Chapter 3: Tuesday Afternoon, 2:43PM

Will came to groggily. What just happened? His eyes focused, and he recoiled. Oh, shit, is she—Okay, she’s breathing. Wow, what a ride. I think that was the most intense one yet.

Alaina lay naked with her back draped over her desk, her legs still wrapped around his waist. Her eyes were rolled back in her head, and her lips were parted slightly. She reminds me a little of a dragon from high fantasy novels—all fiery and possessive.

And beautiful. He reached up and gently caressed one side of her face. He smiled, his thoughts turning more introspective. Damn, Alaina. I don’t know what you just did, but that was insane. And what the hell, I feel like I have more energy now than when I came in the room. That’s not how sex is supposed to work. Or is this what it’s always like when you have sex with someone you like this much?

He ran his hand down from her face, tracing from her jaw down her neck to her collarbone. Then he gave each of her breasts a quick fondle. I always forget about these. He thumbed her nipple. If I exclude Tiff for cheating and her for ... being herself, then I think these are my favorite boobs. Another, larger, olive-toned pair came to mind, but he banished the thought. No, that was one time only.

We should get out of here before somebody knocks. “Alaina,” he called softly. “Alaina, wake up.”

The supine girl gasped, her hands flailing a little, and her eyes came into focus. “Hey,” she said with half-lidded eyes, sounding sleepy.

“That was amazing,” said Will.

“Um, it was?” Alaina asked. “Sorry, I’m—Why am I naked?” her eyes widened. “What the fuck, was that all real?”

“You don’t remember?” asked Will, frowning. That’s ... oddly disappointing.

“I ... Oh, no!” Her face went crimson, and she took on a horrified look. “Did I really say those things?”

I think this is where I take Vin’s advice and try to be cool instead of teasing her like I want to. I think. “What things?” asked Will. “I just came in here and you tried to fuck me to death. Not a lot of time for talking.”

She stared up at him, trying to see if he was telling the truth.

A knock sounded at the door.

Alaina and Will looked at the door, then stared at each other with wide eyes.

“Alaina, is that you in there?” came Estela’s voice from outside.

“Fuck, that’s Ms. Perez,” whispered Alaina. “Fuck, this is the worst possible thing that could happen!”

“You have to hide. Do that cleaning thing and then let go.” Will pulled out after he felt the familiar freshness spread through his body. He looked around, but the only thing that stood out was the front of Alaina’s desk which went all the way to the floor. “Um, get under your desk. I have an idea. Hurry!”

He pulled his pants back up, fastening them, and then straightened his shirt.

“If it’s not Alaina in there and the door is locked with the shade down,” said Estela, her voice frosty, “I’m going to assume there’s some people inside doing something they definitely should not be doing on school grounds.” The knob rattled as she tried to turn it. “I’ll give you until the count of five to open this door, otherwise I’m coming in. One.”

Will looked around frantically, scooping up all the items he saw that belonged to Alaina. Jeans, bag, under—whoa these are wet!

“Two.”

Shoes, shirt, bra ... I think that’s it?

“Three.”

He shoved it all under the desk next to the naked girl who was crouching underneath, then took a seat at the desk. He felt a hand on his shin and looked down. I think that’s the “if you fuck this up you’re dead” look.

“Four.”

Need to look busy ... What’s this? He reached into the open drawer and pulled out a cardboard box filled with paper. Perfect. He grabbed a big stack of papers and put them on the desk.

“Five.” The sound of a key being inserted into the lock echoed through the room.

Will checked over the desk. These must be the good ones. And all of these, wait, why are so many of these from Don? He started chuckling just as the door opened. He didn’t look up. These are kind of funny. Maybe I’ll see about coming in to look over more of them with her tomorrow.

“Will?” said Estela.

He looked up, holding the ‘Skydiving’ idea in his hand and grinning. “Hola, Señorita. Come in, quick, shut the door.”

The Spanish teacher gave him a cautious look before following his directions. “What are you doing in here, Will?” she asked as the door clicked shut. “And why was the door locked with the shade down?”

