by Enid Titan
They definitely noticed.
She’d never actually thanked them for stepping up to help her. When she met with Jason in the library, bringing it up seemed awkward. Half the time, Daphne was in the same room of the library and she’d sit there glowering at them whenever she got the chance.
«Ignore her, jazad,» Jason said.
«I thought I was keeping that to myself,» Poppy grumbled.
«Some of your thoughts are louder than others.»
«Ugh. I feel like an idiot.»
«Don’t. She’s trying to get a rise out of you.»
«I guess you two are more similar than I thought.»
Jason pretended to be hurt.
«It’s my job to get a rise out of you.»
«Your job?»
«Yup. How else would I keep you on your toes?»
Daphne shot them another glare and Poppy avoided Jason’s gaze. She didn’t want to look like she was enjoying herself too much.
«You should come to the rink and play hockey with us after this.»
«Why?»
Poppy regretted the question as soon as she said it. Jason’s look wasn’t just mock hurt this time.
«We did save your life. The least you could do is act grateful.»
«Who said I wasn’t grateful?»
Castor and Ajax materialized seemingly out of nowhere.
«You never said thank you,» Castor said, stepping out from behind a bookshelf, holding onto his hockey stick. Ajax balanced his stick over his shoulders, hooking his arm over the stick and holding it so that he could easily knock over a bookshelf or a person.
“What are you two doing here?” Poppy inadvertently whispered aloud, earning her a loud “SHHH!” from everyone at the tables nearby.
«We’re getting this guy so he can stop flirting and come play hockey with us.»
«He wasn’t flirting,» Poppy blurted out.
Castor smirked.
«Do you wish he was?»
«I bet she does,» Ajax said, «I bet she’s thinking about what it was like when she kissed us.»
«Can you two shut up?»
«Do you still dream about it?»
«I’ve never dreamed about it,» Poppy protested.
By now, Daphne’s intent glaring drew the attention of a few other students who refused to hide their staring. Three boys crowded around her library table didn't scream subtlety. Her cheeks flushed. She was supposed to be practicing telepathic communication and learning how to move the rings — not becoming a library spectacle.
«Fine. I’ll play.»
«Good. We aren’t going to the rink though. We’re going to the outdoor pond off-campus.»
«Where is that?»
«You’ll see.»
«I'll need to sign out,» Poppy pointed out.
«We already signed out for you,» Ajax said.
Poppy rolled her eyes.
«You know what, maybe I should stay. I don’t want people to talk.»
«Careful, jazad. I could let everyone see what happened between us… like this…»
Poppy’s cheeks turned scarlet as Jason flashed an image into her head of what happened in the hallway. His kiss, then Ajax’s, then Castor’s.
“Stop it!” She hissed, earning another round of disapproving glares.
«Then come.»
“Fine,” Poppy whispered, “But just so you know, you guys are jerks.”
«What’s a jerk?» Ajax asked.
«Ugh, never mind.»
There was no arguing with them, Poppy realized. She shoved her books in her bag and followed the three of them out of the library. Poppy raised her cloak's hood, but everyone continued to sense her presence, and she sensed their stares.
Just being around Devorans heightened her “sixth sense”. She’d always thought that sixth sense was something humans made up to make themselves feel better about coincidences, but now that she was stuck on an ice planet with telepathic aliens, her intuition had become as real as touch, or smell.
Poppy trudged through the snow behind the boys. They walked so fast and they could easily move snow aside with their feet.
“Could you slow down?” Poppy complained.
“Why? There are three of us, you should keep up,” Jason teased.
“I’m going to stop right here if you don’t slow down right now!”
“Penelope, there’s no need to be so dramatic,” Castor insisted.
“The snow comes up to my waist!”
They turned around and the three of them burst into laughter.
“It’s not funny.”
“You’re so small,” Jason snorted through a laugh that turned into a guffaw.
“I’ll carry you,” Ajax offered.
Poppy couldn’t have been more mortified.
“What if someone sees us!? I don't want to be carried!”
“Relax, jazad. We’re in the woods behind the library, who exactly do you think will see us here?”
“I don’t want to be picked up.”
Ajax ignored her and scooped Penelope out of the snow as she shrieked. He flipped her over his back and instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his torso. Penelope grabbed onto his shoulders and as her crotch bone settled into Ajax’s back, she felt something move…
“WHAT IS THAT?!”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“There’s this thing! It’s… it’s coming out of your back… or your butt?!”
“You mean his tail?” Jason asked, looking at Poppy like she was stupid.
“TAIL?! You have a tail!?”
“Um. Yeah. We all do. It’s just not fully grown yet.”
“I’ve seen fully grown Devorans and they don’t have tails.”
“Maybe they didn’t show you their tails.”
“Or maybe you didn’t notice.”
“I think I’d notice if I saw a big blue alien with a tail!” Poppy complained.
“Well, don’t you think we’d know if we had tails or not?” Jason argued.
“Put me down! Put me down!” Poppy shrilled.
