“No. No way, absolutely not,” I stammered as I stared at my two closest friends in their finest evening wear. “I am not going to Senior Night.”

“Come on, Annie. It wouldn’t be the same without you,” Olivia insisted, as she pushed past me to join Caitlyn in my tiny dorm room.

“I can’t, okay? I just can’t.”

“Because Caleb will be there?” Caitlyn asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

I couldn’t meet the scrutiny of her cool blue eyes, so I looked down at the floor. “He hasn’t talked to me since the . . . the thing. If he wanted to see me he would have said something.”

“So the night just belongs to him, and you’re going to miss out on your one chance to hang out with all your friends out of consideration for his feelings?” Caitlyn asked.

“It’s not that simple,” was all I could say. Of course, it wasn’t just about his feelings. I doubted I could enjoy myself with Caleb on stage ignoring me. “Can’t we just hang out here? Or literally anywhere else?”

The pair exchanged another glance. “If that’s really what you want, we could. But I don’t think you really want that,” Olivia said from over my shoulder, as she rummaged through her bag.

“And you guys are the experts on what I want?”

“Yes,” Caitlyn said matter-of-factly.

“Definitely,” Olivia agreed.

I rolled my eyes. “Then please enlighten me.”

Olivia walked over to stare me down. “Annie, you’re the bravest person I know.”

I flushed. “That can’t be true.”

“For serious! You even taught me to put myself out there. I mean look at me. I would have been terrified to wear a dress like this before. Now I feel hot.” She did a little spin, setting her breasts bouncing in the low-cut red number.

I didn’t teach you, I hypnotized you against your will, was all I could think.

“So I find it hard to believe you, of all people, want to sit in your room and hide from your feelings.”

“I’m not hiding! I’m just trying not to hurt anyone else.”

Caitlyn put a hand on my shoulder. “If you lock yourself away, you may not do any more harm, but you won’t help anything either. If I did what you’re doing, I’d be avoiding you. I know I hurt you, but all you can do is show up and do your best. Or in my case, get reinforcements and vodka and then show up.”

“No offense, but I don’t think me showing up at a party will help things between me and Caleb.”

She shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt either. After what we did, it probably can’t get any worse. So you may as well try.”

That familiar weight of guilt started to press down on me again. I raised a hand, pretending to scratch my neck. I tried to push the weight aside, but it wouldn’t move. “I just don’t know if he wants to see me.”

“You’re right,” Caitlyn gasped with mock amazement. “Better to just sit around and wait for him to make the first move. That’s how you got this far.”

“You don’t have to be rude about it.”

Her face softened. “Sorry, I just thought that might get through. I was so impressed when you told me you’d asked out Caleb. I don’t know what happened to you since I’ve been gone, but you really came out of your shell. Maybe all my attempts to protect you were holding you back. Maybe you don’t need help from either of us, but I still have to try and give you that last little push. I think you’ll regret it if you don’t go. I know it’s scary, but we’ll be right beside you, every step of the way.”

I’m just going to do it. The words leapt unbidden into my mind. She was right, of course, as usual. If I hadn’t reached out, Caleb would never have been part of my life. We would have just passed by each other, two strangers never knowing what could have been. I would never have been hypnotized, never found this sensual side to myself, never felt loved. And that was exactly what was about to happen now. If I didn’t try one more time, I would never know what might have been.

“Annie?” Caitlyn asked.

Who knew if our story had ended or was just getting started? Caleb and I could have so many adventures left. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I still loved him, dammit.

“Annie?” Olivia waved her hand in front of my face.

Maybe he wanted nothing to do with me. Or maybe he was feeling scared and alone, and needed me now more than ever.

“Annie!” Caitlyn snapped her fingers, pulling me back to earth.

I blinked quickly, gaze settling on Caitlyn’s clear blue eyes. “Fuck it! I’m just going to do it.”

“That’s my girl!” Caitlyn cheered. “I knew she was in there somewhere.”

The weight still pressed down on me, but I resolved to forge ahead anyway. I turned to Olivia. “I could use a shot. I think I’ll need all the courage I can get tonight.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” She turned and walked back to my desk. I couldn’t help but marvel at the high skirt of her dress as she walked away. Was she really still following my suggestion to show more skin? Surely it would have worn off by now. She extracted a stack of shot glasses. “I borrowed these from Roger.” She spread them out on the little desk. One had a white sun, another a symbol of a red fireball, the next a blue tear drop, then a green tree, and finally a black skull. “Pick your poison.”

I studied the little glasses, though the choice was easy. I snatched up the fiery one. “I’m always red, remember?” I said with a laugh.

Olivia took the one with the sun. “This is my usual. It reminds me of Elspeth.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Caitlyn said as she took the one with the tree, seemingly at random.

Olivia poured the clear liquid for each of us, then raised her own glass. “To being brave.”

Caitlyn followed. “To a good night.”

The room started to blur as I fought back tears. I couldn’t believe how lucky I felt to have these two. I didn’t realize how lonely I’d been until they’d come for me. Maybe Caleb was feeling the same. “To friends!”

The liquid stung my tongue from the first drop. Still, I welcomed the sensation. It pulled me out of my head, which was just what I needed. It kept burning all the way down to my stomach, and I decided to imagine it as liquid fire, stoking my engine for what was to come. Finally I could focus on the present. That was when I realized something and said, “Wait, you guys, I don’t have anything to wear!”

The two exchanged another knowing glance. “You think I’d do you like that?” Caitlyn joked as she moved towards my bed.

I had been so surprised to see them that I’d largely ignored the garment bag Caitlyn had brought with her. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“It was the least I could do. At this point, I’ve probably bought you more clothes than you’ve bought for yourself.” She unzipped the bag and reached inside. I had expected something green and flowery, something to match my usual style, certainly not the tight little black dress that emerged into the light.

It was simple, elegant, sexy. If it was more modest than Olivia’s red one, it was only just. The off-the-shoulder neck line dropped down in a sweetheart dip that would cut much lower than anything I’d usually wear. The fabric crossed over the chest in a pleated look that would accentuate my hips. The skirt tapered up towards the middle, like petals of a tulip, just begging to be unwrapped. This was not a dress for a shy wallflower, no this dress was for a woman who knew what she wanted and had come to take it. “It’s perfect.”

