Lucy was having the time of her life in this strange new world.
She clutched her severed head within the palms of her hands, her body holding it like it was the most precious thing in the entire world. She was rather curious, if there were any significant differences after… well- whatever it was that happened that created this… alternate timeline? Then again, what would constitute a significant change? She was guessing she had just been born this way and everyone treated it like it was totally normal! It was a thrilling experience and one that she never even knew she craved to explore. Who wanted to live in some ordinary world where everyone was the same? This was going to be so much fun!
Though she was a little worried about Jas- Jasmine. She felt her brow wrinkle at the thoughts of her cousin, wondering how he- she was coping. Normally this would be accompanied with her tapping her head, but her fingers were underneath her chin holding that part of her body with great caution. It wasn’t something she actively had to think about, like breathing, her body simply did it. It was easier to just let her body do what it had to do so her head could do the thinking anyway.
Her cousin probably had a lot more adjusting to do given that she now had an identical… female body. Maybe she could have been a ‘little’ more empathetic on that, but come on! It was just her own body! Why wouldn’t Jasmine be able to cope? She trusted her own body why couldn’t she trust an identical one? Given time, Jasmine will probably be glad she had a body just like hers to take care of her head.
For some weird reason she began to think about the implications of how... ‘independent’ her body could be. How much did it think about its environment? Maybe it didn’t think consciously but it had instincts to preserve itself and her self- or is that body-self and head-self? Then She wondered how her body would ‘feel’ about there being an identical body… would the two bodies share any- well not ‘thoughts’ but feelings to the other? Was it uncomfortable? Curious? Unsettling? These were things more associated with the mind, but the body did have a sense of familiarity and instinct. To have something so truly identical to ones self that it was more then a mirror image...
… and now Lucy felt herself blushing. Come on it was like having a twin sister! It wasn’t an extension of her own body even if it was completely identical…
The Dullahan was walking down the halls towards her next class when she heard a strange commotion.
“Looks like Clutzy Mary has done it again!” A shrilled voice called out to a few fits of giggles, chuckles and laughter of students in the hallway.
“Hey give that back!”
Lucy heard a voice call out in the hallway. There was a small crowd, some pausing to look at what was going on but she couldn’t see- oh wait! She lifted her head up to have a look ‘above‘ everyone else, her head raised like it was a trophy. She was able to see an altercation of sorts between a cheerleader and some other girl? A brunette haired one trying to get back some sort of book. There was also a recycle bin that got thrown over by accident, with lots of papers and cardboard scattered around.
“What do we have here? Ha, ‘The History of Demi-humans’?! What, are you some weirdo? No wonder you messed up the try-out calamity Mary!”
The brunette girl in glasses, who was apparently ‘Mary’ looked upset at being called this. “I don’t even want to be a cheerleader any more. It wasn’t as fun as made out to be.”
“They are called try-outs for a reason.” The girl continued to mock. “Though I have to admit nobody in history failed as spectacularly as you. Next time, don’t embarrass yourself by trying things you were not cut out to do. We’re still fixing all the damage!”
Lucy couldn’t take it any more. Her body was already driving through the crowd. “Just who do you think you are?!” She stammered as she stood protectively- well- her body stood protectively with one hand on her hips and the other head turned the other way behind her against her side. “Oh- heya!” She smiled to Mary.
Mary blinked at the sight of Lucy. She had been unprepared for the sight.
Lucy’s body turned to the cheerleader- resulting in her head looking at the Mary from the crook of her arm (much to her confusion) as her head and body coordinated to face the same direction. Finally aligned, The Dullahan held her head outward to Mary who was...looking at her with a bit of shock and awe, with some quiet mournful looking eyes behind those glasses. “Are you okay?”
“Uh.. yeah...”
Lucy then turned her body and brought her head close to the cheerleader, thrusting her head right to her face! (For added measures she found it better to have her head raised again to make it look like she was a lot taller then the blonde woman) “She didn’t make it through your try-outs big deal. She doesn’t need you! You can do your thing and we do ours.”
