she was drunk, or at least tipsy?"
"She wasn't drunk-drunk, but kinda mellow. She gets that way when she drinks. She says it puts her in the mood."
"Obviously that wasn't the case tonight," Dale said, taking his complimentary beer from Burt. "I'm guessing she was tired and the alcohol made her cranky. You know how women get."
"Yeah, maybe I went too far," Jeremy said. "Who cares? There are other fish in the sea, right?"
"True, but from the sounds of it she didn't actually say she wanted to break up, right?" Dale had to be certain what had taken place earlier.
"No, she said she didn't love me, which is the same thing."
"She said that in anger. Now, did you say anything in the heat of the moment that you regret?"
Jeremy thought for a minute. "I accused her of cheating on me with another guy," he said with a nervous, almost mocking laugh.
"Please tell me you didn't."
"I know I shouldn't have, but she was asking for it."
"Do you have any proof that she likes someone else?" Dale awaited Jeremy's reply. He wasn't sure if the strong signals Susan had given off when they met were harmless flirtations or something quite different.
"No, I said it to get back at her. Actually, I hope it hurt." Jeremy looked at his empty glass and turned back to Dale. "Why would she want someone else when she has me? She was a wallflower until I found her." Jeremy pushed his glass away. "Would a Queen abandon her King? No! Would a Princess reject her Prince Charming? No, I say!"
"Is Jeremy back to normal?" Burt asked Dale, who nodded his head affirmative. "I don't know what you said, but it's worth at least another beer."
The rest of the night breezed by and at closing time Burt was escorting patrons into the cool night air. "I don't have to worry about you guys getting home, do I?"
"Dale's staying at my place," Jeremy said. "We'll be fine."
Once home, Jeremy rushed to the washroom to throw up, while Dale waited on the couch he'd heard all about from his drunken friend. After several minutes of silence, he found Jeremy sprawled on the floor with vomit everywhere, except in the toilet. Dale could see he was still breathing and left Jeremy to his own destiny, exiting the house and heading for the hotel.
"What an egotistical bastard!" Dale cursed as he walked down the sidewalk. "I'm the greatest! I'm the most popular! I'm loved by everyone! If he thinks he's the centre of the universe, he's going to crash to Earth pretty hard when I get through with him."
Back in his room, Dale was still cursing Jeremy Atkins.
"If he only knew what he had. He has the world at his fingertips - he told me so! And while people like me have to scrounge for every piece of decency, he could just go out and buy it!"
Dale ripped off his shirt, not noticing its buttons flying in all directions. He looked at his blood stained sheets and pulled them off the bed. The corner of one sheet snagged on the wall mirror, sending it crashing to the floor. Dale walked to the broken mirror and peered into it. What he saw frightened him; staring back were dozens of miniature distorted images of himself.
"No matter how many mirrors you break, you'll never get the upper hand. You haven't evolved far enough to take me on, so why not take a break? Rest up for the next time I let you out."
He grabbed the frame and hurled it against the wall, creating more fragments of glass.
"Here's the deal: when I am done my work, I swear to delegate away my power for a few weeks. How does that sound?" Dale's eyes were now blood-shot and his face strained.
"These kids all want a better life," he said bitterly. "Olivia wants Jeremy. Susan wants a real man, and Jeremy wants to rule the world with self-importance and good looks! They all want more, and I - Dale Hawks - am the only one that can grant their dreams."
He collapsed on the bed, exhausted from the past few hours' struggles, which were becoming hard to control. He rolled onto his side, pulling his knees to his chest.
"I can make all their dreams come true," he said to the empty room. "Without me, they'll achieve nothing."
Dale concentrated on how exactly he'd help these three teenagers. Almost asleep, his eyes flashed open revealing a devilish look - the kind that children have nightmares about.
Several seconds later, Dale's eyes closed, but from deep within him, a growling voice wished those in need of his help to sleep tight.
"See you in the morning, my new friends. Tomorrow will be full of surprises. I promise you that."
CHAPTER EIGHT
After disposing of Frank, Edward and Mark returned to Mark's house to drink. With his parents away on vacation, they wouldn't be disturbed.
"You sure gave it to Frank," Mark said. "He's such a dickhead. Of all the role models to choose from in this world he picks Jeremy Atkins. What a loser!"
"Especially when he could better his miserable life by choosing me," Edward laughed. "Actually, can we not talk about Jeremy, unless it's to plot his demise?"
"What demise?"
Edward ambled to the fridge and grabbed two beers. "The demise we're going to plot tonight," he said, placing a bottle in front of Mark.
"Is this about what happened this afternoon?"
"Do you know why I punched Frank in the gut?" Edward asked, changing topics.
"No."
"It was because of his blind devotion to Jeremy, who would have continued to ignore him if he didn't need Frank's help to boost his calculus marks. I was knocking some wisdom into him." Edward's fingers tightened around the neck of his beer bottle. "What about you? Where do you stand? Are you with me or not?"
Sink or swim, Mark thought. Do or die. The time for a life changing decision was upon him. "I'm in."
"I figured," Edward said, "because you're like me - striving to be something bigger in this one horse town, but being led by the nose by Jeremy Atkins. He thinks he's the best thing this place has to offer. We know differently."
"And this has zilch to do with you finding Jeremy and your ex-girlfriend making out?" Mark asked.
"Maybe a little," Edward replied with a sly smile.
During movie night a few months earlier, Edward had offered to go on a snack run. Once outside, he decided to look back through the living room window, thinking of knocking on it to scare his best friend and his new girlfriend, Sharona. Instead, he got the shock of his life when he saw them kissing on the couch he'd recently vacated.
Back in the house a few moments later, he found the two separated with Jeremy back on the loveseat.
"Did you forget your wallet?" Jeremy had asked casually. "I can give you a few bucks if you need it."
"I think I have some money in my purse too," Sharona chipped in.
Edward
