Projection (18 page)

“So how do I know you’re not lying to me right now? How do I know that this isn’t all part of your plan to blackmail me?” She almost asked how she could know that this wasn’t some elaborate scheme to get revenge on her, but she didn’t want to give away too much. If this really was an attempt to punish her somehow, she didn’t want them to know that she suspected it.

Ariel looked at Gretchen head on, her challenge suspended in the space between them. If Gretchen were to hover above the ground and fly up toward the moon, Ariel wouldn’t have been surprised at all. Not even a little.

“You don’t,” Gretchen responded matter-of-factly.

“And if I say no?”

Gretchen shrugged. “Then we’ll have to find someone
else.” She sat back down on the lounge chair, tucking her thin legs underneath her. “But it would be too bad if you didn’t join us, Ariel. It’s fun to get to be someone else. You’d be surprised at how much you learn about yourself.”

Ariel sat down again, too. She didn’t say anything as she mulled it over. If Gretchen was telling her the truth and they really were her friends, then she’d do it for sure. And if they weren’t telling her the truth, and this was all about getting revenge on her somehow—which, she suspected, was the more likely scenario—well, then she still should probably do it. After all, if she joined them, she’d have a better chance of figuring out what they were up to, and she might even be able to beat them at their own game.

“All right,” Ariel said, definitively. “I’ll do it. I’ll be your third.”

Gretchen smiled. There was relief in her smile, but Ariel thought she saw something else in there, too. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “You’ve made the right choice, Ariel. I promise you, you’re not going to regret it.”

I wish I could believe you
, Ariel thought.

There were only five
rules:

Ariel was sitting next
to Connor on the couch in Jessica’s den, fuming as Nick and Jessica snuggled on the loveseat across from them.
Rule Number Three: No fooling around with another person’s boyfriend!
she wanted to yell out, as she watched her own head rest on Nick’s shoulder. That rule had been added as a joke, or so she thought. She still couldn’t believe this was really happening. Couldn’t believe that this
power was actually real and not some sick joke they were trying to play on her.

The sensation she’d felt when she and Jessica had first projected—the overwhelming warmth that seeped into her, like tropical ocean water filling every crevice of the sea floor—it was very much like a dream. So intense during the actual experience and so slippery when it was over. Except for the cold reality:
I am someone else
. Every time she ran her hand through her hair, she was surprised to find a long and wavy tangle with a texture like boar bristles. Every time she looked down at her hands, she was startled to see the ragged fingernails bitten to the quick, instead of her own slender fingers, neatly manicured in pale pink.

They were supposed to be watching a movie—a stupid action blockbuster Connor had brought over and popped into the DVD player—but Ariel hadn’t looked at the TV once. Aside from thinking about how weird it was to be Jessica, all she could focus on was Nick cuddled up with a girl he thought was her.

Connor moved closer and placed his arm around Ariel’s shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

Ariel glanced over at Nick again. He was whispering something into Jessica’s—no, into
her
—ear. She felt nauseated as she watched herself giggle flirtatiously. It was hard for her to fathom that her body was right there, doing things independent of her. She remembered what Gretchen had said, about how she sometimes forgot that she wasn’t herself. But Ariel wasn’t having that problem at all. If anything, she was acutely aware of that fact. Then again, Gretchen probably never had to watch while Jessica broke Rule Number Three right in front of her nose.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Ariel told Connor. She gave him a
weak smile. “I’m just not feeling great. I think I may have eaten something bad.”

Connor blew angrily out of his nose. “Last weekend it was cramps, and now it’s food poisoning?”

Ariel crossed her arms in front of herself and moved away from him. “You don’t have to be such a jerk,” she said.

“Guys,” Nick said. “Take it easy, okay? We’re supposed to be having fun here.”

