The Possessor

Jake

I’m sitting in the living room, watching my parents argue good-naturedly about where to put the new recliner. They brought it home strapped to the top of the car, and made me drag it in the house. Now, they’re trying to decide if it should go by the fireplace or by the television. After a good half an hour my mother talks my father into putting by the fireplace, and I move it into position for them.

“Perfect.” my mother beams. “How’s school, honey?” she asks me.

“Good.” I say. “Boring.”

“You’re too smart.” she tells me, smiling. She reaches over to ruffle my hair. “How’s Fox?”

“Annoying.” I tell her, and she laughs. “He wants to interfere with me and Dominic.”

She sighs and gives me a knowing look. My mother and I have a good relationship; she knows pretty much everything about me, and we talk freely. My father, who is a good dad but rather uncomfortable about his son being gay still, leaves the room quietly. My mother pulls my hand until I sit on the couch beside her. “Tell me what’s happened.” she says.

“Nothing.” I say. “I still haven’t talked to Dominic. I just… stalk him.” she smiles a little. “All of a sudden Fox wants to talk to him for me. Like… try and hook us up.”

“He’s just worried about you.” she says, and I shrug. “He’s a good friend.”

“I guess so.” I pause. “Mom?” she ‘hmm’s at me. “Would you be uncomfortable with it if I did end up seeing Dominic? With him having a Possessor?”

“No.” she says immediately. “Not at all.” she thinks for a moment. “My co-worked, Renee, has a Possessor. Did you know?” I shake my head. She nods. “They aren’t any different than normal people, for the most part. More efficient.” she grins. “Renee uses two computers at once. Her Possessor types faster than she does.” I laugh at this. I’ve never seen Dominic’s Possessor do anything other than hang around his throat and waver at people. “But honey, you’re aware of their mating problems, right?”

I flush. If she’s trying to have the sex talk with me, I’m going to die of embarrassment. She shakes her head at me. “Possessors have mates, sweetie. They don’t fall in love, they don’t have relationships. They just mate.”

I sigh. “So you’re saying-”

“I’m not saying anything.” she cuts in. “Only that when you told me about Dominic, I looked it up. They very rarely have relationships. Most of the time, the human just allows the Possessor to find mates. It makes having a monogamous relationship sort of difficult.”

“Oh.” I say softly. “That sucks.”

She ruffles my hair again. “But that’s not to say that Dominic isn’t different. There are people with Possessors who marry and have kids. It’s just rare.” I nod my head, and she watches me carefully.

“I told Fox that he could talk to him.” I admit. I’d been regretting it as soon as I had gotten off of the phone with him, and had been trying not to think about it.

She sighs and leans over to press a kiss to my temple, right above my eyebrow piercing. “All will be well in the end, dear.” she tells me. “How about you and me go next weekend and get your tattoo touched up?” she asks, beaming.

I grin at her. “Sure, Mom.” I say, and she pats my knee before getting up and leaving the room. I love my mom, I really do. She got me my eyebrow piercing at fifteen, and my tattoo a few months ago. She knows I’ve been wanting it retouched, and this is her way of getting me in a better mood.

The rest of the day passes without much occurrence. After dinner Fox comes over, and when I ask him about Dominic, he looks uncomfortable and sort of sick.

“I told him I’d let him talk to you about it.” he says vaguely, and refuses to say anything else at all. He crashes that night, and in the morning, we go to school. He stands with me by my locker while I get the things I need for first period, then I follow him to his locker.

“Have you seen him today?” I ask, looking around for Dominic. I’m nervous and feeling sick to my stomach. What would he talk to me about? Do I dare to hope?

Foxy glares at me. “I’ve been the same places you have. No, I haven’t seen him.” he shoves his backpack into the locker.

I sigh and lean against the locker beside Foxy’s, glaring down at my sneakers. “I feel so stupid, Fox.” I say, and he stills to listen to me. “I mean, how long have I been pining over him? And now you won’t tell me what he said and I feel like some stupid school kid with a crush.”

“You are some stupid school kid with a crush.” Foxy says, and I lift my head up to yell at him. Whatever I was about to say dies on my tongue; Dominic is standing directly behind Fox, staring at me.

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Dominic

“There he is.” my Possessor hums in my ear, brushing against my neck. “What are you going to say?”

