Not the Alice He Once Knew (mc, bitchification)

[KentaurosDos]

Not the Alice He Once Knew
By KentaurosDos

Part 1

James didn't know how he had lived without Alice before. She was his better half, and meeting her in Freshman year of college had felt like destiny. He had been a nerdy virgin, who still had a lot to learn about social interaction and she had been perfect. Smart, sexy and most importantly, kind. Anyone talking to Alice always had the feeling that they were getting her full attention - and she seemed to have an endless reservoir of patience and compassion to help the people around her.

Sure, James had noticed a few of her quirks. She absolutely refused to use any form of social media, and her outfits were all things she had made herself by hand with more emphasis on comfort and her unique style, than typical crowd-following. But these things just added to her charm.

And so, he had taken the plunge and asked her out, and miraculously, she had said yes.

It had been six years since then, and while they had had their ups and downs, they had remained committed and supportive of one another for all that time. Alice didn't know it, but James had actually bought a ring and was planning to ask her to marry him at the right opportunity.

James decided that the perfect place would be the very same state faire they had had their first date at. It had been an odd choice for a first date, but things had gone wonderfully there.

It seemed like the universe was looking out for James, because the weather was perfect, and the atmosphere of the faire was as happy and full of life and hope as it ever was. James could hardly have wished for a better opportunity.

They walked around, looking at the booths from companies around their city - home refurbishing they didn't need, scalp massagers, artists - and listening to the music drifting from the live shows going on all around the faire.

Then they came to a large tent that said, "Hypnotist Show."

Alice pointed, "Looks like there's a show starting in 10 minutes, wanna check it out?"

James shrugged. He wasn't that into hypnosis - he had always suspected that it was all fake. That the so-called "hypnotists" just took advantage of people's willingness to go along with things, and that there was no such thing as a "trance state."

But Alice seemed really interested in going, and James wanted everything before the big moment when he popped the question to go great, so he decided to go along with it.

They managed to get a seat in the second row, and had a great view of the stage. They could see a sound guy moving back and forth, and the man who was probably the hypnotist kept adjusting the mic he was wearing as the sound system made strange noises.

James was surprised at how fast 10 minutes went. It was like he blinked, and suddenly he and Alice were surrounded by people waiting for the show to start.

The lights in the tent went dim, and a spotlight shined on the stage showing the hypnotist and a bunch of chairs.

"Hello, Ladies, gentlemen and distinguished guests of all stripes! I am Doctor Senmensa, your hypnotic guide for the evening, and I am going to show you the incredible power of the human mind."

James only half-paid attention to the introduction. It was pretty boiler plate, explaining all the same fake rules of hypnosis that every show like this did.

Then the hypnotist started calling people up from the audience.

James was mildly entertained by the show, but Alice seemed enthrallled. Doctor Senmensa made a few male volunteers act like dainty women, and the audience laughed at them walking and swinging their hips and trying to get the attention of an imaginary guy walking past. There was a woman who was made to act like a dog, and even did a few tricks for the audience. There was a woman who mentioned that she was a teacher when asked who was made to act like a little kid.

Then Doctor Senemensa said he had time for one more act, and that he'd need one more volunteer from the audience.

"Yes, how about you, young lady?" he said.

James eyes widened when he realized that the hypnotist was pointing at Alice right beside him, whose hand was raised high into the air.

Alice smiled excitetedly at James, and got up from her seat, and joined Doctor Senmensa on the stage.

"Hello, there," Doctor Senmensa. "What's your name?"

"I'm Alice," she said a little nervously into the mic.

"Alice, that's a lovely name," Doctor Senmensa said. "Now, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm sure my audience would love to know. Where do you shop for your wonderful clothes?" He motioned to her baggy colorful pants and her frilly blouse that had art designs all over it.

"Oh, I make these myself," she said.

"Oh, are you a clothing designer?"

"No, nothing like that," she laughed nervously. "I'm a coordinator for MalariCare a charity that sends mosquito nets to underpriveleged communities in the third world to protect them from malaria."

"Oh, very commendable," Dr. Senmensa replied. "Why don't we give her a round of applause."

The audience clapped, but no one was louder than James. He was always proud of his girlfriend's big heart.

"Alright, so you make your own clothes, but not for work. I take it you've got a big Instagram following?"

Alice blushed. "Actually, I, uh, don't even have Instagram."