Will felt a hand clutch tightly at his leg. Relax, this is the easy part. He waved the paper in his hand. “I’ll tell you, but you have to absolutely promise not to tell Alaina.”

“Not tell Alaina?” Estela repeated, her tone laden with suspicion. She folded her arms under her well-restrained chest. “Is this something you shouldn’t be doing at school, Will?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Come over and see for yourself.” He waved her over, holding up the paper.

“Are these ... These are all the Senior Day idea submissions. Alaina has been working on them for weeks. What are you doing with them? Is this some kind of prank?”

She sounds disappointed. That hurts. “No, actually it’s the opposite. She’s been massively overworked lately. Even I’ve noticed it. Thought I’d give her a hand—you know, try and be a little more proactive like Val was. I got Ron to let me in.” Sprinkle in a mention of the previous, hardworking vice president for realism...

The teacher stepped closer, peering at the paper in his hand. “Anyway,” he continued, “I mentioned it to my friend Don—you know Don Macleod, right?—and he threw a bunch of fake entries in as a prank just now. Look at this: skydiving. Bungee jumping. Parasailing. African Safari. Basejumping. Don’s such a kidder.”

Estela’s soft lips quirked into a smile. “And this is a secret from Alaina?”

“You know how she is, even if someone offered to help her now she’d probably say she had it all under control. But if I do a little bit here and there on my own...” It’s almost too plausible.

“That’s sweet, Will,” she said, nodding in approval. “Is this perhaps related to a rumor I heard earlier that you two are dating?”

He felt a sharp pinch on his ankle and was unable to avoid flinching. “Just a rumor, nothing more. I ended up driving her to school this morning because she had a flat tire. Like I said, just trying to help out a bit.” He grinned.

“Very noble. I must say, I...” she trailed off wrinkling her nose. She sniffed a few times. “What is that? It smells like ... Is that strawberries? With a hint of—what is that—blueberry?”

“You have a great nose. It’s a new cologne,” said Will. That’s maybe a little less plausible. “Just trying it out for the first time today. Do you like it?”

She gave him an appraising look, then leaned over the desk, her light brown eyes locking onto his. “We agreed that was a one time thing, Will,” she whispered. “If this is some kind of a ploy to—”

Oh, no, she didn’t just say it. Not now. He groaned inwardly. “Estela, please.” He pushed at his words, activating his Skill. “I promised you that I would never make trouble for you or tell anyone, and I haven’t. And I won’t.”

She stared at him for a moment, and then her smile widened. “I was going to say,” she whispered, “that if it was a ploy,” she raised her eyebrows suggestively, “then you’re on the right track. I love strawberries, and I really like seeing you be more active like this.”

His mouth fell open. What. A vision of olive-colored thighs wrapped around him floated through his head. He managed to close his mouth after a moment, but the memory was harder to get rid of.

She pushed herself back upright, still smiling coyly. “Seen any possible winners yet from all the submissions?”

“So far a pool party seems like the only realistic choice from the ones I’ve seen.”

“A pool party?” Estela raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, we could rent out a venue with a pool and everyone could hang out in swimsuits.” said Will. “Hm, now that I think of it, I’d love to know what you’d wear to something like that if you were going to attend.”

Estela giggled briefly before catching herself. “Something school-appropriate, of course.”

“Of course, of course. How silly of me, I got caught up in a daydream for a moment.”

“A good one, I hope?”

“The only kind I’d have.” Will waggled his eyebrows, leaving the about you unsaid.

Her smile was salacious. “I’ll let you get back to it then, I wouldn’t want to be in the way of a good dream.” She paused, her smile slipping a bit. “I ... He’s been better lately. That’s why I haven’t—”

“Like I’ve always said,” Will interrupted, his tone serious, “if you need someone to talk to then I’m here for you any time, without judgment. I know it’s ... Ah, shit.” His voice grew softer. “I think you’re a brave woman, Estela. If you want help, call.”

“Thanks, Will. You’re sweet.” she said with a sigh. “Sometimes...” she trailed off. “No, forget it. It was nice catching up with you, Will.” She smiled at him with her mouth but not her eyes. “I’ll ... We’ll talk properly soon, okay?”

