Regroup

Having perfected the art of evasion, John was prepared for this moment. He dipped and dodged his way through the hallway, weaving effortlessly towards his goal of the old wing of the school.

While the rest of the students seemed intent on pulling him towards the cafeteria like a tide, John managed to avoid confrontation, despite his uniform violation. He soon found himself slipping into the dimly lit, deserted old wing hallway, the distant sound of students now muffled by the heavy doors.

As John walked the hall towards the furthest corner of the school, the echoes of his footsteps resonated. Reaching the thick doors of the abandoned gym, John’s fist thudded against the aged wood and he called, “Hey, Violet. I’m back.”

A clattering sound came from the other side of the door, and the unmistakable sound of locks disengaging filled the air. The door swung open, revealing the white-haired spirit, who rushed eagerly through the door and threw herself at John, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

“John, I missed you! What happened? Oh, I got to meet Alison, she’s an absolute little sweetheart. I could spend the entire day cuddling with her and learning every little way I could make her blush,” Violet gushed, wriggling in John’s grasp.

“I’m, uh… I’m glad you like her. But can you please not bully her, she’s shy and I don’t want to scare her away,” John responded, his voice slightly strained from the tight embrace. “And can I have my body back, please?”

Violet squeezed him a little tighter. “Mmmh, I guess so. But not yet, give me a minute. Spending time with Alison has put me in a really cuddly mood, and out of everyone in the whole world, you’re the one I’d rather be doing it with,” she cooed.

John stood somewhat awkwardly, taking a deep breath and feeling a wave of relaxation, as the scent of almonds and cherries filled his nose. “I suppose we can hug for a little while at least,” John relented, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“So, what happened in the meeting?” Violet inquired, looking up into John’s eyes. “Anything interesting?” She playfully raised and lowered her eyebrows.

“Ah…” John began, clearing his throat. “Well… I’d describe it as a disaster, to put it mildly… but strangely enough, they didn’t treat it like the worst first impression in history…”

Violet flashed a warm smile and gently ran her fingers through John’s hair in a reassuring way. It felt strangely relaxing and reminded him of when his mother would calm him down. “If they gave you a warm response, you’re probably being your biggest critic, as usual,” she comforted him.

A long and heavy sigh escaped John’s lips. “No… I’m pretty sure I had the worst introduction ever. It all kicked off with a motorbike ride… and I can say without a doubt I never want to ride one of those **** traps ever again. Not only did I look like a terrified child on the back of the thing, to make everything infinitely worse, Moira’s, uh… well, her butt was pressed right up against me and trying to grasp at anything to help me ignore that I was on a bike… it became too… difficult to ignore. Because we were literally pressed up against each other, it was impossible to hide that I’d gotten… excited.”

“I’m jealous. I’d love to ride a motorbike, I’d love to have the new Warden’s ass against me and I would absolutely love feeling your cock against my ass,” Violet purred. “Hmm, but am I jealous of the bikephobia? I think I’d put up with it because everything else sounded heavenly.”

Violet swayed back and forth, pulling John along with her in a half-dance. “Oh, a heads up, if you’re wanting to get into the Warden’s pants, you’re going to need to get a little more creative,” she advised. “Word has it that when a Warden loses her ‘V-card’ no matter what she or the guy does, she’ll be pregnant. And if that happens, you’re almost immediately married and in a monogamous relationship with that Warden.”

Shaking his head John let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not going after Moira,” he insisted.

A wry but amused expression appeared on Violet’s face. “John, I know you intimately, more intimately than anyone else in the world. I know the characters you’ve spent hours making backstories for only for them to appear in your stories for a moment. I know your most searched porn tags: redhead, MILF and curvy being the top three. I also saw the way you looked at a certain MILF this morning, and those were some ‘I wish I could have that for breakfast’ eyes if I had ever seen them,” Violet playfully argued. “Well, now with that information, your daydreams can be a little more accurate to real life. Imagining all the ways you could pop her cherry. Well, perhaps you can think of a way to take her other virginities if you know what I mean… I’m getting a little wet thinking too much about you taking the Warden to pound town.”

