“Keep breathing deep.”

  Lauren breathed in and out. Monty ran a scanner slowly over her bare back.

  They were in a building on campus Lauren hadn’t been in before. It seemed generally sciencey, with tall hallways leading to lecture rooms with blackboards and classrooms with lab tables and other rooms that housed industrial machinery. As she walked through the halls, Lauren could picture in ten years a number of smart super-scientists in training moving between classes, comparing notes, and showing each other their gadgets. That was what Rosewell was for, eventually. A small army of young superheroes all living and growing together.

  For now, all it had were 17 scared and out of practice teenagers huddling in its cracked buildings. And all that was waiting for Lauren in the otherwise quiet hall was Monty, with his one crimson eye and one unseeing.

  They were in a nest of a room that Monty had apparently taken as his own. Machinery and devices she couldn’t even begin to put names or functions to crowded the floorspace and shelves, along with beakers, bottles, syringes, and other miscellanea.

  The scanner he held was connected to a screen display of a live feed of Lauren’s insides, highlighted in ghostly pale blue. She shivered with her hands tucked under her armpits as Monty searched her. He had offered to retrieve her a gown to wear, but Lauren had simply stepped out of her costume, taken off her bra and sat on his table in her underwear. She'd take her boy classmate seeing her near-nude in a medical context over extending this visit any longer than it had to be. Besides, she was not feeling like her body was particularly hers to be bashful over, and hadn't for a while. Not since the lab. It was just some strange thing she inhabited.

  Lauren had to reluctantly credit that Monty was much more courteous than any other scientist who had ever prodded at her. His tone was gentle as he gave her instruction to lift her arms, sit up straight and breathe, spit into a tube, open her eyes, stick out her tongue, and all the others things doctors had one do for their indiscernible reasons. She had no idea what the boy’s qualifications were, but she came to him over Dr. Yeoh and his team for the simple hope he could tell her something different.

  Like why she was getting worse. Why she wanted to drink blood. What the parasite was doing to her.

  She didn’t tell the others anything except that she had pursued Spitter, and he had gotten away. She had washed her mouth before finding them again, and they had returned to campus after Spitter’s gang was taken into custody. There was nothing they could do about the New Lords, not publicly. Not yet.

  It didn’t feel good to lie to them, even by omission. She wouldn’t know what to say, how to explain, either what Lilith was holding over her or her craving. She could picture their looks as they turned their backs on her one by one. They already gave her looks as she returned, and she knew how freaky her arm exploding into a mass of tentacles looked. If she could get it all under control, they’d never have to know about what she had done. But to do that, she’d need information. And to get information, she’d have to interact with the kind of people she felt physical disgust for.

  Monty refolded his scanning wand. “Well, things are happening.”

  “I know,” Lauren said tersely. “What things?”

  “Y’know, octopuses have a brain in each tentacle,” Monty said. “The central brain coordinates, but each acts independently of the other ganglia.”

  The parallel wasn’t lost on Lauren. Still, she wanted to know what was happening to her.

  “Are you saying there’s a brain in my arm?”

  “No,” Monty said. “There’s a brain in your skull, and that’s the only one I can see, for now, but you’re not the only one using it.”

  That made her tense. She unfolded her arms and set her hands on her knees.

  “…What?”

  Monty went to a nearby computer and clacked a few keys. An image of a brain appeared onscreen. Patterns moved across it like a turbulent weather forecast.

  He gestured to a swirl of activity. “This is you, as far as I can tell, using your own neurons like you’re supposed to. Good job.” His fingers went to a darker zone. “Now this… this is not you. This is something else thinking parallel to you.”

  Lauren stared at the screen. Those dark spots were the predator in her mind. It wanted the blood. After she drank it, she had come to her senses and immediately felt like vomiting. The tantalizing smell was gone, and she saw it for what it was, a curdling puddle of red. Her body wouldn’t release it back up. She still tasted a metallic tinge in the back of her throat. Hours later, it still made her sick to think she had gone through with it.

  Monty took a stance beside the computer, looking contemplative. “Have there ever been moments where you… lost control? Gaps in your memory, perhaps?”

  They tried running to get away from her. She pulled them back. She ripped them apart.

  “Maybe.”

  Monty inhaled before speaking again. “I wish I had something helpful to say. I like being helpful. I got to know your biology pretty well while you were convalescing. You’re a unique case. Extremely unique.”

