Chapter 17

Melinda's eyes flicked suspiciously to Richie when she climbed aboard the bus the next morning.

"He asked if he could sit with us, and I said it was okay," Jason said.

Melinda's indignant look made it clear that she was anything but okay with it. She plopped into her seat beside Jason, glaring at Richie. "He's not... ?"

"Don't getcha panties in a twist, 'kay?" Richie drawled. "I'm not in the Harbingers. I won't even say nothin' if you all talk about it."

"Heather, how are you doing this morning?" Jason asked.

"Better than yesterday," Heather said as she sat down. "Won't be for long."

"You think Brad is going to go at you again today?"

"I know he is. I've been feeling it this morning ever since ... uh..."

She trailed off. Melinda rolled her eyes. "Since she boinked me."

Richie's eyes widened. A smirk started to tug at his lips, but he killed it quickly. Melinda narrowed her eyes accusingly.

Jason glanced around. Two other teens abruptly looked the other way. Still others were whispering secretively amongst themselves. One abruptly ended her conversation when she noticed Jason looking at her. The girl gave Jason a sly little smirk.

Jason furrowed his brow and looked away. "Um, anyway ... Let's stick to Heather between classes. And after class, too. She shouldn't be alone until we figure out how to deal with this."

"I shouldn't have run out ahead of everyone else," said Heather. "I wasn't thinking straight."

"I'll pound him flat if he fuckin' messes with you again," Richie grumbled. When the others just looked at him, he frowned. "On my own. Not 'cuz of the Harbingers. Just 'cuz I need to hit someone, all right?"

"Richie, don't get into more trouble on my account," Heather declared.

Richie shrugged. "Detention don't really matter to me."

"Seeger threatened expulsion if you did it again," Jason commented mildly.

"Better than that asswipe tryin' to get Heather horizontal."

Someone nearby giggled.

Heather turned her head. The same girl that had smirked at Jason looked away and began whispering to her friend again.

"Jason, could something happen to Heather if Brad did boink her?" Melinda asked in a worried tone.

Jason frowned as he looked around again. "I think we better end this conversation here. In fact, I don't think we should talk about any of this on the bus anymore."

"Why not?" Melinda piped.

"'Cuz he don't want the enemy listenin' in," Richie said. He stood up. "So I'll leave."

"No, Richie, wait, that's not what I meant," said Jason.

"But we always talk about stuff like this," Melinda protested.

"No, we don't. We only started doing that recently." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I think people are starting to listen in."

Now Heather, Melinda, and Richie were all looking around. The covert surveillance ended at once, but the whispering did not.

Melinda frowned. "They're talking about us?" she asked, her voice a mixture of anger and concern.

"Well, if you wasn't going off about who's 'boinking' who all the time... " Heather hissed in annoyance.

"I was not! And you're the one that brought up about us..."

"Melinda!"

Melinda's mouth slammed shut. Her eyes widened as if she realized only then what she was about to say. Now there was a real panic in her eyes as her head whipped around. "Oh shit ... you don't think anyone knows about ... I mean ... ohmigod..."

"Look, let's not panic, okay?" Jason said. "We'll just have to keep it quiet. Or talk in places where we can better control who's nearby."

"Are we meeting again this afternoon, Jason?"

Before Jason could answer, a boy nearby sniggered. Richie turned in his seat and kicked the boy in the thigh.

"OW! What the hell?!" the boy cried, rubbing at his leg.

"Mind your own business, fuckhead," Richie growled.

"Yes, we're going to meet," Jason said quietly. "But I don't want to talk any more about that either. Let's just drop the whole thing for now."

The four of them settled into an uneasy silence for the rest of the trip. The others around them briefly betrayed disappointed looks before returning to their gossip.

Ned dashed to his locker and shoved books into his back pack like so many bricks. He acted as if he were late, despite the fact that all around him were moving at a much more leisurely pace. He glanced up and down the hallway, trying not to look as nervous as he felt.

He slammed his locker shut. He was forced to stop and take a deep breath, his heart hammering in his chest.