“Sure, my number is in the school directory.” He winked. Things are definitely not better. Ugh, I need to check my messages again. Did I miss something from her last week, too?

Estela’s smile spread to her eyes once more, and she turned to go, stopping momentarily to retrieve a piggybank from her desk. The skirt of her dress bounced from side to side much more on the way out than it had when she came in. She gave him one more look before she opened the door and walked out. He heard the sound of a key entering the lock from the other side, and then the door was once again locked.

Will sighed, leaning his head on his hand. What a rollercoaster. I need to check in with her more often. She’s hurting again.

He leaned back in his chair. And now I’ve got an entirely different problem.

Alaina sat under the desk, her knees tucked to her chest, with both hands pressed to her mouth and her eyes open wide staring back at him.

He grimaced. “I’m going to sort these for a few minutes in case she comes back, then I’ll meet you in my car out front in ten minutes. I have to take care of something real quick.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” was the first thing Alaina asked once her door was shut.

Will leaned heavily on his left hand as he steered them away from the school. “About what?” he sighed. I can’t believe Estela brought it up at school. She knows better. Ah, shit, she must be worse off than I thought.

“You and Ms. Perez hooked up?” Alaina squealed.

Wow, I didn’t think she’d be this excited. “No comment.”

“But she just—Estela just—”

“No. Comment.”

“Will, you—”

“No, Alaina, I’m not going to tell you anything about it. Ever. And not just because my Skill would stop working to reassure her that I didn’t tell. I promised, Alaina. That means something to me.”

“Fine,” said Alaina.

Will looked over and caught her sulking. “I’m not going to ask you not to tell anyone about what you heard.” he said. “I trust you enough that I don’t think you will. It’s not a question of you or her, either. I don’t make promises lightly, Alaina. My words are all that I have. The only thing that doesn’t come from ... from my parents. If I make a promise, I’ll do anything to keep it.”

“Anything?”

“What are you, a kid?” he chuckled. “Almost anything.”

“Then I want you to promise me something. Promise me you’ll never tell anyone about my Class. My real Class. Ever.”

Didn’t she already make me promise something back in her office? Or am I supposed to pretend that was just some kind of role play? “I promise not to tell anyone what your real Class is. Happy?”

“A little. So you won’t tell me about you and Ms. Perez. I’ll accept that for now. But that part at the end was pretty weird. Is she ... Is she okay?”

Will recalled another time.

“Estela, it’s okay. It’s okay. He’s not here now. It’s just me. Here, let me hold this ice—whoa, careful!”

She lay on the floor in a corner curled into a ball, her hands over her head, rocking slightly back and forth. Her shirt was torn on one side, an ugly red mark barely visible through the gap. Her phone lay next to her, its screen smashed. She didn’t cry any more. She was beyond that. She had spasmed when he held the ice against her side, flailing wildly and screaming a little.

“Estela, it’s me. It’s Will. Can you hear me? I think ... I don’t think you should be here. Let’s get you cleaned up a little and we can go somewhere else. Anywhere else. Are there any friends you could stay with? Also, um, I ... Do you have any big sweatshirts? Need to to cover you up for now...”

“Will?”

“What?” he said.

“Um, it’s a green light. And we need to go to that expensive grocery store downtown. It’s the other way...”

“Right, sorry.” Will shook his head clear and made a turn.

“You were a million miles away for a minute. Is it that bad?” Alaina asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m not going to talk about it,” said Will without hesitation.

“But if she’s in trouble, shouldn’t we try to do something?”

“Alaina, please.” He turned to make brief eye contact with her. “I know you take your role at school seriously, but this isn’t something you can handle. Or even something you should. I’m not...” He sighed. “There’s some things people have to save themselves from.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes as they neared the hub of the town.

“What were you going to ask?” said Alaina.

“What?”

“This morning. You were pretty convincing in the car, so you get to ask me something. What were you going to ask?”

What a topic change. I don’t even rememb—Oh right. “There’s one thing that’s been bugging me for weeks.” Will switched on the radio, turning it to a medium volume and setting the sound balance to the rear speakers. No sense in having another Greg situation while we’re driving slower. “Ever since I found out about it, really, since it doesn’t seem like it makes sense. Why did you do it? Why cheat on your midterms?

