A Wish Unwanted – Part 14
by Limbo’s Mistress

I wanted to slap him.

This boy I didn’t really know, who grinned down at me with a smarmy smile, a lecherous gleam in his green eyes, and his hand still planted on my ass.

“Come on, Barnes,” Mark said, sounding like he was thoroughly entertained. “Didn’t you get enough of that last night?”

Last night? Oh frack. If this overbearing douche was now my boyfriend, then I guess it was only safe to assume that everything Lee and I had done was now a point of history between me and this Barnes.

I put on hand on his chest as I reached around with the other and pried the grabby meat-paw off my pert little rear. Forcing a smile onto my face, which was starting to become easier with each passing day, I turned my head to look at the four faces behind us, then back to the boy towering over me.

“Let’s try to show a little restraint in public, sweetie,” I said, trying to sound far more sultry than I felt. Which was about zero, to be honest. “How about we go someplace a little more … secluded?”

Another round of whistles erupted from Mark and David, while Jordan and Melissa responded with little amused giggles. If they only knew just how funny I found the whole situation.

The new boy, for his part, agreed with an enthusiasm that was off the charts. The hand which had been fondling me grabbed my wrist in a light hold. His eyes swept back and forth across the quad, to the groundskeepers’ maintenance shed, then to the grove of trees at the edge of the cross-country track.

I, however, thought it better if we went someplace where we wouldn’t be seen or heard. Yet, someplace where I could also scream for help and get away should things take a turn for the disastrous.

A smile, real this time, slid onto my face as I pulled his fingers from my wrist, entwined them with mine, and began to walk toward the corner of the building behind me.

“I know just the place, stud.”

Ugh. Did I really just say that? I couldn’t imagine ever saying it to Lee, unless I was trying to be flirty or sarcastic. However, it seemed Barnes ate the compliment up with a spoon. Guess he was too stupid to know when a girl was just pandering to his ego.

I continued walking as I turned back to the quartet watching us. “We’ll be back in a minute.”

Barnes, though, decided to up the ante. “More than just a minute.” Then he winked at them.

Dear lord. Had the stone really replaced my Lee with this jabbering moron? It was like I was being punished for my wish actually being a good change for me. Remove great guy, add in mega-douche.

I led the hapless boy around the corner and across the schoolyard to the very same boulder Charlie and I had convened around not two days prior. It had the advantage of being able to shield us from onlookers and eavesdroppers, but should I start causing a loud enough ruckus, would immediately draw attention from the dozen or so students milling about a dozen yards away.

“Alright,” the boy said as I pulled him around behind the giant rock. His grin perfectly relayed what he expected to take place now that we were alone. “This is perfect.”

I released his arm and turned around, my mouth already in the process of beginning my opening argument. Unfortunately, my verbal onslaught was momentarily derailed by the fact that the hunky young man reached out and groped my breasts the second we were out of sight. And not even in a pleasurable way.

Holy Perverted Palms, Batman!

I quickly reached up and pulled his hands from my chest, holding both of them a foot or more away from the noticeable swells beneath my orange sweater. Looking up, I saw a bit of confusion pass through his features as he looked from his hands, to my boobs, then to my face. As if he couldn’t figure out what was going wrong. I’ll have to admit, it took me a second to catch up as well.

He expected me to go along passively.

I didn’t know the specifics yet, but given what I’d figured out and experienced so far, it wasn’t hard to guess that the burly young man’s wish was involved me and him in a relationship. I was, in his mind, supposed to be his. Which meant all of me. But I wasn’t dancing to his beat, and that seemed to confound him.

Time to make sure the air between us was crystal clear.

“Slow down,” I said as I released his arms. “You want something from me, and I want … something … from you.” I put a saucy purr in my voice, nearly laughing as his eyes doubled in width.

“Anything,” he breathed. He might as well have just handed me his soul. It was apparent that all he could think about at the moment was getting into my skirt.

I smiled as I reached out and ran my fingertips across the front of his jeans. From the bottom of the zipper to the top. The package beneath the denim, already partially at attention, snapped to like a private in boot camp. Despite my focus on the scheme I was enacting, I could not ignore the realization of the size of the lump.

Jesus, this dude was seriously hung. I mean, my experience with judging penis sizes was pretty much limited to my own and the few I’d seen that belonged to male porn stars. Which, something told me, Barnes was on par with.

He swallowed, his eyes dropping to half-lidded slits. “What is it you want, baby?”

Baby? Ugh! Here was a guy who had absolutely no idea how to talk to a girl. Not that I needed him to be able to, mind you. Not with what I had planned.

I brightened my smile, turned my hand upside down, then grabbed the tender spheres under that slab of man-meat in as tight a grip as my tiny hands could manage … and squeezed.

His eyes flew back open, even wider than they’d been a second earlier. Only instead of filled with lustful desire, they were saturated with pain and agony. A raspy gasp came from between his lips, and he started to reach down to remove my hand from where it clenched around his family jewels.

I shook my head, wagging the finger of my free hand in a scolding manner.

