I began to wonder about when my mum will get home. What will I say to her when she finds me here with Jake again? To think straight, I knew he should go. I, by no means, want to spend time with a guy who kills people in his spare time. Or who has done it. But surprisingly, at the moment, I didn't want to see him go.

"You're not playing with my mind now, are you?" I asked suddenly, looking up at him. I wasn't sure when it had happened exactly, but somewhere during the long silence we sat in, both of his arms had slipped around me, and I was leaning against his chest. But it didn't feel wrong. Instead, I felt safe. Safer than ever.

"No," he replied, playing with strands of my hair between his fingers. His eyes landed on me, an eyebrow rising slightly. "Why do you think so?"

"Doesn't matter." I let my gaze fall back at the darkness of the thick forest before us.

"Let's just say you'd feel if it I did."

"I didn't feel anything yesterday."

A smug grin appeared on his lips as he said the following words. "You were too busy to notice anything."

I could feel the blush crawl on my cheeks and I had to look away in an attempt to hide it. If he saw that, I'm not sure. At least he didn't say anything for a while, which let my face gain it's normal color.

Then, "I haven't even asked yet," he said suddenly, "what happened to your leg?"

"I fell."

"And it caused you to break it?" Jake sounded a little surprised, which made me feel like the weakest thing.

"I's only a little fracture," I said quietly. Then, to change the subject again, "Hey, I wondered if there might be some other creatures out there that... maybe savannians should be afraid of, or something?" I wasn't sure how to put it.

Jake frowned as he looked at me again. "What brings you to that thought?"

Shrugging, I told him. "When I hurt my knee, that guy named Shane found me. He took me to the hospital and back again, only... he was being very helpful and friendly."

Jake only kept his eyes on me for a while, not saying a word as he seemed to mull over it. Then, "If you're referring to that he can't be a savannian if he's generous, then let me lighten you, again; not all savannians are bad guys."

I then realized this was exactly what I had thought. For some reason I had stuck with the idea that if a person is 'good', then they can't be a savannian. It also dawned on me that this had been one of the main reasons I was mad at Rudy.

"What is Rudy?" I asked suddenly. "What animal is he?"

"You haven't asked him?"

I shook my head. "Our conversation didn't go exactly how I'd liked it to."

"Then you should make up. You could ask him yourself."

"Why can't you tell me?"

"It's not up to me to tell you."

I frowned, remembering that he had told me something along the same lines before. "But why?"

"Their species is their own business. If Rudy is willing to tell you, then he will."

"Rudy is my best friend. I should know," I argued back, not understanding what he meant. "Besides, nothing stopped you from telling me about Melany."

"And because of the fact he is your friend, you should honor his wish. You're not so close with Melany, so there's not much difference if you know or not. Just as well I could tell you that about half of our school's football team is Asian black bears."

I was confused now. "Is that some kind of politeness amongst savannians or simply your own logic?"

He smiled. "Both."

I didn't know what else to say. Neither of us said anything for a long time. Again I thought about what I had gotten myself into. Suddenly I was surrounded by some kind of shape shifters, and because of them, my friendship with Rudy was on the verge of collapsing. Then there were the hyenas I saved Jake from. Do they want revenge, like Jake had told me once? And then me being in Jake's arms, not scared of him...

"Do you trust me?" he asked out of the blue, cutting my thoughts and bringing me back into reality.

"Uh... what?"

I found him looking down at me. "Do you trust me?" he repeated.

"Um, I don't know... Why?" Something here sounded a little fishy.

"I'd like to show you something. But it can make you a little uneasy at first."

Pulling back slightly, I got a better view at his face. "What are you talking about?"

"It has to do with the mind-playing stuff. If you trust me, you'd know I wouldn't hurt you."

That looked seriously suspicious and I wasn't sure of what to say. "I... don't know," I stuttered, hesitating.

"Let me reveal you a little secret," Jake said, hushing his voice slightly, a shade of a smile playing on his lips. "This 'mind meddling' thing actually isn't some special power that savannians hold. Humans can do it as well."

My eyes grew wide as I stared at him, and I still felt tongue-tied. What did he mean, humans can do it as well?

"We, savannians, simply know we have the ability since we are born," Jake continued. "Humans rather need someone to teach them."

"And you want to teach me?" I asked, unbelieving.

He shrugged. "Maybe show a thing or two."

"But... what should I do with it? I mean, why would I want to... read someone's mind or... something?" Though it sounded tempting.

Jake still smiled as he shook his head. "Reading other people's mind or controlling them isn't the only thing you could do. There's so much more, and one that I think as extremely interesting. This is what I'd like to show you."

"I don't know... You aren't even telling me what that is."

"This is why I'm asking if you trust me."

Did I trust Jake? As I've said, I wasn't sure. I shouldn't, I knew that. But... I also didn't sense any threat. Thinking back, Jake's behaviour had changed a little, I guess. But did he care about me? It was hard to tell. At the moment, seeing the way he was holding me, I couldn't leave out the possibility. And even if I didn't need the powers, who could say no to the opportunity?

