Chapter One

The wheels squeaked as Billy towed his old Radio Flyer out of his bedroom and into the carpeted hall. That was no surprise. Until he dug it out last week the red wagon had sat rusting and neglected in the back of the garage for years, since he was old enough to ride a bike. It made him feel silly and childish to be using it now, but it was the best way to make his experiment mobile.

So instead of Legos and Transformers, the wagon now held his invention, which consisted of a bulky transformer, a circuit board and a car battery connected by a tangle of wires to a pyramid of LEDs. He'd realized in the design phase that the construction would be too delicate to carry around, so he had the foresight to assemble it in the wagon -- though he was beginning to worry that the Flyer's aging frame might not support the load.

Squeak, squeak, squeak, the wagon protested as he pulled it down the hall, past the bathroom, towards the door of Amy's bedroom -- which was cracked open enough to cast a sliver of light on the carpet, and admit the muffled sounds of female voices into the hall.

He paused outside to listen.

"-- and everyone knows he was sleeping with Ashley anyway," Amy said.

"God, what's that squeaking? Is that your plumbing?" It was Jessica, Amy's friend.

"Probably my brother doing something," Amy said. "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on him while my parents are in Napa. He's such a geek. He's probably, like, rewiring the house or something."

Billy knocked on the door and nudged it open. Jessica was on the bed, her legs tucked under her, surrounded by loose pages and textbooks scattered across the comforter. She glanced up, and Billy felt his pulse quicken. She was a wet dream, even dressed modestly in blue jeans, her blonde hair held back in a ponytail. Billy's gaze flicked down to the swell of her breasts beneath her tee shirt, then back to her dazzling blue eyes. He gulped. "Hi Jessica."

"Uh, hi, umm ..."

"Billy," he reminded her. Jessica had been best friends with Amy since junior high school, and Billy's most ardent crush for just as long. But she still couldn't remember his name.

"What do you want, pest?" Amy was sitting at her desk in front of the computer. "We're trying to study."

"I just thought I'd show you guys something I built." He pulled the wagon into the room with three more squeaks. "It's an experiment I've been working on."

Jessica took in the wagon, then glanced at Amy with a look of mild annoyance. Billy had always assumed their study sessions were nothing more than an excuse to gab and gossip, but now it seemed like maybe they were actually studying. Jessica at least.

"Get that thing out of my room," said Amy. "God, you're such a dork."

Jessica turned back to her papers.

"It'll only take a second," Billy said. "It's like a light show."

"Aren't you supposed to be cleaning your room?," said Amy. "If mom and dad come home Monday and it's still a disaster area in there, I'm going to tell them you were too busy building weird science projects to do the one thing they asked you to do this week."

"No no no, this is really cool," he said. "It's based on some research I found in some old science journals. They theorized that you could use a matrix of short-waveform LEDs to visually mimic the electromagnetic properties of a human brain in a certain state of consciousness, and then impress it on a test subject through their optic nerves," he glanced at Jessica to see if she was amazed by his mastery of scientific jargon. He was pleased to see she was looking up from her work again, regarding him, perhaps, with new interest -- but she still seemed more annoyed than impressed. "Anyway," he continued, "it didn't go anywhere at the time, because you needed blue LEDs to generate the right frequencies, and they hadn't been invented yet."

"Seriously, get it out of here dork," said Amy, her dark eyes flashing with menace.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Bobby," said Jessica. "We'll come by and check it out later, but right now we really have to study." She smiled, showing her dimples. God.

"This'll only take a second," said Billy. His hands trembled a bit as he reached for the knife switch between the battery and the circuit -- then stopped. "Oh shit!," he said. "Hold on. I forgot something." He scrambled out of the bedroom, leaving the girls alone with the contraption.

They heard his feet padding down the hall to his room. Amy sighed.

"He's really not so bad," she said. "He just needs a girlfriend."

"He's not going to get one with that thing," said Jessica.

When he reappeared at the door he was wearing a pair of modified ski goggles, each lens affixed with an oversized square of translucent film, tinted red. He looked ridiculous -- a mad scientist in training.

Jessica covered her mouth and tried to stifle a giggle, but finally broke out laughing. Amy didn't attempt to hide her glee and doubled over in hysterics.

Billy bent and flipped the switch.

The girls' laughter trailed off as the room filled with a dazzling blue light, holding a peculiar, flickering quality -- like a television set in a dark room. The blue luminescence painted every corner of the bedroom, obliterating every shadow, bouncing off the computer monitor, glowing in the glass of 7-Up on Amy's desk. It was reflected in Jessica's and Amy's eyes.

Jessica tilted her head slightly, her lips parted and her brow crinkled as though she were studying something of infinite importance and beauty. Across the room Amy had fallen still, her gaze also locked on the blue glow.

The room was silent. Billy stood, slowly, tentatively. He realized he was holding his breath, and he let it out slowly.

A clock chimed from downstairs. The girls didn't stir.

Billy moved quietly to where Jessica sat entranced on the bed. He eased down next to her, closer to her than he'd ever been in his life. She seemed oblivious, her chest rising and falling in slow rhythm. In profile she was as lovely as straight on, a perfect nose, high forehead, smooth pale skin. She had a diamond stud in her ear. He leaned in and noticed, for the first time, that she was wearing a trace of perfume. He breathed it in deeply. A few loose strands of her blond hair stirred in his breath.

Suddenly Billy was all too aware of his sister's presence across the room. He looked back over his shoulder -- she was still transfixed by the blue glow. But he didn't want her there, watching, even in her mesmerized state. He walked over and sat above her on her desk.

"Amy? Can you hear me."

Her eyes stayed on the Radio Flyer, but she nodded.

"Look at me."

With what seemed to be great effort, she slowly turned her head toward him, her eyes moving to stay locked on the light until it was no longer possible to keep it in view and carry out Billy's instructions. She gazed up at him now, into his eyes -- through the red celluloid shielding him from his invention. She didn't laugh.

Billy realized that, in repose, Amy was quite beautiful. Her flawless skin had a rich Mediterranean hue, her dark eyes were large and bottomless. He touched her lips, traced them with his fingers. She continued to stare into his eyes placidly.

"Amy ..." his voice cracked, and he reached for the soda and took a sip. "Amy, you want to kiss me. You want to make out with me, very badly."

"I --," her expression changed, took on a puzzled, confused cast. "You're... my brother..."

"You have to kiss me," he told her. "It's all you want. You need it, desperately, more than you've needed anything before."

"N-- No," she protested meekly. "I ... don't ..." she trailed off.

"You want to French kiss me. You need to make out with me." Just an experiment, he thought to himself; see how much influence he really had. "You want to kiss me passionately."

"I -- I want to kiss you," Amy whispered. "I need to kiss you." She stretched her lithesome body up toward Billy, her lips parted. "Kiss me," she said softly. "Please kiss me."

It really worked. A world of possibilities opened in Billy's mind as Amy craned to reach him. Her lips were an inch away from his, when he pulled back, just a little. She let out a low, tortured moan he'd never heard before, and stretched up further. "Pleeeease," she whined. "I need to kiss you."