  “Uh-huh.” Lauren stood and started putting her bra back on.

  “Let’s keep watching it,” Monty suggested. “In the meantime, I can try whipping up something… stabilizers, maybe. We could try botox, or other neurotoxins. Something to relax your muscles. Although… I’m told your body eats through those rather quickly…”

  Lauren left him to his mutterings as she went into the hall. Lucy was waiting outside with clothes. Lauren figured she might be.

  She pulled on the sweatpants and shirt her friend handed her. She slipped on her boots, and they walked together.

  “How’re things?” Lucy asked gently.

  “I’m getting worse.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lucy said. “Is there anything to do?”

  Lauren shook her head. It didn’t seem so. At this point, it seemed Dr. Smythe was the only one who could make heads or tails of what was put in her. It was infuriating, her still being the one with all of the answers. Lauren was some puzzle box only she had the key to.

  “Tentacles might be kinda freaky, but I’m sure you’ll figure them out,” Lucy said. “You went after Spitter with them.”

  The tentacles themselves were the least of her concerns. But to get into it, she’d have to get into all of it. She changed the subject.

  “How were the Fallen Stars?”

  “Cocky little kids,” Lucy said irritably. “They didn’t agree to anything, but they didn’t attack us either. Told us to get lost, they’d handle things themselves. They actually think they’re doing the right thing.”

  “Maybe they’re doing better than us.”

  Lucy looked sideways at her. “I doubt it.”

  They walked out into the late afternoon. Lauren did not make any attempt at presenting better than she felt inside. Her plan was to go to her bed and sleep, and push all of her problems to later.

  “There is Nathan,” Lucy said as they approached the dorms.

  “Huh?” Lauren had hardly thought twice about the loner who had for some reason decided to stick around.

  “His power. I don’t know how it works exactly, I don’t even know if he does. But, he can like draw from other timelines, or something. He made Kenny into his girl-self on Adam’s trip. He’s been practicing. Maybe there’s some timeline where you didn’t get powers. Maybe he can put you in that body. If you want.”

  Lauren stopped, actually considering her friend’s words. Was that actually possible? A world where Lauren was never kidnapped, where she was normal…

  She wanted that, and she was terrified of it, at this point in time. Is she didn’t have her powers, how would she find her sister? How would she bring Dr. Smythe to justice? How would she stay at Rosewell? But there would be no more other self, if the parasite wasn’t in her. No more freaky mutations. No more smells, no more craving blood. She’d be fully human again, for better and for worse. She’d just have to rely on others much more than she was used to. Maybe it could be temporary. Maybe Nathan could give her powers back when she needed.

  Lauren nodded. “That’s a good idea. Thanks. I’ll talk to him.”

  The day progressed. Their first outing back was done, and some villains had been arrested, and everyone had returned more or less okay, and that was reason enough for most of the others to be in a better mood than they had been. At dinner they tucked into food and jostled each other and joked, and for a while it seemed like maybe they could be any other large friend group of teens and not a bunch of randoms dropped together to fight the world by circumstances beyond their control.

  Lauren sat on the edge of the table, doing all she could to not look miserable enough to spoil the mood for the rest of them. She picked at her food. Now, of all times, she wasn’t very hungry. Nathan was also at the edge of the group, across from her, though closer than he had ever sat to others previously. She caught his eye.

  “Can we talk after dinner?”

  He regarded her in surprise and nodded.

  . . .

  “How do your powers work?”

  Lauren cut to the chase as they walked together after everyone was done eating. Side by side, Nathan was a head taller than her, even with him slouching in terrible posture. His straw hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed since he had left his parents, and he didn’t smell great either. He adjusted his glasses, which immediately went crooked again.

  “Well, basically if I concentrate on someone, I can see a sort of hall of mirrors of all their current selves. And if I really concentrate, I can sometimes pull one of those other current selves into our world, and that person’s regular body becomes one of the mirrors. Only the mind stays the same. Sometimes the mirrors are empty, and I think that means they’re dead. I don’t touch those mirrors.”

  “Can you use it on me?” Lauren asked.

  Nathan scratched his head, hopefully not due to something contagious.

  “Uh, sure. What are you looking for?”

  “A me that doesn’t have powers.”

  He stopped walking, his eyes widening.

  “You want me to depower you?”

  “Would it be permanent?” Lauren asked.

  “Uh, n-no,” Nathan stammered. “Not if I can find the mirror I swap with again. But I don’t get it. Why?”

