Bait and Switch Retype - Complete

"Are you the one?" The simple question from this creature fills me with more dread, than anything else in my life.

Chapter 02

Waking up with a start, heart thumping in my chest, and sweat dripping once again from my brow, I'm furiously looking around my room. Just a dream. It was just another nightmare, I keep telling myself. Images of strange pink creatures burning, dying horribly, and the sounds of terror filled screams still echoing around in my throbbing head.

Looking to the clock, I can't stop a groan. There's still an half-hour until my alarm is set to go off. The thought of trying to get more sleep and possibly continuing that dream are enough to get me out of bed.

I reach for the light switch with my mind, and as soon as I feel it, it flips on. Sharp, lancing pain drives into my mind. Spikes are slowly being pounded between my eyes, and I stop trying to move the switch. The pain lessens markedly, but the echo of it can still be felt, as I realize that I've fallen to the floor.

"Are you alright in there, man?" Dennis says a few moments later, entering through my door without knocking. "I heard you yell."

Getting up on my knees, I hold my head in my hands and answer back, "Yeah, just a bad dream. Sorry I woke you."

As Dennis walks away, I wonder what's happened? I can still feel the switch with my mind, but I don't dare try and flip it again. The pain is still there between my eyes, though it's only a pale shadow of what it had been. Did I overuse my new ability yesterday, or have I somehow broken it?

Deciding that I need to rest my mind for a bit, I bring up my laptop. The latest episode of Big Bang Theory had downloaded last night, and it usually puts me in a much better mood. Some people may wonder how I can enjoy a show that makes fun of geeks and nerds, but Kaley Cuoco, AKA Penny, is hot, and I like seeing geeks get hot chicks.

Speaking of hot chicks, the memories from last night with Gina run through my mind, and despite my headache, I smile.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" The sound of my alarm going off scares me all over again, which ruins the final scene of the episode I'd been watching, and turns my mood sour all over again. I quickly grab my Android phone, and turn it off. Considering the dreams I had last night, I decide that I really should follow Dennis's advice and change the alarm sound. I choose Aeris's Theme from Final Fantasy VII, as that has a more soothing tone, and hope that it will be nicer to wake up to.

I change out of my Batman pajamas, rubbing my eyes, and wishing I had slept better.

"Hey," Dennis says around a mouthful of cereal as I grump out of my room, "I've done some more checking online, and found even more people who claim to have special abilities."

I stop in my tracks as his words sink in, trying to recall if I'd told him what I can do now. Or rather, what I'd been able to do yesterday. Then, sighing in relief, I remember the conversation he'd had with me yesterday morning about the news reports he'd seen on T.V.

"Don't give me that look. I thought you were into this kind of weird stuff," the other man gets defensive, and I can feel the intimidation switch I'd made yesterday move up a little.

"What did you find now?" I ask, trying to act uninterested, but also feeling guilty for intimidating him unintentionally.

After the events of yesterday, he has my full attention.

"Some guy down in Brazil can make himself change colors like a chameleon. It almost makes him invisible." As he talks, bits of cereal spew from his mouth, but he just keeps talking excitedly. "Man, if I could do that, I'd hide out in the cheerleader's locker room. Can you imagine what goes on in there?"

I can only shake my head at his juvenile behavior, but wonder if what he is telling me is real. If I had received new abilities, it is completely likely that others might have too. The only thing I can't figure out is: what had the catalyst been?

"I forgot to ask you," my roommate states, finally swallowing his mouthful. "How did your date go with Gina?"

"It wasn't a date," I answer immediately. "It was a tutoring session." I can't hide my smile though, and know I'm busted.

"Tutoring. . . Right. . . Somehow I think she did more teaching than you did, from that smile of yours!" If only he knew!

I can feel the blood rushing to my face. "Let's just say, she may no longer be interested in Robbie." I remember that Dennis had had a date last night too, and I want to change the subject. "What about your date? How'd it go?"

"Did you see a sock on the door? No? Then you know how it went." Dennis suddenly turns sullen, and I wonder what had happened. Being a Jock, he normally has his pick of women. From the noises that have emanated from his room on past occasions, I know he gets plenty of action. That is a large part of why we'd instituted the 'sock on the doorknob': I have walked in on him on more than one occasion.

Knowing that I wasn't going to get any details, I eat my own cereal, shower, brush my teeth, and get out the door.

