Wait for Vanessa

I fix up my outfit as I get off of Regina. Sure, that kiss was electric and my heart was pounding a mile a minute, but it just felt different. It felt off. Maybe because it was my first kiss after however many years it's been since I kissed my previous boyfriend, or maybe that it was my first time kissing a girl. Whatever it was, I wasn't quite ready for it. It was all too overwhelming right now. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself.

"It's not you, Regina," I said to her, too red in the face to look at her directly. "I promise. I just am not ready for something with a girl yet."

Regina blinked a bit then nodded. "I understand." She wasn't hurt or upset by my sudden shift in attitude. In fact, she seemed like she expected it. She turned in the direction of Vanessa's room. "You going to try anything with her?"

"What? Yes. Wait, no! I don't... UGH!" I groaned again and looking at the magical ring. I didn't want to do anything to Vanessa, but there was also something deep within me that really wanted to do something to her. Something with her. I mean, fuck, it would be incredibly hot, but I just couldn't bring myself anything like that.

"You could always use her as a test subject," Regina casually said. I stared at Regina dumbfounded that she would suggest something like that. "Look, using the ring is like using a muscle or a language. You might be able to do some small stuff here and there, but if you try anything too big without having trained, you could do some irreversible damage."

I looked down at the ring and stared, feeling the full weight of what the ring could do. "I just have to think about the changes and they're done?" My mind began to think about all the horrible situations that just a passing thought could cause. I quickly shook them out of my head of fear that the ring might actually make some of them happen. "It's okay, I just have to learn to control this power, right?"

"Yeah, it'll take time, but you'll figure it out," Regina said. "Look Ringmaster, it's your first night with the ring. Just don't think any kind of changes too massive or complicated. You're clearly restraining yourself to be more in control." She gently patted me on the back. "You'll be fine."

I smiled back at her. "Thanks Regina. So, what exactly are you? Like, are you a spirit trapped in the ring? Are you a mystical being just bound to the ring so that you only came into existence when I put the ring on?"

"Oh," Regina said, "Well, I'm-"

"WELL FUCK YOU TOO THEN!"

Regina and I immediately turned our heads towards Vanessa's room. She came out of her room, disheveled with a cotton-tee casually thrown on, tears streaming down her face. She ran into the kitchen, where we heard her sobbing. I looked back to Regina, who gestured for me to go to her.

Nervously, I gulped and headed into the kitchen. I heard Regina's chains behind me, so I knew she was watching me. "Vanessa? You alright?" She had her head between her knees, sitting down on the floor, sobbing. "What happened?"

"K-Keith broke up with me," she cried. I nervously looked at the ring, then to Regina. However, she shook her head no, that I hadn't caused this. "I don't understand what I did wrong. I thought I was good enough, that I was doing everything I should have."