“I’ve seen your room, you’ve got ten times the number of reference books that our entire graduating class probably owns, and there’s enough sticky notes and bookmarks in them that I know they aren’t just for show. I’ve spent time with you over the past few days, and you’re a lot more clever than I thought—Uh, no offense—so I can’t imagine you having trouble with any of your coursework. I don’t get it.”

He looked over, having some time while an elderly couple ambled across the intersection under a traffic signal. Alaina’s brows were furrowed, her lips pressed tightly together in a frown.

Time passed, and Will resumed navigating through the maze of downtown.

“I guess...” Alaina began before lapsing back into silence. Her fingers drummed on the center armrest.

“It seemed like it made sense at the time,” she said. “I was so busy with everything, y’know? I’d get home at eight or nine most nights, then I’d have a few hours to study before bed. That or go over drama club and class budgets to try and squeeze out a little more here and there. I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at medical degrees and universities, and that takes up time, too.”

That seems like a big workload for someone my age.

She deflated into her seat. “Mom’s been working extra hard, so whenever she’s home I have to be extra cheerful and relaxed so she doesn’t have more things to worry about. Ayanna was doing a winter training camp that took up all her time, so she wasn’t around to hang out with much, and when she was I had to be extra on guard because she’s like a bloodhound if she thinks anything is wrong.”

Alaina beat her head softly against the back of her seat. “It was like being in a pressure cooker. Did you know I’ve never gotten less than a ninety eight on any exam since sophomore year?”

More than a little unbelievable, or so I’d say if it were anyone else.

“And even ... I never got less than a ninety on anything from seventh grade on. Straight A student. Every class. Every year. With everything going on, I guess I was worried that I was slipping. Or that I was losing focus. It seemed like after all the time I put into the school, maybe the school owed me something back.”

She sighed. “It sounds stupid saying it now after last week, or after hearing about what you’ve gone through.”

It feels like there’s a piece still missing. Why does she push herself this hard? Ah well, no point in rushing. He pulled into a parking spot in the grocery store’s lot. Just have to take things slow, Vin was right about that. “It’s not stupid, Alaina.” He reached his hand over onto the center armrest and laid his hand over hers, stroking lightly with his thumb. “Everyone has problems, and everyone’s problems are meaningful to them. Comparing your problems to someone else’s—or even your past problems—is only going to give you more problems. Things are better now, aren’t they? Look, you even have time to go on a grocery shopping date after role play sex at school today. And cook dinner for me out of gratitude for my heroic efforts in satisfying your needs on your desk—at great personal risk!”

He put on his best innocent smile and almost lost his composure to laughter when she turned to stare at him with her mouth hanging open. Flustered Alaina will never stop being cute.

After a moment, a grin spread across her face. She freed her hand and whacked him playfully on the shoulder with it. “Personal risk my ass.”

He made a show of leaning back in his seat and trying to look at her butt. “Well if you want to do that next time I wouldn’t say no...”

Alaina snorted a laugh. “Not in a million years. And it’s not a grocery shopping date. You wait here while I go in. I’ll only be a few minutes, and I don’t need you hovering over my shoulder. Or ogling my butt.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her purse off the floor in front of her.

Will put on his most overly-dramatic look of disappointment. “Are you sure you don’t need me to do either of those things? Mainly the second one, though.”

Alaina giggled. “I think you’ve already done enough to my lower body today.” She bit her lip, then leaned in and gave him a surprisingly tender blueberry-flavored kiss.

Will blinked. That was nice. “What was that for?”

His not-girlfriend licked her lips. “Gratitude,” she said, giving him an unreadable smile before she opened the door and swung herself out of the car. The door closed, and she was gone.

“Huh,” said Will, a smile on his face as he ogled her butt while she walked towards the store.

Things have really come a long way from last week. I still feel awful about that. That was so fucking stupid of me. He stared off into space for a melancholy minute, then pressed the button next to the steering wheel and turned the car off. Looks like I’ve got a bit. I could read ... Ah, shit, I finished my book during class, didn’t I.