  If Lauren was going to explain all the reasons why, it wouldn’t be to him. She tugged him along.

  Nathan lived in dorm 1, apparently. He unlocked the door. His hands were quivering slightly as he did so. Lauren raised an eyebrow. He had better not have been thinking anything untoward was going to happen between them.

  “Sorry about the mess,” Nathan said as he led the way in. Lauren wasn’t a fastidiously neat person, but even she turned her nose up at the loose fast-food wrappers and empty bottles littering the various surfaces as soon as they entered. Posters of large-breasted cartoon women and men with swords hung on the walls. “My other roommates all left, so it’s just me here.” He made a passing attempt at snatching up some wrappers and bringing them to overstuffed garbage. “I really should clean more…”

  He wiped his hands on his jeans and gestured to the couch.

  “Shall we?”

  Lauren sat lightly on the center of the furthest cushion. She really didn’t want to find out what was stuffed into the cracks. Nathan sat across from her, with a cushion of space between them. That was smart of him.

  “So how do we do this?”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Nathan held his hands palm-up towards her. “Let’s touch hands, and I’ll see what I can see.”

  Lauren bit back saying something ungrateful and set her hands in his clammy grip. He squeezed, something she had hoped wasn’t going to be necessary.

  Nathan closed his eyes. “So, you just want a body without powers, but otherwise as physically close to you now as I can get, right?”

  “Right. And don’t lose track of my powers.”

  Not much happened that Lauren could feel. For all she knew, she was sitting alone holding hands with a weirdo for no particular reason. She had to trust he was actually doing something.

  Her breath quickened unexpectedly as she started thinking about what might be about to happen. She could have a body Dr. Smythe never got her hands on. What would that feel like? She wouldn’t have that effortless strength she’d come to rely on, for starters. She’d have her baby parts back. She’d be able to get sick and tired. And her mind would be her own. No more parasite.

  Dare she hope?

  She waited for a minute, then another. Nathan kept his eyes closed.

  “…Well?”

  “I’m looking,” Nathan muttered with his eyes closed. He grimaced. A bad feeling creeped up Lauren’s spine. “This doesn’t make any sense…”

  Now it was Lauren’s heart rate quickening. “What doesn’t?”

  “You’re there… you have just as many mirrors as anyone else… but most of them are empty. I've searched through hundreds, and you're only alive in a dozen. That’s way less than I’ve ever seen. I'm feeling out the ones that are there. Out of those dozen, you're only female, and you only have powers. I don’t understand. It’s all just… you.” Lauren pulled her hands away. The connection broke, and Nathan opened his eyes. He drew back from her. "Why would you be dead in every timeline as a boy? And why would you only be alive as a girl with powers?"

  She got up and left before he could question anything else. Another hope dashed.

  As she left back into the cool night, she wished she had just dropped it before going to Nathan. What she had heard was too heavy to think about and too large to ignore. Hogan had to have been right. She was the one born sick. And without the parasite, she would be dead from the disease by now. She put a hand over her excised uterus. The doctor must have only wanted a female subject. Did that mean she was born sick in every reality? Was that really how doomed she was?

  Her head swam with thoughts she wasn't smart enough to draw to their conclusion. It was haunting to know most versions of her hadn't made it this far.

  . . .

  Nights were beginning to become unbearable.

  Lauren thrashed in bed like a girl possessed. She could feel her body twisting and contorting inside and out as she lost and gained consciousness in a mockery of sleep. She groaned and clawed at the walls.

  What did it want?

  Her dreams were a flood of terrible visions.

  Her, alone on the roof of the QwikPit gas station outside of Callis. She watched the vehicle depot through her binoculars, then went over her makeshift thieves’ tools. She coughed into her hand before pulling her bandana up. Her waning health had to see her through this last job.

  Once upon a time, a man fell out of the sky.

  The doctor’s serene voice echoed through her head. She walked through the desert alone, but it was not a dust storm that impeded her. Blood began to rain from the sky. She tried to wipe it from her goggles.

  Her hands came away bloody. They were buried in the guts of someone crushed beneath her. He choked out his last breath as she turned her head upwards to the scores more who would die that night.

  Little Lauren’s life was never the same.

