Updates once per week. UNEDITED DRAFT. Content notes apply only to this part.
“This burger was not worth $20, what the hell,” Bobbi says as she crumples up the wrapper. “You’d think a place like Dyschord could afford better cafeteria food.”
“It’s still cafeteria food,” I point out. “But the pasta’s better.”
I’ve barely touched it, though.
I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, not with wondering if my mom’s even still alive — and what the fallout from the incident with the dean is going to be.
I don’t think Dean Stringer is going to risk pissing off the Bouchards and the Pavones, but I also don’t think he’s going to let the entire thing go without so much as a word.
The cafeteria is crowded with the lunch rush. It’s too cold to sit outside, never mind the light layer of snow that’s been accumulating all day.
I’ve been avoiding the tunnels connecting all the university buildings, but I see their appeal now. Nobody wants to go out there in this weather.
“Fuck, I’ve got class in half an hour, but with my luck I’ll get lost on my way there,” Bobbi complains. “I swear, this campus was designed to be confusing.”
“I can walk you there,” I offer.
“Thanks.” She smiles at me. “Transfering has been such a pain. Dyschord is giving me hell about counting all my previous credits, too. Look, I know it was a shittier school, but I did learn about microbiology!”
“Lucky you,” I tell her. I give up on the food and get up. “Let’s get out of here. I’m pretty familiar with the layout, but the tunnels can still be tricky.” I place the plate into the washing tray with a sigh. “What building are you headed to? Bio?”
“Yep.” Bobbi picks up her rather large bag. It looks like it’s holding textbooks, the old school kind that were common before everybody switched to ebooks. When she notices me staring, she laughs. “I overpack. And I’ve got some of my kit in here, in case I want to hit the gym afterward.”
It looks like a lot to carry around, but I’m not the one who has to do it.
“You know that most of the books are electronic, right?” I ask her, leading her out of the cafeteria and toward the closest entrance to the tunnels beneath the school. “You don’t have to carry around those books.”
“Honestly? I’ve got a hard time reading the screens. Paper works better for me.” She grunts as she adjusts her backpack. “Even if they cost $200 each and weigh a ton. I tell myself it’s extra weight training.”
We head downstairs, and the tunnels are packed with other students. Just a few weeks ago, they’d been practically empty.
We’ve made it to the first intersection when my phone buzzes.
Bobbi’s phone rings, too, as does everybody else’s in the tunnel.
We exchange a glance, then each go for our phone.
Dyschord Updates — All Students, Read Now!
It’s probably some weather alert or something equally mundane, but I open the message anyway.
It’s not a weather alert.
There are several pictures in the message, and I scroll through them as I try to make sense of what I’m seeing.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I groan, flipping back to the first image.
There are five pictures and a video attached to the message.
Keegan, naked and crying. The images I’d originally seen on Pandora’s phone have been edited to fix the lighting. The tears on Keegan’s face are more pronounced than before.
Around me, students gasp. Some of them start laughing.
Several of them hit play on the video, where Keegan’s begging has been remixed into a catchy song.
“Wow,” Bobbi whispers. “That’s. Um.”
“Holy fuck,” some guy yells. “Isn’t this that Chaos douchebag?”
“Yeah. He beat up Collin last year,” somebody responds.
Somehow that information doesn’t surprise me.
I’d wonder what the hell Pandora was thinking to release these, but then, I don’t really have to think too hard. She’s hell-bent on getting revenge any way she can on everyone who touched her, and now that the storm has passed for me, Blaze, and Asch, she’s turned to the frat at large.
This is going to cause problems.
Pandora’s box has been opened, that’s for sure, but there’s no hope hanging around for the people who had targeted her.
“He’s one of my frat brothers,” I tell Bobbi.
In other words: I should really care about this, but I don’t. Or rather, I do care because he’s going to be hell-bent on getting back at Pandora for utterly humiliating him in front of everyone on campus.
“Shit. This is…” Bobbi bites her lip. “It’s not funny. I know it’s not. But I’m kind of impressed. Who could hack the entire student body mailing list to send this out?”
I can think of one person off the top of my head.
Anastasia Voronkov.
I wonder what she knows, or if she’s just helping Pandora because she wants to. The Pavones and Voronkovs have been friends for a long time, and Anastasia is only a little younger than Pandora.
