Otherside Ch. 01

WARNING - if you're looking for a quick horny story, move along. This story is a deeper story with realistic characters, deeper relationships, applicable themes, and genuine plot, all of which just happens to exist in a world that happens to provoke plenty of nudity. Don't read expecting hardcore erotica or hyper-descriptive sex scenes.

CHAPTER 1

It was a Tuesday when Ollys saw a girl nude for the first time.

Of course, the thought wasn't even on his mind that morning as he woke up. As the first sun slowly crested the windowsill, the beams burning through his eyelids, the boy growled and turned over, trying to wring out a few more minutes of sleep from his short rest. He tried to force himself back into unconsciousness but his mind was already beginning to wake, the sunlight awakening his functions, including the reproductive ones. His last hopes for extra sleep were whisked away as a hardening sensation grew between his legs.

Ollys cussed and threw himself up, giving in. Ignoring the wood, he slipped off the aluminum framed mattress onto the cold marble floor below. He grabbed a pair of boxers, chinos and a casual button down from his deep walk in closet before entering the bathroom, habitually dropping the clothes onto the toilet seat and turning on the water.

As he scrubbed himself down in the steamy shower, it dawned on him what day it was. The new semester was beginning today, he realized sourly. The break had ended so quickly, wasted on goofing around with friends and getting drunk at nights, and now he had to go back to real life. College had previously filled him with stress but now he simply dreaded the boredom of the classroom.

Mostly, he reminded himself. He was getting into some more interesting classes this semester. Theoretical Magiks was not terribly exciting but he was looking forward to his Advanced Arcane Masseuship classes. He forced himself not to think about the more... practical side of the class, as his boner had finally begun chilling out.

He quickly hopped out of the shower, pulling on his clothes and applying fluoride cream to his mouth as he wondered about what kind of classes he'd have. What would his roommates be like? Maybe some cute girls? he thought, grinning. He fixed his hair up in the mirror, pulling on his pair of round lensed glasses that he prided himself on, and finally jumped down the stairs.

Moments later, after ignoring nagging from his father and chugging down protein milk, he found himself speeding off to class on his bike, the cobalt silver coat gleaming perfectly. Ollys breathed in deeply, reveling in the fresh air, as he sped down the too-perfect neighborhood.

He felt a small buzz on his earlobe at some point, though he elected to ignore the feeling. As he cruised down a narrow street, taking a left turn at some point, a large building grew over a shallow hill at some point. The white marble edifice with harsh black roofing and accents was a tall and grandiose building compared to the symmetrical, perfect townhouses and shops around it. It had an aura of stark bravado and stern disapproval, with its sharp angles and harsh color differences. It almost demanded attention from those nearby, even though it was hardly the largest building in the bustling city.

A familiar feeling of suppressed discomfort rose within Ollys as he parked his little bike in front of the university campus. He looked irritatedly at the sign in front of the school, with the blocky words "Astral Academy for the Scholar", or ASS as the students affectionately called it.

"Idiot," a voice said next to Ollys, pulling his attention away. "You ignored me."

"You're right." Ollys grinned as he turned to his old friend. "Wasn't in the mood to hear your dull voice."

The boy in front of him stood a good inch above Ollys, despite being a year younger. The dusty blonde had bright blue eyes with bushy eyebrows, one of them raised dramatically. "My voice isn't dull, you-" he exhaled and cut himself off. "You almost got yourself killed last week, you know that?"

Ollys thought back to the even a few days ago and grinned. "Oh Liric, I am so aware. Never felt as alive as I did that night."

"Never felt so alive as when you nearly died falling from a roof?" Liric scoffed. "You're gonna end up a pile of gore one of these days, Ollys."

Ollys laughed as he locked up his bike. "You sound like my mom."

"Your mom sounds smart," Liric replied.

Ollys laughed harder. "You're not wrong."