***

We walked into the venue three abreast, Olivia on my left and Caitlyn on my right. The inky darkness of my dress blended with the shadows of the venue, making my pale, freckled skin and straightened, coppery hair stand out even more under the colored lights.

I was immediately noticed by the crowds of seniors. Already, several clusters of people had started pointing and whispering, or at least doing what passed for whispering in a crowded nightclub. I had almost gotten used to the reaction. Ever since the Snikr incident, as I had come to call it, people had looked at me like an animal in the zoo, some exhibit in the museum of public sexual curiosity.

“Don’t let them get to you,” Caitlyn said.

Having friends surrounding me did make the gossiping much easier to endure. My thoughts turned to Caleb. Did he have friends supporting him? He had to be getting it worse than me. I scanned the darkened club, but could hardly make out faces across the room, let alone pick out Caleb.

The university had rented out The Eurydice, one of the classier night clubs in town. A large proscenium arch stage dominated the far wall, providing a focus for the massive dance floor on the first level. A second level mezzanine wrapped around the stage with booths and other more private seating. Our tuition money hard at work, no doubt. But more frustratingly, the place was huge. How was I supposed to find Caleb in here? “Ugh, it’ll take forever to sweep this place.”

“Let me do a lap,” Caitlyn offered. “I know my way around.”

“If you wouldn’t mind. That may be less conspicuous,” I said, picking nervously at my nails.

With a quick nod, Caitlyn vanished into the darkness and the pulsing lights. Olivia and I did our best to search the dance floor, but found no trace of Caleb, nor Nina. I felt a pang of guilt about that. Hopefully she wasn’t still grading exams and masturbating. I had her pocket watch in my purse. I didn’t know when I’d get another chance to return it after tonight.

After a while, I started to think I had gained some sort of force field ability, the way people were keeping away from me. I didn’t know most of my classmates, but they usually just ignored me. Being actively avoided was a new and unwelcome sensation. The nerve of these people, judging me and Caleb for something they knew next to nothing about.

Eventually Olivia and I settled by a comparatively quiet, second-floor bar to wait for Caitlyn’s return. At least the force field guaranteed us a couple of seats at the bar, and spare ones besides those. I did my best to make small talk, but I only had one real question for Olivia, which was why she never said anything about the hypnosis. I certainly wasn’t going to ask that, so I settled for, “So, where’s Roger?”

“He’s here with his boys somewhere. He said you needed me tonight more than he did.”

“That’s actually very understanding.”

“I think he still feels bad about creeping you out.”

“Well tell him it’s forgotten. He’s welcome to join us. We’ve got space,” I said as I gestured to the seats on either side.

“Maybe later. He likes to have time with just his guy friends too.”

“But you guys are happy?” I had to ask. I could feel the real question scratching away, trying to burrow out into the light.

“We really are. When I imagined the kind of guy I might date, I never pictured anything like Roger, but he’s cute in his own nerdy way.”

The bittersweet feeling of the answer was too much. On the one hand she was happy, on the other who knows if I just accidentally made her that way? Was she only dating him because of my suggestion? I couldn’t hold it back anymore. “So, you’re not mad?”

She spun on her stool to face me, leaning comfortably on the bar’s faded wood, no sign of the terminally shy girl from just a few weeks ago. “Why would I be mad?”

“Because I hypnotized you,” I blurted out. “Because I did it without really getting your permission or explaining it to you, even though I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was just drunk and you seemed so anxious. I had to do something, but I gave you all sorts of suggestions that may still be affecting you, even though Caleb said they wouldn’t. You’ve been dressing and acting so differently. I’m just afraid I messed with your head in ways I can’t take back, and I have no clue how to fix it or if I even should.” I mentally kicked myself. Smooth Annie, real smooth. It wouldn’t have been a party without one of my freshly tossed word salads, hold the self-restraint.

Olivia just shrugged, though her smile never wavered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, exasperated.

“It means I dunno. I don’t really worry about it, and I don’t think you should either.”

“Of course I worry about it!”

“I did realize you hypnotized me, even before the Snikr story. It wasn’t that hard to figure out, but I didn’t mind. You did it to help me.”

“But I changed you so much. I didn’t even realize how much. I just thought I’d help you meet a guy, but now you’re playing Magic and dressing . . .” My words trailed off as my gaze involuntarily drifted down to Olivia’s substantial cleavage. “Different.”

Another shrug.

What was I supposed to do with that? “Say words!”

Her chest rose and fell with the breath of a heavy sigh. Oops looked at the cleavage again. Ding. Great, glad that still happens occasionally.

Then finally she spoke. “I don’t know if you really did all that, and I don’t care. Maybe I’m showing more skin because you buried the idea in my brain, or maybe it’s because I have a boyfriend who tells me I’m hot. I used to be really self-conscious about my figure, but it’s amazing what a steady stream of compliments will do. Either way, I feel better about myself than I have in a long time.”

“But what if it’s not really you?” Her words soothed some of my guilt, but I still couldn’t let it go. “We can find out.” I produced the lunar agate bracelet from my bag. “I brought this. I had you put your insecurities in it. If you put it on and anything changes, then you’ll know it’s the hypnosis.” I gently set the bangle down on the bar between us.

Olivia studied it warily. After a beat, she pushed it back towards me. “No, thanks. You can keep it. I’ve got plenty more charms where that came from.”

“But, but . . .”

“But, I’m still me,” she finished. “I like to think that you just gave me the courage to be who I always wanted to be. I’m nearly certain that if I put that on, nothing will happen, but I like my story and I’m sticking to it.”

I was speechless. How could she not want to know?

“I’m still the same me, I always was. You think you made me like Magic the Gathering? I think it’s just a fun way to bond with my boyfriend. He shares my interests too. You know he went hiking with me because there was a cave with these beautiful quartz deposits I wanted to see? That boy’s never been hiking in his life. You should have seen him. He got sunburned on a trip to a cave. I don’t think anyone hypnotized him to do that, unless you’ve got more secrets you’re not telling me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the image of Roger in nature. “No, no more secrets, I promise.”

