Vox Dominus Pt. 11

Now here he was: revisiting the Kappa house basement for the third time, with little to show for his efforts besides rapidly encroaching intoxication. He glumly sipped on another cup of punch, the sickening sweetness practically burning his tongue. God, he wished he could've come here with Sophia instead. Or hell, just studying with her would've be preferable. Even if her feelings towards him had dimmed. Even if she just wanted to be friends. Seb would easily take that over sulking these overcrowded halls like a malnourished shadow, his racing thoughts barely audible over the good time everyone else was having.

Maybe he should just give up. But as he watched a trio of giggling girls bend to refill their drinks, thongs poking out of their jeans, the Vox pointedly rejected the notion. Seb had starved it for too long to turn back now. And besides, there was one area he hadn't canvassed yet:

Upstairs. The forbidden frontier. Even the most laissez-faire frats usually kept their bedrooms off-limits to the general public, out of concern for cleanliness, confidentiality, or both. Seb had always avoided pushing his luck into those waters. But now he was drunk, horny, lonely, and had mind-control powers. What was the worst that could happen?

Fuck it.

A skinny, pale teen was waiting as Seb approached the second-story staircase, most likely some poor pledge the frat elders had placed on guard duty.

"Uh, s-sorry," the boy stammered as Seb approached. "Upstairs is for Kappas only."

"It's alright," Seb said, the tightness in his pants and the heat in his head causing the Vox to slip easily from his tongue. "They said I could go up." Would his powers even work on a target he didn't want to sleep with? No time like the present to find out.

The freshman's eyes blinked rapidly underneath his messy bangs. "Huh? Who? Y'mean Kyle?" he asked unsteadily.

"Right, Kyle," Seb replied. "Kyle told me it was cool if I went upstairs."

"Uh, okay," the freshman stood aside, hanging onto the banister for balance. "Go ahead."

Seb nodded in thanks and hurried up the stairs before the would-be guard reoriented. Using the Vox in such an off-the-cuff way felt odd, but it did serve to bolster his already-boozy confidence. Now he knew that if someone caught him, at least he would probably be able to sweet-talk his way out of it.

That self-assurance started to fade, however, the moment he reached the second floor. A hallway of blank doors greeted him, without as much as a nameplate to distinguish them. He had been hoping to catch somebody in the hallway, or discover a private party going on in one of the rooms. But now...what was he supposed to do? Start knocking?

Seb padded onwards, trying to look like he belonged there while simultaneously realizing he didn't know what that meant. He briefly considered placing his ears to the room entrances, when a startling scent hit his nostrils: a pungent, distinct smell, one Seb had been to enough after-show cast parties to recognize.

Weed.

Seb followed the scent down the hall, eventually arriving at the door he believed held the source. He paused, listening, until the sound a whirring fan and subdued chatter reached his ears. Some of the voices on the other side sounded feminine, though he couldn't be sure. It was possible he was about to stumble upon a lone stoner bro trying to enjoy Netflix in peace. Or, perhaps he would find a gaggle of blissed-out, suggestible party girls on the other side. Only one way to find out.

Seb tried to hold the latter scenario in his head, fortifying his courage and desire so the Vox would be ready the moment his knuckles rapped on the door. "Hey, it's me," he said, hoping the same vague approach he had used on the stair-guard would pay dividends here.

The voices on the other side went silent. Then the door cracked open, revealing a young man with a scraggly beard and a messy man-bun. He blinked rapidly upon seeing Seb, clearly having trouble making heads or tails of the situation. "Uh...sorry, who are you again?" he asked.

"Kyle's friend." Seb answered. "He said people were smoking up here—that's you guys, right?"

"Y-yeah," man-bun answered automatically. He shifted, and Seb managed to catch a glimpse of small gathering behind him, smoke still wafting in the air between them.

"Cool if I join you?" Seb pressed, subtly resting his hand on the door and nudging it open further.

That was the ticket: the confused host backed up, adding a belated "sure man," as Seb entered.

The scene waiting on the other side was neither as bad as he had feared, nor as good as he had hoped. It was a typical stoner corner: a handful of guys and a couple girls crammed into a cluttered bedroom, passing a joint by the light of a football lamp. A laptop showing YouTube videos was propped up on the unmade bed, next to a rotating fan lazily failing to disperse the smell hovering around their heads. One of the guys had his arm around one of the girls, a skinny blonde with a loose-fitting blouse Seb could clearly see her bra and pert bust through. Cute, but clearly spoken for. The other girl...