The blonde cheerleader had a look of disgust clearly quite… sickened by the sight of a head being held by a body. “Ew- Get that damn head out of my face!” She was about to push it when Lucy’s body reacted, with massive flames of blue coming out from where her neck would be!
To say the cheerleader was intimidated would be an understatement. If those flames were bigger… well- this demi-freak was something else and it was disgusting to look at. Perhaps it was just nothing more then smoke but she ended up taking a few steps back- and tripping over the fallen recycling bin! Her skirt pulled upward slightly showing her panties in the fall much to her embarrassment.
Everyone started to laugh as the cheerleader seem to get what was coming to her.
“You’ll regret this you freak!” She fumed more as she left the hall…
Soon the crowd began to disperse. Nobody was going to mess with a headless body that shot weird magical flames when agitated like that!
Mary looked surprised as her ordeal appeared to be over. She glanced around in embarassment and set the recycle bin back up right. “T-Thanks.” The brunette whispered as she adjusted her glasses. “You didn’t have to do that. Now Tasha is going to cause trouble for you.”
“Ah, don’t worry. I got a good body guard- well head-guard.” She smiled gesturing with her eyes towards her modest body… which somehow managed to convey a rather ‘humble embarrassed’ pose at simply performing its role.
“That’s .. amazing,” Mary smiled. “Your head is.. not on your body. So amazing...”
“Well maybe from my perspective you’re the weird ones. Having weird fleshy neck things,” Lucy said with a laugh again, twirling her head from one hand to the other. “You have no idea how free I feel being able to look at the world like this. Oh, my name is Luc-” She had her body extend her arm.
“Lucy! Yeah I know. I mean everyone in school knows you and your cousin Jasmine.” She smiled eager and curious. “I just never thought I might get to meet you. I’m um- nobody.”
“Nobody? Thought your name was Mary?”
“Yes! I mean- yeah my name is Mary.” She blushed “It’s really nice to meet you!” She smiled again bashfully.
Lucy regarded the girl with a friendly smile back. “So what’s the deal with that cheerleader.. Tasha? What stick got up her butt.”
“Um-” Mary gave an awkward look but… maybe she had to confess it. “I wanted to be a cheerleader… I went to the try-outs they were doing. There was a small accident and I sorta hit someone.. then I fell and well-” she groaned as she relived that moment during her explaination. “It was all just an accident! But they make it out like I was some disaster- well- that was a disaster but it was an accident!” Mary sighed. “I’m not really like that though. I’m not clumsy. I just had one bad day… it just happened to be the most important day too. I really wanted to be a cheerleader but… I gave that up. The squad isn’t exactly filled with nice people after all.” Mary looked down with bitter disappointment. “I just thought it could be me...”
Lucy started to appraise her new friend. Her unique perspective tended to make people look down at her when talking so it was a bit strange raising up her head to look at her. Mary was a fairly average young teenager, perhaps just a little bit pudgy but not overly so. She had freckles on her features and brunette hair wearing thin glasses. Her eyes were a dark brown and she tended to have her hair worn to one side, in some attempt of fashion. Her hair was unfortunately a bit frizzy and hard to make work it seemed. She had a fairly average chest size but rather wide hips, which made her stand somewhat awkwardly at times. She was fairly pretty but not exactly ‘cheerleader’ grade- if such a thing existed.
“Ah, you don’t need them anyway,” Lucy continued. “I know having a hobby is nice, but if the people who do that hobby isn’t pleasant.. well, maybe it’s time to pick a new hobby. You could always try dancing! That’s not too different from cheerleading.”
“I know. I guess I just.. liked the idea of it.” Mary smiled shyly. “I guess you wouldn’t understand. It’s like the idea of being an idol to the school. There are even scholarships to be gained… and um- there’s this footballer I sorta like- but I guess he thinks I’m a clutz too.”
‘Oh boy’ Lucy shook her head in her hands. This girl must have been reading too many romance books. The cheerleader getting the stud of the school? Did she even know this guy? Most jocks could be such jerks anyway they ‘deserved’ cheerleaders.
