A Loner Mentalist Pt. 04

He was silent at breakfast and as he started driving them to school. Mia was feeling awkward, trying to figure out how to broach the subject. He was so quiet and reserved as he took the usual, roundabout way. "Hey, uh, we don't need to go this way anymore. We could just, you know, go straight to school."

"I'm fine with driving you the long way around."

"Yeah, but... I mean, thanks. Thanks for driving me to school. Thanks for tutoring me, thanks for letting me stay at your house and thanks for taking me to the concert on Saturday." It all poured out of her in one breath and she looked at Jack expectantly. He kept his eyes on the road, only briefly flicking them across his mirrors.

She cleared her throat. "Like I said, we should be taking the straight route to school. You know, so we could get up later and not have to leave so early in the morning."

"The streets in the center of town are so congested right now that we'd hardly save any time at all if we went the direct route."

"Yeah, but... I don't want you to feel like I'm being ungrateful."

"Ungrateful," he asked with no real interest in his voice. "How so?"

"Well, it's just... you know?" He didn't even spare her a glance, so she kept on talking. "You shelter me, you clothe me, you feed me, you tutor me, you drive me all around and... I make you hide it all. I mean, I should at least let you drive me to school."

Jack felt a flash of anger coming on and tried to bite it back. "There's only a week of school left. Hardly the time to go instituting major changes."

"What's wrong?" Mia asked, concerned at his strange tone of voice.

He snorted to himself and shook his head as he turned onto Lincoln Boulevard. "What's wrong? You're insulting me, that's what's wrong."

"Insulting?"

"Am I really just like those mouthbreathers that used to chauffer you around? Is that all I am to you? Do you think that I'm doing all of this for you so I could have the sublime honor of escorting Your Exaltedness to the school doors?"

"What?"

"Nothing," Jack said as he managed to put down his anger. "The arrangement is fine the way it is."

"No. No, it's not fine. You're obviously not fine with it."

"I said I'm fine with it."

"No, you're not," Mia insisted.

Jack chuckled as he parked at their usual spot. "I didn't tell you this about myself yesterday, but I just loooove it when people put words in my mouth." He dropped his sarcastic tone and looked her dead in the eye. "Don't put words in my mouth. Would you put words in the mouths of people you passed on the street? No? Then, please, extend me the same courtesy as you would to complete strangers. Ok?"

"Why are you acting so weird, all of a sudden?"

"I am not acting weird. I am acting normal."

Mia shook her head at him. "No, you're not. You're acting all... petulant and stuff!"

"Petulant? Wow, you really are going to kick ass on your English lit final today."

Mia let out a growl of frustration before opening the door and getting out of the car. She leaned back into the cabin. "You know what? If you don't want to talk to me, fine! But don't just sit there and pretend like everything's great when it clearly isn't!"

Jack didn't even look at her as he said, "Whatever."

"Ugh! That's it! If you're not willing to talk to me, then don't bother coming back to pick me up today!" She slammed the door shut. Jack drove off without a word. She threw her hands up in exasperation as she watched him go.

He drove straight home and spent a little time playing with his dogs, before retreating to his room to meditate. He tried to practice his cloak, but his concentration was failing him. He was closing in on being able to keep it up for the whole time he was awake. He also felt like keeping it on during sleep was definitely possible. It would just take a whole hell of a lot more training for his mind to be able to keep the cloak up while asleep. He took the time to clear his mind and confront all the junk that had cluttered it up of late.

He confronted his feelings of shame over taking Mia out on Saturday. He told himself that he wasn't being used by her, he had been the one that had dragged her out shopping. He had gladly paid for it all and she had deserved it. It wasn't natural to keep her chained to a book like she had been for the last six weeks. Even if she had been doing that to herself.

He then confronted his feelings of jealousy over Mia flashing the lead singer. He told himself that she was just playing around, just having some harmless fun, but those reassurances rang hollow in his heart. She prefers that guy over you, the little voice said. She always had and she always will. You're just not worthy.

