Gifted Bk. 01 Ch. 00

You know all the usual stuff, don't read if it's illegal or you don't like sex or if bisexual sex offends you. All characters are purely fictional, and any likeness is coincidence. Joshua Glynn reserves all rights to this story, the characters, and the world they live in.

This story is about an 18-year-old boy struggling with the gifts that he possesses and trying to find out where he fits in a new school.

Soulmates: Gifted Book One

Prologue:

Moving

Joshua

It is said that we only use ten percent of our brain, and if we could ever tap into the other ninety percent, we could do wondrous things... My family, at least on my father's side, does not have this limitation. I am gifted. You see, since before I was born, I have been able to feel my parents around me. I felt their love, their longing for me to arrive, but I also received a faint sense of fear from my father.

Among other things, my gift endows me with an eidetic memory unlike any other, so when I say I remember it, I mean that I remember it! I didn't really understand all the things happening around me when I was really young. My early memories were colored with the confusion of my child mind trying to figure out the world around me, but still, I remember the events as they happened.

I would later learn that the fear I had been sensing from my father had been his hope that this gift would have passed me by, it had skipped a generation before. It can be overwhelming at times, as you will see. But our family line has been gifted for as far back as we know, at least as far back as the dark ages. Shortly after I was born, my father became resigned that his son would be like him, gifted, and that I would be different from the other kids around me.

Because of my awareness, I didn't cry much, usually only if I got hurt or the like. For example, I didn't cry if I merely wanted something. When I was hungry, I projected the thought of the food I wanted into my parents' minds. Mom really freaked out the first time I did that, but my Dad knew it was coming. I couldn't speak to them per se, but I could send images and feelings. However, I was talking in full sentences by ten months. I would pick up the meanings of the words they were using and eventually figured out how the words fit together to full ideas and phrases. Oh, they were simple, and it may have been hard to understand my baby slurred speech, but it was still impressive.

The real spearhead of my early development was my father. He knew exactly where I was coming from, because he has gone through the same thing growing up. He helped me to close my mind when I wanted to be alone with my own thoughts and taught me the importance and the value of down time. When I was really young, I never wanted to shut my mind off. I wanted to connect to everything and everyone. But he showed me how this could be both embarrassing and invasive. He taught me how to block other people out, mainly by using his mind to try breaking into my mind, and how to keep my thoughts to myself. Let's face it, what would you do if every stray thought you had, could be "heard" by your father... embarrassing right?

I started school a year later than most kids. My birthday is in early August, and like a lot of parents, mine decided to hold off a year before letting me start first grade. It was trendy at the time, parents thought that extra year would let their kids start school with the advantage of being a bit bigger, and more mature. Mine thought the extra year would allow me more time to get my gift under control. My parents were very careful with me.

I could have easily jumped ahead in school, but my parents wanted me to have as normal a childhood as possible. I did make straight A's, though. I could see the complex formulas and rules, as well as the why and how things work' directly from my teachers' minds, as the teachers themselves understood them. It was a breeze. And did I mention I remember everything?

On the other hand, I had to deal with the hundreds of other students at school. It wasn't too bad in the later grades, but first through fifth was another story. Most of the time, unless I actively try (and Father drilled into me that I should never do that, as it is an invasion of privacy) I only would get snippets of other kids' thoughts. You see, the only time most people broadcast their thoughts are when those thoughts are tied to strong emotions. And young kids are driven by strong emotions. That means that being in school, in those early years was like sitting in the middle of a crowded cafeteria... everyone almost constantly babbling about the most off the wall things. Some of them shouting, some whispering, but just a constant stream of noise. Most days I would just have to shut down my mind, just to concentrate, only opening up a bit in class to get what I needed from my teachers.

My name is Joshua Kingston and I just turned eighteen. I'm a bit taller than some at a shade under six foot tall. I'm lean and tight, though I just started working out last year. I'm not interested in bulking up, my goal was to be nice and tone. I view the world through ice-blue eyes like my Mother's and the past few years I have worn my light brown hair down to just above my shoulders. Most of the girls I pass in the halls think I'm pretty hot, and who am I to argue?

