There was a soft knock at the door.

It was just after midnight, and Jessica had come to be with me again, as she put it.

“Come in.” I said.

The door opened and Jessica slipped in, closing it quietly behind her.

She was wearing a negligee, the exact shape and design as the black one she usually wore, except this one was red. I took in the thin weave that showed off her body and matching panties, the short hem that drew the eye to her long and sexy legs, and of course the dark red bust that gave her the most magnificent cleavage. I knew before I looked that she’d painted her toenails to match.

I looked back at my laptop screen, ignoring her for now. I’d gotten a taste of this last week. Just making her wait was so appealing to me. This was a girl that on many occasions had called me a “retard” for slurring my words or stuttering the slightest amount, following with the phrase “Don’t waste my time.” We were kids then, but it was stupid little things like this that still stuck with me.

Now I could waste her time all I wanted.

Before she’d arrived, I’d been surfing aimlessly on the internet for a few hours going from link to link, reading about basically anything I found interesting. I did this a lot, and ended up learning about a pretty wide variety of useless crap. The internet was a big place. A lot of opportunities to waste time.

“Hi.” she said softly.

“Get on your knees and shut up.” I said calmly, without looking.

She did as I asked, and I continued to click and read for a while. But I couldn’t really concentrate when she was there.

Last week had been disturbing for me. At first it was my own rage that I obsessed over, the absolute cruelty I’d unleashed on Jessica’s body. She told me later, when Rose wasn’t around, that the bruises still hadn’t healed by Wednesday. But it was her telling me this that helped me get over it. She didn’t whimper it out, afraid. She didn’t hiss it at me, angry. Her tone was one of pure excitement, and almost pride.

It became clear to me that she could take so much more punishment than I’d thought.

No, what disturbed me here was how I’d spoken to her. I’d cuddled her, let her sleep with me, called her “sweetheart” for God’s sake. This wasn’t the relationship I wanted. I’d rationalised over and over that we could have both the cruelty and the kindness, but I felt we definitely needed more of the former.

All week she’d been looking at me. Subtly watching me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention to her. I’d been sitting with her and Rose, and getting to know their friends some more had been… not horrible, anyway. But since she’d admitted to being “mine”, I felt her eyes on me far too much. Every time I looked at her I’d see her glance quickly away with some stupid, love-struck little smile on her face. It was unacceptable, despite the charge it gave me.

In our conversations with Rose nothing had changed, but it really felt like we were getting too close. I finally had a grip on our relationship. She claimed to be in love with me, but I didn’t have to let that mean anything. She accepted that she belonged to me, and that was how I wanted things to continue. I owned her.

So I made her wait.

And wait.

I wanted so badly to look at her, and I knew she’d just be watching me, so I made her wait a little longer.

The tension was ridiculous. After a little over half an hour, I slowly closed my laptop.

I let out a long sigh and finally looked at her.

She was still kneeling, eyes locked onto mine. Last week I’d criticised her posture, but now she was sitting upright, back perfectly straight, and hands folded on her lap. She was such a fast learner.

“Come here.” I said.

Without breaking her gaze, she leaned forward and slowly crawled over to the side of the bed.

“Up.” I said, pointing to my legs.

I pulled the covers off as she silently climbed up. She stared at me, eyes wide as she waited for my next instruction. She glanced at my crotch a few times and her hands clenched into fists. She was anxious. She was so open with her emotions sometimes, her hope and anticipation obvious on her face. She was practically begging without even speaking.

“Suck me.” I said harshly.

She let out an excited squeak and quickly obeyed, sliding her fingers under my waistband and yanking down my underwear. Within seconds she was holding my soft cock in her trembling fingers and licking slowly along my shaft.

I leaned back against my headboard and put my arms behind my head, staring across the room and out my window at the night sky. It was December, and Christmas was only a few weeks away. The weather had been threatening snow, but so far it had been clear.