The pair walked into the enormous building as other students flowed around them. Despite it being his third semester here, he was still stunned by how many people went to the school. As he and Liric were crammed in the hallways with hundreds of other students, he felt anxiety building in his spine. He ignored it, making fun of Liric for never having kissed a girl.

Liric raised an eyebrow. "You're hardly one to talk, dude."

"Oy, I've kissed several girls," Ollys said ostentatiously. "Up to three now."

"Not something you should be keeping track of," Liric noted. "Though last I checked all three of your relationships burned real quick, if you can even call them relationships."

Ollys grinned. "It's the thought that counts, my man." He peeked at a door they passed. c120. Not there yet. "What class've you got today?"

"My Urdenic history class," he replied dryly. "Absolutely thrilling."

Ollys laughed, brushing his hand through his dark brown hair. "So glad I got that class out of the way. It was horrific experience. Sir Endelin is hardly an engaging professor."

"So I've heard," he muttered.

The shorter boy looked up at the wall again. c128. "Well this is me," he sighed dramatically. "Theoretical Magiks. What a terrible class."

Liric rolled his eyes. "Yeah ok. Not like you've been squealing in excitement like a hamster the past month about it."

"Don't try to console me," Ollys said dramatically, faking a look of anticipation and dread. "You're lucky, you know."

"Oh to the Pit with you," Liric muttered as he walked away. The taller boy waved over his shoulder. Ollys just grinned. What a guy.

He turned around and walked into the schoolroom. It was a bigger room, with probably two and a half scores of chairs. A few of the chairs were already taken, with none of the residents of the seats interacting with eachother except a couple snogging in the corner. Ollys didn't recognize anyone, so he took a seat to the side, near the middle. He looked at the wall next to him at a board hanging on the wall, pretending to read its notifications.

In the next ten minutes, many more people began filing into class. Ollys recognized a couple of them from his old classes, though he didn't really know them well. As more and more students came in, he began to notice how big the class was. Dozens of students rolled into class, sitting down in the cramped seating arrangement. A girl he didnt recognize took the seat next to him, though she didn't say anything.

Soon, the room had run out of seating. Several students were wandering around the room, but there were no chairs left. Some of them elected to sit on windowsills or just stand against the wall. Did they overfill the class? Probably some administrative problem that hadn't been addressed.

A somewhat shorter girl walked in near the end of the crowd that caught Ollys's eye. She had skin the color of mahogany with curly, black hair, and big, high cheekbones, with a pair of muted green eyes. She had a smile on seemingly for no reason, and she walked with a brisk but casual stride. Ollys knew this girl from somewhere.

But who was she? She looked at him, causing him to realize he had been staring. He nearly turned his gaze, but a look of confusion and recognition flashed across her face as well.

After several moments of awkward staring, she blinked and walked across the class towards him, her head tilted. "Ollyn?" She asked hesitantly.

"Ollys," he proffered.

The girl grinned and laughed. "Bro, Ollys! I can't believe it, I didn't know you were going here. What the hell, how are you?" She paused. "Wait, sorry. I'm Opal. From-"

It clicked. "Opal! From the massuesery."

She stuck him a thumbs up. "Yessir!"

"What the hell," Ollys laughed. "How are you?"

"Not too bad!" She leaned on his desk. "Living the life, I guess. Though I dropped out of the whole arcane massage stuff. Too much for me!"

"Yeah no kidding," Ollys said. "Not sure how I've managed to hang in so long."

"For real. Get to touch any cute girls?" She asked, grinning mischievously.

"Only like thirty," Ollys said, putting on a face of mock melancholy. "It's the only reason I went into it anyways." When she laughed, he added, "No, trying to work on the medical side, so probably not too many cute girls. More like hormonal old folks."

"Ah, didn't know thats what you were into." She burst out laughing at her own joke, to which Ollys inevitably did the same. Didn't know she was this funny, he thought to himself. They had never been close at the center, so it was cool to see what she was really like.

