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In the Last Chapter…

Adam is still awkward with Nicole given their recent breakup, and he’s also distancing himself from Athena, given he cheated with her. The new semester begins, with Adam taking drama, health & wellness, chemistry, and business classes. Zelda and him come to a gentle understanding, partially due to Zelda asking his other female friends about him behind his back. Adam and Nicole reconcile in the church, agreeing to be like they were last year – not a couple, but still special to each other, and still having sex.

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“This is a pre-made mask,” Salvador began, holding a full-face mask up for his students to see. It looked like it was made of some kind of plaster, and looked clearly ugly. “For the next few weeks, this mask will be your face on stage. You won’t be able to talk, you’ll only be able to use your body. The smallest of motions – head turns, bending knees, hunched-up shoulders – will be how you inform your characters.”

“Wow, Salvador, you really wanted us to stop talking that badly, huh?” Callum quipped from the audience.

It was always a fifty-fifty if Salvador would respond to quips with mirth or anger, but I guess today was a good day. “If that’s how you choose to see it,” he told Callum with a sparkle in his eye. “Now, all of you will approach the stage and look at the masks laid out for you. You can only use the masks in this auditorium, you can not take them home, and you will place them on that table in the corner at the end of the day. Take care of the mask like you’re taking care of your own face, do we understand each other?”

“Take care of your own face…?” I heard Zelda murmur next to me. “Is that some kind of expression?”

“No, Salvador just talks weird,” I whispered back honestly. All of us got up from our seats and walked over to the edge of the stage, where masks were lined up neatly. I looked them all over as students hesitantly picked up one or two – so I was supposed to wear this and say nothing, huh? Was one supposed to speak to me or something?

“At least one mask should speak to you,” Salvador cut in, answering me perfectly. “Look them over. There should be a mask for you. The only reason you pick a mask you don’t like will be because you hesitated too much.”

I frowned. The masks were all vaguely face-shaped but had some kind of deformity. The cheeks were puffed up or there were jagged spikes all around the face or were wrinkled all to hell. I understood that drama was all about letting myself go and embracing the weird or whatever, and I wasn’t even weirded out by the class… I was actually kind of worried that I was too dumb to get it or something.

“Hurry up, Adam,” Salvador cautioned me, walking by. He didn’t just limit his comments to me – I saw him say something to Hannah as he walked past. She promptly put down the mask she was holding and searched for another one. 

Eventually I settled on some kind of tense-looking mask with a bunch of forehead wrinkles and a long nose. I looked at it from all sides, and then experimentally put it on, strapping my face in.

It was hot in there. Breathing was a little difficult, but manageable. I turned around, getting used to the new weight on my face, and Zelda noticed me and started giggling.

“Oh my God, that’s amazing,” she laughed. A few other students looked over and started giggling too. Salvador looked as well, though his was a stone face. After a bit, he nodded and walked away.

Once we all picked our masks, we brought them back to our seats and Salvador sat on the stage again. “Today, we’re going to learn about our masks,” he told us. “When you put that mask on, you become a character. That character will have a walk, they’ll have a dominant emotion, and they’ll have something they want. Your task is to figure all of that out, then you’ll be put into groups and you’ll put on a silent play of your own making. It’ll only be about five minutes per group. Do we understand?”

I looked at my mask. Sorry, little dude. You’re stuck with me.

***

Drama always had this way of making me feel so damn pensive. Maybe it was because it required you to think critically about yourself, or maybe because I was just an overthinker and this was my comfy place. I wasn’t sure. 

At the end of class, Salvador asked us to come up to him one by one so he could record who got what mask. I was near the end of the line, and when I approached and showed him the mask, he nodded much like he did before.

“Ah, burattino,” he marveled. “Quite the fitting choice.”

“Here we go,” I mumbled. “Why’s that?”

“He’s one of the three low-life zanni characters from the commedia dell’arte play Fiammella,” Salvador began.

“Low-lifes. Fantastic,” I reflected sarcastically.

He shot me a look. “You asked me to explain,” he darkly commented, then continued. “He’s good-natured and wants to do right, but finds himself particularly unable. In The Fortunate Isabella, when he thinks that Isabella has been captured, he can’t think to do anything but weep.”

“And that’s me, huh?” I asked.

Salvador wrote something down then looked at me, a complete blank look on his face. “No. That’s the mask you picked,” he answered simply. “And I imagine you’ll do good things with it. Next!”

***

“Arright, everybody,” Mr. Wainwright said through his cheesy ‘50s Archie grin. “Just go on ahead and work on those questions until the bell, and once the bell rings, well… that’s class!” With no fanfare, he walked over to the desk and allowed us to focus on our assigned questions.

If my eyes could roll into the back of my skull, they would. “Promoting healthy behavior” was the theme of today’s lessons, and judging by the class syllabus, it would be the theme of a lot of future lessons. Not even bothering to make it look like I was doing my work, I took out my phone and did what I usually did in class these days: texting Sabrina.

Luckily, Sabrina was just as bored of her second-period classes as I was, and all too eager to reply. A part of me couldn’t help but wonder if she just missed what we usually did during class first semester and was working back up to it, but just didn’t want to ask. Of course, it wasn’t like she needed to.

wanna come over 2 my place after school? 😉

I stared at her text message. It was weird how in first semester I’d be almost hesitant after getting a text like that, but now it was… exciting. Sabrina was really cool. 

Hell yes! I responded. In response, she sent a bunch of cute emojis. I was really growing to love how bubbly she was. I knew that when we’d hang out after school, we wouldn’t just have sex, we’d also talk and share thoughts and have life chats and stuff. We’d connect. I missed connecting. And, maybe, the more I connected to her, the less hopelessly connected I could be to Nicole. Maybe. Hopefully. Fuck, I didn’t know. It was so weird; I was surrounded by so many people, more than ever… so why did I feel so damn lonely?

***

The counselor, Ms. Dewitt, nodded, adjusting her glasses. “I think a lot of people feel that way, Adam,” she told me. “So the good news is that if you needed to tell people who would understand, your friends might know where you’re coming from.”

I stared at her for a bit. “A large part of this is because my friends don’t want to see this from my perspective,” I answered her. She meant well, but she was no Salvador. “They keep being selfish or making drama out of it.”

“Well, to be honest, that might be because what you’re doing is accidentally hurting their feelings too,” she replied gently. “When’s the last time a friend of yours told you something secret, and you decided to hurt them?”

“Well… I…” I started playing with my fingers. “I don’t decide to hurt people. I don’t think I do, at least.”

“I believe you,” Ms. Dewitt replied with a nod. “But I bet that’s the same case with your friends. And if they are trying to deliberately hurt you, then they’re not your friends. Real friends don’t want to hurt their friends. So maybe they don’t see what they’re doing as hurtful.”

I scoffed and threw my arms up. “So what, I should instantly forgive them?”

“Oh no. Not at all,” she replied swiftly. “Let them know how they’re making you feel. And when you do, they might tell you a few things about how you’re making them feel too. You’ll need to communicate, and listen, if you want to solve things. And I can tell, if I can say, that you’re not the type of person who goes to counseling just to rant. Is it fair to say you like getting advice?”

I sighed, then slowly nodded. “Yes,” I admitted. “To an extent, I like being told what to do when I screw myself over. And this…” I gestured to nothing with my hands. “Yeah. It helps.” I don’t think what she was saying was even anything new, but it was helpful to hear it from someone else. 

I didn’t say anything for a bit and stared at the floor. Huh. It helped to hear it from someone else. I guess that was why even Nicole would benefit from counseling. She could know literally everything about herself but get told one thing and immediately cave and accept some kind of truth about herself. Fuck, I bet I did that to her a couple of times. 

“Does it help Nicole?”

Ms. Dewitt was silent for a bit. “I can’t answer that, Adam.”

“I know it’s weird, but like, I did say I was with her for a while. And you know how… how difficult life’s been for her lately. Does hearing stuff from another person help Nicole?”

“Does hearing…?” Ms. Dewitt trailed off. Oh, oops. I guess that connection only existed in my head. “Adam, even if I wanted to tell you about my private sessions with another student and thought it was okay to tell you about them, it’s my job not to tell you. No matter what, I won’t be disclosing that.” She gave me a patient smile. “Just like how I won’t be telling anyone about anything you say here. That way you can feel okay saying what you want without it getting out and possibly affecting anything else. You wouldn’t like it much if I told other people about you, right?”

I scowled. “Yeah,” I admitted. “I’m just worried about her.”

“I understand,” she told me gently. We worked out another appointment and she gave me a piece of paper with some notes, then I was free to go. It was still a good ten minutes before the end of lunch, so I ran to the lunch table, hoping to catch Carson and Megan.

Surprisingly, Sabrina was also there. When I arrived, she waved me down, a big smile on her face. “Hey!” she said warmly, scooting over and allowing me to sit at the table. “How was your meeting?”

“Oh… fine,” I said awkwardly, looking at Megan and Carson. Neither of them said anything. Carson thought I was in a meeting with a teacher, so I guess that helped. “So you’re sitting here now?”

Carson chuckled. “Here we go,” he began. “You gonna tell a beautiful girl like her that she can’t sit here and wait for you, buddy?”

I glanced in his direction. I was glad he was at least more cheerful than a few days ago when Zelda forced him to sit somewhere else during business. “I guess I’m just surprised,” I admitted. “But, uh, yeah, it’s good to see you.” I gave her a smile.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and pulled it out below the table. Megan was texting me about how the counselor appointment went. I put my phone away and flashed her a quick muted smile and a thumbs-up, and she nodded. I hoped Megan was okay with Sabrina – as far as I knew, her only interactions with her were through my and my sluttier adventures, though Megan seemed pretty at peace with the unpredictability of my sex life.

“Because if you aren’t gonna man up and claim her, some other guy will,” Carson continued, then did that chin-upwards gesture towards her. 

