The Second Date

The silence of the night was suddenly cleaved by the sound of an exaggerated scream emanating from my pocket.

"Fuck!" I hissed, as I shoved my hand over my pocket to try and dampen the sound; unsurprisingly, it didn't do much.

"What the hell...?" We heard Dylan say as he turned right around and walked back to the bushes. This time he took the time to investigate the area fully - and that was when he spotted the both of us sitting together in our hiding spot.

"Dylan, I can explain—" Jess started to say, but Dylan locked eyes with me and shook his head as his eyes flashed dark gray for a moment. He immediately wrenched me up by my shirt and threw me away from the bushes, leaving me sprawled out on my back on the grass.

"Dylan, stop! Please!" Jess yelled. I tried to get up, but Dylan slammed into me, knocking the wind out of my lungs and pushing me backward as I hit the ground hard. In an instant he was on me, his bulky frame illuminated by the soft light of the hanging lights, and as he pinned me down, I could see his eyes were pools of dark, stormy gray for just a moment before they turned dark blue again.

"What the fuck were you doing with my girlfriend, you piece of shit?!"

"We were just talking, I swear," I hastily replied.

"Sure, you fucking were. It's funny that the one time she changes herself, it's when she's ' just talking' with a fucking Polly fetishist. You expect me to believe you didn't have anything to do with that?"

"I swear, that's not what happened at all!" I exclaimed, as he raised his fist to take a swing at me. I instinctively raised my hand up to cover my face.

"DYLAN! PLEASE! Just listen to me!" Jess screamed at him as she came out from behind the bushes. He looked over at her and raised his voice. I just hoped this would end without me getting the shit punched out of me.

"You shut your damn mouth and stay out of this. I'll deal with you in a minute; first I have to teach this sick fuck a lesson."

"He didn't do anything! It was me, okay?! It was all me," she said, desperately. "I... I changed myself, okay? I just... needed a break from... being myself." The sentence trailed off as her deep blue eyes turned a bright shade of brown; they almost looked tan. He looked over at her, and I could see the gears turning in his head. My heart pounded in my chest, and I prayed that he would see reason and just hear her out. "So, please... just... let him go, okay?"

"You... needed a break... from yourself?" he asked, his voice deathly quiet; his eyes were still trained on me.

"Yes. So... just, let him leave, and we can... talk this out, okay?" He slowly turned his head to look at his girlfriend.

"Sure, Jess. We can talk it out..." I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was going to let me go, but then he looked down at me and sneered. "We'll talk it out once I'm done with him." Before I even knew what was happening, he pulled back his arm and swung at me.

He might as well have hit me with a goddamn brick. His fist collided with the side of my face and pain exploded through my skull as stars danced across my vision. And then he swung again. And again. I tasted iron in my mouth and felt blood dripping from my lips. I tried to wriggle from his grasp, but there was just too much weight pressing down onto me. I raised my free arm in an attempt to shield my face, but I knew it wouldn't do much good against him.

"Dylan!" Jess rushed over and tried to pull her boyfriend off of me, but he pushed her away and turned back toward me, his grin widening.

"Perverts like you need to be taught a lesson!" he exclaimed, as he swung one more time, this time punching me square in the jaw. My hand shielded my mouth from the full brunt of his fist, but it still slammed against my already-split lip, and I tasted more blood in my mouth as my teeth bit down on the soft flesh of my cheek. I quickly brought myself face-to-face with him and spat. And then two things happened at once: first, the blood flew toward onto his face, causing him to grimace - it was just enough of a distraction to get him to blink his eyes shut and raise his arms up to wipe it off his face. Secondly, I heard a rush of footfalls as Jess sprinted away from us, then the sound of the glass door being wrenched open a few seconds later.

"Help, someone come help, please! There's a fight!" He turned toward the source of the commotion, leaving his head wide open.

I saw my opportunity and took it as I raised my arm and drove my fist into the side of his stupid fucking face.

He grunted in pain as he finally recoiled a bit, and I managed to wriggle free and shot up from the ground. I tried to get away, and ran toward the house, but Dylan dove forward and wrapped his hand around my ankle, causing me to trip and fall face-first onto the grass.