Lucy and Mary talked a bit more, finding they shared an arts class. It was probably a good thing too, since they could actually be partners for the next project. The actual class was just a distant thought though to Mary as she wanted to know everything about her new Dullahan friend.
“It must be nice to be able to brush your hair so easily,” Mary thought with a smile. Despite what she had gone through recently gone through it was nice to smile and have a chance for once.
“Well, I still need a mirror!” Lucy giggle. “Though maybe you can tell me something. Can I see your book on Demi-humans?”
“Sure!” Mary smiled. “Though there isn’t a lot about Dullahans. Your type is pretty rare. Some of this stuff probably doesn’t exist any more.”
“Well I’m actually hoping to learn more about the rest. What kinds are there?”
“You don’t know?” Mary seemed surprised at that. “Well- of course why would you know? I forget sometimes you’re just like us um-” she turned a page. “This one is my favourite. It’s called a Harpy. The legends say they can imitate any sound they hear.. though that’s probably just a story. They have these wings instead of arms but- I don’t think they can actually fly. It would defy the laws of physics!”
“Laws of physics you say?” Lucy asked putting her head on the table, making it roll a little awkwardly with her hand. “Sorta like this?”
Mary found herself giggling. Lucy was so cool! Friendly and nice too. She thought someone who had their head in such a state would probably be all annoyed and angry or something. Lucy was actually very chilled out! She found herself relaxing as she turned a page. “Oh, and this one is pretty nice. Mermaids.. I think there’s one in Seattle. She does tricks with the whales. She’s really famous and very pretty.”
“Hm, I dunno. Being a mermaid sounds tough. Does she just live in an aquarium?”
“They did a nice documentary on her. I think she’s pretty happy being famous.” Mary thought. “Though yeah, I guess it’s a difficult trade off.”
Mary showed a few more illustratoions. “This is a dryad. Most just have green hair, but some have green skin! I wonder if they get more flowers as they grow?”
There were many others they could find in the book. All strange beings with unusual abilities, one or two seem to defy physics. The most ‘normal’ one seem to be the half-sized ones or double sized humans- which wasn’t too far beyond the normal bounds. Then there seem to be a whole section on those that had animal features… the strangest ones being the centaurs and sphinx which seem to be on the extreme ends… Then they got to a new section. “Male demi-humans.”
“Male?” Lucy tilted her head. Oh- of course there had to be male ones! She wasn’t sure why it never came up. All the ones she had seen were all inspired by women but there had to be a section of men as well. “I wonder if its harder for them…”
“How do you mean?” Asked Mary.
“Well…” Lucy wondered again. What if her cousin had stayed male… had become a male Dullahan? Would things be easier on him? How do woman and guys react to a male transformed in such a strange way… girls had their share of bullies as did the boys… then again maybe it was easier for them after all? “Eh never mind. I never encountered a male demi-human before. Are they rarer?”
“No more rarer then girls I think you are all pretty rare!” she read the book which showed a few interesting types. Similar varieties of demons, harpies, even dullahans, “Giants look pretty cool. If I were a giant I would stomp all over the cheerleaders!” she giggled.
Class was almost finished as they sorted out their next project and took a few notes for homework. Art was always the easiest class and the two departed back to the hallways to get some lunch. Mary was actually rather curious to watch how Lucy ate..
The mood was soured when they caught sight of Tasha. She practically sneered at the two- well- one and two halves of one person. “Hey. Here’s a joke for you. What do you call a boring day?”
The two glanced at each. “Uh.. no idea.” said Mary.
“Dull.. hun.” She giggled. It was an awful pun. It seemed Tasha was trying to get a little revenge for her own fall… a few whips of energy from Lucy’s body made Tasha pause. Though the implied insult was there. A dullahan was somehow another word for a very… uninteresting woman. It wasn’t that Tasha said that directly but… the seed was now there for ‘others’ to say and remark similar things.
Lucy of course, didn’t really care. “What do you call a dumb cheerleader?”
Tasha raised an eyebrow at that.
