Hello my lovely readers, I am back to my regular publishing schedule. I apologise for taking an extra week, it was needed in order to stay on track and now everything should run smoother.

“You’re really, really sure about being okay with everything between John and I?” Erin asked, fidgeting with worry.

As they neared the exit of the academy, Alison abruptly stopped and turned, clasping Erin’s hand with both of hers against her chest. “I-I’m fine with it, seriously. If it m-makes you happy, and you’re n-not trying to steal him from me, w-why would I be upset? I-in fact, if you w-wanted to be John’s girlfriend too, th-then we’d just b-be that much closer, right?” Alison reassured earnestly.

“W-what? I don’t want to be his girlfriend! He’s just… like, a good lay, or whatever,” Erin stammered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” Violet teased, hovering over Alison’s shoulder almost completely invisible. “Isn’t she cute when she blushes?”

Erin pouted and huffed. “Oh, quiet, you tease,” she grumbled.

“Aw, I’m only playing,” Violet said, leaning closer to Erin. “How about we kiss and make up?”

Erin hesitated for a moment, considering the offer. “Maybe another time? This whole magic stuff is a little overwhelming and I’m not sure my brain could handle it if I made out with an actual ghost,” she explained. “I’ll be visiting Alison so we can talk in a safe and private space later, so maybe I’ll change my mind by then if your offer still stands.”

Her words were followed by an uncomfortable silence which Erin quickly and awkwardly broke, “So, uh, thanks for humouring me with the glory hole thing, Ali.”

Erin led them around the corner and continued towards the doors of the school and continued speaking, “I was thinking of probably, like, taping the hole over or something, that way when it’s not being used it’s not gonna be a window between the shower and toilet. Once that’s done I think I’ll probably just lay on the couch or something while I wait for Vanessa’s classes to be over, and then I can keep her occupied while you hang out with your new man.”

Violet allowed Erin to finish speaking but quickly interjected, “I have a better idea. John’s last class is literature, he’s supposed to be reading a book but it’s one he already knows really well. He should keep you company instead,” she suggested. “Alison should text what we’re doing anyway so she can tell him he’s got to join you.”

An impish grin grew on Erin’s face as Violet winked at her. “I suppose it would only be right to give the bathroom’s new addition a test, right?” Erin halted at the academy entrance. “Right, I’ll see you guys later, gonna go find some duct tape and some cardboard or something. Hope you have fun hanging out with John.”

“You should go to the shop class and grab some materials from there. Remember John’s Craftskill? He should be able to make something more permanent instead,” Violet suggested.

Erin nodded with a smile at the spirit. “I think I’ll do just that. The bell should be ringing soon, so I’ll grab the supplies while people are between classes. Wait ten minutes before texting John for me, that’ll give me time to get everything and get to the club room,” she requested. “I’d rather him not waiting outside the door for everyone to see.”

Alison nodded. “O-okay, I’ll see you soon,” she said, hugging Erin before hurrying out of the building.

Upon arriving at the Hawthornes’ mansion, Alison had been eager to start testing out her abilities, showing a refreshing amount of enthusiasm possibly spurred on after having heard Violet talk about the Abyss.

After a short break, Alison had shown Violet to her bedroom, leaving her alone. The spirit found herself pacing around the room, admiring the landscape paintings adorning the walls, a clear showcase of Alison’s passion.

Among them, one painting stood out, depicting a much less realistic mountain range, a painting Violet found herself recognising. Floating over Alison’s desk, Violet inspected the painting much closer, spotting John’s signature pictograph in the bottom corner.

“I know this. It’s one of John’s senior projects from high school,” Violet murmured to herself. “Such a cheeky girl… John wouldn’t have just given this to her, so she must have taken it without permission. Not that I think John would mind if he found out.”

Grinning mischievously, Violet continued looking around the room, spotting the only image that wasn’t of a landscape. A triple picture frame sat close to Alison’s bed. Each image was signed and depicted a fashion design, the middle was a skillfully drawn polka dot turquoise full-circle dress, to the left of that was an amateur attempt at a stylish romper, and to the right was a revealing one-piece bikini, which Violet was particularly impressed by, as she hadn’t expected such a well-drawn image from Erin, much less the Borderlands cell-shaded art style.

Taking a seat at Alison’s desk, Violet picked up two pieces of paper, each bearing the image of half an apple. “We should keep one intact, and the other we should crumple, maybe tear? Just to see what happens,” she mused aloud.

It wasn’t her decision to make, so she placed the images back on the desk. Violet's leg began bouncing impatiently as she looked around. Her eyes fell on the door to Alison’s bathroom, and having not much else to do, she decided to snoop.

As expected she found typical features: a toilet, a sink, a mirror and a cabinet, but she also noticed a door opposite the entrance. Violet turned the handle, attempting to open the door only to find it remained stubbornly shut. The way the handle felt as she turned it gave her pause, and she took a closer look only to realise it had a similar issue to one she remembered Brenda dealing with at home.