"Well, the plot thickens! I think that's enough for now. Why don't we start the hypnosis."

Alice nodded.

Dr. Senmensa pulled out a metronome and put it infront of Alice.

"Alright, I'm going to turn this on, and I want you to just follow its motion back and forth, can you do that? You can? Good." He set it down, and started it.

Alice's eyes followed the motion back and forth, back and forth. James was surprised. He always considered Alice independent, so he never thought she'd be the type to play along with fake stage hyonosis, but she seemed to be getting a far-away look in her eyes, and it was clear she was getting more and more pulled in to the motion of the metronome. James figure that it must be because she enjoyed hypnosis so much that she was playing along - there was no way she was really being hypnotized. He'd have to ask her afterwards what was going through her head.

"Alright, you're getting sleepier with each motion of the metronome. Left, sleepier. Right, sleepier. Left, right, left, right, you feel your eyes getting heavier and heavier."

Alice's eyes started to flutter, and eventually they closed.

"Good, I'm going to snap my fingers, and you will be completely under." Snap.

Alice slumped forward a little. She seemed completely oblivious to anything going on around her.

"Now, Alice," the hypnotist said in his relaxing voice. "I can tell by our short conversation earlier that you're a very kind woman who thinks for herself. But I want you to become someone else for a bit. You are no longer Alice, who works at a charity, makes her own clothes and swears off all social media. No, you are now Alice, an incredibly vain woman, whose only concern is looking pretty and gaining a large amount of followers online. Do you understand?"

Alice seemed to process his words for a time, but eventually she nodded.

"That's right Alice, when I snap my fingers, you're not going to care about other people's feelings. You'll be the most important person in the world, and you'll know that everything revolves around you. You'll look down on girls who are less pretty than you, and you'll want to tear down every other girl. You'll remember it being like this your whole life. You were like this even back in high school."

Alice mumbled. "I'm... most important.... most pretty."

"That's right, waking up in 3, 2, 1." Snap.

Alice sat up and opened her eyes. James could tell the difference instantly. Gone was the modest, caring, free-willed woman he had come to love, and in her place was a very snooty and judgemental young woman. Alice's mannerisms were perfect - she seemed to be channeling a Kim Kardashian attitude, but with an extra dash of bitchiness thrown in.

"Ugh, what am I wearing?" she said, looking down at her outfit.

"Just a bit of hypnotic fun," Dr. Senmensa said. "We actually have a changing room out back if you want to change into something else?"

Alice looked at Dr. Senmensa as if he was stupid. *If* she wanted to change into something else? Why would she spend another minute in these hippie clothes?

Alice stood up, and walked backstage to where Dr. Senmensa had motioned. She held herself differently from before. Before there had been a bit of hesitation in her. Deferrence to the people around her, but now she walked like she was the hottest thing around, and she held herself back for no one.

Alice walked back stage, and though the audience couldn't see it, there were several assistants who were all waiting to help her quickly change into a new, better outfit. Alice was surprised that they seemed to have an outfit in her size, and was impressed at the speed with which the make up artist back stage redid her make up. She had just enough time to do a duck face in the mirror, and nod approvingly, before the assistants pushed her back out onto the stage.

Alice strutted back onto the stage, confident in her new, improved outfit. James didn't know what to think seeing her new outfit. It oozed sexuality - as she walked back and forth to audience applause, James noticed the way it showed off her flat, athletic tummy, the tantalizing hints of skin offered by the strings tied off in the back, and her ample cleavage being on full display. And down below, the miniskirt that she was wearing strained against her butt and showed off her amazing, smooth legs.

On one hand, James loved it. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen his girlfriend wearing.

On the other hand, he felt a bit uncomfortable with the fixed gaze of the audience around him. This felt like something only he and Alice should be privy to, but her body was on display for everyone. Sure, James always knew that Alice was a total knock-out, with amazing curves, but her modest and quirky style rarely put that on display for the whole world to see.

"Now, Alice, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Dr. Senmensa, said, holding out a microphone.

"Well, I'm Alice," she said, posing a bit. "And one day I'm going to be famous! That's right, I don't care what anyone else thinks - soon everyone is going to know my name. You're going to see me in magazines, and you're going to be buying my make up, and my bags and my clothes because I'm the one selling them."

The audience cheered, amazed at yet another incredible hypnotic transformation. Even James ended up clapping. He was still a bit skeptical of hypnosis, but he didn't think Alice had this kind of acting talent in her - it was genuinely impressive to see the change she had just underwent. Maybe there was something to this hypnosis thing after all?

