Page
It was one of the hottest days of the summer and Page was working in her aunt’s herbal shop, customers would come from all over town to buy from her aunt. She had a talent for getting people what they needed and on more than one occasion her garden was featured in a magazine with an article detailing her abilities. There was always someone trying to get her aunt to explain how she does it but her aunt would say it was a family secret, it wasn’t. The goddess gave each person in her family a special power and controlling the earth was her aunt’s gift; she on the other hand was given the gift of empathy. She can control others’ emotions and make them feel what she wants, but she hates using it; it makes her feel like she is taking away people’s free will.
When she first got her gift, her mother warned her only to use it in emergencies, she knew her mother meant well, but she was a teenager and wasn’t that responsible. As she got older she realized what her mother was trying to tell her about consent and free will. She would only use it when needed, like when a customer got upset or a guy tried to follow her home from a bar.
Her aunt’s shop is buzzing as usual and she is placed on register duty while her aunt gets stuff from the back; just as she is finishing up with a customer her mother walks in.
“Hey ma”
“Hey sweetie, figured I would come to give you and Angie a hand with the store”
“Thanks, it’s packed in here”, just as she said that the customer in front of her made a sound of irritation, and without missing a beat her mother mentally picked the woman up and moved her outside.
“Ma, you didn’t have to do that”
“I know, but it was fun”
“What happened to only using our gift in emergencies?”
“Her rudeness was an emergency”
“No, it wasn’t”
“Honey, don’t argue with your mother”
She can hear her mother walk into the back as she takes the next customer in line; her mother has a reputation for having a short temper sometimes. People know to stay on her good side but occasionally, someone forgets, such as the woman who is now at the back of the line. The day goes on and Page continues to be her cheerful self with each customer; after the display of magic by her mother, others are too scared to try anything. One after another she helps people get what they need all the while she could feel herself being drained with each person she helps. The downside of her ability is that she can’t turn it off, so she is drained by the end of the day.
After locking up for the night she heads back to the apartment she shares with her best friend Alana, Alana is a werewolf she met in college and helped with her full moon changes. Grant her boyfriend is a shape-shifter who practically lives with them at this point. Page has nothing against the guy she just likes to come home and not feel the two’s sexual emotions. Once again she is hit with a wave of sexual energy when she opens the front door. She tries to make as much noise as possible to let them know she is home, they usually stop when she gets home.
“Hey girl, how was your day?”
“Draining, I just want to go to my room and sleep for the next ten hours”
“I hear ya”, Page can always tell when her roommate is going to ask for something.
“Whatever you are going to ask me for the answer is no”
“How do you even know I want something?”, her friend had a horrible poker face.
“The tone in your voice, plus, I can feel your trepidation”
“No fair using your powers like that”
“Doesn’t count as using it if it never turns off”
“Anyway, Grant and his roommates are having a party and they wanted to know if you would be there”
“Well, you can tell them I can’t make it”
“I really can’t because I already told them you would love to go”, she hated when Alana did that, she didn’t like going over to Grant's place with them. They spent the whole time in his room while his roommates hit on her relentlessly. The last time she got roped into one of their parties she spent the whole time trying to get one of his roommates to leave her alone. The guy would not take no for an answer and she had to find a place to hide until she could force her friend to go home early. Ever since that night, she has avoided going back.
“You are just going to tell them something has come up and I couldn’t make it”
“You know I am a terrible liar, besides you could just come for an hour and then take the car home”
“Why do you love to subject me to pain”
“Hey, I know the guys can be a bit strong, but they aren’t that bad”, Grant came out of Alana’s room with half a shirt on, which was also something that Page hated. She could feel the sexual lust coming off her roommate and it almost made her sick.
“Could you please put a shirt on, I can practically feel Alana’s lady bits purring”
“Page, stop that”, Alana said looking a bit embarrassed.
“Can’t turn it off remember”, Page shot back. “So you might as well stop feeling embarrassed, I have been in here when you two have your marathon sessions in your room”, she watched as her friend's face turned a lovely shade of red.
