Chapter 20

(Thanks to PapaKilo14 and Gordon Johnson for their editing help)

"You three do have your homework assignments, don't you? You had an extra day to complete them."

Mrs. Albright wasn't cutting them any slack, not knowing the reason they had not been in class the previous day. James wondered if she would have cut them slack even if she had known.

Terri and Tabby looked on with barely hidden amusement as the three of them remained silent, their guilt was without question.

"I see. Well, you will just have that much more to hand in tomorrow, won't you?"

The groans, while silent, were no less heartfelt and sincere.

They had learned to pay attention in class, keeping the chatter, both out loud and mental, to a minimum. Mrs. Albright rarely exhibited a sense of humor when it came to class work and, if she asked a question, she expected an answer. When she had caught them out several times, asking questions that they couldn't answer, she displayed a rare bit of anger. They had been chatting silently instead of paying attention that day, and the teacher had called them out.

"If you do not want to be here, then do not come. I don't have time to baby sit, I am here to teach. If you are incapable of performing up to the standards your parents expect, I will be more than happy to tell them that you are better off back at the high school. Do I make myself clear?" her tone had been hard and brittle, her patience at an end. The three had promised that they would do better, and deliberately keep any discussions verbal in nature, and only when required.

They had a break, halfway through their session and the teens all tended to gather together and chat, taking the time to get to know one another a bit.

Tabby and Terri were curious about Sally since she had joined after the beginning of these new sessions. When they learned that Sally lived with James and Zoe, that curiosity became fascination.

"So, like, are you guys related or not? I thought James and Zoe were going out, but Mom says you live together. Now Sally lives with you too?" Tabby asked, twirling a lock of red hair around her finger.

James snuck a glance sideways at Zoe, who was doing the same towards Sally.

"It's complicated." he said with a sigh, not really wanting to get in to it at school.

"I'll say." Terri giggled. "Tab A into Slot A works, but I can only imagine what you would do with Slot B."

James gave Terri a hard stare, but she looked completely unconcerned. Terri was leaning towards the lesbian side of Bisexual, mostly because of her un-sisterly love of Tabby, and Tabby leaned towards the Hetero side of Bisexual, despite the two sisters being lovers.

"You have a lot of experience with Slot A and Slot B logistics, do you Terri?" James asked, keeping his tone as innocent as possible.

Terri turned that bright red only possible with redheads, and sputtered, waving her hands as if to ward him off.

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

Zoe snickered and Sally just looked confused. Tabby, on the other hand, was giving James and Zoe speculative looks, her eyes flashing back and forth between them.

Tabby took a half step forward, moving into James's personal space.

"So tell me, James. How do you manage having your girlfriend, or girlfriends, living with you at sixteen?" she asked.

"There is also Stacy." Zoe muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, there is another one?" Now Tabby looked fascinated. Her eyes raked James from head to toe, a perplexed expression on her face.

"You have three girlfriends?"

James kept quiet, knowing that nothing he could say would make the situation any less uncomfortable.

"No, he has two and Zoe has one."

Terri, Tabby, James and Zoe all froze in place, all eyes turning towards Sally. Sally looked completely unconcerned, a small, self-satisfied smile on her lips and a wicked gleam in her eye.

James just groaned, though he had the presence of mind to make it a mental one.

'Fanning the flames, Sally?' he sent, his tone resigned.

'Annoyed at pushy bitches.' she sent back, her expression not changing.

'They are just curious.' Zoe chimed in, winking at James.

Terri and Tabby were doing that twin thing, communicating without words. James had half-suspected they were telepathic, but they were just on the same wavelength, long experience helping them know what the other was thinking without actually saying anything.

"So..." Terri drawled, her eyes going from one of the trio to the next. "James and Zoe, for sure. They are way too comfortable together to be anything but. The question now is if you, Sally, or the unnamed girl at home, is Zoe's girlfriend."

"Look, I think this has gone far enough. Our personal situation is just that, personal." James said reasonably, hoping to head off this conversation before things got out of control.

"No, it's okay, James." Sally said, stepping forward. It was her turn to impinge on the twins' personal space.

"James and Zoe were first, then Stacy came along. Now me. James and Stacy and Zoe are lovers, and Zoe and I are lovers, though I could totally see Stacy and I becoming closer. Maybe, some day, James and I as well. We do have a rather large bed, after all. Does that answer all of your Tab and Slot questions?" Her voice was soft and reasonable, her posture relaxed and casual, but none of the people present had any doubt that she was seriously annoyed.

Tabby, her eyes on James, took a step back, but Terri actually moved closer to Sally. Terri's expression was contrite, however, and not challenging.

"Sally, I was just curious. I didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable. I ... well, let's just say that I know how ... um, unusual situations can get between people who care about each other."

Sally cocked her head, searching Terri's face for a long moment. Then, surprising all of them, she smiled and gave Terri a peck on the cheek.

"It's okay, Terri."

Terri turned so red that James actually pictured her head bursting into flames and had to keep from laughing out loud, disguising his laugh as a cough.

Break was over and Mrs. Albright was calling them back to their desks, but many looks were exchanged and none of them thought that this was really over.

When school finished up at noon, the trio went outside to wait for Ada and the twins for their mother. Tabbi and Terri standing to the side, heads together and talking while the trio were simply waiting silently.

Ada pulled up a few moments later and, as the three stood to walk over to her car, Tabby jogged over to them.

"Look, we are having a pool party on Saturday. Would you guys like to come? Bring Stacy too." she looked earnest, but James was immediately uncomfortable with the idea.

He took a peek inside her head, just skimming her surface thoughts, and was able to relax, a little anyway. He had wondered if the twins had concocted some way of embarrassing them, or maybe displaying them to their friends, but the truth was altogether different. They were new in town and didn't really have many friends. They had invited some of the neighbor kids over for a pool party, mostly to get to know them, and they thought that having some familiar faces there would make things a little more comfortable.

