Back at the Start (02)

Theodore seems to relax for a moment at your words, but then he freezes again, looking past you. Axel sees it, too, and starts to stand up to do something, but before he can...

Your head is covered by something thick and goopy. Spaghetti sauce. It burns your eyes a little as it drips down.

"Oh no!" Melony Printsy says to a chorus of laughter from several football players who've come to stand by her like lackeys. "I tripped."

You are covered in watery red spaghetti sauce and noodles now. She dumped a whole tray on you!What do you do?

The smell of watery tomatoes surrounds me before I realize what happened. It's cold, dripping down my face, the back of my neck, soaking into the collar of my dress and my hair, noodles wrapping into my curls in a way that I can already tell means they're not going to fall out easily.

I swipe sauce away from my eyes, turning to see Melony and those frelling football guys with her, my mouth opening in shock for a second, then closing when watery tomato sauce creeps between my lips. I swipe my arm across my face, smearing the sauce away then stand up, facing Melony with a feeling of hot embarrassment and cold rage colliding in my chest.

"You hazmot!" I yell at her, breathing heavily. A clump of noodles falls from my head to my shoulder to the floor in an inglorious heap. I'm tempted to hit her, but what happened with Teddy earlier stays my hand. This would only be a bigger audience for an attack, a reputation I'm not sure I want to build. My jaw clenches and I take a slow breath.

"I guess it's not your fault you're an absolute klutz," I say tightly. "But do the world a favor and stay away from high heels in the future. They're not doing anything to hide those cankles anyway." I turn to Axel like this whole thing is already put to bed, no big deal, I'm over it, above it, past it, whatever. "Do you mind taking care of my tray? I'm going to take a shower."

You deliver a withering remark to Melony as she feigns shock and apology and it should land. But you realize too late that Axel has stood up and got into the face of Teddy and some other hulk on the football squad. Cooper is the one who throws a punch at Lawrence the wide receiver. Outnumbered and out-muscled, your friends throw down with no hope of actually winning this fight. Six jocks start wailing on Axel and Cooper.

Theodore hesitates for a moment, but then he decides to pull Lawrence off of Cooper while the big wide receiver slams his fist over and over against Coop's handsome face. Another guy tackles Theodore and you hear teachers shouting as they finally realize what's going on.

What do you do?

Dren! I turn and see more chaos, more hurt, bloody noses and bruised eyes. Dren! It's all happening so fast and maybe...maybe I should've been more worried about the football team turning on me after what happened. I didn't think they'd attack anybody I'm even around though!

There are so many of them, it's an absolutely impossible fight, but I can't do nothing. I grab the nearest football player I can, yanking my face close to his, trying to hold his eye as I speak an incantation in ancient Greek under my breath.

You grab Lawrence Lewis by the arm and mutter your spell. You feel the magic surge from your core down your arm through your hand into him. He snaps back from the completion of the hex and falls back into a chair with awe on his face and dripping blood on his hands.

Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Fitch pull some of the football jocks off your friends and there's screaming as the fight is broken up. Even Officer Hill finally ambles up with his tazer to tell the boys to "stand down" (because Campus Security Officer was in the Guard once, so he talks military-like, you know). Things start to finally cool off, but everyone's staring at you in the aftermath.

And Jules... your core. That magic still tingles. You know the hex didn't bind you, but damn. Damn your body is hot. You're sweating a bit and your body is singing with excitement under the mask of spaghetti sauce.

What do you do?

It's completely thrilling, feeling the magic course through my body. A high unlike any other. Watching Lawrence Lewis back down at my power makes my breath catch and my chest blooms with warmth. As the teachers cut in and the fight dies down, I expect that the way my chest is rising and falling - literal heaving bosoms - will die down too. But then I realize that the tingle of magic is still lingering at my core, a sensation that's begging to grow, not disappear and definitely not be ignored.

My breath is still coming fast, blush crawling up my neck to my face. I can blame spaghetti and the fight for a minute, but if I stick around here too long, someone's going to notice. I take a step back and the simple movement makes me very aware that I'm wearing a dress today and there's just so little fabric between me and the outside world.

My lips part as my breath catches. I need to get out of here. I need to find someone and shag them, or get to the showers and shag myself. "I...I have to go..." I manage to no one in particular, then I turn and rush out of the cafeteria, heading toward the gym showers with my heart pounding a thousand miles an hour.

You hustle out of the cafeteria and down the hall, leaving spaghetti drippings in your wake. In a few moments, you shove open the doors to the gym and quick-walk past the shocked looks of fellow students in their terrible gym clothes as they do calisthenics. Terpsichore recognizes you and sees your clothes, then politely ignores you invading her class to head into the girls locker room.

When you push open the girls' locker room to head to the showers, you hear water running already - someone's in there!

What do you do?

I don't even hesitate to give Terpsichore a wave or nod as I charge through the gym. I'll thank her later for letting me pass without comment. When I hear the water already running, I hesitate for the briefest moment, wondering if I'd be better off ducking into a bathroom stall and fingering myself to completion, but the heat in my body pushes me forward, curious about who might be here showering. Just imagining water running down naked skin sends a hot shiver over my own skin. It's not that I need the visual to get going, obviously, but I want it. Whoever's in here, I hope she's hot.

The faint scent of body spray lingers in the dressing room, mixing with the sharp, clean smell of disinfectant. As you step into the showers, you glance toward the back of the room and spot Annika Hughes, her short blue hair unmistakable even from here. The water cascades over her bare shoulders, her dyed blue hair slicked down her back in dark, wet strands that cling to her skin like silk ribbons.

