Chapter 17: Exploitations and Favors

"NOBODY"

"FREAK"

"WHY"

"HAPPENS"

"NEVER"

"SPASTIC"

"UGLY"

They filled the room. There were words, dozens of glowing words, formed in a semi-solid blue eldritch energy and written in a frantic scrawl, and they littered the floor, the bed, and drifted about the room. Joey could tell they were once in sentences, but all order was gone, all context was lost. Yet he could clearly see the pain in her writing as the words rattled and agitated in the air.

Sarah sat on the far side of the bed, his blanket wrapped around her naked form, and she shook and sobbed and scrawled in the air frantically with one glowing finger. Words flashed into existence and launched into the air, drifting and bouncing and spinning, and adding to the air of chaos.

"WHY ... DOES ... THIS ... KEEP ... HAPPENING? ... WHY ... CAN'T ... I ... BE ... NORMAL?..."

"Sarah," Joey whispered cautiously. A flood of shame was building inside him, and he slowly walked into the room, entering her literal pain, carefully stepping over the words, and brushing past them as they shook and bobbed in the air. "I am ... so ... sorry."

She turned and shot him a pained, accusing look. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was wet and tortured. One bare pale white shoulder protruded from the blanket. "Who was she?" she bawled. "Who was that?"

He swallowed. "Our publicist, Matilda. Look, she..."

"Why did she do that to me?" she cried.

He took a deep breath. "I don't know. She just..." he started, but then stopped, because he realized he was lying. The fact was, he did know. "I mean, I didn't know she was going to be here today."

Sarah stared at him through tearing eyes for a moment as she processed this, and her face twisted with confusion and anger. "What do you mean, today?" she sobbed. "You KNEW she was going to do that to me?"

"No! I..." But Joey stopped. A shockwave of guilt impacted him, silencing him. "Fucking IDIOT!" he cursed to himself. "I should have known! She's been riding my ass for weeks to get a girlfriend! I knew how she was going to react! I knew she would run over as soon as she heard. I knew she would bring Jacques to take pictures. I knew about his flash. I knew how Sarah reacts when she's startled. Why the hell did I not see this coming?" Shame consumed his equilibrium, and the room started to spin on him, the floating letters and words only adding to his disorientation. He reached out and braced himself on his dresser and lowered his head, shielding his eyes from her glare.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm so sorry." Tears came to his eyes, and he blinked and wiped them clean. "This is my fault. I should have seen this coming, but I didn't. I don't know why." He swallowed and rubbed his eyes again. "I'm so stupid."

She continued to stare at him, her face changing to horror. "You did know. Why did she do this?"

Joey shook his head. "It's all part of management and publicity. She's been pushing me to get a girlfriend so she can get some pictures, but I completely forgot about her. I didn't think. I didn't put it all together. I should have known what she was going to do when she saw you. I should have, but I didn't. I was just..."

"You were just what?" she hissed.

He finally looked back at her. "I was just so happy to get this far with you."

Sarah stared at him for several seconds, her face scrunching with pain and horror. "You were..." she started, and she sobbed. "You were just ... USING me? For pub..." She couldn't get the rest of the word out.

Joey's heart sank in terror. "No! I swear I wasn't!" He rushed to the bed, but she flinched back, holding the blanket tight around her, so he stopped, leaving her some safe distance, not wanting to scare her again. "Please believe me, Sarah," he begged. "I ... I wasn't using you for publicity. Honest! I just didn't think about her. I..." But Sarah had turned away from him and was sobbing into her hands, and rocking on the bed.

"Don't look at me!" she cried.

He sat on the other side of the bed and sank his face into his hands. "Please, Sarah. Believe me. I never meant to hurt you."

Sarah's sobbing and rocking turned frantic, and he could see flashes of light emerging from the other side of the room. Joey turned and saw the words "A", "WAS", "THIS," and "MISTAKE!" float up from her, the smaller words rising faster than the heavier ones. He could hear her hyperventilating and moaning as she scrawled in the air and rocked her body on the edge of the bed. The bed shook from her motions. "Please, Sarah. Forgive me. I didn't mean for this to happen. If I had just ... If I put it together, if I figured out what was going to happen when Matilda met you, I never would have..."