He confronted his feelings of inadequacy over being probably the only guy in town that was over eighteen and had not yet had a single kiss. The small voice in the back of his mind tried to build on these and make Jack feel like he was defective. It tried to make him believe that he would die a lonely virgin, unwanted and unloved by each and every woman he would ever meet in his life. He confronted those fears and beat them back by pointing out that he had hardly even begun his life yet. In college, he was going to meet nice girls that shared his interests and values.

And they will always pick someone else, anyone else, over you.

Jack couldn't come up with a convincing retort to that statement, so he finished with his self-therapy session. He checked his phone and saw a few missed calls from Mia. She had also sent him five text messages in which she tried to get him to come pick her up in front of the school later today. He sent her one in return, stating he would pick her up at the usual place, after her cheerleading practice finished.

He charged his three new dogs with guarding the house, while he took Spot to the park. They played fetch for a while. While Spot ran to fetch the ball, again and again, Jack asked himself what he was doing.

Mia has two sexual fantasies about me and I immediately start seeing us as soulmates, fated to be with each other forever? That was so dumb of me. We hardly have anything in common, anyway. I'm only after her because she's so damn hot. There's no other reason.

When he had first taken pot and had his vision of Mia's past, he had decided to help her make a life for herself. He reaffirmed his decision to do that for her, but he amended it, at the same time. I'll find an apartment for her when I find a house for me and my dogs.

Separate households and separate educations seemed like the way to go. Minimal contact between them. Absolutely no more than was required. Mia's libido was destined to overcome her inhibitions sooner or later and he definitely didn't feel like he could stand watching her with another guy, day in and day out. Particularly not if they fucked like they did in her fantasies.

With his decision firmly made, he put Spot through some agility training. When the time came, he called Spot into the car and drove to the place where he usually picked Mia up. She showed up on time and got in the car without a word, but Jack could see it on her face; she was dying to get something out. He didn't prod. He had given up on the possibility of them being a romantic couple, so it wasn't up to him to pry anthing out of her. They were just friends from now on.

She kept it to herself, whatever it was, and they got home without incident. For the next three days, the two of them hardly spoke to one another. He even stopped tutoring her. She was studying geography all on her own. The situation felt weird to Jack. Despite not aiming for her hot pants anymore, he still wanted to help her in any way he could. She didn't seem interested, so he gave her her space and kept up with his meditations.

On Thursday, he went to pick her up from school at the usual place and she was waiting for him with a smile on her face. She got in the car and leaned over to hug him and plant a kiss on his cheek. "I did it! I nailed it! B+! I'm done! I'm getting a diploma next week, along with everyone else!"

Jack smiled warmly. "Congratulations, Mia! Well done! I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks." She blushed and looked down for a moment. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"We should celebrate!" Mia's face slowly fell and she shook her head. "Why not? You did a great thing. We should have a party!"

She sat up straight in her seat. "I'm not in the mood."

"Mia, what's wrong?"

She seemed reluctant to tell him, so he didn't press her. After a little more hesitation, she finally said, "It's the prom."

Jack nodded. When she didn't say anything else, he said, "What about the prom, specifically?"

"I'm... I'm not going."

Jack frowned. "Why not?"

She shrugged and looked down. "No one asked me."

Jack was almost stunned by the news. He knew everyone in the school thought Mia was hot. She looked like Megan Fox, but with bigger tits. He simply couldn't believe no one would ask her. Even if her beauty was too intimidating to the average student, the empty-headed jocks would definitely barrel through any feelings of inadequacy and ask away. He was tempted to read her mind and confirm her claim, but he held back. Not only was that an unnecessary risk with the cloaked figure out there, but he had already spent too much time rooting around inside her head.

It's high time I started respecting her mental privacy.

"Well, uh... I'm sure if you were to ask any of the guys, then-"

Mia's gasp interrupted him. "And come off as desperate? If the school heard I had to ask a guy to the prom, then I'd lose my chance."

Jack squinted. "Lose your chance at what?"

"At winning prom queen," she said.

"Oh," Jack said and put the car in drive. He pulled out and drove home.

"Oh," she said, mimicking his tone of voice. "It's not an 'oh' to me, Jack. You've got a big, bright future ahead of you. You're gonna go places and do things. Rack up some accomplishments. Me? Not so much. What am I gonna do with my life? I'll have an ok job, probably get married and have kids. No bells, no whistles. This is my one chance, my one shot at taking the prize. If I never do anything in my life again, I can have that photo of me wearing that tiara. I'd look at it when I'm old and say to myself that I mattered, once. People cared about me. I could show it to my grandkids, someday."

