I Prefer the Mind Control Rewrite - Chapter 17
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I wanted to say something to Preston as he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. I had thought there might be hope for our friendship, but that hope wouldn’t exist if I couldn’t keep the conversation going.
“You know what, Dylan? I want to be alone right now,” Preston said, not moving a muscle.
“You want me to leave?” I murmured. While my stomach sank, I realized friendship repair wouldn’t be fucking instantaneous, as much as I had hoped to keep the conversation going.
“Yeah, I do,” he muttered. His voice sounded so dead.
“Okay, then.” I got off the bed and gathered up my things, including the hideous orange windbreaker nobody liked. I need a new sweatshirt or something. Most of my sweatshirts were unfit for public wear. “See you later, Preston.”
“See ya,” he said, not even bothering to look at me.
I had no idea where to go. While I could just sit in the hallway and do homework on the laptop I had stuffed in my backpack, I didn’t want to do fucking homework. My mind swirled too much for me to concentrate, anyway.
Unconsciously, I pulled out my phone and began dialing Xan’s number. Damn, he had invaded my fucking mind if I were calling him while not even thinking.
I only realized what I was doing when I heard Xan’s voice on the other end. “Dylan? Is that you?”
“Of course it’s me,” I muttered, leaning against the wall outside my dorm room. “Can I, uh, come over? Preston kinda kicked me out of the dorm.”
“I’m sorry about,” Xan murmured. “And sure, you can come over. I’ll be there in half an hour, if you like.”
“That’d be great,” I said. My stupid heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing Xan again.
* * *
When I met Xan in Parking Lot C, my heart skipped yet another beat. Why did it have to keep doing that? Xan looked wonderful, as always, but the beat-skipping was just a bit ridiculous. Author, why must you make my heart do that? It can’t be fucking healthy.
I waved to Xan as he stepped out of his car. “Hey, Xan.”
Like before, he didn’t say anything in greeting. He just pulled me into a kiss, his lips meeting mine roughly. Xan even squeezed my ass. I yelped as a shiver ran up my spine. We were in public, but Xan obviously didn’t care. Honestly? Neither did I. Kissing Xan felt way too good, and I almost slipped a hand under his shirt. He grabbed my wrist and stopped me, though.
“I think we should wait on that until we get inside,” he purred.
We got in the car, and I couldn’t stop smiling, especially when Xan trailed his fingers up and down my arm. I shivered, even letting out a small moan from such a simple movement. Damn, Xan just -- he had power over me, okay?
He chuckled when he heard me moan. The car ride itself felt like it lasted barely a second, because Xan’s hand never completely left my body. I got lost in his touche, and I thought we would be in for one awesome time.
Nothing contradicted my prediction once we entered the building and got into the elevator. Inside the elevator, Xan pushed me against the wall. He leaned over, kissing my neck. When he bit down on it, hard, I gasped.
Xan chuckled against my neck. I dropped my backpack to the ground. Xan then ripped off my windbreaker and shirt before I could so much as fucking blink. He took a moment just to stare at me, which made me flush. Xan had this predatory look on his face, and I felt an ache forming between my legs. Glancing downwards, my lover noticed this. He smirked.
I looked down at him and smirked myself.
He ran a finger down my chest, his eyes sparkling again.
My breathing quickly grew ragged. Unfortunately, the elevator reached the penthouse. Xan grabbed my dropped clothing and backpack. “I’ll be keeping these for now,” he murmured.
That was fine by me.
Xan guided me out of the elevator by putting a hand on my ass. That just made me harder. Everything was going great when Xan’s phone rang.
“Ignore it,” I muttered, looking up at him.
“I can’t,” Xan sighed. “It’s my father.”
He answered the phone. “Father? You -- called?” His voice shook.
“What?” Xan’s face blanched, turning paler than I had ever seen it.
“Are you sure it’s starting in a week? P-positive?” he stammered, looking horrified.
I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly what the conversation was referring to. No, I thought. Xan can’t leave now.
Xan’s whole body seemed to shake. “And there’s no way I can skip, is there?”
He winced. “I know my duties, father. I -- must go make preparations.” He hung up the phone. Tears fucking shone in his eyes.
I leaned against the wall in the hallway and crossed my arms over my chest. Suddenly, everything felt cold, and I couldn’t look Xan straight in the eye. “I -- take it the throne competition is starting and you have to leave?”