I have two younger sisters. At fifteen, Adria is two years behind me in school. She has a touch of the gift, which she doesn't acknowledge. But every now and then, she will tap into it and send out a message. It is not common for the females in our family to receive any of the gift, but it happens occasionally. Krystal is eight, and the sweetest sister a brother could want. Finally, there is Danny at thirteen months. The gift completely passed Danny and boy did it pass... he was the loudest, fussiest kid I think I have ever met. Mom would get upset at me and dad, as we could calm him down in a few moments, reading him to see what he wanted.

We had just recently moved to a new town, several states away. I had a major girl problem, that escalated to the point where my father decided to move the family to another state for everyone's safety. My father was a lawyer and as you can imagine, a good one, considering his unfair advantage. He knows just how far to push his powers as to not give away his secret. He's good enough to have not lost a case in seventeen years. His boss had a good friend that ran a law firm in Charleston, South Carolina. After a call and an interview, Father got the job and off we were headed to a little town outside of Charleston called Goose Creek. Funny name, right?

Anyway, the reason we had to move was an event that happened at the beginning of my senior year. School had only been in session for about two weeks. It was a typical Monday morning. I had a few friends that I hung out with, but even so, I tended to keep to myself most of the time. It was easier to study without others' random thoughts intruding into my head. Most of my friends came in an hour early, just to hang out. I was talking to a couple of close friends about the idiocy of one of our teachers, you know, typical teenage mumbo-jumbo. Suddenly, a mental scream of terrible painfilled agony hit my head.

It can't be!!! I don't understand!!! Why!!! Over and over again, in between sobs. A girl in terrible emotional pain, was broadcasting like a scream. It was so loud I could hear it from across the campus. I jumped as the mental onslaught assailed my senses.

I excused myself with some lame excuse and went to track down the source of the pain. I found Jessica Maynard under the north Staircase. She was the "It" girl on campus, beautiful and... I'll let you fill in the details, every school has one, and you know what she looks like. I had passed her many times in the hallways. She had always been pleasant, with a smile and I had received an occasional faint impression that she would not mind getting to know me... but she was the head cheerleader, and I was a geeky, preppy, smart kid. These things just do not mix in the social system that is high school. As far as I knew she had been dating the captain of the swim team.

She was sitting on the floor, with her arms loosely around her stomach. Most people might not have noticed it, she was trying her hardest to not appear upset. But to me, her body language, not to mention her ever louder thoughts said otherwise. I also noticed a hint of anger tinged in her pain. I walked over and began pushing calming emotions towards her. Looking back, I think that was my first mistake. She latched onto that calm, like a lifeline.

I chalk it up to my limited relationship experience at the time. I had only dated a few times, and they were mostly with friends, with no real chance for romance. It was just something you did, testing the waters. I had not had a serious girlfriend yet. So, I did not realize the potential danger I was putting myself in.

"Hey, Jessica, What's up? You OK?"

Her glassy bright green eyes snapped up to my face, "Y... You're Joshua, r... right?" Her mood immediately shifted, almost to one of embarrassment.

I smiled, "My mother calls me Joshua, my friends call me Josh."

My little joke really got her blushing. There was a change taking place in her emotions as she stared at me, OMG, I can't believe I'm... Her thoughts bled out with a rush of joy, and then she leaped up and hugged me as if we had been best friends for years, laying her head on my shoulder, weeping openly. As she cried, the sadness came crashing back but not nearly as strong as before, thanks to my constant stream calming thoughts I was sending her, I can't believe it, like a knight in shining armor. She slowly brought her emotions into check.

Still sobbing, although I could sense her emotions were suddenly calm. There was a calculation to her mind that did not match her body language, "James just broke up with me... I'm... I'm not sure why but right now, I feel completely safe in your arms."

I didn't know what was going on with her. She was putting on an act for me and I didn't know why. And that was when things started going downhill. The next thing I knew, her lips were pressed against mine and her wanton lust began seeping into my head.