But it’s not just the hair that catches your eye - it’s the dragon tattoo coiled along her left side, which is new. The design is intricate, with scales shaded in deep ink that seem to shimmer in the wet light. The dragon’s head rests just below her ribs, its serpentine body curling around her waist and disappearing around her hips. Its eyes, sharp and fierce, seem almost alive, as if watching you even though they’re inked on her skin.

She shifts her weight carefully, leaning to one side, and you notice the subtle wince - the way she’s favoring her right ankle. Probably something from gym class earlier.

For a second, you hesitate. The shower spray is loud enough that she hasn’t noticed you yet, and you could leave - slip out before she even knows you’re here. But then she shifts again, and the wince deepens into something closer to pain. You step forward, and the quiet tap of your shoes on the tile makes her glance over her shoulder. For just a second, your eyes meet - her dark brown ones glinting beneath the wet strands of her hair - and something unspoken flickers between you.

What do you do?

I've spent so much time fighting with Annika, and then pitying her, that I never really stopped to realize how incredibly attractive she is.

I see it now.

My eyes follow the path of the water down her body, over all her delicate curves, and that dragon tattoo which seems so alive, so fierce, it makes her seem almost dangerous.

Seeing her pain brings me right back to defending her from Chance - rescuing her from him, putting myself at risk to do it. Those instincts kick right in again and suddenly we're making eye contact. My body is still burning with desire and want, and having her eyes on mine just intensifies that feeling. I may have spaghetti in my hair and tomato sauce staining my neck and shoulders, but right now, that doesn't matter. I'm sexy anyway. And all the bad stuff that's gone down between Annika and I, that doesn't matter either. She's sexy anyway.

I don't say anything, just hold her gaze boldly as I slip off my shoes near the entrance to the showers, leaving them behind as I take a step forward then pull my dress up off my body, dropping it on the floor and taking another step, then unclasping my bra and dropping it too, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. I take another step then push my panties down, kicking them off my ankle and finally reaching Annika. I reach a hand out for her hip, planning to use it to pull myself into the spray with her if she doesn't pull away.

I never thought I'd be kissing Annika, of all people, but right now, it's exactly what I was craving. Touches of skin, thrills of sensation, the heat of the water mingling with the heat from my own body. In the envelope of steam, it feels like we're in our own private space right now.

As my lips press to hers and she pulls me closer, it's so easy to give into it all. I waste no time, my hand slipping down her soft, water-soaked skin, sliding across her belly and down to her soft folds, the pad of my finger finding her button and stroking it gently, pulling her into what I want with quiet insistence.

Her bending to my whims gives me a thrill that makes my breath catch. My hand works a little faster as I lean in, pulled closer by her heel against my zok, and bite at her lip. I pull back and answer in a needy whisper, "Only if you promise to return the favor after." Gods, please promise to return the favor after. Though the way I'm feeling, getting her off might just do the same for me. She might not have to do a thing.

Annika doesn't have to tell me twice. I immediately draw closer to her, pulling her to me with one hand while I turn my other hand to slide a finger inside her, curling it to tease her while my thumb presses firmly against her clit. My kiss on her mouth is hot and hard, then my lips travel down to her neck, biting and sucking. I don't really mean to, but I'm so lost in the moment that I give her a hickey just under her jawline as I send her over the edge.

Annika writhes and gasps as her walls clench around your fingers and she orgasms with your name reverently on her lips. She shudders and basks in the afterglow for a moment. She leans back just slightly, her blue hair plastered to her skin, her dragon tattoo shifting as her chest rises and falls. The shower water keeps coming in steady streams, masking the sound of your rapid breathing but not the way your pulse still races in your ears. You meet her gaze through the mist. Annika's lips curl into a slight, knowing smile, and it makes your stomach do flips. You're still close enough that her hand rests lightly on your hip. She starts to move to her knees, intent on fulfilling her end of your bargain. The world beyond the locker room feels like a distant blur.

Until the door bursts open.

Loud voices cut through the shower’s hiss, followed by the slap of wet sneakers on tile. Gym class is over. You both freeze for a beat, your bodies still pressed together, but the spell is shattered.

Annika’s eyes widen, and she slips back a step, her ankle still tender but her expression cool and composed - like she’s mastered the art of hiding exactly what she doesn’t want the world to see. You wipe water from your face, trying to steady yourself, but there’s no time to think. The first group of girls is already here.

Ida the Oceanid glides in with the kind of natural grace that only someone with water in their blood can have. Her damp hair clings to her shoulders as if she belongs to the misty air around her, and her sharp brown eyes scan the room lazily - until they land on you. There’s a flicker of surprise in her expression, but she doesn’t say anything. She just tilts her head, curious, as if she knows something but isn’t about to speak it aloud.

And right behind her is Emma Thorne - the bespectacled girl whose life you saved over the summer. Emma spots you immediately, her glasses fogging slightly from the humid air. Emma's thin lips press into a polite, awkward smile, but there’s an unmistakable flush creeping into her cheeks. She’s caught you off-guard, and she knows it.

Annika steps out of the shower spray just in time, wrapping a towel snugly around herself with the practiced ease of someone who never lets anyone see them sweat. You fumble to regain your composure, running a hand through your soaked hair, but you feel Emma’s gaze lingering a little too long, as if she’s trying to piece together what she just walked into.

Ida, on the other hand, casts a sly, knowing glance toward Annika before looking back at you, her lips curling ever so slightly in amusement—like a wave retreating, leaving just enough behind to stir the waters.