Outsiders Pt. 03

"You just relax and put your feet up, Ben," Krista said, stroking a finger across his cheek, "I'm going to clean up!" She got up and got to work.

Ben got out of his chair, picked it up and nodded for Raven to follow him into the den. He replaced the chair at the desk and sat on it sideways, facing the couch. He held his hand out towards the couch and said, "Please, have a seat!" He bit back a grimace as he gave the shabby, old piece of furniture a new look. When he had first seen it, weeks ago, it had looked to him to be just fine, but now that an angel of sex was going to sit on it, it suddenly appeared to be an unworthy piece of crap. "I've got to get a proper place for myself," he thought.

Raven walked over to the couch and sat down. She looked at him with a smile, but he thought he could tell she was in an expectant mood. His eyes wandered lower and he saw that the buttons on her cardigan were only done halfway up. She was wearing nothing underneath it and he could see she was still braless. He looked away and tried to remember if the cardigan had been unbuttoned like that at the breakfast table. To the best of his ability to recall, it hadn't. "She must have done it just now," he thought to himself.

"So," she said in a small voice, drawing his eyes back to her, "what do you intend to do with me?" She angled her forehead towards him, making herself appear more juvenile and weak. Her bright blue eyes were open wide and her expression was all but fearful as she waited for his response with bated breath. Her whole posture was submissive and scared and he recognized that it was deliberate on her part. She was trying to inspire him to feel protective towards her.

"I hadn't always looked like this, you know," she said. Ben paused with what he was going to say and looked at her expectantly. "I used to be disfigured. I used to be terribly disfigured. It was the result of an accident I had when I was a little girl. I wasn't just ugly, I was also in constant pain that no physical therapy could fix. When I was a teenager, I got hooked on painkillers. I'd need them just to function like a normal human being, but they'd stop working after a while and they'd just make things worse for me.

"Then I'd have to go to rehab and that would be torture. I don't even want to talk about that part. The pain of kicking the habit, compounded by the sheer agony of my injuries... It was simply horrible." Raven sniffed and wiped her eyes. Ben nearly wept in sympathy with her plight. As she moved, her body seemed to draw his attention to her half-exposed bosom. He let his eyes go there, but he didn't let them linger for long. He kept flicking them up to her face. She was making an intimate confession, sharing something that was very personal and layered with emotion and it wouldn't do to be caught ogling her breasts. He waited patiently for her to continue with her tale.

"So I met Simon one day," she said. "He, uh, he offered me a life without pain, without disfigurement. I was really desperate by then, so I took him up on his offer." She sniffed again. "By the time I realized he was dabbling in black magic, it was too late for me to escape his clutches." She gave a brief sob. "I hadn't even realized he had entraped me until I told him I wanted out. He had taken some of my blood and used it in a ritual. He had but to speak a word of Sumerian and I'd die on the spot.

"It was awful. Just awful. He used his ritual to make me his slave. I had no choice but to do as he said. He performed a ritual that rid me of my disfigurement and then he forced me to be his sex slave. I had to let him paw at me and rape me repeatedly, or he'd kill me with his magic!"

She lowered her head and leaned forward. Her action all but exposed her right breast. She put a hand to her brow and sniffed back her tears. Ben was struggling to remember what she was saying. He needed to keep it straight in his head if he was to get to the truth about his magic. He knew the part about him threatening her life was true, he had witnessed it himself in their car yesterday. He remembered how casually Simon had backhanded her at the first sign of dissent and he decided that the poor, gorgeous girl was most likely telling the truth about her ordeal. His heart went out to her.

"He used me for months," she said, setting off alarm bells in Ben's mind. "I spent every day in fear, wondering if it was going to be my last. Never knowing what might set him off."

Ben remembered Simon had said that she'd only popped her cherry on Sunday morning. It had stuck in his memory both because that was around the time he had gotten his power and because he couldn't quite believe a girl that looked like Raven would be a virgin. He didn't know her exact age. Her skin was as smooth as a baby's, but her body was that of an adult. From her behavior and speech, he guessed she was in her early twenties, just like he and Krista.

