"Probably Puberty"
——
Jason's eyes fluttered open, signaling the start of a new day, though the boy didn't feel like it. He was strangely tired for someone who had a full night's sleep. In fact it took him quite a lot of effort to even rise out of bed. He felt awfully strange this particular morning. His mouth was dry, his eyes were irritated and his head was hurting a bit.
"Ugh...Is this a hangover?"
It took him a moment to properly stand up, and when he did he was hit with a strong wave of dizziness. With a loud groan, he mustered as much strength as he could and walked out into the living room where his uncle sat infront of the tv.
"Morning."
He could only wave in response as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying his hardest to get the headache to subside.
"You alright?"
Max became concerned when he saw Jason's state. He was sweating profusely and walked unsteadily as if he couldn't keep his balance.
"Don't know. I feel horrible."
He stumbled over to the small kitchen area.
"Do you have a fever?"
"Don't know. Speaking of fever though..."
He reached into the pantry and pulled out a box of cereal, reaching in and tossing a few pieces into his mouth.
"I had a super weird dream last night. Like, I was drowning in some black lake, and no matter how hard I swam I couldn't reach the surface. Then like...the water stuck to my skin, and went inside me and stuff. Totally weird."
He looked for a bowl in the adjacent cupboard, then poured out some cereal. His next target was the fridge.
"Sounds stressful. You got a test today or anythin' you've been worrying about?"
The man's question made Jason pause, specifically the word 'test'. He quickly remembered that he had school, and he had no idea of the time and was in no way prepared.
"What time is it?!"
His eyes darted towards old clock hung above his bedroom door.
"That's two hours fast so...8:40?!"
He dashed out of the kitchen—leaving his cereal and his uncle behind—and darted into his bedroom. Max over the next few minutes watched in mild entertainment as Jason darted around the apartment, quickly taking a bath and grooming himself before he grabbed his bag and darted out the door.
"See ya' later Uncle Max!"
The middle aged man stared at the door for a moment but quickly turned his focus back to the tv as he chuckled.
"I could've drove him..."
———
———
Jason ran as fast as he could through the streets of New York, though he was quite unathletic so it wasn't truly that fast. In fact, after a few minutes he had tired himself out and was now speed walking towards his school.
'In retrospect I should've just taken the 7 minute run to the subway and gotten to school like a minute late!'
He reached an intersection and paused, waiting for the light to allow his passage. The intersection was right next to a series of apartments, so he was graced by the loud cursing of two feuding neighbors on a Friday morning.
"How many times...do I have to tell you...to stop leaving your fucking trash in my can?!"
"I don't leave my trash in your can! What're you fucking crazy?!"
"I know you're leaving your trash in my can! Infact, I have fucking proof of you leaving your trash in my can!"
"What proof?! Huh?!"
"Video bitch!"
"...What?!"
"I have video evidence of you placing your trash in my can!"
"...No you do not!"
"Oh?! Last night at 9:43 you placed a blue trash bag in my can!"
"...No!"
"You did! I can show you!"
"Its not even your can! Actually its the city's can and as a member of this city i have a right to properly dispose my trash in a ca-!"
"It is too my can! I pay rent here! I live here! It is situated outside of my building therefore it is my can!"
"I live here too so I also get to use that ca-"
"No you do not!"
"...What?!"
"You do not live here! You do not pay rent! You are staying with your girlfriend, who let's you sleep on the couch!"
"Man how you know that?!"
"She told me!"
"You been talking to my girl?!"
"Your girl been talking to me! And we been doing more than talking!"
"You've been messing with my girl?!
"Yes I've been fucking Denise!"
"...Who's Denise?!"
"W-Wait...Is Denise not your girl?"
"Nah...my girl's name is Samantha."
"Then why does Denise know so much of your buisness?"
"Man I don't know, but that's odd."
"Yeah man that's strange, you should really check up on that."
"..."
"..."
"Man fuck you!"
One of the men grabbed a plant pot sitting on his windowsill and hurled it at the other. Though his aim was quite off, sending the pot hurling towards Jason instead who was standing at the intersection below the building. Jason was jogging in place, waiting for the light to change and trying his best to ignore the two, though that left him completely unaware of the pot flying towards his head. Then he was hit with a strange sensation. A strong urge welled up inside him, an alien sensation rushing over him. It was odd, as if someone else's feelings were being forced into his head, and if he had to put those feelings into words it would be:
A bit confused by the sudden sensation he took a step and turned around, looking for whoever was talking to him. Luckily this minor change in position caused the plant pot to glide mere inches past his head and shatter on the ground. Jason jolted slightly when the pot crashed near him, and a man standing a few feet away approached him, a bit concerned.