She turned and snapped at him, her eyes flaring with anger. "Never would have WHAT? Asked me out?"

"I never would have let her in."

Through ragged breathing, she continued to stare at him as she considered this, and Joey saw the anger die in her eyes, to be replaced with a look of curiosity, hope, and then shame. She dropped her eyes down to the clothes he held in his hand. "Oh, I see. Can I have my..." she started.

Joey held her clothes and book out to her, and Sarah shifted, clutching the blanket tightly around her. With a soft fizzing sound, her entire bare right arm passed straight through the blanket as she reached for her notebook. He flinched at the strange sight, and as she took the notebook, her semi-solid fingers brushed up against his.

(Validate me)

The desire flooded his mind and then vanished as she pulled away from him, opened the notebook, extracted and clicked the pen, and started writing. The writing seemed to calm her, for her frantic rocking subdued, she stopped moaning, and her breathing slowed to a more normal rate. "Validate me?" he thought to himself. "What does that mean?" He turned back and saw that some of the stronger energy words that hadn't evaporated yet were still laying about the room.

"FREAK"

"SPASTIC"

"UGLY"

The raw feeling that came from the thought gnawed at him. It was a yearning for completeness, a sense of unbalance searching for harmony. Joey reflected on the words and feeling, and turned to her.

"I don't think you're a freak."

She snorted in disbelief, and kept writing.

He sighed. "Well, if you are one, so am I. And so is everyone else in our school. So I can hardly hold it against you."

She stopped writing for a moment, and paused in thought. Then she started writing again.

Joey had no idea what to say next, and he stared at the floor in silence, overwhelmed with guilt and embarrassment, and then just to get a change of scene, stared at the ceiling. He frowned as he saw what was up there, and recognized a similarity between them.

"You know, sometimes I can't control my powers either," he offered. "See those stains up there?" He pointed, and she looked up and around, and followed his finger. "That's from one of the first times I pushed powers into Tricia. I made her fly and freeze all the water in the air around her. She hit the ceiling and splashed into it."

Sarah blinked as she looked at the ceiling.

"I didn't mean for it to happen. I was asleep, having a nightmare, and she came into the room and touched me. It just happened." He sighed. "It feels like having a bomb strapped to your chest, doesn't it?"

She dropped her head and gave the slightest perceptible nod, and continued writing.

"Sometimes I wonder why they built a school for all of us," Joey said. "I mean, when you think about it, it's really not that smart to put so many kids with unstable powers into one small place. Somebody is going to get hurt." He paused. "But I think I know why now. We need to all see each other. We need to see that on some levels we're all dealing with the same problems."

"It's not the same," she hissed.

"I'm not saying it's entirely the same. It's just that we both have these abilities that we can't completely control. But when yours go off, they humiliate you. When mine go off, they hurt people."

"So you're saying you're problems are worse than mine?" she grumbled.

Another wave of guilt washed over him. "Validate her!" he reminded himself. "That's what she wants. Don't dismiss her feelings. It's like with Tricia. She just wanted to express herself." "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying ... that I understand."

She scoffed as she wrote.

He sighed. "Or if I don't understand, I'd like to."

He heard her pen stop, and she sat silently for a moment. "Thank you," she whispered.

Joey allowed a slight smile to himself, pleased with at least this amount of progress. He pushed the camera and her clothes to her. "Here. I brought you his camera so you can delete whatever you want out of it. You want me to leave so you can put these on?"

Sarah shook her head and meekly said "No," as she clutched the blanket around her tightly.

He frowned. "You want to stay naked?"

She shook her head again. "No. I mean, I don't know..." she added, and she started rocking again. "This isn't right. I shouldn't be doing this."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Joey insisted. "It was an accident, and it's my fault."

She gave him a worried look. "Using people is wrong," she said. "I shouldn't be here."

The shame built up in him again. "I'm sorry. I told you, I didn't mean to use you. I wasn't trying to."

She shook her head. "No, I didn't mean you. I meant me. I shouldn't be using you."

