The Tribunal
Summary: As the war between Kathryn and Sebastian heats up, she attempts to destroy his relationship with Annette. However she might succeed in driving them closer together.
Chapter 3: If You Don't At First Succeed Try, Try Again
So far that evening everything was going according to plan. This allowed Sebastian to feel a sense of calm but at the same time he craved the unexpected. A challenge was always fun but so far Annette had failed to give him one. Still the night was young and he was hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
Two hours ago he had picked Annette up at her modest home, located on Long Island. It was to be their first official date and Sebastian was surprised that morning when he realized he was looking forward to it. He genuinely enjoyed her company and liked her but not so much that he forgot that she was after all the prey.
As such Sebastian had gone to great lengths to provide a romantic date for her. He was sure that most of the losers who she chose to date in the past had done the conventional evening of movie/dinner. Sebastian though prided himself on his creativity and instead took her to a few art galleries. Annette appeared to be pleasantly surprised by this even though he himself found most of the art pretentious. Oh well it was a small price to pay to get her in bed and to destroy Kathryn Merteuil and her evil little club.
"So where are we going now?"
Breaking from his thoughts Sebastian looked over at Annette seated in the passenger seat of his jag and smiled. "There's this great new restaurant over on Park I thought we'd check out. Is that okay with you?"
He knew it would be but he cautiously played the gentleman card thinking it would impress her. Sure enough Annette gave him a small smile that he already recognized as her version of playing it cool. She gave Sebastian the same look when he told her about visiting the art galleries in Soho. "Sure that sounds nice."
Sebastian hid his obvious pleasure with a smooth smile as he drove them further into Manhattan. On the way they talked about school, family and the usual getting to know you things. They both carefully avoided the subject of past relationships but the whole time the question was in the back of Sebastian's mind who Annette's mystery guy was. Possibly later he would bring it up.
When they at last arrived Sebastian has the value park his car and the two of them went into Fusion, one of New York's hottest and most expensive new eateries. They had a reservation so they were seated right away in the center of the restaurant. As he sat down and perused the menu Sebastian inquired as casually as possible "so how is your investigation of the tribunal going?"
Annette looked up at him from her menu and frowned "not good. I haven't found any proof that the tribunal is still in existence."
At this Sebastian scowled and grit his teeth. It took a lot to get under his skin, not much in this world angered him but Kathryn did. That nasty little bitch honestly thought she could con him into joining her clique as if he was just another malleable guy for her to play with but she was sorely mistaken. He was smarter and better at these childish little games that she was and he intended on proving it to her. First by getting to Annette before she could, then he would use Annette to bring down the tribunal followed by Kathryn. Then when she was at her lowest he would fuck her and throw her aside just as he would any other common slut.
"Annette" he said putting tossing his menu down. "You have to get that information. There has to be something, you just need to find the right angle.
"I know it's just..." Annette trailed off for a moment then looked up at him curiously. Leaning forward in her seat she asked "Sebastian I know why it's important for me to expose them but what's your stake in it? Why do you want me to expose the tribunal so badly?"
His brain was already forming some sort of bullshit answer when they were interrupted. "Annette?"
The two of them looked up just as a young guy, with soft blond hair and brown eyes approached them. Dressed in a casual suit he smiled at Annette completely ignoring her date. Sebastian scowled at him and was about to order him to fuck off when Annette suddenly got to her feet. "Oh my god Trevor!" she gushed with a large smile as she threw her arms around them. "What are you doing here?"
"I had to fly in for a seminar but I'm leaving in the morning. I'm staying at the Waldorf across the street and I stopped in for some dinner. Wow, I can't believe I ran into you like this!"
"Yeah it is. God I'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed.
"Well I called but you but your father said you were out."
Sebastian who had been watching this whole exchange with a deep scowl on his face could no longer hold his tongue. Taking a sip of his water he grumbled "yeah that would be me...her date for the evening."
Breaking their embrace Annette looked at Sebastian a little embarrassed while Trevor smiled pleasantly at him. Extending his hand he said "sorry, I forgot my manors. Trevor Jones I'm an old boyfrie...I mean friend of Annette's, nice to meet you."
He stared at the hand in front of him a moment before taking it in his own. With an obvious phony smile he greeted him "Sebastian Valmont."
There was an awkward pause between the three as Annette and Trevor stood there staring at each other while Sebastian stewed in his seat wondering if this was the supposed ex boyfriend who was also a tribunal member. Sebastian doubted it; Trevor seemed far too squeaky clean. Then again how many possible ex's could a girl like Annette have?
