“Katie, put both of your hands on my mattress.”

Katie looked up from the tracker app with the delivery status. “The fuck? What makes you think I’d-”

“Kelectrisa,” Sebastian corrected, “put both of your hands on my mattress.”

Katie immediately dropped the phone and flew over to the bed, her feet floating up naturally until she had to reach down to keep her hands on the mattress. As her loincloth gently fell down with gravity, she puffed air at the loose bolt of hair covering her left eye.. “Happy?” she muttered.

“Yes.”

“Perverted asshat.” Katie pushed off the bed like the edge of a pool she was swimming in, drifting back towards the phone which had dropped on the floor.

“Ugh, I didn’t-” Sebastian sighed. “I was happy to get a better understanding. That’s it.”

“Huh?” Katie ignored him, her thumb scrolling across the phone screen. “Picked up? But we never went downstairs to get-”

“Seb, since when do you order pizza in?” called a voice from outside the room.

Two bodies’ worth of veins turned to ice at that moment. “What?!” Katie hissed in a stage-whisper. “I thought you said he wasn’t-”

“How do you think I feel?!” Sebastian hissed back. “I don’t fucking know!”

The adrenaline coursing through them made the doorknob seem to move in slow motion. “What do we do?!” Katie panicked.

“Look, just… fucking… invisible!” Sebastian snapped his fingers in a panic, and Katie blinked to half-opacity in an instant. She was like a ghost to Sebastian, only somewhat visible, looking at her hands in fear and surprise. The moment froze entirely as the door finally opened, and the duo stared at the boy entering the room with a pizza box in hand.

Elias Mayfield was about as far from Sebastian as they came- not that Sebastian would have even bothered to notice, normally; he only knew Elias’s last name because of the listing that said who he’d be rooming with. His sleeveless v-neck sweater vest paired well with his button-down shirt and light pants, yet somehow never made him look stuffy. His coiffed, jet-black short hair made him look like he just stepped out of a new Ferrari, and synergized to give him a look that would best be described as a combination straight-A student and raging party animal; the suave confidence he walked into any and every room with only helped in marking his presence immediately.

Of course, catching his roommate frozen in fear like someone caught Bigfoot raiding the cookie jar at 3am was more than enough to throw him off his rhythm. “...you okay, man?” he asked.

“I-I’m alright,” Sebastian cleared his throat and straightened out. “You got the pizza?”

“Yeah, saw your name on it and just figured I’d bring it up,” Elias said. “But like, you got a WHOLE pizza for yourself? Shit, did you not have lunch?”

“Nah, I did, just-” Sebastian paused. How do I explain it? I can’t just admit that Katie’s here!

Elias sat down at his neat and orderly desk. “Seb… did something happen? This stress-eating?”

Sebastian didn’t respond, his face neutral like always.

Elias sighed. “Yeah, I get it, you don’t wanna talk about it.” He pulled a laptop out of his bag and set it up on the desk. “Look, do you at least have someone you can talk to?”

Sebastian still said nothing, as he slid off his bed and walked towards Elias.

In response, the latter stood up and held the pizza away. His few inches on Sebastian ensured victory. “No, I’m putting my foot down,” he affirmed. “You’re telling me what’s going on.”

“Piece of shit,” Sebastian growled, reaching for the pizza like a cat reaching for a toy. “Why aren’t you-”

“Because you leave me no choice.”

“Choice, my ass! I ordered a pizza!”

“And why did you do that?”

“Why do I have to tell you?”

“Because if you don’t, you don’t get the pizza!”

“FINE!” Sebastian yelped. “Fucking… fine, whatever.” Fuck, what do I say? What do I do? Maybe… Okay, I don’t know if this is gonna work mentally, but… Kelectrisa, you’re gonna appear visibly like you did before you transformed! He snapped his fingers. Out of the corner of his eye, Katie (who had kept her hands over her mouth to avoid making noise the whole time) returned to full opacity, her hair and clothes magically transforming with a glittery effect until the redheaded menace stood in the room. “I… was studying in here with a classmate,” Sebastian grumbled. “Figured we could use some food.”

“Classmate?” Elias spun around, scanning the room with a confused look, until he saw Katie and jumped. “Ah! Didn’t… see ya, how long’ve you been standing there?”

“The whole time?” Katie crossed her arms, playing along seamlessly.

“Huh. Guess I’m blind. Anyway, dude, it’s fine! Not like you need my permission to bring a girl in here, you know?” Elias nudged Sebastian with his shoulder.

“Excuse me?” Katie and Sebastian said in unison.

“Ah, heh heh,” Elias chuckled. “I’m not gonna bust your chops.” He waited a beat. “You guys are gonna do that to each other more than well enough, you know what I’m saying?”

