Long Story Short Pt. 03

All characters are over eighteen years of age.

***

"You're dating who?"

"Gabby Turnett." Said Jim.

We both lay stretched out in front of his TV in the living room. His mom was out- his mom seemed to be out a lot when I was around lately- and we were watching something entirely forgettable on Netflix while we talked. "Where did you guys meet?" I asked.

"Damien's party."

Party. Right. Jim went to parties now, where he hung out with people that were cooler than we were.

(Cooler than I was, anyway. He got upset if I didn't come but whenever I did I always seemed to end up sitting in a corner while he was surrounded by girls who all did a brilliant job of making me feel like I wasn't meant to be there.)

(Which I wasn't.)

"Gabby's gay," I said.

"Yep."

"Like, completely gay. Never even kissed a guy before."

"Yeah." He looked away and blushed, which was pretty impressive for a guy that could do things to a girl that no other man could even dream of-

There was a ding from his phone and we both groaned.

Okay, so the group chat wasn't the best idea. Lots of girls wanted orgasms from Jim; far too many for him to deal with in person. Someone- okay, me- had suggested that she could set up triggers for orgasms associated with text messages from him. It seemed like an easy, simple solution to the harem issue, didn't it?

Well, it turned out that that lots of girls wanted orgasms at all sorts of times odd times. Like 2am.

Or 3am.

Or 4m.

(All from the same girl in one night, I might add. Tabby, you insomniac slut.)

Or on the way to school, or during maths class, English class, history class-

(We thought there'd be serious trouble when Mrs. Demis figured out what was going on after five girls simultaneously- and obviously not too discretely- cummed their brains out while she was explaining the causes of the Korean war. Surprise, surprise when her name turned up on the mailing list. Friday nights, if you were wondering; date night for her and her husband. 10pm sharp.)

-orgasms during lunchtime, dinnertime, early in the morning- either these girls got up later than I did or they were stifling moans over their corn flakes. And then, because someone (fine, me) had made it a group chat, girls saw other girls getting awesome pleasure-splosions and sent their own requests and the whole thing turned into a cascade of thirsty bitches.

Anyway. You get the idea. It was why we were watching bad streaming series instead of gaming. Jim answered the text (somewhere in out there, some girl was panting out a wave of pleasure, her cunt clenching in joy, her nipples stiffening as Jim's implanted commands rippled out through her brain). Then I said, "Sooo?"

"Oh, right. So I was at the party and Gabby was there and then we got to talking and she said that my powers wouldn't work on her, because, you know, gay. So then I proved her wrong.

"What?"

"I made it so that she was interested in me. You see-"

Was this it? Was this the moment? When he finally became corrupted by his power? Was this the moment that my childhood friend finally threw off the shackles of his mortal morality and became a cruel, grasping sex god? Had he already begun to claim women, bending their thoughts- their sexualities- their very identities- to his will? I realised how close I was to him; how helpless. He could corrupt me at any time.

He might have already done it-

"You're drooling again."

"What- what precisely happened?"

He shrugged. "Oh, we were talking and she said that my powers wouldn't work on her because, like, gay. So I said they would and she dared me to try. And I remembered what you said about consent, so I was like, 'Are you sure?' and she said, 'Yeah, go ahead and try, hypno-guy' and so I asked if she was really sure. And she just laughed and said, 'Hahaha if this doesn't work you owe me.'"

Oh, I could just picture what happened next. Gabby would have been so confident. So certain. Even after the rumours, even after the sight of girls panting out orgasms from texts, of the women he'd already bent to his will through pleasure. Even then, she thought herself immune. Safe.

Did she suggest that they go somewhere private? I bet she did. She would have smirked to herself as they walked upstairs into a bedroom. She would have turned around and cocked her eyebrow. Gabby was short and voluptuous, with short black hair and shockingly beautiful blue eyes. She had pale skin and the sort of half-cocky, half-friendly smile that caused no end of sexual confusion to the straight girls of our school. She was pretty. She was confident.

She was lost, from the moment she gave him consent.

Gabby turned, staring at the plump loser who thought she could control her. Her! Who'd never so much as thought of a man in a sexual light. She was a strong woman, a confident woman; one who knew her own mind, had painstakingly defined her sexuality against the wishes of her parents; her treacherous best friend; her very society. She was safe. His sad eros mental commands would wash over her.

