Web of Feelings (Literature)

(Hey all! Wanted to share a Prequel story of Claire, I'm still on very good track to finishing Indecent Exposure by next week, five shots left! Enjoy in the meanwhile)

It was the first few weeks of brisker weather of the year, overcast but  in a cozy almost-autumn way. Claire pulled her black cardigan tighter  over herself as she walked outside and glanced both ways down the  sidewalk, before banking left past the going-home crowd. She couldn’t  help glancing over her shoulder. She always felt like a robber or  something going so far around the side of the school, but, then again,  the idea was to not be caught. Maybe it was nerves. Routine as these  hideaways had become, butterflies of excitement always fluttered in her  tummy. It was the part of her day she anticipated most.

She  banked left, sashaying along a handrail into a nook along the outside of  the school, the external side of a maintenance door or something  similar. From it ran a sort of stone window-box four or five yards long.  The crocuses pushed up past the wood chips were starting to fleck brown  and wilt, but back in warmer days, the ampler foliage always mesmerized  Claire. With the crocuses and the other end-of-summer flowers, greens  and yellows came together in a stunning display of nature. So weird,  such loveliness in a corner no one ever saw. It was the kind of thing  poems were invented for, she thought. It’d been her special spot, and  since she had brought Theo to it last semester, it’d become that for  both of them.

Of course, Theo was already there - she always got  their earlier. She clearly didn’t feel the chill as much as Claire, her  rhinestone-studded leather jacket unzipped to reveal a t-shirt with a  sort of monstrous grey-skinned Rosie the Riveter parody - the cover of a  doom metal album she’d introduced Claire to a few months back - and she  was still wearing shorts, black denim ripped off above the knee. Her  slender fingers - manicured the same emerald hue as her half-shaved  hairstyle - were performing the final fiddles to pull a cigarette out  from its pack. Theo was too preoccupied with getting her lighter to  spark to glance over, but a smile did grow across her lips as Claire  sidled into her periphery. “Sup, Bluebell.”

“Hey!” Claire’s own  smile was short-lived. Boy it was colder than she first thought! Her  nipples weren’t visible through her cardigan, were they?! Claire quickly  took no bets and crossed her arms a bit too hastily to seem ‘casual.’  But it was more than that. Something about Theo. “Hey, what’s wrong?”  She could read the frazzled energy around Theo as easily as seeing  cracks in glass.

Theo started chuckling and shaking her head.  “What the hell?! I’m just sitting here, saying ‘sup’! Am I not allowed  to say ‘sup’ anymore?”

Claire started laughing too, since it *was* pretty funny - though she was still pretty sure in her reading. “Well… am I wrong?”

Theo  laughed again as her lighter finally sparked. “You’re a pain in my ass.  Worse than my own mother, I swear.” She lit the cigarette for a short  drag, but what she said seemed to get a thought jogging. “Oh, hey, check  this out.” With her free hand, she pulled herself up to sit on the low  stone window box and beckoningly patted the spot beside her. Claire  obliged, slinging off her leather courier bag and dropping it beneath  her dangling feet.

As Claire sat, Theo proffered the cigarette,  and so Claire carefully accepted. She was getting better at faking her  drags; *just* the right amount of lipstick left on the cigarette to make  it seem like she actually took in a breath. It was easier when it was  much colder out and you could see your breath regardless, but Claire had  learned that if you cough close enough into your fist, it doesn’t much  matter. Honestly, none of the act probably mattered. Probably gunking up  her lungs anyhow, sitting thigh-to-thigh next to Theo every afternoon,  but Claire was too deep into their friendship to finally pipe up and  Theo was up to three a day.

“Got the first appointment done,  going back in two weeks.” Claire watched as Theo wormed her left arm out  from her jacket and proudly held it out. On the snow-white skin were  symbols, some solid, some only etched outlines. Letters, but Claire  didn’t recognize the language. She assumed it was something from the  Pacific Islands - she kicked herself for not remembering where  specifically Theo had referenced before. “It’s gonna be what she always  used to tell me,” Theo explained, with a sentimentality that made  Claire’s heart swell. “Always have it with me.”

Claire came mere inches away from audibly going ‘awww.’ Instead, she smiled through another feigned drag. “That’s so sweet.”

“Mmm…  Anyway.” Theo slid back into her jacket and exaggeratedly lifted her  studded eyebrows at Claire. “Wasn’t this your weekend too? Come on,  Blue, don’t hold out on me! What’d you get?”

“Oh!” Without making  eye contact, Claire passed the cigarette back to Theo, then squeezed  her hands between her thighs, scrambling for an answer. “Well, you see…  I’m just- I’m thinking of a few things, and…”

For the majority of  her friendship with Theo, Claire had genuinely wanted to get a tattoo -  it was edgy, it fit her style, and she remembered hearing somewhere  that they made your skin taste terrible, which made it somewhat of a  defense against cannibals. That last bit probably wasn’t practical, but  it was a fun way to trip up people asking ‘why’re you getting one.’ In  fact, Claire had wound up sitting in the parking lot of the piercing and  tattoo place on numerous occasions, and every time played out with  Claire never leaving her car and driving home within fifteen minutes.  Every time she finally thought she had the perfect idea, she’d  double-guess herself and wonder if that’s what she really wanted  emblazoned on her body… or if she wanted anything at all… The permanence  is what got her. Maybe it was growing up, but at some point ‘because  it’s cool’ stopped being as compelling a reason. What could she pick  that would still be meaningful to her in a few years? Or even months?

“Blue…” Theo snapped her out of her mini-spiral. “Be honest with me. Do you… not want any ink?”

Claire’s eyes went wide. It was like seeing a personal secret published in a headline. “Well… I-“

Theo  interrupted what they both knew would be directionless excusing by  putting her free hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Blue, shut up. You can tell  me these things. I’m not mad. Don’t go getting something you don’t want  for my sake.”

Claire was stopped totally wordless. She realized  she wasn’t even looking at Theo - she was looking at her hand on her  shoulder. It gave her a weird feeling, reassuring, yet…

Slowly,  Theo pulled her hand off Claire’s shoulder. “Course I… had some great  ideas for stuff we could get together…” She slowly slumped lower like  now that she was saying it out loud, she realized what she was giving  up.

