Needing Leah Ch. 08

The story so far...

18-year-old Liam Weber has been sent by his parents to Bryner academy, the only private school that accepted him on a scholarship. Only, when he arrived, he discovered it was a school for girls and that his name had been listed as Leah. With the help of his domineering roommate Ellie, he is forced to become Leah and hide his identity for as long as it takes until he can get himself transferred. Last chapter, Ellie promised Leah she would be punished for an angry outburst that led to them fighting, however they had earlier agreed to spend the evening with Kiara in the common room. The threat remains hanging over Leah's head...

8: The Common Room

We'd set our safe words. Ellie said we'd go over them later that night to make sure we definitely remembered them.

Stop everything = porridge. If I was gagged, I had to tap out like a wrestler. If I was bound and gagged, I had to grunt to the tune of Beethoven's 5^th.

Slow down/ease off = wax off or a light pinch. If I was bound and gagged, grunting to the tune of happy birthday.

The idea I'd need safe words in the event of being both bound and gagged had me worried. She asked if I'd like a phrase to mean go further/do more. I told her that wouldn't be unnecessary.

I washed and changed back into my uniform, feeling a little more recovered now. The Selene dorm was an old, small building. Most of the dormitories were, hence the need for nine of them. It had originally been a set of housing for visitors or parents of students, however with the creation of the meadows, the building was renovated and turned into the most modern of the school dormitories. For that, its common room was one of the most popular. We found it on the ground floor. It was a large, square room at the centre of the building, as big as a gym but split into two levels by a small, 3-stepped staircase that ran about a third of the way into the room. In the centre was a four-sided bar. No one behind it, no alcohol but fridges below the counter that were stacked with different fizzy drinks. In the left corner of the room were two sofas by two retro TVs with retro games. To the right was a space for tables and chairs, then up the raised platform were pool tables, table tennis, darts, table football, a reading area with beanbags. Kiara was sitting upon one of them. She got up when she saw us, looking relieved that we'd come. She had changed out of her uniform and was wearing a loose, orange dress that contrasted well with her sleek black hair. We scanned round and noticed most people were out of their uniform.

"I thought it was only weekends we could wear our own clothes?" Ellie asked.

"It's only weekends you can wear your own clothes in the main building." Kiara explained. "Dormitories and the rest of the grounds are fine, provided it's not classes. As long as we're back in our rooms before ten, when they come in to enforce curfew, it doesn't really matter."

"They still enforce curfew when we're 18?" I asked.

"Unfortunately."

"Should we go back and change?"

"It's fine. There's a few others in uniform." She said and led us away to the dartboard. That was how the evening started: darts. All of us were terrible. We left marks in the wood below, where we kept missing, as well as scuffing the low-roofed ceiling, which made is twice as difficult to hit any of the high numbers. Being terrible at darts was fun, and we delighted in the many chances to laugh at each other and ourselves. Gradually, we got slightly better, and when we started trying to score our throws, Ellie's competitive side came out. It didn't at all surprise me that she could be competitive. I knew she was sporty, I knew she could be domineering. A lot of the same traits she would use to intimidate me, reared their head in the competitive setting, only here the innocence of it became funny. The more she began to take it seriously, the more she would snarl or complain when her throws were off. She celebrated every time she actually hit the board, no matter how low the score. When she won, she'd fist pump, she'd rub it in my face. When she lost, she'd go silent, or else claim "but I won in spirit." It was fun to actually get a chance to laugh at her, for once.

We moved onto pool, which Kiara was good at because "my boyfriend has a pool table in his garage." We found ourselves quizzing her about this, to the discovery her boyfriend was called James and lived in Otter's Drift, the nearby village outside of the grounds. "I met him last year on a trip into the village. You're not technically allowed to go there until 8^th year. Even now, you're only allowed out on weekends. I used to sneak out, though. Well...I probably still will sneak out because sometimes, the weekends are too far away." She laughed.

"Kiara, I didn't think you'd have a rebellious streak." Ellie joked. "You seem too good."

"Well, I was! But...stuck in a school with no boys, knowing one's waiting for you just beyond the grounds...there are some things it's worth risking."

Ellie looked to me. "So, Kiara's a sex addict. It's just you who's too good to break rules, Leah."

"What about you?" I retorted.

"I skipped chemistry with Miss Daphne yesterday to go running with you, remember?"

"That's true." Kiara agreed. "Even if Miss Roach gave you permission, I wouldn't put it past Miss Daphne to pull you back on it."