Will shifted in his seat, unbuckling his seatbelt. May as well get comfortable. What a day so far. Can’t believe we just fucked on her desk again. When I got that message I thought it was going to be like Friday, but she seemed a lot more aware. Er, minus the whole being naked for anyone walking by to see. Damn, that was hot. If I hadn’t already been rock-hard when I came in just from imagining what I was going to find then that would have done it.

He leaned against his door. That was pretty weird before, too. Why would Laura pick today to try and make up with me? I suppose she did message me yesterday, too, now that I think of it. Dragging my hand up under her sweater in the library was sort of a nice start—and I can’t deny that she’s got the best boobs—but it was also pretty weird considering I told her not to talk to me again. Ugh, if my Trait wasn’t working I think she actually would have tried to kiss me. She’s messed up, that’s for sure.

His pocket buzzed, breaking him out of his thoughts. Will retrieved his phone and checked his messages.

Vin: Rita won’t know until tomorrow. How goes?

He tapped on the keyboard. Pretty good. Slow and steady. Lot less nerves now. Thanks for the pep talk.

C♡rl♡: Club Friday? ♥♥♥

Maybe. Might need motivation. He pressed send.

Will grinned. No harm in teasing a bit. I think the guys had fun last week, and it’ll be nice to see Tiff again.

His phone buzzed, and he opened the new message. A photo appeared, showing a close-up of a double string-tie pink lingerie bottom with the left side untied. The loose part was draped so that it just barely covered her mound, exposing a scandalous amount of coffee-colored skin. Her toned stomach was visible just above, and the photo ended at the undersides of a pair of impressively full breasts which were exposed from a matching bra by one of her hands near the edge of the frame.

That’s a hell of a motivator. He felt himself hardening. What the hell, I ended up getting teased instead.

He went back to the message and typed out a reply. Motivated. Very motivated.

I should double check and make sure I didn’t miss any more messages. He scrolled through his history, but there was nothing he hadn’t already replied to. That’s a relief.

His phone buzzed again.

C♡rl♡: I’ll wear on Friday. Use ur teeth!

I’m feeling like I really do need to go back to Sky on Friday now. He adjusted himself in his seat again, leaning his right elbow on the center armrest. Is Alaina really going to go along with clit poker? A thought struck him. Wait, does she like girls? A fantasy of his classmate locking lips with the sexy club dancer flashed through his mind before it was changed to the student council’s president eating out his former Spanish teacher.

Will chuckled. Not sure which of those is less realistic. The only thing that’s probably more unrealistic would be Alaina in a threesome. The idea made him giggle. I think it’d go something like, “Sure, Will, I’d love for you to bring another girl to bed, and I’m totally into eating pussy! Oh also, you wouldn’t mind me bringing these rusty garden shears to cut your dick off with, would you?” Yeah, that sounds about right. I’d be happy enough with a simple, “Will, I missed you.” Alright, maybe I’ve read too many of Tremaine’s romance novels; that’s also pretty unrealistic. I wish she’d come out with another book though, I’d kill to be able to read one just after it was released—maybe even get it signed.

His phone buzzed for the fourth time. Carla’s really—Oh. Ugh, I really can’t deal with this. He grimaced.

The passenger side door opened, and Alaina poked her head in. “Got everything,” she announced, pressing the door unlock button on her door. She backed up, then pulled open the door behind hers to stow her shopping bags.

Why does she keep messaging me? Will deleted the new message, just as he’d done to the other three from earlier that day and the one from yesterday, then put his phone away just in time to watch Alaina reclaim her seat and close her door.

“Sorry, that took a little longer than I thought,” she said, strapping in. “They only had two cashiers open, and one of them had some lady buying for a family of at least ten,” she grumbled. “The other was some girl on her first day and it took her fucking forever to ring up some guy’s bag of lemons.”

Will fastened his own seatbelt and pressed the ignition.

“And after that guy, there were three more people in front of me and they all had fruits and vegetables. I was about to walk over and ring myself up if the store manager hadn’t come over to speed it along. Argh!”

He turned to look back over his shoulder as he backed out, but paused to watch Alaina redo her ponytail.

