A little hazy, but back to her usual sour, sexy self

Giving Pearl the order that she’ll only truly awaken when you say so, you return her consciousness and trust, as well as her reinforced hopes and dreams. Naturally, you hold back the memories of you confessing to her that you intended to fix things. It'll only trouble her thinking about it. You owe her better than that.

She won’t be getting hurt anytime soon, you don’t think.

Pearl comes to on command. "Wake and forget."

“Huh?" Pearl finds herself awakening on her doorstep. "Wha... I'm falling asleep on my feet here, didn't... didn't think I was that tired," she says, blinking away the fog. "What was I just saying?”

“Don’t tell me I was having a DTR with you in your sleep,” you say, feigning exasperation on the outside, but nervous on the inside she'll suspect something. "We were talking about where... this thing between us is headed.”

Fortunately, the act passes muster. Pearl's still breaking out of her daze. She nods, her eyes sharpening as she picks up the thread. “Yeah. Yeah, right," she says. She gives her head a vigorous shake to rouse herself. Fully conscious again, Pearl looks back to you, a complex kaleidoscope of emotions returning to her face. "And, no, I wasn’t actually asleep. As I was saying, I’m not that mad. All I'm asking is that we take tonight to think about it. To think about us. I want to like you, Chase, but I need to make sure we're on the same page here before we do anything stupid we can't take back. If you’re gonna fuck Zoey too, things will get complicated."

“Complicated how?” you ask, crossing your fingers. Now for the moment of truth.

Pearl opens her mouth but pauses, her expression momentarily confused. She rethinks what she wanted to say, struggling to put her worries into words. “You know... she might catch feelings. Get clingy," she says, waving her hand vaguely. Liking the improvised reason for being upset, Pearl runs with it, growing in certainty as she continues. “For all we know, clerk lady has a boyfriend who’s gonna be really confused tonight when he drops by her place and she smacks him when he comes in for a hug. I don’t mean it in a mean way, Brainiac, but you really ought to start thinking your plans through, or somebody's going to get hurt.”

“Honestly?” you ask seriously, leaning your arm against the door over Pearl’s head. “The feelings I'm most worried about hurting are yours.”

Pearl sucks in a breath at having you so close and imposing over her, but she smiles incredulously, her eyes flashing up at you. “Oh god. Look, I needed to tell you what you were getting into with me," she says, putting a hand on your chest and gently easing you back a step. "That’s why I gave you a hard time about Zoey and not thinking stuff through with us. You don't think ahead sometimes, Chase, and it gets everybody around you into trouble."

You go to argue, but Pearl silences you.

"Let me finish. Because I know that's not all there is to you. Yes, there were rough spots with you making bad claims on my shit, that was a mistake. But you made it right. You gave everything back, and we worked it out. Just like we're going to work this out, with us. So I swear my feelings are okay. You'd be the first to know if they weren't. Being reckless with Zoey up front, that was a mistake. If you're a little smarter going forward? It doesn't have to be. So I'm cool. Really. But somebody needs to put the fear of god in you, and apparently, I'm the one stuck with the job.”

You feel bad for being called out with Zoey. You know you were being reckless, but in the moment, it was so hard to resist temptation. "You've always called me out for my bullshit, Pearl," you admit. "It's good to know you've still got my back even though I have these weird, mystical Lovecraftian powers now."

"I'm not the only one," says Pearl, meeting your eye. "Sully, Yu, Jane, even Indigo, they all still care about you too. Don't know why, you're a pain in the butt, but for some reason, they do. So don't get so high on your own supply you forget you have friends. You have people you can bounce ideas off of besides me."

You take in the advice. "You're not wrong," you say, thoughtful.

And you did claim Yu's help - maybe you ought to be using it more often? You're not sure who Yutong's told about that, only you and she were present when you claimed her help. You wonder how supportive Pearl would be if she found out about all the things you've claimed from your friends that you haven't given back yet. Probably better to change the subject than find out.

“So... about whether today qualifies as a date or not?” you remind Pearl, uncertain. She leaned toward date before, but her whole approach and attitude feels totally different after you relaxed her expectations.

