Monday — Five Days Until Rematch

Talia and I walked in silence into the chess club for our weekly meeting. We didn’t have much to talk about with Evan’s whole episode still lingering over us. The club room was pretty unremarkable, just a side room with a few tables, chairs and cheap chess sets. It was here where I met some of my closest friends, spending hours playing chess or shooting the shit. It was a humble space, but it was dear to me.

Not long after we sat down I heard the door open. Looking over I saw Abby and Denise walking in as usual, seemingly lost in their own conversation. “Hey guys!” Talia said, probably hoping to break some of the tension.

“Hey!” responded Abby in her usual upbeat fashion.

“Anything on the agenda today?” Asked Denise.

“No, I think we’re still on the post-tournament high,” responded Talia, “Plus I think we could all use a little bit of rest.”

“Amen,” Agreed Denise.

I let out a relieved sigh, looking forward to a bit of normalcy after the insanity the morning had brought. We ended up chatting as usual for most of the meeting time, just general friend stuff. It was really nice. As we were winding down on our meeting time I noticed Talia shooting me a serious look. Realizing she wanted me to say something about this morning, I spoke up to tell the story. “By the way guys, I had a really weird encounter this morning. I got up and Evan Boltchek was in the lobby waiting for me—”

Before I could continue, Abby interrupted “Oh my god, Evan Boltchek?! He was here on campus?!” She seemed genuinely jubilant, eyes wide.

“Abby, what are you talking about, you watched me play him! Anyways, he-”

“You DID?! What was he like? Evan Boltchek is my HERO!” Abby could barely settle down. I shot a glance at Talia, who looked just as stunned as I was.

Talia spoke up. “Really? You never talked about him before the tournament.”

“I hardly think she needed to,” interjected Denise matter-of-factly, “Evan Boltchek is a legend, aren’t we all on the same page here?” I looked into Denise’s eyes and saw a similar excitement to Abby. That didn’t track, Abby may have been overexcitable, but there was no way chill, goth Denise would get this hyped up over some billionaire’s son.

“Listen to me,” I began, “Yes I met him again, but the encounter was really weird. He was really angry, and he wanted a rematch-”

“Well yeah no shit he wanted a rematch," Denise interjected, "There’s no way you could ever beat a genius like him under normal circumstances.” My mouth fell open, as did Talia’s.

“What are you talking about, you guys were cheering me on after the match!”

Abby shot Denise a wince before turning back to face me. “Well, we wanted to hype you up. We know you don’t get a lot of wins, so it was nice to see you so confident! But you can’t just go around acting like you’re better than Evan Boltchek.”

“Bullshit!” shouted Talia, “You guys were right there watching alongside me! You were just as excited for him the whole time! Where’s this coming from?”

I was grateful to Talia for sticking up for me, but before I could interject a fifth voice cut through the room. “Don’t be upset, Nathan. Your friends are just kind enough to be honest with you.” A chill ran down my spine as Evan Boltchek strutted into the room, headset in tow. My eyes widened, a terrible realization washing over me.

Abby and Denise swung around, shock and delight filling their eyes at the sight of Evan. Abby squealed like a teenage girl meeting her celebrity crush, and chillingly so did Denise. They each rushed up to him, but backed off a bit when he held his hand up. The exaggerated, beaming smiles on their faces never wavered.

“I thought I would stop by the campus chess club while I was in the area, see the training ground of some of my competitors. Frankly, doesn’t look like there’s much to see,” he mused, performatively scanning the unremarkable club room.

“So cool…” murmured Denise in a dreamy haze of affection.

“It isn’t much, Mr. Boltchek, but we spend all our time learning about chess! It’s SO AMAZING to have you here!” Abby gushed.

“Always happy to meet a fan,” responded Evan, an insincere smile sitting on his face. He surveyed the room again. “Though with facilities like this… Do you think anyone who practiced chess here could be on the level as someone like me?”

“O-of course not!” Abby practically screamed.

Evan haphazardly faked a look of concern. “Well, Nathan here has been telling people he beat me in a game of chess.” Abby and Denise swiveled to face me in shock.

“You were there!” I shouted powerlessly, knowing deep down it would be no use.

“Listen ladies,” began Evan, “I’d love to get to know you better. I think you’re both fine chess players. But I don’t know if I can tolerate your friend here spreading lies about me.”

Abby hung her head, her faded brown hair blocking her face as she took a step towards me. “Abby, please…” I begged. She lifted her head up to reveal an expression I’d never seen on her face. One of pure disgust.

“I can’t believe I was ever friends with a lying sack of shit like you,” she spat. Every tender moment, every late club meeting, every practice game, all of it came crashing down in an instant as she returned to Evan’s side.