Sabrina smiled in surprise at Carson. “Wow, Carson,” she giggled.

I felt my back straighten. “You know each other?” I asked, realization hitting me like a train.

“You know it, buddy,” Carson replied confidently.

“Yeah, Carson and I have been… acquaintances since mid-ninth grade,” Sabrina continued.

My hand flew to my face, covering my face’s left side, ensuring Sabrina couldn’t see. I stared daggers at Carson and raised my eyebrows once, as if to ask, ‘Did you fuck her?’ He raised his eyebrows twice in response. My hand lowered. “Carson, why didn’t you say you knew her when I first talked about her to you?”

“…You said you didn’t know me?” Sabrina asked in slightly hurt confusion.

“No I fuckin’ didn’t. You okay, buddy? Whatcha trying to start drama for?” Carson demanded. 

“Maybe you didn’t say it, but when I mentioned her name, you didn’t say you knew her or anything,” I continued.

Carson’s brow furrowed further and further until it clicked in his head. A thousand micro-emotions ran across his face as he seemingly figured out in real time that this was the Sabrina I was referring to. It made sense, since I couldn’t recall him actually meeting her. I would have thought Carson would have figured it out, but Carson was Carson. “It’s called ‘tact,’ buddy,” he replied, all of the emotions giving way to pure smugness. “If you’re going for a girl, what’s the point in saying me and her got a history?”

I turned to Sabrina, who was biting her lower lip nervously. “Hope that’s okay,” she said quietly.

“And if it ain’t, the fuck are you gonna do?” Carson roared, laughing.

“Well, there goes tact,” Megan observed, elbowing Carson in the side. “Anyway, it’s cool to have Sabrina here. We didn’t really get to know each other apart from PE last year.”

“Yeah, and kind of talking to you at the Halloween dance,” Sabrina added.

Megan blushed a little. “Yeah,” she murmured.

I racked my brain. “…Did you two talk that much at the Halloween dance?” I asked. “You really only talked to me.”

“Oh gosh,” Megan murmured, turning pinker.

“I, uh… how cool are you with getting personal at this table, Adam? You were open, right?” Sabrina asked me.

I understood her completely, and smiled confidently. “You know what, if it helps, sure, I don’t mind talking about how we kissed at the dance.”

“Yo, you kissed her too?!” Carson asked in surprise. Megan’s eyes squeezed shut and Sabrina giggled nervously.

Oh my God. Sabrina kissed Carson at the Halloween dance?! I didn’t understand things at all! “What?” I managed after a bit. 

“Are you mad at me?” Sabrina asked.

“No, but I sure am shocked!” I exclaimed, pointing at Carson. “You really heard me talking about this cute girl in my class named Sabrina, and didn’t even put the pieces together that the girl you were kissing was the same one?”

“You were calling me cute to your friends?” Sabrina interjected.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we got like five girls named Sabrina in our grade, buddy,” Carson defended himself. “You were in a relationship anyways. It’s not like you can complain that you weren’t the only guy to her.”

“And you,” I continued, pointing at Megan. “What was your role in all this?”

Megan rolled her eyes. “I was aware that Carson was… missing feeling connected to girls, and Sabrina and I got talking when she got into the dance, and she let me know she wanted to let loose and kiss some boys. So I may have given her a recommendation,” she answered. “I saw them… having a good time, and Sabrina and I talked about it afterwards.”

“If this is all in the open, I meant to ask you about that,” Carson butted in. “After we kissed for a bit, you, like, bolted right out of the dance. What was that all about? What, did you need to report to Megan or something?” He turned to Megan. “That was nice of you though, I thought you hated me kissing other girls.”

Megan lowered an eyebrow at Carson. “I just disliked your cavalier lifestyle,” she answered. “I still understood it.”

“Fuckin’ ‘cavalier.’”

“I’m more at peace with it now,” she continued. “Do it with anyone you want. I will not judge.”

Sabrina cleared her throat. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Carson,” she answered timidly. “I just get… butterflies when doing stuff like that, and not the good kind. I thought I could handle it, but…”

Carson looked back and forth between Sabrina and myself. “So did you kiss him before me? Yo, who’s the better kisser?”

“I kissed him afterwards, and I’m not telling you,” Sabrina said with a giggle, just as the bell rang.

Carson shook his head, smiling. “Fuckin’ tease,” he joked, grabbing his bag and starting to say something to Megan. I was still trying to process all this new info. Like Carson said, I was with Nicole at the time so it wasn’t like I had any right to be upset, but me running around kissing girls and getting into drama wasn’t really a ‘just me’ thing after all, was it? I couldn’t help but think back to what Ms. Dewitt told me, and how maybe my friends were going through the same things I was. I thought I was weirdly unique or special, like I was the exciting one in the friend group. It was weirdly comforting to think about how I was just… a normal teenager, even if I was a normal teenager in a horny friend group.

“I hope this doesn’t change anything,” Sabrina said, bringing me out of my daze. Megan and Carson were gone. Only Sabrina was there, blushing slightly. “I don’t know if I should have told you or something.”

I stared at her for a bit before shaking my head. “Nah, you’re good,” I told her. “Carson’s a horndog and Megan…” I trailed off, looking at the door to the hallway. “Megan starts a lot more drama than she’d like to admit.” I couldn’t stop myself from replaying the memory of the Halloween dance, and Megan’s shit-eating grin when she saw Sabrina and myself going off together. My friends were the biggest wildcards.

“So… this doesn’t change anything? You’re still okay to come to my place after school?” she asked in a small voice.

Relief splashed across her face when she saw my reassuring style. “Oh, totally!” I answered her. “What am I gonna do, get mad at you for having casual fun three months ago when I was having casual fun at the same time? No, don’t worry. The only thing that makes me not wanna go to your place is your dad.”

“Well, we’ll need to be sneaky then, won’t we?” Sabrina purred, her voice coming back. She stepped towards me, getting very close. For a second, I thought she was going to kiss me right there in the caf, but she pulled away. “I’m looking forward to it, Adam.”

***

Sabrina’s dad was not at all thrilled to see me back, especially since the new semester was upon us and “studying for finals” was no longer an excuse. Still, he didn’t say anything, and as always, Sabrina kept the door open.

At least, her bedroom door. We wanted to make small talk or catch up or something, but within a minute of getting to her room, we were digging things out of her closet, making sure there was enough room so that we could both slip inside and let loose like the horny teenagers we were. 

I grew to really love Sabrina’s tight little body. All of the girls I had been with before her were busty in some way, or at least not lacking in the chest department. I thought that I wouldn’t care much for Sabrina’s more modest chest, but I actually really loved it. It helped that she had puffy cute little nipples that were clearly sensitive and ready for me. Within seconds of getting in the closet, I was rubbing them above her shirt and bra, listening to her exhale quietly as she shut the closet door.

“It sucks we can’t see each other,” she commented. “I really like your body, Adam.”

“The feeling is mutual,” I cheesily retorted, diving in to her neck and not even bothering to hold back. There was something so sexy about diving in to a girl’s neck and knowing she wasn’t going to bother to hold you back. Sabrina was going to show up to school with a litany of hickeys tomorrow, and she was making no effort to stop me from ensuring this.

I ground up against her while I kissed and sucked on her neck, my cock already painfully hard. She lightly moaned and giggled, enjoying the feeling of my body against hers. No weird feelings, no complications. Just two horny teens enjoying each other… in her closet. You could never have it all, I guess.

While I left marks on her neck, she reached into my pants, undoing my fly and slowly moving her fingers over the shaft of my cock. “Fuck,” she moaned, feeling my warm hardness. “You have such a nice dick, Adam.” She kissed me, evolving her motions to giving me a handjob. I eagerly kissed her back as I lowered my pants to the floor, somehow gatting them fully off of me without breaking the kiss.

We broke the kiss, barely able to see each other in the dim lighting from whatever light came in under the door. Still, I could see her bite her lip in excitement. “I kinda want to get right into it,” she whispered.

“Me too,” I replied huskily. “From the front or from behind?”

“Behind seemed easier for you last time,” she moaned, already getting into position. I took in the sight. It was so sexy barely seeing her, but clearly seeing how much she wanted me. She knew what I could give her ,and she wanted more. “Adam,” she moaned needily. “Please…”

I chuckled, closing the space between us and feeling up her slit with my middle finger. It was so wet that my finger effortlessly slipped inside despite her tightness. “I swear to God, please Adam, your dick,” she moaned impatiently, even with her eyes closing from the sensations my finger was giving her.

I retracted my finger and quickly lined my cock up with her, the sensations of her wetness already sending small sparks of pleasure throughout my body. Last time, she was the one to unite us, so this time, after getting my cock decently lubricated with her juices, I made sure that I was the one to thrust into her, closing even more space between us, pushing her up against the wall.

She emitted a small high-pitched squeak and covered her mouth with one hand, the other hand hopelessly grabbing the wall. Taking advantage of the fact her mouth was covered, I began to thrust, pumping in and out of her tightness. Coupling with her felt so amazing, like no one else. I couldn’t stop myself from grunting a little, “Oh, fuck, Sabrina” as my thrusts picked up speed.

“A-Adam…” she moaned in response through her hand. “God, I need this so ba- fuuuuck…”

“We’re going to need to find a place to fuck soon,” I told her, trying to sound authoritative even though my voice was wavering from our motion as well.

“Well… mmnh… h-how about y-your place?” she managed, despite my efforts.

I thought about it. My place, huh? My parents never exactly were the best at noticing these things, and always stayed on the ground floor unless they were going to bed. Unlike Sabrina’s house, where her room was just down the hall from where her dad seemed to always be. That could work, couldn’t it? I’d just need to tell my parents, ‘no, she’s just a friend…’

…Or did I even need to do that…?