  She wandered through a maze of glass mirrors. Many of the surfaces refused to hold her reflection. The Laurens in the ones remaining turned their heads to watch her as she passed. She continued stumbling along, growing more frantic to find an exit. The reflections began convulsing in their mirror realities. They broke apart at the seams, becoming writhing masses of eyeballs and tendrils. Bone-studded bits of flesh pounded on the glass as Lauren ran past.

  Her eyes opened. Light filled the room.

  She was finally awake more than she was asleep. It was morning. She did not feel rested.

  Lucy was standing in the living room when Lauren came out. Her hand was on the frond of a hanging fern. The entire plant had gone brown and dry.

  Lauren left her nightmares behind as she grew concerned. The plant was dead, obvious even to her. That was strange, considering how good and attentive Lucy was to her plants. She even named them.

  Lauren came up beside Lucy. “What happened?”

  Lucy shrugged, clearly dejected. “I don’t know. Gabriel was fine just last night. He was a healthy boy. Now he’s just… gone.” She let go of the plant and folded her hands, frowning.

  Knowing her best friend, Lucy was now likely blaming herself. Lauren squeezed her shoulder. “Hey. I’m sure this isn’t on you.”

  They looked around at all the other healthy plants filling the common space.

  “I should check them all for diseases. Usually I feel things like that well before they become a problem.” Lucy hesitated. “I know this seems silly, but do you think we could maybe do a funeral? It doesn’t have to be a big thing…”

  “Of course we can,” Lauren said.

  . . .

  Two hours later, the class had gathered in the school woods. Rain drizzled through the trees and dripped down onto their heads and umbrellas. Most had done their best to show up in formal, somber clothes, after Lauren spread the word about what had happened and told them about the funeral. She appreciated the others were taking it seriously, for Lucy. The only one to not show up was Reagan.

  In a clearing that had been found, Ike had dug a hole into the soil, in which Lucy’s cherished fern had been laid down. Lucy stared down at Gabriel with her hands clasped before her in her dark dress. The rest of them stood in a semicircle around the grave. Lauren wasn’t too sure how funerals worked, but she stayed quiet and gave Lucy time to mourn. The plant’s sudden death was still an inexplicable thing.

  Eventually, Lucy beckoned Lauren forward. She came over and stood at the head of the grave.

  “You knew Gabriel well,” Lucy said to Lauren. “Our first day here, you helped me hang him up. Would you say some words of remembrance for him?”

  Lauren nodded. “Of course.”

  They all waited for her to speak. What was there to say about plants? Lauren cleared her throat and tried speaking off the cuff.

  “Gabriel was… so full of life. He gave us oxygen, and… freshened the place up. He was always there at the door when I came home. He kinda… brushed my hair when I came in.” Lucy nodded, appreciating Lauren’s attempt. “Now Gabriel will join his wild brethren here in the Rosewell woods. And his spirit will be felt whenever future Rosewell kids come out here to this clearing… probably to drink or have sex.”

  Grace sighed at some fond memory.

  Lauren returned to the general crowd. She stood beside Anika, who had taken the opportunity to look even more gothic than usual. She gently bumped Lauren with her elbow, smiling. Lauren smiled back. Though they hadn’t had their date yet, it did feel like there was a spark catching between them. It felt good to have something to look forward to, in the midst of everything else. They should get something scheduled for this weekend. Maybe doing some normal teenage stuff would help ease Lauren’s mind.

  The students said their various farewells to Gabriel, and Ike covered him in dirt. It was decided they should all spend the afternoon in the lounge, ostensibly to celebrate Gabriel’s life. Lauren walked with Lucy at the back of the train.

  “Thank you,” Lucy said. Lauren nodded. Oddly, burying the plant was a nice small release of inner pressure for her. Maybe it was making up for being unconscious during Terry’s funeral. “Shall we have a ginger beer?”

  Lauren glanced towards the gym, the opposite way from the lounge.

  “I’ll meet you over there.”

  She left Lucy to head with the rest of them. She was going to find Reagan. Why, she wasn’t really sure. She just wanted to say something to her. It wasn’t right to not show up. She was quite suddenly feeling confrontational about it. Was it her feelings, making her combative about it? It felt like it was.

  She found Reagan right where she expected to, in the gym’s weight room. The other girl had her back to Lauren as she stood in the doorway. Reagan, in her sports bra and athletic shorts, was pummeling a punching bag in a series of kicks, jabs, and spins. She must have noticed Lauren during one of her rotations. She slowed and faced her. Rivulets of sweat ran down her flush face.