He sighed. He wished that date had never happened. If he hadn't tried to push things too fast, he might not be feeling this way. It was like that Asian girl he had almost enslaved when he had been under Nyssa's thrall. She had been an infatuation that had become an obsession. Now it seemed the pattern was repeating with Cassie.

Ned turned away from his locker. He tried to put his baser thoughts about Cassie out of his head.

He rushed towards Cassie's locker. He stopped when he came within eyesight of her, and tried to walk the remaining distance at a normal pace. His last few steps were hurried anyway. "Um, hi."

Cassie jumped. "Oh! I-I didn't see you there, Ned, I'm sorry."

Yeah, way to go, Nose, Ned thought vehemently. "Um, no prob. Uh, I can talk to you later."

He turned around before she could say a word.

"Ned, wait. Wait!" Cassie grabbed his arm.

A little shiver passed through him at her touch as he stopped. "I jus' didn't wanna, ya know, intrude or sumthing..."

Cassie smiled faintly. "You're not. I'm rather glad to see you, actually."

"Were you thinkin' about some dream?"

"A little. I had another one about Melissa."

"Yeah? Thought you weren't tip-toeing through her mental tulips anymore."

"I wasn't. This one simply came to me on its own." She shuddered. "Just more of the same, Ned. Melissa doing those horrible things to Susan and her mother. And Ann Went as well."

"Sorry ta hear, babe. Can you block 'em out?"

Cassie shook her head. "At least I don't know of a way to do it. I never had to before."

Ned nodded. He felt awkward about bringing it up now.

"And I have other things on my mind, too."

"Oh, ya mean that poem that..."

"Shh!"

Ned clamped a hand over his mouth and looked around. No one around him sported a Dark Aura. He lowered his hand, looking sheepish. "I forgot."

"I'm sure we'll get a chance to talk about it later."

Ned nodded again, his jaw clenched.

"Anyway, was there something you wanted to talk to me about, Ned?"

Ned hesitated for a long moment. He finally cleared his throat a bit loudly. "Uh, well ... was wonderin' if ya wanted to go out again."

"Oh, I'd love to, Ned. But ... well, we probably shouldn't be alone this time."

"Huh? Oh. Well ... we were kinda lucky last time. Er, I don't mean lucky like that, I mean..."

"I know what you mean, Ned."

"Not that I don't wanna do it. But ya know that already."

Cassie swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I know," she said softly.

"Not to pressure you or anythin'. When yer ready."

Cassie's heartbeat quickened. "I'll try not to keep you waiting too long," she said, at a loss for anything else.

Ned nodded once. "Well, um, I should..."

He trailed off. Cassie looked at him inquisitively. Ned stared back into her slate blue-gray eyes.

Ned shuffled his feet. "Uh ... we could ... we could just confine it ta, ya know, something safe..."

Cassie let her breath go as a husky sigh. "Ned, you're not making it any easier..."

"I just meant if yer worried about gettin', ya know, preggers..."

"It's not that, Ned. I just want to make sure I do it for the right reasons."

Ned saw Cassie's eyes darken, and her body trembled just enough for him to notice. "Oh man ... yer gettin' ... I shoulda kept my mouth shut. I really am messin' with your head..."

Cassie's pussy tingled delightfully, but she tried to ignore it and shook her head. "You're not, Ned, as least I don't think you are. I'm just..." She paused, then stepped very close to Ned and whispered, "I want to do it with you as well. Very much. But..."

Ned's cock had been toying with an erection, but at these words, it grew hard swiftly. He was at odds with himself. He wanted to keep nudging her until she gave in, but knew that pressuring her wasn't right.

When Nyssa had taken him, he had only just been stung by a failed attempt at an intimate relationship with another girl at school. He had chosen the Asian girl as his target not just because of his infatuation with her, but also because she had represented the most unattainable target he could find, a sort of indirect means of revenge.

Now it was as if Cassie had taken on that role. He still considered her unattainable, even after having grown this close to her. He was trying very hard not to see what had happened the night before as a rejection.

"You do like me, right?" Ned asked. "I mean, you're not just sayin' that?"