I'm greeted viciously by wind and snow as it pelts me in the face the second I step outside, and I rush to my car. Normally I prefer to walk to campus, but in bad weather like this, I'm glad I have my car. It takes me a few minutes to get it warmed up, and I have to keep my wipers going and defrost running just to see the mushy road; it's almost a whiteout, out there. The snow is coming down hard, and I find myself envying the guy from Japan that can start himself on fire. That is a feat that would be quite handy at the moment.

Slick as the roads are, I arrive on campus at the same time I usually do when I walk. By the time I make it to class, I'm covered in snow, and slightly out of breath from running. On the plus side, no one threw any snowballs at me, or called me any derogatory names. Everyone is too busy trying to get out of this storm.

On the bad side, despite running and the cold, I fall asleep halfway through my science class, and can't get my programs to compile in my programming class; all the switches I wrote into my code keep failing. The Irony of that doesn't escape me.

Lunch is a welcome break, but I can't get my mind off my failure with the switches. I'm lost in thought, when something strikes the back of my head. Thankfully, my headache has completely dissipated.

"Look what we have here," Robbie's voice booms above me, and I cringe, "a geek who thinks too highly of himself."

"Leave me alone, Robbie," I murmur, cradling my head in my hands. I can see the orange that struck me on the floor. Part of me is glad he is finally calling me a geek. The other part of me is shaking, with my new ability out of commission, I know I'm no match for the bigger man.

"Weave me awone, Wobbie," he mimics in baby talk, laughing. "Gina told me you tried to come on to her, and she had to kick you out. She's mine, understand? Leave her alone, or you will have to deal with me." Robbie's tone makes my head throb again, but his words make my blood boil. Gina claimed *I* had come onto HER? Sure, I had flipped some of her switches, but in the end, she had been the one to kiss me. I guess her guilt switch must have flipped back over after I'd left.

I stand up from my chair, turning to face the bigger man, and speak before I can think better of it. "Really, Robbie? I have a question for you: how bow-legged was she walking this morning?"

I can see that my strike hits home by the flash of red that blossoms across his cheeks. Quicker than I can think, he shoves me back, and I fall hard back into my chair. I know I don't stand a chance against him in a fight, but with my anger rising, I start to act before I can think better of it. I make a switch in him to make him weaker, and firmly start moving it, ignoring the growing pain behind my eyes.

Getting back to my feet, I look up at him, wishing I was the taller one. My fists are clenched at my side, as I glare at the bully.

"Look at the dweeb," someone says behind Robbie, and I realize he's brought one of his cronies along for my humiliation, "looks like he wants to fight you, Robbie. You'd better be careful, he looks angry." The mocking tone just adds fuel to my ire, and I push harder on Robbie's 'weak' switch, then remember that I had created another switch yesterday.

"Maybe if you were a big enough man to satisfy your girlfriend, she wouldn't have come to me." The words are out of my mouth before I can think better of them. What is coming over me? Am I letting this power go to my head? Knowing that power corrupts, I try to reign in my anger, before I go too far.

Again Robbie's hands push against me, but in his weakened state, he forces himself back and almost trips over Derek Peterson. Derek catches his leader, however, and helps him back to his feet. Robbie looks confused for a moment, then attempts to shove me again, bracing himself this time, but he barely has any strength left in his body.

"Leave me alone, Robbie, and never bother me again," I tell the bully, gleeful menace dripping from my voice. "I'd hate for you to have any more. . . accidents."

Robbie's arm cocks back, ready to strike, but his eyes grow large as I flip the remaining switch. In horror he looks down, to see a puddle forming at his feet.

"Come on, Robbie!" Derek cheers on the bigger man, not noticing the growing yellow stain around Robbie's feet. "Show this dweeb where he stands. . . Robbie?" It's too late. Robbie has turned and fled, an unmistakable dark stain still growing as he runs. "What the. . .?" Derek trails off, slowly turning back to face me.

"Better follow him, unless you want the same," I threaten, feeling full of myself.

"Freak," Derek yells, but turns tail, and follows the wet trail out the cafeteria doors.

It's not until I sit down, that I realize my switches are working again, though I can feel the pain building behind my eyes, forcing my anger to follow Robbie's example, and flees.

A second later, the pain strikes harder than ever before and everything goes black.