Jessica smiled. “Save my seat,” she joked, as she pushed herself off of the couch. “Can I talk to you?” she asked Ariel, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. Ariel misjudged where Jessica’s feet would hit the floor and almost tripped as she stood up. That was one thing Gretchen was right about. Jessica
did
have long legs.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jessica asked, once they were locked inside the powder room.

“Me? What are
you
doing?” Ariel studied her own face: nostrils flaring, cheeks flushed, lips pursed.
Is that really what I look like when I’m angry?

“I’m trying to maintain your relationship with Nick for you. I’m trying to act like you, so that he doesn’t think anything’s up.”

“Really? Because it looks like you’re
trying
to steal him from me.”

Jessica laughed. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. He thinks I’m you. If anything, I’m making him like you more.” Ariel watched as her own eyes rolled at her. “Believe me, if I wanted to steal Nick from you, I’d have done it already.”

Ariel took a step back. She didn’t know what that was supposed to mean exactly, but any remnant of trust vanished completely. You couldn’t put your enemies closer than inside
your own body. She felt a prickle of fear. “Now why are you fighting with Connor?” Jessica asked calmly in her voice, the voice she’d heard of herself on a hundred vidoes. “What happened?”

“Nothing. He’s putting his hands all over me—all over you, I mean. So I told him that I wasn’t feeling well because I don’t want to fool around with him. Because I’m actually following Rule Number Three.”
And because I’d rather have my eyes poked out with sticks than fool around with Connor Matthews
.

“Look, you just need to pretend a little, okay? I know he doesn’t act like it, but he’s sensitive, and he’s insecure. Just pay some attention to him. Tell him—” She stopped talking at the sound of the front door slamming shut. “Shit,” she whispered, fumbling with the lock. “They’re home.” She glanced at Ariel, assessed her anxiously with her eyes. “Try to say as little as possible, okay? But still act like me. Remember, Michelle knows about projection. We don’t want her to be suspicious.”

Ariel’s heart pounded in her ears. She stood back, waiting for Jessica to take the lead and walk out first. But Jessica pushed her out the door. “This is
your
house, remember?”

Right
. Ariel took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.

She reached Rob and Michelle just as they were about to walk into the den. “Hi,” Ariel said, hoping she sounded casual. “You’re home early.”

Michelle gave Rob a sour look. “Mr. Personality got into an argument with David Carson, so we left before dessert.”

“Whatever. The guy’s a total prick,” Rob sulked. He glanced over at Jessica, standing slightly behind her. “It’s Ariel, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jessica answered quickly. “Nice to see you again.” But Rob was already ignoring her as he noticed Nick and Connor sitting across from each other in the den. His face lit up.

“Hey, dudes,” he said. He went over to Nick and engaged him in a complicated looking fist bump/high five combination. His eyes flashed to the TV screen. “I love this movie,” he announced, as he plopped down in the spot where Jessica had been sitting. He put his feet up on the coffee table. Ariel smiled to herself, pleased that Rob had hijacked any further cuddling.

“Hi, I’m Michelle,” Michelle said, sticking her hand out for Jessica to shake and giving Ariel a look for not introducing her friend.

“I know,” Jessica answered, sweetly. “I’ve seen you on the news. It’s so nice to meet you in person.”

Michelle beamed. “Oh, really? Most kids your age don’t ever watch the news.” She shot Ariel another disapproving look. “Jessica certainly doesn’t.”

Ariel tried to think like Jessica: snarky, borderline disrespectful. “That’s because the news is boring,” she snapped.

Jessica flashed a surreptitious grin while Michelle’s eyes were still shooting daggers at Ariel. When Michelle turned, Ariel grinned back “Oh, well, I’ve always wanted to be a journalist, so I watch a lot,” Jessica said. “I’d love to talk to you about it sometime.”

