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Letting Go
by DS
Contains: stuck, humiliation, non-consensual
Chapter 1: Frustration in Art
October 1972. This story follows Elena Kerinkov, older sister to
the cursed Natasha Kerinkov from "One Simple Task", and takes
place 15 years prior.
After the death of their parents, Elena has abandoned her younger siblings
to come to terms with herself, trying to discover her purpose in life.
With Natasha's aid, she managed to enroll in an art college, eager to
discover if she can be just as creative as her younger sister.
---
"I call it Memory of a Distant Melody" the red-haired
girl at the front of the classroom proudly exclaimed, unveiling her
painting. "I decided on a surreal composition, with the deep reds
representing a nightmarish disturbance of the dreamlike pastels - and
I'd like to thank Mrs. Mosely for her wonderful suggestion of using
flowing lines to symbolize longing". Elena stared with disinterest
at the canvas, a seemingly random collection of crude strokes in various
colors, filled with shapeless forms and nonsensical lines - at least
the amateur effort made her feel better about her own work. "You're
quite welcome Miriam, and you have really outdone yourself," Mrs.
Mosely beamed, "the colors complement each other beautifully and
truly convey a sense of spirituality. You just always manage to amaze
me! Now then, miss Kerinkov - I'm quite excited to see what you've created".
Walking up to the front of the classroom, Miriam sending her a haughty
smile as they passed each other, Elena felt unusually fragile. This
was the first time she'd really tried to create something, the first
time she'd showcase her own artistic talent. Her work wasn't even covered
- there would be no dramatic revealing, it didn't even have a name,
but she had worked hard on it, was proud of it.
"I guess this is it" she gestured to the canvas after installing
it on the easel, blushing nervously. Mrs. Mosely, a middle-aged lady
pretending to be eccentric by wearing an artsy shawl, slowly approached,
playing thoughtfully with a strand of her early-grey hair as she let
her eyes wander across the canvas. It depicted a pale, young girl, dressed
in unremarkable clothing, gazing blankly to the side, and staring at
it herself Elena felt her heart pounding - was it too simple? "That's
very..." she mumbled, forcing a smile. "Is that glue, dear?"
"Glue and paper" Elena explained, irritated to hear giggling
in the back of the class. "Well, that's a straightforward side
view portrait, and it seems rather gloomy... your use of glue is a bit
coarse, and the girl's expression lacks all emotion". "That's
how I intended it - she has closed herself off to such feelings, and-"
"Well, you didn't have as much time as the rest, since you only
joined us recently" the woman interrupted her with a condescending
smile. "It's not bad for a work on such short notice. Thank you,
miss Kerinkov, you can go back to your seat".
The woman's minute praise annoyed her. She had worked on her artwork
from the moment she came on campus yesterday, continued deep into the
night, trying her best to show she was motivated, truly felt she had
created something worthwhile, yet received only such a lukewarm reaction.
Maybe it was just her inexperience - her younger sister Natasha always
explained art as something straight from the heart, yet there had to
be things she could to learn regardless. She didn't really understand
the vague allusions to compositions, symbolization and color complements,
but Mrs. Mosely calling her use of glue coarse... that was disappointing,
because she was certain nobody could even come close when it came to
her talent. She sighed, pressing her thumb and index finger together,
then stared at the glistening, sticky strand between them as she pulled
them apart again. "Promise me you'll believe in yourself..."
was the last thing her sister had said to her, "...and promise
me you'll behave". She absentmindedly rolled the substance
between her fingers into a little ball, then flicked it away, focusing
instead on the ongoing presentation.
"Miss Kerinkov, if I could have a moment?" Mrs. Mosely called
after the class ended, and Elena nodded. "First off, I'd like to
say I'm thrilled to have the sister of Natasha Kerinkov in my class...
I heard about your parents' death, it must be so hard on her, being
so young still..." "I really don't want to talk about that"
Elena stated coldly - of course the woman had no idea of the circumstances
around her mother and father's death, but she had no business bringing
it up in the first place, it wasn't exactly an easy subject for her
either. "Oh! I... I see... A-anyway, welcome to our art class -
don't worry about finishing the ongoing projects, just take some time
to settle in first - art doesn't like to be rushed, after all".
"You didn't like my artwork... I get it" Elena sighed, glancing
past Miriam and two friends leering at her from the back of the classroom.