“Tasha, just Tasha.” Lucy faintly smiled. “You want to go girl?” She didn’t really know how, but her body’s energy color seem to change from silvery white to a softer amber.
Tasha would have growled but.. instead smirked. “Oh yes, very witty. I suppose you know what happened to that calamity Mary? How she ruined the try-outs?”
Lucy’s body shrugged. “Yeah I heard and it’s ancient history. have you heard the girl who’s panties were flashed in the hallway?”
Tasha gave a frustrated look but still stayed calm. She knew that the best way to deal with this situation was to cause a little bit of ‘doubt’ in the other. Mary right now thought she had a friend… all she had to do was ask something impossible. … “You’re probably right,”
Mary blinked. “huh?”
“...Maybe we have been hard on Mary. She’s not really bad luck or anything.” she folded her arms looking away for a moment idly.
Mary looked almost hopeful but guarded. “I’m not-”
Tasha turned back to her. “Though maybe some proof is in order… so… why don’t we give you another test? If you pass, I might even let you back to trying out cheerleading. I do have a bit of sway in who gets in you know.”
“I really don’t want to any more.” Mary fumed. “You pretty much ruined any love I have for doing that!” There were tears slightly in her eyes. It really was something Mary wanted to do. She could handle failing it but the constant teasing that she lost was almost too much.
The flickering flames of the Dullahan turned a darker shade of orange, becoming slightly brighter. “Maybe an apology is in order and we’ll let bygones be bygones.”
The bait had been set. Tasha continued with the teeny tiniest of grins. “You might as well prove that you’re not accident prone. Why don’t you… for one day, hold that dull-hun’s head?”
“W-What?” Mary asked.
Lucy arched an eyebrow. “Hey- what does that even prove?”
‘An awful lot’ Tasha thought to herself. Like the spider catching the fly, she has laid this trap very carefully. There was no way out. She knew something about these weird freaks- they never let anyone have their head… and especially not to someone who was known to be accident prone. “Oh, well maybe your new friend doesn’t actually -trust- you that much at all. Mary. Sucks doesn’t it? I honestly can’t blame her.”
Of course Lucy also knew where this was going. She was trying to make Mary think she didn’t trust her? Just to spite a new friend she was making?! Her body was already going towards the girl to probably knock some sense into her, the flame flickering a burning red- but acting in such a way wouldn’t really do. Plus.. how would a fight with a dullahan even work? She didn’t need to protect her head as long as someone else was holding it, but fighting with her body unable to see and guard herself…
“Hold my head Mary.” Lucy decided, handing her head carefully to the girl.
It was now Mary’s turn to be shocked… she slowly cradled her friend’s head, awfully aware that her palms were getting sweaty. To say Lucy wasn’t concerned at all would be pushing it, however her body was nearby and if they could get this cheerleader cow off their back..
As her head was held her body was now free to act and started to approach the Cheerleader. Whisps of energy again floating with intense rage. “You know why I don’t let people hold my head?” said Lucy from Mary’s hands. “It’s because I need to keep my body in check. It’s not just protection of my head you know.” Lucy embellished a bit. However it was true that her body ‘could’ perceive a threat and act upon it..
“Hey- What the heck is this thing doing-” Tasha gasped as she took a step back. That freaky body was even worse without a head in her hands! Like a weird undead zombie!
Lucy watched with vague amusement.“I can’t stop her now. She wants someone’s head if I’m not here. She’s probably a rampaging headless monster now. Maybe she’ll cut off your head to make use of you? Who knows, maybe I’m not actually the one in charge!”
Tasha gasped. She had not considered that- no way it was true anyway but the body was advancing towards her in a menacing way.
“hmph- pitiable. She’s so afraid of my body isn’t she,” Lucy smirked. “So how about we make a bet? I dare you to give my body a hug...”
“Screw you.” Tasha growled. “Stop moving your body. I know you’re doing it!”
“Maybe? Sorta?” Lucy smirked. “Go ahead, Mary is holding my head. Why don’t you play your part and hold my body? We’ll all be friends then..”
