Well, the world doesn't revolve around you...

You're at a bit of a loss as to what to do. They just... Kind of took off without you. Implicitly, to be without you. You're extremely confused as to what's going on, but what's the polite way of following up on this?

Probably not by creepily pacing the hall in which Taylor lives, but, well... That's kind of what you ended up doing anyway. You don't think anything demonic could be going on here, but, well... It kind of feels like it? Except you're pretty sure that succubae can't grant wishes, and Elizabeth seemed pretty sincere about the whole crawl-off-and-die thing, so... If it's demonic, you're at a bit of a loss about what the mechanism here could be.

After a good hour of wandering back towards the lounge and back towards Taylor's room, you're about ready to call it quits and go back to your own room to look up demon powers. After all, if anything horrible was happening, you were doubtless too late, and if it wasn't, you were just being a creep; just staying here was just... Well, you were worried, but you weren't doing anything useful with that worry.

Surprisingly, however, Taylor breaks that routine moments before you quit, opening her door and stepping back out - with you, fortunately, at the end of the hall so you feel a bit less of an obvious stalker. And... She's smoothing out her own clothes as she does so. Oh. As Elizabeth follows, it... Was suddenly kind of obvious why Taylor wouldn't have wanted you around.

Wasn't it? Taylor... She wasn't a slut, was she? You didn't really think so, but this was the first time she'd found a woman who met her standards, so it wasn't impossible? You don't really remember her ever arguing strongly about sexual morality, so... Well, maybe you just kind of assumed?

Now you're set with an entirely different set of worry and confusion, because this is uncharted territory for you; if Taylor was the kind of person to sleep with someone this readily, you didn't really have a problem with it. But if she wasn't, you'd feel terrible for thinking that she was, rather than recognizing that something was wrong. And you don't want to see demons lurking in every shadow, but if there is something wrong here, you want to protect Taylor! But you don't have even the first of clues as to how to have this kind of conversation - "Hey, are you under any mind-altering supernatural effects?" was... Okay, exactly the kind of question that should be asked these days, but not, like, something you actually did.

Your tailspin of confusion is alleviated when Taylor sees you standing there... And starts blushing a bit. That, you recognized. She may have been acting unusually before, but that was a reaction you were familiar with; of catching Taylor in the middle of something she was embarrassed about. Maybe this was a bit different than catching her listening to some terrible band just because she had a crush on the lead singer, but it was still distinctly her.

"Oh, um, Maya," She starts, stumbling a bit, "I, uh, I had thought you'd probably have gone back to your room?"

"We... Didn't really agree on when or where to meet up," You reply, looking to the side, "I haven't replaced my phone yet, and I didn't want to miss you. You left kind of suddenly."

The embarrassed look on her face is enough to tell you that whatever motivated her behavior... She knew exactly what it was, and didn't think it sinister. With that, you finally relax; Ashley's influence on you was pretty blatant, so it probably wasn't some kind of super-subtle demon power at play here. Taylor was just... A bit looser than you would have expected. Not that there was anything wrong with that, so long as she was happy and not making others uncomfortable.

"Yeah... Sorry..." Taylor said, taking a deep breath, "Watching Elizabeth make out with you was... Um, we didn't immediately leap to making out ourselves, but... It kind of put me in, um, a mood..."

...Watching?

"Iwaskindofthereabitlongerthanyouthought," Taylor blurted out, seeing the unspoken question on your face, "It... Wasn't, um, what it sounds like, I just... Didn't know if I should interrupt..."

Annnd now it's your own turn to blush. A lot. A part of you, the slut of an hour past, is thrilled that someone saw and enjoyed. The larger, saner part of you, is crushed with shame at someone you know having seen more of your disgraceful behavior.

"Again, I'm sorry," You say to her, looking at your shoes, "No matter my condition, I shouldn't have done that. Not with Elizabeth, and not in the lounge."

"No, that's..." Taylor says, before cutting herself off, "No, never mind, let's not turn this into a 'I fucked up worse' thing. Let's just agree to forgive the other's sins, and be better next time."

"Yeah," You reply, smiling at her, "You're letting me off easy again, but I'll always forgive you. No matter how much you exaggerate your sins."

"So..." You change topics, looking at Elizabeth before Taylor can argue, "You and Elizabeth, then?"

Taylor sighs at your childish dodge, before giving the two of you a smile.

"Yeah, me and Elizabeth," She replies, "It's too early to say whether we'll be serious, but... Well, she's cute, and a really good kisser. Jury's still out on her personality, but going on a single date won't kill me if she turns out to be a Nickelback fan or something."

"Besides..." She continues, getting more serious, "A piece of your soul depends on this, right? Elizabeth really does seem pretty decent, but even if she wasn't... I'd be a terrible friend if I put a date over your literal soul."

"She mentioned that?" You reply, wincing, "I'd have brought it up if you seemed ready to decline, but... I didn't want to put that kind of pressure on you before sounding you out."

"I asked her about being in Ms. Devlin's office," Taylor clarified, "But I was already leaning towards 'yes'."

"...How much did she tell you?" You ask, blushing again.

She and Elizabeth share A Look.

Darkness Incarnate. You don't really need to guess just what details were shared, do you.

