Unbreakable Red Silken Thread

by Rufus T. Serenity

Fate, destiny, chance, and luck. Four of the most powerful forces in existence, and all of them have had it out for Cody Emmett Jameson Anderson, Heather Wilson, and Gwen Fahlenbock since the days they were born. Fortunately, those same four forces have got it in for each other as well. Rated M for sex and other mature, darkly realistic subject matters.

14. Chance: Flight of the Phoenix

Author's Notes: Hello everyone and welcome to the fourteenth chapter of Unbreakable Red Silken Thread! This chapter would have been up sooner, however there were a few things that stalled it and ended up pushing back its release date. Namely, both the individuals responsible for this story taking week long vacations. (Hey, we're only human, we need a break from time to time lol). Last time we introduced (almost) everyone in the story, this time we'll go a bit more into two of the characters, and dig into some of Cody and Heather's history as well.

We hope you enjoy this chapter as much as we have, and that you'll like our little twists and turns on the canon material.

With that being said, sit back and enjoy chapter the fourteenth of "Unbreakable Red Silken Thread": Chance: Flight of the Phoenix

---

Monday, October 27th, 2014

This was Cody's favorite time of the day; his classes were finished and after so many hours of being apart (at least compared to the previous year) he looked forward to nothing more than entering his and Heather's shared dorm and kissing her like his life depended on it.

Unfortunately today was not like most days. Instead of the dorm he had come to know and love as a second home, 2369, the Tech Geek was currently knocking on one numbered 1337.

As his knuckles rapped on the wooden door he released a sigh of lingering tension. Truthfully, he wanted to run back to their dorm and see what had happened and what was going on. Normally Heather would have called him at least once between classes or sent him a text or two by now. An entire day without hearing from her just felt...wrong, but he was determined to keep himself away for as long as possible to honor her request. He didn't know what Heather was planning, but she had told him to 'take his time coming back' for a reason.

Before his internal turmoil could boil over and send him running back to their dorm, the door opened. Cody smiled an only somewhat phony smile as he saw Cameron standing before him, not wearing his glasses for a change.

"Hey Cody!" the former Bubble Boy greeted, oddly cheerful given the fact he came over almost every other day. The odd cheery expression then shifted to one of discomfort.

"After…uh, what happened earlier, I wasn't sure if you were coming today."

'Ah, so that's why,' Cody thought before shaking his head. "Believe me, if there was any day that I needed a distraction, it's today," The Tech Geek said flashing a tired smile.

With that, the Tech Geek entered the 'domain' of Cameron and Shawn. In terms of basic layout, it was identical to Cody and Heather's, with it being another of the more expensive and comfier models. There were differences, however, major differences. For one, it was a lot more cluttered. Stacks of computer parts covered every flat surface with multiple cables and lines running across the floor and walls like the limbs of an electronic octopus. The second major difference was the lack of any decorations as aside from various wires or random parts and a few fans the walls were completely bare.

The former Bubble Boy's appearance however was of greater interest at this time, namely because it was the first time Cody had ever seen him without his prized Google Glasses, and even more odd was the fact he had opened the door in person. The first time Cody had visited their dorm, Cameron and Shawn had been quite proud of their pneumatic motor and security camera that allowed it to be opened, closed, locked, and unlocked remotely. As far as he knew, only Cameron's Glasses and Shawn's Smart Watch were able to open it.

"Something wrong with the door, Cam?"

"My Glasses are recharging," The Bubble Boy answered, scratching his arm and looking away in slight embarrassment. "I know I plugged them in to charge overnight, but that storm must have shorted out some of the circuits or something."

"Are you sure it was the storm, and not just you overloading the circuit?" Cody asked with a small grin.

"I tested the line," Cameron shot back a bit defensive, "and there was still a three point seven percent load potential remaining, so it shouldn't have caused any problems."

They reached the split hallway with three doors, two of which were identical to the ones in Cody and Heather's dorm, but the third door...was unique to say the least. It was solid metal and looked more like something you would see on an armored car than inside a building, excluding a bank. Cameron pulled on a yellow rubber glove from seemingly nowhere and knocked on the out of place door. With each knock, one could see a small gathering of electric surges cascaded around the rubber glove where it made contact with the door.

"Shawn! Cody's here! It's time to start!" Cameron shouted as he continued to knock on what Shawn had dubbed 'The entrench to Vault 1337' .

Cody of course eyed the door warily.

Cameron saw this and chuckled knowing the reason. "Dude, it's okay. You're not in any danger. It only shocks you if you touch it remember? It's harmless when you're just standing near it."

"I'm not giving it a second chance," Cody replied wearily, his eyes never leaving the metal door even to blink. "I got electrocuted enough on Total Drama for one life time."

That caught Cameron's attention.

"Huh? I don't remember seeing you getting electrocuted. I mean, it's been a few years but I'm pretty sure I'd remember seeing that."

"There were a lot of things going on that didn't make it on the show…at least on Total Drama Island," The Tech Geek remarked. "Almost everything from Action and World Tour did get aired though."

"You mean like how the challenges on Total Drama Island were only every three days instead of every day? Is that what you're talking about?"

Cody thought back to the first day he had been out of his cast and was walking to his room at Playa da Loser, more specifically when he had passed by Lindsay and Tyler's shared room.

---

"FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUUUUCK OOOOHHHHH YEAAAAAHHHHH!"

"LINDSAAAAAYYYYY!"

---

"Yeah…that's what I meant," Cody replied dryly before mentally adding, 'Lucky bastard!'

While Cody stewed in his thoughts of envy towards his friend who had gotten, and was very likely still getting the one thing he had yet to get but really wanted in the bedroom with the best pair of assets for the job, a metal slip slid from the top of door. Through the open slit, the upper half of Shawn's face, complete with an entire repertoire of twitchy expressions, appeared. Currently the Zombie Conspiracy Nut was staring at his roommate and their friend, looking as if he were trying to keep each eye independently focused on one of them in a manner more fitting for the pivoted eyes of a chameleon.

Eventually, Shawn turned towards his roommate and asked, "How are you sure that Cody isn't a zombie? He's been acting like the lazier and moppier walking dead all day."

"'Moppier' isn't a word," Cameron corrected, "The proper usage is 'more mopey'."

"Proper grammatical structure means nothing in the face of the undead, Cam!"

The Tech Geek sighed, not really in the mood for his friend's obsession with the undead, and spoke up. "I'm pretty sure I'm not a zombie. I just wish that I was one today."

Shawn looked at Cody like he had grown a second head. "Why would you want that!? Why would anyone want to be a shuffle-stepping, brain-eating, grave-loving zombie?"

"It's preferable to being a water-stealing, milk-drinking whore," Cody retorted with a smirk, knowing that his friend was testing him, though he didn't mind since he was a huge Fallout fan.

Shawn laughed behind the door. "Okay, that settles it, you haven't been turned yet!" Then his face got serious. "There is just one last thing I need before coming out today." He paused for a few moments. "What's the password?"

"I'm not even going to tell you to. Shut! Up!" Cody said angrily while pointing a finger.

"Coming out!"

With that, the slip closed and the door opened. When Shawn finally emerged, he was greeted by the laughter of his friends, all of them getting a kick out of using a bit from Half Life 2. Even if Shawn's paranoia and eccentricities could be a bit much at times, at least it was a language they both knew by heart.

But once the laughs ended, Shawn once again turned serious and asked the Tech Geek, "But seriously, dude, why would you ever want to be a zombie?"

Cody, just as seriously, sighed again. "It would be preferable to what's waiting for me when I get back to my dorm." Already seeing the questions forming on his friends' tongues, he quickly changed the subject. "So, did you guys remember to actually charge the third controller this time? Or am I going to have to sit and watch you guys use my character as bait again?"

"It was effective," Cameron pointed out.

"Agreed," Shawn seconded.

Nonplussed, Cody reminding them, "My normal team doesn't like seeing that many deaths suddenly appearing on their roster."

Shawn answered this by holding up two controllers with a smile. "I brought a spare this time just in case."

Cody laughed at this. Cameron pouted, before saying, "It only happened twice!"

---

With nothing more said, despite Cody and Shawn's smirks at the Bubble Boy's expense, the trio quickly continued what had become a fairly regular ritual between them, spending the better part of the afternoon and early evening playing 'Frontline Warfare: Duty of Metal Honor Calls'.