This confused him, and Joey studied her face, looking for some explanation to her last comment. He didn't find any. "You're not using me. You're just helping me. We're supposed to be doing homework, remember?"

Sarah let out a soft chuckle and gave a slight smile. "Yeah..."

"I guess in one way, I am kind of using you, for homework, but you were willing to help me, so I don't think that really counts as using someone." He gave her a curious look. "But you said you were using me. Is there something you wanted from me?"

She wouldn't look at him. "I'm not really good at this..."

"Is that why you're here?" he pressed gently. "Because you want something?"

She turned back towards him and very shyly nodded. The blanket slipped down a bit, baring her shoulder again, but her violet eyes held his attention. They looked hopeful.

He smiled. "Well, all you have to do is ask. I owe you. You were willing to come here and help me, so if there is something I can help you with, I'd love to..."

"Will you make love to me?"

The question came out of nowhere and broadsided Joey, leaving him in a stunned silence. His mouth fell open and he just sat there and stared in disbelief at the naked girl. For several seconds there was nothing but silence, and Sarah turned her blushing face away from him in shame. "I mean," she said, embarrassment creeping into her voice. " ... if you don't mind. I'll understand if..."

"What?" Joey finally managed to say.

" ... if you don't want to..." she completed, and she pulled the blanket tighter around her body.

Joey felt like a couple dozen thoughts and emotions were all competing for access to his brain, and it had created this massive traffic jam in his mouth. He didn't know where to start thinking first. "She wants to have sex? Where did THAT come from? Has she had a crush on me for a while?" But as he tried to sort through his feelings, he could see her reacting to the delay. Sarah pulled the blanket tightly around her body and hid her face. She started rocking slightly and mumbling.

"I mean ... it's okay if you don't ... I was just wondering..."

Joey blinked a few times, and realized the beautiful girl was taking his silence as an answer. "Um, wait," he started. "First of all, yes."

Sarah stopped rocking and turned to him. She looked at him questioningly.

"Yes! Yes, I'd be happy to, umm..."

Her eyes turned bright with hope.

"I just ... wasn't expecting ... You really want to... ?"

Sarah blushed, and she nodded her head, unable to look him in the eyes for a brief moment.

Joey swallowed. "Well ... okay! Yes! Let's..."

As she gave him a shy smile, Joey wondering about her. "So that's the reason she came here? Because she wanted me? Why does she want me? Maybe she's just horny, and maybe Simon is right. Maybe every girl in school has got the hots for me. But why did she just blurt it out like that?" His eyes dropped down her form to the blanket she had wrapped about her. "She's shy. She's timid. She said she's not good at this. Maybe she just doesn't know how to talk to a boy, or flirt. That must be it. She's nothing like Tricia or Sandy, or even Annie. She needs me to take control."

"I'm going to need condoms," he thought to himself. "Where are they? In the other bedroom ... OH SHIT!" He remembered the fact that there were currently four other people in the apartment.

Joey held up one finger. "Okay! Just ... Wait here! All right?" he said eagerly. "I have to go take care of something, but I'll be right back! Okay? Two minutes! Tops! Okay?"

Sarah nodded. "Okay..." she whispered, the blanket shifting down her shoulder a bit.

He jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Joey leaned against the door and took a deep breath, and then grabbed his head with both hands as he tried to reset his brain. "Okay, how am I going to do this? 'Hey, I love you all, but get out!'"

The sound of the door opening and closing attracted their attention, and everyone in the living room turned towards him. Matilda stood up and came to him.

"Zhoseph, dahrling. I must apologize. I am so deeply, terribly sorry for my behavior. I don't know what came over me. I was just so excited for you. Can you please forgive me?"

Joey dropped one hand and held out another, stopping her in her tracks. "That's not up to me," he said.

"Well, please let me speak with her. I do wish to apologize to her, and I want to make things up for the both of you. I should not have ambushed her in this manner. You were absolutely right. I behaved atrociously."

"Yes, you did."

"So please, as a matter of recompense, let me offer you and your lovely girlfriend a night on the town on my expense. Pick the finest restaurant, and the finest theater. And I have some wonderful stylists I would love to take her to..."

