Annabelle burst through the door. She slipped into the nearest stall, careful not to get her red dress caught on the lock, and as she did so she caught a glimpse of her figure on the mirror; hair disheveled, mascara running down the sides of her cheeks like a circus clown. She dropped onto the toilet then hiked her legs up, cradling them in a fetal position. As she did so she heard the sprinting of three or four others, each wearing platform heels or stilettos, outside in the hall.
"Annabelle? Babe?" said Stace as the group charged in, the door swinging and clanging off the tiles. Through the thin cracks of the bathroom stall she could tell that they were scanning under the stall doors. As quietly as she could, she pulled every part of her legs and her dress high up above the seat and hid.
"Fuck, I told you she ran down the hall," said Yoriko, pulling the bathroom door open. "Come on, before she does something stupid."
She'd already done exactly that. Her mistake was being born, believing that she was actually pretty and worth something. The gals were amazing for trying to help, but their efforts were wasted on someone as useless as her. It was for the best that they slipped out without noticing her, they'd probably try to comfort her and reinforce the lie that she was special.
Once she was sure they were gone, she exhaled a shuddering sigh and slipped off the toilet seat to rattle open the lock on the door, greeted to the face of a mascara-stained, frizzy haired girl with snot dripping under her nose. Absolutely horrible. This was supposed to be a celebration, a commencement of the fact that she'd come of age and reached the end of her high school career while entering adulthood, but all that's happened tonight is that she realized she's still a child who's learned nothing for the past eighteen years.
Leaned over, she pressed her knuckles into the granite countertop to the point that it started to hurt. But, she wasn't really mad at him for what he chose to do. Weren't his actions justified? All he really did was make a logical, reasonable decision, choosing the better girl. If anything, the fault lay entirely on her for being inadequate; the shier, quieter girl too embarrassed to simply kiss out in public.
Yes, it only makes sense that he'd choose someone more experienced, knew how to take and give love at the same time, and not to mention a pair of exceptional melons, as opposed to her, the girl with the B cup muffin top rack who had illicit sex with a dirty teacher in a small office then thought she was on top of the universe. But it's just not fair. She really thought she'd made it somewhere, figured it out then, how to be an adult. Turns out, just when she thought she was going to cross the finish line and score first place, did she realize she'd already been lapped. It was so unfair. She thought she deserved to be loved.
She splashed water onto her face and wiped off the muck with cheap paper towels from the dispenser; horribly rough on your skin, but fuck it. She was clean now, but all that she saw then was her ugly, cosmeticless mug with bags under her eyes, stray hairs falling from her forehead. It was then that she decided--she was going to go see him again.
...
"Hey, Annabelle, how are you-- what are you doing?" said Ms. Christine, standing in the middle of the hall to the teacher's offices. She was wearing her hair down, but was still wearing her square glasses. She was trying to conceal a six-pack of beer behind her back but Annabelle caught sight of it, and didn't pay it a second thought.
"Prom's outside sweetheart, out in the quad," said Ms. Christine.
"Where is he?" Annabelle asked her.
"Who?"
"Mister Grayson. He's not in his office, so where is he?"
Ms. Christine sighed, then set the six-pack on top of a wooden bench. "Sweetheart, we talked about this. You aren't supposed to talk to him, that was a part of our deal. Remember?"
"I don't give a fuck anymore. Just tell me where he is."
Ms. Christine looked into her face, drawn to the dark circles under her eyes and the strays over her forehead, then sighed again. "Bill's in the teacher's lounge. I'm only letting you go because it's the weekend but, don't do anything you'll regret. Please?"
Without saying another word, Annabelle slipped past Ms. Christine and marched her way down to the teacher's lounge. It was near his office, one of the rooms she had to check nobody was in, else risk getting caught that time they did it about a month ago. They haven't spoken to each other since that day; each time she had his class she tactfully avoided conversing with him, sitting in the back and leaving the classroom as soon as possible. All she could remember was how much he hurted her, and he'd probably end up doing it again. But at least she'd be feeling something other than sorry for herself.
"Hey Carrie," said Mr. Grayson as the door swung open. He was leaning back on the arm of a black leather couch, not looking at the door, holding a glass bottle that was nearly empty. Several more empty bottles were lined up on the coffee table. His necktie was pulled loose, and his collared shirt was undone by the first two buttons.
"Mister Grayson," said Annabelle, shutting the door behind her. Without the lights from out in the hall pouring in, the room was dim.
"Annabelle? What are you doing here?" said Mr. Grayson, sitting up.
Without hesitation, Annabelle grabbed the frilled hem of her red dress and pulled. Out from under, lacey black panties and a matching bra covering her slim form slipped out. She stepped closer, right in front of him, right between his legs, and he reached his hands out to cup her waist. The familiar warmth from his hands set the memories flowing, and chills began to run down her spine.
"Woah, Annabelle, what's this about? Does Carrie know you're here?" he asked. His hands slipped behind her to grasp her butt, and her goosebumps flared. Just like before, he wasn't looking at her face, but rather at her body. She must have been stupid to have found herself in the same situation as before, but it didn't matter. She deserved the pain.
"Mister Grayson, am I pretty?" she asked.
"What?"
"Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked again.
He paused his kneading hands to look her in the face. Her heart accelerated and she looked away. He was looking at her with hungry eyes again. He was going to pounce on her like last time. Any second, he was going to rip her panties off and lift her by her thighs and ream her again. With her eyes closed she could sense him standing up, and could smell the alcohol from his breath as he drew near. He was going to punish her. She deserved it.
She felt something soft against her forehead which made her open her eyes in surprise. He was kissing her, not the rough latch he did to keep her from shouting out like he did before, but more like a parent would do for their child. As he did so, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, broad as ever, but gentle and warm.
"Annabelle, you're so beautiful."
"I... I don't believe you," she replied.
"Would I do this to you if I were lying?"
He kissed her again on the forehead, and then again. As he did so he trailed his kisses down over her cheek, down the side of her neck, and only then did she realize how much she was shivering. He reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. The soft thumping of music going on out the window was subtly audible in the quiet room, nearly drowned out by the sound of her own heartbeat.
He slipped the straps of her bra out from around her shoulders, and the cold air surrounded her breasts. Her B-cups had always been a pain point for her, she knew she hadn't developed nearly as much as any of her friends or the other girls at her school. But he didn't seem to mind. He continued his trail of kisses, across her collar, across the pillowy flesh of her boobs, and along the edge of her small areola. He gently cupped the other breast in his palm, a perfect handful.
"Don't let anyone let you think you're not beautiful," he said, as he latched his mouth around her nipple.
"Ah, Mister Grayson..."
He nibbled and played with her breasts, his facial hair tickling her skin, and she squirmed from the sensation. She was shivering and her goosebumps were flaring but she let it happen, soaking in the warmth from his mouth and the cool wetness from his tongue as it flicked her nipple to a hard erection, a glowing pink gemstone. She ran her fingers through his hair; with his head so close to her chest like this, it was almost like he was transferring energy directly into her beating heart, making it run faster. Her head was tilted away and her eyes were closed, too embarrassed to watch but too excited to even consider stopping him as she puffed her chest outward, writhing in pleasure.
With one last tight suck, he pulled off her nipple with a suctioned pop. It was almost disappointing when he stopped, rising to lead her by her hand to sit on the couch. But her heart sped back up when she realized where this was going. He towered over her imposingly, his khaki pants about a foot away from her face. Something was tenting inside, and she looked up at him with worry.
He looked her in the eyes. "Take it out."
"What? I... I can't," she replied.