The Demon Within Her [closed for Tymeless]

The room was silent all except for the small chattering of the two seniors as they sat across from each other at the table. Multiple other, large square tables filled the art room floor and light cascaded through the large windows along one side of the room. Erin sat with her back to the window, the sun going low in the sky behind her, her shoulder length blonde hair given a golden cast in the light and her body casting a bit of shadow on the table and the drawing in front of her. School was out for the day, but both girls had stayed after to work on artwork for class and just hang out. With all the stress going on this spring, the art room was a nice place to relax and forget about the pressures of college looming beyond the summer.

Erin's hand held the piece of charcoal loosely and occasionally she made a mark here and there, perfecting the picture she was making, but most of her attention was on her best friend as they conversed.

"My parents are going out of town again this weekend," she said with an easy smile. "I'm above having parties while they're away and was wondering if you'd like to stay over?" It was a regular thing that they were use to by now, spending lots of time together. They were best friends after all. "Unless of course, you have a date?" Her smile widened as she asked the question and quirked a suggestive eyebrow, nudging the other girl with her elbow.

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Amanda was sitting their looking at a photo of her soon to be former boyfriend and her on a park bench not really worrying about completeing her art asignment. She was burned out with school and fighting senioritis bad. She listened to her best friend Erin talk closely and was soon intrigued to hear that she was going to have the house to herself this weekend. She smiled as she started to plan the party already but that idea was crushed right away because her friend was above that. Amanda figured that was for the best they could have some fun just the girls anyway.

"Oh no no date this weekend I think I'm going to break it off with that loser anyway. So what did you have in mind for the weekend. I mean two beautiful girls no boyfriends and even though a party sounded kind of fun it's not really either of our styles either." She then took a look at the art her friend was working on and smiled. "That's really good, maybe we should go to art school instead of real college. Would be a lot less stress on both of us. Not like we both can't just find a couple of sugar daddies anyway." She always tried to tease her goody good best friend to get her to do something spontaneous and crazy.

Erin smiled a little sympathetically as she heard the news of Amanda's plans to break-up with her boyfriend. Although it wasn't a happy thing to end a relationship, she was glad for her friend moving on, as she'd have to agree, the guy was a loser. It also left them both completely free this weekend as well, with no possibility for other things becoming involved.

"Well, I was thinking," she said with a smile and making a few sketchy marks on her drawing. "That we could bake something yummy and spontaneous, like we use to as freshmen. Just something silly before we have to completely let go of childish habits and actually cook meals for ourselves. Maybe get a few movies and have a Johnny Depp marathon." She smirked and giggled a little at that, their old celebrity crush they'd had at the beginning of highschool.

At her friend's compliment on her picture, she smiled and said, "Thank you. I'm not sure who it is. He just sort of came to me." Looking down at the picture, it was almost complete; a man stared back at her from the page, lean and angular features with a dark and menacing cast, and a sort of rough exterior with leather jacket, short mohawk, and jewelry adorning his chest.

She stared at it for a moment, the man's eyes almost seeming to look out of the page at her but then shook her head and shrugged it off, turning once more to the conversation. "Yeah, I don't know," she said, in a wistful tone. "I've already sent out a dozen applications..." It wasn't the real reason why she wouldn't consider art school. For the longest time, her family was pressing her to become something important and they did not support her art. They tolerated the distraction during highschool but now she was leaving it, she was on the track and supposed to be fixated on becoming a doctor. It was an idle interest she had but it was now destined to be her carrier. At least until she could get money of her own to pay for the college she wanted to go to...like that'd happen any time soon.

She sat silently then for several moments, her face resting on her hand as she idlly continued to draw her picture, stuck in a somber thought. Suddenly inside she could feel the stress building inside her, the desire to break out of the mold. She hated the fact she was being bullied into a career she didn't want when she was suppose to be an adult now and free to make her own choices. The lack of money made her feel helpless, coming from a well-off family who would not help her live her dreams and would reject and cut her off from everything she needed to do it on her own. It made her feel like screaming and her hands shook breifly as if she desired to take the drawing and rip it to shreds, her teeth grinding in her mouth.