Claire shook out of what felt like a sudden trance.  T-together? Like a matching pair of something? Whatever it was, the fact  she even thought about it… “W-wait, I-I didn’t say-“

Theo then  shot up cackling, playfully shoving Claire. “No seriously, it’s totally  fine,” she said. “You don’t want it, you don’t want it. Don’t even care  about the reason. You could even tell me that ‘your mommy doesn’t want  you to do it,’ I won’t laugh. I’m a big girl. I can… take it.”

Claire  teasingly shoved back and tried to laugh it off, but something about  the way Theo’s voice wavered on the last few words and how her eyes shot  off to the side renewed Claire’s concern. “Theo, what’s wrong?” She  leaned in closer. “Talking will make you feel better.”

Theo  sighed. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” Another sigh, and she turned  to face Claire more directly. “Alright, fine. You want my guts? Here’re  my guts.” She passed Claire the cigarette and sat up tall with all the  circumstance she figured Claire was angling for. “Montesque. Alright?  That’s it, she’s just… just such a…” Theo trailed off and quickly  snatched the cigarette back out of Claire’s hands for a deep drag.

Miss  Montesque. Forty-two years old, six-foot-three, and  still-pristine-skin-and-hair-and-a-tight-body gorgeous, with all the  pompousness one might expect to go attached. At least, that was Claire’s  understanding. Truthfully, Claire’s interactions with the teacher were  limited to passing her in the hallway and her overseeing Claire’s study  hall period, though from the teacher’s self-important gait and the  occasional gossip fragment Claire gleaned, she well believed Theo’s  stories.

“She just won’t get off my ass,” Theo went on, properly  uncorked and letting it all flow out. “I’m walking in the hall, don’t  even say a word to her, and she just shoots me this glare like I’m about  to burn the school down or something. She’ll say, ‘what’s with giving  me lip?’ And I tell her what’s with dragging my ass all the time? Ain’t  never done anything to her, and she’s acting like I’m sacrificing goats  on her front lawn. Last Thursday.” An intermission of a quick drag.  “Last Thursday,” Theo spoke through smoke, “I’m leaving biology, and  she’s by the door, and she says to me ‘So, Theodora, planning on leaving  the crypt this weekend? Or are you trying to scare away the boys?’” A  combo of angrily shrugging and shaking her head. “Like, back off, it’s  just my style. Why you gotta be on me like that?”

Claire watched  ashes fall from the end of Theo’s cigarette and sparkle on the way down.  “What’d you tell her? You didn’t tell her that, did you?”

Theo  shook her head. “Just kept walking. People like that, they just live for  the attention. So starve ‘em, I say. Universe’s gonna give it to her  one of these days.” She sighed. “Just annoying. Shouldn’t let it get to  me.” She ground out the cigarette on the ledge beside herself and  stretched in a way that pulled her shirt tighter over her perky breasts.  “Huh. Know what? I kinda do feel better.” She smiled at Claire. “Thanks  for the therapy, Bluebell. See you later.” With that, Theo dropped off  the ledge, slickly threw her backpack over one shoulder, and tromped off  before she could look back and see Claire waving goodbye. She was  watching the seat of Theo’s shorts.

Claire suddenly realized  what she was doing and dropped her gaze like she would get in trouble.  Where was this coming from? Why was she noticing these things? Then she  was so worried about her nipples for no reason… It’s just Theo. Of  course, ‘just’ Theo… she did like Theo… and it did make her upset seeing  her so upset. That just meant she was a good friend, right?

The  feelings themselves were nothing new - Claire had realized her having  them and what they meant for her all the way back in grade school - but  with Theo? No. Theo was just a friend, the first Claire had made at  EMAGS. They’d clicked as soon as they’d coincidentally taken seats next  to each other in homeroom. Within moments, it was like they’d completely  unlocked to one another - they liked the same bands, both loved pad  thai more than anything, and then of course the small detail of them  both being huge on goth style. They were simpler back then, mostly just  wearing dark colors - Claire’s hair had still been black in those days -  but as their friendship grew, they shaped and evolved each other’s  style in complementary ways. Now Claire was proud in her electric-blue  bob and more cunning in her varied clothing ranging from flannels to  rich royal accents, while Theo struck out with bold emerald on whatever  locks she didn’t shave off and distressed black everythings. Most  importantly, they balanced each other out - Theo stayed cool whenever  Claire got heated. That kind of closeness was perfect for best friends.  That was it. So why was watching her go right then… why did it feel  like… like not that?

Claire zoned out staring at the smoldering  cigarette butt, one hand over her mouth and nose against the stench.  Theo *was* a good friend, and regardless of anything more or less than  that, it wasn’t right for Montesque to treat her like she did. Claire  had, frankly, heard enough stories. Maybe it was time for a new one.  Theo wanted to wait for the universe? Maybe what the universe needed was  a little push.

For Theo’s sake.

—

Most of that  following night for Claire was spent sprawled on the couch in her home’s  basement, surrounded by notebooks old and new, flipping through pages  to look for the right sketch.

Claire wasn’t a vindictive sort of  girl, at least not anymore. She simply knew what it was like to be  teased for being different. As an only child eager to be social without  having the proper upbringing for navigating that kind of interaction,  nearly every conversation Claire took the chance to dive into, she left  sheepishly with gossipy whispers in her wake. Making friends was tough,  and keeping them was harder. She either came on too strong or too  strange, and she wasn’t sure how to do better. She was clumsy, sometimes  accidentally pedantic, and too self-conscious for her own good,  especially through puberty, when hormones caused all three categories to  exceed their max levels. Didn’t help she had been a late bloomer, and  when she finally bloomed - to this very day as a senior - her fruits  weren’t exactly as bountiful as the other girls’. Nothing to mope about -  a decently-sized rack and a firm behind - but it just gave more ammo  for those who wouldn’t wait for her back to turn before laughing. That,  and of course the true rumors that spread when Claire jumped the gun one  time and leaked out some of ‘those feelings’ she was exploring.

