That text? It was Fairfax saying that Chelsea had been at Maria's when they'd arrived at her home and they debated if they should still attempt it or just abandon it. Eva and Cindy wanted to bounce and try again tomorrow but Jessica and Fairfax himself (who, you realize, seems to be impatient about this stuff) wanted to press on. You were supposed to be the tiebreaker but when you didn't respond they flipped a coin and Fairfax and Jessica won.<br/>
<br/>
The excuse they'd given for Fairfax's presence when Chelsea asked was that he had been helping Eva with some of her calculus when Maria asked them out and seeing as Eva and Jessica were his ride he got dragged along; Maria, of course, doesn't remember asking them out to her place but, well, that's Maria and she's forgetful.<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea had eventually left and that's when the four of them sprang into action. Chelsea, however, had forgotten something and came back right as Fairfax was putting on Maria's mask and his treated one was going on her. To their surprise she didn't freak out but demanded an explanation when Fairfax came to which he, reluctantly, gave. To their shock Chelsea simply laughed at the idea and liked the idea of a "fixed" squad though that, of course, had never been the intention. To their greater shock she demanded to join, not telling them why but demanding it anyway.<br/>
<br/>
And that's how you're here, standing just outside the unit while Chelsea impatiently waits inside. You didn't think there'd be much debate really; just get a mask on her. That's certainly what Cindy and Yumi want to do and you wonder how much comes from the people you're seeing and how much of that comes from the people underneath. That's also the what Josiah wants when Fairfax, or rather Maria, texts him about what's going on. He's on his way now so they can finish the change and have everyone in place.<br/>
<br/>
But to your surprise the ex-Philip Fairfax states that he's not adverse to having Chelsea join up. While generally logical and orderly, the addition of a wild card like her is something he finds very intriguing as every experiment needs one. The idea of a group of nerds like yourselves working side-by-side with Chelsea Cooper is a certainly massive one. Eva and Jessica are for it as well. They, that is the people under their masks, don't have quite the enmity towards her that Yumi and Cindy (or Jenny and Keith) might have and as they say the twins' minds themselves like the idea of having Chelsea brought to heel in an environment where she's not the one in control. Make her suffer the same way she's made them is what they say.<br/>
<br/>
So like earlier that leaves you. You can understand both arguments. Obviously Chelsea is dangerous and getting her out of the way is the easiest and safest option. But having her around means learning what makes her tick; you don't have to be Logic Man Fairfax to find that interesting.<br/>
<br/>
Once more you're expected to play the role of tiebreaker.</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211222113111112
author_id: rugal
title: The Serpent Queen
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>Why does it have to be you? Why does the burden of this choice have to fall on your shoulders? You know what the easy choice, the "right" choice is. Use a blank mask on Chelsea, put her under Josiah's mask and then give Josiah her mask. That's what you were going to do anyway so in this respect her having discovered everything is a boon since it's not as if she'll be around to really do anything about it.<br/>
<br/>
But at the same time there's a part of you that doesn't like the idea of doing it. If Chelsea knows and if she was one who wanted to join then maybe there's use in making her a partner. Maybe there's a way to reach an understanding with her and make her look at things from another perspective. Chelsea the Penitent she likely will never be but it's not too radical to dream that even she has the capacity to be a slightly nicer person, right?<br/>
<br/>
"Look," you tell them, "maybe we should try talking to her first. At least to figure out why she'd even want to join in the first place."<br/>
<br/>
"What's there to talk about," Yumi challenges you. "What's there to even wonder about? It's just a way for her to control something."<br/>
<br/>
"Well I'm going to talk to her," you state, "to sate my own curiosity if nothing else."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, whatever," she responds flippantly. "Do whatever you want. Have fun with her."<br/>
<br/>
She's being a bitch but it's not without reason. Chelsea has always tried to make life difficult for her enemies of which Yumi (and by extension Jenny) is one and one of those ways is by making it harder for her and Jenny to see one another. You certainly understand where she's coming from. If it was Mansfield in there and she was talking to you about wanting to ascertain his motives because he wanted to join your group you'd probably be acting the same way. But it's not Mansfield in there so you do your best to ready yourself and then head inside the unit where the studio is.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You see her pacing around impatiently, and maybe a bit nervously, looking for all the world like a death row inmate waiting to hear word back from the governor. For all intents and purposes of course that's exactly what she is and as the governor in this scenario you're already leaning towards a commutation, however you feel like you need to hear one final appeal from the condemned to truly make up your mind.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, um, Chelsea," you say nervously with a small wave.<br/>
<br/>
She turns to look at you and you can see the disdain on her face. "Finally," she replies with as much indignation as she can muster. "So this is where you tell me that Yumi, no, that <i>Jenny</i> put her foot down. That that little creep Shank is going to take over my life and I'm getting put to sleep under a mask of him right?" She looks at you with a scowl that heavily distorts her beautiful features. "That's just as well because if I was conscious for that I'd probably throw myself in front of a train."<br/>
<br/>
"You know who Josiah is," you ask as you hop up onto a stack of boxes, about chest high and full of old props and equipment, to sit. "Fairf -- Maria said that they'd told you everything."<br/>
<br/>
"I run the school," she sneers, "everything gets filtered back to me. Want an interesting bit of gossip? Dennis Delisle from the baseball team is dating a freshman named Martina Tomas. It's made her real popular," she says with a smirk. "Too bad for her that he's getting his dick sucked by her friend on the side. What an asshole, right," she laughs. But quickly her look turns more serious. "So yes, of course I know who Shank is. I know those two idiots under the Garners' faces and yes I know who <i>you</i> are Prescott."<br/>
<br/>
"So you're at the top of the pyramid and know everything that goes on," you tell her while trying to keep calm. "So why do you want to join? Because if you do it then you're not going to be yourself. You're going under someone's mask."<br/>
<br/>
"Really," she sarcastically replies. "Maybe I just want a break, did you ever think of that?"<br/>
<br/>
"A break," you say in surprise, "but you just said you run the school."<br/>
<br/>
"And do you know how much of a pain in the ass it is," she asks as she leans against the boxes, now mere inches away from you. "Your creepy friend wants to try my life then let him try it. We'll see how much fun he has once he realizes that he'll have to actually be me when he's done playing with my tits."<br/>
<br/>
"Well that's happening regardless," you tell her. "The question is whether you're going to be around to see it."<br/>
<br/>
She turns away and you tense up as you feel her hair brush against your leg. But quickly she's back looking at you and you tense up even more. Jenny looking you up and down was one thing but this is something else entirely. After a moment she gives you a smile.<br/>
<br/>
"But I am, aren't I," she asks and her voice has suddenly affected a much sweeter tone. "Your friends said you were in a junior girl. What's it like being a junior," she says as she gently places a hand on your knee. You can feel yourself practically shiver from excitement. "What's it like being a dyke?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't," you mutter as you look away, "I don't know what you're talking about."<br/>
<br/>
"You don't get to my position by being unobservant," she states. "These masks let you have somebody's memories and personality right? I know exactly how I'm making you, or making that girl anyway, feel. It's all over your face and your body language."<br/>
<br/>
You say nothing.<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea moves now to stand in front of you. She clasps your hands in her's and looks you dead in the eye. "Despite what your friends might think I'm not some monster," she tells you. "That's what you think right? But have you ever talked to me?"<br/>
<br/>
"N-no," you stutter nervously. "I... I guess not."<br/>
<br/>
"So it's all hearsay," she tells you. "And hearsay from people with their own agenda. Let me give you some more gossip. What if I told you that Cindy wants my spot? Or that Lin does? Or that Yumi does? Because they all do. Now if a bunch of people who want me gone so they can take my place tell you about how horrible I am are you going to believe everything they say?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yumi's my friend," you say defensively. "She'd never --"<br/>
<br/>
"Be that scheming," she asks. "Oh of course not. She's not trying to politick me out of my spot. She just wants to be the head cheerleader so she can run it as a benign dictatorship. After all, Yumi's very popular <i>and</i> very nice so she wouldn't be taking my spot for her benefit. It would be for everyone else's benefit because that's just the kind of person she is."<br/>
<br/>
You know exactly what the implication is. But there's no reason to believe her is there? She's either lying or grossly distorting things. I mean Yumi would never be that deceptive right? You'd certainly hope so because if it's even half true...<br/>
<br/>
"Look," she says as she backs off. "If you were going to put me to sleep then you would have done it already. So let's cut the crap, we shake hands and I join your goofy little club. If I wanted to do anything to you I would've done it as soon as I saw what your friends were doing at Maria's. The fact alone that I didn't should be enough proof that I'm being on the level with you."<br/>
<br/>
You eye her for a moment. She's as much a femme fatale as you've ever seen but she's also as perceptive as she boasted. Because you're going to vote to let her join.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"I can't fucking believe this," Yumi says in frustration. "You've lost your fucking mind, Will!"<br/>
<br/>
Cindy just looks at you and shakes her head. "This whole thing, <i>everything</i> we'd wanted to do has gone off a cliff," she says.<br/>
<br/>
"That's how democracy works," Chelsea replies with as smug a look as you've ever seen on anyone.<br/>
<br/>
"Democracy," Yumi explodes and you half-expect her to have an aneurysm right then and there. But she composes herself and gives Chelsea a stern look. "Fine, we got out voted so we're stuck with you. But if you're joining then you're joining on our terms."<br/>
<br/>
"Your terms," says Chelsea, "or <i>your</i> terms?"<br/>
<br/>
Yumi ignores her. "Josiah is going under your mask. Whoever's picked for you goes under his mask,"<br/>
<br/>
"<i>For me,</i>" Chelsea asks indignantly.<br/>
<br/>
"Yes, for you. You're not getting a say in the matter. What we choose is what we choose. If you have a problem with it there's another mask we can put you under."<br/>
<br/>
Both glare at one another though to your surprise it's Chelsea who backs down. "Fine, sure," she states. "As long as you're not putting me under Morgana Hollis' face or something".<br/>
<br/>
"Time out," Maria interjects before motioning to Yumi and then the rest of you. "Let's talk about this," she states before looking at Chelsea. "Just us."<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea rolls her eyes and heads back into the makeshift studio.<br/>
<br/>
"You need to stop with the bellicose posturing," Maria tells Yumi. "She's in so we can't go around making her angry."<br/>
<br/>
"So we give her all the power then," asks Yumi.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course not, but we don't want to be overly antagonistic either."<br/>
<br/>
"Why should we treat her with the respect she doesn't give to anyone else," Cindy asks. "It's stupid. If we're going to do this then we need to give her a taste of her own medicine."<br/>
<br/>
"And I disagree," states Maria. "If we stay firm but show her a little humanity I don't think it will be too hard to win her over."<br/>
<br/>
Once again it comes down to voting -- this time with the newly arrived Josiah Shank -- and like before everyone falls in the same camps. And just like before it's up to you to play tiebreaker.</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112112221131111121
author_id: rugal
title: A Carthaginian Peace
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Look, if she's going to be around then we can't risk making an enemy of her," you tell them. "If we just go and put her into some loser then all she's going to do is stew and plot and if she's someone who has a lot of time on their hands..."<br/>
<br/>
Yumi grumbles in frustration. "So you're really just going to give her whatever she wants," she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"That's not it at all," you protest. "I'm not going to say she gets, like, Andrea or Kelsey or something like that because that'd be stupid."<br/>
<br/>
"Any more stupid than what we're doing?" Yumi's glare is directly challenging you but you don't back down.<br/>
<br/>
"Do you want to think about what would happen if we combined Chelsea Cooper and Kelsey Blankenship?"<br/>
<br/>
Yumi stares at you silently before grunting. "Fine," she relents, "but we're doing this my way."<br/>
<br/>
"Since when were you in charge," asks Eva.<br/>
<br/>
"How many of you have dealt with Chelsea," she asks. "I don't mean the people you're pretending to be. Because I've dealt with her. I've got the problem with her so if we're going to do this then I want a little measure of revenge."<br/>
<br/>
"That's fair," states Maria, "but remember we can't go about doing anything too harsh."<br/>
<br/>
"Right," you add. "Think about it like this too: we're taking Chelsea completely out of her element here so even if she's not somewhere horrible she's still at our mercy. She won't know how to take the mask off and if she starts getting out of line then we put Shank's mask on her."<br/>
<br/>
"Well the mask is still going on her," declares Yumi. "She's sure as hell not going home as herself so we won't treat Josiah's mask yet but we'll still make her spend tonight and tomorrow under it." She then looks at you harshly. "Since it's your idea to bring her in you get to be the one to find a place for her. So whatever, it doesn't have to be somewhere low on the pecking order but it does have to be someone where you can keep an eye on her."<br/>
<br/>
"That's... that's understandable," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Good and now that it's settled I'm going home," she says in irritation as she looks over to the studio. "Because I suddenly don't feel like hanging around here anymore." She practically storms out of the unit after that.<br/>
<br/>
Or tries to at least but you manage to grab her attention before she gets to the door. "Yumi wait," you call out and this causes her to stop. "Just because we're letting her join doesn't mean that we're going to put her in an advantageous position."<br/>
<br/>
"Anything that doesn't involve her sleeping under Josiah's mask is an advantageous position," she spits. "But sure, go ahead, convince me."<br/>
<br/>
"Well like Keith, um, like Cindy said we want to give her a taste of her own medicine right?"<br/>
<br/>
She eyes you skeptically.<br/>
<br/>
"Well you, uh, the actual Yumi and Eva and all of you guys always talking about how she makes things miserable for people right," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"Well yeah, when she's constantly targeting us, well them I guess, that tends to be a hot topic."<br/>
<br/>
"Right and aside from Lin all of her usual targets are gone right," you continue. "But it's not like you want to put her under a mask of Lin because that's not really a downgrade."<br/>
<br/>
For a second Yumi's eyes narrow but just as quickly they open up with realization.<br/>
<br/>
"But it's not just you guys," you state. "So who else does Chelsea try to make life miserable for?"<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Well, you sure do have <i>me</i> convinced," Chelsea says with a tone that's as full of mockery as it is praise. She's looking at a copy of herself, really Josiah Shank under her mask and still dressed in his clothes, laying on the floor as her, Yumi and yourself wait for her doppelganger to regain consciousness.<br/>
