Disclaimer: Don't be a noob. Keep it off YouTube. No, wait...wrong thing. I own nothing. I may eventually own something, but not yet. And for some reason, people like reading the words I write. I don't know why. I suspect sorcery.
Alright, barely finished in time, and containing a little less romance than I intended, here's this week's update. Heart's Illusion has had no progress this past week. Sadly, something else has taken much of my time, and it's not productive by any means. But enough about my boring life; here's the next chapter of Ditto's slightly-less-boring life.
A few hours later, I was in a rather melancholy mood, staring out the window at the steadily growing storm outside. I fell into such states fairly easily, and when opportunities presented themselves, I could literally spend hours musing. I must have spent quite a few minutes standing there, and it probably disconcerted the only other person in the house, who was watching television behind me. I wasn't pondering life's deeper mysteries or anything; I was only wondering how the avian races on Corneria made such a variety of sounds without lips. I had it down to two explanations: either their language registered properly in the translator, and I only heard all those sounds, which they weren't actually speaking, or the obvious second choice; sorcery.
"Maybe I'll flip a coin," I mumbled, reaching into my pocket.
"Hmm?" the person behind me hummed.
"Nothing," I replied, realizing I didn't have any coins with me. The mystery would have to wait to be solved.
"What are you doing over there, anyway?" she asked. "You've been there for half an hour."
"Have I?" I asked, turning to face her. Before she could reply, my translator beeped with a new message. I pulled it up right away, unaware of how rude that probably was, and saw that Eli had sent it.
"Great," I mumbled, opening the message.
"What's it say?" she asked.
"Eli's not going to be coming. His mom doesn't want to see him driving in this weather; apparently Corneria's dangerous enough."
"I'm not surprised," she said, leaning back. "He was supposed to be here an hour ago."
"I know. And I'm not surprised either," I said, staring at her knowingly. "Are you sure you didn't have anything to do with it?"
"What?" she asked, "Me?"
"Krystal, I know you," I replied. She flicked her ears and returned her attention to the television, trying poorly to hide her smile. "And your parents were supposed to get back around the time Eli was. Did you have anything to do with that?"
"I can't control the weather," she replied, looking back at me. "Now are you going to help me pick out a movie, or do you want to keep watching the rain?"
"Compared to Cornerian movies?" I asked with a smirk. "I'd almost rather watch the grass grow."
"What's wrong with Cornerian movies?" she asked.
"Oh, come on," I said sarcastically, before realizing she was serious. She hasn't been here long, either, I remembered. "They...aren't as good as human movies. Or, so I've heard."
"Well, we have a few human movies," she said, leaning forward and looking below the television. She'd laid out a few movies earlier, but I'd convinced her to wait for Eli before choosing one. But now that he wasn't coming...
"Why don't you pick?" I asked.
"I don't really know any of these movies," she replied, leaning back. "You pick."
I sighed, walking over to where the movies were stacked. After shifting through them for a bit, I found one with explosions on the front. That's always nice, I thought, holding it up.
"Ew, no," Krystal said, wrinkling her nose.
"I thought you told me to pick," I replied jokingly, setting the movie aside.
"I did."
"Then why –" I began, before clamping my mouth shut.
"Why what?" she asked knowingly.
"Nothing. Girls are just weird, that's all."
"Hey," she said, shifting in her seat. I raised an eyebrow at her, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a wave of thunder rocked the house. She turned her sensitive ears down and cringed, while I went back to sifting through the movies. It wasn't that I didn't want to help her somehow; it was actually just the opposite. It hurt to see her in pain, even a small amount, but I wondered if it would be awkward to try to comfort her. It was an impasse that had formed in my mind between my ego and my sympathy.
"How about this one?" I asked, handing her a completely different case once she'd recovered.
"This is a comedian," she replied. "I didn't put this movie in the stack."
"But I did," I replied with a smile. She hid her thoughts from my mind and mulled it over, before handing it back with a sigh.
"If that's what you want," she said in a low voice.
"Well, thanks for the enthusiasm," I replied sarcastically, setting that one aside as well.
"What else is there?" she asked. "How about a romance?"
I let my head hang slightly at the suggestion. The only reason I would bring myself to watch a movie specifically written as a romance was if a girl convinced me. And that was almost as bad a ploy as watching a scary movie in an effort to hold her close.
"Well, never mind, then," she said. "Maybe we should just watch TV instead."
This is going to take forever, I thought. She wants to build consensus about it. I just want to pick a stupid movie already. Not like I'm actually going to pay attention, with her beside me the entire time. But maybe we could choose if...
"Why didn't I think of that sooner?" I asked myself.
"Think of what?" she asked.
