Dodge the question by turning it around on Pearl

She wants a DTR? Now? You’re just as lost as you were last night. You’re a master improviser, not planner, but Pearl doesn’t want to hear any more excuses. So, you’ll have to deflect. Make her answer her own question.

“What if that depends on what you want it to be?” you ask slyly.

But the deflection isn’t that sly, because Pearl erupts at the question. “How dense are you, Chase? I’m asking what you want!”

When you don’t have an immediate answer, Pearl is at a total loss for words. “No freakin’ way. I know that face. Are you fucking serious? All day, you haven’t thought once about what it means that we’re hooking up. You have no fucking idea what you want from me, from any of this, do you?”

Guilt rises into the back of your throat. So far you’ve been winging it with your newfound power, not thinking ahead, rushing into doing things with Pearl you never should have. You tell yourself you’re trying to hold back, but really, you act out every impulsive whim that pops into your head, claiming whatever feels right in the moment.

Even with Pearl. One of your best friends. You took advantage of her at the first opportunity, and for what? To mess with her? To get your dick wet? To prove that you could?

You heave a heavy sigh, flustered. “Fine. You’re right. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m trying to figure it out, I am, but,” you fight for the right words, “me, and you, and now these powers - suddenly everything’s different, even though it’s all still the same! I need more time, okay?”

Pearl glowers at you. Of all the answers you could’ve given, the one you gave was the wrong one. “I need more time? That’s all you’ve got?” she says, drilling a hole in your face with her glare. “Dude, I was cool with you figuring stuff out with your powers when we were just friends. But this isn’t about your powers. If we’re using my consent to start a sexual relationship, a very sexual relationship by the way, I expect better than some shit ‘it’s not that easy.’”

“What’s the plan if we like how this feels, or if we don’t? What’s your plan if I get pregnant? You have my launch codes, Chase. I need to know they’re in good hands.”

A headache starts coming on. “I get it, all right? I’m doing this one step at a time the same as you! How do you think I feel? I didn’t ask for any of this to happen. I didn’t ask for this ridiculous, infinite claiming power,” you say. “And before, sure, that might’ve been a problem, but don’t you see? I’ve got so much power now that we don’t need to be perfect. We can do anything! We can make all the dumb mistakes we want! If a problem comes up, we can fix it!”

Pearl’s expression remains even through your excited rant.

“Or, humor me for a second,” she says, her tone flat. “How about you don’t suddenly take your best friend out on a date, and then, right in front of her, set up a fuck date with some bookstore slut you don’t even know?”

Your face heats. “We didn’t agree we were on a date date, we were hanging out!” you argue, but not even you buy the excuse.

“Yeah, shopping, a movie, we got some food after, and we fucked during. It all so screams not a date,” says Pearl.

The scathing remark makes you feel like an idiot, and you deserve it. You knew what was happening, and Pearl even kept insisting you were on a date. You didn’t want to commit to it aloud, but that didn’t change what it was. But why is she upset about Zoey now? She consented! She practically served her to you on a silver platter!

“B-but, you said you were okay with me and Zoey,” you splutter.

Technically you **** Pearl to consent to the proposition first, but same thing.

She glares daggers at you. “You’re a fucking adult, Chase. Where you stick your dick is your business. If you want to fuck Zoe, I get it, she’s cool, she’s sexy, and she literally can’t say no if you don’t want her to. But then what?” Pearl folds her arms. “Looking at her butt is one thing, actually having sex is another - are you going to ask Zoey out? Keep her consent forever? What if you like her more than me?”

Again, you hadn’t thought that far ahead. Really, since you found that special black card in your pocket, your brain really hasn’t been doing much of the thinking on your behalf.

Pearl grimaces at the dumbstruck look on your face. “I don’t like you cause you have bullshit reality ownership powers. I need to be able to trust you if you and me are even going to have the slightest chance of working out. And you having powers now means I need to trust you even more, not less - doesn’t matter if you can fix your mistakes or not! Mistakes suck! Make less mistakes!” she jabs her finger into your chest. “And don’t feed me that ‘it’s not official yet’ bullshit either - we’re both smarter than that. Get your shit together, Chase.”

Anger rises in you. “You didn’t even want to be with me till I made you,” you explode, pushing her finger away from you “Before yesterday, you never even entertained the idea. Now, suddenly, you want a Hollywood romance out of nowhere?”

“You’re the one who switched me to fuck mode,” Pearl bites back. “I’m not asking you to be perfect. I’m asking you to be consistent.”

More than anything, what angers you most is that Pearl’s totally right.

You’ve been impulsive, reckless, and aimless. On a whim you took advantage of all your friends. You fundamentally altered Sullivan’s and Indigo’s relationship. You turned Yutong into your personal assistant. You twisted Jane’s arm into including you in her workout routine, and then stole a jeep and high-end laptop for her.

To top it all off, you took away Pearl’s consent and took advantage of her to such a degree that she doesn’t even realize her judgment’s been compromised.

Doing all this, you had no agenda. You exercised no forethought. You wrote off the consequences, and lied to yourself that you could fix it all with a couple strategic claims or returns and maybe a mea culpa.

Yet, even if you wiped everybody’s memories of your ability right this second, or turned back time to undo every bit of harm you’ve caused, wouldn’t you still remember what you did? And you’d still be left with your power, ready to make all the same mistakes all over again.

What could possibly stop you?

Pearl speaks, interrupting your conflicted thoughts.

“I’m not yelling at you cause I want you to hurt,” says Pearl, reaching out to touch your cheek. “Maybe we can be something cool, powers or no. I’m not saying I have the answers either, so… what if we just think about it tonight? Tomorrow, when we’re not exhausted and pissy, we can figure it out together.”

For a second, you contemplate her touch. Were Pearl’s eyes always so beautiful? She looks so disappointed, but also so hopeful. Despite everything you’ve done, she still believes in you.