“I don’t think so, schmuck. I’ll decide when to let go. Unless you think you can remove my hand before I ruin you for life.” I gave his berries another squeeze.

He groaned again, pulling his defensive hand back and then held up both arms. Like he was being robbed at gunpoint. Good, now I was sure I had his complete and undivided attention.

“Now,” I said, easing off the pressure a bit while keeping my fingers in play. “What did you and Peter McDonald wish for?”

“What?” The pain in his eyes dulled, replaced by the return of his earlier confusion.

“The wishing stone,” I said through gritted teeth. “What did you and Peter wish for?”

“How … how do you know about the stone?”

I leaned closer as I applied a bit of pressure to his manly rocks. “If you answer my question with a question again, I’m going to turn you into the President of the Benson High Eunuchs Club. Understand?”

His head bobbed up and down so fast in the affirmative that I was momentarily afraid he was going to give himself whiplash and pass out.

“Good,” I said, releasing his balls a little. “Now, start answering. What did you two wish for?”

“I, uh, wished for you to be my girlfriend.” A swatch of crimson appeared on his face. “Well, we both originally were going to wish for that.”

“Both of you?” I shuddered, trying to imagine having romantic relations with both of the boys at the same time. It would be like those reverse harem books Cindy had enjoyed so much. Blech!

He nodded. “Then we realized that the magic might make the three of us into some polyamorous, bisexual trio. Peter said he didn’t care to be accidentally gayified just to sleep with you. So … we, uh, flipped a coin to see which of us got you.”

I was so stunned that I let my hand drop away from his crotch as I stared up at him, horrified.

“A coin toss? A coin toss? You have got to be shitting me.”

He shrugged. “Seemed like the fair thing to do.”

My face ignited. With an inferno of anger, rather than embarrassment.

“Fair?!” I yelled, shaking my head. “Fair!? So, you two agreed that a flip of a coin was the only fair way to decide which of you was going to be the one to magically replace Lee Taylor? To determine which of you was going to insert himself, completely uninvited, into my love life?”

Despite being three times my size, the boy took a step backward, his face growing instantly paler.

“Well, I mean … I didn’t really think of it that way.”

I turned away from him, anger and pain rolling through me as I attempted to process what I’d just learned. I shouldn’t have been completely taken by surprise, though. I was totally wanted, right? By every damned body. So it only stood to reason that if some dorks got their hands on a magic rock that could fulfill their dreams, one (or both) of them would want to use it to get with the most desired girl in the whole school.

That realization, however, brought very cold comfort. Images of Lee, far too few but oh so heartbreakingly clear, flooded into my addled brain. That budding relationship had been completely swept asunder before it even had a chance to grow into something more. Worse than that, actually.

The wish hadn’t just ended the connection between Lee and I, it had retroactively erased it from history.

I clenched my hands into tiny fists, and tightened my jaw. I was not going to cry. I was not. The last thing Lee texted me before I went to bed still burned in my memory.

I love you.

This asshole didn’t deserve to see how much he’d hurt me with his carelessness. That his lack of consideration had completely thrown my life into disarray. Stolen my heart.

“Pee-Jay?” the boy asked in a soft, hesitant tone. As if he were far too afraid to pull my attention back to him.

Turning back around, I drew in a breath and released it slowly, doing my best to keep the tears I felt hovering in the corners of my eyes from spilling over. I found glaring helped.

“What?” I sneered.

“How do you … know about the stone?”

I blinked at him, trying to discern if he was joking or serious. By the look on his face, I decided that it had to be the latter.

“Because I’ve used it.”

His brow crinkled. “You used it? Why?”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean ‘why’?”

He shrugged. “I guess I’m just confused about why the girl who has it all would need to make a wish.”

Surely he wasn’t this thick-headed, right? Although, I guess from his point of view, Penny had always been like she was now. Which meant, of course, the idea that she would want any magical assistance was a bit absurd.

I shrugged. “It was a total accident. I made an off-hand comment and my friend countered with wishing it to happen. Not that she actually meant for that to be a real wish.” I sighed. “So, having already used it, I’m sort of immune to the changes it makes. Or, at least, I’m aware of them when they happen.”

He seemed to consider this for a second, then nodded. “That sort of makes a weird kind of sense.” Then he leaned back against the rock and ran his hand through his hair, sighing. “I guess I’m sorry, then.”

“For?”

“I didn’t expect you to know things were different. I mean, no one else I’ve seen since this morning has. They all just accepted me like this.” He gestured at his form. “Like it was completely normal. I guess I thought you would, too.”

“Like that? What do you mean?”

“A football player. You know, big and strong. Popular.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Though that last bit might be more because we’re dating. Or, you know, everyone thinks we are.”

I actually performed a face-palm. I didn’t want to deal with that little nugget at the moment. Sighing I waved my hand, letting our new romantic status have a temporary pass. Then I blinked, turning to look up at him.

“Wait a second. You didn’t wish to be a football player?”

He shook his head. “No. The only thing I wished for was you and I to be a couple.”

I took a step closer to him, causing him to try to push himself through the boulder behind him like some gridiron warrior version of Kitty Pryde.