"Why don't we take a photo together, to commemorate this moment?" the hypnotist said.


Alice smiled. She pulled out her phone, and took a selfie with the hypnotist. She took a few pictures, and immediately started thinking about what filters she would use, and where she would be posting this.

"Alright," Dr. Senmensa said. "Why don't we give a round of applause to Alice."

The audience clapped. James smiled at his girlfriend. It would be so funny showing her the pictures she had just taken. She would hardly believe what had happened.

"Alright, why don't you go back to your seat."

Alice walked back, and sat down next to James.

"And that's all for today! This was my last show of the day, but I'll be back tomorrow for even more hypnotic fun. You've been an amazing audience. My assistants are going to come out soon, and take donations which are all appreciated."

There was a flash on stage, and Dr. Senmensa disappeared, and white smoke started to filter onto the stage. The assistants came from back stage holding hats, and audience members started filing out or shuffling up to donate.

Except.

James looked over at Alice. The hypnotist had forgotten to change her back! She was still acting like a self-obsessed bitch.

Alice looked over at James, and yawned. "Well, that was a waste of time. Shall we leave?"

James shook his head. "No, wait, he's got to turn you back."

Alice rolled her eyes. "What do you mean? I'm acting totally normal right now."

"No, you're not! Here, just follow me, we'll catch him back stage."

James grabbed Alices arm, and led her up to the back stage. One of the assistants saw what he was doing, and stood in front of the door.

"Ah, sorry. You're not allowed back here," she said. "Only performers are."

"But Alice was allowed back here?" James said.

"Well, she was part of the act," the assistant said.

"Fine, I get that I can't go back there, but I need to talk to doctor what-his-face, he forgot to unhypnotize my girlfriend!"

The assistant looked at Alice and shrugged. "She seems to be acting normal to me?"

Alice had quickly grown bored of the conversation, and had set her phone down on a chair onstage and was taking pictures of herself in her amazing outfit to post online later.

"No, she doesn't act like this! Look, I don't have time to argue, can I just see the hypnotist?"

The assistant shook her head. "Nah, he had a dentist appointment right after the show. Quick turnaround, the only time they could slot him in, that kind of thing. If you want to talk to him, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Jamed threw his hands up into the air. No, this wasn't right! This was supposed to be the special day he proposed to Alice, but now she was stuck acting like a snooty internet influencer.

"James, I'm bored," Alice declared. "Stop arguing with that woman, and let's go somewhere fun. I could use a few drinks right now."

James sighed, slumped his shoulders, and followed Alice out of the tent.

James watched the way Alice interacted with the world with her new perspective. She seemed to think she was above the state faire now, and everybody in it. As they walked around, Alice seemed to push through the crowd with no concern for politeness. James tried to make the best of things and enjoy his time with his girlfriend, but when he suggested they get her favorite food she complained that it had too many calories, and opted for a salad instead, and she was rude to the woman behind the counter the entire time she was ordering.

After they sat down, Alice started talking shit about the way people were dressed around them.

James was uncomfortable with this judgmental speech, especially because she was making no effort to not be overheard.

"Hey, Alice, wouldn't you rather talk about something else. Like, how is work going?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm probably going to quit that shit heap. Caring about malaria or whatever is so last year. I think I'm going to try and be an influencer full time. It'll be tough, but I'm like, really hot, and I think I can totally turn that into a career."

James frowned. In another world, he imaged that Alice might be eating her favorite treat, and then he might be getting down on his knees and proposing to her. But in this world, in the world he now found himself in, his girlfriend had lost all concern for compassion and kindness and had become a self-obsessed, arrogant and ambitious bitch. He didn't know if he could wait until tomorrow to get this all resolved.

[VoltaireEMCSA]

Great start!

[Tayfair]

This is sooo good.

[Visudran]

Waiting for more! There is definitely not enough bitchification stories

[EFHRJ]

Okay, this is actually an interesting one. A take on the malicious hypnosis combined with a shallow bitchy personality overwrite, but the twist seemingly being that the hypnotist didn't intend to leave her like this.

Or did he?

Though there's also the fact hypnosis doesn't work without the person involved wanting it on some level, I wonder how much Alice was suppressing or not confronting that on some level, she wanted to be a self-centered It girl, which might be worth touching on if you want to make it sting a bit harder for James, Kentauros.