“Good,” she said with a radiant grin. Her hand closed over the beads, and she dropped them back in front of me. “Some doors are better left closed, Annie. I don’t need to know how much of that night was you and how much was me. I just know I made a good friend. So please take the lunar agate as a token of friendship.”

I held the bracelet in my hand. Impulsively, I slipped it on and flinched. For a second I expected all of Olivia’s doubts to seep into me instead, but of course, nothing happened. Even if the hypnosis had caused her transformation, it would have been all in her head. It wasn’t some cursed artifact. If these beads symbolized anything it was our bond. “Thanks, I will keep it. To Friends!”

“Whoa, whoa, you need a shot if you’re going to do toasts,” Olivia answered, signaling the bartender.

“I really have made a monster,” I teased.

“Nah, you just unlocked the cage.”

“I’ll get this round,” a calm, cool voice called from behind us.

We both turned to face the lithe silhouette that swept into the empty seat beside me. Her dress hugged her figure, flowing sinuously down her curves in a mermaid tail and gently fading from white to a bright pink. Both of which only heightened the tanned perfection of Melissa’s walnut complexion and unreadable eyes. One of her lackeys hovered impatiently over her shoulder. I think it was Three, maybe Two. It was hard to tell in the dim light. “Having a good night?”

I bristled. “Remains to be seen.”

That seemed to amuse her because it elicited another perfectly sculpted smile. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

“What do you want, Melissa?” I said, trying and failing to sound polite.

She feigned offense, raising a hand to her heart. “Annie, do I have to want something? I just came to check on my new bestie.”

“She’s, like, so caring,” Three or Two echoed.

Melissa continued. “After all, it must be rough with everyone avoiding you. You wouldn’t believe some of the tea they’ve been saying about you and Carson.”

“His name is Caleb.”

She ignored me. “Some of them have been calling you a brainwashed sex slave. Could you believe it?”

“So rude,” Three or Two added.

“Of course, I wouldn’t let them do my fam like that. You’re lucky to have me to watch out for you.”

“Gosh, I just feel so lucky,” I said with an eye roll.

“So lucky,” Olivia chimed in, doing her best valley girl impression. I had to suppress a laugh at that.

A flash of annoyance rippled across the still water of Melissa’s face. “So, have you given my offer any more thought?”

Truthfully I had not. Somehow the prospect of being a ‘content slut’ seemed drastically less tempting than it had a few hours ago. “Why do you even care? We’re all about to graduate. All this dumb popularity contest bullshit will be history in a week. I don’t care if people like me. I’ll never see them again.” I only valued one person’s opinion, and it certainly wasn’t Melissa’s.

She looked at me with genuine pity. “Oh bestie, let me clock you on how this works. This ‘bullshit’ isn’t some blip, it's forever. Sure, these people don’t know you, but that doesn’t matter. They’ve already made their minds up about you. No one needs the actual tea with you and Carter. The more unhinged the rumor, the better. And those rumors will come to define you. They don’t vanish just because you graduate. It doesn’t matter where you try to pivot, those stories will follow you. They’ll define you.”

“Merrian Webster,” Three added with a serious tone.

Olivia rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t even make sense. Ignore these two, Annie.”

A set of four shots arrived before us and went completely untouched. Despite Olivia’s encouragement, the bubble of space around us had started to feel like a coffin, crushing in on us with its oppressive emptiness. “She’s right. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, I’m just me. Caleb’s just Caleb.”

Melissa snorted. “No cap? You know that and I know that, but are they even listening? To them, you’re just a side quest—pure entertainment. You either lean into the main character energy or let it gatekeep your life. You can ride this wave or get crushed by it. Let me show you how to actually serve.”

Suddenly I felt very small. I didn’t know how to handle social media. I didn’t even know how to log into it. How could I help Caleb if I didn’t even understand the basics of what people were saying?

“Annie?” Olivia asked.

Maybe that stupid Snikr message would be an iron chain around both our necks dragging us down. Maybe Melissa could really help me.

“Annie?”

“Let her think,” Melissa said.

I had hoped that just showing up today would be enough, but what if it wasn’t? What if it wasn’t good enough? What if I wasn’t good enough?

Caitlyn’s hand on my shoulder dragged me back into the room. “Is this Temu-model bothering you?” The tanned blonde swept down like a satin-clad eagle and now stood protectively behind me.

Melissa’s withering gaze left mine for the first time since she had sat down. I could have sworn I’d seen a bolt of electricity crackling between her and Caitlyn. “Cait,” she said, voice dripping with scorn.

“Lissa,” Caitlyn shot back, more sparks flying between them.

“Lissa?” Three repeated, shocked, looking between the two of them.

“Don’t you start calling me that,” Melissa said, eyes darting to her follower. “It’s from a different era.”

Then Melissa snapped back to her mask of implacable indifference and returned her focus to Caitlyn. “So good to see you again. I lowkey thought you’d get knocked up in Spain and rot over there.”

“So sorry to disappoint you,” Caitlyn answered with mock sympathy. “I’ll try to have even more unprotected sex next time. That is if it won’t make you too jealous.”

Melissa laughed, but it sounded thin and brittle. “I see you haven’t changed.”

“Neither have you.”

“Whore.”

“Bitch.”

“Whatever.” Melissa cleared her throat. “This isn’t about me. It’s about poor Annie here. I was just trying to be a real one and help her out of the mess you made.”

Caitlyn flinched at the dig. “Give me a break, Lissa. We both know, everything’s always about you.”

“I’d say it’s up to Annie to decide what it’s about. So, what do you say?”

I blanched as four sets of eyes all settled on me. Why was it always up to me? I hated all this scrutiny and attention. I just wanted to have a nice quiet life, ideally with Caleb. I never asked to be some object of public sexual fascination. Maybe Melissa was right and all this stupid drama would follow me forever, but at that moment I didn’t care. I came here for one reason, and one reason only: to get my boyfriend back. I’d figure the rest out later. “Thanks, but no thanks, Lissa,” I said, rising from my seat. Olivia quickly followed and soon all three of us loomed over the seated influencer.