The performances of the trio more or less matched their usual afternoon antics. Shawn's character was racking up an ungodly number of kills using only its combat knife while Cameron's was having trouble and getting the least kills. Cody's performance was different from the norm however and it was hard for anyone not to notice it. Normally, he utterly devastated Shawn's kill count, but now he was struggling to keep a lead on the Bubble Boy for a change. The oddness of Cody's Spec Ops character doing so poorly wasn't lost on either of the other two, but they said nothing and just kept playing, for which The Tech Geek was very thankful.

"Have you guys ever considered playing something aside from Zombie Horde Mode?" Cody asked, frowning as his character was killed for the third time, a new personal worst for him not counting the 'dead controller' shenanigans from before.

"If you want to change it up, I'm game." Cameron said, glad that someone else seemed to find it just as boring and repetitive as he was for once.

"But I need to keep my skills sharp!" Shawn complained.

"You know Shawn, there are better ways to do that."

"Like what?" His attention piqued he looked away from the screen to Cody with one eye, the other still somehow focused on the TV.

"There are people who get paid money for playing this game, a lot of money for entering tournaments each year. Why not try playing against people for a change instead of an A.I that my ferrets could beat?"

While Cameron looked interested by this idea, Shawn waved his hand in dismissal. "That's just an urban myth."

Cody looked at Shawn in surprise, thinking he was crazy…er, than usual. "Do you seriously not believe me?"

"Damn straight," Shawn affirmed without looking away from the zombie carnage on-screen.

"You know, Shawn," Cameron piped up, "I did a little research on this game when I got it and what Cody says is correct. There are pro gamer teams out there. In fact, one in particular has dominated for the last three years, the WSA. They are currently undefeated."

"The WSA is just a myth born from cat video posters on 5son forums. They don't actually exist." The Zombie Nut said in response.

"No, they exist. I played against one of them a few weeks ago." Cameron defended, recalling the rather…painful experience quite vividly. It was the first time he'd ever seen an Augmented character, even if it had only been on the 'kill cam'. He had been minding his own business when his characters head suddenly exploded. The kill cam showed it had been a sniper perched on a rooftop.

Five miles away.

"If you don't have a screen shot to prove it, it didn't happen."

Cody was quiet as they continued going back and forth as they played. Eventually it reached the point that he couldn't take their bickering on the topic any longer and he started to develop an eye twitch of his own. Finally having enough, he checked the room's lone window and smiled when he noticed just how late it was. "Hey Shawn, not that I'm not having fun, but how much longer are you going to be playing? It's an off day for me, but it's kind of freaking me out seeing you outside of your room this close to sundown."

Still playing the game, Shawn's eyes instantly bugged out, doubled in size, and moved slowly in Cody's direction even as his head remained in place. He sat there perfectly still.

"What!? What time is it!?" The Zombie Conspiracy Nut shouted. Then he checked his watch, or at least he would have checked his watch if he had been wearing it. Seeing the setting sun through the window, he reacted about as reasonably as anyone could to be expected to under these circumstances.

"FUCK!"

With no added words to further explain his previous statement, Shawn logged his character out then fled the small living room with his controllers in hand and rushed to his room in a matter of seconds. It all happened so fast that Cody and Cameron had only seen a blur. Neither of them fully grasped what had happened until they heard the sound of a thick heavy door slamming shut followed by what sounded like two-dozen locks clicking into place.

Cameron and Cody blinked. Even after knowing him for a few months now, sometimes Shawn's behavior confused and amazed them both.

The Tech Geek turned to the Bubble Boy and asked, "How have you gotten use to that?"

For his part, Cameron merely shrugged. "I'm not sure. But then again, I've got nothing to compare it to. Remember, I spent the last eighteen years of my life inside of a bubble."

Looking back to the window and the setting sun, Cody turned back to Cameron while thumbing over his shoulder. "Please tell me that Shawn is aware that zombies aren't the same as vampires."

Cameron went deadpan at that. "I've had to listen to him rattle off every single fact about zombies in existence, or should I say at least every fact that came after George A. Romero redefined everyone's beliefs about zombies with Night of the Living Dead. As much as I've heard Shawn go on and on and on about zombies, I still don't get how he has no clue that his information only dates back to nineteen sixty eight! And every time I've tried to tell him about actual zombies, you know, the ones from Haitian folklore and culture, he dismisses it as a myth!" The Bubble Boy then stopped, possibly only realizing now how impassioned he was getting about this. "Uh…sorry," he said sheepishly, "it can be frustrating when you know so much about a topic but someone who won't stop talking about it incorrectly refuses to hear the truth." After clearing his throat, Cameron added before sighing. "Okay, so maybe I'm not totally adjusted to Shawn's quirks. But anything can set him off. I really hope that whoever it was that put that zombie pandemic outline on the CDC website got fired for doing it."

Chuckling at remembering that, Cody remarked, "I thought it was a pretty good April fool's joke personally."

"I did as well, before I met Shawn," Cameron said, before adding much more softly, "Then again, a lot of things have changed in my life since meeting Shawn."

Seeing a rare opportunity in his friend's reaction, Cody gave a very Heather like smirk, "Are you afraid that Shawn will scare away Sky if you ever get the nerve to ask her over?"

Cameron deflated at hearing that, like a shanked lawn Santa. "That wasn't cool, Cody." He then sighed sadly. "Just because it's never going to happen doesn't mean I like being reminded of it."

That colored Cody surprised. "Why do you think it could never happen?"

"I'm a geek and a nerd even among other geeks and nerds. I'm so scrawny that my body fat and body muscle ratios are only slightly higher than that of starving people in Africa. Absolutely none of the culturally conditioned aspects that have a male deemed attractive can be found in my physique. Not to mention the fact I have a much easier time reading languages that have been dead for thousands of years than I do people, especially girls, who I have extreme difficulty just talking to." Cameron said, listing off his self-criticisms with effortless ease.

"You talk to Jo all the time."

If possible, Cameron went even more deadpan. "Jo is more of a guy than Brick most of the time. Unless I absolutely have to, I rarely talk to girls if I can get away with it."

Cody was about to wave that notion off, but then he started to really think about it, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the former Bubble Boy was telling the truth. Outside of greetings and farewells to those who sat with him at lunch, he really didn't talk to girls at all. Jo he seemed okay with, but as he pointed out she was more guy than girl most of the time. Zoey, despite being his and Shawn's project mentor and as friendly as a person could be, rarely got more than a few sentences out of him. He practically ignored Dawn, though Cody had chalked that up to being out of fear like most people when it came to her. He only occasionally talked to Heather and then it was only when they were together. And he had only met Jasmine and Sammy once, and even if Cody knew that Jasmine could be intimidating, Sammy was like a sweet little puppy.

The Tech Geek studied the Bubble Boy for a minute before voicing his suspicions. "Cam, are you afraid of girls?"

"Yes, I am. Isn't obvious why?" Cameron asked, before adding, "Outside of my mother and a few of my doctors I haven't ever spoken to anyone of the female gender, or any gender, before coming here. I'm still learning all of the social protocol I missed out on thanks to my homeschooling."

Even though Cody had already heard this before; he never ceased to be amazed by his friend's journey, or more accurately, the lack of one until this very year. Cameron was unquestionable the smartest person in the entire college, and possibly the entire province. When Cody had learned his story, he had been shocked to say the least due to how eerily similar their backgrounds were in many respects. Thanks to eighteen years of total isolation and literally hundreds upon thousands of books about every subject imaginable, the meek adolescent had developed an unrivaled intellect that made Cody look like Owen in comparison.

Cody also remembered when at the beginning of the year everyone took the University provided I.Q. test and Cameron was the only person to score higher than Heather among his group of largely intelligent friends, by a full standard deviation, quite the accomplishment given her score of a hundred and eighteen. Not surprisingly, it was also how he ended up earning a full scholarship to any college or university of his choice. Just because Cameron's classes were taken on a computer instead of in a classroom didn't mean they had gone unnoticed, especially his double eight hundreds on his PSAT and SATs. In the end, he chose the Pertsch & McGillis Memorial University due to it being within driving distance of his home for his mother's peace of mind and his own. [1]

Despite their vastly different personalities and current situations, Cody saw a unique opportunity before him unfolding. They were as different as night and day, but they both came from a very similar background, and as such he could help his new friend out with this particular problem, imparting to him some of the wisdom he had to be taught or learn for himself. "You know, Cam, there really isn't any reason to be afraid of girls, at least not any more than you should be afraid of guys. After all, when you get down to it, they're basically the same, right?"