He jumped off the desk, putting himself out of her reach. She uttered an anguished squeal and stood up, steadied herself against the desk with one slender arm, and reached for him with the other, her head tilted pleadingly. She wetted her lips. "Please Billy," she moaned. "I'll do anything. Please kiss me." Her eyes moistened with tears.

"Anything?"

"Pleeease."

"Clean my room."

She nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes," she breathed. "Just please kiss me."

"Clean my room first. From top to bottom. Then I'll kiss you."

"B-but..."

"That's it."

She nodded again, and walked to the door -- pausing once as her eyes were snagged by the blue light, but breaking free to carry out Billy's order. He heard her footsteps retreat down the hall.

He listened at the door, uncertainly. Now that she was away from the light, would she remain in thrall to the suggestions he gave her under its influence, or was she about to scream in anger and rush back to her bedroom? After a moment he was rewarded by the sound of drawers opening down the hall.

He was alone with Jessica, at last.

---

Chapter Two

He walked back to the bed.

"Jessica, can you hear me?"

She nodded.

"Answer me out loud. Okay?"

"Yes," she said in a wane voice. "I hear you."

He bit his lip. "Stand up."

She pulled out her legs sinuously, planted her bare feet on the floor and stood. She was exactly Billy's height, eye level with him -- though her eyes were still glued to the blue LEDs.

"Umm, take two steps forward."

She obeyed -- left foot, right. Billy walked around her slowly, admiring her body. Her breasts were generously portioned, but not oversized; her waist thin enough to encircle with his hands. A butterfly tattoo peeked over her jeans at the small of her back.

Her ass looked round and firm; he put his hand on it, tentatively at first, then squeezed it through the denim. She didn't react. He tickled the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. She continued staring at the light, her head cocked, her lips parted.

"Let down your hair," he commanded, his voice a rasp.

Jessica reached languidly behind her head and tugged at the scrunchy holding her blonde locks in a ponytail, let it slip out of her fingers to the floor. Her nails, he noticed, were painted a pale pink. She shook her hair free.

Billy moved in front of her, blocking her view of the invention. She blinked and a frown crossed her pretty face. He thought for a moment she would come out of her trance, but the room was still full of the reflected blue light. There was no escaping it. Her eyes refocused through him at nothing, but she was not roused. He was close enough to feel her breath,

"Who am I?" said Billy.

"You're ... Amy's brother," she said distantly.

"What's my name?"

She seemed to ponder that for a moment, then answered, "Billy."

Well, that was something. "Jessica? How would you like to be my girlfriend?"

She shook her head, sending waves through her shoulder length hair. "I -- I have a boyfriend," she protested.

"What's his name?"

"Roger."

"Roger what?"

"Roger Johansson," she said.

"What? That asshole?" Roger Johansson had been a plague on Billy's elementary school years. Several grades older and twice Billy's size, Johansson had made it his personal mission to terrorize the younger student, making him the butt of every mean joke and act of bullying his tiny, cruel mind could conceive of.

"He's not an asshole," Jessica said, still focused on an unseen horizon, her face bathed in the reflected blue light. "He's sweet. I love him."

"He is an asshole," Billy said. "You don't love him."

"B-but, I do," she said.

Billy set his jaw. "You don't love him. You hate him."

"I -- I love him," she said, a trace of uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"You love me," said Billy.

"Nonononono." Jessica squinted, tilted her head and shook it slowly, as if fighting off the thought. "I love Roger. He -- he's my boyfriend."

"Look at me."

She didn't stop shaking her head, but her eyes focused on Billy's.

"You're in love with me."

"Nononononono," she whispered, trembling, tears swelling.

"You're madly in love with me. I'm the only one you want. You think about me all the time."

"Nonononononononono," a tear fell down her right cheek.

"You're hopelessly in love with me. You want to have sex with me. Being near me makes you," he gulped, "horny. Very horny."

"No. I -- I love Roger," she said, but it was sounding more like a question now.

"You hate Roger. He's a stupid asshole and a bully. You hate him."

"I -- I ..."

"You hate Roger."

Jessica's head-shaking slowed, then stopped. Her gaze darted back and forth between Billy's eyes, as though looking for something. "I hate Roger," she finally said in a far away little girl's voice.

"He's an asshole."

"I hate him," she said.

"That's right, you hate him. You love me."

"I ... I love you," she said.

"You're madly, hopelessly in love with me," said Billy. "You want to have sex with me."

"I want to have sex with you," she said. "I'm madly in love with you."

Billy was hard as a rock. He walked awkwardly back to Amy's desk and downed the rest of the soda, then returned to Jessica. "Take off your clothes."

She complied without hesitation: first pulling her shirt off over her head, and dropping it to the floor, revealing a black bra. She reached behind her back and unhooked the bra, pulled it off her shoulders and tossed it away casually. Her movements were unhurried.

Billy's breath caught in his throat as he admired Jessica's flat stomach and her flawless breasts. There was a freckle above one of her pink nipples.

She reached down to her jeans, unbuttoned them with both hands, then peeled them off her long legs one at a time. She was wearing frilly black panties underneath: she crouched to slide them to her feet, then stepped out of them, naked as the day she was born.

Billy stared, awestruck. Her body was more spectacular than he'd imagined. Athletic and perfectly proportioned, her tits were round, her hips shapely. Her pubic hair was trimmed into a neat, blonde V.

Jessica's gaze had once again locked onto the device. Billy stepped behind her, between her and the bed. "Turn and look at me," he said softly in her ear.

She obeyed slowly, turning her back to the wagon and facing Billy. He held her gaze, ran his hand down her naked arm and felt goose bumps.

"You're cold?"

She nodded.

"You're not cold. You're perfectly comfortable," he said.

"Yes," she said. "I'm perfectly comfortable." The goose bumps vanished.

"Tell me how you feel about me."

"I'm in love with you," she said. Then, again, with more feeling. "I -- I'm in love you. I think about you all the time."

Billy moved a stray strand of hair from her face. "Keep going."

"I want to have sex with you," she said, her breath quickening, her blue eyes taking on more life. She raised her arms and put them around Billy's neck. "Being near you makes me so horny, I can't stand it," she breathed.

She kissed him, pressed her mouth against his, first tenderly, then with urgency and hunger. Her tongue pushed into his mouth. Her breath came loud and hot from her nose against Billy's cheek. He smelled her perfume and her skin. She pulled him tighter to her, and let out a little whimper, then pulled away.

"This isn't right," she said, suddenly confused. "What am I doing?"

"Uh, you -- you're kissing me," Billy said, at a loss. "You're hopelessly in love with me."

"But, but --," she seemed to be trying to remember something. That she had a boyfriend whom she loved, perhaps. That Billy was her best friend's dorky little brother, maybe.

"You're madly in love with me," he said again, with more conviction. "You want to ... you need to fuck me."

"I ..."

"Say it."

"I'm madly in love with you," she said, the puzzlement fading from her features. "I'm madly in love with you. Yes ..." She pulled at his shirt, then ripped it over his head. "I need to fuck you," she breathed. "Please, please fuck me. Fuck me fuck me fuck me."

