Perfect with You

Chapter 19 - Day Two

Play it for me. Come on, just play it. Play it. Just once. I know you're good. For fuck's sake, just play it.

"I'm sure that you know that if you nod while having a conversation, the other person will most likely begin nodding as well"

See that? That's bread grumps. Know what they do? They attract ants. Even birds on rare occasions. You want a bird in the house? Pooping all over?

"And if you slip a request somewhere in the conversation while they're nodding, they are more likely to agree, because nodding is associated with agreement"

I'm so selfish... not like my mom... Look what she had to give up and live through.

"It's the appeal to your subconscious that is in play. Every time you have seen me, all of my movements were planned. Even in the different timeline"

You're not trading me.

"Every time I tapped with my shoes, I also yelled to associate the tapping with anger and fear"

Look at how many times I've almost died or actually died around you.

"Every time I curled my figures, I showed contempt and understanding"

Max, this is the only way.

"If I shook my head, it was because the topic was your powers"

You're the only one who can.

"Head to side, urgency. Hand to head, confusion. Bending right arm, disgust. Open palms, sadness. Tapping knees together, surprise. Removal of bangs with left hand, stress"

...

"All these movements I did, based on the conversation and the feelings shown, or the feelings I wanted to be shown. I've always had the upper-hand, Max"

The words went through the passage of her brain, reattached the wires and stopped her.
She looked down, scoffed, and then smiled apathetically. "You're a miserable drop in a waterfall"
The air was still around her. "I've felt so much suffering and pain"
Her body was detached. "You are nothing"
She looked up. Saw his blank face and emptied her mind as well. If she couldn't control her mind, she would have to shut it off. There was only one thing she focused on.
With gentle movements, she pulled her body to the side and tapped a single finger on the backside of Chloe's hand. She was still as well and only reacted with an unnoticeable nod. She was readying her friend to act out their plan.

"I know you'd think it's foolish to tell you all this," Ethan continued, ignoring Max's disguised threat.
"But now you will focus on my movements, rather than my words to block out the associations, but in doing so, my movements become my words and my words, becoming my movements"
A ruffling could be heard, coming from behind the wall of the mall next to them.
"It's already planted in your head, so you can reverse words and movements all you like, but they will always have a connection" He smiled slightly, conscious about the seemingly nonsense he was letting out.
"Alright, if you think that I cannot get to you anymore, then I think it would be a good time to begin the second test"

Immediately, Max curled her hand and tapped her knuckles on the back of Chloe's hand, signaling her to wait as she narrowed her eyes, unsure how to react.
"So pulling the trigger on your creepy ass, wasn't the test?" Chloe reacted for her, her voice having a hostile undertone.

Ethan looked over and lifted his right shoulder. "No. I just wanted to see how prepared I should be, for a bullet ending up in my creepy ass" He began hovering his pinky over his right pocket where he had placed the polaroid along with the others, which Max had noticed.

"So, Max," He began once more.
"I can understand that Chloe has somehow forgiven you for killing her parents"

Both the girls tensed their hands as Chloe gently pressed her arm up against Max's, unsure if it was intentional. The subject was uncomfortable, the very reason why they hadn't discussed it at length, but it seemed like that bliss would be over.

"But you only have the luxury of being forgiven, and Chloe, the luxury of being able to forgive, because you both know what happened. Chloe knows that you were the cause of the problem and that you had a reason for not fixing it. She was the reason" It disturbed Max, knowing he was setting up the platform for the oncoming challenge.
"There are hundreds of people not being so lucky. Their family died, without actually knowing why. And you can't forgive a tornado" He finally bent his right arm to reach for the photos in his pockets.
"And you can no longer blame it" A stack of at least thirty photos were pulled out with his right hand, which he held firmly between his fingers.
"Let me set the scene" He continued, being careful not to show the images.
"You're a 25-year old woman. Your sister dies in Oregon. You hold a funeral with an empty casket. People cry. A part of them forever lost" His voice slowed down, but the malicious tone sped up.
"Six months later, you're still depressed and can barely get out of bed in the morning. Then, one day, you get a phone call" As he said this, he was quick to set his left hand in motion by pulling it down his left pocket and pulling out a cellphone.
"It's a 19-year old girl, telling you that she was responsible. That she is the reason the world is so dark around you. She tells you that she had the choice to save your sister and thousands of other people, but she didn't do it because she wanted to save the girl she loved"