The Pulse Pt. 11

The next day we were having breakfast when the doorbell rang. It was only eight-thirty in the morning.

"Dammit, this is Mum's only lie-in of the week," I said as I got up to get the door.

I opened the door to see Mrs Davis, Fiona's mother. She looked much thinner, very pale and very nervous.

"Hello Jake."

My expression must have darkened considerably as she immediately tried to placate me.

"I'm not here to cause any trouble Jake. I just can't bear not seeing or hearing from Fiona. My husband and I have had some...discussions about this and I thought it best that only I come. Please can I see her?"

"I'll see if she wants to see you or not Mrs Davis. One minute."

I shut the door and went back into the kitchen.

"Who was that Jake? A delivery or something?"

"No sweetheart. It's...it's your Mum."

"Mum?" She looked up, shocked. A range of emotions went across her face. Pleased, scared, worried. She regained some control and her expression became stony.

"What does she want?"

"She wants to see you. It's just her. She's waiting at the door. I told her that I'd ask you."

I saw how torn she was.

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to, love. Or we can schedule something for when you feel ready..?"

"No, I should see her. But not dressed like this. Can you let her in and give me a couple of minutes to throw some jeans on and brush my hair?"

"Of course."

She dashed upstairs but without the happy bounce that I knew and loved. I went back to the door.

"Sorry to keep you Mrs Davis."

Her face had fallen when she saw that it was me and not Fiona at the door. She started to call out plaintively,

"Fiona? Honey? I just want to talk!"

It was pitiful to see how upset she was.

"Mrs Davis! It's OK. She's just not properly dressed. If you don't mind waiting in the sitting room for a couple of minutes then she'll be with you."

She looked a bit embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Jake. Yes, of course, that would be nice."

She came in and settled on to the edge of the sofa looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thank you. The way I'm shaking I'd probably spill a cup of tea."

Her voice wavered with stress and nerves and her small, scared smile reminded me of Fiona so strongly that my heart went out to her.

"Well why don't I put the table over here. I'll get a cup of tea and when you feel ready maybe it will help."

She nodded, looking pleased and embarrassed at the same time.

Just then Fiona came downstairs. She stopped, holding on to the bannister before taking a deep breath and moving over to the armchair opposite her mother. They looked at each other and there was an awkward silence. Fiona was clearly not going to make this easy.

I cleared my throat and went to the kitchen to give them some privacy. Conversation started in the background and I put the kettle on thinking that Fiona might welcome a cup of coffee. I dragged out the process for as long as I could before walking back into the sitting room with two mugs in hand.

They were standing with their arms around each other crying, rocking back and forth. I stood there unsure of what to do. I didn't want to break their moment of what I hoped for Fiona's sake was reconciliation.

After a minute I turned and started to go back into the kitchen.

"No Jake, please come in."

Fiona looked so relieved. Her mother let her go and was trying to get her emotions under control. I put the two mugs down and grabbed a couple of tissues for them which they gratefully accepted.

Fiona sat down beside her mother on the sofa and they looked up at the same time, saw each other's blotchy faces and burst into laughter. That brought on more tears and more hugs.

"I always was an ugly crier. Fiona and I always used to joke that we didn't look anything alike unless we were crying."

"Or when you're smiling," I said.

"Really?"

"Yes, you have the same quirky little smile."

The two rushed to the mirror and giggled at discovering something new after all this time.

I sat down on the armchair and slowly it all spilled out. Mr Davis had always been quite controlling and his fear of his daughter growing up, losing his little girl meant that he became a bit unhinged. Mrs Davis had been swept along until that night when Fiona had run away. Realisation of what they were doing had hit her like a ton of bricks and she and her husband had been at loggerheads ever since about what to do and how to handle things.

"We're going to have some time apart to try and get some perspective. He's gone back up to Birmingham for a while. I'm...I'm not sure what's going to happen to be honest."

Her eyes were full as she reached out her hands to Fiona.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I should have stepped in much sooner. I can't bear not hearing from you and I was so worried that you wouldn't see me when I came here."

The tears started again and my eyes were full as they hugged each other again.

"I don't think that I want to see Dad again. There were an awful lot of hurtful things said. He was going to have me sectioned Mum!"