She dropped to her knees, pulled off his shoes, unclasped his belt and stripped off the rest of his clothes with such urgency that her life might have depended on getting Billy naked. She stood and reached for his glasses -- he batted her arm away lightly and shook his head.

She threw her arms around him and pulled herself close, pressing her naked body against his and kissing him deeply, goggles and all. He reached back to her bare ass, caressed it, squeezed it and then pulled her hips into his. She grinded against his erection, and let out a needful moan in his mouth.

Abruptly, she pulled away again and stepped past Billy to clear the bed of her textbooks and papers in a single violent sweep of her arm. She pushed Billy back onto the mattress. In a flash she was on top of him, straddling him, her blue eyes glued to his. She lowered her head to kiss him again and her blonde hair fell onto his face -- a clean, herbal smell -- before she whipped it away and pushed her mouth against his. She was kissing him so hard it hurt.

Then her hands were on his dick, and he was inside her. She was wet and warm and tight. She squeezed him a couple times, leaned back, her eyes half-closed, moving up and down, breathing in heavy, shaky gasps.

Billy had dreamt of this a thousand times, and now it was happening. Trying to remember what he did in those dreams, he reached up and cupped Jessica's breasts. He felt her nipples harden in his palms, and she let out a low, animal moan.

"Fuck me fuck me fuck me," she groaned. "I love you I love you I love you."

He felt an orgasm building and suspected his first sexual experience with another person was about to end prematurely. She was still pumping vigorously.

"Jessica," he croaked. "You're coming."

"Ohhhh, ohhh, ohhh, aiiiiiiiggghhhh," she shrieked. "Ohhh Godddddd!"

He exploded inside her, his moans joining hers in rapturous chorus.

Finally, she collapsed on top of him. She buried her head in the pillow, panting. Her face was shiny with perspiration, her hair knotted in sweaty tangles. After a time she caught her breath, moved her head to his chest and lay there, her eyes open and unfocused. Billy stroked the side of her face.

He sensed someone watching and leaned up from the mattress. Amy was standing at the door, drawn, he guessed, by Jessica's screams. His sister was staring placidly into the blue light. From below, Jessica was murmuring in a near-whisper: "I love you. I love you. I love you ..."

---

Chapter Three  
Roger caught up with Jessica in the courtyard on her way to chemistry lab -- he could spot her blond hair and pink backpack from a mile away, but he hadn't needed to go looking for her since they started dating. Today it was like she was avoiding him. "Hey beautiful," he said, running up behind her. "Where've you been?"

"Fuck off," she said.

"What's wrong? What'd I do?"

She spun on him. "You're an asshole, that's what you did. I don't want to see you anymore. Get away from me." She turned and walked away.

He watched her for a moment, his jaw hanging open, before giving chase.

"Is this 'cause I didn't call you last night?," he asked, pacing her. "I told you I had to hang out with my folks."

"It's not because you didn't call me," she said, not breaking stride or looking at him. "I don't care who you call or don't call. We're through. Leave me alone."

"Hey," he grabbed her arm in frustration, stopping her. "What's going on?!"

She yanked free. "Don't touch me!," she spat. "God, you're such an asshole. I hate you."

"Just tell me. What is it? Tell me something."

She calmed for a moment, studying his face. Her eyes passed over Roger's square jaw, flicked up to his wavy hair. "I don't know," she said evenly. "It's ..." she trailed off.

"What?" He adopted a reassuring tone. "What is it Jess?"

"You're an asshole and a bully!" she snapped. "I hate you. Stay the fuck away from me."

And she stormed off.

*** 
"I swear," Amy said later, "we all thought you and Roger would get married before graduation."

"I don't know what I ever saw in him," said Jessica. They were in the parking lot, the sky was overcast and the asphalt was wet with recent rain. They walked around a puddle. "He's such an asshole."

"What brought this on now? Did you... you know, meet someone else?"

Jessica shook her head. "Not really. It's weird..." She touched her forehead. "It's like a switch flipped inside me. I spent hours lying in bed last night trying to make myself feel the same way about him, the way I used to -- remembering the good times. Our first date ...," she squinted, frowned. "It didn't work. I just hate him."

Amy nodded sympathetically. "You know, Chad Livingston just broke up with his girlfriend -- that Brittany bitch."

"He's a science major, right?"

"Yeah. Cute, too."

Jessica nodded absently. "Yeah." She hoisted her backpack higher on her shoulders. "What about Billy?"

"Bill Canton? From American Lit?"

"Noooo," said Jessica. "Eeew. I mean Billy. Your brother. Is he seeing anyone?"

Amy laughed. "Yeah, he's beating them off with a stick. But if you want, I'll tell him you think he's hot and give him your number." She giggled.

"I'm serious. He was so..." -- sexy? hot as hell? -- "cute when he brought that science project into your room yesterday. And when it didn't do anything, he seemed to take it so well. Roger always got so frustrated when something he tried didn't work out. He's such a stupid asshole."

"Yeah, Billy is glorious in defeat," said Amy. "Comes with years of experience." They reached their cars, and Amy popped her trunk and shrugged off her day pack. "You want to go out tonight? I'll call Laura. We can all get drunk and toast your freedom."

Jessica shook her head. "No, really, I'm fine," she said. "I just want to get my head in some books."

"Then come over tonight and we'll study again," said Amy. "You can ask my little brother on a date," she laughed.

"Okay," said Jessica. "Sounds good."

***
 "Roger? Are you okay?," Kelly asked.

Roger looked stunned when he met his younger sister at the car after class, shuffling like a zombie that had lost the will to be dead. "Yeah," he said. "She dumped me," he added randomly.

"Who? Jessica?"

"It came out of nowhere. She just told me she hated me and never wanted to see me again."

"Ohhh, Roger," Kelly touched his arm. "You've had fights before. I'm sure this'll blow over."

"I'm not so sure," he said listlessly. "She really -- she really didn't seem to want me any more."

"You two have been together forever. Nothing that serious could happen overnight."

It was an odd reversal -- Kelly comforting Roger. When she was young she'd mock anything like genuine emotion that he was foolish enough to display in the house -- "Rogeerr's got a girrrrll friend." But when she grew up a little and discovered boys, it was her older brother who coached her through her first heartbreaks. "He wasn't good enough for you," he'd say, supportively. "He's a fag, everyone knows it."

Now Kelly was the one who broke all the hearts: she'd blossomed tall and curvy, with long, red hair the rich hue of a dying fire, a full, sensual mouth and green eyes. She had all the high ground in the dating wars, and she could offer a little support to her brother.

She sensed it was too early to start calling Roger's ex an unworthy bitch; they might still get back together. She said as much. "I'm sure she'll come crawling back, bro."

But there was something very final in his posture and tone. His defeat seemed so total. Kelly began to wonder what really happened.

***
 Billy lounged on his bed, his head buried in a 1973 issue of the Journal of Scientific Psychiatry. He liked what he was reading: if the early experiments in clinical hypnosis were a valid yardstick, he could count on his memory suppression suggestions to remain in place indefinitely.