* * *

Soft talking brings me out of a dreamless sleep, and I try to gather in my thoughts and unfamiliar surroundings. Under me is a stiff mattress, with white sheets. A white curtain hangs from the ceiling, and everything seems to be white around me. I'm dead, I figure, and allow my head to drop back onto the pillow. I've overused my ability, and it's killed me. At least the headache is gone.

"Ah, I see you finally woke up," a soft feminine voice sounds close by, and I look up to see old Mrs. Polkins, her gray hair tucks neatly into a bun on the back of her head, and her large smock is hugging tightly to her slightly massive frame.

"Wh-What happened?" I ask, finding my throat dry. Not dead then, I realize with some relief. Mrs. Polkins looks *nothing like an angel.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Mrs. Polkins, the campus nurse, is a nice enough woman, I had heard, but this is the first time I've had to come here. The lights flicker as she speaks, and I wonder if the storm is still going strong outside.

Laying back down, I shake my head and shrug. She keeps an eye on me for another hour, before releasing me, telling me I should see a doctor when I get the chance.

Leaving her office, I note that my head truly no longer hurts, and remembering the look on Robbie's face as he ran away brings a smile to my face. Hopefully, I won't have to deal with him again.

Checking my watch, I see that I've already missed half of Prof. Frankens's class, and just decide to go home, to get ready for work tonight. Besides, I don't care to deal with Gina's betrayal right now.

The drive home takes nearly as long as the drive to school had this morning, the storm has gotten worse. I notice more than a couple cars have slid off the slick road, and the snow is piled high. I take my sweet time, and make it back to my apartment safely.

Walking into my room, I plop down on the bed, and brace myself, before trying to mentally turn off the light. The pain hits me almost immediately, but it's duller than it'd been this morning. Either I'm getting used to it, or it's not as bad. Better yet, the light turned off, and I'm still conscious.

The power flickers a few more times as I dress for work, and I wonder if the restaurant will still be open in this storm. Deciding that I'm better safe than sorry, I call my boss. He informs me in no uncertain terms that I was either to show up for work, or I can find a new job. Cursing him soundly, I trudge back through the snow to my car, then curse even louder as my car slides more than drives down the slick roads.

I'm ten minutes late, when I walk through the door.

"Where the hell have you been?" Thunders the deep voice of Bradley (don't call him Brad) Cooper, my boss. He is a big bull of a man, and runs this restaurant with an iron fist. He is also the owner's son. The lights in the restaurant shine of his shaved head, and I can see he is already in a foul mood.

Looking around, I can't understand what his rush is, with the storm blowing outside, the restaurant is mostly empty, but I'm not about to point that out to him.

Turning to point outside, I opened my mouth to explain, but he cuts me off.

"Don't blame the storm. You knew what it was like when you called, and should have left earlier to make up for it. Now get back to the kitchens, and get to work." Bradley doesn't even wait for a response before storming off to berate one of the bus boys for some imagined infraction.

All I can do is shake my head, as I nearly run back to the kitchens. For a moment I'm tempted to use my ability on him, but decide he isn't worth the headache.

For the next hour, I cook what few orders come my way, and otherwise keep to myself.

"We're out of juice up front," Shanna, a new waitress, calls back.

"It's in the fridge, but make sure you get one out of the freezer to thaw out and replace it," I tell her. I see the brunette take one of the concentrated juice jugs out of the fridge, and take it up front. A few minutes later, she returns and walks into the freezer, only to come out a second later, shivering and empty handed.

"I can't find it in there, and it's freezing!" She walks up to me, rubbing her arms, and asking, "Can you help me find it, Nick?"

Shanna is a new waitress, so it's understandable that she needs help. I follow her back to the freezer, and notice that she has a pretty nice frame. Her hips are a little wide, but her waist is small, and she has a rather nice walk. Normally, all the cooks see of the waitresses are their faces, and while she was cute enough, she was no Gina.

"It's freezing in here," Shanna repeats herself, her breath misting in the air.

I can't stop my retort, "That's why they call it a freezer."

She gives me a look, like I'm the idiot, but I brush it off. I notice her eyes are a light blue, and she has really long lashes.

I hear the door close behind us, electronically latching, and decide to quickly look for the juice before we both freeze.