"Oh, fuck," was all I could manage before he reached me again. He flipped me over and pinned me down yet again, preparing to renew his assault. Before he could bring his fist down on me again, a voice called out to us - one I recognized immediately.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!" Rose yelled as she rushed over to us. He looked up and smiled at her, and his eyes became as green as emeralds under the lights hanging in the yard. I heard chatter coming from near the house as a small crowd had gathered outside to watch.

"Oh, you're here just in time for the show. Normally, I don't do this, but your boyfriend here's been pissing me off all day, so I'll indulge myself a little." I watched as his already strong arms surged with strength and sinew as several layers of fibrous muscle appeared under his skin.

"I'm warning you, Dylan: don't you FUCKING touch him."

"And what are you going to do about it, huh?" Rose looked a bit nervous as she frowned and leaned down a bit.

"Please... don't do this," she pleaded. As Dylan looked down at me and sneered, I fully expected him to start swinging again. but instead, he turned and looked straight at Rose as he wrapped his hands around my throat. I immediately struggled to get air into my lungs, and the more I tried to breathe, the more panicked I became. I tried to pull his hands from around my neck, but it was no use; he was just too damn strong. I heard the chatter from the crowd grow more concerned.

"Dylan! What are you doing? Stop! Please!" Jess exclaimed; the words were desperate. I heard rapid breaths coming from somewhere next to us. Dylan looked down at me and smiled gleefully as he continued to strangle me.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, clearly enjoying himself as he toyed with me. I tried to talk, but I could barely get any sound out as my lungs failed me; I couldn't even nod. I frantically tapped on his arm, desperate to get him to stop.

"Say please."

"Dylan!" Jess called out again. The sounds of breathing next to us intensified into a rapid panting. All the while, I continued to try and pull Dylan's hands free to no avail. My head was aching, and my hammering pulse roared in my ears. My lungs burned, desperate for oxygen. Just then I heard Jess speak up again, her tone a mix of confusion and concern. "W-wait, what are you doing?"

Then I heard her gasp as time seemed to slow to a crawl. Dylan's smile only widened, and my vision started to swim as my body fought to stay conscious. My head felt like it was going to explode at that point... and then the chilly night air finally flowed through my sore and strained throat and soothed my burning lungs.

I don't know exactly what had happened, but suddenly Dylan wasn't on me anymore. I sat up and took a few heaving breaths in and out, feeling overjoyed that I could finally breathe again.

I was so relieved that it took me a moment to notice the scene unfurling around me.

The chatter had been replaced by gasps and excited murmurs from the people that had gathered outside, and then I heard Dylan's voice.

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed... and then I heard the sound of a fist colliding with flesh, along with a pained grunt.

"Wait! Stop it... please!" Jess yelled, and I suddenly realized that she must have been talking to...

"Rose!" I yelled, but I got no response from her as I heard another blow connect. I snapped my head toward the sound of the fighting, and my eyes went wide at what I saw. Rose had shed her coat, and she was all sweat-soaked white skin and rippling muscles... and a second set of arms had torn through her shirt, which she was currently using to pin Dylan's muscular arms down. Meanwhile, she used her top pair of arms to swing away at his exposed face. Clearly, Rose was an improvisational fighter, too.

"Ow! Fuck... Get your crazy... bitch... off me!" he yelled, between blows. Five times she had swung her pale fists, and he flinched as each blow connected with his face.

"Rose, please! Stop! I'm right here." She tensed up at the sound as she finally seemed to become aware of my presence.

"Don't hurt him! Don't... you f-fucking... h-hurt him," Rose said, but the fervor in her words died midway through, leaving the second sentence sounding more pitiful that angry. And just like that, she let her arms drop to her sides as her willingness to fight just seemed to evaporate. Her white knuckles were streaked with Dylan's blood.

"I'm alright, Rose... I'm okay," I said as I tentatively put my hand on her shoulder. She tensed up at my touch and looked over at me. I gasped at the sight of her eyes; under the glow of the lights in the yard, I saw that her irises were completely black; her pupils looked massive, just like the woman on the cover of the pamphlets we had seen earlier that day. She drew in a sharp breath and seemed to regain her senses as her irises returned to their usual steel blue shade once again... and then tears started to fall from her eyes as her grimace became a miserable frown. My eyes widened as her second pair of arms began to sort of just... sink into her torso as the extra flesh and bone quickly retreated back into her body. Soon the second set of arms had completely disappeared, leaving nothing but smooth, snow-white skin behind. Her curves had disappeared, too, just like they had last week. Her clothes were suddenly looking very loose on her much-smaller frame.