He grew hard with the memory. Ordering Jessica to get dressed, her eyes staring at him with naked adoration as she complied, slipping her panties over her still-wet pussy, pulling on her jeans. He'd thought of stopping her, jumping her again -- really, letting her jump him. But by then the device in the red wagon had begun emitting a disconcerting acrid smell. He didn't know how much longer he had.

When Jessica was dressed, he'd positioned her back on the bed and called over Amy. The two girls had sat on the edge of Amy's mattress, staring up into his eyes as he gave his final instructions: Amy would no longer want to kiss him. They were both going to fall asleep, and when they awoke from their nap, they would remember nothing of what transpired. "You'll recall clearly that I turned on my experiment, and it didn't work, and I shrugged and left the room with it," he'd ordered.

Jessica and Amy nodded in unison.

"Sleep now." They fell back on the tousled sheets, arms touching lightly. Within seconds their breathing was deep and slow.

He'd turned off the device, and the blue light faded from the room. Then he'd pulled off the tinted goggles and watched the girls slumber for a long moment before towing the little red wagon out of the room. Squeak, squeak, squeak...

Billy had left for the movies then, and when he got back Jessica was gone. Amy was in the kitchen. "I can't believe it," she'd said, slicing a sandwich. "You actually cleaned your room. There's some peanut butter and jelly in the fridge if you want to make yourself something to eat." She headed for the stairs.

"Amy?" he'd asked.

"Yeah?"

"How was the studying?"

"None of your business," she wrinkled her nose and walked up the stairs.

He awakened the next morning with his head full of questions. How would Jessica reconcile the false memory he planted with the plain reality of her tangled hair and the semen between her legs? Most importantly, would the suggestions he planted still control her, even if she could no longer remember them?

The journal assured him he was on safe ground on both counts -- posthypnotic subjects found ways of rationalizing inconsistencies, and they don't have to remember suggestions to be governed by them. The state he imposed on Jessica and Amy was far stronger than hypnosis. He should be fine.

"Hey!" A female voice startled him from his reverie. He jumped and dropped the magazine.

It was Jessica watching him from the doorway, biting her lower lip thoughtfully. She must have come into the house with Amy. "How's it going?," she asked.

"Um, g-good," he said, his heart racing from the shock. "How about you?"

She smiled -- those dimples again. She was dressed differently now, in a skirt and a pink sweater set. Maybe a little more makeup too. She glanced around the room, which was spotless, except for the bundle of electronics sitting inertly in the wagon in the corner. Jessica pointed at it. "I'm sorry your light show didn't work," she said without mockery.

"That's alright," Billy shrugged. "You know, back to the drawing board."

"Whatchya reading?" She walked in boldly and snatched up the journal from his floor.

"Wait!" He grabbed at it, but she pulled it out of reach behind her back. He stepped past her to try and snatch it and she backed away against the wall. "Give me that!," he said. Her eyebrows arched coquettishly and a half-smile crossed her lips.

Something was wrong. Why was she screwing with him? The suggestions must not have stuck. Is it possible, he thought, that she even suspected something?

He stepped into her and reached around her back, but she transferred the magazine to the other hand with a girlish laugh. He reached around her with his other arm. He was nearly embracing her; her hair tickled the side of his cheek softly.

He heard the journal rustle to the floor. She'd dropped it.

He realized then how close she was. He could smell her perfume stronger than yesterday, and she was wearing lipstick. Her hair was down. She was a inch from his face.

"You know," she said softly. "I think you're really cute, Billy."

"Umm, me too," he said lamely.

She brought her head in closer, almost touching his lips with hers. "I've been thinking a lot about you," she said, looking into his eyes. "I haven't been able to get you out of my head."

"What do you think?," he said. "I mean, what do you think about me?"

She kissed him -- just a little peck on his lips, like she was tasting him. He felt the tackiness of her lipstick. Then she pressed her mouth against his, invaded it with her tongue.

They made out for what seemed hours before she pulled away, breathing heavily. She dabbed her lower lip with her thumb. "Why didn't I ever notice you before?," she said distantly.

"I don't know."

A scared, exposed look clouded her features. She swallowed. Then she was in his arms again, kissing him deeply. She moaned and pulled her body hard against his.

"Jess? Are you still in there?" Amy was knocking on the bathroom door down the hall.

Billy broke off from Jessica to slam his door closed and twist the lock -- it was an old lock, hard enough to open from the inside, impossible from the hall. Jessica began unbuttoning her sweater.

They made love, fucked long and hard. He took his time were her body, exploring its mysteries and eccentricities: lingering over the tattoo on her ass; rolling her over to kiss her flat stomach; teasing her nipples with his tongue. He couldn't make her orgasm on command this time, but he lasted longer, and she came violently.

Her lovemaking was so enthusiastic and energized, that for a moment, Billy almost felt sorry for Roger Johansson. Roger would never know how she'd fought for him the day before, clinging to her love even as Billy slipped his will into her mind like a dagger, over and over. Now that love was gone without a trace.

"God," she panted afterwards, lying in his arms for what, to her, was the first time, "you make me so horny." She nuzzled his ear, then whispered, "I think I'm falling in love with you, Billy. I know it's silly, we hardly know each other. But I can't help the way I feel."

When she closed her eyes, Billy stretched out with his free hand, snagged the medical journal and stuffed it under the bed.

---

Chapter Four
 Billy opened his locker at school the next day and taped Jessica's photo to the wall inside. She'd had it in her purse: one of those rolls of four you get from the photo booth at the mall. Each shot was exaggerated pose -- a thoughtful look in one, a pout in another, a third where she'd bunched her hair over her head and kissed at the camera. In the last one she was smiling. Before leaving his bedroom she had grabbed a pen from his workbench and scrawled a note across all four: "I love you forever. XOXOXO."

He stepped back to admire it -- her -- in his locker, safe and secure in all her aspects. The first girlfriend he'd ever put in there. His girlfriend, even if nobody could know it.

That, he thought, could become a problem. He'd heard Amy accost Jessica in the hall as she tried to head home -- first accusing her of taking advantage of a naive little boy, then, paradoxically, scolding that Billy was exploiting her fragile post-breakup psyche for his own perverted needs. In the end, his sister just sounded confused.

But would she tell? That would open a can of worms that he wouldn't be able to close with all the electronics in the world.

"Missing something?" came a girl's voice from behind him, pulling him from his reverie. Billy slammed the locker door and spun around guiltily, to find himself looking into the most beautiful green eyes he'd ever seen.

"Uh, no," he said. "I mean... What do you mean?"

The redhead laughed. "The way you were staring in your locker, I thought maybe you'd lost something."

"No, no," he stammered. "I was just thinking."

"Hmmm," she looked him up and down appraisingly. "Well," she flashed a cocksure grin. "Don't think too hard."

She walked away, glancing back once to favor Billy with a flirty smile.

He watched her ass as she disappeared down the hall. What was that about? He didn't know the girl's name, but he was certain she was in that strata of high school social life that placed her beyond the aspirations of any guy who wasn't at least a senior, an athlete and a male underwear model all at once.

