Word was circulating around the square and through the neighborhoods of Perdido Beach. Astrid, of course, was the last to know. The only time she found out was at the last possible minute, when she was on her way to the playground the Little Pete. Howard had run up to her, the little lackey, and when he caught up with her, barely able to breathe from running even the short distance that he had covered, he pointed in the general direction of Town Hall and panted, "Caine. Wants you. In the. Office. Now" all the while wiping sweat from his brow and looking as though he were going to faint.
Annoyed, Astrid sighed through her nose. The day was bright and warm, the perfect weather for playing outside, and she had been hoping it would wake Little Pete up a little, just enough so that maybe, maybe she could get through to him and ask about the barrier. For a moment she wondered if she should resist, refuse to come running at Caine's every beck and call, but looking at her brother, absorbed in his Gameboy per the usual, she decided that it probably wouldn't be worth the trouble it would cause. She sighed again, heavily, the sigh of one resigned.
"Fine, but I have to drop Little Pete off at the daycare first. Tell him I'll be there, okay?" "Hey, don't look at me," Howard shrugged. "I didn't get the message directly. Just thought I'd let you know since everyone's talking about it." He ran back off in the direction he'd come from. "Yeah, just though you'd try to get on the Caine's good side" Astrid muttered under her breath, pushing a swath of lemony blond hair back from her forehead.
"Come on, Little Pete, let's go down to the daycare. You can stay with Miss Mary today, okay?" Pete said nothing, never looking away from the lit-up screen. "Maybe I should go get Sam to go with me" Astrid thought, but he would be all the way on the other side of town from where she was. It would be easier just to go on her own. "Alright, let's go!" she said brightly, practically to no one.
The sun was even higher in the sky when she arrived at Mother Mary's daycare. It was gonna be a scorcher, she was sure of it. Good thing the AC still worked, especially here, with all these little kids. The prees swarmed around Astrid as she pushed open the glass front door, Little Pete tagging along behind her, hand in hers. "Hey, you two!," called Mary, from where she was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, a baby in her lap sleeping. Astrid pushed through the kids, smiling kindly, ruffling their hair as she made her way to Mary. "It's been a while, hasn't it? You don't leave Little Pete with us enough, Astrid. He's such a sweet boy" Mary smiled, waving at Little Pete. To Astrid's surprise, he actually smiled and looked up from his game. "Looks like you knew why I was here already. Thanks for keeping him, I promise I'll be back soon. Okay, Little Pete?" Astrid said, leaning down in front of her brother, hands on his arms. She tried to look him in the eyes, but he was busy once again.
"Thanks again" she called as she headed for the door, pausing to wave at John as he came into the room. "She looks a little haggard" Mary whispered to John once Astrid had gone. "Yeah" he agreed absentmindedly, pushing a warm bottle into Mary's hands and picking up one of the other babies that needing feeding.
It may have been hot outside, but inside the town hall it was cold as ice. All of the curtains were drawn over the tall windows, and Astrid shivered as she walked through the dark shadows to Caine's office. It was really creepy, seeing the desks and office space abandoned, no adults swarming the place, no phones ringing, no sounds of heels clicking on the marble floor. Astrid felt out of place, a sensation she was having more and more as life inside the FAYZ stretched on. Everything felt wrong, out of order. She hugged her bare arms to ward off the cold, but it did no good. Goosebumps popped up on every inch of exposed skin. As she rounded the corner to the office, she tried rubbing them away, to no avail. Finally the heavy wooden door loomed in front of her. Hesitating, she reached out to knock with a shaking hand. Three times, no answer. She knocked harder, more confidently, feeling a little annoyed now. After another minute she could make out the sound of footsteps from behind the door. Astrid stepped back, telling herself not to feel like an idiot for coming alone. "Caine won't do anything, you know better than that, Astrid." she thought.
