An odd afternoon jog.

Jess was not enjoying her jog as much as usual. The day was humid and hot and the sidewalks were empty. She normally loved the bustle and flow of traffic around her but today there was almost nobody out. She paused in a shady spot near a park and took a long pull from her water bottle. Looking down, she noticed her left shoe had come untied and bent to tie it.

As she bent over, the oddest thing happened. She just... stopped. She stared at her shoelace. It was untied, but she didn't want to tie it. She didn't really want to straighten up either.

Why wouldn't she want to do that? She needed to finish up her jog and get home, right? Jess realized that she really didn't need to do that either. She was fine where she was. As she stared at her shoelace, her arms went limp. She swayed slightly in the breeze.

At this point Jess's thoughts had slowed to a crawl. She was vaguely aware that she was looking at her shoe and that there was something wrong with it. It was... off? No, that wasn't right. It didn't really matter, though. Nothing really mattered. A thin line of drool escaped the right side of her mouth without her noticing.

There was a hand on her shoulder. It felt nice. A man was speaking to her. He wanted her to do something? She tried to hear what he was saying. "Stand up." She laboriously stood, her arms still dangling limply at her sides. "Turn around." She turned to face him.

Had she been able to focus her eyes and form complete thoughts, she would have realized she was looking at an attractive man in his mid twenties. As it was, she stared through the blurry figure in front of her. He was speaking, but she could barely register his words. They seemed to penetrate her mind effortlessly. The truth? Something about not panicking or being afraid? She didn't understand and she didn't need to understand. After an indeterminate amount of time, she felt him lift her hand and lead her to a nearby bench.

He gently pressed her into a sitting position and then was gone. Jess blinked as her mind slowly returned to her. Another person was approaching her... someone she knew? She suddenly drew in a breath. What just happened? Did she have a stroke? She shouldn't panic, she realized. Everything would be ok. She didn't know how but she just knew everything would be ok.

As the person approached, the fog continued to lift from her head. It was that girl from the art class she took a few years ago at the community college! Katy? Chrissie? As her face came into focus, Jess remembered. Chloe!

"Hello, Jess. How have you been?" Chloe asked sweetly.

"Hi Chloe! I've been-" Jess paused. She was about to give the usual bland response but she realized she really needed to be honest with Chloe. She wasn't sure why but she just had to. "Well, to be honest, I haven't been great. I never really followed up on that art class and I feel like my life's gone nowhere. How have you been?" She wondered about her oversharing, but didn't feel any fear or anxiety about it.

Chloe laughed. "Pretty much the same until recently. Would you answer a few quick questions for me?"

Jess smiled. "Of course! Have a seat." She would happily answer Chloe's questions.

Chloe sat down. "Ok, first question. Do you find me attractive?"

Jess blushed. She normally didn't like to talk about this kind of thing, but she really wanted to be open with Chloe. "Yes, actually. I always have. I can't believe I'm telling you this! I've been a closeted bisexual for years. I've dated a few boys but I always had a little crush on you. Do you feel the same?"

Chloe smiled. "I do! I always got that sense from you, but I only recently worked up the courage to ask. Ok, second question. A few minutes ago you might have noticed that you sort of went blank for a minute. That was something a friend of mine can do. Did you like it?"

Jess thought about it. "I'm not sure. Does that have anything to do with how weird I'm acting? I think your friend might have told me to tell you the truth and not to panic. He might have said some other stuff too. I didn't dislike it. I think I'd have to try it again to figure out how I really feel."

Chloe patted her knee, which sent a small thrill down her spine. "Great, great. You were right - he can tell you stuff and have you believe it while you're like that. Would you like him to use that to help you? He can make your life a lot better if you want."

She frowned. "I'm pretty disturbed by that, to be honest. All the same, I think I could use some positive changes in my life. I'm a little worried about letting a stranger mess with my head. Has he done it to you? Does it hurt?"

Chloe smiled sympathetically. "He has, and it doesn't hurt. Like you noticed, he already did it to you too. That's why you're sitting here answering my questions. If you'd like, he can make it so it doesn't bother you. But if you don't like that, we can just go away and it would be like none of this ever happened. What do you say, Jess?"

Jess looked at her old classmate with curiosity. It was more than a little scary, but she kind of liked the idea. Plus she'd probably get to be with Chloe. She opened her mouth to answer.