The California sky was fading into deep shades of orange and purple as Jake —pulled into his apartment parking lot, his phone buzzing again with another notification. He turned off the car engine, already feeling the stirrings of weariness from the long day at UCLA's campus. Registration, paperwork, introductions—it was all a blur.
As Jake glanced down at the illuminated screen, a message from Hannah flashed.
Hannah: Hey! There's a party tonight, you in?
He tilted his head back against the seat, letting out a slow exhale. Parties hadn't exactly been his thing before. In fact, neither were social gatherings. He thought about it for a second. This body doesn't even get drunk, he mused. Wonder how it'd react to shrooms. A smirk crept onto his face at the thought.
Still, maybe it wouldn't hurt to play with other kids. Jake typed back a quick reply.
Jake: Yeah, count me in. See you there.
He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and leaned forward, resting his head on the steering wheel for a moment. He had no idea how drastically his life had changed until recently.
"Cassy," Jake called out once inside, removing his jacket and tossing it on the couch. "Show me my portfolio."
Cassy, responded instantly. "Your stocks are up again, Jake. Current balance stands at $3.4 million. A 12% increase from yesterday's trades."
He let out a low whistle. "Not bad for a couple weeks' work. But it's enough for now. Last thing I need is for someone to notice me becoming a little too wealthy a little too fast."
"Agreed," Cassy said. "However, there was a minor signal interference earlier, but it's been dismissed. Likely an error."
Jake froze. "Wait, what!? Are you sure?" His tone hardened.
A pause. "Yes, I have re-checked. It appears to be nothing more than a error in the fifth cpu."
For a second, his gut instinct told him otherwise. But he had come to trust Cassy, and she had yet to fail him. He shook off the suspicion, reminding himself that paranoia wouldn't help. He was trying to build a life here, after all, not remain forever on edge.
Jake took a quick shower, brushed back his now-blonde hair, and changed into his go-to look—a leather jacket over a plain white tee and jeans. Before leaving, he caught his reflection in the mirror. His transformation still took him by surprise.
"Damn," he murmured, tracing the sharp line of his jaw. "Second only to God himself." He chuckled softly before heading out the door.
---
Agent Sarah Reeves stood before a bank of monitors, her sharp blue eyes locked onto a feed showing the map location of a recently bought computer.
"Did it work?" she asked, barely glancing at Harris, her tech specialist.
Harris, who was glued to his laptop for the past twelve hours, nodded. "Yeah, we managed to tag his cpu, I don't think his systems would catch on, just the decoy interference. That shop owner's paranoia really helped us..."
A slow smile tugged at the corner of Reeves' lips. "Perfect." She crossed her arms, eyes flicking over to the map as a location blinked on the screen. "We'll just monitor closely from here on. This might be a decoy, I'm sure he has some tricks up his sleeve than most, and I don't want him slipping through our fingers."
A buzz of excitement rippled through the team around them, but Reeves stayed laser-focused, her mind already racing with the next steps. "I want every single person in that area checked any new resident and suspicious individuals, dog or cat everything skewered! Also don't use those flashy gadgets of yours on site. Keep everything subtle."
The pressure in the room was palpable. "Looks like I'll be getting a new neighbor," Reeves muttered to herself.
---
Jake arrived on campus just as night fully settled in, neon lights and filled with the pulsing bass of music. The hall was crowded with people—mostly freshmen like him, though a few upperclassmen lingered around, either playing beer pong or chatting animatedly. The smell of cheap alcohol hung in the air.
As Jake walked, his phone vibrated again.
He looked around and spotted Hannah quickly, standing near the entrance with her friend Cheryl. Hannah waved enthusiastically, while Cheryl seemed more nervous, fidgeting with the drink in her hand.
"Glad you could make it!" Hannah said brightly, her eyes lingering just a little too long on Jake's face.
"Yeah, I thought I'd check it out," Jake replied, giving a polite smile.
But his attention was drawn to Cheryl, who seemed a little off. She hadn't said a word since he arrived, and her hands shook slightly as she sipped from her cup.
"Your friend looks a little pale," he said to Hannah, lowering his voice slightly.
"Oh, don't worry about Cheryl," Hannah waved it off. "She didn't take her meds today."
Jake raised an eyebrow but didn't push. "Right… well, if you need help with anything, let me know."
As the party went on, Hannah asked Jake to help put up decorations. He worked in silence, organizing balloons and banners, occasionally stealing glances at Cheryl, who had retreated further into the crowd. Something about her bothered him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Hannah climbed onto a shaky ladder, reaching up to hang a banner when the base suddenly wobbled beneath her. Her arms flailed as she lost her balance, and in an instant, Jake darted forward, catching her before she hit the ground.
"You okay?" he asked, his arms still wrapped around her waist.
Hannah blushed, clearly flustered. "Y-yeah. Thanks for t...."
"Maybe you're just a bit of a klutz afterall," Jake teased, helping her steady herself.
But the moment was short-lived. A loud, angry voice cut through the music.
"Get your hands off my girl!"
Jake turned to see a tall, broad-shouldered guy—Trevor, Hannah's boyfriend—stomping toward him, his face twisted with rage.
"Boyfriend?" Jake muttered, glancing at Hannah.
"Trevor, this is Jake. He's a freshman," Hannah said quickly, stepping between the two.
Trevor wasn't listening. "Is this him? The guy you went to your room with?" His words were venomous, and Cheryl, standing nearby, suddenly found her drink very interesting, avoiding everyone's gaze.
Hannah's heart raced You fucking bitch she stole a glance at Cheryl, "Trevor, it's not what you think.....He was just helping me, okay?"
But Trevor was having none of it. He jabbed a finger at Jake's chest. "You think you can just waltz in here and steal my girl, huh?"
Jake sighed, his patience already wearing thin. "Look, man. I'm not trying to cause any problems. I was just helping her carry some things to her room, nothing really happened."
Trevor's fist shot out, aiming for Jake's face. But Jake saw it coming, every muscle in his body tensing with anticipation. His enhanced reflexes could have easily dodged the punch, but instead, he let the fist connect. The impact barely registered.
What is this feeling....no that day can't repeat itself...Make it believable, thought to himself.
Jake forced himself to stumble backward, dropping to the ground and letting a small trickle of blood run from his nose. He groaned dramatically and passed out.
Trevor stood over him, puffing his chest out, grinning smugly. "Yeah, that's what I thought, tough guy!"
The onlookers groaned in disappointment, some even putting their phones away. "That was it? What a letdown," someone muttered from the crowd.
Trevor, basking in the brief moment of victory, grabbed his jacket and stormed off. "I'm out of here."
As the crowd dispersed, Hannah knelt beside Jake, gently shaking his shoulder. "Jake? You can stop pretending now."
He cracked one eye open, a sheepish grin on his face. "Is it over?"
Hannah rolled her eyes, helping him sit up. "You're a terrible actor, you know that?"
Jake wiped the blood from his nose. " Heheh what would people think if i did something with his girl, then beat him to a pulp."
Hannah let out a soft laugh. "Come on, let's go to my room I'll clean that up."
As they headed to her room. Jake couldn't help but glance around the crowded hall, sensing the subtle shift in attention. People watched him with a mixture of curiosity and awe. But beneath all that, he could feel something else—inside him, a predatory sense lurking.