Cameron looked at Cody equal parts baffled and alarmed, "Uh, that's not true, like, at all. Sexual dimorphism shows the features that differentiate the sexes. The first of which is the repro-"

"That's not what I meant," Cody said, cutting Cameron off before an hour-long lecture about the differences between male and female bodies could be started. "What I meant was that girls are just like guys in the sense that they are people, not some kind of separate species. Let me ask, what kind of guy would you be afraid of if you knew nothing about them?"

Cameron thought about it for a moment before replying, "Someone really big, covered in tattoos, piercings, basic biker type."

Cody nodded having expected a similar answer. "And why would you be afraid of that kind of guy?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because someone like that is trouble, dangerous."

"Right, now, use that same logic when it comes to girls, same as you would with guys," Cody said. "If a girl doesn't look like she is dangerous or a threat the same way a guy would, it means more than likely she isn't one."

"But that's not true either. Outward appearances don't automatically convey inner characteristics. Someone could look as sweet as could be or be kind and charming but could actually be a serial killer. Ted Bundy's victims had to learn that the hard way," Cameron pointed out almost like a reflex.

Cody groaned at that, knowing how sometimes when he was nervous about something Cameron would do this, pull out facts that were true and that couldn't be disputed, but that also made it that much harder for people to help him out. It wasn't intentional or to stop such efforts, it was just a habit that formed from growing up in an environment almost entirely made up of facts and raw information with little to no social precedent to draw from.

Even so, the Tech Geek was quick to think up a response. Another benefit from his years with Heather, though not one he seemed conscious of, was he could quite easily pick apart someone when it came to debates or arguments, almost like a game of mental skeet shooting. "Yes, that's true, appearances can be deceiving. A warm smile can hide malice and even hatred. But, unlike you, no offense, I can speak from experience when I say this. I've spent plenty of time with girls. And trust me when I say this, they aren't monsters or things to be feared. They can't turn you into stone and they aren't some magical mystical creature that will condemn you to a life of solitude if you do something wrong. At worst, they can't hurt you any worse than a guy can. Remember Eva from Total Drama Island?"

Both of the college-level geeks got a chuckle out of the pure truth of that statement.

After that, Cameron said nothing and stared at his friend, as if studying him, which made Cody a little worried. When Cameron got his mind going, he was a mental juggernaut who could crush almost any opposing point of view if he wanted to. Thankfully he rarely did.

"You're always so confident around people, Cody. Girls and guys alike. And you never seem to have trouble making friends. How I envy that confidence," Cameron said sadly.

Cody was quiet for a moment. Only when Cameron raised an eyebrow did he answer. "I wasn't always confident, especially around girls Cam. And while I might be confident now, it use to just be desperation really, not the same thing. The reason I was always trying to make friends, especially on Total Drama, was the fact that I was so lonely growing up."

The Bubble Boy looked at his cooler friend with surprise, followed by confusion.

"Both of my parents are lawyers, very good ones, and they've always had a lot of clients," Cody elaborated. "And because of that they are always traveling around, and rarely home." He then looked Cameron dead in the eye when he added, "I wasn't joking back on World Tour when I said that my parents had forgotten my birthday. So I-"

"Your parents forgot your birthday!?" Cameron shouted in shock. "When did you say that!?"

That reaction caught Cody off-guard. "Uh…in the episode in the Canadian Badlands. Near the end of the season, with the dinosaur skeletons, have you gotten to that one yet?"

The Bubble Boy shook his head. "No, I haven't, I'm on the episode where you were in Jamaica."

"Ah, I see. So you haven't gotten that far yet." The Tech Geek said while adding to himself, 'So you haven't gotten to the part where things turned really shitty yet.' "Anyway," he continued, "because of that I was practically raised by a nanny. I'm pretty sure I've spent three quarters of my life without seeing or hearing from my parents."

"Wow…I'm really sorry for-" The freshman started only to be cut off by a waving gesture from Cody.

"Don't worry about, but thanks for the apology. I came to terms with it a long time ago. I know it looks and sounds bad, but my parents really do work hard because they're doing what they think is the best for me. They didn't exactly have much growing up and they don't want me going through what they did growing up. Besides, as twisted as it might sound, it's a big part of why I'm so outgoing and willing to make friends now in days, hell it's always been half the reason why I don't have any problems with girls."

"What is the other half?" Cameron asked, clearly interested.

"Now? Heather. But back then? I never actually thought one would talk to me, or, you know, want anything to do with me."

Cameron's already large eyes growing even larger in alarm revealed how that got his attention.

"Yeah, I just sort of accepted that I would be alone for the rest of my life and that the only way I would ever get a girlfriend or married would be a mail ordered bride. Expecting and accepting one hundred percent failure before even trying, I never actually thought about what might happen if one said yes or did become my friend." Cody explained.

"If that's true, then what about Gwen?" Cameron asked. "Why didn't you panic after befriending her?"

Cody was quiet for a moment, looking away before schooling his features as passive as he could. "Actually, I did panic, at least after Gwen gave me her bra and I realized that she did see me as sort of a friend. Sure, it took awhile to hit me because I was really excited after I found it after the trip to Boney Island. It was the first piece of lady underwear I had seen in person that didn't belong to my mother and I had gotten out of doing dishes because of my bet with Owen. But once that initial rush wore off, I was terrified."

Pausing to collect his thoughts, Cody continued. "As crazy as it might sound, it was actually because after that, Gwen started to treat me a lot nicer that really made me panic. True, I was eliminated shortly after that but she still treated me like a true friend, at least compared to what I had back home. I honestly didn't know how to handle that, but I didn't show it, lest I spoil the first good thing to come my way in a long time. I just kept all my panic inside with no one the wiser," he paused and darkly chuckled, "I guess Heather isn't the only one who can hide their emotions, eh?" When Cody got no answer from Cameron, he coughed a few times before resuming. "Anyways, I didn't really know how to treat girls back then, so I just sort of went with the first thing that popped into my head."

"How did that go?"

"Do the words, 'You smell nice', ring any bells?" Cody said while using air-quotes with his hands. "It went over like a dead baby joke in a room full of expectant mothers."

"But if it went over so badly, why did you keep trying?" Cameron asked, now even more perplexed.

"I wanted to get it right, or at least fix the damage I had done as well as I could hope to do," The Tech Geek said, before adding, "I've had plenty of practice when it came to trying to learn something new, and that method always worked in the past."

"Maybe it's me but I feel like the more I talk to you, the more questions I have," Cameron said, starting to get both confused and annoyed by this endless questioning with very little in the way of results. "But what exactly does that even mean?"

Cody went deadpan. "Need I remind you that my parents were never home growing up, and I really didn't have a lot of friends? What do you think I did with all my spare time?"

Cameron stared at him blankly, not having an answer.

The Tech Geek sighed. "What did you do for those eighteen years in your bubble?"

"Read. Almost nothing but read. Maybe I would play the occasional video game or watch a movie here and there but by in-large I devoted most of my abundant free time to reading every book I could get, on just about every subject that's been written."

"So, would you say that you did what you thought would prepare you for later in life?"

"Yes."

"Well, it was pretty much the same case with me. The difference is my range of topics was more varied." Cody explained. "With no parents around, few friends, and both a healthy sized allowance and an empty house, I had so much time and space on my hands that I could try just about anything I wanted to. Basically, I'd try to learn about or learn how to do, just about anything. I thought that the more I knew and knew how to do, the more likely I would be able to attract people to myself, and that would mean I could make new friends no matter where I was. Anything that was popular I tried to learn at least a little about, cars, art, music, movies, video games, animals, plants, yoga, sports, hell, even fashion, history, and mathematics. I even poured myself into learning other languages because I thought that the more things I knew and could talk about, the more friends I would make."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, at least somewhat, some of the time," Cody answered vaguely, before adding, "Like I said, I could talk about pretty much anything, at least for a little while. But it took me a long time to realize that I was overdoing it, and that meant I ended up chasing people away because I was annoying the crap out of them. I didn't find out until much later that my efforts were so phony that even Lindsay could see it. I'll admit that I didn't really know what I was doing back then, but at the same time…I really didn't care that much either, mostly because I lacked self-confidence."

