Complications

AP Bio was seemingly starting off as usual. Jessica had made it inside and went over to sit next to Sam at one of the stations where students sat two apiece. The blonde smiling as her red-haired friend leaned over with a hushed tone,

“Thanks for doing that.”

The gratitude from her friend made the young genie smile and give a slight shrug, “I said I would. Master has helped me the past couple days.”

Sam smiled at her tiredly, the first class of the day was always boring for her. Her head resting in her hand as she looked to the left.

“Just make sure you don’t cause too much of a scene when you talk to him later.”

Jessica chuckled and shook her head, “Very funny, Sammy.”

Mrs. Cooper emerged with her usual frown from the side door as she approached the front desk, checking her watch as she glanced up at the door.

“Mr. Scott, you’re 30 seconds late,” the woman noted sternly.

Emerald eyes widened as Jessica and everyone else glanced back towards the door, and the pasty young man was caught off guard as he muttered to himself while looking down.

“But you’re not the last one here, so I’ll spare you the detention. Grab a seat, we’ll get started on where we left off on Friday with the reproductive systems of…”

Her teacher’s voice seemed to draw itself further and further away as Jessica hadn’t remained focused on it. Fearfully, she turned her gaze away from behind her and focused herself forward. She felt her heart rate increase rapidly as she tried to mask the trembling in her hand with fidgeting with her pen.

She had so put it out of her mind, that she forgot he was in her first class. Jessica felt her shoulders tense up as she suppressed the urge to curl back up into the ball in her room. Inside herself, her brain accelerated and her chest tightened.

This was the closest she had been near Kevin since what had happened the night of her birthday. She had nearly mauled him, but now all that anger over what he had done was washed over by terror.

The panic of yesterday afternoon was still fresh in the air. Jessica didn’t want to show it or admit it to anyone around her, but the once arrogant smug sense of self-righteousness and contempt against him had been robbed of her.

While her mother had done what she had done, Kevin was not meant to be there. He wasn’t supposed to know or find out about her heritage. The image of him leaping from her closet and grabbing the box, the fight over her ring, the gloating, the outright taunting, goading, the way he looked at her when he knew she was finished. When her life had ended as she knew it.

That was the moment she knew how much Kevin frightened her. She couldn’t avoid it. What he would’ve done to her if Master hadn’t taken the ring was horrifying to imagine.

Now he was sitting less fifteen feet behind her.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

“Focus Jessica. He’s in class. Cooper will stop him if he tries anything.”

She began scribbling down a note on her paper and slid the journal over to her friend.

Is Kevin watching me?

Sam raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she was on some sort of ****. The redhead turned back behind her to look at the young man and squinted. Then, she wrote something down and slid it back.

No. But now he’s looking at me like I’m up to something. So thanks! :/

Jessica glanced up at Mrs. Cooper again, seeing her looking at the board and pointing to a diagram of reproductive differences in various species. Quickly she scribbled again.

Make sure he leaves me alone today. I don’t feel comfortable after his stunt this weekend.

She slid the notebook over again as Sam looked down and wrote something back over to her quickly.

What stunt?

Shit.

Jessica remembered she had Sam forget all about the fight with Kevin! She had to think fast. How would she contextualize this for her? The blonde rubbed her forehead and patted down on her necklace.

Wait! That’s it!

She scribbled down quickly again.

The one with my Mom’s gift! Remember? Simon brought it home and gave it to me after I caught Kevin trying to steal it!

She motioned the notebook back in the direction of her friend, only this time tapping onto the large emerald in the center of her choker. Sam raised an eyebrow then looked at what her friend was motioning toward around her neck.

The sister of her Master went blank in her green-blue eyes and looked up, then uttered a silent, “Ohh.”

Sam nodded in understanding, at least understanding enough. The genie wasn’t sure how much of her friend’s memory she had altered with her little game of Simon Says. Sam also was in a better position to deal with the nerd who currently terrified her. She had enough of a balance knowing Kevin via Master and being one of her best friends to figure out how to juggle both sides.