“What, is there something on my face?” she asked when she caught him looking.

He blinked. “No, uh, just waiting for a car to move.” He shifted into reverse and started backing out of the parking space.

Alaina was grinning when he faced forward again, but she didn’t speak.

He put the car in drive and set off towards the other side of town.

“You were scowling at your phone pretty hard when I came back,” she said after a moment. “Bad news?”

“Nah, just a minor annoyance. I got some other messages while you were gone that were much more interesting.” He turned and waggled his eyebrows at her while he waited for a line of traffic to pass so he could make a left turn.

“Oh did you? Let me guess, some model was sending you nude photos?”

That’s just uncanny. “Alaina, you really take the fun out of everything.”

“Wait, really? Can I see?”

Will glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Er, you want to see a pic of a mostly-naked girl?” Is this when she pulls out the rusty garden shears?

“Am I likely to meet her?” asked Alaina, her face turned towards him.

“Um. Maybe?”

“Then obviously I want to see!” she said in an exasperated tone. “Will, I’m going to tell you right now, you’re so lucky that you got me as your fake girlfriend. A lot of other girls would get possessive, y’know. I just want to see who’s going to be competing with me.”

Is she trying to say she’s not possessive? After everything she said back in her office? Will laughed. “So that’s how you’re going to play it? Can’t just come out and say you want to look at pic of a hot girl?”

“That’s definitely not it,” she growled. “Actually, hold on,” she mused. “How hot are we talking?”

They pulled up to a stoplight and Will fished his phone out of his pocket. He pulled up the photo that Carla sent him and passed it over, grinning the whole time.

“Whoa,” said Alaina. She held the screen up to her face and started panning and zooming the image around. “What the fuck, Will. This girl is ridiculously hot! I’m not, like, into girls, but ... Are her boobs real?”

“Very. She sent another one a few messages earlier. Topless.”

She fiddled with the phone for a moment, then gawked at it. “Okay, don’t ever fucking tell anyone I said this, but she’s hot. I’ve never thought about a girl that way before...”

He looked over. Alaina was biting her recently-moistened lip fiercely, as though trying to gnaw a hole through it. Didn’t see that coming.

“It ... It must be a Class thing, right? I don’t like girls. I don’t.”

Uh oh, she sounds like she’s getting upset. This could get bad. “Could be? Who knows, maybe it’s just a couple really good photos. She’s been trying to bribe me into coming back to play clit poker again since Friday, so she probably spent a lot of time getting the poses and angles just right.”

“She was one of the girls you played it with? What the fuck, I see what Don meant by ‘The Legend’.”

Will frowned. “Hey, that’s not fair. Tiff played too, and she’s at least as attractive as Carla.”

“Tiff played?” Alaina went silent for a moment after the newest revelation. “But she seemed so sweet and ... cute.”

“She also offered to let you feel her boobs,” he helpfully added. “Carla models now and then, she said, but apparently she did a shoot with Tiff a couple weeks back. The other girl she usually shot with pulled a no-show, and Tiff was bored that day. I haven’t been able to get either of them to send me any of the shots, though.”

He looked over again. Alaina was staring off into the distance, her eyes glazed over. Huh.

“Any chance you’d be interested in helping me try to convince them? I was thinking of heading back to Tiff’s club Friday night. You already said you were going to come next time clit poker was happening...”

His passenger snapped back to awareness, her face redder than it had been. “Um, I—Well, I’ll think about it? I d-don’t know what I’m doing on Friday yet.” She stole another look at the image on the phone’s screen before putting it into one of the center cup holders and clasping her hands on her lap.

This is almost as cute as she was on Saturday. I shouldn’t push her, though. “Cool, let me know. On a totally different topic, I feel a little bad about that question I asked you on the way over. I didn’t expect it was going to be so, “ he paused. “Personal. So I’ll answer one from you now if you have anything you want to know. Other than things I said I wasn’t going to talk about, that is.”

“Oh, um, that’s ... That’s nice of you.” She fidgeted. “Alright, something I was wondering since Saturday: you said you used your Skill on Friday to get me a registered Class, but I don’t understand how it worked.”