On  top of that, from very early on, Claire realized her propensity for  mechanics. Machines and how exactly they ticked always fascinated her -  she just HAD to know how everything worked! When she was seven, her  family’s toaster broke, and no one cared enough to buy a new one. As a  staunch devotee of toaster waffles, Claire wouldn’t let that fly, and  spent a week taking the toaster apart and rebuilding it better than  ever. She even added a bagel setting to toast just the one side! It only  lasted a month and a half before practically exploding, but Edison  didn’t fail 99 times in making a light bulb, he just learned 99 ways to  NOT make one! Making and modifying little mechanical doo-dads became one  of Claire’s favorite pastimes - she went from refurbishing ‘lost  treasures’ tossed out by electronics shops, to building her own PCs from  scratch which mostly worked, to unique inventions to help her  day-to-day routine which rarely worked. She stumbled, but the work was  fun and took her mind off the stress of the daily grind. Though she knew  more than well enough it wasn’t a ‘typical’ hobby for a girl, and thus  the stress came back…

She kept hearing banalities like ‘just be  yourself,’ but that wasn’t working for her. ‘Herself’ wasn’t anyone who  fit in, and all of her peculiarities sometimes felt more like curses. A  web of disparate feelings tangled up with on-off ADHD meds, and it all  began manifesting in what amounted to constant rebellion. Why had she  been made like this? All these vapid sluts at the top of the pile, why  did she have to try so much harder than them and STILL fall short? Why  couldn’t anyone accept her for who she was? And so she played the  ‘troubled outcast’ role. She went goth and starting fighting back  against what she felt was an unjust world, mostly internally, but even  got into an infrequent spot of delinquency. She vandalized a few places  with spray paint (she wasn’t the most adept artist so mostly crossing  things out), defaced a few popular kids’ cars, nothing major. After  everything and anything, at the end of every day, she would match her  frustrations with her intellectual and mechanical hobbies through dozens  of notebooks’ worth of designs, imagining so many fantastic devices she  could one day invent to REALLY get back at those who did her wrong!

Of  course, that was the past, a past so distant that the memories felt  like watching someone else’s home movies - familiar in places, but just  not right.

Maybe it was growing up, but, honestly, a lot of it  she owed to Theo. Theo matched her rebellious style, but her background  was way different - more urban, tighter on the purse, more than a few  personal tragedies. If anyone had any stake against the world they were  living in, it was her. But she stayed so damn *calm*, always so ready to  let things be. She made Claire realize that life really wasn’t that bad  on her. Moreover, Claire came realize it wasn’t the world that wasn’t  accepting her… it was herself. She then realized how much a cliche she  had become that THAT cliche was what finally undid her.

And so  Theo’s calm melted Claire’s directionless anger. She stuck with the goth  aesthetic and brightened her hair to electric blue not because she felt  she had to to be seen, but because she liked it. She joined stage crew  and became the school’s de facto ‘expert’ for setting up plays and  assemblies. Her social skills still struggled a bit, but even when they  failed her, that wasn’t a problem anymore. She had Theo to fall back on.

It  wasn’t one-way, either. Claire was, admittedly, a little pleased to see  Theo take on chips of her… ‘excitability.’ When they first met, Theo’d  never say a word out of turn, but once she learned she could open up to  Claire and not send her running for the hills, she could mount a decent  rant. On the one hand, Claire thought it was good for her, not  repressing those feelings and taking a stand against some of the crap  rather than living with it. On the other, though, she hated hearing Theo  upset because it made *her* upset. She owed a lot to Theo. Claire could  take the ‘bullies’ these days, but seeing them go for Theo… there was  no way she was gonna let that fly. Plus, that day’s ‘therapy’ hadn’t  been the only time Montesque had been mentioned…

And so that  night, Claire stayed up late, channeling her past life’s anger, flipping  through spiral-bound notebooks rife with idle sketchings and schema,  seeking a design that felt right. Montesque needed to drop off her high  horse, but it had to be done a certain way. For hurting her friend’s  feelings - no, hurting *Theo* - it had to be something that hit where it  hurt.

Skimming through the pictures was a weird walk down memory  lane. Claire’s imagination really ran wild with some of the designs,  but amazingly enough, most everything in at least the volume she was  currently scouring had a prototype somewhere in Claire’s basement.  Claire turned another page and smiled at a rough doodle in the corner: a  haphazard facsimile of a girl in profile, someone she’d seen every so  often in the halls, but only ever in glimpses. Despite this, Claire  could remember every moment she’d seen her, and just as clearly remember  the incredible feeling that moved her every time. Whoever she was, her  mere presence instilled Claire with something like rapture, a coquettish  mystery always just out of reach. Even just the thought of those rare  glimpses incensed Claire more warmly than machinery ever could, like  good art or music. It’d been so long since the last glimpse that Claire  had nearly forgotten. She brushed a finger over the half-face, then  channeled that energy to refocus on the work at hand.

Finally,  Claire found the one. She was so excited she jabbed the design on the  page more than once. It checked all the boxes for the punishment, and  though it was a complicated piece of tech, the prototype had been very  promising! A tune-up and few tests, she could have something ready for  the very next day! Claire looked at the clock and grimaced. Already  pushing it… but there was no getting around this buzz. A kind of buzz  like this, Claire was going to be too busy thinking and planning to  sleep, she knew it. And so she leapt off the couch in a blizzard of  loose pages, jogged over to her workbench, and cleared some space to get  to work.

It was a long night for Claire.

__

The  day-long wait for study hall period was positively agonizing. Every  class crawled by, and Claire barely absorbed a word, she was so  preoccupied with her plan. Despite clocking in barely two hours of  sleep, Claire never felt more energized! She hadn’t been hopped-up-hyper  like this since she tagged the bank way back when! It was gonna feel so  good to give that pompous witch what she’s got coming! And just think  of how Theo’s gonna feel… She even dressed up for the occasion, breaking  out her favorite deep purple vine-patterned blouse that hung off one  pale shoulder, over a ruby red camisole (and matching panties!), with a  black and grey checkered skirt to finish the look. Every minute the  moment drew closer, every trip to her locker giving her a glimpse of her  invention waiting and ready, it became harder and harder for Claire to  manage the anticipation!

At merciful last, the time came, the  final period of the day: study hall with Miss Montesque. Claire was  practically vibrating as she stepped over the main hall threshold and  approached Montesque’s table to sign in for the period. Even when seated  her overbearing stature was apparent. Her hair hung sleek and black  over her flawless Mediterranean complexion. The only make-up she seemed  to have on was a touch of lip gloss and a stroke of lilac eyeshadow over  each lid, and you could just *tell* that was the kind of thing she’d  brag about, looking like she did with so little touching up. Her  eyeshadow matched her blouse which flared around her shoulders and  definitely pronounced her sweater meat in a way that seemed more  appropriate for the club than a private all-girls school. She glanced up  from her laptop and smiled politely as Claire came over to sign in.  Claire didn’t even have to put on a face to return the gesture - with  her excitement, she had to fight NOT to smile so wide! Trying to keep  herself looking composed, Claire signed her name and very casually  strolled over to her usual seat, on the opposite side of the main stairs  that practically led straight up to the front entrance. Keeping the act  going, Claire took her seat and slid off her backpack, keeping a close  eye on Montesque greeting the other students coming in for study hall.  When Claire was sure Montesque was totally distracted… she quickly  nabbed her courier bag and slipped under the main stairs. Confirming she  went unnoticed, Claire eagerly unlatched her bag’s main flap and  removed the jar containing her brilliant scheme: a horde of mechanical  insects!