It was all still very raw.

I left them to talk things through and took a cup of tea upstairs for Mum who would surely be awake after all this noise. She looked a bit irritated at having her lie-in disturbed. She almost went full protective Mummy when I told her that it was Mrs Davis downstairs with Fiona until I told her what was going on.

We had a good chat while Fiona and her mother sorted things out between them downstairs. Eventually Mum needed something to eat so I headed back down to the sitting room.

Mrs Davis was standing up, getting ready to go.

"Thank you for the tea Jake."

"You're welcome."

"I'm sorry that we didn't take the time to find out about the rumours for ourselves. We were so blind."

"That happened to a lot of people Mrs Davis, I wouldn't beat yourself up."

She seemed about to say something and then just nodded and swallowed. Fiona snuggled in under my arm and then my Mum appeared. More apologies were said and more tears shed until Mrs Davis finally took her leave.

Fiona was emotionally wrung out but so relieved to have her mother back.

"She's promised to start taking better care of herself, Jake. Did you see how thin she was? I felt so guilty that it had had that effect on her. It's so nice to know that I can pick up the phone and talk to her again."

Her eyes began to fill again.

"I'm so pleased Fiona. You shouldn't ever have to feel cut off like that," said Mum. "And you know that whatever happens you're welcome here for as long as you like?"

She nodded, unable to speak and they hugged.

I took Fiona off upstairs and just held her, stroking her hair and allowing her the time to come to terms with a totally unexpected start to the day. She dozed for a while and I relished the time with her. Jamie's mention of being apart from Susan last night had made me think about not seeing Fiona every day. It wasn't a happy thought.

She stretched and turned after a while, giving me a huge smile and a kiss. I heard Mum downstairs singing along to the radio. All was right in the world.

"Do you want me to call Jamie and postpone this afternoon's film and shopping trip?"

"No. It'll do me good to get out and about. Besides, you've got tickets to the film already haven't you?"

"Yes but..."

"Don't be daft. I'm not that fragile. Mum just caught me by surprise this morning, that's all. Come on. We can't laze in bed all day and I'm hungry."

= = = = = = =

We decided to take the bus into town and met up with Jamie, Susan and Tina. The girls were all dressed up and were drawing a lot of attention. There was plenty of chat, laughter and teasing and it was a happy group that got off the bus.

The girl's linked arms and set off into the heart of town.

"See you at the Italian restaurant at seven."

We waved and headed for the cinema. Jamie and I chatted away when I heard a voice that I recognised. I grabbed Jamie and much to his consternation threw him up against the brick wall behind a fire escape.

Pulse

Green power enveloped us both and we vanished in a camouflage of red brick and mortar. Around the corner came Youle the Tool, holding Jennifer Sawyer's hand.

"C'mon! It'll be fun. I've got us VIP tickets and if you come to see X Men then I'll take you to anything that you want to see."

"Can't you just see this thing by yourself Harry? I'm not that interested."

He turned on her sharply, his voice low and menacing. They were only standing a few feet away from us.

"We're going. And I hope that you've got that mouth of yours good and ready for my cock. Now get your shit together or the world will know about how you and your parents spread those rumours."

Youle had a firm grip on her wrist and Jennifer was pulled towards the cinema. The two of them only perked up when they saw some people from school. The transformation was immediate and they instantly became the haughty, popular kids out on a date.

I dropped the screen from around us just as Jamie let out a long low breath.

"Wow. Did you hear that?"

"Straight from the horse's mouth, Jamie."

"That Youle is a real piece of work. How the hell did they miss seeing us? We were right there."

"They were pretty focused on each other I suppose. And from the sounds of it Youle was looking forward to a blow job in the cinema. Jennifer not so much."

"Jesus!"

"Come on or we'll be late."

I was excited. This was the perfect opportunity. A dark, noisy environment and at least two hours to work with. I was so tense that even Jamie noticed.

"Are you OK?"

"Yes, just looking forward to the film," I lied.

We followed them in at a distance and waited until the house lights had gone down and the adverts had started before going in and finding our seats. I couldn't see them at first. Then the images on the big screen flared briefly and I spotted them in a row off to one side.