[KentaurosDos]

Part 2

James wanted to believe that the power of love would overcome the hypnotic spell. Surely, their years of being together was more powerful than whatever that hypnotist had done to his girlfriend's mind?

"Alice," James said, trying to hide the hurt from his voice. "Do you love me?"

Alice had been playing on her phone, editing some pictures she had taken. She barely glanced up at James, seemingly only half-listening to his questions.

"Sure, whatever, babe," she said, before looking back down at her phone.

James gently touched her hand, and tried to get her to make eye contact.

"No, Alice, Alice, I'm serious. Do you love me?"

Alice's look of annoyance was unmistakable, she rolled her eyes. "Yeeees," she said in an exaggerated fashion. "I fucking love you, now let me look at my phone."

James could tell she wasn't feeling it. Not like she had before. She still recognized him as her boyfriend, but it seemed like the relationship was almost transactional to her. That she was dating James because of the benefits he provided, and not a deep love and devotion for him.

Clouds had started to appear in the sky, and it looked like it might start raining. James' perfect day, the day he was supposed to propose to his girlfriend, was no more.

"Why don't we head back to the car," James said stiffly.

"Yeah, whatever," Alice said. "We've spent way to much time at this boring, stinky place anyways."

They walked back to the car, and it seemed like everyone they passed noticed Alice's bad attitude. People instinctively avoided her, though several guys did seem to have lingering gazes in her direction when they thought no one else was looking. And who could blame them - she looked incredible in her skimpy outfit. What bothered James wasn't the guys, that was par for the course, even with Alice's more unconventional style. No, it was the fact that she seemed to briefly flirt back at some of the guys.

"Uh, Alice, could you not make kissy faces at guys, or wink at them when they check you out?" James asked.

Alice scoffed. "If you're worried about it, beat them up or something babe. It's not my job as the woman to make sure I stay true to you. Man up or shut up."

James could hardly believe the words coming out of Alice's mouth. This was nothing like his sweet girlfriend, and even though he knew why she was acting this way, it still hurt to see her do it. Knowing something on the intellectual level, and feeling it were two very different things.

They arrived at the car, and got in. They turned on the car, and the car stereo automatically connected to Alice's phone and started playing her favorite obscure indie band.

"What is this shit?" Alice said. "Put on the radio, I can't spend another minute listening to this."

James' heart fell. He and Alice always used to bond on their common taste in music. He flipped on a top 40's radio station, and saw Alice really getting into the most basic pop songs.

"These are really good, right?" Alice said. "I can't believe I never listen to this. I should listen to Doja Cat more often. She's really funny, and her lyrics are so witty."

James gave half-hearted agreement, and kept quiet. It seemed like Alice's world had been shrunk by the hypnosis. Her unique taste, her personal style, her personality had been made utterly basic.

They arrived back home, and Alice immediately held out her hand expectantly to James.

"Uh, did you want something?" he asked.

Alice snorted. "As if you don't know. I'm going to go shopping."

"O...kay?" James said, putting the keys into her hands.

"No, not your keys idiot. Your money!" she said. "Momma needs a new wardrobe, and you've been volunteered to pay for it."

"Wait, don't you have your own money?" James said. "Why would I pay for a whole new wardrobe for you, you worked so hard on your clothes?"

"Well, my taste was shit when I made all of those clothes. It's all garbage now. In fact, throw it all away before I get back. I don't want to have to see that hive of failure."

She continued to hold out her hands. James sighed, and pulled out a wad of cash, placing it into her hands.

Alice stuffed the money down her top, and shook her head, "Plastic, babe. Let's be real here."

James wanted to object. He didn't want Alice to spend a bunch of his money while she was hypnotized. He knew she would feel super guilty once she was changed back later. But Alice didn't seem to want to take no as an answer.

James finally relented and handed her his credit card.

"Be sure to keep your receipts in case you need to return anything," he said.

Alice looked disinterested in that proposal, but gave an insincere, "Oh, I'll totally do that babe, thanks for the advice."

Then James stepped out of the car, and Alice strutted back around, hopped in the driver's seat, and she was off. James noticed that she almost ran over some kids playing in the street, and she cut off another one of their neighbors who was getting on the road. Alice only cared about one person now: herself, and she didn't care how much risk she put the people around her in anymore.

James decided to try and research hypnosis while his girlfriend was out.