"Hey kid, you okay?"
Jason checked himself quickly and thankfully he was fine—none of the shards had reached him.
"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for the heads up by the way."
The man looked confused at his last remarked, but didn't address it. Instead he turned and looked up towards the two arguing men.
"What the fuck is wrong with you idiots?! You're gonna injure a kid over your bullshit!"
"Hey stay out of it man!"
Thankfully the light finally changed and Jason sprinted across the crossing, a few more minutes away from his school. His mind lingered on the unusual senstion for a bit, but he had far more pressing matters at hand. School.
'Damn. It!'
He ran as fast as he could, his small underdeveloped chest rising and falling in fast beats as he tried to maintain the jog—which was actually quite slow. He wasn't sure if he was late or not, yet he held on to what little hope he could muster and prayed he miraculously reach the school gates before 9:00 AM.
'Keep going Reeves! Push past the pain!'
Eventually, after what felt like running a marathon, he reached the school at an impunctual 9:14 AM, and sighed in defeat.
'Yup.'
—
After a brief trip to the office to receive a late slip, Jason headed to his first class and took his seat. The teacher, a very serious looking woman with a harsh demeanor—Mrs. Smith—stood at the hologram board at the front, using a pointer as she went through the equation. She was explaining the theory, though Jason wasn't very focused. He was still fighting a headache, and the run from earlier didn't make it any better. He was tempted to close his eyes and go to sleep, but his foolish pride as a student wouldn't let him. Also he enjoyed Mrs. Smith's class quite a bit.
Though as he found the strength to ignore the headache, another issue arose. He felt another strange sensation, this time one he could understand more easily, since he saw its effects were in real time. He felt a slight tickling sensation in his hand, as if someone was caressing it, then he noticed it himself. His pinky finger was moving. Independently.
'Um...the hell?'
At first it was a small twitch, then it became full on movement as his finger extended and pointed around without his control. Freaked out by what he saw seeing, Jason rushed to cover his finger with his other hand, forcing it to be still. It solved the problem for a moment, but he was soon assaulted by another unpleasant sensation. This time it was his big toe on his left foot, moving without his command.
'Is this a dream?'
It felt as if someone was holding and twirling his digits, but there was no one there. Yet the completely foreign feel of it still sent a shiver up Jason's spine.
"Mr. Reeves?"
He was called upon, in fact it seemed that he had been called upon a few times before but was simply distracted. Mrs. Smith's eyes were on him as well as the other students in the class.
"Mr. Reeves are you present?"
"Uh, yes ma'am."
The woman directed her pointer, and his attention to the board.
"Then you wouldn't mind providing us with an answer for this problem?"
Jason's eyes scanned the board, the equations were lined up neatly allowing him to easily follow along with what he had missed.
"The answer is 412. Right?"
Mrs. Smith smiled, turning back to the board to continue her lesson.
"Very good Mr. Reeves. Now, should the answer not correspond with what you found here, then-"
Jason went back to his previous occupation, relieved that both his finger and toe had settled down. The rest of class went smoothly after that, no more odd occurrences, and Jason quickly forgot his weird encounter.
———
———
Walking through the hall Jason could no longer shake the weird feeling he'd been battling. He was hot. Not like outside or the school was hot—the air conditioning made it quite cold actually—but instead his insides felt like he swallowed a lighter. The warmth he felt was almost feverish, but his headache had calmed down a bit and he was relatively fine. He found it quite odd how his body was acting.
He paused at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, gazing up at the banners being put up near the auditorium. If he remembered correctly, some competition between schools was gonna be held in the upcoming weeks. A 'battle of brains' they called it. Jason wasn't all that interested in it, though he did think it was a bit cool that there were so many competitions to show off both brains and brawn at the school.
'Gotta let the nerds shine too.'
He was about to walk off, but a familiar voice caught his attention.
"Oh, its you Jason."
He immediately turned around and saw who called out to him. It was May Parker, coming down the stairs. Jason got captivated by her for a moment. She had her reddish brown hair up in a ponytail today, revealing more of her face than usual. Her green eyes shined like jewels to him, and her clothes—the type that screamed 'super layed back' or 'I just threw this on, no biggie'—suited her a bit too well. Overall, she looked amazing. So amazing that Jason caught himself staring for a bit too long.
'Cool it Reeves! Be cool!'
"Um, hi! Nice to see you...again."
May chuckled.
"Likewise."
'Make conversation!'
"Oh! Uh, how was your Spanish test by the way?"
May sighed, pushing a strand of hair away from her face and behind her ear. Jason watched her do that a little too intently for comfort.