His brow drew down as he realized she was lying to him about how long she had been violated. He wondered how much of her story was also exaggerated, or simply made up. He settled back in his seat and allowed himself to watch her all but naked tits rise and fall with her breath.

"On Sunday night," she said, "he was performing a ritual that would grant him magical power. Real life sorcery." She shook her head. "I couldn't let him do that. I simply couldn't. If he had succeeded in his ritual, he would have been able to enslave anyone. He'd be able to do what he had done to me to everyone he ever met. I didn't care if I lived or died anymore, so I stood in his line of sight and posed provocatively to distract him." She gave Ben a small, sad smile. "It worked. He leered at me and flubbed his ritual. His power manifested itself as a bolt of lightning and went astray."

She leaned over towards him, making her breast all but pop out of her cardigan. "It went to you, didn't it," she said. "You got it instead of him." He looked up and they locked eyes for a while. He felt like he could lose himself in the adoration he could see in her blue orbs. "You can protect me, can't you? You can protect me from those baseball bat lunatics and others like Simon. Can't you? Please?" Her voice was so small and almost plaintive in tone. It successfully resonated with something his upbringing had instilled in him and made him feel the desire to protect her.

Ben cleared his throat a couple of times. "I, uh," he stammered, "of course, I'll protect you. You can count on that."

She smiled a radiant smile and put her hand over her bare chest in a gesture of relief. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much!" She threw herself into his arms, pressing her tits against his chest.

He blushed furiously as he felt his dick rise up in response. He put his arms around her shoulders and did his best to angle his body away from hers, so she wouldn't try to sit in his lap and discover his impropriety.

She gave him one more squeeze before breaking their hug and setting her behind back down on the couch. She still sat and leaned so close to him that he could feel her breath on his chin. She sniffed and said, "Oh, I'm being such an imposition on you, aren't I?"

"No, no, no," Ben said, shaking his head, "it's no problem."

"I want to appologize if your life got twisted or turned upside down by the power," she said. "I didn't know that it would go someplace else. To someone else. I thought that it would just dissipate into nothingness. I'm sorry for my part in changing your life."

She hooked a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. Ben noted that even her ears seemed beautifully proportioned. Her voice was a throaty whisper as she said, "If there's anything I can do to make it better, please, don't hesitate to ask. I owe you my life." He licked his lips as she breathed the words, "I would like to do everything I can to make your transition period as smooth and effortless as possible."

"My transition period," Ben asked, worried at the phrasing.

"Yes," she said. "Your transition from regular guy into a magician. If there's anything I can do to help you with that," she shook her head, "you just have to say it and I'll do it."

Ben nodded. "Thank you for saying that," he said.

"I mean it," she said. She smiled gratefully and put a hand on his knee.

Suddenly, Ben realized that his erection must be plainly visible as it tented his pants. He hadn't seen her look down, but he feared she could see it in the corner of her vision. He blushed even harder and pivoted out of his chair to hide it. He stood with his back to her and felt his boner straining against the soft fabric of his summer pants. "I, uh," he said and gulped. "I do apologize for the accomodations. They are a bit... uh, spartan, and, um, shabby."

"Oh, I don't mind," she said behind him. "As long as you're near me, it may as well be the Taj Mahal. I just feel so safe and sound around you."

Ben felt incredibly rude to speak to someone he turned his back on, so he turned around and sat down at his desk. He crossed his legs and felt confident that his erection was no longer visible. He turned his head to face Raven and said, "But the quarters are close."

Raven smiled another angelic smile at him and said, "A home is only as small as the patience of its residents."

Ben's brow rose. He had never heard such a proverb before. "That's a nice saying," he said.

"It's true," she said, shrugging. "As long as the people living in a household like and tolerate one another, there can never be too little space for them to share." Ben nodded politely. He liked that Raven was cool about his current living arangement. Raven's glad expression faded away to be replaced by sorrow. "Of course, I know that I can't stay here for long."

"What," Ben asked. "Why not?"

