The next day at the Academy.
Alex sat at his desk, chin resting on his hand, half-listening to Hanks, who was currently spinning a tale tall enough to reach the heavens.
"I swear, bro!" Hanks whispered aggressively, using his hands to gesture enormous shapes. "She was a third-year senior! An Elf! She looked at me in the cafeteria, bit her lip, and winked. Her tits were like... whoosh! Massive! She definitely wants me."
"Uh-huh," Alex nodded lazily. "Are you sure she wasn't just blinking because she had dust in her eye?"
"No way! It was the look of love! I'm telling you, my hidden charisma is finally awakening—"
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over their desk.
It was large. It was ominous. And it blocked out the sunlight completely.
Hanks froze mid-sentence. His "hidden charisma" evaporated instantly. His neck disappeared into his shoulders, his head retracting like a frightened turtle. He knew that aura. He knew that smell of menthol cigarettes and danger.
It was Maya.
The Class Bully. The Delinquent Queen.
Just like Alex, Hanks had been a regular on her "daily beatdown" schedule for the past month.
Hanks squeezed his eyes shut. He gripped the edge of his desk, his knuckles turning white.
Here it comes, Hanks thought, trembling. The fist. The extortion. The humiliation. Goodbye, cruel world.
"Yo," Alex's voice cut through the terrified silence.
Hanks' heart stopped. Did Alex just say 'Yo'? Is he suicidal?
Alex looked up at the terrifying figure looming over them. He waved his hand nonchalantly, smiling like he was greeting a neighbor.
"What brings you here, Maya?" Alex asked casually. "Did you lose your way to the back of the class?"
Hanks stopped breathing. He waited for the sound of impact. He waited for Alex's pretty face to be rearranged into modern art.
1 second...
2 seconds...
3 seconds...
Nothing happened.
There was no scream. No punch. No sound of breaking bones.
Slowly, carefully, Hanks peeled one eye open.
"Huh?"
He blinked.
Maya stood there, fists clenched at her sides. She was wearing her usual "violation of public decency" outfit—shirt open, skirt practically nonexistent. But her face...
She wasn't scowling. She wasn't sneering.
Her face was bright red. She was looking at the floor, biting her lip, refusing to make eye contact with Alex. She looked... shy?
The delinquent is blushing? Hanks' brain short-circuited. What is happening? Is this a glitch?
Maya shifted her weight, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. She looked like a girl trying to ask her crush to the dance, not a bully collecting lunch money.
Then, she noticed Hanks staring at her with his mouth open.
Snap.
The shy aura vanished instantly. Her eyes narrowed into slits. She bared her teeth like a wolf.
"What are you looking at, four-eyes?" she growled, kicking the leg of Hanks' chair. "Get out of here, punk. You're breathing my air."
To Hanks' ears, it was the voice of an angel. It was the sound of mercy.
"Y-Yes! Yes, ma'am! Immediately!"
Hanks scrambled up so fast he almost tripped over his own feet. He grabbed his bag and bolted to the empty seat in the back row, not daring to look back.
The seat beside Alex was now empty.
Maya sat down. She smoothed her skirt—which was an exercise in futility since it barely covered her hips—and stared intensely at the grain of the wooden desk.
One minute passed. She didn't speak. She just fidgeted, her knee bouncing up and down nervously.
"What?" Alex finally broke the silence, leaning his cheek on his hand. "Are you not going to say anything? Or did you just come here to hyperventilate next to me?"
Maya flinched. She opened her mouth, but only a squeak came out. She closed it again, looking like a fish out of water.
Alex smirked. He leaned in close, invading her personal space until his lips were practically brushing her ear.
"Cat got your tongue?" he whispered, his tone dropping to a husky, teasing growl. "Or is your brain still frying? Did I fuck you into oblivion yesterday?"
"!!!?"
The effect was instantaneous.
Maya's face turned a shade of red that defied physics. It started at her neck and shot up to her hairline. Her ears were practically steaming.
"I... I..." she stammered, her tough-girl persona completely crumbling. The memory of his cock pounding into her cervix flashed through her mind, making her thighs clamp together instinctively under the desk.
"S-Shut up..." she mumbled weakly.
She took a deep breath, trying to salvage some dignity.
"D-Do you..." She couldn't look at him. She stared at his chest. "Are you... going out this evening?"
Alex raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise.
"What? Are you asking me out now?" He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her heaving cleavage. "You have become bold, haven't you? Yesterday you were crying and begging me to stop, and today you're already coming back for seconds?"
He acted completely nonchalant, treating her like a fan asking for an autograph, as if he hadn't been the one railing her against the dirt just twelve hours ago.
"I... I didn't say that!" Maya hissed, though she didn't deny it. "Just... are you busy or not?"
Alex sighed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
"Well, I was planning on resting. My stamina is precious, you know." He paused, letting her sweat for a second. "But... I guess I can fit you in. Consider it charity."
"Fine," Maya huffed, trying to sound annoyed but failing miserably. A look of relief—and excitement—washed over her face.
[System Notification: Look at you, acting all cool and aloof.]
[System Note: Your heart rate just spiked to 120 beats per minute. You're practically wagging your tail, you tsundere host.]
'Shut up,' Alex cursed internally. 'I'm establishing dominance. It's called game theory.'
Having secured the date, Maya started to stand up.
"I'll... I'll see you later then," she mumbled, preparing to retreat to her usual territory at the back of the class where the delinquents slept.
Grip.
Before she could lift her ass off the chair, a large, warm hand clamped down on her thigh.
Maya froze.
Alex's hand wasn't just resting there. His fingers dug into the soft, exposed flesh of her thigh, just inches away from her skirt hem. The heat from his palm seeped straight into her skin.
"Where are you going?" Alex asked calmly.
"I... back to my seat..." Maya whispered, her breath hitching.
Alex looked her dead in the eye. His expression hardened.
"Sit here."
It wasn't a request. It was a command. Absolute and heavy.
"B-But... this is Hanks' seat..."
"I don't care," Alex said, his thumb rubbing circles into her skin, dangerously close to her panties. "I said sit."
A jolt of electricity shot through Maya's spine.
She was the leader. She gave the orders. But hearing that tone... feeling that hand holding her down...
Her legs turned to jelly. A distinct throb pulsed between her legs, moistening her panties instantly.
"Y-Yes..."
Maya sank back into the chair. She lowered her head, hiding her burning face, but her body leaned into his touch. She sat there, trembling slightly, utterly aroused by being ordered around like a pet.
"Good girl," Alex smirked, keeping his hand right where it was.