“Fuuuck,” Sabrina moaned again. “Adam, your cock is fucking addicting, I love doing this with you so much…”

“I love it too,” I groaned, grabbing her hips and slamming them with reckless abandon. Hopefully the little slapping noises we made were muffled by the closet door, because at this point, it was clear that neither one of us wanted to stop. Being inside Sabrina was just too good. I was reaching that climactic point of horny. At this moment, I could have done anything. I could have knocked her the fuck up and not cared about it.

That was such a sexy idea. Getting Sabrina pregnant. Claiming her. Making her mine in the most final way. Changing her forever. And judging from the helpless noises Sabrina was making while I filled her, stretching her pussy like no guy had before, I bet Sabrina would have loved it too. She slammed back against my cock like a girl that had no worries, no priorities, other than feeling more, getting more, and satisfying the cock inside her.

“Fuck, I’m gonna shoot it inside you,” I moaned, not caring how cheesy it sounded.

“Do it,” she said with determination. “Fill me, Adam. Mark me up, make me yours.”

“Fuck yes,” I whisper-roared back. “I’m gonna explode inside you. I… fuck, imagine if it knocked you up.”

I just said it out loud. I couldn’t help myself. Amazingly, Sabrina only responded by moving her hips back against me more forcefully. “Oh shit, fuck, yes, give me a fucking baby Adam, get me fucking pregnant, mark me up, shit, fuck…”

She wanted it too. We both knew she was on birth control, but for one moment, I could imagine that this load would knock her up. I’d give Sabrina a baby. I’d get her pregnant and she would grow with my kid. Fuck, that was so hot. I kept slamming against her, grabbing her hair. “I’m gonna cum,” I growled.

That did it for her. With a volume that was definitely way too high for the covert fucking we were doing, Sabrina threw her head back and moaned for me while feeling my load shooting inside her. I felt it all the way from my balls to the end of my dick, exploding inside her with a force I couldn’t even remember. I couldn’t stop myself from groaning either as my cum blasted into her, with both of us holding onto each other and the wall for dear life. 

“Holy… shit…” she moaned. “That was… the hottest sex… I ever had.”

“Yeah… me too,” I managed, still slowly pumping away inside her. It was like I was addicted to the feeling. “Fuck, being inside you is amazing.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way,” she breathlessly replied, going back to whispering, as if that would at all help us now.

“Sorry about the whole… I dunno, pregnant thing,” I lamely added, feeling like we should quickly address it.

She whipped her head around. “Sorry? It was the hottest fucking thing! You said it just as the thought happened in my mind. It was like you were this… sexy psychic.” We both giggled. “I’m on the pill anyway, so what’s the harm? It’s actually kinda hot that fucking me gives you baby fever like that.” I slipped out of her and she turned around, leaning against the wall and playing with her pussy in front of me. “Mmm, it’s still warm.”

“You’re a total freak,” I laughed, and she joined in. “But you’re my freak.”

“Oh, am I, Adam?” she teased, her other hand playing with her nipple. “Am I yours?”

The implication came down a lot harder there. I shrugged nervously, looking around. 

Sabrina chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe someday we should talk about it some more? But I get you like to play around. I wouldn’t want to force you to settle down if you don’t want to. Especially with the New Semester Party coming up.”

“Force me to settle down?” I asked.

It was her turn to be nervous. “Oh, sorry,” she quickly replied. “I thought… sorry.”

“What?” I asked. “What did you think?”

She stopped playing with herself. “Uh… nothing. Sorry.”

“Come on, say it!” I coaxed. “I won’t judge.”

“I feel like you might,” she admitted, blushing. “I just think… we really work well together and… you know, when I’m with you, I don’t have to stop my thoughts. You don’t tell me that it’s too much or that I’m overthinking things or even that you don’t have an opinion. You’re actually engaged in the stuff I have to say. It’s nice, I don’t really get that from boys.”

“I know what you mean,” I replied. “I don’t get it a lot either. It’s like, if I say too many things or explore too many possibilities…”

“Yeah, people tell you you’re overthinking,” she finished the thought. “Meanwhile, I’m only having so many thoughts because…”

“Because all of those thoughts feel like they matter so much,” I concluded. We stood there, smiling at each other.

She was silent for a bit. “So, I’m sure you get it when I say I’ve been thinking about what would happen if we happened to… be with each other,” she said gingerly. “Just an imaginary thing, I’m obviously not gonna make you do anything.”

It was very sweet, but I had to keep context in mind. “I’m-”

“I know, you just broke up with Nicole so who knows what you’re feeling,” Sabrina continued, reading my mind. “And you don’t want to just jump in and hurt yourself, or me.”

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “I’d be lying if I said I never thought about it, but I’m good leaving it without any labels for now. And… can I say something that adds context without making it weird? And you’d have to not tell anyone.”

“Sure!”

“Nicole and I kind of did have sex again recently,” I admitted. “We’re trying to go back to the dynamic we had in ninth grade. I’m her dude friend, she’s the mysterious older popular girl, and we have sex sometimes. Nothing more complicated than that.”

“Oh. Uh, congrats,” Sabrina quickly replied.

“You don’t seem happy,” I noted.

“Well, I’m happy for you I guess. If I’m being a hundred percent honest with you though, I’m kind of… worried for you?” She shrugged. “You had a bad breakup and she… I mean, not gonna lie, I cried when you texted me those things she said.”

“You agreed not to see her differently!” I argued.

“I know, I know, but like… that’s still extreme. And now you two are having sex again? I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She came up to me, hugging me. “I wouldn’t have thought about us together if I didn’t care about you.”

“I can take care of myself,” I gently replied. “I’m a big strong guy.”

“Yeah you are,” she giggled, feeling my arms. I flexed and winked at her, and she bit her lip. “But yeah, just… y’know. Don’t do anything silly. And if you two are just having casual sex, then if she tries to pull some shit with you, just… walk away.”

“If she tries to pull some shit with me, that means she’s hurting,” I told her. “I’m going to try to help.”

“And that exact attitude is what gets you hurt,” she pointed out. “Are you going for her at the party?”

“Nah, she and I already discussed that. We’re going to be doing our own thing.”

“Well… I’ll be there,” she coyly noted. “Maybe you should come find me.” She winked. “I don’t think I actually asked, but like, you’re going, right?”

“Oh yeah, of course,” I said with no hesitation. “It’s like, the biggest party aside from the one the Love brothers put on. And even then, would it even be happening this year?”

“Yeah, I think Wyatt is gonna try keeping it going,” Sabrina said with a nod.

“Oh my God, ‘Wyatt?’ There’s another one??” I asked incredulously.

“Well, sure. Phil was the pres last year, Wyatt is his little bro. You said brothers, so you clearly already knew,” Sabrina replied. I guess she didn’t know about Jeff. “He’s in ninth grade though, so the party’s probably going to suck unless he gets Phil to come back and help or something.”

I’m sure Nicole would have fucking loved that. “Weird,” I mumbled, not knowing what else to say. “But yeah, I’ll be at the party. I didn’t make the one last year, so I’m kinda excited.”

“Ooh, you’ll love it,” Sabrina said with a smile. “They get wild.”

***

“Everybody wants to be a part of her world, she’s a…” Nicole sang along to the song as we drove. “A popular girl, such a…”

“You only put on this song because it’s about you,” I joked.

“Damn right,” Nicole said back with a smile. “Actually, fun fact, this is just my favorite song, straight-up. Even people who like Survivor don’t even know the song exists b-”

“Ah, so you’re getting your hipster cred,” I noted. 

She shoved me playfully. “Fuck off, knucklehead,” she laughed. “No, it’s just, sometimes you’ll find the best song without looking at what’s popular, you know?”

“You’re in such a good mood today,” I noted.

“Oh, I love the New Semester Party,” she replied. “Last year, Allistair put it on… British guy, do you know him? Enh, whatever, he was great. He’s graduating this year, and wanted to give the responsibility to someone else, but a few of the cutest sluts at school managed to convince him otherwise.”

I laughed. “So you and… someone else fucked him until he said yes?” 

She laughed as well. “Nah, I don’t do threesomes. They actually fucking suck. Nah, Syd and I just whined and begged until he caved. I miiight try to suck his dick later on though.”

I just shook my head. I knew Nicole wasn’t saying this stuff to make me jealous, and I knew that I should feel less possessive of her now that we broke up, but… In a weird way, I was more possessive because we broke up. Even though we broke up because I cheated on her, and… and probably broke her heart. Yeah, fuck it, I kind of deserved this. 

Nicole loudly sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’ll get it, I’ll try to avoid bringing up having sex with other guys,” she said in a huff.

“Hm?” I feigned ignorance. “Oh no, it wasn’t that. I was just trying to think if I met anyone with a British accent.”

“Oh,” she replied, taken aback. “Uh, cool. Sorry for presuming.”

“Nah, we’re just friends that fuck. I want you to feel comfortable around me, and you find it normal to talk about this stuff, so I’m trying to make it normal too,” I continued, the words finding their own way out of my mouth. 

Nicole paused, then smiled at me slyly. “Nah, it still affects you,” she concluded. “Good effort though. I almost believed it. You really are trying to make it look like you care, aren’t you?”

I shrugged, utterly defeated. “I’m really just trying to care,” I offered feebly.

“Yeah, I guess that’s what I meant. You’re doing good, squirt. I can tell you for a fact that I wasn’t planning on being on okay terms with you this quickly. You should have cheated on me sooner, think of how much more past this we could have been.”

I ignored that last part. “Well, that’s kind of… can I be bold?”

“I was just bold. Be bold, Adam. Shock me.”

“That’s kind of what you do. At least twice now… no, like three times, at least, you’ve told me that you never want to talk to me again, that this is the end of our friendship or whatever, and then like a week later we’re back to normal.”

“Oh totally. At least four times. If we’re flexible on the week thing, it could be at least five,” she agreed with zero hesitation. “I feel things really strongly, you know? At least you know that as long as you’re not a clod about it, we can basically survive anything.”

“We can survive anything, huh?” I repeated. “I like that.”