Montesque was a prideful woman, that much was clear, and  so Claire concluded the best way to hurt her would be to make her look  like a fool in front of everyone. And that’s where Claire’s hundreds of  little friends came in! Truthfully, Claire had long forgotten the  original intention of making a bunch of mechanical bugs, if there had  ever been one - if you *could* make a swarm of mechanical bugs, why  *wouldn’t* you make a swarm of mechanical bugs? - but a few tweaks and  tests and they were the perfect instruments for the job! Claire had  complete command over them via a little remote control; a few directions  through the remote, and the whole swarm would target Montesque and  crawl all over her body! Let’s see how proud Miss Better-Than-Thou was  when she was jumping and scratching like a lunatic with ‘ants’ in her  pants! Which would put her in perfect position for phase two…

One  step at a time. Eagerly clutching the ‘hive,’ Claire stole a peek at  the clock. While Theo usually had advanced arithmetic last period, Mrs.  Walker was infamously lax on Fridays, usually reserving them for group  study sessions or recapping the week’s lessons, the kind of stuff Theo  would slip out for. Claire wanted to time things juuuuust right to match  Theo’s arrival! That in mind, Claire stayed crouched for la few minutes  longer, all the while staring out at Montesque and silently cursing  her. Finally, Claire felt it: the right moment. It was time.

Suppressing  gleeful squeals, Claire quickly and carefully unscrewed the lid and  placed the jar on the carpet. She then pulled the remote control out of  her bag, flipping the ‘on’ switch and giving the device a few flicks to  wake it up. The translucent buttons started to glow, and Claire could  hear the gentle humming of the bug-bots going online, like music to her  ears! Cautiously, Claire tilted the remote in Montesque’s direction and  held down the targeting switch. It was a mildly complicated infra-red  heat-tagging system crossed with a dim laser pointer. Montesque had no  idea about the little red circle hitting her shoulder, which, if all  went according to plan, was signaling to all the ‘bugs’ that she was  their target! Tests had been positive…

When Claire figured the  targeting had gone on long enough for all the ‘bugs’ to be primed and  ready, she hovered her finger over the button that would launch the  swarm, and… She was hesitating. Hesitating, or savoring the moment? This  was it. With Claire as its vessel, the universe was finally catching up  to Montesque and putting her in her rightful place! For Theo! “For  Theo,” Claire whispered in triumph, as she decisively jabbed the  ‘launch’ button.

Immediately, the hundreds of ‘bugs’ buzzed  faster and began skittering out of the jar towards Montesque. It was  working! Claire watched on, grinning into her fists as her little  insectoid army surreptitiously crawled their way across the main hall  carpet, until finally reaching Montesque’s foot! Quickly, all the little  ‘bugs’ began climbing her body, some crawling up the leg of her slacks,  others up to and under her blouse.

Almost right away, Claire  noticed Montesque tensing up, curious. Her entire thought process was so  plain: first she didn’t think much of it, maybe just itchy dry skin she  definitely had a cream for. But then more ‘bugs’ went a’crawling up her  leg, and she started shifting around in her seat, scratching and  swatting, wondering what it actually was. And then the feeling spread  all over her body, and it became very clear her skin wasn’t crawling,  but something was crawling ON her skin!

“…aahhh… aaaHH!” Claire  could hear Montesque’s panic getting louder as she bounced side to side  in her seat! Her manicured hands flew up and down her body, alternating  between swatting at her chest and clawing at her lap! “…umm… aaah… AH!”  Montesque finally yelped loud enough for others to hear as she jumped  out of her chair, both hands grabbing at her backside! Dozens of eyes  falling on her flushed the teacher red-faced. She tried futilely to  smile it off and comport herself with dignity, but couldn’t keep her  hips from wiggling. “I just… there’s someth-EEE!” Montesque leapt a foot  in the air, shaking side to side and grabbing at the ‘bugs’ infesting  her pants!

Smiling so wide her cheeks were already hurting,  Claire gently teased a knob on the side of the remote to make the bugs  crawl faster! Right away, Montesque squealed louder and danced in place  faster! Her shapely rear swung from side to side, as she switched  between grabbing at it and pawing at her front! As she jumped, her ample  bust flounced up and down, confirming Claire’s suspicions that top was  NOT appropriate for school! The teacher’s bosoms came close to leaping  out from her top as she bounced, her top sliding further down her  shoulders to show off more jiggling and shaking as Montesque danced  around like mad!

A crowd began to form, all the students - and a  couple faculty - both confused and amused at Montesque jumping around  and waggling her goods! Her face kept burning redder with embarrassment,  but every attempts of hers to stand tall and carry on lasted all of two  seconds before she was jumping again, sputtering half-excuses and  confused pleas! “Please, don’t- AH! There’s something crawlin- KYAAHH!”  More bugs began skittering under her shirt! She slapped at her chest to  fend them off, rocking her breasts back and forth and pushing them that  much further out of her shirt! ‘Good Heavens,’ Claire imagined her  internal monologue, ‘my mammaries are becoming revealed!’ Montesque  tried for a moment to adjust her modesty, only to yelp and stick out her  rump, shoving a hand down the front of her slacks to try and pry out  the ‘bugs’ making her life a living nightmare! Laughter passed around  the crowd as Claire barely contained her own! Check out the teacher  fishing around in her own pants! Watch that big booty shake!

Claire  was so beside herself she could hardly even watch! She kept ducking  away and stifling her laughter into her elbows! It felt like her face  might split in half from grinning so hard! Everyone was laughing at  Montesque! What a fool! And this wasn’t even everything! Time for phase  two!

This is what most of Claire’s work the previous night had  gone into: she outfitted each bug-bot with a prototype enzyme she’d  developed, and a couple small mandibles for the ability to ‘bite.’ Not  bite the target, though; this prototype enzyme was a special mix  designed to dissolve fabrics! With the tap of a button, all the ‘bugs’  on Montesque’s body would start eating away her clothes! Feeling like a  fool dancing around like that, Miss Self-Important? How about trying it  without any clothes on! Mischievously, Claire giggled and tapped the  button to feed those hungry ‘bugs!’