They entered the bedroom. She'd give him thirty seconds and then sweep down, letting everyone know that this hypno business was just a bunch of nonsense. He smiled at her sheepishly- how had anyone thought this guy was an enslaver of women? And then she asked, contempt dripping from every word, "Well? When are you going to change me?"

And then Jim changed.

His smile changed from something shy and sweet and gently into something confident and predatory. He straightened his back- had he always been that tall? - and a fey light burned in his eyes. He seemed to loom over her and the first trickle of fear trickled into her brain like freezing water. She shivered, involuntarily.

"I already did," he said. "Can't you tell?"

Gabby swallowed. She blinked. She looked inside of her and-

Swelling with the fear, unstoppable, impossible, was the desire. Desire like she'd never imagined, desire like a flood, like a raging fire. She had a moment to regret her foolish bravado; to remember her interest in girls. And then the desire crushed it all, devoured it as it filled her brain. She moaned, one hand shamelessly cupping a breast as she stared at him. Her beloved, her perfect man, her master.

Ten seconds had elapsed since she walked into the room and she was utterly, totally, devoted to the man in front of her. She ran forward to kiss him-

No. No, it wouldn't have been so quick. No, it would have been more like-

"I already did," he said. "Can't you tell?"

She stared at him, brows wrinkling- Wait. Had- had he always looked so handsome? No, she must be... must be...

No, she was right. In the space of a heartbeat he'd become- sexy. Sexier than any girl she'd ever laid eyes on. Sexier than any person she'd ever conceived of. He was gorgeous and he was...he was...

Masterful.

The thought woke her from her rapturous gaze and she pulled back; remembered who she was. She was her own woman. She wasn't interested in men! She sneered at him, doing her best to get rid of the tremble in her voice. "It- it didn't do anything. I'm still myself. Y-you failed..."

"Oh," he said, smiling. "Then I suppose you wouldn't be interested in this..."

And he reached down and unbuttoned his pants and he pulled out...

She gasped. If Jim was sexy then his cock was...sublime. Perfect. Divine. Her heart raced as her mind struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. This was what love felt like- no, this is what a religious experience felt like. She moaned like a needy animal as she sunk to her knees. He gestured her forward, slowly pumping his cock and she crawled- crawled over to him, drool trickling from her lips. She looked up at him- could she? Dare she try to pleasure the holy cock? And he just laughed. "Suck on it," he said, "suck on your master's cock-"

Or maybe it had been more like-

"I already did," he said. "Can't you tell, Gabby? Or should I say...drone number forty?"

Drone? Gabby wasn't a drone. She was...she was...

She was Drone forty. Snapping to attention, she smiled mindlessly at her master. "I live to serve," she said-

"Tara?"

"Okaygottogotothetoiletbye."

***

A week later and they were still going strong. Strong enough that we'd skipped Netflix night again.

(Family dinner, apparently. He promised he'd tell me all about it.)

Meanwhile, I was dealing with- with, well, the usual mess.

Somehow- don't ask me how- I had become the person to see about Jim. Which meant I had plenty of girls coming to see me-

(You might, at this point, be wondering about the boys. Yes, there were several boys who didn't like Jim's success with the ladies or all of the improvements they were getting. Yes, there were others- a lot of others- who tried to bribe, flatter or bully Jim into working his magic on girls they'd picked out- whether or not the girls wanted it. I'd put an end to all of that by loudly explaining to him within earshot of said boys that he had full permission to defend himself against them.

With his powers.

And then gave some very specific examples of the things that he could do.)

-Point is, I had plenty of girls come to see me. Like Mia. Mia was a fun girl. A ditzy girl. A scatterbrained party animal with a shock of red hair and the same bubbly energy of a slightly confused puppy.

(No-one used the B-word around her. At least, not to her face).

"So," she said, "I heard you can help with my grades?"

"Jim can. You get how it works, right?"

"Um- some Greek dog-"

"Egyptian goddess."

-turned him into an epic hypnotist."

"Erotic- never mind. Look, yes. That's basically it."