“You complain a lot, you know that?” Ajax grumbled, setting Poppy down unceremoniously in the snow.
She fell onto her butt.
“Our tails aren’t fully grown until we’re fifty or so. We’re only eighteen. Plus, some people have them removed for cosmetic reasons.”
"It's trendy to get them removed now."
"Daphne had hers removed," Jason agreed.
Poppy looked up at the three blue aliens looming over her. Was it really possible that she hadn’t noticed tails on any of her professors? Or Eugenia?
“You know, you guys are assholes to me, but this has to be the worst lie you’ve ever told.”
A mischievous grin came over Castor’s face.
“We can show you…”
“Show me?!”
“Gentlemen?” Castor called the three boys to stand in a row before Poppy.
“Do NOT show me your butts!” She screamed.
19
Three Blue Butts
Penelope’s protest didn’t change their minds. Three cloaks fell to the snow and Ajax dropped his trousers first. Then Jason. Then Castor. They were facing away from her, thank goodness, so they couldn’t see her face turn even redder. A good bit of the redness was because of the cold. The rest was because of... well... their butts.
Poppy screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. It was too late. She'd seen everything. Every detail of the shape and size of their butts seared on her mind.
“Pull up your pants! I’m not going to look at your butts!”
«We’re telepaths, Poppy. We know you’re looking.»
“Shut up, Cas!”
«Like what you see?» Castor teased.
“No! I don’t. I… I mean you’ve got a tail… It’s… blue… It’s… alien.”
«Hey, we don’t think you’re weird for not having a tail,» Ajax chided.
«I think she’s weird,» Jason followed, «But
for other reasons.»
«Aren’t you guys COLD?!»
«Yes. But we aren’t going to pull our pants up unless you tell us who has the nicest ass.»
“I’m not going to do that!” Poppy protested.
“Hurry up, Poppy. Just pick the best butt. I’m cold,” Ajax pleaded.
Poppy’s throat tightened. She was cold too. It didn’t help that her butt was buried in the snow and the only thing she could see in front of her was three… perfect… round… blue… alien asses.
“This isn’t fair. You can’t just show me your butt when first of all, I didn’t want to see it and second of all, I don’t want to vote for the best one.”
“I know it’s mine,” Jason said arrogantly, “It’s why she’s scared to say it. She doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“Shut up, Jason. How could you have the best butt when you don’t even lift weights?”
“I’m the thickest,” Ajax countered, “So my butt is obviously the best.”
Hearing them argue over who had the best butt might have been worse than choosing herself. Poppy sucked in air, knowing she’d regret her choice.
“It’s Ajax! Ajax has the best butt.”
“Ha! Told you suckers!” Ajax said, hurrying to pull his pants up.
“No way, I demand a second vote, jazad” Jason said.
“Pull your pants up right now!” Poppy yelled, trying to sound intimidating.
As if she could intimidate a group of alien boys over a foot taller than her.
“Wait,” Castor said, “Leave your pants down, Jason.”
“Why?”
“I have another question for dearest Penelope.”
“You’re going to get frostbite! Even for you, it’s way too cold out here.”
“If you don’t want us to get frostbite, answer the question.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
“Who do you think has the bigger cocks.”
“CASTOR!” Penelope shrieked.
He laughed and then reached down to pull his pants up. Jason followed.
“Gotcha.”
Ajax reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet.
“You were never going to take me to play hockey, were you?” Penelope grumbled.
“Nope. I just wanted to get you out of that stuffy library.”
“So you could torture me? Like I’m your little pet?”
“Little pet? Now there’s an idea,” Castor chuckled.
Before Castor could launch into whatever hair-brained evil idea he had, the word he’d said a few moments earlier hit Penelope.
“Wait…cocks?! Plural?”
Castor grinned. Jason wiggled his eyebrows, pushing hair out of his face.
“She’s curious,” he said, “I didn’t expect her to be curious.”
«I did,» Castor said, winking at Poppy. Every time any of them looked at her, she felt so exposed.
“Never mind. Forget I asked,” Poppy said.
Why had she asked? As long as they didn’t pull down their pants again, she certainly didn’t care to know about their genitals. These three assholes only seemed to keep her around to torment her anyway.
“We have two cocks. Each.”
Ajax laughed.
“You can try to hide it, earth girl, but we can read your mind,” he said.
«That certainly got your attention, didn’t it, jazad.»
“I don’t care if you have six dicks each shaped like octopus tentacles that spit flames. I’m going back to campus.”
“Our cocks don’t spit flames,” Castor said, “Though I suppose given the climate it would be convenient.”
“Whatever.”
“We know about Earthling anatomy. I think it’s only fair you learn about ours.”
Poppy took a step back and ran into Ajax’s broad chest. They’d surrounded her — again — and this time, she sensed they had no intention of letting her go. They were in the middle of a clearing, in the woods, in the snow. Nothing too bad could happen here, right? Nothing she’d regret?
“How would you learn about earthling anatomy?”