"You must understand I have very high expectations of you, being-"
"It was better than Miriam's weird painting, but you had nothing
but praise for that, and... you know, never mind" Elena interrupted
her, letting her irritation get the better of her. "Well, miss
Kerinkov... if that's going to be your attitude, I'm sure you'll have
no problem finishing tomorrow's art project either?" "That
won't be a problem, ma'am" Elena spoke coldly, dismissing the apology
she meant to make, covertly running her finger along the woman's purse
underneath her desk.
"Nice 'art' you have there" one of Miriam's friends, a blonde
girl called Rachel, smirked at her as she passed by, carrying the canvas
with her. "Yeah, playing with glue and paper was so much fun...
in kindergarten" Francine, a classy brunette, added sarcastically,
and all three giggled. "Did I do something to you to make you act
so childish?" Elena replied, halting momentarily; the three were
a bit confused to be confronted like that, and Elena couldn't resist
a mocking smile. "W-we're just concerned about the... quality of
students in this class, that's all" Miriam countered in a treacherously
sweet voice. "I'll do my best, then - I'm Elena, and I'm looking
forward to studying with you". She realized she sounded forced,
but she couldn't let these girls spoil her chance at a new life, a life
where she wouldn't have to worry about her problems, about her past.
"Elena? Are you a commie or something?" the blonde
scoffed, and the other two dutifully giggled with her. So much for trying
to get along with these three. "Wow, you're pathetic" Elena
concluded, and went her way, remembering her promise she made her sister.
Another blonde girl was gawking at her, and still irritated, Elena challenged
her stare. "What?" She didn't expect the confident smile on
the girl's lips. "Heh. Don't let those cats get to you - they're
not worth it". "Yeah, I managed to figure that out already"
Elena gave her an empty smile. "My name is Lucy. I liked your artwork,
Elena Kerinkov". "Umm... thanks" Elena blushed, only
slowly realizing someone actually complimented her.
---
"Look at her get friendly with Lucy... after walking away from
us just like that, I swear, I hate her already" Rachel hissed,
clenching her fists as she stared at the black-haired girl chatting
up the weird blonde. "Who cares if she talks to that dyke, did
you hear what she said about my painting, as if hers was better?!"
Miriam whispered; both Rachel and Francine nodded. "I think we
should take action again - we can't have that Elena in our class, girls,"
Francine added, "we need to figure out a way to get rid of her,
you know?" "Didn't she say she was going to turn in artwork
for tomorrow's project?" Miriam whispered conspiringly, and the
other two nodded. "No way she can make anything worthwhile with
this little time left though" Francine scoffed, stretching a bit
before grabbing her bag, but Miriam wasn't so sure - Mrs. Mosely's remark
about high expectations didn't sit well with her, and this was her chance
to finally prove herself to her friends. "It's my turn... so I'll
take care of it" she grinned, proud to see the other two smile.
"Why the heck won't it open!!" Mrs. Mosely suddenly whined
from the other side of the room, her face red with effort as she was
tugging desperately at the zipper of her purse. Only then did she become
aware of the startled girls staring at her, clasped her purse and pens
together with a deep blush, and hastily paced out of the classroom.
---
"Hi Lucy" Elena greeted cautiously as she passed by the girl,
one of the last remaining people working in the spacious Creative Arts
building's atelier, as the sun was already setting outside. "Hey
Elena, planning to burn the midnight oil here?" Lucy put down her
brush, smudging her spattered apron to clean her hand a bit - it seemed
redundant, as every inch of the floor and tables was covered in streaks
and splotches of paint anyway. "I still need to do the big project
for tomorrow, so..." Elena shrugged. "Ah, I'm about finished
with mine - what do you think?" Lucy moved aside to show the wall-mounted
canvas, depicting a vibrant forest meadow. "Umm... I don't really
know all that stuff about composition and color symbolism yet..."
"Oh, you shouldn't take that pretentious babble seriously - I swear
half the time those airheads have no clue they're talking about - I
want to know if you like it". "Yeah, it's beautiful...
I mean, the way the sunlight shines through the trees, it's really nice".
"Thanks - no doubt Mrs. Mosely will get on my case about painting
something mundane again - it all needs to be abstract with her, whining
about raw emotion, sacrifice, shock... but if you like it, that's good
enough for me". Elena gave her an uncomfortable smile, unsure what
to answer to that.
"So, what are you planning to make? Not a lot of time left, and
we're supposed to work on these large canvases..." Lucy continued;
Elena stared at the soft greens of the painting again, and shrugged
bashfully. "No idea really. Maybe a collage of sorts". "As
cheerful as the sad portrait you made?" Lucy smiled with a wink,
and Elena blushed. "Just saying... you seem like the girl in your
portrait, keeping all your emotions bottled up... pent up frustration...
you can let that loose on your canvas... it can be really therapeutic".