Xan nodded. “Y-yes,” he choked out. “It is.”
“You can’t leave now!” I cried. My eyes stung, and I felt my own body start to shake. I hugged myself tighter.
“If I had any choice, I wouldn’t,” he murmured. He stroked my cheek lightly, his eyes soft and sad. “You can come with me.”
All logic and sense dictated I should in no way consider it, but -- I hadn’t thought Xan would be leaving quite so soon. What would you do, author? You won’t tell me? Even now? Screw you.
Even though logic and sense told me one thing, my chest felt like it might split in two. I hurt so fucking bad. I flung myself at Xan, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back; I could feel him start to sob. I cried into his chest. There was no way I could leave him now, not when I was finally starting to understand why I liked him so much.
It wasn’t fair, to have things cut off like this. But was I contemplating going with Xan for the right reasons? Or did I just want to escape my own fucked up life?
Speaking of fucked up...
I pulled away from Xan just enough to ask, “What about Preston?”
Xan raised an eyebrow. “What about him?”
“He’s half Zimaran,” I said, looking up at Xan.
“So?” Xan asked.
“So you need to take him with you,” I insisted, my voice shrill.
When Xan just looked at me, confused, I continued, “What if the National States government finds out? Who knows what President Bradley will do? And if -- if you’re not here to help him...” I couldn’t speak anymore.
Xan let me go. “Don’t you think that might be a bit premature? Nobody has found anything out so far.”
“How long do you think that will last, Xan?” I asked. I waved my hands in front of my face.
Xan grabbed my wrist. “Calm down, Dylan. Preston will be fine on Earth.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Who said that? It was a woman, who appeared out of nowhere. She was as tall as Preston with long bright red hair pulled back in a braid. Her eyes were a smooth metallic silver. That wasn’t the only silver on her. The woman’s visible, and pale, skin had silver streaks that matched her eyes. This magically appearing stranger wore a form-fitting black and silver uniform over her toned yet slightly curvy body. Damn, was she hot. And apparently a cyborg or something.
That -- she had to be one of Xan’s bodyguards, if the strange weapon at her hip were any indication. While she could probably blast my head off with that thing, I couldn’t help staring.
“Syra!” Xan cried, jumping back and letting go of me. “You’re supposed to be invisible when on duty.”
“When my duties involve telling you how stupid you are, I’m allowed to be visible,” Syra said, a hand on her hip.
“How am I being stupid?” Xan asked. He tried to regain his composure and, honestly, didn’t do a very good job of it.
Syra pursed her lips. “By saying Preston should stay on Earth. Your pretty little friend Dylan is right; it’s too risky to leave him here.”
Did she just call me pretty? I felt my face heat up. “You -- you agree with me, uh, can I call you Syra?”
She flashed me a small smile. “You may. And yes, I agree with you. A half-Zimaran is a huge risk on this planet, which is -- not known for its friendliness to extraterrestrials and anyone it declares ‘different.’ Xan, what do you think will happen when someone inevitably finds out about Preston? And it is inevitable.”
“You are sure of this?” Xan asked. I could hear the skepticism in his voice.
“I know more of these matters than you do, Xan, since you seem so very determined to ignore anything remotely political,” she muttered, her eyes hard.
Xan’s face flushed at that. “I -- well, I suppose Preston should come with Dylan and me.”
Syra raised an eyebrow. “As far as I know, Dylan hasn’t actually said he’s coming with you, but I would be disappointed if he doesn’t...since I know how much you like him.”
I couldn’t see myself, but I was almost certainly blushing. “Yeah, I’m coming.” As I said it, I knew it was true, as potentially stupid as this decision was.
Xan grinned hugely at me before turning to the door and murmuring, “I suppose Dylan and I should go inside. We have things to discuss.”
Syra put a hand on the door. “I’m coming in, too.”
“But you have guard duty,” Xan said, looking over his shoulder at her.
“I know, but my partner can handle it. Shift change happens in fifteen minutes, anyway. Besides, you clearly aren’t equipped to handle the whole Preston situation.” She glanced at me, smirking. I felt my face get hot. “Is there any chance Dylan here would be...available after we’ve finished with more serious matters?”