...The other girl was exactly what he was looking for.

Unlike most of the other partygoers, she looked closer to a theater-geek than a frat girl. Her brown hair was streaked with purple strands that fell loosely around her cute, dreamy expression. She was seated at the foot of the bed, her relaxed, leaned-back posture unconsciously highlighting her hefty tits, which stretched the graphics of her "Adventure Time" tank-top. Her folded legs and ripped jeans offered tantalizing glimpses up her pale thighs, but she was either too stoned or too comfortable to care. Either way, she was perfect.

Seb tossed a brief nod of acknowledgement to the rest of the group before sliding next to her. "This spot free?" he asked.

The girl's eyelids fluttered. "Uh, yeah, totally," she replied.

"Thanks," Seb smiled, leaning in and lowering his voice. "I was really hoping I'd get to sit next to you."

It was forward. Maybe even careless. But the Vox was impatient. And the effect was immediate. The girl's eyes closed for a full beat, her body swaying slightly before she answered. "Really?" she asked, then self-consciously giggled. "Do we, like...know each other?

Seb held her gaze with his, moving closer until he could feel her bare shoulders graze his. "No, but I feel like we do," he answered. "You can sense it too, can't you? That warm, peaceful feeling? Like somehow, everything is as it should be?"

"Huh...yeah...." she nodded slowly, her lips hanging open for a moment before curving into a bemused smile. "Whoa...I must be, like...higher than I thought."

Seb chuckled. Of course, the sensation he had described probably had more to do with the weed than the Vox at this point. But a good hypnotist never missed an opportunity to reframe the incidental as entrancing. "That's good," he continued, making sure to keep his voice below the chatter around him. "That's the whole point, isn't it? To feel relaxed and happy?"

"Yes..." she breathed, her eyes still clinging to his even as her head started to droop. "Relaxed and...happy..."

"Yo, Kate," the boy to her right nudged her slightly. "You gonna take this, or what?"

"Huh?" she turned, her bright green pupils taking a moment to focus on the lit joint her neighbor was offering her. "Uh...maybe I should pass..." Her eyebrows pinched together. "My head feels, like...kinda funny, y'know?"

"But not in a bad way, I hope?" Seb prompted.

"N-no..." Kate answered, touching her fingers to her lips.

"Then what's the harm? Feeling funny is the whole point, right?"

The crease in her brow softened, her hand languidly sliding back to her side as a goofy grin spread across her face. "Yeah...right..." she said, accepting the joint and taking a deep hit. Seb couldn't help staring as she leaned back and exhaled, her breasts gently falling as she descended deeper into the haze enveloping her head.

It took Seb a moment to realize that the guy who had passed her the joint was now staring at him. "Bro, is there like...something weird with your voice?" he asked.

Seb did his best to look puzzled. Then laughed. "Like what?" he asked.

"Uh..." his interrogator blinked heavily, then snickered. "Shit, man, I dunno..."

"You're so high, bro," Seb said, doing his best Ben impression and hoping it would stick.

"Fuck, I so am..." the guy groaned, leaning back on the bed and resting his head on the pillow behind him.

Seb took the opportunity to turn to Kate, who was staring at the smoke wafting at her fingertips. "You don't mind my voice, do you?" he asked.

"Uh-uh," she answered, shaking her head back and forth.

"In fact, it seems like you kinda like it," Seb pressed.

She giggled. "Uh-huh..."

"That's good. Feel free to listen as much as you want."

"Listen," she repeated, her head listing towards him.

The other girl in the group tittered hysterically. "Oh my God, Kate, you're so gone. You're supposed to pass it, remember?"

Kate said nothing in reply, just leaned over and lazily offering the joint to Seb. He hesitated, his eyes darting between her blissed-out expression and her outstretched hand.

This was the part he had been dreading.

The part where he would have to smoke.

Seb had only attempted such a feat once on a dare from Miki, an endeavor that ended in him nearly hacking up a lung, much to her amusement. He could try to talk his way out of it, but it was risky: a guy showing up to smoke and then refusing to do so would possibly set up more red flags than he was capable of knocking down, even with the Vox.

