Back out

"I... It's nothing. Sorry." You know you should at least try to make an excuse, but your mind betrays you at this crucial time. You just stand there, lost, unsure of what to say or do.

Fortunately for you, Dagmar just sighs. " Alright. But next time, at least be sure that you will say something when you want to talk to me." She spins on her heels and opens the door out the storeroom. Standing in the doorway, she turns back to you. " Look, I know you're kind of in a rut since breaking up with Chantal, but maybe try looking for someone who isn't already in a relationship."

Your jaw dropped in surprise. She thought I was going to confess to her! Well, you could see how she could have mistaken that to be your motive. A boy and a girl, alone in a room, the boy looking nervous and jittery. Ugh, you couldn't believe you could ever be so oblivious to the obvious!

Your hand wraps around the pen again, feeling its metallic coldness against your skin, you wonder if you will ever use it. It's a terrifying power. I don't know if I can use it...

With Dagmar gone, there is no reason for you to remain in the storeroom. But right now, you aren't in any mood to attend class. You spread yourself down on the mattress in the corner, flinging your backpack to the side. Cutting class had its repercussions, but there was too much on your mind to care right now. If worst comes to worst, you could use the pen, you reasoned.

You jolt back up. There it was; the temptation. Ever since you got this wretched pen, all your thoughts had been centered around it. Frustrated, you hurl the pen at the wall before you.

"Whoa there, big guy. Don't vent your anger on the pen; It can't be the reason didn't score today." Startled, you turn around to face the speaker.

Vanessa K. grins at you from her position in front of the door, her hands on her hips. "Although, maybe a pen isn't the best gift to impress a girl." She closes the door and picks up the pen. "I'll admit you have taste, this is kinda pretty." Still holding the pen, she walks up to you.

"I saw Dagmar walk away in a huff. Seriously, did you find no one better than that shortie?"

"Hey!", you protest. Dagmar may not be drop dead gorgeous, but she is pretty desirable. Wait, that's not what I should be mad about!

"I wasn't going to confess." You say emphatically. Vanessa was a bit of a gossip, and you'd rather avoid a fight with with Tristan unless you had to.

"Really? I don't know, the way things look, its kinda hard to believe ya." She smirks. You sigh. This, Vanessa, is why you don't have more friends. Nobody likes a gossip.

She continues as you roll your eyes. "Ah, if I were a boy, I'd be looking for a pretty girl too. But even I wouldn't go for a girl who already has a boyfriend that she likes. Must be hard, thinking with your dick all the time. So don't be too hard on yourself. It's just nature." She laughs as you cover your face with embarrassment. "Alright, alright, jokes aside, what were you planning then? I doubt even a nice guy like you would offer your pen to a girl without a second thought." She bursts out in other fit of laughter, clearly satisfied with herself for that reference. You give a pained smile, annoyed by the joke but grateful she understood the situation. Even Vanessa didn't spread rumors she didn't think were true.

Click. The lighthearted mood you had begun to ease yourself into shatters, as Vanessa looks quizzically at the pen. 'That's weird, it didn't open up!" Click, click. You shake yourself out your daze and lunge for the pen. "Hey hey, back off dude. I may be a lil loose, but I'm not that fast." She giggles as she steps back, hovering out of your reach.

"The pen." You hiss at her. "Jeez, settle down bud, I'm not going to eat it." She tosses it in the air and you dive in for it, bruising your chin in the process.

"Lasse, c'mon now. For someone who was fine with breaking it a few moments ago, you're doing a hard 180 now. " She snickers as you try to get back on your feet, woozy from the fall. "You are really down bad for a pen now, aren't cha?!"

"Is it just me or are you extra annoying today?!" You rub your chin gingerly. "I hope you'll take responsibility if this swells into a buttchin."

Vanessa laughs, but this time it feels genuine, not mean, like before. "Sure, someone has to take care of your ugly mug." You blink awkwardly. "Wha.. What?" you splutter, blood rushing to your cheeks. "Are you for real?"

"Course I am! I got just about enough for a plastic surgery in back!"

You groan. She smirks. "Gotcha", she says knowingly. "Jokes aside, why what's got you down this early?"

She sits down on the mattress next to me. "Don't you have a class to be at?" I say, half-cross with her.

"True, but how could I leave my poor heartbroken Lasse all alone? Nothing can beat having a mature woman listen to your sorrows. "

"Is that your excuse for teasing me all the time."

"Hey! That's a part of a mature woman's charm!" She protests, pushing you away playfully.

You smile a little, before sighing.

"So, are you going to keep a lady waiting?" She looks at you expectantly.

Sigh. Whatever. The man didn't say anything about keeping your heritage secret.

The burden of being the sole keeper of the pen's secrets has become to much for you to bear. Vanessa listens to you keenly as you recount the events leading to his meeting with Dagmar. The ****, the matter of your heritage, your paranoia - you lay it all bare.

As you come to an end, you search her face for a reaction. Your spirit sags as you recognize the familiar face of disbelief on her face. Vanessa catches you staring and promptly flashes you a silly smile. "Its not that I don't believe you... "

"I know, it sounds impossible. Forget I said anything."

She puts her hand on your back and rubs it up and down like a mother who was consoling a child, assuring that their dead pet was in frolicking happily in heaven. "Hey, it might not be much, but I can atleast get rid of that pen for you if its causing you that much despair. But, in the end, its your choice. Maybe you'll feel better if you dispose of it yourself."