"Maybe you could show me first?" I suggested, looking up at him.

Smile on his lips widened. "In that case we'll better go up to your room."

So... I pretty much gave him my agreement. Hopefully I wasn't going to regret it. Jake followed me upstairs and soon we were in my private space, me closing the door behind us. Jake told me to sit down on my bed and I did as he said.

"I'll show you what I mean. But keep in mind, you might overreact," Jake said as he knelt down in front of me. "I promise nothing bad will happen to you."

I was feeling nervous already, but I didn't tell Jake that. Gently, he placed both of his hands on the sides of my head and asked me to close my eyes. Slowly I began to question if it really was smart of me to agree. I still did as he told me, though. Moments went by and nothing seemed to have changed. More seconds flew by. And more. And suddenly, I realized I was numb. As I tried to move, I understood I couldn't feel even the slightest part of my body. And then - what shocked me even more - I couldn't breathe. I wanted to gasp, to get at least little bit of air into my lungs, but it was as if I didn't have a body to control anymore. Like this, I waited for suffocation.

It never came.

I felt... normal, if not count the fact I felt bodiless. I couldn't open my eyes to see what was going on. But at one point I did realized something else. I could hear. I heard Jake's quiet breathing, I heard a car drive past our house, I heard birds chirping outside. And I could smell. I wasn't breathing, but still I sensed different smells that I couldn't describe.

"Okay now, I'm done," I heard Jake's voice say, but something was different. I heard it more clearly and purely than ever. "Just, please, try to stay calm." As he had told me this, it came to me that I could now feel again. Not my body, but I felt a surface below me. And also above me.

Then the darkness was gone, even though I hadn't moved my lids. First thing I noticed - something was different about my sight. I saw everything. I mean, I didn't only see what was before me, but everything that was surrounding me, as if I was fully covered with eyes. Then I began to look at where I was. It was like a cage or something, but...

I saw Jake, and it took a moment for the situation to dawn on me. Only, it couldn't be possible? No... that... My thoughts began to spin frantically, I felt the uneasiness grow. Without giving it much thought, I began to struggle to get out. I wasn't in a cage. I was in Jake's hands, between his two cupped palms pressed together. Slits between his fingers looked like big enough for me to slip through, as I felt much much smaller than I should have. But when I tried to escape, I felt as if an invisible wall was holding me back. I pressed against his fingers, but that didn't seem to have any effect, which probably was understandable. I still didn't think I had a body. I even couldn't look at myself in any way.

"Easy, Selina," Jake said soothingly, his voice soft. "I won't hurt you. But I can't let you free either. If you do anything stupid, you'll only cause yourself trouble. You don't know enough yet."

I only stared at him from between his fingers, wanting to ask what was going on, but I couldn't talk.

He stepped away from the bed, making me a little more afraid than I was already. A second later I realized he was just taking me towards the large mirror across the room. There I finally saw what had happened to me, and I stared at it for quite some time. There, between Jake's palms, was a small floating ball, emitting colorful beams of light. That thing - or I - was mostly red, with blue-ish and violet blotches sliding across it's bright surface. I also noticed a tiny bit of light green and yellow moving around as smaller spots; the rest of the colours were in much smaller amounts. They moved around like oil on a soap bubble.

"That is you," Jake explained softly, then turned around so I could see the bed I had lay down on. And I still was there, unmoving, as if sleeping, but not breathing. "That is only your body. And don't worry, I'll put you back."

That is so weird, I thought. I wasn't even sure if I was dreaming. It sure looked real. Too real. My acute senses worked hard to prove it.

"Do you think you feel better now?" Jake asked, bringing me back to what I think was reality. I stared at him, thinking how I'm supposed to answer him.

Turning me back to face the mirror, he loosened his grip a little to widen the slits between his fingers. My first reaction was to go for another try to break out. It didn't success.

"I'm only holding you for your own good," he said, tilting his head. "You do want back inside your body, right?"

In an instant, I became still. Of course I wanted to get back. Thought of staying stuck like this forever sent fear flickering through me.

"Okay then. You can change your color. Let's see if you can pull that off."

And I tried, even though I had no idea what I was doing. But as I did, the blue blotches began to expand, covering the small floating ball fully only in a short time. Then the other colors began to grow, making my sky blue dull and uneven. But red still fought to conquer all.

"Your color can be affected by your mood," Jake explained. "Your being is like an aura that takes it's color according to your feelings. Bright red can mean you're bothered, maybe angry."

You don't say, I thought to myself.

"Now, let's do it like this - as you can't talk, you'll answer by changing your color. White would be yes while black is no. Try if you can get these colors."

I tried. Getting close to black was easy, though the result was rather dark brown. You could still see the other colors slightly visible. It was a little harder with white. Red, pink and yellow spots were hard to suppress.

"Let it be just dark and light, then," Jake suggested, seeing me struggling. "So, do you feel okay?"

Immediately I turned into the darkest color I could get out of myself. When Jake saw that, a grin appeared into the corners of his mouth. I didn't like that. Red took over the dark brown in a second.

