Jon hadn't seen Athena all morning. At lunch he asked around and found that she had skipped out of classes. She'd been there that morning, people had seen her speaking to Zoe, but for some reason she'd taken off without a word.
A small worry entered Jon's mind. He hoped that she was okay. Sure, it was fun to mess with people, but he didn't want to hurt them. Up until that moment he hadn't even considered that he might be doing some serious damage.
Should he stop? Should he try to reverse what he'd done? Zoe didn't seem to mind the changes. In fact, she seemed much happier than before; she was fitting in for the first time that he could remember. On the way to the cafeteria he had seen her joking around in the hallway with a crowd of girls who normally wouldn't give her the time of day. Jon was pretty sure that he even spotted a boy or two giving her a second look.
But Athena? He worried what had happened to her. He had wanted to check on her that day just to see what was going on, what the dreams were doing to her. What if something terrible had happened?
He stewed on these thoughts all afternoon. Teachers and friends noted his distracted nature. Karyn asked him if everything was alright as they passed in the hall, only to be answered by a grunt. He couldn't confide in her, his guilt held him back.
At the end of the day he packed up his homework and began his walk home. Zoe had decided to walk with a couple of her new friends, two preppy girls from her year, and Karyn had a yearbook meeting to attend. As he exited the school his mind was still fixed on the tall gothic girl he'd messed up.
So distracted, in fact, that he failed to notice the leggy blonde leaning against the bike racks.
It wasn't until she called his name that he saw her. There was something familiar about the vision before him, but he couldn't quite place it. Her bleach-blonde hair hung loosely, her tight pink top showed an obvious amount of cleavage, her short denim miniskirt gave him a great view of her long luscious legs. She wiggled over to him, then dropped her eyes, almost as if she were worried what he might think of him. Then she spoke.
"Um, hi Jon."
That voice. Holy cow. It was Athena. Jon couldn't speak. He was so in shock of what he saw.
"Listen, um, I'm walking your way, want some company?"
Jon nodded dumbly. Athena's spirits seemed to lift.
"Could I carry your books for you?"
Again a nod. She grabbed his load and held it tight to her chest. A sigh escaped from her lips, as if she'd just tasted something wonderful. Her eyes locked on him adoringly.
Jon smiled. He hadn't broken her. He'd definitely improved her. As he walked home, enjoying the sound of Athena's stiletto sandals on the pavement, he formed an idea of what to do that night. Encouraged by the former goth's transformation, he decided to go for gold.