She shrugged, remaining perfectly poised and polished. “You’ll have to serve eventually, and I’ll be waiting. Cheers.” She raised one of the shot glasses and tipped it back.

I started to walk away, but turned over my shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I already know how to serve better than you do.”

Melissa gagged on the shot, clearly not ready for me to twist her words like that. She broke into a sputtering cough and Three or Two rushed to rub her back. With a self-satisfied smirk, I strutted away, doing the sashay hip thing I’d learned from them.

Once we got some distance, I turned to Caitlyn. “You two know each other?”

“Yeah,” she said, chewing her lip. “It’s a long story. We used to be friends, back in high school.”

“But not anymore?”

“We had a falling out over a guy.” She winced. “I didn’t even know she was into him, or I would have shot him down. She got all obsessed with her image after that and stopped talking to me.”

“I’m surprised she’s still mad about that after all this time. Just seems like an overreaction,” I mused.

“I’m not. The girl holds a grudge.”

“Who cares!?” Olivia cut in. “What about Caleb?”

“Oh right,” Caitlyn answered, shaking her head. “I turned the place upside down, but no sign of him. He must already be backstage.”

“So, we’re too late?” I said, deflating. The weight started its inexorable press towards the ground again.

“No way,” Caitlyn said with a reassuring smile. “We’ll just try to get a good spot so he can see us in the crowd. Then we can talk to him whenever they take a break.”

I nodded, trying to summon up as much courage as I could. We made our way down to the main level, me trudging through quicksand with every step. We queued as close to the stage as we could get, which was surprisingly not that close. Throngs of drunk seniors already filled in all the empty space. I hadn’t expected people to want to see Caleb’s band so much, what with all their shows getting cancelled and all.

Olivia offered to bring drinks back, so we wouldn’t lose our spot, but I declined. The one shot already gave me as much courage as I was gonna get. The last thing anyone needed was a repeat of The Big Chug.

We waited in the endless strobe of neon color, rubbing sweaty elbows with classmates I only half knew, until the rainbow darkness finally settled to black. The electronic dance music faded and quiet fell over the room. This was it. I hoped he would see me, or maybe I didn’t. I just wished we could talk already.

A single electric chord pierced the silence, reverberating in the air. Then two more grungy notes followed in quick succession, each accompanied by a flash of the stage lights. There he was, sitting at the keyboard. Even in the briefest of flashes, I knew that cool control of his eyes, that solid outline of his frame. I only caught a glimpse of the curve of his face and I already wanted to jump on stage and hug him.

The guitar broke into full blast, repeating its three chord melody as the other instruments filtered in around it. The low thrum of the bass drum shook my stomach as it pounded a steady beat. Still I didn’t care about the drums of the guitar or any of that, I had dialed in on the sweet melody of the keys. Caleb’s fingers danced across the keys, weaving a soft, subtle spell across the heavier and slower instruments. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him play. He really was talented. Oh, what those fingers could do. Ding.

This time I just smiled as fantasies and memories surged across my imagination. Caleb looked good, happy, like himself. I knew the last few weeks had been harder for him than they had for me, but up there, on stage, with his music, he had found his joy again. He looked like my Caleb.

The instrumental intro subsided and Caleb leaned up to his mic to start singing. Already the hairs on the back of my neck were standing at attention. I missed his voice so much. He sucked in a breath, parted those delicious lips, and then . . . .

A plastic cup hit him in the face. Remnants of beer sloshed across his clothes and keyboard.

“Freak!” someone yelled from the crowd.

Quickly more heckling followed the first outburst, along with a full barrage of thrown detritus. Caitlyn and Olivia exchanged shocked gasps with me.

“Leave him alone! It was all a mistake,” Caitlyn shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the chorus of boos and taunts.

“You belong in jail.”

“You can’t brainwash us!”

“We don’t want to join your secret harem.”

“Zero tolerance for predators.”

And on, and on it went.

Echo Street did their best to keep playing, but when a glass shattered at the feet of the guitarist, he nearly tripped and stopped. One by one the sounds of the other instruments died out. Caleb kept playing the longest, desperate to hold onto the fleeting shred of joy he’d found.

Caitlyn kept yelling, tears welling in her eyes, but no one listened.

The din had dissolved into an endless roar of noise in my ears. I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying. The crushing weight of my guilt bore down on me like the massive hand of a judgmental god. I clutched my neck, trying to push back on the suffocating feeling.

I couldn’t take my eyes from Caleb’s face. The happiness I’d seen there had melted into misery. He did his best to keep it together, but I could see the sorrow roiling behind his eyes. I nearly fell to my knees under the crushing weight. Olivia caught me and was trying to get my attention, but I ignored her.

My fault.

It was all my fault. Caleb had been popular, well liked, loved, and now people couldn’t stand him. His music career was over, and it was all my fault. No wonder he didn’t want to see me. I shouldn’t have come. I had already hurt him enough. I should leave him alone. He doesn’t want me.

You don’t know that.

Nina’s words echoed in my mind, lurching my train of thought from its death spiral. I didn’t know how he felt. I couldn’t imagine the pain searing his soul right now. My classmates saw him as some devious predator, but I knew the truth. He was just a scared boy, who wanted to be loved. Maybe he’s trying to protect you. That thought made me sick. Was he taking all this abuse so I wouldn’t have to? If Caleb was shouldering all this pain and loneliness alone for my benefit, I couldn’t live with myself.

It came to me in a flash.

It all seemed so obvious. I didn’t know if Caleb was trying to protect me or just stewing in his feelings, but it didn’t matter. He was the one who needed protecting and I was the only one who could do it. Maybe he never wanted to see me again. Maybe I’d found the best thing in my life and ruined it. But whether he wanted me or not, in that moment he needed me. I reached up to my shoulder, pressed at the weight one more time. . .

And it fell away.

All the guilt and the angst and the self-loathing, it all just dropped. I straightened, standing taller than I maybe ever had. I felt like I could fly.

“Annie, what was that? Is there something on your shoulder?” Olivia yelled into my ear.

“No, not anymore.” Then I started walking towards the stage. “I’m just gonna do it,” I murmured to myself.

“Annie, what are you doing?” Olivia called after me.

