Chapter #6Possess A-listers. by: Seuzz   Caleb's mom suggests that you stay home from school the next day, but you reject the idea, saying you feel up to facing your classmates. In fact, you are quite eager to see them.
So, the next morning you get up early, shower and dress up in Caleb's usual outfit: loose cargo pants, T-shirt, sneakers, and a light jacket. You slip on his glasses and appraise yourself coolly in a mirror. You've acquired some new zits during the night, and the moustache and chin hair look as thin and wayward and undeveloped as always. No matter. "Okay, Caleb Ryerson," you smirk to yourself. "Let's go get you some new friends."
You arrive at school armed with a half-dozen water bottles of different brands, each spiked with a worm big enough to take over another person. (You were pleased to discover last night, as you armed each bottle, that the worms fade in color and become as translucent as the liquid they swim in.) You saunter out to the athletic field, where the girls' soccer team is doing pre-school drills. Jenny Taylor, the team captain, is strong and beautiful, with pert bosoms, chestnut hair usually pulled back in a ponytail, and round hips that curve smoothly into shapely thighs. She is one of the key members of the one of the top cliques in school; she also dates Kyle Lakewood, the captain of the boys' soccer team, which makes them one of the power couples at the school. Recruiting them to your new clique should be easy, and once they are on your team, others in their circle will follow almost as soon as you want them.
You recognize Jenny's athletic bag near one of the benches, so you kneel down next to it as you watch the drills; it's a cinch she will need to refresh herself even before practice is over. Inside Jenny's bag, you find an unopened bottle of water, which you surreptitiously replace with one you've brought.
You watch the girls for a few more minutes, then walk back to the main building. You're only halfway there when you feel a rush: Jenny has swallowed the contents of your bottle. A second pair of eyes opens in your mind; there is also a smell of sweat, and a pleasurable ache all over your new body. You drop Jenny to the ground and make her do a stretch; you bow her head, and then touch one of the pressure points in her mind that you know will drop you into her subconscious and let her take control of herself again. As you do so, your new eyes fade from view, but Jenny's mind opens. She is already returning to practice. Kate, kick me that ball! Wendy, get back behind the goal line!
You leave Jenny to her drills, rifling through her mind only long enough to find her locker number and combination. After stashing your extra bottles in her locker, you go back out front to watch more students arrive and mark additional possible acquisitions. Most of them you can get through Jenny, though, and it would be awkward to approach them as Caleb, so when you see Matt and Kevin you let yourself be distracted by their company. They offer you a few perfunctory apologies for pissing you off on Saturday, which you accept with a shrug. Mostly, you keep to yourself while listening to Jenny's mind.
* * * * *
The only really awkward moment comes during second period English class. You're slouching in Caleb's desk, trying to calm Jenny from a distance—she's panicking over having forgotten about a math quiz—when you look up to see Dana plop down beside you. She looks over to find you staring at her: You had completely forgotten to save her a place in your plans.
"So, would you still be up for a study session for Cussler," she asks.
Your mouth works for a moment before you find your voice. "Uh, yeah, sure," you stutter. "Tonight?"
"Yeah. Mention to whoever you want. I figure we can do it over at my house, after seven or so." She smiles at you in puzzlement. "Is something wrong?"
"What? Oh, no. Just ... thinking." You turn away, and she goes back to unpacking her books for class.
You chew on your thumbnail distractedly while people buzz about you. Dana is not someone you want to lose contact with; she is someone you'd like to get closer to. But it's going to be awkward to do so through Caleb, especially since, at some point, you are going to have to talk to her about Friday's incident. It's going to be weird explaining to her that "David Johnson" is dead, and you dread discovering that she has the small regard for you that Matt and Kevin showed. It bodes ill that she didn't ask where you might be.
* * * * *
Otherwise, the morning progresses nicely. The hum from Jenny's mind becomes smoother, and her thoughts more predictable as you immerse yourself in them. She notices the extra bottles in her locker, but you steer her thoughts away from them. You like Jenny, and have always liked her, even though she's several levels above you in the social hierarchy and has never paid you more than a vague, courteous attention. But she's cheerful, hard-working, and bright, and the thought that this beautiful, athletic, popular girl is now part of you makes you like her even more. She's like an ornament, a beautiful ring on your hand.
At lunchtime, while you are off brooding behind one of the school wings with the sandwich you brought from home, you feel Jenny's thoughts begin to buzz around her boyfriend, Kyle; you bend your attention toward her, and confirm that she's eating with him in the cafeteria. Apparently she's finding him very handsome today.
You rise within her, opening her senses and body to your direct control. Although you have not fully absorbed her, your morning-long immersion in her mind has left you feeling confident that you can pull off a creditable imposture, at least for a little while.
"You shouldn't let him slack off like that," you find yourself saying. "It's a bad example to everyone else."
