Skyler had barely stepped over the threshold to her dorm room when her roommate excitedly ran up to her and shoved her against the wall. Amber grinned at her, eyes wide and manic, clutching something in her hand. “Perfect timing, roomie! I need your help!”

“…Nice to see you too,” Skyler replied. She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. “What is it this time, Amber?”

“You know how I’ve been working on my ESP experiments?” the shorter girl said, stepping back and pacing around the room. “I think the reason I haven’t been getting results is that people are too close-minded and inhibited. They don’t believe that they could have that sixth sense.”

“Yeah, because it’s not real,” Skyler muttered.

“But!” Amber boasted. “I’ve found a solution. I just need to open up somebody’s mind, get them to open up and be more accepting. And I know just how to do it.”

Skyler glowered at her roommate. “You’re not talking about acid, are you?”

“What?” Amber scoffed. “Oh, please. I already tried that. No, this time, I have this…”

She held up a small golden coin on a string.

Skyler blinked. “…Bribes?”

“You’re not seeing it,” Amber smiled. “How can I get my test subjects in an open, accepting state of mind? How can I get them to focus on their latent abilities? The answer is obvious.” She paused, as though expecting some big swell in a soundtrack only she could hear. “Hypnosis.”

“H-Hypnosis?” Skyler froze. “Isn’t that, like, fake?”

“Nope! I did the research, it’s totally real. There’re whole communities dedicated to studying it.” Amber giggled. “Y’know, some people actually do kinky stuff with it. Can you imagine? That must be wild.”

“Yeah…” Skyler swallowed. She knew that all too well, in fact. It had been her dirty little secret, the one crippling weakness beneath a façade of diligence and unshakable confidence. She wasn’t just a kinky person with an interest with hypnosis; hypnosis was her kink, her only kink. She didn’t even have any “vanilla” sexual desire to speak of. As far as she was concerned, if one party wasn’t helplessly entranced and mindless, she didn’t care.

“So?” Amber cooed. “Wanna help me out?”

She knows, Skyler thought, feeling her stomach twist into knots with dread. She has to know, why else would she be teasing us about it like this? There’s no way I can let her hypnotize me, she’ll never let me live it down…

But, then again, where else am I going to get a chance to try it? There was that guy last year, but that didn’t go anywhere. And I don’t think anyone else on campus would have any interest. Besides, Amber’s asexual. She’d never even think of doing anything lewd with me under her control. “…Sure,” Skyler finally replied, feigning an assured smile. “If it’ll get you to shut up about it, that is.”

“Thanks!” Amber grinned, seemingly oblivious to the insult.

Amber’s “experiment” took very little time to set up. It was predictably simple and hastily-planned, just her and Skyler sitting on her bed with a deck of cards. Skyler had to guess what card Amber was holding without being able to see it. Naturally, she guessed wrong every time during the “control” test.

Then it came time for the hypnosis. “Okay,” Amber smiled. “So right now, I just need you to get comfortable. Maybe you could lay down, just in case you happen to go all floppy when you’re under.”

“Uh… o-okay.” Skyler felt her cheeks start to go red as she repositioned herself, resting her head on Amber’s pillow and stretching out her legs.

“Good, good,” Amber nodded. “Now, take a nice, deep breath. Let yourself relax a little bit, letting some of that nervous energy fade.”

“Nervous?” Skyler scoffed. “I’m not nervous at all.”

“So you’re feeling relaxed?”

“Sure.”

“And you’re feeling comfortable?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re listening to the sound of my voice?”

“Ye–” Skyler blinked. Her cheeks got warmer. “Y-Yes.”

“Good,” Amber giggled. “So, now you’re ready to be hypnotized.”

She held up her coin, right above Skyler’s eyes, and lightly twisted the string, letting it spin a little as it hung in the air. “I want you to keep your eyes focused on this coin for me, Sky,” Amber said, her voice getting softer. “Take in every little detail. The engravings I’ve made in its surface. The way it catches the light. You’re noticing all sorts of things, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Skyler said.

“Very good.” Amber shifted her hand, starting to swing the coin through the air. “And you’ll keep your eyes on my coin as it starts to sway like this. Back and forth, in this simple arc. Just like that, good job.”

Skyler hadn’t realized she’d started following the coin until Amber called attention to it. It wasn’t hard to keep track of – it glinted brightly from the warm light of her bedside lamp – but the act of moving her eyes so much quickly started to strain her.

“And you’re noticing now, just how heavy and tired your eyes are becoming,” Amber cooed, as though reading her roommate’s mind. “You’re expending so much energy, trying to keep them open, trying to focus on the coin. And the more you struggle, the more energy you use, the more tired the rest of your body feels. You can notice your limbs, your torso, starting to relax further, letting go of all that tension as you direct all your energy into your eyes.”

Skyler made a small noise from the back of her throat. She did feel something, a kind of numb, yet tingly feeling. She noticed her shoulders slumping a little, her head starting to roll onto its side. It only made it more difficult to follow the coin.