“I’m sure you do, you lil’ sap,” she laughed, nearing the house and slowing down. “Now remember, no following me around like a lost puppy at the party,” she noted, parking the car. “I’m probably already going to have my hands full with fucking Jarrod.” She caught the look I gave her and threw her hands up. “And that one, I’ll admit, was a mistake.”

She unlocked the doors and I undid my seatbelt. “I’m glad you can recognize when they are mistakes.”

“Jury’s still out on you,” she taunted me, winking at me before getting out. I rolled my eyes, following her, preparing myself for the wall of sound that would greet me as soon as we were inside the party. Sure enough, as soon as I was inside the house, my ears were completely assaulted. Nicole turned back and said something to me, but I could not for the life of me hear it. I simply shook my head no and shrugged, wincing from the sound. 

Nicole leaned into my ear. “Safest areas are probably the basement and highest floor,” she yelled into my ear. “Have fun!”

I took off my coat, thanking my lucky stars that it wasn’t too snowy and I could wear regular shoes to the party. As soon as I was inside, it was clear that the other seniors found Nicole, having cornered her in the living room and making some kind of demand. Nicole was shaking her head no, but one of them said something while pointing a finger at her, and eventually, it looked like she conceded. The tallest guy there, a guy with an inquisitive face and long hair, got out several shot glasses and a bottle of something brown, then poured seven equal shots. He gave them out to the six friends in front of him: Nicole, Sydney, and four senior guys I didn’t recognize. 

He went to turn down the music slightly, then talked to his six friends again. Now that for a fleeting moment, voice was audible over the party music, the seven clinked their shot glasses together and cheered in unison, “To the last semester!” and then they all downed their shots.

Most of them took it like pros, though Nicole quickly came up gagging. “Holy shit, that’s even worse than I thought it would be,” she complained. “Gack, it fuckin’ burns! What the hell?”

The other six, including Sydney, just laughed at her in response, and the seven started to chat about something. I figured that was my cue to leave Nicole be. She wanted to do her own thing at the party, and hey, good for her. It was my chance to mingle anyway. Before I could turn away, the guy with long hair clapped eyes on me and walked over.

“Adam!” he called out, smiling. “Ya name’s Adam, right? I’ve heahd a lo’ about you. Thanks fa comin’! M’name’s Allistair. I think we’ve bumped shouldas a couple’a times, but never go’ introduced propa.”

Did we? I didn’t remember that. Still, I wanted to put on a good look for the host, so I bumped his fist. “Oh yeah, Allistair, I remember seeing you around!” I lied. “Good to finally meet you in person.”

He adopted a devilish look. “Nah, I’m lyin’,” he clarified. “Neva met ya before in my life. And you neva met me, have ya?”

I was frozen. Jeez, this fuckin’ guy. “Uh…”

Allistair laughed, slapping me on the back. “Only havin’ fun, mate. Only havin’ fun. Welcome to the party! Fihst beeh’s free, and all I ask is that m’parents’ room is off-limits. It’s locked anyway, so there ya go.” He slapped me on the back again, rejoining his friends, including Nicole. She was still sticking her tongue out in disgust from the shot she took earlier. I looked around, seeing a lot of people dancing, laughing, and talking. A good number were drinking, so I took the hint and headed towards the kitchen. 

There was a group of girls from my grade in there. I didn’t recognize any of the five of them by name, but I did see a few of them in my classes. They were all huddled, talking about some boys at the party or whatever, and I had to awkwardly reach around them to get my beer. Not knowing what else to do, I opened it and leaned on the opposite counter, taking in the atmosphere of the party. 

Allistair sauntered in, and in the lighting of the kitchen, I could see him better. He was wearing some kind of trendy jacket made of some weird material. He wore some kind of hat that complimented his long hair, and his jeans were all ripped. He looked like the preppy version of a scarecrow. “Lllladies,” he suavely said as he nearly danced around them, getting a beer for himself. The girls all giggled, clearly finding him hot. He clapped eyes on me and smiled in acknowledgement, leaning against the counter facing me.

“So, Adam,” he began, looping an arm around one of the girls, a ridiculously attractive brunette with a cute face. “Is this ya fihst par’y?”

“Huh? No, I’ve been to a few,” I admitted, sipping my beer.

“Really? I’m jus’ surprised, seeing you in the kitchen, away from the action.” Another girl, a tall dirty blonde with green eyes, went to his other side and he looped an arm around her. I knew her from chemistry class, but didn’t know her name.

“Oh, I just don’t care much for the loud music kinda thing,” I awkwardly replied.

“Ahhh,” he replied, nodding slowly. “I getcha. If ya want me bein’ honest with ya, I’m not the biggest fan of it meself.” He looked over to his side to one of the girls under his arm and kissed her on the forehead. “How about you, Tay? Yo’re fixin’ t’be the mos’ popula’ gihl in ya grade, whatcha doing away from the people?”

“Maybe I was waiting for you,” she teased seductively. 

“Ahh, come now, come now,” he laughed, while the other girls laughed with him. “Have you ever spahed a thought for how maybe I wanna be with Mohgan heah? It would be mos’ unbecoming if ya stole me away from her.”

The other girl under his arm, the taller girl I guess named Morgan, just laughed. “Wouldn’t be the first guy she stole from me,” she said with humor in her voice. 

“Ooh, drama!” Allistair sang, taking his arms off of both of them. “Nah, f’real, I go’ a pahty ta manage. Maybe once everyone arrives, I might be able to make time for… one of you…” He stood next to me, leaning against the counter, his left hand close to his face, pointing back and forth between Morgan and Tay. “Which one…” He turned to me. “Whatcha think, Adam, you take one, I take the other?”

Upon seeing my nervous expression, all six of them started laughing. “You see his face? You see his face?” Allistair laughed. “Mate’s lookin’ like I’ll give him a bloody heaht attack.” He got up again, turning to me. “I heahd a lo’a rumahs aboutcha, but seein’ ya in pehson, it doesn’t quite match up.”

“What did you hear?” I asked nervously.

“Oh, just that you go’ a thing for the fairer sex n’ all,” Allistair said casually. “An’ hey, no judgment, right? Cleahly, I go’ that problem too.” He looped an arm around Tay again. 

“I mean, I’ve been around,” I said with a shrug.

“I heard you hurt a lot of girls last year,” one of the girls piped up.

“Ay, Crystal! Not nice,” Allistair immediately jumped in. “Those a’ just rumahs. None of us ‘ere are free from sin, a’e we?” He turned to me. “Besides, I go’ wohd from Nicole herself, and ya know wot she says about ‘im?”

Clearly, Nicole had some sway with this crowd, because Crystal was looking intentfully, not cynically, at Allistair. “What?”

“She said she’s never met a guy that cahed abou’ her more than Adam,” he said with a smile.

His words clearly affected the girls, as any traces of disgust or suspicion were gone from their faces. His words made even me pause. “Nicole said that?” I asked in disbelief. “When?”

“Just now, before askin’ me to check up on ya,” Allistair replied. “Don’t tell her that last part, she wanted me to be discreet but, what can I say…” He leaned down and kissed Taylor right on the lips. She completely melted into the kiss. “…I make me own rules,” he concluded softly when he came up from the kiss.

Wow. Nicole said that about me? After everything I did? Even after bringing up me cheating in the car? And she even wanted the party host to check up on me? What was her end game? And what was this guy’s fucking deal? Out of everyone I met at Hazelwood so far, Allistair was the least human and the most like a fucking cartoon character, and he had some serious competition there. 

“So,” he continued, looking to the crowd of girls around him. “How’s about one of you lot make Adam here feel a bit more welcome?” he asked the girls. “Any friend o’ Nicole’s is a friend o’ mine.”

What was he, some sort of pimp? It didn’t exactly help my confidence that none of the girls said anything in response. After maybe one or two seconds, I cleared my throat. “Um, hey, I’d rather if anything happen at this party, or I talk and connect with someone, it be… you know, because they want to. I’m sure these girls…” I paused. “I’m sure you’re all nice, but I… there’s no obligation there. It’s cool to meet you all. I’m sure you’ve seen me in classes before, but, uh… I hope you’re enjoying the party.”

“Yeah, see that?” Allistair asked, turning to Tay. “Tell me he ain’t nicer than any bloke you’ve had the displeasure of calling yer boyfriend.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Adam,” she said with a small smile. “I’m Taylor. This is Morgan, Crystal, Sadie, and Lexi.”

“A’course, he’s also the most awkward guy I’ve ever met wot calls himself populah,” Allistair mumbled to himself, then pointed at me. “If anyone asks, and by anyone I mean Nicole, I took care a’you. Yeah?” He smiled at me, then started to saunter off. Before he left, he quickly pointed at Taylor again. “Don’t go too far,” he warned her with seduction in his voice.

You could tell even by looking in her eyes that Taylor was totally under his spell. She eagerly nodded, then waited until he walked off. “Fuck, it sucks he’s going back to London after he graduates,” she said angrily to her group. 

“Hottest guy in Hazelwood by a mile,” Morgan agreed. “It’s so weird how normally Student Council are the ones to be the hottest, but this year, nope.”

Sadie looked at them, then at me. “Present company excluded,” she added quickly.

“Oh right, fuck,” Morgan added, looking at me. “Uh, pretend I didn’t say that.”

I raised my hands up, chuckling. “No worries,” I confirmed. 

“No, but actually,” Morgan insisted. “You are… good looking and all.” She got a few looks from her cohort. “What? Saying that to a boy doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah, there’s telling someone they’re good-looking and there’s doing something about it,” I agreed. “I can acknowledge all five of you are attractive girls, and that doesn’t have to mean anything.”

Almost all of the girls reacted positively to that. Weirdly, Sadie looked at the floor in discomfort. I guess she didn’t like compliments. “Yeah, exactly,” Morgan bounced off of me. “And like, you’re a good-looking guy too. Sorry about earlier, we just heard a lot of shit and… We’ve learned not to trust guys.”

