4

"Hey," a soft voice called, "you're the new girl, right?"

Firmly closing my locker, I turned towards the voice's owner. I held my annoyance back, just barely, as her face came into view.

"Ivy, right?"

My head nodded as we made eye contact. "Yeah, that's what they call me."

"I'm Sally." She held her hand out to me to shake. I stepped away from her. "Sorry."

"I don't like to be touched," I found myself explaining, lying. "Germs."

An understanding look crossed her heart-shaped face, and I couldn't help the flare of guilt that reared its ugly head in my chest. But how was I supposed to explain my shaking hands? It was worse than before, exasperated by my constant stressing.

Failure, something that was a given in my choice of industry, had taken a stronghold on every code I fed into the simulation. Months, and I was still nowhere near where I needed to be. Restlessness chased away sleep, concentration, and desire.

I was going to die before I found out how to fix it if I wasn't careful.

Sally nodded her head, "yeah, I get it." Her voice dipped and she looked unsure. I was positive she didn't get it nor did she believe it. "I was wondering if you could help me out."

"With?"

We walked down the hall, calmly moving in and out of the crowds of friends hanging in the hallways until we reached Advanced Calculus. She followed me to the back of the room and took a seat next to me, pulling out her textbook and notepad.

"You've got the best grade in this class."

"And?"

"I've got a high C," she rambled. "I have got to pass this class. And I know that you've got high grades and always ace the tests. You could probably teach this class."

"Okay..."

Her shoulders drooped, "will you tutor me?"

I grimaced, immediately ready to say no. Sally stared at me, giving me her best puppy dog eyes and a pouting bottom lip. Tutoring was not something that interested me.

"I don't tutor, sorry."

"Please," she begged, "you could come over my house, and my mom cooks the best dinners. I know you live alone, everyone talks about it. Please! Just... please! Come on! I have got to pass this class..."

"Sally, really, I'm not the person to help tutor you."

"You're perfect! Come on! There's gotta be something I can do to convince you! Do you want me to get Kira to leave you alone? Come on! Please? Please? Please! I promise you won't regret this."

My shoulders dropped as she continued to ramble, "if I say yes, will you shut up?" I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this.

"No promises." She perked up and grinned at me.

Sally Abraham was at my side for the rest of the school day. She was popular, sweet but driven, and sassy but kind. Her heart-shaped face was lightly covered with make-up, emphasizing her huge dark blue eyes and pink lips. I found out later that she's Class President and a possible shoo-in for Homecoming Queen.

I was volunteered to sit with her clique at lunch, she moved her spot to sit next to me in organic chemistry and she even traded partners in English Literature for the mid-term project. Sally was nice, but a handful. I was heading towards my Jeep at the end of the day, happy to finally have escaped her when I heard her voice again.

"You didn't wait for me?"

I stopped, halfway peeking over my right shoulder at her. "I wasn't aware that I was supposed to."

"You're giving me a ride home, remember?"

Spinning to face her, I fixed a confused glare on my face. "At no time did I agree to drive you home!"

"You're tutoring me. We agreed. After school? My mom will make dinner?" Her voice lowered and she raised her eyebrows as if my agreeing to be her tutor suddenly meant I would also be her chauffeur.

"Yes," I chuckled under my breath, "I remember you offering your mother's cooking, but I don't need dinner. What time do I need to show up just to tutor you?"

"Right now."

"Right now?" I hissed, "I do have other things to do."

"Like what?" Sally whined, "you don't have any friends. I never see you out at The Square, movies, restaurants, nowhere!" She bounced in place, clasping her hands together in a pleading motion. "Come on! Just take me home! You can tutor me and escape before dinner if you'd like. I've already told my usual ride that I would be going with you. Please!"

I knew I was going to regret this.

Growling under my breath, I righted my backpack and narrowed my eyes on her face. "Fine. Get in." She grinned at me, ignoring my clenched teeth, and headed towards the passenger side of my Jeep.

She struggled to get inside, her small frame not built to climb up the running boards and into the lifted vehicle. The suspension lift applied to my Jeep was one of my favorite features, but she didn't seem to be enjoying it at the time. I raised an eyebrow at her winded expression but said nothing.

"Address?" I piped up, changing the R&B song playing through my iPhone. "Which way?"

"6453 Fairy Way."

The clock had long struck past 9 before I was finally released from the Kirkland household. Her father, a minister, and her mother had nine children in total. Two sets of twins and the rest were singles. All of them were home in preparation for one of her sisters' weddings - I can't remember which.

Not to mention and droves of friends that were constantly roaming through their home. I failed to count how many I had actually seen before I resigned to simply ignore them. In all honesty, I couldn't understand how that many people managed to live there.

The shaking in my hands only increased as I drove home. Brightly speckled with stars, the night sky was a blanket of incredible stars. It made me homesick.

"Welcome home, Ivy."

The single, solitary voice beside my own at home greeted me as soon as I stepped into the door.

"I must advise you that your heart rate is elevated and your blood pressure is dropping."

Stumbling through the house, I reached for the elixir meant to stave off my body's visceral reaction. Quickly, I gulped it down, swallowing it until my stomach was cramped and the bottle was empty. I threw it into the trash can and swung around to head towards my bedroom.

As soon as I cleared the threshold, I stripped completely naked. My clothes were strewn around the room by the time I made it to my bed. The plush mattress melted underneath me as I spread across it. Indecision gripped me, I couldn't go back after I did this.

My hand dunked into the side tabletop drawer to yank out my trusty vibrator. It would never compare to the real thing, but I was desperate. I sucked in a deep breath as I turned it on, and let it sink against my clit.

Slowly pressing harder, I let myself fall under the tidal wave of desire strung between myself and the Six. The connection between us snapped tight, reeling as they felt my emotions through the mechanical bond.

Anger pierced through from their side, I knew what they were thinking, but I wasn't being unfaithful. I could never. They owned me, body and soul.

My eyes rolled back in my head as I felt the onslaught of my first orgasm. I fought with myself, come or not to come. My stomach tightened, and pussy gushed, I needed to come. It had been so long.

I called out, naming each of them as I fought it back. It physically hurt to pull away from the vibrator, to not let myself finish. Anger pulsed thicker through the bond, cascading over me like a waterfall.

I gasped aloud, throwing myself off the bed and stumbling into a cold shower.

I couldn't come.

I could never come.

Because if I did, if I uplinked, I'd be paralyzed until the Six found me. I'd be at their mercy, waiting for their arrival and I couldn't risk it. I won't risk it.