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea..." Elena whispered
thoughtfully, feeling more uncomfortable now as the girl stood quite
close to her. "A beautiful girl like yourself shouldn't have to
worry so much... just give it a try" Lucy rested her arm around
her, and Elena felt quite flustered - did Lucy think she was attractive
or something? "I-I'd better get started then" she smiled with
a blush. "Oh, and thanks for liking my artwork today, I... umm,
I mean... yeah". Geez, why was she bumbling her words all of a
sudden? Lucy gave her a confident nod and turned back to her painting.
Elena sighed; getting rid of some of her emotions, frustrations sounded
nice enough, but... if she lost control, things could get bad...
---
Pacing gingerly through the empty, dark hallways of the Creative Arts
building late that night, Miriam's heart was racing. Getting in had
been easy enough - she just told the guard she was helping her friend
with her class project, and he had let her in without a second thought.
She was going to help Elena all right, help ruin whatever sad excuse
for an artwork she'd come up with, so Mrs. Mosely would have no trouble
kicking her out of their class. But to her surprise, she found the spacious
atelier dimly illuminated by a single fluorescent light - was somebody
still working? It looked creepy, the easels and reference materials
casting long shadows across the paint-spattered floor, but as Miriam
spotted Elena's bag underneath the bulb, she couldn't resist taking
a peek. Nervously spying around for any sign of the girl, Miriam walked
closer, trying to make out what the large canvas the light was illuminating
held. At first she thought it was just the sharp reflection of the light
on wet paint, but as she approached, she found it still empty, yet strangely
shimmering, as if it was painted white. A grin appeared on her face
as she realized that her worries had been for nothing - Elena hadn't
even gotten started, and there was no way she could finish this in time
for tomorrow's presentation. Heck, there were no open paint buckets,
no brushes... She smirked as she dabbed the canvas with her finger,
confirming the surface to be covered with more glue.
That Elena was such a loser, she didn't even get the hint that Mrs.
Mosely wasn't exactly taken with her choice of medium. Glancing at the
stack of magazines nearby, she stifled a giggle - did the poor girl
really think she could do a collage of sorts and call it 'art'? And
on such a large canvas as well - it had to be at least six foot high.
She pulled her finger back, or tried to at least, surprised by the strength
of the sticky glue - the canvas popped out as she pulled, but the thick
strand refused to let go of her finger. Irritated, she used her left
hand to get rid of the glob, finally managing to pull and shake her
finger loose, only to find three fingers on her other hand now stuck
to the canvas. "What the heck" she huffed; the cloth seemed
easily strong enough to resist tearing, and she pulled back more aggressively,
gritting her teeth as she expected the stretching glue to finally give.
Just a little more... suddenly a door closed in the distance, startling
her enough to relax her effort, her hand pulled back forward, squishing
against the surface of the canvas. Why on earth would Elena be using
such a ridiculously strong glue for her artwork?! Before she could ponder
a different strategy, she already heard footsteps approach, and Miriam
started to panic - she couldn't be seen here, had to get out of this
place. With all her strength she pulled back, groaning with effort,
the glue stretching and stretching, but feeling her arm tremble, Miriam
was desperate - she couldn't pull free. The force of the glue surprised
her yet again as she gave in, her other hand squishing into the glue
next to her first as her reflex to brace herself ruined any chance she
might have had at getting away.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Elena staring at her, stirring a
cup of tea or coffee, making Miriam feel like a fly caught in a spider's
web. "H-hey Elena, I came over to apologize about how I acted this
afternoon, b-but I seem to have... y-you know..." she blushed,
but Elena remained quiet, the dismissive smirk on her lips unsettling
Miriam quite a bit. "This... this is some really strong glue, isn't
it? I-I can't seem to..." Miriam squirmed, pulling demonstratively
at the adhesive surface, but still Elena didn't respond, just inching
closer to her, staring at her as if she was some wounded prey. "What
d-do you want from me" Miriam whimpered, her voice shivering; she
was defenseless, both her hands kept immobile by the canvas. The intimidating
raven-haired girl came closer and closer, and she cowered away from
her, not realizing her mistake until she already felt the sticky canvas
against her back. "L-leave me alone, p-please" she almost
begged, but Elena just smiled thinly. "Then how am I supposed to
finish my project? You're in the way" she finally broke her silence.