Kyle shrugs. "It'll be okay. He's so good that even at fifty percent he's better than anything Akers will be able to throw at us."
"That's not the point—" Jenny is complaining about Zach Vanderburg, the boys' soccer goalie, whose arrogance is such that he is skipping practices. "He's undermining your authority with the other players."
Kyle looks into your eyes. His own are deep blue, set in a strong, masculine face under close-cropped blonde hair. He wears an eyebrow ring, and his morning razor is always, unaccountably, able to miss a short patch of whiskers at the very tip of his strong chin. He's wearing his electric-blue soccer shirt and a pair of baggy jeans. His strong, brown forearms are folded and resting on the cafeteria table. Jenny has one of her arms hooked around his right bicep.
"He's my best friend," says Kyle.
"That's no excuse for not disciplining him," you insist.
"It makes it hard to."
"That's why he thinks he can get away with it. Don't let him. Pam is my best friend, and I call her a fucking cunt on the soccer field when she messes up."
"Pam is a fucking cunt."
"And Zach's a blistered dick for screwing you the way he is."
Kyle groans and drops his forehead onto his arms. He sighs. You lean over and kiss his neck, which brings him back up. He lets his eyes play over your face; you concentrate on his mouth. You bend over and rub your cheek lightly against his chin; Jenny finds the scratch of his whiskers erotic, and he knows this too.
A voice cuts in: "If you guys aren't seriously making out, can I interrupt?" It's Kristy Carlson. "I was thinking of throwing a party next Saturday," she says. "Would you guys be able to come?"
"Sure," you say.
"I was gonna go hiking," says Kyle, not even turning around to look at her. His eyes remain locked on yours.
"Where?" you ask him.
"Up by Ender Lake. Andrew was telling me about a stream up there, and I wanted to see if it had any trout. I got that new fishing gear I wanna try out."
"Oh," says Kristy, disappointed. "Well, what about next weekend?"
"As long as it's after five so we have time to get back from the Akers meet," he says.
"Oh, great!" Kelly says. "Then I'll reschedule it for then."
"Thanks," says Kyle, turning toward her finally and giving her an electric smile. "I wouldn't want to miss one of your parties."
You know he means it, too; Kyle, like Jenny, is a fundamentally decent person. Still, the fact that he has casually forced the richest girl in school to push a major party back by a week shows just how socially powerful he is. The thought of having him gives you a rush; if Jenny had any extra bits of goo inside her now, you'd take him in an instant. Instead, you content yourself with a simple yet long-lasting exchange of saliva.
The bell rings and you reluctantly head back to class.
* * * * *
The pleasures of running Jenny are such that you keep control of her while running Caleb simultaneously. The experience of walking through the halls to fourth period brutally exposes the differences between their lives and social statuses. Jenny gets nods and smiles and calls from friends as you serenely glide along to her locker; Caleb has to push his way through crowds of indifferent strangers. As your two bodies draw closer to each other in the main hall, you can see, through Caleb's eyes, heads turning toward Jenny; through Jenny's eyes you cannot even glimpse signs of Caleb through the wall of pressing students.
Without intending to draw them together, you nonetheless soon have Caleb and Jenny face to face. Jenny is glowing when you see her, and she seems very desirable. You surreptitiously raise Caleb's hand and give her left breast an appreciative fondle; both of your bodies thrill briefly at the touch, and then they have moved past each other. As Caleb, you swallow hard.
You suddenly feel a heavy hand on your shoulder, and are spun around and shoved against a locker. Zach Vanderburg glowers blackly at you. "Keep your hands to yourself, pervert."
"Is something wrong, Zach?" You've turned Jenny back to rescue Caleb, and smile widely and warmly at him and at Vanderburg.
The burly soccer goalie glances briefly over at you before turning back to Caleb with a snarl. "Just looking out for you, Jenny."
"Looking out for me, or looking out for Kyle's property?" Your smile cools a little even as it widens.
Zach falters. "What do you mean?"
"I can take care of myself. Thanks, but don't worry about it. Are you okay, Caleb?" You nod Caleb's head. "Alright. Come on, Zach." Vanderburg gives Caleb one last, dark look, and follows Jenny away.
Silently, you make a note to make Zach one of your possessees, and to do so in as nasty and degrading a fashion as possible.
* * * * *
Sixth period is Cussler's history class, which will mean running into Dana again. You still have no idea what you'll say when you see her, so you decide to skip. Imagine your chagrin and discomfort, then, when you look up to see her come into the library shortly after the tardy bell rings.
Her face is a mask of concern and solicitude, so you've at least braced yourself when she sits down next to you and tilts her head sorrowfully. "I just heard about what happened on Friday, and about David. Oh, Caleb, I'm so sorry!"
You duck your head, unable to look her in the eye. You shrug. She puts her hand on your shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" she continues.