  “What?”

  “Hey.” Lauren’s tone was hard, and she had her arms crossed. Reagan immediately picked up the vibe. She crossed the room, Lauren meeting her halfway. “Didn’t you see the group text for the funeral today?”

  Reagan scoffed. “Yeah. I saw it. Seriously? Are you mad that I didn’t come to bury a plant?”

  “It’s not about the plant,” Lauren said. “It’s about showing up for the others. Being a team. You remember lecturing me about that?”

  Reagan bent to one side and then the other. Her horribly intoxicating scent only noticeable to Lauren radiated off her in waves. Lauren licked her lips without meaning to. God, Reagan pissed her off.

  “Yeah, well, you could still use a reminder about that.” Reagan took a step closer. “I wasn’t gonna say anything, but going after Spitter by yourself was stupid. What if some New Lords ambushed you alone? What if we couldn’t handle Heatscale ourselves? You gonna just run off as our team leader every time?”

  Lauren hadn’t even wanted to go after Spitter. She matched Reagan’s step forward. Their noses were only a few inches apart. They stared each other down.

  “I don’t think you can handle anything yourself. The others, I think I can leave alone for a bit.”

  Reagan scowled. Her fists clenched. She was deliberately keeping her breathing steady, in spite of Lauren’s taunting.

  “Are you looking for a fight? I thought you wanted to be united.”

  “Then show up to shit,” Lauren said.

  Reagan leaned in further. “Make me.”

  Lauren shoved her suddenly. Reagan went stumbling back, surprised. She recovered quickly, her expression becoming fury. She charged.

  Without her weapons, Lauren didn’t find Reagan to be much of a threat anymore. She struck at Lauren with her hands and knees. After Usagi, it was like being waled on by a big toddler. She used her superior strength to keep shoving Reagan away, then walking steadily towards her. Each shove and lack of reaction made Reagan angrier. She slapped at Lauren’s face. Lauren either blocked it or showed no care when palm met cheek. Reagan tried to sweep her legs, and Lauren grabbed her under her sweaty armpits and threw her down.

  Now sitting, Reagan petulantly smacked the padded floor.

  “Take me seriously!”

  “Act seriously,” Lauren challenged.

  Reagan struck at the other girl’s lower gut, a low blow by any standards. Lauren recoiled only slightly. Reagan got her feet under and moved to strike Lauren’s jaw with the heel of her hand. Lauren snatched it by the wrist before the blow could connect. Reagan struggled to be released, but Lauren might as well have been a manacle on her. She pounded on Lauren’s chest with her other hand and tried to stomp on her feet.

  “Is this why you spend every second training? Because you know you can’t keep up with us otherwise?”

  Reagan’s face contorted with angry sadness. Her teeth clenched. Lauren knew she was striking a nerve by saying it, by the wound suddenly seemed deeper than she expected. Reagan struck at Lauren’s skull with her upper arm as hard as she could, the force surprising Lauren.

  “You don’t FUCKING understand!” Reagan said. Lauren released her, but she kept coming, trying to rain furious blows down on Lauren’s head. She was going to sooner break her own hands than hurt Lauren. “None of you FUCKING get it! I’m supposed to be better than all of you! It’s not FUCKING fair! This school was MADE FOR ME! It’s MINE! You all just FUCK AROUND! What the FUCK do you know about being a superhero?! How are any of you going to save the FUCKING WORLD?!”

  Lauren was in full defensive mode during Reagan’s rant as she relentlessly pressed forward. She blocked each wild hit from Reagan as softly as possible, more for the other girl’s sake than hers. She kept her arms over her head, not responding, but if anything that made Reagan build more steam instead of releasing it. This wasn’t sustainable. There was only one thing she could thing to do to deescalate the situation she had started.

  When Reagan’s hands came down again, Lauren caught them both. Reagan tried to tug away again, her face red, but Lauren didn’t let her go. She pushed back and at the same time tripped Reagan, bringing them both down together to the floor. Lauren sat on Reagan’s pelvis and pinned her arms to the side.

  “Reagan! Calm down!”

  The girl thrashed underneath her, spittle flying from her mouth and dark hair clinging to her drenched skin. Even with all her fury, she wasn’t hard to keep down.

  “Reagan, breathe.”

  It took over a minute for Reagan to stop straining and for her face to begin clearing. Her breaths went from furious snorts to ragged inhales. Progress.