“What did you wish for? Exactly, I mean. The exact, precise, words used.”

“Uh, technically I didn’t say anything, it was Peter who made …” he stopped when I started to reach for his balls again. “Right. Uh, the actual phrase was, ‘I wish Geoffrey Barnes was the boyfriend of Pee-Jay Davenport’.”

I stared at him for several long seconds. I’m sure he thought I was trying to decide if I was going to toss another Kung-Fu grip on his junk again. The truth was my thoughts had turned in a more cerebral direction than contemplation of the best way to neuter an annoying jock.

Running through a list of every fantasy story or television show or movie where wishes were twisted and perverted, I applied what I knew to be likely, based on actual experience. What I kept coming up with was, much like my own self-inflicted dilemma, the wording was the key.

Geoffrey … ugh! I was so going to have to start calling him Geoff, had wished to be my boyfriend. Pee-Jay Davenport’s boyfriend. Rather than wishing that Pee-Jay was his girlfriend. The distinction in semantics might not be enough to sway a potential jury, but it had certainly been enough to spark the amusement of the power behind the stone.

It had resulted in the magic changing him, rather than me.

Had it been worded the other way, then I think he would have stayed just as he was. Whoever that had been. The difference, though, would be that this nobody had somehow, beyond the odds, managed to convince the school’s “It-Girl” to be his girl.

However, the opposite result had happened.

The Geoffrey (Geoff!) Barnes who existed this morning had instantly been transformed into a member of the Benson High varsity football team. Why? Because it only stood to reason that Pee-Jay Davenport, uber-hot cheerleader, wouldn’t stoop to date someone who wasn’t an athlete.

Stupid, boring clichés.

“Congratulations,” I said in a snippy, irked tone. “You’re now a helmet-carrying member of the school’s football team. Thanks to your stupid wish, you’ve got the body…” I pointed at his not-unimpressive physique. “… and the cheerleader girlfriend …” I pointed this time to myself. “But tell me this, do you even know how to play the damned game? Because, and you can trust me on this, it’s one thing to look the part. It’s another thing altogether to know how to perform it.”

To his credit, he confidently nodded his head up and down a few times.

“Really?” I asked incredulously. “You’re serious?”

Had the magic also given him the skills and knowledge to pull off being a seasoned varsity football player? I mean, sure, it had provided me with the muscle memory to do basic gymnastics and dance, but didn’t provide me with the routines or steps. Those I had to memorize.

“I played JV my freshman year,” Geoff said in a slightly boasting tone. “Was actually pretty good at it, too.”

“But not good enough to make the varsity team?” I asked, smirking.

A dark shadow passed over his face. Something like pain that was not completely healed.

“No. I would have been good enough,” His voice was soft and somber. “Unfortunately, I hyper-extended my knee during the last game of the season during my sophomore year. Three surgeries later, the doctor told me that I could go back onto the field, but doing so was just asking to have to use a cane for the rest of my life.”

My jaw dropped, and I suddenly felt like a total bitch for my comment. I was still angry about what he and his friend had done to me. However, that didn’t excuse my crappy attitude toward his plight. There was no need to ignore his pain just because of my own.

“Now, it’s like my leg never got hurt,” he continued. “I can run and jump. Better than I ever could. All I really need to do is learn the plays. I already know the rules and the formations.”

I shrugged one shoulder, unable to not feel some sort of empathy toward him. His wish had inadvertently given him back what was obviously something important.

“You only have two days to do it, though. So you might want to get cracking on that.”

“I borrowed a copy of the playbook from Coach C this morning.”

I nodded, tapping my finger against my lips. “What about Peter?” I asked, thinking about the incidents with Miss LaCroix and Sarah. “What did he wish for?”

A fresh wave of color crept up Geoff’s neck and onto his cheeks.

“Uh, everyone else,” he said, unable to meet my eyes. “The girls, I mean.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and stuck out my chin. “What does that mean?”

He sighed, lowering his gaze to his feet. “When I won the … uh … you know. Well, he told me that if I got to hook up with hottest girl in school, he should at least get to be with all the others.”

“That’s a little messed up,” I said, not hiding my disgust. “Why not pick just one? Not that is any better than your request. Just more … ugh!”

Another shrug. “I don’t know. I suggested he just pick one, but it was the only way to get him to agree to my request.” He shook his head. “This having to put your trust in someone to make your wish for you without screwing it up is a pain. And dangerous. I mean, I knew Pete was a bit of a … sleaze, but …”

I nodded. “I know someone who feels just the same way. However, what else would you expect from the goddess of envy and jealousy.”

“Seriously? That thing is from a goddess?” He waved his hand before I could answer. “Anyway, what I said, exactly, was that I wished Peter McDonald could convince any girl, other than Penelope Davenport, to have sex with him in any fashion, at any time.”

My eyes widened. “That’s really, really specific,” I said. “Not to mention completely gross and tantamount to rape.”