Pearl laughs, then, with a secretive smile, throws her arms around your neck and kisses you on the lips. “I had fun, Chase. So, long as we do it again, call it whatever the hell you want.” Her breath his hot on your mouth.

You hold her securely around the waist. You love the feel of Pearl in your arms. “Whatever I want?”

Pearl sticks her tongue out, playing coy and wiggling out of your arms. “Within reason. You've got my number. We both know it. But don't push it," she says. "If you want to date me, or fuck me, or knock me up, we can make it happen. But your ass is mine now, Chase Wallin. That's me making my claim. And it's non-negotiable. Capiche?”

Man, Pearl can be scary when she wants. Her intensity intimidates you almost as much as it excites you. You smile sheepishly. “So... we're still friends, then?”

Pearl scoffs. “Course we're still friends."

“But are we more than friends?”

“I’d think so," says Pearl, letting her eyes wander along your neck, your shoulders. Her fingers follow shortly behind her gaze. "Best friends."

“What about lovers?”

Pearl practically retches. “Veto. Don't get sappy on me all the sudden.”

“How about boyfriend-girlfriend?”

Pearl considers the idea, uncertain. "Not going to lie, that's what I kind of wanted a minute ago, but... I don't know. It's like I was totally sure, and now suddenly, I have no clue where I want this to go. Feels like it could go anywhere," she says, contemplating. "Right now, we're both still seeing how this feels. Seeing how this fits. And I don't want to ruin that process by putting us in a box with labels on it. I don't want to tie you down when I don't even know what I'm ready to commit to. But I guess... you can tell people I'm your girlfriend, if you want."

You think over the offer. “Sounds more like we're friends with benefits to me."

Pearl turns the idea over in mind. “Best friends with benefits," she amends. "Being with you today's been like a rollercoaster, and I don't want to get off yet. Does that make sense? So. Keeping it nice and casual, I suppose I can live with that for now. Whatever we do, I don't want our dynamic to change all that much. ”

“No, me too. I totally get it," you say, gently caressing Pearl's sides. "But will your mind change about all this if I actually do get you pregnant?"

She snorts derisvely. "Pfft. One step at a time, big guy. I haven’t even missed a period yet.”

And like that, you’re hard again. You take her by the hip. “Pearl.”

She sighs, but seems pleased with herself, caressing your wrists with light fingertips. “Again? Can’t keep your hands off me can you,” she says, with a twitch of a smirk. She glances aside to the well-lit living room and bites her lip. “May I remind you that Mom or Macy could come out any second?"

“I can handle them,” you say.

"You wish you could, but... no, see, right here, this?" Pearl shoves you back a step. "This is what I'm talking about. Zero impulse control."

You make a disappointed sound.

"Like I told you. Macy will never let me live it down, and Mom will freak if she sees me out here with you, dressed like this." She pulls at the hem of her shirt to demonstrate, giving you a quick glimpse of her pussy and soft midriff. “They'll think I’m on **** or whatever, and I've already seen your problem-solving skills in action with Zoey. Stomping around with your powers is fun and all, but you'll make things ten times worse, and then it'll be up to me to untangle the mess."

"I'm not that clumsy. I can be smart with my powers," you assure her. "A little surgical strike never hurt anybody."

Pearl scoffs at you. "Every time you've made a claim, it's been a big clumsy show of ****," she says. "Which, while great for getting free seats at the theater, is really not good for human beings. Me and Zoey, QED."

You almost object, but from Pearl's point of view, isn't that the truth? Every time you've been more subtle with your powers, you were so clever that Pearl simply accepted your influence as totally normal - like with her consent, or style.

You sigh, deciding to let Pearl think she's right. "Yeah, guess you're on to something there. Power kind of goes straight to my head, doesn't it."

Pearl takes your hands in hers, pressing them intently. "There'll be plenty of time to fool around later," she promises, interweaving her fingers with yours. "Speaking of, you're taking me out again tomorrow."

"I am?"

Pearl smacks you.

You hastily adjust your tone. "Ahem, yes, I am."