“Stop!” John yelped. “Please drop it…” He paused before deciding to move the topic on. “That wasn’t the only problem… I had a panic attack… and to make things worse, Survival Instinct kicked in. When I woke up, it didn’t seem like I’d caused too much damage before Lord Brighton… uh, got me under control.”

Memories of waking up flooded his mind and John paused, feeling his face heating up and a fluttery feeling in his chest and stomach.

Violet suddenly released him, but she quickly clasped her hands onto his face and stared intently into his eyes. “Something else happened, didn’t it? That’s the face you have when a particularly juicy idea comes to you when writing,” Violet accused.

“Uhm… I was in her lap… M-Moira’s, I mean. She was gently running her fingers through my hair as I slept. It, uh, it was just her way of comforting me after a panic attack, that’s all,” John clarified, getting a little defensive.

Violet wrapped her arms around him again, bringing one hand up to play with his hair. “Aw, that’s adorable. Doesn’t sound very professional or Warden-like of her though,” she noted. “Alright, what else happened?”

John massaged the nape of his neck. “Well, that pretty much sums everything up. As for the meeting itself, it seems that I might become a target for the people who made the dragon barrier due to my powers. The good news is that we’re aware of them, but the Order sounds positive that I’m not on their radar yet.”

“That definitely doesn’t sound good. I assume that’s all the important stuff? If not, let’s save the rest for when we’re with everyone; it’s better than having to repeat yourself a bunch of times,” Violet suggested. “So, are you planning to visit Alison next? Oh, actually, why didn’t you tell me she’s such a rebel? Hair dye AND tattoos? I did not expect that from our blushing beauty.”

“Wait, what?” John exclaimed, leaning back with a perplexed expression on his face as he gazed at Violet. “Alison doesn’t have tattoos?”

Violet nonchalantly shrugged. “I mean, she had a full sleeve on her left arm, at the very least.”

His confusion deepened and he tilted his head looking into the emerald and ruby eyes of the spirit. “She didn’t have any the other day when we were at June’s house,” he pointed out.

“Guess you’ll just have to ask her about it. Maybe she covers them up with makeup or something?” Violet reasoned.

Managing to untangle himself from the spirit, John entered the gym. The room was more messy than when he’d left earlier in the day but he didn’t say anything. Violet had obviously been testing out her abilities and the gym had suffered. He strolled over and took possession of the shield pendant. He felt comfort when it once again sat around his neck, and he turned to face Violet.

“I think it would be for the best if you hid inside your necklace. I should check on Alison like you said, and I’m genuinely curious about this tattoo thing. On top of that, if you spent time with her earlier, I can only assume she came to ask for advice about the book, and I’m eager to find out what she decided on.”

“Got it. Alison said she’d be in June’s room. Wednesday is basically a free day for her apparently, she only has one class in the morning and she sticks around to hang out in the art studio until… Vanessa is finished with classes.” A look of agitation crossed the spirit’s face as she mentioned the bully. Her entire body became mist-like as she was absorbed into the shield pendant. “I’m sure Alison will be delighted to see you, and I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on her choice.”

Exiting the old gym, John closed the doors behind him. “Uh, hey, Violet. Mind locking the door behind us?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, right!” she chirped. Suddenly, a translucent arm extended from John’s chest and passed through the door. After the sound of several locks engaging, the arm vanished once again.

Although he couldn’t feel anything physically, the sight of an arm jutting out from his chest was more than a little bit disconcerting. “Please, never do that again…. Ever,” he grumbled.

The main building’s corridor was still lively, albeit much less crowded compared to earlier on. It was a safe guess that most people had either headed to the dining area or moved to communal spaces to hang out. As he strolled through the hallway, John accessed Vanessa’s Observe to read as he walked.