The pinkish color in his cheeks turned a brilliant scarlet. “I know. It’s just … he said I had to word it exactly like that. Normally, I wouldn’t have agreed to something that perverse. Honest! I just … I mean, I just wanted you so badly.”

Dammit! God, sometimes I hated being right.

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. “Well, I guess I should be thankful that you had the foresight to make me the exception to his wish. Just in case I’m not immune to the scumbag’s charms.”

He nodded, frowning. “Yeah. He got more than a little pissed when I threw in that extra bit. I guess he hope that I could be your ‘official’ boyfriend, while he could have you on the side whenever he wanted.”

I shook my head, growling at him. “You both suck. I mean, seriously suck. Tell me, Geoff, do you remember Miss LaCroix?”

“You bet I do. I even considered switching from taking Spanish to taking French last year just so I could get to spend an hour each day with her. She is the hottest teacher I’ve ever seen.”

I gave him a malicious smile. “Well, thanks to you and Captain Asshole mucking around with forces beyond your understanding to screw up the space-time continuum, Miss LaCroix doesn’t teach at Benson High anymore. In fact, she doesn’t teach anywhere. Except maybe the prison library.”

“Prison library? What does that mean?”

“Apparently she and Pete the Perv were engaging in private study sessions at the end of last year. You know, the kind where clothing is optional. Someone found out and called the cops. Your jerk friend was a minor, so his punishment probably consisted of a strongly-worded lecture from his folks.”

“If even that,” Geoff mumbled.

I shook my head and continued. “However, Miss LaCroix got a sentence of three years in prison and her name on the sex offenders registry.” I pointed at him. “So, congratulations to you both on fulfilling your dreams. It only resulted in an innocent woman going to jail.”

Once again, the color drained from his face. At this rate, he was either going to explode like an overripe tomato, or pass out from the lack of oxygen to his brain.

“Wait,” he said, perking up with a furrowed brow. “This happened last year? How is that possible? We just made our wishes this morning.”

I nodded. “Well, turns out that changing reality can have a retroactive effect, Einstein. I guess the newly created Peter of Christmases Past probably decided it would be a good idea to use his uncanny seduction skills to charm the panties off the young, sexy French teacher.”

“That’s a possibility? I didn’t know that.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about that damned stone. It’s more than likely that, as of this morning, Pete’s always been able to get lucky whenever he wanted. Which means there are probably even more girls out there who’ve already given up their goods to him.” I clenched my jaw tightly for a second before signing. “The only comfort I can find in that fact is that he doesn’t have any actual memories of the experiences.”

Geoff seemed to pale further. Like, about to throw up kind of pale. “But that might mean …Susan and he …”

I arched a brow. “Susan? Old girlfriend?”

He shook his head. “Little sister. She’s a freshman this year, but she’s really, uh, developed. For her age. Pete likes to make lewd comments to me about her. Talking about her body and crap. I mean, it’s all just him being an ass, because Susan would never …” He stopped, lifting both hands to run them through his hair.

“She might never before this morning,” I said, fighting the urge to twist the knife. Sure, this doofus and his pal had put a massive screwed-up kink in several lives by their carelessness. However, that didn’t mean I wanted to get payback by throwing his own sister’s lost innocence back in his face.

Not only was that a total Jen-like thing to do, it was counterproductive. Like him or not, I wanted another ally, not another enemy.

“Hey,” I said in a calm voice. “It might not have happened. He might have been too busy going after cheerleaders and French teachers to bother with Susan.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” he said in a defeated tone. “If he hasn’t slept with her yet, it’s just a matter of time. She won’t be able to say no.”

I looked up at him, then thought about the picture of Peter McDonald I’d seen in the yearbook. If the magic had only given him some type of seduction power, but not altered him into some kind of physical Adonis, then I thought of a way to perhaps mitigate some of the future damages.

“You can help her say no,” I said.

“How? Tell her to stay away from him? Pee-Jay, Susan thinks she knows more than anyone else already.”

I shook my head. “No. Telling her isn’t going to work. What you need to do is tell Peter to stay away from her. And every other girl in school he just has a passing fancy with.”

He snorted. “Pete will listen to me even less than Susan. He’ll laugh in my face. Then he’ll probably video himself doing her and email it to me.”

I blinked, then started laughing. I couldn’t help it. My hand flew up to cover my mouth, but all that did was muffle the giggle.

“Okay, despite the fact I know you’re laughing at me, you look so damned beautiful doing it. Mind telling me what’s so funny about what I said?”

It was a struggle to get my sudden guffaws under control, but I managed after another ten seconds of hee-hawing.

“Geoff, describe yourself as you were at eight this morning.”

“Uh … kind of pudgy. After I quit playing football, I kind of lost interest in exercise and took up a habit of eating junk food all the time. All the muscles turned to flab and jelly.”

I nodded, expecting that answer. “How would you describe yourself now?”

He didn’t need to answer. I saw the realization in his eyes. His physique had been restored. No, it had been enhanced. Because Pee-Jay Davenport wouldn’t just be dating a football player. She would be dating the star of the team. Which was what the stone had made Geoff.