"I think that would be fun." he said, surprising Zoe and Sally who had read his spike of unease at the suggestion. He sent a flash to both of them, showing them what he had seen and saw them relax.

"What time should we come over?" Zoe asked, all smiles. "Oh, and we need an address! Give it to us tomorrow, Momma Ada is waiting for us."

The twins nodded and waved as they headed over to their own ride.

For the rest of the week, the twins kept their questions to normal teen things, avoiding the previous discussion, and the four girls spent the breaks talking about music and swimming suits and what kinds of food they were going to serve. James found out he had been tasked with bringing some soda and chips, and had been volunteered to man the grill, being the only boy who was absolutely certain to be there.

Stacy was ambivalent about the whole thing. On one hand, she liked a pool party as much as the next girl, but on the other, her situation with James was a bit unusual. James and Zoe were five years younger and, while she loved them and loved being with them, the thought of hanging around a bunch of other kids that age was a little daunting.

'You are so much more mature than any sixteen year old I ever met, James. When I was sixteen, I didn't want to hang around with sixteen year olds and the thought of doing it now is just ... kinda yech.' she explained, feeling a little embarrassed.

'Every boy there will be panting after you and ignoring the other girls though.' James said, teasing her a bit. 'The thought of a college woman who deigned to give them even a moment of time? The other girls would be green with jealousy. Not to mention the way you can fill out a bikini!'

Zoe and Sally giggled, Zoe sliding her hands under her shirt to mime having larger breasts like her sister's.

Stacy shot them a look filled with venom, but the corner of her mouth was twitching, trying not to rise into a full-blown smile.

'Okay, but you have to protect me from hormonal teenage lotharios.' she said, glaring at James.

James just smiled and flexed, his biceps straining the material of the shirt he was wearing.

'Jimbo protect! Jimbo woman no worry.'

Stacy rolled her eyes, but then relented and laid a brain numbing kiss on him.

"Okay girls, time to go bikini shopping." she announced, her face breaking out into a predatory grin. "We are going to own this party."

"Not me." Sally said, looking disinterested.

"But..." Zoe started, but Sally's expression stopped her before she could complete that thought. 'Sally?' she sent mentally, her concern coloring her question.

'Leave it be, sister.' Sally replied, turning away.

Zoe exchanged glances with Stacy, shrugging. Stacy stared after Sally, her eyebrows pinched together and concern on her face.

'Look after her, lover. Something ... odd.'

Stacy and Zoe left, leaving James standing there in the entry way, a worried expression on his face. He could feel Sally in the living room, so he followed her and, when he saw her sitting sideways in an arm chair, her feet draped over the arm, he plopped down on the couch.

"What to talk about it?"

"Tell me about the tattoos." she said, ignoring his question. She was staring at the ceiling instead of looking at him, and James knew that she did that when she was unsure of herself.

"You were there. You heard about the ink, saw the girls getting inked. What else is there to know?"

"Why you wanted them to get tattoos."

"Whoa ... wait just a second. First, I didn't want them to get tattoos, they wanted tattoos. It was my idea to combine the tattoo idea with the bracelet I made for Zoe. It was all to find a way to extend our range without something bad happening. Zoe told you about the seizure she had, right?"

"What if I don't want a tattoo?" she asked, her voice soft.

"Then don't get one. I'll have to find a job where you can come to work with me. Maybe I can find a job that I can work from home." James said, his tone reasonable.

Sally was silent for a long time, one foot idly kicking, bouncing on the padding of the chair arm.

"Can I cuddle with you?" Sally said finally, breaking the silence, but still not meeting his gaze.

"Of course you can, Sally. Any time you want." James said earnestly.

Sally was in his lap in an instant, curled up into a little ball, her head on his chest. James stroked her hair, then her back, not saying anything at all.

"I'm afraid."

"I know."

"But I love you." she sounded annoyed, as if this was not what she wanted.

"Do you wish that you didn't? I don't know if I can change something like that."

"No, it feels nice. But I am still afraid."

James sat for a minute, mulling this over. Then, as if the proverbial light bulb had come on in his head, he thought he knew. At least, he thought he had another clue, thought still not the full picture.

"You don't want the tattoo because you are afraid it will let me push you away."

Sally stilled, not moving for a long minute, then he could feel her shrug.

"Can I see inside your head? Really inside."

"Of course."

She shook her head impatiently.

"You started it all. You are the ... pro ... progenitor? Yeah, the progenitor. You are the strongest and you can show only what you want to show. But you can waltz into my mind, or Zoe's or Stacy's and find whatever you want, take what you want. I need to see the real you. I need to know."

James, his mind dredging up the horror he had felt after the Mall incident, after he had killed two people. quailed at exposing this fragile girl. The memories he had seen of Evers's victims, that still haunted his nightmares, were another thing he wasn't sure she was ready for. Could he refuse? If he did, would she ever really trust him?

"Sally, there are things in there that I am not proud of, things I have seen and done that might shock you, might even disgust you. Memories that aren't my own, that I took from a really bad guy. Are you sure you are ready for this? I am afraid for you." he admitted, holding his breath while she appeared to think it over.

"I need to know." she said again.

James widened the link, making it appear in their minds as if it were a corridor. He took her hand and led her down the hall, pointing out the places in his mind where memories were stored, the places she could go to see his surface thoughts. He showed her how he read emotions, how he visualized them as glowing ribbons of color. He even showed her how she could go deep, deeper than he had allowed her to see. He showed how she could actually see the nerve impulses that traveled to every part of his body, pointing out his limbs, even his heart.