Yuki arrives.

You spend the little while chatting with your sister over breakfast. You spend very little time looking at her face as you do; you spend far more time eyeing her shapely breasts instead. Aside from the obviously different wardrobe and her occasional slightly flirty comments, it was just like any other morning spent discussing mutual plans and making idle banter.

Part of you wanted to just stay home and do this for a while. Even though nothing overtly sexual was happening, there was definitely something erotic and pleasurable about just holding a casual conversation with your sister while she was nearly naked and not at all embarrassed or making any effort to cover herself. You considered just calling your professor and telling him that you couldn’t make it on account of your hospital visit, but then your phone vibrated in your pocket, reminding you that you had already requested a ride.

“All right time for me to go then, sounds like Yuki is here.” You say, standing up with some degree of effort.

Victoria stood up as well, walking over to you and kissing you deeply on the lips. The act was surprising, but not unwelcome and you returned the kiss happily. You were already starting to get used to your new power.

After saying goodbye, you left the apartment and took the elevator down to the first floor. You wandered out into the parking lot where you spotted Yuki’s pride and joy: her solid black convertible with leather interior, a car she affectionately referred to as The Banshee. And sure enough there she was, sitting in the driver’s seat in her typical goth attire that she never grew out of like her parents thought she would. And of course, riding shotgun was her boyfriend, John.

Yuki Suzumi had been your friend since you were in elementary school. She had always been a tomboy and when she hit her teen years she was a rebel. She was half-Japanese, and her father had really high expectations of her, expectations that she often shattered on purpose just to spite him.

Yuki was the kind of person who believed that respect was something you earned, not something that should be given away to anyone. According to her, her father never earned any respect from her. She flunked every test and class in high school, except the ones she liked, but still managed to score higher on her SATs than even you. She was smart, but she wanted to use those smarts for herself and not for anyone else.

Knowing these things about her only served to perplex you further about her choice in boyfriend. John seemed like the kind of person Yuki would despise. He was in the high school football team, hated nerds, and didn’t really seem to treat Yuki with any degree of respect. Anytime you inquired about her strange choice in partner, Yuki would just shrug it off by saying “he’s a different person when nobody else is around.”

“Hey Will, hop in.” Yuki said as you approached the car. You got into the back seat and she stepped on the gas, pealing out of the apartment parking lot like it was about to explode.

“So, are you all right, man?” She inquired as she drove along.

“Yeah, I just have a few scrapes and bruises, nothing serious. My car looks like a metal hamburger though.”

“Oh shit, that sucks. You have to pay for it?”

You shake your head. “No, the guy who hit me felt bad about it so he paid for everything, even the hospital trip. Still have to wait for the car to get out of the shop though.”

“That sucks. I can give you a ride to classes if you need it.”

“Seriously?” John finally spoke up.

Yuki glared back and forth between him and the road. “Yeah, seriously.”

“Can’t he just take the bus?”

“Yeah, he can, John. I can also give him a ride. And I’m going to, because he’s my fucking friend and this is my fucking car.”

Even though you were behind him you could tell John rolled his eyes as he looked back out toward the road. The rest of the car ride was silent until you arrived on campus.

“All right I’m off to meet my friends.” John said as the three of you exited the car.

“Fine.” Yuki replied as he walked off, she looked peeved. As soon as he was out of earshot she grumbled. “Your next class isn’t for an hour and a half, don’t even bother walking your fucking girlfriend to her next class.” She slammed her car door and started walking toward your mutual next class.

“Everything okay Yuki?” You ask.

“It’s fine, we just had a fight this morning.”

“I honestly don’t know what you see in him.” If anyone else had said that she would probably have punched them in the nose. You were abusing your privilege as her best friend a bit here.

She sighed. “Sometimes I don’t either.” There was something in her voice that made you feel a bit uneasy, like maybe she really wanted to use the word “usually” instead of “sometimes”, and that she was more saying that to herself than you. Ordinarily this is as far as these kinds of conversations go with you two. You’re always far too worried about overstepping your bounds to dig any further. But now you could get away with doing it and know that she won’t be upset.

“How do you really feel about him? Be honest.”

“I fucking hate him. Every god damn second of being near him is a nightmare. We have nothing in common, and we fight more than we talk. He’s an asshole, not just to my friends but to me too.”

“Is that what your fight was about?”

“Kind of.” She sighs. “I’m cutting him off sexually until he improves his attitude. He likes me because he thinks I’m hot and exotic. He likes to show me off to his friends like I’m some sort of fucking trophy. ‘I tamed the half-asian goth chick hurr durr’.” She lowered the pitch of her voice mockingly to imitate him.

“Why do you stay with him then? It’s not like you to put up with someone like him.”

“I… I don’t know.” She says a bit hesitantly. You can tell she isn’t telling the truth, but you realized you didn’t specifically ask her to answer that question honestly. And if she’s this hell-bent on not saying it, you aren’t sure you want to know the reason.

“Okay, then answer me this honestly. Do you want to stay with him?” Truthfully, that was the more important question to you.

“No.” She said without hesitation just in time to arrive at your classroom. You both walked inside and began the lecture.