He's So Possessed With Me: Chapters 9–16

by Corey Liu
When Colin's best friend Ren gets a mysterious and almost-definitely demonic new boyfriend, Colin must stop at nothing to save Ren's life.

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Prologue–Chapter 8, Chapters 9–16, Chapters 17–24, Chapters 25–32.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mote
    a tiny piece of anything
    Under its tapered ceiling and the light filtering through the cross-shaped window, dust motes swirling, Ren and I found our sanctuary.
  2. nave
    the central area of a church
    Now, as I enter the chapel, I see just one person seated in the nave, the back of his pearly head a shock of white under the light.
  3. pulpit
    a platform raised to give prominence to the person on it
    He remains seated on the bench, staring ahead at the pulpit.
  4. kaleidoscope
    an optical toy in a tube
    Something gold winks at me from Ren’s nightstand. I light up when I see what it is. “Oh, Ren! Your kaleidoscope. I thought you lost it!”
  5. nostalgic
    unhappy about being away and longing for familiar things
    “Are you about to get nostalgic about everything?”
    “Obviously. It’s our final year.”
  6. conditional
    imposing or depending on or containing an assumption
    I’d known Mom’s love wasn’t simply conditional, but borrowed.
  7. gossamer
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    Everything about him is wispy, pale, gossamer thread.
  8. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Plopping Dave saunters over and leans a casual arm on our lab bench.
  9. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    I see the telltale signs of her absence right here in the kitchen, scattered across our ceramic tiles.
  10. segue
    proceed without interruption, in music or talk
    Then we stand there on the lawn, and I mostly listen as he segues predictably into the glory of China. Ren said his dad’s obsession piqued during the Beijing Olympics.
  11. whimsical
    indulging in or influenced by the imagination
    Most parents might have framed the warning in more whimsical terms—big bad wolves preying on kids. But Mom didn’t do whimsy.
  12. conspicuous
    obvious to the eye or mind
    Ren hushed me mid-story and pointed to the gap under the doorway. At the very conspicuous shadow. Mr. Hsu was out there, listening in.
  13. catatonic
    characterized by unresponsiveness or lack of movement
    I wait for Ren to finish his thought—What if what?—but he just stands there, catatonic.
  14. cut to the chase
    skip to the most important part of a topic; get to the point
    “I know I don’t pray to you often”—or at all—“but I need your help, so I’ll cut to the chase: I think Ren is possessed. Demonically.”
  15. omniscient
    knowing, seeing, or understanding everything
    In theory, you’re omniscient, so you’ve seen what Ren’s been acting like.
Created on Mon Mar 23 05:47:01 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Jun 02 12:36:37 EDT 2026)

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