I turned desperately to Denise next. I remembered the late nights spent talking about life, our deepest emotions, our insecurities, but her face said it all. “You’re a desperate, insecure freak, Nate. I’m done with you.” I looked between Abby and Denise, hoping to see some sign that this was all a sick prank, but the hatred in their faces could never be faked.

Evan brought the mic down to his lips. “You made the right choice, ladies. How about we go and start preparing for our next match?”

Abby and Denise were giddy with delight, walking out of the room with their arms wrapped around Evan’s. Just as they were leaving, I spotted a faint red glow through Abby’s sweater, right around the nape of the neck. I collapsed into the seat behind me. I knew he was manipulating them, I knew it. But seeing them turn on me like that, I couldn’t help but find myself tearing up. Talia, no doubt in shock herself, placed a consoling hand on my shoulder.

I found myself lying in bed that night. Obviously I couldn’t focus on any of my classes for the rest of the day, so I resigned myself to lying in my dorm room bed. Talia had gone back to her own dorm not long after. We couldn’t think of anything else to do. I buried my face in my pillow, trying to clear my head and think of a way to save my friends. Could we get the cops involved? What would they even do?

I was jolted out of my stupor by a knocking at the door. I went to answer it, but stopped as I gripped the handle. What if it was Evan, come to torment me again, or worse? I peered through the peephole to see two familiar faces. They were the RAs of the residence building, Mikayla and Sophie. I sighed, opening the door.

“Hey Nate, Talia sent us a text. She was a little vague, but she said you were having a rough day and wanted us to check up on you.”

I smiled softly, I still had at least one friend looking out for me. “Thanks guys. She wasn’t wrong, but I’ll be alright.”

“Well, let us know if you need anything. We’re here to help” added Sophie. As they made their way down the hall, I couldn’t help but eye the napes of their necks. No lights. I let out another sigh, cursing my justified paranoia.

Just then I heard a buzz from my phone. I picked it up from my bed where I had left it. I’d received a text from an unknown number, a video file. Fearfully, I put my trembling finger on the play button. The video was rough, clearly shot on a phone in a dark room. After some blurring and shuffling a figure came into view.

Evan.

The little sociopath smiled. “Good evening, Nathan! Just thought I’d give you an update on the prep work I’m doing for our rematch on Saturday!” The camera perspective shifted from front-facing to outward, showing me a sight that shook me to my core. No amount of preparation could have readied me for seeing Abby and Denise on their knees, nude, feverishly licking at the shaft of Evan’s erect cock, expressions of pure, closed-eyed bliss plastered across their faces.

Evan’s voice came in from behind the camera. “Denise, look into the camera and explain what you’re doing. Abby, suck.” As Denise pulled away from his cock, Abby took over, giving Evan a full-throated, maximum enthusiasm blowjob.

Denise spoke, her hands folded dutifully in her lap. “We’re making sure Evan is satisfied and fully prepared for his next match. Pent-up arousal can interfere with the thought process, so we’re ensuring he can remain focused.” Her naked form was something to behold, silken skin contrasted by her elegant, dark hair and glossy black lipstick. I was ashamed of my own arousal.

“Switch.” Evan commanded. Immediately, Abby pulled back and Denise took over, enveloping his cock in her welcoming mouth. Seeing Abby sit upright gave a full view of her round, sizable tits. I had always wanted a peek at them, but not like this…

“We get to help him in the match, too! He’s letting us be his knights! Isn’t that AMAZING!?” It seemed not even Evan’s mind control device could quell Abby’s enthusiasm. “I’m glad you’re watching, Nate,” Abby said. “I’m glad you get to see us here, where we were always meant to be. I can’t wait to watch Evan put you in your place.” My hands shook. With fear and shock yes, but now also with rage.

“Both of you, finish me off,” Evan commanded. Denise shifted her lips to cover one half of Evan’s shaft while Abby paralleled her on the other side. The two then began shifting their heads up and down, pleasuring the rod until it exploded onto them. Abby and Denise grinned with joy as Evan’s semen splashed across their faces.

“Oh and one other thing…” Nathan added, his demeanor shifting from taunting to cold and serious. “If you do anything to try and back out, call the police, tell the company, anything of the sort, I’ll count that as a forfeit. And if you forfeit, if you don’t give me the game I want…” the camera shifted back to the front perspective, Abby and Denise staring reverently up at Evan with his cum streaked across their faces, “...I will ruin them far, far beyond what you’ve seen tonight. And all my other pieces too. Sweet dreams.”

The phone fell out of my hands, my mind running a million miles a minute. In one move, Evan had blocked my route of escape. He didn’t take my friends from me purely for the sake of being cruel, he did it to take hostages. No matter what my next move was, I couldn’t run away. I couldn’t back down from next week’s match. He’d put me in check. As I laid back in my bed, waves of shock rebounding around my system, my eyes drifted to the plastic bag full of devices sitting on the nightstand.

I turned my head away and shut off the lights.