  “Let me go,” Reagan said in a bitter tone that was at least more calm. Lauren released her wrists, but didn’t get up from on top of her quite yet. Reagan’s voice filled with resentful emotion. “You’re a jerk.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lauren said, and meant it. “I shouldn’t have pushed you around. I shouldn’t taunt you. That wasn’t the right way to engage you. You belong here. I just think if you want to fit in, you have to come to these things. You have to be around people. I didn’t really want to either when I first got here. Now I’m in it for the long haul. This doesn’t work if we don’t help each other.”

  Reagan wiped angry tears before they could spill into her sweat. “Fine. I’ll come to the next plant funeral.”

  “The next anything,” Lauren said. “There’s someone hanging out like every night. Go hang out with Ike and Troy if you’re a boy’s girl. Just start bringing down your walls.”

  Reagan went quiet. They both became aware of the fact that Lauren was still straddling Reagan, but neither called attention to it.

  “What did you mean when you said this place is for you?”

  Reagan turned her head away. It seemed like she wasn’t going to answer. Then her lips pursed, and she spoke.

  “My parents were career superheroes. All I ever wanted to do was be like them. I never got their powers when I hit puberty. I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Some people can be superheroes without any powers. And then… they died. And I’m all alone. I have to make them proud of me.”

  Lauren walked her hands forward until her head was above Reagan’s. Reagan looked up at her, sad and uncertain, but not entirely unwelcoming.

  “I’m an orphan too,” Lauren said gently. “And you know what? My parents were two hicks. And I have no fucking idea if they would be proud of me. I’d like to think they would be. And if your parents were superheroes, I’m sure they’re proud of you. You don’t have to break yourself trying to do it all alone. We’re here too.”

  Reagan nodded slightly. She sniffled. “So, what? We’re orphan friends now?”

  Lauren smirked down at her. “Maybe.”

  Reagan wiggled. “Are you gonna get off me yet?”

  “No.”

  Lauren meant it jokingly, but something shifted in the air between them. Reagan turned her head to the side, her expression hard to read. Was she getting shy?

  Lauren prepared to finally move off her. She found that she couldn’t, exactly. It was the smell on her that drove Lauren crazy. It anchored her there. The same smell Spitter’s blood had. She was so close now. With Reagan’s head turned away, a strong vein in her neck was pulled taut. It pulsed, seeming almost inviting Lauren to come closer. She did.

  Their chests pressed together. Lauren’s hot breath warmed Reagan’s skin. She could see bumps raising. Reagan didn’t voice any objections.

  Her mouth opened, her teeth sharpening without her meaning them to. The parasite was copiloting. Panic flared internally. Lauren tried to pull away. She was about to murder Reagan. Her spine held her in that position as if it was caught in a brace. She couldn’t stop sinking her mouth towards skin. She didn’t have enough control.

  She did the only thing she could. At the last second, she forced her mouth shut, turning a bite into a kiss.

  Reagan inhaled sharply. Lauren was finally able to pull herself away a small bit.

  Her head came around to face Lauren once again. The spell anchoring Lauren above her artery was broken. She was free to move. Before she could do so, Reagan came up and pressed her lips to Lauren’s.

  Lauren’s eyebrows shot up as high as they could go on her head, but she didn’t break away. Reagan tasted amazing. Everything her scent promised and more. It filled some desperate need Lauren didn’t even know she was feeling. Her body needed this on a primal level. It called for the contact the same way it called her to Spitter’s blood. This was so much better than having to lap that up.

  Lauren’s hand came around and held the back of Reagan’s head as they kissed. She tasted the salt of the sweat on her lips. They were both terrible kissers, admittedly. They pressed too hard against each other in their eagerness, and their teeth clacked together, and neither knew what to do with their tongue. They kissed again and again, only breaking away for brief blinks to catch their breath before getting back into it.

  She didn’t know what it was like for Reagan, but for Lauren, it was like drinking the sweetest nectar. Her body sang with pleasure, like she was vibrating in tune with the universe. For some reason, she was pretty sure the parasite was thanking her for kissing Reagan. It felt… contented. Lauren was pretty content with it too. As far as first kisses went, the partner could have been better, but the experience itself was maybe the best thing she had ever done.

  They only broke away from each other when there was a cough at the doorway. Lauren turned her head.

  Billy stood there, pointedly looking away from their intimate embrace on the floor.

  “Uh, Lauren? Your dad’s here.”