"Look... just help me off, okay?" Miriam huffed, tugging angrily
at the glue holding her hands, trying to pull her body away from the
canvas. "Calm down, unless you want to hurt yourself".
"C'mon, give me a hand... please?" she asked again, but Elena
was just standing there, slowly sipping her coffee, and as much as Miriam
squirmed, she only had minimal wriggling room inside her clothing. With
her blouse and skirt firmly stuck to the canvas, her clothing kept her
imprisoned now, her blouse cracking at the seams with her efforts, her
predicament made much more uncomfortable by both her hands stuck to
her right. Elena casually finished her coffee, and Miriam resigned -
there was no way she could manage to get loose without Elena's help.
"I hate it when people mess with my affairs, Miriam," she
spoke calmly, resting the cup on the floor, "but at least this
should teach you some respect for my glue". "I never said...
c'mon, this is stupid, just let me down" Miriam weakly insisted,
hanging demurely in her clothing. The sheer indignity of her situation
infuriated her, but she couldn't do a thing, was at the total mercy
of this new girl. And Elena knew it, gently running her finger across
her cheek, making her shiver - just what was she planning to
do to her? "Don't worry... I'm not going to hurt you. I made a
promise to my sister I wouldn't" Elena explained, a strange tone
in her voice, but that assurance did little to make Miriam feel better.
"But there's no reason why we can't help each other. I'd look
pretty bad if I didn't turn in a project tomorrow... and you'd look
pretty bad if anyone found out you went here to mess up my artwork,
right". Miriam thought for a moment - she had an excuse of sorts
for being there. Her reputation was good, and she did tell the
guard she was here to help out a friend. But her first priority was
to get Elena to help her down from the canvas, so she had no choice
but to play along for now. "Sure, whatever" she huffed, and
Elena nodded. "Great. Now to be honest, I didn't really know what
to make before you arrived... so I guess I was lucky you showed up -
seeing you like that is... inspirational". Miriam's eyes widened
in alarm - surely Elena wouldn't imply... "What do you mean by-hey!
What are you doing!" Miriam protested as Elena began unbuttoning
her blouse; the intimacy made her blush, but perhaps Elena was just
helping her down? She had to stay calm, couldn't let Elena see how nervous
she was. But it was hard to keep her cool when Elena took a pair of
scissors from her bag, snipping them menacingly. "Oh come on...
not my blouse, please" she whined as Elena set them to her blouse,
cutting through the delicate fabric along her arm. "Your mistake...
not mine" Elena explained, cutting the rest of the blouse open,
then folded it neatly against the canvas around her.
Only her skirt and hands were holding her back now, and Miriam cautiously
tried to get her hands unstuck again, the stringy glue squishing between
her fingers as she tugged and tugged, but it seemed futile. Elena seemed
to be standing back a bit, leering at her near-naked chest. "Y-you're
not going to ruin this expensive skirt as well" she hissed, flustered
to be stared at like that. "You're the one ruining my artwork,
remember?" Elena hissed, snipping the scissors a little more menacingly;
Miriam had no choice but to endure her beautiful and expensive skirt
being cut straight through the middle. Again Elena folded the two sides
against the canvas, but Miriam was more concerned about making sure
she didn't touch the glue again. "My hands are still stuck"
Miriam panted, pulling some more to vent her frustration, but Elena
seemed to be standing back again, as if inspecting her work. Standing
in just her heels, bra and panties, Miriam felt ridiculous, and grew
even more uncomfortable when she felt Elena's hand trailing between
her shoulders. "D-do you mind? Are you planning to help me or what?"
she angrily bit, shivering as she felt something strange on her back,
or was she just imagining that? "On the count of three," Elena
smiled, bracing her hand against the canvas while grabbing Miriam's
wrist with her other, "One". Why the heck did she just plant
her own hand on the canvas?! "Two". "Look, you're stuck
as well now you idiot, this isn't going to-" "Three!"
Elena pulled with quite a bit of strength, and finally Miriam felt her
left hand come loose with a wet slurp.
"Did you manage to..." Miriam huffed, blinking in surprise
at Elena, who still had both her hands free - in fact, there didn't
even seem to be any traces of glue on them. "H-hey, why... how
come you're not stuck?!" "If you haven't figured it out yet..."
Elena whispered, pulling Miriam uncomfortably close by her free wrist,
"I'm really good with glue". Before Miriam could even
respond, Elena roughly pulled her wrist to her left, squishing it back
down on the canvas there. "What the hell! Why did you..."
