With Kit working between Vic’s legs, sending waves of pleasure through him whenever she would moan with him still in her mouth, Laine proceeded to give Vic more attention. The massage had turned into her wrapping her arms around him, running her hands over his chest while she kissed the back and the side of his neck, letting her lips press firmly into his flesh, probably leaving little bruises behind as she went.

Vic could not care though – he had completely surrendered to what was begin done to him. Laine’s kisses on his neck sounded messy, Kit’s lips all over him sounded messy. The warmness of her mouth and the softness of her touch, now with her second hand gripping the base of him, sent him into a far away world where the tingling and the heat were only rising in uncontrollable ways, and the only thing that was able to bring him back was Marcia’s voice saying, “So I see you’ve properly acclimated.”

Vic suddenly opened his eyes and tried to scramble away but there was nowhere to go – Marcia was standing there, in comfortable study clothes that included a grey hoodie, clutching some books to her chest with an amused look on her face.

Laine let go of him and stood behind him while Kit took him out of her mouth and looked back at Marcia without getting up. “Oh, it’s you,” Kit said acidly.

“Yeah. You uh, you got a little something here.” Marcia made a vague circular motion around her mouth and Vic saw that there was a bit of a lipstick mess on Kit’s face. That’s when he realized he himself was still exposed so he desperately shoved his pecker back into his pants and stood up, zipping himself up but leaving a little shirt tail poking out of the front.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, as if he was a kid who was caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

Marcia laughed. “Sorry? Why are you sorry? Sorry I interrupted. You seemed be really enjoying yourself.” There was a complete disconnect between the look on Marcia’s face and how Vic felt about being in this situation, to the point that he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. In the end, he chose probably the most awkward thing imaginable. Saying a quick “Thanks” separately to both Kit and Laine, dropping another “Sorry” for Marcia, and then disappearing out of the library.

He ran straight for his room on the boys’ dormitory, avoiding eye contact with the few people he passed by and slammed the door shut when he was inside. Marek was thankfully not there as he surely would’ve have commented on the flap of shirt still poking out from Vic’s zipper like some kind fabric substitution for his own member. A shower; that’s what he realized he needed; as icy s he could get it. So he stripped out of his clothes and found that he was still covered in lipstick stains down there.

His pride and shame dangling between his own legs he climbed into the shower stall and scrubbed himself clean, wondering if he would ever truly be ready for Dampgate Senior Academy.

After his shower, he spent the rest of the afternoon lying on his bed, thinking of nothing but those minutes in the library, the ghost feeling of Kit’s lips still present where they had touched him. He thought that maybe if he relieved himself using his own hand he could release those thoughts, but knew it would probably make things worse. At the same time, he wondered why, as multiple people have told him once, he couldn’t just “relax” and embrace the reality of Dampgate.

After spending what seems like hours in something resembling a fever dream, Vic was surprised to hear a knock on his door, and even more surprised to see that it was the school nurse. He’d never met her before, but assumed that’s who she was based on the kindly woman’s white frock and the little red cross symbol on the white hat she wore.

“I hear you’re not feeling well,” she said gently, and he would put her age perhaps in her early fifties, the hair under the hat greying slightly.

“Umm, sorry, how?” Vic said, scratching the back of his head.

“Your roommate let me know.” Had Marek come in while Vic was lying down without him noticing and went to get help? If so, that was very kind though unnecessary of him, but since she was here, he thought he might as well acquiesce.

“Yeah, just, I don’t know, a headache.”

“Ah, that’s actually quite common here at Dampgate,” the nurse said, stepping into the room though he never officially invited her. “It’s these old walls. all sorts of old mold we can’t fully get rid of. Here,” she said and held out her hand that held two small green pills. “This should help.”

Vic walked over to the glass of water he kept on the nightstand and drank both pills without further question.

“You should lie down,” the nurse said.

“I don’t feel that bad.”

“No, you should, here,” she grabbed him gently by the arms directing him to lie down and he had to admit that he was feeling very sleepy, so he stopped resisting and lay himself down on his back. The nurse’s hands moved below his waist and for a moment he thought it was starting all over again but she was just pulling his blanket over him. The older woman put a hand on his forehead and rubbed it slightly until he was almost fully out.

The last thing he saw was the glint of a syringe in her hand, but by morning he would forget all about it.