"C'mere," I said, gesturing. She reluctantly stood and kneeled beside me, right in front of the couch where she'd been seated. I laid out the movies once more and grasped her hand, nodding at her before looking the movies over. I felt her mind understand what I intended, and as soon as she set her mind to picking out a movie, something changed. Apart from the feeling as though something had just kicked me in the chest, it felt like our minds were one and the same. They were still separate; I knew where my mind ended and hers began. But besides that, it was difficult to tell whose mind thought which thoughts.
Distracted as we were by the whole situation, we hadn't even picked a movie by the time we detached our minds.
"Woah," I whispered in awe. I would feel like a simpleton in retrospect, but at the moment, that was all I could manage.
"Yeah," she said, shaking her head.
"Please tell me that's happened before," I said. She shook her head slowly.
"First time..."
"Ever?" I asked in disbelief. "But why? Why with me and you?"
"I don't know," she said. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and fend off the sense of foreboding that had come over me. "But," she continued, "I don't think it's a bad thing. Do you?"
"No," I admitted after a few seconds. "But it seems really...personal."
"Mmm hmm," she hummed with a nod. "But that's not a bad thing, either."
"Probably not," I agreed. "But...we still have to pick a movie."
"You're right. Do...do you want to do it again?"
"I'm still freaking out about it," I lied. "You're used to the whole 'mind-reading' thing. I'm not."
"Well, then what are you going to do?" she asked.
"Me?" I asked, standing. "I'm going to make a snack. Got any popcorn?"
"Ooh! Would you make me some?" she asked as I entered the kitchen area.
"Only if you hurry up and pick a movie," I replied, before opening the nearest cupboard. Inside were a variety of vitamins and plastic jars. "Weird," I mumbled, before closing it. "Where's the popcorn?" I called out. A moment later, I suddenly knew exactly where they were, and I sent out a silent "thank you" to the telepath in the next room.
The next few minutes were relatively silent. Krystal put on one of the movies before too long, and other than the sounds from the modern equivalents of a television and microwave and the rain hitting the roof, the house was quiet. It wasn't awkward; or, at least, it didn't feel that way. I couldn't shake the thought that she'd known when I'd lied, and that it would come back to bite me later. I nearly decided to bring it up, but right when I opened my mouth, the first of the two bags of popcorn was done, and by the time the second was cooking, I had lost the courage to say anything. But the whole time, she seemed unperturbed. Once the second bag was done, I walked back into the living area, holding them both high.
"Popcorn's ready," I said, ignoring my nervousness from moments ago.
"You're not putting it in a bowl?" she asked, before glancing toward me.
"I wasn't going to," I said, "But if you'll tell me where –"
Once again, she communicated exactly where I could find a bowl big enough for both bags. Without a word I made my way back into the kitchen and put both bags' contents into the big red bowl she'd pointed me to. I came back into the living room, and held the bowl toward her.
"Is everything ready now?" I asked.
"I guess so," she said with smirk. "But where's your popcorn?"
"Y'know, that's not funny," I said, ruining the statement with a chuckle. "If you asked, I bet I'd let you have the whole thing."
"Good to know," she said with a sly grin. She scooted away from the arm of the chair and patted the space she'd made. "Sit," she commanded.
"Well, alright," I said, complying. As soon as I was seated, she leaned against me slightly, before turning her eyes to the television again. My arm was pressed between us, but I didn't feel entirely comfortable putting it around her shoulder.
"Something wrong?" she asked silently once she sensed my discomfort.
"No," I said, lifting my arm. I'd planned to lay it across the back of the couch, but when she leaned even closer, I decided to go with it.
"Are you sure?" she asked without looking at me.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing," she said abruptly, turning her attention to the television.
"Not again. You did this at the mall. Now I'm curious; what's the matter?"
"Ditto –"
"Don't make me read your mind," I warned. She giggled, lifting my mood slightly.
"Hold on, I'm the telepath here," she said. "And..." she sighed. "Maybe you should."
"Wow," I whispered. "Is it really that bad?"
"It's not bad," she said. "Not exactly. Just...do it."
"Well, okay," I replied slowly. I didn't so much reach into her mind as she pulled me in, and the television was quickly forgotten. The whole thing was confusing; less so than the unity that had appeared while we tried to pick out a movie, but I hardly knew what was happening. It wasn't like a dream; I still saw through my own eyes, but I was so distracted that I didn't actually see a thing. I felt her emotions surging, up and down like a roller coaster, and something in the back of my mind seemed to be reacting to everything her mind was doing. Something about the whole situation made me feel more exposed than she was.
It felt like several minutes had passed by the time she pushed my mind out, but hardly a minute had passed in the movie. But I didn't understand anything else about what had been bothering her, so I turned to her as she pulled herself closer.