“No idea,” I say. “But whoever did this to Keegan has balls of steel, never mind sending it out to everyone on campus. He must’ve really pissed someone off.”
Somebody in the tunnel approaches me, and I immediately tense. Bobbi subtly gets into a fighting stance, too.
It’s a student I know from my engineering classes. He waves his phone in front of my face. “This is Keegan, right? Your frat brother? Is this for real?”
“It looks pretty real to me,” I tell him. “Poor guy.”
“Poor guy?” another student asks, smirking. “Keegan had it coming. Just wish I could’ve seen all of it.”
I wonder how many people Keegan has pissed off.
It seems like the Kappa Alpha fraternity is pretty good at making enemies.
“Well, as interesting as this is,” Bobbi says, “I probably can’t use it as an excuse for being late. Although good luck keeping this next class focused.”
“Yeah,” I say, glancing back down at my phone before shoving it in my pocket. “Let’s go.” I lead us to the next turn through the tunnels, where foot traffic has slowed to a crawl as everyone checks their phones.
The song keeps blaring, over and over in a strange choir as everyone plays it. Some people start humming it too, laughing as they do.
We near the biology building when I hear somebody running behind me.
“Oh! River! River!” Pandora calls out. That’s all the warning I get before she half-tackles me from behind and wraps her arms around me.
I grunt, nearly losing my balance. “Pandora,” I say. “Did you see the pics of Keegan?”
“Hmm?” Pandora shakes her head. “What pics? Did something happen?”
Bobbi lets out a small, disbelieving laugh. “Did you forget your phone? They got sent out to the entire student body.”
Pandora steps away from me and pats her hoodie pocket. “Huh. Shoot, I think I did. River, call Samantha and ask her if my phone is there.”
I roll my eyes and don’t even pretend to follow orders.
“Well, somebody must have really hated him,” Bobbi says. She shows her phone screen to Pandora. “This is nasty.”
Pandora wrinkles her nose. “Oof. Yeah, sending out naked pics of people is just not cool.” She grabs my hand, her pinky directly over the stump of where my finger would have been.
I try not to grimace at the stark reminder. It’s not like I need to be warned about what happens to people who piss off Pandora Pavone. She’s been going full throttle since the night at the gym, and it doesn’t seem like she’s going to back down any time soon.
Not until we deal with Ezio, at the very least.
“Never mind the rats,” I say. “He really did piss off the wrong person.”
All of us did.
“I didn’t realize you were a student here,” Pandora says to Bobbi, her hand tightening on mine. “And now you and River are… friends?”
The possessiveness of the gesture takes me off guard, and I wonder if I’ve done something to make Pandora think I’m interested in Bobbi.
Never mind that she’d cut my balls off if I strayed.
“Yeah, we are,” I confirm. “I was just walking her to class so she didn’t get lost in the tunnels. It’s too damn cold out there.”
“Yeah. But, sorry, who are you?” Bobbi asks, giving Pandora a once-over.
Pandora digs her nails into my skin, and this time I do wince. “I don’t know. Who am I, River?”
“My girlfriend, Pandora,” I say, glancing sidelong at Pandora.
My girlfriend, who’s feeling threatened by another woman, apparently. I’ll have to reassure her later, or I’ll be the one with rats climbing all over my balls.
“Ah.” Bobbi scratches her chin. She’s a few inches taller than Pandora, and although she’s wearing a sweater I remember how well-muscled she is. Pandora keeps fit, but I don’t think she’d have a chance against Bobbi in a fair fight.
When does Pandora ever fight fair, though?
“Well, nice to meet you, Pandora,” Bobbi says. “You’re lucky to have River. He’s got one hell of a right hook.”
“Yeah, I also look for the ability to punch my lights out when picking a partner,” Pandora answers breezily.
“She’s not looking for a partner,” I say, squeezing Pandora’s hand.
Yeah, I’ll definitely have to reassure her, and sooner rather than later before she can think up something to remind me that I’m hers.
“See you later, Bobbi,” I add, tugging at Pandora’s hand and dragging her down one of the side tunnels. “Where are you heading, Pandora?”
“Well, I was going to go to class,” Pandora says, glancing back over her shoulder. “It’s kind of rude of you to just ditch your friend like that, River.”
Yeah, it had been, and I’ll need to apologize to Bobbi for the abrupt departure later. But I’m more worried about Pandora than I am about someone I barely know, and with how everything has been…
It’s not even that I’m worried that she’ll lash out at me.
