Bewitching

Hand in hand with Pearl, you find your way back toward the bass-beat of the rave. It's siren song calls to you, promising reprieve from your troubled conscious, and new, uncertain arousal toward your transformed best friend.

Pearl leads you straight into the heart of the party, where you're surrounded by blissful, undulating strangers. The smell of sweaty bodies assails you.

"Dance with me," Pearl tells you.

It feels like a dream as you fulfill her request, and begin to move with with her.

You've been friends for years, but you've never seen this side of Pearl. Her eyes gaze into yours with piercing intensity. Deep, dark, full of unspoken feelings, and untold secrets. Pearl was dark and brooding before, but now? Her darkness is all consuming. And feelings - passions - deeper than any she's ever expressed aloud, seem to lurk just under the skin, lurking behind her every movement.

There's a mystery to her, now. And somehow, the way she looks at you makes you feel like you're the only one in the world who might have the key. The strange, enigmatic attraction between the two of you builds as you dance.

Pearl dances closely with you, her eyes never quite leaving yours. She never seems to blink, and appears barely to breathe. Is she alive? Is she an animate corpse? You feel like you can't be sure. Like if you look away, she'll have disappeared when you turn back.

Pearl's body, both paler and darker, is more captivating than ever. Her net shirt and corset bustier invite you to take in her skin, her curves. And the swish of her skirt, the motion of her boots and stockinged legs, hypnotize your attentions till it's like she's the only one in the world.

Her hands return over and over to your shoulders however the music beats, shifts, and changes. Yours go to her waist, to her hips, in the same way. But the stern intensity of her gaze scares you from going any lower. Not yet, Pearl's eyes seem to say. Nervousness tightens your chest, and you obey.

You notice the coming and going of your friends in your peripheral vision, but only as phantoms. Pearl no longer asks for attention - her expression, her attitude, demands it.

You've been bewitched. A beautiful curse has fallen upon you. Finding a black pearl in the sand, you've picked it up, only to find yourself unable to put it down.

The night drags late, and unable to break away from Pearl, you understand the danger you're in.

I'm going to make you fall in love with me all over again, and it's going to be easy.

Pearl spoke the truth. Despite your unbelief, despite your untamed instincts, you're falling in love with this new, darker Pearl. You feel it in your heart. You feel your fate entwining with hers.

If you don't try to stop it now, it'll be too late. The Pearl you once knew and loved will be gone forever. Not because you can't bring her back, but because you no longer want to.