"What changed?"

It took a moment for Cody to respond, the Tech Geek trying to piece together the precise words needed to explain without giving any actual details, another trait he had picked up from his girlfriend over the years. "Someone taught me that you can't just beat around the bush and hope you'll get what you want, that you can't be afraid of asking for what you want in life," Cody said cryptically before looking Cameron dead in the eyes, with a stare more serious than the Bubble Boy had ever seen on his friend. "Listen, I'm going to be blunt and tell you the truth point blank, Cam. If you never try, you'll always fail, one hundred percent of the time. And if you never ask for or try to get what you want, you'll never get it. If nothing else, you need to remember that. Doesn't matter if it's Sky, more self-confidence, or the cure to cancer, you have to go for it. You might fail, it might get away, and you might screw up, but if you don't go after it you'll have already failed."

There was a long silence after that; Cameron simply stared at his friend, his expression unclear. He looked torn and worried, but also oddly hopeful and eager. It was a bizarre, clashing look.

Eventually, the Bubble Boy landed on the later side of the emotional spectrum as he said, "Thanks Cody. I need to think about what you said; this is a lot for me to take in at once."

"I totally understand," Cody replied, "it was a lot for me to take in too. The only reason I learned it was because I had a great coach there when I needed one to give me a push. Hopefully I can do the same for you." With that, the Tech Geek looked at his watch and felt his eyes grow wide. "Wow, it's getting late, hey, it's been fun but I've got to go."

"Wait a minute!" Cameron suddenly shouted, catching Cody by surprise. "Before you go, there's something that I want to give you. I'll be right back!"

With that, the Bubble Boy rushed over to his desk, and after a moment of rummaging through it grabbed something then rushed back to the Tech Geek, who he handed it off to.

Cody inspected the object in his hands, with his teal eyes widening in sheer disbelief. What he was holding was the very same object he had been looking at on-line earlier that day.

A yellow Jacket Smartphone taser battery pack.

Cody was quite surprised by the gift, but despite how grateful he was for it he looked over at Cameron questioningly. Coincidences were one thing, but they only covered so much.

"Yeah, I, uh…kinda hacked into your smart phone at lunch," The Bubble Boy said, slightly squirming. "You were so focused on your phone, and I was worried about you, but I didn't want to tell you because I don't want to offend you."

Cody looked up at that, but Cameron didn't understand why, thinking that Cody was simply surprised. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he asked, "Why do you have this, Cam?"

Unaware of the true reason for his friend's discomfort, the Bubble Boy explained, "Since this is the first time I'm living out of the house, I thought I should have some protection."

'Too unsettled to use any obvious jokes,' Cody thought to himself, his brain still frozen.

"Don't worry about taking it. I've got a few of them actually," Cameron continued to say, "this one is a spare, just in case something happens to one of the other nine I've got on rotation."

It took Cody a few moments to remember that Cameron hadn't hacked his phone for any malicious reasons. And because of that, he decided to let the offense slide…for now.

"T-thanks, Cam," Cody said. "It's getting late so I better go. Goodbye and goodnight."

"Goodbye and goodnight," Cameron said warmly as he smiled at one of his best friends.

With that, the Tech Geek left his friends' apartment. With the new device in hand, Cody made the short trek towards his own dorm.

The evening sky above the university was a beautiful ruby red, as the massive sphere of amber yellow that was the sun had become halfway set. The first advances of what would be the darkness of night that was only an hour or so away covered many of the buildings devoted to learning. For as far as the eye could see, the only movement, getting harder and harder to detect in the decreasing light, was the rocking back and forth of the grass in the night wind, the same cool evening air sweeping against his face.

As he walked step by step towards the source of all the dread that was just starting to ferment in his gut, Cody distracted himself by thinking back to what he had said to his socially lacking friend.

More than anything, he thought about how he had told Cameron that you couldn't be afraid to ask for what you want in life because if you never do you'll never get it.

Shaking his head, he couldn't help but chuckle. 'I doubt Cameron would have survived learning that lesson the way I did. Poor kid would have had a heart attack.'

---

September 22, 2014

While far from his first time, it was still a rare occurrence for the Tech Geek to find himself in Heather's bedroom. Not for fear of being caught by her father or the family butler or any of their maids or servants, no, the main reason was simply that Heather loathed her father's mansion and avoided it whenever possible for as long as possible. Unlike his previous visits however there was no sense of wonder or amazement, he wasn't taking in every scrap of detail; rather he was forlorn and more than a little worried.

The Queen Bee had asked him to meet her, but rather than just picking her up and driving back to his place for the weekend as had become their custom, she lead him inside by the hand, uttering those four little words that makes every boyfriends' heart freeze.

'We need to talk.'

She didn't look upset or angry or hurt, so his immediate fears were laid to rest. But her expression was still rather pensive, her brow narrowed in concentration and lips pursed, it was a look he had come to know meant she was trying to sort her thoughts and find the exact words to explain what she was thinking. He had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but the silence as she lead him through the hallways and stairways was killing him.

After all, it had only been a few weeks since their senior year had started, since they went public with their relationship. There was no way he could have screwed things up that badly that quickly.

Was there?

"Please have a seat," Heather motioned to the end of her bed as she finally released his hand. Not wanting to add to the tense atmosphere he quickly took a seat while she stood a few feet in front of him. Her arms crossed, with her left elbow resting in her right hand as she lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was not quite her 'business mode' but it was more similar than not. After a few moments passed she took a breath, and began.

"Cody, for last few weeks I couldn't help but notice a few…discrepancies, and I would like for you to clear them up for me. The main thing that's bothering me is that you've been extremely withdrawn whenever we've been together since school started, especially while we're in public. I'm also concerned by how you've been acting whenever someone teases or heckles you. The first because for as long as I've known you you've never been anything but outgoing, the second because I watched you brush off bullies like water on a duck for the last two years."

She paused, giving Cody a chance to explain himself or say anything he wished to help with her confusion. However he took the opportunity to look away, now that he knew what this was about. The truth of the matter was quite simple, but for him at least it was far more complex.

Feeling her small hand on his jaw, his face was pulled back and up towards hers. The look of concern and the desire to help as plain as day, the worry etched on her brow.

"Cody, please, tell me what's wrong. I don't like seeing you like this, I want to help you but I need to know what the problem is, what's bothering you, and why."

Trying to turn away from her again, he was stopped as the small hand still resting on the side of his face turned hard as steel.

"Cody," her tone was still one of concern, but carried a familiar edge to it he knew was a warning.

Sighing, Cody shook his head and closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them to look off to the side of her room.

"I…Heather…ever since we went public…"

Fearful teal met concerned grey as she pulled his face to meet hers.

"Ever since we went public?" she repeated carefully, both trying to encourage him to continue and decipher and clues or hints in what he had said so far.

He tried to look away again, this time only moving his eyes from hers. A heartbeat passed and he tried again. Another heartbeat later and he tried again. No matter how many beats passed however he couldn't look away, her eyes radiating nothing but concern and worry for him, fueled by a desire to help and a promise to do so if it was within her considerable powers.

Idly, he thought back to how her piercing eyes used to hold him fast by instilling fear, taking everything he had to look away from her Medusa-like gaze. It was ironic that her concern for him and his wellbeing could be so much more intense and powerful than even her most venomous and withering of glares.

Staring into the deep twin pools before him, he could see, he knew beyond anything that she would wait for his answer no matter how long it took. Not as a guard dog waiting at a fence for some would be trespasser, but as someone offering their hand to help another up from the ground.

Just as he had done for her so many times before.

Feeling her thumb and fingers moving across his face with a gentle caress, he closed his eyes and nuzzled into her hand with a sigh. What he was about to do was easily one of the five most difficult things he had ever done in his life. Not quite as difficult as the first time he'd worked up the courage to kiss her out of the blue, but slightly more difficult than the day he threw away Gwen's bra last year.

Talking about his feelings and emotions wasn't as big a deal for him as it was for most guys, but there were some areas that he tended to be…sensitive about, and this was one of them.

Opening his eyes to meet hers once more, he carefully took her hand from his face and held it tightly.

"Ever since we went public," pausing again he had to force the feelings of shame and humiliation down. If she was going to go this far for him, after everything else she had already done for him, the least he could do is meet her half way.

"Ever since we went public, everyone's started treating you…they've started treating you the way they treat me."