Youle was already mauling her and Jennifer looked deeply uncomfortable, looking around the room. My hatred for the two and what they had done to me burned with a white hot flame. I practically inhaled the bag of jelly babies that I'd brought in with me and as the trailers started I knew what I was going to do.

PulsePulsePulsePulse

A swirling, blended mixture of power reached out across the oblivious cinema.

I narrowed the stream of power to focus on first one and then the other of them, making sure that it was them. Then I slowly leached yellow power inside them.

I started with Youle who was already frustrated and horny. My power oozed through his nervous system, pulling here, pushing there, making permanent changes to his physiology. The links to his brain needed work too. I used a blend of green, red, blue and yellow to fundamentally alter the scheming, evil swine. My hate gave me energy and when I was done I switched my attention to Jennifer Sawyer, the one time girl of my dreams.

My power slid inside her unsuspecting body. She was busy trying to stop Youle from bringing her head into his lap and was instead using her hand on his cock.

The blend of power started to trigger changes in her too. Her brain would never be the same, nor would her body.

I drew out of them both feeling more than satisfied but utterly exhausted. I drank my coke in the hope of still managing to see the film but it wasn't enough. Jamie was shaking me awake as the credits rolled.

"Jake! Jake! What's going on with you? How long have you been asleep?"

"Err...I'm not sure...I...what time is it?"

"What time? It's the end of the film, sleepy head!"

"Shit! I really wanted to see that but it got so nice and dark and I must have just drifted off to sleep."

"All hope is lost if Fiona has you this tired out. Come on, we need to go and meet the girls."

"Wait. Have they gone yet?"

"Who?"

"Youle and Jennifer?"

"I think so. They were over there earlier weren't they? I think they left part way through the film - at least someone moved from over that way but you know what I'm like when I'm watching a film."

"I know. In another world."

"Let's go."

We left the cinema slowly as the crowd chattered excitedly about the film, exiting the large screen. I felt like a weight had been lifted from me. That burning hatred was gone. They were as scarred as me now. At least I could do something about my scars. I set off with a bounce in my step as we headed over to meet the girls.

Jamie was pissed off with me, totally unable to believe that I'd slept through a film that we'd both been looking forward to for some time.

"What are you? Ninety? Even my nan can stay awake at the cinema. Now I have to wait for you to see it again before we can talk about it."

"Jamie, I said I'm s..."

"'The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr Brain has long since departed, hasn't he, Perce?'"

I grimaced, knowing that I'd earned that one.

The restaurant was just off the main drag and was the first place that I'd taken Fiona to on a date, so I knew that she'd like it. We arrived just before seven o'clock and found the girls already at the table surrounded by shopping bags and looking like they'd had a good time.

"Here they are, the J Men themselves," said Tina and the others laughed.

Then Fiona gasped.

"Jake, what's happened to your hair?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've gone a bit gray over your temples."

"Oh yes!" said the other girls.

"Weird," said Jamie, "I hadn't noticed that before."

"Nor me," said Susan.

I got up and went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. I was noticeably gray. Mostly around the temples but there were other grey hairs there too. What could have done that in two hours?

It could only be the Pulse.

Feeling slightly scared I looked inside myself to find the Orb of Power for the first time since I showed it to Fiona. It was noticeably smaller. Quite significantly smaller. I looked at the rest of my face but nothing else seemed to be different but then it's not like I spent my time staring into the mirror. Were there a few more lines..?

What was happening to me?

I rejoined them at the table, shrugging my shoulders.

"It wasn't that scary was it?" asked Fiona jokingly.

"He wouldn't know. He fell asleep for the whole thing," said Jamie disgustedly.

Fiona looked at me with a concerned expression and I nodded slightly at her. She sat back in her chair but still looked worried.

I got a lot of fun poked at me for that and was thankfully saved by the waiter bringing us the menu. We all ordered and I helped suggest some of the dishes having been here a few times before.

Jamie regaled us in far too much detail about the film and the girls showed us some of the purchases that they'd made. It was a fun evening and we all relaxed and enjoyed the food and the wine. And the Tiramisu.

We finished by nine and all headed back to get the bus before it got filled up with binge drinkers.

We waved goodbye to Jamie as we headed in different directions away from the bus stop, the other girls having got off a little while ago.

