- Brandon's POV -
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I was distracted as I drove to Starbucks the next morning. After the stomach cramps had left, I had googled anything regarding sudden stomach pain, but had found nothing. I had reached the point where I blamed everything on being struck by lightning.
I had figured it must be time for me to go to bed, but as I got ready, I felt several phantom emotions in succession. I was suddenly happy—I even grinned while brushing my teeth before catching myself—then concerned about nothing, and then angry for no reason. I even had to punch the couch again.
Shaking my head, I put on my blinker and turned left. “That was crazy,” I told my steering wheel. “I must be going insane.”
Sadly, inanimate objects never respond or give advice. Good thing I called Aiden to meet me this morning. Maybe he’ll have an idea of what’s been happening.
The nice girl, Taylor, was working the register again, even though it was later in the morning. I glanced at my watch while I waited in line. It read 8:53 am. She works on Saturdays now? I wondered. I’ve come here on Saturday mornings before but never seen her. Maybe I just didn’t notice.
Taylor smiled at me tiredly as I walked up to the register to order. “Hey, Br…Br…” She squinted, thinking hard. “Brayden?”
“Brandon,” I corrected her with a smile. “You were close.”
I ordered my usual Americana, but iced this time. As Taylor turned to talk to another employee, I noticed her wince. When she faced me again, I questioned her grimace.
“I just had a stomach ache last night.” She made an unconcerned gesture. “It’s only the aftereffects. No big deal.”
“Hmm,” I said. “I had a stomach ache last night too.”
“Weird.” Taylor gave me an odd look. I shrugged.
After an awkward silence during which the person behind me rudely poked me, I hurriedly said “Well, bye!” and walked off to a table. Taylor’s answering “Bye!” followed me as I left.
I spotted Aiden at a table in the corner of the Starbucks. “Sup, bro?” My best friend gave me a fist bump.
“Not much,” I responded, returning the fist bump. “You?”
“Same.” Aiden sipped his mocha frappe and cocked his head to the side. “So, you wanted to talk about something?”
I quickly filled him in on all the strange things that had been happening to me. His eyes widened as he listened. As an afterthought, I added Taylor into the mix as well, mentioning my research on feeling others’ emotions and physical sensations.
“…and so that’s what I wanted to tell you,” I finished, leaning back. “So, do you have any ideas of your own? Am I going crazy or does it sound legit?”
“Whew,” Aiden whistled. “That’s…wow. Wow.”
“Yeah.”
He thought for a moment. “Well, it sounds legit to me. I mean, you’ve noticed you might be feeling what at least Taylor feels, physically and emotionally.” He whistled again. “Wow. This is so cool!”
“Yeah, it’s cool unless you’re the one getting mood swings and a terrible stomach ache for no reason,” I said dryly.
Aiden ignored me. “Dude, what if it’s only Taylor?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.
“I mean, what if it’s only Taylor you have this…this sudden connection with.” He shrugged. “You haven’t noticed anyone else specifically reacting. What if it’s just with her?”
I shook my head. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t even know her!"
“Hey, we should test it!” Aiden looked over to where Taylor stood at the register. “You do something, like…poke your stomach, or pinch your arm, or something like that. We’ll see if anyone besides Taylor in reacts to it.”
It sounded crazy, but I had to admit it was worth a try. “Okay,” I relented. "You watch the room, I’ll watch Taylor. I’m gonna pinch my arm.”
I took a small bit of skin on my upper arm and pinched it with my fingernails. To my great surprise, Taylor gave a small yelp and slapped a hand to her upper arm. I watched as she investigated the spot. I directed my gaze at Aiden, speechless.
“Nothing,” he said. Then he saw my face. “Did she do something?”
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “She…She felt it.” That’s impossible! I panicked. There’s no way—It’s just ridiculous!
But it’s happened too many times to be coincidental, another voice reminded me.
“Dude!” Aiden’s face lit up. “You guys are linked in some weird way!”
“I’m still skeptical.” A small part of me didn’t believe what I had just seen. “It just can’t be true. That’s like something that would happen in one of your comic books.”
“Well, try it again.” My best friend was ecstatic. “This is so cool!”
I didn’t think it was very cool, but trying again couldn’t hurt. “What should I do?”
“Uh…” Aiden thought for a moment, running a hand through his hair. “Bite your lip or cheek. Hard.”
I winced at the thought of the pain. “Okay. Help me keep watch.” Obliging, I bit the inside of my cheek as hard as I could. I watched, stunned, as Taylor clapped a hand up to her mouth. Her eyes were even shiny, like she had teared up. I felt a little guilty for biting so hard. She quickly walked to the bathroom in the back of the Starbucks.
“Okay, I am so telling Jamie about this,” Aiden rambled. I was still in shock and wasn’t listening. “Like, you have this weird connection with a random barista at Starbucks? How crazy is that? Bro, so that means you must be feeling her emotions right now! How do you feel?”
“Confused,” I answered slowly.
“Seems legit. You’re probably both confused.”
“Yeah.” I shook my head. This is weird in and of itself, but why Taylor? I asked myself repeatedly. Then again, better than Layla. I hope. I barely even know Taylor!
I took a long draw of my coffee, reminding me that I was not dreaming. How can we stop this? I wondered. Will it go away on its own? Will we always have this connection?! AM I GOING CRAZY?!!
“Hey bro, I’m gonna go,” I told Aiden. I had to get out of here. I stood up, trying my best not to hyperventilate. “I’ve gotta get some shopping done before other things.”
“No problem.” He gave me a fist bump. “You take care of yourself, okay man? You look pretty shook. Call me if you need anything.” Aiden wasn’t a very affectionate guy with his friends, but the fact that he offered to help was very considerate of him.
I smiled. “Thanks, dude. See ya later.”
“Bye."
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(y'all i didn't even read over this before i posted it so i'm sorry if it's stupid)
(also i'm sorry about this being late, school happened and man it happened)
(<3)
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