I was trying to set up an atmosphere between Jessica and I. I ignored her, then only used short commands to order her, and now I wasn’t even looking at her while she went down on me. I wanted to seem more detached than before, after everything last week. I wanted to make some more distance between us.

I could see the bright green of her eyes staring up at me, but I refused to look down. Instead, I leaned back and closed my eyes, focusing on the pleasure she was giving me.

She’d started the same as always, soft kisses and licks along the shaft and head to get me hard, which didn’t take long, before sucking me into her mouth. She was using hard, strong licks against the head which felt amazing, and soon she was sucking in her cheeks to give that intense pressure that I loved. Usually I would start breathing heavier, or sighing, but I resisted making any noise.

She kept sucking me in deeper and deeper each time until I was completely inside her tight throat, my balls pressed against her chin. She held it there for a few seconds before pulling back up and licking around the head again.

She kept this up for around five minutes without me making a single sound, strong licks against the head broken up by slowly deep-throating me. I could feel her determination to get a reaction out of me. She held my cock in her throat for a little longer each time, and her licks got more insistent and varied.

She was really getting good at this. Well, that was an understatement. She was good before, and due to my lack of experience every new blowjob from her automatically became the best one ever as she learned how to better use her tongue and throat to please me. But I kept control of myself, not wanting to let her know the extent of the pleasure she was giving me.

After a few minutes more I heard, and felt, her moan slightly in the back of her throat. She inhaled my cock again, and this time just held it there. After maybe 30 seconds I thought she would pull up, but she didn’t. She just stayed there, not breathing, my thick shaft pushed into her pulsing throat.

A few seconds later she quickly slid off my cock and started panting heavily. She barely waited at all before sucking in a large breath and taking me into her mouth again. I couldn’t help a small sigh at the sensation of being taken to the base so quickly and enthusiastically. And again, she held it. The seconds ticked on and on, far past the point I thought she’d have to come up for air.

Her eyes were closed, her expression a picture of concentration, but her face was bright red. She was practically choking herself on my cock.

Her eyes suddenly shot open and her head jerked upwards. She inhaled deeply and started coughing, probably choking on her own saliva. She never let go of my cock, even as she turned her head and continued to cough violently. There were tears in her eyes, but ones of discomfort, not emotion.

After she seemed to get her breath back, she looked at me.

“Sorry.” she croaked, “I-“

I interrupted her with a light slap to her face. She seemed stunned at the sudden pain.

“Did I give you permission to speak?” I asked quietly.

She shook her head, eyes wide open in shock, her hand lifting to her face.

I’d actually been practising my slaps, as odd as that sounds. By hitting my own legs and arms, I’d figured out the right amount of force I had to use to sting without seriously hurting, or even bruising. I didn’t put much weight into it, instead using mostly my fingers. It stung like hell, but it the mark faded quickly. I’d had to test that on my own face to know for sure, and I’d felt pretty stupid doing it.

I wasn’t trying to cause her serious pain. It was like biting her lip, or pulling her hair. It was just meant to shock her, and humiliate her. I’d learned the previous week how powerful real pain was, how deeply it affected her.

And now I had the belt for that.

The silence had stretched between us. It was a few seconds before I realised that she was waiting for another command, or a punishment.

“Back to work.” I said, leaning back. “And try not to choke on it this time.” I added, condescendingly.

I closed my eyes and she started again. She moved slower this time and soon figured out a good pattern. Rather than just holding my cock in her throat she swallowed it over and over, going from tip to base and back in one continuous motion. She soon sped up and I let out a satisfied moan. She moaned excitedly in response, and moved even faster.

I’d held off as long as I could, and I knew I wouldn’t last much longer. I grabbed her chin and pulled her head up so that just the head of my cock was left in her mouth. She didn’t stop her insistent licking until I sighed at my release. I pushed my head back into my pillows, and thrust my hips forward as I came. She gripped my shaft with both hands as I filled her mouth with cum which she gratefully swallowed, purring with pleasure as she did.