He pondered for a moment, then decided it was the new confidence that came with getting laid. The other girls could sense it. He'd be more attractive to them now.

He strutted to his next class.

***
 "Roger, you're not going to believe this," Kelly said, kicking the door closed behind her and dropping her books on the table with a thud.

"What is it?" Roger asked without enthusiasm. He was sprawled on their parents' sofa, drinking a beer and leafing idly through a People magazine.

"I -- wait, is that one of dad's beers?" she said. "Are you crazy?"

He shrugged, flipped a page.

"Roger, you've got to snap out of this," she said. "You haven't left the house in twenty-four hours, and mom and dad are going to go ape shit if they see you drinking here."

"I don't care," he said. "I loved her, sis. That's what you don't get. She was the one."

She sat down next to him. He was a wreck, his hair a rat's nest; deep shadows hung under his eyes. She felt bad for berating him. "Listen," she said sympathetically, "this is really weird, and it might upset you, but I think you should know. There's something not right here."

"What?," he asked, pulling himself up a little. "What is it?"

"Okay." She inhaled, steeling herself. "I was walking to class, by the lockers, and I saw Amy Norton's brother put a picture of Jessica up in his locker."

"What?" He blinked. "That kid? Whatshisname?"

"Billy," she said. "Billy Norton. I asked around."

He shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would he have her picture?"

"I've been trying to figure that out," she said. "Jessica is friends with Amy, right?"

"Yeah. And they've been studying together after school."

"So, apparently he's pretty smart," she said. "He's the biggest nerd since Urkle, but he might be helping Jessica with -- I don't know -- differential calculus or something. Maybe writing term papers for her."

"And?"

"He could have something on her. I know it's crazy, but maybe he blackmailed her into breaking up with you."

He shook his head. "No way," he said. "She'd just tell me. This isn't some UPN drama. She's a philosophy major for christsake."

Kelly sighed. When she said it out loud, it did sound pretty ridiculous. "You're right," she said. "I don't know what to think. Did she ever mention Amy's brother?"

"No. Never."

They sat in silence for a minute. "Okay," she said finally, rising to her feet. "I'm going over there."

"What? Why?"

"I'm going to poke around a little. See if Jessica's car is there." She grinned crookedly. "Maybe look in a window."

"You're going to get arrested," he said. "I appreciate it Kelly, but just let it go. I'll get over this." He swigged from the beer bottle. "She's just a girl," he added, his voice cracking a little.

"I'll be fine." She was already reaching for her purse, then fishing out her cell phone as she marched for the door. "I'll bring Jason. He'll take the rap for me," she laughed, dialing as she left the house.

Roger took another drink from the bottle, and lolled his head back. He heard the car pull away. Kelly had always been headstrong and a little nosy; when they were kids, he teased her by calling her Harriet the Spy. She'd hated that, he recalled with a twinge of guilt.

***
 Billy got home to find a package waiting for him. It was a set of protective contact lenses he'd ordered from a scientific instrument company, designed to shield technicians from harmful laser light. Billy had just about given up on them.

He tried them on in the bathroom. They fit perfectly, and as near as he could tell they didn't change the color of his eyes one shade, though wearing them put a faint pink tint on the rest of the world.

Bam bam bam! Someone was banging on the bathroom door. "Billy?," Amy yelled from the other side. "Get out here! We have to talk right now."

He sighed and opened the door. Amy's hands were on her hips, her dark eyes blazing with anger.

"Can we talk later?" Billy asked. "I really should call Jess."

"What did you do to her?," Amy demanded.

He pushed past her to his bedroom. "What are you talking about?" he said. "She likes me, I like her. Why aren't you happy for us?"

She followed him in. "She is several years older and, like, a thousand times better looking than you," said Amy. "And she suddenly dumps her boyfriend, who she's practically engaged to, to hook up with a little geek like you? I don't think so."

"Did she say anything about me at school today?"

"She said you're an immature nerd boy who can't answer a simple question."

Billy laughed. His sister's barbs no longer carried the sting they did a couple of days ago. He picked up a comic book and pretended to read.

"Fine," Amy said. "You don't want to tell me what's really going on? I'll just have to let Roger know who exactly is screwing his girlfriend."

"Who's Roger?" Billy asked.

"I think you know who Roger is," she said confidently. "And I think he'll be as interested as I am in finding out what you're up to."

"Tell him whatever you want. I don't care."

"Mom and dad, too, when they get back. And maybe your school guidance counselor. Is that still Mr. Harrison?" She smiled sweetly.

Billy glared.

"Maybe," she continued, "I'll even tell Jessica's parents. She still lives with them, you know. I bet they'd be concerned with her behavior. It isn't exactly normal for a college girl to be going out with a high school boy."

Billy cast a furtive glance at the wagon in the corner.

***
 "This is crazy, Kelly," her boyfriend grunted. "Let's just go to my place." They were outside the house, and Jason was lifting her by her legs, his arms coiled in a bear hug around her shapely calves as he tried to boost her high enough to win a view through an upstairs window.

"Be quiet," she snapped in a loud whisper. "I hear fighting."

"I can't do this forever," he said.

"You held me up like this for forty-five minutes at the Green Day concert," she countered.

He grumbled something about the situation being different then, but made no further protest. A few drops of rain fell tentatively from the graying sky.

"Okay," she said finally. "This isn't working. Bring me down."

He bent his knees and lowered her gently to the ground. She gave him an affectionate peck on his head as she lit, then picked her bag off the lawn.

"Let's try the front door," she said pluckily.

***
 "I may even talk to your principal, too, and -- what are you doing?" said Amy.

"Just a little tweaking." He pulled the wagon away from the wall and crouched down. "A few modifications."

She sneered at him. "Uh huh. Are you going to put some Spiderman stickers on it?"

He looked up at her and grinned. "I meant to you," he said.

He flipped the switch.

Nothing happened.

"Shit!" He dove into the circuitry with both hands and began furiously testing the connections. "Fuck."

She watched him, her puzzlement giving way to understanding. "You little fucking shit," she said slowly. "It's that machine, isn't it? That's what you did to Jessica. You sick little bastard!" She turned and ran for the bedroom door.

He jumped to his feet, slammed the door and twisted the lock. She shoved him and slapped at his arms, but he ignored her and went back to the device while she struggled with the lock, screaming in frustration.

The transformer? Fine. The phased-locked loops? They seemed to be connected. The power supply?

Amy wrenched the door open -- just as a spark popped from the wagon and the room was bathed in flickering blue.

She stopped in her tracks, leaning against the door frame for support as she struggled to take another step.

She blinked hard, one, twice, then turned and faced the light.

"Fixed it," said Billy.

***
 "Did you hear that?" Kelly asked. "That was a scream. C'mon, we're going in."

Jason sighed. He couldn't deny that a scream had indeed emanated from within, and the front door was unlocked. He didn't want Kelly to think he was a pussy. He threw up his hands. "Let's go."

The pair crept into the dim warmth of the house and moved stealthily to the stairs.