"Wicked. So...he can make me smarter?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly. He can increase your ability to study by creating a meditative state during focused concentration and linking it to pleasure, thus creating a positive Pavlovian response regarding academic activities."

"What?"

"He'll make it easier to study and it will feel really, really good when you do."

"Wicked. I gotta sign something?"

"No." I pulled out a notebook. "Let me just write down your name, what you've asked for...oh, I'll check on you in a week to make sure that everything's cool."

"Wicked."

"And if you have any issues, let me know and I'll get Jim to fix it all back."

"Wick-"

"Wicked, yup. Do you want anything else? The oral package is really popular, you know."

"Nah, figure I'll be too busy hitting the books, you know? And I'm already on the chat group."

"Well, we do a guided remote meditation involving-"

"The cast of the Avengers. Hey, you guys do requests? Cause young Harrison Ford, just saying."

"I can ask."

"Wick-cool." She laughed and bounced on the spot, making every guy within twenty paces stare at her shirt. "Good grades here I come!" She suddenly blinked and leant forward. Hey," she asked, "What did you get?"

"What?"

She leant forward. "You're his best friend, right?"

"Yes." I felt myself tense up. "Since we were kids."

"And you're, like, his main bitch. Helping him do his magic mojo-shit."

"yes." Yup, totally shrinking into my sweater.

"So..."

"..."

"What did you get him to do? Shit, having a guy like that ready to do all kinds of epic sex stuff... you must have had some serious upgrades, right? I bet you're, like, cumming twenty-four-seven."

"um."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"...Oh." She shot me a look of pity that was all the more irritating by being apparently entirely genuine.

I start speaking, looking away from those painfully earnest eyes. "I mean, I'm meant to, you know. Look after him. Keep him from going power-mad."

"Oh, like those websites? You know, I checked those out when I heard about his power. Man, most of those girls end up fucked up, you know? I'm kinda glad Jim got the power and not, you know, some creep."

"Y-yeah..." I sighed.

"You don't, like, want him to do shady shit to you, right?"

"Um. No. No, of course I don't-"

"Um. Hello?"

We both turned to see Gabby Turnett smiling at me. I got up, tucking my book away and suddenly uncertain. "Hey."

She cleared her throat. "I wanted to talk to you, if that's cool."

"Sure."

"Um. Alone?"

We both turned to see Mia staring at both of us with the guileless stare of a girl who assumed she was welcome everywhere by default. A few seconds passed before she blinked and said, "Oh...right. Sure. Yeah. Bye!" And she turned and ran off towards whatever new fancy claimed her attention.

I eyed Gabby and she eyed me back. She cleared her throat and said, "I figured we should talk. Clear the air and stuff."

"Wicked." Fuck, was that contagious?

"I just want to say it's really cool what you're both doing. I mean, I liked Jim before- especially after the kitten thing- but you know, now that we can be together..."

"Yup." Keep on smiling at the mind-controlled lesbian.

"I mean, when you think about it? Jim is empowering women. Giving them the right to make their own choices about their sexuality. Allowing them to explore their fantasies in a safe environment. And now they can achieve academic excellence? That's kind of awesome."

I blinked. That was...well, I guess it was all true. "Jim's just really nice."

"Yeah. She's amazing."

"What?"

"Well, she-"

"She?"

"Oh." She blushed. "Well, when she asked me out I realised it would feel really, really weird to date a guy. I mean, I'd kind of defied my parents, nearly got kicked out of home and I felt it had to count for something, right? So I kind of asked her to, well..."

"You asked him to mind control you into thinking he's a woman."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I know it must sound dumb but it really helps. I mean, I get to show off my awesome girlfriend to my family- at last- and they don't have any idea. They think I've finally crumbled to their pressure or found Jesus or something. Seriously, it was a struggle not to start laughing at them when they had her over for a family dinner."

"That's..." I wanted to say unfair to Jim, but he'd agreed to it, hadn't he? He probably didn't even think there was anything wrong with it. "That's good for you," I finished lamely.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say... I'm cool with what you two have been going on. I mean, I've never done poly stuff before...I dunno. Should we hang out a bit? Kind of set limits or something? Um, I'm not really up for a threesome or anything but I'm not jealous either... I guess I could just ask Jim to help me with that but I kind of don't want to just take away boundaries like that..."