Moments like these were not rare, but her usual way of dealing with it was to shove the anger and helplessness down inside and to ignore it. Then she would repeat over and over to herself inside her head, "I'd make a good doctor. Everything will be fine." And then everything would be and the stressful feelings would disappear. But that's not what happened.

Instead of the feelings being buried deep inside, they grew, like voices growing in volume, louder and louder until there was a numbness inside her head. And then she wasn't Erin anymore.

Like a blink of the eye, the sunlight flashing behind her form, putting her in silhouette for a moment, then fading back. Sitting in Erin's seat was a man, the man from the picture she'd been drawing and he smiled wickedly at Amanda, with a flash of straight teeth and a 5'oclock shadow on his chin.

"Well, hello gorgeous," he said in a deep, lightly graveled voice, his dark eyes bright with an inner fire licking up and down Amanda's form before finally coming to rest on her face.

Amanda grinned when she mentioned doing something immature and baking goodies. If there was one thing she loved more then anything it was baking and cooking. She had wanted to go to culinary school and become a world renown chef but her parents said no daughter of theirs was going to be a lowly chef.

She was expected to go off to law school and take over her father's corporate law firm once she graduated from college and took a couple years learning from her father. He wasn't one of those old school guys that thought a woman should be at home in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant and actually tended to surround himself with women out to prove themselves. He knew they had to work twice as hard to prove themselves in this world and he wanted them to be around to be role models for his daughter so maybe she would get motivated.

She looked at her friend and noticed something strange was happening where her friend sat just a moment before now there was a guy a guy that looked just like the drawing she had been drawing. On the paper where she had been drawing there was an image of her friend and she was beginning to panic when the strange man before her started to... started to hit on her. Amanda just rolled her eyes. "Seriously couldn't you come up with something better then that Erin?"

Locke grinned wickedly to hear the young woman's response, his eyes flashing with a menacing light. "Oh, no, sweetheart," he said in that voice that seemed rugged and silken at the same time. "No one here but me now." He glanced down at the picture on the table but his smile did not waver and he did not look at it long, his eyes drifting away from it carelessly as he stood. All of his attention was focused on Amanda now, his gaze intense and leering like a hungry dog who hadn't eaten in decades.

Smoothly, he sidled up beside her on her side of the table, invading her personal space in an intimate way. His side was almost flush with hers as he took the seat beside her at the art table, his leather jacket not disguising the heat of his body underneath. His face turned towards her and took a deep breath through his nose, inhaling her womanly scent. "How about you forget her," he suggested in a lust laden voice, smooth and hot. "And you become my best friend."

Locke's arm wrapped around her then, pulling her closer so they were hip to hip and his other hand started to move over her body, exploring as if he owned her. All he could think through the haze of lust and desire clouding his mind was Yes! It's so goood to be free...

Amanda was getting a seriously creepy vibe. This young man was in the place of her friend in a matter of seconds while she was nowhere to be found. The drawing looked just like her friend where the previous drawing had been of this guy. Amanda's mind was beginning to put the pieces together but there was absolutely no way in hell this guy was Erin. Her mind was not ready to believe in the supernatural of any kind. The guy was beginning to approach her and soon he was right next to her feeling her up and totally creeping her out. This was no way to be treating someone you just met and this practical was way to cruel to be her friends idea. His body next to hers was nice and she was no prude but still if anyone was going to be able to have claim to her body it would be on her terms not anyone elses. "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" she screamed out in the room where everyone could hear her.

Tongue swirling over his teeth, Locke felt himself start to get hard as Amanda squirmed beside him. All of the reactions this girl was causing in his body gave him a rush and he found his senses overwhelmed, having never used them before. And he wanted more. His hand was starting to make it's descent from the breasts he'd been fondling down to between her legs when she spoke loudly.

"STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"

It was practically screamed right in his ear and before anyone else in the room had a chance to look their direction questioningly, he'd drawn back from her reflexively, no longer touching her. His ears rang and he felt himself propelled backward and with a flickering of his form, suddenly Erin sat in the seat instead of him.

And she sat with one hand holding up her chin and the other holding the piece of charcoal and was making markings again on the drawing, her eyes downcast as she had been, stuck in that somber thought. Then she readjusted her expression and shook her head. "Oh, well," she said nonchalantly. "I'll make more money as a doctor anyway." She was continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened and she looked up and smiled easily at her friend like she had moments before the mysterious man had arrived.