***
 Billy re-closed the door and sat on the edge of his bed, regarding Amy as she stared placidly into the blue light.

"God, Amy. You can be such a bitch sometimes."

She frowned prettily.

"Look at me."

Amy broke her gaze away from the flickering pyramid and locked on Billy's eyes.

"You're a bitch."

"I'm a bitch," she said softly.

"You know, you hurt me a little when you hit me just now. That really stung."

She stared blankly.

"You feel very bad about that. You can't live with the guilt. You crave my forgiveness desperately."

"I -- I'm sorry, Billy," she whispered.

"That's not good enough," he said. "This is the worst thing you've ever done in your life. The guilt is torturing you, crushing you completely. You need my forgiveness. You won't be able to eat or sleep until I've forgiven you."

She blinked back tears. "Please forgive me, Billy. I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry."

"Beg me," he said. "You need to beg me."

The tears began flowing down her cheeks. She trembled as she descended to her knees, then crawled across the floor to where Billy sat at the edge of the bed. By the time she reached him she was sobbing openly. She looked up at him beseechingly, her makeup running and her eyes red.

"Please, please forgive me." Her voice quivered. "I shouldn't have hit you. I'll do anything. Please. Just tell me what to do." She collapsed at his feet, buried her head in her hands, her body shaking as gasping sobs escaped through her fingers.

***
 Kelly crouched at the door, her ear pressed against it as she followed the conversation inside in fits and starts -- her attention kept drifting to a pool of flickering blue light spilling over the doorjamb. Despite the distraction, she'd heard more than enough. She glanced up at Jason, who was eavesdropping above in the same manner. They exchanged a look. Oh. My. God, she mouthed.

He nodded grimly.

She stood carefully and whispered in his ear. "We have to call the police."

***
 Billy watched his sister's groveling with an unexpected absence of satisfaction. He thought he'd take pleasure in making her feel regret for once; instead, the display made him feel petty and mean.

"That's enough," he mumbled. Then louder, "That's enough. I forgive you."

She looked up at him from the floor. Her black hair had fallen over her face; she pulled it away -- a glimmer of hope sparkled in her moist, bloodshot eyes. "Really?"

"Really. I forgive you," he said. "I -- I'm sorry," he added incongruously.

She broke into a joyful, radiant smile. "Oh, thank you, thank you," she said. She grabbed his hands and began kissing them; he felt the wetness of her tears on his knuckles. "Thank you, thank you, Billy."

"That's okay," he said half heartedly. "Stop that. Stand up."

She rose to her feet, still facing him, still smiling, still painted in the blue light. She sniffled.

"Listen to me, Amy. Me and Jessica -- you approve of us. You think it's great that we're together."

She opened her mouth to agree, then cocked her head, remembering. Her smile faded. "But... you... that machine. You brainwashed her," she said.

"No I didn't. The machine doesn't work. It's never worked."

"It -- It's never worked?"

"Never. It's just a light show, and it doesn't even work," he said.

"It doesn't work," she agreed.

"You think Jessica and I are great together. You'd never do anything to cause us problems."

"I think you and Jessica are great together," she said. "I'd never cause you problems."

"You won't tell anyone about us, ever," he said.

"I won't tell anyone about you, ever," she agreed solemnly.

***
 "Okay," Jason whispered. "I've heard enough. Let's get out of here."

"Out of here..." Kelly said distantly.

He tugged her hair lightly. She blinked and tore her gaze away from the blue light playing over the carpet. Jason inclined his chin to indicate the stairs at the end of the hall. She nodded.

Just then, the hall filled with music -- a loud but tinny rendering of a Kelly Clarkston song.

"What the hell?," Jason said.

"Shit! My cell phone." She clutched her bag.

The bedroom door flew open, and the hall was flooded with flickering blue light.

The couple froze, caught like deer in headlights -- mouths agape, eyes filled with dazzling blue.

Kelly's grip slackened and her purse dropped to the ground, still playing music.

---

Chapter Five
 Billy ushered his unexpected visitors into the room, then stepped out and closed the door behind him, his heart thumping. Could there be more? He crept down the hall and peered into Amy's empty bedroom, then moved on to listen at the top of the darkened stairs: a clock ticked below and a few drops of wind-borne rain smacked against the windows. "Hello?" he called. No answer.

He walked downstairs and inspected the front door, found it unlocked. Through the window he could see an unfamiliar red Civic parked across the street. He bolted the door and checked the rest of the house before returning to his room.

His guests were standing where he'd left them, gazing rapt at the flickering blue pyramid, breathing rhythmically. Amy was on her feet by the bed, still entranced. It was like a master sculptor had left three fine statutes decorating his bedroom, right alongside the science fiction posters and the bookshelves crammed with paperbacks.

He recognized the shapely redhead from the lockers -- it was the girl he thought was flirting with him. Her arms hung limply at her sides.

"Who are you?" he asked her. "What are you doing in my house?"

She stared at the wagon in silence.

He moved between her and the device, close enough to be heard in a whisper. "Look at me."

She blinked and looked down to meet Billy's gaze. There were flecks of gold in her green eyes.

"You want to answer my questions," he told her. "You want to tell me everything."

"I -- I want to answer your questions," she said in a dazed, husky voice. Her soft breath caressed his face intimately with each word.

"What's your name?"

"Kelly."

"Kelly what?"

"Kelly Johansson."

Of course. "You're Roger Johansson's sister?"

Her bangs flipped up and down as she nodded.

"Why are you here?"

"I ... was trying to find out something ..." Her eyebrows furrowed.

"You need to answer my questions, Kelly. You want to tell me everything."

"Yes. I want to tell you everything."

"What were you trying to find out?"

She thought for a moment. "I was trying to find out why Jessica broke up with Roger. I saw her picture. In your locker."

He nodded. It was all making sense now. "And who's this?"

"Jason. I'm dating him."

Tall, good looking, muscular and clearly a senior. It was so stupid, he thought, to believe she might have been interested in Billy.

Of course, that could be fixed.

He could do anything he wanted with her now -- with all three of them. He could rearrange their thoughts and feelings, their likes and dislikes. He could make Kelly's boyfriend forget he ever knew her, then send Kelly out to get Billy's name tattooed on her thigh.

Billy looked her up and down. She was hot. Two inches taller than him, and wearing tight white pants and a low-cut gray knit top that hugged her ample breasts and tapered to embrace her narrow waist. Her dark red hair hung straight, framing a face that was clean and clear, with a doll's nose and a wide, full mouth; pouty, sensual lips.

Her eyes -- so green -- were still looking into his as she waited patiently for his next question.

"Would you like to have sex with me?" he asked.

She shook her head.

If he took her, would it be cheating on Jessica? Jess was his girlfriend, after all. Is it even possible, he wondered, to cheat on a girl who only loves you because you've made her love you?

He decided he didn't care. If Jessica ever found out, he could make her forget; or not mind. Or even like it. He could plant the idea in her brain that she enjoys knowing Billy is screwing other girls. He could have Jessica lure her girlfriends into his room on some pretext; he could make her pick the hottest of her friends and set them up for Billy to capture their affections. To ease the process, he could turn Amy into a willing coconspirator.