“Alright, let's talk about something else”
“Like how I won’t be going to the house party”
“Oh come on, you don’t even have to stay for that long”
“Give it up, I’m not going”, Page was done with this conversation and she just wanted to lay down and rest until it was time for her to get back to her aunt's shop. When she got to her room she made sure to put on her headphones and play the playlist her mother sent her. Her mother had found this playlist that was supposed to help with her powers, it was her first time trying it.
Page could feel everyone’s emotions starting to slowly recede from her mind until the ones left were own, it had been a long time since she felt just her emotions. She closed her eyes and just drifted into the peaceful silence of her mind. There wasn’t someone’s fear, anger, or sadness creeping in, she was able to sleep without having the unwanted dreams of others.
When she woke up the next day she felt refreshed and like she had finally gotten a good night's sleep, walking to the kitchen she knew her powers had returned. She could feel her roommate’s arousal and knew she and her boyfriend were still going at it in her room. The thought of banging on the door to get them to stop crossed her mind but she knew that would only slow them down. It was time for her to get ready for work anyway so she would be out soon enough.
Her aunt’s shop was crowded as usual, she was in such a great mood that it didn’t bother her when one of the customers yelled at her for taking too long to get their order. She spent the rest of the day thinking about that playlist, all she wanted to do was get home. Her mother was waiting for her when she got there, her mother couldn’t go a day without talking to her.
“Hey, ma, to what do I owe this treat?”
“I just wanted to stop by and see how your first night with the playlist went?”
“It went good”
“Good? Is that all I get? Just good”
"What do you want me to say? I have only used it once"
"I don't know but I was hoping for a little more than just good"
"You're going to have to give me a chance to really use it before I can tell you more than good"
"Fair enough, now on to why I really came by, Marian is having a dinner party on Friday and I want you to go with me"
"Ma, you know I hate those things, it's just an excuse for you to try and set me up with one of her sons", Page's mother had tried to set her up with almost all of her fairy godmothers sons and it was always at a dinner party. The first time it happened she didn't realize until halfway through when Harold her oldest kept asking her questions about herself and no one else. She tried to tell her mother how uncomfortable she felt around the guy but her mother just brushed it off and told her to try and get to know the man back.
The second time her mother had dragged her right after work and insisted it was just a casual get-together, claiming that there would be lots of people there so she didn't have to worry. She made it thirty minutes in before Henry was heavily hitting on her in front of everyone, she tried to be nice but he would not leave her alone. She had to pretend to go to the bathroom and just snuck out the front door, she was lucky she had driven there herself. When she got home she called her mother and told her she was done with these dinner parties and being set up.
"Not this time, I promise"
"You do remember that I can feel people's emotions and the hope coming off you is making me sick"
"OK fine, sue me for wanting to see my daughter happy"
"Why can't I find my own happiness?", Page had been in many relationships but they never seemed to make it past a year, everyone had ended because she didn't feel anything for them. Her last relationship ended when she realized she hadn't fallen in love with the guy after six months of dating. After that, she gave up for a while and decided that her next relationship would be her last one, she wanted to feel that spark with someone and until she did she would be single.
"You can, I just want to help you along"
"I don't need any help"
"Fine, but I still would like for you to come to the party, you know how much Marian loves to see you", her fairy godmother did love to see her but only so she could try to play matchmaker with her. She loved her godmother but the woman could be a bit strong when she wanted to, it was hard to say no to her when she asked for something.
"Alright, I'll go, but the second I feel like it's a set up I'm out"
"I know dear"
The night of the party arrived and Page felt like she was walking into a trap, she knew what her mother and godmother were planning but she also knew that she would never hear the end of it if she didn't show. Her mother called to give her a pep talk about the party and gauge how she was feeling after work. She had been listening to the playlist every night and so far she loved the way it made her feel in the mornings, she decided to take a long nap after work. Now it was time to leave and face her fate, she wondered which one of her godmother's sons she was being set up with this time.
