The pain of impact on still-fresh bruises was something Steph had come to know intimately. It tasted like metal in her mouth; like a white flash, like a thunderbolt that made her ears ring hot. It made her retreat into herself for a moment, and all the hard, cruel words being thrown at her briefly became nothing but noise. It made Steph almost grateful for the pain. But it didn’t last. It never lasted. The pain receded, and the world came back into focus.

And with it, the words.

“Look at this freak!” said the girl who had just shoved Steph back into the stairwell railing. Her pretty voice was twisted by gleeful spite. “She’s enjoying this.”

Steph’s body quivered in treasonous rapture. She tugged at the hem of her long turtleneck sweater, hoping to disguise any further reactions her body might be having. As she did, she tried to tell herself: it wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t their fault. They couldn’t help themselves.

“She really is,” sneered another girl. She jabbed at Steph with a hard, accusative finger. “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

It was a familiar question, and Steph hated the way it still made her whimper. She’d heard it so many times, from so many people. She wasn’t sure which girl had said it. She stared determinedly at the ground, unwilling to check. She didn’t want to remember, and she didn’t want to see that awful look she knew she’d find in their eyes; a bright light, shining through frosted glass.

It didn’t matter who these girls were. Steph hadn’t recognized any of them when they had cornered her. They were the usual type, though. Brash, outgoing, loud, mean. Bad girls. Natural bullies, not that there was anything natural about this. Those were always the first. Steph sometimes wondered why. Was it personality, or just proximity? But in the end, that didn’t matter either.

And it wasn’t their fault. Never their fault.

Steph had hoped it would end when she left school and came to college. That’s how it was supposed to go, wasn’t it? College was where you outgrew your bullies. She’d chosen this college in particular largely because of its upper-crust, old-fashioned values. It promised to enforce strict standards of conduct on all its students, and boasted a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying or prejudice of any kind. That was very important to Steph, both because she was trans and because of her unique situation. She’d hoped that those policies and values would set her free from what plagued her.

A forlorn hope.

“Hey!” A jabbing finger hit on another old bruise. It felt like a knife. “We asked you a question, freak. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

Steph just nodded. That was what they wanted, wasn’t it? So what was the point in doing anything else?

Their chorus of laughter felt like teeth on her skin. Steph tried to clamp down hard on everything their mockery made her feel. She just needed to get through this. They’d get bored. They’d lost interest.

For today, at least.

“She doesn’t look ashamed,” one of the girls said. Her voice was so thick with mirth it almost made her voice catch. “She looks like she’s having the ride of her life.”

That pierced Steph’s armor. She twitched violently, pulling tighter on the hem of her sweater. Could they see what she was trying to hide? Maybe. She was tall; taller than any of them, even when she was stooping. She hated being so tall, especially given her condition. She hated being so visible. She needed to hide.

But the girls bullying her were closing in. Their hands were all over her, pushing and prodding, coaxing and squeezing. Threatening to tug her own hands aside. There was only so much Steph could handle, and only so much she could hide. She could feel herself blushing and sweating and shaking. Each one of their cruel laughs made it worse.

And their scents. She couldn’t block that out. Not when they were all around like this. They smelled nice. Sweet. Floral. Why did that make it so much worse? One more cruel comment, and Steph might just-

“Hey, girls,” one of them said. She sounded deeper than the others. Drunker, on Steph’s influence. “What do you say we see what’s going on under these ugly-ass clothes?”

Steph saw white. She twitched and throbbed. No. No, no, no. She needed to get a hold of herself. She needed to stop this. It was getting out of control.

But clear thinking was the very last thing she was capable of.

“N-n-noo,” Steph bleated pathetically. “You c-can’t…”

They just laughed, of course, and their laughter made Steph feel weak all over. So weak, she couldn’t stop them when they started to peel her hands away from the hem of her sweater. Soon, they’d-

“Stop that right now!”

That sudden, piercing, commanding voice left silence in its wake. All the girls bullying Steph turned to look, and that alone was an unspeakable mercy, like stepping from scorching sunlight into the. Every moment she was out of the spotlight was a moment she could use to collect herself. After taking a few deep breaths, the room around Steph stopped spinning and she was able to get a good look at her savior.

Veronica Martin.