“You probably honestly shouldn’t,” I agreed. “You know what’s funny? So Nicole said that really nice thing to Allistair, right? But, recently, like, really recently, I hurt Nicole really badly. I didn’t want to, but I was also kind of careless. There was this weird moment where I feel like… I almost felt bad when it was said, you know? Like she should have said the opposite or something.”

Morgan was nodding along, even if the other girls were losing interest. “That totally makes sense,” she admitted. “I’ll be honest, I thought you were still dating Nicole, but from the way you’re talking…”

“Oh yeah, we split a long time ago,” I said with a nod.

“I’m gonna get out of here,” Taylor gently told Morgan, clearly wanting to do her own thing, though I bet she wanted to do Allistair more.

“Okay, see ya,” Morgan casually told Taylor. Taylor left, taking the other three girls with her. Morgan turned back to me. “I’m sorry, I hope it wasn’t a bad breakup.”

“It was,” I admitted. “It was because of the thing I did to hurt her.”

Morgan nodded. “What did you do?”

“I, uh… I dunno if we should get into that. I just met you,” I told her.

“Honestly? Fair,” Morgan said with a nod. “I kinda hurt someone recently too. Well, two people. I hurt a guy and I hurt Taylor, the girl you just met.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” I marveled. “She acted like nothing was wrong. She seemed happy with you.”

“Well, Nicole seems happy with you, right..?” Morgan asked, trailing off. “She even apparently got the coolest guy in school to vouch for you.”

“It’s always the exchange students,” I laughed.

“Oh, he just moved here for a bit. That’s why his parents are in the same house.”

“Oh,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Good point. Anyway, yeah, Nicole and I are complicated, but if you spend enough time around someone, they’re going to be complicated, right?”

Morgan looked straight at me, her brow furrowing. “I’m, uh, sorry I presumed you were bad with girls, Adam,” she eventually said out of the blue. “You’re actually pretty easy to talk to, and you seem pretty respectful and self-aware.”

I shook my head and took a drink of my beer. “Nope. You just caught me right after I made a big mistake. The biggest mistake.”

“You’re still in love with Nicole and wish you didn’t do that thing to hurt her, that kind of mistake?” Morgan guessed.

“Bingo,” I confirmed, then smiled at her. “Have you made that type of mistake before?”

She shrugged. It didn’t seem like she smiled much. “I don’t think I’ve met someone worthy of those feelings.” She stared at her beer. “Probably never will, at least not in high school.”

“Well hey, who knows? You still have two and a half years, that’s over half of high school.”

“True!” she replied, still looking at her beer.

“”And besides, maybe you’ll meet someone like that at one of these parties,” I pointed out.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Morgan replied, looking at the doorway to the living room. “I know pretty much everyone here, and let’s just say nothing is sticking out to me.”

“I mean hey, you thought you knew me,” I replied.

She turned her head back to me, and her eyes danced. “Wow,” she murmured. “I can see why you’re popular with the girls. That was smooth.”

Was it? Wow. I wasn’t even trying. My heart rate began to quicken as Morgan downed most of her beer. “So, are you here to try and get back with Nicole?” she asked.

“Nope, she even… Okay, this sounds bad, but Nicole explicitly told me that we shouldn’t go after each other at the party.”

Morgan cocked her head. “So… if she needed to tell you that…” she said, calculating something in her head. “So you two are still fooling around?”

I sighed, looking around the room. “If we’re through the looking glass, I’m fooling around with a few people right now,” I admitted. “That’s probably where the good and the bad you’ve heard about me came from.”

Morgan took another drink. “Nice, nice,” she casually said. “Well, I never thought I’d be asking you of all people, but hey, this is a party. Wanna make out and see where it goes?”

“Fuck!” I exclaimed, taken aback. “Wow, you’re a lot more casual about it than me.”

“So I can tell,” she noted dryly. “So, yes or no?”

I took another sip of my beer before realizing, this is what parties were. At the Love party, aptly named, I saw couples lining the hallways, making out and doing stuff. Why the fuck was I so scared of getting involved? Instead of answering with words, I decided to take a step forward. Morgan had the closest thing she’d have to a smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around me. I closed the gap between us and attempted to give her a closed-mouth kiss while her mouth was open. After one or two attempts, we got it and soon, her back was leaning against the counter and I was leaning against her, my cock rapidly hardening in my pants, as we tongue-wrestled right there in the open. 

Now with my body grinding against her, I realized that Morgan’s boobs were deceptively huge. She must have been wearing some kind of constricting bra or something. My hands went from her sides to trying to grope around her chest while my tongue battled in her mouth, then my own, for dominance. Kissing her felt really good, and judging from the moans and the way she ground back on me, it felt really good for her too. 

Slowly, her hands fell from behind my neck, going down my shoulders, down to my sides. After another minute of locked lips, her left hand started to trail downwards, and we stopped humping each other long enough so that she could feel the outline of my steel-hard dick in my pants.

She broke the kiss. “Fuck…” she whispered.

“Adam?? What the hell?!”

Morgan’s hands flew back off of me as I looked at the source of the outburst: a very upset-looking Sabrina Saigeon. She marched up to us, a look of pure anger on her face.

I was completely lost. Did she suddenly renege on us being casual and being able to have sex with other people? “What?” I asked despite my surprise. 

“Ah,” Morgan noted calmly. “I guess I should have guessed this was one of the people you were fooling around with.” Morgan’s tone took on a whole new nature – disinterested and cold. I looked back and it was clear that despite just making out and feeling me up, she was completely out of the mood. “I’ll leave you two be.” Without so much as another word, she grabbed her beer and slunk away from me, casually speedwalking out of the kitchen.

I turned to Sabrina, who still looked almost furious. “What’s going on?” I demanded.

“Adam, I told you about how Morgan and her group of perfect little girls made my life hell!” she spat angrily. “How could you do this to me??”

“I’m, uh, ninety percent sure you didn’t, actually,” I replied, scratching my head. “This is all really new to me. Hell, before tonight, I didn’t even know who Morgan was.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I did tell you, but whatever,” Sabrina replied, clearly still angry but calming down. “I guess if you forgot that’s better than just doing it anyway.” She swiped a beer from the collection and opened it. “Whatever.”

I stood awkwardly next to her. “…Did you want me to apologize or something?” I asked.

“Kind of, yeah,” she admitted. “I told you multiple times how I used to be in her friend group and they kicked me out once it wasn’t good for their image to associate with me or whatever. And then I come here – looking for you, by the way – and I just find you two making out and feeling each other up? Fuck, Adam. I get we’re not, like, together together yet, but this is seriously low of you.”

“Okay, even if I remembered that, and frankly, I don’t,” I argued, “am I supposed to presume you two actively hate each other and, like, making out with Russia is declaring war on Germany or whatever?”

“Russia…?”

“I’m just using a metaphor, it’s not important.”

“Well, I dunno, if you like me, don’t make out with my enemies. It’s that simple,” Sabrina argued back.

“Okay! I know that now. I didn’t realize who she was, or how she was connected to you, or any of the context, or even that that context means I shouldn’t make out with her if she asks me to.”

“She asked you to?” Sabrina pressed me.

“Yeah,” I replied, nodding.

Sabrina snorted and looked away. “Slut,” she growled.

“Hey, that’s kind of uncalle-”

“I’m not saying it about you,” Sabrina clarified.

“I don’t care, if I’m being honest,” I replied, my voice gaining some heat. “Don’t call people sluts as an insult. If someone like Morgan, or like me, or like whoever, enjoys casual sex, just let them. You and I are doing casual stuff, should we feel bad about it?”

“I’m not saying she’s a person who enjoys sleeping around, Adam,” Sabrina replied annoyedly. “I’m saying she’ll just fuck whoever she wants and screw the consequences. Just wait, this shit is going to blow up in your face, not hers, all because she’s this stupid little popular slut and she can do no wrong or some shit. She has, like, zero self-awareness.”

“Honestly, it’s funny you say that, because I talked to her, and she seems really mature,” I argued back. “I respect you two have your disagreements, but it’s really weird you want me to immediately hate her just because you have beef with her.”

Sabrina stared at me for a bit, then rolled her eyes. “Unbelieveable,” she said angrily. “Un-fuckin-believable. I’m gonna go somewhere else. Have a fun fuckin’ party, Adam.” With that, she stomped off, leaving me absolutely bewildered. Did I do something wrong? What, by not harboring a grudge against someone who I didn’t know, didn’t even know what she looked like, all because Sabrina allegedly told me once or twice that she had a beef with her? Did that mean I had to immediately side with Sabrina? Give me a break. 

I finished my beer and threw out the can, then figured I needed to be in another room. I couldn’t just hang around one room for the whole party, and besides, this room for now was just full of bad vibes. Colonel Adam doing it in the Kitchen with the Morgan just left me without a Clue. 

I went back into the living room where I barely recognized anyone. Nicole was completely out of sight, as was Allistair, or Sabrina, or even Morgan and her gang. Worse yet, the music was back at the volume it once was. I decided to spare my ears and wander off upstairs, on the chance that I’d run into someone I knew or at least be able to make conversation with someone.

As was the Hazelwood tradition, a good number of mouths on the second floor of the party were too busy to talk to me. Amidst the darkness, bright sporadic lights and – was there a fog machine at this fucking party?! There was some kind of mist on the second floor – were a bunch of couples, some shamelessly kissing and groping in public. But the most surprisng couple wasn’t a groping one, nor even a kissing one. Two people were at the end of the hallway, just talking… but I sure didn’t expect them to be. 

Megan was standing at the end of the hallway, and there was no mistaking who she was talking to, even if her back was turned to me. Megan was talking to Zelda. Megan quickly spotted me, and definitely looked nervous for about a second, but I guess she succumbed to her fate, since she smiled and waved me over. I waded through the crowd, bobbing and weaving around the hormonal couples, until I got to the two.