Annie face-palmed and Tricia rolled her eyes as Matilda said this.

"You know," Joey interrupted, "I don't think you really get how this girl reacts to photographers. You just saw what happened with the one you can control, and you want to dress her up and have her ambushed by the ones you CAN'T control? You want this to happen again, but out in public?"

Matilda stopped and blinked for a couple seconds. "Oh dear..." she uttered. "Taking her to a night-time public forum WOULD be disastrous! Perhaps we should find a more appropriate venue to showcase her, such as a daylight setting?"

He shook his head. "Sorry Matilda, but Sarah is not for show. She's not the type that can handle any paparazzi. You're just going to have to forget about her. She's not here to be used."

She frowned and sighed. "Tragic. And you two were so glamorous together. Well, at the very least please let me to speak to her personally. I must apologize to her, and I'm certain I can convince her that..." And she made a move towards the door.

Joey stopped her with a panicked shout. "NO! DON'T!" The thought of Matilda walking in on Sarah as she was naked and probably crawling into his bed horrified him, and he mentally grasped for any excuse to keep her out of the room. "I mean ... She doesn't want to deal with you right now!"

"But I really should..."

"No. I'm serious. You are the last person she wants to see right now. She's ... still upset." "Yeah, that's it. That and she came here to get laid." "You can apologize to her later. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. I don't know. But right now, she just doesn't want to see you."

As Matilda processed this, Joey realized how well this line was working, and he turned to the others. "That goes for you too. All of you. She doesn't want to see anyone. She doesn't want to deal with anyone else."

Tricia and Annie jolted at that, and Jacques lifted a finger and opened his mouth to speak. "You'll get your camera back later!" Joey yelled at the photographer. "Just ... go away! Clear out! All of you! Go! Now!"

Everyone just stared at him, and nobody moved.

"She's not coming out as long as anyone is here."

Annie blinked. "You mean, you want us to just wait in the other room while she leaves?"

"No. I mean ... She doesn't want you in the apartment." Everyone continued to just stare at him. "And ... I don't know how long this is going to take. Could be hours. I ... Just ... Just go to the movies! Okay?"

Tricia and Annie startled as they heard that, for they both knew what that well-established code-phrase meant in their household. Annie's jaw dropped in horror, but Tricia lifted an eyebrow for a moment, and then broke out into a wide grin.

She stood up and clapped her hands together, grabbing everyone's attention. "You heard the man!" she said gleefully. "Clear out! We're out of here! Give them some room! Come on!" She happily marched over to the foyer and picked up her purse. "We're leaving. He's got to take care of her, and we're in the way." She checked her cell phone's charge, and pocketed the phone. "And give us a call when you're done, okay?" she said to Joey with a smirk. Then she turned to Annie. "Annie! Is there anything you absolutely need right now from here? Anything we can't pick up at the drugstore?"

Annie blinked and faltered as she processed the events. "I ... um ... no but..."

"Good! Let's go!" She opened the door and marched back in towards Annie. As she started pushing her wheelchair, she turned to the others. "Matilda! Jacques! Lovely to see you again! We're out of here! Come along!"

"But! We ... I really don't think that..."

"Out! Out! Out!"

As Matilda and Annie sputtered and questioned, Tricia ignored their protests and gleefully herded them all out of the apartment. As she managed to get them all out into the hallway, she turned back to Joey.

"Thanks," Joey silently mouthed to her.

Tricia gave him a conspiratorial smile, and pointed to him. "Protection!" she mouthed, and gestured to the other bedroom which had the drawer of condoms.

"I know!" he silently mouthed back.

She pointed to his room. "Be gentle with her."

"I will!"

She twisted her hand around. "Or rough. If that's how she likes it."

"Trish!"

She mimed a phone. "Call me!"

"Okay! I will!"

She pointed at him. "I want details!"

"Would you just go?"

She pointed into the living room. "Dog?"

"Yes! Take him!"

She picked up the leash and air-kissed the dog, catching his attention. " Scrappy! Come!" And she jingled the leash. The dog happily barked and ran out the door. With a final smile and a wink, Tricia closed the door behind her.