The door swung open. Diana stood in front of her, one hand on the edge of the door, holding it open, looking pissed. "Come in" she said curtly, kicking it shut behind them as Astrid stepped inside. "That idiot Caine isn't here right now. He left a little while ago." "Why did he want to see me, anyway?" Diana shrugged impatiently. "Like I care. Probably wanted to get some use out of that oversized brain of yours. Maybe he thinks you're a freak. How should I know?" She moved to sit behind the desk. Astrid wondered vaguely if she ever changed out of that school uniform, or if she just had a bunch and switched them out every day.
Caine's headquarters were dark, too. Only one lamp, set on one corner of the desk, one of those reading lamps with the bendy necks,
was on, and it's head was bent over the desk, so it didn't provide much light. Astrid could just make out Diana, stretching her long legs out behind the desk and setting them on top of it. Her long dark hair blended in with the darkness, but her pale skin stuck out, making her look like a mannequin. Astrid was sure she looked the same way. She tugged at her hair, nervously, not sure of what to talk about, whether or not she should leave. "Scared of the dark, huh?" Diana smirked, a snicker in her voice, knocking Astrid out of her thoughts. "It's a rational fear, really," Astrid argued. "You never know what's hiding where you can't see. Like you, for example. You really never can be too scared of the monsters that hide in the dark."
"Oh, so you're scared of me, are you?" This wasn't going quite the way Astrid would have liked. "That's not what I'm saying. Just that it pays to watch out for people like you." Diana laughed out loud, tossing her head back. Astrid couldn't help but notice the hollows at the bottom of her neck, how the shadows pooled in them, and the long curve of her collarbone against her skin. They stood out like black against white.
Astrid shifted in her seat. "Sorry, am I making you...uncomfortable?" Diana asked, falsely sweet, leaning forward once again, elbows on the desk now. She looked every bit the bored schoolgirl, head in her hands, except for the conniving look on her pretty face.
"Y'know, it's funny, really. We're not that different, Astrid. Both of us are the brains, everyone always coming to us for answers, opinions...doesn't just get so tiring sometimes? I know there're times when I just wanna kill Caine...not to mention Drake. I'm always up for ripping his guts out. But, you know how that goes. What can you do?" she shrugged again. Astrid just stared. "Aw, not too talkative, huh? No big surprise. I've thought you were a bitch from the beginning. Always acting so haughty, like you're so much better than the rest of us...that's my job, silly. You see, me and Caine, even Drake and the rest of us, we are better than you townie hicks. But then, you kind of knew that already, didn't you?" she spat, smiling. Astrid wasn't fazed, though. "Like I asked before: Why did you even ask me here?" she questioned Diana. She was ready, any excuse to get out of here. This girl was a psycho, just like all the rest of them.
Diana didn't say anything, just sat back and watched her. "I think that's my cue to go" said Astrid, getting up from her chair. Before she could reach the door, however, Diana was in front of her, grabbing her hand for the second time. She held it longer this time, though. "Ah-hah!," she exclaimed, looking excited. "I knew it. You're a three bar. Caine's gonna freak when he hears this. Wonder what your power is though..." she trailed off, pulling Astrid closer, toying with the hair that fell in front of her eyes. Astrid shivered. "What makes you a freak like the rest of us, huh?" she whispered. Her hand moved down the side of Astrid's shirt, closing down on her tiny waist. "Oh" slipped out of Astrid's mouth before she could stop herself. Embarrassed beyond belief, and a little freaked out, she tried moving past Diana, pushing her way towards the door.
"Not so fast, Astrid" Diana called out, grabbing a handful of her light hair and yanking her backwards with it. Astrid let out a shriek of pain, clawing at Diana as she flew towards the floor. Panic flooded through her, fight-or-flight taking over. She scratched and pulled, yanked and kicked trying to get Diana off of her. Nothing worked. Diana had her pinned down, one knee on her chest, making it hard for Astrid to breathe. Her long dark hair hung down on Astrid's face, tickling her cheeks. "What do you want from me?" she asked, fright making her less inhibited. She just wanted out of this room, away from Diana, to reach Sam and her friends and let them know what had happened, let them deal with this crazy bitch.