<br/>
"Not that I'd ever be caught dead in clothes as ugly as those," she adds with a more characteristic venom.<br/>
<br/>
"You're not going to have a choice," Yumi gloats. "Once our friends are done getting Josiah's mask ready guess who you get to go home as?"<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea's expression changes considerably at that. "You said someone else was going under his mask," she says with a tone of angry disbelief. "You're as much of a two-faced cunt as the real Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"I did say that whoever we put you under goes under his mask, yes," Yumi states. "But where are you going tonight? Josiah's going home as you so how's he going to get home? We can't leave you locked up in here all night and tomorrow anyway because unfortunately there's laws against that." She gives a look to Chelsea that's more smug than anything you've ever seen from the real girl. "We won't treat his mask with the stuff tonight but you're still spending the night and tomorrow as him."<br/>
<br/>
"That's bullshit," Chelsea growls.<br/>
<br/>
"You being here in the first place is what's bullshit," Yumi tells her. Through all of this any illusion of Yumi has dropped and you can clearly see Jenny underneath it all. "What you do to me and my friends and the other girls is bullshit." She crosses her arms and sniffs derisively. "If it was completely up to me then you <i>would</i> be sleeping under Josiah's mask and how much time would you lose then? Maybe he'd want to stay as you the whole year. Maybe forever. So cry bullshit all you want Chelsea, you should be considering yourself lucky that we're even giving you whatever scraps you're getting."<br/>
<br/>
"Scraps?!" You can see the seething on her face but she knows that you've got her by the balls, so to speak, and is powerless to do anything. "So what, am I going to have to go around as Wendy Silbert or some pimple-faced freshman," she asks in a more defeated tone.<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing that bad," you tell her. "Well at least not that bad for anyone else."<br/>
<br/>
"But for you," Yumi smirks, "it might be that bad. You treat a lot of people like garbage. You and Kendra and Gordon's buddies; all of you. So you're going to be in a position to maybe get what you give."<br/>
<br/>
"What's that supposed to mean," Chelsea sneers.<br/>
<br/>
"Here's an example then," Yumi states. "You're always on the asses of the rest of the cheerleaders but Yumi and Cindy and everyone else are all too popular despite your best efforts. But there's someone on the squad who isn't. Someone you brought in to, I don't know, throw your weight around and have someone who'd be easily intimidated."<br/>
<br/>
Chelsea's silent for a minute but realization slowly dawns on her. "Michelle," she asks. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."<br/>
<br/>
"It's definitely not a joke and she's option number one. You know, if you want to be a cheerleader that badly," states Yumi. It's also a place where pretty much the rest of your group can easily keep an eye on her.<br/>
<br/>
"You're going to stuff me under Michelle's face," asks Chelsea, completely incredulous at the thought.<br/>
<br/>
"I simply said it's option number one," replies Yumi. "Option number two's someone you like to talk a lot of crap about and spread a lot of rumors about: Sienna Goldman." Sienna, much like Michelle, is a place where Chelsea can be watched; by you, in this instance.<br/>
<br/>
"Sienna," Chelsea practically explodes. "You can practically smell the STDs and poverty coming from that slut!"<br/>
<br/>
"Funny you mention sluts," says Yumi. If joy was a physical, tangible thing then what you feel coming from here would be the size of a gorilla. "Actually, maybe whores is a better term? Or maybe Door."<br/>
<br/>
"Door, what are you..." Chelsea trails off for a moment but it's not long before she catches on and if looks could kill you're pretty sure Yumi would not only be dead but retroactively wiped from existence. "I hate you." Chelsea's obviously realized that Yumi was referring to Dorothy Harmon... or Door or Whoreothy or any of the other lovely nicknames Chelsea and her friends like to give her. "So that's it? Those are my choices?"<br/>
<br/>
"Not <i>your</i> choices, Chelsea, <i>our</i> choices." Yumi looks at you and gives a smile. "Or I guess you could say Paris' choices. She agreed to save you from going to sleep under Josiah's mask so she's the one who gets to pick."<br/>
<br/>
"Prescott," Chelsea turns to you and gives you the same serpentine look she gave when it was just the two of you in here. "You know what I said earlier and you're seeing it in action right now. Is this <i>really</i> what you want to do? Just doing things because <i>she</i> wants you to?"<br/>
<br/>
Of course it was your decision to bring her into the group but it was also your decision to put her in for one of her victims as well so if she thinks she's going to sweet talk you into getting her a better spot then she's grossly misread the situation. You've been deciding her fate up to this point so what's one more decision thrust onto you?</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112112221131111122
author_id: rugal
title: The Olive Branch
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Look, if she's going to be around then we can't risk making an enemy of her," you tell them. "If we just go and put her into some loser then all she's going to do is stew and plot and if she's someone who has a lot of time on their hands..."<br/>
<br/>
Yumi grumbles in frustration. "So you're really just going to give her whatever she wants," she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"That's not it at all," you protest. "I'm not going to say she gets, like, Andrea or Kelsey or something like that because that'd be stupid."<br/>
<br/>
"Any more stupid than what we're doing?" Yumi's glare is directly challenging you but you don't back down.<br/>
<br/>
"Do you want to think about what would happen if we combined Chelsea Cooper and Kelsey Blankenship?"<br/>
<br/>
Yumi stares at you silently before grunting. "Fine," she relents, "but we're doing this my way."<br/>
<br/>
"Since when were you in charge," asks Eva.<br/>
<br/>
"How many of you have dealt with Chelsea," she asks. "I don't mean the people you're pretending to be. Because I've dealt with her. I've got the problem with her so if we're going to do this then I want a little measure of revenge."<br/>
<br/>
"That's fair," states Maria, "but remember we can't go about doing anything too harsh."<br/>
<br/>
"Right," you add. "Think about it like this too: we're taking Chelsea completely out of her element here so even if she's not somewhere horrible she's still at our mercy. She won't know how to take the mask off and if she starts getting out of line then we put Shank's mask on her."<br/>
<br/>
"Well the mask is still going on her," declares Yumi. "She's sure as hell not going home as herself so we won't treat Josiah's mask yet but we'll still make her spend tonight and tomorrow under it." She then looks at you harshly. "Since it's your idea to bring her in you get to be the one to find a place for her. So whatever, it doesn't have to be somewhere low on the pecking order but it does have to be someone where you can keep an eye on her."<br/>
<br/>
"That's... that's understandable," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Good and now that it's settled I'm going home," she says in irritation as she looks over to the studio. "Because I suddenly don't feel like hanging around here anymore." She practically storms out of the unit after that.<br/>
<br/>
You look at the others and their faces are a mixture of emotions. Cindy's not happy, Eva and Jessica both have hesitant expressions as does Shank. And Maria? Well, you can't really read it. "Look," you say. "I'm going to go talk to her so you guys need to get everything set up with Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
You don't even give them a chance to respond before you follow Yumi out the door.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Yumi," you call out as you see her heading to her car. She ignores you and continues to ignore you as you call out again. "Jenny," you finally call and she stops and turns around. Her face tells the entire story.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not happy with you right now, Will," she says. "I don't even know what the fuck you were thinking."<br/>
<br/>
"I was thinking," you pause. "I don't even know. It was because she wanted to join I guess. When I was talking to her she told me that she wanted a break."<br/>
<br/>
"A break from what," she says as she crosses her arms.<br/>
<br/>
"From herself I guess," you reply. "She just said it was a pain in the ass but then started talking about how Cindy and Lin and... and Yumi were all trying to take her spot." You let out a sigh. "There's probably more than that too. I'd guess when you're at that level you probably have to sort of acquiesce to everyone else. Put in all of your appearances, glad-hand this person, deal with that crisis."<br/>
<br/>
"You're actually sympathizing with her?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," you protest but quickly backpedal, "well maybe a little bit. I mean I wouldn't know what that's like but..."<br/>
<br/>
"However quote-unquote hard Queen Chelsea has it that doesn't change the way she treats others." She leans back against the door of her car. "Have I ever told you about the first time I ever even met her?"<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head.<br/>
<br/>
"It was in tenth grade. There were some tryouts for the cheerleaders that were open to everyone in every grade. Yumi and I had both done a lot of gymnastics and dancing and stuff so we thought it would be fun and Yumi, of course, killed it. Chelsea really liked her at the time and was trying to get her into her little group." She sniffs a bit. "But she saw me, and I thought I did well, and she just started telling me how it wasn't for boys and putting me down."<br/>
<br/>
"Wasn't for... but you don't even look anything like a boy," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"I did back then," she says with a weak laugh. "I tried being more girly after that. I grew my hair out, tried wearing skirts and all of that. I gave it up pretty quickly but never went back quite as far as I did then. That pissed Yumi off though and even though she wound up getting onto the squad she hasn't liked Chelsea because of it. That's how she fell in with Cindy and all of them once the squad started filling out."<br/>
<br/>
"But maybe this will be good for her," you state. "If she wants a break from being herself and all maybe stepping back and looking at everything from an outside perspective will be exactly what she needs."<br/>
<br/>
"I really doubt it," Yumi replies. "I'm serious about what I said too, she's not getting any second chances. If she starts trying to pull shit she's going to sleep under Josiah's mask."<br/>
<br/>
"Is Chelsea right," you ask after a moment or two of uncomfortable silence. "About Yumi wanting to take her spot?"<br/>
<br/>
"So what if she is," she snaps back. "Would things really be so much worse under Yumi?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't really know if they would be but maybe that's partly why Chelsea's like that," you say.<br/>
<br/>
"So you're saying it's Yumi's fault," she glares at you.<br/>
<br/>
"No," you say defensively. "What I'm saying is that if Chelsea thinks people are out to get her then she's going to clamp down even harder. But if she does that then that's just going to cause those people to want to get her out and it's this endless circle of paranoia."<br/>
<br/>
"If that's what you think then go right ahead and think it," she says as she pushes herself off of the door, opens it and gets into the driver's seat before eventually starting the car. "If you want to 'save' Chelsea then be my guest but I think it's a fool's errand. She is how she is and you're not going to get anywhere with her so you better make sure you find somewhere good for her."<br/>
<br/>
With that she drives off and it's a few minutes later that you receive a text that everything's ready.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
"Why do things have to be such emotional roller coasters," you ask Peyton as you flop down face first on your bed.<br/>
<br/>
"Rough day," she asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Not really," you tell her as you flip over to your back. "In fact it was mostly pretty awesome. I actually talked to Jelena and those guys at lunch today and they're supper cool and said, like, I could hang out with them and stuff."<br/>
<br/>
"Well that's great because Yumi more or less gave me the same invitation," she excitedly replies.<br/>
<br/>
"But that's kind of where the low came. She was hanging out with Jenny again today and we were all at that place I mentioned yesterday," you tell her, "and, uh, I guess something with Chelsea came up and that's when her mood got really sour. So did Jenny's. I don't know if Chelsea said anything to them or there's some drama between them or what but it kind of brought the mood down and they left pretty quickly."<br/>
<br/>
"If there's any drama then I don't know about it," Peyton states. "But that sucks, sorry to hear it."<br/>
<br/>
Of course at the same time you're thinking less about your conversation with "your" sister and more about where to put Chelsea. Peyton, of course, is possibility number one if you want to keep a close eye on Chelsea. After all it doesn't get any closer than Paris' twin. But she, of course, is not the only possibility and to be honest you're a little hesitant about even doing it. Maybe it's the Paris part of you that's giving you second thoughts; does she really want to see her sister paraded around with someone else operating the controls?<br/>
<br/>
It's why you're also hesitant to consider Sara or Cara or Meredith or any of Paris' other friends.<br/>
<br/>
But there is one good possibility of course. If you're going to be hanging out with that group why not try and go for one of them? You don't know if you could get, say, Jelena or Sienna out there but Janelle is friends with Fatima so maybe you can get her to ask Fatima to come out. Besides Fatima seems like a nice girl so maybe being there would help Chelsea's personality some. But then maybe you <i>should</i> try and see if you can get Jelena out there. There's not really harm in asking her that you can see; they did invite you to hang out with them so maybe you should return the favor.</span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112113
author_id: rugal
title: Athletically Gifted
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"So, you've made a choice," Fairfax asks as you take a seat at the table where he's chowing down on a box of (leftover?) Chinese food. Keith is already there.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I think so," you say as you search through your book bag and pull out the list. You shove it over to Keith and Fairfax who both take a look at it. "Look for the check marks."<br/>
<br/>
"Amanda Ferguson, Mia DeWitt, Catherine Muskov, Tara Weston and," Fairfax stops to re-examine the list, "Jamie Bornholm?" He takes a moment to readjust his glasses and when he speaks it's with something close to the tone of a disappointed father admonishing his child. "I said I wanted a choice, Will. You said you had a choice. These are options."<br/>
<br/>
"I have one I'm leaning towards but I figured it would be best to get together to finalize it," you say diplomatically. You then take your finger and point at a name... or you try to. You want to go wtih the athletes but you're having a hard time determining which one to go for. "Well I have a few I'm leaning towards," you sheepishly admit.<br/>
<br/>
"A few," Fairfax asks with a bit of incredulity creeping into his voice. "It would probably be easier if you just went with one of the cheerleaders..."<br/>
<br/>
"Look, it's between these three alright," you say as you point to Catherine, Tara and Jamie's names.<br/>
<br/>
"Athletes," he says. "Well there <i>is</i> a connection to the cheerleaders with any of them even if it's not anything as explicit as sharing classes or similar groups."<br/>
<br/>
"Right, the cheerleaders are always going to have a connection to the teams," you add. "But there's more than that as well. I think those three specifically can give us insight into other things that we might not get from the cheerleaders."<br/>
<br/>
Fairfax cocks an eyebrow and takes a bit of food. "You have thoughts on this I assume," he asks before shoving the food into his mouth.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, definitely. Take Catherine Muskov for instance," you say as you point her out. "Well, what do we know about her? She's on the track team of course. She transferred over from Eastman last year too. Well, I was at her place over the weekend --"<br/>
<br/>
"Bullshit," Keith blurts out. "No way were you ever at Catherine's!"<br/>
<br/>
"Stephanie invited me out although I think she was trying to humiliate me by putting me in an awkward environment," you groan. "But that's not important. What <i>is</i> important is that I saw a bunch of Eastman jocks at her place when I was there which means she probably still has a lot of friends over there."<br/>