Miriam protested, then felt the cold feeling on her back. "You
bitch! Did you put glue on my back?!" "Just enough to put
you in your place - and keep you there". "Stop fooling around
and let me go!!" Miriam squirmed angrily, now plastered to the
canvas with both arms, her back squishing against her blouse. She could
hardly move her upper body more than an inch, the stretching glue pulling
her back in place at every turn, and fear was starting to grip her.
"C'mon Elena, this isn't funny, I'm sorry I bothered you, I promise
I won't-" "Oh shut up already - you're a miserable person,
and you deserve to be taught a lesson" Elena bit, rummaging through
Miriam's purse.
"D-don't you dare," Miriam growled angrily, watching Elena
inspect her lipstick, "that lipstick cost me twenty bucks".
"But can we really put a price on art?" Elena scoffed, lobbing
the lipstick at her - Miriam tried to catch it by reflex, only to be
reminded of her arm firmly clinging to the canvas; helpless to stop
it, the lipstick attached to the cloth above her with a soft squish.
"You can't do this!! Leave my stuff alone and let me down, right
now!!" "Don't like it when people mess with your things?"
Elena spat, pressing the nail file from her purse next to the lipstick.
All Miriam could do was watch helplessly as more followed - soon her
tissues dotted the canvas, her hairpins, the content of her pocket make-up
box scattered around her. "Wow, what's this!" Elena pulled
a thin white shaft from the bottom of her purse, and Miriam blushed
crimson as the device hummed to life in Elena's fingers. "You carry
this around with you?" Elena giggled, blushing as well, but Miriam
had enough. "You fucking bitch... I'll get you kicked off campus
for this" she hissed, her eyes glaring with anger as Elena calmly
turned the vibrator off again. "I'm so tired of people like you
trying to make life miserable for others... pretending to be special...
while you have no idea what being special means".
"What... what are you talking about... Look, you let me go, I
go back to my dorm room and we both forget about this" Miriam proposed
desperately; Elena had a strange look in her eyes, a cruel gleam that
made her neck hairs stand on end. "How about..." Elena started,
approaching menacingly again, her finger slowly travelling to Miriam's
face, "you finally keep your mouth shut for a while?" Elena
shushed her with her finger. "Mmf... MMMMMFF!!" Miriam groaned,
suddenly finding she couldn't part her lips anymore. As Elena withdrew
her finger, Miriam saw a long shiny trail of glue she left, and in a
mixture of anger and panic, gave a muffled scream. "Chill out,
it's not going to kill you". Miriam was breathing frantically through
her nose now, tugging at her bonds, but couldn't even move an inch.
Elena pulled off her heels, pressing them onto the canvas at her sides.
"Almost ready for tomorrow's presentation..." Miriam's eyes
widened, and she moaned furiously - was Elena seriously planning to
leave her here for the rest of the night?! "Art is all about sacrifice,
isn't it Miriam" Elena grinned, lifted the scissors from the floor
and snipped them towards her breasts; Miriam could only plead with her
eyes, shaking her head as she realized what Elena was planning. But
with a single snip, her bra was cut in half. "Nice tits" Elena
admired with a blush, gingerly copping a feel to Miriam's muffled protest.
Two further snips freeing the shoulder straps, and with some tugging
Elena freed the undergarment from between Miriam's back and the remnants
of her blouse. "Art is all about shock" she stated, and Miriam
moaned angrily as two further snips destroyed her panties, then a quick
pull left her entirely naked, her last bits of clothing pressed against
the canvas.
"That's a nice look for you" Elena admired her work from
a distance. Miriam blushed deeply; she wasn't particularly embarrassed
about her body, but the lewd way Elena had spread her legs, her arms
unavailable to cover herself up, this... stranger gawking at her...
"There's just one last detail missing, isn't there? It's going
to be a lonely night for you, so..." Elena grinned, collecting
the vibrator from the floor. "Let's see... how do you usually use
this thing?" She switched it back on, and Miriam moaned in anguish
- she couldn't be serious, doing something so intimate to her... "Do
you want me to push it inside for you, hmm?" Miriam just shook
her head in disgust - didn't Elena humiliate her enough yet? "Ah.
I guess I'll have to think of something else then". Miriam stared
in disbelief as Elena brushed her finger along the thin shaft, leaving
a clear trail of glue. Where the hell did she keep getting that from?
It was almost as if... She squirmed helplessly as Elena pushed the vibrator
against her crotch, the buzzing shaft easily sticking to her privates.
