Chapter #41Impostor Syndrome by: rugal b.   "You... you want a mask of Umeko?" you ask in surprise. "And you want to... to..."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Sydney asks as she pulls back from you just a bit, that devilish look not leaving her face.
"Well, I mean..." You have to stop and pause. Jelena is very good about keeping her composure even when nervous but you're completely destroying her image as you stutter and mutter and muddle your way through responses. "She's family, you know?"
"But she's not blood related."
"I know! But still!" Again you pause. "We grew up together, okay? So it's just... Look, how would you like it if I used one of these masks on your mom? Or one of your best friends?"
She hesitates and her expression sours before she speaks. "I wouldn't necessarily be gung-ho about it, Will," she looks at you and her expression is serious; her eyes look at you with steely resolve. "But if it's what we needed to do then I'd do it. Will, I'm not taking any of this lightly believe me. I want to finish what my dad started and sure we can play and have fun but we have to be willing to do what's necessary as well."
"We?"
"Yes, we," she states. "You got yourself in deep the second you showed me the book. You flung yourself into a pit and now you're trapped." She grasps your hands with her own and clutches them tightly. "To be honest, after everything we've done together and everything you've done for me I want it to be us. Together. I wouldn't want to do it by myself and I certainly wouldn't want to do it with anyone else."
You're moved of course by her passion which is sincere and overwhelming yet still the suggestion nags at you. "Why Umeko?" is all you ask.
She lets go and looks down. "I got some messages this morning from friends. They were asking if it was true that I went up into the fuck rooms with Jelena. They asked if I knew what those rooms were for. They asked if I knew Jelena was, you know..."
"A dyke."
"They weren't being insulting or anything!" Sydney insists. "But it made me realize that Sydney and Jelena, even if it was just hanging out they'd make a pretty odd pair. We would constantly deal with questions and prying. It'd make things awkward and if people snoop too much they might even find out."
"So if you were her that'd make it easier, right?" you reply. "I suppose you're right. My friends, Jelena's friends I mean, were pretty questioning of it last night too. But if you wanted to be someone who could hang out with me then why not just ask me to get a mask of one of Jelena's friends?"
"Will, how long have you liked her? Umeko, I mean?"
"What?"
"You said you grew up together. Have you liked her since you were kids?"
"I... I don't know," you answer. "I guess. Maybe since I first started becoming aware of girls."
"But it'd still be weird right?" she asks. "Even if you're not blood related, if you've grown up as family for so long then it'd still be looked at as something odd right?"
"What are you saying?"
"What I'm saying you numbskull," she says as she grasps your hands once more, "is that you've made me very happy with what you've done for me and I want to return the favor. You can't really be with your cousin as Will Prescott but there's nothing that says Jelena Petrovic couldn't... you know..."
You're taken aback by the suggestion. "You mean you would... but wait! You didn't seem into the idea of, uh, girl-on-girl stuff last night."
"I'm not a lesbian," she says, "I know that. But I also know that I care about you a great deal Will. Enough that I don't care what identity you're under or what identity I have to take. It could be us as normal, we could be another guy and girl. We could be two guys. I don't care. If it has to be as two girls then..." She trails off and looks at you. Her eyes are serious and she must be worked up emotionally because they're glistening. "Will, I love you. No matter what you look like, I love you."
You're stunned and don't know what to say. You're still trying to form a response when you hear the bathroom door creak open and Umeko steps out and smiles as she looks at you.
"Alright, I'm going to get out of your hair. I'll see you later Yell. Tell K.C. I grabbed those clothes."
"Sure," you start before you give a quick glance to Sydney. "Actually, do you have anywhere you need to be right now?"
Umeko stops and gives a simple shrug. "I haven't made plans besides mom and dad wanting me back for dinner," she says. "What's up?"
"Well," you start, "it's not a big deal or anything but it's an art project I've been working on. Something I'm thinking of selling. But I'd like your opinion on it before I go any further."
You notice Umeko's expression light up. "Sure!" she exclaims in a chipper voice. "Let's take a look!"