"I'm sorry," Jake said, still grinning, "but I didn't mean if you like to be locked up. I need to know if you feel uncomfortable or hurt."

After staying still for a moment, I slowly let myself turn towards the lighter colors. I wasn't hurt, but I wondered if he could do that to me.

"Okay, good. Now, do you still trust me?"

Slowly, rather by itself, my color turned darker.

"That's sad to know," he said, though he didn't really sound like it. "But if you began to wonder, I can reassure you I'm not reading your mind. You'd feel it if I did."

I could only hope he wasn't lying.

"I should probably now let you know what exactly did I do," Jake said, clearing his throat. "The thing is, you can leave your body at any time, go wherever you want." He smiled sweetly. "This is why it can be a fun ability. But it has a few downsides. Firstly, protecting your body. But if you do it somewhere where no one can find you, and if you have no enemies, it might not be that bad. Secondly, whatever you do, you can't let anyone catch you. Like you can see in the way I'm holding you now, you can't escape once you're caught. The only way out is when they decide to let you go; no chance of escaping. And I can promise that you totally have rights not to trust even the ones closest to you. Like this you are in your most vulnerable state."

Didn't exactly make me feel better, nor make me trust him more. The colour red once again began to take over.

"Of course it's not that bad," he continued. "First they have to catch you, which isn't that easy. You don't have a physical body, but that will only give you plus points. Without gravity having an effect on you, you can move around freely and fast, also through substantial materials. Except for other living beings, hence the fact you can't escape now."

When it's all over, I wondered, how much force would I need to punch a savannian.

"Anyway, I promised I would teach you, so..." He walked back towards my lifeless body. "Actually it's pretty simple. Just pay attention when I put you back in, and after that you should be able to do everything by yourself. Just like that."

He's going to put me back? Then he'd better watch out...

Suddenly Jake laughed, looking down at me. It made me feel uncomfortable as I couldn't understand what was so funny to him.

"Your aura talks about your thoughts. Now it's dark green," he said. "Let me guess. You're planning on doing me something once you're free?"

I immediately turned as colourful as I could, or so I think at least, as I wasn't in front of the mirror anymore. But as soon as I had done it, I regretted it. What would be a better way to prove him he was right?

"I'll be waiting, then," he said in an amused voice, placing me on the forehead of my body, but still keeping his hand cupped over me. So I simply did as he had told me before. I tried to pay attention. Slowly, Jake pushed me lower, and I felt myself slipping through my own skin. That was extremely weird. So unreal.

All my senses disappeared in an instant, leaving me alone in the pitch black darkness. But it was only for a moment. Soon I felt myself being stretched, to reach every end of my substantial body. It all went pretty fast and already did I begin to feel the world around me. Though it felt as if through a thin wall. Without a body, all my senses had been so much clearer.

Only one thing was different, I realized as I began to feel my body better. I sensed this little colorful being inside me, like my body and my... mind were two separate things. I felt like I could do it again, let go of my body.

Gasping for air, my eyes popped open. At first they were blurry and I had to blink many times to make out my room.

"How do you feel," Jake asked as I found him now sitting on the edge of the bed, next to me.

I sat up slowly, supporting my weight on my arms as I did. They were shaking a little, but otherwise I felt okay. Jake studied my face, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I'll get you back for that," I said, glaring at him. "A warning would have been great."

"I did as I promised. You're completely fine."

My hand reached out to slap him on his head. Jake didn't even try to block it. It did't seem to have any effect on him anyway, only made him smile wider. "Feel better now?" he asked, amused by me.

I slapped again, this time harder. The force only caused him to turn his head, but that was all.

"Maybe," I said, but I didn't sound even half as menacing as I had planned to. To be honest, I really did feel better.

He was still smiling when he turned back to me, but it wasn't the same playful expression as before. His hand slowly reached towards my face, his index finger gently brushing over my cheek. "You know, you're as beautiful from the outside as is your soul."

I felt myself blush at his compliment, but I couldn't look away. Jake's left hand slipped on my waist. Then his right one. Gently, he pulled me closer, and I didn't fight back. The distance between us was disappearing as he leaned in. I knew what was coming and I wasn't sure if I wanted it. Or rather, if I should want it. Either way, I found myself leaning in, too. Jake looked hesitant, as much as myself, but slowly we came closer to each other, until our lips were almost touching.

We heard a door banging downstairs, then my mum's voice calling out my name. "Selina? Are you at home?"

Automatically Jake pulled back, a slight inept smile still lingering on his lips. "I guess your mum wants you down."

All of a sudden I knew I didn't want him to stop and I felt reluctant as I stood up. I found myself wishing that the next time he has the opportunity, Jake will use it to finish what we couldn't at the moment.

Oh, God.

I really was falling for him.

Silently, I opened my room's door and walked towards the staircase. "I'm up here," I called, and was surprised to see mum practically run into the kitchen. Immediately I could tell something wasn't right.

"What's going on?" I asked slowly, worry seeping from my voice.