Adam's Warning (Jake PoV)

The days settled into a routine of sorts. Chloe and I presented our project with a final grade in the upper A range. Mr. Braun’s noise showed he was somewhat upset while he watched us present. I think he had been counting on Chloe’s usual way of passing classes.

Those days were coming to an end. Part of our routine revolved around the library. It was the perfect place to pass the time while I waited for her to finish for the day. Once she arrived, we spent our time together going over homework and talking. She was smarter than she gave herself credit for. With my help, she was gradually catching up. I guessed she would be caught up by the end of the month. The problem had always been her lack of motivation, picking the easy route instead of pushing herself to do that work. With me nudging her along, motivation was no longer the issue and she jumped into schoolwork with a vengeance.

Since I started dating Chloe, things were changing. The closer I got to Chloe, the more distant my relationship with the Parker sisters seemed to be. It had been two weeks since Alexis had invited herself into my apartment. Instead, she spent her time with others and seemed hellbent on making sure I heard everything she was getting herself into.

Natalie wasn’t taking Alexis’ behavior well. She was coming home later and later. First to avoid whatever trouble her sister had brought home, though that had begun to morph into her coming home in a more **** state. That habit had only started recently, though I suspected it had something to do with why she had stayed home over the weekend instead of visiting her boyfriend.

Things were spiraling next door. I could see the melancholy emotions taking root in their noise. It fed into their behavior, dragging them deeper into its embrace. My relationship with them seemed to be collapsing, but my efforts to reach out seemed doomed to fail. Alexis always brushed me off before ushering her latest conquest into her apartment smiling at me before chasing them inside. Natalie never seemed to be sober outside of work. The rapid decline and collapse of what had taken two years to build was unexpected and I felt powerless to stop it.

Even on the Chloe front, things were starting to take a negative turn. Her spending time with me hadn’t gone unnoticed, and people were beginning to talk. Rumors spread and it wasn’t long before whispers of our relationship made it to the ears of her loyal patrons.

Their snide comments meant nothing to me, which seemed more upsetting to them than anything I could say back. None of their comments, jeers, or remarks made any impact. The problem was I was getting noticed. People seemed to seek me out for all the wrong reasons, which brought their noise and all the negative emotions tied with it. It was exhausting.

Guys seemed to fall into two camps. The first was the Chloe fan club. These usually made up the less-popular crowd. For one reason or another, they all seemed to have some sort of emotional attachment to my girlfriend. They weren't buying Chloe's Gift so much as her attention, however brief that attention was. Chloe seemed to like them, mentioning once that they like to bring her little gifts or tipped for her services. They saw me as a threat and regarded me with jealousy and anger. I wasn’t sure if it was a mistaken belief that I would take away their access to her, or that they wished to be in my position. Either way, they were the larger of the groups and usually limited their hate and disdain to a distance, not wanting or unable to confront me directly. Instead, they did their best to make my life miserable indirectly by spreading rumors or other petty things.

The smaller but more dangerous group were the giants and titans who had grown used to Chloe’s Gift. They saw my presence as a threat to their supply. They moved in the shadows, plotting and manipulating the other group into doing their bidding. Overall, they didn’t care about me or Chloe, only that they had unfettered access to her Gift. So far, this group remained relatively quiet but if Chloe ever talked about quitting...

“So, this is where you hang out. Clever. For something so obvious, not many think to come up here.” I didn’t need to look to know who it was. His noise had been obvious since he was walking up the stairs. Adam moved up to stand beside me. Only then did I glance over. His noise betrayed his calm demeanor. I was glad Chloe wasn’t up here at the moment. She had just left to go get our lunch, so it would be several minutes before she returned.

“What do you want, Adam?” His charisma was probing at my defenses. A subtle application that was completely useless. That didn’t mean I enjoyed him doing it. The guy was trying to manipulate me into looking at him in a friendly light.

My flat tone must have seemed hostile to him because his annoyance flared in his noise. “So you know me.”

“Not many in the school who don’t.”

He smiled. I could see why people liked him. Good looks and charm went a long way on their own. Add in his Gift and he was a **** of nature. “Good. Then this should be a short conversation.”