“Something I should have done a long time ago.” Then I was off.

My slow pace gradually built into a run. I pushed my way between the sweaty, judgmental bodies. They had all dissolved into the background, just faceless shadows, obstacles between me and the man I loved. I pushed one shadow aside, and then another, parting the sea of darkness, opening a path to the light of the stage. I could only see a scared, lonely boy, alone in the harsh glow of the spotlight, and nothing could keep me from him. Hold on, Caleb, I’m coming!

And then I was there, clambering over the edge of the stage, and into the glow. The dull roar of judgement quieted a little as my coppery hair surfaced above the sea of shadows. Then the discord silenced completely as I gained my feet. Apparently, the crowd was as shocked to see me as I was shocked to be there.

Even Caleb looked at me with wide-eyed amazement. “Annie? What are you doing? You shouldn’t be up here. It’s not safe.” But, I could see it, a tiny flicker in his eye. He was happy to see me. That was all I needed.

“I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” I said too quietly to be heard in the audience. Then I seized the guitarist’s vacated microphone at center stage. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves!” I yelled into the mic. My voice boomed across the massive club space, like falsetto thunder. I winced, as did much of the crowd.

Right, don’t need to yell into a microphone.

“Sorry, that was loud, but you should still be ashamed!” I repeated as my gaze swept over the crowd. For the first time, it dawned on me what I’d done. The eyes of my entire class looked out at me from the darkness, twinkling black glimmers in the shadows. I could feel their stares boring into me like hundreds of little drill bits, determined to eat away at my sudden eruption of determination. I had no borrowed confidence to protect me this time, not from trance or alcohol or anything. My only armor was a little black dress, but I didn’t care. Caleb needed me.

“You don’t know the first thing about Caleb,” I scolded, trying to keep my voice level. “You just read something online once and made up your mind that he must be some kind of monster. Caleb is the kindest, sweetest guy I’ve ever known. Maybe he didn’t tell me everything, but I understand why now. At every turn he showed me kindness and respect, and I won’t let you all treat him like this anymore.” That was for Caleb as much as the crowd. He had to know that I wouldn’t give up, not on him and not on us.

“That’s just an act so he can hypnotize you!” Someone yelled from the shadows.

“Please,” I scoffed. “Caleb’s great at a lot of things, but acting isn’t one of them. He’s too earnest. Caleb can hypnotize me because I trust him, because he makes me feel safe.”

“He just made you feel that way!”

I barely suppressed the urge to growl at the voice. “He can’t make me do anything. I choose to do what Caleb says, because I enjoy it.” Finally I could say those words with absolute confidence. I knew my feelings were my own.

“Slut!” 

The sudden attack caught me off balance. My pulse pounded behind my ears, but I just let the adrenaline surge drive me on. “As if every single one of you doesn’t have some guilty pleasure you’d be ashamed for everyone to know about. How many of you like to be choked? Or bound? Or humiliated? Would you like people to know about that and judge you on it?”

The room went quiet.

“Not so talkative anymore?” I said, courage ringing in my voice. The momentum had shifted in my favor. I could feel it. “Well, maybe you should be. There’s nothing wrong with liking any of that. What’s wrong is taking one little rumor as gospel and ruining someone’s life over it.”

Some murmurs ran through the throng of people below, but I kept going. “It’s ok to have complicated feelings about what you like. It took me a long time to accept that I’m a natural sub, but I feel so much better now that I have. I don’t even care if you all know. I’m happy with who I am, and you should be too. Now can we please leave Caleb alone, put all this behind us, and enjoy the fucking show,” I finished, panting for breath.

A ripple of applause broke out, coming from Caitlyn and Olivia, I was pretty sure, but it started to spread. Another pair of clapping hands, and another.

“Hold up,” an icy voice said from among the shadows. Then a razor edge of white and pink carved its way to the front of the crowd, cutting a path with effortless ease. Melissa turned to face our classmates. “She’s a brainwashed slave. She practically said it herself. You can’t believe anything she says. This creep has been working his way into the minds of innocent women on campus and doing who knows what with them. He should be locked up.”

The applause died.

I practically screamed, but managed to contain myself to a muffled shriek. “Melissa, you have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not brainwashed.”

“Exactly what a brainwashed bitch would say,” she cooed, voice oozing condescension. A rumble of agreement went through the crowd behind her.

God dammit. How was this circular nonsense convincing anyone? “Hypnosis isn’t brainwashing. It just opens doors. It can’t force you to walk through them.”

Melissa’s lips curled into a devilish smirk. She spoke, too quietly to carry over the horde, but loud enough for me. “Face it, Annie. It doesn’t matter what you say. You’re basically asking people to trust you that voodoo magic isn’t voodoo or magic. You could just be a little puppet dancing for your Master. None of these people understand your hypnosis nonsense, and people always fear what they don’t understand.”

I could feel my resolve sputtering out like a dying car engine. Maybe Melissa was right. I didn’t know anything about social media or gossip, and I was up here fencing with a Master of her craft. I was asking people to trust, to hope, to be kind, and she just needed them to fear what they did’t understand. How was I supposed to compete with that? My head fell forward.

But as it did, I caught a glimpse of Caleb. He looked happy. His face was still flushed with sadness, but his eyes were locked on me. As I met his gaze, he mouthed, “Thank you. I love you.”

Suddenly my engine roared back to life. I picked myself up and yanked the microphone from its stand. I started pacing the stage with the mic. “You know, Lissa, you’re right. You don’t understand hypnosis, so how can you trust me? These people don’t know about hypnosis, least of all erotic hypnosis.”

“Uh, yeah, betch,” she said, eyebrows raising in confusion. “Of course I’m right.”

“Of course you are,” I agreed, as I made my way back towards Caleb and threaded my fingers through his. “I can’t ask people to trust something they’ve never seen. So, if you all really want to know what erotic hypnosis is like, let us show you.”

“WHAT!?” Caleb and Melissa both said at once.

“What? You all care so much about what we do with hypnosis? Then see for yourself.”

Pandemonium broke out across the dance floor. Melissa turned and tried to suppress the eruption of side conversations.

“Annie, what do you think you’re doing?” Caleb hissed at me.

