Getting to Know Jade

"i'm not stupid enough to say anything to antagonise you" Jade tells you with a glare "But that was pretty fucked up. Lee and I have been together for more than two years. We were planning our wedding. He is going to be devastated"

Fuck Lee. Let him be devastated. You felt pretty devastated when he kicked you in the nuts in the middle of a crowded school corridor and encouraged everyone to laugh at you. Jade might even have been there to witness that sorry spectacle, now that you think about it. Time to finish that fucker off for good.

"Jade, forget about Lee. Literally forget about him. Like he never existed"

She looks at you blankly, like she just lost her train of thought, then sips her coffee. Lee is gone for her, it seems.

"So what are you planning for me? And what can this curse even do? I didn't know I had a family curse. Can anyone just make me do stuff?"

The questions are coming quickly. Jade is understandably panicking now, and you can hardly blame her. Suddenly this is all starting to feel very real, and there is a side to it that you don't like. Of course you know what you are doing is wrong. Jade isn't just a beautiful face, she is a human being. And to make matters worse, your memory of her being fundamentally decent, almost surprisingly so for someone with the level of pretty privilege she must have, seems to have been accurate. Maybe you should have picked some horrible bitch to do this to instead.

But you wanted Jade, and you still do. None of the other girls have the history she does with you, even if it meant nothing to her and she barely remembers it. All those years of presumed unavailability, of knowing you were not considered good enough to even try to ask her out, while she was getting engaged to Lee fucking Jansen. Maybe this wasn't her choice, but you know you will treat her far better than he ever would. There is no reason why you can't both be happy with this, in time.

"Nobody else can control you, Jade" you seek to reassure her "I have claimed you now, that essentially shuts your curse off permanently to everyone other than me. And I promise, I will never use it to hurt you"

"Claim me?" Jade exhales and runs a hand anxiously through her hair "Jesus, you make me sound like a funfair prize"

"It's just the terminology" you tell her, slightly regretting your choice of words "And to reiterate, I am a very ethical guy. But this curse can do some pretty remarkable things. It can actually be a blessing. If you wanted to be able to speak Japanese , for example, I could give you that ability in an instant. Aren't you at all interested to explore this?"

"It all sounds quite scary and unnatural, I'd rather just leave it" she tells you "Though, obviously you aren't going to"

You decide it is best to just slow things down for now. You want her to like you. Maybe, eventually, to love you. And not just because you made it so by magic.

"Let's talk about something other than the curse and get to know each other a bit, Jade. Tell me all about yourself"

"Okay, well, um. I'm 21 and grew up locally. I guess you know that since we went to school together. I work as a receptionist in the local leisure centre, but I hope one day to run my own business and be my own boss. I love dancing, horses, netball and socialising with my friends. I have been single for more than two years now. I know everyone thinks I'm beautiful, but inside I feel like I am boring and plain and can't live up to the expectations everyone seems to have of me. It makes me sick to my stomach when guys automatically put me up on a pedestal because I know I don't deserve it. I like to be dominated in the bedroom. Rather than penetration, I like to be stripped naked and made to to demeaning stuff while the guy jacks off and insults me like I am no more than a worthless slut. Sometimes I fantasise about being shrunk by some random guy, maybe being kept in a hamster cage by him or something equally humiliating..."

"Jade, stop!"

Holy. Fuck. You hadn't even intended that as a command, let alone to have her unload on you like that. She looks devastated, and you feel terrible.

"Are you trying to humiliate me?" she asks you, tears forming in her eyes.

"God, no, sorry that was an accident!" you assure her frantically "Jade, forget I asked you that question or that you answered it"

Her mood alters and shifts back to neutral again. You breathe a sigh of relief that she has forgotten that outburst. But you haven't. You can't. It does at least explain why she would want to be with a cruel bully like Lee. You are now sure you can help her and make this a mutually beneficial experience for both of you. But another accident like that in a public place like this won't be good.

"Jade, I want you to finish your coffee and come with me" you tell her.

She nods, drinks up, and follows you out of the door.