"Have you eaten yet Trevor?"
He shrugged "no not yet."
"Oh good" she replied brightly "then why don't you join us?"
The faux pleasant expression Sebastian had been wearing disappeared almost immediately at Annette's suggestion. If he allowed this loser to stay it would completely ruin his chances of getting Annette into bed that night. However when she looked over at him to see find out if he minded Sebastian forced a smile and suggested "yes Trevor why don't you stay."
Grinning enthusiastically Trevor agreed "sure, thanks. I don't mean to horde in on your date or anything but Annette and I haven't seen each other forever" he explained as he pulled a chair up to their small table.
"I bet you haven't asshole" Sebastian grumbled under his breath.
Looking over at him from his menu Trevor asked "what was that?"
"I was just asking if you two use to go out?"
Both Annette and Trevor blushed and smiled at each other shyly making Sebastian want to vomit in response. It was all just so fucking precious that he couldn't wait to ruin her and now him. Finally after a moment Annette replied "yeah, we went out for a little while but then Trevor got into Stanford so we decided...to um, to just be friends."
"Yeah" he agreed letting his hand rest on hers as he smiled warmly at her "but I still consider 'nett one of my closest friends." Turing back to Sebastian he warned Sebastian in a teasing tone "so you better treat her right. Annette deserves nothing but the best."
"I agree" Sebastian replied locking eyes with Annette. She smiled at him but then immediately returned her attention to Trevor.
After the waiter came and their dinner shortly after Sebastian was fully bored out of his mind. He felt as if he was sitting in on someone else's date rather than participating in his own. Annette and Trevor sat talking about everything from their family to school while Sebastian just sat their listening. Every now and then one of them would remember he was there and then try to include him but it always returned back to just the two of them.
It was while dessert was being delivered that Sebastian began to wonder if he was being set up. It all was just too convenient that on the night of his first date with Annette her ex boyfriend from out of town suddenly shows up in the exact spot they were having dinner. Sebastian knew it was possible he was just being paranoid but it couldn't help but shake the feeling someone else was behind it.
As he was contemplating this new theory his eyes began to roam the second floor of the restaurant that was visible from the first. There were many well dressed patrons all dinning, immersed in private conversation, all but one that it. Staring down at him from the balcony was Kathryn wearing an amused smile. Beautiful as always, her dark hair was swept up and she wore a red low cut dress that hugged her body appealingly. However Sebastian barely noticed this and was more concerned by the look of triumph on her face. It was then everything became clear.
His eyes narrowed at her as his hands that were resting on his lap clenched in tight fists. Noticing his anger Kathryn's smile only widened before she raised her hand and waved at him. Sebastian was so pissed he nearly screamed but he stopped himself just short of showing any true emotion. When she eventually walked away he turned his attention back to his dinner companions. "Hey, could you excuse me a moment. I need to use the rest room."
Without waiting for a reply he got up hastily from his seat and made a bee line for the stairs that led upstairs. Just as he was going up one of the staff stopped him "sir, where are you going? The upstairs is full."
Pulling the man's hand from his arm he snarled "the rest of my party is up there."
He pushed past the man and started up the steps just as Kathryn was coming down. They both froze when they saw each other. With a cool smile Kathryn greeted him "hello Valmont."
She started to walk past him when he grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her the rest of the way up the stairs "going so soon?"
"Let go" she replied through clenched teeth.
Kathryn attempted to pull away but Sebastian held onto her tightly as he guided her back towards the bathrooms where they could be alone. After making sure no one was around he slammed her against the wall and gripped her by the throat. With her free hands Kathryn attempted to swat him away. "Get off of me, before I scream" she ordered her voice low but menacing.
"Oh I don't think you will. After all if you scream you might alert someone and then I would have to go and blab to Annette all about the tribunal."
She stopped struggling but her eyes narrowed at him "if you were going to tell her you would have done it already."
Sebastian laughed "baby I hope you don't think that's your ace in the hole. Just because I haven't said anything about your part in all of this doesn't mean I won't. The truth of the matter is I'm waiting for just the right opportunity to tell her everything." Bending his head down he whispered in her ear "perhaps after I fuck her brains out. Should make for some interesting pillow talk don't you think?"
He wanted to stun her or at the very least scare her shitless however to his surprise Kathryn simply smiled at him. "Do you really think I'm going to allow that to happen? After I went through all that trouble and pulled all those strings to get Trevor here?"
"So you are responsible for ruining my date?"