Her brow drew together as her eyes narrowed, mulling over his statement like a cipher.

"I've been picked on, teased, pranked, belittled and all around crapped on for as long as I can remember. Part of me…well, hoped that maybe, after we went public about…us, it would stop." Pausing to gauge her reaction, he could tell she was waiting for him to clarify what he'd already said, or better explain it as on the surface it sounded an awful lot like he'd been trying to improve his social standing through her.

Luckily he picked up on that and was quick to belay those thoughts.

"Honestly, I wouldn't have cared if they did or didn't, it just…would have been nice if they did, you know?"

Heather nodded, understanding now that he was speaking in terms of a bonus, something in addition, not a primary want or concern. But that still left the question of just what was bothering him to answer.

"Like I said, I don't care how they treat me really, I'm…used to it…but…" taking her other hand in his, his expression became downcast. "I don't like seeing them treat you like they treat me…and I hate not being able to do anything to stop it."

Heather's eyes widened just slightly and he could almost see the gears turning in her head as the light bulb went off.

One part developing ego plus two parts male pride multiplied by new public relationship status equals male self-image issues.

In other words, Cody was feeling down on himself because of how she was being treated as a result of their relationship now being known to the school and being powerless to do anything about it.

Giving an appreciative smile, though tempering it with a slight hint of disapproval, Heather slid her hands out from his and moved them to his shoulders, taking them into a firm grip.

"Cody, I've dealt with a lot worse than some unflattering nicknames and general douche baggery over the years." Feeling him trying to look away again, she moved with him, keeping herself in front of him so as to keep her hands on his shoulders she continued. "I'm a short, skinny, bitchy, flat chested Queen Bee that got burned more times on international television than I could care to count."

Seeing him snort and trying to cover it she smiled. "I'll admit, it feels…good to know you want to be my knight in shining armor, but you do realize I can handle myself right?" Seeing him nod glumly, she took a moment to gather her thoughts, pursing her lips before coming to a decision.

"But…just because I can take care of myself, that doesn't mean I would be…against you doing it from time to time, and to be honest…I feel the same way when I see them treating you like that."

When she paused Cody's expression changed to one of confusion.

"I don't like seeing my boyfriend treated like crap by a bunch of rich ass holes or moronic jocks, it's actually why I have been trying to draw them to me actually, so they would give you a break."

That bit of news made Cody's jaw drop, and in turn Heather's smile became a lopsided grin.

"I told you, I can take care of myself, but…if it's really bothering you that much…you already know that I'm more than willing to help you with anything that I can." Stopping, her eyes shifted into a sharp glare before turning softer. "But more importantly, I want to know that you can stand up for yourself, by yourself," pausing again she nodded to herself, seemingly having come to a decision. "I know it's going to be a long process but I think I've come up with the first stepping stone for that."

Once again, Heather paused, took a few steps back from her boyfriend and studied him for several long moments, inspecting him from head to toe. This of course confused him because while she had said quite a bit, she hadn't actually explained anything.

"We need to start by making you more assertive, and I think the best place to do that would be somewhere private, somewhere you are comfortable and enjoy."

Waiting expectantly, nothing could have prepared Cody for what she said next.

"In the bedroom."

Ignoring his bewildered expression she continued. "As you've likely noticed, I'm always the one taking the lead whenever we have sex, or do anything the least bit sexual. You're always willing to go along with whatever I want, and I doubt you've ever really not enjoyed what we do, but at the same time…I think it might be a bit of a problem, for both of us. I never really thought about it before, but in all the time that we've been together, and after all the things we've done, I've never once actually asked you what you wanted to do. I always just took charge and decided what happens."

She paused yet again. And once more Cody's expression was one of extreme discomfort. She could literally see his desire to be anywhere on earth except where he was right now. That made her realize just how bad things still were between them.

"I meant what I had said back on that beach, Cody. If you want something, take it, or at least ask me. You don't need to hide anything from me or try to be sneaky about something you want. I know these past few weeks have been hard on you, and I'm really sorry for that. The lion's share of the blame for this is mine, between waiting so long before revealing our relationship and always taking the lead, you've never really had a chance to do what you want."

"Heather, its fine," Cody said, finally speaking up at long last, "I'm okay with things the way they are."

"Even if you are, I'm not!" Heather answered back, a little harsher than she had intended judging by her pained expression that followed. Her voice softened as she looked at him and placed her hands on his shoulders once more. "I love you, Cody. And I want you to feel as comfortable and open with me as I do with you. If something is bothering you, or upsetting you, or if you want something, you can always tell me, you know that right?"

That response surprised Cody, which in turn surprised Heather. Both were silent.

"I-I had no idea that you felt that way, that you trusted me that much," The Tech Geek finally said, before the awkward silence could get too loud.

"Cody, of course I trust you. I've trusted you for years now. Why do you think I was always telling you my secrets and my problems? Even before we got together I trusted you."

"I always thought it was just you know, blowing off steam or getting problems off your chest," Cody replied, his surprise more than evident.

That response only saddened Heather even more. He had been thoroughly conditioned to passively accept all of her shit, to the point where he believed it was just a part of how their relationship was, despite him probably hating it. That, more than anything, forced her to realize just how little she really understood about a true relationship, and how much work she was going to have to do to make things up with Cody.

"I-I'm sorry Cody," Heather said, her usually commanding voice nowhere, replaced with one only Cody ever heard, one that was vulnerable, "I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through. I've really have been a pretty shitty excuse for a girlfriend."

"Heather, I don't think that-" Cody refuted.

"Cody, stop, just stop!" Heather barked, directing some of her current self-loathing at her boyfriend who instantly clammed up. She almost instantly realized her mistake, and looked at him apologetically once more. "Sorry Sweetie, but I need to say this, and you need to hear it. I already know what you're going to say and no, I'm not talking about me cheating on you. But that still adds to my point." She paused and gathered her wits before continuing, "Our entire relationship has been based on what I want. Doing what I wanted to do, going where I wanted to go. Even when we have sex, it's always been when, how and what I wanted."

"For the record, I'm not exactly complaining about that last one," Cody pointed out.

"Well you should!" Heather snapped, feeling angry both at Cody for being so passive about this and herself for having encouraged, even demanded, it for so long. "Because honestly, I never would have stayed with someone who treated me the way I've treated you, or made me go along with this as much as I've made you," Heather seethed, though at him or herself he couldn't quite tell.

Cody, despite the years of being with Heather and his considerable growth in character, looked like he did before he and Heather started hanging out, at a complete loss for what to say or do.

"I'm going to help you become more confident and finally grow a spine," Heather continued, her rage at herself having cooled down. At seeing Cody's glum expression, she reassured him, "I'm not ashamed of you or embarrassed to be with you Cody, at all, in any way, period. I just can't stand seeing how everyone is getting to you now when they never did before. You've always been so confident before, none of the bullies got to you before our relationship went public."

"That wasn't confidence, Heather. It was apathy," Cody corrected. For the first time since their conversation had started, Heather's eyes widened noticeably. She felt the almost forgotten sensation of shock hit her square in the gut. It was rare for her boyfriend to catch her off-guard; he rarely had secrets and wore his heart on his sleeve. So this was like getting hit by a baseball in the side of the face.

"I literally didn't care what anyone else thought or said about me because I had no reason to. I had nothing in my life that made me feel like what was happening was wrong or any different than what everyone else went through. I mean, yeah, I knew logically and morally that it was wrong but emotionally I couldn't convince myself of it. But now that I have you…I-I…I don't know how to feel about it…I'm so happy with you but-but…"

He sighed and lowered his head, now looking at the floor. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. Like I said, I thought revealing our relationship would make things better…but it…I had been dreaming of the day we would go public with our relationship for so long. I thought that finally, everyone would see that I was a somebody; somebody who mattered. I mean; I bagged the Heather Wilson, the girl every guy in our school dreams of calling their girlfriend. Who'd deserved more props than that guy? But instead, now you're getting treated the same way I do. I finally got what I wanted most…but I feel even worse for it. I'm not just a nobody; I'm the nobody that ruined the reputation of our school's most popular girl."

The Queen Bee watched over her boyfriend, who was looking more and more depressed as he poured out his heart and soul to her. The revelation that Cody had his own not-quite-so-honest hopes and intentions wasn't exactly surprising, but it still stung all the same. Still, given how much the way she was now being treated bothered him, she could tell that those old hopes and wants held a lot less sway over him now than they use to. She had been feeling bad and guilty before, but now those feelings were multiplied several times over at seeing the guy she had come to love look so confused, powerless, and saddened.