"Of course I like you," Cassie said. "Really, this has nothing to do with you. It's my own hang-up. I'm afraid of this turning into another thing like with Richie."

Ned looked surprised. "Yer afraid of doin' something to me like that?"

"No, not quite. It's hard to explain. It's sort of like you and Richie represent something directly opposite what my parents are. I want to make sure I'm not throwing myself at you just to spite them or something. Do you see?"

Ned nodded. "I think so," he lied.

"Please, Ned, be patient. I'll get past this. Just give me some time."

Ned nodded again and forced a smile.

Cassie smiled. "See you later."

"Yeah. Later."

Ned watched Cassie head down the hallway. His eyes drifted down to her ass. His cock ached, and he sighed despondently.

Heather took her seat in her first class after homeroom. She tried to ignore Brad as he swaggered down the aisle and cast a lascivious gaze at her. She afforded him only a brief, burning gaze of hatred. The only solace she took was the fact that one of his eyes had puffed up from where Richie had landed a decent blow.

Brad sat down and leered at Heather. "So I'm not good enough to fuck, huh?"

Heather took in a deep breath and let it go through her nose. She ignored him otherwise.

"Guess you're gettin' too good a fuck from the nerd."

Heather whipped her head around, giving him furious stare. "Who I fuck is none of your goddamn business."

Brad smirked. "Didn't figure he even knew how to do it. You hafta give him an instruction manual or something?'

Heather cast a haughty gaze at him. "If he ever did do me, he'd be a much better lay than you ever were."

"Aw, now that's not nice at all. You've gone all bitchy on me."

"And you've become a total asshole. We're even."

Brad nodded. "Yeah, okay. I know the score, babe. You won't have me."

"Wow, you used your brain. That's a first for someone who usually thinks with his dick."

Brad laughed. "Yeah, and you'll be thinking with your cunt."

Heather's lips parted. Some of her conviction wavered. "What the hell does that mean?"

Brad grinned. "I can't fuck you, so you'll have to do it yourself."

"All right, settle down," said the instructor, causing Heather to flinch. "Last night's homework on your desk. Now."

Heather took out her notebook and opened it. She leaned back in her seat and tried to focus on the lesson. But her mind would not let go of what Brad had said to her.

So what was he going to do to her now? Was he going to make her start thinking of him again? Sex with him was the furthest thing from her mind. Unless she conjured up the imagery herself, she saw nothing of herself interacting with him on any level, let alone sexual.

She tried to relax. Maybe he was taunting her. Melissa was supposed to have some limit to her power. She might have exhausted her energy. Or she didn't count on Richie trying to beat up her "boyfriend".

A thought flickered through Heather's mind. She recalled herself sitting in the stall in the ladies' room just before lunch the day before, masturbating in an attempt to relieve some of the sexual tension.

Heather's skin flushed. It had been enjoyable despite failing in its intent. Her thought lingered on the moment, especially the quick stroke of her fingers over her swollen clit, and how the pleasure rocketed from her pussy through her body...

Heather shifted in her seat. Her sex felt warm. She made a face and shifted her thoughts to something else. This wasn't the time to be thinking about self-pleasuring.

Minutes later, as she dutifully wrote some notes on the lesson, it slid back into her thoughts once more. In her mind, fingers sank into wet folds with an audible squish and began to tease her sensitized flesh.

Heather shook her head. Stop it. Why am I... ? Oh no...

Her pussy was growing wet. The more damp it became, the more she imagined her fingers slipping under her panties and sliding over her wonderfully wet slit.

Heather leaned forward, closing her eyes tightly. He couldn't actually force her to do it, could he? He was just planting the desire in her head, that's all. He couldn't force her hand. She had control over her body.

Halfway through the class, she realized she had the same dilemma as the day before: block him out, or pay attention to the class, but not both. Her pussy had soaked her panties again, and her legs were spread. Her pussy ached to be touched. In her mind's eye, she was plunging her fingers into her tight, slick cunt, pumping them in and out as her pleasure soared.

Heather gasped and yanked her hand away from her thigh.