Name: Vanessa Hawthorn

Title: Queen Bitch | Class: Ashcroft Cheer Captain | Guild: Hawthorne Corporation
Level: 6 | Age: 18 | Sex: F | Race: Human
Body type: Athletic | Height: 169 | Breast/Dick size: F-cup
Affection: 6 (-30) | Lust: 69 | Loyalty: 23
Sex Experience: C | Relationship Status: (Barely) Tolerates Frank Dickinson
Current Mood: Conflicted, Satisfied, Relieved, Intrigued
Current thoughts:
“I can’t believe I- we did that. Why was it so hot when he took charge? And then I almost came when we were caught. Then we fucked while three girls listened, oh my god, my knees were so weak. Fuuuck, I hope it happens again. Why have I become like this? Have all these things always been a turn-on? Or did John do something to me?”

Character Info:

Despite not being part of the Abyss, Vanessa is still more dangerous than her level might suggest due to her connections, silver tongue and cunning. All of these skills will benefit her as the heir to the Hawthorne Corporation.
Her mother taught her that men are beneath her and that they’re tools to be manipulated. The lessons she has learned have never failed her, but she has been wavering ever so slightly in that mentality.
Alison acts as an external conscience and the meek girl holds a lot of power over the way Vanessa acts. If Alison was absent in her life, you would find it shocking how much worse of a person Vanessa could be.

Opinion:

Knowing about your powers has not negatively affected her opinion of you. It is something she needs time to process, however. She also wonders how your powers could benefit her.
The excitement she feels being powerless and dominated by you still confuses her, but she gets turned on wondering what you might do next or how you might use her.
The girls in the bathroom were right, you are kinda hotter now for some reason.
You are still a loser nerd, though. If not for the sex, she wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with you.
Her otherwise slightly positive opinion of you is stained, however, by her unwavering hatred that Alison is infatuated with you. The fact that she has been fucking you deepens this loathing of you.

John halted abruptly as he collided with someone. “Watch where you’re going, idi-” a voice spat.

Once he steadied himself, the thought crossed his mind: ’Why do I always end up bumping into girls?’ he sighed, rubbing his shoulder awkwardly before looking at the person he’d walked into.

“Oh, John, it’s you.” Erin said, smiling, she extended her arms and interlaced her fingers behind his neck, forcing him into quite an intimate position. “What brings you to this side of the school? You weren’t stalking me, were you? If you were, I’m not sure if I should be worried or if I find your clinginess a little hot.”

Feeling flustered and slightly panicked, he stumbled over his words, “What? N-no, I’m not stalking you. I was just heading to the art studio. Uhm, June is out, so I always stop by to, uh… tidy up?” he lied.

“Uh-huh. Well, I might be a little disappointed that you weren’t looking for me,” she said thoughtfully, tilting her head and giving John an accusatory stare. “That is quite odd though. When did you start to ‘uh... tidy up’?” Her voice was playfully mocking his.

“I… uh… for a while? I’m not sure how long,” he replied, sensing the lie becoming increasingly unbelievable, even to himself. ’Why the fuck did I even lie about that?’ he chastised himself internally.

“Odd, I’ve never seen you around before. I usually spend most of Wednesday hanging out with Alison in the art room,” she teased, a realisation dawning on her face before breaking into a cheshire smile. “Wait a minute… You weren’t looking for me at all, were you? I did find it strange Alison decided she didn’t want to join us for lunch. Are your girlfriend, I AND Vanessa really not enough for you? Quite the Casanova for a nerd. Does Alison have any clue about your other… salacious partners?”

“W-what? A-Alison? She’s in the art studio? Really?” John stuttered out, but Erin’s expression clearly showed her disbelief and amusement more than anything else.

“John. Seriously, I don’t really care…. Actually, no, I do care but I’ll get to that. People call me a ‘slut’ for going after who and what I want, but I’m no hypocrite.” She paused as she looked at John, a pleading expression crossing her face. “Just… Don’t hurt her… please,” she said, pausing again. “I don’t know if you’re already aware, but she’s head over heels for you, and she’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met. So, again, does she know about your other girls? And what has happened between the two of you already?

