As always, all characters in the story are above the age of 18.
CHAPTER 5 - A NEW NORMAL
I feel this... thing in me.
It's a thing with no name, which makes it hard for me to even conceptualize it. It's not a univocal thing, either: it's made of many parts.
The mist, with its pretty colors. The orgasmic joy of self-abnegation. The feeling that I'm split, like a part of my awareness exists somewhere other than here, producing this sense of wrongness. This dread at the pit of my stomach.
I feel like...
I feel like that part of me is disappearing.
Maybe that's a good thing. I used to butt heads with everybody. For example, meeting Derek in the hallways between classes would immediately cause friction, we'd snap at each other. Now, though... what happens now is much better, right? More pleasant.
Now, he looks up from his phone when he hears my boots thumping against the floor.
"Pheebs," he says, casual as ordering coffee. "Bathroom. Five minutes."
A part of me, the split part of me, considers that I haven't even had time to grab my chem textbook. It suggests several colorful responses to his request, but those are not acceptable anymore, they're abrasive, they make people unhappy, they assign no importance to their needs.
Alternatively, it suggests to just respond that I'm busy. But wouldn't that be incredibly selfish?
Besides, that part of me has one fundamental limitation: you can't argue against colors. Especially colors as pretty as these ones... looping on themselves, like pastel clouds, spiralling before my eyes...
I should feel proud. To him now, summarily asking me into the bathroom so that I can suck his dick is as normal as getting a snack from the vending machine. Once, I was so irksome that people approached me with caution, but now Derek and I are practically close friends.
Close enough that I take as much of his cum into me as I can. That's the really special type of friendship. Pure trust. Pure faith that he can rely on me when he needs me.
So, of course, I ignore those ridiculous intrusive thoughts from bad ol' me. That Phoebe is gone, and we're all better for it. I'm in my mentally healthy era, and I'm not going to falter. I'll get on my knees for him, suck his cock to completion, swallow all his cum, and prove how amazing a friend I can be!
"Of course! Anything you need, Derek."
There. That really is so much better. Otherwise, why would it make me feel so...
Pacified?
***
I do feel burdened. Just a little bit.
It's been like this for a few weeks. I'm Derek's perma-booty call, of course, which is totally fine. He's no longer even amazed by it, which is a great sign that I really am changing - people no longer expect me to be selfish, right?
People, plural, because Tyler and Marty have been just as demanding. Marty is always shy and hesitant at first, but once we get going, he can't seem to get enough, cumming embarrassingly fast and then immediately getting hard again for more.
Tyler is rougher, more entitled, bending me over desks or pushing me to my knees without preamble.
Sylvia...
I'm a dyke. She says so. Why else would I enjoy eating her out? Not like her, she's straight, she just enjoys having a warm mouth and tongue available at her beck and call, and why not?
After that first time, she's been insatiable, which I suppose means I've done a good job. Yay!
She calls me to her place in the evenings every time she gets a chance, demanding I service her orally. She sits on my face, grinding her wet cunt against my mouth until she's satisfied.
But the reversal of our polarity is the thing that truly makes me squirm inside a little.
She was in my shadow for so long. I can only imagine what catharsis she must feel now, getting to summarily push my head between her thighs every time she wants to shut me up...
It all adds up, though. Trying to accommodate four different friends is not easy, I juggle as many balls in the air as I can, and sacrifice my personal time whenever it's necessary to smooth things over.
I have to be strategic about everything. If Derek wants me during lunch, I need to make sure I can still meet Tyler for our post-class "relaxation" sessions. If Sylvia calls me up late at night, I have to calculate how much sleep I'll lose and whether I can still function for class in the morning.
And that's why I do feel burdened. Just a bit!
I mean, it's normal, right? To be utterly exhausted from constantly servicing the wants and needs of my friends. And I'm sure this level of fatigue is totally typical for college students these days.
As it turns out, it takes a lot of energy to be a good, selfless person. Back when I was a selfish prick, I had no idea helping others would feel so good, yes, but I also had no idea it would be this hard. I was so immature. Now I know what being an adult is all about.
Further complicating my situation... word is beginning to spread.
It started with just giggles, but it was always a matter of time before someone took the courage to step forward and just ask. And that encouraged everyone else.
I don't know who of the original four let the rumor spread, but it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Maybe Derek bragged to someone after one of fucking me, or perhaps Sylvia let it slip that the tables have turned and she's bossing me around these days. Tyler could have nonchalantly mentioned it, or even Marty in a moment of peer-pressured confession.
The source is irrelevant because the outcome is the same.
It's a good thing, I tell myself, that more and more people are updating their mental models of me. They now think of me as a good person, someone who is willing to go the extra mile for others. This new reputation makes me feel proud... sometimes. But it also comes with additional, err, logistical complications.
Because now, I have to deal with the unexpected.
A few weeks after the first rumors, it's not just Derek or Marty slipping me notes between lectures. An older girl I've never spoken to corners me by the vending machines, her eyes darting left and right like she's expecting a prank any second. "Heard you like to... help people out," she says. "Can I, uh, get in on that action?"