Katie’s fingers curled tight. Sebastian noticed it, his pulse quickening in response. Oh, shit. I set that rule against violence against me, but I don’t know if that’s gonna count Elias. I… uh… and the chains, how do I reconcile… Um, I think into existence the rule that if Katie tries to harm Elias today, she’ll… go mindless? Yeah, just blank out and keep eating the pizza. Stay out of the conversation. He softly snapped his fingers behind his back. Shit, that might mean I’ll have to talk more… Whatever! In for a penny, just gotta brace myself.

“Anyway, whatever. Just tell me, you know?” Elias gently tossed the pizza box on Sebastian’s bed. “It’s gonna get cold.”

And whose fucking fault would that b- Ugh. Sebastian and Katie climbed onto the bed, defeated and hungry, and began to munch on their cheese pizza. Elias finished typing a sentence on his laptop, then scooched his chair around to face the two. “It good?”

“...yeah,” Katie groaned.

“Hey, look- sorry, I didn’t get your name?”

“...it’s Katie.”

“Katie, got it. Look, I’m sorry. I like figuring business, you know? I’m a psych major, I like living up to that.”

Katie had no response.

“And hey, studying’s where it starts, you know?” Elias grinned a saucy grin.

Katie snarled, her fist curling again as she primed to leap off the couch. The second she shifted, though, she slumped back into place. Her eyes were vacant, at peace, staring a thousand miles off into another universe. Her head ever-so-slightly tilted, like her neck muscles weren’t even trying to keep it upright anymore. Her jaw hung a touch loose, her arms now limp and noodly. With just a glance, Sebastian could intuit the total space-case that was her empty mind, understanding the total peace and blankness that had enveloped her. She slowly began to look at the pizza, reaching with a limp and heavy hand like every movement had to overcome the magic spell of her ragdoll-ification. Sebastian knew this alone wouldn’t cut it, though, and said, “Maybe, dude. I don’t fucking know, just stop talking about it. Uh… so why are you back so early, again?”

Elias’s attention completely shifted. “Oh, yeah… well, my evening class was canceled, so I called up everyone, you know?”

“Mhmm,” Sebastian blankly allowed. He knew the “everyone” Elias referred to, of course- the members of an elusive and ever-in-flux friend group Elias somehow kept glued together. A random rotation of two or three members of this mysterious organization often followed Elias back to his dorm the few times he did return- much to Sebastian’s chagrin, as he was often left mourning the loss of his dear companion called “silence.” Elias’s name being the precious exception of the one Sebastian could remember, he knew for damn sure he didn’t bother to learn anyone else’s.

“And, like, some of them were in my class,” Elias continued, “so there was immediate availability, you know? But then Bob was getting this MASSIVE headache, he went back to his room. Then Lauren just dropped out without an excuse, and it started this massive chain reaction of everyone dropping out one by one. And like, I’m starting to wonder what exactly happened. Lauren’s drama was so big, that it really got to everyone that hard. Meh, now I’m… kind of alone, I guess. I’d call us twinning, I was even ready to come back and ask you for tips on how to blow the time!”

How is he not out of breath? Sebastian wondered. “Kiss my ass.”

“Ha! Kind of expected that response, honestly.” Elias’s phone buzzed; he turned to check it. “Hm? Oh, shit! Kathen’s free!”

Oh, thank God.

“Hey, Katie?” Elias asked. “Uh… Katie?” He turned to Sebastian. “She good?”

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Uh, punishment… over? I guess? Sebastian snapped once more, and Katie jolted to life. “Ask her yourself, dude,” he said, punctuating it with a big bite of pizza.

“I, uh… what?” Katie shook her head. “Sorry, I… sorta spaced out there for a second.”

“It’s all good. I just wanted to talk to you for a second outside before I head out.”

Katie blinked. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

“Yeah, just a couple seconds.” He walked towards the door. “That alright?”

She looked around for a second. “I-I mean… alright.”

- - -

Twice.

That was twice now that Mas- ugh, Sebastian- had so thoroughly thrown Katie off. Just over an hour prior, when the chains had wrapped around her, she was obviously terrified. The uncertainty and fear had dug into her more than the chains, which- given the physical pain it left her, which she was still reeling from- was an incredible amount. For just a moment, she felt like she was recalling a mountain of information, very critical information, but since the moment passed she couldn’t seem to come up with it again. She was completely drained and dead, only barely able to regain her breath.

But then… Mas- Sebastian had put his hand on her back. It… felt so warm. She never knew just a hand could carry so much intent and meaning. And she tensed up when she first felt it, too; that mountain of forgotten things told her to be scared, for a reason she couldn’t remember. But she was too tired to act on it, and instead she got… warmth. A gesture that told her that Master was there for her, that he didn’t mean it like that and genuinely cared if she was alright

It threw her off so hard, she didn’t even remind herself to not call him Master in her head.