And, as Sam could easily attest, laughing in the face of a Benson High football player could really be hazardous to your health.

“Any ides where your friend might be right now? I think we should go have a little chat with him.”

“We both used to have lunch this period. So, unless his schedule has changed, that’s where he’ll be now.”

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

As we headed back toward the building, Geoff did his best to keep a bit of space between us. However, I noticed several times him lifting his hand, as if he were about to put it around my waist, before dropping it back to his side.

“How can you be sure?” he asked. “That there have been retroactive changes?”

I glanced over at him, then pointed at his front pocket. More precisely, to the rectangular shape nestled inside.

“I’m willing to bet that there are pictures of us on your phone. Pictures you don’t have any memory of being in. Pee-Jay and Geoff, being all disgustingly cute and adorable together. Not to mention the fact that everyone just accepted the new you without question. Which means they have memories and a past with Geoff, the football star. Rather than Geoff, the Assistant Pervert.”

He stopped in mid-stride, causing me to have to stop to turn to look at him.

“I’m sorry, Pee-Jay. I’m sorry that I didn’t think about what my wish was going to do to your life. I guess I just thought it would be easy to accept my actions because I’d be the only one who knew differently. I was wrong.” Then he shook his head, eyes narrowing slightly. “But I am not like Pete. If he had won the coin flip, I would have wished for some other girl. Or maybe just that my knee was healed. I wouldn’t have wanted to make every woman who caught my eye fall into lust with me.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t want him to be sorry for what he’d done. I didn’t want him to be penitent and regretful. Because then I would feel obligated to forgive him. Something I wasn’t sure I would be able to do.

“No, but you allowed someone else to have that ability. So don’t pretend like your hands are completely clean.”

He sighed, then marched right past me without slowing.

“I never said they were,” he murmured.

The tension between us only increased when we rounded the corner back into the quad and saw that the rest of the regular lunch crowd had arrived. Chad was sitting as far away from Sarah as he could, still looking pretty put-out. For her part, my best friend also seemed annoyed, but not to the same degree. She glanced from where she’d been talking with Kara, smiling at me as I came into view.

The person who was the most angry, however, was Tabitha.

The second Geoff and I came into view, she glared in our direction. Then stood up and marched our way, intercepting us before we could get more than a few feet. Her blue eyes gleamed with fury as she crossed her arms over her chest, tapped one toe on the concrete, and looked from me to Geoff and back.

“What happened to our agreement to text each other?” Venom, laced with actual hurt, dripped from her voice. “Or was that just supposed to be on my end?”

I sighed. “Tabitha, I didn’t contact you because I just found out what changed. Just now.” I gestured the boy next to me.

“Hey, Tabs,” he said, smiling. “What’s up?”

I barely managed to not grin. Especially when Tabitha snorted, then looked my way.

“Who’s this?” she asked me. As if Geoff wasn’t even standing there.

“This is Geoffrey Barnes. He was one half of this morning’s duo and now, apparently, my new boyfriend.”

Her brows shot up. “What happened to Lee?”

I winced as another pang from my recent loss stabbed at me. “I don’t know,” I told her. “But he’s not who he used to be.”

“I said I was sorry,” Geoff mumbled.

Tabitha, however, giggled softly. “You wanted her, didn’t you?” she asked the boy. “That’s why you made a wish for her to be your girlfriend.”

“She knows too?” Geoff asked, looking to me.

I nodded, then shrugged as I turned back to Tabs. “Technically, his wish was to be my boyfriend. A subtle distinction, but one that bears noting.”

She waved her hand. “Whatever. I’m just glad to see someone’s wish biting you in the ass for a change.”

“You’re the one who accidentally made a wish for Pee-Jay?”

I held up my hand, shaking my head. “No. Tabitha and Tracy made their wishes before Cindy and I made ours.”

His eyes widened. “How many people have used that damned thing?”

“Eight,” Tabitha replied. “Counting you and your buddy.” She arched a brow. “Who was your other half, by the way?”

“Peter McDonald,” I answered before Geoff could. “And it’s eight that we know of. There could have been others before Jen.”

“Jen … nifer Winters?”

I nodded. “Yes. Welcome to the ever-growing Stone of Invidia Club.”

“Please try and keep up,” Tabitha snarked. Then she did a slight double-take. “Wait, Pete McDonald? That’s who you made a wish with?”

“You know him?” I asked.

“He’s a total pervert. Last year, he was in my geometry class. He was always leering at the cheerleaders and trying to peek down girls’ shirts. I heard a rumor that Coach C caught him hanging around the entrance to the locker room, trying to spy on the girls as the door opened and closed.”

Geoff frowned. “That’s Pete. I don’t invite him over if Susan’s home. He keeps trying to sneak looks at her.”

I gaped up at him. “And this is the guy you just gave super sexual powers to? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t, okay?” he said, lowering his voice as he leaned down to put his face a few inches from mine. To anyone other than Tabitha, it would look like he was trying to kiss me. However, I was sure she could see the anger in his eyes. “The only thing I was thinking at the time was that I wanted you. Logic and common sense be damned.”

