Antimony cupped her hand and a small flame flickered to life in her palm. It was redder than real fire, but just as hot. She found that it varied slightly, according to her mood. Jack leaned over and dipped the end of the spliff into it. He took two big drags and passed it to Antimony, allowing a thick cloud of smoke to pass his lips and be borne away by the brusque morning air.

"Where do you get this?" She said, taking a drag of her own.

"Not telling-" Jack replied with an infuriatingly handsome wink. "You've met him before, let's leave it at that. Why, you want to buy some?"

"No, just curious."

Mornings with Jack had slowly become a routine for her. She would wake at six, long before Kat was up and gather her school things, taking care not to step on Renard, who slept on the floor by the foot of her bed, curled up in wolf form. Then she would wait by the terminal for his IM. It was always the same three words, and she always had the same reply.

(Wake and bake? -sent by Jack 6:11:45)

(Yes -sent by Antimony 6:11:59)

She would meet him on top of the auditorium roof, a wide stretch of concrete and air conditioning outlets that happened to have no cameras watching. There they would smoke a bit before class, unload the secret gripes they didn't feel comfortable sharing with their other friends. Today though, they sat in relative silence, watching the starlings dart back and forth to the nests they had made, mouths full of food for hungry young ones.

"Hey Annie."

"Yeah?"

It was unusual for him to call her that. He had always struck her as one of those proper English kids who referred to everyone by their last names, even his best mates.

"Do you want kids?"

She had to think about this a long moment. Jack obviously didn't know what she knew. The question was a lot harder for her to answer than the average person.

"I... don't know yet. I don't think I would be a good mother."

"And why's that?"

She let the spliff sit between her fingers for a moment, admiring Jack's craftsmanship.

"Because I'm not a people person. You know that already. Imagine how I would raise a child."

"I wager you'd be a great mother." Jack said, gently taking the spliff from her. "You're bogarting, by the way."

"Sorry." Antimony said, handing it back. "I think I've had enough anyway, I'm starting to drift."

"What class do you have first?"

Antimony checked a small watch that she had put in a back pocket of her book bag, next to her pencil case.

"Medium training with Jones-" Antimony said. "Jones doesn't seem to care and Parley and Smitty are too wrapped up in each other to notice."

She checked the watch again, and zipped the pocket up.

"Well Mr. Hyland, I think I must be going now."

Jack took one last rip and crushed the roach underfoot.

"Would you like a shortcut, or are you hell-bent on taking the stairs today?"

Antimony looked at the door that led down into the maintenance hallways and thought about the long walk down every flight until the landing. It was always easier coming up, for some reason, counter-intuitive though it seemed.

"Shortcut please." She said, putting her arms around Jack and resting her head on his shoulder.

It was not so much a gesture of affection as it was a practical step. When Jack did his little Superman thing, he really got going. Any passengers were liable to fall off unless properly braced. Still, she doubted Jack minded having her pressed against him. In fact, she had a sneaking suspicion that it was the only reason he asked her. She had joked before about getting a saddle and making him her steed, but it only earned a passing chuckle.

And just like that, they were airborne. Antimony's stomached lurched, and her inebriated brain protested it's fear of heights. Somehow, though, whether it was the weed or being this close to Jack- she didn't feel afraid at all. She knew, even if she let go this very moment, Jack would come after her.

They floated down the back side of the auditorium and landed next to the dumpsters. Antimony continued to hold Jack for a moment. Was this what it was like, to be "with" someone? To feel comfortable being this close to them? She and Jack had both agreed that there was too much happening in their respective lives right now to consider each other "a couple", or even dating. She didn't know if it was true or not, but something had told her to keep her distance, even as she still felt something for the boy.

Jack was just staring at her with that disarming, eye-brows raised look that was part hopeful, part anxious. It made her giggle... then it made her kiss him. It was brief, but she made it count. Every kiss with Jack was like a little jolt of electricity. She knew that one of these days she was going to have to square up with this fact- her undeniable attraction to him, or risk being hurt even worse. But not today. Probably not tomorrow, either.

It was her turn to wink at him, a parting gesture to remind him that whoever else he might meet, she was always there. Without another word, they went their separate ways.

As it turned out, medium lessons for that day were cancelled. When Jones met them in Gymnasium Nine, the sparring gear and the rest of their training implements were gone. Jones had told them that she was needed in an important meeting soon, and that they were to go to Dr. Disaster's simulator and run one of the swordsmanship training scenarios. Parley, however, had other ideas.

Antimony had been surprised to learn that other scenarios existed.