But maybe he could still use this to his advantage.

Seb gently took the joint from Kate's fingers, bringing it to his lips and taking the smallest of inhales before quickly handing it to Kate's friend. She accepted the pass, but not before shooting him a quizzical look.

"Did you, like, even get anything?" the blonde asked.

"A bit, yeah," Seb assured her. He turned to Kate with an abashed smile. "But it's only my second time doing this, so I'm not really good at it."

It seemed to take her Vox-soaked brain a beat to process this, but when it finally did she laughed. "Whaaat? But it's like, super easy."

Seb had to suppress a laugh of his own. She had fallen into his trap. "Can you show me?" he asked.

"Uh, sure," she answered, bringing her hand up and pantomiming the action. "You just, like...inhale...hold it in...and exhale."

"Inhale...and then...exhale," Seb repeated.

"Inhale...and...exhale..." she echoed back.

"Inhale...exhale."

"Inhale...exhale..." Her eyes fell closed, then struggled to re-open.

"Deep breaths."

"Yeah...deep...breaths..."

"Inhale and exhale."

"Inhale...ex...hale..." Her shoulders slumped.

"Just focus on your breathing."

Kate's mouth hung open, her body tilting towards Seb as if drawn by an invisible string. "Focus...breathing..."

Seb shot a quick glance over his shoulder. The joint was still slowly making its way around the circle. Which meant he had a few more passes to complete his move. To fully capture Kate's weakening will.

"It's so easy," he murmured, fixing her sleepy eyes with an intense stare.

"Easy..." she repeated. Her hands were on the ground now, her tits swaying pendulously as she struggled to keep her drooping body up.

"Just breath and relax."

"Relax..."

"So very, very relaxed, aren't you?"

"Yes..." she nodded heavily. "So...very...very..." her voice trailed off, her mouth merely forming the final word. But it was enough: Seb recognized that drowsy monotone, the familiar slurred timbre of a subject on the brink of surrender. All it would take was a little push.

"Wanna see a cool trick?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "I promise you'll like it."

"Okay..." came the drowsy response.

"Just look into my eyes," Seb gently commanded. "Look as deep as you can. As though you're trying to see the bottom of a deep, dark well."

Kate's eyes struggled to widen, her lashes fluttering as her gaze sank into Seb's. For a moment, Seb just let her drift, enjoying the conflicted look on her face, the dreamy, overwhelming relaxation in her body fighting with her need to follow his commands.

"That's good," he finally assured her. "And as you stare, you'll start to notice flecks of color you never noticed before. You can see them, can't you?"

"Yes..." she answered, a brief flicker of confusion passing over her face. "How...did you..."

"Just keep staring," Seb urged her. "Notice all those sparkling colors glinting in the dark. So pretty and captivating."

"Pretty..." she repeated, the remaining tension in her expression vanishing, replaced by docile wonder. "Captiv...ah...."

Seb smirked. It was a minor hallucination, but the fact that she was experiencing it proved she was in an exceptionally suggestible state. Now it was time to capitalize on it.

"That's right. So many colors. So dazzling. So overwhelming, you can't look away."

"Can't...look away..." Kate sighed.

"Impossible to think."

"Impossible...think..."

"But that's okay. Because it feels good, doesn't it?"

"Mmm..." she let out a soft moan. Confirmation that there were no more thoughts in that pliable little mind of hers. Just whatever feelings the Vox wanted her to feel.

"There are more tricks I want to show you," Seb said. "And each one will make you feel even better. You want this, don't you?"

Kate didn't reply. She didn't have to. Her shallow, panting breath and dull, obedient gaze were the only answer Seb needed.

He put his lips to her ear. "I'm going to leave in moment. After I do, I want you to wait for ten minutes, and then make up an excuse to leave. It will feel very easy and natural to do so. You will then meet me in the bar downstairs. Do not tell anyone what I have just told you. It will be our little secret, understand?"

He backed away, catching her eyes again and nodding. She bobbed her head in unison with his.

"Good girl," Seb said, enjoying the hitch in her breath as he stood.

Man-bun cocked an eyebrow. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Bathroom," Seb lied. "Don't worry about it."