Joey leaned back against the bedroom door again and let out a long breath. "Well. That went better than I expected." He took another steadying breath and then headed into the other bedroom, where he pulled open a drawer and extracted a condom. Then he thought about it for a moment and pulled out a second condom, and then another thought later, a third. He then picked up the bottle of lubricant, seriously considered it, and put it back in the drawer. The condoms he decided he could put into his pocket, but the bottle he would have to hold in his hand, and wasn't sure she would appreciate seeing him come in for their first lovemaking session while carrying a huge bottle of lube.

"And it's not like I have ever had a problem getting women wet," he proudly thought to himself.

Condoms in his pocket, he checked his breath, and then his hair in the mirror, and then he headed back to his bedroom. He knocked on the door.

"Sarah? They're gone. Can I come in now?"

"Um..." There was a pause, and he could hear some movement and the rustling of fabric. "Yes."

Joey opened the door and stepped into the dark but oddly lit room. The glowing words were gone, long evaporated, and instead it was solely illuminated by a shimmering layer of fabric that draped over her body. Sarah was on the far side of the bed, standing, and covered with a glowing silk garment. He couldn't figure out if it was a robe or a poncho, or where the hell it even came from, but it was voluminous and flowing and it sparkled and glittered as it draped over her body.

Sarah was not paying any attention to him. She appeared to be busy pulling something up around her hips. Her hands passed directly through the fabric of the glowing sheet, and occasionally the robe intersected with a dark cloth around her legs as she pulled it up.

Joey frowned. He recognized her black jeans. "Are you getting dressed?"

"Uh-huh," she said as she fumbled with the snap and zipper, her fingers penetrating through the silvery robes.

"Oh." He squinted at her. "What is that?"

She took the glimmering white fabric in her hand and studied it with a smile. "This? Moonlight weave," she said proudly. "It's one of the few spells I'm really good at, but I'm still working on it. It doesn't last that long, and I'm still working on the design. It works great for a sari, but they take so long to put on, and drapes and simple tunics are just easier."

"Oh." He chewed on his lip and watched her as she pulled her black sweatshirt on over the moonlight weave robes. The black fabric passed through the white fabric, mostly, and she pulled her long hair out through the neck of her sweatshirt. It was odd, he reflected, how her two outfits would intersect each other, each one not knowing of the other one. But what was odder still was the fact that she was getting dressed. "Why are you getting dressed?"

She gave him a questioning look. "Huh?"

"Well, um..." He glanced at his shoes. "I thought you wanted to..."

She stared at him, blinking, with not a hint of recognition on her face.

" ... you know..."

She squinted at him.

" ... you and me ... You wanted to..."

She nodded. "Uh huh."

He nodded back. " ... So I got rid of everyone..."

Sarah's eyes went wide, and she clapped both hands over her mouth in shock. She stared at him, horrified.

Joey watched her carefully. "Isn't that what you wanted to do?" he asked.

"Not NOW!" she shrieked.

As Joey stood there, jaw dropped and expectations dashed, he became acutely aware of the heavy weight of the three condoms in his pocket. He stared at Sarah, astonished at her sudden change of heart. "What do you mean, not now?" he complained.

Sarah held her face in her hands, hiding herself, and she started rocking in her stance, mumbling and whining. "Oh dear. I didn't know that ... I shouldn't have ... I'm sorry." She looked at him curiously. "You thought I meant now?"

"YEAH!" he shouted. "What else was I supposed to think?"

Sarah flinched as he yelled at her, and he saw her eye the door. "I'm sorry," she offered.

"I just kicked my whole family out of the apartment so we could do this!" he yelled, pointing at the door. "What do you think I was doing out there?"

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know. Asking your mom for permission?"

Joey sputtered. "I ... I don't need to ask her permission to have sex! And by the way, I got it if you wanted to know. She's all for it."

She blinked at the news. "Really?"

"Yeah!" He stared at her angrily. "But you just made me push everyone else out of my home, and now you say you don't want to do it. Why the hell did you lead me on like that, you ... you cock-tease!"

Sarah made a face is if she had just snorted a live insect. It was a strange combination of revulsion and confusion.