Kneeling, Violet examined the handle closer. “Yep, the grub screw has worked its way out. I suppose I did want to test my own abilities out, and testing non-combat uses would be beneficial.”

Closing her eyes for a moment, a warm light began to grow in her palm, slowly taking the shape of a screwdriver. She clasped the tool and tightened the door handle screw, smiling when she tested it and found the door opening.

A large spa-like bathroom with bamboo flooring, a waterfall shower and a luxurious sunken bathtub greeted her, along with another door on the opposite side of the room. ’How many rooms is this bathroom connected to?’ she thought.

As she moved to investigate, her attention was diverted by a hamper to her right, a cute pair of panties bearing a cat print design sitting right at the top. A perverse smile crept onto Violet’s face and a giddy feeling rose in her chest as she took a step towards it.

Her expression suddenly shifted, and she shook her head. “No! Things aren’t the way they were before. I’m not alone anymore, I don’t have to cling to fleeting semblances of intimacy. Even if I have to wait for John, he will love me, and maybe in time, Alison or Ellie might too…” she mumbled, pulling her hand back and forcing herself to return to Alison’s bedroom.

Violet soon became restless once again as her pacing resumed, at which point her gaze fell upon a set of drawers next to Alison’s bed. “This would just be snooping, right? It’s not the same as taking her dirty panties, I’m just curious and all alone in this room…” she reasoned, her hand hesitantly reaching out.

The first drawer was filled with bits and bobs, which caused Violet to chuckle. “Everyone has a junk drawer,” she mused. The next drawer held Alison’s underwear, and before closing it again, something caught her attention. First, she spotted a small box sealed and unopened which bore an image of a rose.

’Oh, Alison, you naughty, naughty girl. I did not expect this,’ she thought, tapping the front of the box. ’I guess the internet does make it quite easy for anyone to buy this kind of thing. Is a clit sucking toy more or less surprising than if I’d have just found a dildo? Wait a moment, what could this be?’

Under the box Violet found a small remote, and upon pushing a button, a soft vibration was triggered, one she traced back to a pair of panties nestled in the furthest reaches of the drawer. “Oh my, Alison. Your little sucker friend might still be tightly sealed, but these panties are out in the open, surely you’ve tested these out, my, my, such a naughty girl,” she mused, letting out a quiet giggle before putting everything back where she’d found it.

Closing the drawer, she stood and sat at Alison’s desk once again. “Maybe I should leave her belongings alone.” She sighed before looking at the laptop sitting in front of her. “Then again, if she’s still logged on, it would be a shame to miss the opportunity, right?”

She was slightly disappointed after hitting the power button, seeing the laptop come to life instead of exiting hibernation mode. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the laptop didn’t have a login screen, loading right to the desktop, and a smile adorned her face at the sight of a hand-painted landscape, featuring a portrait of John.

“I might get whiplash at this point, going from finding Alison’s naughty secrets to such wholesomeness,” Violet murmured.

The image was a distraction for a short while, making her smile at just how cute Alison was with her crush on John. “I think she deserves some kind of reward. I should ask Robin if his phone is Abyssal, like with a really good camera. I could get a picture of John by the lake and that way she can have a new image of him.”

After her heartwarming musings, Violet went back to her dubious intentions. She quickly found herself looking at Alison’s search history. It was funny and surprising to see her most recent links being videos and images of lesbian porn. She saw “How to know if you like girls?” and “Ways to test if you are lesbian?” searched, and going further back were videos and images of three and Xsome porn, and reaching the beginning of Alison’s journey, Violet found searches for “How to keep a guy’s attention?”, “Harem”, “Guy with multiple girlfriends”, “Polyamory”, and the search which seemed to start the rabbit hole “Can you love multiple people romantically at the same time?”

Seeing the first search worried Violet, but looking back over the stream of consciousness in the form of searches and websites eased her a little. It was definitely something to keep in mind, but it seemed that Alsion had worked her way through her concerns.

Violet thought back to the kiss they’d shared and felt a warmth spread in her chest, she was Alison’s first step into experimentation. “I wonder if she’d want me to be her first girl partner? Obviously, John’s going to be her first time ever, but would she pick me for her lesbian virginity? Or maybe she’d prefer someone with experience with another girl like Ellie or maybe Erin?” Her voice grew quiet as she pondered, “I should stop snooping now. Maybe I’ll lay on her bed and take a nap.”

After shutting down the laptop and leaving it as she’d found it, Violet floated over to Alison’s bed, admiring it. The bed suited Alison very much, it had a thin four-pillar frame and was covered by sheer white curtains, covered in fairy lights. It made Violet think of a tree house or pillow fort.