Raven looked uncomfortable for a moment and then nodded across the hall towards the kitchen where plates and cutlery were heard clinking in the sink. "I don't want to make trouble for you two," she whispered.

"Oh, no, no, no," Ben said, "we're not..." He paused and asked himself what Krista was still doing in his house. He needed to keep Raven near so she could tell him about his power and Simon and the lunatics that had killed him. He had had his fun with Krista and avenged the wrongs she had wrought against him. Wasn't it time for him to send her away? Wasn't she supposed to go to jail for scamming so many people out of their money?

"You mean to say that you're not together," Raven said, expectantly.

"Well, uh," Ben said, "it's complicated."

Raven seemed to wait for him to continue, but he honestly didn't know what to say about Krista. He had felt towards her what no other girl had given him a chance to feel. She had been the first woman to inspire him with her smile, way back in February. She had also been the first woman to rip his heart out and make him wish he was dead. The rejections from the other girls in his life had stung, but nowhere near as much as what she had done to him. "Aren't those the trademarks of a man's first love," he asked himself.

On top of all that, the wild ride he had with her, yesterday, on the island, was something truly spectacular. Something that he suspected he'd never experience again, not in the same intensity, for as long as he lived.

He had done her wrong, this was true, but he had also felt her feel protected, safe and looked after while they had been on the island. He had fed and bathed her and she had responded with such tender acceptance that it had felt like true love to him. If it hadn't been for her taking out credit cards in his name and trying to steal his money, yet again, he would think the two of them actually were in love. He didn't know if he hated Krista's guts, or if he loved her to pieces, but he did know that he had feelings for her. Feelings he needed to explore before committing to a course of action regarding her.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Raven said, bringing him out of his head.

"What?"

Raven looked uncomfortable and hesitantly said, "It's just that... I hate it when pretty girls make good guys jump through hoops to prove themselves. It's just so fake, you know? Love should be freely given, not earned in an audition process."

She reached under the desk to put her hand on his lap and he jumped away, lest she touch his still semi-hard cock. "Yeah, it's, uh, it's not like that," he said, standing with his back turned to her.

"I'm sorry," she said, in a small voice. "I didn't mean to speak out of turn, or insult you. It's just that I'm so very grateful to you for saving my life and I want... only the best for you in return."

Ben felt overwhelmed by the many questions and doubts that were running around in his head. He had a cute con artist gambling addict doing his dishes in the kitchen and he had no idea what he was going to do with her. He had the most beautiful woman in the world sitting in his den, proclaiming her gratitude to him and he wasn't sure if what she was telling him was the truth. He had been transformed into a real life Sorcerer from Dungeons and Dragons and he still didn't know why that had happened to him, of all people. He was done with asking himself pointless questions. He needed to start getting answers from others.

"Where did Simon perform his magic gaining ritual," he asked, suddenly rounding back towards Raven.

She looked at his crotch for a moment before looking up at his eyes and saying, "What?"

"Where exactly were the two of you when he performed his ritual?"

Raven looked surprised by his question. She gave another glance at his shrinking crotch tent and said, "We were in this park on Third Street. It's just a big piece of green that no one ever visits after dark. You can't even find a junkie there after midnight."

Ben finally understood. Third Street ran behind Kurt's apartment building. It was separated from the building by a park. The window he had opened on early Sunday morning looked out at that park. It appeared to Ben that the most miraculous thing that had ever happened to him was just a coincidence.

"Were you somewhere along the east side of the park," he asked.

Raven nodded and said, "Yeah. There's this big, slanted patch of grass there that's surrounded on nearly every side by trees and brush. You can be there, out in the open and still have all the privacy you want. No one can see you from the street, or the surrounding buildings."

Ben knew the place she was talking about. It was right outside Kurt's window, but the view of it was blocked by an overhanging spruce tree. He just needed to confirm his suspicions. "It's just behind the lamp and the wooden bench with the pink graffiti on it," Ben said, questioningly.

"Yes," Raven said, "that bench is right next to the..." She paused and her shapely lips quirked into a smile. She cocked her head at him. "How do you know that?"