"Cock-tease?" she asked, as if the words were alien to her tongue.

"Yeah! Cock-tease! You know what that means!"

Her revulsion oddly turned to a befuddled grin. "Nobody has ever called me one of those before," she giggled to herself, and then she looked at Joey curiously. "You mean ... you really wanted to..."

Joey studied her face carefully. She wasn't hurt by his insult. If anything, she seemed to enjoy it. "Yeah, I wanted to," he answered.

She stared at him in disbelief. "Oh."

Her reaction completely confused him, and Joey realized that anger and insults was not the right thing to do at this moment. He held up his hands in a calming manner and took a deep breath. "Sarah," he said, and he sat on the side of the bed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you that, and I shouldn't yell at you. I'm just ... confused, okay? I thought that you wanted to have sex with me, and I thought you meant now."

His apology relaxed her, and she actually smiled behind her fingers, and giggled softly to herself. Then she turned her eyes away from him, and blushed. "I'm sorry," she said. "It just can't be now." She lowered her head in shame. "I'm really not good at this."

"No shit!" he thought to himself. He took another deep breath and calmed himself. "Come here." He gestured to the bed, indicating for her to sit as well. "I'd like to know what is going on."

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

"I'm not mad. I'm a little frustrated, but mostly confused right now."

Sarah giggled to herself again. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I just want to know what's going on."

She blushed. "It can't be today."

Joey nodded. "Okay."

"It has to be a different day."

"Okay. You mean like, our third date?"

She giggled and blushed again. "No." She sat on the bed and took a deep breath. "It needs to be on November second at two fifteen in the afternoon."

Joey stared and blinked at her for a moment. "I'll check my calendar."

She brightened. "You will?"

"I'm kidding! You..." His brain jammed again. "November second?"

She nodded. "That's a Monday," she boasted.

Joey blinked again. "Monday. At..."

"Two fifteen," she offered brightly. "PM."

He thought about it. "During Math class."

She nodded.

"You want to do it ... with me ... next month ... at two fifteen in the afternoon ... during math class."

She smiled and nodded again.

He paused. "You want me to just lean you over Mrs. Crawford's desk and..."

"No, silly!" she giggled brightly. "We'd get a room!"

Even though Sarah's smile brightened the room and warmed his heart, Joey paused and stared at her, his brain still frozen in its tracks. Her eyes were lit with enthusiasm, and she was smiling and giddy.

"Why THEN?"

Her eyes fell, and she looked about the room embarrassed. "Well ... You're going to think it's weird."

"I already think it's weird. It get weirder?"

She faltered and picked up her notebook. "Let me show you," she said, and started flipping through her book. Joey watched carefully as she turned the dozens of hand-written pages, all filled with diagrams and notes and conversations and thoughts and tables. By this time her moonlight weave robes had faded noticeably, and were about half-transparent now, revealing her black clothes underneath. She finally reached two pages with a large table of dates and times, and flipped the book around for him to see.

"Okay," she explained. "These are all times and dates of full moons, going back to nineteen ninety-four. This..." she pointed at the first date, " ... was when I was conceived, on July twenty-third at six-forty-seven, Greenwich Mean Time."

"Wait. Conceived?"

"Uh-huh! Now I was born here, on April fifteenth, nineteen ninety-five, at..."

"Wait. How do you know that?"

"What?"

"How do you know when you were conceived?"

"What do you mean?" She gave him a confused gaze.

"Well," Joey paused. "What did your parents do? Make a sex tape and time-stamp it?"

Sarah blushed and giggled. "No, they didn't!"

"Well, how do you know?"

She shrugged. "I was told," she said a little evasively.

"Your parents just TOLD you the moment your mom got pregnant with you?"

She shook her head. "No. They didn't know then."

Joey furrowed his brow. "Well, who told you?"

Sarah hemmed and hawed, and said "I just ... KNOW ... okay?" And when she said "KNOW", she used electric blue air-quotes which hung in the air for several seconds afterward before fully evaporating. Joey watched the floating quotation marks for their full lifetime, and decided this was the best answer he was going to get.