Common Interests [28]
Jamison's home looks much the same as it did a little over a week ago. Unlike last time, there are five teenagers here instead of four. Two girls and three boys. Jamison himself is sitting in the middle of the couch with a frown. On his left sits Zoe and Theo. They're cuddling one another shamelessly. On his right sits Tracy and Derek, who are thankfully talking with a normal distance between one another.
"I mean, I enjoy going for a jog as much as the next guy, but lifting just feels more satisfying." Derek argues.
Tracy rolls her eyes at him.
"Of course you'd say that, you meathead. Cardio is just as important as muscle mass." Tracy retorts.
Derek pouts a little at Tracy's words. His eyes flicker from her face to her bicep. Tracy promptly flexes her arm as if to show off.
Jamison moves his attention away from that bizarre conversation to listen in on Zoe and Theo. Zoe's sitting on Theo's lap, and his arms are wrapped around her stomach. She's in her magic girl body. The two of them look way too cozy for Jamison's taste.
Theo's blue eyes are staring at Zoe as she leans her head on his chest. Jamison can tell Theo's enjoying the warm weight of Zoe's bust pressing down on his arms. Jamison nudges Theo to get his attention.
"I want a turn." Jamison says pointedly.
Zoe looks over at Jamison with a confused expression. Theo glances from Zoe to Jamison, and begrudgingly nods. Zoe squeaks in surprise as Theo picks her up by her hips, placing her onto Jamison's lap.
"W-What the heck?" Zoe whines.
"I wanted a turn." Jamison says plainly.
Jamison has a shameless smirk on his face as he wraps his arms around Zoe's middle. The warm doughy weight of Zoe's rear pressing onto his lap is immensely satisfying for Jamison. Zoe's reddening complexion betrays her embarrassment. She sighs, and leans her head on Jamison's chest much like she was doing with Theo.
Tracy and Derek's conversation comes to a halt as they both watch the spectacle. Derek turns to Tracy and they exchange raised eyebrows.
"W-Why don't we play a game?" Zoe pipes up suddenly.
Jamison and Theo wait for Zoe to speak. Their full attention was already on her, so it's hardly surprising. Derek and Tracy turn back to face Zoe.
"What kind of game, Bunny?" Tracy asks cheekily.
The boys all turn to Tracy in surprise. Zoe squeals in embarrassment as she covers her face with both of her small hands.
"Bunny..?" Derek questions aloud.
Zoe shakes her head in denial. Tracy laughs softly, turning to Derek.
"Yeah. She acts like one, so I call her one." Tracy explains.
"I-I never said you could call me that in front of my friends!" Zoe whines.
Tracy giggles at Zoe's expense. Jamison gently pets Zoe's head as if to comfort her, but that only furthers her embarrassment. Theo picks up a controller off the coffee table and starts setting up Tech Titans 2.
"Let's quit teasing Bunny and play." Theo suggests.
"Argh! Not you too!" Zoe exclaims.
Zoe buries her face in Jamison's chest as Theo smirks. Controllers are passed around. Zoe begrudgingly pulls her head away from Jamison to take hers. Derek takes his controller. Tracy hesitantly takes the controller offered to her.
"Are you sure you want me to play? I'm not as familiar with it as Jamison would be..." Tracy questions.
"I'll pass. I've got plenty of entertainment right here." Jamison pats Zoe's head to make his point.
Tracy nods in understanding as Theo puts them on the character select screen. Zoe is blushing at Jamison's insinuation as she picks out Valarie. Theo picks out his stealthy mech. Derek chooses the rolling mech. Tracy looks through the options before settling on a guy with a vizor piloting a mech armed with laser cannons.
"So, how do I play?" Tracy asks casually.
"Uh... you'll figure it out." Derek replies unhelpfully.
The match starts. Zoe is quick to target Theo. Her missiles blast him to bits while he's trying to get out of her line of sight. Tracy is moving her mech around without any real idea of what's going on. She gets steamrolled by Derek's mech shortly after figuring out which character on the screen is hers.
"Jeez. Well that wasn't very nice." Tracy grumbles.
Zoe manages to fly above Derek when he tries to roll into her. Derek's mech spins in little circles in an effort to dodge the barrage of missiles Zoe launches. His strategy fails to account for the splash damage, and he loses the match.
"Sorry about that, Tracy. I can explain the controls?" Theo apologizes from across the couch.
"Yeah, that'd be helpful." Tracy replies sharply.
This time around Theo manages to get everyone to wait a moment at the start of the match. He moves over to Tracy and shows her how to control her mech, and she gets the hang of it. He explains how to use her attack, block, and special attack too.
"I think I've got it?" Tracy murmurs.
Theo is taken by surprise when Tracy fires off her special at him point blank. The huge beam of energy melts his mech before he can react. The others spring into action upon seeing Tracy has drawn first blood. Zoe launches a barrage of missiles aimed at Tracy. Derek rolls toward Tracy like a wrecking ball. Tracy foils their plans by jumping up just before Zoe's missiles hit her. Derek is promptly blown to pieces by Zoe's attack.
"What the fuck?" Derek remarks in shock.
"Sorry! I wasn't aiming for you!" Zoe apologizes.
Zoe isn't able to hit Tracy as she quickly fires off a laser beam that destroys both Zoe's missiles and her mech in one go. None of the friend group ever played this character, so he's an enigma to them.
"Gosh, you are good..." Zoe compliments.
Tracy smiles smugly as Theo and Derek glare daggers at her. Theo's look of betrayal gives Tracy pause, and she looks away from him out of shame.