“I have no idea.” I mutter, watching Jake closely. He looks better than normal today, for some reason. Loose fitting blue jeans and a dark blue the shirt that fits well enough to make my Possessor unable to hold still. I watch say something to Foxy, who lifts his head to glare at Jake. Jake heaves a big sigh and leans his weight back, lowering his head so his hair falls along his jaw and obscures my view of his face.

“I can’t do this.” I say, and my Possessor hisses. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Let me do it.” it suggests, and I scowl. “I won’t mention mating at all, I promise.” it snickers, and I roll my eyes. “I’ll behave, I swear. Just let me handle this part. I’ll break the ice, and after that you can be in control. You can take your time wooing him, if it pleases you.”

I bite my lip, concentrating. “You promise?” I ask, and it sighs against my ear. “No talk of mating, and you won’t make it sound like I’m only interested in fucking him?”

“I promise.” it assures me. “I’ll make sure he knows we’re interested, that’s all, and see if I can’t set up something where we can all be alone together.” it chuckles, and after a moment I sigh and nod my head.

“Okay.” I whisper, closing my eyes and letting go of my control. I can feel it seep into me, pulling against my muscles, sliding over my tongue, and when I open my eyes again I’m not the one who opened them.

My feet move, taking me across the hall towards Jake and Foxy, and I feel my mouth curl into a tiny smile. I wonder if I’ve made the right choice, if I’m not doing something incredibly stupid by letting the Possessor take complete control like this. I don’t have much time to think about it, though. My body comes to a stop right behind Foxy, just in time to hear him say, “…kid with a crush.”

Jake’s head snaps up and our eyes meet, and even with the Possessor in control my breath catches. He’s so much more attractive this close; I could count the freckles across his cheek bones and the bridge of his nose, if I wanted to. He stares at me, his eyes widening slightly. My body steps to the side a little as Foxy turns to look at me. My head turns, glances at Foxy, who looks concerned, and I feel myself wink right before I step forward again.

“Dominic-” Foxy says, and my body ignores him. I see the intent right before it actually happens, and if I could choke an intangible creature to death, I would. My hands come up, on either side of Jake’s face, cupping his jaw and tilting his head back. He makes a soft gasping sound, his entire body going tense, and my mouth comes down and crashes against his.

I feel the books he was holding hit the ground, one of them crushing my left foot, and my body ignores it, instead completely intent on the kiss. His hands brush my chest, then flinch away, then come back, a little surer this time, although I can feel the tremor in them through my shirt. My mouth works against his, and it’s not as gentle as I would’ve liked, a little too forward, and then my tongue ghosts against the crease of his lips and he gasps. My tongue touches his, and he tastes even better than he smells to me. My Possessor moans, low in my throat and I know I’m about a second and a half from ravishing this kid right here and now, pinned against the lockers of the math hall. I find enough strength to grab control long enough to pull my head back.

Jake has handfuls of my shirt, and he’s panting. I realize I am too, and then my Possessor reasserts itself and I’m pushed into the background again. Jake’s eyes open, and they’re hazy and slightly unfocused. “Wow.” my mouth moves, and I smile down at him. He finally focuses on me. “I’ve been wanting to do that for months.” I say, and if I could face palm right now, I would.

“Whu…” he croaks, and I hear Foxy snort to my left. Jake’s eyes clear and he lets go of my shirt. I haven’t let go of him, though. “What.” he tries again, and this time Foxy laughs out loud. Jake’s head tries to turn in my hands, his eyes flickering ot his best friend.

“I’ll let you two…” Foxy clears his throat. “Goddamn.” he mutters, shaking his head. He turns and leaves in a hurry. My eyes turn back to Jake, who’s looking somewhere between scared, ecstatic, and ready to cry.

“Jake.” I say his name, and he closes his eyes and seems to loose his balance a little. “Jake, are you listening?” He nods slowly, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. “Can we go somewhere?”

I’m screaming at my Possessor, telling him that I’m about ready to kill him, but he ignores me. Jake’s eyes open and he looks hopeful and confused. I smile down at him. “Just to talk.” he says, and Jake nods again. “Now?” I ask.

“Yes.” Jake says.

“Come on.” I let go, stepping back, and see the disappointment. My Possessor lets go of all control and without really thinking, I reach out one hand and hold it out to Jake. He pauses, considering me, then slips his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together.

Jake shows me the easiest way to sneak out of building without getting caught, and we jog across the back court yard to the line of trees. From there, he leads me through a small strip of woods and onto a residential street, then through three backyards and up onto a back porch.