I leaned in and whispered in his ear. “I think I’m asking you to hypnotize me, unless you don’t want to.”

A shiver rippled through Caleb’s body. “Of course, I want to, but these people already hate me just from hearing about hypnosis.”

“Exactly,” I said back, reaching up and tenderly caressing the curve of his cheek. “They hate it because they’ve only read crazy rumors online, but we can show them what it’s really like. I used to think hypnosis was scary too, remember?”

“It’s just such a big risk.”

“I know it is, but we can face it together.” I squeezed his hand, doing my best to pass my adrenaline-fueled determination through his skin. “Melissa was right. We either ride this wave or get crushed by it, and I think we’ve both had enough of being crushed. So, what do you say? Wanna go for a ride?”

Then it happened. The clouds of despair that had hung over him all this time parted and a ray of sunlight shone through. His smile came back, that lop-sided cocky grin that had etched itself in my heart. “I’d ride you any day.”

“You are incorrigible!” I said with a faux gasp, and a playful slap on his arm.

“That’s enough!” Meanwhile Melissa had apparently regained control of the crowd. “This is literally a university function. The faculty would never let you host some thirsty stage show. Who’s running this circus anyway?”

“That would be me,” a loud, authoritative woman’s voice rang out across the dance floor. Then the sea of bodies parted to reveal Dr. Nina Santos. She still wore her simple black business skirt, and white buttoned up shirt from earlier that day. Evidently our little role play hadn’t left her time to change. In fact, she looked as if she’d only just arrived moments before, hair back up in a disheveled bun, breathing ragged from running and sweat glistening on her face.

“Perfect, a real hard ass,” Melissa cooed. “Well, are you gonna do your job and cancel this shit already?”

Nina strode forward, slowly regaining her breath. She shot me a knowing glance, and I could have sworn I caught just the faintest wisp of a smirk at the edge of her lip. “On the contrary, I don’t see any issue.”

“Excuse me!?” Melissa spat.

“Yes, you may be excused if you so wish, along with anyone else who doesn’t want to see. However you’re all adults here, and capable of making your own choices. I don’t see an issue as long as they don’t take it too far. If that’s what my Mast. . .” She cleared her throat. “What my mature students want to do, then so be it.”

For the first time, Melissa was speechless. I said a silent prayer of thanks to Nina. A few people broke off from the horde, but almost everyone stayed.

Caleb returned my squeeze, before breaking our hand hold and taking his mic. “Well then, you all seem pretty curious about erotic hypnosis, to say the least. So, we’ll conduct a little demonstration.” Caleb’s bandmates shot him quick nods of approval and then set about moving the instruments to the back of the stage.

“Wait!” A royal blue, high heeled shoe went sailing through the air and landed on the stage, followed quickly by its pair. Then a second later, Caitlyn came leaping, barefoot, through the air, blue fabric whipping around her and landed beside me with all the poise of a former track athlete. “You forgot to ask for volunteers.”

“Caitlyn!?” I gasped.

“I like your crazy idea, Annie, but don’t you see?” She whispered. “You’ll still lose if it’s just you. Melissa already established that they won’t trust anything you say. You could be playing along for all they know, showing them what they want to see. If only you had a beautiful, impartial friend, who owed you a huge favor.” Then she winked and turned to face the crowd. “I, for one, have never been hypnotized. And I’ve been dying to try it.”

“Caitlyn, thank you,” I said, breath trembling.

Caleb looked between us and then took the mic again. “Well then, it looks like we have two lovely volunteers. Anyone else want to join us on stage?”

“I’m coming, I’m not as fast as her,” a full-figured silhouette, decked in bright red emerged from the shadowy bodies. Olivia put her hands on the edge of the stage and began to hoist herself up. For a second, I thought her breasts would pop out of the little dress as she wriggled her way onto the stage, but the scarlet fabric stayed strong. Caitlyn and I both rushed to help her, but she still probably flashed someone her panties as she climbed up.

Olivia turned to the crowd, voice shaking a little. “I’ve also never been hypnotized. I’ve only done some guided meditation,” she lied with a knowing glance to me.

“You guys.” I looked between my two closest friends, biting back the urge to cry. “You don’t have to do this.”

They exchanged a mischievous grin. Caitlyn spoke first. “Like I said, I owe you. This whole mess is my fault. Besides, I wasn’t lying. I want to experience the thing that corrupted my sweet, innocent Annie for myself.”

“And you’ve done so much to help me, Annie,” Olivia said. Then she leaned closer in. “Plus, we both know, I’m a good subject.”

Caleb turned back to the crowd. “That looks like all.”

“Not yet!” Roger came running down the stairs and quickly shuffled his way through the audience. He wore a black suit, with a black shirt and a bright red tie that matched Olivia’s dress. I found it cute that they still matched, even though they didn’t come together. He clambered up the edge of the stage, only slightly more gracefully than Olivia. At least he didn’t flash anyone. “If Olivia’s in, then so am I!”

I looked to Caleb, unsure if he would do a guy. He just responded with a shrug that I took to mean ‘yes’.

“Aww, baby.” Olivia cooed as she ran into his arms. Then she kissed him and he kissed her back. Then they kept going and going and going.

I coughed loudly. “How about we save that for the show?”

They broke apart with gleeful giggles and insincere apologies.

In the meantime, Caleb’s band mates had arranged a row of four chairs for us, which Caleb directed us to. “So, we have four brave souls, ready to show you all what hypnosis is all about. If you would be so kind as to. . .”

“As if,” Melissa’s cold voice cut him off. “You NPCs know there’s literally stairs right there?” She walked calmly up the aforementioned steps and came to stand beside us. “Is someone gonna bring me a chair or what?”

We all gaped. “You want to be hypnotized?”

“You losers are all friends. You could be trying to put one over on everyone. I’ll be totally neutral. Do you have a problem with that?”

I bristled, goosebumps rising. She could just be here to try and ruin everything, but I knew I couldn’t say no. “That’s fine.” Surely, Caleb knew to watch out for her. He had to know she was up to something, right? I shot him a wary glance and he returned it. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was trying to ruin the show. But I’d have to trust Caleb to handle it.