Amanda was shocked at what she had just witnessed. Whatever that guy was as soon as she drew attention to him by being loud it had startled him enough to move away. Not only that but it had startled her friend back into existence and she was just going on like nothing had ever happened. "Holy Shit!" she exclaimed while just sitting there looking at her friend with her jaw dropped.

Erin quirked an eyebrow and frowned slightly, hearing her friend swear. "You okay?" she asked with a small smile like there was a joke she was unaware of that Amanda was going to let her in on. "Is everything alright?" The drawing on the table once again held the man from before, seemingly more life-like and threatening on the page.

"No absolutely not everything is not okay. You just freaking turned into that man you were drawing and felt me up. I also don't think you were going to stop had I not yelled out so everyone can hear me. Don't ever freaking do that again." She cringed at the memory from just a second ago that greasy guy with his paws all over her ample C cup breasts. "If you wanted to feel me up so bad all you had to do was ask Erin not turn into some creepy guy."

Erin sat there for several moments, her mouth hanging open slightly and her eyes wide with shock. Quickly her mind reviewed the last few minutes. She'd told Amanda about her parents going out of town for this weekend. Amanda had asked what they'd do and suggested they should go to art school. She'd suggested some plans and had gotten a little stressed about needing to go to a school she didn't want to. What was Amanda talking about? Nothing like that had happened.

For a few minutes more, she gave Amanda a confused look and then smiled and laughed. "Hah, very funny, Mandy," she shook her head and rolled her eyes, giving her friend a playful shove. "You got me. Yeah, right." Her tone was one of nervous amusement and disbelief and she tried to play it off as if Amanda were tricking her...but the tone in the other girl's voice... Erin knew her best friend and she knew when she was freaked out and mad and this wasn't any joke.

Amanda could tell by the look on her friends face that something wasn't right here and her friend was just as confused as she was. She could tell her friend was as uncomfortable with whatever was going on as she was and after a few moments and watching her friend try to play everything off she decided it was best to let it drop and try to ease her friends fragile mind. "Seriously Erin i think we need to get out of here and maybe try again to convince our father's to let us live our own lives sometime this summer. I think the stress they are putting on us is just getting to us."

Erin looked at Amanda and saw the concern there in her face and suddenly was filled with a glimmering of hope. Then she thought about what it was like to talk to her father about going to art school.

"My daughter?" the tall, broad shouldered man asked incredulously. "An artist? There are so many opportunities in the medical field. Not many people have the gift or the stomach for that kind of carrier and you have what it takes. I know you do. Besides, nobody ever amounted to anything by drawing a bunch of pictures. The days of the Renaissance are gone now and artists are a dime a dozen. They're called 'STARVING artists' for a reason. No, I'll not have my daughter blending in with the crowd and wasting her time doodling when she can be helping people and saving lives, what really matters. Erin, if you choose that path, you'll get no help from me."

The memory of her father's disapproving glare, the finality in his voice, even while she'd sat there weeping as she spoke to him, she knew he'd rather see her fail as an artist then succeed doing something he considered below them. "I...can't..." Erin said morosely, feeling that stress bubbling up from inside her breast.

"Hey sis lets not worry about that right now. Let's go have fun while we are still young and able to. I mean we have all summer and college to worry about what we are going to end up being don't we?" she flashed her friend a smile as she had used the term they were often called because they were both very attractive natural blondes that had been inseperable for years.

With that she grabbed Erins hand and drug her from the table. She also grabbed the image her friend had been drawing all afternoon and stuffed it safely in her bookbag she would examine it later tonight when her friend wasn't around and see if she could get some kind of clue as to what had happened. "This weekend will be lots of fun lets get our minds off all this stupid grown up stuff."

Suddenly, at the mention of the familiar nickname, the stress faded away and Erin smiled at her best friend and her words of comfort. "Yes, it will," she said with another bright smile as she stood and gathered her things. "How about we hang at the mall for a while? Grab a bite to eat and go window shopping." Heading out the door they both got into Erin's bright, sparkling blue Mustang V6 and drove out of the school parking lot. Arriving at the mall, they parked in the parking garage and took the elevator into the large building on the ground floor. The crowds hustled and bustled around them, not too crowded for a Wednesday afternoon. "Where do you feel like eating?" Erin asked as they headed towards the food court, passing luxurious shops and stores on their way.