<br/>
"I think I understand," Fairfax states as he finishes chewing. "So not only would we have data on how the athletic circle works but we could find out about inter-school relationships and could parlay that into info on Eastman. That's not a bad idea actually."<br/>
<br/>
"Right, and look at Tara," you say as you move on to her. "Even I've heard the rumors about her."<br/>
<br/>
"Rumors," Fairfax asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, like she's into girls or something," states Keith.<br/>
<br/>
"Well that's the rumor anyway," you add, "so if I was her we could see how someone like that deals with rumors constantly swirling around them. That's kind of the same with Jamie," you state as you go to her name.<br/>
<br/>
"I see," says Fairfax. "Apparently Chelsea likes to spread rumors about her and her family. It's stuff I've overheard some of the other cheerleaders I share classes with talk about."<br/>
<br/>
"So she covers the swim team and athletes," you tell him, "and the rumor angle but with the bonus that, if Shanks is going to be Chelsea, then we can see how that stuff plays out on both sides." You then cast a glance towards Keith. "Plus she shares a circle with Cindy so if they're friendly we can get one through the other."<br/>
<br/>
"When we get Eva and Jessica we could get Cindy through them," Fairfax states. "Then through Cindy we could get Jamie." He seems to be working everything out in his head. "Then through Cindy or Eva or Jessica we could probably get Maria and through Maria is Chelsea," he reasons. "If we're efficient we could all be in place by tonight."<br/>
<br/>
"So you're saying Jamie would be the best bet," you ask.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm saying she would be the easiest, yes," he answers. "But all of them do offer nice possibilities. I'll let you decide but we need to act fast so text me before eighth. Make sure to tell Mike and Carlos as well that we're getting Eva and Jessica first. You've thought of that, right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Ugh, sorry but it slipped my mind," you confess. "I've been so worried about my own list. But Jessica and Jenny have this lunch too so if I can catch either of them..." You decide to not waste any time for a response from Fairfax and hop up from the table to try and find either of them.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You don't really have far to run though because no sooner do you round the corner that leads to the hall between the outside walkway and the library do you see Jenny coming from the other direction. "Hey," you call out happily, "just who I was looking... for..."<br/>
<br/>
That jovial expression is replaced by a more concerned one as Jenny is headed your way (which is good) with a pretty sour expression on her face (which is not so good). "That's nice and all but you're not who <i>I'm</i> looking for," she says as she walks up. "Though maybe you'll do."<br/>
<br/>
"You pissed about something?"<br/>
<br/>
"Carson and James dipped out on lunch," she says with frustration in her voice. "They've been flaking out a lot on me, James especially, and I've about had it."<br/>
<br/>
You note that it's James that's really sticking in her craw due to the fact that she likes him. So you try to reassure her. "They've probably got good reasons," you say. "They've been going around talking about chemicals and stuff right? So maybe it's related to school?"<br/>
<br/>
Jenny laughs in your face at that. "Like hell they are, not if I know them," she says. "No, if I know them they're up to some dumb shit prank or something childish and when I find them I'm kicking their asses for it." She sighs and seems to have calmed down thankfully. "Anyway, you said you were looking for me?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to know if Jessica was with you at lunch today. I need to talk to her."<br/>
<br/>
"Obviously not if I'm marching around the halls looking for those two idiots," she replies. "There's nothing today so she doesn't have any reason to come over. What'd you need to talk to her about though?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. Mike Hollister and Carlos Montoya have their video thing right," you say to her.<br/>
<br/>
"I've heard <i>of</i> it from the Two Man Idiot Squad," she replies.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, they're working on one today, Bring It On or something like that I think," you tell her. This is all going to be one big lie of course but if you're lucky it's a lie that'll work. "So because of that they want a cheerleader to show up. Not to say anything but like a silent walk on cameo or something."<br/>
<br/>
"You want me to talk to Jessica about doing it," she asks. "I mean if you need a cheerleader I'd have better luck with Yumi."<br/>
<br/>
"They were kind of insistent on it being either Eva or Jessica," you quickly counter. "Something about how they're filming from the neck down to conceal the identity and that Eva and Jessica have that classic cheerleader look. I guess they figured they'd have a better shot going to them than they would going to Cindy or Chelsea."<br/>
<br/>
"Chelsea would probably drive her car into the river before she agreed to do that. Hey, maybe we should ask her then," Jenny jokes. At least you think she's joking. "I've only got study hall third period with Eva but I've get Jessica in eighth so I can talk to her there for you. I can probably convince her."<br/>
<br/>
"That's great," you exclaim. "You're a life saver Jenny, thank you!"<br/>
<br/>
"And you can pay me back by telling me if you've seen the dipshits," she responds.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head at that. "I'm as in the dark as you are, sorry," you tell her.<br/>
<br/>
She grunts at that and bids goodbye. You're out of the woods which is a huge relief off your shoulders except... "Hey, before you go," you say as she walks past you. "Uh, make sure that Jessica knows it's recorded at... you know that storage complex? Top Self or Top Shelf or whatever," you ask which gets a nod. "Well that's where Carlos has his studio so tell her to come out there around four."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Your next class is Mr. Kowalski's calculus class which is one you've always enjoyed. Math isn't too much of a problem and Kowalski has always been one of more jovial teachers but more than an easy to get along with teacher is that you share it with girls like Anne Starkey and Cindy Vredenburg; and sitting next to Cindy is Jamie Bornholm.<br/>
<br/>
Jamie is not the first person you'd think of when you'd think of a swimmer. Compared to others like Andrea Varnsworth or Olivia Byrne, her body is lithe and thin though with long, strong legs; she reminds you more of a ballerina than a someone who would be on the swim team. All of that is reinforced by dark hair that, while cascading in waves, is today done up in the kind of bun you'd expect to see on a dancer. That hair is contrasted by fine, flawless skin that you don't think you've ever seen tan.<br/>
<br/>
And while Cindy has always given you attitude, the interactions you've had with her have been pleasant insomuch that she's always given you small smiles and has been courteous. There's an elegance to her that has always drawn your eye, as if she comes from an earlier time. She's not your first choice, Catherine and Tara are slightly ahead of her, but she'd be the easiest to get, Fairfax seems to desire to get everything done as fast as possible and it's not like you'd have a problem being Jamie.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121131
author_id: vild23
title: Go Big or Go Home
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You drive into the parking lot and glance at your phone's directions again. "Is this really where they wanted to meet at? A storage facility?" You parked your Toyota and got out to look around. Only a few cars here and you couldn't spot any recognizable ones that belonged to any of your friends. <br/>
<br/>
You check your phone again to make sure the text from Jessica was correct. <br/>
<br/>
<i>Hurry its at Top Shelf Storage you need to come see this!!!</i><br/>
<br/>
You look up from your phone to read the sign from out front on the building. "Top Shelf". Yup this is it. <br/>
<br/>
<i> hey im here now </i><br/>
<br/>
You send the message to Jessica and contemplate why you decided to come. Your boyfriend's older brother's frat was throwing a house party tonight and you wanted to show up early there. However, you then got a message from Jessica Garner around 6:30 telling you of this get together with her, her sister, and some of the other cheerleaders on her team, and she really wanted you to come. <br/>
<br/>
You came because it was a chance for you to branch out and meet some more friends at Westside. Heck, you've been at the school for a year now and you still don't know everyone in your grade. Thats why you decided to come, so you can branch out and not always have to rely on Becky, Elisabeth, Amy, and your other friends from across town who were still at Eastside High. You would only be at Westside for this last year but it was better then being practically friendless for Senior year.<br/>
<br/>
As you stood in the middle of the parking lot in the dimming light of the day you could feel a chilly wind run up you causing goosebumps to go up your arms. You cursed yourself for wearing denim shorts out here, as your practically bare legs felt like they were freezing. You had wished Michael could have came out too but Jessica said: <i>No guys or boyfriends just girls getting together tonight. </i><br/>
<br/>
You were about to send off another text to Jessica when a door opened and Jessica herself came out of the building waving you in. You waved back then slipped your cell phone into your small purse and headed for the door. As you clicked across the parking lot in your boots towards her you couldn't help but think she looked different, almost like she was really tired. But as you got closer you realized she just wasn't wearing any makeup. Odd since you've never seen her without it before.  <br/>
<br/>
"Hey forgot to tell you in class today but that's a really cute new top, did you get it at Forever 21?" you ask as you give her a small hug.<br/>
<br/>
"Huh. Oh um yeah I got it there. Hey um nice bag." she says pointing at your black Kate Spade purse. <br/>
<br/>
"You've never seen it before? I've had it for a while. I could of swore I told you I got it at Nordstrom, in Science Lab." <br/>
<br/>
"Oh hmmhmm silly me I must have forgot! But like never mind that, you need to come see this!" she says lightly grabbing your arm and ushering you into the building. <br/>
<br/>
You don't know why but she's acting kind of strange today. Ever since you buddied up in Science lab together you and Jessica have been good acquaintances. You always knew her as the prim and proper cheerleader who matched you in many interests as well as dress, but right now she was basically galloping down the halls in her sandal wedges with you in tow. <br/>
<br/>
"Wait are you guys smoking pot in here? Because I'm down for you guys doing it but its not really my thing, with track and all." <br/>
<br/>
You say trying to get your mind off how strange she's suddenly acting. But before she answers you both turn a corner and see her sister Eva, Maria, and Chelsea are all standing in the hallways looking in your direction. <br/>
<br/>
"She's here!" Jessica beams loudly as you turn the corner. <br/>
<br/>
"Hey everyone." you say giving a friendly smile and wave to them all. <br/>
<br/>
They all respond but not in their typical ways. And stranger still is the fact that not one of them is wearing make-up, giving the crowd of cheerleaders all a worn look. <br/>
<br/>
"Hey so what's this all about? I heard this is like your go-to place for hanging."<br/>
<br/>
They all look at each other before Maria clears her throat speaks out. <br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, Top Shelf is always the place we come to chill after school.<br/>
<br/>
*<br/>
Suddenly hearing the name "Top Shelf" finally re-jogs your memory, you knew it sounded familiar! <br/>
<br/>
It was in passing today when that one boy showed up at your locker. He was a scrawny thing about your height, with hair like straw, and a goofy smile. When you had turned around he momentarily glanced at your cleavage before darting his eyes up at you. He was blabbing about something with videos and cheerleaders and youtube.You had only raised an eye-brow trying to give him a hint you were uninterested, and yet he just continued talking about "Top Shelf" and someone named "Carlos" and who knows what else. He was practically foaming at the mouth with saliva when he stopped talking and people were glancing in your direction as they walked by.<br/>
<br/>
"I know you." you had told him when he finally stopped talking.<br/>
<br/>
"You were the guy that crashed my house party the other night."<br/>
<br/>
He suddenly stiffens and looks nervous. <br/>
<br/>
"Oh ..I .. I actually got invited there by Stephanie Wyatt and …" you cut him off.<br/>
<br/>
"Hmmm thats funny because I actually talked with Stephanie that night and she said you showed up uninvited."<br/>
<br/>
He stopped dead in his tracks and looked around mumbling something. His eyes momentarily darted back up at your cleavage for a second, but you decided to lay into him.<br/>
<br/>
"You know you're really creepy!" you said loudly for others to hear as you walked away with your books. Sure, it was a mean jab but you just didn't want to have to deal with those types of people, the losers of the school that is.<br/>
<br/>
*<br/>
Thinking back at it now, with you standing here in the storage unit, it did seem kinda mean, but then again he did show up at your place uninvited.<br/>
<br/>
But what was his name again? Stephanie had told you, "Wade Prescott? Wren Prescott? Walt Prescott?" Eh it doesn't matter now.<br/>
<br/>
But as you look over the uncanny cheerleaders one more time, a weird feeling spikes the small hairs on the back of your neck up. And you feel a sudden groan in your stomach as you turn to leave. <br/>
<br/>
"Hey so it was nice meeting up with you all but I…." you say, as something out of the corner of your eyes flashes white, and you black out……<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
********<br/>
<br/>
You slowly open your eyelids as you recall that memory. <br/>
<br/>
"Eh, what the hell happened?" you think<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly you realize the coldness of the floor on your bare flesh beneath you and dart your head up. You look down at your body to see that you are completely naked! You then curl into a ball on your side covering your breasts with your arms and legs.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh my God, was I raped!?" you think as you horrifically press a hand against your labia checking for any damage trying to hold back any tears.<br/>
<br/>
"Wait a second…" you suddenly think, "That boy today….in the hall….his name was Will ….Will Prescott…and Will Prescott used a mask to become… No… I'm actually Will Prescott... and I'm in the body of Catherine Muskov!" </span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211311
author_id: vild23
title: Alpha Female
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Alpha female" thats right, you think as you get up off the floor and balance on the heels of your feet and rock back between them and your toes. That was what Will Prescott, <i>You</i>, had thought about ,Yourself, <i>Catherine Nicole Muskov.</i><br/>
<br/>
"Hmmm I guess he was right about that." you think as you look down at your body. At 5'11 you were taller than many of the guys in your school. You then twist your leg out to glance at your calve, and rub the thick muscle there. Something you were proud of was how big they've gotten since last year, since you were on track and field after all. <br/>
<br/>
In fact you were so busy checking out and rubbing your calves you barely even noticed the two new globes of flesh on your chest. "Eh Breasts are breasts" you idly think as you then grab them in each hand under your stomach and lift them up, then drop them back down letting them jiggle a couple times. 32C cup size's were fine in the looks department but definitely an annoyance when it came to running and you often felt like you'd need to get a reduction if you ever wanted to get into running as a career. Definitely not something that every guy chalks them up to be... <br/>
<br/>
You then notice the mirror across the room and walk over to it, even knowing exactly that it will show in the reflection. "Yup, there I am, Catherine Muskov". Your Will Prescott mind goes crazy eyeing everything from your breasts and flat stomach, to your wide hips and tiny dark landing strip above your sex. But your new memories tell you something else and you think: "Ugghhh I look horrible with out makeup, acne scars are now showing, and my hair long is a bit frizzled now." <br/>
<br/>
"I'm definitely going to have to straighten it out tonight before….shit." You then scramble over to your purse on the floor and pull out your phone. You punch in the lock code and see a few texts pilled up from your boyfriend. <br/>