Her reputation preceded her, although Steph had only ever actually seen her once when, in her capacity as head of student government, she’d made a speech to all the new freshmen about the school’s strict morals and high standards. In the flesh, anyway. Her image was also plastered all over the college’s promotional material. By all accounts, she was a paragon of virtue, and the perfect embodiment of all the school’s most highly-prized values.

Steph dared to hope. Maybe she was actually saved.

Veronica certainly looked like a paragon. Tall - though not as tall as Steph - with silky, black, waist-length hair, she was classically beautiful and projected a kind of serene calm that somehow made everyone around her want to win her approval and live up to her toweringly high standards. There was nothing calm about her now, though. Her face was drawn into a look of righteous, thunderous fury as she glared at the girls surrounding Steph.

“What’s going on here?” she demanded, gliding towards them.

The girls exchanged looks and titters, making a show of their bravado, but they were nervous. Steph could tell.

“Nothing, Veronica,” one of them drawled. The ringleader. “Just some girls, hanging out.”

“Really?” Veronica raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Do you expect me to believe that for even one moment? You were clearly hassling this poor girl.”

There were a few more nervous giggles. “I dunno,” the girl shot back. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

She was obviously counting on Steph to be so cowed that she’d go along with the pathetic ruse. Shamefully, it might have worked. Steph could already feel the weight of their malicious expectations on her shoulders. Why was she so weak?

“Hm.” Veronica pursed her lips as she looked at Steph. “I’m guessing she’s too scared of you to tell. But I’m not scared of petty little bullies. I’m more than happy to take this to the dean myself.”

“Please!” the girls’ ringleader scoffed. “Like he’s gonna have anything to say about a little friendly horseplay between girls.” She took a long look at Veronica, and her face twisted into a crafty, wicked, grin. “Say, Veronica, why don’t you join us? You look like you could do with blowing off a little steam.”

Steph shivered uncomfortably. Veronica, for her part, looked outraged. “Excuse me?”

“C’mon,” the girl wheedled. “You’d be surprised. I bet even you could get into our kind of fun. Don’t worry, she enjoys it too.” She nodded to Steph. “And I promise. The freak totally deserves it.”

That comment, more than any other, made Steph’s body flush with sinful heat. She closed her eyes for a moment, dreading what might have been about to happen. Mercifully, though, Veronica held firm.

“You’re vile,” she spat. “And fortunately, I don’t need anybody to admit to anything. Except for her, all of you are in violation of the school’s dress code. Heather, that skirt is obviously more than an inch above your knee. Regina, your collar is far too low. What do you think the dean would have to say about that, hm?”

A chorus of groans went up from all around Steph.

“Writing us up for dress code violations?” complained the first girl - Heather. “Are you for real?”

“I absolutely am.” Veronica folded her arms and smiled. She knew she’d won. “In fact, it would be my pleasure. So, what do you think? Do you want to run along and get changed into some more modest clothes?”

Heather glanced around at her lackeys. Even to Steph, it was obvious that their resolve was wavering. Eventually, she sighed.

“Whatever,” she groaned, surrendering. “Girls, let’s leave this stick-up-her-ass loser in the dirt.”

Moving as a pack, they started heading down the stairwell towards the exit - although before she left, Heather flashed a cruel, furious look at Steph.

“You’ll pay for this later, freak,” she snarled under her breath.

Steph shivered at what that might mean, and hated how hot it made her body.

Once they were gone, Veronica rushed to her side. The fury washed away from her face, replaced by a look of intense concern and compassion.

“Are you OK?” she asked urgently. “Did they hurt you? How badly?”

It was a lovely gesture, but her proximity set another knot in Steph’s stomach.

“N-no,” Steph started to say. “I’m f-fine, just- ah!”

Her lie was exposed when Veronica grabbed her wrist - it was only meant to be a gentle, reassuring touch, but she touched on a sensitive bruise and made Steph wince and yelp. Veronica’s frown deepened.

“You don’t need to be afraid of them,” she said gently. “I promise. Here, come with me.”

“B-but…” Steph whined as Veronica tugged at her, trying to lead her away. She needed to get out of here at once.

It’s not that she wasn’t grateful. She was. She was overflowing with gratitude towards Veronica. That was exactly the reason she needed to escape from her.