Now Ariel was trying hard not to laugh. She had absolutely no interest in journalism whatsoever, but she admired the way Jessica so skillfully kissed Michelle’s ass. She knew exactly what Jessica was doing: if Ariel was going to be hanging around their house from now on, it couldn’t hurt to have Michelle like her. “Of course, any time.” She turned back to
Ariel. “You know, Jess, I didn’t even tell you this yet, but the station is putting me on a new segment. It’s called
Behind the Bust
. They’re embedding me with a police unit. I’ll interview the officers ahead of time, then take a hidden camera crew when they make arrests. The first one is next month. We’re going after a ring of car thieves.”

“Sounds like
Cops
,” Ariel said, flatly, trying to sound like an unimpressed Jessica. “Didn’t that show get canceled?”

Jessica took the cue and jumped right in. “That’s so cool,” she gushed, looking at Michelle with wide, admiring eyes. “That’s, like, real reporting.”

“I know, right?” Then Michelle lowered her voice, as if what she was about to say was confidential. “I think I could get some national attention from this. I think it could really launch my career and get me into a bigger market.”

Her phone vibrated, and she glanced at it. “Whoa,” she said, reading from her screen. “There’s a fire up in the mountains. Three hundred acres.” She put the phone back in her pocket. “I’ve got to go to the station, they want me to do a breaking news report.” She smiled at Jessica. “It was so nice to meet you, Ariel. You know, I was worried about Jessica coming back to Delphi, but it’s nice to know that she’s making smart new friends.”

Michelle turned her attention to the den. Her face darkened. “I’m leaving, Rob,” she snapped.

“Bye,” he said, matching her flat tone almost exactly. He didn’t turn from the TV.

The second the front door slammed, Ariel stifled a laugh. Jessica did, too. It was like looking in a mirror … but it wasn’t. For the first time since she switched, she felt comfortable—even empowered.
I could be wrong
. Maybe she could trust Jessica. If this was all about finding the person who
killed Gretchen’s mom, she couldn’t think of anyone besides Gretchen who wanted that more than she did. And Jessica was helping to make that happen. Wasn’t she? Did Jessica really think her own aunt was involved?

Rob pointed the remote at the television and stopped the movie. “I think you’re going to have to watch the rest of this at your house, ladies,” he said to Nick and Connor.

“What?” Connor whined. “But there’s only, like, half an hour left. And the ending’s the best part.”

Rob glanced at Ariel. “Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all. “But I turn into a pumpkin at …”—he looked at his watch—“exactly ten twenty-three. And look at that, it’s ten twenty-three.”

Connor opened his mouth in protest, but Nick shot him a look and stood up to go.

“Come on, Ariel, I’ll drive you home,” Nick told her. Ariel started to walk toward him, but Jessica’s glaring look stopped her in her tracks.

“Coming, Nick,” Jessica answered.

So that’s what Gretchen meant
, Ariel realized with a sudden chill.
You just forget that you’re not in your own skin
. This was bad. The deal was that they would switch back by the end of the night. Now Jessica was leaving her—leaving with Nick—and she couldn’t think of a reason to ask her to stay without sounding like a freak.

“I have to go the bathroom,” Jessica said.

“Me, too,” Ariel replied, taking the cue. “There’s one upstairs.”

Jessica bounded up the stairs of her own home as Ariel ran to the front hall bathroom. Once alone, behind the locked door, Ariel took out her phone and sent Jessica a text with trembling fingers.
I thought we were switching back 2nite?

Jessica texted her back.
Need 2 get Gretchen. We’ll b back soon.

Another text came right after:
B careful w Rob. He’s smarter than he looks.

Ariel splashed cold water on her face after a quick look at Jessica’s reflection. She opened the door to find Connor waiting for her. He put his arms around her neck apologetically. “Sorry about before. Are you mad?”

“Just a little tired,” she lied. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Ten minutes later, Ariel
found herself pacing Jessica’s messy bedroom. She was alone with Rob now. Jessica had told her all sorts of things about him earlier, and she’d taken notes. For reassurance, she took out her phone and reread them.