Another chair came for Melissa, and she sat on the end. Then we had our five, all line up in a row under the harsh glow of the spotlights. We had Roger on the far side, Olivia beside him, me in the middle, Caitlyn to my other side, and Melissa next to her.

Caleb strode across the stage, taking in the full, silent crowd below. “You know, for people who are afraid of hypnosis, we certainly have quite the turn out to watch our lovely volunteers go into trance. Now let’s get this show on the road.”

Caleb continued, not giving them time to respond. “Now, I assure you everything you’re about to see is real. Our volunteers are all open to this experience. Despite what you may think about me, the real magic comes from them. I can’t make them do anything they don’t want to. All I can do is create the possibilities, let them see themselves and the world in ways they couldn’t on their own.

I’m going to need you all in the audience to be quiet for the first fifteen minutes or so. What I’m about to do is called the ‘induction,’ where I guide our incredible volunteers into a relaxed and suggestible state. If the five of you would just put your hands together like this.” He gestured clasping his hands with the index fingers spread wide apart. All five of us did as instructed.

“Now just fix your gaze on the space between your fingers and imagine two powerful magnets at the tips of your fingers. The more you stare, the stronger those magnets get.

My fingers were already moving, drifting automatically towards each other. I wanted so badly to look at the others and see how they were doing, but I’d been told to watch my fingers. After a few seconds, my finger tips snapped together.

“And feel those magnets, still getting stronger and stronger, holding your fingers tightly. The more you try to pull them apart, the more stuck they become.”

Sure enough, my fingers felt like they’d been super glued together. I strained, but they wouldn’t budge. Finally, I gave in to temptation and looked around. Roger’s fingers appeared stuck. Olivia was trying so hard to pull her own fingers apart, her arms were shaking. Caitlyn’s fingers had moved somewhat towards each other, but hadn’t touched. And Melissa’s fingers were still spread wide.

“And release.”

Suddenly, I could move freely again.

Olivia and Roger both stared down at their hands in amazement. Caitlyn had a single eyebrow raised, and Melissa remained as unshakable as ever.

“What we just did was called a suggestibility test,” Caleb explained. “You may hear the word ‘suggestibility’ and think that has something to do with being gullible or easily influenced, but really it’s about imagination. People who can be easily hypnotized are more intelligent and creative than the rest of us.” Caleb turned to Roger. “Would you say you’re smarter than most people?”

“Well, I mean, I wouldn’t say that myself.”

“But other people would say it?”

Roger ran a hand through his hair. “I guess so.”

That got a laugh. “I’m Caleb, by the way. I don’t think we’ve officially met.” Caleb extended his hand.

“Roger.” He took the hand.

“SLEEP!” Without warning, Caleb yanked Roger forward and gave the command. A wave of shock passed over Roger’s face for a heartbeat and then he collapsed onto Olivia’s shoulder. A murmur swept through the crowd.

Olivia swallowed hard, as Caleb moved to stand in front of her. “Is. . . is he ok?”

Caleb responded with the cocky grin I’d come to love so much. “He’s perfectly fine. He’s just in a deeply relaxed state.”

“Oh, good, good. That was just so fast,” she stammered.

“How do you prefer it? Slow or fast?”

Olivia’s eyes darted down to Roger and then back up to Caleb. “We’re talking about hypnosis, right?” I don’t really know. I guess . . . I’d say slow?”

“Slow?” Caleb repeated, fixing his eyes on hers.

“Yeah, slow?”

“Slow or slooow?” Caleb asked, drawing the syllables out.

“Just slow?”

“Not slooooow?” Caleb stretched the words out even more, until they started to lose meaning, becoming hollow sounds floating through the air.

“Um, slow?” Olivia repeated, clearly sounding confused.

“Sleep,” Caleb said in the same even tone of voice.

“Sleep? But we were saying . . .”

“Sleep,” he repeated, cutting her off.

“Sleep? I don’t . . .”

“Sleeep.”

“Sleep?” Olivia’s voice had grown vacant, confused.

“Sleep.” Caleb reached forward and tapped Olivia on the forehead. Her eyes rolled up and she sagged down in her chair. I felt that familiar tingling of excitement race through me as I watched Olivia melt for him. God, he was so good, and even better it was my turn.

Caleb stood over me, wreathed in a halo of light from the stage lights. He looked so tall from down here, so powerful. No wonder the others had gone under right away. “That was a neat trick with Olivia.”

“I’ve got a few tricks,” He answered with a shrug. “But I prefer the classics.” He leaned down and whispered in my ears. “Watch the fireflies for me, Annie.”

A wave of vertigo washed over me, and I listed forward before righting myself. I had waited for this moment for so long, I didn’t want it to be over yet. “Oh, you think I’ll be easy. What if I want to make you work for it?” I teased.

“I do think you’re easily hypnotized. You just want it so bad,” he said, warm breath tickling my ear.

I am easily hypnotized. Ding. “Oh, maybe I do, so what?”

“So, it just gets hard not to think about it? The more you think about not being hypnotized, the more you want to be hypnotized, the more you fantasize about that feeling, the more you imagine it, and the more real it feels. Soon you’re hypnotizing yourself with how much you want to be hypnotized.”

“Mmmm,” was all I could manage. His words just had a way with me, drawing me into an endless cycle of dreaming and yearning.

“Now, watch the fireflies for me.”

The wave of relaxation came again, and I didn’t fight it this time. The world fell away. My eyes fixed on the motes of dust caught in the spotlights. Suddenly they took on a brilliant light of their own and I was surrounded by the fireflies again, watching their endless dance through the dark, not worrying, not thinking, just watching. And then I was asleep, crumpled forward.

I had missed this feeling so much. I could forget all the noise in my head, all the voices and guilt and stress and just float, waiting for Caleb’s voice to guide me deeper into this wonderful dream. But the voice didn’t come for a while. Gradually awareness started to drift back to me. The words I heard were Caitlyn’s.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t know if it’s going to work on me.”

Then came Caleb’s whisper. “You still don’t completely trust me, do you?”

“I just . . . need to look out for Annie.”

“hhhmmm,” I mumbled.

“This is the best way you can help her.”

