When they made it to the bottom of the stairs, Mikey ran off to the kitchen, much to Jon's relief. As the fog in his mind cleared, Jon decided what he should do. As his mom's husband, he obviously wouldn't have gotten the stone as an inheritance, and as a 10-year old boy he was probably too young. He had to get back to his own age, and unfortunately the only way to do it was to become Zoe's ideal version of himself. Sure he'd be Goth, but at least he'd be sixteen again, the oldest child in the family.
"Zoe, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jon asked, as his mom walked into the kitchen, right behind Mikey.
Zoe grunted.
"Go talk with your father, Zoe," her mom said.
Zoe reluctantly left the table and walked into the living room where Jon was waiting. As she entered the six-foot radius, Jon changed again, becoming the Goth version of his original 16-year old self.
Zoe's demeanor changed. Her irritation disappeared, and was replaced with a sense of friendliness that Jon witnessed the first time he changed in her presence.
"Hey, Jon. What did you want?"
"What are you two doing over there?" their mom yelled from the kitchen. "Your food is getting cold."
"Why doesn't she mind her own fucking business?" Zoe said to Jon.
Jon knew exactly how she felt, which was weird because he never had before.
"I need to go upstairs and get something. Could you stall her for me?"
"Sure, Jon."
Zoe went back to the kitchen, as Jon went back upstairs.