“Like hell!” Tasha backed away. This wasn’t going quite as planned at all. She was quite sure that Lucy wouldn’t let anyone touch her head! Urgh! She quickly retreated. “Fine, but let’s see how long she’ll let you hold it.”
With Tasha gone… Mary was staring at the head she was holding. The girl.. the new friend she had made.“… You’re... warm.”
“Huh?” Lucy glanced to Mary. “Oh?
“It’s just I was surprised. You feel warmer then I thought you would be without your body… how?”
The warmth.. that was a nice feeling. The brain lacking in any organs (besides itself) shouldn’t really be able to generate that much heat. That’s why people covered their heads as it tended to lose body heat there. Yet.. the warmth of Lucy’s body seem to be travelling towards her head in some weird fashion, probably all her blood pumping there from her torso. Mary was very delicate and cautious in holding her friend’s head of course.
Lucy felt the sensation of being held by someone else… someone other then her own body. There was this… weird feeling. She felt kind of tense, a bit worried about it but relaxed and happy at the same time. This translated to her body staying very close to her friend Mary- not that she didn’t trust her, but her body wasn’t really going to leave her head just like that. Lucy felt very safe and content though… but these were alien hands around her.. the hands of a friend sure but... they really only just met and this ‘was’ awkward.
“Do you need to wear a hat?” Mary asked. “When- it gets cold?”
“Eh, sometimes- just like anyone else! Though I think my hands keep me warm too.”
“You’re pretty lucky to be so special- you and your cousin.” Mary smiled. “Uh- here.” she blushed as she returned her head back to its rightful place towards her body. “I- I appreciate you letting me hold your head. We don’t need to play her game. It was.. a nice gesture though.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I wasn’t playing her game either. It was more because my body needed someone to keep my head safe in case that Tasha needed a beating.” she giggled. “She’s really afraid of my flame thing huh.”
Mary looked at the fire curiously. It was.. interesting to her. She dare not touch it herself, perhaps it was just a basic human instinct but .. it was still curious all the same. “It’s like a reflection of your feelings..” she whispered. “I mean- I don’t know if I believe in that stuff but.. I saw when you get mad it seems to get hotter or something.”
“Yeah… I mean, it’s still something I don’t understand either but I think… I do like it.”
It was now lunch time. Tasha wasn’t giving Mary or Lucy any more trouble. They had not seen her but they were still going through the book. It was hard to tell though which ones were real or embelished legends. It seemed the only way to be sure something was real, was to actually see and experience it.
Mary certainly would never forget having dinner with a Dullahan. She watched as the girl placed her head on her lap, the food slowly getting chewed and .. swallowed? Well- without a neck she had no idea how that even came to be but.. somehow the girl was eating. “So amazing… you really are amazing!” Mary smiled.
Lucy giggled. “Hey I’m just eating chips.”
“You make the mundane so amazing though!” She giggled. “I mean- I would love to just record everything you do and how you do it- oh wait that makes me sound creepy.”
“Ha. Just a bit. Though I would love a sleepover. I’m staying with my cousin and I don’t think she ever had a sleepover with her friends. I might as well organize one for her!”
“Oh- really? Two of you? um- that would be great!”
“I’m glad you approve- oh where’s the ketchup?” The dullahan body got up, leaving her head on the table. Mary watched as the body moved around, to get the condiments. It wasn’t exactly far, just a quick walk to the middle of the room and back. However seeing the body alone like that did make Mary a little nervous.
Lucy looked to Mary as she felt her body’s mission was a success and was returning. She took her eyes off her body for only a second when the weirdest sensation happened…
She felt like someone had grabbed her body! Unable to turn her head herself, she immediately told her body to just kick the ever living daylights of whoever would -dare- grab hold of her from behind like that!
“Mph!” she gasped.
… though her body refused.
… her body refused to act in the way her head demanded?! She tried again as she felt those arms wrap around her body. What the heck was going on? For a moment she thought her body must be seriously confused or the connection to it wan’t working-
“Hey sis!” A voice called out. “Huh? Where’s your head?”