Before Amanda knew it they were in the sparkling blue mustang Erin had gotten for her 18th birthday present. It was a nice car and Amanda was envious althouth from what she heard her parents were getting her a very sexy beemer for graduation as long as she enrolled in pre-law courses at Harvard. She really didn't want to but it was clear that daddy was going to buy his way to what he wanted her to do.

She looked out the window as they drove staying silent while she tried to figure out what the hell had happened with her friend earlier when one of the guys she had crushed on awhile back pulled up beside them she waved at him and hollered about how they were going to the mall after he had asked what they were up to.

Upon arriving at the mall Amanda dragged Erin towards the food court. "Hey let's eat first. That way we can walk it off and don't have to eat a stupid salad." She said with a grin. As they headed that way her jerk of a boyfriend Max came around the corner to the food court and grabbed her and pulled her in for a kiss. She cringed and pulled away but a moment to late as he landed the kiss. "Max didn't I tell you not to do that to me. If you want something you got to ask for it, but that's not going to matter since you couldn't listen now or ever I'm now official off limits we are through Max. Go on Get out of here and leave me alone."

They were walking along and suddenly Max showed up and grabbed Amanda in a firm kiss. Startled and a bit embarrassed, Erin looked away for a moment and saw a few passerby staring at the couple. When she looked back, Amanda was pushing him away and gave him a angered rant about his disrespect.

"...but that's not going to matter since you couldn't listen now or ever I'm now official off limits we are through Max. Go on Get out of here and leave me alone."

The dark haired young man at first held an expression of astonishment then his face took on a glare. "I see how it is," he said with a sneer. "I could get it better from anybody else any day of the week anyway." Feeling the blood rushing to his face in anger, he turned to Erin and gave her a hateful smirk. Walking up close to her, he cocked an eyebrow suggestively and totally ignored Amanda as he swooped in and grabbed her for a forceful kiss. Erin, shocked and full of disgust, froze in his arms as his lips probed and prodded hers. It was over in a matter of seconds and he drew away with a haughty leer.

Glancing at Amanda he said, "Like a dead fish and she STILL kisses better than you," and he laughed before strutting off, self-importantly. Erin stood there, her heart pounding rapidly and a flush rising to fill her cheeks and slowly she felt herself disappearing under a cloud of embarrassment as someone else took her place. Locke smirked behind a pair of sunglasses at Amanda, standing where seconds ago Erin had stood. "Hello, sugar," he said smoothly. "We meet again. Are you following me? It's kinda creepy...and I like it." His tone was joking and laid-back as he peered at her over top of the dark glasses, giving her a suave wink.

"Shit if that asshole wasn't enough now I gotta deal with you again." Amanda said vehemently. She felt kinda conflicted though if this guy before her wasn't so forward and chauvanistic he wouldn't be half bad looking for a greaseball. She turned to walk away and headed off towards the pizzareia and walked up to the counter ignoring the guy that had just stormed off and the ever persistant guy that seemed to be her friend when she got overly upset about something. "Yeah I'd like to order..."

Locke smiled and licked his teeth as he watched her walk away from him, lowering the sunglasses as his eyes drifted down and admired the girl's buttocks. Letting out an approving breath through smiling lips, he quickly followed after her, tucking his sunglasses away. Walking up beside her at the counter of the Pizzeria, he put a possessive hand on her waist as he stood beside her and talked over her sentence to the guy behind the counter.

"She'll have an order of your biggest meat balls," he said confidently, with a suggestive smile. "Because she likes balls and has a preoccupation with my meat." The man behind the counter looked from Amanda to Locke and back again, obviously confused by the joke but willing to fill the order. Locke just looked at her, arching his eyebrows and gave her a big grin while his hand trailed down and gave her bottom a nice firm squeeze.