“He might be,” Xan said in a manner that suggested I would be available. Syra looked at me with this “I will eat you” expression that made me quiver in anticipation.
We entered the apartment. I took a seat on the couch next to Xan, who draped an arm around my shoulders. I felt the warmth from it. Syra remained standing, a serious expression on her face. “Someone needs to call Preston and tell him Xan is leaving within the week,” she stated matter-of-factly.
I couldn’t help observing Syra. She was stunning in a way more alien than Xan, due to the silver that ran throughout the visible parts of her skin. It fascinated me because people just didn’t look like that. Xan was fascinating in that he was unnaturally beautiful and just slightly inhuman in shape, plus those metallic Zimaran eyes. Syra captivated because she looked truly alien yet human enough to be sexually attractive. Not being that adventurous, I wasn’t going to wanna fuck someone that looked like a giant squid or something.
Staring at Syra took so much of my available brainpower that I only now realized what she had said. My stomach sank. “I suppose I should be the one to call Preston,” I said.
Syra nodded. “Yes, I would recommend that.”
Xan silently handed me my backpack, and I pulled my phone out of it. Dread overwhelming me, I called Preston’s number. The phone rang. And rang. And rang.
It went to voicemail.
My stomach knotted so hard I could barely make myself talk. My whole body tense, I said, “Hey, Preston? I know you don’t wanna talk right now, but -- this is fucking serious, okay? I can’t tell you over voicemail. You -- you gotta call me back. As soon as possible. Please.”
I hung up, though I didn’t let go of my phone. I fiddled with it, needing something to do with my hands. I muttered, “As you can probably guess, it went to fucking voicemail. Preston -- he really doesn’t wanna talk to me right now.”
Syra pursed her lips. “I hope he puts aside your personal problems soon and picks up that phone. This is no laughing matter.”
It wasn’t. I knew how serious this was. As much as things sucked between Preston and me, I certainly didn’t want the government to take him. I wanted us to be friends, though I worried that having a part in ripping him from his home planet, if i could even convince him to go, would ruin any chance at repairing our friendship. That mattered less than keeping him safe, though. My stomach churned; would our plan even work?
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written for writerverse Challenge #23 - "It's the end of the world and I feel fine... or not...
next chapter
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I wanted to say something to Preston as he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. I had thought there might be hope for our friendship, but that hope wouldn’t exist if I couldn’t keep the conversation going.
“You know what, Dylan? I want to be alone right now,” Preston said, not moving a muscle.
“You want me to leave?” I murmured. While my stomach sank, I realized friendship repair wouldn’t be fucking instantaneous, as much as I had hoped to keep the conversation going.
“Yeah, I do,” he muttered. His voice sounded so dead.
“Okay, then.” I got off the bed and gathered up my things, including the hideous orange windbreaker nobody liked. I need a new sweatshirt or something. Most of my sweatshirts were unfit for public wear. “See you later, Preston.”
“See ya,” he said, not even bothering to look at me.
I had no idea where to go. While I could just sit in the hallway and do homework on the laptop I had stuffed in my backpack, I didn’t want to do fucking homework. My mind swirled too much for me to concentrate, anyway.
Unconsciously, I pulled out my phone and began dialing Xan’s number. Damn, he had invaded my fucking mind if I were calling him while not even thinking.
I only realized what I was doing when I heard Xan’s voice on the other end. “Dylan? Is that you?”
“Of course it’s me,” I muttered, leaning against the wall outside my dorm room. “Can I, uh, come over? Preston kinda kicked me out of the dorm.”
“I’m sorry about,” Xan murmured. “And sure, you can come over. I’ll be there in half an hour, if you like.”
“That’d be great,” I said. My stupid heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing Xan again.
* * *
When I met Xan in Parking Lot C, my heart skipped yet another beat. Why did it have to keep doing that? Xan looked wonderful, as always, but the beat-skipping was just a bit ridiculous. Author, why must you make my heart do that? It can’t be fucking healthy.
I waved to Xan as he stepped out of his car. “Hey, Xan.”
Like before, he didn’t say anything in greeting. He just pulled me into a kiss, his lips meeting mine roughly. Xan even squeezed my ass. I yelped as a shiver ran up my spine. We were in public, but Xan obviously didn’t care. Honestly? Neither did I. Kissing Xan felt way too good, and I almost slipped a hand under his shirt. He grabbed my wrist and stopped me, though.
