Why did Jacob care where i was going? I turned around, looked up to him right in the eyes, and saw that he wasn't frowning. He was smiling. I tried ...eaving, but he just moved whenever i tried to leave. "Alex, you going to that party tonight?" "Well.." I mumbled He pushed me into the machine, my head cracking on the plastic outing and a sharp headache tore my mind apart. "It'll be fun. Me, you, hell, if you want, ill even invite those faggot friends of yours." I wasn't strong, i. I looked at the clock; it was nearing 8.“Some friends of mine are having a party off-campus,” Shana said. “Do you want to go?”I looked at her and kissed her again.“No,” I said. “I want to stay here all night.”“You can’t spend your first night at college holed up in your room,” she said. “I’m not. I’m holed up in your room.”“Oh, come on,” she said, nuzzling my neck. “Let’s go out and have some fun. I promise you we can come back later and …”“And what? “And fuck some more,” she said. Like it listened.”“Why would it do that?” I demanded. “That doesn’t make any sense.”Carsina just shook her head while the monster gurgled. Greta hacked at it with her sword now. Every watery sweep sent more and more jellied flesh to splatter the ground, the ooze shrinking in size now, dying.Did I control it?EalaínMy blows slammed into the back of the monster. Black ichor spurted around the bade of my ax while I felt the satisfying crunch of bone beneath my hammer. Light exploded. The monster. He looked up with a little surprised look and thought to me, "It just wants some petting or something. I don't feel it calling me anymore. I feel like I'm petting a dog. It likes it." I walked up to the tree and touched it. The pull I felt disappeared, and as I stroked the bark, I saw what Joey meant. The tree was happy to have our attention. "Hey, stop petting your tree and come on!" Scooter said as he followed the last of the hikers down the path. A moment later, Joey and I were alone with.