“Hey, how’s it going?” I said, looking at the two. “I see you two are getting along well.”

Zelda saw me for the first time, and clearly wasn’t thrilled at being interrupted, but luckily, she didn’t seem pissed at me specifically. What a breath of fresh air. “Hey, Adam,” she said as nicely as she could.

I laughed at her tone. “Is this private, do you want me to move along?” I asked the two, mainly Zelda.

“No, it’s okay,” Zelda admitted. She took a drink of her beer. “We’re figuring things out.”

“Zelda’s also watching over me,” Megan admitted, showing me, to my utter shock, that her cup wasn’t full of water. “It’s just the one beer. I’ll be fine, I just wanted to try new things.”

“Beer? You? Who are you and what have you done with Megan Schneider?” I joked.

“I’m a free spirit, and I told you, she’s gone,” Megan replied with a small smile. “Besides, I… I said this to Zelda earlier, but I can’t run away from talking to people forever. It’s immature.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I replied bitterly, thinking about Sabrina. The only thing in that moment I could imagine being more immature was if you got weirdly mad at someone else for not running away.

“Anyway, it’s fun,” Megan continued, oblivious to my thoughts. “I mean, it tastes awful, but one beer can’t get you drunk, and I’m enjoying the… what is it, the ‘buzz?’”

Zelda laughed. “Yes, Megan, it’s called a buzz.”

“Well, how should I know what it’s called?” she cutely and insecurely asked, then took another sip.

Zelda caught it too. “You’re cute when you’re defending yourself,” she said with a grin.

Megan blushed slightly. “Shuttup,” she mumbled. “I shouldn’t like when you say stuff like that.”

Zelda transformed when she heard those words. It was like she found her in. “And yet you do,” she said in this new voice. It was like a dominatrix’s voice. It was full of confidence, charm, and… seduction. My eyebrows shot up. Zelda’s body language had changed too, with her hip now cocked and her sight squarely set on Megan.

Megan’s blush only deepened. “This is a lot,” she eventually said. “We just started talking again. And I told you, me with girls…” She shivered. “I just don’t know.”

I don’t know why I decided to interject, but I did. “Megan, you know you can feel things without needing to attach a label to it. If you feel like you’re not into girls, but you happen to be into Zelda, that’s okay.” I looked at Zelda to see that she had softened her sexy persona to look at me, almost with a ‘what are you doing’ look. “I haven’t seen you giggle like that since ninth grade. You’re almost lucky, you’re a girl. You can experiment all you want at parties and people will say, ‘oh, she’s not a lesbian, it was just a thing she did at a party.’”

Megan bit her lip and looked down. “This is so weird,” she admitted, a little breathlessly. The people within our view making out and grinding, plus the beer, did not uncloud Megan’s thoughts. She looked up at Zelda, who still had a hip cocked. Then Megan looked at me, and started to laugh. “Why are you even here?”

“Yeah, I was about to ask,” Zelda chimed in. Odds were she couldn’t wait to ask.

“Hey, I’m trying to help you out here,” I replied.

“I don’t think I need any help doing that,” Zelda replied confidently, then looked at Megan.

“Actually, you’d be surprised,” Megan replied, finding her voice. “Look, Zelda, yes, I like when you call me cute, and… urgh, yes, you’re attractive, okay? But the idea of just being in a room with you and… doing anything, it’s just overwhelming to me right now. Honestly, Adam being here is helping. I get you don’t want to hear that, but I think if it was just us… I feel like I might have run away by now.”

Zelda slowly looked at me. “So I got stuck with you as my wingman, huh?” she asked.

“Hey, Megan herself just said I’m helping you get her,” I noted, then leaned into her ear to whisper. “So I guess this is repaying for my earlier fuck-up.”

I leaned back and looked into Zelda’s eyes. Zelda had an unsure look on her face, then looked at Megan, then back at me. “So… what are you suggesting?” she asked me. She turned her look towards Megan. “What, are we just going to get a room and you and I could make out and Adam could be there watching? What?”

Megan stood there, looking intently at Zelda, then at me. She looked back at Zelda and opened her mouth. “You really want to do stuff with me again?”

“Megan, I told you, it’s all I want,” Zelda replied, almost pleading, her Danish accent getting stronger through the pure emotion in her tone. It was quite clear she had shifted tactics after Megan’s little speech. I couldn’t tell if Zelda was really charismatic or downright manipulative. “We don’t need to be a couple, we can stop whenever you want, however you want to do it. I just really think it would be good for us. I want it, I think you want it, and you want to try new things, be a new Megan. Right?”

Megan looked back at me. She stared at me for a little longer. “You’re not with Nicole any longer, right?”

That was not the question I was expecting. “Uhh…” I stumbled. “N-no. We never got back together, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m single.”

Megan stared at both of us for a bit, then eyed the rooms. By sheer happenstance, a couple exited a nearby room holding hands, leaving the door open. Megan saw them leave and squeezed her eyes shut. “That’s a sign,” she mumbled to herself, opening her eyes and making a beeline for the room like a madwoman. Zelda and I just looked at each other and followed her. Once we were inside, Megan turned around and looked at Zelda. “Close the door,” she told her.

Zelda looked at me for a second and shut the door. “What’s going on?” she asked, her tone betraying the fact that despite her efforts, Megan clearly had the upper hand now. 

Even so, Megan was visibly nervous. “I’m… going to suggest something,” she said, mostly to the floor. She opened her mouth a few times, then closed it. She stared intentfully at Zelda, then at me, then finally pointed at Zelda. “You want to kiss me. Do you want to have intercourse with me?”

“I-intercourse?” Zelda asked.

“Sex,” I clarified.

Zelda looked annoyedly at me. Oh. “That’s kind of personal,” Zelda said, giving me another sideways glance. 

I couldn’t help but grin. “That just sounds like a yes in disguise,” I said through my grin. I felt Zelda lightly punch me in the arm. “Ow-!”

Megan digested what Zelda and I said, then sat down on the bed. “I’ll do it,” she said, closing her eyes and clearly stomaching her nerves. “But I want it on my terms.”

“Speak plainly,” Zelda said, losing her patience.

“I thought you took cryptology,” I couldn’t help but tease her. I gestured towards Megan. I hoped to God I wasn’t wrong about this, because it would look bad if I was. “She’s clearly asking for a threesome.”

Zelda looked floored, but Megan gave me a slow-building smile. I smiled back. “I’m not even shocked,” I continued. “I think you offered me that last year, at another party.”

Megan’s smile faded. “Old Megan did,” she told me.

“Yeah, Old old Megan,” I replied with a nod. “So, mid-range Megan or whatever never wanted to have sex again. And now you’re jumping to a threesome? With me and a girl??”

“Yes,” Megan replied. Now that it was out, she clearly had the most confidence in the room. “Take it or leave it. I won’t have intercourse with either of you on your own, so don’t just refuse thinking you’ll get me later. You won’t.” She saw me starting to talk so she started to speak over me. “And-! I know I want this. I’m going to be careful. I’m going to limit myself. I’m just here at this party to experiment. After this party, maybe I won’t want to again. I almost definitely won’t have intercourse with anyone for a while. But this is my way of easing myself back into being comfortable around intercourse.”

I chuckled. “Zero to a hundred,” I noted. “You wanted to ease back into having a sex life with a threesome.”

“Take it or leave it,” Megan repeated. “It’s no skin off my back if you don’t want to do it. I think it’s the best way for me to feel comfortable doing it with either of you. You both know I have… let’s say, ‘baggage,’ with both of you. Doing it with both of you here kind of balances it all out.”

I looked at Zelda as she looked at me. Her eyes wandered lower down my body, but not in a way of desire. “I’m not… into guys,” she finally said. “At all. I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“Sure you can,” I piped up. “If you can be okay with me being naked around you, I don’t have to have sex with you. Megan can be in the middle. I can, y’know, fuck her from behind, while she kisses you or eats you out or something.”

Zelda chuckled in disbelief. “You’re just… talking about having sex… like it’s nothing…”

“Welcome to Hazelwood,” I joked.

“Welcome to Adam in particular. I told you he was a horndog,” Megan added.

“We still need to talk about that,” I said, pointing a finger at her.

Zelda looked at me, a little uneasily. “You promise? We won’t touch bodies at all?”

“I’ll even try to be silent,” I added. “You can close your eyes and imagine it’s just you two.”

Zelda chuckled again. “You are insane,” she muttered in disbelief. “I can handle you being there, thanks. So… what are you suggesting?”

I locked the door. “Me fucking Megan doggystyle, Megan eating you out,” I offered, then looked at Megan. “I think it’s a good system.”

“You’ll need to go slow if I’m eating her out,” Megan replied. “Otherwise I’ll move around too much to…” Her cheeks burned. “Wow, this is just hitting me now. It’s real.”

“I guess it is,” I admitted, looking around. “I feel like I shouldn’t be the first one to get naked if there’s a lesbian in the room.”

Zelda laughed. “Okay, so, all of us want this? All of us are okay with this?” I nodded, and so did Megan. “Because, if we’re doing this, I want to start by kissing you.”

Megan smiled at Zelda, then looked at me. I cleared my throat. “Works for me,” I replied. “I’m sure I’ll find a way to keep myself busy.”

Zelda breathed in, then breathed out. “I can’t believe I’m fucking doing this,” she muttered, then looked at me. “This never happened.” She approached Megan and extended her left hand, gently stroking Megan’s cheek and then suddenly grabbing her head from behind. “Hey,” she said seductively.

“Hey there,” Megan said back, a smile on her face. The two began to kiss, slowly at first, though they wasted very little time before getting down to business, soon evolving to having their arms wrapped around each other, enjoying the moment and the feeling of each other’s mouths. I bet both girls missed the feeling of kissing the other, but this time, there would be a little something extra, at least for Megan.