Tabitha smirked. “True romance.”

“Shut up,” I told her. “Look, Geoff. I’m sorry if it seems I’m dumping on you. But you have to admit you have unleashed a bomb on the girls at this school.”

“I’m curious about these super sex abilities you mentioned. Like, did he get increased size and staying power?”

“No, he got the ability to make girls have sex with him. Whether or not they would want to.”

“That’s rape,” she said, looking actually sickened. Then she shook her head. “She’s right, Geoffrey, you screwed up.”

“I got it,” he snarled. “Can we go and talk to him? Like we originally intended before forming this little sidebar?”

I nodded, turning to Tabitha. “We were going to confront Peter. Tell him that if he continues to use women as throwaway sexual playthings, he’s going to regret it.”

She seemed to perk up, her eyes glimmering with amusement. “Oh, this I want to see.”

The three of us walked toward the entrance of the cafeteria. Sarah arched a confused brow in our direction. I shrugged and then held my hand up to my ear, pantomiming a phone as I mouthed “call you later”. She frowned, cut her eyes over at Chad for a second, then looked back to me and gave a depressed little nod.

The noisy lunchroom sharply contrasted the relative quiet of the quad. As we weaved our way across the tile floor toward the tables at the back of the room, the chorus of Fans of Pee-Jay started up. I tried to not be a complete bitch and ignore them, since they really couldn’t help themselves.

Thanks to the stone.

I fought against that little whispering voice in the back of my mind. The one who sounded a lot like Sam. Particularly like Sam when he was trying to win a heated debate.

Just like the girls with Peter, right? Just can’t help themselves because of the magic. Are you any better than him?

I don’t use my mystical popularity on purpose, I shot back. I would turn it off, if I could.

Sam laughed. So you say. However, you still enjoy basking in it, don’t you? You complain about all the attention, but deep down you like it.

I don’t, I countered.

Can’t lie to me, he said. I always wanted to be liked, I merely hid it because I knew it would never happen. Since I wanted it, that means you do, too.

“There he is,” Geoff said, putting his hand on my elbow and yanking me out of my inner discourse.

I stopped walking and followed his gaze to a table in the corner. The boy from the yearbook sat on the edge of his seat, surrounded by about four other underclassmen. Each of them was hanging onto Peter’s every word. Like he was some old-time preacher at a tent revival.

When he cupped his hands in front of his chest, however, I realized he wasn’t spreading the Good Word. He was regaling them with a tale of carnal conquest. Since he couldn’t possibly remember the acts his past self had experienced with Sarah and Miss LaCroix, that could only mean he’d used his newfound talents on someone, or someones, since first bell.

“He would have to have used magic,” Tabitha snorted. “I don’t think even Tracy would stoop low enough to sleep with that.”

“Nice,” I chided, then looked at Geoff. “We need to get him alone. I don’t want to start accusing him of making magical wishes in front of witnesses.”

“Afraid your popularity will take the hit?” Tabitha teased.

A shudder ran through me at her words. Because I knew she was right. As was the Sam that still lived in my head. I was afraid that people might like me less if I started spouting crazy talk.

Peter stopped speaking and glanced our way. His face formed a slight frown as he looked from Geoff to me. However, it brightened greatly when his eyes fell onto Tabitha. The smile that appeared couldn’t have been greasier.

“Come on,” Geoff said, walking the remaining couple of yards to the side of the table.

“G-Man,” Peter said, smirking. His eyes never left the legs sticking out of Tabitha’s denim skirt. “How’s your day going? Better than this morning?” That lecherous gaze slid up to drink in the blonde’s breasts. “I know mine is.”

I nearly grabbed the half-empty plastic tray in front of him so I could beat him to a pulp with it. However, I simply forced myself to find patience, curling my fingernails into my palm to help ground me.

“Can we talk for a second,” Geoff said to his, hopefully former, friend. He tilted his head toward the exit. “Alone.”

“Alone?” Peter asked, tapping his chin with one finger. “Do you mean, ‘alone’ as just you and I? Or ‘alone’, as in the four of us.”

“The four of us,” I said in my sweetest, most-honeyed voice. Then I reached out and linked my arm through Geoff’s, pressing myself against him as I smiled.

I hoped the boy I’d plastered myself to was smart enough to follow my lead. As far as Peter knew, only he and Geoff had knowledge about the stone. I was betting that acting like the adoring girlfriend flirting with her man’s friend, along with the prospect of getting with another of the Raiderette’s would be enough to get the letch to drop his guard.

After a nanosecond of contemplation, Peter nodded and stood up. “Color me intrigued.” The glanced down at the quartet of sophomores. “The saga’s next chapter awaits. Later.”

We departed the room, Geoff and I leading the way while Tabitha and Peter brought up the rear. Turning down the first hall on the right, I used my arm to steer the boy next to in the direction of a classroom I knew to be empty.

Geoff pulled open the door as I released my hold on him. Then I pranced over to Tabitha, putting my arm around her tiny waist. She stiffened a bit at my touch, but then seemed to relax, obviously guessing my plan. The two of us giggled as we entered the room, putting a bit of extra shake in our behinds. Peter followed closely behind us, probably already dreaming up some sick, perverted fantasies behind those beady eyes.