"It's summer. We're done with high school. I want to have fun, and you owe me, so you don't get to opt out of this," she tells you. "Today you came up with the movie thing, which was nice, so tomorrow, I'll bring the idea."

You laugh. "How can I plan to take you out somewhere if I don't know where we're going?"

"Please. Like you planned today out ahead of time," says Pearl, her tone deadpan. "You claimed the seats and the snacks and anythng else we needed. So whatever I want to do, we can bullshit through it with your powers." She pauses, remembering something. "Speaking of. Are you still planning on giving Zoey that private sex ed lesson?"

Gulp. "Depends on if you still have a problem with it."

Pearl opens her mouth, but stops before speaking. She thinks hard for a moment, but shrugs and shakes her head. "Where you stick your dick is your business. You're an adult. But don't get distracted. If you value our friendship - at all - you have to promise me, right now, that at the end of the day, I'm the one you'll always come back to."

Seems like a fair deal to you. "I promise."

"Be specific."

You sigh. "I promise that you're the one I'll always come back to."

Pearl studies you for a minute, then nods in satisfaction. "Good. Then, ground rules. If you want to chase some slut, you have to tell me first, and I have a veto," she says. "And - very important - no being lovey-dovey with anybody but me."

"You literally just said you didn't want to be lovers."

Pearl blusters. "Yeah, because high school sweethearts are lame, all right? It's complicated. Shut up."

In all your meddling in her ideal relationship, you wound up burying her romantic side more than actually excising it. Well, if a little bit of romanticism is really that important to who Pearl is, maybe it's better you failed.

"And don't do anything with Zoe tonight," she adds.

You look at her questioningly.

"Just don't."

"Okay, okay, I won't. Seriously though, where do you want to go tomorrow? You've always wanted to visit Berlin. Maybe we take the week off, make it the longest second date in history," you say. You wanted to avoid the date word before, but now that Pearl and you are on the same page, it's fun to tease her with it.

The offer makes Pearl hesitate as she thinks it over, but she rejects it after only a second. “Considering you can claim whatever you want, whenever you want? Nah,” she says. “Not this summer. It doesn't seem like your power’s going away anytime soon and I’d rather not rush into every lottery winner’s demise by going too hard too fast. My summer plan was to recover from the trauma of high school by sleeping a lot, playing too many video games, and maybe talking Mom and Macy into a car trip. Powers or no, I'd like to stick to that outline. Who knows, maybe I'll even apply to a college or two.”

“Why deal with college when you can have anything you want?” you ask. “You don’t need a degree.”

“Education still matters, Chase,” she says. “You’re not the first idiot in history to obtain unlimited power. Do you know how many Roman emperors randomly lucked into what you’ve got now? The whole known world was at their fingertips, they could have anything they wanted, and more often than not they wound up dead in a year. Ultimate power has nothing on people who have absolutely no clue what they're doing.”

That sobers you up real fast.

Pearl cups your cheek affectionately. “I’m not trying to rain on your parade, but we'll need to be smart about this," she says, giving you a quick, fleeting kiss - almost a condescending peck, really. “Who knows where we’ll be a few years from now?” she asks, pulling away again. “I have some plans - rough plans, but I've been thinking. And I don’t know how you factor into all those plans, but I'd like you to be there. Knowing you, I’ll probably have to be the brains of the operation, though.”

“Hey. If you’re the brains, what does that make me?”

Pearl pinches your cheek annoyingly. “You're the comic relief."

Footsteps sound on the stairs inside the house, cutting your conversation short. Another light flips on in the kitchen window.

"Or maybe the looks," Pearl mutters quickly. “You’d better go."

You dart a few paces off down the driveway. “So, tomorrow?”

She reaches for the door. "I'll call, or something."

In a rush, you dart in to kiss Pearl one last time. She kisses you back in an embrace. For somebody so worried about being caught, she kisses you like you're the only living being in a five-mile radius. The moment ends when you hear the sound of running water, somebody using the kitchen faucet. Pearl shoves you off, and you flee the scene into the warm evening night.