<br/>
<i>sorry bae for not responding sooner! just getting talkative with Jessica and the others here lol  </i><br/>
<br/>
You remember being hesitant about choosing Catherine as your masking target earlier today since she did had a boyfriend. But you even convinced yourself that you'd break up with the guy if necessary, but right now you knew for fact you're definitely not doing that. Michael Allen is sweet and knows how to treat Catherine and her body really good. "Was it weird you were getting more excited thinking about seeing his naked body then your own?" you idly think.<br/>
<br/>
You then walk over to Catherine's discarded clothes you had stripped off the real Catherine earlier and pick up the crumbled up red thong. It surprises you to how small it look off her but as you pull them up you legs you realize just how little fabric was actually there, just just enough to give your sex a playful pinch. You then quickly pull up your denim jean shorts, pull on the white bra with floral patterns on the cups, and slip on the tank top that gives you just a glimpse of your midriff, and tie the flannel shirt around your hips. Exactly how she was wearing it earlier today. <br/>
<br/>
You remembered the resentment you felt towards her as she walked into the storage unit earlier with "Jessica". You remember crouching in the open storage room with a mask ready when she came in and started talking to the others. "Bitch, pretty soon that will be me wearing your clothes and body. Call me creepy for nothing." you thought. And now here you were, wrapped up in the very clothes she had on just 20 minutes earlier. One more thing. Into her purse you pulled out the very EOS chapstick egg you saw her applying today in the hall, and twist off the cap and rub it into your own lips. "Perfect." you say hearing your new voice for the first time. <br/>
<br/>
Finally slipping on your boots you give your body a few posses in the mirror. You almost wanted to pull out her phone and post some instagram pics entitled "No Make-up Night" but decide against it. You then sling the purse over your shoulder and walk over to the storage room door and open it. </span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112113111
author_id: vild23
title: Mean Girl
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>"Uuugh finally." you say as you make it back to your grey toyota, open the door, and buckle in.You thought you'd never get out of there! After walking out of the storage unit you were practically assaulted with questions from the other "girls" when you told them you had to leave immediately.  <br/>
<br/>
"Maria" had kept interjecting about the next step of "her" plans, but you couldn't stand sitting there and talking with the uncanny group of cheerleaders and especially not with your beta hovering around staring. As this plan of hers sounded far less interesting to you, as though it was cooked up by a bunch of guys who just got inside the bodies of women for the first time and didn't know what to do with themselves. <br/>
<br/>
You decided you needed to leave early though as you knew going back into the life of Catherine proper sounded like a far more interesting night than continuing the night with a plan that sounded like acting like a Will Prescott who merely was in the body of Catherine Muskov, and hanging out with a bunch of "girls" who couldn't take their eyes off each others bodies for two seconds. That's why you bailed on them with an excuse of having to leave for "reasons". (Which was the actually case for three reasons : one you had to piss, two you had a frat party to attend, and three you hated, <i>HATED </i>, not having on make-up in public.) <br/>
<br/>
Though as you left to leave you turned to see your beta following you close on your heels. When h caught up he was already in the middle of mumbling something when you cut him off.<br/>
<br/>
 "Listen, I don't know you and you don't know me. For as far as the world is concerned you're Will Prescott and you don't know or talk to me. Just go back home and live your life like normal, and don't tell anyone about this. Only talk to me if I call you, not in the halls, not on your terms, <i>only </i> if I call you, got it?" <br/>
<br/>
He only replied with a nod and then turned and walked off. In the back of your mind you decided on the nickname of "Creep", to your amusement. You weren't normally such a bitch to people, but for some reason it felt natural to think that of him.<br/>
<br/>
It was only when you had pulled out of the parking lot and started driving down the road did the adrenaline wear off enough for you to finally realize how surreal your situation was. Glancing into your mirrors every few moments gave you a bit of freakish excitement which you couldn't really put a finger on.<br/>
<br/>
"Shit.. I'm really Catherine….I'm Catherine Fucking Muskov." you say aloud as you drive towards a place you've never been before, while listening to music you've only heard once and not caring much for before, but now loving every single beat to. <br/>
<br/>
Finally then pull into a driveway only directed on glimpse memory and to your surprise the garage door opens as you hit a button and you park your car in the empty spot. More surreal-ness washes over you as you walked into the home, pet the big German Shepard on your way in, stroll past a young teenager watching TV who's name you knew instantly as "Ashley Muskov", and up the stairs into the last room on the left. Your room. <br/>
<br/>
The walls were painted a deep pink and clashed perfectly with the pink and white color pallet of the rest of the room's furniture. Pictures were strewn up across the room some being personalized pictures of days gone past, others were just some with inspirational quotes. Some were of boy band members and another one was of Audrey Hepburn in a tight black dress with a cigarette holder.  <br/>
<br/>
You place your purse down on a white cubby dresser and continue to stare, taking it all in. Some bras, shorts, and shirts littered the floor, stuffed animals and pillowed dotted the fluffy white comforter with floral patterns on the bed. White Christmas-like lights were hung across the ceiling, and on small racks hung different purses. <br/>
<br/>
You opened the closet door to see a nearly overflowing assortment of clothes on the hangers, it made your heart flutter thinking that you'd have to try on at least everything once. Below them was an impressively larger shoe rack with a variety of different shoes, pumps, boots, slippers, and moccasins. You slip of your boots and place them in the one empty spot with a thrill. <br/>
<br/>
Walking over to the dresser you open each drawer to reveal different varieties of shorts, pants, bras, panties, socks, and bikinis each in their own compartment. Its not until your phone dings that your trance is finally broken. You reach into your purse and open your phone to reveal a text from your boyfriend.<br/>
<br/>
<i> where r u? </i><br/>
<br/>
"Shit I need to get ready!" you think. </span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121131111
author_id: gop6
title: Friday Night Plans
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You are now sitting down on a pink stool staring at the new face looking back at you wide eyed in the vanity mirror. It took you nearly 10 minutes but you did it, you created a perfectly defined face that would look like something that can be on a magazine cover. <br/>
<br/>
You were nervous at first looking over all the makeup products strewn across the vanity and how the hell you'd be able to do something you've never done before, but in no time, almost like you've been doing for years you quickly got to work brushing your face with soft brushes and various colors to make up the beautiful face that now shines before you. Bright green eyes, high check bones, and a chin that is strong but still feminine, makes up a face that enhances Catherine Muskov's, now your, beautiful face. <br/>
<br/>
Of course you decided to put in some extra work into your face than how Catherine usually does, and it payed off. Eyebrows drawn on, blush, concealer, eye shadow, lip gloss, some contouring to bring out those check bones, some brushing of your long straight dark hair and there you are: practically a model of Westside High.<br/>
<br/>
 There's reason for why whenever you and your "Will Prescott friends" got together you always ranked Catherine in the top 5 hottest girls at the school, alongside Andrea, Chelsea, Cindy, and a few others. While each of them had their own unique attributes drawing attention to them, Catherine had a bit of everything: nice face, ass, breasts, and body being nearly perfect. You now smile a bit with pride recalling those memories, vanity was something Catherine quite often took an almost unhealthy amount of pride in. <br/>
<br/>
"But whats wrong with that? A girl deserves to brag, especially one looking as gorgeous as I." you smile and hum to yourself. While Catherine is very modest in public, she does take pride in the fact thats she's hotter than many of her friends and classmates.<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly a loud rapping was heard on your door.<br/>
<br/>
"Catherine! Your step-father and I are going out for dinner and a movie tonight! You are to watch your sister tonight while we are out and no buts!"<br/>
<br/>
With a flurry of movement and your long hair flying everywhere you rush up from your stool and open your bedroom door to be greeted at by an older looking version of your new body.<br/>
<br/>
"Mooom, Ashley is 14 she's old enough not to have a babysitter or me looking after her all the time! Plus I told you earlier I'm going to Michael's house tonight!" you say practically whining. <br/>
<br/>
"No butts." she says and hurries down the stairs putting earrings in her lobes then out the garage door.<br/>
<br/>
"FUCK!" you screamed when she was out of earshot, slamming your bedroom door then face-planting onto the fluffy pillow on bed. <br/>
<br/>
You really wanted to go to that party, or at least the Catherine Muskov part of you did. She goes to one party almost every weekend or hosts one of her own. However, the Will Prescott inside you almost never went to any parties, and usually spent his Friday nights usually with just one or two friends, or alone playing video games or…watching porn and…masturbating.<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly feeling your cheeks redden hot, you reach around and grab a handful of your rear buttocks and squeeze. Feeling how plump your ass is now compared to your previous flat pale butt sends a rush of serotonin to your head and you then grab each cheek and squeeze again. You instantly get up and look towards the vanity mirror noticing how entirely flushed your face is even under the copious amount of makeup. <br/>
<br/>
Walking closer to it you then pull off the tank top and white bra around you while keeping eye contact in the vanity, and watch as your pointy breasts spill out of the cups. Leaving the reflection of a made-up Catherine Muskov in only denim shorts staring back at you.<br/>
<br/>
 If Will Prescott were to see the sight you were beholding right now he'd probably cream his pants, hell half the guys in school probably would too, you think. <br/>
<br/>
The surreal nature of what you are seeing, only intensifies as the reflection copies your various movements. She makes a muscle in a mirror and you look down to notice the thick muscles making a hill with low valise on your arm and shoulder blade. Much more defined then you've ever seen it on your arm before this day.<br/>
<br/>
You look back into the mirror and think: "A boring night for Catherine could be and insanely fun night for William Prescott." <br/>
</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211311111
author_id: nirxor
title: Do something Will would do
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You're playing with Catherine's hair, something she does when gets frustrated, watching her face grow discontent with her current state, it's very sexy. Watching Catherine twirl her hair and stand pouting at her reflection, her chest bouncing bare, and, ass tightly compacted in her shorts. That's when it hits you! Catherine can't leave her house, her sister stays in her room until she gets hungry, you have plenty of time, and, her parents won't be back till late in the evening! "If Catherine can't have fun, maybe Will can!" You whisper to yourself, watching her face lighten up and smile with the strange smirk of Will on Catherine's beautiful face. You check your phone, sending out a text to your boyfriend about your current situation. The small back and forth between the both of you makes Catherine feel hot, she wants him here. His flirty attitude  makes it even worse, when you send him a pic of Catherine covering her bare chest with her free arm, he relents and let's you go. Taking enough of Will's book to cover all the bases, going to your sister to check in her, she's on the phone with her friends. It's nothing new to Catherine, but she has her places and times for this sort of thing, but right now, being Catherine isn't priority, exploration is.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey Ashley! You hungry?" You tell her, quickly going to her room.<br/>
<br/>
"You're not going out?" Ashley asks, muting the phone, she looks like you, except her face has her father's eyes and your mother's breasts. She's smaller than you by a several feet, but she takes care of herself like you do. She's aiming for the swim team as far as you can remember.  "I promise  I didn't tell mom and dad!" She wines, Ashley, as cute as she is, is still young and not ready for drinking, something Catherine knows well. Sure Catherine has given her some liquor and other things, but Catherine cares for her like a big sister would. Which makes this easier for you to convince her to par take in Catherine's secret stash of brandy.<br/>
<br/>
"Sorry squirt, it's mom and dad. I think it was just bad timing honestly, but don't worry about it, I'll be making supper." You tell her, as she waves at you and continues her chat. "By the way Ash, the small bottle of brandy isn't going anywhere, want to share a little bit of it tonight?" You ask her, sending a sisterly wink her way, she pauses, and motions with a thumbs up and a wide grin, easy. Ashley models herself after her amazing sister. <i>"Of course she does! She's a knock out already! Most of the boys would be thinking she's seventeen, hell I'd get excited to be in her body! But she's not Catherine, not yet anyways."</i> You muse as you stop and smile at a mirror in the hallway, gently cooping a feel of your fantastic tits. Going to the couch Catherine pulls out her phone to order pizza, thinking about what would be great, a meat lovers with an extra large soda and a cookie pizza sounds good. When you begin to type in the local domino's Number more of Catherine comes out.<br/>
<br/>
<i>"I can cook, I hate that greesey shit, I haven't sweat enough today either, eating that would kill my body."</i><br/>
<br/>
Will might want a whole two pizzas to pig out on, but Catherine has a hot bod to maintain, besides, Will wouldn't want to see her body fallout due to bad eating habits! Letting Catherine back to take the lead, she goes straight to the kitchen and makes a steamed chicken pasta with a salad on the side, it smells wonderful. You place a plate down for yourself and your sister, washing your hands before you touch the foods, Ashely soon sprints down the stairs. She smiles as you finish setting the table, grinding ear to ear she approaches you hands behind her back.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey Cat, can we have a little of the brandy with our supper? I mean I know it's not special, but I really want to try it." She asks giggling as she does, Catherine let's her go to the table where Ashley places the bottle, it was something you bought for the party you were planning during the summer, nobody touched it but you were planing on saving it for later, however sharing it with Ashley sounds much better than drinking alone. The two of you chat about boys, future plans, and gossip about your schools, Schuyler isn't like Westside, it's a very tamed place, but you hear that this Prescott kid is apparently sweet on Chiho, William's little brother is a hot topic strangely enough. It's strange to hear about him from another's perspective, it makes you wonder about him, how little he speaks about school, but that ends with Ashley having drunk enough to be carried to bed and the bottle stored back behind your bed. Carefully you check on her ensuring that she is really asleep, gently you tuck her into bed, moving a lose strand of hair on her forehead, Catherine smiles as she watches Ashley turn over. Catherine has pushed her to be like her, and never settle for second, Ashley might not be the amazing model like Catherine, but she is heading in the right direction. As you leave her room, you clean it up a bit, taking extra care to remove any and all traces of the liqours, with that out of the way, William is at the helm.<br/>
<br/>
<i><div align="center"> FINALLY</div></i><br/>
<br/>