My dick began to soften but her tongue kept moving. Soon I was rock hard again, and only then did she stop. I opened my eyes to look at her. She was kneeling, back straight, staring at me. Waiting.

I slowly sat up, then got to my knees in front of her. Our bodies were almost touching, and I could feel her breath on my shoulder. She looked up at me, her beautiful emerald eyes shining.

“Strip and get on your back.” I said roughly.

She reacted so quickly it was almost funny, desperately struggling out of her thin negligee and throwing it to the floor. She lunged forward and span onto her back, thrusting her hips out and slipping out of her damp panties.

She lay in the centre of the bed, completely naked, her legs spread and her pussy soaked. I caught the scent of her arousal and felt my cock twitch in response. She ran her hand down her stomach and eagerly pushed her hips forward, desperate for contact but not daring to touch herself. I leaned over her and my hands found their familiar positions, my right brushing up through her hair and my left resting gently around her throat.

I held her like this for just a few seconds, enjoying the anticipation in her eyes. I reached down and grabbed my cock, pressing it against her wet pussy. Normally I made her beg for this, but I didn’t have time to wait. Every time we did this I wanted her more. I pushed into her hard, quickly filling her inrecdibly tight pussy with half of my shaft.

“Yesss…” she groaned out in pleasure.

I had to struggle not to join her with a moan of my own. As I slowly filled her she started demonstrating the results of her “exercises”, the muscles of her hot pussy gripping and squeezing along my cock. I sighed with pleasure and slowly fucked her, my hips finding a comfortable rhythm.

She let out a small moan each time I filled her, and I found myself wanting to move faster just to hear it. I revelled in the mixture of pleasure and pain she expressed as I twisted her hair in my hand. I loved seeing her like this, so different from her normal self. Her eyes were closed and she was biting her lip hard. I could tell she was already close to orgasm, after only a few minutes.

I wanted to see her cum, but I wanted to tease her even more. I increased my speed and her whole body tensed, desperately seeking the approaching release. She let out a loud moan, and I knew she was right on the edge. I slowly slid out of her, letting my cock fall against her stomach. I leaned forward and pressed it between us.

“No, don’t stop! Please, please don’t stop…” she whined, pushing upwards with her hips.

I pulled her hair and tightened my grip around her throat, silencing her.

“You were going to cum, weren’t you?” I asked, struggling to keep my breathing steady.

She nodded against my grip, eyes softening.

“What do you need…before you can cum?” I asked.

She hesitated before finding the answer.

“Permission.” she replied quickly, her voice soft and fearful.

“Permission from who?”

“From…from you.”

I pulled my hips back and let my cock rest against her pussy. She moaned and pushed her hips forward again, trying to get some friction. I smiled at her desperation.

“Why do you need my permission?” I asked lightly, as if confused.

With my other hand I gently tapped the head of my cock against her soaking wet pussy lips. Her whole body jumped in response, and she moaned again.

“Because…because you own me.” she almost whispered, looking away from me in shame.

I pulled her hair harder, trying to guide her eyes back to mine.

“What was that?” I asked.

She stared into my eyes, utterly vulnerable.

“You own me.” she said again.

I smiled and slowly slid my cock into her tight tunnel, not stopping until I bottomed out. She gasped and pushed her hips against me, squirming with pleasure. Every instinct screamed at me to keep moving, to take my pleasure from her body, but I had to control myself.

“Jessica, do you want to cum?” I asked.

“Please…” she gasped, “Please make me cum.”

“Please what, Jessica?”

“Please…” she moaned, looking away.

I lightly slapped her face to get her attention.

“Please what?” I asked again.

She looked up at me, eyes so wide and threatening tears, but didn’t speak.

“What’s wrong Jessica? You seemed to enjoy calling me it last week. You know what you have to say.” I said softly. I kissed her once on the cheek, letting my lips linger for a second.

She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes again.

“Please…Sir.” she whispered.

