First Possession/Part 1

"First Possession" is the first story of the Universal Clarification Series.

Story
Monday mornings always suck. The weekend is over, so that means social obligations are back in place. Normally this would be fine for the introverted public spectator commonly known as Jonathan Combs – a teenager whose life had only begun to slip out of his control.

Last weekend was the last he would ever spend alone because, much to his chagrin, a flashy-cladded demon boy appeared at his side. This demon claimed to be his bringer of death by driving him to suicide, but his charmingly obnoxious nature counteracted such intentions. His fashion sense was pretty quirky.

Sock was practically the definition of “a weeaboo anime-trash baby” from the mid-2000s because of his large, round green eyes, cute button nose, and happy-go-lucky smile that took up half his face. His reddish-brown hair – covered by a red hat with star-studded earflaps, a dark floppy tail, and square yellow goggles – was incredibly messy, complete with long bangs and outgrown tufts at the back of his neck; his sideburns protruded from under his earflaps. That hat was the only way he could hide his intense cowlick.

His clothes were equally ridiculous. Under a dusty brown sleeveless vest with front pockets and yellow trimming was a pale blue T-shirt with an accompanying red scarf that he kept tied in a knot against his chest. He had on a pair of light blue jeans with holes in the knees and rolled cuffs, showing off his red and black knee-high socks. On his feet were some earth brown army boots with yellow straps.


 * Oh, and he would not be caught dead or alive without his lavender skirt.

On that second week, Jonathan was leaving his house and paused at the doorstep to put his purple headphones over his ears. Then he noticed Sock’s face over his shoulder. He only glanced at him as he set his Valhalla Soundbox playlist on shuffle and ventured down the sidewalk, slinging his satchel over his shoulder. With one hand holding the strap and the other in his hoodie pocket, he set his eyes ahead to tune out the world around him.

He was fairly tall at about 5’9” with a sturdy, pudgy-in-places build, and skin “white as a ghost” as most of his peers would tease. His lightly darkened eyebrows complimented his dull blue eyes that seemed perpetually half-lidded, and a long, sharpened nose matched a post-pubescent jawline. His hair – the mess that it had been since middle school – was wildly platinum blonde parted down the middle and sweeping around to the back over his ears, while the “tamer” undercut was a consistent dusty brown to match his brows. If not for his cold expression, one could say he was handsome.

On most days he preferred to wear a white T-shirt under an oversized zip-up grey hoodie with loose front pockets and a pair of dull blue slim jeans with edges that covered the top of his emerald green Converse with white Velcro straps. He could never be bothered with tying shoelaces, and now was not the time to start; not on a Monday morning before 7:30am – not ever, he hoped.

Halfway down the street, he heard Sock’s muffled voice, so he pulled back one of his headphones to show he was listening.

"Race ya to the bus stop!"

“No thanks,” he responded flatly, moving the speaker back over his ear. Unfortunately, he was forced to listen again when the colorful demon managed to slip around his side, staring directly into his face with a wide smile. “I said no, Sock. Lay off.”

“But you could really use the exercise,” he argued. “That pudge isn’t gonna work itself off your stomach, ya know.” He quirked his brow on the last word.

Jonathan frowned and walked right through him as he muttered, "I like my pudge."

Sock dropped the subject and followed him for several moments – just until a squirrel in one neighbor’s front yard caught his attention. He zipped over to the chittering creature, smiling as it twitched its tail. It could probably feel his presence looming over it, unlike Jonathan. At least something feared him.

“Well, little guy, it looks like today’s not gonna be your day,” he chuckled. From his front vest pocket he withdrew a knife with a long, slender blade – the very same he had used to kill small animals during childhood, his parents in his sleep, and himself. He raised and spun the blade between his fingers before setting up to aim, slowly hovering closer. Suddenly, he took a stab at the stationary squirrel.

His hand phased through the rodent and the earth beneath it, which sent him veering off-balance. His slight yelping noise caught Jonathan’s attention, so he stopped and silenced the song on his music player. He rolled his eyes at the sight of his demon in a frazzled state.

"What're you doing?"

“I’m trying to kill this fur ball – obviously.” Sock rolled his eyes after regaining his balance. “I just fell right through it, though. My knife didn’t do anything!”

Jonathan amused himself by teasing his demon: “Uh, maybe that’s ‘cause you’re dead?”

“Wha – nu-uh, I can do it! Watch me!” Sock insisted. He flew back towards the quivering creature as it shot up the side of the nearest house, trying several times to slice it in half, but all attempts were in vain. His knife simply passed through everything, which made his human counterpart chuckle.

“Give it up, Sock,” he insisted, “you’re gonna make me miss the bus.” Then he resumed his steady pace, nearing the bus stop at the end of the cul-de-sac outlet. He stopped at the curb with the stop sign within arm’s reach before his personal demon returned, who was pouting and fiddling with his knife.

Minutes passed in silence. It was broken when Jonathan looked down at his music player and groaned.

"What's wrong?"

“I forgot to charge this thing last night,” he replied, “so now the battery’s dead.”

“At least somethin’s dying around here…” Sock smirked.

His counterpart rolled his eyes and packed up his headphones, placing them and his music player in his satchel. He mumbled something about wishing he had a more reliable charger.

He checked the time on his phone – it was almost 7:30am, so the bus would be arriving any minute. He figured he could sit quietly and not talk to anyone on the ride to school because, while it was rare, he had done it before. His charger at home was faulty, but not often enough to prompt him to buy a new one.

“Jonathan, I’ve been thinking,” Sock began, still playing with his knife, “maybe I can’t kill anymore, but…ya know, you could if you wanted to.”

"Not gonna happen."

“Oh, come on, it’s not that hard,” he vied. “All you do is grab it, stab it, and show it off! It’s easy-peasy lemon-squeezy, okay?”

He leaned in to put a hand on the teenager’s shoulder, but wound up hovering over his sleeve when he could not physically succeed. Still, he managed to sling his other arm around and wave his knife near Jonathan’s face as he cooed: “You know you wanna…”

“Nope.” His counterpart raised his fist to brush him off his arm.

"It's a great stress reliever, too! Ya might even enjoy it!"

"Forget it, I'm not killing anything."

Jonathan turned his head away, leaving Sock feeling like a double-whammy loser; here he was, a mildly homicidal demon who can’t even convince a teenage nobody to kill himself. It was humiliating, to say the least. He drifted away with his head down in thought, putting his knife back into his pocket.

Suddenly he had an idea.

He listened closely. The bus was drawing near, but not around the corner just yet, so he had one chance to make this work. He tightened his jaw, knowing his human had tuned out of reality like he always did without his music, so he mustered up the courage to do it.

In a flash, the teenager felt a chilling wave over his entire body and cried out in alarm, staggering forward with his shoes skidding against the pavement. His eyes widened before pressing shut as he grit his teeth. The pain of having braces in middle school paled in comparison to the overwhelming cold spell that was flaring up inside him.

When he lifted his head again, he shuddered with tensed shoulders, clenched fists, and the edge of his mouth twitched. He held his breath for several moments. Then he released the tension when he exhaled.

Once stabilized, he opened his eyes – now green – and blinked a few times.

As he looked down at his hands, he smiled incredulously. Sock had successfully possessed Jonathan, and now he was in control of his every action – for how long, he was uncertain, but his plan worked, so he was thrilled.

Huh, he thought. Now I can do whatever I want…

He looked up at the sound of the bus doors opening, which reminded him of Jonathan’s school schedule, and tried not to trip over his feet as he boarded. He had already forgotten how heavy people are in life.

Continuation

 * Part 2