"So like, since there aren't chairs," Opal began, slinging her bag on the ground, "mind if I sit on your lap?"

Ollys blinked.... what? Some deep part of him got really excited, though the rest of him was quite off-put. "Um, excuse me?"

Opal looked at him blankly for a second, before bursting into giggling once more. "Messing with you," she said, sitting on the table in front of him. "I'll just sit here."

Ollys exhaled in relief, grinning, though that small part of him felt disappointed. "Had me scared for a second there," he said.

"And a little turned on?" She asked, grinning wickedly, though luckily a voice called from the front of the room, interrupting.

"Students," a rough voice called from the front of the room. A larger woman stood there, with coily red hair and a chubby frame, wearing the robes of faculty. The infamous Madam Liall: an incredible teacher, but hardly leniant. She had a stern but intelligent look on her face. "Welcome to Theoretical Magiks. Apologies for the... business of the class. There was some confusion in the offices about the capacities of this class, so we will have to make do." She paused, looking around the room at this without seats. "In the meantime, let's take our class outside until they resolve the madness. There's an unused field to the north of campus, where more practical arts are usually practiced, though its not being used right now."

Ollys whooped as did a few of the others, and grinned at Opal, who smiled back. "Won't complain of getting out of this monotonous building," she said under her breath.

"Neither will I." Ollys began wondering about the effectiveness of the decision once everyone started getting up, the sound of scraping chairs and chattering voices filling the schoolroom. He couldn't see Madam Liall, but he assumed she was leading the class out of the room, as the crowd before him was moving slowly.

Just as he began worrying about the lowering oxygen levels of such a crowd, he saw sunlight as they pushed through the back doors of the building. "So if not arcane masseuship, what are you studying?" he asked Opal.

The cute girl tilted her head, smirking at him. "Not sure yet. But I'm leaning towards war magery."

Ollys raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. "War magery?"

"What," she asked, raising an eyebrow of her own. "A girl can't get a little physical?"

Ollys laughed. "Trust me, I've been beat up by enough girls to know that ain't the case. But," he explained, his voice growing more serious, "war magery hardly has a low mortality rate."

"Worried about me, are we?" Opal giggled. "Nah, you're not wrong. But the thrill of high-pressure casting and getting to fight for Urden... that's exciting to me."

"Yeah, I suppose so," he replied, not convinced. Wasn't really his place to say anything though, so he kept his mouth shut.

Which wasn't too hard, considering the enormous building they approached. The huge white building with black tile floors, roofing and pillars stood bearing above them. It was nearly the size of the rest of the campus itself, and yet despite its grandeur, Ollys had never had the chance to enter. It was very strict on who could enter and use it. "This is what Madam Liall meant by field??"

Opal was looking up at the building with awe, like he imagined he was. "Damn... we're getting to go inside?"

And indeed, when they got to the front steps of the edifice, the Madam pushed open a pair of aluminum doors, leading the students in. "Storms," Ollys muttered as he passed inside.

The inside was absolute insanity. A network of chaotic order, nearly the entire structure was filled with fields of varying shapes and sizes - and not just on the floor. Fields and arenas were plastered on walls, suspended in the air, or curved along the ceiling. Several people, mostly students, were on different platforms: some on the platforms in the air, some hanging off the wall somehow, as if gravity was pointed sideways for them. Some individuals even hung in the air, sparring with eachother. The sheer madness of the scene before him nearly made him trip, though Opal caught his shoulder before he toppled.

"Thanks," he muttered. "This is... ridiculous."

"No kidding," she replied under her breath, looking around with the same level of wonder as he.

Ollys struggled to keep up with Liall, as did many of the other students - though some seemed already acquainted to it. Liall lead them to one of the fields on the floor, seemingly a simple sports field. She turned around as the class approached. "Sit," she said loudly, to catch everyone's attention. They all quickly sat down and quited down, likely to not incure the wrath of Liall.

And so, the day began.