She nodded a demonic, child like grin on her face "yes. Don't pout Sebastian you're the one who wanted this war. Had you agreed to join the tribunal in the first place I would have been more than happy to deliver Annette to you. Instead of making us your allies you made us your enemies so now you'll have to pay the consequences. Now let me go."
"Or what?" he snickered.
As if to answer him Kathryn's hand came down between his legs and immediately latched onto his balls. She squeezed them so hard Sebastian gasped as let go of her instantly. Still gripping him she moved out from her position against the wall and pushed him against it. Pressing her body into his Kathryn leaned in and whispered "in case it's escaped your attention Valmont I don't lose. If I were you I'd give up on your pursuit of Annette and leave her to someone much more experienced in this game."
"Like you?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"That's right" she whispered her warm breath tickling his ear. "Now a friendly warning, you EVER grab me again I'll pull off your balls and serve them to my roitwiler. Got that baby?" she licked his check and kissed him briefly before pulling away.
At last Kathryn let go of him but his balls were still aching. With a sly grin she slowly back away "I better let you get back to your date now but I have a feeling we'll talk again real soon. Ta ta" she giggled blowing him a kiss then heading back down stairs.
Sebastian stayed against the wall a minute until the feeling came back to his crotch. All the while he seethed in anger at how much he hated her. He couldn't believe he actually wanted to fuck her earlier. The woman was the god damn antichrist, she was fucking evil and he was going to make her pay for this latest humiliation.
Eventually Sebastian made his way back downstairs to his table where he found Annette and Trevor getting ready to go. "You guys finished already?" he grumbled.
"Yeah but don't worry dinner was on me" Trevor assured him.
Sebastian attempted a smile in response but he just couldn't do it. Still he muttered "thanks" just for the sake of Annette.
The three of them left the restaurant then stood in front once again awkward and Sebastian realized how badly he wanted a cigarette. "Well" Trevor sighed "I better get back to my room. I have an early flight tomorrow."
"All right" Annette said once again embracing him. "But you have to promise you'll call me as soon as you arrive. I can't believe you have to go so soon" she sighed melting into their hug.
"I know but hey at least I got to come back, even if it was just for one night."
"Yeah I guess" she said pulling away from him. "Bye Trevor, talk to you soon."
"Bye 'nett" looking past her to Sebastian he waved "nice to meet you Sebastian and thanks for letting me crash your date."
"No problem" his tone more sarcastic than sincere.
Standing besides his car they watched as Trevor crossed the street and disappeared into the hotel. Sebastian began to fish around in his pockets for a cigarette when Annette turned to him and admitted "I'm impressed."
"For any reason in particular?" he drawled.
She laughed "well most guys would be pissed if an ex boyfriend showed up on their date but you not only were polite, you asked him to join us and I think that's very commendable."
Sebastian wasn't sure if anyone had ever used his name and the word commendable in the same sentence before but he would take it. With a cocky grin he told her "well I'm not most guys."
"No you're not" she agreed. "I must say I don't think any of my other dates, Trevor included ever went this far just to get me into bed."
Turning away from him with an amused grin Annette started to get into the passenger side when Sebastian came up from behind her. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.
Annette turned to him, not angry but more bemused. "I think you know what I'm talking about. I'm not an idiot Sebastian and neither are you. You knew my reputation at Manchester and that was the precise reason you targeted me on that first day. Being the headmaster's daughter had nothing to do with it."
Sebastian was going to tell her she was wrong but then he stopped himself. Curious where this was going he asked "if you knew all this why did you agree to go out with me?"
Her smile fell as she looked to the ground and shrugged. "I knew who you were but I didn't care. I wanted to go out with you, I wanted you" she whispered.
Letting his hands grip her waist as he pressed himself into her, Sebastian bent down and captured her mouth with a kiss. What started out as tentative and sweet soon grew more heated and passionate. His hands moved up to her hair as down her body caressing her curves. Annette eagerly kissed his back, her hands gripping his shirt as she practically moaned. They were making out openly in public as cars drove past them, some beeping. Sebastian seriously considered pushing her down into the back seat and taking her virginity right then and there. However Annette had other ideas and soon broke their kiss. They said nothing but held onto each other tightly.
It was then something occurred to Sebastian that had been bugging him all night. "Annette is Trevor really a member of the tribunal."
She let out a soft throaty laugh "no, Trevor would never join anything like that. It...it was another guy, from another life time it seems."
