Everything is returned

No dramatic crack of thunder accompanies your decree, much to your chagrin. However, a look of extraordinary relief washes over Pearl.

"It worked. Thank god."

You furrow your brow, suspicious. "Didn’t you just say you knew it’d work?”

"I figured it'd work," says Pearl, cautiously, bumping her fingers against each other. "I didn't know for sure." After a brief hesitation, she unbars the entryway to her house. "So… if you want to come up and hang out, I guess you can. But no more claiming my shit."

"No promises," you joke.

Pearl rolls her eyes. "God, one drop of ultimate power, and suddenly you're insufferable. You better be fucking joking, Chase - if you claim anything while you're under my roof, I'm tossing you out on the curb."

Struggling with the urge to claim something of hers right then and there just to be contrarian, you bow your head and meekly follow Pearl upstairs to her room.

Pearl's room is, counterintuitively, boring. Her dark attitude, sense of humor, and fashion sense simply do not apply to home decor.

The walls are barren of posters, and not a thing's out of place. The carpet's clean, the bed is made, and there's no dirty laundry. The only allowance for darkness is her bookshelf, which is crammed full of fantasy novels and art books, as well as her computer desk, where white skull decals adorn Pearl’s headphones and black roses feature prominently on the back of her laptop.

"My mom's out of town for a business conference," says Pearl, falling easily into her computer chair and spinning, "so we can stay up however late we want."

You sit on her bed. "Isn't your sister here though?" Pearl's older sister Macy is in college, but she's usually home through the summers.

"She doesn't care what I do," says Pearl, spinning faster in her chair. "She's in the basement anyway. Want to see some cool videos I found yesterday?"

"Eh. Sure," you say unenthusiastically. Still. If Pearl shows you something, it's guaranteed to be at least mildly interesting and/or amusing.

You drag the computer chair out from Pearl's mom's office and join your friend in watching a selection of Japanese horror pranks, perpetrated on hapless men and women. Pearl’s got a lot of them, too.

Before you know it, an hour's gone by, with you and Pearl passing the time well in laughter, making fun of the Japanese guys who ditch their dates at the first sign of danger.

Midnight isn't late by any means, when it comes and goes. Dad doesn’t expect you home on time on grad night. He had a twinkle in his eye when he granted you blanket permission to stay at a friend's tonight. You shoot him a text anyway to let him know you’re at Pearl’s. He can rest easy tonight knowing you haven’t become the dead-in-a-ditch posterboy for the alliance of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

That in mind, you glance surreptitiously at Pearl. You didn't exactly accept her invitation into the house just because you wanted to watch videos with her. You wanted to use your powers on her. And you’re no longer at a public graduation party surrounded by friends and bystanders, either.

You’re at Pearl’s house, in her bedroom. Her mom is out of town at a business conference. And god knows where Macy is, but Pearl’s older sister wouldn’t care even if you were up doing **** - she’d probably laugh at the both of you if she caught you, which, why would she check on you in the first place? Not her speed.

There’s no chance of interruption. It’s just you and Pearl.

You sneak a peek at your curvy friend beside you. Pearl smiles at the latest nonsense TikTok video she’s brought up to show you, her black hair brushing barely past the tops of her eyes.

The two of you have been friends for years, all the way since the start of high school. Your shared interests have put the two of you together like this a hundred times, you and Pearl, staying up late sharing memes, playing games, arguing about anime. But right now, today, tonight, it all feels new again. The shared atmosphere between you feels more intimate, somehow. Exciting. Like anything's possible.

Your heart beats faster. You swallow. "Hey Pearl. I need to tell you something."

She spares you a half glance, eyebrow raised.