As Daniel sat opposite Keri at a table in the food court, he looked down at the bag of clothes he could barely afford having purchased. He never knew jeans came in different cuts, or that it mattered. He had always just picked out the most relaxed pair. Keri, however, seemed to be a fashion encyclopedia. She whipped together outfits for him that he had to admit, actually looked good. She'd practically forced him to wear their first purchase out of the store, a simple pink knit polo that he felt kind of silly in, but Keri insisted looked great on him. He took another bite of the burger in front of him.
Meanwhile, Keri was entertaining herself, eavesdropping on people's thoughts. "Ohh, see that couple over there?" She pointed a few tables away. "She's trying to figure out how to tell him that she's breaking up with him to date his brother! How juicy. This is better than reality TV." She scanned around the room, then got a sour face. "Uhhh, another person buying drugs. I guess I could go into a career as a narcotics officer." She turned back to Daniel, "trust me, you really do look great in that polo. Pink suits you."
"Really? Because it seems so girly. I don't know if this is really me." Keri looked at him with a stern look, and filled his mind with something less than a thought, more like a sensation of disapproval. Then she took another fork full of her salad. Daniel had experienced Keri using her power all morning, ample proof that the previous days events were real. Yet he had been afraid to reach for his. Part of him was afraid it wasn't there. Part of him was afraid it was.
Looking over at Keri, still in disbelief that she actually liked him, his curiosity got the better of him. He didn't know how he did it, he just felt inside, pushed a little, and suddenly she was squirming in her chair. "Hey mister! We are in a public place," she barked at him. Even as she scolded him for whatever she experienced, she scooted her chair closer, rubbing her hand along his thigh. "Save that for when we're in private." Then she took another bite of her salad.
However, the little rush of making Keri respond to him only made Daniel more curious. He looked around the room, scanning for someone cute. He spotted a pretty brunette who was probably also a college student, sitting a few tables away. He reached in and gave her a little nudge. Suddenly her gaze pulled away from her girlfriend and scanned the room, locking on his eyes when she found them. He felt Keri punch him in the shoulder.
"Hey, that't rude! Doing that thing you can do to another girl while I'm sitting right here?" He'd never heard her really agitated before. It was kind of cute."I've listened to your girl-crazed mind all morning. Trust me, I'm plenty for you to handle. You don't need to stir up trouble with that power of yours."
Just then, the brunette arrived at the table, entirely fixated on Daniel. "Hey there. Did you go to Clifford High? I saw you from over there, and you look *so* familiar." Her question may have been innocent, but her tone and body language were extremely flirtatious. She was also acting like Keri wasn't even there.
"No, no I didn't." Up close, the girl was more pretty than he expected. She was wearing a trim fit button up blouse that really showed off her figure. Daniel felt a little chill at this beautiful girl even talking to him, let alone flirting with him. At the same time, he could feel Keri's disapproval like waves in his head.
"Ohh no?" The girl's voice was very melodramatic. "Well, you remind me of this boy I had a serious crush on back then, so if you ever want to get coffee or anything, my name is Rose, and here is my number." She slipped a piece of folded paper into his hand, and paused, holding it long enough to make a point. She was into him. "Well, very nice to meet you, ahh?"
"Daniel." As soon as he answered, she nodded at him, then briefly at Keri, then turned and sashayed back towards her table. Daniel watched her ass move until Keri punched him again. "What? You've been using your power all morning. I'm just experimenting."
"Keep experimenting, and you'll find having me as your girlfriend a very short lived experience!" She stood, her demeanor obviously distraught. "In fact, I don't know what I'm even doing with you. You were always just the dorky one who hung around us. Why in the world am I even here? Go bang your brunette bimbo for all I care, we're done."