Her apartment was a very pleasant place to call home. Spacious, well-carpeted, two floors, and right in the middle of a beautiful neighborhood. She liked it here, but at times like this, you could never tell by the look on her face.
Lauren Pierce sat in a shady room, cuddling up in her favorite chair, which was positioned right next to the balcony. She quietly extended her hand to the side, getting into her habit of playing with the blinds while hearing a car pass by every minute or so down below. It wasn�t that particular hand that mattered most right now, though, but the other one -- the one that was shaking a little, the one that was holding the picture.
As was usual during this time of day, she stared at a younger version of herself. Standing not too far away in this picture was an older girl who looked sort of like her. Behind them were two adults: a mother�and a father.
Lauren lowered the picture, throwing her gaze at the ceiling.
The phone rang.
�Click�
�Hello?� she answered. Slowly, a grin appeared. �All right. Glad to hear it.�
EarthBound: The Perpetual Adventures (Copyright -- Michael DePalma)
Interlude -- Part One
By James
For the most part, Ness found that walking Michelle home from school was an enjoyable experience�
��So,� he finally found the courage to say, �when am I going to get to know this funny dad of yours a little better?�
�You know,� she chuckled, �if you can teleport, why don�t you ever just warp me home?�
�Except for one thing�
�You never want to talk about that for some reason.�
�No, I�m serious. Why are we always draggin� ourselves--�
�Stop�� he grinned a little, looking at the ground.
She sighed.
�What�s wrong?�
�Nothing�s wrong�� a sly smile came over her face, �it�s just that if you can teleport places you�ve already been, well, you have been to my house, seeing as how we walk there all the time.�
�Yeah, and, seeing as how we walk there �all the time,� you�d think maybe it�s about time the man who lives there got to know a few things about me...such as my actual first name, for example.�
She looked away.
�Look�we�ve already been over that thing about how you said your dad didn�t want you going out alone, when the truth was you simply made that up because you were uncomfortable going on anything but group dates. We�ve been through that, and I��
Michelle looked up. ��You what?�
�I��
�You forgave me? Is that what you were going to say?�
�No, I�m�I�m looking for the right words.�
� �I understood.� Those would�ve been the right words. Because I thought you did.�
�You thought right. You thought right. I�m just�not understanding things right now.�
�Ness�� Michelle looked down. �There are just some things about me that we�re going to have to take in phases. I�m sorry, but that didn�t end with the whole group dating/solo dating thing.�
Ness couldn�t help but look away as well, feeling a bit guilty for having pressed the issue.
�Maybe you�ve got this ideal example of the modern family in your life�a caring mom, a caring dad, a little sister, and the adorable-even-when-he�s-not little dog�but for me��
He listened.
�Never mind,� she paused, �let�s not talk about me. Not like this. Not just yet, anyway.�
�Whatever it is about him, or whoever�you don�t have to be embarr--sorry�guess I�m�I�m still looking for the right words.�
She walked over by a fence, leaning on it.
Moments later, Ness approached from behind. �Michelle�I�ve found the right words.�
She was quiet.
�Being around you makes me feel alive. Not just living, but alive. Looking at you leaning there right now�thinking about all we�ve been through since we first met�I feel like I love you more than I�ve ever loved anyone in a certain way. And for that�� he sighed, slowly wrapping his arms around her waist.
Michelle tried to ignore the tear in her eye.
�And for that, I�m very grateful to whoever it is that brought you into this world. And that�s why��
Michelle tried to ignore the tear rolling down her face.
�Well,� Ness cleared his throat, �you can figure out the rest,� he grinned. �I�m sure I�m about to set a new record for sappiness or something.�
She let out a burst of laughter.
�I�d rather let whoever the current champ is keep the title.�
�Oh really?� she spun around, taking his hands. �Remember those phases I was talking about?�
�Right. Phases,� he smiled.
�Well, if you�d kept going there, we just might�ve skipped a certain one we�re in right now,� she lifted an eyebrow.
Ness reached in his pocket and pulled out a small notepad. He began flicking through it.
�What are you doing?� she asked.
�I�m trying to find out what came next��
She laughed again and shoved him away. �Gimmie that.�
* * * *
Ness slammed the door and slapped his hands. � �Gonna be a bright�bright, sunshiny daaaay.� �
Tracy was on her way out. �Ness. Do me a favor.�
�Yeah?�
�Don�t sing.� She exited and closed the door behind her.
