Chapter 6

Their return to school was greeting with whispers and looks, stories having circulated, though most of them were way off base. Still, they were the subject of much debate and even more gossip. Zoe's friends were ecstatic to have her back smiling again, maybe not back to her old self, but on the way.

There were cool around James at first, not sure how things had developed but when Zoe plopped down in his lap at lunch, they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The only downside remaining was the attitude of the teachers, though Principal Winters said she was glad to have him back in school. Most of the teachers seemed to be keeping an eye on him, watching him like a hawk. He had been involved in two different violent incidents and despite the official line, where there is smoke, there is often fire, or so they thought.

They quickly got back into the routine, catching up on missed work and sliding back into the microcosm of high school life. James still ran in the afternoons, and worked out, though with a much reduced schedule, in the evenings. The rest of the evenings were split between his house and hers, though both parents insisted on an early curfew for school nights.

Zoe and James talked often about his abilities, discussing the pros and cons, Zoe taking his mother's side, insisting that he could use his abilities for good, while James was still nervous, afraid of the consequences.

He relented enough to experiment, but only with her, not around others. They started small, with James opening his shield, feeling Zoe's emotions, basking in her compassion for him, in her love. He tried projecting, varying the strength with Zoe as a bellwether. She would describe what, if anything, she was feeling, how strong it was.

James found, after several weeks of this, that he had achieved a much greater control over his emotional projections. He could make her smile, or (thought he objected to this strenuously) even cry, without her being able to tell that he was directly projecting. To her surprise, and to much giggling, he found he could cause her to start feeling affectionate. After experimenting with this new-found skill, he could push her from cranky to craving him and back again, as fast as her body could cycle through those emotional states.

When, eventually, with practice, he managed to make her orgasm with just a thought, she was awestruck, and declared him the best boyfriend in the history of the world!

James was feeling much better about that part of his abilities, the projection of emotions was manipulation, but it wasn't all that harmful by itself. Zoe, for instance, could resist almost all of his projections. She would feel what he projected, but her conscious mind could overrule them. It was harder for her to do that if he snuck it in, projected when she wasn't paying attention, like in class, but even then, it wouldn't make her do anything she wasn't already willing to do anyway.

Next came the harder part, the part that still terrified James. Zoe enlisted his mother to convince him to face that fear. His mother even volunteered to help him, to test with him. When he objected, her arguments were very persuasive. She argued that her tiny sliver of the empathic gene made her more sensitive, more able to detect his maneuvering. She also argued that there was no one else, other than Zoe, who knew his secret, and could provide both an independent opinion and a safety. When he worked with one of them, the other would be there as a safety, calling a halt if anything seemed off.

With both of the women in his life on the same page, James knew that he might as well give in. He was scared, but he was proud of both of them, and didn't want to let them down.

They set aside a Saturday morning for their first test, when James's father David would be playing golf with some work buddies. David was aware of James's abilities, of the history on his side of the family, but he was very uncomfortable with the whole thing and preferred not be involved unless needed.

They were sitting in the living room debating what, and how far, they wanted to try. James was insisting on a simple push, but Zoe wanted him to try to get into her head, read her thoughts. Ada was silent, listening both sides, but not weighing in when they both turned to her, asking for her opinion.

"I would be more comfortable starting small, but am going to support Zoe on this. Trying to get into her head, that deeper connection, is what you fear the most, right James? That is the root of your fear since the incident at the mall."

James nodded, his face pale.

"I think that whatever happened, happened because you feared the attack, you feared that it might involve others like Zoe. You were pressed for time and acted instinctively. I think, and I pray that I am right, that Zoe is the perfect person for this test. You love her, that much is clear to anyone who is in the same room with the two of you for more than five minutes." She grinned at both of them.

"You won't be hurried, you won't be panicked and you won't be threatened. If you can do this, if you can get into her head, I think it will go a long way towards helping you face this fear and continue to build your strength, your control."

James stared at his feet, weighing his mother's words, feeling the truth, and the support, behind them. He was still scared, but if he was going to get over this phobia, he needed to do this sooner or later. He looked at Zoe and he could feel the love and the trust she had in him.

He nodded, his face still pale, but his expression determined.

Zoe kissed him on the cheek, whispering, "You can do this. I am not afraid of you, I trust you with my life." before sitting back, getting comfortable on the couch.

James tried to relax, to let his senses center on Zoe. He could feel her excitement, her expectations. He concentrated on her, his senses narrowing, he could feel her, feel a buzz, as if she were a live wire. He closed his eyes, concentrating on that feeling, exploring it, looking for a way past, through it. He was about to back out, to withdraw his mental probe when he saw it. A bright white spot, different that the emotional colors he was used to seeing. It was flashing, being obscured as her emotional state fluctuated, but now that he had seen it, he could track it, follow it.