Jamison gently slides his hand along Zoe's arm. She looks at him with reddened cheeks. Her bashful look quickly vanishes when Jamison casually plucks her controller from her hands. He smiles down at her pouting face.
"Don't be mad, Bunny. I'm going to teach our newest member a little lesson." Jamison explains softly.
"Oh, will you now?" Tracy taunts.
The character select screen opens as Jamison presses a button. He quickly selects a character he doesn't play with his friends. This one is a meek looking scientist with round glasses, and he pilots a mech covered in chunks of ice.
"You're acting real cocky, newbie." Derek remarks.
Tracy shrugs as the game loads into a level filled with pitfalls. Tracy casually grips her controller as the countdown starts. Theo and Derek lean forward slightly, readying themselves. Jamison has one hand on the controller and one hand on Zoe's belly.
Beginner's luck, Tracy.
Jamison's mech slides toward Derek's as soon as the match starts. Derek tries to roll at Jamison, but he can't gain enough momentum by the time Jamison gets there. Jamison fires off a blast of snowy air that freezes Derek.
"The fuck is with these characters?" Derek groans.
Derek's frozen mech is turned to fragments of ice as Jamison hits him with an oversized ice pick. Meanwhile, Theo is stalking Tracy. Tracy is firing off random laser beams in an attempt to hit Theo's cloaked mech, but none of her shots make contact. Theo finally gets close to her and goes for a stabbing attack. Tracy jumps and shots him point blank with her special, killing him instantly.
"Jamison, you had better win this." Theo gripes.
Jamison's icy mech starts to slide toward Tracy as he finally puts both hands on the controller. Tracy aims her beam weapon toward him, firing off a laser. Jamison's mech holds up its frozen arm. Tracy watches in surprise as her laser beam reflects off the icy arm harmlessly.
"What the heck?" Tracy murmurs.
Tracy backs away in an effort to stall. Her special attack might do the trick, but Tracy needs to wait for it to recharge. Jamison's special is also cooling down, so all he can do is charge at her with his ice pick. Tracy finally stops running when her special finishes charging. She presses the button to fire her huge laser blast attack, but it never goes off.
Jamison's special stops her mid attack. The frosty air turns Tracy into a block of ice. Jamison quickly smashes her into shards of ice without hesitation.
"That wasn't fair!" Tracy whines.
"Sounds like you're just salty." Jamison laughs.
~
Ding!
The sound of the doorbell rouses the teenagers from their seats. Jamison heads over to answer the door. The others head into the kitchen to grab plates. Zoe attempts to reach for a plate, but she can't quite reach it. Derek leans over to help, but Zoe beats him to it.
"Swap!"
The strange sight of Zoe going from her fun sized form to her taller one shocks Derek a little. He steps back as she grabs two plates from the cabinet, and brings one over to Tracy. Tracy takes it with a raised brow.
"You swapped just to get a plate?" Tracy asks.
"Uhuh. It's my magic, so I'll use it how I want!" Zoe replies.
Jamison returns from the door with pizza in hand. Three pizza boxes and a two liter of soda are placed on the table. Derek practically assaults the pizza, stacking five slices onto his plate. The others are more relaxed in their approach.
"Swapped back, huh?" Jamison comments.
"Yup! The height boost is convenient." Zoe replies before taking a bite.
Zoe relishes the flavor of her slice of pizza. The gooey cheese. The tangy sauce. The doughy crust. Perhaps Zoe has a bit of an obsession with pizza.
Partway through the meal Jamison lightly taps Zoe on the shoulder. She turns to him with a mouthful of pizza.
"You left some stuff upstairs last time..." Jamison says sheepishly.
Zoe nods in understanding and gets up. She wipes her hands off on a napkin and follows Jamison's taller self out of the kitchen. The others at the table glance longingly at the pair as they head upstairs. Alone.
The vaguely familiar family photos and artwork still adorn the walls here. The cozy lighting and close quarters of the upstairs contrasts heavily with the wide open spaces downstairs. Jamison leads Zoe into his room, and flicks on the lights.
"Huh. That's new." Zoe comments.
Jamison's room is still just as tidy as it was last time. There are several drawings adorning the walls. They're not particularly good drawings, but Jamison obviously put a lot of effort into them. Colored pencil depictions of flowers and animals. Some of buildings.
"Yeah. I uh, thought I'd brighten up the place? I dunno." Jamison says with a shrug.
Zoe nods along with Jamison's words as she inspects some of his drawings. He walks over to the closet and opens it, pulling out a bundle of clothing.
"Here..." Jamison offers.
Zoe takes the bundle of clothing in her hands and looks at it. It contains the old underwear Jamison bought for her at the mall. She glances back up at him with a coy smirk.
"You saved my old underwear, Jamie?" Zoe says suggestively.
Jamison awkwardly nods. He's turning a little pink as Zoe looks up at him. She smiles a strangely sultry smile, and parts her lips.
"Swap."
Zoe's body twists briefly with the flow of magic, and she's back in her shorter form. Jamison struggles to avoid staring down at her exposed cleavage. She leans forward and holds up the too small pair of panties, pushing it toward Jamison's face.
"W-What are you doing, Zoe?" Jamison asks nervously.
Jamison takes a step back, and Zoe grabs him by the wrist. She pushes the black fabric of her panties into his face. Jamison is staring cross eyed at them.
"Just trying to see if you did what I think you did." Zoe replies airily.
"I-I don't know what you're-" Jamison starts to reply.
Zoe cuts him off by pressing her free hand against his body. Her small hand slides down from his stomach to his crotch, and his breath hitches. He can feel her small hand grab onto the unmistakable protrusion in his jeans. She smiles smugly up at him.
"Sure you don't." Zoe says ominously.