You whisper to your self, the excitement is almost uncontrollable, as you walk back to Catherine's room, you can still feel her flushed cheeks and softening body tingling. The door is locked quietly, you tear off your top and get ready to remove your shorts, when you feel a wetness, it's sticking to your crotch. "Well shit! I guess girls really do leak!" You say as you fall on the bed dangling your head off the bed, eyes locking with her reflection. Looking at Catherine Muskov in her mirror, you watch as she slowly peels her shorts off, raising the denim over her thick thighs, the cloth teasing every moment of the methodical tugging and pulling. Finally you take them off! Spreading out your glorious legs, rubbing them up and down, feeling her perfectly sculpted legs, like an obsessed man! Or woman. The delicate panties are matted against your vagina. <i>"Wow. I never thought I would think about having a vagina."</i> You think, as you remove the stained cloth, tossing it aside, and she's there! Catherine Muskov, in all of her glory! The nude model, grinning as she shows off her body. Something Catherine enjoys, having an audience for her performances. While she may be alone, the person tugging the strings is more than enough for her to get the attention she likes, and, you have the memories of how she touches herself, the first time her boyfriend asked if she was ready, all of it. No Catherine wasn't ready, but she did suck him off, the next day, she actually got a set of vegtables to use for practice! Since he was going out of town, she dedicated a whole three days to getting used to the feeling of being filled by the various shapes. Turns out, she liked it, she likes the sweating kind of sex where it's an endurance game, she wants the bedsheets soaked, to be exhausted, and, gasping for air. Catherine likes to get a workout in, no matter what. That's all the preparation you need, the kitchen's available sets of vegetables are quitely taken, one large cucumber is all you take, carefully remembering to wash it with hot water, as to let it enter easier, something made a mistake of doing several times  you're practically skipping as you feel the deluge drip between your thighs. Once again your staring the reflection of Catherine Muskov down, pulling her full persona out, grinning as you do, legs spread, vegtable in hand as you slowly insert it carefully, watching her face contort with a strange look of pleasure, discovery, and, excitement. The girth of the cucumber isn't enough, it's a steady combination of hip motions and stimulation, she plays with her clit, letting the circular motions send out jolts of ecstacy, the cucumber is pushed in, and carefully aimed into her deepest parts, it's slowly become warm enough to feel right, and her hips are letting it hit her sweet spot just right. Catherine doesn't stop though. She bites down on her lower lip, gyrating with enough speed to be a run, but not enough to burn out on. She's moaning, it's sweet music to your ears, as William Prescott delves further into her body. Amping it up even further to your tastes, go for the dream of seeing Catherine in her reflection again, making eye contact with her, her shaking hips, wildly failing breasts, and heated breath, it's making you want her, want to dominate her, to outlast her. As you feel the rush of her climax hit, her body spasm, your hands drop their activities, like a brick in water, it's amazing, it's amazing being Catherine Muskov. You can feel it, the sexual thrill of being her, of being the sexiest girl in school.in between gasps, you look back into your new body, your new life, Catherine just smiles at you. <br/>
<br/>
"So, how do you like being me? Being the sexiest, strongest, most sought after, girl in the entire school?" <br/>
<br/>
She asks you, Will isn't ready to answer, but Catherine? She's wanting more, she's sweaty, sticking to the sheets and drooling, you take a swig of her water bottle, and gaze back into her eyes, slowly you catch your breath, feel her body once more from top to bottom.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's go for round two Prescott, I think I can convince you to stick around!" You say to the mirror, winking at the boy inside your flesh, well tasting your flesh. As the night goes on, your unsure when, but eventually, Catherine falls into a deep sleep, perfectly satisfied, by Will's long exploration of her body. The long hours of your body, sore from your pleasure, you can't really tell where exactly Will begins, before fading into Catherine, but that's fine, <br/>
<br/>
<i>"After all, am perfect."</i></span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112113111111
author_id: nirxor
title: Morning runs and coffee with Maria
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>It's bright and early, the sun has just heated the day, the morning is quiet as you stretch on the front porch. Your parents came back after midnight, a little drinker than usual, but that was to your benefit. Even after that creep's way of exploring your body, you were up at nine. Catherine, is anything if not strict about her body's health, if she doesn't get a run in, she feels thrown off, which explains why your stretching so early. <br/>
<br/>
<i>"I never knew she was so hellbent on keeping in shape!"</i><br/>
<br/>
As you rise from touching your toes, feeling the burn of your thighs, you smile, the feeling of a pre-work burn is something Catherine likes. Taking the initiative, Catherine places her right leg on the wooden rail and angles her body carefully, letting the groin feel a nice burn. <br/>
<br/>
"Damn! I never even knew she was this flexible!"<br/>
<br/>
You stutter, dropping the persona you live as, you feel tempted to grasp at the juicy thighs, the thick muscle and soft skin is encased in white and black tights, the kind of yoga pants women wear to enhance their butts and legs.<br/>
<br/>
"God, am addicted to this, Philip, you've made a monster of me." You whisper, smiling like Will would about something he likes, like star wars or something, it's disgusting something like that is inside of you, but you somehow push the thoughts of what's really going on. Curiously, as you feel the leg of your female vessel, you push the idea of feeling her body's potential. You take her leg and lift it straight into the air, standing perfectly straight up, one foot on the ground and another above your head in the air, flawless.<br/>
<br/>
<i>"Why isn't Catherine a cheerleader?!?"</i> <br/>
<br/>
You ponder, amazed by the agility she posseses, it's not hard to imagine why, but a part of you thinks she could, I'd be a feast for someone's eyes. Carefully you place both feet on the ground and begin to bounce on your feet as you go down the steps, then you begin your run. It's the feel of her breathing, muscles burning, and, wind on your skin, it's the Catherine experience! The morning is crisp and cool, the iPod mini plays a song called "Good feeling" as you blaze down the street, the burn and sweat are amazing as you feel like everything is just being lost with breeze as it blows. The past night isn't even registering to Cathrine, she, no <b>you</b>, are now embracing the body of Catherine, the thrill of the running through the streets, turning heads, sweating, the, shoes hitting the pavement, it's amazing! You begin to really feel her muscles begin to push it, the memories of how far she normally runs, the parks she runs through, all of it! With every connection of your feet hitting the ground, you know exactly where to go, and how hard to run. It's hard not to run like this, but you're beginning to think, being Catherine Muskov, is more than addictive. <br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">*****</div><br/>
<br/>
The coffee shop next to the park is your goal, well was, you made it here easy, even after you had to stop and relax, the strange relief of all the stress of the week is just amazing to you. Silently you smile and twist your neck as you watch the people pass by, glances, looks, and, guys overall, and a few women gaze at you as you carefully cross your legs and check your phone, the screen having three messages, one from your boyfriend, another from your mother, and, the last one, isn't in your contacts, it <b>is</b> however, the contents that alert you, well Will anyways.<br/>
<br/>
<i>"Hey *Catherine*, it's Maria! I'd like to talk to you today, since you run through the Saratoga Falls park, I thought we could meet there around 9:30!"</i><br/>
<br/>
You pause as, this is weird as fuck for you. It's the space cadet calling you out, the dumbest airhead of the entire school is wanting to talk to you, the prettiest girl in the school? That's is how Catherine sees it, but Will knows who's under that face, he knows he needs to answer to the guy who helped him get here, so you send an okay, and wait.<br/>
<br/>
"It took you a while Will."<br/>
<br/>
A voice answers, a very familiar voice, the same ditzy dumb voice that everyone knows, except she's sounding incredibly intelligent! It's horrifying really, with Philip running her head now. Maria Vasquez, the class idiot who did math work during english class, who just forgets everything, and, gets lost so damn easily, is here, in work out clothes, smiling as she sits next to you. <br/>
<br/>
"I see you're adjusting well to being Catherine, so can you explain to me about what happened yesterday?" She says, taking a place next to you, as she pulls the long dark ponytail off of her should, throwing it into the air. "You said, you had to go? Then you, just drove home, like it was all natural! I was worried when you didn't show up to the party, but now that I saw the texts from your boyfriend, am amazed!"<br/>
<br/>
"What do you <b>mean my boyfriend?</b>" you hiss, glaring at her, literally pissed at the idea that he's been chatting up this ditzy bitch.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that! I just asked him where you were, asked him about if knew any guys available, and, well I got lost, his friends brought me back to the house."<br/>
<br/>
She replies, just oddly resuming that lost girl look.<br/>
<br/>
"I mean, I started thinking, then I got to thinking really hard, and, I found a puddle, then I was outside, and-" <br/>
<br/>
You realize the mistake of speaking to the space cadet, the stupid chattering doesn't stop.<br/>
<br/>
"PHIlIP!" <br/>
<br/>
"Who's philip?" <br/>
<br/>
She has an honest to God clueless look on her face, a literal questioning of your calling out to philip inside her. <br/>
<br/>
"Let's get out of here and go somewhere private, I don't want people to start thinking am getting mushy with you."<br/>
<br/>
You sigh, standing up, along with Maria taking a hop to get to her feet, then she puts spring into her steps to keep up with you. <br/>
<br/>
"Don't worry Will, Philip lives close around here, I have a place set up for quick changes and chats." <br/>
<br/>
"<b>UHG!!</b>"<br/>
<br/>
You scream, venting out the frustration of dealing with Maria. <i>"Am going to have to take a long shower to get rid of all this creepy magic bullshit."</i> Catherine relents, as Maria begins to jog, in which you follow her down the street. It's not far at all, in fact it's easily on the outskirts of your neighborhood, you pass by an old mechanic shop, it's not abandoned, but renovated, the jog wasn't hard, but it's easy to do, in fact the door is wide open, with Philip Fairfax standing there.<br/>
<br/>
"I thought you would be on time?" He asks looking at Maria.<br/>
<br/>
"I would have been, but Maria is not easily controllable, she's surprisingly meticulous and very much free spirited." Maria replies, as she bounces into the shop. "Has dad, I mean Mr.Fairfax, noticed anything?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, he's fine with this being a place for me to study in and use for hobbies."<br/>
<br/>
"Good."<br/>
<br/>
The strange act of the two Philips having an exchange, knowing that both of them are thought to be one of the smartest people I'm school, it's an improvement on her part, even if it's weird seeing a nerdy freak pilot her body, it makes your skin shiver when you remember who exactly is in control inside of Catherine's body.<br/>
<br/>
<i>"I need to get a grip on this, it might be harder to leave once I get invested."</i><br/>
<br/>
You think as you follow her inside, the dinky, rotting, and, abysmal little shop, is surprisingly clean, it has an actual sofa, table, chairs, desks, fridge, and, a bed. <br/>
<br/>
"Am shocked, I thought this was going to be a creeper's paradise." You mutter, as you look around, finding some models, which are on some kind styrofoam. "Never mind."<br/>
<br/>
"What's up?"<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing." You shout back at Maria, who leans on the sofa taking it all up, as you, remember something, a thought Catherine had at the beginning of the year. <br/>
<br/>
<i>"Why didn't I try out for cheerleader? I mean, I'd be a lot better pick than her, or that other one, who ever they are. Even Gloria is replaceable, put Andrea on there, I could do it."</i><br/>
<br/>
You think as the two start talking again. <br/>
<br/>
"So I wanted to ask you a couple of things, concerning how you...." She goes quiet, her eyes wondering, the laser focus she once had is gone, then the whole of the conversation is lost, and with that you attempt to leave. "I wanted to ask you about how you got into character so fast!" She blurts out, leaping up and at you with excitement never before seen by anyone, a new Maria, driven by Philip might not be bad. <br/>
<br/>
"Will, you just got up and resumed her life, perfectly!" She adds. "I mean when I first got someone's mask I couldn't even remember anything, but after a day or a certain period of sleep, I woke knowing everything!" Philip, the beta version brings out a two masks, then he hold one up to you, smiling as you take it. "So I wanted to ask you for a favor, well a favor for Maria anyways."<br/>
<br/>
You're now interested in this, what could this airhead want to ask for? It was probably something like a sister, well knowing who's in her, it could also be creepy. You brace for the question, regretting the fact that there is a group of guys who know who's inside of you. </span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112113111112
author_id: gogostopgogo
title: Seeing your Best Friend in a Whole New Light
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You can’t but feel tingles inside you, as you text your best friend Amy back asking her to come over tomorrow for a dip in your pool. <br/>
<br/>
Its weird because in your 13 years of friendship you’ve never felt this way about her before. But you can’t stop thinking about her...  things you’ve never thought or felt before tonight. You’re kind of ashamed but its sitting there on the tip of your mind the thought rings out that: "You’re in love with you’re best friend". Or should you say the Will Prescott who makes up your very core is very much in love with her.<br/>
<br/>
See right before you were about to jump in the shower you got a text from Amy and like a speeding bullet years of memories rushed into your head. And a friendship that was always strictly platonic suddenly meant so much more to you. <br/>
<br/>
It was a friendship so genuine that you know everything about her and she knows everything about you (almost). She knows your darkest secrets and you know hers. Ever since you met her in Kindergarten and bonded over your love of the same barbie dolls, you two have been inseparable. Then in the shower for the first time you touched yourself to memories of her. Especially the ones of her being naked, in fact you have memories of seeing her naked countless times over the years. When in changing for gym class or her in your room for a sleep over, and when you and her compared your breasts and rated and complimented each others bodies. One memory in particular that stuck out to you was when you both were sunbathing topless in her backyard when her parents were gone. <br/>
<br/>
And you can’t help but feel so ashamed as you pawed at your sex in the shower greedily thinking about all those memories. Its something not in a thousand years you thought you’d touch yourself too but you shamelessly came to these thoughts of her. Of course never in a thousands years would you think a perverted boy in your class would also be able to steal your body, memories, and mannerisms but still it felt so awkward but so right at the same time. <br/>
<br/>
Like something that was suppressed inside you for so long suddenly came bubbling up, and you wanted to scream it out loud “I’m in love with my best fried Amy Scofield!” When the thought crossed your mind you came harder than ever before that night and you had to keep a hand over your mouth in the shower as your thighs kept shaking.<br/>
<br/>
 It felt so wrong but good at the same time, you, or Catherine was a staunchly straight woman with no doubt in her mind about which way she swung, but now this new Catherine created just hours ago was indeed a bi-sexual woman who might like woman a whole lot more than guys<br/>
<br/>
 In fact everytime you try remembering anything good about your “Bae” you are immediately reminded of the cocky douchbag who shoved you in gym class, it was a huge turn off. But thinking of Amy your short blonde best friend brought you so much joy. It was the kind of relationship the boy Will Prescott only dreamed about having with a girl. And even though you realize you might now harbor crushes on a lot of your friends, maybe even ones on your sister and mother now too, it was much stronger there for Amy than anyone else. You wanted her more than Will wanted his pretend “girlfriend”. <br/>