Sebastian nodded making a mental note to find out who that other guy from the other lifetime was. Bending back down he resumed kissing her, letting his tongue dance against hers. Before things could heat up again Annette gently broke away "not tonight Sebastian."
Pulling away he looked into her conflicted face and asked "but sometime?"
With a small tempting smile she replied "yes."
* * * * * *
"Oh fuck me" Kathryn groaned bitterly as she watched the public display of affection from across the street. There in full view was Sebastian thrusting his tongue down Annette's throat while she practically fell back against the car. Over the past week as she meticulously planned for this night she had imagined many scenarios of how it would end. However not in one of them did she foresee Annette and Sebastian making out while she watched from across the street.
Eventually they broke apart but continued to talk in hushed voices that Kathryn would have given anything to hear. Was Annette actually stupid enough to get conned into sleeping with Sebastian? Normally Kathryn would think not but judging by the way she was grouping him who knew.
At last Annette got back in the car and Sebastian walked around to his side. As he was getting in he looked up briefly and spotted Kathryn watching him from outside her limo. A confident, taunting smile spread across before he blew her a kiss then got into his car practically laughing. Watching the car drive off Kathryn scowled and cursed under her breath "damnit."
As she got back into her limo she slammed the door and let out a shriek of frustration. Looking up at her from his wall street journal Trevor grinned "temper, temper."
"Shut your fucking mouth" she hissed. "I can't believe I went through all this bullshit of getting you here just to have the whole night be a complete bust."
Hardly fazed at this point in their relationship by Kathryn's nasty temper, he simply set his paper down and folded his arms to his chest. "I told you ahead of time this plan of yours wouldn't work. When Valmont left the table I tried to convince her to drop him and come back to the hotel with me but she refused. Did you honestly think Annette would hop into bed with me?"
"No of course not" she grumbled. "If you couldn't get her in bed after dating the twit for a year you certainly couldn't pull it off now."
Trevor scowled at this, even though it wasn't the first time she put down his skills in the bedroom. "Hey it's not my fault she's frigid."
"Frigid?" Kathryn repeated incredulously. "Did you see the little skank out there practically dry humping him? Apparently all she needed was the right guy to bring out her inner slut. It figures that guy would be Valmont."
He shook his head still not convinced "I don't think so. Trust me I know Annette a lot better than you and she's just not the type to be persuaded, especially not sexually."
Kathryn took in his sour expression, a realization forming suddenly. "Oh don't tell me you actually felt something for her Trevor? All this time I thought you could barely stomach her but the truth is you love her…how trite."
Trevor rolled his eyes at her "I never said I hated her but I sure don't love her either. Look the only reason I dated her in the first place was because it looked good for my rep if I dated Hardgroves daughter."
"Not to mention you were the only tribunal member that possibly had a shot in hell in getting to her" Kathryn sighed. Yes the truth was Trevor had a reputation that nearly matched Kathryn's. To everyone at Manchester he was a sweet, smart but quiet guy who no one would ever expect was one of the tribunals more ruthless members.
"Well Kathryn as much as I'd like to help you with this latest mission I do have to get back to school tomorrow so it seems you're out of luck. Still I don't think you have anything to worry about with Valmont…"
She shook her head at him recalling the earlier events of that night. For a brief moment she had scene what Sebastian was capable of. He was as smart and as calculating as her, he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. "That's were you're wrong. This guy is different…he has the means to become very powerful. He's going to use Annette to destroy the tribunal for no reason other that to prove he can. Sebastian has to be stopped."
Sitting up in his seat, now curious Trevor asked "who are you going to send in to destroy him?"
Turning her attention back to him she grinned "who do you think? Never send a man to do a women's job."
* * * * * *
The damn air conditioner must be broke. That was the first thing that occurred to Sebastian as he made his way through the hot, pulsating room. Dementia, located in the meat packing district along with the trannies and occasional dead caucus, was the new hot spot for the under thirty set. Though in reality only one large room, it currently seemed to be holding half of Manhattan in its clutches.
Sebastian hadn't been clubbing in awhile, well actually since he picked up his soon to be step mother but that had been purposely premeditated. Tonight the only reason Sebastian had paid the ridiculous cover fee to get in was because he was meeting an old friend. When he suggested this place he cringed but he agreed knowing he was lucky to be granted this little get together in the first place.
After dropping Annette back at home with only a good night kiss to tide him over, Sebastian realized he was far to wound up to go home and sleep. After briefly considering calling on an old conquest for some fun he decided against it. His mind had been focused on one thing as he left the restaurant. He needed to take down Kathryn and the best way to do that was through the tribunal.