Along with the sting of his former hopes of popularity and social standing through her, which she had to admit she should have seen early on, there was something else that drew the majority of her attention. 'It wasn't that Cody had a lot of self-confidence that suddenly vanished when we went public,' Heather thought to herself. 'He never actually had much to begin with, but he didn't have any reason to care then. Now, he's got a reason, me, but still no self-confidence to help him out. Way to go Heather! Even when you're trying to help him you just end up hurting him!'

"Listen," Heather said, breaking the silence and the negative thoughts swirling in her head, "we need to make some changes."

Instantly, Cody looked afraid, no doubt dreading what Heather had in mind.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad and it's nothing serious," The Queen Bee promised, addressing the unspoken fears of the Tech Geek upfront. "I want to help-, no, I need to help you. I told you that I had an idea to help make you more assertive, we're still going with it, but now we're going to add to it. By the time I'm finished, you won't just be standing up to those ass-holes and preps, you'll be standing up to me when you need to. Starting now, and until I say otherwise, we won't be having any sex unless you ask me for it."

Cody's already glum mood only submerged even further at hearing that. "How is me begging for sex suppose to make me more assertive?"

"I didn't say beg," Heather flicked her boyfriend on the nose before continuing. "I said ask, there is a difference." Heather corrected. "I want you to show some initiative, initiative is the first thing you need to be assertive, and being assertive is the first step to being confident." Glancing off to the side she took a breath before turning her attention back to him. "Even though it wasn't the case at first, I do see you as my equal now, and I want our relationship to be the same, as equals. Not just me ordering you around like the world's best trained gimp."

"Th-there's nothing wrong with things the way they are now," Cody replied, sounding unsure and a bit wary at her wording. He would be the first person to admit he was submissive and passive, but a gimp? Even his meager pride felt prickled at that one. "I-I mean, I enjoy what we do together, a lot, obviously, you've never heard me complain before, not about the sex anyways. You've been a great girlfriend."

Feeling a mixture of annoyance and sadness, Heather shook her head. "Even if you do enjoy everything we've done together so far, it's just you enjoying what I want to do. That's not the same as us doing something you want to do." She then paused and added, "Honestly though, this shouldn't be that big of a problem if what you're saying is true. If you've really enjoyed everything we've done then you should be able to tell me what you want, or ask me to do something without a problem. We've been together for over a year now, and we've done just about everything two people could in a bed at least once." Hands on her hips, she cocked one to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Well? Come on, I'm right here, what do you want to do?"

Cody started wilting like a dying flower at that point. It was only after hearing her explain it like that, combined with how he still couldn't will himself to ask for something, that he realized just how right his girlfriend was. What's more he knew the reason he was like this. He honestly didn't know how to feel right now, a part of him was angry at Heather, since she was the one who had make him like this, a larger part was angry at himself for allowing it.

"See, this is why this is such a problem," Heather pointed out. "We've had sex or done something sexual at least once a day every day for the last year. The number of times I've sucked your cock is at least in the triple digits, we've fucked on just about every flat surface in this house, horizontal or vertical twice over, and you're the only guy I've ever let ever fuck me in the ass, twice, I might add. After all of that, you shouldn't have a problem telling me, your girlfriend, that you want sex. The fact that you do is an issue, and one that needs to be fixed."

Cody was once again silent for a few moments, looking away from his girlfriend. Heather was starting to get worried. It took her a few moments, but then she had an idea, one that made her smirk to herself after she finished rolling her eyes.

Licking her lips and taking a deep breath, she exhaled. As she did so, 'The Queen Bee' vanished in the blink of an eye, and in her place was 'The Flirt'. Her frame going slack and relaxed, eyes hooded and smirk shifting to as sexy as she could make it, she gave a girly giggle; the kind that she knew would get Cody hard on its own. Of course the moment he heard the giggle he looked up, exactly what she wanted.

Taking careful measured steps, her hips swinging with each footfall, she closed the distance between them. "Ya know," she began in a deep sensual tone before climbing onto Cody's lap and bringing her face close to his. "I'm right here," she punctuated the statement by grinding her ass against his crotch, "with no one else around," still sensual her tone took on a playful chime. "No one's going to bother us for hours," she stretched the word 'hours' to the breaking point. "It's just you, and your hot girlfriend, alone in her bedroom, on her bed, with her sitting on your dick," she wiggled her bum to settle against him, "who will literally do anything that you want," she made sure to stretch the 'anything' and put as much emphasis on the 'you want' part as humanly possible. "What do you say we try to get the number of times we fucked into the triple digits too?" she asked, putting as much sensual undertone as she could into her voice. Her arms entangled themselves around his shoulders before she leaned back, flashing him a wink and grinding a little bit more on his lap.

There was zero response from Cody. He was just as quiet as before, though she could certainly feel him 'reacting' to her pitch.

Now Heather was starting to get worried. Outside of when she had cheated on him, she had never seen Cody this distant before. Dropping the sexy slut act, she moved her hands from his shoulders to the Tech Geek's cheeks. After guiding his face to hers, she spoke to him as what she was, a concerned girlfriend, "Seriously Cody, is there anything you want to do? Any, requests, or maybe little fantasies you have?"

Cody looked down and away from Heather at that.

The Queen Bee sighed and lifted herself up from Cody's lap, sitting down next to him and taking one of his hands in her own. As she gave it a few loving, comforting squeezes, she tried again. "Can you please try to think of something…for me? It doesn't have to be anything serious or detailed, but I need something to start things off. Don't worry; I'll go easy on you," she ended with a bit of sincere laughter, hoping that Cody would join her in mirth.

He didn't, he was still quiet at still as a statue. Now not only was it worrying Heather, but it was starting to bother her too. She had many bad traits and qualities, but they had developed very useful skills over the years, especially when it came to reading people.

'The fact that he's still quiet isn't a good sign. Either he doesn't trust me as much as I trust him, he still isn't completely over me cheating on him…or he's got something he's hiding from me. Maybe some kind of fetish he thinks, or knows I'll react badly to if I found out?' Heather thought to herself, starting to lose hope that she would be able to help him. She had many years of experience when it came to breaking people, forcing them under her thumb. The opposite…not so much. Still you had to start somewhere, and she had a pretty good idea of what she needed to do, she just needed him to give her something to work with.

"Let's try this then," Heather said, her voice was controlled, soft but showing just a hint of exasperation "just think of something, anything off the top of your head. In fact, just tell me the first thing that pops into your head when you think about us having sex. Don't worry about if I'll like it or not, this is entirely about you, what you want. No matter what it is, I'll do it, just tell me, what do you want?"

That got a reaction out of Cody, whose face turned a healthy state of red.

'Okay, that makes me feel a little better, he does have an idea in mind at least my cheating on him isn't the problem. That just leaves him not trusting me, or fearing my reaction to whatever it is he's thinking…'

This line of thinking actually did make her pause for a moment in mild concern. While she was very familiar with the world of sex, including fetishes and kinks, it was only after she got with Cody that she learned just how little she actually was aware of. Just about anything a person could think of or name there was a fetish for, and at least a dozen porn sites for it. Different races or builds, redhead to Asian, from flat chest to busty, those she knew about. But tentacle and preggo porn? She could have lived quite happily without knowing those existed. In Cody's own words, 'Nerds are freaking weird sometimes.'

'Still, it doesn't matter, whatever it is he's thinking about, whatever it is he wants, I can do it, at least once if it means getting him started,' The Queen Bee thought to herself as she showed a small smirk, which subtly weakened. 'Even if it means I can never eat calamari again.'

As Heather's mind continued to spiral deeper and deeper over the possibilities of just what it was her boyfriend was thinking about, she noticed Cody was finally managing to speak up. She was pleased, at least at first, but that soon passed when she realized that she couldn't understand what he was saying. His voice was so quiet that she couldn't hear him, let alone understand him. Dying mice would have had stronger voices than his right now, and lip reading wasn't something she was particularly good at.

Getting closer, pressing her ear against Cody's blushing face, Heather asked, "I didn't quite catch that, could you repeat it? It's okay to whisper if you need to."