As soon as the door was closed, and I heard Geoff engage the lock, I released Tabitha and spun on my heel, nearly causing the close-following pervert to crash into me.

“Hey!” he said, taking a half a step back. “What is …”

“Shut up,” I snarled. Then I closed my eyes for a second, drawing in a deep breath. I couldn’t afford to let my anger take control of the situation. I would try to use logic first.

But if that didn’t work …

I opened my eyes again, focusing them squarely on Peter

“First of all, let me save us all a lot of time. You and Geoff made a pair of wishes this morning. Wishes that have made some pretty serious changes around school.” I waved my hand. “So let’s skip the whole part where you deny it, okay?”

A look of annoyance appeared on Peter’s face as he turned to look at Geoff.

“You went and told her? How stupid can you be, dude?”

The larger boy shook his head. “I didn’t have to tell either of them. They knew because they’ve used the wishing stone, too.”

The expression on Peter’s face shifted to one of conspiratory glee. He nodded his head up and down, grinning widely.

“Oh, I get it now.” He pointed at Tabitha and me. “So you two were, what? Ugly chicks? So you used the stone to turn into hot cheerleaders. Excellent.”

Tabitha crossed her arms over her chest, sneering like a professional. “Wrong. That’s not it at all.”

I waved my hand. “Regardless. We got you alone to ask you to stop using your wish. It’s not right.”

The boy blinked at me, almost as if he were having trouble understanding what I was saying. Then he shook his head. “No.”

Now it was my turn to stare dumbly. “What?”

“Not going to happen. See, I’m finally no longer a loser. You’re looking at the new president of Stud City.” He pointed past me to the closed door. “Until this morning, the only girls I could ever hope to bang were about a ‘five’ or under. Now, I can have anyone I want. No buying expensive gifts or having to navigate through the fear of rejection. No more having to settle for some horse-faced blimp with body odor.”

“You’re pathetic,” I spat. “You think it’s fair to those girls? I mean, you’re right about your previous prospects. But I think that’s more because you’re a creep than anything dealing with your physical appearance or popularity. Girls rejected you because they could sense that you were trash.”

Peter glared at me. Then he looked over at Geoffrey. “You’re going to let your woman just talk like that to me, man? We’re supposed to be friends.”

Geoff shook his head. “She’s right,” he said, moving a little closer to me and Tabitha. “Making people be with you, the way we both did it, is wrong. We should have wished for something less selfish.”

I should have been grateful for Geoff’s words. Especially since I think he finally, completely, understood just how bad his wish really was. Unfortunately, the shift in Peter’s stance kept me from fully appreciating his friend’s statement.

“You’re such a pussy,” he said with a ton of disgust. “You finally get to date the hottest, most desired, girl in the whole school. And you’re going to just give all that up because she says it was unethical? Dude, they used the stone to make themselves better. Can you see how hypocritical that is?”

“I don’t care about what they did, Pete. I only care about what I’ve done.” He gestured at me. “I’ve imagined what it would be like to be Pee-Jay’s boyfriend for a long time. However, now that I am, I realize it’s hollow. Everyone thinks we’re a great couple, but we both know it’s fake.”

Peter shook his head again. “Only because you didn’t know she’d used the stone. Otherwise, I bet Miss High and Mighty wouldn’t even know the difference.”

“I’d know,” Geoff said. “Maybe I’d be happy at first. I mean, I certainly was for the first half of the day. Then Pee-Jay made me realize that my wish took something away from her. Something important. The fact that no one else would be the wiser doesn’t make it right.”

“Fine. If you want to be a complete wuss, have fun. As for me, I’m going to keep using what I got. Plenty of hot babes around to keep me busy for a while.”

“You really don’t care, do you?” I asked, feeling nauseous at the thought of all the unsuspecting girls who would be unable to resist debasing themselves for that asshole’s gratification. He would use them, then toss them aside for the next in line. Worst part? They wouldn’t care.

If Sarah was any indication of the nature of Peter’s power, they would simply consider the intimate event to be no more earth-shattering than overcooking a meal.

That made it more than just a physical act. It made it mental rape, too.

“Nope. As far as I’m concerned, they all deserve what they’re going to get.”

Before I could open my mouth to say anything further, Tabitha stepped forward and slapped Peter across the face. Hard. The sound of the impact echoed around the empty room.

“Pee-Jay’s right. You are pathetic.” She laughed spitefully. “I mean, you have to use magic to get laid? The wishing stone might have given you the power you craved, but it didn’t change your address.”

“Address?” Peter asked, cradling his reddening cheek with one hand. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Tabitha cocked her hip to the side and planted on hand on it. “You think you’ve moved to ‘Stud City’, but you’re still a resident of Loserville. Population: You.”

Wow! I’d forgotten just how deadly Tabitha could be with her barbs. I would have clapped and cheered, except for the fact that I had the feeling we weren’t quite done with the lecherous boy just yet. His little taste of power had only served to whet his appetite.