“Louder.” I said.

“Please, Sir!” she panted.

I quickly pulled my hips back, then slowly forward as I fucked her once with my entire length. She let out a frustrated wail when I stopped and leaned closer, putting my lips to her ear.

“Please, Sir…what?” I growled.

I knew by now how her mind worked with things like this. Once she’d submitted, it seemed she would say almost anything I prompted her too, but when we started again it was more difficult to convince her to repeat it. I could see it all in her face. Her stubbornness, and her shame. She was torn between the pleasure she got from submission, and her pride telling her she shouldn’t.

But as always, the pleasure won out. I smiled as I saw the resignation in her expression. This is what made this whole thing work, I thought. This is why I was able to make her mine. The depth of her submission and her capacity for pleasure meant that I’d always be able to make her submit if I dominated her properly.

“Please can I cum…Sir?” she begged, “Please make me cum, Sir. Please make…make your slut cum with your big cock.”

Just at her words I felt hot pleasure rolling through my body, causing my cock to twitch inside her. I took her bottom lip between my teeth and bit down hard as I slid out of her. I kissed her deeply and gripped her throat tight as I thrust back in. She moaned her pleasure into my mouth as I pounded her in a frantic rhythm, my hips slamming into hers as I filled her dripping pussy.

Her moans grew frantic as she tried to hold back the pleasure. I broke the kiss and put my lips to her ear.

“Cum for me, slut.” I hissed.

Immediately I felt her body stiffen beneath me as her orgasm began. She screamed into my ear as her body shook uncontrollably. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gripped tight as I continued my assault, not slowing down for a second despite how fiercely her pussy was gripping my cock.

“Oh God!” she wailed, “Oh God! Sir!”

She started to move against me, matching my rhythm with her own. At first she twisted her hips which created an amazing circular pressure, but as another orgasm approached she threw her head back and began mindlessly pumping against me, eager to increase her pleasure. She stared into my eyes as she came again, and I heard myself grunt with lust. She looked so incredible when she came, her beautiful, refined features twisted into pure pleasure. I felt my self-control slipping as my lust for her overwhelmed me, and I knew there would be no more stopping or teasing until I got myself off.

I closed my eyes and lost myself in the sensation of taking her. The softness and heat of her body, her shaking voice as the pleasure of her orgasm dragged on, her fingernails scratching lightly against my back. Her pussy was so wet that I could feel the liquid sliding down the base of my cock and coating my balls.

Again, I kept thrusting and thrusting until my lungs began to burn and my hips felt weak. I knew I could hold my pleasure back for longer, but I’d already exhausted my body. I kept going for as long as I could before my pace started to falter. I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip. She seemed to sense my determination to finish, and she wrapped her legs around my hips as I sank myself into her and joined in with her third orgasm, the strength of my own forcing the breath from me.

I kept thrusting as I came, slowing until I slid out of her. She whimpered as my softening cock left her. Her legs were still shaking and her eyes were closed, and I could tell by the way her hips were lightly thrusting that the pleasure of her orgasm hadn’t yet left her. I leaned in and touched my lips to hers, and immediately she opened her mouth and slipped her tongue into mine. We kissed slowly, our tongues moving together in an easy rhythm.

I pulled away and rolled to the side, focusing on getting my breath back. She rolled over on to me and wrapped her arms around me.

I was so tired suddenly, and lying with her was so relaxing. Her body lost all tension, and her heavy breathing tickled my chest.

“Am I good?” she whispered in my ear.

“What?” I asked.

“Am I a…a good girl?” she asked.

I smiled. I loved how deeply it all affected her. I hadn’t even done much to her tonight, besides teasing her, but she could still ask a question as humiliating as this and really mean it.

I kissed the top of her head.

“You were a good girl for me tonight.” I said.

She smiled and then laughed gently, embarrassed.

“Good.” she said.

The energy was leaving my body, and I felt my eyelids begin to close. I didn’t want her sleeping here again. Not tonight, anyway.