"But in return, Taylor explained what was going on," Elizabeth spoke up for the first time, "Though, um... Don't take this the wrong way, but I think that might be a bad idea. Yeah, it kind of sucks what happened to Comparative Religion, but we get a free soul broker in exchange, right? That sounds like a good deal to me. Though, um, I won't... I won't interfere if you're, like, super committed to that. Just, throwing that out there."

...Though as soon as she spoke up, she spent more and more time talking towards the floor.

You're about to say something in return, when something important occurs to you.

"Hey, Elizabeth?" You ask, "Can I talk to Taylor in private for, say, five minutes?"

She nods at you as you tug Taylor a few steps away.

"She mentioned that she's planning on selling her soul, right?" You promptly ask her.

"Yeah, and I told her it was a stupid idea," Taylor responds, shaking her head, "Though I didn't choose to argue the point with her. We did just meet, after all. I figure I'll bring it up after our date tonight - mention that if we're going to date, she should speak to me before she makes any irreversible decisions."

You nod at her in agreement. It was a good stopgap that would give you some time to work on her. Or, well, Taylor, at least. Her girlfriend would probably be more persuasive than the third wheel.

"Sounds good to me," You say, "She doesn't seem likely cause any trouble, but... I just thought you should know, especially considering what we've planned with Ashley."

"Ashley?" Taylor asks in confusion.

"Oh, um, sorry. Ms. Devlin," You clarify.

"I didn't realize you were on a first-name basis now..." Taylor asks, eyebrow raised.

...Huh, that... Was kind of odd, now that she mentioned it. But it doesn't take much introspection to explain why.

"Well, after all the places my tongue have been..." You sigh, "It just feels wrong to call her Ms. Devlin, you know? Not because I like her or anything, but treating her as a professor just seems weird."

"Ah, gotcha," Taylor replies, nodding.

Discreet sidebar concluded, the two of you walk back to Elizabeth.

"Really," Elizabeth says, hands raised, "I'm, I'm just interested in having a good girlfriend. I'm not, like, a spy for Ms. Devlin. She may have set us up, but I - I'm not loyal to her. I just, I just... Think she's not the, the worst professor."

You open your mouth to reassure her - and then shut it again. Why had Ashley used her boon on this? Logically speaking, she should be trying to manipulate you somehow, right? She had given a little song and dance about being a responsible professor (as she saw it), but... She had plenty of cheap ways to accomplish that. Taylor hadn't exactly been off the market.

So, what was her angle here? Did Ashley want to ingratiate herself to you, by offering you one of your dearest wishes? That felt wrong, when she made no real attempt to suggest gratitude on your part. Maybe she wanted to distract you with their relationship, or make you feel jealous? That fit with how she tried to drive a wedge between you and Taylor, but... Also not quite right.

You narrow your eyes a tad; Elizabeth... Seemed pretty harmless. She actively tried to help you before you went all lust-beast on her, and she seemed like a timid little doe ever since. She didn't seem malicious in the least... But you'd known her for all of a morning, and she was the kind of woman willing to sell her soul. A spy was actually a pretty good theory, wasn't it?

...You're distracted from your thoughts when you notice that Taylor seems openly amused - and Elizabeth is actually starting to tremble under your studious glare. Maaaybe this isn't the right time for this "investigation" - neither of them could reasonably help you with it anyway. You'd just have to keep Elizabeth out of any plans you make, something you had planned on anyway - and for now, try and play this off like something halfway-intentional.

"Sorry, Elizabeth," You finally shake your head, "I just had to be sure. We're not planning on doing anything wrong - or at least, nothing worse than we were - but you know how easily Ashley can get into people's heads. A different student might have leapt to stupid ideas when hearing that we were going to get her fired, but I'll put my trust in you. Ashley must have thought you had a good head, and you seem like you honestly don't want to cause any trouble."

...Well, you hope that sounded halfway sensible.

Taylor looks like she wants to laugh, so she clearly knew you were just making something up - and Elizabeth looks a lot more relieved, so she probably took it at face value. Not a horrible result, you guess.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds to it, then?" You ask.

You were pretty sure you'd covered everything of importance, and you needed to work out another approach to deal with Ashley - not to mention actually do your coursework. Maybe you could ask Taylor for a bit of advice, but... Well, she had enough to worry about tonight without adding your problems to the mix.

But Elizabeth, surprisingly, takes a step towards the lounge with a sigh.

"I, I'd love to, but..." Elizabeth started, before trailing off.

"Linear Models, right?" Taylor said, sighing, "This is Friday, sadly. See you tonight, then?"

"Absolutely!" Elizabeth says, with surprising determination, "I'll get us a reservation at Luigi's, or... Or.... Or I'll break down in tears!"

Taylor just gives her a fond smile in response - yeah, you could see what she saw in her. She was adorable; you'd made a good decision when you fought to set them up. At least, as long as you could pry Elizabeth away from Ashley.

As the two of you walk into the lounge, though...

"Hey, um, Maya?" Elizabeth says, "If you ever fuck Taylor, I get it. You've known her for years, and I just met her today; you get precedence. Maybe... Maybe we could make it a threesome, even. No hard feelings on my part."

And with that, she starts powerwalking out of the dorm.

...The hell was that?