“My house.” he says, the only time he’s spoken, aside from his ‘yes’, and it comes out so quiet I barely hear him. He unlocks the door and I follow him inside. He shuts the door and leads me upstairs into a rather large bedroom. The bed is huge and covered in a blue comforter, the walls are crowded with posters and magazine clippings. There is a large desk unit with a computer, a dresser, and a closet with open double doors, revealing shelves stuffed with more books than clothes.

He sits down on the edge of the bed and puts his face in his hands.

“Parents?” I ask, standing by the door.

“My mother won’t get home until six, my dad at eight.” he says. He looks up at me. “Why?” he asks, and I know he’s not asking about the question, but about the kiss.

“Because I wanted to.” I say, twisting the truth just a little. It’s not really a lie; I did want to kiss him. I’d been thinking about it. Couldn’t help it, really. But I wouldn’t have done it like that. “I’m sorry.” I add.

“Don’t be.” he says, and rubs his eyes. “Still, though, why?”

“Why did I want to?” I ask, and he nods. I’m not really sure what to say to him. I stand there, staring at him, and he just looks back, waiting patiently for my answer. I can’t find one for him. I walk over and sit down beside him on the bed. My Possessor is behaving himself, knowing I’m angry; he’s not even out right now. It’s sort of nice, not to have him around my neck like a collar while I’m trying to take care of this mess he’s put me in.

When I’m quiet for too long, Jake puts his hands through his hair, pushing it away from his face. This makes that smell of his intensify for a moment, and I hiss through my teeth at what it does to my body. He looks at me, curious, and I shake my head and look away.

“Fox talked to you.” he says, and I nod. “About me.” I nod again. “Does this mean you… I mean, is this like…”

“I don’t know what it is.” I tell him honestly. “But I’d like to find out.” I reach over, unsure of myself, and touch his arm. He closes his eyes at the contact, shifting so he’s facing me on the edge of the bed. “I’d like to know why you affect me like this.” This isn’t precisely a lie. I know why I have the physical reaction I do to him, but the emotional one is what’s really throwing me off. What should I care how he feels, if the only reason I want him is to please my Possessor?

I want to stop thinking, so I lean forward and catch his chin with my free hand. He looks at me then, his eyes searching and when I smile softly he closes the distance and presses his mouth to mine. He parts y lips with his tongue, and that taste again, even more intense now that I’m feeling it without the filter of my Possessor, makes me groan. I feel my hand tighten on his arm, and before I know what I’m doing I push him backwards, sending him sprawling on the comforter. I put one knee between his legs, the other beside his hip, and crush my mouth against his again. He opens for me, his hands sliding around my neck, into my hair, holding me against him. I try to chase the taste of him, try to figure out what it is. Real tastes, toothpaste and something like coffee, but the others, like the smells, are something I know only I can taste on him. Vanilla and something that reminds me strangely of angel food cake, the sharp undertone bite of juniper berries and another taste, the one I realize quickly I like best, something I’ve never had before, something I can’t place.

And then my Possessor slips out, around my neck, stroking, and reaches towards Jake. I want to pull back, but before I can it slides along the skin of his throat and he makes a loud, surprised mewling sound against my tongue.

He twists his mouth away, turning his head, his breath coming in short, hard gasps, and whispers, “What the fuck was that?”

“Fuck.” I mutter, sitting back, away from him, and he sits up, staring at me. “I’m sorry.”

He’s studying me carefully, and he must notice the displacement of the air around my neck and face. He bites his lip. “Was that your Possessor?” he asks gently. I nod. “It touched me.”

“Yea.” I say and sit back where I started, on the edge of the bed, not touching him. “Yea.” I say again.

“I felt… weird.” he says, and I hear my Possessor make a sound against my ear. “It felt like cold steam… is that weird?”

“No.” I say. “That’s usually what it feels like. It’s never tried to touch anyone before.” I tell him. “Not even the other people I’ve…” I make a gesture and Jake nods to show me he understands.

“What does that mean?” he asks, looking carefully at the crystal around my neck. “Does it not like me?” he sounds worried, so much so that it makes me laugh.

“Jake,” I say, meeting his eyes. “The problem, I think, is that it likes you too much.” he looks confused and wary, and I throw all of my worries out the window, all the crap I’ve been holding onto, and just tell him the truth. “You’re my Possessor’s mate.”

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A/N -- Thanks for reading so far. I’m not anywhere near done yet, trust me! I’m hoping you like what I’ve got right now, and trust me when I say there’s TONS more to come.

Please review!