She was also a better shot.

The redhead shifted her eyes to their teacher; who continued to speak sternly on egg development among reptiles. Cooper watched them now, so Sam started looking up and seemingly taking what notes she could from the slides.

In actuality, she was writing down her message, swiftly tearing the page out, and then molding the paper into a ball. Sam’s eyes darted the range from behind Jessica to where Kevin was seated. One final look to make sure Cooper wasn’t watching, and then throwing a laser it at his torso.

Jessica played lookout for their teacher as Sam began to mime and silently motion argued with him. She couldn’t see what was happening behind her, but the occasional glance at Sam saw her making glares, rolling her eyes, pointing above the blonde’s head, and then moved with her fingers to her eyes and then point at him. The blonde finally saw Cooper begin to move back to her desk to turn off the slides and quickly tugged at the redhead’s black hoodie.

Sam spun around and began acting like she had been taking notes the whole time.

“Now then. Miss Harris, what is the term to describe the cell formed by two gametes?”

“A Zygote,” the redhead responded nonchalantly toward their teacher.

Jessica sighed as she rubbed her face with her hands once their teacher had moved onto the next topic. She watched as Sam leaned over and wrote something down on her notebook.

He’s clueless as one, too. Wanted nothing to do with you from how he acted.

Well, at least that made the cheerleader feel a little better about things. With Sam around Kevin wasn’t going to do anything stupid. However, the aura behind her still made her worried about being around him. Maybe she just imagined things because of her newfound genie-hood being such a terrifying prospect.

Master scratching his head out of impulse at a time like this entered her mind. She wasn’t going to start scratching hers but watching him do it the past couple of days and remembering him doing it during their childhood. It could easily make someone’s scalp feel itchy. Thinking of that made Jessica wonder about what kind of shampoo he would wash his hair with.

“If I’m right. You have to shower with me. Together.”

The blonde genie felt her face feel warm again after the thought re-entered her head. She scowled to herself and attempted to suppress her brain, imagining it.

Damnit. Was this because of this morning? Let’s see. They woke up with both their hands in the wrong places; she got up and stretched like she usually did to wake up; he watched, then she thanked him and went out the door to…

“Damnit! I bet he wanted to after I said that!” she cursed to herself.

Though, it was tempting to think about being there. The idea of feeling her Master’s hands massaging her breasts again, lathering her up with body lotion and soap, making his hand reach down and clean her asshole. Her getting to scrub his scalp and watch that adorable reaction of his before he’d get set off.

She nearly decided to faceplant into her biology notes to avoid the blush growing on her face.

Ugh.

She had gone from teasing Master to mess with his head to teasing him to mess with his cock’s head! It was just so natural.

She felt her blood begin to leave her cheeks as she shook her head with a pout and began to focus on her notes. Her emerald eyes glanced up over at her friend to see her smirking at her. Sam waggled her brow at her.

Clearly, if Jessica were a normal mortal, the Harris Siblings would’ve been the **** of her.

Mercifully, the hour finally ended and the genie latched onto Sam, making them wait for Kevin to go out the door and off to his next class. Jessica let out a sigh of relief. They walked down another hallway and back to their lockers where they reunited with some of their friends again.

This time another familiar face in Chris arrived in place of Jason as he was clearly laughing about something funny.

“Boy, Sam. That brother of yours is a character, sometimes!”

Sam groaned as she crossed her arms and leaned against the lockers, straightening her ponytail, “Oh no. What’s he done now?”

Chris was more relaxed in his demeanor, more laid back, and trying to be the football team’s ambassador rather than follow as Brad's icon. He leaned up against the locker next to her, at least attempting to see how close he could get without getting burned.

“Improved his Spanish. He even flustered Peralez with it! And he had the best response when Cassie and I asked how he did it.”

