Author's note:
Thank you to everyone that has been in touch. It's very gratifying that you're (mostly) enjoying The Pulse. I'm finding parts of this story are developing in ways that I hadn't expected. One of those factors is that the story is dominating with much less sex. So, please forgive me if this style is not to your taste. I hope that you can still enjoy Jake's discovery of his powers and how they are effecting his life.
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Harry Youle's world had fallen apart.
It had taken him a week to get out of hospital. He still struggled for breath as his lung healed. The concussion protocols had been endless and his insufferable parents were constantly asking him if he was alright. And the headaches were still plaguing him.
He had missed his exams and his parents had applied for special consideration whatever the hell that was.
Nobody had visited him. Something had happened to his school friends and no one would talk to him about it. Even Chrissie hadn't been in touch though he knew he was reaching there. That self-centred bitch would only have visited if it made her look good or if she was getting something out of it. And he'd got very little out of that little slut.
He still felt like an invalid and stayed up in his room most of the time fuming at the unfairness of life.
And what he wasn't telling anyone about were the nightmares.
Every night he woke in terror, wide-eyed and sweating as the apparition came at him again. In his dream he was with his friends laughing at Jake the Poor. Suddenly Jake turned into a monster with red eyes. The monster came towards him at an impossible speed and then there was unbelievable pain.
The pain woke him every time.
He'd sit up gasping, his lung hurting, his hands across his stomach feeling for blood and gasping in relief when there wasn't any. He'd even wet his bed once.
The worst part was that it was Jake, the ultimate school nobody, that was at the heart of his nightmares. Jake, the person that he and his friends had tortured whenever they'd been bored or wanted to show what could happen to other people if they stepped out of line. Jake, who...who...
...who had been the one that punched him.
Suddenly it was clear in his memory.
It had been like any other day. They'd been hanging out. Jake had walked in looking ridiculous in clothes at least a size too small and they'd started on him. And then, instead of slinking away like a kicked puppy like every other time, Jake had turned and...and...
Harry started to sweat as his nightmare and his memory merged. The fear as Jake came towards him at astonishing speed and hit him so hard...the pain...
The shame!
He was sitting here terrified of Jake Conway. He'd been put in hospital by Jake Fucking Conway!
That was why his friends wouldn't visit him. That must be why his parents were protecting him from them. He hunched into a ball on his bed as the crawling embarrassment rippled through him. What would Brian say? What would Chris say! He wasn't sure that he could bear it. His life was basically over. It must be all over the school by now and him a complete laughing stock.
What on earth was he going to do?
One thing he knew was that the terror that he still felt every time he thought of that moment was balanced by a ball of hate in his stomach. Pure vitriolic loathing would drive him until he had his revenge. But he'd have to be careful. First of all he'd have to find out more information.
His afternoon was spent calling friends. Or people that he thought were friends.
To his immense relief no one knew who had assaulted him. His friends must have kept quiet. But why? Jake the Poor would surely be in prison by now if they'd talked? Why the fuck hadn't they said anything. Why couldn't he speak to them?
And then he spoke to Mrs Waite. It was excruciating to have to find out about the attempted rape from the rapists own mother. She was in floods of tears down the phone about not knowing her own son, blahblahblahblah. Fuck she went on. And then about how he was still unable to communicate, locked away in some hospital for vegetables with his other friends, all of them zombies too.
He got off the phone as quickly as he could.
What could have happened to them?
He finally got his parents to tell him the whole story. The attempted rape and that Jake Fucking Conway had somehow stopped it and emerged as the hero. And that Jake Fucking Conway was somehow the reason his friends were living sacks of meat.
Surely that wasn't possible? He'd seen Chris Waite in fights and it hadn't been pretty. How could Jake Fucking Conway take out so many people without a scratch based on the video that his parents showed him of the news from that day.
He continued to call around and it didn't take long for him to hear how Jake had been invited to the McConnell end of term party and that Chrissie, that bitch, had been all over Jake Fucking Conway.
And also that something weird had happened there. Somehow the girls were all talking about Jake Fucking Conway.
It was when he was speaking to Jennifer Sawyer that he finally found a glimmer of hope.
"I heard about Chrissie's party," said Harry.
"What a joke. Women dropping at his feet."
"Really? I thought that Conway was a nobody."
"He is a nobody. But he's become a nobody that people suddenly want to be around. How he's done it I have no idea. Stupid womanising bastard."
"But...how? He's just a nerd that crawled around the corridors hoping to be ignored. How has this happened?"
"He gets people onside by pretending to be kind and then betrays them."
Harry, while not the brightest, was adept at picking up undercurrents in conversation. And the pain and hate in Jennifer's voice was unusual.
"Let's change the subject Jenny. He's not worth wasting breath on. How about you? What are you doing this summer?"
There was a big sigh from the end of the phone.
"Just boring stuff. Trying to find a work experience placement."
"Do you fancy a break from the boredom? We could go to Alton Towers or something?"
"That sounds...interesting. Isn't that going to be a bit much for you if you're still recovering?"
"Nonsense, I'm fine. It's just my parents being overprotective."
"Are you around today? Fancy coming over and we could talk about it?"
"I'll be there in an hour."
Harry took his time getting ready. He put on his latest designer gear and made sure that he had just enough aftershave on for it to be noticeable. He ate whatever it was his feeble mother had left out for him before she'd gone to work and got in his Golf GTi and drove over to the Sawyer's house.
Jenny was in the garden looking pretty fabulous when he arrived. He'd always fancied her but had been a bit intimidated because she was so smart. Now he needed those brains...and maybe she'd be a bit more receptive than the McConnell bitch to the Youle charm. He checked his hair in the mirror one last time.
"Jenny!" he shouted as he got out of the car.
A slight wince crossed her face that he missed. He climbed gingerly out of the car and swaggered over towards her, giving her a kiss on each cheek.
"Hi Harry. Nice to see you up and about."
"Yeah, it's been tough, you know. A lot of pain but I'm forcing through it. You're looking great. I mean really great."
"Thanks Harry. Fancy a drink?"
"Definitely."
They went inside and he was disappointed to be given the choice of tea, coffee or coke. He rallied though as he followed her swinging hips down the garden to a really nice pergola with a bench seat.
"I was slightly surprised to hear from you Harry. I thought that you were dating Chrissie."
"Yeah. Well it wasn't really serious. And did you know she didn't visit me once when I was in hospital? And after hearing about what happened at the weekend...I don't want to be around a slut like that."
"What did you hear about the party?"
"That she was all over Jake Fucking Conway at every opportunity and that they disappeared off to the boathouse. You know what that means. Slut. And later some gangbang happened with Jake and multiple girls."
"Wow!"
"Yeah. What a slut."
"And with Jake of all people!"
"I know."