“I know it is. It’s just hard to let go.”

Once again I felt like I was wading through quicksand, trying to shake off the comfortable bliss of trance and trudge back to reality. But I managed to open my eyes and grab Caleb’s pant leg. “Help,” I murmured, my lips still feeling numb.

“Annie?”

“Let me help,” I managed to say.

Realization dawned on Caleb’s face, as he grasped what my subconscious knew instinctively. “She’s more comfortable with you.”

I nodded.

“Annie, sleep.” Then the world fell away and I was floating in the sound of Caleb’s voice once again.

When my eyes opened, I was standing in front of Caitlyn, holding the microphone, running my show, dealing with a stubborn volunteer. “Caitlyn, we’ve known each other a long time, yes?”

“Since freshman year.”

“But have you ever really looked at my eyes? Really looked deeply?”

“I mean, yeah. They’re green.”

“Really look, closer, deeper.” I leaned forward, bringing my face just inches from hers. “Let yourself stare deeply into my eyes. Study them, try to see every detail, every color.”

Caitlyn fidgeted nervously, but obeyed. She raised her chin and looked up at me.

“Watch me carefully, the longer you stare, the deeper my eyes pull you in. You can’t look away. You don’t want to. My gaze is just drawing you in, that gravity getting stronger every second.”

“Annie, I’m starting to feel funny.”

“That’s very good, Caitlyn. Embrace that feeling. It gets stronger and stronger the longer you stare.”

Her eyelids began to flutter. The deep blue pools started to lose focus, just from the strain of staring into my eyes and the stage lights for so long, but I wanted her to believe it was from the hypnosis which seemed to be working.

“Feel that tired, heavy feeling spreading out from your eyes and across your whole body. It’s getting so hard to keep your eyes open now. All your limbs are starting to feel loose, heavy, limp.”

Caitlyn slumped forward bringing our faces even closer together.

“That’s it, you can barely keep your eyes open now.”

“Mmm,” Caitlyn whimpered.

“Just let your eyes close and let yourself sleep. Let yourself sleep. Let yourself sleep.”

Caitlyn’s eyes closed and she lurched to the side, landing with her head in Melissa’s lap. Melissa started, as she stared down at the blonde head resting against her thigh. 

“Now, Caitlyn, you’re going to respond to Caleb’s voice just as easily as mine.”

Caleb stepped up beside me. “Caitlyn and only Caitlyn, let your eyes drift open.”

After a beat, she roused and began lifting her head.

“And back to sleep,” Caleb commanded. Caitlyn melted back down, once more using Melissa’s leg as a pillow. He repeated the process a few times, but she seemed to be responding well.

Watching Caitlyn obey stirred that familiar warmth between my legs. She would be a good girl for Caleb just like me and I had done it. That knowledge sent tingles of arousal vibrating through me.

“She’s. . . She’s faking it, right?” Melissa asked, voice quivering. “Caitlyn’s way too strong willed to just sleep because you said so.” Even as Melissa spoke, Caitlyn remained inert, breathing calmly into the fabric of her dress.

The brunette had watched the rest of us with her usual indifference, but seeing Caitlyn go under had shaken her. Caleb had sensed the opening as well. “Being hypnotized isn’t about strength of will, it’s just about imagination and focus.”

“Well you’re not hypnotizing me. I came up here to prove this was bullshit, and that’s what I’m gonna do.” Despite her words, Melissa’s voice lacked its usual icy confidence.

Caleb pushed on, gently taking her hand and spinning it in a slow circle.

“What’s this, some kind of magic trick?”

“You don’t have to worry about it,” Caleb reassured. “You don’t have to be hypnotized if you don’t want to be hypnotized.”

She lifted her chin. “Good, because I won’t be hypnotized.”

“Still you came up on stage to be hypnotized. Part of you must want to be hypnotized. Or at least be curious about being hypnotized.”

“Stop saying that, it’s getting stuck in my head,” she spat. “I don’t want to be hypnotized.”

“If you don’t want to be hypnotized, you won’t be hypnotized.”

“I won’t be hypnotized,” she agreed, relief coming over her face.

“You won’t be hypnotized, Caleb echoed. “So, knowing you won’t be hypnotized, you can stop thinking about being hypnotized.”

“Stop thinking about being hypnotized,” Melissa repeated.

“That’s right. You don’t need to think about being hypnotized to be hypnotized. You can just be hypnotized. Whether you’re thinking about being hypnotized or not thinking about not being hypnotized, you can still be hypnotized. Isn’t that right?”

Melissa gave a few slow blinks, trying and failing to parse the tangle of Caleb’s words. Finally, she just said, “Hypnotized?” voice full of confusion.

“Hypnotized.” Caleb affirmed.

“But I thought I wouldn’t. . .”

“Hypnotized,” he insisted firmly.

“Hypnotized?”

“Hypnotized.” Caleb said, guiding her jumbled thoughts to the conclusion he always wanted.

“Hypnotized.” Melissa repeated numbly.

“You’re being hypnotized.”

“I’m being hypnotized.”

My jaw went slack. He had her.

“You want to be hypnotized.”

“I want to be hypnotized.”

“Then sleep for me, Melissa.” He yanked on her arm and she melted, slumping onto Caitlyn’s shoulder, long hair covering her face.

A shuddering gasp escaped my lips. I couldn’t help it. That was just so hot. Even Melissa couldn’t resist Caleb. She would be a good girl for him, just like Caitlyn, just like me. He was so firm, so commanding. I was so wet.

“Annie, go sit back down.”

“Yes, Sir.” I realized, too late, I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud, but it happened on its own. I had just missed this so much. I did as I was told, and then Caleb put me back to sleep. Now that I’d put my best friend under his control, he didn’t need my help anymore.

Caleb spent the next few minutes deepening our trances. I probably didn’t need it, but the others likely did. He had us imagine walking down a long hall, opening door after door, each one making us feel more peaceful, relaxed, obedient. Finally, he had us reach the end of the hallway. He told us the last door would lead to a place where we were perfectly relaxed and open to his voice. The last thing I remembered was turning the door’s old, brass knob. Then my mind blanked out, an empty canvas for Caleb to paint on.