Sam let out a small cackle in imagining her brother was capable of such a feat, but then again, Master was her brother.

“Oh yeah?” she smirked up at the football player looking for a challenge, “What would that be?”

Chris snickered to them as Jessica watched on. He pointed his finger to his mouth, “He said a girl taught him how to roll his tongue and then stuck it out to show us both! Cassie wouldn’t stop giggling at him for the rest of the class. Poor guy, he’s going to have her bugging him for the next two straight periods together!”

Jessica found herself giggling and laughing along with Sam at her Master’s antics. She bit her lip with a smirk. After all, she was the girl who got him to roll his tongue.

Her friends didn’t need to know that yet, though. And Cassie was so energetic. If Master did do something that got her attention, that almost-OCD would power her right through him.

Thinking about it, her Master was already obsessive. The idea of her fellow cheerleader with him was a bit adorable. He would have no idea how to handle it!

Hopefully, he’d keep his mouth shut.

“Hey Jess, got a second?”

The voice of her raven-haired friend approached behind her. The Cheer Captain turned to her fellow squad member and raised an eyebrow curiously.

“Sure, Tiff. What’s up?”

Tiffany led her off to the side of her friends and raised an eyebrow, “I was just wondering if you still wanted me to go ahead and push everyone to vote for you and Brad as Prom King and Queen as planned.”

The young woman rubbed her shoulder as Jessica thought about it. A week ago, it would have been all systems go, but now something was gnawing at her about the idea of it.

“Are we still ahead?”

“Oh, no doubt you are after your party,” Tiffany proclaimed to her.

Well, at least that was still as obvious as ever. It was going to be the Head Cheerleader’s coronation to the school after all! So why wasn’t it going to be her?

“What about Brad?” she asked curiously.

Tiffany looked away as she scratched her palm, “He’s had a few hiccups; some challengers are emerging. Have to see how the next round of voting goes. I’m sure you could sway it if you wanted to.”

The blonde teenager had to think about that for a moment. His behavior was pretty consistent, but something had just bothered her about that morning. She couldn’t place what she was feeling.

What she could place, though, was that prominent spot on Tiffany’s tanned skin.

“Tiff? Is that a hickey?”

Her friend’s eyes widened as she tried to find it and then covered it up with her hand, “Oh man. Really? Gosh, that’s embarrassing!”

Jessica giggled, “No worries. I can help cover that up!”

She opened her bag and pulled out a thing of skin blush to help her friend out in a pinch. She smiled, realizing that a lot must’ve happened during her party that she lost track of the goings-on.

“I didn’t know you had been seeing anyone again. Someone new?”

Tiffany shook her head and smiled, “No. Just on and off.”

She put her makeup away as the splotch was now covered up well enough, making her fellow cheerleader smile in relief and adjust the school jacket over her black tank top, “Thanks, Jess.”

“What’re friends for?”

The bell rang again, and the group dispersed amongst themselves. Second-Period seemed to almost go by in a blink of an eye for history class. She joined up again with Jason, Tiffany, and Chris for their same class in Third-Period.

The group huddled together to solve a problem for their English Literature course when a familiar voice interrupted in her head.

“Jess, why does Cass have to be so nosy?”

She let out a laugh in the middle of their discussion, causing her friends to look at her funny.

“Something funny, Jessica?”

“N-Nothing! I just thought of something earlier. Where were we at?”

Poor Master. He must be getting badgered for him to reach out and think about that!

She was left smiling the rest of class, finally feeling the same sense of normalcy she had wanted from this whole day. Her friends were still the same, same boyfriend, same Eastlake High Teachers, same old walks, and exact routines. But, finally, she felt like the worry had begun to wash away.

Like Prom, she started having normal thoughts again and wondered about how Master would do at a dance? Would he even like that sort of thing? He didn’t like loud events that much.

Jessica felt a pause as she strolled alone through the hallway for her free period before lunch. He would do it for her in a heartbeat if she asked him.