Her hands gripped the sides of the desk tightly as she took a deep breath. I won't let you do this to me, she thought. I won't let you force me into masturbating in class!

"Miss Sovert."

Heather bolted upright in her chair. "What?! I-I mean ... yes, Ms. Parkington?"

The dour-faced woman regarded her with some disdain. "Are you quite all right, Miss Sovert?"

The imagery in her head would not abate. Her mind was flooded with images of her fingers massaging the wet, pink flesh of her pussy. Even as she stared at the instructor, she could see it. She could almost feel her fingers sliding sensuously down her delta, playing with her labia before sinking into liquid, lusty heat.

Heather flinched. One hand had alighted on her thigh again, this time dangerously close to her loins. She pulled it back again.

"Yes, Ms. Parkington, I'm fine," Heather lied.

"Are you sure? You sound out of breath."

Heather forced herself to breathe normally. "Just ... relaxation breathing ... I'm under stress..."

There was a faint titter of laughter through the class. Heather's cheeks burned.

Ms. Parkington sighed. "Very well. But if you feel sick, leave for the nurse at once. I will not have someone throwing up in my class."

Heather nodded, not trusting her voice.

When the instructor had turned away, she let out a ragged sigh. She didn't understand. She had managed to resist Brad's thoughts better than this the day before. Was her resistance breaking down? Or was Melissa getting more powerful despite Jason's theories?

She had to concentrate on staying in control, even if it meant missing the rest of the lesson.

Melissa was not pleased.

Nothing was happening fast enough for her. She thought she had Heather the day before. Heather had been ready to fall at Brad's feet. Melissa had intended Brad to fuck Heather senseless so she could get into Heather's head. Even now, she wasn't able to simply force Heather into playing with herself in class. She could only plant the desire in Heather's head, and that was stretching her power to the breaking point.

She sighed and slumped in her seat. She wasn't paying any attention to the lesson at all. She didn't need to. A simple projected thought at the instructor, and she would not be called upon.

She wished she knew what the Harbingers had discovered. She knew they had been to see Susan's mother the day before. Did that woman reveal her little secret to them? Would they start looking for the book? And did she keep the pendant link a secret?

Melissa turned her head and looked at Ned. He looked studiously at the instructor, as if hanging on his every word. He was not very good at stealth. Melissa knew he was looking at her ever since the class started.

She once again toyed with the idea of abandoning her plans for revenge. It wasn't getting her anywhere with Susan and Ann. The time and energy would best be spent on the Rite. That's really what mattered.

But then that little thought rose from the recesses of her mind. Abandoning her plans for Heather and Diane would mean giving up control, even if only in a tiny way. She did not dare do that. And certainly not Susan and Ann. They must remain hers. She had spent so long feeling like a spectator watching her life go by, letting others carry her along by their whims, to even think about giving up anything she had gained.

She would stay in control. Even if meant pushing herself to the very limits of her own endurance.

Heather wasn't going to make it.

It was her third class of the morning. The mental assault was relentless. This time Brad openly stared at her with a smarmy smile on his face as she struggled. She squirmed in her seat both from the agony of her aching arousal and the lascivious scrutiny.

Heather kept trying to tell herself that she was in control. They were just thoughts and desires. It wasn't like the House or Nyssa. She had some say in her actions.

But the desire was growing so overwhelming that it was difficult to ignore.

Heather tried to concentrate on what Ms. Hollis was saying. It was doubly hard because she already didn't like this teacher. Ms. Hollis made Heather uncomfortable the moment she had set foot in the instructor's class at the start of the semester.

But when she let her attention focus on the lesson, the clarity of the imagery became so clear that she had trouble distinguishing her thoughts from her actions. In her head, fingers slid over slick flesh and soft wet noises drifted to her ears. Musky heat permeated her pussy as her pleasure slowly rose.

Halfway through the class, Heather contemplated the unthinkable.

She was in the last row of seats. Ms. Hollis was not paying any particular attention to her. She had tried to keep control of her face so her dire situation would not be noticed. No one was looking her way except Brad.