You shrug again. "I'm in a lot of trouble, and I don't know what's going to happen. Not knowing is the worst thing."
"I mean, are you going to be okay about David?"
You look over at her; her eyes are brimming with tears. Without your willing it, a lump forms in your throat. You put your head down on the table and hide your face. "I should have done something," you groan. "I shouldn't have let him ... I should have ..." Words stick in your throat. "I shouldn't have let him be so stupid."
She puts her arm around your shoulders and squeezes you. "It wasn't your job to save him."
"But maybe it was," you reply. "He was upset that afternoon. It was my idea to go up into the park, to get him to talk, to try to cheer him up or calm him down."
"What was he upset about?"
"School. Family. Grades." You swallow; dare you say it? "You."
You feel the muscles in Dana's arm tighten. "Why was he upset with me?" she says after a pause.
You give her a sidelong glance without raising your head. "It's not your fault, I guess. He had a huge crush on you, you know."
She withdraws her arm and leans back in her chair. "Yeah, I knew he liked me," she says. Her gaze has turned inward. "I liked him. He was really sweet."
"But?"
She briefly glances over at you. "But you can't expect me to feel—I mean, to have felt—something I didn't."
The truth of the words doesn't make them sting any less. "Is there a guy you really like, but who doesn't feel the same way about you?"
She winces, and her expression darkens a little. "Yeah, I know what it's like. That's why I ... Why I tried to be so nice to him. I really did like him, as a friend. I liked hanging out with him and you guys." A fearful expression washes over her face. "I didn't lead him on, did I? Give him the wrong impression?"
You can't say anything that will hurt her. "No," you admit. "He didn't think you were serious about him. Or could be. I think that's part of what hurt him so much. That you were so sweet with him, but couldn't be any more than that."
A tear runs down Dana's cheek, and she sniffles.
It's probably a bad thing to ask, but you are dying to know. "What would you have said if he'd asked you out?"
She twists in her chair, agony and impatience fighting for dominance in her expression. "I don't know. I didn't want to find out. I guess I was hoping I could get someone else to ask me out. So that, you know, I could close that door before he tried stepping through it."
You're pretty sure you know what that's an allusion to. "You like Shawn Gregory, don't you?"
She freezes, and turns to give you a piercing stare. You hold each other's eyes for a few moments, unblinking, before she looks away and shrugs. "It really doesn't matter, does it? I mean, to David and to you?"
"No, I guess not."
"Was it really my fault? Was he really that upset with me?"
"No. Like I said, he was upset about a lot of stuff. It all just kind of hit him at once."
Dana mulls this for a bit, then leans down and puts her head next to yours. "Don't take this the wrong way, Caleb. Don't think I'm running down your friend. But do you think—" She chews her lip fearfully. "You don't think it was— Was suicide, do you?"
You blink. "Huh?"
"I mean, you say he was upset. He went off to do something dangerous. Do you think, maybe, that—"
"That he tried to blow himself up? That he meant to kill himself?" The note of incredulity in your voice is no act.
Your tone leaves Dana nonplussed. "Well, it might make sense. You say he was upset. David was always kind of rash. Did you see what he did, I mean, to start the fire?"
"No. Like I said, I should've been there—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Keep beating yourself up. But if David did something stupid because he was feeling, you know ..."
"I still should've been there to stop him. And I don't think he was like you're saying he might have been."
"Okay. It was just a thought." She starts rubbing your shoulders again. "The point is that whatever happened was David's fault, and you shouldn't try to make yourself feel worse than you do. I mean, obviously it's bad enough that David is ... gone. Acting like you're the one who ... who's responsible ... that's just piling more shit on a shit sandwich."
"Maybe you're right," you smile wanly. She smiles back.
Neither of you say anything more for a few minutes. Then she claps you softly on the back. "I have to go catch the last little bit of class. Are you still going to be coming over to study?"
"Probably not," you say. "My dad came in to town this afternoon. Probably I'll have to spend tonight with my folks, talking about all this crap."
"I understand." She gets up to go. "Just remember that I'm always there for you."
Yeah, Dana, you always were, you think caustically to yourself after she's gone. You were always 'there.' You were just never 'here,' where I wanted you.
* * * * *
Your talk with Dana has left you exhausted; even your possession of Jenny, through whom you have been concentrating on chemistry, has given you no relief. And the afternoon meeting with Caleb's dad still has to be faced.
With irritation you wonder if there is any point in remaining in Caleb. His life is going to shit—you've no guilt or regret about that—and there seems nothing like an upside to remaining inside him.
Except, maybe, to stay close to Dana, and to work upon her sympathies.
But now that you've got a second body, it would be very easy just to move out of Caleb, and to turn your attention to giving yourself a new life as Jenny Taylor. And as Kyle Lakewood. And Zach Vanderburg. And ... Shawn Gregory?  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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