“Hey, hey,” Veronica soothed, mistaking the source of Steph’s distress. “Don’t worry. They can’t hurt you anymore. Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

“I… I… b-but…” Steph whined, but soon gave up resisting. Resistance wasn’t in her nature.

Besides, it was clear that Veronica wasn’t going to be dissuaded so easily. Steph decided her best bet was to go along with her and try to assuage her worries as quickly as possible. Surely it wouldn’t be long until she let Steph flee back to her dorm room.

For now, though, Veronica took her back up the stairwell and into an empty classroom. She carefully shut the door, and then made Steph perch on one of the desks while she fussed over her, checking her for injuries and smoothing out her clothes.

“So,” Veronica said to her, “how long has this been going on?”

Steph didn’t know what to say. Veronica’s proximity was making her unbelievably nervous. “It’s… n-not…”

Veronica sighed, but put a comforting hand on her arm. “Don’t look so afraid,” she said kindly. “I’m not going to drag it out of you. And I’m certainly not going to punish you. I won’t even report this without your permission. I’m on your side, OK? I just want you to know that. I’m on your side, and I can make sure that other people are too.”

“I m-meant…” Steph looked down miserably as she was struck by a pang of guilt. “I meant it’s not their fault.”

Veronica glanced up in alarm. “Of course it is,” she said sharply. “They’re responsible for their own choices. Like choosing to hurt you.”

Steph let out a pathetic laugh. “Not… exactly.”

“Why would you say that?” Veronica sounded like her heart was breaking. “Did they make you feel that way? Did something happen?”

“U-um, n-no.” Belatedly, Steph realized she’d said too much. “No, no, t-that’s not-“

“Oh yes it did.” Veronica perched next to her. “What’s your name?”

“Steph.”

“Steph, I know I said I wouldn’t report this without your permission. And I stand by that. But… I can’t pretend I didn’t see what I saw in that stairwell. Understand? And I know those girls well enough to know they won’t lay off just because I gave them one little talking-to.” Veronica looked Steph dead in the eyes. “So. I need you to tell me exactly what’s going on?”

Steph paled. That was the very last thing she could do. “N-no!” she said, desperate, shaking her head furiously. “No way!”

Veronica folded her arms. “Well, I’m not going anywhere until you do.”

Now Steph really began to panic. She couldn’t tell. Not Veronica, not anyone. They’d never believe her - and even if they did, soon enough it wouldn’t matter.

But… if there was anyone she could ever tell, maybe it was Veronica. She wasn’t like most people. She was a pillar. Most people didn’t bother trying to help Steph. They just looked down on her pityingly, or hurried by like her victimhood was an embarrassment to them. Not Veronica. She clearly held herself to dizzyingly high standards, and even beyond that, she was a font of kindness.

Most people would have already started to succumb by now. Maybe she could take it. Maybe she could help.

It was a tempting thought. But Steph had long since learned to trample down on that kind of hope.

So, instead of baring her heart, she ran.

“S-sorry!” she cried as she leapt to her feet and started sprinting towards the classroom door.

As she ran, her cheeks burned with shame. She knew how Veronica would feel after this. Worried, anxious, perhaps even guilty. It was awful of Steph to abandon her savior like this. But it was for the best.

Unfortunately, she didn’t make it.

After just a few steps, Steph felt Veronica grab at her sleeve. Even though the older girl was just trying to take her hand, she ended up pulling Steph wildly off balance and she tumbled back into Veronica, sending them both into a heap on the ground.

“Damn it,” Veronica said. The frustration in her voice made Steph twitch nervously, even though it was directed at herself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… did I hurt you?”

She clambered off of Steph, then reached out to grab her by the wrist and help her to her feet. As soon as they touched, though, Steph recoiled from her like a terrified animal, scrambling to her feet using nearby desks and chairs for support.

Steph was tearing up. Veronica had been right on top of her. Touching her, body to body. It was the worst thing that could possibly have happened.

“Steph?” The trans girl was frantically scanning Veronica’s face, searching for the first symptoms, but there was nothing. Instead, Veronica was overflowing with concern. “You’re seriously worrying me. Is… is there something on your arm? Did they hurt you?”

“N-no!” Steph whimpered. She closed her eyes, silently praying for Veronica to just leave her alone.