Seeing the tall redhead enthralled in his bedroom made Billy realize how meager his ambitions had been. He'd entered puberty wanting Jessica, and he'd figured out a way to get her. But now he could have anyone he wanted. He could have the kind of women once reserved for the Jasons of the world.

"I think it would be fun if you kissed me in front of your boyfriend," he said to Kelly.

She shuddered. "No ... You're ..."

"I'm what? Tell me what you think of me?"

"You -- you're disgusting," she whispered.

He sulked -- his feelings genuinely hurt. "No I'm not. I'm the best looking guy you've ever seen."

She fidgeted and shook her head.

"I am. You can't stop looking at me. You want me desperately. You want to kiss me and make out with me and you want to fuck my brains out."

A pensive look crossed her face; with her right hand she absently pushed her hair behind her ear. The blue light danced off a dangling earring.

Billy heard a noise. Jason had managed a guttural protest, his hands were curled into fists and somewhere deep beneath his tranced eyes there was a hint of smoldering hate.

"You can't move from that spot!" Billy commanded, as though dictating the rules of a childhood game. "And you can't yell. All you can do is watch."

Jason's neck muscles tensed, but he didn't move or speak.

"Kelly, you're so horny you can't stand it. You need to have me right now. You don't care about anything else. You don't want anyone else."

Her breath deepened and she licked her lips. Her eyes were locked on his.

"You want to be naked for me. Undress."

Without even glancing at Jason, Kelly pulled the sweater over her head and dropped it her feet. She kicked off her shoes, then unbuttoned her pants, peeled them off and left them in a bundle on the floor.

She was in panties and a bra now, both red satin. A tiny silver necklace hung from her throat and descended between her cleavage. She was breathtaking. "Wow," Billy said.

She reached behind her back and removed her bra for him, then pulled off her panties. Her pubic hair was a darker shade of red. Her breasts were large and buoyant with small pink nipples pointing at the ceiling.

He stepped closer to her and touched the hollow of her throat with his index finger, then traced a line down to her cleavage. She trembled a little. He caressed her right breast and felt her nipple stiffen beneath his palm. Her flesh was warm and yielding.

"What do you think of me now?," he asked her.

"I -- I want you," she whispered. "I want you so bad. I want to kiss you and make out with you and fuck your brains out."

"But you came here to spy on me, didn't you?"

She shook her head, then nodded, confused. "Yes. My -- my brother ..."

"Yeah, he's an asshole. You hate him, don't you?"

A pained look.

"You hate Roger," Billy repeated.

"Yes," she said slowly. "I hate Roger."

Billy glanced behind him. Amy was still standing, spellbound by the blue light.

"Okay," Billy said, facing Kelly again. "You can kiss me."

Kelly put her hands gently on Billy's face and bent slightly to kiss him fully on the lips. He put his hands on her waist, luxuriating in the silken warmth of her skin as she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

She grinded against him, moaning and kissing him harder and harder, her tits pressing high against his chest, until, With some effort, he pushed her away, leaving her panting. Next to her Jason was watching; his face was red with anger.

"Watch this," Billy said to Jason. "Kelly, play with your tits for us. Squeeze them."

"Please... Just fuck me," she breathed. "I'm so horny. I want you so much."

"But you said I was disgusting a minute ago. Now I don't know what to think. You'll have to prove you want me."

She let out a muted cry of frustration, but reached up to her breasts and took one in each hand. Her face flushed as she kneaded them and her breathing, already heavy, grew shaky and tremulous.

"Touch yourself. Make yourself come."

Her eyes stayed on Billy's as she moved her right hand down between her legs and began tracing tight, rapid circles with her middle finger, her eyebrows peaking as though she were in pain. She started to moan, softly at first, then loud, gasping, desperate cries. Her face glowed with perspiration.

Then she came, screaming and howling with abandon. When she was done, she slumped and tilted her head sideways in exhaustion, breathing hard but still standing, and still gazing at Billy. Her eyes had never left him.

Jason was watching her, clenching his jaw. He made no sound. Billy addressed him. "You're very sleepy," he said dismissively. "Go down the hall into the other bedroom and go to sleep."

His eyes drooped a little, but he shook his head resolutely. He managed to force a string of words through his teeth one at a time. "I. Won't. Leave. Her."

Billy frowned. "Fine," he said. "Kelly, he doesn't want to leave us alone together. Face him."

With obvious reluctance, the naked girl tore her gaze away from Billy and turned to Jason. She flinched at the pain and anger in his eyes.

"Do you want him to stay?" Billy asked.

"I -- Yes. No... I don't know." She shook her head in confusion.

"Do you want him?"

She swallowed. Then shook her head. "I only want you."

Jason ground his teeth.

"You're sleepy Jason. Just give in. Go in the other room and nap until we wake you."

He shook his head tightly.

Billy sighed. This was troubling. If he pushed Jason too hard, would the senior break free? He was big enough to beat Billy into the ground like a fencepost.

He had an idea.

"Amy, can you hear me?"

"Yesss," his sister said dreamily from across the room.

"Come here."

She sleepwalked over to him. Billy guided her to a spot in front of Kelly's boyfriend, then tilted her chin up gently.

"Amy meet Jason; Jason, this is Amy. Look at each other."

The two mesmerized strangers regarded each other with empty eyes.

"Amy, Jason is the most handsome man you've ever seen in your life. He's funny and smart and sexy. You're falling totally in love with him."

His sister's mouth opened and her gaze took on more life, flicking between Jason's eyes. "Yes. You're so perfect."

"Jason, Amy is the most beautiful girl you've ever met. She's an angel. She's the one you've been waiting for all your life. You're falling madly in love with her."

Jason swallowed. "No. Kelly ..."

"You're forgetting Kelly already. You find Amy irresistible. She's the most gorgeous girl in the world. Look at her deep eyes, her caramel skin, her perfectly rounded breasts, her ..." he struggled ... "her straight, white teeth and shiny, healthy hair. You're in love with her. You've always been in love with her."

His expression relaxed a little. "You ... are beautiful," he admitted to her.

"She's everything you want in a woman," Billy said. "You're madly in love with her. You want to spend hours gazing into her eyes. You want to cradle her in your arms. You can't wait to be alone with her. She's all you can think about."

He was nodding by then. "You're an angel. You're everything I've ever wanted."

Amy smiled and blushed becomingly. "You're so handsome," she trilled. "I -- I love you."

He took her hands and gazed into her eyes. "I love you too. I've always loved you."

Kelly watched impassively as her boyfriend's loyalty shifted, Billy's invention painting her nude body in flickering blue.

"Jason, you're grateful to me for introducing you to Amy," Billy said.

He nodded, staring adoringly at Amy. "Yes. Grateful."

"Amy, why don't you take Jason into your room. But when I tell you to come back, you'll bring him back here. If you don't, you'll lose him forever. Do you understand?"

His sister nodded happily and led her new lover out the door by the hand.