"It's right here, next to the—" I cut off as the lights go out, and Shanna gives a small scream. Before I can act or think I feel her grab a hold of me, pinning my arm to my side and shivering from cold and fear. "Don't worry; the lights will come back on shortly. The power shouldn't stay off long. Let's see if we can find the door." It's a little hard groping for the door one handed, with her holding on tight to me, and somehow I become turned around.

"I hate the dark," she confides in me. I pat her back with my free hand in an effort to calm her, and she pulls me tighter to her body. I can't help but notice as her breasts press around my arm, and after a moment I realize her crotch is pressed to the back of my hand. All of a sudden, I my second brain comes awake, and a plan hatches in my mind, as I finally find the door.

"It's locked," I lie. "With the power out, we're locked in here till it comes back on." I can feel her shaking against my body, whether from fear or the cold I'm not sure. "The good news is that with the power out, it won't get any colder in here."

"At home, when the power goes out, my sister Shannon and I comfort each other till it comes back on." I place my free arm around her waist, pulling her tighter to me as I listen to her talk. "Sometimes we'll just hold each other, and talk about whatever comes to mind. My parents say we're two peas in a pod, but that's just silly. What else would twins be?"

Shanna has a twin? For a moment I'm tempted to start using my ability on her, but then think better of it. I don't want to get caught in here doing something I shouldn't be, and have Bradley fire me. Also the last thing I need is a bigger headache. Besides, how much sweeter will it be if I win her over without making switches?

I let her continue talking, only saying a little here and there, letting our shared body warmth fight off the chill room. I know it is helping to keep her calm, and she has a rather pleasant voice.

"You don't remember me, do you?" Shanna asks unexpectedly, and I wrack my mind trying to figure out who she is. She laughs, after I remain silent for a few seconds. "It's okay. I wouldn't expect you to remember me with the likes of Gina in the same class, or even Prof. Frankens." She must have felt me tense up then. "Ha, I know all the men look at the professor, and Gina IS one of the hottest girls in school." She laughs again, and I sense more than see her look up at me. "Do you know why I got a job here?"

I shake my head before I realize she can't see me, and then say, "Because the tips are really good?"

"No," she suddenly grows quiet for a few seconds. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I've had a crush on you for the longest time."

"Me?" I blurt out. No woman has ever had a crush on me that I'd ever heard of. "Why me?"

"Why not?" She replies, matter-of-factly. "I don't go for the jocks; most of them are assholes anyway. I prefer a man that is smart, and for some reason I like pale skin, versus tanned. I dunno," she hesitates, growing shy again, "I guess I also think you're rather cute."

My heart is thumping in my chest as she speaks. To say I'm shocked would be an understatement. I'm aware of every inch of her body as it's pressed to mine, her legs on either side of my left leg, my left hand trapped between my jeans and her soft khaki-covered crotch, her breasts heaving against my arm, and it occurs to me that she is just as nervous as I am.

Despite what she's just revealed, I think I'm being bold as I lean my head down to where I think her lips might be, and end up kissing her nose, her long lashes brushing my nose.

She giggles, and I think it's rather cute to listen to. I feel her hands travel up my body to the back of my head, turning it, and then feel her lips touch mine.

Despite the frigid temperature in here, I feel a delicious warmth spread from where our lips make contact, then travel through my head, down into my body, and ignite in my loins. I was already a bit hard, but now it's throbbing in my pants. Her kiss is fantastic, and Gina has nothing on this woman tongue skills.

With my right arm still around Shanna, I pull her tighter to me, deepening the kiss, when she pulls away from me. "I can't-- I mean, we shouldn't," her voice is breathy, and suddenly I become very self conscious.

Am I a bad kisser? Does my breath stink? The sudden absence of her body heat next to me makes me shiver. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," I murmur, embarrassed.

"No," she says, and I can hear her move closer to me, her arms wrap around my body, "I wanted it to happen. I've wanted this to happen for a long time, but. . ." She trails off, and I can tell she is as nervous as I am. "What if the power comes back on, and someone finds us. . . You know. . ."

This time I'm the one to laugh, but I try to sound reassuring as I speak. "The first thing Bradley is going to do is count the tills. It'll be a bit before anyone checks the freezer, and we can slip out before they do." I pause, and let my own arms wrap tightly around her, "And besides. . . We need to keep our temperatures up. I'd hate to freeze in here."