"Of course-" Parley said as the three of them strode down the ramp to the launch pad, their spacemonaut boots thudding dully on the metal floor. "There are tons of other programs. I helped make this one, though- it's a souped up version of the Enigmaron thing they let the little kids use. I mean..."

Parley paused and glanced at her, as though worried she would take offense.

"It's alright," Antimony said. "I'm fine with being a kid. Continue."

"Anyway, this one is way better. The Enigmarons are actually a challenge now."

"I didn't know you coded, Parley." Smitty said.

"Oh, I don't know the first thing about all that stuff," Parley said, waving her hand. "I just gave a lot of constructive criticism, is all."

Antimony saw a small smile steal across Smitty's face, as though in memory of some private joke. Parley did not see it, however, and kept talking.

"Maybe I should learn. Dr. Disaster's simulator is a hot item, very much in demand. He's set up dozens of other facilities, but this one is the original."

"In demand by who?"

"Oh, lots of people- scientists, businesses, bored millionaires, the army... that kind of thing."

The double doors hissed open, and suddenly they were walking across a narrow bridge to a capsule mounted at the tip of an enormous rocket. It was much less cartoonish than the one she had previously ridden- not a retro fin in sight. Antimony made the mistake of looking down and felt the bottom drop out of her stomach for the second time that morning. It was a very deep silo. The craft attached to the top of the booster looked tiny in comparison with it's launch vehicle, which stretched on and on like a skyscraper. Parley twisted the handle on the hatch with some difficulty and pulled it open.

They crawled inside, fighting gravity to get into their seats. There was one up front, and two set one row behind, and to either side. A door behind them (or below them, rather) was marked "Crew Tank". Parley climbed into the center seat, strapped herself in and began flicking switches with the distinct air of someone who relished what they were doing. Antimony and Andrew buckled in as well, their eyes meeting briefly.

"She loves these things." he said with a grin.

"You're damn right I do!" Parley said, hitting a large red button marked "Stage".

The hatch slammed shut and there was a thunk as it locked itself. Lights and displays flickered to life. Then a hissing seemed to come from the walls all around them, accompanied by a tapping hum, like that of a gas generator. Parley glanced back at Antimony.

"Don't worry, just the fuel pumps. The really scary part comes next."

Without waiting to provide an explanation, Parley hit the stage button again. There was a tremendous roar, and the silo doors burst open, revealing a dull, sepia-colored sky. It felt like a gorilla was sitting on her chest. Her breath came slow and rasping, until gradually the pressure faded a bit, though not entirely. The tremendous shaking continued, as though they were trapped in god's own cocktail mixer and guests were knocking. Antimony turned her head and looked out the wide porthole. The brownish-grey of the atmosphere was fading to black, which was one color that the simulator seemed to be able to replicate perfectly. A calm, cool female voice echoed through the cabin.

Nine nautical miles downrange- eight miles in altitude- entering zone of maximum dynamic pressure.

Suddenly the pressing feeling died away, and so did the rumble behind them. Then there was a bang that reverberated throughout the spacecraft, and Antimony was slammed forward against her restraints. She peered into the porthole and looked back as best she could. A piece of the spacecraft had broken away and was tumbling back to earth.

"Uhhh... Parley?"

"It's supposed to do that. Now hold on to something, here comes the next burn."

The rumble resumed suddenly and unexpectedly, and Antimony was once again pressed firmly against the back of her seat. She sighed. It was exciting, no doubt, but she had yet to find the fun in it. They went through two more of those awful things Parley referred to as "stages" before the Earth was zooming away out her window and the moon was growing larger and larger in the front view screen. Parley flicked another switch, and a little yellow light came on. Then, much to Antimony's alarm, she got up and pushed herself away from the controls.

"Parley, aren't you going to steer?" Antimony asked, unbuckling the H-shaped seat belt and floating after her.

"We're already on an intercept course. The computer will do the rest." Parley replied as she opened the door to the crew tank. The rows of lights flickered to life, illuminating a large double-row of seats flanked by equipment lockers. At the back there was yet another door marked "Airlock". Parley threw open the locker doors and began fishing through one of them. She produced three light brown harnesses, which she distributed among them. Antimony watched Smitty put his on and followed suit. There was a row of deep pouches on the front, and the whole thing was covered in an odd series of fabric loops.

"What is this?"

"It's a chest rig." Parley said, now pulling more equipment from the locker and tossing it carelessly behind her. "For carrying more ammo."

"I thought these didn't need ammo." Antimony said, unholstering the little laser pistol that came with the spacemonauts suit.

Parley chuckled and withdrew two laser rifles from the locker, handing one to either of them.

"No, but these do. And these will be the ones you want to use."

Antimony took the rifle hesitantly. She had never really held a gun- let alone shot one. It felt ungainly in her small hands. Parley gave her a brief rundown on how to use it.