“Hope she doesn’t mind me taking a nap,” Violet muttered before dropping from the air and sinking into the cloud-like mattress, burying her head in Alison’s pillow. She took slow deep breaths, feeling her body relax when her eyes shot open. ’I can smell Alison on her pillow… It’s really nice… Wait, am I being weird right now? It’s not like I was purposefully doing it… Does it make it weird because I noticed? Maybe I should get up,’ she reasoned internally, while she relaxed and her eyes became heavier due to the softness of the bed. ’I… uhm.. I should get up… just… five more minutes…’ she thought, beginning to drift off.

“V-Violet?” Alison asked, gently shaking the sleeping ghost.

Violet reached out and pulled Alison onto the bed and into a tight cuddle. “Let’s just lay here like this for a while,” the spirit murmured, yawning. Alison didn’t argue, awkwardly putting her arm around Violet.

“Did you get everything you were looking for, sweetheart?” Violet asked, looking down at Alison and stroking her hair gently.

“I, y-yes. A-all the materials I n-need are in my art cab-bin outside. N-now we can t-test out the ▹Tool Proficiency skill m-more thoroughly,” Alison replied.

“That’s cool, so what tools exactly are you planning on trying out? Or did you just get, like, a ton of different stuff?” Violet questioned, wondering what she might make.

“O-over the years, Nessa has bought m-me a b-bunch of things to t-test out when I’ve mentioned an interest. B-but a lot of them I’ve b-been cautious of because they can be dangerous. I d-decided on wood carving w-which I’ve tried before but couldn’t do and w-w-welding which I’ve always b-been too scared to try,” Alison explained.

“Does Vanessa often buy you stuff you never use?” Violet asked.

“W-well, yes, kind of. N-Nessa shows affection with g-gifts,” Alison explained. “She doesn’t al-always know what to get, so when I m-mention something, she often buys it w-without really thinking about it.”

“Huh, makes sense, I guess. I’d love to have money to just throw around for my friends,” Violet responded. “I think I’ve taken up enough time lying in your bed; let's head down to test your powers out. I’m better off not being seen, so I’ll just hang out in here.”

After speaking Violet vanished into the pendant around Alison’s neck. The mansion felt empty and quiet as Alison walked through the halls, eventually exiting a side door and following a path to a well-maintained log cabin.

Violet reappeared as soon as Alison had entered and closed the door behind her. Looking around there was no shortage of workbench space, each wall and a bench on wheels in the centre of the room.

Each bench had storage underneath which had one type of art medium or another. The room itself was dry and the scent of clay was thick in the air. Though everything in the room seemed to be put away neatly, the surfaces were covered in splotches and splashes of one thing or another. The room was clearly well-used, Violet even spotted that Alison had a mini fridge and a bathroom allowing her to spend a lot of time in there.

“A l-lot of the things in here are g-gifts Vanessa got for me w-when I mentioned being interested in different kinds of art,” Alison said, walking up to the bench in the middle of the room.

“So you spend a lot of time in here, I guess?” Violet asked, following Alison. On the bench was an old metal toolbox. The paint on the outside was peeled and the bare metal was rusting in spots. Inside the box were different pieces of scrap metal all with varying levels of rust and wear. Next to the box was a ten-centimetre cube of wood, and then there was a welder, some chisels and different knives.

“Did Vanessa have this cabin built specially for you?” Violet asked, picking up the wood block and inspecting it.

Alison turned around and flipped two switches. The first caused the welder to begin buzzing, while the second made a large extractor fan hum to life. After Alison finished setting up the welder, she turned back to Violet.

“N-no, the groundskeeper needed a l-larger space for maintenance equ-equipment. They were going t-to extend this c-cabin, but Nessa asked if I could use it and her m-mom agreed,” Alison explained.

Violet nodded. “Okay, so I assume you’re going to try the welding thing first? Do you have enough safety stuff for two? Or can I play with some of your other art supplies?”

Alison pulled out a mask and a set of goggles and gave Violet an awkward smile. “Sorry. I h-have some clay and a p-pottery wheel, o-or some lino for printing, or if you’d p-prefer, I have an airbrush y-you could play with?”

Violet smiled and gave Alison a side hug. “I wouldn’t mind making something out of clay, I don’t think I’ll use the wheel though. I’m sure I’ll think of something to make. What about you? Got an idea of what you’re going to make?”

Alison thought for a moment then walked over to the window. Violet followed and stood next to her. “I th-think I could m-make that tree?” Alison said, pointing at a large tree. “M-making a tree out of m-metal would be an int-interesting juxtaposition.”

Violet nodded. “And not only that, but you can make the tree more or less detailed because the overall shape is easy to recognise even if it’s simplified. Ooooh, you should put that little crow in it too,” she encouraged.

The two returned to their workbenches, and though Violet was tempted to look over at Alison’s work, risking injury by seeing the welding arc wasn’t something she wanted to tempt, so the two girls worked independently.

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