* * *

At the mall, Alice was in her element. She loved seeing all of the wonderful things that she could have in her life with a little bit of cash. Surely this was the path to happiness, stuff. People who had stuff had value, and people didn't have stuff didn't have value, it was as simple as that.

Like the guy in the wheel chair outside, and the sign begging for money. Alice had turned up her nose at him. He was ugly and smelly, and totally didn't deserve the cash she was carrying. That was for her - it was presumption of a guy like that to even look in her direction, let alone to try telling his sob story of being a veteran and needing money. Cry her a river! Alice had problems too - like a having a really bad wardrobe, and she wasn't about to slightly inconvenience herself just to make some ugly old guy happy, or make him able to afford food or whatever. If he wanted that, he should find a job.

Alice observed the people in the mall. Most of them were far beneath her, but she did find a few who were worthy of her concern. A few young girls in stylish outfits she knew she could pull off better than they ever could. But that wasn't all. There were also a few young couples out. And they got Alice thinking. Especially one couple consisting of a big, burly guy and his scantily clad girlfriend.

Alice couldn't help but think how different James and the burly guy were. Sure... James was nice, but that was all he had going for him really. Well, that and the money. Alice did need to keep James happy for a bit longer, until her influencer career got off the ground, and she could dump in him in favor of all the pay pigs she could string along with her naturally erotic body. Lewds and nudes - those were how a young woman with the looks to pull it off got ahead in the world. She wasn't going to work, not if she could help it. Telling a beautiful person like Alice to work was like telling her she was too ugly to make sad, lonely men pay for pictures and videos of her!

Alice tried on outfits, and took pictures, posting them to a brand new Instragram account. She could hardly believe she didn't have an Instagram before. It was like the peanut butter to her jelly - she was incomplete without it. And why shouldn't she have a Tik Tok while she was at it?

Alice bought four bags of clothes, and walked back out to the car. Then she had a mischievous idea. James was nothing to her. A weak, unmanly man who made a good source of income. But she knew her worth - she was hot, and she needed to lure James into a false sense of security. So she needed to be nice to him until she could support herself. That was going to be hard - nice really wasn't in her repertoire. But she had seen movies of nice people, and Alice figured it couldn't be *that* hard to string a dumb, horny loser like James along.

She took a selife that showed off her cleavage, and sent it to James.

She texted, "Sorry about the way I acted earlier. Realize that I probably could have been a bit nicer to you, and taken your feelings into account. Maybe I could make it up to you when I get back! <3"

James sent a reply back that she barely skimmed through, but the gist of it was that he seemed relieved that she was acting nicer. Alice smiled. This was perfect, boys were so easy to fool, and she was pretty sure she had James wrapped around her finger.

"Hey, James," she said, coming back into the house.

James looked a bit disappointed. He had been hoping with the apology, more of his real girlfriend might shine through, but she still seemed to be the same vain bitch the hypnotist had made her.

"You look sad, babe, what's up?" she said, doing her best to approximate a caring tone.

James seemed to perk up. Dare he hope?

"Uh, well. It's just... I feel like I lost someone close to me. My closest friend and companion."

Alice tried to fight her apathy and boredom. She forced a sympathetic look, and walked up to him, and hugged over his shoulders.

"Oh, no," she said. "I'm so sorry to hear that. But you don't need to worry. Even if everyone else in the world leaves you, you'll always have me, babe!"

James seemed to melt a bit at her words. He looked at her, scanning to see the old Alice under all the make up and clothes. He saw what he wanted to see. He started to cry in spite of himself.

"I'm so happy to hear that," he said. "I-, it felt like I was losing you. I was reading that hypnosis can't make you do anything you didn't want to do, and I-, it made me wonder what your real feelings for me were."

Alice fought the urge to roll her eyes. James was acting like a total baby. Seriously, crying? Men shouldn't cry - total turn off. But she still needed his money, and so she stuck with her plan.

"Babe, I don't know what hypnosis has to do with any of this, but nothing would change the way I feel about you. I'm sorry if I was a little distracted earlier today. I was setting up new apps and accounts, and it was taking a lot of my attention. But I won't do that again. I'll try to make a little time for you each day, no matter what."

James smiled through his tears. He realized now. Alice had just wanted an excuse to not have to be the saint, to not have the pressure of being a unique individual in every aspect of her life. Even if she was still wearing an outfit that looked more fit for a hooker than a charity worker, the real Alice was still in there. She still cared for him. His earlier fears had been premature - she was still the same old Alice, she was just trying out a new look, needed more time to experiment. What was important, was that she was caring about him now.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that," he said.