"Which means it's just Leah who's a good girl." I wished she wouldn't say that in front of other people. Technically, I'd already broken more rules than all of them just by being here, anyway.

We played Mortal Kombat on the PS1, where I trashed them all to such an extent Ellie got fed up with the game. We then got drinks from behind the bar and sat at a spare table to talk. It was a fun evening. I still felt unsure why Kiara was our friend, however, because I didn't think I was particularly interesting. Half of the time she'd spent with us had involved me having a panic attack, running off to cry in the bathroom, or shyly sitting in silence. I was a bit better tonight, but still, Kiara seemed to know everyone. In between all our games, she'd dip in and out to have a quick chat with other passing people she knew, before coming back to us. She chatted to popular girls, she chatted to nerdy ones. She spent a long time with a girl called Thalia from Ellie's class that looked absolutely stunning. She seemed to know everyone, to get on with everyone, and be liked by everyone. She said it was because she'd been here since the first year but I was still left wondering exactly why she wanted to spend time with us if she could be friends with anyone else. As she went off to talk to Danielle briefly, Ellie even whispered in my ear.

"Guess it's just us who don't know anyone."

"Yeah. Thank fuck we've got each other." I said, although I had no doubt that Ellie could make friends on her own. She was confident enough. I stretched my hand across the table and squeezed hers for a second, which made her smile. "What was that for?"

"For helping me. For not falling out with me when I said I hated you."

"Don't be silly. I found it kinda hot seeing you so angsty. Don't think I would've kissed you otherwise."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I hadn't intended to do that. Don't expect it again. Besides, I'm still going to punish you."

"Yeah, I know, but that's different. I told you I hated you, and you could've been done with me. You never stop caring, though."

"Course I don't. You're my girl, Leah."

"So..." I found myself nervously pinching one of my fingers. "So, I'm not just a burden to you?"

"Oh, baby." She looked shocked at the idea. It was her turn to squeeze my hand across the table. "I'm happy to lend you clothes and look after you. Seeing how you might be stuck here, you'll be mine to keep for quite some time." She grinned again, but when she saw my troubled expression, it softened, then became something of a grimace.

"I feel like a burden." I said.

"No. You're adorable. You're funny, you're so brave to be going through what you are. Especially when I also tease you..." Again, she gave a grimace. It was like there was something she wanted to say but was struggling to. Eventually, it popped out in a quick sentence. "I'm glad you've not been transferred away. I know that might still happen but, for the time being, I like getting to keep you."

I didn't respond immediately, to which she busied herself with sipping her drink. Oh my god. I thought. She's shy, Ellie is actually being shy! It was only then I realised that, in all of her play, not once had she ever shown me any vulnerability. Perhaps 'getting to keep you' was as close as she could manage to admitting she'd miss me if I was gone. Something about it made my heart melt. Suddenly the fact I had been able to hear her cum earlier felt special, now. Even if I hadn't been allowed to see, I supposed there was something of her opening up in that experience. Maybe? Either way, it pleased me. Again, I squeezed her hand. When Kiara returned a moment later, she said it didn't seem like I'd only known Ellie a few days. She said it seemed like we'd been close all our lives.

I wasn't allowed to sleep in Ellie's bed that night. She said that had been a rare treat and that, until she had a proper chance to punish me, I wasn't allowed anywhere near her bed. We came back to the room around 9.30. Ellie sat at her desk doing homework for a while, whilst I changed into my pyjamas and got into my bed. I felt tired after everything today. It had been a better day than yesterday, thank God. I had needed a better day. I had needed something to feel happy about. The main light was off. I listened to the sound of Ellie turning pages and scribbling notes, watching her shadow flicker against the reading light and onto the wall above me. After a while, she stopped.

"Leah?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you awake?"

I turned round to face her. "Yeah."

"In everything that happened, I forgot to even ask you. Did you take the vibrator off at all today?"

The question came like a dart. I wasn't ready for it. "N-no." I lied. I hadn't taken the vibrator out of the pouch at all, but I had pulled the thong down to get some relief. She was looking at me with a fixed stare, like one poker player scrutinising another.

"Obviously it's important I ask. You're in deep shit, already. I'd like to be able to trust that you wouldn't lie to me, just to avoid more punishment. You didn't take it off at any point at all?"

Did she know? Was she setting me up here? No, she couldn't know. I only took it off once, and I was in the toilet alone at the time. I didn't even technically remove it, I just pulled the thong away when I was close to cumming.