For a while, nothing seemed  to change. Montesque kept jumping and swatting and exclaiming no  differently. Then for a while longer, still nothing was changing.

Claire  frowned and pressed the button again. Nothing. She started mashing the  hell out of the button. Still nothing. Montesque was still freaking out,  but her clothes - though obviously disheveled - were still fully  intact.

Claire’s high came crashing down. No no no NO! It was  right there! The plan was so close to perfection! Stupid bugs, come  ON!!! This was the big moment, and you were blowing it!

She  looked around. It didn’t seem like Theo had shown up yet, which was both  a little worrying and fairly relieving. Maybe this was a kink she could  work out really quick? She wanted - no, *needed* - this moment to be  perfect for Theo! She had to work fast! Without a moment to lose, Claire  jabbed the button on the remote that would recall the swarm to the jar  so she could scope out what was the matter.

The command reached  the ‘bugs’ right away. Claire could see the swarm beginning to trickle  out from Montesque’s pant leg and across the carpet, everyone still too  distracted by the crazy teacher to notice. Montesque herself slowed down  as she felt the bugs leaving her body, until they were all off at last.  She promptly doubled over, panting in relief and blowing mussed-up hair  out of her eyes, as one of the onlooking teachers rushed over to see if  she was okay. Claire’s attention shifted off the spectacle to her brood  as they returned to their ‘nest.’ Less than she’d sent out, though that  was to be expected with how Montesque had been swatting so hard.

Hurriedly,  Claire pulled some small tools from her bag and began to examine the  last few bugs that had returned, holding her phone in her teeth with its  flashlight on for a source of light. None of the bugs’ wiring seemed  off, all the components were where she’d placed them. Maybe it was the  remote? Claire quickly pried off the back of the remote and scanned the  circuits around the button meant to issue the command. Looked fine…  maybe something was loose? Quickly flipping the safety measure, Claire  began some stress tests at various juncture points. Come on, come on,  what’s the matter with this thing? It’d worked last night! Claire  smacked the remote and began rewiring the faulty command switch like her  life depended on it.

Claire was swapping a wire when she jumped.  “Ah!” Something was crawling up her thigh! Quickly, Claire smacked at  the spot and looked. A bug had been crawling on her! Wait… She turned  her head to shine her phone’s light on it…. It was one of her ‘bugs!’

“On  no…” Claire scrambled to her feet and gasped, her phone dropping from  her open mouth! Her bug-bots were climbing up HER legs!

“No no no  no no no no!” Something was wrong! The safety must have reset, or she  crossed the wrong wire, something! Quickly, Claire turned to try and get  the light from her fallen phone to shine on the remote as she hurriedly  made adjustments-

“KYAH!” Claire tottered off-balance, as ‘bugs’  got all the way up her legs and starting slipping up the leg-holes of  her panties! “Eeeeeh! Whoa!” Claire fidgeted her hips side to side,  trying to adjust the device but constantly tickled by the ‘bugs’  crawling higher up her body, getting under her shirt and bra as well as  up against her privates! “Agh! No! No no no no n-OH!” The tool dropped  from Claire’s fingers and she grabbed at her unmentionable spots to try  and pull the bugs out of her panties! Hips shaking like maracas, Claire  gave up making adjustments and started hammering the ‘recall’ button to  no effect! The bugs kept crawling! “No! EEK!” Claire’s knees buckled and  she started reaching down the front of her top to pull bugs out from  between her boobs, but more infested her downstairs areas! “No! AAHH!”  Claire leaped backwards as dozens of little mechanical insects crept  against and into intimate places!

Claire froze - or at least went  as stiff as she could with dozens of little bugs still making her hips  constantly rock. Without realizing it, she’d jumped out from her hiding  place under the main stairs, and was now out in the light where people  could see her wiggling and whimpering! The crowd dispersing from  Montesque’s show stopped in their tracks, and all eyes turned on Claire.  As much as she tried to keep composed, all the ‘bugs’ buzzing all over  her made it impossible to stand still, and everyone looking at her made  her so nervous! Claire’s whole body flushed from white to red as she  blushed and squirmed, as the crowd circled around the writhing,  wriggling goth shaking her keister all over! Peers’ snickering and snide  remarks were buried to Claire under the panicky pounding of blood in  her head and the hundreds of her creepy-crawlies skittering across her  body and inside her underwear! “I-I… this isn’t supposed to- OH!” Claire  bounced again and accidentally caused her skirt to float up, flashing  her panties as she slapped at her boobs and her hips with one hand, the  other still trying and trying to get the ‘recall’ button to work! Some  of the ‘bugs’ were skittering in and out of her butt crack! She wanted  so badly to reach down her skirt or even drop her panties, but everyone  was looking at her like was crazy enough as is! She just kept  floundering under the attention, bouncing and shimmying and shaking her  butt back and forth to get the bugs out! Her whole body heated up like a  dozen spotlights shining on her, as everyone saw her jumping and  shaking her ass like a moron!

Wait, heat?! Claire glanced down  her blouse and saw many of the bug-bots stopping in place and hitching  onto the fabric. Right after, a faint but noticeable acrid smell like  hot glue reached her nose. Oh no! Some of the bugs were going into phase  two! NOW?! She hadn’t even hit the button… had she? They were  overheating, Claire realized! They’d never been active this long before,  and it was screwing with their circuits! Shaking faster from  desperation, Claire doubled her efforts in swatting away the bugs, but  they had attached themselves to her clothes! The swarm was burrowing in,  and she could feel the little pinches that warned they were starting to  feed!

Running! Running would be good, before things got worse!  Claire finally got the sense to move her legs and go, only to attempt  one step and trip! Or more like half-trip; her right foot was stuck to  the ground! Claire looked at her punky lace-up boot and gasped! Some of  the ‘bugs’ lower down her leg were crawling in circles, clearly  overheated, and as they crawled they left a viscous pasty substance that  was hardening around her foot! Oh crap, it was the webbing! Claire had  an upgrade in mind for her bots to secrete a sort of weblike fluid  on-command to keep their target immobile, to prevent them from running  off much like she was attempting, but she hadn’t had the time to  properly integrate the feature! Still, some of the bugs had the webs  installed for later tinkering, but the heat must be melting their  supply! Her boot was totally stuck! She couldn’t run! “…oh noooOH!” The  words escaping Claire’s lips as whispered distress became yet another  uncomfortable squeal as bugs continued commuting in and out of her  intimate places! Helplessly she continued to bounce and wiggle and shake  her butt as a captive to her increasingly-amused audience! More people  were noticing the bugs as the culprit, but that didn’t stop them from  chuckling and taking videos!