* * * * *
"Are you sure you did everything right?" you ask.
Umeko, or rather the girl that looks like Umeko, glares hard at you. "No, Will. I didn't do it right at all. The bands definitely weren't already glued to the inside of the masks by you and they definitely weren't made by you to the specifications matched in the book and they definitely... pfft!" she rolls her eyes.
"Well you saw me last night at the Warehouse. I was in character immediately," you tell her. "Too in character for a minute there," you add with a narrowing of the eyes.
"Well that's good for you but I've got nothing except her looks," she pouts.
It practically melts your heart. That pout on Umeko's pretty, youthful face is damn near the cutest thing you've ever seen. But of course it's merely Umeko's face because behind it and making that expression is your girlfriend. It should be Umeko's mind too because despite your question you know everything was done correctly.
It had actually been a close run thing because Sydney hadn't had a mask of herself made yet so after getting one of the masks onto Umeko you then had to have her put on another one and even as into the idea of taking your cousin's place as she was it still took some coaxing and reassuring to get her to put it on. By the time Umeko's mask had finished, Sydney''s was still copying so you had to quickly usher Umeko out of the room before she could really catch a glimpse of Sydney.
You'd instead sat her down on the couch and tried to make conversation as she recovered and it was, thankfully, only a few minutes before Sydney emerged and with little time wasted jammed a mask onto Umeko's face. Then there were two Sydneys. After a quick exchange of clothes Sydney had sent her doppelganger home, put on Umeko's mask and...
Well that's about where you are now. Back in Jelena's room trying to figure out what's gone wrong. You'd gotten Jelena's memories and quirks immediately but for Sydney it just wasn't coming. Little things here and there would come if she concentrated hard but nothing as naturally and smoothly as with you. After trying an dismissing theories, the only thing either of you could come up with was the idea that maybe it works differently for different people. Maybe some people just get it quicker than others. It wasn't satisfying but it's the best you'd had to go on.
To make it up for her you took her out for lunch and spent the afternoon getting her as up to speed as you could on Umeko though admittedly there was lots that you didn't know or couldn't explain. And all you could do when Aunt Mary called to tell "Umeko" that supper was going to be ready was to reinforce to her the idea of keeping quiet and perhaps feigning a small illness. Anything to keep from exposing herself as not actually being your aunt and uncle's daughter until the memories came... if they even would at all.
As for you, you'd gotten called away to hang out over at Andrea's for the evening and by the time you'd gotten back K.C. was nowhere to be found with Zoe only saying that she'd left a little bit before to go to a party. At that point you decided to consider it a wash and that you'd try for K.C. some other time.
* * * * *
You're alone in the house late the next morning fixing yourself brunch -- K.C. and Zoe having left to go meet up with friends for brunch of their own -- when the doorbell rings. You set down what you'd been working on and go to answer it and are surprised to see Sydney, or the Umekofied Sydney at any rate, standing at the door.
But from the way she greets you, her tone of voice, the way she moves as you invite her in and the way she smiles as she walks by... it's like you really are looking at Umeko. The genuine article and not just Sydney wearing her mask.
"Hmm? Oh right, yeah," she starts when you ask her about it. "It's hard to explain, I dunno. I was getting a little more of it last night. Then when I woke up this morning it was like everything was there! I knew everything about her, I could channel her personality and everything real easy. I didn't even have to think hard about it it was so natural! It was like... I can be Umeko Prescott! No, I am Umeko Prescott!"
"Really now? And what deep dark secrets lurk inside my cousin's head?" you muse.
"Do you want to know?" Sydney... no, Umeko, asks as she gives you a puckish smile. Then to your shock she grabs you, pulls you in, and kisses you. It's not just a peck either but a long, deep and lingering one with lots of tongue.
It is everything you, and everything Jelena, have ever wanted.
So it's almost maddening when she pulls away and you can't help but to want more. Especially as she continues to give you that mischievous look.
"Get a mask onto K.C. and I'll tell you everything about your cousin you'd ever want to know." She then leans in close right next to your ear and softly adds, "And I'll let you do anything you want to me." You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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