"See you later smeghead!" he shouted.

I just smiled and waved before putting my arm around Fiona and walking back to our house.

= = = = = = =

"What's wrong Harry?"

"Just get away from me."

"Didn't you like it?"

"You must have fucking bitten me you bitch. My cock hurts like hell. Just leave me alone."

"Stop it. Harry? You don't mean it."

They were in the main car park, near Harry's Golf GTi. Jennifer had been trailing behind him ever since they'd left the film. He'd been forcing her head down to his cock and she'd been fighting it but now she wasn't sure why. She'd just started to lick his dick, treating it like a lollipop when he'd yelped and pushed her away.

Before she knew it he'd got up and had left the film. She'd had to straighten her clothes and by the time she'd got out of the cinema he was already a hundred yards away. She'd only just caught up when they reached his car.

"I don't feel well."

"You do look a bit green. Let me drive you home."

"Just be quick. And pay for the parking."

Jennifer got a mini-jolt of pleasure at being able to help him. She hated his attitude towards her and she knew that she hadn't bitten him. But she wanted to get closer to him. She swished her pert rear end from side to side as she walked over to the pay station and heard another muffled yelp from inside the car.

Youle looked worse if anything when she got back inside the car.

"What have you done to me? It fucking hurts!"

"Let me have a look."

"Fuck no! Just get me home."

Five minutes later Harry Youle was rocking back and forth in his seat. He was desperately trying not to puke. He wanted to feel up her sexy legs but everytime he looked at Jenny he felt worse. When she'd walked to the pay machine he'd started to think about how he'd bend her over the bonnet of the car and his dick had got hard at the thought. And suddenly he was in pain! His dick hurt - even worse than the time that he'd caught an STD off that slut Angie and they'd had to push a little metal umbrella up his dick and then scrape it back out again. He thought that pain couldn't get any worse than that but it definitely could!

They got to a wide piece of dual carriageway and Jennifer reached out and stroked his hard on through his jeans.

"Do you want to play when we get back?" she whispered huskily.

Harry threw up.

He threw up on the windscreen, the dashboard and all over himself.

Jennifer shrieked, her arm covered in half-digested bits of popcorn. The car weaved from side to side until she got it under control. Harry looked around at his pride and joy in horror, the stink of puke pervading the car.

Then the blue lights flashed behind them.

"You stupid bitch, look what you've done!"

He gagged again just being close to her.

She slowed the car and pulled over into a layby. A police officer got out of the patrol car and walked up to the driver's window. He gestured for Jennifer to wind the window down and she did.

"Now what's been...ugh...what's that stink!?!"

"Sorry officer, we had a bit of an accident."

"Didn't you just! Where are you heading to?"

"Just up the hill on the left."

"Well, take it easy getting there young lady. And...try breathing through your mouth. I'll follow you home."

Harry was cringing with embarrassment. Worse, he was feeling sick again. What the fuck was going on?

"Are you OK, Harry?"

"GET ME HOME!" he shrieked at her.

So, it was with tears streaming down her face at his harsh words that Jennifer pulled into the Youle's driveway. The police car stayed long enough to see the puke-coated Tool get out of the car. She swore she could hear them laughing as they drove away.

Harry didn't even thank her. He grabbed the keys, locked the car and dashed into the house slamming the door behind him. He left her standing on the drive.

"Harry? HARRY?"

Inside the house Harry was peeling off his clothes. He left them in a pile in the bath. His lazy mother could deal with those. She didn't have anything else to do. He then looked at his penis, examining it for the source of the pain but he couldn't see anything. No teeth marks or swelling. Puzzled, he climbed into the power shower oblivious to the sound of the door bell.

He finally heard it as he was drying himself off. His parents were out. He'd hoped to bring Jenny back for a serious fucking but the very thought of it made him queasy now. He headed downstairs and saw Jenny through the window.

He was in a foul mood as he opened the door.

"Just go home."

"I can't. You picked me up, remember? And you said that I should stay over tonight." Even to herself she sounded piteous. She hated it but she needed to be near him.

"Remember Harry? Tonight was going to be the night. Why don't you drop that towel and we can get the night started off properly?"