"What just happened?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" she asked, making eye contact.
"I mean, 'what just happened?' You kicked me out without even showing me anything."
"No I didn't," she said. "Maybe your subconscious handled it, but you definitely responded."
"Well, then would you tell me what was bothering you?" I asked.
"It's..." she began, somewhat nervous. "I didn't think you really liked me."
"What?" I asked. I was immediately mad at myself for allowing her to think that, but she continued.
"That's how you reacted before," she said.
"But why would you think that?"
"You asked that, too," she said with a giggle. "But...it's just the way you acted. You haven't even hugged me twice. You don't seem to like holding my hand. You were scared to put your arm around me."
And we haven't kissed, I thought, before glancing at her nervously with reddening cheeks.
"You got that from my mind," she replied. "But that's just it. You sure don't act like a boyfriend."
"That..." I began, looking for a good response. I wasn't quiet for a full second before she continued.
"You already told me. It's because of 'the whole "parallel universe" thing', in your words."
"...oh," I replied, starting to understand.
"That, and the difference in species. But that's not a big deal on Corneria."
"It's a pretty big deal on earth," I said. "Especially seven hundred years ago," I mumbled.
"Maybe," she agreed, "but we're not on earth."
"Yeah," I said, unconvinced.
"But none of that matters," she said, leaning her head against me.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"You agreed to stop," she said.
"Wait, what? That wasn't me, that was my subconscious."
"Mmm hmm," she nodded. I was slightly more confused.
"Huh?"
She sighed. "You didn't avoid me consciously. So now, you won't do it at all."
"But how can you talk to my subconscious?" I asked. She shrugged. "Don't just shrug," I told her. "This is starting to freak me –"
"Shh!" she shushed, before giggling loudly. "I'm trying to watch the movie."
"No you're not," I said.
"I am, too. And I don't know how I talked to you without talking to you. So shh."
"What if I don't?" I asked with a smirk. She closed her eyes for a moment, and I quite suddenly lost feeling in my limbs. She saved the popcorn bowl and set it aside, before staring at me with my head lolling helplessly to the side.
"Okay, I'll admit: you're getting better at that," I said. "Now can I have my body back?"
"It's not your whole body," she said matter-of-factly. "It's just your arms and legs. See?" she asked, demonstrating by poking my unprotected side. I wriggled slightly, trying to get away, but I couldn't even manage to fall out of the couch.
"Don't you do it," I warned.
"You're ticklish?" she asked with a sly grin.
"Don't," I said again.
She drew closer and held her hands out menacingly.
"Please?" I asked.
"Aww," she said, sounding disappointed. I took a deep breath as the feeling returned to my limbs, and I sat up straight again. "You just had to be polite about it."
"Thanks for not torturing me, I guess," I said. "But do you know how hard it is to be in a relationship when your girlfriend can either tear you to ribbons herself or make you bark like a freaking puppy?"
"I guess I don't," she admitted. "But you technically have infinite power, and a ton of money, so..."
"So you should be nicer," I said.
"And...just what is nicer?" she asked, leaning toward me.
"Not that kind of nice," I said, ignoring my heart's quickening pace. "I don't really want a kiss that badly."
"What makes you think you could even get one?" she asked.
"Because I'm just crazy enough to ask outright," I said. "It's not like lying to you would make a difference."
"You're right," she said, leaning closer slowly. "So tell me..."
I stared at her and swallowed nervously. I couldn't stop my mind from following that path, and I glanced down at her muzzle. Probably not as bad as a beak, I thought. But it would feel like kissing a dog. After all, her whiskers were longer than mine, which admittedly wasn't saying much. My mind went to the image of the way a dog "kissed" – with its tongue – and I really began to hope that it wouldn't be like that here. A normal kiss would be nerve-wracking enough; I didn't want to think about a French kiss.
"...want popcorn?" she asked, suddenly cheery as she threw the big bowl into my lap. I realized that I'd been the butt of a joke, and laughed my nervousness away.
"I don't think I'm hungry anymore," I said.
"Your loss," she told me, focusing on the movie once more. I had to take a few deep breaths before I managed to think about anything but her. I probably could've gotten one, I thought, ruining my attempts at ignoring what had just happened. Or, what had nearly happened.
Why couldn't I be a little normal? I thought. Normal guys would try to get a kiss. And more, actually.
"And most guys would be intimidated by a telepathic blue fox," she said.
"I am trying to muse," I complained. "Watch your movie."
"I am," she countered. "I haven't even said a word."
"Okay, that joke's gonna get old fast."
"But it isn't yet," she countered.
"True," I admitted.
She didn't continue speaking, so I turned my attention to the movie once more. I'd missed a good portion of it, but it didn't take long to figure out that she'd chosen a romance. Or maybe it's a romantic comedy, I thought. Heck if I can tell.