I’m more worried about what any potential instability might do to her.
I continue to pull Pandora along the tunnel until we reach a remote spot that no other students are near.
Pandora glances around, her eyes landing on a storage locker. “Huh, I think this is where—”
I don’t give her the chance to finish the sentence.
I shove her against the wall, my lips colliding with hers in a harsh, demanding kiss. “There is nothing to be worried about,” I say against her mouth. “Not a single thing. I’m not interested in anyone but you. Understand?”
Pandora groans and grips my shirt. “I don’t. You were getting awfully close with Bobbi. Who didn’t even know who I was.”
I grab her by the back of the neck. “I wasn’t getting close with her, Pandora. And the only reason she doesn’t know who you are is because I don’t know her well enough to talk to her about anything. She hasn’t hit on me, and I haven’t hit on her.”
Pandora leans forward and nips my jaw. “You’re so hot, River. And Bobbi is hot, too. She definitely wants you. Why wouldn’t she?” She pulls my shirt up enough so she can get her hand on my stomach. “Who wouldn’t want you?”
“I don’t care if she wants me,” I tell her before crushing my lips against hers again. This kiss is longer, harder, and I release her neck only to trail my fingers along her throat. “You don’t trust me?”
The idea that she thinks I’d even look at another woman is infuriating and hurtful all at once.
Pandora freezes for a few seconds, then she smiles. “Of course I trust you. Why wouldn’t I trust you? You’d never do anything to hurt me. You’ve never hurt me.”
Not again. Never again.
Her nails rake down my stomach.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I say, sliding my hand down from her throat to her chest, then farther down until I reach the button of her jeans. “And I’m never going to cheat on you, Pandora. For fuck’s sake.” I unbutton her pants and unzip them, then slide my hand — the one with four fingers — inside her underwear.
Pandora gasps and arches to give me better access. “Here?” she whispers, her smile wide. “People might hear, River.”
“Only might?” I ask her, finding her clit and starting to slowly stroke over it. It’s an awkward position, but that doesn’t matter. “Maybe I should do a better job, to make sure they all hear. So they all know you’re mine.”
And Blaze’s, and Asch’s, but that doesn’t matter. Right now, I need to stake a claim on her that no one can deny, and if that means making her cry out in pleasure in the tunnels, that’s what it’ll take.
“I don’t think we should,” Pandora says, but she also grips my shoulder and pulls me closer for another kiss. “More,” she demands.
I kiss her again, ferocious and deep, and I twist my fingers so I can slide a finger partially inside of her. “I definitely think we should,” I tell her, breaking away only long enough to speak before going back to kissing her.
Her moans echo around us, louder than the distant sound of Keegan’s auto-tuned voice begging in song.
“More,” she says again, grinding against my hand.
I can’t deny her, not right here, not right now.
I focus on her pleasure, kissing my way from her lips to her throat, nipping lightly at the skin while I finger her right there in the tunnels. I should care if someone hears; the last thing we need is more videos circulating of Pandora. But I can’t bring myself to give a fuck.
Pandora bites my lip, and I hiss in pain but I don’t pull away from her. She smiles and licks the blood, sharing the taste while we rut against the tunnel wall.
Her hand drops down to my crotch, and it’s awkward as hell but it feels good when she starts massaging and getting me even harder through my jeans.
I groan, pushing my hips forward to get more friction against my cock. I try to thrust my fingers harder into her, but her jeans get in the way.
“Fuck it,” I mutter, and I yank her jeans and panties down enough to be able to get at her properly.
“Yes,” Pandora says, rolling her hips against me. “Fuck, you’re so hot, River.”
She’s the one who’s hot. Even with her hair disheveled and in a hoodie that hides her form, she’s amazing.
Pandora fumbles with her boot, then laughs. “Fuck, why am I wearing these heavy things?”
“Because there’s snow out,” I respond, smiling. I get down on my knees to help remove one boot. That’s enough to slide her leg out of her pants.
As soon as the leg is free, Pandora tugs on my shoulders to get me upright again and wraps her leg around my hip.
“Wreck me, River,” she whispers.
I groan at her words. The adrenaline is racing through me, and I want nothing more than to fuck her senseless.
So I unfasten my jeans, pulling out my cock and running my hand along its length. I push her back against the wall, guiding my cock to her cunt and thrusting inside.