She put her head down in her hand and sniffled. Jack shifted his weight uncomfortably in his seat. She seemed to cry the entire drive home. When he parked in front of the house, she raised her head. Her eyes were puffy and red.

Jack stared into her eyes for a long moment and then said, "How can I help?"

"You want to help me?" she asked, tearfully.

He sighed. "Yes. If I can."

"Really?" He nodded. She sniffed her nose clear. "If you really want to help me, then you can take me to the prom."

Jack's brow drew down. "No. Go stag."

She clasped her hands at him. "Oh, please! Please, Jack! I can't go stag! It'd ruin my chances of winning. Please, I need a date."

"We'll find someone else."

"There is no one else."

"Oh, come on! There's got to be someone that-"

"Jack! Everyone that's anyone has already got a date to the prom. It's two days away. It's too late. Please, Jack! Please, take me to the prom!"

"No. If you want to take prom queen, then we have to find you someone else. Someone acceptable. With my reputation-"

"I'd win!" Jack shot her a confused look. "Winning prom queen is all about getting people to talk about you. I've been spending so much time hitting the books lately, that I didn't run a proper campaign. Lisa did. She's going to win prom queen over me. Unless! If I were to show up with a guy that everyone talks about. Then, they'd think of me and cast their votes for me. Please, Jack, please, take me to prom! I need you to win the title."

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "There's no such thing as bad publicity?"

"Yes," she said and smiled. "That's exactly it! If I'm on your arm, I get talked about and I get votes. If I'm stag, I get ignored, or pitied, and no votes. I need you to take me to prom."

Jack sighed. "No."

"Why not?"

"Look, Mia, I don't care about these things. I don't care about those people, I don't care about prom... I just don't."

"Do you care about me?" she asked in a small voice.

Jack frowned. "Well, of course I care about you."

Her face lit up with a smile. "Cool! Then it's settled! You're taking me to prom!" She opened the door and got out of the car.

Jack followed. "Wait a minute! I didn't agree to-"

"You don't care about prom, right?"

"Yes."

"So, it's all the same to you if you go or don't go. However, you said you cared about me. And I care about prom. A lot. By the transitive property, you do care about prom and you're going to take me." She smiled, winked and sauntered into the house.

Jack watched her go with a frown. "Curse her sudden, but inevitable application of logic." He followed her inside and tried to argue the matter some more, but she looked to be on the verge of tears when he did, so he resigned himself to taking her to prom.

He sent Spot into her room early on Friday morning to wake her up. Pulling the sheets off her bed didn't wake her, so Spot resorted to licking her feet. She woke with a start and a yelp. She tried to get back to sleep, but Spot kept jumping on the bed and licking her. "Jack! Get your monster off me!"

Jack just smiled and sent Spot the signal to go all the way. The dog bit the leg of her pajama bottoms and pulled her off the bed. She crashed onto the floor with a loud thud and roared in anger as she chased the retreating dog. She nearly ran into Jack, who was standing right outside her bedroom door. Spot sat behind him, wagging his tail happily.

"What the... argh! Your stupid mutt just pulled me off my bed!"

Jack smiled. "Nice to see you're up. Now, make yourself presentable in a hurry, please. We only have a short amount of time for breakfast and then we must be off!"

Mia gaped at him like he had grown a second head and another one on top of that. "It's Friday morning! It's the first Friday that I don't have to be in school anymore and you wake me up this early!?"

Jack shook his head. "No. It's Friday morning on the last day before the prom and you are already late."

"Late? Late for what?"

Jack spread his arms. "For everything! We have to go dress shopping and have your pick altered to your measurements. The same for my tux. Then we have dancing lessons in the city. I booked those last night, we were lucky that another couple dropped out at the last moment."

Mia just gaped at him. "What?"

Jack flashed her a patient grin. "Mia. Just because I was very reluctant to agree to take you to the prom, that doesn't mean that I'm happy to half-ass it. We are going shopping for proper attire and then we are taking dancing lessons. We will look and move our best in that gym tomorrow night. Don't worry," he winked, "I've booked you several hours in a beauty salon right before the prom, but after we have our second lesson. Now! You must wash your face and come down for breakfast!"