“Loserville, huh?” Still holding one hand against his face, his angry eyes looked toward me. “Count yourself lucky that lover boy made you the exception to my rule.” Then his gaze swung back to Tabitha and a smile formed on his face.

“It’s not going to work, Petey,” I said. “She’s used the stone. Which makes her immune to the effect of your wish.”

Of course, I didn’t have any definitive proof that was true. For all I knew, he could have the icy blonde on her knees, fighting to get his pants open, in less than a minute. I could only hope that he assumed that I understood more about how the stone worked than he did.

“Fine,” he said, turning back to me. He lowered his hand, revealing the red imprint of Tabitha’s hand. “I’ll just have fun with your friends. Apparently I had fun with Sarah Strand last night. However, since I can’t remember it, I’ll just have to get a repeat performance.” He winked at me. “Maybe I’ll record it this time.”

“You asshole,” I growled. “Leave her alone.”

Peter laughed. “Oh, I like your ferocity. Too bad you’re off-limits. I bet you’d be a real tiger in the sheets.”

“Peter…” Geoff warned. “I’m warning you.”

Peter turned to laugh at his former friend. “You know where you can take your warning and stick it? I think I’m going to do every single member of the Elite. In multiple ways. Then I’m going to see if Susan wants a little taste.”

I don’t know if Geoff would have hit him. I mean, the bigger boy had his hands curled into fists, but something about his posture and the vibe coming off him told me that he wouldn’t actually get physical. Not at that moment. Right now, it was likely that his mind was rationalizing Peter’s words. Telling himself that his friend couldn’t possibly be that callous.

By the time he finally accepted the truth, it would be too late for a lot of my friends.

And maybe even Geoff’s sister.

Before any of the other three could register my movement, I took three steps forward, brought my right leg back, and kicked Peter McDonald in the balls with every ounce of my ability. Considering that my new body was trained and toned for both ballet and cheering, there was a good amount of force behind it.

The boy let out a wheezing groan, that sounded like a ninety-year-old man trying to get out of bed. Both of his hands immediately surged to his ruined groin as his knees buckled, sending him crashing to the classroom floor. No sooner had he touched down than he gagged, coughed, then vomited up most of his undigested lunch.

“Oh god!” Tabitha yelled, taking several steps back. “That’s completely gross!”

Geoff stood there, looking down at his fallen cohort with a look of pure, unadulterated shock. His jaw hung slack and his eyes were wider than they’d been when I was putting the pressure on his own love sack.

Peter groaned, clutching his nuts as he wallowed on the floor, oblivious to the pile of bile and slime right next to his head.

Pre-Sam Penny might have been completely wicked out by the mess on the floor. But I was made of slightly sterner stuff. I walked around the prone boy to a spot on the floor that was clear of biological debris. Kneeling down, I put my hand on Peter’s shoulder. Not for any sort of comfort or reassurance.

I wanted his attention.

“I tried to be nice,” I said in a low voice devoid of emotion. “But it seems that nice doesn’t get through to someone like you.’ Then I gripped his arm, digging my fingernails into the soft flesh beneath the sleeve of his shirt. “However, it seems that you understand pain very, very well.”

“You … bitch,” he groaned, coughing again. “I’m going to …”

“Spare me the threats, Pete. You’re not going to do shit. Not to me, not to the Elite, and not to any other girl at this school.”

I felt my mouth spread into a smile. I’m sure it was terrifying to Tabitha and Geoffrey. I kept my own attention on Peter as I leaned down closer.

“You know how popular I am with everyone, right? Everyone loves Pee-Jay. Well, if I ever hear about you and some girl, and I think you’ve used your wish on her, I will likely become completely upset and distraught. So much that everyone is going to be concerned about me. They’ll all probably ask me what they can do to make me feel better.”

I removed my hand from his shoulder and patted him on the head. Perspiration had made the strands damp. Yuck!

“Know what I’m going to tell them, Pete? That seeing you get your ass kicked would go a long way to cheering me up. You might be able to bend the will of the girls at this school to your perversion, but how much sex do you think you’ll be having after the entire jock squad put you in traction? As long as I’m unhappy, they’ll be like a T-800 model Terminator. You won’t be able to bargain with them. Or reason with them. They won’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear.”

I saw a shudder roll through the prone boy, and his low groans instantly ceased. Guess the fresh injection of fear-induced adrenaline had temporarily overridden his pain receptors.

I lowered my voice to a whisper. “And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until I call them off. Here endeth the lesson.”

“Jesus,” Geoff breathed. When I looked up, his face was completely white. Oops! Might have overdone it a bit.

Tabitha, however, simply shook her head as she smirked down at me. Then she mouthed the words “ you’re still a nerd”. However, there didn’t seem to be any malice in them.

I stood up and walked back around the boy on the floor to stand next to my fellow Raiderette.

“Now that we’ve said our piece, and have given Peter some serious options to consider, I think it’s almost we left him to his thoughts.”

As if on cue, the bell signaling the end of the period began to ring.