"You look so pretty when you're in pain. Has anyone ever told you that?" Diana answered, leaning in closer. "Pretty as a peach. Mmm, peaches... I could really go for some peaches right now." Astrid could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. She was terrified. Pretty sure she was terrified, anyway. "Just stay calm" she told herself. Diana was right up against her now, her hot breath sticky on Astrid's face. She smelled like pink bubblegum. "And you're a feisty one, too... I could just eat you up." she grinned viciously. "What are you doing?" Astrid asked her, struggling against her hands. "Nothing you won't like, I promise, pinky swear." Diana laughed, looping her little finger through Astrid's. "What?" Astrid said sharply, panic coming through in her voice once more. "Shhh..." Diana whispered, tilting her head down. She pushed her lips against Astrid's, relishing the muffled screams that came from behind the girl's lips.
Diana broke the kiss. Astrid was about to start screaming again, this time out loud, when Diana said, "Wanna find out what happens if you scream? I say one word to Caine, one word, and you're all crushed to death, you and Sam and your "special" brother. Tragic firehouse accident. Or maybe tragic dismemberment, depending on whether he sends a lackey to do the dirty work for him. Who do you think Caine is gonna listen to, Astrid? Cause it only matters whose side he's on. But then again, all I'd have to do is give him the results of my latest reading and, well, you don't wanna know what happens then, sweetie." She waited until Astrid nodded, loving the silent sobs wracking her body as a tear rolled out of the corner of her eyelid. "Aw, don't cry, Astrid. I told you, you're gonna like it. I never lie, I swear."
She leaned down and licked Astrid's full, pink lips, then nudged them open with her tongue. Astrid complied this time, letting Diana slide her tongue inside her mouth, but she didn't kiss back. She felt sick, wrong. "Play along, Astrid. I'd like it if you weren't such a prude, please. Give me a little something to work with." Astrid choked on a sob, but she did as she was told, pushing her tongue into Diana's sweet tasting mouth. "Oh" she felt Diana moan into the kiss, push her body lower, grinding against Astrid. "Yeah" Diana whispered, moving down Astrid's neck, running her tongue over her collar bone. Groping for the buttons, she undid the white lace top Astrid had on and slid it onto the floor.
The white cloth of Astrid's bra stood out in the darkness. "Nice" Diana said, cupping Astrid's breasts in her hands, running her fingers under the edges, squeezing them. She teased the girl's nipples with her thumb, getting them hard. Astrid couldn't help but cry out, moaning loudly into Diana's hair. "Oh, you like that, huh?" Diana teased, pulling off her own shirt, then Astrid's bra. "You'll like this even better" She took Astrid's nipple in her hot, wet mouth, sucking on it, scraping her teeth over it to make it even harder. "Oh, god, oh oh god" Astrid moaned, her back arching off the floor, pushing her nipple even further into Diana's mouth. "I told you so"she whispered, a little huskily now, flicking her tongue out over and over again on the blonde's pink nipples, making her cry out louder and louder.
"Do you like it? Hmm? Do you like my mouth on you, Astrid?" she whispered, taunting the girl. She wanted to make her beg for it. "Yes, god yes"Astrid cried out, arching up again. "What do you say?" Diana chided. "Please, please Diana" "That's better," she said, "But if you wanna take then you've got to give. Right?" Astrid nodded obediently. "Good girl. Now" and she pulled her own lacey bra off, moving back so Astrid could sit up. "Mmm, yeah, that's right" she moaned as Astrid kissed her left breast, then took the nipple into her small, hot mouth. "Oh, yes" she pulled Astrid closer, running her hands through the girl's soft blonde hair. She tossed her head back and moaned again as Astrid toyed with her.