<br/>
You pull out your phone and look through your numerous instagram stories just to stop and admire the photos where you and her are both tagged together. You admire her, you being 5’11 and she being 5’4 you  would make quite the team you think. You just want to pick her up up and toss her on your bed you think, ashamed you start masterbating for the 5th time that time that night. “Damn I’m such a pervert now” you think to yourself, but you are truly happy. <br/>
<br/>
See you always had a good life even before a perverted guy from your school stole it, though things have been pissing you off recently like the track meets and your sister and mother too. Even your boyfriend has been getting on your nerves. And even though school is miles better for Catherine than for William you still hated all the school work.<br/>
<br/>
 But now it seems like you’ve gotten entirely new outlook on life, everything seems so amazing and pure and you warm your arms around yourself happy to be you. "Its much better being me now than before tonight." you think to yourself. You then wrap yourself up in your favorite pajamas and crawl into your bed. <br/>
<br/>
Then your mind wanders to the boy Will Prescott, its such a strange thing trying to wrap your head around the idea that boys want to be girls like yourself. You always assumed other girls were jealous of you, but you had no idea that even boys were jealous of you. And you can’t help but bask in that thought and compliment. And sudden you feel a wet spot forming in your pajama bottoms, and you curse to yourself as you get up to change them for another pair.</span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121131111121
author_id: gogostopgogo
title: Suddenly your Catherine mind takes control again
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You suddenly feel a rush of disgust as you feel yourself taking control again, your Catherine mind that is. You are feeling extremely creeped out at the thoughts you just had and you quickly suppress Will’s mind inside you as you throw your soiled pajama bottoms in your laundry basket and reach into your dresser for a new pair. <br/>
<br/>
“Listen Will Prescott” you think inside your head directing your hate towards your other ego. “You might have stolen my body, my mind, and my life, but you are DAMN well sure not going to mess it up!” You then grab a pair of black boy shorts and snap them onto your waist. <br/>
<br/>
“You're going to leave my friend Amy and every other one of my fucking friends and family members alone! I sure as fucking HELL, did not agree to you becoming me so we are going to play by MY fucking rules you got it?!” And you feel your Will mind slowly lose his grip over your mind.<br/>
<br/>
 “Good”, you think to yourself. Then you feel yourself asserting your wants with the Book of Masks. So many possibilities to use that book, you could become a celebrity or a billionaire, the real Catherine would kill for a book like that.. But the only one standing in your way from getting that book and living at your ultimate fantasies and dreams now is Will Prescott and his perverted assemble of friends who have taken over the lives of Westside’s cheerleaders… <br/>
<br/>
You are going to have to get rid of them you think.. If you are to take control of the book for yourself..<br/>
<br/>
But you’ll need a team, your friends Amy and Elizabeth will trust you about the Book you believe, but your other Eastside friends will need some convincing first. You’re also not sure if your boyfriend would be of any help with your Coup but he could be helpful later… But first you are going to have to reign in this boy Will Prescott inside your mind before you can start on that.<br/>
<br/>
But manipulating Will won’t be much of a challenge you think, you’ve manipulated men into giving you countless things throughout your life. Will shouldn’t be any different, only trick is that he is inside you and already knows of all your plans, but as long as you stay in charge he will fold under any suggestion you give him, even if that means betraying his own friends..<br/>
<br/>
So you can’t help but smirk as you look yourself into your vanity mirror. “Will.. oh Will are you there?” You whisper to your reflection. Suddenly in the back reaches of your mind you hear his faint thoughts, “What?” he seems to say back to you in your mind. “You like being me don’t you? Alpha Female, is what you used to call me right? Much better than being a Beta Male, no?” He doesn’t reply for a while but figuratively nods your shared head. <br/>
<br/>
"Good well since you and I both agree that I should be the dominate ego of the both of us I say I should stay in charge, don’t you agree?” <br/>
<br/>
“And betray my friends?” He repays back into your mind. <br/>
<br/>
Then he suddenly tries to exert control and rip the mask off your shared face to escape your strangle on his mind, but like a ninja preforming an advanced take down you instantly shoot down that thought, and he submits under you like a house of cards collapsing in your mind. <br/>
<br/>
“Good Boy” you say out loud. “Now that we have established who is in charge here, I think you will be a fine Double Agent in taking down your old friends.” You smirk to reflection once again...</span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111211311112
author_id: gop6
title: Do something Catherine would do
chapter_content:
<div><div> <span>You continue staring in the mirror bobbing your long hair back and worth while watching your two breasts wobble back and forth every time you make a small turn. <br/>
<br/>
"<i>Damn I could definitely pull off some awesome cosplays with a body like this.</i>",you muse to yourself. "<i>Hmmm maybe I could be Lara Croft or maybe even Miranda from the Mass Effect series, yeah. All I'd really need is to dye my hair black, get it trimmed, find the right...</i>"<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly, a phone chime snaps you out of your trance and towards the new cell phone you recently claimed. It's ringing and when you turn it over a name with several heart emojis besides it marks the words: "Bae"<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Shit! </i>" All you can do is slide a long finger nail over the answer icon and place the phone to your ear and say, "Hello".<br/>
<br/>
"Hey Cat, are you on your way over now?" says the voice of Michael Allen on the other end. <br/>
<br/>
A brief flash of two different memories suddenly invade your mind: One being of your time in Freshman Year in gym class it was when you had just finished changing and you were exiting the locker room when you noticed one of your shoes untied in the hallway to the court. When you stopped to bend down to tie them, you received a heavy shove from behind and stumbled nearly falling flat onto the ground. "Watch where the fuck you're going man, I practically fell over you!" said the guy you looked back over at, giving you a pissed off look and kept walking out to the court. That was the first time you met Michael Allen who you had nick-named "The douchebag of gym class freshman year."<br/>
<br/>
The other first time you met Michael Allen was in Junior Year, you had just transferred from Eastman High and you were still dating Johnny Benneky back then too. But when you laid eyes on the fine piece of ass who sat directly in front of you in Geometry class, you knew that could be ending soon. It only started with some innocent mild flirting back and forth but you couldn't keep your eyes off of him: golden hair, thick veiny forearms, and a sexy 6'3 stature made it no match for Johnny. It was a month later when you finally broke the news to your ex and you were in a new relationship a week later with Michael.<br/>
<br/>
You shake your head of those thoughts quickly and answer. <br/>
<br/>
"Ughh No! Sorry Babe I'm stuck at the fucking house watching the brat tonight because my fucking mom went out with my Step-dad tonight probably to get drunk at the bar again."<br/>
<br/>
"Damn it. So you can't come out tonight? Can't you just sneak out again like that one time?"<br/>
<br/>
"UH are you kidding? She'd probably ground me again, and when she caught me with my fake ID and that alcohol last month she threatened to shut off my phone service for a month!"<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sorry Cat, that really sucks, its a pretty big party over here."<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah? Well why don't you just come over here tonight, I'm going to be bored as shit."<br/>
<br/>
"Well I actually promised the guys I'd be buying them some alcohol tonight so maybe...."<br/>
<br/>
"Hmm well why not I just make it worth your while then?" you say and you momentarily catch a glance of yourself in the mirror twirling your hair.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh Yeah?!? ..Fuck..okay well just give me like 30 minutes, okay? I've already got their money."<br/>
<br/>
"UH! Fine just hurry up then." you say ending the phone call.<br/>
<br/>
"<i>Shit, did I just invite him over here?</i>" you immediately think once the phone is set down. "<i>Crap </i>" <br/>
<br/>
"<i>Hmm well he is your boyfriend after all,</i>" a little voice in the back of your mind reminds you. "<i>And you are Catherine after all, and not some nobody like Will Prescott who is still some virgin who plays video games all day, and fantasizes about cosplaying like some mega neckbeard nerd would do.</i>" You then cock an eyebrow at your topless reflection, "<i>Haha No way, I'm far more classy than the likes of William Prescott... And I definitely need to do a workout tonight.</i>" You think catching a glimpse at your flat stomach but getting the impression that you might have gained a pound recently.<br/>
<br/>
You then walk over to your drawers and throw on a white sports bra and red gym top, then exchange the denim shorts you are wearing for a pair of black yoga pants that shows off your thick ass quite nicely. You turn admiring yourself in your attire and think back how you used to always loved catching Catherine wearing these types of pants in the hallways at school, walking between classes, and now you can admire them whenever you want. However, it seemed to have lost the erotic thrill with the swap. So you just grab a hair tie throw your hair into ponytail and walk to the downstairs "gym room" with the treadmill. <br/>
<br/>
You then grab the earphones on the machine and plug them into your phone and select Catherine's "workout" playlist on the phone. When you put in the earphones as the music begins you set the treadmill's speed to high, and start running. <br/>
<br/>
And 30 seconds in and you are already feeling the thrill of how fit your body is. </span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111212
author_id: seuzz
title: Cindy for the Win
chapter_content:
<div><div style="padding:0px;margin:0px;"></div><div> <span>"Well, I've picked Cindy," you tell Fairfax. Keith jerks his head and gives you a startled look. "And me and Keith have come up with a bunch of other possible names for him. But we were kind of thinking maybe we should wait until, you know, you guys already did your own switches. That way we have a better idea of who could be useful in the plan." You try to ignore Keith's heavy breathing.<br/>
<br/>
"That's a good point," Fairfax says. His gaze turns distant and thoughtful. "We're set on all the others, but I like the idea of flexibility. Yes." His eyes light up. "That's very perceptive." To Keith he says, "Well, let me know when you've decided." With a quick nod he turns and walks off.<br/>
<br/>
"Dude!" Keith sounds deeply wounded. "I told you I—"<br/>
<br/>
"I know, but it's better this way. Trust me."<br/>
<br/>
"Better for you! Getting Cindy's tits and—"<br/>
<br/>
"Quiet!" You punch him in the chest. "You want people to hear you?" Knots of students, heading past the gym into the school, are flowing by not a dozen feet away.<br/>
<br/>
"Cindy Vredenburg's tits!" Keith shouts at the top of his voice. Luckily, only a couple of heads turn in your direction."<br/>
<br/>
"See, this is how come I should play Cindy," you growl. "You don't have any self-control. Keith." You put your arm around his shoulder. "You know what you'd do if you played Cindy, right? You'd break up with Javits right away. 'Cos you wouldn't wanna kiss him or fondle him or suck his— You know?"<br/>
<br/>
"And you do," he sneers.<br/>
<br/>
"Shut. Up. But think about what happens if Cindy breaks up with Seth right away. There's no fun in it. You wanna <i>milk</i> this, dude. Play it out. Get Javits all turned around so he doesn't know if he's coming or what. Fuck with his head, that's what you want!" Keith glares. "But I know you, you're not gonna have the patience for i t. I will. I will fuck him in the head so hard—"<br/>
<br/>
"But I want to do it!"<br/>
<br/>
"And you will, dude, you will. But as some other girl. Someone who can really turn loose on Javits. The way you want to."<br/>
<br/>
Keith's expression doesn't clear up completely, but it does turn more thoughtful. But you're interrupted before you can continue when you see Caleb loping your way from the parking lot.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You thought you were done with Fairfax for the day, but Keith has a message from him when you go into second period: He wants to talk to you. And as if that was a signal, your phone dings with a text from him: <i>Got a min to talk?</i><br/>
<br/>
Then, as you're tapping a reply, you look up to find Fairfax gesturing at you from the classroom doorway.<br/>
<br/>
"Jesus, is your hair on fire or something?" you grumble at  him. He frowns blankly. "You tell Keith you want to talk to me, you text me, now here you are—"<br/>
<br/>
"I just wanted your number from Keith, then he told me where you were." He still looks puzzled, as though not understanding why you didn't figure all this out yourself. "Keith says you hang out with Eva and Jessica Garner." His eyebrows go up.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Keith is a dumbfuck who doesn't know half the things he thinks he does.</i> But aloud, you say, "I sometimes talk to them."<br/>
<br/>
"That's more than the rest of us can say. Is there any way you could set things up so we could get together with them this afternoon? Preferably out at Carlos's studio. In the storage unit," he asks when you look blank.<br/>
<br/>
You chew on a cheek. The only times you ever "hung out" with Eva and Jessica was when you and Lisa were ... dating. They were never mean to you, were sometimes friendly, but you doubt they'd accept any kind of invitation to hang out just with you. Still: "I can try," you tell Fairfax.<br/>
<br/>
"That's more than the rest of us can do." Fairfax glances down the hallway. "Try to set it up for this afternoon. We want to get moving as soon as possible."<br/>
<br/>
"Is this about ... that project?"<br/>
<br/>
He nods. "For Mike and Carlos. Eva and Jessica are the only ones we have a prayer of reaching." For a moment he looks glum, then shakes himself free. "Thanks," he says, and trudges off.<br/>
<br/>
"Wha' was that about?" Keith asks when you drop into the desk beside him.<br/>
<br/>
"I should slap your head off," you retort, "but I don't even want to touch you." He gives you a reproachful look, but you don't explain yourself further.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You don't share any classes with either Eva or Jessica, so you hurriedly track down Jenny Ashton to ask about their schedules. Jenny has good news: She shares a third-period study hall with Eva, and you tell her you want to follow her to the library because you have a favor to ask of Eva. "It doesn't have anything to do with Lisa, does it?" Jenny asks. You flip her off.<br/>
<br/>
Luck was with you that you could get to Eva so fast, but you were also prepared, for during second period you had plotted up an idea for luring her into an ambush: Carlos and Mike are staging a video bit for their YouTube channel, you tell her, and they'd like the services of a cheerleader. Eva quickly rejects the idea, pleading stage fright, camera fright, a lack of experience, and the huge pain it would be to fetch and don her cheerleader uniform for a thing she doesn't even want to do; and she's supported by the dirty looks that Jenny gives you. But you assure Eva that her appearance would be more in the nature of a prop, that there would be no lines, she doesn't have to wear her uniform, and that Carlos and Mike are so good at putting people at ease that she would wind up having fun despite herself. After a lot of sighing and grumbling, she finally agrees to show up at four o'clock at the address you give her, just to talk about things with them with no promises that she'll do anything for or with them. She's a little taken aback when you tell her it's the Top Self ("Or maybe it's the 'Top Shelf'") Storage complex, but you explain that it's where Carlos has his studio.<br/>
<br/>
Then, before fourth period starts, you pull Mike and Carlos aside to tell them what you told her. They almost hyperventilate with excitement. Carlos gives you the key code that opens the door to the climate-controlled units.<br/>