And that was all it took. Man-bun shrugged and returned his attention to the blunt heading his way. Someone else in the group cracked a joke, cuing laughter all around as Seb headed for the door. He descended the stairs passed the "guard" without a second glance, finally allowing himself a sigh of relief.

The hard part was over. All he needed to do now was wait for his new subject to find him downstairs.

And then the fun would begin in earnest.

______________________________________

The night air raced across Veronica's skin as she pulled Chelsea outside. The ice cock sculpture on the patio had mostly melted by this point, cuing its admirers to wander off to find something more entertaining to do.

Making it the perfect spot to for Veronica to give her beautiful, infuriating best friend a piece of her mind.

"What the hell is going on?" Veronica hissed, almost spilling her drink as she rounded on Chelsea.

"Uh, well," the bombshell blonde raised an eyebrow. "I was having a lovely conversation with our guest as planned, only for my friend to yank me away and start asking trick questions. How's your evening?"

Veronica laughed humorlessly. "Oh, just great. Who wouldn't want to spend their night mending bridges for a girl who clearly wants to be somewhere else? A girl you thought cared about you but who instead has spent all night fawning over some backwoods bimbo you'd never seen before? I'm having the time of my life!"

To Veronica's surprise, Chelsea flinched, a flicker of guilt passing through her bright blue eyes. Veronica looked away, downing the rest of her drink. She couldn't let herself be deterred. Not this time. She was pissed, and she was going to let Chelsea know. Even if the blonde seemed genuinely conflicted. Even if Veronica wanted to kiss her pouty lips as much as she wanted to strangle her slender neck. She wouldn't let Chelsea off the hook. Not this time.

"Sorry," Chelsea sighed. "I know I've been distant lately. But ever since my grades slipped, my mom has been riding my ass non-stop. So when she told me to make friends with Sophia...I guess I kinda fixated on that over—"

Veronica cut her off with a warning finger. "Don't. Don't feed me that line. I don't know if Sophia really is who you say she is, but she sure as shit means more to you than you're letting on. And you haven't just been 'distant'—you've been downright crazy. Acting out at some stupid variety show. Acting like you don't care about parties or the sorority anymore. Disappearing at random hours with no warning or explanation. Bringing home weird girls and spending the entire night at their beck and call. And the whole time, tryin' to act like I shouldn't be concerned. Well good job: I'm not concerned. I'm fucking PISSED!" She chucked her cup in the lawn. It was too much, it was all too much.

And the worst part was, in the long silence that followed, Chelsea didn't seem shocked by the outburst.

Nor angry, nor insulted.

She seemed tired.

"You're right," Chelsea muttered, leaning against the porch railing. "I've been impossible. I've been selfish. I've been unfair to you. And I'm sorry," she met Veronica's eyes. "You know I am."

Veronica swallowed. She did know. She knew Chelsea's apology was an honest one.

But that...still didn't...

"So tell me what's going on," Veronica pleaded. "Let me help you. Please."

Chelsea paused, delicately twisting her fingers together. "I can't," she whispered.

"Why not?!" Veronica demanded. "You know you can trust me so why—"

"I found a way out," Chelsea blurted.

Veronica's angry retort caught in her throat, suffocating the fury that had been burning inside. "What?" she exclaimed. "A way out of what?"

"Out of...this," Chelsea gestured to the houses around them. "All of this. The plans, the schemes, the expectations...everything I've been trapped by my whole life."

Veronica blinked. "Then...why can't you..."

Chelsea stared into the dark woods in the distance, a wistful sadness in her gaze. "Because if it doesn't work out, nothing will change," she muttered. "But if it does work...then...you and I might never..."

She paused, something apparently catching her eye. Veronica followed her gaze, only to see...

"Is that Sophia?" she exclaimed.

"Chelsea!" the Latina cried out, drunkenly stumbling across the yard to meet them. The flames of contempt that had consumed Veronica all evening flared up again, only to be quickly extinguished as Sophia's face reached the light.

She was crying, sobbing as she ran; her face coated in tears, her hair matted sloppily against her forehead. A picture of desperate despair.

"Wh-what happened?" Chelsea asked, clearly as shocked as Veronica was by the blubbering girl beneath them.

"It's Seb!" Sophia wailed. "I saw him! He's here!"