"I either outdid myself or I bombed it."
"Well, I'm pretty sure you did well enough. You seem smart."
'You seem smart? Dude, you barely know her.'
"Really, thanks. Ugh, I hope so. Really don't want to hear anymore crap from my folks about some dumb language grade."
"Yeah...that's the worst."
Jason never got anything below an 'A' and was never lectured by Max in regard of grades. However he decided that it was best to lie in this situation. The little catch-up with May was going well—far better than expected—so naturally something bad had to happen to ruin his luck. The sensation came back, this time three of his toes moving independently and attempting to drag his foot away. Jason was about to react with shock, but May's presence urged him to be more discreet. He planted his heel firmly against the ground and decided to deal with the unpleasant sensation of his toes wiggling like worms in his shoe.
"So how have your classes been going? Any bad tests?"
She asked with a smile.
"No, its been pretty smooth. I guess. I have a Math test coming up but I think I'm prepared."
His toes curled in his shoe, and to his discomfort a fourth toe began moving.
"Heh. You'll be fine. You seem pretty smart.".
When he received the complement he almost forgot to keep pressure on his foot but quickly composed himself.
"Um...really?"
She chuckled at him.
"Totally. I mean, I doubt a guy who reads college level physics manuals in his free time would struggle on a high school math test."
He had to resist a strong reaction to her words, and his toes thankfully stopped fighting him for control. With an awkward laugh he thanked her.
"Thanks."
Though things got infinitely worse. As his toes stopped, his fingers on his right hand began moving. Almost reflexively, Jason rushed to grab his hand with the other, his sudden movement surprising May.
"Um...are you okay?"
He wanted to shrink into a piece of dust and blow away, but unfortunately he was still here.
"Hm? Oh me? Yeah I'm cool. Totally...I'm super. That's me. Jason. Just a cool guy..."
If he could cut out his tongue he would. May gave him an awkward smile, which killed all of his confidence. Above the two though—at the top of the stairs—a group of students were coming down and while in conversation one dropped their textbook which they rested on the railing. Below, Jason felt the familiar sensation of someone's feelings being forced into his head. This one was far stronger than before, making it far easier for him to discern what it was saying.
A bit confused Jason tilted his head upwards but was immediately met with the sharp pain of a thick textbook slamming into his nose. He shouted out in pain, immediately clutching his nose after the impact. May was surprised as well. She made to cover Jason's nose though retracted her hand at the last second.
"Oh my God, are you okay?!"
Jason rubbed his bruised nose, but managed to give May a really strained smile.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm just great."
His smile did nothing in regards of calming her, she still gave him a rather worried look which honestly made him feel much better about the entire situation. The student who dropped their book quickly ran down the stairs and took it from Jason.
"Woah, sorry dude."
"Nah, you're fine. Sorry."
'Sorry? Why the hell am I apologizing?!'
The guy quickly vanished into the crowd leaving Jason and May alone again once more. May was quite worried about the boy, eying his bruised nose intently.
"Are you sure you're alright? That looks kinda bad..."
Jason rubbed his nose one last time before he gave May his signature awakward smile.
"Nah I'm great. See?"
Her worry slowly melted as she gave him another soft smile.
'Damn she's pretty.'
"Look, I've got a class to get to. I'll see you later alright?"
She gave Jason a small wave as she walked off, to his great displeasure.
"Oh! Um..see ya! Catch you laterrrrr. Yup, be seeing ya..."
Thankfully May had gotten too far to hear him still talking, a detail that took a weight off the boy's chest.
"...I'm gonna die alone."
Normally he would spend the next few minutes wallowing in a pit of self hatred, but there was a far more pressing matter at hand which needed his attention. His body was acting strange. The feverish feeling and general discomfort was his first sign, but involuntary moment was too odd. This was beyond a simple twitch or normal physical response. It genuinely felt as if someone else was in control of his body.
"On your left!"
Someone dashed down the stairs forcing Jason to shuffle to side, quickly bringing him back to reality. He could focus on his weird predicament later—right now he had to make it though the day.
'Keep it together Jay. Just stop focusing on it and it'll stop.'
He affirmed himself and headed to his next class. He wasn't planning on letting his body get the best of him.
———
———
It was a long day, but he got through it. The remainder of his classes went on like usual, and thanfully there were no more incidents like in the morning. The headache and heat had both completely subsided, so he was sure it was just a small sickness his body had gotten over quickly.
'Thank God for the immune system.'
He opened the door and walked into his apartment. It was vacant like usual—Max was most likely working at the shop. Usually he'd go help his uncle, but after the day he had Jason just wanted to relax by himself.
"I'm hungry..."