"You stick the ammo here, you pull this handle, flip the safety off and boom. You're rocking and rolling."

Then she dumped a dozen square magazines into Antimony's arms, which she promptly dropped. Most of them staid put, but a few that had been bumped by her arm started to float away. Parley wasn't done giving them things to carry either. As Antimony hurried snatched up the wayward pieces of metal, she felt something being strapped onto her back.

"What's this, then?"

"Jetpack." Parley said, putting her own on and straightening the straps with a flourish. "The laws of physics are a tad more realistic in this version. If you hit the ground going fast enough, the game will consider you 'dead' and you'll have to wait out the rest of the simulation."

"So how do I use this?" She asked, looking down at the little knob that was stitched to the pack's harness.

"Normally you just angle it in the direction you want to go and hit the button, but you won't need to. I set it to auto-land, so it will cushion our descent. Think of it like a parachute- once we're on the ground you can ditch it if it's too bulky."

She spent the next few minutes pushing magazines into their respective pouches while Parley loaded herself up. A big tube went strapped across her back, and she slung something else over her shoulder, a small flat digital device that looked almost like a camcorder, if camcorders had multiple, multicolored lenses of varying sizes. Finally she took a rifle for herself and looked them all over one last time- patting herself absentmindedly as though she was trying to remember if she had brought her wallet with her.

"Designator, jetpacks, rifles, ammo, big boomer... that should be everything. You guys ready?"

She and Smitty nodded as one. Antimony felt like she weighed at least fifty pounds more now, even with the nearly non-existent gravity. The airlock door cycled at their approach, and they all crammed inside.

"Should we be wearing helmets?" Antimony wondered aloud, even as the other side of the airlock hissed open and the "air" escaped into space.

"Not necessary. It's all for show still- nobody has bothered to code in oxygen."

The room beyond was wide and empty, save for a video screen at the far end which now turned on automatically.

"Spacemonauts! The earth is in peril! Again!" Said the voice of Doctor Disaster, booming out from an ominous bow-tied silhouette on the screen. "The dastardly Enigmarons are back in force, and they're digging their moon laser out of the rubble! Stop them before it's too late!"

The screen cut out and Parley hit a switch. A crack appeared lengthwise in the arched ceiling. Two bay doors slowly peeled open, revealing a black void dotted with stars. Smitty hopped up on the hinge of the door, and they followed suit, perching on the edge of the craft and looking down. The cratered surface of the moon was moving slowly by. Off to the right, in the direction the spacecraft was heading, Antimony could see a web of lights expanding outward from a central area.

It was a long way down...

"Ladies first." Smitty said.

Parley jumped. A moment later, so did Andrew. Antimony watched them fall for a moment, seemingly in slow motion, and then she let go. Her pack began to beep a regular intervals, getting faster and faster as the surface approached. At the last moment, the beeping turned into a high-pitched whine and two thrusters kicked on, slowing her down until her boots sunk gently into the powdery lunar regolith. The moonscape was a bewildering expanse of craters and larger rocks. They landed in what looked like a fairly shallow depression, but when she walked up to the edge where Smitty and Parley stood, she saw that it was inside a much steeper ravine.

They moved down it, Parley in the lead. Antimony could hear a rumbling in the distance, which she found damaging to the immersion. Then again, they weren't wearing breathing gear either.

Stop. She thought to herself. Don't ruin this- just enjoy it.

The trench snaked right, then left, then right again. Parley stopped and jumped up, grabbing the edge and hoisting herself up to rest on her elbows. She looked back and motioned for them to follow her before pulling herself up.

"Ah..." Antimony said, looking up at the height of the obstacle Parley had just scaled.

Andrew put his back to the wall and crouched down, interlacing both his hands to form a foothold.

"Here, I'll give you a boost."

He pushed up on her foot as she stepped into it and soon she was clambering up as well. She almost dropped her rifle, but Parley was there to catch it, and also to give Smitty a hand up. The ravine was a little too tall for him as well. The terrain in front of them was littered with craters from dozens of small impacts. Antimony wasn't sure if this was how the moon actually looked, or if the simulation had just made up this part so that it wasn't flat and boring. So far she hadn't seen her fingerprint anywhere.

Just as they were moving from the safety of the first crater to the second, a pair of craft zoomed overhead, and a searchlight beamed down on them.

"Shit!" Parley said.

She began to shoot at them, but they were incredibly difficult targets. Smitty shouldered and fired twice. The craft went tumbling down in flames instantly- which Antimony pointedly had to ignore because flames... couldn't... burn without... never mind. Somewhere far off, an alarm was blaring- the noise was like an old air raid siren revving up. Parley motioned them forward.

