Jake accidentally overrides Samantha

(I owe a debt of gratitude to NeededMonster for this concept, which is largely borrowed from his excellent story Like a Glove)

She was in his room, going through his stuff again.

Jake was charmed in spite of himself. His friend Samantha had boundary issues, but she was always so naive about it. When they met, she asked him how much he made a year and whether he liked his job. It helped that she was an oversharer, so she never asked more than she'd be willing to divulge herself. Her concept of privacy was just a little different from most people's.

Today, it was kind of irritating. She had come over to help him out with some problems he'd been having with his laptop. She was a genius with that kind of stuff, and she was always happy to help anyone who needed it. The stereotype of the huffy, impatient IT person begrudgingly helping their grandparents install a printer couldn't be farther from the truth with Sam; she was more than happy to help anyone at any time. It was part of what made her such a great friend.

Jake sighed. He wanted to be more than friends, and of course he wasn't alone in that. In the ten years he'd known her, Sam had never seemed to have any sexual or romantic interest in anyone. He wasn't sure if she was ace, or aromantic, or something else. Anytime anyone brought it up she laughed it off, and she rebuffed all attention firmly but politely. She was cute, bubbly, and charming; no doubt she could have anyone she wanted. If she wanted anyone, that was.

For now he was focused on making sure she didn't break any of his stuff. She had sauntered through his apartment door and straight into his bedroom, apparently curious about what kind of stuff he had laying around. As she sorted through paperwork and knick-knacks on his desk, she noticed a small blue object about the size of an egg. "Hey! What's this?"

Strangely enough, Jake didn't know. He'd never seen it before and had no idea how it got on his desk. Judging from the way she held it, it was heavy, and it seemed to be pulsing with a strange energy. He was about to tell her to put it back down when she noticed something. "Hey, it's got a crack in it! I wonder if-"

Just then, as she pried it open, there was a blinding flash of blue light. When the light faded, she was staring at her empty hands where the egg had been with an alarmed look on her face.

"Sam?" he asked, rushing to her side.