It occurred to Sebastian, as he plotted his next move that he didn't know very much about her. Oh he could guess a lot of it but that was mostly blind assumptions based on observation. He needed some info into the real Kathryn Merteuil. Only then could be properly dismantle her. There was really only one person Sebastian could go to for information; luckily he was free that night.
"Hey Tuttle" he greeted the belched blond from behind.
Currently fixated on a muscular guy grinding against another guy to some Donna Summer song, Blaine waited a beat before turning around. With an exasperated sigh, as if it pained him to look some where else if only for a moment, he glanced over his shoulder at him. The wrinkles of annoyance soon left his face however and were replaced by a beaming grin "Valmont!"
Leaping to his feet in a way that only an openly gay man could do Blaine reached out and pinched his cheek affectionately. "What are YOU doing here?"
"WE made plans to meet here, remember?"
He laughed "yes, yes of course. Come on sit down."
Realizing Blaine was already drunk or stoned or probably both Sebastian sighed. Information was now going to be a little more difficult to come by but he still took a seat beside him at the small table that over looked the dance floor. As soon as they were seated Blaine raised his empty martini glass to the busy bartender and signaled two more. When he got a nod of conformation he turned to Sebastian and asked "so what was it again you wanted to talk about? It wouldn't be your new found love of the homosexual lifestyle would it?"
Sebastian smiled "no sorry, afraid not."
Blaine stomped his foot on the ground in mock disappointment
"darn, well maybe some day…"
"Right" he sighed trying to focus the discussion back on the situation at hand. "Anyway back to the reason I called, you went to Manchester right?"
"Yeah for three painstakingly loooooooooonnnnggg years" he grumbled taking his drink from the waitress.
"Wait, why only three?"
"Hmm, well I got booted at the beginning of senior year for selling to a couple of freshman but you know it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. After that I transferred to Bennington and began my new career as it were."
Sebastian assumed he was alluding to his occupation as a drug dealer. It was the main reason Blaine was so difficult to get in touch with now a days. Since they met three years ago Blaine had become more and more prominent in the drug game and Sebastian practically had to make an appointment just to see him.
Knowing that Blaine knew and probably sold too many of Manchester's more elite students he wondered if he knew of the tribunal. Even though he was three sheets to the wind Sebastian knew he had to go about the subject delicately. "So when you were at Manchester were you the joiner type or did you blaze your own trail so to speak?"
Shaking his head Blaine grumbled "Valmont what are you getting at?"
Forsaking the delicate approach he asked bluntly "the tribunal, ever hear of it?"
Right then Blaine sobered up right quick. Setting his martini glass down on the table he looked at Sebastian, his eyes serious and dark and asked "what do you know about the tribunal?"
"What do you know about it?" he shot back.
At this Blaine laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "The only way you could know about it is if you were asked to join. Has someone approached you?"
Sebastian smirked "you could say that, but I refused. Apparently that's a no no to go against the group."
Studying him closely he asked "who asked you to join?"
"Kathryn Merteuil, you know her?"
Blaine smiled in recognition "yes everyone knows Kathryn. If she asked you to join then they must really want you. I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is I DON"T want to join their little group" he snarled in a dangerously low voice. "The only reason that bitch Merteuil asked me to join was because she wants to keep me in line. I found out about the tribunal before she asked me to join. When I told her I wasn't interested she threatened to destroy me. However I plan on taking her down before she gets the chance."
Blaine once again laughed at this as he picked up the full martini in front of Sebastian and chugged it. "Good luck with that" he snickered. "There's no way you'll bring her down, you won't even come close."
Seeing as Blaine was being of no help what so ever Sebastian got frustrated and had enough. Getting up from his seat he chucked some money down on the table and snickered "that's what you think. Thanks for all your help Blaine."
As he turned to leave Blaine suddenly grabbed him by the arm and with surprising force pulled him back to the table. Without a word he rolled up the sleeve of his crisp navy blue Ralph Lauren dress shirt revealing a large T shaped scar on his arm. When he saw it Sebastian's eyes went wide and he muttered "god damn."
"I guess you could say I was more of a joiner" Blaine quipped rolling his sleeve back up.
Sitting back down across from him Sebastian remarked "I don't get it. A group like the tribunal doesn't seem like your thing."
"Please" Blaine snickered finishing off yet another drink. "I was as openly gay high schooler attending the most elite private school on the east coast. I was just looking to not get my ass kicked on a daily basis."
"And the tribunal, what? Provided you with protection?"