"Come on, we've got to keep moving."

Another noise echoed in the distance. It sounded like someone punching a pillow. Whump. Whump. Whump. Suddenly explosions blossomed all around them, throwing up clouds of moon dust that fell to the ground in slow motion. The sudden haze dropped their visibility to less than twenty five feet. Antimony continued to stumble forward, keeping the other two in view lest she be left behind in this murk to fend for herself. Dark shapes materialized- Enigmarons with arms and weapons. Parley was up front and laying on the trigger.

Bombs continued to go off on all sides, and Antimony had to pick up her feet to avoid the trail of Enigmarons that the point-woman was cutting down. As she watched the dead enemies disintegrated bloodlessly into mist. All the same it still made her stomach churn a little. It was like being submerged in one of Kat's "Grand Auto Theft" games, or whatever they were called.

Suddenly, she realized that Smitty and Parley were no longer in front of her. Less than a second later, she realized where they had gone. Her foot stretched out to strike the ground, but hit nothing but empty space. She tumbled forward into the crater which had been obscured by the cloud of dust. It took a good two seconds to roll all the way to the bottom, where she bumped into Smitty's legs.

He was already getting to his feet and running after Parley, who was laid down prone on the far lip of the crater, her rifle cracking off again and again.

"I'm out!" She shouted, and dropped a mag. Antimony crawled up alongside her on her belly, spitting out the bitter-tasting moon dust that had encrusted on her lips. Smitty was shooting now too, and it seemed that every single time he did, without exception, an Enigmaron tumbled. Antimony soon found that it was much harder to hit something than in the movies. The first time the gun kicked it startled her so badly that she dropped it, and it fell over onto it's side. Luckily Parley finished reloading at this moment and was able to pick up the slack while Antimony picked up her weapon again. She fired again, and then again, slowly getting used to the harshness of the recoil.

Suddenly, they ran out of things to shoot at. An eerie silence fell, punctuated only by more thumping in the distance.

"I don't think I hit anything..." Antimony said.

"Shh!" Parley hissed. "Listen!"

At first Antimony thought the sound was more bombs being hurled at them, but it was different. With each thud, the ground shook a little harder. Something was getting closer. The gloom had settled a bit, and through it the unnaturally bright sunlight silhouetted something massive moving.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Parley scooted back from the ridge line, and they both followed suit. Even though it was a simulation, Antimony couldn't help but feel her heart beat a little faster at that sound.

"Okay, here's the deal-" Parley said. "Smitty, you take the launcher and circle around a bit. Distract it while we paint a laser on it."

Parley un-slung the large tube on her back and rotated the back part open. She placed a smaller cylinder inside and slammed it home before handing it to Smitty.

"Don't miss. That's the only round I took with me."

"I don't think Smitty's missed once so far." Antimony said.

"I know, it's infuriating." Parley replied.

Smitty stuck his tongue out playfully and disappeared over the edge of the crater. Antimony and Parley crawled back up to the lip and peered over once more. Antimony felt her jaw loosen.

"What is that?"

"That is the death ray."

A massive metal creature was stomping over the landscape on six legs, each easily fifteen feet high. Where it's body should have been, whatever that would have looked like, there was a massive laser dish exactly like the one she had knocked over to rescue her friends the first time around.

Thump. Thump. THUMP. THUMP.

With each footstep it threw up a small cloud of debris. It was headed directly for their crater, and swarming around it's feet was another small army of Enigmarons, each one even more ill-tempered than the last batch.

Suddenly there was a loud hissing noise off to their right. A trail of smoke closed the distance with the behemoth creature, terminating in an explosion. At first Antimony thought that was it, but the machine seemed to shrug off the blast. It turned and began to march inexorably towards Smitty's position.

Parley took the camcorder-looking device and handed it to Antimony.

"Would you like to do the honors?"

"What do I do?"

"Just put the crosshairs on the big baddie and hit the red button on the side." Parley said. "Hold it down until the timer runs out."

Antimony laid her index finger on the button and pulled the viewfinder up to her eyes. Numbers and data assualted her. She tried to focus just on the bullseye in the center, and brought it to alignment with the death ray walker. Then she jammed her finger down on the button. The display changed modes instantly, lights began to flash, and a large pair of square brackets appeared on the edges of the screen, getting closer and closer to the center of the bullseye.

A few seconds before it reached the center, the spacecraft they had rode in on zoomed overhead. It was incredibly fast, almost an eye blink, and there was no sonic boom or roar, just a glint of metal against the sun. Then the world turned fuzzy. A second sun winked into existence where the walker had been.