"That's good, that's good, Astrid" she whispered, pulling her up for another kiss. Her pussy was dripping wet and aching, needing to be fucked, but she held out. Instead she licked her way down Astrid's stomach, pulling her shorts off, then removing her panties with her teeth. She rubbed her hands over Astrid's muff, stroking it hard, making her moan softly. She was dying to eat her out, to taste her, sure she was a virgin, too. Diana loved getting her hands on a virgin, loved to be the first one to finger fuck a girl. The first one to taste her. She almost moaned herself,
but she waited. She would tease her some more first, make her crawl on the floor begging to come.
Softly, slowly she dipped a finger into Astrid's pussy. Hearing the girl cry out made her even hotter, and she ran her finger over her clit, digging her nails in, then slid it back out. Astrid was groaning on the floor, bucking her hips up towards Diana, eyes shut tight. Diana knew what she wanted, debating over what to do as she ran a finger lightly over Astrid's clit again, then licked it clean. "Oh, oh, god, mmmm" Astrid cried out, making Diana too hot to wait any longer. Climbing on top of Astrid, she demanded "Open your eyes." Immediately they shot open. Astrid could see the tall dark haired girl straddling her hips, pushing her legs open wide. Sweat poured off every inch of her skin as she waited for something to happen. Diana's face contorted with pleasure as their pussies met, hot and soaking wet. She started pushing, bucking her hips against the other girl's, rubbing their clits together. They both moaned loudly as wave after wave of pleasure streamed through their bodies. The feel of their pussies grinding and rubbing together sent electric shocks through them. Astrid could feel herself drooling, her pussy pouding against Diana's with a wet smacking sound. "Yeah, yeah,uh, yeah" Diana grunted as she climaxed, but before either of them could come she pulled herself off of Astrid, the juices from their sex rolling down her thighs.
"No, don't stop, please don't stop" Astrid said, panting, her body crying out for more. "Shhh" Diana whispered, running her tongue over the smaller girl's thighs. She knew she was close to coming. "What do you want me to do?" she asked, opening Astrid's sex with her fingers. "Make me come. Lick my pussy." "And what's the magic word?" "Please!" she cried out, and Diana positioned herself on top of her with her pussy over Astrid's face, then delved into her pink flesh, licking and sucking, biting down on her throbbing clit. She pushed two fingers inside of her and thrusted, then slid her tongue into Astrid's hole. She felt it as Astrid tentatively licked at her engorged pussy lips, and the moan she let out inside of the other girl's cunt vibrated through her, making Astrid even wetter. They licked and sucked each other's clits, bucking harder and harder into one another's faces, mouths covered with sweet juices. The taste of Diana's sweet pussy drove Astrid crazy, and as she gulped down the juices they came into each other's mouths, Diana's tongue firming up inside Astrid's hole as she furiously tongue-fucked her all the way to climax.
Sweaty and soaked, the two girls lay side by side on the floor, breathing hard, only getting up and dressed after they had come down from their high. The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, and Astrid looked at Diana, paranoid, but the girl just nodded and they both sat down in front of the desk. After a moment Caine walked in, followed by Drake with his shiny black handgun, and Computer Jack toting a Mac laptop. Caine nodded at Astrid curtly as the other two dispersed, going through doors at the other end of the office. "I've been meaning to have a talk with you, Astrid. How has Diana been treating you? Hospitably, I would hope." He gave a pointed look to Diana. "Oh, of course, Caine. I gave Astrid a warm welcome. Didn't I, Astrid?" All Astrid could do was nod. Diana winked when Caine wasn't looking.
Later that day, when she got home after hearing Caine's proposal and picking up Pete from the nursery, Astrid found a little white bag resting on the front step. "Wonder what this could be?" she thought, hoping it was from Sam, trying to put what had happened that day out of her mind, but unable to keep herself from replaying every little dirty second. She sat Little Pete on the couch and walked into the kitched, pulling the silk ribbon off and reaching inside. The first thing she got was a note card. "From someone who cares" it read on one side, and on the other, in rushed script, "Thought you and your boyfriend might be needing this." Under the layer of crumpled up tissue paper lay Astrid's white bra, neatly folded. She turned bright red, and went over the note again. In the bottom right corner it was signed, "With love, your Dirty Little Secret".