As if sensing that Heather was at her limit, Brad's smile widened. Heather bit her lower lip and whimpered as the urge grew stronger still. Despite her attempt to keep her breathing normal, she was panting lightly.

Heather swallowed and slipped a shaking hand under her desk.

She steadfastly refused to look at Brad. She didn't want to even acknowledge his presence. She popped the button at the top of her crotch and pulled her zipper down just enough to loosen her jeans. She clenched her teeth to suppress a moan as she slid her hand under her panties.

As soon as her fingers contacted wet flesh, it was like an electric shock through her body.

She jerked in the seat, jostling her chair. Her cheeks grew pink, and she flicked her eyes from side to side. She caught Brad's gaze and wished she could shrink into her seat and disappear, her blush deepening.

She averted her eyes. She had intended only to tease herself, just enough to gain some pleasure and satisfy her urge. Instead, her fingers were quickly buried in moist heat, stroking hard.

Heather closed her eyes tightly and forced herself to slow down. She had to retain control. She couldn't let this be on Melissa's terms. She couldn't let anyone else find out what she was doing.

She heard whispering off to the side. She turned her head, and to her horror, another boy was looking at her, his eyes goggling at what he saw. There was a huge grin on Brad's face.

You fucking bastard, Heather thought. Her cheeks glowed. And now Brad was trying to attract another student's attention, this time a girl.

Stop it, please STOP IT... Heather begged in her mind, but the erotic assault to her emotions continued unabated. In her moment of distraction, her attempt to slow her ministrations failed miserably. Her hand whipped up and down her slit even harder, each moment of pleasure making it that much more difficult to stop.

Heather heard a disgusted noise. The girl whose attention Brad had summoned wrinkled her nose in disdain as she looked away, shaking her head. She leaned over the aisle on the other side and made a comment to another girl. The other girl craned her neck to see, her mouth dropping open in shock.

Heather's free hand gripped the side of the desk like a vise. Her thighs clenched as she soared towards climax. She needed just a few more seconds. Just a few more and she'd get relief.

She tensed her muscles as hard as she could. It was a technique she had not done for a long while. She used to do it in the days of her budding puberty while masturbating in the quiet dark of her room at night. If she could concentrate properly and without distraction, it would minimize the mess.

Heather's pussy strained hard near the edge, seconds away from orgasm.

"And just what is the sudden attraction over there?" Ms. Hollis' voice rang out.

Heather gasped. The shock made her yank her hand out from under her panties a split second before much of the class turned their heads in her direction. But it was a second too late in another critical regard.

Her hips jerked hard and rattled her chair. The tension on her muscles lost, her pussy gushed. Her crotch was soaked in seconds, fluid trickling onto the chair. She bit her lip hard, but a small whimper escaped her as she throbbed.

Ms. Hollis raised an eyebrow as she directed her gaze at Heather. "Miss Sovert."

Mortified, Heather could barely meet her teacher's eyes, her pussy still throbbing. Her throat locked up.

"What were you doing just now?" Ms. Hollis demanded.

Heather lifted her hand from under the desk. She thought better of it, but not before the light glistened on her damp fingers. She dropped the hand to her side. She closed her thighs to hide her wet panties from view. She uttered another small gasp and her hips jerked once more as her orgasm briefly flared again.

"N-nothing, Ms. Hollis."

"Really."

Heather said nothing, her heart thumping.

"And you weren't doing anything to distract the other students? Anything at all?"

Heather shook her head. She knew Ms. Hollis had caught her, but she was not going to openly admit it. She also knew most of the students in the class had guessed what had happened as well. That was far worse than anything Ms. Hollis could do to her.

"Miss Sovert, come see me after class," Ms. Hollis said imperiously. "Until then, I advise you to keep any further ... urges ... that you may have to yourself."

"Y-yes, Ms. Hollis..." Heather murmured. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes.

In another classroom, Melissa suddenly broke into a wide smile.

All she had needed was that brief moment. The mind was so vulnerable at the moment of orgasm. All the defenses came down. The old adage "sex is power" had far more meaning than perhaps its original author had known.