Marina smiled. "Right?" she said, laughing along as Pearl causally insulted some poor boy who was flirting with Marina. She really thought he wasn't that bad, but if Marina says "No flirting with me!" with a wink on television, people have got to stop, right? Right.
Pearl smiled, that sad smile she always did. She never knew how Marina was seeing her - her best friend, beautiful, charming, loved, but as a best friend, right? Did Marina see that sad face that Pearl always made? Was she too busy focusing on other things other than her best friend, and popstar partner? "Right. He's just... Why would he even try, he's just a kid!" She felt bad, but, as if this hole she was digging for him wasn't deep enough, she continued to hurt the boy. Alex, did he say his name was? Pearl thought, chewing her nails. It was a sign of stress, but Marina most likely assumed it was the stress of being a star.
"Right? He's just a kid! And I have a boyfriend."
Pearl had almost forgotten about him. Marina's sleazeball boyfriend. She was going on a date with him that night, in fact, after their evening news. Pearl hated him, but whenever she said anything, Marina could always come up with an excuse. Pearl sighed again and then smiled again, trying hard to make it look real.
"Ohh, Jonn," Marina sighed, rolling her eyes happily. "I can't wait for our date tonight. Aren't you excited, Pearl?"
Pearl fought the urge to say, "No, I'm not excited, tonight may be free, but it won't be with you. And I swear to cod if you say one more positive thing about that stupid squid, one more thing, I'm going to let you know just how much he doesn't actually care." Instead, she just smiled and nodded. "A night off is going to be great! Just relaxing with the girls... A mani-pedi... Haven't gotten one of those in forever."
"Right? I always just do your nails, and you do mine. I'm surprised yours aren't mangled by now, I'm sure I've cut your fingers with the nail clippers before!"
Pearl shook her head. "I think I'm the one who has trouble doing nails. I can't stay in lines for the life of me, and there's always nail polish everywhere when I do your nails."
Marina smiled. "Well, I'm off to my date, I wish you luck with the girls!"
While profreshionals did her nails, Pearl sat back and thought about Marina. Marina, her queen. Her clueless queen, as Pearl was soon to find out. Her queen with that birthmark on her inner thigh, barely visible even in a swimsuit. She only knew about this because of the lingerie she wanted to make sure looked fine for Jonn, so she showed Pearl just to make sure it looked fine. She was just doing that for Jonn. She never did anything without it being for Jonn. She sighed and got her nails painted a pale pink, matching the ends of her mantle.
"So, wanna go back to my place?" Jonn said, waggling his eyebrows.
Marina knew she shouldn't, but couldn't resist that smile. She smiled back. "Of course, who else would I go with?" she cooed, wanting to seem as seductive as possible. Jonn had been saying she was too babyish for someone with her body. And Jonn was always looking out for her, right? So she would do whatever he said.
"There are plenty of other guys out there, yet you chose me. It shows how smart you are, doesn't it, Mari?"
Jonn's nickname for her. Mari. It took her breath away, somehow, that one little word, even shorter than her own name. She wanted to hear her say it more, but... She thought about Pearl's multiple warnings.
"He just wants to get in your pants. Leave it, Marina."
She tried not to sigh, tried not to show any weakness. She stood up. "Ready to go, Jonn?" she said quietly, trying not to speak too quietly, or too loud. Callie had shown her the perfect loudness for talking seductively. For some reason, it sent tingles down her spine, although she continually told herself that she was straight.
"Of course, Mari." Jonn took her arm, almost forcefully, and led her back to the car. Marina should've seen the signs then. All of the signs. But she didn't. She was just being clueless, as always, just going along with whatever Jonn threw at her. She would never let it go too far, she would tell herself. Except, it never started there. It always started small.
Jonn sat Marina on the couch next to him and smiled. "Want to have some fun?" he gestured to the package of beer that was sitting on the counter.
"I have news first thing tomorrow, I always do, you know this. I don't think I should have a hangover then." She laughed at her own joke, but Jonn frowned.
"I told you not to be a baby. Just look online for some hangover cures. Besides, once we get drunk, we'll probably stop drinking. We'll do other stuff."
Marina sighed, then nodded. Jonn got off of the couch and grabbed a beer for himself, tossing one to her. She figured she would take a few sips and then spill it on the couch or the floor - they were both already beer-stained from his previous girlfriend. She popped the cap off and took a sip. Too strong, as always. Jonn always managed to find the strongest beer he could. She hated him like this but had to go along with it if she didn't want him to break up with her.
Jonn grinned. "Drink more, Mari. You're no fun!" He himself had already drunk a whole bottle.
Marina sighed and cautiously spilled a fair amount onto the couch, angling herself so that, from Jonn's perspective, it would look like she was drinking it. It wasn't only that she didn't want a hangover. She was afraid of what she would do, say, post on social media, if she were drunk. She sighed again, and Jonn leaned onto her.
"Don't be sad, baby, it's just a little beer. And see, you downed it in no time. You've only got half a bottle left! I feel like we can do something creative with that..." He pushed her skirt up, revealing her black panties with teal trim. "So mature... These used to be pink and girly, just a month ago."
Marina wanted to scream out, "Wait, how do you know what they looked like then?" but Jonn was leaning into her again, forcing her into a kiss. He traced her vaguely octopus-shaped birthmark with his finger, his hand only a few inches away from what Pearl liked to call the "rape region". Marina couldn't struggle, in fear of Jonn doing more. He unbuckled his own pants and slid them off, quick and smooth from lots of practice. He slipped Marina's skirt off, too, fully revealing everything except for what was covered up by the loose crop top that was patterned with squids, octopi, and jellyfish. Jonn slid his hand under Marina's shirt, making sure to touch just above her panties. Marina couldn't do anything - no, didn't do anything. She could've pushed him off of her, risked breaking up with him in exchange for what was about to happen not happening. But she didn't do anything, not struggling when he took off her shirt, her panties, or her bra, and took off his own underwear and shirt, laying over her and fucking her, going in and out, in and out. She whimpered because of the pain but didn't do anything. After a good half hour, Jonn got up and walked into his bedroom, leaving Marina breathless and scared. No way was she going to tell Pearl about this.