"Among other things yes. In return I provided them with enough drugs to start their own pharmacy." Softening his tone a bit Blaine continued "look Valmont here's a little friendly advice, whatever you're doing to piss of Kathryn stop it. You don't want that girl of all people as your enemy."
Sebastian shook his head "I'm not afraid of her."
"Well you'd be the first" he retorted.
"I won't give in to her" Sebastian lamented. "Not now, not ever."
* * * * * *
"You know what to do?"
Ashley DuPre smiled deviously at the older girl and nodded, "yeah don't worry about me."
"Good girl, now go get ready"
As the redhead strutted into one of the bathroom stalls Kathryn turned to the mirror and smiled at herself. There wasn't a strand out of place as per usual. However on that morning her hair was the least of her concerns. Her latest scheme was about to go into play and if it went accordingly it would squash the supposed Annette/Sebastian relationship before it ever came to completion.
Glancing at her watch, she waited until the second hand passed over the twelve, knowing that the first bell would ring singling the end of third period. Sure enough when the bell sounded Kathryn could hear from the bathroom the rush of students leaving. Then just as she planned the heavy door to the girl's lavatory swung open and Annette came in. After a week of having one of her underlings follow the headmaster daughter Kathryn and learned that part of her daily routine was to stop at the bathroom, located next to her third period French class, before heading off to theater.
When she can in Annette immediately stopped in her tracks when she spotted her. Her eyes darkening she muttered "hello Kathryn."
"Annette" Kathryn said brightly her eyes remaining on the mirror. "You look very nice today. I like that headband."
Annette rolled her eyes
quickly but forced a fake smile anyway "thanks I…did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
A soft sniffling followed by a wail was suddenly heard coming from one of the bathroom stalls. Stepping towards the closed door Annette asked "is everything alright in there?"
"Yes" came Ashley's soft reply "I-I'm just…" she began to cry once again before the phony explanation could get out.
Kathryn nearly puked when she saw the concern wash over Annette's face as she said "oh what's wrong?"
Slowly the door opened and Ashley came out, her face a mess with her mascara running and her face wet with tears. "I'll be al right" she sniffled. "You don't have to bother with me."
"Maybe I could help if you tell me what's upsetting you?"
"Maybe you should just leave the dor…the girl alone" Kathryn corrected herself.
Annette's eyes narrowed at her as she told her "Ashley's obviously upset Kathryn. Would it kill you to show a little compassion?"
"No I'm okay Annette, honestly" she whispered as tears continued to pour down her face.
Putting a comforting arm around her slender shoulders she prodded gently "something is bothering you and I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what it is. I'm sure it's not that bad."
"Yes it is" she sobbed resting her head of Annette's shoulder. "God he told me he loved me!"
"Who did?"
"This guy I'm been seeing for the past few weeks" she explained weekly. "He had been pressuring me to go to bed with him but I didn't want to since I'm…you know...a-a virgin. Then last night he came over and he, he forced me…"
Annette's eyes went wide in horror as she exclaimed "he raped you?"
Crying even harder now on her shoulder she whispered "yes. I told him no but he wouldn't listen."
"Oh god" Annette sighed. "I know this must be difficult for you Ashley but you have to tell me who he is so we can report him."
"No" she replied quickly. "We can't, I'd be too embarrassed."
"Well you can't just let him get away with it. Who did this to you?"
There was silence in the
bathroom for a long time before Ashley finally broke. "It…it was Sebastian."
Pulling the girl away from her, Annette's eyes wide in terror she repeated "Sebastian? Sebastian Valmont did this to you?" When she nodded in response Annette told her disbelieving "but that's impossible. Sebastian would never…he would never do something like that."
"You don't believe me!"
"No it's just" Annette shook her head now on the brink of tears. "I know him, we've gone out and he's just not like that."
"That's what I thought" she sighed. "But last night…he was like a completely different guy."
Kathryn watched in amusement as Annette bit her lip, deep in thought. She could tell the girl was obviously trying to convince herself that it wasn't true but just one look at Ashley and it was hard to call her a liar…even if she was one. "I-I have to go talk to him" Annette said. Glancing at Kathryn she asked "can you take care of her?"
"Of course" Kathryn answered in all sincerity. "What are you going to do?"
Annette didn't answer her as she left the bathroom. Once alone Ashley wiped her face and snickered "dumb bitch."
"Well my dear have you ever considered a career as an actress?" Kathryn asked sliding a hand through the girls red hair.
"Was I good?"