When they were gone, Billy directed Kelly to his bed and had her sit. She looked up at him with needy hunger, her hair flowing naturally over her shoulders, her naked breasts rising and falling with every labored breath. "Please fuck me," she said. "I'll do anything you want. Just fuck me."

"Listen Kelly," he said. "You're my slave now."

She looked confused.

"From now on, you'll do anything I say. Whatever I tell you to do, you'll obey me instantly, whether you want to or not."

She scooted back from him and shook her head. "No," she protested softly. "No."

"You belong to me now. You're my property. You'll do anything I say."

"No ... I won't," she whispered, her eyes misting.

"Your mind belongs to me, and your body belongs to me," Billy instructed. "Say it."

"Oh ... God." She pressed her palms against her temples and began squirming, her naked butt wriggling on his bed. Her eyes were still glued to his. "M-my mind belongs to you. My body belongs to you."

"Anything I tell you to do, you'll do. You'll obey me. You can't resist."

"I'll ... obey you. I can't resist."

"You're my slave. You'll be my slave forever."

"I'm -- I'm your slave," she said.

"You'll do anything for me."

"I'll do anything for you."

"You'll lie, cheat or steal for me. You'll keep my secrets. If I ask, you'll bring me your girlfriends, your best friends in the whole world, so that I can do the same thing to them that I'm doing to you right now."

She nodded, and a tear ran down her cheek. "Yes. I'll do anything you want, Billy."

"You're my slave."

"I'm your slave. I'll be your slave forever."

He reached out stroked her hair, flicked her dangling earring and sent it swaying like a pendulum. She pressed the side of her head into his palm like a cat. He touched her lips with his thumb.

"Go downstairs, find the kitchen and bring me a Coke from the refrigerator," he ordered.

She rose to her feet at once. He watched her bare ass as she walked out the door.

***
 Kelly blinked and rubbed her eyes as she staggered unsteadily down the hall. Leaving the bedroom was like waking from a strange dream. She tried to remember what had happened -- her cell phone ringing, the doors flying open. Amy's brother was there.

Amy's brother. Billy. She'd planned on stopping him, getting him arrested. Then he'd brought them in together, made her undress, masturbate for his entertainment and make out with him right in front of ...

Jason! Billy had sent him into the other room with Amy. Kelly moved stealthily to the door and peeked in. Amy was on her back on the bed, Jason was lying over her propped on an elbow, looking into her eyes like a love-struck little boy.

"God, you're so beautiful," he said.

"Yesss. Kiss me, Jason."

Kelly opened her mouth to warn him -- to warn them both. The words formed in her head: Stop! This is all Billy. He's making us do this! But nothing came out. She realized, with some puzzlement, that she wasn't troubled by the scene playing out before her. She didn't care. She didn't want Jason anymore.

I want Billy. I only want Billy. I want him desperately. I'm Billy's slave.

Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered something else ... something urgent. Billy wants a Coke, she thought. I'm supposed to find the kitchen and get him a Coke. I'm wasting time.

She hurried down the hall and descended the stairs. Through the front curtains she saw it was storming outside. Her eyes were drawn to the family photos on the shelves and bookcases. She smiled: even as a boy, Billy had been handsome. The best looking guy she's ever seen.

But she was sure she hadn't thought of him that way an hour ago. He did that. If she focused, she could even recall him uttering the command. The funny thing was, it didn't help. He's so sexy. No wonder Jessica wants him.

Wait, that's not right ...

Kelly found a Coke in the refrigerator, poured it in a glass with some ice and began retracing her steps. On her way to the stairs, she caught her reflection in the dining room mirror: naked, her red hair tangled, her hand holding Billy's soda tenderly.

Was this her life from now on? What would school be like? Will he even let me remember what he did to me? Probably not, she decided. Why should he take the chance? Her mind was his now. She'd remember what he wanted her to, nothing more. She'd be his little slave girl and not even know why.

I should fight this.. That's what a heroine in a movie would do. I should be stronger, force myself to a phone, call 9-1-1.

But I want Billy desperately, her mind protested. I need Billy. I'm Billy's property. I'm Billy's slave. I can't resist him. She grew moist at the thought of him, the taste of his mouth, his scent, the boyish glint in his eyes as she'd put her most intimate self on display for him. I want to fuck Billy's brains out..

The flickering blue light was off when she reentered his room. Billy was sitting on his bed talking on the phone. "I know, I meant to call sooner, but something came up," he said into the receiver. "You can come over later. I'm just a little busy right now."

Kelly handed him the glass and sat quietly next to him as he carried on his conversation with Jessica. Watching him was almost too much to bear -- he was so sexy. I need to have him right now. I don't care about anything else. She reached down and unclasped his belt.

"Actually, Amy's had a change of heart. She's cool with us now. Oh, and she has a new boyfriend. I'm sure she'll tell you all about him."

Kelly's heart beat faster as she opened Billy's jeans one button at a time.

"Really? I didn't know," Billy said into the phone. "Well, she has a new one now."

She pulled his pants down past his knees and bent over him, her crimson hair spilling across his lap like an offering as she took him into her mouth.

"Um, I'll call you back."

She served him until he was satisfied. When he was finished with her, he sent her to fetch Amy and Jason, then made her turn on the device. Kelly slipped back into the dream, and the three of them absorbed Billy's will like sponges left in the rain.

***
 Roger was plunked down on the couch, watching a Buffy rerun and ruminating on the past: first his history with Jess, then further. It was the name, Billy Norton, that really took him back. He'd known a kid by that name when he was young.

He shook his head with distaste at the memory. He had struck at Norton and some other grade school kids in an effort to feel in control: to prove he wasn't at the bottom of the pecking order. Could this be the same Billy Norton? Probably. It didn't matter. It was a long time ago. He was a different person then.

He muted the TV when he heard Kelly pull up. She came through the door and headed for her room without a glance in his direction. She was soaking wet from the rain.

"Hey Kelly," he called. "There you are. I've been worried."

She flipped her hair and frowned at him. "Are you still here? Jesus. Why don't you go back to your dorm? Don't they have beer there?"

"Ummm, I was waiting for you. You didn't answer your phone."

"I went to the mall. I had an errand."

He searched her eyes for some clue to her sudden hostility. "Did you find anything at Amy's?"

"I didn't go. I'm not your spy, Roger. Don't be such an asshole." She moved on, shaking her head. "No wonder Jessica dumped you."

***
 She met Billy at his locker the next morning, clutching an envelope in her hands.

"Is that it?," he asked.

She nodded and handed it to him.

He peeked inside and smiled. "Good," he said. "You're a good girl." He looked around to see if anyone was in earshot. "Tell me you're a good girl."

"I'm a good girl," she said quietly.

"Go to class. I'll call you later."

She walked down the hall, glancing back once, her eyes conveying a complex emotion.

He pulled the picture out. It was another strip of four photos. Kelly was topless in each of them, holding up her breasts in her hands and looking into the camera with that same expression -- a mixture of awe, confusion and helpless desire.

She'd written a note across the strip in red felt-tip: "I'm your slave forever."

He taped it to the wall of his locker and closed the door.

The end.