"You're special to me," she said, lying through her teeth. She started rubbing up against him, and kissing his neck sensuously. "Come on, why don't I make things up to you?"

James was so turned on. Alice in that outfit looked like porn star - a wet dream, suddenly materialized into his life. After he got her dehypnotized later, he hoped she'd still want to experiment more with this style, at least in the bedroom.

The two of them went to the bedroom, and Alice took the lead. She had usually been content to let James take control, but now she was in charge, and she was going to get what she wanted. It was like nothing James had ever experienced before. Alice was wild, sensual, and totally in control of her sexuality.

He didn't even notice the fact that she wasn't turned on by her boyfriend a bit. Alice knew sexuality was a tool to manipulate people, a ladder to success, and she didn't mind doing a little bit of acting in the bedroom. A little lube and a hand job to start, and James was none the wiser about how bone dry his unmanliness left Alice.

When James started fucking Alice, she drew on her memories of their sex before, and did exactly what she knew would tantalize him and keep him fucking for as long as possible. She was ready for a marathon. Eventually, she did start to enjoy herself - once she started fantasizing about the burly guy from the mall fucking her instead of James. Unf. Now *that* made her wet.

It wasn't long before James made a sound, and stopped moving in her, as she felt herself filled up with his seed. Alice mentally sighed - she had just been getting into a good part of her fantasy.

"That was incredible," James said. "We should always fuck like that."

"Whatever you want, babe," she said, forcing a giggle. "I'm just so lucky I've got a sweet guy like you to make love to."

"And I'm just lucky I've got a sweet girlfriend like you,"

Much to Alice's dismay, James insisted on cuddling with her. She was already bored, and still a little horny and wanting to finish her fantasy and actually be sexually satisfied for once, but she relented and played the part of a loving girlfriend. Eventually, James fell asleep playing with her hair, which admittedly did feel pretty nice, and Alice was finally able to finish herself off.

Her new life as an influencer couldn't start soon enough. Although... maybe she could find actually good lays, while still stringing James along. Definitely something to keep in the back of her mind going forward...

[allthosecurves]

I like the contrast between her inner dialogue and her actions in this latest chapter. Love it when the new personality pretends to be the old personality, especially when they're pretending to be their previous sweet & caring self.

[VoltaireEMCSA]

Such a good story.

[EFHRJ]

The line about her liking her hair being played with makes me wonder if she can actually walk this back somehow.

I do feel pretty bad for James here, and I hope he gets some sort of decent ending to this mess.

But I am enjoying Alice being an obnoxious self absorbed bitchy bimbo.

[KentaurosDos]

Part 3

Three Years Ago

James was freaking out. He had forgotten to save his essay that he had just spent four hours working on, and his computer had crapped out on him. The essay was due first thing tomorrow morning, and it was already 1 AM! His mind started jumping to the worst possibilities. He was going to fail this class, then he was going to be put on accademic probation, then he was going to have to drop out of college altogether! He was a failure, and soon his parents, and his friends were all going to know it.

Then, Alice wrapped her warm arms around him, and asked him what was wrong.

James didn't immediately calm down, but having Alice there, having her listening to his problem, it grounded him. He took a few deep breaths, and explained the issue. Alice listened with rapt attention. She cared about her boyfriend, and didn't want to see him suffer unnecessarily.

"I've gone through the same thing before, James," she said sympathetically. "It's going to be tough, but I believe in you. Here, you can use my laptop, and I'll start brewing some coffee. You're going to need it."

As Alice walked away towards the kitchenette, James couldn't believe how lucky he was. They had moved in at the start of the semester, and things had been great. Sure, there was an early adjustment period to living with another person - divvying up chores, figuring out how to share the bathroom in the morning, but those had all be navigable issues. No, Alice was definitely James' better half - of course he would be there for her no matter what, but she was so supportive, and always knew exactly how to navigate crises.

Soon, James was soon typing away at his second version of the essay. Alice could have gone to bed - she had early classes as well, but she stayed there cuddling with him, offering him support and talking through what he remembered of the old essay.

And... just like that, after two and a half hours James had an essay he could turn in. It definitely wasn't as polished as his first take, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't fail.