When he narrowed his mental probe even further, he extended it until it touched. And he was there. He could see her thoughts! She was wondering if he was going to be able to do it, praying he would succeed. She was hoping that this would help him, rebuild his confidence, lift the dark cloud that was still hovering over him. She was picturing a dozen times in the last week when she would catch him frowning, his eyes unfocused like he was in his memories again. It hurt to see him that way, to know that she couldn't sooth that pain.

James felt the tears rolling down his cheeks, and he saw her reaction when to the sight of him crying, feeling a weird sense of being out of body and he saw what she was seeing. She was devastated, thinking that she had pushed him too hard, that she had caused him pain when she wanted to ease it instead.

He laughed, startling her and his mother both. He opened his eyes, backing out of her vision when the double vision made him dizzy, and he winked at her.

"I did it." he whispered. "I did it."

His mother leaned forward, her expression intent and her curiosity piqued.

James leaned forward, taking Zoe's hands. "Baby ... love, it is not your fault, and not your responsibility to take these pains from me. You are doing everything you can, and everything right. You are supporting me, and I couldn't ask for anything more. Seeing, in your thoughts, the pain that I cause you, well, it hurts, but it helps too. I know now, I can fix it now."

Zoe's eyes overfilled, her own tears flowing down her cheeks, but she was smiling, so very proud of him. "You really did it. Oh baby, you did it!!"

She flew into his arms, kissing him and then wiping his tears. "Quick, what am I thinking?" she asked with a grin.

James blushed, he was NOT going to say that out loud. Zoe broke out in peals of laughter as she saw his expression. "He really did it, he's in my head!"

Ada was smiling, able to guess what kind of thought made her son blush. "Son, can you communicate with her? Can you talk to her in her mind or maybe send an image if not words?"

James turned his eyes back to Zoe, feeling his way around his connection, unsure how to proceed. He tried just thinking a message. "You have a majorly hot ass." but when she didn't react, he tried to push a little, focusing on his connection, aiming the push down the "pipe" between them. "Your lips make me hungry."

Still nothing. Zoe and his mother were still looking at him expectantly, and Zoe was thinking aloud, obviously wanting him to read her. "You can do this baby, I know you can! Send me a picture of your favorite body part!"

James grinned at her, and she giggled. He formed a picture of her ass, the way he had seen it last weekend, when they were supposed to be at the pool but had come here, to his house when his parents were out. He pictured the silky smooth skin, the apple-shaped curves of her cheeks, the feel of the firm muscles under his fingers. He projected, and pushed, trying both at once but no reaction. Then, in a moment of inspiration, he tried something new, kind of wrapping the image up in a new probe and sending it in alongside the original.

Zoe jerked up straight, her eyes flew open and her face turned bright red, her eyes shining with hidden mirth. "You are a dirty boy!"

Ada laughed at her reaction. "What did he say?"

Zoe grinned at her. "He didn't say anything. I was thinking to him, trying to get him to relax and told him to send me a picture of his favorite body part." She blushed again. "He sent me a picture of my butt! I know it was from him, not something I dreamed up, because it is not an angle I have ever, or could ever see for myself."

Ada's eyes shot to James, her eyebrows climbing into her hairline. "James, I ... um ... Never mind, I don't want to know." she shook her head, hiding a smile behind her hand. "So, images you have figured out, what about thoughts? Can you send them the same way?"

James mentally reviewed the second probe, then tried the same thing, with his thoughts instead of a picture. "I love you, Zoe, and I really do love your ass."

Zoe laughed, jumping up the couch and bouncing up and down. "OH MY GOD! I totally heard that. It was LOUD too!" Turning to Ada, "He said "I love you and I really do love your butt!" she said, giggling.

Ada looked thoughtful. "I think with practice, this could be very useful. You will have to practice, and learn to adjust the volume, by the sounds of it, but this is fascinating! James, would you ... could you try it with me?" She sounded plaintive, as if she felt she was missing out on something special with her son.

James let the connection with Zoe lapse, and began over again with his mother. This time it was a little easier, since he knew what to look for. In just a few moments, he was there, in her mind. He cocked his head, amazed at the difference.

He sent her a thought, and a picture to go with it. "Remember this?" and sent an image from his memory, of the two of them riding a carousel when he was seven or eight years old. They had taken a day trip to a carnival and had a fantastic day, the three of them.

He smiled as his mother gasped, her eyes suspiciously shiny, and she covered her mouth. "That was lovely, James. I can't believe you recall that! Zoe, darling, James sent me a lovely image. He was eight. His father and I took him to a carnival and we had a lovely time. He sent me a picture of me, sitting next to him on a carousel."