But things were strange when someone thought Jessica could be more than just a Prom Queen in High School.

What did Master want to do with life? He got so engrossed in helping her and being with her, she never thought about what his dream was.

Though she had a pretty decent guess, based on everything she knew. It wouldn’t include anything without her involved. The boy must’ve had so many endless thoughts about her that just the ideas manifested through her clothing.

‘He really does have a comfy shirt,’ she thought to herself with a smile and her eyes closed.

Then an arm reached out and grabbed her.

Jessica felt caught off guard as her assailant pulled her into the janitor’s closet behind her. An arm was pinning her against the wall and covering her mouth.

“What did you do?”

Her eyes shot wide open at the sound of the familiar voice growling at her. Then, she saw the lights switch on as a pair of eyes bore into her angrily through a couple of glasses. His pasty skin on his face etched into a dark smile.

Her mind began to panic to a new height. Finally, the blonde’s legs decided to give out on her as Kevin continued to pin her to the wall.

“I don’t know what you did; or how you did it, but I know it was you who caused me to blackout after what I saw, bitch. But I know your secret.”

Fear. Outright fear gripped the blonde girl into a state of paralysis and tremors as her nightmares came back to life all at once. Her emerald eyes locked on him as he suddenly began to smile at the sight of it.

And he poked at it again as he had that night.

“You’re a genie, Jess,” he said in a tauntingly soft voice, her eyes shutting and head trying to turn away as his face got closer.

The feeling of his breath on her neck made her hairs stand on end. Her shivering increased as her mind went blank, trying to account for all the memories and flashes of moments that turned her head into a furious and giant blender.

He then pulled away and scowled again, “An honest to god, genie, bound to a ring by dear old Momma. And whoever wields it, you’re indentured to serve, for life. So where is your binding now, Jessica?”

Jessica’s level of panic rose as Kevin’s reciting of that moment triggered something deep within her.

“Did you make it into that collar you have on? Is that your ring?”

Her emerald eyes remained on him as he began to tug at her Master’s gift, finding it stuck to her. Unable to move it himself.

He leaned up, “I’m going to remove my hand, and you’re going to tell me what I want to know.”

Jessica felt her mouth open to the air again as her body began to hyperventilate and her mind began to retreat. Her heart was pounding, and her lungs were feeling as if they would constrict themselves until she could no longer breathe.

Everything had crashed mentally at that moment from the trauma resurfacing.

She was right. She was right! Kevin was after her! He was going to get her!

He knew! He knew all of it! Kevin’s voice told her! She wasn’t human! She was a genie! He was after the ring! He wanted to take her ring and make her do whatever he wished of her!

But Master had the ring! Master was her Master! She was good for Master! She didn’t mean to be mean! She would stop hurting Master! She just wanted Master to protect her! Master would protect her! No harm would come to those Master cared about! Master would protect his genie! Master wouldn’t leave! Master didn't need her to perform! Master wouldn’t leave her like they did! Master wanted her! Master Help!

Master!

Jessica's mind was a hurricane of panic and trauma, unorganized and unable to focus as memories and emotions whipping out until her mind could only focus on the one thing that made her feel safe. She didn't even notice Kevin staring at her anymore. Her eyes looking off in a state of fear, the vulnerability without him there to soothe her and get her through it.

The boogeyman in front of her stepped back. He looked unsure of what was going on in front of him in her state as she whimpered.

“Master…”

The young man's eyes widened as he tried to take a step forward to her again, “Hey, what are you trying to…”

Kevin’s disbelief shattered into view when her voice returned to her, her eyes locking back onto him and recognizing him, letting out a blood-curdling shriek and wanting to immediately be where her Master was.

The room warped around her, and suddenly she found herself somewhere else, her shriek continued, turning her face red as it finally let out the rest.

A voice called out to her next to her worriedly.

“Jess!”