With his face turning an even darker shade of red, Cody nodded, whispering was definitely needed since he was pretty sure that he would spontaneously explode from embarrassment if she said what he just had out loud. So, with his voice as soft as it could be, he repeated the statement a second time.

As Heather listened to his mumbled words, barely audible even as he whispered them directly into her ear, she unconsciously reacted. Her eyes opened slightly from their narrowing of concentration. While her mind was running over his words, she found herself frozen in place out of surprise. She hadn't quite been sure what to expect, and while many possibilities had come to the forefront of her mind, his request had not been one of them. She hadn't thought it was possible, but Cody had managed to blindside her.

Her confusion and surprise was cut short Cody suddenly stood up and turned to leave. Looking upwards, Heather saw that his face was even redder than before, and that his eyes were glistening slightly. Though it was hard to hear, she caught him muttering about how he shouldn't' have said anything as he started walking.

Acting before Cody could get more than a few steps away from her; Heather grabbed him by the forearm. Her slender, feminine fingers were just strong enough to hold the fidgeting teen in place. "Cody, I don't have any problems with something like that. I really don't. I just wasn't expecting anything like that is all." She quickly noticed Cody's embarrassed reaction and grimaced at her choice of words. Not wanting to give him the wrong impression she tried again. "When I said I'd do whatever you wanted, I expected an actual…thing, you know, like a hand job, a blowjob, or even doggy style. This just…simply caught me off guard. That's all."

Silence filled the air for a few moments.

"Was there…anything else?" Heather asked, breaking the silence with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. At seeing Cody's reaction, she quickly added, "I told you, I don't have a problem with this; I just want to know if you want me to do anything else, anything more specific or detailed?" Cody didn't look up at her, keeping his increasingly embarrassed face down at the floor he shook his head signifying that he didn't have anything else.

'Better not push him any further, his condition is a lot worse than I thought.' Mentally sighing she could see everything unfolding before her. 'It's going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort to repair the damage I've done, but at least I can fix this, I think,' The Queen Bee thought to herself before guiding her blushing geek of a boyfriend back to her bed. After sitting him down on its end, she lightly placed her hands on his shoulders. "Just sit right here and wait for me. I won't be long."

Cody looked up at that, clearly surprised.

"I told you, I don't have a problem with this," Heather reminded him with a tiny smirk. "I asked you to tell me something you wanted. You did, so now I'm going to give it to you." She gave Cody a wink and then a small kiss on his cheek.

With that, Heather turned her back to her boyfriend and walked towards her closet, her hips swaying and sashaying with each step until she reached and opened the doors, stepped inside then closed them behind her. After flicking on the light switch she looked around the cavern of clothing that was the size of an average home's master bedroom for something very specific.

Cody sat there, his backside sinking into the mattress' memory foam a nervous wreck. Every few seconds, another part of his body twitched and another nerve was fried. Soon the very comfortable bed, with its purple silken sheets, started to feel like an iron chair. He endured the imagined chair of spikes and metal for a few minutes before standing up.

He had decided to chicken out.

At that moment he hated himself. He had reverted back to the spineless virgin he had been before Heather had popped his cherry. As she had pointed out they had done quite a bit together, but always at her choosing, the very idea of having to take charge or telling her what to do was triggering his fight or flight response. Needless to say, he didn't have anything invested in the 'fight' side. His body wouldn't stop shaking and his mind couldn't form a coherent thought outside of the desire, the need, to get out of here.

Cody was half way to the door when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Where are you going?"

Instantly, Cody froze in place, he'd been caught red-handed, as well as red-faced. That same crimson face looked down at the floor, ashamed of both being caught and how he felt so pathetic right now despite nothing having even happened. His face rose to apologize for his bout of cowardice, but that was as far as he got.

Standing just outside the closet doors was Heather, not just the hottest girl from school, but the very same one who'd taken his virginity…standing in her cheerleader outfit.

The tight top exposed most of the entirety of her upper body, reaching only a few inches under her bust line, while the sleeves reached just past her elbows. In turn the rather short skirt didn't even reach past her thighs. To this day (though he would never complain about it) he still couldn't fathom how they were allowed despite the schools dress code. The entire ensemble was of course in their school's colors, a rich lime green, with white trim along the edges of the skirt, collar, and shirtsleeves.

Cody faintly recalled how at some point Heather had complained about the uniform, not about the cut but rather the color, citing how she didn't think she looked good in green. From his vantage point, Cody wholeheartedly disagreed. In his honest opinion he thought she looked truly stunning. This was of course aided by the fact that this particular green outfit tightly hugged her curves and exposed quite a bit of cleavage.

Eventually, and it was eventually, Cody was able pry his eyes away from the outfit and up to the face of the girl wearing it. When he did, he saw a small but noticeable frown.

Still, Cody's face was burning a rather brilliant shade of crimson. Even though he had seen Heather in far less, never once had he seen her in something just because he asked her to wear it before. At this point, even her being completely naked wouldn't have been as sexy in his mind.

Noticing his reaction caused Heather to offer up a small, soft smile of pleasure. Not her usual sexy smirk, but an honest (though small) smile. Keeping that inviting expression on her angelic face, she approached the nervous yet painfully aroused Tech Geek with her full unstoppable swagger. She approached him slowly, swaying her breasts and backside as much as she could with each step while still looking natural.

When she finally reached the fidgeting nerd, she stopped and her smile slid back into its usual smoky haze of a smirk. "Do you like what you see?" she asked, already knowing the answer but wanting his confirmation all the same. Cody nodded a very emphatic 'yes'.

Cocking her hips slightly and studying him from under hooded eyes she grinned. "Good, now I am going to tell you something, something very important okay?" When Cody simply remained exactly as he had been, barely moving and likely not even breathing, she repeated herself, "Are you listening?" Seeing him nod again she continued. "Now, I want to take a good, long look at me, and remember this okay?" Seeing him nod, her smirk deepened. "Whenever you're worried about asking for something you want, just think of this." Hands on her collarbone, she moved them down over her breasts to her bare stomach, letting them come to a stop at the top of her skirt. "This is what happens when you tell me what you want instead of just doing what I want." Closing the distance between them, she then pulled herself to Cody, wrapping her arms around his neck hung onto him as she kissed him. It was a long, deep, passionate kiss. When the Queen Bee finally released her lover's lips, giving them a slightly nibble as she did so, she smirked while smoothly asking, "Still good with just doing what I want all the time?"

The display of Heather, using her considerable powers of sexual charm and skill to their highest degree was enough to effectively overpower her aroused but nervous boyfriend. Cody Anderson had been reduced into a mumbling, stuttering mess by just this display alone. Broken fragments of syllables, the embryos of words, were shattered by his over clocked brain as they attempted to leave his lips only to be ensnarled like smashed paws in a bear trap.

The Queen Bee looked at her broken mess of a boyfriend coyly yet sympathetically. 'I better go easy on him. Don't want to push him too hard and scare him.'

With that thought hidden behind her controlled, sexy smile, Heather walked back to her bed, leading Cody by pulling him along by the collar of his shirt. Despite being taller and stronger than her, he didn't put up anything that could even vaguely be considered resistance. When they reached it, the Asian girl gently pushed the Tech Geek backwards until he fell on his ass (thankfully onto the mattress) a stunned mess. She continued to push him until he was lying flat on his back, with her quickly joining him to lie at his side.

Even though there was a lot that could have surprised Cody about this particular moment, the detail that stood out the most was how Heather was lying next to him, not crawling onto his lap or over him. Hundreds of times before this scenario had played out before, but every one of them had her either sitting on his lap, chest or face.

Heather picked up on this and had to suppress a cringe. "I'm only doing what you tell me to and nothing more Cody remember? I'm in my cheerleader outfit because you told me that you wanted me to wear it. You didn't tell me what for or what to do after that. We can do anything you want, it's up to you."

With her boyfriend still frozen and undecided, Heather placed a soft kiss on his cheek to reassure him. Heather was surprised when as she was pulling away from her kiss Cody's hands shot out and grabbed the sides of her face. Without a word he pulled her back to him, her lips to his and planted a single, gentle, though extremely nervous kiss.

This quickly escalated into a full-blown make-out session that went well on into the evening. Exactly how long it lasted neither could say, but one thing was sure for Heather, it would be Cody who decided when it ended.

And eventually (and it was eventually) he did.