Claire just noticed the heat and the  smell getting worse when something snapped and she felt the fabric over  her shoulder slacken! A big hole was opening up in her blouse! “A-aah!”  She scrambled to get a hold on the garment before it slipped off the  only shoulder it hung from, but it wasn’t the only hole! Gaps were being  ‘gnawed’ all along the bottom of her skirt and up the sides of her  blouse, bold red stripes of her camisole underneath becoming more and  more visible by the second! “…aaah- AHHH!” The remote finally dropped  from Claire’s clutches and CRACKed on the floor, as she used both her  free hands to hold up her shirt and try to conceal her body from being  slowly revealed! The last few inches of fabric left on her blouse’s  shoulder shuddered before vanishing, and the ‘bugs’ suddenly picked up  their speed! Claire yelped and clutched the front of her purple blouse  over her chest before it fell, as the bug-bots kept ‘eating’ and the  gaps along the sides kept widening, but the ‘bugs’ still crawling up and  down and in and out of her undies kept her shaking and wiggling and  made it impossible to properly hold her hands in place for cover! Before  long, the hole-dotted back of her blouse was ‘gnawed’ totally free from  the front, peeling off Claire’s back and floating to the floor! “N-no!  Don’t look!” Even though her camisole was more concealing than a normal  bra, Claire still clutched the remaining front side close to her chest  and face! She didn’t want people seeing ANY of her undergarments! But  the ‘bugs’ kept ‘eating’ through fabric…

Barely two seconds after  the back of Claire’s blouse fell free, the goth gasped again, as she  felt her skirt abruptly drop an inch lower on her hips, putting an inch  of her richly-red panties on display! The skirt’s waistband was fraying  out! It was gonna fall! “N-no!… Please!…” Claire futilely plead against  her own creations! She wanted to pull up her skirt, but was too  terrified of what she might reveal if she took both hands off the  remaining bit of blouse! They were already ‘chewing’ on her camisole,  she felt it… but her skirt was sinking lower by the second! It wasn’t  just an inch visible anymore! The lacy front was halfway revealed! They  were all gonna see her panties! Claire tried to flare her legs out to  catch the skirt at her thighs, but with all the ‘bugs’ crawling over her  sensitive spots, she just couldn’t stop wiggling! With every  involuntary shake of her booty, the skirt dropped lower and lower down  Claire’s legs, further and further down her pale thighs, catching for a  second around her buckling knees… maybe she could save it… “AH!” Another  couple skitters along her butt crack made her jump, and just like that,  her skirt fell to her ankles, to the cheers of the onlooking crowd!

Wiggling  and unsteady, Claire instinctively bent down and finally reached to  pull her skirt back up, but once she grabbed it and pulled, the hunk of  fabric ripped off in her fingers! Claire watched and unconsciously  shimmied her hips as the ‘bugs’ on the fabric hunk finished their  ‘meal,’ totally eating away the last stitches, before they crawled up  Claire’s arm to join the rest of the swarm on her body! Hurriedly,  Claire tried to recover herself with the front of her blouse… only to  yelp upon finding a piece purple fabric smaller than her hand! “AAHHH!”  Claire threw the tatter to the ground and desperately moved her hands up  and down her dancing body, while everyone in the hall have three cheers  for the goth girl standing around in her underwear! And the show wasn’t  over…

Hole after hole was opening up all over Claire’s camisole,  revealing more and more of her alabaster skin! She felt the garment  slowly receding up from the bottom, already gone up past her navel! The  bugs were making progress on her panties too! Large holes were already  ‘chewed’ in the sides, displaying hints of pale white butt cheek that  were slowly widening… Could… could they see any of her pussy yet? Claire  was too petrified to even look! A minute more and she’d be totally  naked in front of everyone!

Claire finally got the thought to  reach down again, not for any of the pieces of her dissembling clothing,  but for her boots! She had to unlace them and get out of there before  it was too late! She could quickly pull her foot out of the left one,  but the right was caked in the fake-web fluid! It was hard enough to try  and chip it away, but on top of that there were still so many ‘bugs’  crawling under her unraveling undies she couldn’t stay still! “Whoa!”  Another sudden speed and heat increase from the ’bugs’ below sent Claire  nearly toppling all the way over, and she barely caught herself in time  with an accidental hip thrust to the side! She went back to work on the  boot, but felt like such a moron with her butt lifted so high and  wiggling it back and forth! She could feel more holes opening across her  cheeks! With more of her ass visible by the second, Claire felt like  she might as well be mooning the entire period! She had to go!… but her  foot was stuck hard!…

Snap! One of the straps of Claire’s  camisole abruptly broke, the offending ‘bug’ creeping down her back!  “Ah!” Immediately, Claire shot upright, clamping her arms over her boobs  just in time as the second strap also snapped in half! “AH!” Claire’s  arms were the only things holding up her camisole, but there was way  less of it than there had been just a moment ago! Save for a few errant  strands of silk, her entire white tummy was revealed up to the bottom of  her boobs, and she felt a huge chunk of camisole fall off her back,  exposing all the way past the shoulder blade! The ‘bugs’ kept ‘eating’  away, tatters of red silk raining down around Claire as she continued to  shimmy back and forth from all the tickling! There were so many on the  camisole… “…no no no no no no no…” Claire began chanting as another inch  fell away, then another, until her only cover was a stretch of silk  barely enough to hide her nipples! She was panicking! What could she  do?! She lifted the fabric just enough off herself so she could swat at  the bugs on the inside, but by then it was too late! One more  uncomfortable wiggle, and the remaining bit of camisole split into  pieces between Claire’s very fingers, at long last uncovering to the  delight of the crowd her bare breasts!