"Thank you for staying up and helping me," he said, as they walked back to bed. He had tried to tell her a few times that she shouldn't lose sleep on his account, but she had insisted that she would help him through this.

Alice smiled sleepily at him. "I know you would have done the same for me."

They lay down next to each other, and James looked at his girlfriend falling asleep next to him. It was so peaceful watching her breath, knowing that she was there by his side. Alice really inspired him. He had only started volunteering at the soup kitchen once a week because it meant spending more time with her, and he had started unplugging from all social media on Saturdays. (He couldn't quite live up to Alice's completely social media free lifestyle, but he did get a lot out of spending time with friends and family, without the risk of screen time getting in the way of genuine human connection.)

James rolled over, and wrapped his arms around Alice, and enjoyed the feeling of playing big spoon to such an incredible, vibrant woman. She was like a star streaking across the sky, and he was prepared to follow her wherever her big heart took her.

Present Day

James woke up, and saw that he was alone in bed. He rolled groggily out of bed, and sat up. Where had Alice gone?

She wasn't usually a morning person. He shuffled to the bathroom, but soon heard a sound like someone talking in the living room. He poked his head in curiously, and saw Alice there in a yoga outfit, with her tablet playing a session, and her phone set up on a tripod to record her session.

He watched her for a bit. Mostly, he was just confused. Alice had never really been into yoga - and he wondered if the yoga mat, and clothes had been purchased during her little trip yesterday.

Eventually, Alice pressed her hands together, said "Namaste", and stopped recording.

"What was that all about?" he said.

Alice replied sarcastically, "I'm trying to connect to my higher self, James." She rolled her eyes. "Nah, really I just needed an excuse to take some good videos and pics in these yoga clothes. I mean look at me!"

James had to admit that the form fitting yoga pants emphasized her ass nicely, and that she looked incredible.

"Oh, that reminds me!" she said, pulling her camera off the tripod and taking a few selfies. "Actually..." she looked at James. "James would you mind taking a few photos of me."

James was nonplussed by this - but he went along with it, taking a steady stream of pictures at her behest. He wondered if he had been too quick to think that the real Alice was still in there under all the hypnosis. But then she thanked him sweetly for doing all of the pictures, kissed him on the cheek, and asked what the plan was for the day. James smiled - her soul was still shining out through her actions.

Alice felt a bit silly. She had forgotten that she was supposed to be playing nice around James, but she was pretty sure she had played it off, and papered over his suspicions. She played sweet and kind, and soon she had the sense that James was eating out of her hand.

Alice wasn't excited for today. Apparently, James wanted the two of them to make *another* stop at the state faire today. She couldn't fathom why, for the life of her. It seemed like a dirty, smelly place for poor people, but James seemed insistent, so she decided to humor him. Alice figured she could at least get a few good pictures for Instagram out there - people ate up the idea of a humble farm existence, after all.

They arrived at the state faire, and James made a beeline for the hypnosis show. The first show was right after opening, and so he wanted to get the chance to catch Dr. whats-his-name as soon as it ended. But James and Alice waited there, and a few other people filed in, but then the start time came and went, and nobody was on stage.

Eventually, a stressed-looking woman with a clipboard came around, and got on stage.

"I'm really sorry," she said. "The hypnotist show is cancelled for the day."

James didn't know what to say. He needed to speak to Dr. Senmensa, he needed his girlfriend back!

When the woman walked out to put a "Cancelled" sign on the board outside, James rushed to catch her.

"Um, I'm sorry to bother you," he said. "But, why was the hypnotist show cancelled?"

The faire employee looked at him seriously. "Apparently, there's been an accident. We just got word from Dr. Senmensa's assistants that he's in a medically induced coma."

James was reeling. This couldn't be. He needed to find the hypnotist and get his life back in order!

He slumped a bit, and walked back to Alice, who was busy on her phone. Alice looked up. (She reminded herself that she needed to play nice - just a little bit longer. Just until she could support herself with her online career.)

"Hey, James," she smiled at him, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. "What's wrong."

"Well, the hypnotist got into an accident," James said. "There's not going to be a show today."

Alice tried to remember what it looked like when people actually cared about other people's well-being.

"Oh, no! That's horrible," she said, not quite nailing the emotions.

"Fuck," James said, burying his face in his hands. "I want the real you back!"

Alice put her hand on James shoulder. That's what people did to comfort each other, right?