“Oh- isn’t that your brother?” Mary asked.
“Brother? I-” Lucy didn’t have a brother!
The boy held her body’s hand… and joined the table. “Hi sis-head!” he smiled.
Lucy stared at him. He looked.. a lot like her- well maybe more closely resembling Jasmine when she.. was a boy. He looked young, about fourteen years old. It was little wonder her body refused to hurt him. She just had no idea and was a bit worked up with all the things from Tasha.
“Is something wrong?” The boy asked.
“No- um- not at all. Just you know, you caught me by surprise!”
“Ha, sorry about that. You usually always carry your head though! I just wanted to sneak up behind you and give you a hug.”
“Well you certainly did!” She laughed nervously. ‘Damn it- if only my body can tell me his name! How can I not know? Where was he even staying? Their parents were away but more importantly, since when did she have a little brother?!
“You okay?” The boy asked. “Can you introduce me to your friend?”
“Oh- sure! This is Maria.”
“Hi Maria!” The boy smiled eagerly. “I’m Jason. Lucy’s little brother!”
‘Wait- what?’ So his name is Jason.. Jasmine’s old name? Maybe the timeline changed and created a new little brother?!
What.. in the world?!
Tasha was so angry. “Stupid freaks- urgh!” It was bad enough having those weird ‘things’ in the school! Why can’t things just be normal? “I’ve got far more important things to deal with anyway then those-”
She had gone into the sports hall, which tended to be her general central place to compose herself. Cheerleading was not merely people having a ‘good time’ it took effort, synchronisation, dedication and she would be damned if she let some clutzy girl ruin the championships.
The display was quite intricate and with the fireworks it was going to be a fun day. She was looking forward to hearing those cheers… and for everyone to know it was her efforts that made this all possible-
“Miss Tasha?” A voice called out.
Tasha glanced and saw it was Dean Harris. Harris was an older man in his late fifties. He was fairly tall with a few wisps of grey. Right now his eyes were looking at the cheerleader with a gentle smile. “I have a request for the head-cheerleader to consider.”
“If it’s about Mary, the answer is-”
“Oh no, that was dealt with ages ago. You are free to say who is in and out, that is your prerogative,” The dean nodded. “We have a new student though and is interested in cheerleading.”
Tasha tilted her head. Another one? They had plenty! Any more people would just be an excess and ruin the masterful performance. “Well.. of course everyone is welcome to give it a try. What’s the girl’s name?”
“Actually it’s a boy.”
Tasha nearly coughed. “Wh-?”
“Indeed. A demi-human boy… I would like you to see him and see if he can do anything for your show.”
Tasha put a hand on her head. “Dean Harris… frankly we are over booked. We don’t really need this. A cheerleader has to be…”
“He’s quite dedicated.”
“… they have to be… normal.” Tasha almost spat that. “How am I supposed to work with a freaky demi-human who is also a guy to do cheerleading? You know it doesn’t even make any sense!” Had all the standards just gone out the window? Not everyone can do it!
“… There is some… insistence…” the Dean explained. “Though if he fails in the try outs, you can simply reject him. Though he must be allowed to try.”
“Urgh…” Tasha could feel herself losing it. Why in the world go through this charade if all this guy has to do is fail? “So what sort of freak is he?” Maybe some weird two headed monster’ Tasha vaguely thought.
“Tasha…” The dean waggled a finger. “Not helpful.” He gave a soft sigh as he brought out a file/ “He’s a student like anyone else. Ive asked him to come by here in an hour. Let him do his routine and you can decide.”
Tasha didn’t see the point of this but.. she guessed he might as well show what he had.
An hour went by as Tasha got the paperwork and desk set out. Normally there would be a second cheerleader with her but this came on such short notice and it was already a moot point that this ‘boy’ was going to fail.
“Male cheerleader huh…” Well it was rare but they were around of course- but they tended to be well- human. She didn’t even know what she was dealing with. She was prepared for almost anything…
… almost anything.