“NOOOO!” Claire yelled,  using her hands to hide her boobs from everyone cheering and leering at  her! She… she was topless! Her panties were the only stitch left on her!  If those got ‘eaten…’ Claire instinctively crossed one leg in front of  the other, no longer trying to undo the stuck laces of her boot, but  instead to just rip her foot out of there! Claire pulled and pulled,  trembling from embarrassment and shaking from the ‘bugs’ still crawling  in her panties and eating them away! The sides and most of the back had  been ‘chewed’ away, her panties now indistinguishable from a thong! Now  there was nothing to hide how her tight butt cheeks rippled with her  every shake and spin! Soon there’d be nothing at all! In her desperation  to get out of there, Claire let go of her chest and grabbed her ankle  with both hands and pulled hard, blocking out the hooting and hollering  of the crowd now that got louder with her breasts being fully exposed!  She was running out of time! But it was about to give…

“WHOA!”  With a final mighty tug, Claire’s foot tore out of the stuck boot,  sending the goth stumbling before she toppled backwards! She fell hard  right on the dropped remote, and it crunched the pieces beneath her  semi-nude body!

A second passed, then everything went still. Each  and every one of the little bug-bots finally shut down and fell off  Claire’s body. Slowly, the feeling of no feeling reached Claire’s mind.  It was finally over… but her clothes… Panting with shallow breaths,  Claire sat up on her knees and hugged her arms over her bare chest,  thighs pushed together just as tight, as she shrunk away from the crowd  looming above her and her nearly-naked body. The bug-bots had gone  dormant, but still Claire trembled, feeling phantom legs still tickling  over her body, quite a few immobile bodies piled up in the remains of  her underwear, and the chill across so much of her bare skin… and  knowing how many pictures of her boobs were probably already online…

“Hey,  out of the way! One side, move it!” A clear and sensuous voice rose out  of the crowd. Students were shoved aside with the owner of the voice  cutting through the crowd to get to Claire. It was none other than Miss  Montesque, followed closely by the other teacher who’d checked with her  before. Quietly gasping upon seeing Claire in such a pitiful state, she  hurriedly gestured to the other teacher, who quickly removed their  paisley suit jacket and passed it over. “It’s okay, honey, it’s okay.”  Montesque wrapped the other teacher’s jacket over Claire’s shoulders,  not noticing how the goth recoiled from her. “Bugs? They get you too?”  Her voice was so damnably delicate, Claire had no choice but to nod.  Montesque nodded back in sympathy. “Yeah, something’s gotten in here,  probably looking for somewhere warm before winter. We’ll get the  custodian on it, she’ll spray for ‘em and we’ll be fine. You just sit  tight, I’ll be right back.” Montesque smiled warmly before standing up  and calling out to everyone in the main hall. “Alright, people, show’s  over! I’m gonna have to ask you to grab your stuff and leave!” The  surrounding students grumbled and obliged as Montesque pulled away the  other teacher, as well as other faculty members lingering on the  fringes. “Could you go grab Gertrude? We might have to put up some tape  or something for a few days, keep the kids out of the hall…” Her voice  trailed off to Claire as she strolled farther down the hall. Claire  stayed huddled where she was on the floor, panting and riding out the  humiliation and frustration roiling inside her. It shouldn’t have  happened like this…

A hand on her shoulder. “Hey…”

Hearing  Theo’s voice, Claire immediately sprang to her feet. “Theo! I- I… uh…  EEP!” Suddenly, Claire remembered her lack of a shirt and barely-intact  undies and hastily closed the jacket tighter around herself! “I- I…”

Theo  interrupted her friend’s embarrassed babbling by grabbing her arm and  pulling her out of the main hall, into a spot in the hallway where they  had a little more privacy. She then ran her gaze up and down the  disheveled Claire’s body. “What the hell happened to you out there? I  just got here, are you okay? Are you hurt? What was that? Were those  bugs? They didn’t bite you, did they?”

Assaulted under Theo’s  frenzied questioning, a familiar tangled web of feelings tightened in  Claire’s throat. She was happy to see Theo, but still shaking with  humiliation, and then she was angry everything had gone wrong, but also  she was sad about all those things… and how she failed… She felt like a  frayed wire, sparking in all directions and so freaking useless…

Claire  choked through a sigh and looked Theo in her bright, empathetic eyes.  “I… I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” She shrugged off Theo’s startled  expression and gestured down to her mostly-undressed body. “This- this  wasn’t supposed to happen! This was supposed to be you!”

Theo’s eyes widened under her furrowing brow. “Um… excuse me?”

Claire  realized in horror what she inadvertently said! “N-no! No no, that’s  not what I meant! I- I meant… this was supposed to be FOR you…” Claire  sighed and swallowed. “You… you see…” There was a broken bug-bot still  clutched in her fist. She held it out to Theo, and it was easier direct  an explanation towards. “See… I- I m-made these. I make things, and I  made these. What was *supposed* to happen…” She panted through the  tangling web again. “They were supposed to do… *this* to Montesque.  Something went wrong, and…” She sensed Theo tense up. “You just kept  talking about her so much, I… You said it yourself! She deserved it! So I  did it… or at least I *tried* to… for *you*…” On the last, emphatic  syllable, Claire finally looked back into Theo’s eyes, with hope, and  with an open soul.

But Theo wasn’t looking at her the same way.  Her brows scrunched together, her eyes went hard, and her lips parted in  disbelief, like she was talking to a long-dead ghost. She wasn’t happy  like she should’ve been. She was livid. “You were trying to do *this*?  To *her*?”

Claire’s mouth dried out. “I… I…”

Theo threw up her hands. “What the hell, Claire?”

…what?  No… no, she wasn’t saying that… Claire felt like she’d been ripped in  half down the middle. “W-what? N-no! No, this- this was for YOU! You  hate her, so I…” The web in her throat became a hard lump. “I-I thought  you’d… you’d be happy…”

“Why the hell would you think I’d want  you to do something like this?” The raw disgust in Theo’s voice pulled  the halves of Claire’s breaking heart even further apart. “Yeah, she  could be a bitch, but you thought I’d want *this* to happen to her? You  wanted to do *this* to her? And you really thought I’d like seeing  that?!” Theo seethed in a more deeply furious way than Claire had ever  heard from her, before her expression fell apart into something more  like horror. She shook her head and backed away.

Warm tears welled up in Claire’s eyes. She reached out. “No, Theo, please-“

“I  thought I knew you, Blue,” Theo shook her head again and backed up  another step. “But you’re worse than she is. You’re…” Grunting in  disgust, Theo spun on her heel and marched away, without sparing even a  single glance back.

“Wait! Theo!” Claire called out, but it was too late. She was gone.