She’s hot and wet and ready for me, just like she always is, and I bite her bottom lip. Not as hard as she’d bitten mine, but enough to let it be known. It coaxes another moan out of her, and I tighten my grasp on her as I find my pace.
The idea that anyone could stumble across us at any time is titillating, and it drives me on. The only people I really would want watching are Blaze and Asch, but this way, everyone would know without a fraction of a doubt that she belongs to me as much as I belong to her.
She’s so tight and warm, her cunt drawing me in and clamping around me like she never wants me to leave. My entire body is flushed hot.
Mine, I want to growl.
“River, River.” Pandora slides her hand under my sweater again and rakes her nails across my back. “You’re mine. Got it? Mine, mine, mine.”
I arch, shuddering into the touch. I grab her by the throat again, gripping her tight. “You’d better not forget that you belong to me,” I tell her, my voice dark. “I’ll share you with Blaze and Asch, but if you ever tried to lay a hand on another man…”
I don’t know what I’d do.
But I don’t have to worry about it, because it’s not going to happen.
We’re enough for her.
“Nobody else,” Pandora promises. She leans forward to lick my lips, and I can see just how wide her pupils are, how gone with pleasure she is. “I’m all for you.”
I huff out a laugh.
I should be jealous that I have to share her at all, especially when it crashes into me at the idea of her being with anyone else. But it’s different with the two of them.
Right now, though, it’s only me and Pandora, and I thrust my tongue into her mouth at the same time as I fill her completely again and again.
I’m so close, but I don’t want to come before she does.
Not again.
The position is awkward, and I have to stop fucking her to reach down to rub her clit. “How close are you?” I ask her, breathless.
“Almost there,” Pandora tightens her cunt, drawing another groan out of me. “Come on. Keep going. Shred my pussy.”
My body is happy to oblige her, and I brace her against the wall so I can fuck her faster, harder, wrecking her cunt the way she wants to be wrecked.
Ruined.
Ruined for anyone but me.
It’s all I can do to hold back, but when I feel the telltale signs of her cunt tightening around me again, over and over again, I cry out and spill into her.
I don’t stop fucking her, not while she lets out a moan of her own and grips my shoulders. It’s not until I’m too soft to stay inside of her that I slip out, and I rest my head against her as I try to catch my breath.
Pandora’s breathing is just as uneven as she clings to me.
I shift, and wince as pain flares along my back. I gently take Pandora’s arm and pull it away from me.
Her nails are red with blood.
“I think I’m the one who got shredded,” I say with a small laugh.
Pandora grins widely. “Oops?”
“Uh huh,” I say, rolling my shoulders. “Yeah. I’m sure you regret that.” I grin at her. The minor discomfort is a small price to pay to remind her that I belong to her, that she doesn’t have to worry about another woman.
It probably is problematic that she did get jealous, but with everything the way it is… Can I really blame her for worrying about something else falling apart?
Pandora cups my jaw and leans in for another kiss. It’s softer, this time.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
I pull back slightly. “For what?” I ask. I stroke her hair, then realize that I should probably do something about our partial nudity in the tunnels. I tuck my cock back into my pants and pull them up properly, leaving them unbuttoned as I help her step back into the other leg of her jeans.
“Y’know. For the scratches. And the other scratches. And… whatever.” Pandora zips up, then bends down to get her boot on. “For being a bit… me. A lot me.”
I finish dressing, shrugging. “You don’t need to apologize for any of that. Pandora, I’ve always known what I’m getting myself into with you.”
Except for the part where she’d taken my finger for a mistake, but I don’t feel the usual well of bitter anger that comes from that thought.
It’s not something I ever thought I’d get past, but there are so many other things to worry about that it doesn’t even seem that important anymore.
“Well, I definitely missed my class.” Pandora smiles at me. “I should get back to my dorm. I can’t exactly walk around campus with cum-stained panties.”
“You could,” I tell her with a smirk. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“Somebody else might.” She wraps her arm around me again and leans her head against my shoulder. “You’re the best, River.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I know.”
I kiss her again. “See you later, Pandora.”
The urge to say I love you nags at me, and it momentarily leaves me breathless. I ignore it as she walks away.
I’m not ready for that.
And somehow, I don’t think she is either.
Maybe after everything settles down, it’ll be time.
Until then, I’ll think it, and mean it, and show her.
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