A tremendous wave of something knocked her head back, and she closed her eyes against the light. After this devastating thunderclap the sound descended rapidly to a rumble, and then to nothing. When she had the presence of mind to lift her head out of the ground and look around, the air had been filled with dust once more. The cloud of grey swept toward them and enveloped them, so that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

Somewhere in the darkness she heard Parley hoot in triumph.

"Was that shit fun or WHAT?"

Wearily, Antimony walked back through the double doors that led to the real world. Her feet were sore and she was in dire need of a shower. Smitty and Parley were in much better shape, and so she had lagged behind as they left the simulator. She opened the door to the girl's changing rooms and stripped off her sweaty spacemonaut suit. Once in fresh clothes she placed the suit in the hamper by the door. Parley was nowhere to be found. It was highly unlike her to take off without at least saying goodbye. Perhaps she and Smitty bipped off somewhere, but still, Antimony felt a little miffed. Just to be sure, she peeked into the boy's changing room. She could hear low, hushed voices echoing off the walls. They seemed excited. Antimony wondered what the big secret was and why they couldn't share it with her. She debated for a moment whether or not she would wait for them or go see what they were up to, but for some reason she decided she was going to go see.

I mean, what could be so damn important that they would keep a friend waiting like-

The bubble of thought burst before it could make it all the way to the surface.

Parley had her back pressed against the row of lockers. She was completely naked. Smitty was holding her left leg up with his hand and their bodies were moving together vigorously. For a second Antimony stood stunned, mesmerized by the sight of Smitty's butt clenching and unclenching. Then Parley opened her eyes and saw her standing there. The next second there was a snap and they were gone, leaving Antimony standing in stunned silence in a boy's locker room with a mental picture that she didn't think she would ever be able to erase, even if she lived to be several hundred years old.

All was quiet in the dorm, save for the ambient noise of the water moving past the porthole and the faint whir of the heating unit. It was a wonderful, low hum that was loud enough to lull her to sleep but quiet enough to let her think. At present she was sitting on her bunk pretending to read a book. She even moved her eyes over the lines and turned the pages at the normal rate, but she didn't move her bookmark. It was all for Renard's sake, who sat curled up in wolf form at the end of her bed. She didn't want to let on that something was wrong, even as her eyes skated over the page. Was it wrong? She knew Parley and Smitty had been having sex, but to be suddenly presented with the evidence made her feel unnerved somehow. And also a little lonely.

Has anyone ever looked at me that way? She wondered. There must have been someone... Jack maybe...

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The hatch swung open and Parley stepped in. The awkwardness quotient in the room shot up by a factor of ten.

"Hey Rey."

"Hello Parley."

"Do you think I could talk to Annie alone for a second?"

To his credit, Renard didn't even sigh as he left his warm spot on the bed and traipsed out into the hallway. Parley shut the door behind her and sat down on the bed. Antimony curled her legs in to give her room.

"Watcha reading?"

"The House of Wisdom." Antimony said, impassively.

"Oh. How is it?" Parley said.

She was fidgeting with her hands. Antimony was pretty uncomfortable as well, but she didn't show it.

"It's pretty dry, actually."

Parley paused for a moment, and then addressed the elephant in the room.

"Look, about yesterday-"

"You don't need to apologize." Antimony said.

"I do, though." Parley replied. "I should have thought that through better."

"It's alright. You were caught up in the heat of the moment. If I was on the other end of Smitty's advances I probably would have ended up in the same position."

Parley smiled, clearly relieved that Antimony was taking this so lightly.

"Ha! Andrew is a big wuss. I'm always the one coming on to him."

"Really? He seems like a pretty good guy."

"Oh, of course, I didn't mean it like that!" Parley said quickly. "He's just... a little reserved, you know? Kind of like you."

"Kind of."

There was another long silence, and they both avoided each others eyes. Parley was a good friend of hers, but they had always been on somewhat different levels. Parley and Smitty were in a higher year, and as such didn't bump elbows with them nearly as much as their other classmates. It was Jones' medium lessons that had brought them all together.

"I heard some boy was mooning after you, that true? Jack, right?"

"I guess so, but I kind of blew that. It's a long story. Turns out he was interested in someone else anyway." Antimony said.

"Well I'm sure there's a dozen other guys waiting to fill his spot." Parley said, some of her usual confidence returning to her voice.

Antimony laughed.

"Hardly! I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not very good at dealing with other people- let alone attracting them."

"Nonsense! You look like a movie star! You're just a little shy is all." Parley said.

"It's more than that. I almost screwed up everything with the best friend I've ever had over nothing. I can't even handle being friends with somebody. I don't know how I'd ever be able to actually... you know... get to that point. Have a romantic relationship."