In  an instant, it was like all the air was ripped out of Claire’s lungs.  Her body felt totally light all the way to her head, the whole world  quiet and numb around her… Her back hit the wall and she slid down it  and crumpled to the floor. Gasping for air, Claire brought her knees up  to her chest and shoved her forehead into them, hugging herself and  trying in vain to fight the heat in her eyes from trickling over her  cheeks and burning against her legs. This wasn’t happening. This  *shouldn’t* be happening.

How could Theo not want something like  this? The person she hates, humiliated. How would that not make her  feel good? She should be happy, seeing that! It’s what she said she  wanted: the universe coming after her. Claire had done it for her! Why  didn’t she get it? It was for *her*. It was always her… Claire just  couldn’t comprehend it. What, had she lied? She didn’t do anything  wrong, she got back at a bully! It shouldn’t be like this, it *can’t* be  like this… it was like this… She was supposed to be happy… how could  she not get it? Maybe it was she that didn’t really know Theo… no… No,  this was all her fault, her stupid, stupid fault… Claire squeezed her  eyes shut tighter, but couldn’t stop the sadness spilling out. She’d  ruined everything. She always ruined everything. And there she was…  alone again… she was always gonna be…

…her foot. Someone was  nudging her foot. Slowly, Claire lifted her head to find herself under  some girl’s tall shadow, not anyone she could immediately recognize.  Said girl stood with one hand on her hip, and with the other she was  holding out something flat. “This yours?” Claire squinted. It was her  phone she’d dropped.

After everything, Claire was done with  attention and just wanted to be left alone. Claire sniffed and rubbed  her eyes with the jacket’s sleeve before reaching up to take her phone.  “Um, yeah, thank y…” Claire trailed off as her gaze finally tracked all  the way up, and she saw exactly who it was standing over her.

It  was like looking at an angel, or even a goddess, something too beautiful  to be mortal. Hair the color of perfectly-spun fairytale gold flowed in  waves past her shoulders. Her sumptuous lips, even when drawn into the  faintest smirk, looked so soft but kept a pouty quality that matched the  confidence plain to see in her doe-brown eyes. And that bod… full round  breasts accentuated by the snug fit of her cream-colored blouse, her  jeans hugging low on her wide hips, with a toned and tight waist in  between to make a perfect hourglass figure. She was a complete and total  vision… this… This was the girl! Who Claire had only seen in glimpses!  She was here, all of her!… and so close… Claire’s heart restarted in  hyperdrive! Was this really happening?! She started to believe she’d  fainted from her humiliation and was having a most wonderful dream to  cope…

Nearly a full minute passed in silence before Claire  snapped back and realized this wasn’t a dream. This was real, and it was  her turn to speak, not stare. “Uhhhh… uhh- yes! Yes, that’s mine, yes!”  Claire jumped to her feet and clumsily fumbled her phone off the girl’s  palm. “Yes, yes, thank you! I mean, sorry- er, I mean, thank you!  Thanks!” Claire then remembered she didn’t have a shirt on under the  jacket! Realizing what a weepy mess she must’ve looked like, she crossed  her arms over her chest and bashfully beamed, running her fingers  through her bob and obliviously dropping her phone in the process.  “Sorry! Sorry, I… sorry… thanks, but… thanks and sorry…:”

The  girl’s expression didn’t change, but something in her eyes said to  Claire she found her proverbial short-circuiting to be somewhat  endearing. Her gaze dropped to around Claire’s feet. She bent down in a  manner that gave Claire a glance at cleavage that dropped the goth’s jaw  - which she hurriedly realized and fixed before the girl stood up! She  had one of Claire’s broken bug-bots held between her forefinger and  thumb, and was currently looking it over like a diamond at a jewelry  store. “Couldn’t help but overhear… These are yours, then? You made  these?”

Inexplicably embarrassed, Claire quickly reached out and  took back her bug-bot - the second she did she realized she probably  looked crazy, but it was too late by then! She held the bot in her fist  and stumbled over her words, “No! Er, I mean- I- yes! Yes, yes they-  they are- I made them, yes, it’s… they weren’t…” Embarrassment hit like a  truck and she sighed. “They weren’t supposed to do that. I- I mean they  were, but not… not to me…” Claire groaned and slumped back against the  wall. “…shouldn’t have even… stupid… stupid stupid…”

In a flash,  Claire remembered she wasn’t alone and pulled herself out of her own  head to sheepishly stand upright. The girl had taken a step closer, and  Claire promptly lost all her rhythm breathing again. Deftly, the  stunning blonde vision plucked the bug-bot back out of Claire’s hand and  admired it. “Do you have any more?”

M-more? Claire’s dizzy mind  went spinning again. “Um… well, this… some of them are… I-I have more- I  can make more, I…” Claire stopped herself when she internalized the  question. Suddenly she became quite leery. She could get in real trouble  for these bugs, actually. “Um… why- why do you ask? M-ma’am?”

The  beautiful girl cocked her head and gently placed the bug-bot back in  Claire’s palm. “See, I have this… friend.” She frowned. “Not a friend.  There’s this… dork, who always needs to be reminded of her place. And  I’ve been giving her her lessons and all, but…” She wobbled her head and  weighed up her words. “There’s only so much I can do. I feel like our  time together’s getting a little… stale. But with some toys like yours…”  She gestured with her gaze at the bug-bot. “I think we could liven  things up a little. So what do you say? Interested in a partnership?”

Claire didn’t respond for a minute, not because she was thinking the  offer over, but because she was totally stunned, so much so she didn’t  even notice her panties’ mangled and fraying waistband finally snapping  apart, nor did she register the undergarment plummeting to her ankles.  It didn't seem real! Everything was happening so quickly! Just moments  ago, there she was at her lowest low, only to now be standing face to  face with a stunningly gorgeous girl - no... a *woman* - who wanted HER!  Not just her, HER, ALL of her! Her inventions, her brains, her  quirkiness! Finally wanted for who she was, and of all people it’s HER?  Of… of course! Whatever she wanted, she’d get! For her, she would have  all the ‘toys’ in the world! Claire couldn’t stop herself from  whispering, “Are you my guardian angel?”

The beautiful blonde  angel’s lips turned up in amusement. “God, I hope not.” She subtly  pointed downward to make Claire aware her pale nether regions were  totally bare, but the goth was too swept up in her rapture to be  properly reached. The blonde then rolled her eyes and instead extended  her hand for Claire to cautiously shake. “I’m Hannah. Let’s chat.”