“Time to go, sweetheart.” I said quietly.

I felt a flash of anger at myself for letting that word slip out again. “Sweetheart”. It sounded far too intimate, despite how natural it felt.

“Can’t I stay?” Jessica asked.

I looked at her, preparing to maintain the distance between us. She just looked to desperate, so full of fear and hope. I smirked, eager to see the pain in her eyes when I told her to leave but suddenly a memory came to me, the same that had haunted me all week.
The morning after I lost my temper with her. Her naked, kneeling, completely open before me and saying,

“I couldn’t stop crying.”

She hadn’t held a trace of blame or anger against me. Just guilt and a forced laugh at her own weakness.

I sighed.

I wanted to hurt her, but that just felt wrong on a level I didn’t understand. Again I was forced to think about my confusing feelings for her. I wanted to hurt her, to see her in pain. But I wanted to hold her, too. To comfort her.

Whatever I felt, I knew I didn’t want a repeat of last week.

“Just for a while.” I said.

The sudden relief and joy on her face was incredible.

“Thanks.” she said.

She lightly kissed my cheek a few times before resting her head on my shoulder and nuzzling against me.

“Don’t fall asleep.” I said.

I felt her nod, and then yawn widely. She let out a contented little moan and relaxed against me. For a while we were just quiet together. She tangled her fingers loosely in the hair on the back of my head and stroked it gently.

“Uh…Sir?” she asked quietly, breaking the silence.

I really loved it when she used it as a name.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Can I…can we talk?” she asked reproachfully.

“About what?”

She sighed and wriggled around, getting more comfortable on top of me.

“I want to tell Rose about us.” she asked, her voice even more quiet.

I felt my body tense up in surprise. I should have seen this coming.

“Why?” I asked her.

“She’s my best friend.” Jessica said, as if it was obvious.

She was still waiting for a real reaction from me. I wanted her to take my silence as a sign to continue, and she did.

“I don’t care about anyone else knowing or not knowing, but Rose…I just think we should tell her. I’ve never had a secret like this before…I don’t like keeping things from her.” she said.

I didn’t want my sister to know about this, for a lot of reasons. I didn’t know how she would react at all, and I was worried what she would think if she knew the…exact nature of our relationship. I’d tried to be Ok with the situation, telling myself over and over that as long as we both wanted this, and I controlled myself, that there was nothing wrong with what we were doing. But there was still a part of me that was ashamed of what I did with Jessica.

“No.” I said simply, “This stays between us for now.”

She hesitated, but then nodded.

“Ok.” she said sullenly.

“Ok?” I asked.

“I mean…yes Sir.” she said.

“Good.”

I reached up and started to stroke her hair, and she kissed me on the neck. She obviously wasn’t satisfied with this answer, but it had been difficult for her to even bring this up. She wasn’t going to push the issue, now that I’d given my answer. Not tonight, anyway.

We lay there for a long stretch of silence before I felt her shaking her head and tensing her body, trying to fend off sleep. I wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer either.

“Time to go.” I said.

She sighed, but nodded before sliding out of the bed. I watched her as she picked up her negligee and panties. She faced away from me, bending almost entirely at the waist to reach the floor. My aching cock tried to stiffen again when I saw her like that, her round, firm ass and flushed red pussy that was wet with my cum and her own pleasure. I was struck with an image of bending her naked over a table and plowing into her from behind, one hand holding her arms behind her back and the other yanking on her hair.

She looked back at me from that position, and smiled when she caught me staring.

“Goodnight Sir.” she said seductively as she straightened up and walked away, her hips swaying.

It was strangely embarrassing to he caught gawking at her like that, but not enough to stop my eyes from being glued to her ass. She left, closing the door behind her without turning.

I sighed and shook my head, wondering how I’d ever had the self-control to send her away from me after she’d humped my bare cock and begged for more. Wasn’t the stereotype supposed to be that men got tired of having sex with the same woman over and over? Yet I found myself more aroused by her every time we were together. My cock was almost fully hard again, and sleep didn’t come easily.