"Definitely Academy Award worthy" she laughed. "The look on Annette's face was priceless."
Splashing her face with warm water Ashley asked "what do you think she's going to do?"
"Most likely she's on her way to ream out Valmont and I for one plan on having a front seat!" Grabbing her school bag Kathryn headed to the door but called over her shoulder before leaving "you were fantastic Ash, I can't wait to tell the tribunal about it."
As it so happened Sebastian also had theater with Annette during fourth period so it was a no brainier where she would find them. When Kathryn arrived at the theater she found that the class had broken up into groups, with a bunch of students running lines on stage and others behind the scenes. Since she didn't spot either Annette or Sebastian Kathryn snuck back stage where she sure enough was greeted by hushed whispers and accusations.
"Annette, are you crazy? I would never force myself on someone! Especially Ashley DuPre" Sebastian exclaimed. "Not after what she did to me when I first arrived."
Annette, whose pale face was streaked with tears, looked up at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about? What could Ashley possibly have done to you?"
From her spot behind the curtain Kathryn spied the two of them in action. She expected to see fireworks but instead she got Sebastian all ready with an excuse. Almost as if he was waiting for this confrontation…
With a deep sigh he launched into his story "on the first day of school Ashley and I had a bit of an encounter. We were down in the boiler room, you know screwing around. Things started to get heated but before anything could REALLY happen I stopped her and said I would gladly fuck her but that I didn't want a girlfriend. She tried to convince me otherwise but when I refused to be persuaded she completely freaked out. She said she was going to get me back for humiliating her like that and taking advantage or some such bullshit. Everyone knows you and I are seeing each other so she probably told you this garbage to pay me back."
"You're saying she was lying?"
"Yeah, now come on Annette you know me" he pleaded. "And you also know that I don't have to force a girl to do anything" Sebastian added with a smirk.
This logic seemed to register
with Annette. Nodding solemnly she replied "I guess it makes some sort of
sense. It's just she was so convincing…"
"I'm sure she was" he agreed. "There was something else about her I thought I should tell you. When we were fooling around I'm pretty sure I saw a tribunal mark on her."
Wiping her face Annette flinched in realization "oh my god, then this is definitely starting to make sense." Laughing shortly she told him "Kathryn was there when she told me. The two of them probably planned the whole thing."
"Wouldn't surprise me" Sebastian sighed wrapping her in an embrace.
"God Sebastian I am so sorry. I can't believe I was that gullible"
Kathryn couldn't believe what she was hearing. For the second time in less than a week Sebastian had managed to completely destroy her plan. This time she thought there was no way he'd be able to talk his way out of it but sure enough there he was, accepting Annette's apology.
"Don't apologize Annette, if I was in your shoes I would have thought the same thing" he assured her kissing her forehead.
"Annette!"
"Oh that's Mrs. Green" she sighed breaking from their embrace. "I better go talk to her. I'll be right back."
"Okay" Sebastian watched her depart through the heavy blue curtains. When alone he laughed and called out "I believe you're 0 for 2 now Merteuil."
Pushing past the curtains Kathryn charged up to him and hissed "god that was nauseating."
He turned to face her with a gloating grin. "Did you honestly think this latest scheme of yours would work? I mean please, I don't need to rape a girl to get laid. Even Annette's smart enough to realize that."
"Yes" Kathryn agreed "apparently I didn't give the little nit wit enough credit but that doesn't mean this is over. Not by a long shot."
Stepping even closer to her Sebastian caressed her cheek and murmured "give it up baby, this little war you got planned is not going to go the way you hoped."
"Don't touch me"
He grinned "you like it."
Shaking her head she leaned into him until her nose was brushing him. "You know in a way I'm almost glad you didn't join the tribunal. If you had I might have had to actual lower myself to sleep with a scumbag like you."
"Give it up" he taunted her, his fingers now lingering on her waist. "You want this, you want me. That's why you're trying so hard to break me. You hate yourself for wanting this so bad."
Kathryn let out a soft throaty laugh "you are delusional."
"Fine, whatever, continue on with your little game, predictable as it is."
"Predictable?"
"Predictable"
Her eyes flashed dangerously as Kathryn finally came to the breaking point. Deciding she would shut him up once and for all she grabbed him suddenly from the back of the neck and pulled Sebastian into a hard kiss. She was pleased at his obvious surprise but even more so when she felt him kiss her back. Wrapping his arms around her they kissed hungrily, as their tongues wrestled for dominance.