As she kissed her lover, I crept up behind her, figuring out where Zelda’s hands were and how not to disturb them, and then I brought my hands around her, going under her shirt to feel up her stomach. Fuck, did I ever miss feeling Megan’s skin. Her skin, her scent, everything about her was just so perfect, and it had been almost a year since I’d last felt it. 

Megan moaned happily into the kiss, definitely enjoying the feeling of two sets of hands on her. As the two kept kissing, my hands traveled upwards, eventually going up to Megan’s bra-covered breasts. I caressed her breasts over her bra, noting that she’d gained the tiniest bit of weight since our last time, and most of it went to her breasts. I could guess why, but I did not want to think of that when I was about to finally have sex with her again. 

The two detached the kiss as my hands elected to travel south, tracing over her stomach again and going lower and lower until my hands were inside her pants, inside her panties. God damn, I could feel the heat radiating off of her pussy before my hands even touched her flesh. “Oh wow…” Megan moaned, turning her head and kissing me. I kissed her back, not being able to resist keeping one eye open and looking at Zelda. She lowered an eyebrow but just simply laughed as she watched the girl she just made out with, make out with me, all while my fingers traveled down to her sex and began to finger her.

At first contact, Megan broke off the kiss and froze up. “Ungh…” she moaned, her eyes closing. “Wow, I had forgotten how good this feels.”

“Well, since we’re already doing this…” Zelda trailed off, helping undo Megan’s pants button, not minding that my hand was working away in there. Megan had brought her arm behind her head, grabbing at my hair behind her, closing her eyes and moaning, all while Zelda was removing her pants. All I was doing was moving my finger around the base of her slit, occasionally playing with her clit, not even going inside yet, and she was going crazy. Megan was in for a hell of a night.

Megan detached from me and assisted Zelda in removing her pants, then her panties. Shyly, she stood in front of both of us, her pussy glistening with her juices. Her hair was starting to grow in a little thicker, and her lips were a little puffier and more inviting than last time. I loved seeing her like this again, and it was clear Zelda loved what she was seeing too.

“Fuck…” Zelda breathed. “You’re even prettier than I imagined.”

Megan started to play with her pussy in front of us. “And I bet you imagined me a lot,” she teased. “So am I eating you out while Adam eats me, or do we have another plan?”

Zelda looked at me with a hope for something in her eyes, but honestly, she didn’t even need to. I knew what she wanted. “Go ahead, taste her,” I told Zelda. “I’ll take five and prepare.”

Zelda smiled and nodded, and Megan, not one to complain, got onto the bed. She and Zelda talked a few things over while I removed my shirt, and eventually, my pants. Even though earlier on I would have loved to take my clothes off in front of Zelda, I had to admit, doing it now was a tad weird. Still, this was for Megan, and I wouldn’t have admitted it to Zelda in a million years, but getting to do something sexual with her was hot. In a weird way, her being a lesbian and not even being into me made it hotter, but I wasn’t going to dedicate too much brain power to that for now. So with a quick exhale, I took off my pants, allowing my hard cock to spring free, then looked back at the sexy scene evolving before me.

Megan had her mouth open as Zelda ate her out, clearly enjoying Zelda’s tongue and its efforts on her. Zelda looked equally enraptured, like nothing else may as well have existed at that moment. Megan bit her lip and spread her legs wider, then noticed I was naked. Her eyes widened when she saw my cock. “Woah, you’ve grown.”

I shrugged. “Thanks, puberty,” I joked. I approached the bed and started to slowly jack off my rock-hard cock to the scene, and Megan couldn’t keep her eyes off of my throbbing pulsating cock, all while Zelda’s tongue made her moan.

“I’m so glad I wanted this,” she moaned, working her shirt over her head. It came off effortlessly, and the bra quickly followed. Megan’s breasts were definitely fuller, and her nipples had noticeably developed. She saw me staring and sexily played with them, biting her lip for me, though it quickly turned into another ‘O’ face once Zelda’s tongue hit the spot.

While watching her, I got onto my knees on the bed, hoping my cock being this close to Zelda wasn’t making her uncomfortable. Megan got the idea and grinned, telling me, “Closer,” and soon my cock was bobbing in her face. “Want to know a secret, Adam?”

“Tell me,” I gruffly ordered her.

“I missed doing this,” she confessed, before taking my dick into her mouth, savoring the feeling with a satisfied moan. Megan was sucking my cock again, and all was right with the world. I thought that she might be out of practice and rusty, but she got right into the groove, using her lips and tongue as well as I remembered even with the awkward angle. I looked down at Zelda’s face and we locked eyes for a bit. I widened my eyes twice at her, as if to say, ‘isn’t this crazy?’ I could see her smile even as her tongue never stopped working. 

The air was beginning to smell like sweat and sex. Megan was diligently sucking my dick just as Megan was eating her out, and I bet from the needy moans Megan gave on my dick, Zelda’s no-doubt talented tongue gave her at least some mini-orgasms. I could only imagine the heaven Megan was in, getting to suck a cock – my big cock, no less – while her secret crush was pleasing her with her mouth. Eventually, her mouth came off of my dick with a soft popping sound, and she looked down at Zelda. “This has been amazing,” she said, a little out of breath, “But I want him in me now. And I want to taste my first woman.”

Zelda took her mouth off of Megan’s pussy and smiled hungrily, with Megan’s juices still on her chin. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” Zelda nearly moaned, getting up and starting to take her pants off. She hesitated when she locked eyes with me, and I laughed while looking away. “Go ahead,” I told her.

“I mean, whatever. I’ve seen your cock at this point,” she mentioned, gesturing to me. “You’re, uh, gifted, huh?”

“So I’ve been told,” I replied cockily, grabbing my dick and pumping it a few times.

“My goodness,” Zelda muttered. “I’m so glad I’m not into dick. That looks just painful to take.” She looked at Megan as she took off her pants. “Have fun, I guess.”

“I’m going to love it,” Megan admitted. “And I’m going to love tasting you.” Zelda smiled at her while taking her pants off, then her panties. Unlike Megan, Zelda was perfectly shaved, with a nearly leaking pussy that practically oozed sexiness. It was like when she took off her pants, this spicy aroma of pheromones filled the room. Fuck, it was such a tragedy she was not into guys at all.

“And since we’re not being modest…” she trailed off, taking off her shirt and her bra. She stood naked before us, with modest small boobs staring us in the face. Each boob was crowned with a small but very erect brown nipple, clearly showing her arousal. Smiling at Megan, Zelda climbed onto the bed and got into position while Megan moved up to her, positioning herself between her thighs. 

“Wow…” Megan moaned, getting on her knees and lowering her face to just above Zelda’s pussy, which was nearly throbbing with arousal. “Can you believe we’re doing this?”

“We should have done it sooner,” Zelda moaned in response. “Please, come on, don’t tease me.”

“Adam?” Megan asked with faux politeness, looking behind her. “If you would do the honor?”

Megan was smart, orienting herself so that she could easily eat Zelda’s pussy while also having her ass pointing out past the end of the bed. I didn’t even need to get onto the bed, I could just fuck her while standing from behind. So I quickly assumed the position, savoring the moment as I lined myself up with Megan’s drooling fuck-slot. Fuck, it was going to be nice to be inside my favorite sex toy again.

“Go gently,” Megan reminded me. “You are bigger now, after all.”

I nodded, closing my eyes and sliding myself inside her. I couldn’t help but groan as I did. Megan felt the same as she always did – tight, wet, perfectly shaped for me, and I knew Megan was feeling a lot more than she was used to with me. Even when I was only a quarter in, she started moaning, and the moans only increased as I sank into her, inch by inch. 

I finally felt myself bottoming out, practically feeling Megan’s muscles accomodating to my size. I wasn’t just filling her, I was creating my own mark on her. I was stretching her pussy to fit me. “How’s it feel?” I asked.

“Keep it there for a few seconds, and then…” Megan replied dreamily. “And then go slow. Real slow.” Without saying another word, she lowered her head those last few inches, and from the look on Zelda’s face, Megan began to eat her first pussy.

The sight was so sexy, I couldn’t help but start gently moving my hips back and forth immediately. My sexy fuck-toy from last year was eating out one of my biggest crushes this year, and I got to fuck her as she did. I was in heaven. I began to pick up speed, doing my best to hold her hips so that Megan wouldn’t move too much back and forth while I fucked her, so she could consistently please Zelda.

Zelda was a talker, a big one. “That’s so good, Megan, that’s sooo goooood…” she moaned while playing with her nipples. “Keep going like that. Just… just a little deeper. Yes, yes, that’s it, you’re such a good girl, such a good fucking girl for me. Keep using your tongue like that, just… just there, there, yes…”

As Zelda babbled and moaned, I picked up speed, keeping one hand on Megan’s hips and using the other to slap her ass. It had also filled out a bit, and I loved the feeling of slapping it, holding it in my hands, and slamming against it. If Megan thought that this was a one-time thing, she was either crazy or had more restraint than I would ever have in my entire life, because if I had it my way, I’d be fucking her like this every day for the rest of my life. 

Zelda, meanwhile, arched her back, going from moaning to giving this cute high-pitched squeak as a clear orgasm rocked her body. Her eyes rolled back and she grabbed Megan’s head, holding it in place. “Oh, oh, fuck, yes Megan, such a good girl, just like that, just like that, I love you, yes, yessss, aaah~!”

I smirked. She and Nicole would have been a cute couple if Nicole wasn’t straight. Both had the tendency to declare their love when they got super into the person they were fucking. I was sure Megan and Zelda would have fun unpacking that later. Even with Zelda’s orgasm, I kept up my pace, pumping in and out of Megan, hearing her moan and groan into Zelda’s pussy, occasionally slamming my hips into hers now that Zelda had gotten to cum. Even still, Megan hadn’t given up eating Zelda out, so I tried to limit my slamming motions – I wouldn’t want Megan to accidentally bite Zelda’s poor pussy or anything – but kept up my speed. 