Erin’s critical stare bore into him and he let out a defeated sigh. “Okay… yes, she knows about Ellie and I’ve told her that I’m in an open relationship. I haven’t told her about you and Vanessa though. As for what’s happened between Alison and me? We’ve talked about her feelings for me, we talked about my relationship. We even had a video call with Ellie to see how Alison might be able to join and how all that might work. The call was cut off mid-conversation, though, unfortunately. I was planning on speaking to her the next day, but that’s when she was sick…”

“Wait, did she pretend to be sick because of you?” Erin accused, searching John’s eyes for any sign of a lie.

John held his hands up in defence. “No, no. She was genuinely unwell. I’m sure she thought about it while she recovered though… Uh, you won’t tell Vanessa, will you?” he inquired.

A genuine smile spread across Erin’s face, a hint of amusement evident. “I could tease you, say you owe me for keeping this very juicy information to myself.” She paused. “Instead, I’ll help you, because Alison means a lot to me. First order of business, you stink; I know you had sex and I know exactly who it was. If I can smell Vanessa’s perfume, so can Alison. I haven’t decided how else I can help yet. I’ll drop you a text. You know, maybe I will say you owe me, eh, I doubt you’d refuse my ass if I gave you a booty call. But that’s not important now.”

Erin unhooked herself from John and dug into her bag, pulling out a travel-sized pack of flushable wipes. “Here, use these to clean yourself off, and don’t worry about giving me the pack back. Do you have a change of clothes? And deodorant?” she asked.

“Yeah, I should have all that. Thanks,” John muttered, accepting the offered wipes from Erin.

“Good. Make sure to freshen up before seeing Alison; it’s a smell hard to miss,” Erin advised him.

Erin drew close, softly murmuring into his ear, “Just so you’re aware, if you ever talk to me again in the future smelling like you’ve just come from an orgy, I might not be able to resist you.” She inhaled deeply and sighed. “It’s absolutely intoxicating and I’m getting excited just from the smell alone.” Erin purred, then cleared her throat and pulled herself back to arm's length.

“Anyway, I need you to tell Alison about us. I don’t want to be a secret, and I think you should keep your relationship transparent for her. Just let her know I suggested that you should tell her about us; she won’t be upset but I don’t want her to think I was keeping secrets,” Erin said.

Her expression suddenly dropped, becoming much more sombre. “Despite what I just said about transparency, under no circumstances should you tell Alison anything about your relationship with Vanessa,” Erin warned. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on with it, but I don’t think there is a way for you to explain it that wouldn’t cause Alison pain. I know her, I will be able to tell her without her relationship with Vanessa being ruined. In fact, I might already have an idea.”

Erin gently grasped John’s chin and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “I’m off. Don’t forget about me, and like I said, make yourself pretty for Alison. I hope to see you later, stud.”

Erin playfully giggled and winked at John, then twirled around him before walking away. John couldn’t tear his eyes away from her ass as it swayed back and forth. Once she was out of sight, John pulled a small spray bottle from his inventory, misting himself with the content.

Glad he’d taken a handful of Ellie’s Bath in a Bottle spray, he mused, ’These are great in a pinch, I should ask Ellie for some more.’ His clothing magically adjusted, and a delightful blend of lavender, citrus and a pleasant yet not quite familiar fragrance enveloped him.

“Why didn’t you tell me that I smelled?” John inquired, slightly annoyed.

Violet sighed, admitting, “Don’t be mad. It’s not like I noticed and then didn’t say anything on purpose. I wouldn’t want to hurt Alison and don’t want to jeopardise your relationship with her. It just didn’t register in my head that it was something I needed to bring up, I’m sorry.”

Still marginally annoyed, but accepting Violet’s genuine claim, John sighed. “It’s fine,” he muttered. He leaned against the wall to collect his thoughts, and once he’d regained his composure, he pushed off and began to walk towards June’s studio.

Approaching, he caught the unsettling sounds of a struggle, mingled with whimpers and cries. A loud crash rang out, and then John heard something that made his stomach sink. Alison’s strained and quiet, barely audible pleaded, “Help.” Her tone was panicked, as if uncertain whether she wanted to be heard or not.

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