Veronica and her good friend John [main branch complete]

John's phone buzzed. And buzzed again. And again.

He picked it up to see a stream of messages from Veronica.

"Are home?" "I need to come over." "Tell me you're home... please be home."

As he started to reply, another messaged arrived. "I'm coming over right now."

He had known Veronica since they were kids. He had met her in elementary school when she moved in with foster parents in his neighborhood. He lent her his crayons her first day of school, and she had been one of his closest friends ever since.

They were both now in college. The fact that Veronica had grown up into a complete hottie had not escaped John's notice, but he had always done his best to keep these thoughts at bay, checking out her body at only tastefully-infrequent moments.

He replied, "yeah I'm home, come on over... what's up?"

No reply came, but she buzzed up to his apartment only a few minutes later.

An unexpected sight met him when he opened the door. Veronica was wearing sunglasses and a long jacket. She had headphones on, with music blasting loud enough that John could hear the thumping base clearly.

She pushed her way past him and closed the door behind her. Only then did she take off her glasses and headphones. Confused, John asked, "what the hell's going on, Veronica?"

Veronica caught her breath. She looked at him with panic in her eyes, "I think I have AGS."

Suddenly John understood her panic. He had been reading about Absolute Gullibility Syndrome online. The outcomes for victims were mostly very bad. They eventually would run into someone who would **** them in countless ways.

He tried to handle the situation as best he could, "okay, let's not panic. Come in."

She took off her jacket and walked into his kitchen. She had obviously left home quickly. He didn't want to admit that he noticed her nipples poking through her shirt, giving away her lack of a bra.

He brought himself back to the problem at hand and she explained the reason she was worried, "stuff online said that one of the first symptoms of AGS is unusual spending habits. Victims start to believe any sales pitch." She looked him, panic returning to her voice, "I spent more on my credit card this week than I did in the two months before."

He was starting to understand her concern but didn't want to believe it. He tried to rationalize, "that doesn't prove anything."

She looked at him seriously, "I came here because I knew I could trust you. Anybody else could," she paused, trying to bring herself to admit the possibilities, "do anything to me."

He was slowly starting to panic himself. He decided to test Veronica. He looked around and grabbed a plate. He held it up, "what color is this plate?"

She looked at him like he was stupid, "it's white."

He did his best to authoritatively assert, "no, it's blue."

She blinked and paused for a moment before replying, "oh right. Yeah... blue."

"Fuck," John muttered to himself as reality dawned on him. Veronica was looking at him calmly, apparently unbothered by the contradiction she had just accepted. John had **** but to deliver the news, "Veronica, you definitely have AGS. The plate is white."

"Oh no," she responded sadly and after a moment to think, "I've seen stuff on the news about what happens to people with AGS," a horrified look came over her face, "especially women."

John nodded. So had he. He pushed down intrusive thoughts.

She continued, "I was reading about it online. A lot of people said people with AGS should find a trusted relative or friend right away. That's why I came here."

John sighed, "I'm glad you did. I've been hearing about what's happening with AGS people too." There was a constant stream of stories about sufferers being used and abused in countless ways. The creativity of the world's masochists boggled the mind.

He thought about the various fates that could befall Veronica and addressed her firmly, "it's important that you stay here with me. Don't talk to anybody else. Don't answer your phone. Nothing."

She nodded, "thank you, John. I know I can trust you."

[What I'm writing in this branch is very much based on the premise of Tas's Veronica and her good, trusted friend branch from the AGS - Kidnapped and Enslaved story. I considered adding this as a branch there, but (spoiler) I didn't plan to really follow the "kidnapped and enslaved" prompt, so I figured readers there would be disappointed and moved back here.]