“Then what?” Veronica demanded. “I know I said… but I can’t overlook this, Steph! You understand that, right? You need to tell me what’s going on. Right now.”

As she spoke, she let go of gentleness and her voice became full and commanding. Steph felt herself go hot as her body responded to Veronica’s authority with pathetic eagerness. Her mind went blank, and an answer flashed across that blankness and out of her mouth before she could stop it.

“I’m c-cursed,” Steph confessed in a weak voice. “It makes - I make - people h-hurt me.”

“Steph…” As soon as she said her name like that, Steph knew she hadn’t gotten through to Veronica. “No. No! I’m so sorry someone made you feel that way, but no. You don’t.”

“I do!” Steph’s voice turned shrill. She needed to make Veronica understand. “I do. A-and you should just get away from me, or it’ll happen to you too.”

“It won’t,” Veronica insisted. Steph wanted to believe her so badly. Veronica glanced down at Steph’s sweater. “What you’re wearing… Steph, are you hiding bruises?”

“N-no,” Steph lied instinctively, but Veronica wasn’t convinced. She advanced on Steph.

“I don’t believe you,” she said. “Show me.”

“Wha-“

An icy chill raced down Steph’s spine. Was this normal for Veronica? Where was her gentle patience from moments ago? Why was she suddenly being so forceful?

Was it just because she was freaked out? Or was it something more?

Desperately, Steph started searching her eyes. Her face. Her body language. Searching for a sign, and hoping not to see it. But all the while, Veronica was advancing on her.

“Show me!” Veronica insisted.

Her hand darted out and started tugging at one of the loose, baggy sleeves of Steph’s sweater. Taken aback, Steph tried to fight back, but Veronica was stronger and swifter. Easily manhandling the taller girl, she rolled her sleeve up all the way to the shoulder and gasped at what she saw on the skin underneath.

A mosaic of bruises, all the way from her wrist to where they disappeared beneath her t-shirt. Some old, some new; all in different shades of deep, rich blue or purple. A few were fresh enough to stick in Steph’s mind: there was one from the lady who’d sat next to her on the bus that morning, a couple from the professor she’d stayed after class to speak with, and even now, a few that she’d received from Heather and her friends were starting to blossom.

Steph knew exactly what it looked like, and as Veronica silently inspected her bruised skin, she whimpered at the pity she could see in her eyes. But then she saw something else too. A slight, unnatural dilation of her pupils. A certain glazed dullness over the light of her kindness. The tiniest flaring of her nostrils, like she was catching Steph’s scent for the first time.

It was almost nothing, but it made Steph’s heart pound.

“How…” Veronica murmured, after a moment. “How could anyone do this to you?”

Without seeming to realize what she was doing, she started tracing her fingertips lightly over the bruises. It was like she was mesmerized by them. Frantic, Steph tried to reassure herself. This was a normal way to react. Veronica was just surprised, that was all. There was still hope.

If Steph couldn’t run, hope was all she had.

"How long has this been going on?” Veronica asked, her voice still soft.

“For years,” Steph confessed. It felt good to unburden herself, despite everything. “N-not just them, I mean. In high school. There were others.”

Veronica nodded thoughtfully. Steph couldn’t read her expression. “You… haven’t tried to stop it? One way or another?”

“There’s nothing I can do,” Steph replied miserably. “At first I tried going to teachers. B-but soon enough they were, well…”

“Have you tried standing up for yourself?”

The question stung a little, mostly because Steph didn’t have a good answer. She’d just never had that kind of fight in her. Whenever she found herself in that kind of situation, she was always undermined by other desires, ones that were hard to articulate and even harder to defend.

“I-I… just…” Steph looked down. “I c-can’t…”

“Hm.” Veronica looked down too, and muttered under her breath: “Honestly, it’s like you’re not even trying.”

Steph’s blood ran cold. “W-what?”

“Oh, nothing.” Veronica looked up again, and she was smiling. The scorn Steph thought she’d heard in her voice had left just as quickly as it had appeared. “It’s just that this is so awful. Steph, I promise you, one way or another, I’ll put a stop to this.”

“T-thank you.” Steph blushed and nodded.

Please. Please. Please let it not affect her.

“I won’t let this be a school where students bully and injure one another in the corridors,” Veronica continued, her conviction growing. “No. That just won’t do. I have a responsibility. A moral responsibility.”