"Get off of me, you fucking psycho!" Dylan yelled, and Rose quickly scrambled backward and got off of him. He looked at her and glared as Rose curled up into a little ball and wrapped her arms around her tucked knees. "What the hell was that?"

The cheers from the crowd had died down to silence as the wind picked up, and Rose started to quiver and then softly weep. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight, not caring about anything else at that moment but her.

"It's okay, Rose," I said, my voice hoarse. I squeezed her tightly, and she uncurled her arms from around her knees and pulled me in close.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice weak. "I didn't mean to... I'm sorry." She pulled her head up and looked over at Dylan. I followed her gaze as he glared at her and shook his head as his split lip and swollen flesh healed up nearly instantly. He stood up, stomped over to Jess before he grabbed her arm as he tried to walk away with her.

"Keep your bitch on a fucking leash, man," Dylan snapped. I wanted to give Dylan a piece of my mind for the insult, but I heard Rose whisper in my ear.

"Just ignore him." I sighed and nodded ever so slightly as Dylan stood up, stomped over to Jess before he grabbed her arm as he tried to lead her away. "Come on. Let's get the hell out of here." Jess frowned and shook her head at him, then pulled her arm free.

"No," she said, firmly. "I'm not going with you, Dylan."

"What?" he hissed, before letting out a scoff. "Come on. We're leaving."

"No, we are not leaving!" Jess hissed; her tone was sharp. "I'm not going to just sit there anymore while you continue to throw your little temper tantrums. I'm tired of you ordering me around and forcing me to go along with what you want. I'm sick of it... all of it! I'm... done, Dylan." He looked livid, and I almost thought he was going to hit her, but he looked around at the crowd staring at us and thankfully seemed to reconsider the move. He just sneered at her and shook his head as he spoke up in a mocking tone.

"Oh! you've finally managed to grow a spine then?" He shook his head. "That's cute, Jess - enjoy being all alone, then; you really think anyone's going to want you looking like that?" With that, he shook his head and stormed off, and the crowd around us started to clap, cheer, and whistle as he trudged off around the side of the house. I looked over at Rose, and she just sat there with a sullen look on her face; she had stopped crying, but her eyes were still all puffy. She pulled away from me just as the glass door slid open and closed, and then we heard Ryan's voice.

"Woah, what's going on out here?" he asked, looking around as he walked up, with Linsey following close behind. He looked down at me, and eyes widened when he saw my face. "Dude, you look like shit; what the hell happened?"

"Dylan happened," I said quietly, as I rubbed at my tender throat.

"There was a fight," Jess clarified. "Matt was talking to me when my boyfrie- er, ex-boyfriend... found us, and then Dylan went ballistic and started swinging. Things got kind of... out of hand." She looked over at Rose for a second before looking back over at Ryan. I handed Rose her coat, and she wiped her bloody knuckles off on her crimson-colored shirt before she took the coat from me and slipped it on.

"Thanks," she murmured, just before Linsey spoke up.

"Wait, so that guy from earlier beat the shit out of you, and you just going to let him... walk away?" I heard Rose zip up her coat as my attention was drawn back to Jess.

"If we tried to keep him here, it probably would have just made things worse," she said, before she looked over at me. "If you want to press charges, though, let me know. He really shouldn't get away with this. It's not the first time this has happened, either." I nodded. Most of the crowd had dispersed at that point, and the last few stragglers were heading back into the house now that the show was over.

"Matt, can we leave, please?" Rose asked quietly. "My head is killing me." I looked over at her and nodded. Her zipped-up coat was enough to cover her baggy shirt, but there wasn't much she would be able to do about her pants, which were now hanging loosely around her waist.

"Of course." She and I both stood up then, and Rose clutched at her pants and had to hold them up to keep them from slipping down her legs. Her cheeks darkened to a crimson shade, and she frowned. Jess walked up to us looking a little nervous herself. Rose quickly spoke up.

"I'm sorry... about all that. I... I blacked out back there. I didn't mean to... do what I did." Jess let out a sigh.

"You... did what you had to; I don't know if Dylan was going to stop. God, this was all such a mess. I'm so sorry about him. I... wished I could have done more to help."

"You did what you could, I'm sure. Hell, the only reason I managed to stop him was because my fight-or-flight response kicked in," Rose said. "Good job on standing up to him, by the way - it's never easy." Jess shook her head.