His Gift pressed harder against my defenses. Pathetic. Chloe’s noise put more pressure on my mind than his Gift did. I think he was waiting for me to say something, but I remained silent. This annoyed him more though his facial expression and body language was nothing but warm and welcoming. He was an excellent actor.

“Rumor has it Chloe has taken a liking to you.”

“I should hope so. She’s my girlfriend.”

Irritation flared in his noise but also something else. Amusement? Curiosity? “So it’s true. You two are actually dating.”

“Usually what the girlfriend title implies.”

His smile remained friendly despite there being no warmth in his eyes. “Perhaps you can help me then,” he said cheerfully as he threw his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in. “See, I ran into a bit of a problem yesterday.”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “I purchased the services of your girlfriend for a mid-week pick-me-up.” He was studying my reaction after putting some emphasis on the girlfriend part. Disappointment flared as he didn’t get the sort of reaction he expected. Adam continued without missing a beat. “Normally she has a grand old time milking my cock dry as I fill her with what she craves. Yesterday, however, she **** me to wear a condom. Worse, I was no longer able to give that slut her rightful reward—a nice creampie finish.”

He was trying to elicit a reaction from me and was getting nothing. His unease increased as he watched me. “And?” The single word threw him off.

“I’m not paying five hundred so I can drop my load in a shitty ass condom. I can do that for free with my girlfriend.”

Interesting. She raised her prices again or Adam was paying more to cut in line. “Then do that.”

His arm resting over my shoulders began to tighten. His friendly mask slipped off as his expression turned cold. “I don’t think you understand what I’m saying here, so let me spell it out for you. I don’t give a shit that you two started dating. You want to date the school bicycle? Go for it. Her adding another cock to her roster doesn’t change anything. Or at least, it shouldn’t…” He trailed off, letting that word hang in the silence that followed.

“So what exactly do you want from me?”

“From you? Nothing. Chloe on the other hand…” He let out a breath. Releasing me, he smoothed out the wrinkles on my jacket. “Listen, James—”

“Jake.”

He waved it aside. “Next week, I’m going to fuck Chloe again and I want two things to happen. One, I want her to tell me to take my condom off. Two, I want her to beg me to cum inside her.”

“Want me to tell her to enjoy it too?”

He grinned. It wasn’t a happy one and held sinister implications. “Oh, enjoyment is never a problem.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, I would love to help you, but I don’t see—”

The explosion of pain blossomed in my stomach as his fist slammed home. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe as I bent over double. There wasn’t much chance to recover as I felt my knees buckle as his leg slammed into the back of them. Concrete met my knees, adding more pain. Adrenaline surged through me, but my mind was clear. The surprise, shock, and fear were absent from the sudden blow, held at bay by my Gift. A felt a hand run along the top of my head, fingers scratching at the scalp as Adam took a fistful of hair and yanked my head back.

There was a wildness in Adam’s eyes as the mask was removed completely. It was a look that finally matched his noise. Eyes wide with the thrill of ****, he grinned at me as he pulled back on my hair. More pain as my head went in the direction he commanded.

“You forget who you are talking to.” His voice was calm considering the expression he wore. “I can make your last year here a miserable one. My reach doesn’t stop here. I can make everyone you know and care about suffer. So I want you to ask yourself one little question: Is that little whore Chloe worth it?”

He released me. Huffing, he went about smoothing out his uniform jacket and putting his hair back in order. The mask was back on, his smile friendly. “I do abhor ****, but I understand it has a purpose. A slight application really drives home a message or sends a message on its own.” He was adjusting the cuffs of his jacket before he stopped, looking down at me. “So tell me, Jake. Do you understand what I’m asking?”

I nodded.

“Good!” he said cheerfully as he lightly tapped my cheek. “After all, I would hate for something to happen to Chloe.” My eyes immediately moved to meet his. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. It won’t be bad. She has her uses after all. I’m just reminding you that failure to heed my words will result in… consequences.”

One last adjustment of his uniform and he took a step back. “Nice chat, Jake. Looking forward to speaking with you more.”

He casually sauntered over to the door and left without a single glance back. I got to my feet, brushing myself off as I went about putting my uniform and hair back in order. I knew the implication of his words. I was on his radar now and it seemed I wasn’t on his good side.