She didn't know why she was opening up like this. It went against every instinct she had. Her whole life she had been told not to complain or make a fuss over personal issues. It wasn't polite or proper or ladylike or any of the rest. But this thought, this underlying fear that there probably wasn't anyone out there who would ever care for her or caress her that way, seemed to have finally broken the bounds of self restraint. She didn't even know what she expected Parley to say to this, and felt foolish immediately after the last words had left her tongue. Parley saw her cheeks burn and Antimony knew that she knew that this was a rare admission.

"Hmm..." Parley said, scratching her chin.

The expression on her face was completely neutral, devoid of judgement, as though she were examining a piece of a jigsaw puzzle in her hand and wondering if it would fit into the bigger picture below.

"You want to get to that point, is it?"

Antimony nodded.

"I know it's silly to feel left out, when it's my own problem, I just-"

"No, it's not silly." Parley said. "I know what it feels like to be in your position. Before I met Smitty all the guys I hung out with treated me like one of the mates- when all I wanted to do was shag the lot of them."

It was Antimony's turn to feel relieved.

"Right?! All I want is to turn some heads, maybe get asked out once in a while, instead I get treated like I'm some kind of- I don't know... some kind of robot that could blow up at any second!"

Parley giggled.

"To be fair, you actually can explode with fire whenever you want to."

"That's true." Antimony said, laughing as well.

"Smitty could show you the ropes, he's not afraid of superpowers."

Antimony laughed again at this, but only reflexively. It took her a second to truly process the context and the content of it.

Show her the ropes...

Shortly afterwards, her brain, which was still in conversation autopilot, spat out an attempt at a witty comeback.

"I'm sure he could, but what would his girlfriend think?"

"I think that Smitty's a guy. And I think that he'll do pretty much anything I ask him."

Antimony looked up at Parley, and she actually had to look up because Parley was a good head and a half taller than her, even after Antimony's precipitous gain of three inches over the summer holiday. The expression on her face was still locked in that perfectly neutral gaze, but something had begun to slide into it. A smile was tugging at the corner of one lip, barely suppressed. A surge of adrenaline spiraled up her spine, even more powerful than the one she felt in the simulator earlier that day.

"You mean... he would..."

"Say it." Parley said.

The suddenness of the command startled Antimony. This was a crossroads in her life and she had very little time to decide.

"...show me the ropes?" She finished, practically whispering the last words.

Parley nodded, and the smile was unrestrained now. It was practically an evil grin, and it made her heart race with the possibilities even as her brain recoiled at the impropriety of the notion.

"Definitely. That's a little secret you have to remember Annie- girls call the shots. We've got what they want. Guys are pretty much just wired to fuck, any time, all the time. Just say the word and I can make it happen."

Antimony was breathing deeply. In, out. In, out. She already knew the answer. She already knew what she wanted, and that was what was driving her crazy. There was no way she could deny it, and yet somewhere in her head she still wanted to.

"I want to." She said simply.

Parley placed her hand on Antimony's and they disappeared.

It was half past seven and Smitty was approaching existential despair. A fat statistics tome was split open in front of him, and try as he might, he couldn't get his power to make the innumerous formulas file neatly into place in his head. Some tasks were like the card trick, and some weren't. He had spent a good part of his life since he discovered his powers finding out which were and which weren't.

Studying wasn't one of them. He wondered vaguely how on earth he was going to maintain interest in this crap until the end of the semester, let alone the end of the year. This was one of those times when he wished that Parley would appear out of thin air and whisk him away to her room for some wild, sweaty sex.

A moment later, that was precisely what happened.

The air snapped faintly. It was a familiar sound that he had long since trained himself to pick out, even in a noisy, distracting environment. When he heard that sound, he never knew quite what to expect from her. Often it was just to chat a bit between classes, or to go get a bite to eat, but sometimes when Parley appeared out of thin air beside him, she had other plans... Crazy plans. As it turned out, there was a lot you could get away with when you could be anywhere you wanted instantly.

Once upon a time, it had been George Parley who was the odd man out of their three-student medium classes because of her lack of powers, but now that she could teleport, Smitty was starting to realize the stark absence of practical applications for his powers. He was also starting to realize how stressful it was having a girlfriend who had access to him at every waking moment.

"Smitty?" Parley said, waving a hand in front of his face.

"What?"

"You spaced out on me for a second. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Smitty sighed and put his head down on the statistics book. At least the pages were cool. That was the only good thing he could say about the object.

"I hate this subject. I don't know why they're making me take it, just because of the whole "producing order from chaos" thing. I never liked math."

He felt a strong hand under his chin, and allowed his head to be guided up into a kiss.