There was the sound of a clop- Tasha got confused at that sound as she looked up and beheld… a horse? No- a centaur! It appeared to be male… a human boy with soft blonde hair. He was wearing a T-shirt which covered the human torso. His head was cut medium sized. One could say his features were surprisingly handsome despite the horse part. The horse body itself was a dark black with white blonde hair on its tail matching his hair.
“Hi!” The boy smiled. “I’m Jamie. I was told to come here for a try out to join the cheerleaders club?” He had his arms at the sides of his body looking like it was all quite normal to have a horse lower body.
Tasha was staring. Her mouth open and staying open for probably a good ten seconds. “Uh- yeah- I mean- no! I mean-” she looked at him again. Was the dean nuts! Why even entertain this? Should she just tell him they were full? It was bad enough he was a guy but a horse-guy?! “Look- Jamie-”
“I have a pretty good routine! Let me just get the music on-”
Tasha groaned. ‘Crash and burn then it is…” She was hoping to save this horse-boy the embarrassment.
The centaur began to dance. He waved his arms and even had some bells on his front legs which he tied on. It was an… interesting routine and Tasha found herself rather curious how a guy would handle himself on four legs. Though it was a little more noisy then she would have liked- ‘ah is that what the bells are for?’ Interesting… it softened the sound of his clops an made it sound more like a tambourine in a way. He was using what he had in the best ways possible… and in some ways that could be commended.
Jamie raised himself on his hing legs, then on his fore-legs stretching out his arms, a few kicks to the beat of some kind of rock-song. He turned and moved in strange motions that no horse should really do and soon he laid down limp as his routine was done.
Tasha looked at the table with the paper to mark the results on. On the one hand… she had to admit, he was pretty good.
… For a horse.
However that was the problem. He was a horse. A horse-boy! There was no place she could put him in without it ‘clashing’ with the system she had. Though she ‘did’ try to envision it.. he did have talent but this was just the wrong place. Even if she did accept him, appearance was ‘everything’. Having one boy dance with a bunch of girls.. well the image of the girls would be ruined. It was just the way things were. Though the fact he was a centaur made the image all the worse!
“Look- uh…” Why was he giving her those weird eyes? “Your performance was… okay. Four legs- I mean- for leg-movement you- you did pretty good. You’re just not what I’m looking for.” She tried to sound disappointed and maybe some small part of her was but- how could she even possibly be expected to make it work?
“Oh… I see. Well.. thanks for letting me try.” he half smiled though probably deep down also knew he didn’t have a shot. “It was fun to give it a try.”
“Well- I mean- your dancing was good! It’s just.. well- it’s a matter of.. symmetry… there’s just one of you and a lot of girls- when there are male cheerleaders there needs to be a balance you see-” While this was true she was half making it up as an excuse. What else could she say? “Unless you know another centaur or some other demi-humans maybe.” She half heartedly said it not really exploring that thought.
“Just my sister,” Jamie admitted. “Though she’s only twelve. I don’t think she’s interested in dancing, she’s more interested in science stuff.”
‘Oh Thank God!’ Tasha heaved a sigh. She really didn’t want to make it work. “Well, maybe with two centaurs I could have worked ‘something’ out but...eh it’s pretty rare. You have a good day now though!’ Relief… sheer relief. She smiled sweetly to him. It wasn’t worth causing trouble after all.
“Thanks again.” Jamie nodded and turned away to walk- allowing Tasha a moment to see those horse.. parts of him. Why the heck didn’t he wear clothing?! Or- was she supposed to pretend not to notice?! Why was this horse-boy annoying her just by walking away.
She shook her head as she closed her eyes. “Yikes! Well- guess nobody can accuse him of not being much of a man…” she found herself blushing so very hard. “I need a shower.”
Jamie of course didn’t mind the failure of it. He was just looking for somewhere to fit in and had gone to all the various clubs on offer. He hoped to try and make some friends. Of course everyone suggested to him the sci-fi and fantasy club but those people acted… really ‘weird’ to him. Maybe it was being a centaur that did it.