“That’s right, Sky,” Amber smiled. “You’re doing so well for me. And when you’ve used up all the energy in your body, you’ll find your eyes getting more and more tired. You just want to close them, I know you do, but you have to keep them open as long as you can. You have to watch the coin. No matter what, you’ll follow its sway until your eyes just can’t stay open anymore.”

Another noise from Skyler’s throat. It sounded like a whimper, but she couldn’t focus on it. All she could see was the coin. The edges of her vision blurred. Her eyelids fluttered, barely able to stand firm while her strength crumpled. She was losing.

“I know,” Amber said softly. “I know it’s hard, Sky. You’re trying, but it’s just too much, isn’t it? Even your mind is starting to lose its energy. You feel your thoughts slowing down, getting softer and less distinct. It’s hard to grab onto them. Hard to focus on them. Hard to focus on anything at all, except the coin, and my words.”

Just like all of Amber’s other predictions, this one came true as well. Skyler felt her mind starting to go fuzzy, her thoughts devolving from complete sentences to stray, flickering words and phrases that seemed so unimportant compared to what was in front of her. All she could see was the coin. All she could hear was Amber.

“And as that last little bit of energy leaves your body,” her roommate said, “you’ll find your eyes closing now, your body giving up, your mind going quiet, as you fall into a deep trance and–” Snap! “Sleep.”

Skyler sighed as her eyes finally slipped shut. There was no strength, no thoughts left in her body. She was empty, mindless, a shell for Amber to fill with whatever she wanted. It was… nice. Skyler couldn’t focus on a feeling long enough to understand it, but she knew she was enjoying it. She hadn’t been relaxed like this in years, maybe ever. This was so much more powerful than any of the files she’d tried in the past.

“There we go,” Amber giggled. “Feeling so relaxed now, so open and accepting.” She picked up Skyler’s wrist, moving it back and forth. “No strength or tension left in your body. Completely at peace, completely focused. And as I let go it just…” She dropped the hypnotized girl’s hand into her lap. “Drops. And that reminds you of how far you’ve already fallen, and sends you deeper down into trance.”

Deeper… The word sent a pulse through Skyler’s body. She whimpered softly, parting her lips and curling her toes in pleasure. This was everything she had hoped for. This was like every story she’d read, every picture and file she’d gotten off to. It was perfect.

“Oh?” Amber cooed. “I see that pretty little smile, Sky. You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Mmmhm,” Skyler purred. “Shooo goooood…”

“Embrace that feeling,” Amber said. “Sink into it. Let it guide you deeper for me.”

Skyler moaned. A part of her knew she should be mortified by this. She was practically getting off in front of her annoying roommate. But any sense of embarrassment or shame was just a tiny ripple in the calm ocean of her mind. She felt too good to stop. She hoped it could last forever.

But it couldn’t.

“Muuzhh?” Skyler groggily murmured as she heard an alarm from her phone. She groggily picked her head up and reached out for the nightstand. Her movements were clumsy, uncoordinated, but she managed to pick up the phone.

Chemistry lecture – Miller Hall

in 5 minutes

Skyler shot up and stumbled out of bed. “G-Gotta go, mistress.”

“What?” Amber blinked. “What’d you call me?”

“Got class,” Skyler murmured, walking drunkenly towards the door, the fog in her mind barely cleared from the trance she’d just been woken out of.

“Sky, l-listen, you… just wait a sec, let me bring you up all the way,” Amber pleaded.

“Don’t have time.” Skyler grabbed her backpack and ran out the door and down the hall.

It wasn’t until she finally sat down in the lecture hall that her mind started to clear. She realized she’d forgotten a few things from her dorm. Her jacket, for one thing. And her shoes. God, she thought, letting out an annoyed sigh, I was completely out of it. I must’ve looked ridiculous running through campus like that. But I guess it could’ve been worse…

Her mind went back to the dorm room. She hid her mouth behind her hand to hide the blush of her cheeks and the way she was biting down on her lip. That was insane… I can’t believe it worked so well. Amber must’ve been doing a lot of practice beforehand. Unless I’m just… naturally susceptible to it. Oh, no, that’s even hotter, I–

Skyler’s eyes shot open as she started to remember something else. Wait. Wait wait wait wait. I didn’t… no, there’s no way…

She let out a loud groan and slammed her forehead against her desk. God dammit! I did call her “mistress!”

“Skyler,” the professor called out. “No more disruptions, please.”

“S-Sorry!” Skyler yelped, quickly sitting upright.

“Hmph.” The professor shook his head and went back to talking.

Skyler couldn’t process any of it. Her mind was still racing, lost in a heady mixture of embarrassment and arousal. How would she be able to explain this away? Amber surely heard her, and Skyler couldn’t think of any rational explanation that wouldn’t expose her as a hypnofetishist. There was no way that girl would let her live this down.

And what would Amber do, with knowledge like that? She didn’t seem the gossipy type, but if she found out Skyler was this much of a freak, she’d probably tell somebody. And then that would spread, and spread, and before long Skyler’s deepest fantasies would be the laughing stock of the entire campus. She’d have to change schools. She’d have to change careers. Maybe she’d have to fake her own death. And how would she explain it to her parents…?