�Heh�� Ness threw his backpack off and ran up to his room, getting ready to use his PC.
His phone rang.
�Click�
�Hello?�
�Ness? It�s Lauren.�
His eyebrows lowered. �See�I should�ve known. The day just couldn�t be this good, right?�
�Ness, this is serious! Chester�s here and he�s bleeding!�
��What?�
�I said Chester came over and I can�t stop the bleeding. I think it�s the aftereffects of what you did to him kicking in!�
�Hold on, keep your voice down�� Ness sat on his bed. �First of all, I never meant for that to happen. Secondly, he was supposed to have been taken care of in the hospital.�
�Well, I guess your little magic is beyond what they can handle after all. I already called an ambulance and I�m waiting for it to get here. I called you to see if there�s anything you can do in the meantime.�
�I�I don�t��
�Isn�t there anyway to reverse what you did? Some sort of counter that nullifies it?�
�I�m��
�There�s got to be! Ness! This is all your fault�hold on��
�Wait. Lauren?� Ness was feeling quite uneasy in his stomach.
�Just hang in there,� Lauren�s voice could be heard. �Be still.�
�Lauren? Lauren, I�ve got a way to heal that could help.�
She got back on the phone. �What?!�
�I said -- just settle down, okay? -- I said I�ve got a healing PSI that might help.�
�So, what, can you use it over the phone?�
�No. I�m coming over.�
�Wh�hold on. Now I�m not so sure I want you anywhere near him.�
�Trust me, I�d rather not be,� Ness rolled his eyes and hung up.
* * * *
When Ness arrived, he found the front door partly open. When Ness entered, he looked around a moment before calling out.
�Upstairs!� called Lauren�s voice in response.
Ness jogged to the steps and ascended. �How�s he doing?� he called again.
�Better.�
�Which room?�
�Down this way.�
Ness slowed down. �Why weren�t you�at school today?�
A moment after Ness entered, two of his senses alerted him that something was wrong. Sight revealed that Lauren was indeed across the room, but Chester was nowhere to be found. �What�s--� Ness screamed suddenly. Through touch, he could feel an electrical current on his neck that made him wish he�d brought the Franklin Badge.
That thought began to fade�along with the room�as darkness slowly overtook him.
* * * *
�Ness��
He stirred a little.
�Oh, Neeess��
He moaned.
�Shake it off, lover boy.�
His eyes began opening.
�There we go.�
Ness�s vision slowly cleared�and right above him, he saw Lauren�s partly exposed chest, steadily flowing in and out with each breath she took. Ness stared�then his eyes widened, and he looked up at her smirking face. �What�s�� he looked around. He was still in her bedroom. It had gotten darker outside, and there was a soft orange glow decorating the room.
But above all, nothing seemed as significant right now as his exact position -- on a bed�with Lauren.
Ness timidly moaned. �Eeee��
She chuckled.
He saw that the girl on all fours above him was stripped down to her underwear. As he turned away, planning to move, something caught his eyes. Several things, actually. Ness�s pants, shirt and shoes were lying on the floor. �What�s going on?!� he shoved her aside by the shoulder, and swung his legs over the bed.
�Well,� she threw her head back, whipping her blonde locks about seductively, �I think it�s kind of obvious, isn�t it?�
Ness looked around, then began pulling his pants on. ��The shock. Now I�was it him? Was it Chester?� he demanded.
�Oh, no. Chester never came over here today, Ness.�
�Then who?�
�Just a few girlfriends of mine. They�re gone now. Kelly said she�s sorry for zapping you, by the way�but I guarantee that wasn�t the only charge felt in here.�
His head quickly turned to her. �What happened?�
Lauren just stared and smiled.
He stopped fiddling with his belt and sprinted towards the bed. �While, I, was, out, what, HAPPENED?!�
�Nothing, Ness,� she spoke in a condescending tone.
He paused.
��That�s what you want to believe, right?�
Ness was feeling quite uneasy.
�So, believe it. Now, then, I want you to go now. Don�t you have a girlfriend? Go play with her.�
He lifted a finger. �I�m going to get you for this. I promise. You pathetic little skank!�
�Out. Now.� Lauren crossed her arms.