That was my mistake, however. I looked to her again. She was grinning. I realised I'd just taken a tentative few seconds to think through whether she'd know or not. My hesitation had already given the game away. If she didn't know before, she did now.

"Fuck." I said out loud.

"That was easy to break you."

I climbed out of bed. I got down onto my knees and put my head near her feet at the desk chair she was sitting on. "I'm really sorry, Ellie. When I ran off to the bathroom. You used it too much, and I was going to cum, so I pulled my thong away for a moment. I'm really, really sorry."

She didn't say anything. She didn't look at me, nor even acknowledge the fact I'd spoken. She just raised her feet, placed them on my back, then carried on with her homework.

I knew, without being told, I wasn't allowed to speak or move. I rested the side of my head down flat against the floorboards. I listened in submission as she carried on turning pages and scribbling notes. The floor was uncomfortable. I tried my best to adjust but it was difficult to do without moving position. I was also only wearing a blue top and some loose blue briefs, my new pyjama outfit, now that she had reclaimed her own. My bare knees and elbows were taking the full force of my weight against the hard floor. After only minutes, it started to hurt. I tried my best to take my mind off it, but there was nothing to distract me. All I could do was close my eyes and listen to Ellie scribbling notes. I absolutely couldn't beg or complain. I was in enough trouble, already; I needed to show I could make it up to her by being good. I stayed painfully still, hoping my knees would numb at some point, lamenting every second they hadn't yet numbed. How much longer could she work for? How much time had even passed? I felt so tired and was so eager for sleep.

Then she removed her feet. She stood up. "Where's your phone?"

I went to move and fetch it, but she placed a foot over my head. "No, stay. Tell me where it is."

"On the shelf by my bed."

She went and got it. "I'm going to switch this off and put it under my pillow. I'm also going to take the batteries out of the wall clock."

"Why?"

"So you won't be able to tell how late it gets."

"Wait. How late will it get?" I asked.

"I'm going to bed, Leah. I'm going to set an alarm on my phone. You are going to stay right there until you hear the alarm."

"Can...can I move at all?"

She held out a hand. "Give me your top. Keep the knickers on."

I raised myself up enough to remove and hand her my top, then went back to all fours. Suddenly, I felt cold.

"You can curl up, if you need to. No grabbing your duvet or pillows, though. No using anything to make the floor softer or your body warmer. All of that is forfeit."

"Can I close the window?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Please?"

She went into the bathroom to change into her pyjamas. "Fuck!" I had be so looking forward to sleep. I curled up on the hard wood, trying to find a position that wasn't uncomfortable. She returned wearing the mint green set she had lent me before. She climbed straight into her bed without a word.

"It won't be too long before the alarm sounds, will it?" I asked.

"Good night, honey." She flicked off the reading light. I was left in total darkness. How long would I have to stay for? Would I even be able to sleep? That was the part that was worst about her punishments; they were never certain. She always made them into games or left them deliberately unclear. If she'd only told me how long I'd be there for, I would've felt better about it, I would've had a target to work towards. As it was, I had only an agonising uncertainty. All the while, she'd be in bed asleep, I'd be alone. I knew then it was going to be a brutal night.

Quite a short chapter this time, I'm afraid. Knowing what chapter 9 is going to be, this one wouldn't be suitable to merge with it. Chapter 9 is going to be quite an eventful one, so you'll just have to make do for now. Perhaps Leah waiting on the floor for an alarm to go off is a metaphor for those of you waiting eagerly for the next chapter to appear? (I'm joking).

I doubt this chapter will be anyone's favourite chapter but I still quite like it. We're starting to get our first few glimpses into some of Ellie's depth, we get to learn a little more about the school, and the punishment is fun, even if it's only the starters.

What does everyone think about Kiara? I can't imagine she's the most engaging of characters yet but there are some things to be revealed about her in the future. I probably should've fed more of it in earlier but ehh, I don't want her character to distract from the central stuff.

Here's a little question I can ask, either for feedback or just general interest. How do you like Ellie addressing Leah? We've seen Ellie and Leah experimenting in past chapters about how to address Ellie (they still haven't reached a conclusion, there). Generally, Ellie enjoys calling Leah: honey, girlie, cute/sweet girl, baby, little Leah...whatever else I've forgotten. Obviously there's "good girl" but that's specific to how she's behaving. Every now and then, Ellie tries out other ones. Which do people enjoy the most, or the least? What names do you like (or would you like) Leah to use for Ellie in return?

I'm afraid that's the best question I could think to ask this week! Look forward to chapter 9, it's probably my favourite.

- Serra