==

The following Monday, school had a pretty relaxed atmosphere. Winter break was only a few weeks away. We had exams near the end of January, but it was too close to Christmas for people care about anything after it.

At lunch I sat at my new table before Rose and Jessica got there. I was greeted enthusiastically by Derek, and got a nod from Frank. The conversation between the three of us had never flowed perfectly well, seeing as Frank and I both tended to stay pretty quiet, but Derek was willing to do enough talking for all of us.

I more than once found myself amazed at Derek’s energy. He was always so animated, so talkative and friendly. I hadn’t yet heard him say a negative thing about anyone. I hadn’t seen so much as a frown on him.

He and Frank made an interesting pair, seeming like total opposites to an outside observer. Derek wasn’t exactly short, but Frank towered over almost everyone; and Derek wasn’t crazily skinny, but seemed almost anorexic compared to Frank’s muscular bulk. Even their attitudes, Frank calm and stoic, Derek outgoing and excitable. But they actually had pretty similar tastes, and the same sense of humour.

Soon Becky and Rose joined us, but not Jessica. This was hard not to notice, as she and Rose were always together outside of class. Lissie and Frank occasionally skipped days, Lissie for cheerleading practice and Frank for working out at the school gym, but Jessica had always been there in the short time I’d been joining them.

“Jessica’s doing editor stuff today.” Rose explained as she sat down.

No one had asked so I assumed it was for my benefit.

“Editor stuff?” I asked.

“Well, Editor-in-Chief stuff, technically.” said Becky absent-mindedly.

I just raised an eyebrow, but she wasn’t looking at me.

“She’s runs the school newspaper.” Rose explained, “I thought you knew that.”

I shrugged.

“I didn’t know we had a newspaper.” I said.

Rose smirked, and Derek laughed.

“Well, it’s mostly online now.” Rose said, “More of a news blog, I guess.”

“I think they still print stuff, though.” said Becky, “You know, like, to keep the title they have to actually print something, even if no-one reads it.”

This was all news to me.

The conversation moved on. I’d learned a crazy amount about my classmates in the last week. A whole world of relationships and emotion, intrigue and gossip that had been hidden from me. Most of it didn’t grab my attention but it was an interesting experience, putting names to faces and recognising relationships…sometimes it felt like I was exploring come unknown culture that had been hidden in plain sight all along, the world and people around me finally taking on some distinct shape beyond the general sense of “Me” and “Everyone else”.

The conversation was becoming easier and easier for me, and I was getting more comfortable around my sister’s friends.

==

It was after lunch, and I was at my locker when I got the first sign of trouble. I felt a presence behind me, and turned to look up at the face of the last person I wanted to see.

Mike. Jessica’s ex.

He stood almost half a foot taller than me, and was looking down at me with a vague, non-threatening smile.

“Hey.” he said.

“Uh…what’s up?” I replied nervously.

His height and bulk unnerved me. I was suddenly aware that a guy this size could probably rip me apart if he wanted to. It was weird, he was of a similar size to Frank, but being around Frank felt nothing like this. I turned away from him to gathering my books, but he didn’t move on. I closed my locker and turned again. He seemed too close to me, but there was plenty of room between us.

“Where you headed?” he asked lightly.

I had Math next, a class that I suddenly realised I shared with him. He sat in the same row as me, at the very back, all be it in opposite corners. How had I forgotten that until now?

“Uh…” I started.

“Let’s take a little walk.” he interrupted, putting his hand on my shoulder and guiding me to the right.

I ended up just walking silently beside him, mindlessly following him as he moved through the corridors. What the fuck was I doing?

We eventually headed outside of the building, and then sharply to the left. There were still a few other students milling about, knowing that most teachers wouldn’t care if they were only a few minutes late after the bell.