Ness finished dressing and headed downstairs. Along the way, he spotted a picture.
The people in it appeared to be a younger Lauren and her family. Ness, like everyone else around, had no idea where these other people were, or why Lauren lived alone, but he figured the adults he saw just might have some control over her.
He quietly removed the photo from its small frame and took it with him.
A moment later, Lauren heard the door slam shut downstairs. A moment after that, she smirked again.
* * * *
At home, Ness Franklin was spread out on his bed, staring at the ceiling and possibly feeling worse than he ever had in his life. Part of him figured that was kind of odd, given the supposed evening he�d just had, but another part of him very much did not want to even make that joke.
Just as Ness felt like he might as well go ahead and cry�the phone rang. He shook, tensely knowing it had to be the one person he didn�t want to talk to right now. The last person he wanted to talk to.
�Click�
And he was right -- but not in the way he�d imagined. �Ness? It�s Lauren.�
��What do you want?�
�Heh, heh. Expecting Michelle? Don�t worry, I have a feeling you�ll be hearing from her pretty soon.�
Ness suddenly sat up. �And what�s that supposed to mean?�
�Not only do I still have your phone number, I still have your e-mail address, too. You may want to check it out. Call me back when you do. Don�t e-mail.�
�I don�t want to talk to--�
She hung up.
Ness paused, holding the phone�then moved over to his computer.
Moments later, he indeed did find a new message waiting for him. The sender: Lauren Pierce
Ness annoyingly opened the mail, and found five links. Underneath them was the message, �Remember, call me back :)�
Ness clicked on one. In the next four seconds, Ness�s eyes went wider than they�d perhaps ever gone. He saw a picture of himself and Lauren�in bed. Within the image, Ness was in his previous shirtless state and Lauren was no different than she�d been before either. Both of their eyes were closed, and her mouth was leaning towards his. Ness gasped, staring and staring and staring at the picture. After nearly a minute, he clicked on one of the other links.
This one actually led him somewhere; this time the picture was on an erotic message board, used as a Signature image. ��No,� said Ness to himself, very quietly. He clicked on another link. The next picture was almost the same as before, but this time one could see Lauren�s exposed thigh reaching upwards. This picture was also posted on another site.
�No, no�no�� Ness continued, not remembering any of this.
The two other links yielded similar results, only in the last picture, Lauren was actually kissing Ness, and she�d brought his arm up over her waist.
�Oh no. Oh no,� Ness repeated over and over, as though it might help. He quickly disconnected and ran back to his phone.
A moment later, Lauren picked up. �You belong to me now, Ness. Listen carefully, because there are going to be some changes.�
�What do you want?!�
�Didn�t I say to listen?�
�All right. Look, you�ve--�
�First of all, you won�t be speaking to me in that kind of tone anymore; those days are gone.�
�Okay. Listen, you�ve got to tell your friends to take those images down. That�s how you�re doing it, right? Your friends have them up?�
�Secondly, you�ll wait till I finish before you speak from now on.�
���
Lauren smirked. �Just imagine what would happen if certain people saw those images. I know the e-mail address to your dad�s company -- everybody does -- so I could easily see that he gets a copy. I heard Michelle talking about fanwritings.com in the halls one day, and I�ve already gotten her e-mail from that site. As for everybody else, all it�ll take is one message from me to have those friends of mine start taking those pictures with them everywhere they go online. What you just saw is nothing. They�ll use them as Signatures, avatars, and even post them on their own homepages for no reason at all. Within a week, I can have it all over the �Net, and everyone from school will start noticing.�
�Don�t do this, Lauren, please.�
�Aww, are you begging now?�
�What do you want?�
��You may have thought you�d gotten rid of me back then��
�What? What are you talking ab--�
�But no, I think you and I are about to get a lot closer.�
Ness began frowning, staring at the floor.
�And I think we�re going to stay that way for quite a while. This is only what you deserve for�� Lauren paused.
��For what?� he said desperately. �What did I do to you, Lauren?�
�She smirked again. �Ahem, ta-ta, Ness. For now, anyway. Oh, and, that picture you took�?�
He frowned again.
�Bring it back tomorrow -- at which point we can officially begin our long and beautiful friendship.�
�Click�
PART 2