And then… he made her mindless. The second it happened, her brain was instantly able to recognize that it was some punishment he’d set in place, likely for trying to kick the shit out of his roommate for his bullshit comments. That was the last thought Katie was able to have, though, as she just spiraled back into the endless embrace of nothing. She could barely even register that she was still eating pizza, because everything just… turned off. No thoughts to think, no feelings to feel, only drifting endlessly in a vast ocean of starlight comfort that embraced her like a cuddle by the fireplace. And coming out of it so suddenly only put into perspective how much she didn’t expect that feeling to hit the way it did. She remembered the embrace, could almost imagine it if she closed her eyes, and how… nice it felt to just shut off. To forget about things, and… be… mindless…

Shiiiiit, I cannot have Mas- rrrgh, his name is fucking SEBASTIAN- be awakening shit in me right now! Katie thought. I have to focus up! “So, what did you wanna talk about?” she asked impatiently.

“Hey, look, I know how… I talk,” the boy began (Katie only now realized she never got his name). “It’s how I am with my friends, I have trouble turning it off, and just-”

“Look, if it’s an apology, save it,” she interrupted. “I don’t care how sorry you are, I’m already moving on. Genuinely do not care.”

“That’s not it, though.” The boy’s eyes drooped to stare at the floor. “I… look. You’re the first person that Seb’s taken back here. I’m not around that often to exactly check, but I know. He’s never talked to me this much. Or anyone. You’re… you’re close to him.”

Katie’s face softened in concerned curiosity.

“I’m not about to pry. Really. You could be screwing, you could study together, you could be completely platonic ‘till the day you depart this world, it doesn’t matter to me. What matters…” he put a delicate hand on Katie’s shoulder, “...is that you try to help him. I’m too far outside, I can’t say the right stuff to him. I don’t know what’s hurt him. But no one could be this withdrawn and upset all the time if something didn’t happen. You can get in there. For… for my sake…” the boy sighed. “Look, just get him out of his shell. Okay?”

Katie stared in awe. “O-okay,” she stuttered.

“Thanks.” The boy withdrew his hand. “And ask him about the guitar, that might be a good starting point. Alright, I’m outta here. Good luck to ya!” And with that, he took off towards the floor’s elevators, leaving Katie to walk back through the door and shed her illusory form (which was taking more energy than she expected- it was probably so she’d have a reason to stay in this stupid zappy slutty form more often), pondering her next move. She knew she didn’t like being alone- some people she always wanted a break from, but most of the time she was alone by circumstance instead of choice- and wondered how deeply someone had hurt Sebastian to make him think totally alone was better in every way.

“That demon tried to fuck with us both by doing some weird therapy exercise, forcing us to confront aspects of ourselves or some shit. I get stuck with an extrovert, and you get stuck having to listen to someone.”

Was that what that meant? Was he that scared to be with people again?

“What was that about?” Sebastian asked, munching on the last slice of the pizza.

“N-nothing big,” Katie replied. “He made another crack about us sleeping together, then told me to ask you about the guitar.”

He made a small noise in understanding. “Mm. Yeah. It’s about the only thing I got, figures he’d bring it up.”

Katie’s eyes fell for the first time on the two items propped up next to the room’s AC unit. An electric guitar with some black plastic clip on its top wooden part (Katie didn’t really know music) sat humbly upright on a thin stand, painted a shade of baby blue that had long since faded so much it looked more like sea green. It was a color that should’ve been ugly, by all accounts, yet somehow made the thing seem traveled and charming. On the floor beside it sat an amplifier, headphones lazily dangling out of its output port and an overly-long wire snaking out from the input port. She visibly pondered. “Can you play something?”

“Uh… I guess?” Sebastian, likely cautious of her motivations, slowly hoisted himself off the bed and crouched to plug the guitar into the amplifier. He adjusted a knob or two on the amp, hesitated before removing the headphones from the output, and flicked the thing on with a crackle and a buzz. Picking up the guitar by its strap and fishing a pick from his hoodie pocket, he said, “Uh… shit, what to play… I don’t know, you know any Clapton?”

“I think I’ve heard the name,” Katie nodded.

“‘Layla’? Know that one?”

“I might recognize it if you play it, go ahead.”

Sebastian nodded, used his thumbs to crack his knuckles on each hand, settled into position, closed his eyes… and began to play.

The song crawled out from the far reaches of Katie’s memory and blasted her in the face with raw power from the amp. She knew this song after all- and Sebastian’s playing was a dead ringer for the recording. His fingers flew across the strings with equal parts weight, grace, power, and agility, hitting every note just right; even Katie’s lack of knowledge was able to understand that he was playing this thing better than the average guitarist. For just a moment, Katie imagined him on a stage or in a recording booth, playing the song along with bandmates he could smile with. She looked back at his blank, empty face, realizing how far a divide there was between the smiling guitarist doing something with his clear talent and the prickly sad loner that stood in front of her. That gap was motivating to her; it made her want to do something about it.

Mutual help, huh? Her face hardened with determination. Alright. I can play “servant,” I guess. Let’s see what Lord Bacculous had in mind.