"Sounds like you need a break." Parley said, when they broke apart.

"What I need to do is finish this so it doesn't screw up our plans for this weekend."

He noticed that Parley was wearing a certain smile that he knew well. It was like the faint popping noise when she jumped- it meant trouble. Not always the bad kind.

"What if I told you I have a plan for tonight?" She said, running her left hand up his thigh and grabbing his crotch.

He couldn't deny how badly he wanted to stop what he was doing. They had both been too busy to screw the previous three days, and of course yesterday they had been interrupted, and episode that was going to make future medium lessons with Jones incredibly awkward, whatever Parley said about apologizing.

"Go on."

Parley grinned and slipped her hand under the waistband of his trainers. Andrew quickly looked around for anyone, but this wing of the library was still deserted. It was something he always had to do anytime Parley got touchy. She wasn't one for keeping watch, as the incident with Antimony clearly proved.

"You know how we were both discussing our kinks a while ago?"

"I remember, yeah."

"Well, I found another girl who wants to join the fun."

Statistics was now a distant memory. His mind raced.

"What?"

"That's right. And you said it was impossible!"

"Who is it? Lilly?"

Parley snorted, and her hand momentarily stopped massaging his groin.

"Cookie monster? No, but that's not a bad idea..."

"Who then." he said, crossing his arms in mock incredulity.

"Antimony Carver."

Smitty's jaw dropped.

"You're joking."

"I am not." Parley replied. "I just talked to her and she wants your nuts."

A hundred different thoughts were rushing through his mind. Once he got over his initial squeamishness and actually examined the idea in his mind, he found it tremendously thrilling. He knew that out of anyone in the whole court, Antimony was probably the one who could be trusted to be discreet. It would be their little secret if he wanted. And he did want it, he realized.

"Parley, she's kind of young..." He said, his mind still trying to find an excuse to say no.

"So are you, you're barely seventeen." Parley said, squeezing his shaft in her hands and causing him to tense up slightly.

"Isn't she a virgin?"

"Are you complaining?"

She had already won and she knew it.

"Right now?"

"Right now."

He took one last glance at the statistics book, and her victory was complete.

"Okay. Let's go."

Parley's room had not changed much since last they were there. Antimony liked it. It was a little more messy than she liked her living area, with clothes strewn about the floor, but everything smelled like laundry and the bed was very soft. She felt excitement and dread in equal measure

Soon enough, Parley came back with Smitty. The awkwardness was back in force, but only for a little while. The way Andrew Smith talked, the way he sat on the bed, everything about him seemed to put her at ease. He didn't laugh or presume to give advice when Parley prodded her to tell him her situation. All he did was smile, nod, and commiserate.

At the same time, his presence in the room made her feel electric. Her skin was almost unbearably hot.

"I was the same way you were. Parley was the first person I've ever been with, and in the end it was her that confessed to me. I had no clue."

Her hand was resting on his leg. She didn't remember putting it there, but not that it was she found it was quite nice, and didn't want to remove it. Smitty didn't seem to mind.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Parley?" she asked.

"More than okay!" Parley replied eagerly. "Now kiss!"

She took one last look at Smitty, and then kissed him.

Thankfully kissing turned out to be one of those things that was as easy it looked, which made sense she supposed, since the continued survival of the human race relied on sex being idiot-proof. His lips were clean and firm, and as he began to kiss her back, he put has hand around her. She had never realized that just touching someone, having their hand rest on the small of your back, could feel this good.

When she finally broke apart for air, her heart was racing again.

"Wow... that feels amazing..."

"Doesn't it? Parley said, scooting closer so she was sitting behind Antimony, her back up against the wall.

Antimony began to fiddle with the buttons on Smitty's shirt, and Parley laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Here, let me help you. Put your arms up babe."

Smitty did as he was told and Parley hoisted the whole assemblage clear by the sleeves, ruffling his hair terribly in the process. Antimony slipped out of her shirt as well, and by the time she had got it over her head, Parley was naked. Antimony almost couldn't think straight at this point.

Her hand was resting on Smitty's lap again.

"Can I?"

It was Smitty's turn to laugh.

"Of course! You don't need to ask."

She unzipped his trousers and pushed them down, followed soon after by the waistband of his underwear. Her eyes opened a little wider when she saw what was hiding underneath. Smitty blushed, but he was clearly pleased. She placed her hand around it, and it moved slightly under her grip. She marveled at how soft and smooth it was. Then she jumped slightly as she felt Parley's hands sliding under her skirt and rubbing her through the thin material of her panties. A moment later, the older girl had helpfully unsnapped her bra and tossed it aside.

