James was a slight young man of 14, with sandy blonde hair and sea green eyes hidden behind a a pair of glasses. His intelligence was such that he had problems relating to other people, and his lack of strength ensured he was always being picked on.
He was on his way home from yet another day of torment at his school; his shirt was torn, and one strap of his backpack had been ripped off. He sported a black eye as well. Life wasn't fair.
He wouldn't expect much sympathy at home, either. His father would sigh and make some speech about how he needed to learn to protect himself, and his parents would fight.
His older sister was away at college; Amy had often been his only real friend, and he missed her.
As he walked, he suddendly noticed a dusty old storefront. "Dante's Rare Book Emporium". The sign said OPEN. He'd never seen the store before, yet he couldn't resist.
Entering, the bell attached to the door announced his presence. The scent of dust and old books filled the air. James smiled despite himself, he loved books, and this seemed to be his kind of place.
There was no sign of a clerk, so he wandered the stacks aimlessly. First and second editions of a great many books were on the shelves, antiques that he was afraid to even touch. One book, bound in red leather, was sticking out from it's place on a shelf; James reached up to push it back, but the instant he touched it, he felt a strange urge to take it off the shelf.
"Found something you like?"
James jumped at the voice, and turned to find a girl, only a few years older than himself (and taller than him by a couple inches as well) smiling at him. She had raven black hair with long bangs, which were dyed a bubblegum pink color, shining blue eyes, and a friendly smile. "She's cute!" was the first thought James had.
She was wearing a black lace shirt that left her mid-riff bare, and her belly button had an elegant piercing set with a bright emerald. She was wearing black denim jeans, and a pair of pink gym shoes.
And he realized he was staring.
The girl just grinned. "Like what you see? I'm Alison." She held out a hand, and he took it without thinking. She had a firm grip, and rather than shake his hand, she led him towards the counter. He noticed she wasn't wearing a bra; as pretty as she was, Alison had very small breasts.
James felt himself grow hard regardless. Always at the worst times! He wanted to touch those little breasts...kiss the girl's warm, inviting lips...
With an effort of will, he forced the urges down. Sometimes his desire was almost overpowering, and he was secretly glad he wasn't stronger; otherwise he might force himself on a girl, and the very thought shamed him.
Alison didn't seem to notice as she took the book and went behind the counter. "So what's your name, cutie?"
He blushed. As dark as his thoughts were, and she thought he was cute? "Uh..James. Hi."
She reached over and ruffled his hair. "Aww...shy guy, huh? Sorry, I guess I come off a bit strong. So this is the book that caught your eye, huh?"
He nodded. "Uh...what's it called?"
She laughed, but she was so nice, all he could do was laugh with her. "Sorry, bashful. Just suprised you grabbed a book without knowing what it was. What we have here is a copy of Calloway's Guide to Transmutation...pretty rare, most people have no idea who Calloway was."
James scratched the back of his neck. "Um..who was he?"
Alison grinned. "See? Anyways, he was an interesting guy, medical Doctor for many years, but when he retired, he got really interested in the Alchemists. You know about them, right?"
"Yeah, um, early scientists, they thought they could turn lead into gold, live forever, that sort of thing?"
Alison shrugged, a fascinating process in of itself. "Something like that. It was more like magic or philosophy than real science, although their work was the start of what we call chemistry now. Anyways, it's not a big seller, sadly. Most people thought Calloway was crazy, and he wrote the book in 1954, so it's not nearly as old as the other books here. Twenty bucks."
Wow, that was cheap! And still, he didn't have a lot of money, twenty bucks would leave him starving at school during lunch for awhile. But something about Alison's smile...he was sold.
"Okay, I'll buy it."
She beamed at him. "Great, hon. If you have any problems, feel free to come back here, don't get a lot of business anyways, and you're a lot cuter than the crusty old guys I usually have to deal with."
The sale finalized, James mumbled a good-bye, and rushed out of the shop. It was getting dark, and he had to get home.
His Dad was snoring on the couch, wore out from his day at work. Dinner was in the fridge, since his Mom was on the graveyard shift again this week. He took a plate to his room, but food wasn't on his mind.
He kept thinking about Alison...and he felt himself grow so hard he couldn't stand it. He wanted to do something about it, but the guys at school were always teasing him, asking him how much he jacked off at home. In truth, he never had, thinking it was a bad thing, and shameful.
So he took a cold shower, and came back to his room to examine the book. The chapters each detailed a different kind of transmutation or experiment, but caught his eye immediately.