"It wasn't, but... it needed to be done, though. I... deserve better than him." Rose nodded and flashed a weak smile at her, and Jess blushed a bit, suddenly looking nervous. "Um, would it be okay if I get your numbers? I'd like to maybe... keep in touch with you two, if that's okay?"

"Oh! Um, sure! I was actually hoping to make a Polly friend here at school," Rose said, blushing a bit herself as she smiled at Jess.

"Oh! Awesome! Thanks," Jess replied, with a smile. The three of us pulled out our phones and exchanged numbers, and then Jess smiled and waved at us one last time before heading back into the house.

"You guys are heading out, then?" Ryan asked, as he made his way back over to us.

"Yeah, we are," I replied. "Will you be good here?" Ryan nodded and flashed me a thumbs-up.

"Yeah. We might stick around for a little longer, but I'll probably head back myself before too long. I'll see you back at our place later, then?" I looked over at Rose.

"Um, did you still want to go back to your apartment?" Rose nodded, and color crept into her cheeks as she flashed an embarrassed smile.             

"Alright, well I guess I'll see you sometime tomorrow, then," Ryan said with a shrug and grin. "Have a good night, guys. Thanks for hanging with us." Just then, Linsey sidled up to the group.

"It was nice to meet you, Matt!" she said, with a smile. "We should all hang out together sometime soon!"

"Sounds good to me," I said. "I think I've had enough of parties for a little while, though." Linsey smirked and flashed me a thumbs-up before she turned back toward Ryan; I saw a bit of color creep into her cheeks. "Actually, speaking of hanging... would you maybe want to... head back to my place and chill after this?" Ryan looked taken aback by the offer, and he ran a hand through his hair as his cheeks turned crimson.

"Oh! Um... sure!" he finally piped up, with an awkward smile. Linsey smiled back at him and nodded before she looked over at us.

"You two make sure you get home safe!"

"We will!" I looked over at Rose. "You ready to head then?" Rose flashed a weak smile at me, as she hesitantly reached out with her free hand, bringing it close to mine. I clasped it without hesitation, and we headed around the side of the house to leave.

Rose was mostly silent as we walked back to her place. I made a few attempts to talk to her, but she seemed distant. Eventually I gave up trying to talk, and we walked the rest of the way with an uncomfortable gulf of silence hanging between us.

Ten minutes later, we had arrived back at Rose's apartment, and she immediately flipped on the lights and sank onto the couch with a sigh. I sat down next to her and put my arm on her shoulder before gently running my hand through her blanched locks.

"Are you alright, Rose? You've been awfully quiet." Rose looked over at me and shook her head; she was frowning. "Do you need some space for the night?"

"No, Matt, I'm fine. I don't want you to leave," she answered softly. "How are you feeling?"

"I've... been better, but I'll live. I'm just a bit sore." She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You look terrible, Matt. Sit tight; I'll get you taken care of," she said, as she stood up, letting her pants fall to the ground as she stepped out of them with a shrug. My eyes widened at the sight of her dark red panties contrasting against her snow-white skin; even those were barely staying up. She went to the kitchen and rummaged around for a bit before filling a baggie full of ice. She grabbed a water bottle and set it on the counter, then headed down the hall, and I heard a door open. She came back to the kitchen with a bottle of painkillers and scooped everything up before making her way back to me. She opened the bottle and shook out four pills before handing me two, along with the water. I quickly swallowed them down before handing her the bottle, and she did the same with the other two.

"How's your head?" I asked.

"Still hurting, but the meds should help," she said, before she handed me the bag of ice. "Here. Put that... well, anywhere on your face, really. It should help get that swelling down." I pressed the ice against my cheek and gasped; it stung, but Rose was right - I probably did look like shit. I smiled despite myself as I let out a chuckle.

"Thanks, Rose. You know, that healing factor of yours would really come in handy right about now. Sometimes I wish I was a Polly like you." Rose frowned and stared down at her knuckles in her lap; they still looked a little red.

"It's not all sunshine and rainbows, Matt," she said, and the sentence somehow sounded sharp and somber at the same time. She let out a sigh before she spoke up again. "Everyone sees all the good parts and they think we're so lucky, but... God, sometimes I hate being a Polly." Heat blazed in my cheeks at the hint of admonishment in her voice.