She regarded his cock again, and then leaned over and put it in her mouth. The first thing she noted was that it didn't taste nearly as unpleasant as she had imagined it would. Gently, she ran her tongue all the way around the head in circles. After less than a minute of this, she felt Smitty's hand tugging gently on her hair. Not enough to hurt, but enough to let her know that she needed to move her head back.

When she looked into Smitty's face again

"Sorry, was I doing it wrong?"

"Not at all. You're a natural. I just don't want to cum yet."

She felt another hand wrap around her cheek, this one firm and covered in her own wetness. Parley turned her head the other way and leaned over her shoulder to kiss her. Her tongue pushed between Antimony's lips and slid across her own as Parley's large breasts pressed against her shoulder. The next second the kiss was over, and Antimony felt like she had already left everything she knew about the old life behind. This was... new terrain. Unmapped wilderness. Questions like "Is this okay?" "Should I be doing this?" kept insistently wiggling up to the surface. What would her mother have said, if she were alive to see her snogging a girl three years older than her? The truth, she realized, was that she really didn't care. The present was the present, and the rest was neither here nor there.

Still, this did not change the fact that Parley had just gone from being a good friend to something slightly more in the space of only a second.

"You ready?"

She nodded vigorously, even though she was tremendously nervous.

"I'm ready."

Parley must have sensed this, because she stopped rubbing her vagina for a moment and ran her hands up and down Antimony's arms, like a mother stroking a colicky baby.

"Just relax. The less tense you are, the easier it will go. He's a little big, but you can stop any time you want to. I promise it will only hurt for a few seconds."

Antimony nodded again. She took a deep breath and let some of the nervous energy out of her head. Luckily she was fairly good at this. Parley's hands returned to kneading her nether regions, faster now then before. Smitty scooted closer and pushed both of their legs apart, so that Antimony was lying almost perfectly in Parley's imprint. The swollen head of his cock rested against her belly. She could feel how warm it was, and she could also feel an ache in her loins that she had never felt before. Nothing that she had ever managed to achieve by herself even came closer to this feeling. Her legs twitched almost of their own accord as she bucked gently against Smitty.

"What did I say Smitty?" Parley said. "She wants it."

Parley's fingers stopped their rubbing and she slid Antimony's underwear to one side. The fingers pressed in, and pulled gently to both sides, spreading her cunt apart. Smitty hesitated at the entrance, rubbing the head up and down across the folds of her body, and then he pushed in slowly.

Antimony hissed. It was indeed painful- but not as bad as her mind had led her to believe. She had put a finger inside herself before, and this was much bigger but it was the same basic principle. She felt the broad head pushing up farther and farther, filling up parts of her that she didn't know could be filled that way. At last he was all the way in. Both of them were shaking, her rather more than him.

"Are you okay?" He said.

Antimony nodded her head, her eyes half closed, her voice distant and breathy, almost frantic.

"Yes- yes I'm okay. It just hurts a little. Keep going."

Smitty pulled back out and pushed in again, a little faster this time. Antimony's mind was gone. He felt incredible inside of her, and with every thrust the pleasure built and the pain receded. He began to build up a slow, deliberate rhythm. Suddenly the pleasure built to a peak and she could no longer control her body. A great shiver passed through her, and she came. The rhythm slowed for a moment, and then began to get faster and faster. Antimony was whimpering now, her toes curled so hard she thought her feet might cramp. It felt so unbelievably good...

From a long way off, she heard Parley say "come on Smitty, is that it?"

Smitty placed his arms around her and Parley, squeezing their bodies together and speeding up exponentially. Antimony was beyond moaning now, her mouth open in a silent exclamation of rapture. Then she felt Smitty's chest grow rigid. His whole body tensed up, and he held them close together for a moment while, until finally it was all over and they were all lying together in a hot, sweaty pile. For a long time nobody moved. Antimony didn't mind having Smitty's well-muscled chest pressed against her, so she didn't protest.

Eventually he found the energy to get up and roll over. Antimony felt a slight rasping feeling as he pulled his cock out of her just as gently as he had placed it in. She lay back against Parley's warm body, feeling the sticky wetness drain out of her and onto the sheets. She almost apologized for this, but then thought better of it. If Parley wasn't going to make a fuss, she wasn't either. They talked for a brief time after that, all of them strangely calm, as though the previous fifteen minutes hadn't happened at all.

Smitty confessed that he had to get back to studying, and he went to take a shower.

Without shifting Antimony, Parley reached into one of the drawers of the nightstand and pulled out a circular disc that snapped open. It contained a bunch of small white tablets. She took one and placed it in Antimony's palm.

"If you want to do this again sometime, all you have to do is ask."