"What?"

"I mean, you two are together, right? I just assumed, you know..."

I felt something ugly and heavy and jagged shift and twist inside my gut. "Um. N-n-"

"Oh."

"No." When- when had it gotten so painful to say that?

Gabby stared at me for a few heartbeats. Then she sighed and reached out to touch my hand. "Hey. Look. I don't pretend to know you or anything but... maybe you need to talk to Jim? Just, like, hash shit out?"

"M-maybe."

***

I lay back on the bed. The computer screen was open; a popular hypno-site listing a cornucopia of fantasies for me to res-

Okay, fine. Indulge in. Touch myself to. Frig off to. Fuck you.

I got a text from Jim. Hey. You around? Want to talk?

I reached out and picked up the phone. My thumb hovered over the call button. Then I put the phone down.

Jim. Jim was sweet. Jim was kind. Jim was nice. Jim was precisely the sort of person that I'd trust with erotic mind control powers. He was thoughtful. A little dense when it came to dealing with other people, but overall-

Jim was good people.

But ever since I found out about his power, I'd been introduced to another Jim. A Jim that was cruel and commanding and dominant, a Jim that took what he wanted from me instead of asking. A Jim that knew me inside out instead of missing my hints, a Jim that controlled me, that claimed me.

A Jim that made me shiver in all the best kind of ways.

But it was a Jim that didn't exist. Shouldn't exist, given what his powers could do. A Jim that the real Jim would hate.

And real Jim's heart would break if he learned that...

That I preferred the fake Jim to him.

I closed my eyes while my phone dinged. Hey, are you there? We need to talk.

I knelt, trembling with fear. I could feel him in my mind, tentacles of will slithering across my thoughts, removing my fear and leaving only loving need-

Are you avoiding me?

I sneered, satisfaction welling hot in my heart. The school knelt before him; all slaves to his desires. I stood by his throne, wearing nothing but strips of leather that bit into my skin. I gestured and a girl rose, eyes warring between fear and longing as she knelt between his legs. I saw her mouth engulf his cock and shuddered in satisfaction as my purpose in life was fulfilled-

Goddamn it, talk to me Tara.

I lay on the bed. My hands gripped the bed; he'd told me to grab them and so I did, my own body securing me in place more thoroughly than any rope or chain. I felt his cock press against my entrance and I whimpered as I knew what was coming. He'd enter me, and the programming would kick in, turning me into his helpless slave; turning me into his little slut, hopelessly addicted to fulfilling his every sick desire-

Why are you doing this?

I had no idea what to say to him. No idea what to do. No idea what to think.

I groaned and ignored the texts piling up next to me.

***

"Hey."

I looked up to see Jim standing over me. Gabby was there too, arm linked around his. She was giving me an uncertain expression.

"Hi."

"So," he said, "You want to tell me why you've been avoiding me for three days?"

"I haven't been avoiding you. I've sent you all the latest requests-"

"You haven't sat with me. You haven't texted back. You've ghosted me, Tara. You."

I looked away while the guilt that had been on the simmer for the last three days boiled up afresh. "I need to sort some shit out."

"You could have talked to me about it."

"I...I can't."

"This is about me, isn't it?"

"No. It's not." I think I'm falling in love with a version of you that doesn't exist.

"Bullshit." Silence for a while and then he said, "When are you going to start trusting me?"

"I trust you-"

"Ever since I got these powers, all I ever hear from you is how dangerous they are. How they make me dangerous. How I need to keep watching myself. And, I'm like, okay, it hurts hearing this stuff coming from you. From my best friend! From the person I trust the most! But I listen. I behave. I make sure I run everything past you. Hell, you pretty much tell me who to use the powers in nowadays!"

"I know."

"And you still don't fucking trust me! You still act like I'm this rabid dog that's about the slip the lease! I'm so sick of this, Tara!"

"That's not it!"

"Then what is it?"

I opened my mouth.

No. I couldn't tell him. Couldn't do that to him. Couldn't admit my shame.

He made a disgusted sound. "You know what? I'm tired of explaining myself to you. Fuck you."

He turned around. Gabby shot me a sympathetic look as she followed him.

Long story short, that's how I lost my best friend.

***

Next up: Another POV.