Amanda was definitely getting tired of this guy that was following her around like a lost puppy. It was clear that he had some kind of thing for her but that didn't mean she had to tolerate it. "Look I just sent that last jerk packing because he didn't display any manners or show me any kind of respect. If you can't keep your hands to yourself and talk to me and treat me like a normal human being then we are going to have a fight right here in front of everyone. I mean seriously I'm not some kind of toy to be played with. I'm a beautiful woman that deserves to be treated like a lady. With some very powerful connections in this town. So get your shit together buster." Amanda said as she poked her finger right in his chest and pushed him back slightly. "I don't like anyone's meat and balls well there kinda gross anyhow." She paused and looked at the attendant. "He can eat the meatballs, I'll have 2 slices of supreme please. Two regular Pepsi's too please." She then paid the man and tipped him a little extra for having to put up with the show right in front of his shoppe.

Ooo, saucy, Locke thought to himself as she addressed him indignantly. Smirking he took the meatballs with him and sat down at a table with her. He sat for several moments, ignoring his food and thinking over what she'd said. "You think you can embarrass me?" he asked finally, leaning in close over the table, his dark eyes penetrating her with a bemused gaze. "That's your threat? 'Behave or I'll throw a fit and make you look bad!' You should know by the display at the Pizzeria, I'm not afraid of what you or anybody else thinks. That's something that...flake, would be afraid of." Leaning back in his seat, his mouth curled disgustedly over the word flake.

"I think we should get closer, you and I," he said suggestively. "Get to know each other better. How about we play 20 questions...naked?" And he started to remove his jacket then, playing along with his own innuendo jokes. The fact was, the only thing he wanted to know about Amanda was how good she was in bed and he was more than eager to "explore" that question to find the answer...

Amanda lowers her voice some as they sit down and begin to eat but you can tell there is no drop off in the meaning behind what she is saying. "Look douche I can accept that your not going to be easy to get rid of. That your not the type to scare easy, and probably aren't as childish as that loser I just put in his place, but understand this right now and right here buddy! I'm not some little girl that easily frightens and I don't give in to ANYTHING, your behavoir that you've displayed so far is in no means a way to get what your trying to get from me. Straighten up and act like you got some manners or get lost and leave me and my friend Erin alone." She then took a bite of her pizza all the while glaring at the guy before her.

The young man grinned widely as she spoke in her intense tones, and putting his jacket back on, he smiled and leaned across the table, meeting her glare with dark and probing eyes. "So, you're not easy," he said in his rugged voice, flashing her a charming smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Don't worry. I won't give up and I WILL break you. And the best part is, you'll be begging me for it, by the end." As he sat back this time, he winked at her and in a blink of an eye, it was Erin sitting in the seat across from her.

Erin sat for a few moments looking down at her plate, wondering airily what had happened. Then a thin trickle of memory came to her, a vague remembrance of Max leaving and them both coming to order at the Pizzeria. The memories she had of the events were nothing out of the ordinary, except they seemed flimsy like a dream. Shrugging and shaking her head nonchalantly, she figured she must have just zoned out through the transfer to the table. Looking at the meatballs on her plate, she picked up her fork and started to cut into them as if nothing wrong had happened.

After chewing and taking a sip from her Pepsi she looked up at Amanda. "I'm glad you finally dumped that creep," she said. "He was no good if he treats women that way."

Amanda watched and listened to the idiot before and got a cold chill when she realized he wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't give up until he broke her. What made it worse was a small very small part of her wanted to be forced and dominated by this man. She didn't know if it was because she thought that it might be her best friend somewhere inside him and the thought turned her on or if something was just starting to get very wrong. Then she smirked knowing how much it would bother her father if she ended up with some guy like him.

She smiled as her friend reappeared and listened to her friend and barely managed to keep under her breath, "yeah only you treat women worse when your a man." She wasn't sure if she kept it quiet enough or not though.

Erin was just swallowing another bite as she heard Amanda mutter, "yeah only you treat women worse when your a man." and for a moment she stopped and stared. She wasn't quite sure how to take that. Was Amanda joking? Like she had before in the art room? Well if she was, then Erin did not get it and it ceased to be funny anymore. It made her feel stupid, like her friend was no longer teasing her but making fun of her. Frowning, Erin tossed her fork down on the little Styrofoam plate next to her meat ball and scowled questioningly at Amanda. "What's that suppose to mean?" she asked in irritated tones. "If you've got something to say to me, like I've been bothering you, say it. Get it off your chest." And she sat waiting for her friend to say something.