Title: Here's Looking at You
Fandom: The Hypnotists Series - Gordon Korman
Rating: G
Length: 190 words
Author notes: This ficlet takes place during the second book in the trilogy.
Summary: Axel warns Jax about the consequences of his powers.


“If I can’t trust that I haven’t hypnotized someone into liking me,” Jax says, “then what am I supposed to do: never have friends again?”

“Are you trying to make friends?” Axel inquires. Except for their overly inquisitive neighbor, Jax barely talks about his new classmates.

“I mean, not around here…” Jax waves a hand to indicate the attic, the house, and the town where they’ve been hiding for the last few months. “But we’re still planning for a future when Mako isn’t a threat anymore, right?”

“I’d like to tell you that your abilities won’t automatically affect all your relationships,” Axel says with a sigh. “But you have to understand that they could, because most people in your life won’t have a clue what happens to them if they look you in the eye. It’ll be up to you to lessen the impact. I can show you how.” Axel can’t ignore how much like Elias Mako he sounds during some of these lectures: Let me teach you. Nobody else understands you.

Sometimes it’s hard to remind himself that there’s any meaningful difference between the two of them.