Ben swallowed heavily. There was no higher purpose to his transformation. There had been no higher powers at work. He had been struck by the magical bolt of lightning for the sole reason of proximity to the originally intended target.

He had feared what Raven would tell him about the source of his magic, because he had feared that there would be some price he would have to pay, or a quest he'd have to fulfill, lest he incur the wrath of the powers that be. Now that he found out that there was no higher power at work, just a deceased, deranged cultist, he felt strangely disappointed. He supposed that he should feel elated at the fact that his transformation came without a price, but he just didn't. He felt lost, of all things.

"Ben," Raven asked. "Ben, are you ok?"

He looked at the concerned expression on her face and forced a grin onto his. "Yes," he said. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine." He took a good, long look at the leggy blonde sitting before him. She needed his help. He needed a distraction from his worries. He felt it wise to delay making any big decisions until he could process the sheer randomness of the most important and miraculous thing to have ever happened to him. "You need your things. We should go back to your house so you can pack your clothes and we can call the police to come collect Simon's body."

Raven looked suddenly haunted. She closed her eyes and shivered. Her fingers began to work on buttoning up her cardigan. "I, I don't think I can," she said. "Not today." She opened her eyes and looked pleadingly at Ben. "I can't face that yet."

Ben nodded and said, "It's ok. We don't have to go there today." Raven nodded gratefully and blinked back some tears. "But what we do need to do is go shopping!" Ben smiled at Raven, knowing that she would probably appreciate a distraction. "We need to get you some clothes of your own. What do you say?"

Raven smiled and held out her hand in acceptance. Ben helped her stand up and they collected Krista from the kitchen, where she had just finished doing the dishes. He sent her the telepathic order to act like she was his girlfriend and to be civil and friendly towards Raven. She didn't resist his first order, but he did feel her try to resist the second. "I've got to start watching my orders to her, or she'll break loose of my hold on her," he thought to himself.

The three of them got in his car and drove into town to hit the malls and buy some clothes for the girls. Krista, according to the order he had given her, engaged Raven in friendly conversation about style and fashion. Pretty soon, the two of them began sounding like they had been the very best of friends since the beginning of time. Krista suggested they start with underwear and Raven enthusiastically agreed. Ben had absolutely no intention of dissenting.

Everywhere they went, eyes were drawn to them. Krista looked very attractive in her business casual attire and Raven was Raven. Her red cardigan was left back at his house and replaced by a simple, old, gray T-shirt of his. Even wearing a shirt and sweatpants combo, she was a knockout. Especially as her breasts stretched the T-shirt taut.

Ben was uncomfortable at all the attention they were getting. Some of the younger men they walked past in the mall lobby would even peel away from their groups to greet the girls, completely ignoring him. The girls weren't paying them any mind, so the boys didn't do anything else, but Ben got the distinct impression that they would latch on to the girls like barnacles if they so much as looked at them once. Ben was decidedly uncomfortable at the attention the girls were drawing to them. He was beginning to fear he might have to fight off some brash asshole and his buddies.

He wondered if he wasn't a hypocrite for glaring at the young men. His body had strongly reacted to Raven's beauty, time and again, and he asked himself if he could truly fault the boys their behavior. As a gangly youth walked beside them all, talking about this awesome party his friends were throwing that night, Ben realized that he could. He squeezed in between the dude and Raven and glared at him. No matter how hot Ben found a girl, he would never pester her when she obviously didn't want to be bothered. He glared calmly at the dude and the dude smiled and said, "Hey, it's all good, brother!" He smiled and raised his hand to give Ben a high five. Ben left him hanging and he drifted away from them, giving Ben the stink eye.

The unpleasantry lasted only a short while longer, until they ascended to the floor which housed most of the mall's lingerie stores. Raven spotted one and drew them towards it. The two girls made a lightning quick pass through the store and then sat Ben on a bench in front of some mirrors, just next to the dressing rooms. They took turns coming out of their cabins, wearing some skimpy, lacy, see through piece of clothing that only accentuated their beauty and nudity. Ben sat there and shamelessly ogled both the hotties as they twirled right in front of his eyes.