Basking in the afterglow of their snogging session, partially because he had started it for a change, Cody breathed in heavily as his body and mind started to cool down and calm down. He might not have felt great, but he did feel a little better, and it showed in his nervous though satisfied smile.

"I-I…I've uh, never made out with a cheerleader before…" he said, blissfully happy.

"We've made out plenty of times before," Heather reminded him.

"It's different when you're wearing the uniform," he defended.

His tone was still shaky; she could pick out the nervousness from his excitement even now. It was a small step, but it was a step nonetheless. She offered him another one of her rare genuine smiles, not the smirks the world saw on a daily basis, not the seductive grin she would give whenever she wanted to rile him up wherever they were either. It was the kind of smile she only ever gave to him, when it was only the two of them in the privacy of themselves. Unguarded and free of anything other than affection, she knew how much he treasured them.

Noticing his eyes trailing from her face to his hand, her eyes followed to it and her smile shifted back into her familiar smirk.

She was trying, and she was going to do everything she could to help him. But there were some opportunities there were too good to pass up.

Moving her hand atop his own where it rested on her hip, half on bare skin, half on the cloth of her skirt, she held it in place when she felt him try to move it. Meeting his eyes she held them with her own for a long moment, neither of them blinking.

"I told you, I would only do what you tell me to." Her hand clamped down on his, making it clear that included letting go of his hand. When his only response was to swallow hard, she did her best to reign in her smirk.

"Higher, or lower?" she asked simply, tugging it up at 'higher' and down at 'lower'. It took a moment for his brain to process what it was being told, but judging by his blush she knew he had gotten it.

After two attempts, he managed to utter a single word.

"Lower."

Keeping her eyes on his, she complied, guiding his hand down her hip; she came to a stop and repeated her question.

"Higher, or lower?" Once again nudging his hand up at 'higher' and down at 'lower'. She could see the fear and concern in his eyes, but kept herself calm and collected as ever, offering only her smile and a mischievous spark in her eyes.

This time it only took him two tries.

"Lower."

Again she complied with his request, leading his hand down until it reached the bottom of her skirt. Pausing, she said nothing for several long moments, allowing him to get reacquainted with the thigh he had held so many times before that she had lost count.

"Higher, or lower?" This time as she asked she moved his hand down slightly, and then just barely under the fabric of her skirt, making it clear to him there was a difference this time.

Taking his time, he watched their hands, hers on top of his moving in a small slow circle at her thigh. This was not unfamiliar to him; this was not new territory for him. Hell, this was a major step backwards from what they usually did, but one small thing was different, and that one small detail made for an entirely different experience to the teen.

Gaze traveling up from their hands, over her exposed midriff, the swell of her breasts and up to her face, he found himself wondering how the hell he had managed to end up where he was now.

It was true that he had thought, and dreamt of doing quite a few things with Heather in her cheerleader outfit, but he had never once had the nerve to voice them. He had been telling the truth when he said he had no problem with the way things had been between them when it came to sex. Heather knew what she wanted, and what she was doing, which in turn meant he pretty much always enjoyed himself as well. With that being the case, why rock the boat and possibly lose out on what he had?

Yet here he was, with his girlfriend telling him to do just that. No, not telling him, helping him, pushing him to. While normally most people would have seen this as a golden ticket, for Cody it led to a dilemma he had been trying to avoid.

Even now there were times he found it hard to believe they were together, and because of that he worked very hard to insure he never did anything that might make her uncomfortable or uneasy. Sure, she would listen to him go on about his hobbies and interests from time to time, even talk about them and debate them when they caught her interest.

'Still…she did promise…and this is something she wants…'

With a flutter in his chest and a nervous smile on his face, Cody spoke a single word.

And on his first try this time.

"Higher."

Without a word, not even a hint of a flinch, Heather's hand guided his up her leg and under her skirt, slowly and cautiously, yet firmly their hands traveled upwards. He could feel though not see the firm muscles of her olive toned legs, forged from years of ballet and cheerleading they were essentially coiled springs, springs that he knew full well could support her entire body weight while riding him as he stood.

Pushing that very pleasant facet of knowledge aside, his mind came to a screeching halt as after their hands reached her hips they continued to move, this time across the back of her hip, coming to a stop only when his hand was planted firmly on one of her two masterfully sculpted ass cheeks.

More accurately, the cheek itself.

Not even aware of it until after the deed had been done, his hand slid further back until it reached her crevice, his fingers sliding in between the two muscles, grazing her skin the entire time.

"Uh…Heather? Why aren't you wearing any…?"

An impish grin slid across her face at his realization.

"You said you wanted me in my cheerleading outfit, and that's what you got. Shirt, skirt and socks, that's all there is to it. If you wanted me to wear something under it, you should have said so," She replied coolly and evenly without missing a beat.

---

Monday, October 27th, 2014

As that very pleasant memory, one of his personal favorites played itself out, Cody stopped walking. He had finally reached his destination, dorm 2369.

After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves as best he could, he inserted his key into the lock. The sounds of metal clicking and turning sounded like thunderous gongs in the tense atmosphere of his mind. He braced himself for whatever he was about to find on the other side of the door. In the mere seconds it took to open the door, his mind flashed through so many vivid imaginings of what might have occurred between his girlfriend and his crush that he lost track. The fickle thought fish from earlier in the day had been transformed into a school of cerebral sharks that left a path of dead and consumed optimism in their wake.

Those thoughts continued to play out like an endless succession of horror films played out on smooth sharkskin leather as he entered his shared home. Once inside, he closed the door, and locked it behind him. Again, the clicks of its locking were loud, but he endured them. No matter what he found, he would be strong and he would do whatever he could to help. He only took one step further inside before he was confronted by the day's results.

"Cody," Heather's familiar voice uttered as she stood with her hands on her hips and eyes hard as steel, "Things are going to be a lot more…complicated than I thought they'd be." Looking over her shoulder, for what he did not know, she took him by the hand and led him back to their room, closing the door and locking it behind her.

Hours passed as the couple sat on their bed, the innermost sanctuary of their home. Heather explained what had happened to the best of her abilities and he listened intently without interruption. It was indeed a lot to take in, and complicated didn't even begin to cover the full scope of what had happened. By the time she was finished, he could only stare at her with his mouth agape.

Many different possibilities had played out in his mind, different scenarios and outcomes of just what he would find, but not once did he imagine anything even remotely like this.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"What do I need to do?"

---

And that is the latest chapter of Unbreakable Red Silken Thread! As always, we hope you all enjoyed it! :)

Well, looks like things are shaking down and shaping up, eh? As we said before, our goal is to show not only how Cody and Heather are now, but how they got there and what it took for them to reach this point. That includes things like how it went from Heather always being the one to take the lead (check back on all the lemons before they were leaving for college and you'll notice this) to them being equals, for example. There is plenty more that will be explored in future chapters as well to help further flesh out their pasts, but it's going to take time.

Here's a fun little bit of trivia for this chapter. Kenju has told me that this chapter is his favorite of this entire story so far, both of those that have been uploaded and those that exist only as rough outlines, and the chapter outlines go up to chapter 37!

Okay, now let's get the biggest announcement done. Cody and his friends are going to be taking a bit of a back seat for a while as starting next chapter the story will focus on the fourth and final main character of this story. It's taken us quite some time to get here, but the time has come for Gwen to FINALLY take the center stage!

I'm not sure what to make of this fact but what I'm about to say is a fact. It took us to around 100,000 words to get Gwen introduced in the main storyline and we'll be closer to 200,000 words than away from it before she becomes a true presence in it! Now, despite that maybe not being what you want to hear, let me say that the next chapter as already been started. In fact, a decent amount of it has been written up.

[1] I wanted to clarify a few things, just so there is no confusion. What we ARE saying is that Cameron is the smartest student at the college overall and that he is the only person among the main click of college friends (Cody, Cameron, Brick, Jo, Zoey, Dawn, Jasmine, Sammy, Shawn) who has an IQ score higher than Heather. What we are NOT saying is that any of the mentioned characters can be considered stupid or that Heather has the second highest IQ in the entire campus. As you can guess, that second smartest is Scarlett, who's IQ is barely lower than Cameron's.

As I said at the end of the last chapter, my summer job has started. It's just starting to really kick into high gear, so there might be a wait for the next chapter. Please be patent. As always, Kenju and me will do our best to make it worth the wait!

Until next time, read, review, favor, follow, and spread the word! :)