"It was easier this time, now that I knew what to look for. Your mind ... um ... I don't have the words. It tastes different that Zoe's. Hers is like peppermint, sweet and kinda zippy, like a burst of flavor. Yours is smoother, calmer, like a cup of tea, maybe. I know that probably doesn't make any sense, but it is the only way I can think of to describe it."

"When you are there, when you are in my mind, can you see my memories?"

"I don't know. Mostly what I see, at least so far, is the surface thoughts. You can think something directly to me, like Zoe did, and I can see what you are thinking, but not quite as strongly, when you are thinking to yourself. Right now, for instance, you are wondering if I can peek and see ... whoa, that was cool. You started singing, in your head!" He grinned at his mother. "I see what you did! You didn't want me to know what you were wondering. Nice trick, mum!"

"You can search my memories, James. Don't worry your mother, she is your mom and she can have any private memories she wants." Zoe said with a wink at Ada.

James switched back to Zoe, and started feeling his way around, searching for anything new, different. He got distracted when Zoe started actively recalling her new favorite activity involving his tongue and...

"Zoe! That is not helping, baby!" Her grin was decidedly wicked in nature, and Ada rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself.

"Again, I don't want to know!"

After they all stopped laughing, he tried again. Zoe was trying to blank her mind, concentrating on the feel of her jeans beneath her fingertips. He was only getting what was on the surface, no matter how he probed, pried, scanned.

He looked at his mother, shaking his head. "I know I got something from the guy at the mall, I saw him in his memory, drinking beer in the parking lot with the other two, but I can't figure out how I got it. I can't see any way into Zoe's memory.

"That's quite all right, James. How do you feel? Any pain? Discomfort? Any misgivings?"

James was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I feel fine, mum. Nothing wrong, nothing different except a sense of relief, and excitement, of course!"

"Then this would be a good time to stop for now. Practice with your lovely lady. When you are ready, we can try other things. Baby steps, my baby boy!" She grinned at him.

"Thanks, mum, ever so much. Having you hear to help us, it meant a lot."

"Amen! Thanks Ada, for helping me convince him. He's stronger than he knows, I just have to get him to see it too!"

The next couple of weeks were fun for James. With practice, he could slip into anyone's mind. He found himself skipping from person to person in his classes, finding most people boring, a surprising number were so self centered that their thoughts were rarely about others, except for where they impinged on their lives.

Some of the thoughts he read were titillating. Jimmy Doogan, a kid in his home room, had a serious crush on Ms. Sommers and a very, very vivid imagination!

The only dark spot was finding that another guy, Carl Owens, had the hots for Zoe. He was a big guy, at least six inches taller, and had that blonde hair, blue eyed surfer look and was the subject of half a dozen girl's daydreams. He felt a surge of jealousy and found himself mentally stalking the guy, watching him watch her. It was making him feel sick to his stomach, bringing up feelings and insecurities he didn't even know he had.

He forced himself to stay out of Carl's head, vowing to ignore the situation unless he acted on his desire or started to bother her. He felt that they guy was slimy, but he didn't have anything obvious to back it up and was honest enough with himself to admit that he might even be projecting his insecurity, looking for something wrong.

He even told Zoe what he saw, confessing that he was jealous, angry at the guy even though he hadn't really done anything wrong. This admission actually caused their first fight.

Zoe was flattered by the idea that Carl found her attractive, saying she thought he was pretty hot too. He was bothered, but held his peace. Then the very next day, the next day, when he arrived at school, he found Zoe leaning against the wall, and Karl leaning over her, very close, and they were talking and laughing.

James saw red. He wanted to smash Carl, to pull his arms off and beat him with the bloody stumps. He found himself reaching for Zoe, to see what she was thinking, feeling but he caught himself, feeling sick inside. He was not going to abuse his abilities, was not going to abuse Zoe by spying on her like that.

He spun around and considered walking away, just going home and playing sick. He was angry, he knew it, and didn't know how to handle it. What good was this power of his if he couldn't use it?

He spun back around an marched over to Zoe and Carl. Keeping his voice calm, he called out to her as he drew near.

"Zoe..."

She grinned and waved, then turned back to laugh at something Carl said.

Now James was seething. "What the fuck was she thinking?"

Stopping in front of her, ignoring Carl completely, he snarled.

"Really, Zoe? Yesterday, YESTERDAY, and this is what you do with it? Are you bored with me already?"

"What? No! Why would you say that?" Zoe looked shocked and confused.

"I don't know, Zoe. You tell me." he said, his anger slowly leeching away and being replaced by a sick, hollow feeling.