But on top of all of this, Skyler realized something even more horrifying.

She wanted more.

She knew she shouldn’t. Not after she just embarrassed herself. And especially not from a brat like Amber. But Skyler just couldn’t get it out of her head. This was the first true hypnotic experience she’d ever had, and now that she’d had a taste, she could never let it go.

“Embrace that feeling,” she heard Amber’s voice say. “Sink into it. Let it guide you deeper for me.”

Skyler couldn’t stop herself. She grabbed her things and hurried out of the lecture hall, ignoring the stares of her classmates, ignoring the sting of the cold pavement on her bare feet, ignoring the voice of reason in her head begging her to stop and think about what she was doing. She knew what she needed.

And she knew Amber was the only one who could give it to her.

So she raced back to the dorm room, her excitement and dread growing in equal measure with each step. By the time she finally got back, Skyler felt like she was about to throw up. She couldn’t bear another second without Amber’s attention.

She flung open the door and realized she might be getting more attention than she expected. Amber was sitting in her chair, staring directly at her. Waiting for her, legs crossed, a flirtatious smile on her lips and the hypnotic coin dangling from a thread held between her toes.

“Hey there, Sky,” Amber smiled. “Have a seat.”

Skyler froze. This was too good to be true. Amber was playing the role of a seductive hypnotist perfectly, but it seemed so out of character for her. There had to be a catch, a twist, a–

“Now,” Amber said, louder, more forcefully.

“Y-Yes, Amber,” Skyler stammered, shutting the door and dropping her bag. She looked for her desk chair, but Amber clicked her tongue and pointed down at the floor. Skyler’s ears burned as she sat down before her roommate, cross-legged on the floor, looking up at the person she loathed and needed more than anything.

“Now, we didn’t quite finish our little experiment,” Amber cooed, idly twirling her finger around a lock of her hair. “Did we, Sky?”

“Um. No. Amber.” Skyler swallowed and tried to look down at the floor. She felt like a little girl trying to explain why the cookie jar was empty and she had crumbs all over her face. Small. Helpless. Guilty.

“That’s right. I was going to see if being in a trance might awaken your latent psychic abilities.” Amber’s grin grew wider. “But I think I’ve stumbled onto something much more interesting.”

“I-I have no idea what you mean,” Skyler muttered. “But, um. If you still want to finish the experiment, I-I can… oblige you. I suppose.”

Amber giggled. “Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you? Funny. You’ve never been so eager to help me before. I wonder what could’ve changed.”

Skyler took a deep breath. “I have time to kill. That’s all.”

“Come on, Sky. I’m not dumb. We both know the real reason you want this.” She idly kicked her foot a little and set the coin in motion. “Just watch the coin, and sink for me. That’s all you need to do.”

“I…” Skyler let out a whimper. She felt her eyes drawn to the coin, her gaze and her thoughts narrowing down to that fixed point. “I just…”

“Just, what?” Amber cooed. “Just want to give in? Just want to submit? Just want mistress to tell you what to think?”

Skyler moaned, even as she felt a spike of shame stabbing her in the gut. “God… I-I shouldn’t, I can’t, not with you…”

“Oh? And what’s so bad about little old me, Sky?”

“You’re ace. You don’t… want what I want.”

“What you want…” Amber’s face shifted. Skyler couldn’t read it, even if her mind wasn’t clouded by the coin.

Then she said something that Skyler would never have expected. “Take off your clothes.”

“What?” Skyler blinked, shock dislodging the trance that had nearly overtaken her. “Amber, I–”

Amber snapped her fingers. “Do as I say. Go deeper for me. Obey your mistress.”

Skyler shuddered. The sharp noise cut through her head, giving Amber’s firm commands a clean entrance into her psyche. “Yes… mistress…” she whispered, as her shoulders slumped and her eyes went lidded and her mouth hung slack.

She pulled up her top, tossing it vaguely towards her hamper through muscle memory, then started wriggling herself out of her jeans. A minute later, she was completely naked, kneeling before Amber with nothing else in her head.

Amber hummed softly. She studied Skyler carefully, almost clinically. “Y’know, I almost thought this might be it,” she said after a while. “That this’d be the end of my asexuality, that I’d finally start getting interested in someone. But I don’t think that’s what’s happening. I’m not turned on by seeing you naked. God knows I’ve seen you undressed plenty of times in here.

“But I am feeling something,” she continued, lips slowly curling into a devious smile. “Something really, really good. Because I made you undress. Because I cracked open that wall you’ve been putting up, and now I’m seeing the real you.”

Skyler whimpered. A trickle of drool dropped from her lip and onto her thigh.

Amber placed her foot on top of Skyler’s head and gently pushed it towards the floor, pressing her hypnotized roommate’s forehead into the linoleum tile. “I think we’re gonna learn a lot about each other, Sky. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

Skyler moaned. She felt her face settle into a happy, idiotic, utterly awestruck smile. She whispered in a voice so dreamy that it could only belong to a hypnotized slave.

“Yes, Mistress.”