"Oh, there, there, James," she said. "What do you mean the real me? I'm right here - I'd never leave you."

"No, you're not," he said. "The woman I love is gone. You've been hypnotized, and now you're acting like a parody of yourself. I needed that guy to hypnotize you, so that you could get back to normal."

Alice rolled her eyes. Dramatic much? She was acting normal! Luckily, James didn't see her reaction, and she managed to quickly get back into character.

"Well, maybe you could try hypnotizing me?" Alice said.

James paused, and looked up at her. "What?"

"You said that the hypnotist did something to me. Maybe you could reverse it?" she said.

James looked at her. There was Alice's brilliant mind. Even hypnotized, she knew the right thing to say.

"Why don't we try it?" he said. He looked around. There was no one else left in the hypnotist tent, after the announcement.

"Alright," Alice said. "What should I do?"

"Uh," James said. "Sit there, and just close your eyes. No wait, open them and look at my finger."

Alice wished he would just make up his mind. But she did as she was told, sitting up and looking at his finger.

"Watch my finger move back and forth," James said. He had never done anything like this, but he hoped it would work.

Alice watched his hand. But she knew right away this wasn't going to work. James didn't have a very calming voice, and his nervous, expectant energy was putting her on edge. She decided it would just be easier to play along. She tried to force herself to look out of it, as she watched his finger.

"Good, now you're feeling sleepy," he said. "Every moment more sleepy and relaxed."

Alice pretended to get sleepy. She consciously fluttered her eyes.

"When I count to three, you will be asleep. One, two, three!" James shouted the last part.

Alice pretended to slump forward.

James could hardly believe it. His heart was beating really fast now. Could this work? Would he soon have his Alice back?

"Alice, you're not actually a self-centered jerk."

Alice had to force herself not to show any emotion. How dare he say that! She wasn't a jerk. She couldn't help if she was naturally better than everyone else, and if she had a grand future and would soon be leaving all those little, unimportant people in the dust.

But she realized she had to play along.

"I'm... not a jerk," she said softly.

James could hardly believe it. It was working! He was going to get his girlfriend back.

"You're a caring, humble woman."

"I'm caring... and humble." Alice felt like she deserved an Oscar for this performance.

"You love working for charity, and helping others. You love indie music. You love making your own clothes, and you hate social media."

Alice could not believe how pathetic James was. He couldn't handle her personality, and so he was trying to cut her edged off and make her a perfect little princess. It was disgusting! James should just accept that the imaginary saintly girl he clearly would prefer dating didn't exist. Or if she did exist, she was probably ugly and poor or something. Seriously, who did James think he was dealing with? Why had Alice even started dating a soft boy like this anyways?

If nothing else, this cemented the need to cut her ties with him. When the time was right - when she had milked him for just enough money, she was dumping his ass for sure.

"I love... charity," she said softly.

"That's right. When I snap my fingers, I want you to wake up and become the real you. Three, two, one." Snap.

Alice opened her eyes. She looked lovingly at James. It wasn't going to be hard stringing him along now - he had told her exactly how he wanted her to act after all.

"Oh, James," she said, hugging him. "I'm so sorry about everything. I don't know what came over me."

James hugged Alice tight. He was so happy. It had worked.

"I've got a change of clothes for you in the car," he said.

Alice tried to calculate what the right response would be. She hated that he hadn't thrown out all her old, ugly clothes as she requested, and she wouldn't be caught dead in them.

"Um... actually, I like this new look. I hope you don't mind?" she said.

James smiled. "No, I totally understand. I realized that you must have been tired of being so perfect all of the time. If you need a little time to find yourself after all of that, then I'm happy to leave you as much space you need to process and integrate all of the new experiences you had."

"James," Alice said. "I, I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," he said. "Until you see this." He pulled out a ring, and getting on his knees.

Alice smiled. The smile was genuine - the idiot was setting himself up to give her even more of his money. She could marry him - play nice for a few months, fuck hot guys on the side, and then divorce him and get half of all that he was worth.

"James!" she said. "Oh my god."

"Alice," he said. "Would you marry me, and make me the happiest man in the world?"

"Of course," Alice said. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!"

James slipped the ring onto Alice's finger, and she kissed him.

James was just happy that he had gotten his fairy tale ending. His girlfriend was back, and his life was back on track. Nothing could touch his happiness now!

All she could think was, "God, manipulating this schmuck is going to be too easy."

This was going to be fun.