Steph nodded again, but cautiously. There was so much zeal in Veronica’s voice. And for some reason, she’d started squeezing Steph’s wrist a little tighter.

“I think it’s important to get to the root of the problem,” Veronica went on, muttering to herself. “You always need to deal with the ringleader. The instigator.”

“V-Veronica,” Steph whined. “That’s… it kinda h-hurts…”

She was talking about her arm. Veronica was squeezing tighter and tighter on her wrists, provoking complaints from Steph’s bruises. Veronica seemed to pause for a moment, suddenly lucid, and briefly Steph dared to hope that her good nature would triumph.

The moment passed.

“It’s you,” Veronica decided. “You’re to blame.”

Steph thought she was going to throw up, even as her cheeks started to burn treasonously. “W-w-what?”

“You heard me.” The kind Veronica was gone. She was a disciplinarian now, just like she had been with the bullies, but all of it was now directed at Steph. “You. You’re the one who needs to be punished.”

“B-b-but…”

The room around Steph was spinning. It had gone wrong so fast. Why was she surprised? It was always like this. She was cursed. It was her own fault, for letting Veronica get close to her. Why had she ever entertained those foolish hopes? Steph felt awful.

But that didn’t stop her from being incredibly turned on.

“You said so yourself,” Veronica told her sternly. “It’s your fault. You’re the common denominator, Steph. You’re…”

She paused for a moment and frowned. It was like she was struggling to rationalize what her new impulses were telling her. Struggling to square them with her long-held morals. Steph didn’t know what to make of that. She’d never seen anyone struggle like this.

“You’re encouraging them,” Veronica said slowly, pushing through the cognitive dissonance she should have felt. “You… you shouldn’t be so tempting. You’re disrupting this nice, harmonious school. Why do you have to make such a spectacle of yourself?”

"I’m… not…” Steph was blinking back tears. It was nothing she hadn’t heard before, but it always felt like a knife twisted in her gut. Somehow, coming from Veronica, it was even worse. “I-I mean, I wasn’t trying to…”

“It’s indecent,” Veronica said sternly. “No wonder those girls were…” She paused, correcting herself. “Well. No. No, they’re troublemakers too, of course. Bullies. I’ll deal with them. But you. You’re the root of it. Aren’t you?”

“N-n-no!” Steph cried. She was turning her head this way and that, but there was no avoiding Veronica’s gaze. “I mean… no, um, yes, but not, l-like that, I-“

“So you admit it?” Veronica interrupted. “Shameless. Utterly shameless.”

“I…”

Steph didn’t know how to articulate that she was very far from shameless. Shame was all she felt. It coursed through her like a current, making her hate herself, making her body burn with its passing.

"What am I going to do with you?” Veronica finally let go of Steph’s wrist and started pacing a short track back and forth across the floor - although she kept herself, Steph noticed, between her and the door. “I can’t let you go on like this. Corrupting people.”

“I-I’m sorry…” Steph wasn’t sure if Veronica actually understood what was happening to her. But it didn’t matter now. She was too far gone.

At least, Steph thought so. As she apologized, Veronica looked at her and seemed to soften. Maybe there was still something of the good, principled student president inside her. The kind of girl who would always accept an apology. But, all too soon, it faded.

“I have to keep you away from them,” Veronica decided. “I can’t trust you out there, with girls like Heather. The last thing they need is you, making them even worse. Maybe… no, no, even the professors and deans. You’d get to them too. I… it has to be me. I’m the only one who can be trusted to uphold this school’s morals.”

Steph’s stomach sank into an abyss. What did that mean?

“Yes. Yes.” Veronica was pacing faster. Finding her rhythm. “No more awful spectacles like that in the stairwells. I’ll… I’ll have the dean appoint me as your personal tutor. You can move to a different dorm room, too. The one next to mine.”

Suddenly, it dawned on Steph who she was dealing with. Veronica wasn’t some random bully. She was the head of student government. She had power - and unlike some of the professors who had tormented Steph, she didn’t need to be so worried about propriety.

If she got her way, there would be no escaping her.

“It’ll help you too, of course,” Veronica reasoned. Steph could sense her good nature bending and warping with each passing moment. “None of these other girls will be able to hurt you. I won’t let you get your filth all over them.”