Then he noticed another Demi human… Were there others in this school? “Hi!” He waved in a friendly manner galloping towards the.. headless girl?
“J..Jamie?!” The head the arm was holding almost screamed his name.
“Jamie blinked. “Huh? Do I know you?” He asked. “Oh I guess word of me spread quickly.. I do stand out but- I must confess I havn’t heard your name.”
“It’s Jas-” Jason paused. “Jas..mine…” She looked at him with shock and awe. “I havn’t seen you in a long time.” There was a whispered sadness in his voice.
“Hm?” Jamie looked at her in continued confusion. “I uh- don’t remember meeting you before. I was sure I would remember!” He smiled. “
“I- I need to go- sorry Jamie.
Jason had to find Lucy. This was serious! Jamie? In the old time line… Oh crap. Where was she! It was so awkward to look around having to use ones arms to scan from one room to another. She was almost starting to get ‘neck envy!’
Jason turned a corner- literally running into Lucy’s identical body. Each head falling identically from the other’s hand in surprise. In a very odd coordinated motion the two bodies reacted quickly realizing it was safer to grab the other’s head-
“Uh- Thanks-” Jason gasped.
“No Thank you!” Lucy smiled as they exchanged heads back to the ‘correct’ body.
“We need to talk-” Both said at the same time.
“Ha!” Lucy smiled. “Well maybe we are like twins after all.” She giggled.
“Lucy! This is serious.”
“I know I know. Look, you might not believe this but I got a new little brother! He’s named Jason…”
“What?” Jasmine blinked. “How- uh- is he okay?”
“Okay? You mean as in is he a Dullahan? Not yet, but that might come to be later, who knows!” She giggled. “So what’s your news?”
“I saw a centaur.”
“Really?” Lucy tilted her head in her hands with excitement. “That’s awesome!”
“It’s.. Jamie.” He whispered. “You remember don’t you? Jamie had that really bad accident in the old time line and had to go to a different school. I never saw him after that-” Jasmine tried to recall the details.
Lucy tried to calm her cousin down. “Well it’s okay now isn’t it? He’s here and he’s a centaur. I think that’s a win. Maybe this time line is being nicer to him.”
“You don’t get it! So many weird things are different here. My friends are not acting like normal either! One of them is just after my body and the other is so cautious in talking to me-”
“-uh, that’s probably more you being a girl Cuz,” Lucy sighed. “I’m sorry that they are acting different but boys.. eh, you’ll figure it out. Everyone is pretty normal to me. I haven't seen too many differences. I Met a new friend called Mary though, she’s pretty nice. I told her we’ll invite your first slumber party.”
“Urgh-” Jasmine groaned. “You are enjoying this way too much…”
“Well why not? You should enjoy it too!”
“What should I do about my friends though!”
Lucy gave it some thought. “Just talk to them? You could always go on a date with that one who likes you and get it out of his system.”
“A date?! Why- Lucy come on are you kidding?! That’s way too much!”
As if by coincidence Harry had then noticed the two headless woman. He approached a bit cautiously not quite sure what was being said but it looked like an argument of sorts? Still catching Jasmine here seemed like a good moment. “jasmine?”
Jasmine looked to Harry. “Yeah?”
Harry seem to struggle on what to say. “I wanted to say.. I’m really sorry. I feel awful after you said that stuff and.. you’re completely right. Don’t quite understand what you said about parallel universe but- uh-” He rubbed his hands. “I was.. envious of how you and Dean got on and I wanted to be part of that- but- yeah I’m not very good at it.” He glanced around. “Look there’s a new film coming out, features some Demi-humans in it too so- well- that’s not the main thing about it but- uh-”
Jasmine arched an eyebrow.
Harry continued. “Can we go to the cinema together? I have five tickets- I figure you me, Dean, your cousin and we can bring one other! Anyone you like.”
“Well- I guess.” Jasmine relented. “Sure.. as friends?”
Harry tried hard not to look disappointed but nodded. “Yeah- as friends.”
It was one step.. maybe.. just maybe.. he could hope.