He hummed to himself, throwing his school bag on the couch as he walked over to the pantry. He took out the same box of cereal from the morning and carried it over to the couch which he dropped onto with an exasperated sigh. It really was a long and stressful day. With a quick press of a button the tv turned on, the news happened to be playing. The reporter—a redhead with green eyes—was giving the usual report about the city.
'She kinda looks like May.'
He dug into the box and tossed a few pieces of cereal into his mouth.
["Another murder today. An elderly couple was found dead in their home with multiple bullet wounds. The home was ransacked and there were some signs of struggle, so police believe it to be a robbery. More on the story as it-"]
Jason changed the channel. He hated the news because it was always the same. Every day there was another murder or robbery—if not both. The city was destroying itself. New York was beautiful. It's brilliant sky scrapers which glistened during the day and the neon lights which shone through the night made it seem like a truly wonderful place. However these attractions were merely poor attempts at hiding the disgusting true face of the city. A cesspool of crime and violence. The people of the city never acknowledged it however—unless they were a victim. Perhaps they were too absorbed in their own lives to notice, or perhaps they simply enjoyed the ignorance of it all. Jason tried to be the latter. Though he never truly could.
"I've seen this before..."
He started watching a cartoon, pushing the news to the back of his mind. To Jason, whatever was happening wasn't his concern, because he couldn't change it. So, he decided to worry about his own little life. School, a poor social life, and enjoying the weekend.
———
———
The moonlight pierced through Jason's bedroom window and washed over his face. It revealed his sleeping features, though also what appeared to be intense discomfort. Sweat poured down his forehead, his eyes clenched shut yet still twitching, and his hand clenching his sheet. He was having a strangely familiar dream, or better yet a nightmare. Within Jason's mind he wasn't in a comfortable slumber or seeing the usual vague darkness in place of a colorful dream. Well there was darkness. However it was far different than what he'd usually face.
Within his dream Jason was being devoured by a deep black ocean. He dried to swim through it, though the water was thick and viscous like slime, and clung to his body. This was the same dream he had last night, though this time it was far more intense. Jason struggled against the black sludge, but it stuck to him harder the more he fought against it. Soon, it began to crawl up his entire body, before it reached his head and forced its way into every orphace. The boy tried to scream, though the fluid didn't allow him to release a sound. It was as if he did not have a mouth.
He felt it tighten around him, like a boa wrapping itself around its prey before swallowing it whole. Jason was scared, because there was nothing for him to do. Eventually, he was indeed swallowed whole and his form dissolved into the endless darkness, leaving nothing of Jason Reeves behind.
———
———
His eyes darted open—they were panicked and desperate. Jason rose with such speed it made him dizzy. Clutching his head he couldn't hear anything but the sound of his heart thumping in his chest. The morning sun flared through his window, illuminating an odd form which he had yet to notice. Jason was alarmed and confused. Though the night had passed, he remembered every detail of his dream with frightening clarity. More than that, he remembered every sensation. The entire experience felt too real to be labelled as just a dream.
"Calm down Jay. You just had a nightmare."
He made attempts to console himself though they didn't work one bit. The entire experience was just too unnatural. Still, denying the idea of any oddities, he stood up from his bed and planned to go wash his face in the bathroom. However, as Jason moved to exit his room he walked past his mirror and caught sight of something strange. He wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, though in his peripherals he saw a pitch black silhouette as he walked by. A bit confused and curious, he walked back infront of the mirror, but immediately recoiled in shock. There was no reflection of Jason. No caramel skinned boy with dark eyes and mid length braids. Instead he saw a mass of black—identical to the sludge he fought in his nightmares—and two large angular white eyes which peered back at him. The shock was too much for the poor boy, and finally, Jason crumbled.
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
His neighbors and possibly those living down the street probably heard his scream, but Jason didn't care. In a panic he began pulling at his body, hoping to feel the familiar sensation of skin but was only met by the silky feel of the black mass. It clung to him tightly, shaping into his small frame and stretching under the force of him pulling—though it never tore. Jason couldn't stop panicking, wondering if he was still trapped in some hellish nightmare.
"GET THE FUCK OFF! GET THE FUCK OFF! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"
Tumbling around the room he fought with the black mass, though to no avail. It was glued to his body, refusing to remove itself.
"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!"
He paused. A chilling, calm and quiet voice invaded his mind. Jason took a quick panicked glance around the room but saw no one besides himself and his reflection. Still, subconsciously he knew he heard the voice before. It was the voice from yesterday, who he assumed to be mere hallucinations or the voice of another.
"W-What the hell?! Who said that?!"
Jason froze, there it was again.