Inwardly, Steph was begging herself to say something. Do something. This was all going so wrong. Worse and worse by the moment. She needed to put a stop to it. But as usual, she couldn’t think. Her body was on fire. Why was she like this? She couldn’t tell if this sick pleasure was part of the curse, or simply a sickness deep in her soul.

“Yes. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.” Veronica had clearly made up her mind. She stopped pacing, and grabbed at Steph’s arm again. Steph was too terrified even to flinch. “No need for any more of these awful bruises.”

At that moment, she seemed to pause. Her nostrils flared again, and the look in her eyes became even more glazed. Something was tugging at her. Upsetting the equilibrium she had only just found. Steph held her breath.

“But.” Veronica said it like it was a mere afterthought, but the pause that followed made it dreadful. It was like something was growing inside her. Her hand clamped back down on Steph’s wrist. “You need to be punished.”

“P-please…”

Both of them froze. It had come out of Steph’s mouth not just as a plea, but as a moan. It sounded like she had been begging - and suddenly, Steph couldn’t be sure that she hadn’t. A look of vicious scorn dawned on Veronica’s face.

"Take off your clothes,” she commanded coldly.

Steph trembled like a leaf. “N-no,” she whimpered, but already, she was obeying. Veronica’s instruction went straight through her. She felt helpless to refuse. So, she lifted her sweater off over her head. Then came her t-shirt, exposing yet more bruises. Then, her long skirt. She stopped there, hoping it would be enough. It was, but standing there in her bra and panties made her feel plenty exposed.

Especially since there was no longer any hope of hiding how aroused she was.

Veronica’s eyes quickly settled on the distinct tent in Steph’s panties. “You’re…” she breathed. “You’re enjoying this. Aren’t you? Are you some kind of pervert?”

Steph shook her head in mute denial, but the way her cock twitched at the disgust in Veronica’s voice made a liar of her. Veronica took a step towards her.

“You really do need to be punished,” she said coldly. “Bend over.”

Steph was deep under her spell now. She moved to obey - but not quickly enough. Veronica was soon on her, forcing her around and throwing her forward so that she slumped breathlessly over the nearest desk.

She had been so gentle, just minutes ago.

“It’s for your own good,” Veronica insisted. She rested a hand on Steph’s back, pushing down with her weight, keeping the sniffing, whimpering trans girl helpless. “It’s for your own good.”

Was there a twinge of regret and conflict in her voice? Was she trying to hold herself back? It was such a tantalizing possibility, but Steph just couldn’t be sure.

The possibility seemed far more remote as soon as she felt Veronica’s other hand come down hard on her bare, already-bruised ass.

Steph cried out and bucked like a wounded horse. Tears started to fall down her cheeks - tears of pain and humiliation both. The pain was so sharp. So intimate. It was more than even she was used to, and Veronica wasn’t going to give her time to brace herself for the next blow. It came quickly, and then the next, and then the next.

“You deserve this,” Veronica grunted. Her voice was labored from exertion. “You’re making me do this. Remember that.”

The words stung perhaps even worse than the spanks. It was true, after all, even if Veronica herself didn’t understand quite how true. The shame it brought Steph was all but nauseating, but even that was transformed into simmering pleasure inside her. Shame was one of her biggest turn-ons. Pain was too. Steph was helpless in the face of her own desires.

How good it all felt was another twist of the knife. The shame she felt at feeling like she had turned Veronica into an instrument of her own pleasure was overwhelming. And, of course, that felt good too. It compounded on itself, again and again, making a ruined, pathetic wretch out of her.

“You should be apologizing.” Veronica was putting all her strength into beating Steph, and it was making her voice harsh and guttural. “Don’t you have any shame?”

“I-I-I’m sssorryyy.” The words left Steph’s mouth as an incoherent, drooling moan. She barely knew what she was supposed to be apologizing for.

It was hard to think about anything at all when each spank made her shudder, and made her cock rub against the hard, cold desk beneath her through her panties.

Steph wasn’t a stranger to being hurt. Far from it. All too often, it was a daily fact of life. But there was something different about Veronica’s spanking. It wasn’t random, impulsive, self-satisfied violence. There was a ritual to it. Veronica was sticking to a firm rhythm, and her attention was given over completely to the task at hand. Something about her methodical, dedicated manner made butterflies flit and fly in Steph’s stomach.