“I think we should wait on that until we get inside,” he purred.
We got in the car, and I couldn’t stop smiling, especially when Xan trailed his fingers up and down my arm. I shivered, even letting out a small moan from such a simple movement. Damn, Xan just -- he had power over me, okay?
He chuckled when he heard me moan. The car ride itself felt like it lasted barely a second, because Xan’s hand never completely left my body. I got lost in his touche, and I thought we would be in for one awesome time.
Nothing contradicted my prediction once we entered the building and got into the elevator. Inside the elevator, Xan pushed me against the wall. He leaned over, kissing my neck. When he bit down on it, hard, I gasped.
Xan chuckled against my neck. I dropped my backpack to the ground. Xan then ripped off my windbreaker and shirt before I could so much as fucking blink. He took a moment just to stare at me, which made me flush. Xan had this predatory look on his face, and I felt an ache forming between my legs. Glancing downwards, my lover noticed this. He smirked.
I looked down at him and smirked myself.
He ran a finger down my chest, his eyes sparkling again.
My breathing quickly grew ragged. Unfortunately, the elevator reached the penthouse. Xan grabbed my dropped clothing and backpack. “I’ll be keeping these for now,” he murmured.
That was fine by me.
Xan guided me out of the elevator by putting a hand on my ass. That just made me harder. Everything was going great when Xan’s phone rang.
“Ignore it,” I muttered, looking up at him.
“I can’t,” Xan sighed. “It’s my father.”
He answered the phone. “Father? You -- called?” His voice shook.
“What?” Xan’s face blanched, turning paler than I had ever seen it.
“Are you sure it’s starting in a week? P-positive?” he stammered, looking horrified.
I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly what the conversation was referring to. No, I thought. Xan can’t leave now.
Xan’s whole body seemed to shake. “And there’s no way I can skip, is there?”
He winced. “I know my duties, father. I -- must go make preparations.” He hung up the phone. Tears fucking shone in his eyes.
I leaned against the wall in the hallway and crossed my arms over my chest. Suddenly, everything felt cold, and I couldn’t look Xan straight in the eye. “I -- take it the throne competition is starting and you have to leave?”
Xan nodded. “Y-yes,” he choked out. “It is.”
“You can’t leave now!” I cried. My eyes stung, and I felt my own body start to shake. I hugged myself tighter.
“If I had any choice, I wouldn’t,” he murmured. He stroked my cheek lightly, his eyes soft and sad. “You can come with me.”
All logic and sense dictated I should in no way consider it, but -- I hadn’t thought Xan would be leaving quite so soon. What would you do, author? You won’t tell me? Even now? Screw you.
Even though logic and sense told me one thing, my chest felt like it might split in two. I hurt so fucking bad. I flung myself at Xan, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back; I could feel him start to sob. I cried into his chest. There was no way I could leave him now, not when I was finally starting to understand why I liked him so much.
It wasn’t fair, to have things cut off like this. But was I contemplating going with Xan for the right reasons? Or did I just want to escape my own fucked up life?
Speaking of fucked up...
I pulled away from Xan just enough to ask, “What about Preston?”
Xan raised an eyebrow. “What about him?”
“He’s half Zimaran,” I said, looking up at Xan.
“So?” Xan asked.
“So you need to take him with you,” I insisted, my voice shrill.
When Xan just looked at me, confused, I continued, “What if the National States government finds out? Who knows what President Bradley will do? And if -- if you’re not here to help him...” I couldn’t speak anymore.
Xan let me go. “Don’t you think that might be a bit premature? Nobody has found anything out so far.”
“How long do you think that will last, Xan?” I asked. I waved my hands in front of my face.
Xan grabbed my wrist. “Calm down, Dylan. Preston will be fine on Earth.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Who said that? It was a woman, who appeared out of nowhere. She was as tall as Preston with long bright red hair pulled back in a braid. Her eyes were a smooth metallic silver. That wasn’t the only silver on her. The woman’s visible, and pale, skin had silver streaks that matched her eyes. This magically appearing stranger wore a form-fitting black and silver uniform over her toned yet slightly curvy body. Damn, was she hot. And apparently a cyborg or something.
That -- she had to be one of Xan’s bodyguards, if the strange weapon at her hip were any indication. While she could probably blast my head off with that thing, I couldn’t help staring.