<br/>
<i>This is actually happening,</i> you think with mounting fear, excitement, dread, and astonishment as fourth and fifth period pass. <i>This afternoon, we're going to turn Mike and Carlos—one of them—into Eva Garner, and he's going to take her place. Then we're going to turn the other one into Jessica. Chelsea Cooper and Maria Vasquez are also going to be swapped out. We're going to become them!</i><br/>
<br/>
You swallow thickly around the sandwich you are distractedly eating. <br/>
<br/>
<i>And I'm going to be one of them too! I'm going to be ... Cindy Vredenburg!</i><br/>
<br/>
"Base command to Will Prescott." Carson Ioeger rudely snaps his fingers in your face. "Are you still in this dimension?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, leave him alone," Jenny growls. "He was talking to Eva in the library third period." Carson and his best bud, James, exchange chortles and glances. But you continue to groove in your own private pocket universe.<br/>
<br/>
The one where <i>you</i> are now a hot, popular cheerleader.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You are almost bursting with anticipation when you approach sixth-period Calculus, but it has nothing to do the class's subject matter, and has everything to do with one of the girls you share it with. There are a number of cute and sexy girls in there. Josie Holden. Kelly Rinaldi. Susie Lekuawehe. You've even let your eyes linger over Anne Starkey, even though her football-playing boyfriend sits next to her. But the one you have hardly ever dared to look at is Cindy Vredenburg.<br/>
<br/>
Whichever way you turn her, Cindy is a knockout. <i>She's a lollipop,</i> Carson once drawled at lunch. James smirked and said, <i>How many licks would it take to get to the center of Cindy Vredenburg?</i> He and Carson had high-fived each other. But their expressions darkened when Jenny said, <i>Seth knows, but you two never will.</i><br/>
<br/>
Cindy is tall and slender. <i>Skinny and bony,</i> someone might say, if she wasn't put together so well with a prodigious set of bosoms, and hips that bloom below a tight, flat tummy. Maybe her head is a trifle big for her body, but that's easy to forgive when it's such a beautiful head. Between a broad, smooth forehead and a tapering jaw and chin, she has a well-shaped nose, a mouth whose corners twerk easily into knowing smile, and dimples in her pie-pan cheeks. Her platinum-blonde hair drops like a smooth waterfall down the sides of her face, to touch and drape off her breasts. But her most striking feature has to be her eyes, which are huge and green under dark, peaked eyebrows. Her expression is usually serious—grave, even—but not daunting. It's only the face of a girl you could never live up, who knows you could never live up to her, and who doesn't hold it against you but doesn't pity you either.<br/>
<br/>
Today's she's dressed in a dark, short-sleeve t-shirt, and white shorts that ride up high on her slim, strong legs. Those legs are crossed as you enter Mr. Kowalski's classroom, and she is pointing the toe of a bubble-gum-pink Converse sneaker in your general direction. She has a white ball cap pulled down low over her face, and is studying the screen of the cell phone she is holding in one hand while abstractedly rubbing together the tips of her forefinger and thumb of the other.<br/>
<br/>
<i>That's going to be me,</i> you think as you try not to swallow your own tongue. <i>That will be me. It could almost be me over there right now!</i><span class="ddllorcSOP"></span></span></div></div>


path: 113312111211211111113212111112121
author_id: seuzz
title: The Spider's Doorman
chapter_content:
<div><div style="padding:0px;margin:0px;"></div><div> <span>Eva Garner looks vexed as she climbs out of the minivan. "Hey!" you call as you step out to greet her. "Have any trouble finding the place?"<br/>
<br/>
"There's a sign and everything, Will," she retorts, and squints at the climate-controlled unit behind you. "I just don't get why we're at a storage complex."<br/>
<br/>
It's a little after four, and she is late showing up—late enough that you were tempted to text find out if anything was wrong. You're glad you didn't; she seems to be in a temper, and she might have blown you off totally if you'd whacked her beehive.<br/>
<br/>
"I thought I told you, Carlos's uncle owns this place." You reach to close the car door for her, but she pre-empts you. "So he gets a free—"<br/>
<br/>
"But it's gotta be a billion degrees in these things! And bugs and dirt and—"<br/>
<br/>
"They use a unit in here, it's climate controlled. Air conditioning and everything. And they keep it clean."<br/>
<br/>
She snorts, then sighs.  "So what exactly am I supposed to do for this video of theirs?"<br/>
<br/>
You had warned Carlos at school that Eva didn't much like the idea of making a video, and so she might change her mind about showing up. So he gave you a different story to tell her.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I got a little confused. They don't actually want to make a video with you for their channel. They only want to talk, and they want to talk about making a video for the cheerleading squad."<br/>
<br/>
Eva stares, and doesn't even move after you've punched in the code for the door and opened it. "Make a video for the squad?" she says.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, you know. A promotional thing. Post it online, maybe as part of the school website."<br/>
<br/>
"We already did something like that at the start of the year."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, maybe make another one? Come on, Eva. You're already here, the guys just want to talk. They really want to make a video, and they think that—"<br/>
<br/>
"Alright," she sighs, and marches past you into the building.<br/>
<br/>
"It's the first open unit on the right, down that corridor," you tell her with a gesture. "I'll be with you in a moment. I'm supposed to stay here and watch for, uh, Caleb." For a moment, Eva looks worried, but you smile at her until, with a doubtful glance, she turns and strides off down the corridor.<br/>
<br/>
You're not sure why Carlos asked you to send her on ahead, but you are following his orders as you wait by the door. You shoot Carlos a quick text telling him that she's on her way, then step back outside. <br/>
<br/>
It's been a cool, cloudy day of intermittent rain, but there's a rent in the clouds and sunlight is now warming the parking lot. You shift and twitch on your feet, wondering what is going on inside the complex. It would be a hell of a thing if Eva, her shirt half-torn, came bursting out, screaming that you're a lot of perverts.<br/>
<br/>
You don't have long to worry, though. Your phone dings with a reply from Carlos. <i>Eva gab in car?</i> followed a second later by the clarification: <i>bag.</i> You try the minivan driver's side door, and reply: <i>Car locked.</i> A minute later Carlos comes boiling out of the complex. The minivan squawks as he points a key at it, and he nearly tears the car door off its hinges.<br/>
<br/>
"Jesus," you exclaim. "Everything okay in there?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's fine, Will," Carlos mutters as he paws frantically through Eva's bag. He lifts his face with a relieved sigh as he pulls out a phone in a pink shell. "We just need her phone."<br/>
<br/>
"For what?"<br/>
<br/>
"So we can get Jessica out here." He bends over the phone and thumbs at it. "Oh thank God! I don't need her password to get in." With tongue between his teeth, he taps at the screen. When he's done, he lets out a huge sigh and sags against the side of the car. He looks over at you with eyes drooping with exhaustion. "Now we just gotta see if she'll come out."<br/>
<br/>
"What's so important about getting Jessica out here?"<br/>
<br/>
Carlos starts. "Jesus, whadday think for? So we can get both of them! Together! Jessica's for me, Mike—" He glares past your shoulder at the complex door. "Mike won the fucking toss, and he's getting into Eva's body now. Well, not <i>now,</i> the mask is still copying her, and we gotta seal it. But then we'll get Jessica out here, and—" He bounces on his toes and flushes from the base of his throat to the roots of his hair.<br/>
<br/>
"And then after that," he continues after he's recovered himself, "we can call Cindy, probably." He glints at you. "They're all friends, aren't they? The Garners and Cindy?"<br/>
<br/>
The question gives you a little rise of your own. "I see 'em around together a lot."<br/>
<br/>
"That'll be perfect, then. We can all go hang out together for the rest of the day!"<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly, he lays a hand on your shoulder and jumps, as though trying to leapfrog you. Then he hops away, bouncing as though on an invisible pogo stick. You watch in bemusement as he dances in place for a minute, a dreamy expression on his face, until he's interrupted by a buzz from the phone.<br/>
<br/>
It takes several minutes, apparently, before he can talk Jessica around, but eventually he succeeds. "Okay, she's gonna get a ride out here with her brother," he tells you. "Can you stay out here and meet them? Be sure to get rid of Marc, we don't want <i>him</i> around." He turns toward the door, then stops. "Jesus, I'm starving," he mutters. "Can you run over to the 7-11 for us, pick us up a couple of candy bars or something?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't have any money."<br/>
<br/>
"Well—  Hang on." A devilish grin spreads over his face as he returns to the minivan, pulls open the door and roots around inside Eva's bag some more. He's got a billfold when he emerges, and from it he pulls a couple of bills. "Here. It's on Mike!" he says as he holds them out to you.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
You're in a bit of a daze as you drive out in search of food. Partly, it seems a mental numbness brought on by a disbelief that any of this is actually happening. Okay, sure, the guys showed you the masks and explained how they worked, and you and Keith had those long talks about how to use them. <i>But that was more like, I dunno, fantasy role-playing,</i> you tell yourself. <i>The world doesn't actually contain magic. Stuff like the guys are talking about is just ... make-believe.</i> You sigh. Almost you could believe that when you get back to the complex, Eva and Mike and Carlos will be sitting around having a good laugh about it all.<br/>
<br/>
Except Eva wouldn't be laughing, would she?<br/>
<br/>
So that's another thing that's making you numb: You don't want to think about the ethics of what you're doing. Stealing someone's life, even if for only a little while. Eva <i>will</i> be having a laugh when you get back. But it won't be Eva. It will be Mike Hollister, wearing her face and body, while something else—yes, some <i>thing</i> else, a <i>thing,</i> one of these "betas" they can make—will be looking like him. <i>There's going to be one that looks like me, too</i> you think with a squirm. <i>There's already a mask that looks like me. I wonder what it'll be like, seeing someone with my face and in my clothes loping around school?</i> You shiver, and mordantly reflect, <i>Better him than me!</i><br/>
<br/>
And that's when you realize why you're probably doing this, why you would probably be doing this even if it wasn't Cindy Vredenburg you had chosen. You just don't want to be yourself anymore. You want to be someone different. Someone better, if you can get that. But different, anyway.<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
Eva's maroon minivan is still sitting in isolated splendor when you get back to the complex, and Carlos meets you halfway down the corridor after you text him, to take the bag of snacks from you. "Better go wait out front for Jessica," he says. "And make sure to get rid of Marc."<br/>
<br/>
"How's it going in there?" You nod toward the studio.<br/>
<br/>
"Almost done. We got Mike's beta up and running, and Mike's in Eva's mask. But he's still conked out."<br/>
<br/>
"Is that normal?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah. I could wake him up now, but it's best to let the person wake up on their own. You feel like shit if you get woken early. Besides—" He grins wickedly. "He took off his clothes but didn't put on Eva's before he put on the mask. So, he's laying out there with all her bits showing."<br/>
<br/>
You almost swallow your tongue, and start to push past him, but Carlos blocks you. "Later," he gurgles. "When you're Cindy, we can all get naked and give each other make overs." He waggles his eyebrows.<br/>
<br/>
So you're very erect as you hop back toward the exit.<br/>
<br/>
You don't have long to wait before a sedan pulls up and parks next to the minivan. Jessica Garner, with a querulous look on her face, gets out. "Will?" she asks. "What is this place and what is my sister—?"<br/>
<br/>
"Just go on in." You pull open the door for her. "I'm just here to play doorman." She snorts, but brushes past you.<br/>
<br/>
The sedan motor is still running, and a window comes down. Marc beckons to you. "Hey, how long is this gonna take?"<br/>
<br/>
"Awhile. You can go."<br/>
<br/>
"No I can't. Jessica told me to wait for her."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, it's gonna be—" You get an idea. "Maybe you should talk to Eva. I'll try to get her out here." You take out your phone to text Carlos.<br/>
<br/>
Then you pause, and study Marc from under your brows.<br/>
<br/>
He's a soccer player, with a broad chest and powerful legs; handsome features; and he's charismatic and popular. A good spot, you reflect, from which to pursue Fairfax's "school mapping" project. Not that you care, but it would be a good excuse if you told the guys you had changed your mind and wanted to impersonate Marc.<br/>
<br/>
Besides, Keith really did have his heart set on being Cindy.<span class="QbcRddgOKK"></span></span></div></div>


path: 1133121112112111111132121111121211
author_id: seuzz
title: Girls Gone Weird
chapter_content:
<div><div style="padding:0px;margin:0px;"></div><div> <span>You brush aside the temptation to change your impersonation from Cindy to Marc—this is no time to improvise. Instead, you text Carlos: <i>Marc not going says he has wait for Jessica.</i><br/>
<br/>
You can hear the impatience in his reply: <i>What me do?<br/>
<br/>
Maybe Eva text Marc tell him go home?</i> Out of the corner of your eye, you see Marc take out his phone and one-handedly start texting someone.<br/>
<br/>
There's a hard tremble in your limbs as you wait for some solution to this standoff. It comes out of Marc's phone, when it dings. He flicks a thumbnail over the screen, studies the message, then grunts. "Finally," he grumbles, "one of them engaged the brain cell they share." With a quick, tight smile at you, he throws the sedan into reverse and backs away. A moment later, he's sailing off toward the gate.<br/>
<br/>
You let out a sigh of relief, and re-enter the climate building.<br/>
<br/>
A figure comes striding toward you, and you flinch a little when you recognize it as Eva. Her blonde hair, which falls in a bushy cascade of curls about her ears, is bouncing off her shoulders, and there's a purpose in her walk. "Yo, Prescott!" she shouts in a hard voice. "My dumb brother isn't still here, is he?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," you stammer. "He just drove off."<br/>
<br/>
"Good." She stops and puts a hand on her hips as she stares past you. "I was afraid I was gonna have to—"<br/>
<br/>
She cuts herself off as her gaze returns to you. She stares at you a moment. Then, with a wicked grin, she says, "You like what you see,?" She twirls in place, showing off her curves. "Grade-A whacking material, amiright?" She sniggers. You swallow hard.<br/>
<br/>
She's wearing floppy tan shorts that fall halfway to her knee, and a horizontally striped top that tightly hugs the curve of her torso; her breasts are plump and large. Her smooth throat is flushed with health, and her legs are strong and shapely. All in all, a well-toned but not grossly athletic body: soft and plump where you want it soft and plump, and strong and hard where you want muscles.<br/>
<br/>
So even though you know it can't be the real Eva Garner—who would never talk to you this way—you can't help getting a rise out of her.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe she notices, for her gaze turns mischievous. She saunters over to stand almost toe to toe with you, then turns around and peeps over her shoulder into your face. "If I fainted, Will, would you catch me?" She giggles.<br/>
<br/>
And the next thing you know, she falls back limply against you. Instinctively you catch her in your arms, then almost drop her, for it's like embracing a cauldron of scalding water. Your heart pounds in your throat.<br/>
<br/>
Eva giggles again, and turns her face so that her lips touch your cheek. "You're awful sweet, Will," she murmurs. "Did I ever tell you how I like to touch my pussy and think of you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, jeez," you mutter in a strangled voice.<br/>
<br/>
She snickers again, and stand upright. "Oh, fuck me, this is fun." She stretches her arms. "I can't wait 'til I get her memories and do her for real." She grabs her jugs and shifts them around. "I don't think I got the bra on totally right, for a start."<br/>