Still not breaking away Sebastian slammed her back against the opposite wall making her moan in response. Briefly he broke away from her and their eyes locked as they exchanged smiles. Grabbing him once again by the back of the head Kathryn this time guided him to her neck where he soon began to lick, suck and kiss her delicate skin. It felt amazing but Kathryn had other ideas.
She started to moan, not loudly but just enough to get him going. As Sebastian's hands slid up her white dress shirt and cupped her breasts through her bra he groaned "oh baby."
It was then the blue curtains began to sway slightly and Annette suddenly appeared wearing a smile. She was about to say something but stopped when she looked up and saw the couple in front of her. Eyes wide, her mouth hung open as a pained expression graced her face. At this Kathryn smiled and then whispered in Sebastian's ear "do you want to fuck?"
"What do you think?" he murmured back.
Her smile widening Kathryn shot back "I don't know, what do you think Annette?"
Sebastian broke away from her neck and looked down at Kathryn questioningly. When she pointed her finger behind his back he turned to find Annette staring at them in shock. "Annette I-
Holding her hand up she ordered "don't even bother Sebastian. I'm sorry I interrupted."
She left once again, leaving Sebastian to stare slack jawed into space. Kathryn however laughed in triumph and clasped her hands together. Walking past him she snickered "I guess I'm 1 for 2 now Valmont. Predictable my ass!"
* * * * * *
Annette hated the rain but she supposed it was fitting to her mood. Staring out at the night sky as the rain fell in steady buckets she considered her latest failed relationship. She couldn't believe she was so stupid as to get involved with Sebastian in the first place. She knew exactly who he was but she went out with him anyway.
If she was honest with herself she would admit the real reason she went out with him to begin with was because she knew he was a bad boy. Maybe there was a part of her that thought she could train him or possibly she just wanted to see what it was like to give in to the dark side.
Well Annette didn't give in and she felt miserable anyway. The vision of Sebastian making out with Kathryn had been playing in her mind all day. It wasn't that she was so shocked he would cheat on her but with Kathryn? He knew how she felt about her. That hurt most of all.
He had of course been calling her but she refused to talk with him. She knew he would make up an excuse but she didn't want to hear it. If she did she might be tempted to forgive him. As it was she had been tempted to call him all night. Laying on the couch she once again let her hand run down the phone as she contemplating picking it up. Annette didn't know what she would say anyway.
Just then there was a sudden loud knock coming from the front door that startled her so bad she jumped. Looking around she remembered her father was gone for the night to some faculty seminar. Annette wasn't sure who would be visiting this late at night but she got up to check in out anyway. Peeking out the while lace curtains she saw Sebastian huddled on her doorstep completely wet. Reluctantly she went to the door and opened it. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.
Shaking he asked "c-can I come in? Please Annette we really need to talk?"
Part of her really wanted to slam the door in his face but the other part; the compassionate part took pity and opened the door. He came in immediately, pulling his wet coat off. "Thank you" he smiled.
Standing with her arms crossed in front of her she demanded "what do you want? Make it fast I'm about to go to bed."
"You know why I'm here" he sighed walking into the living room. "I want to explain to you what you saw between Kathryn and me. It wasn't-
"What I think" she finished for him with a roll of her eyes. "So what was it Sebastian? Did Kathryn jump you, did she force herself on you, were you drugged? What's the explanation this time?"
He started to speak but then stopped himself. Sebastian's intense blue eyes locked on hers as a slow smile spread over his face. "Actually she kissed me and I kissed her back. She didn't trick me and I easily caved, because well she's beautiful and sexy. It doesn't mean I think any less of you it just happened."
Annette regarded him with shock "that's your explanation?"
He moved closer to her with a confident gleam in his eyes "it's the truth. Here's the thing Annette you knew who I was before you went out with me and you liked it. You wanted me just like I want you."
She shook her head at him "I think you should leave now Sebastian."
"Fine but there's just one thing." Before she could ask what that one thing was Sebastian reached out, grabbed her from around the waist and kissed her passionately. Annette started to fight against him but soon gave up. They kiss and stumbled their way to the couch.
In those moments she didn't know what she was doing. She didn't love Sebastian but she wanted him, she wanted him more than any other boy she'd ever been with. More than Joshua, Trevor or any of her boring dates. Annette had always prided herself on her self control but that night she wanted to give in. Even if it was just that once.
Sebastian began to undress her, not even asking her permission. When she at last opened her eyes and looked at him she saw he was smiling. Annette wasn't sure if it was out of caring or triumph. She didn't really care.
- to be continued (Please Review)