This wasn’t violence. It was discipline.

Eventually, the blows stopped. Steph lingered for a moment in fearful anticipation, but when nothing more came, she finally relaxed. She wasn’t sure if it was that Veronica had meted out her full punishment, or if she’d simply tired of hitting her. Either way, it was a relief.

Punishment was an unbelievable catharsis.

A few seconds more passed, and Veronica let up on her back. Timidly, Steph straightened up and turned around. Her face was so red she could feel it burning, and her hair was a mess. Even though she was taller than Veronica, she couldn’t resist the urge to shrink into herself and hunch down until they were almost the same height. Everything was hot. Only Veronica’s gaze was frigid.

“Maybe…” the other girl began slowly. Her face registered a faint shock. Steph noticed the glazed look in her eyes beginning to fade. Was it over? “Maybe I went a little too… I’m s-”

She broke off and looked down. All too late, Steph realized what she was staring at. The front of her panties.

Steph was harder than ever, and her panties were stained with wetness that was beginning to dribble down and coat her inner thighs. Once she noticed too, she bent down and crossed her hands in front of herself, but there was no hiding it now. Veronica had already seen. She knew exactly what kind of a freak Steph was.

“You’re still…” Veronica’s voice sounded distant for a moment, but as she spoke, more feeling came back into it, and that feeling was hard and cruel. “How are you still…”

Her nostrils flared again. Her eyes faded almost completely. It was a ghoulish spectacle, like the girl in front of Steph had, just for a brief moment, been switched off and hollowed out. But what happened next was even worse. Something came to fill in the void, something new and awful, once it made its home inside her head, the light that appeared behind Veronica’s eyes was vicious and gleeful in a way that truly, deeply, didn’t suit her. It was like a devil was possessing her. The transformation was subtle, but unmistakable.

Especially to Steph, frozen solid in terror. She knew exactly what was coming next.

Sadism.

A weird, lopsided, unsteady grin washed over Veronica’s face. “God,” she spat. “You really are a freak.”

Steph trembled and whimpered. “P-please,” she said quietly. “Please s-stop. You don’t have to…”

She trailed off. She didn’t know what to say, and she was sure there was no use to it. She just felt, she supposed, an obligation to try and save Veronica. To salvage her, her kindness and her good nature, from what Steph’s awful curse had made out of her.

It was no use.

“Shut up,” Veronica growled, and punched Steph straight in the gut.

The sudden blow took her completely off guard, and Steph bent double as all the air was forced out of her lungs. She retched, although nothing came up, and slumped against the desk for stability. The pain was a black hole. It sucked in all of Steph’s being for many long moments until she was able to finally catch her breath.

Then, the sound of laughter.

She looked up. It was Veronica, of course. She was laughing at Steph. Laughing at her pain. Discipline wasn’t enough for Steph’s curse. Discipline had limits and bounds. At some point, discipline stopped. So, the curse it had pushed Veronica further. Beyond discipline, to simple violence.

“Maybe I was too hard on those girls,” Veronica mused. She was breathing hard again, but not just from exertion. From excitement. “You make this so hard to resist, Steph.”

Steph hated that she could do nothing but whimper and whine. Arousal and guilt were like two wolves, gnawing at the inside of her chest. Seeing Veronica like this was awful. Her face shone with glee at seeing Steph suffer, at making her hurt, and it was just so petty. So unworthy of her. A paragon of virtue, warped into a mere bully.

Why was it so hot?

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Veronica added. “I won’t let them at you again. No, it’s like I said. You’re all mine now. All mine to take care of.”

Steph looked down. She couldn’t tell if she should be grateful, or horrified. She’d never had a bully quite like this. One who was so determined to keep her close at their side, and who had the power to actually make that happen.

Maybe there was no point trying to decide how to feel about it. After all, whatever happened, happened. It was out of her control now.

She was Veronica’s.

“Come on,” Veronica barked at her. She was already shaking slightly, like she was eager to throw another punch, but instead, she threw Steph’s discarded clothes at her. “We’re going to go and speak to the dean about our new arrangement.”

Meekly, Steph obeyed. She’d long since learned that there was no point in pretending she could fight back.

This - all of this - was simply in her nature.