"I've wanted you since the first time I laid eyes on you!" She whispered in my ear. She had chosen me... to replace her boyfriend... just like that...

Looking back, this situation would not have blown up into such a big problem, if I had had a bit more life experience. I would have realized what was happening and put a stop to it before it overwhelmed me. But at the time, I had never felt that raw lust and passion directed at me before. It overwhelmed my senses and my judgment. The rest of that day was a blur of various highlights, but I know we did not remain in school...

We ended up at her house. No one was home, and we ran to her room. I remember her throwing me up against the wall and practically ripping off my clothes. I had never been so turned on before in my life. What happened next was a sexual triathlon. Most of the events of the next several hours are melded together into a slurry concoction of excitement, rapture, and shameful self-betrayal. It was a sensory overload on both emotional and physical levels.

This is, to this day, this is one of the most frustrating moments in my life. As I mentioned above, I have a perfect recall of every moment of my life... Except for these few hours. It is frightening to me in ways I doubt you can imagine. I am not sure if this was some form of mental defense on my part... or if she had some power over me that neither of us understood...

The one thing that is clear to me, at some point, I created a link between us. This allowed me to feel what she was feeling and let her feel what I was feeling. It linked the experience, bouncing back and forth between us, feeding the raw sensations, amplifying the pleasure many times above normal. This turned it into a sexual experience that a normal person just can't understand until experienced. Imagine an orgasm, now multiply it by ten times normal intensity, then extend the experience from seconds to minutes. That is a small idea what we had experienced.

My memory of that day starts to improve around four o'clock in the afternoon. Her mother was going to be home in an hour. She wanted to talk about 'us,' but our time was running out, so she arranged to meet early the next morning to talk. I was in a state euphoria from losing my virginity in the most spectacular way imaginable, so I said "...sure, that'll be great..." I took a quick shower to clean all the sex off me and left.

The walk home was aggravating, to say the least. The events of that day slowly started to clarify and the absurdity of what had happened was starting to piss me off. How could I have allowed a girl, whom I had barely even known, beautiful as she may be, to seduce me like that? Had she manipulated me? I didn't want a relationship based on that. I had blown off school, I'm sure Mom and Dad would get a call about that. What could I tell them? 'Yea, this hot girl dragged me to her house and fucked my brains out!! All afternoon...'

On one hand, the day it was an eighteen-year old boy's dream come true. On the other hand, I not only had sex with a girl I hardly knew, multiple times, but I did it with no protection. I'm smarter than this! I told myself.

At one point I had convinced myself to play it cool. If my parents got a call, how could they begrudge their son one missed day of school in twelve years? They would probably be glad I was doing something normal for a change.

But who was I kidding, I could not hide this... not completely? Well, one thing was for sure, I was definitely breaking it off with Jessica the next day. I felt cheap and used. I know what you're thinking... Damn man, you just had some awesome sex, with a hot girl that wants to continue having sex with you! Well I felt as though I had been raped! Somehow her emotions had overpowered me, and I couldn't stop myself. I felt dirty!

When I got home, I told my father of my exploits with Jessica and how her emotions had overpowered me. Later, he would help me learn how to shut out strong emotions so that something like that would not happen again. He also admonished me for the unprotected sex, but he understood that I didn't exactly have full control over the ordeal. And we agreed that Mom needn't know about this, it was just one of many things that me and my father kept as personal secrets.

Well, to cut a long story short, (I know, too late, right) she didn't like the fact that I didn't want a relationship with her and began stalking me. Father thought the experience was like an addictive drug to her, and she was getting pissed that she could not have more. It was like withdrawal. Her stalking got so bad she started coming to the house to "talk" to me.

The last straw was when she threatened my youngest sister. Father took the path of least legal entanglement and started looking for work elsewhere. We moved to South Carolina shortly after. None of us kids liked the idea of moving, especially with school having just started, but everyone wanted to get away from my psycho-ex. Although my sisters didn't know about the sexual reasons for the move, they still knew it had something to do with me and my screw up.

They were not happy with me at all at that moment.