I actually managed to sit through the whole thing, without too many sarcastic remarks and ironic comments. It took much less effort than I would've liked to admit, but if anyone ever found out, I decided to blame Krystal. After all, she was telepathic; maybe she'd affected my mind somehow. Of course, I knew it was a load of bull, but nobody else had to.
The movie wasn't one that I would make a point of remembering. It seemed pretty simple; boy meets girl, love at first sight, they get really close, then the boy makes a stupid mistake and spends the rest of the movie making it up to the girl, just with anthropomorphic animals. In this case, he chased some random cat walking down the street. Some kind of idiot, I thought. She took him back? He's just gonna do it again. Needless to say, the main characters' relationship was not based on a solid foundation. They'd gotten far too serious far too fast, and if it wasn't scripted, they would've ended it quickly.
But none of my dire predictions happened. Of course, the seductress got the short end of the stick, and the movie ended with the normal "happily ever after" idea. I tried to keep my opinions to myself, though, just to see Krystal's reaction. Apparently, though, she had the same idea.
"What did you think?" she asked once the credits started.
"I've seen better," I said, trying to keep my opinion mild. "Heard of the Notebook?" I asked. She shook her head.
"Maybe we should watch it together," she suggested. I cringed.
"Sure..." I said slowly.
Krystal was about to respond, when her ears perked toward the door. I turned my head, and noticed that her "parents" had returned, and that the rain had stopped.
"Odd," I said under my breath.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing," I said. "I just figured the thunder would be more of a nuisance than it was."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. I just shrugged.
I managed to get out of the house alive, which wasn't as harrowing as it could've been. Krystal's temporary father bristled when he realized we'd spent the afternoon together alone, but after a fairly thorough search of the house, he decided that we'd been good. Of course, it took more convincing on Krystal's part than I thought was necessary. She later explained that she didn't like using telepathy to change her parents' minds.
"And why are they so upset?" I asked her as my mind wandered while we waited for her father's verdict. "They knew you'd be alone with Eli and me, why does this make a difference?"
"Because their daughter was supposed to be here a little after they left. So she'll be getting a few choice words, too."
"Oh," I said, looking askance at her. "And you had nothing to do with that, either?"
"Oh, be quiet."
I snickered, interrupting Krystal's mother in mid-sentence. "I haven't said a word," I told her. The woman began her sentence again, apparently unaware of the vixen's unique gift. She was being surprisingly friendly, even though it was probably just to keep the situation from getting too awkward. She was virtually oozing sympathy about how Eli couldn't make it, and hoping we hadn't been too bogged down, and all of that business. She pointedly avoided dealing with her husband, which struck me as odd. But once the search of the house was done, the man – or, cat, rather – decided it was time I went home. Krystal objected at first, but when both parents disagreed, we both said our goodbyes. The farewell was kept short by her parents, and I couldn't help the feeling that they didn't like me too much.
"They do," Krystal explained as I was ushered out of the house. "But they're really protective."
"I'd hate to see what they'd do if they didn't like me," I replied.
"Those two? Miyu would hate to see that."
I blanched and looked warily at her father as he got into the car. Thank goodness I didn't kiss her, then, I thought as he pulled away from the house.
A/N: *sigh*
I don't know how. I don't know how I did it. This chapter was only a few hours from not being done in time to be uploaded today. It was only at 700 words before yesterday, and in an effort of will and bribery, I got myself to do it all in one sitting. So, as for next week...I don't know. I'll have one, but I don't know how.
See, I found this old-ish thing, and it's been taking up too much of my time. They call it Pokémon. (Gen III, for those interested.) If it weren't for that, I might have had more here. And Ditto may have actually gotten a kiss. But for now, he seems to have taken a higher road. Oh, and he may end up writing some poetry for Krystal. Because in the same situation, that's what I'd do. Not so as to say that Ditto is heavily based off of me...
Oh, and thanks again to everyone who's left a review. Someone caught a mistake I'd made earlier (continuity with XxSanitariumxX's story), and I fixed it. Thanks again, Erdervv. But you all seem to have missed a noticeable detail. In the story, Lana mentions that Wolf and pals used a car to catch up to Lana. Now, it couldn't have been in the morning, because there was a scene involving her that day in the original story (remember, everyone making fun of her for "digging her claws into the human"). But it couldn't have been after school, because Lana didn't show up for sixth period. I know I'm late with this, but did anyone else catch that? And who's at fault; me or Sani? Remember, I had the girls get taken in the middle of the day; after lunch, specifically. And that means Lana would have avoided Relics at lunch, which doesn't make much sense. I'll just say she was nervous about what people thought of her, and that kept her from doing what she wanted.