Miss You

"But so I got Doug to front me a little money, and I signed up for the seminar." Roger beamed with pride for a moment. It was the first time Fujiko had ever seen him proud of anything he'd done. "I'm a natural, Fuji. By the end of the first class, I could put people under in less than a minute. It's amazing, all the stuff you can do with hypnosis."

Fujiko couldn't help herself this time, she looked at the other girl. "Yeah," she said coldly. "I'm beginning to pick that up."

Roger looked hurt. "It's not like that! Okay, maybe it all got a little out of control, but it's not as bad as it looks. I met Cho in the class."

"Cho. Not 'Fujiko'?" She felt like her stomach acid was climbing up into her throat as she said it.

"She thinks it's a pet name, that's all," Roger said. "And it is, kind of. She reminded me so much of you, Fuji, that it almost hurt at first. And she was smart and funny, just like you, and they paired us off a lot to practice on each other." He smiled. "She's really good at going into hypnosis. Smart, imaginative people tend to be good subjects. And like I said, I'm a really good hypnotist. She would go so deep, it was like the rest of the class wasn't even there for her."

"So naturally, you decided to brainwash her into thinking she was me," Fujiko said. "Sure, it all makes sense now."

"It wasn't like that!" Roger said defensively. "I just...I just suggested that she enjoyed spending time with me, and that she trusted me. That was all for a long time, honest. We'd go out together after class, hang out, and I'd practice trancing her some more. And after a few months, I noticed that she'd gotten so used to being in trance for me and trusting me that she'd do things I suggested even when she wasn't hypnotized."

"Yes," Fujiko said, her venom now in full flow, "there are a lot of us who've made that mistake. So where'd the makeover start?"

"With the clothes," Roger said sheepishly. "You got me into a lot of cool music, Fuj." And you still have about a dozen of my CDs, Fujiko added mentally. "And Cho and I would listen to it together. And I'd done this thing, just as a joke, where every time I rubbed my chin, she'd feel good. Warm, y'know? Happy. Really happy."

"We are talking orgasms here, right?"

"Um..." Roger lowered his eyes sheepishly. "Yeah. Not, like, screaming or moaning or anything, she wouldn't make a scene, but yeah, it felt really good to her. And anyway, we were listening to some Green Day, and I was doing the chin thing, and I suggested she should get herself a Green Day shirt like the one you had. Not that I told her about you. I thought it might weird her out."

"Now why would any of this possibly weird someone out?" Fujiko asked sarcastically.

"The point is, she showed up the next day to class wearing the shirt. And it just made her look even more like you. I thought I was getting over you, but seeing her like that just made me miss you even more. And so I thought, well, maybe I could just give her a few nudges, y'know? Make her a little more like you, so I wouldn't miss you so bad. So I kept rubbing my chin every time I saw her do something you would do, every time she'd use an expression like yours, or put her hands on her hips like you do, or...just, you know. Every time she acted like you."

"Or every time you called her 'Fujiko'. Does she even remember her real name anymore, Roger? Did you leave her that?" Fujiko had never been so angry in her entire life. She'd been angry before hearing the story, so angry it amazed her, but now she was so angry it scared her. She'd never met Cho in her life, but she wanted to grab the poor girl and hug her and drag her out of here to safety, shortly after taking a butcher knife and cutting off Roger's...wow. She realized she really wanted to hurt him. Her whole body quivered a little with rage.

"Yes!" Roger said. "Probably, I mean...I don't know, I just call her 'Fujiko' and it makes her happy. It's not like she's brainwashed or anything. Not really. She's just made a few changes. Just dyed her hair, gotten a tattoo, nothing people don't do every day. It's no big deal."

Fujiko stood up. "No, Roger. It's mean and it's creepy and it's a level of fucked-up stupidity I didn't even think you were capable of." She leaned over and tapped Cho (because dammit, she was Cho) on the forehead. "Come on, girl," she said, grabbing Cho by one limp wrist. "We're getting you out of here. Roger, you ever come near me or her again and I swear to God, I will kill you and not even--"

"Hold her, Fuji," Roger said. Suddenly, Cho was anything but boneless. She grabbed Fujiko tightly, with a strength that belied her tiny body, and Fujiko realized that tapping Cho's forehead hadn't actually woken her up. Just let her listen to Roger's commands again. Fujiko struggled, but Cho had the strength of a woman possessed. Or more accurately, the strength of a woman hypnotized.

Fujiko drew breath to scream, but Roger clapped his hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Fuj," he said. "I know it's wrong, I knew it was wrong a year ago when I first thought of it. But I can't lose you again, not now that you're right here." He fixed his big, puppy-dog eyes on Fujiko's, holding her head still while Cho held her body. "I have to do whatever it takes to keep you here with me. Even if it means hypnotizing you." Fujiko screamed, but his hand muffled her voice. His eyes loomed large in her field of vision.

"Because I do still miss you."

THE END