“Syra!” Xan cried, jumping back and letting go of me. “You’re supposed to be invisible when on duty.”
“When my duties involve telling you how stupid you are, I’m allowed to be visible,” Syra said, a hand on her hip.
“How am I being stupid?” Xan asked. He tried to regain his composure and, honestly, didn’t do a very good job of it.
Syra pursed her lips. “By saying Preston should stay on Earth. Your pretty little friend Dylan is right; it’s too risky to leave him here.”
Did she just call me pretty? I felt my face heat up. “You -- you agree with me, uh, can I call you Syra?”
She flashed me a small smile. “You may. And yes, I agree with you. A half-Zimaran is a huge risk on this planet, which is -- not known for its friendliness to extraterrestrials and anyone it declares ‘different.’ Xan, what do you think will happen when someone inevitably finds out about Preston? And it is inevitable.”
“You are sure of this?” Xan asked. I could hear the skepticism in his voice.
“I know more of these matters than you do, Xan, since you seem so very determined to ignore anything remotely political,” she muttered, her eyes hard.
Xan’s face flushed at that. “I -- well, I suppose Preston should come with Dylan and me.”
Syra raised an eyebrow. “As far as I know, Dylan hasn’t actually said he’s coming with you, but I would be disappointed if he doesn’t...since I know how much you like him.”
I couldn’t see myself, but I was almost certainly blushing. “Yeah, I’m coming.” As I said it, I knew it was true, as potentially stupid as this decision was.
Xan grinned hugely at me before turning to the door and murmuring, “I suppose Dylan and I should go inside. We have things to discuss.”
Syra put a hand on the door. “I’m coming in, too.”
“But you have guard duty,” Xan said, looking over his shoulder at her.
“I know, but my partner can handle it. Shift change happens in fifteen minutes, anyway. Besides, you clearly aren’t equipped to handle the whole Preston situation.” She glanced at me, smirking. I felt my face get hot. “Is there any chance Dylan here would be...available after we’ve finished with more serious matters?”
“He might be,” Xan said in a manner that suggested I would be available. Syra looked at me with this “I will eat you” expression that made me quiver in anticipation.
We entered the apartment. I took a seat on the couch next to Xan, who draped an arm around my shoulders. I felt the warmth from it. Syra remained standing, a serious expression on her face. “Someone needs to call Preston and tell him Xan is leaving within the week,” she stated matter-of-factly.
I couldn’t help observing Syra. She was stunning in a way more alien than Xan, due to the silver that ran throughout the visible parts of her skin. It fascinated me because people just didn’t look like that. Xan was fascinating in that he was unnaturally beautiful and just slightly inhuman in shape, plus those metallic Zimaran eyes. Syra captivated because she looked truly alien yet human enough to be sexually attractive. Not being that adventurous, I wasn’t going to wanna fuck someone that looked like a giant squid or something.
Staring at Syra took so much of my available brainpower that I only now realized what she had said. My stomach sank. “I suppose I should be the one to call Preston,” I said.
Syra nodded. “Yes, I would recommend that.”
Xan silently handed me my backpack, and I pulled my phone out of it. Dread overwhelming me, I called Preston’s number. The phone rang. And rang. And rang.
It went to voicemail.
My stomach knotted so hard I could barely make myself talk. My whole body tense, I said, “Hey, Preston? I know you don’t wanna talk right now, but -- this is fucking serious, okay? I can’t tell you over voicemail. You -- you gotta call me back. As soon as possible. Please.”
I hung up, though I didn’t let go of my phone. I fiddled with it, needing something to do with my hands. I muttered, “As you can probably guess, it went to fucking voicemail. Preston -- he really doesn’t wanna talk to me right now.”
Syra pursed her lips. “I hope he puts aside your personal problems soon and picks up that phone. This is no laughing matter.”
It wasn’t. I knew how serious this was. As much as things sucked between Preston and me, I certainly didn’t want the government to take him. I wanted us to be friends, though I worried that having a part in ripping him from his home planet, if i could even convince him to go, would ruin any chance at repairing our friendship. That mattered less than keeping him safe, though. My stomach churned; would our plan even work?
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written for writerverse Challenge #23 - "It's the end of the world and I feel fine... or not...
next chapter