Megan was reaching below herself to rub her clit, even while she ate out Zelda and got fucked at the same time. We were truly giving her the royal treatment. Megan was thrashing and moaning and giving herself in to absolute pleasure. The sex-crazy Megan I knew was back, even for a moment, and she clearly came several times on her own fingers and my cock, all with an enticing pussy in her face. Living the dream. All while this was happening, I was getting closer and closer, and I could feel the sensations rising. It was clear that the hot situation, plus Morgan’s teasing from earlier, meant this load was going to be a big one.

I hoped Megan was on birth control, because there was no way in Hell I was stopping now. With a final few thrusts, I grunted and felt the holy spirit flow through me as I shot what felt like load after load into Megan’s willing, waiting, slutty little pussy. Megan moaned submissively, feeling the gift I was flooding her with, and pushed her hips into mine, wanting every last drop I could give. 

“Ohhhh, mercy…” she moaned. I’m sure that was her version of a swear or something. She milked my cock for every last drop of cum she could muster, all while playing with her clit and still occasionally licking and pleasing Zelda’s pussy. IT was clear from the look on her face that Zelda herself was spent, rapidly breathing and trying to recover from the intense feelings Megan made her feel.

Much like during the sex, Zelda was the first one to speak after all of us had calmed down. “There’s no way this was your first time doing that. I couldn’t have been your first girl.”

Megan raised her face from her friend’s pussy. “Believe it or not,” she said with confidence. “But I will admit, I loved it.”

Zelda grinned. “Told you, being bi can be a lot of fun!”

Megan laughed, but still, warned Zelda to “watch it.” With another moan, she pulled forward, allowing inch after inch of my cock to slip out until the whole thing fell out with the least dignified sound one could imagine. We all couldn’t do anything but laugh, even as my seed leaked out of her.

Which reminded me… “Uh, Megan, are you okay that I came inside you?” I asked nervously, bracing for the worst possible scenario.

Megan clearly wasn’t happy about it either in our post-sex clarity, but simply nodded, even while she collapsed on the bed. “I’ll take care of it,” she informed me. “I know what to do.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, but I trusted her. It wouldn’t have been like Megan to say something like that and lie. I collapsed next to her and Zelda lay next to us, and we spend the next few minutes recovering and making small talk, mostly about how we needed to preserve our friendships and how Monday “had better not be awkward.” 

I wasn’t too worried about myself and Megan. truth be told, I wasn’t even worried about Megan and Zelda. But at this point, Zelda saw my dick, and I saw her pussy, and we didn’t share that bond. “I’m sorry you had to see my dick,” I told Zelda, not knowing what else to say.

She laughed. “I’ll survive,” she informed me. “This was really interesting. I never had a threesome before. Have either of you?”

Both of us shook our heads no. “I mean, I’ve done sexual stuff while a third person was in the room, but never an actual threesome, I guess,” I told her. 

“I would have if someone was a little braver,” Megan replied, poking me in the side.

“Hey!” I protested. The two girls laughed.

None of us were too sure how much time had passed, though luckily, once we got our clothes on, we found out that it had been just under an hour since we came in. It wasn’t long enough to draw suspicion, and that was fine by us. Zelda insisted on leaving the room first, and hugged Megan goodbye, then awkwardly told me “see you” before unlocking the door and leaving. Megan and I sat on the bed, looking at each other.

Megan sighed. “There she goes,” she said sullenly. “Come Monday, it’s going to be back to where we started. No talking.”

“You think?” I asked. “I bet Zelda will make an effort.”

“Oh, I bet Zelda will,” Megan agreed, playing with her fingers. “But if I know myself…”

“Ah,” I replied, not knowing what else to say. “Well… Just try, I guess. No one can ask any more of you.”

“She sure deserves better,” Megan muttered, standing up. “I should probably get out of this room before I get any weird feelings. I hope you didn’t regret anything.”

“Megan,” I said scornfully yet warmly, wrapping her in a hug. “Nothing has changed, except, y’know, I’ve just been reminded of how sexy you are. I didn’t regret shit. You’re still amazing, you’re still a friend, and on Monday, if you want to leave this behind you, then we didn’t do anything.”

She smiled in relief at that last part in particular. “Thanks, Adam, that actually means so much,” she told me, hugging me back. We broke off the hug and she and I exchanged few words before she left the room. I sighed, electing to follow soon after. There wasn’t much point in staying, and besides, I just fucked for a long time. I needed some water.

It was still Night of the Living Hormones in the hallway, and I needed to once again wade past the sea of kissing and humping teens before making my way down the stairs. As I did, I scanned the living room for any sign of Nicole, and nope, no sign of her. Enh, I guess she found some cute boy to have her way with. Maybe it was Allistair, although from the looks of things, she would have stiff competition from the girls at this party. 

I walked into the kitchen to find I was proven wrong – Allistair was in there, talking to another preppy boy. He had his back to my, but he noticed someone arrive, so he turned around to face me. 

“Oh, hey Adam,” he said casually, glancing over towards the beers. “Second beer’ll cost ya.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just here for water,” I told him, grabbing a cup and filling it from the sink. 

“Awright,” he said, nodding. He turned to his friend and made a gesture. “I’ll catch ya la’ah.” The friend took the hint and left, while Allistair turned his attention to me. “You havin’ fun?”

“Uh, yeah,” I replied awkwardly between sips. “Just caught up with some old friends, mostly.”

“Yeah? Caught up, like, in the bedroom or somethin’?” he insisted, folding his arms.

I paused. “What makes you just jump to that?”

“Well, fo’ one, yer fly is open,” he pointed out. Shit. I slightly blushed and zipped it up while he unfolded his arms and paced the room. “And fo’ anotha, word travels kind of fast at these par’ies, ya get wot I mean?”

This was starting to take on a bit more of an ominous nature. “What, you mean like gossip?”

“Adam, let’s cut the bullshit, awright?” Allistair said seriously. “I stuck m’neck out fo’ you, ya know. I defended yer honor an’ all that. So if I’m doin’ that fo’ ya, you go’a be a liiiiittle bi’ more respe’ful with the people heah, ya get wot I mean?”

You knew shit was hitting the fan when a guy from London pronounced the ‘t’ in ‘little.’ Still, I gave him a puzzled look. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“See, I thought ya was going to ask. Tha’s a good sign. If ya knew wot I’m talkin’ abou’, you’d have just denied it,” he began cryptically. “About half an houh ago, Sabrina Saigeon makes this big scene, talking to Tay and her group abou’ something ya did. I figure I should know, this is my party ‘n all.”

I nodded, a pit forming in my stomach. If Sabrina did something…

“So, I ask the group, turns out, you and Morgan nearly went somewhere. Fooled around a bit, if ya get wot I’m sayin’. Ya with me so far?”

“Uh, yeah, Morgan and I made out, yeah.”

Allistair clapped his hands and pointed both at me. “Right. Thought so. See, the thing is, turns out, and I’m sure this is just a case of guys bein’ overconfident, and, hey, been there…” He trailed off, nervously looking away. He looked back and started pacing again. “Yeah, turns out, Morgan felt like she was pressured into it. She, y’know, didn’t really wanna do it, but felt like you weren’t takin’ no fo’ an answah, and that pu’s me in a rathah delicate situation.”

“Sorry, wait, she said she felt pressured into it?”

Allistair nodded. “Don’t worry, mate. Don’t worry, yeah? I’m no’ accusin’ ya of anythin’. I know how mixed these signals can get. Trouble is, fo’ optics an’ all that, I should probably look like I’m doin’ somethin’ abou’ it, ya know?”

“Uh, hold on,” I replied assertively. “If Morgan said she felt pressured into doing anything with me, that’s just a lie. She was the one to ask me, point blank, if I wanted to make out. We were talking about stuff, y’know, like Nicole, and relationships, and life, and she was the one to ask me. I agreed, but she definitely initiated it.”

Allistair listened to my whole appeal, then eyed the floor sadly. “Yeah, don’t li’e this, not one bit,” he said quietly. He looked back up at me. “So, one of ya’s lyin’.”

“Sure, and if Morgan says she felt pressured into anything, it was her,” I replied steely. “I did not initiate it. She did. Unless she’s saying, like, the conversation made her feel like she had to make it sexual, or…”

“No, she was pre’y specific,” Allistair replied, sighing again. “Adam, Adam, Adam. I’m pu’ in a really tigh’ situation heah. Because this is Mohgan we’re talkin’ ‘bou’. Mohgan Jones. And if there’s one thing she’s proven, time and time again, yeah? It’s that she doesn’t lie.”

I was silent, staring at Allistair, who was not allowing me to push back even one iota. “Well… I know what happened, and I know what didn’t happen. And what you’re describing to me didn’t happen. Maybe I can talk to her, even with you there, see if we can clear the air?”

“Maybe on ya own time, ya can, yeah,” Allistair half-agreed. “Bu’ righ’ now, I think I go’a ask ya to leave.” He gestured towards the front door.

“Are you serious?” I asked incredulously.

“Adam.” He was rapidly losing patience. “I’ve known Mohgan since I came to Hazelwood. I’ve known ya for all of two bloody hours. And all I got to go by was Nicole’s original sta’ement that you’re a sweet, caring guy, then an hour later, her tellin’ me that you could be really careless and accidentally hurt people badly. An’ righ’ now, it really seems like you accidentally hurt someone and don’t wanna believe ya did.”

My head was spinning. Too many things were happening at once. Did Morgan really lie for some nefarious reason to get me kicked out of the party? Was Nicole in on this? Or worse… I thought I was getting better. I thought I was a good guy. Did I fool myself thoroughly enough to trick my own memories? Was I actually being assertive, hurtful, and in denial about it? What the hell was going on, and who the hell was I? I looked up at Allistair, staring into his eyes. What the hell could I even say to make any of this better? Was I not getting better? Was I still the guy that made Nicole break up with me? Fuck, was I getting worse?

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