I shuffled alongside him until we ended up behind the cafeteria. The place was pretty much deserted, home only to the garbage cans.

“So.” he suddenly said, turning to face me. “Who are you?”

“Uh…I’m Rose’s brother.” I said, blurting out the first thing I could think of.

He laughed at my obvious discomfort.

“Ha ha, Ok then.” he said, “Ok, ‘Rose’s Brother’, I think you and I need to have a little talk.”

He wasn’t violent or aggressive at all but I could feel the menace in him, somehow. He barely invaded my personal space, maybe just enough to let me know that he could. He smiled when he spoke, but there was something behind it. Something dark behind that laugh.

This was obviously about Jessica.

“This is about Jessica.” he said.

Well, that hardly took a genius.

“Ok?” I said, raising my eyebrow as if in confusion.

There was no possible way he could know about the two of us, I told myself. He saw me sitting with them and…maybe just assumed?

“Look, ‘Rose’s Brother’, I don’t know who you are.” he said.

He seemed to like calling me that. He smiled when he said it, as if it was great joke.

“But there’s something you should know. Jessica is my girl. We’re going through…” he paused, sweeping his seemingly giant hand through his short blond hair, “Well, a bit of a rough patch right now. But she’s mine.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I hated myself, but right then I was terrified. My heart was beginning to pound and I felt rooted to the spot. Why had I followed him here? I felt sick.

“And I don’t know who you are”, he repeated, “But I don’t like the way you look at her.”

This made me wrinkle my brow in genuine confusion this time. How I look at her?

“Look, man, there’s nothing going on between me and Jessica, Ok?” I said. I kept my tone light, hiding my nervousness, “I mean, we can seriously barely stand each other. I’m only at that table because Rose wants to…I don’t, get closer I guess. We don’t talk much anymore, you know? And-“

“Yeah, Ok.” he said, cutting me off. “I don’t really give a shit about your life story. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to stop sitting with Jessica and the rest of that little…pretty people club.” he said, with a touch of venom in his voice.

“I…I really don’t care about Jessica.” I protested.

Part of me felt cowardly for lying like that, but I’d wanted to keep us a secret anyway.

He raised his lip in a little snarl of anger.

“You’re not listening, kid.” he said, his voice getting tense. “I don’t care. All this didn’t start until you started sniffing around her, and I don’t like…whatever you’ve been saying to her about me. She used to be so sweet to me…”

I’d heard him say that before. But he was wrong, she’d dumped him weeks before I started sitting with them. Or maybe he just meant her attitude towards him? I didn’t know.

“So are we on the same page, little guy?” he asked.

I just nodded, hoping to hell he wouldn’t suddenly get violent.

“I…I guess?” I said.

“Great.” he said, flashing me a smile. “See you around, ‘Rose’s brother’.”

He slammed his giant hand down onto my shoulder in an exaggerated and overly aggressive pat before he walked away, turning the corner of the building and leaving me alone.

I took a few seconds to get my breath back and push what just happened out of my head. I made my way to class, panicking slightly the whole way. I slipped in, and the room stared up at me, causing my heart to beat even faster. I’d never been comfortable around large groups of people, and having the attention of the whole class on me was terrifying.

I turned to Ms Kallis and mumbled something about the bathroom before hurrying to my chair. Ms Kallis just nodded, but her pretty Asian features were held in a worried expression. I guess I looked about as freaked out as I felt. I glanced over the the far right corner of the room. Mike wasn’t in his seat.

I sank into my place and tried to focus on completing the exercises marked out on the board.

What the fuck just happened?

I sat slumped down in my chair, running my mind over and over my conversation with Mike. Why did he think I was a threat to him and Jessica? She dumped him for Christ’s sake, and yeah, she did that for me but he had absolutely no way of knowing that.

I kept thinking about that pat on the shoulder. He was so strong. Just at the thought of him standing over me with his cold blue eyes I felt the fear twist itself up in my stomach again. What the fuck did I do now?

---