“Collective consciousness at the temple,” Jason explained, “When the first human came here, she interfaced with our people’s telepathic field. We gained knowledge.”
“Wow. Great. Fascinating. Now can you please back off?”
“No,” Ajax answered flatly, “We can’t. We aren’t finished with you… little pet.”
“Don’t call me that,” Poppy huffed, “I’m not your little pet. I’m not a jazad. I’m a human. I’m a real person and just because I’m not Devoran doesn’t mean I’m nothing.”
«We just want to see if the rumors are true,» Castor said.
“What rumors?”
“We know what aliens are supposed to look like but we’ve never seen one… naked.”
“I can’t get naked out here! I’ll freeze to death. I wouldn't show you my naked body anyway.”
“I know. We’ve got to get you somewhere else. But there’s no teleportation allowed on campus.”
“Teleportation? What are you talking about?”
“Sorry, Poppy,” Castor replied, winking and then he took her hand and everything around Penelope disappeared.
She crash-landed on her knees — typical of teleportation — inside a building somewhere. Somewhere warm. She coughed and attempted to sputter a complaint, but her mind reeled from the sudden shock of teleportation.
Ajax helped her to her feet.
“You take me back right now! Right! Now!”
“No. You’re not leaving. Not yet, at least.”
"This is kidnapping! I want to go back to campus!"
"Fine. Walk back... if you can figure out where you are."
Castor grinned.
20
Twisted Telepathy
“Let me go! I don’t know where I am! I want out of here! Whatever sick twisted game you boys are playing… I’m finished!”
“Cas, She’s really freaked out,” Ajax whispered.
Castor sighed.
«Calm down, you aren’t very far. We’re only in Vortha, the city center, West of the prophetess district. Jason’s parents have a flat they keep empty most of the year.»
“So we teleported?! How did you even do that?!”
Jason raised his hand and lifted his sleeve to show a small bracelet.
“I’ve brought this onto campus. It's not exactly following the rules so you can’t tell anyone.”
“Why? ‘Cause then they’ll know you KIDNAPPED ME?!”
“Are all jazadi this dramatic?” Jason grumbled.
“Listen, we only wanted somewhere private to talk to you,” Castor explained.
He was always so calm that his demeanor could be… infectious. Poppy could forget that she was supposed to be mad at him. Forget that she wanted to kick him in the nuts.
“Talk to me about what?”
“Listen. This isn’t easy for me to say, Poppy. We like you.”
“So?”
Ajax’s face fell. He pushed white curls out of his face and pouted.
“She’s not taking it well.”
“We feel a connection. All of us.”
“Okay… and?”
Castor scowled.
“It would be much easier if I show you.”
He reached over for her head but Poppy smacked his hand away.
“Don’t touch me!”
“She’s not taking it well,” Jason grumbled.
“She just doesn’t understand,” Castor said, “Ajax, talk some sense into her.”
“Fine. Let me show you.”
Ajax moved to put his hand to Poppy’s head, garnering the same response.
“Ow! That hurt.”
“Keep your hands off of me!”
“Clearly, we went about this all wrong,” Castor said, pressing his hands to his forehead as if he had a right to be frustrated.
“I’m going to tell the headmaster what you did if you don’t start mak
ing sense.”
“We’re in love with you.”
“What?!”
“It’s hard to explain in alien. It’s not coming out right,” Jason grumbled.
“You can’t be in love with me! You guys are mean. You’re assholes!”
“Hey, we’re trying to explain something to you but it makes much more sense telepathically.”
“I don’t want you touching me.”
“Please, jazad,” Jason asked, looking sweet for once.
Poppy couldn’t help her physiological response when she looked at him. Every time she looked at any of them, she couldn’t help but remember when they kissed. Now that image was supplemented by the memory of all three of them standing in front of her with their athletic butts exposed in the snow. And those short tails.
“Okay. Fine. Jason. You can show me what you mean. But whatever you think you feel, you’re dead wrong about it.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I’m not here to fall in love. I’m here to save my planet and I can’t be distracted.”
Jason stepped closer to Poppy. The apartment was small and so cramped with all of them standing there. Poppy could smell all three of the boys so strongly in the enclosed space.
They each smelled like evergreens mixed with their own unique scent. Jason stepped closer to her, his hand outstretched.
«I’m sorry we scared you, jazad. Alien girls aren’t like Devorans. You’re… weird. That’s all.»
«I could say the same about you.»
Poppy knew she was the only one who could hear him. Jason loved stealing these private moments just when he was about to kiss her. He stared into her eyes intensely. Castor and Ajax looked on, curiously taking in every detail of their interaction.
Jason pressed his forehead to hers, his hand hovering over her jaw bone and her temple.
“It won’t be very long,” he whispered.
«Is it like a vision?»
«No. It’s a feeling. Of what it’s like for us to be around you and restrain ourselves.»
He pressed his hand to Poppy’s head like Castor had before. Thumb against the top of her jawbone and his pink against her temple. He shut his eyes. So Poppy felt hers.
What happened next was… exhilarating.