Mia shook her head in bewilderment and allowed him to guide her into the upstairs toilet. She yawned. "Breakfast is served in fifteen minutes," Jack said. "If you're not downstairs by then, I'm sending Spot up to fetch you." Mia glared at the Border Collie. "And I'll send Porthos, Athos and Aramis with him." Her eyes grew comically large at the thought of the three big dogs that were in the yard. He grinned. "See you in fifteen." He closed the door behind her and went downstairs to finish getting breakfast ready.

Dress shopping took a lot of time and Jack thought they'd never find anything she liked. They went through store after store, but she just dismissed every dress she was shown. Their dance class was coming up and he was going to call to cancel it until she suddenly gasped and ran at the window of a small boutique. She went in and tried on a strapless, pale lavender dress. Its top half hugged her figure tightly. Below the waist, the dress flared out wonderfully until it ended at mid-calf.

Jack grinned as he admitted to himself that she did look gorgeous in it. She would probably look even better when she danced in it. The seamstress took some measurements and assured them the dress would be finished by noon tomorrow. Jack paid her the money, took the receipt, and they left the store to go find him a tuxedo. He stood patiently for the measurements to be taken and it, too, was going to be altered by noon on Saturday.

They hurried and made it to the dance class in time. For several hours, they practiced their moves and synched up their rhythms, until they really glided together on the dance floor. They adjourned for a late lunch and chatted over some risotto. Jack marveled at how easy it was for him to be relaxed around her, once the possibility of them dating was off the table. The little voice didn't make a single peep.

She said she had to meet with some classmates and do some last minute lobbying for votes, so he dropped her off at the school. He went home to meditate, as always.

On Saturday, they picked up their outfits for the prom and then had another dance class. This time, they practiced less formal and more modern dancing. In the afternoon, he drove her to the beauty salon and went to see a movie while she was being treated with all sorts of things.

Just before sunset, a friend from Alpha drove their armored Hummer stretch limo over to Jack's house. The company invested in it because they had many rapper clients that hired them for personal security, but it went unused most of the time. Janice excitedly took pictures of Jack in his tuxedo and of the limo, much to Jack's annoyance. "Give it a rest, Janice!"

"I want pictures! My baby boy is going off to prom!" Jack shut the door on her and rolled his eyes as she yelled, "And get me photos of Mia and her dress! And of the two of you together!"

"Could we go, please," Jack said to the driver.

Tyrone lowered the partition and said, "You got it, Jack!"

They pulled out and Jack spotted the very large bowl of condoms on top of the minibar. He examined them and saw that they were all in the same size: extra small. He picked up the bowl. "Ha, ha, ha. Very funny."

"No glove, no love, Jack! We're just lookin' out for ya!" Jack pressed the button to lower the window and tossed the bowl into a roadside dumpster as they passed it. "Hey! Those cost us a hundred bucks, man! Everybody chipped in for them!"

Jack put a hand to his ear. "What was that? Sorry, couldn't hear you over the noise of my extremely large dick settling down one of my pant legs."

Tyrone laughed and drove them to the spa. Jack got out of the limo and his jaw dropped at the sight of Mia in her dress. Her hair was wavy and had chestnut highlights in it. It was swept to cascade down one side of her face, making her look like a Hollywood's golden age leading lady. Her makeup was perfect and yet unnoticeable at the same time. Her blue eyes sparkled under perfectly shaped eyebrows and her lips bore peach-colored lipstick as they spread into a smile. The bodice of the dress was modified to lift her tits and push them together, giving her a prodigious cleavage. She also looked like she might spill out of it at any moment.

"How do I look?" She gave a twirl and her dress fanned out to show off her thin calves.

Jack shook his head to stop staring. "Perfect."

"Oh, thank you!" She rushed into his arms and gave him a peck on the cheek. She smelled wonderful, even if Jack couldn't identify the flowery scent. She stepped back and looked Jack up and down. "Wow! You look good, Jack! Really."

He shrugged, self-consciously. "Thanks."