<br/>
"Where, uh, where's Carlos?" you ask with a mouth sticky with saliva.<br/>
<br/>
"Taking care of Jessica. He told me he wanted privacy, or I'd be in there watching." She glances down the corridor. "But we could always sneak back in, I guess—Æ<br/>
<br/>
"Were, uh, were we going to try to get ... Cindy ... out here?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sure, we can do that. At least we can try." She strides off back the way she'd come.<br/>
<br/>
The door to Carlos's workout room is pulled down, and Eva leads you into the studio, where she perches on the edge of the desk and digs into an oversize purse. "Lookit all this shit she carries around," she sniffs. "I can't even guess how come she needs half of it. Well, I'll have it figured out tomorrow." She pulls out a cell phone. "I'm gonna hafta to keep this thing in use, so the passcode doesn't come up."<br/>
<br/>
As she frowns and scrolls through the cell phone, you ask, "You say you don't have her memories or anything?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, not yet," she mutters as she concentrates on the phone. "That's the thing about these masks. You get them eventually, but it take time. Tomorrow morning I'll have them, though." She glances up. "Didn't someone explain this to you?"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, I guess. Only, this is the first time I've talked to someone who was, you know, wearing one of these, uh, disguises."<br/>
<br/>
"Uh huh," she says, distractedly. "So I got Cindy's number here." She bites her lip, and thinks. "I guess we'll just go with the same old story."<br/>
<br/>
"What's that?"<br/>
<br/>
"That we're out here talking to some guys about doing a promo video for the squad, and she should come out."<br/>
<br/>
"And that'll get her out here?"<br/>
<br/>
She gives you a look, then grabs her left-hand jug and waves it at you. "It worked with Eva and Jessica, right?" She taps at the phone some more, then leans back with a sigh. "Okay, now to see what happens." She glances around. "Maybe we <i>could</i> make a video," she murmurs to herself. "Something to kill time."<br/>
<br/>
So she hops off the desk and starts moving equipment around and fiddling with it, pausing only long enough to field some texts. But she's hardly got anything done before she is able to look up from her phone with a sly wink and say, "Cindy'll be over in about thirty minutes."<br/>
<br/>
And then you're joined by another girl.<br/>
<br/>
It's Jessica, dressed in a floral-print blouse and blue jeans rolled up to just below her knees. She resembles her sister, of course, but they're impossible to mistake for each other, for Jessica wears her pale hair in a short bob. "Eva," she drawls from the doorway where she's leaning, "how can I ever thank you enough for getting me to come out here? Sorry I was such a <i>bitch</i> to you when I came in."<br/>
<br/>
Eva giggles. "And Cindy's on her way out, too."<br/>
<br/>
Jessica glances at you. "That'll be fun. What are we gonna do after—?" She jerks her chin at you. "Him and Cindy?"<br/>
<br/>
"Hang out here?" Eva suggests as you quiver in place. "Make those promo videos? Oh!" Her brow furrows. "Where are the guys, anyway?"<br/>
<br/>
"The betas? Cleaning up the other bay. Then I told them they could hit the road. Tch!" Jessica rolls her eyes. "Fucking Mike was all, 'I wanna stay,' but my man Carlos just whacked him on the back of the head."<br/>
<br/>
Eva peers around the doorway into the corridor. "We could use someone to run the equipment. Will, I don't think you know how?" You answer her querying glance with a shake of the head.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's get Cindy taken care of. Do we need to get anyone for Keith?" Jessica asks you.<br/>
<br/>
"He hasn't picked anyone yet."<br/>
<br/>
"Not many to pick from," Eva observes. "Yumi, Lin, Gloria, Kendra and ... whatsername?"<br/>
<br/>
"It might be someone else," you warn.<br/>
<br/>
Jessica shrugs. "That's up to him. Come on, we can at least set stuff up, take turns running the camera while the other one does a promo."<br/>
<br/>
Eva giggles again. "For the cheerleader squad?"<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck no! For us, our channel! Douche-nozzle."<br/>
<br/>
<div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>
So you watch, feeling a little helpless, from the side as the two girls move the equipment around. It seems very odd—though you know it shouldn't—to see Eva and Jessica Garner moving cameras and lights and green screens around; checking monitors and adjusting lenses and peering through viewfinders, and talking audio-visual jargon. There's no reason that girls wouldn't know this stuff as well as guys. But it seems a very geeky thing to know, and the Garner girls are not geeky. It seems still more out of character when Jessica, grimacing as she studies Eva's face on a monitor, suggests that she could use some makeup to take some of the shine off her complexion. "Fuck if I know how to use or put any of this shit on," Eva retorts as she critically eyes some of the tubes and cases she pulls from her bag.<br/>
<br/>
But time passes, and you jump when Eva's phone dings with a text. "Cindy's here," she says. "Go let her in, Will. She's out front."<br/>
<br/>
"What do I do with her?"<br/>
<br/>
"Let her in, dumbass," Jessica says. "Bring her back here. We'll take care of the rest."<br/>
<br/>
So, on trembling legs, you sprint down the corridor for the exit.<br/>
<br/>
You're about to burst out when you pull up short and quail at what you see through the tinted glass of the door.<br/>
<br/>
Cindy has arrived, and is loitering near your truck. But she's brought her boyfriend with her.<br/>
<br/>
You sprint as fast as fuck back down to Carlos's studio. "Seth's here too!" you pant at the Eva and Jessica. "She brought Seth with her! They're both outside!"<br/>
<br/>
Eva and Jessica exchange glances of alarm. "Did you let them in?" Eva asks.<br/>
<br/>
"No! We don't want Seth here! Do we?"<br/>
<br/>
"We don't got any way of handling him," Jessica says. "Fuck."<br/>
<br/>
"You don't have another mask or thing like that?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sure, but we don't got anyone to put it on. Or something to put on <i>him!</i>"<br/>
<br/>
"So what the fuck do we do?"<br/>
<br/>
Jessica makes a snap decision. "Send them away," she says. "Come on. We'll tell them— We'll tell them the guys had to run out to get some stuff, and we don't know when they'll be back." She strides off down the hall with you dogging her heels. "We'll get Cindy back here alone later."<br/>
<br/>
That's probably the best thing to do. But having Cindy here, so close, you are reluctant to send her away. What if you can't get her back? Maybe if you let them both in, you could get rid of Seth later while keeping Cindy here?<span class="QbcRddgOKK"></span></span></div></div>


path: 11331211121121111111321211111212112
author_id: seuzz
title: Imposters at the Improv
chapter_content:
<div><div style="padding:0px;margin:0px;"></div><div> <span>"Wait," you pant, and pluck at Jessica's elbow. "As long as they're here, why do we have to get rid of them?"<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck?" Jessica gives you a look. "We can't have her boyfriend here while we're—"<br/>
<br/>
"But maybe we could get rid of him later? All I'm saying is," you plead, "get 'em both in here, then maybe one of you, um, could distract him while me and the other deal with Cindy? In another room?"<br/>
<br/>
She gapes at you. "That'll never work! I mean, for a start, me and Mike don't know anything about how to act like these girls! Like, we don't got their memories or—"<br/>
<br/>
Her face curdles into a deep frown, but her gaze goes distant. You hold your breath.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, fuck me, a bad idea," she mutters, "but maybe we could swing it." She grabs the seat of her jeans and tugs it down. "It could be fun to try." She gives you a hard look. "I do look just like her, right? Jessica?"<br/>
<br/>
You swallow. "Yeah!"<br/>
<br/>
She nods. "Okay, go back and tell Mikey I'm bringing Cindy and— Shit, what's her boyfriend's name?"<br/>
<br/>
"Seth. Javits."<br/>
<br/>
"Tell Mikey I'm bringing Cindy and Seth back, and that we're gonna try getting rid of him while keeping her around."<br/>
<br/>
You sprint back to the studio. Eva Garner is studying her phone with a puzzled expression while two guys who look like Mike and Carlos stand watchfully nearby. Eva looks up as you come in.<br/>
<br/>
"The fuck is going on out there?" she demands. "Cindy just texted, wants to know if someone is going to let her in or not."<br/>
<br/>
"We're letting them in." Your breath is coming in quick heaves, and you feel like you might faint. "Carlos is letting them in"—out of the corner of your eye you see beta-Carlos straighten up alertly—"and then we have to try getting rid of Seth so—"<br/>
<br/>
"I thought we were getting rid of both of them!"<br/>
<br/>
"Change of plan, we want to keep Cindy around as long as she's here, and just get rid of Seth."<br/>
<br/>
"Seth? Is that her boyfriend?"<br/>
<br/>
"Jesus, don't you and Carlos pay attention?"<br/>
<br/>
"We pay attention to the girls, dickface, not the guys they're sucking off!"<br/>
<br/>
"Well, his name is Seth Javits and he's on the basketball squad, and he's Cindy's boyfriend!"<br/>
<br/>
She rolls her eyes. "The fuck I gotta know this for, Will? I shouldn't, not till I get it—" She punches herself in the temple with the heel of her hand. "From the mask. Fuck! What is Carlos—?"<br/>
<br/>
"Shh!" You wave her silent, for you hear voices approaching. "You just have to act like Eva, and figure out an excuse to send Seth away!"<br/>
<br/>
She mouths a curse at you, and there's a hot gleam in her eye as those echoing voices resolve themselves into words. You give Eva a quick glance up-and-down, wondering if this is possibly going to work. There is nothing ladylike about the way she's slouching on the desk with her legs spread wide.<br/>
<br/>
Then the voices come around the corner and into the studio. "—seemed like a good idea just to try something out. You know?"<br/>
<br/>
It's Jessica talking, and there's a strongly defensive note in her tone; her expression is taut, and she glares quick daggers between you and Eva. But your gaze quickly shifts to the people with her.<br/>
<br/>
Cindy Vredenburg is looking even more willowy and beautiful than ever, maybe because she's here, glancing directly at you, in an almost empty room, instead of pushing obliviously past you in a crowded hallway. It makes her much more present, so that her beauty has a chance to unfold fully and envelop you.<br/>
<br/>
She is slim and tall—almost as tall as you?—with her face floating above a gazelle-like neck and her platinum-white hair falling in neatly combed sheets past her shoulders. Her big green eyes are solemn, and her pink-frosted lips set in just the trace of a frown. She's dressed down for the afternoon, in a plain white t-shirt and blue sweatpants.<br/>
<br/>
You can hardly tear your eyes off her, but you do know what's good for you, and you twist almost sideways and hop back into a corner, while trying to hide from Seth the hard boner his girlfriend is giving you.<br/>
<br/>
Seth isn't a very handsome guy—his long face and nose, and slightly popped-out eyes, give him a horsey look—but he's got presence to spare. He's at least half a head taller than you, and though he isn't bulging with muscle, he carries himself like an alpha, putting himself wherever he wants and sending guys like you scurrying out of his way. Right now, for instance, you have to fight the urge to cower under the skeptical scowl he's making as he rakes a hard glance over the studio and its contents. A determined red flush is settled over his bold nose and cheeks, and his jaw is set. The best you can say is that there is no obvious, special malice in his glance toward you. You're just another piece of shit in what he has obviously judged to be itself a shit-show and a distraction.<br/>
<br/>
"Uh, this is Mike and Carlos," Jessica says after an awkward silence, and she indicates the two betas, who nod in acknowledgement and exchange surreptitious nudges. "And, uh, you know Eva," she adds. Inwardly, you quail.<br/>
<br/>
"So you make videos in here?" Seth says to the betas in evident disbelief. "For YouTube?"<br/>
<br/>
"Movie reviews and discussions," Jessica says. "Not just current movies but— Uh—" She catches herself. "You can tell them about it, guys," she says to the betas. "Like you told me and, uh— Eva." She reddens.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah!" beta-Carlos says after a fractional hesitation. "We watch new movies every week. Not just the blockbusters, but also the independent scene, and we do retrospectives of—" He turns to beta-Mike. "Like, just a week or so back we did that retrospective on body-swap movies? The <i>Freaky Friday</i> movies, <i>Like Father Like Son</i> and—" He suppresses a grin.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but—" Jessica interrupts as a pained expression settles on Cindy's face. "What we wanted to talk about— What <i>you guys</i> wanted to talk about with <i>us</i>," she corrects herself, "was making a promotional video for the cheerleading squad. Or setting up to do individual videos for each of us, upload them to TikTok or Instagram or—"<br/>
<br/>
"I can do that myself," Cindy says. "I mean, I've <i>done</i> it—"<br/>
<br/>
"But with professional editing and shit like that," Eva jumps in. "These guys are pros—" She indicates the betas. "I mean, not <i>pro</i> pros, but they can set it up so it doesn't look like you're taking an amateur selfie of yourself. Or—" Now she reddens like Jessica. "An amateur selfie of me."<br/>
<br/>
Cindy gives her a reproachful look. Seth, who is standing behind her, cups her shoulders in his hands and leans in to murmur in her ear. Whatever he says, she sighs at it.<br/>
<br/>
"I just don't see why," she whines. "I mean, why we'd have to come out here? Would we have to do it in here?" She indicates the studio with a look of distaste.<br/>
<br/>
"No, we'd do it outside," Jessica says. "In a nice setting, someplace that photographs well, like up in the Wilderness or by the river— I mean," she stammers at the betas, "that's what you guys were talking about, right? When, um, Eva and me were asking?"<br/>
<br/>
"That's right, boss," beta-Carlos says. Still he fights down a grin.<br/>
<br/>
An awkward pause. "Where were some of the locations you were suggesting?" Jessica asks through gritted teeth.<br/>
<br/>
"Suffolk Wilderness," beta-Carlos replies in a very agreeable tone. "A field up there. Or by the river. Potsdam Park?" he asks beta-Mike. "The gazebo there—"<br/>
<br/>
"So we're supposed to get the whole squad out by the river?" Cindy's unhappiness seems to be deepening into pain. "That'd be a <i>nightmare,</i> guys!"<br/>
<br/>
"Well," Eva quickly interrupts, "we were going to pitch the idea to Chelsea, of course. You know, her being squad captain and all, so she'd be the—"<br/>
<br/>
"I thought you said you <i>didn't</i> want Chelsea involved," someone says, and it's only when all eyes—including Cindy's and Seth's—swing toward you that you realize it was you who said it. "I mean, I thought that was what you told, uh, Mike and Carlos." You point at the betas. "Didn't <i>you</i> say," you ask Jessica, "that Chelsea could go fuck herself? That you didn't even want to tell her about it?"<br/>
<br/>
It must be that some part of your brain is thinking faster than you are, and it dove in to try to save Mike from the blunder he just made. You're not that plugged in to the cheerleader drama, but from your time with Lisa and her friends over the summer, you know that Cindy hates Chelsea, and that Eva and Jessica don't like her either. So as soon as Mike said Chelsea's name, you saw the thundercloud beginning to form over Cindy's brow.<br/>
<br/>
"That's how come you were talking about doing individual videos for individual girls," you continue, now that you've caught up to your own instincts. "To put you guys out front." You point to Cindy and the other girls. "And Yumi and Lin and— Not Chelsea and her friends."<br/>
<br/>
It relieves you to see Cindy's expression turn more thoughtful. "Well," she says, "I guess it's something to think about."<br/>
<br/>
"Later," Seth mutters at her. She glances back over her shoulder at him and says, "Ask Darren if he minds Eva and Jessica coming along?"<br/>
<br/>
"But it's—" Seth freezes, then shrinks. "I'll talk to him," he mumbles, and stalks from the studio. "We were going to meet up with Darren Green and some girl from school," Cindy tells Jessica.<br/>
<br/>
It has taken you a moment to realize the chance you now have, and you dance out into the corridor, gesturing Jessica to follow you. "We can get her now," you mutter while watching Seth's retreating back.<br/>
<br/>
Jessica shakes her head. "He'll be right back. We'd need at least twenty minutes."<br/>
<br/>
<i>Maybe we should use the mask on Seth instead,</i> you find yourself thinking. <i>It's not Keith's and mine's plan, but it might be the only way we get out of this.</i><span class="QbcRddgOKK"></span></span></div></div>