"Perfect, absolutely perfect" Elena smiled, blushing again;
Miriam couldn't help moan as her toy was doing its job only too well.
Her panic increased when Elena walked off to the heavy ceiling-mounted
curtains at the side; she groaned, squirming desperately, but while
the glue squished with her efforts it kept her relentlessly captive.
"See you tomorrow, partner - you'll have plenty of time
to think about what you did" Elena finally stated, then closed
the heavy curtain before her. The light behind the curtain was switched
off, and Miriam moaned furiously, helpless as Elena's footsteps slowly
echoed away. She really was going to leave her here for the rest of
the night...
Miriam startled awake, groaning as she found herself still stuck to
the hellish canvas. She had struggled, had squirmed against the sticky
surface until even her long red hair was firmly stuck, but her initial
attempts hadn't even freed her from the ceaseless vibrations of her
formerly favorite toy. And just when she was starting to appreciate
what it was trying to do, her body oblivious to her precarious position,
her arousal building and building... the stupid thing had fallen to
the floor, leaving her horny, unsatisfied and frustrated as she couldn't
even reach down to indulge herself. Her mind had wandered in the darkness,
devising progressively stupid ideas to pull herself loose, eventually
even considering her shameful arousal as an escape since it seemed to
have managed to soak the vibrator free... but it was pointless. Its
dull buzzing on the floor below had slowly subsided as time crawled
onward, and the sheer exhaustion from her predicament and efforts had
begun taking their toll. Sleep had come and gone during this most miserable
night of her life, but at least the night was now over; daylight filtered
through the curtains. Tired, cramped and devastated, all she could think
of was a long hot shower and her soft bed... but when was this torment
going to end? A door opened in the distance; excited voices mingled
with footsteps echoed through the atelier, Mrs. Mosely's commanding
voice easily recognizable. With a final effort she tried to pull loose,
her tired arms only stretching out mere inches of the glue before snapping
back, her legs hopelessly plastered against the surface. She could hear
the restless murmur of the gathered students close by now, saw shadows
flitting past the curtain, but part of her still couldn't believe her
situation, couldn't accept what was about to happen. But as presentation
after presentation was made, she realized that sooner or later, it would
be her turn... her humiliation was inevitable now.
"Okay, thanks - I'll keep it short, this is my latest work, 'Flypaper'"
she heard Elena proclaim, and moments later the curtains slid aside
to an instantly baffled crowd. Miriam could feel how much she was blushing,
but there was nothing she could do - her lewd, forced pose was on full
display to her class, to her horrified friends, to Mrs. Mosely who looked
seriously shocked... "I... tried for an innovative merger of contemporary
and performance art, where the performer literally becomes part of the
canvas. The artwork represents an ultimate breach of privacy - where
the subject is shown simply as she is, without her words, her clothing
or her accessories to shield her, helplessly delivered to the critical
eye of the viewer. I want to thank Miriam for her kind offer to help,
and her wonderful and brave suggestion of using nudity as a tool to
convey the full sense of vulnerability". Miriam swallowed. Elena
was using the same artistic nonsense that she excelled at. Mrs. Mosely
would buy it, she knew she would, and the horrible truth of her situation
was that the ridiculous explanation Elena had thought up offered a shameful
escape from her only remaining alternative: admitting to the worst public
humiliation in the history of this school. For a brief moment, her eyes
locked with Elena's - the girl was as embarrassed about this situation
as she was now, and Miriam understood what she had to do. A nervous
smile appeared on her lips, trying to fit Elena's story, hoping to fake
some confidence. She'd play along. Even if it would let Elena off the
hook, salvaging what she could of her reputation was all she could do
now.
---
"Well!" Mrs. Mosely stated, adjusting her glasses with an
agitated blush. "That's... quite admirable Elena, it's... interesting
to see you've chosen such a... daring approach. And Miriam... such...
strong artistic spirit... Well... let's give them a big hand, everyone...!"
she encouraged, starting a weak solo applause that only received hesitant
support. Elena couldn't look her in the eyes, her gaze wandering past
the now furious Francine and Rachel - they knew what was going on. But
strangely enough - the slack-jawed stares, the whispers starting up
- her artwork caused a reaction, and even though she had grave
misgivings about what she had done last night, she couldn't help feeling
somewhat... proud now, as if she finally understood what art could be
about. Before she could find Lucy in the small crowd, Mrs. Mosely took
her aside while the rest of the class inspected her artwork up close.
"Elena, if I could have a moment - I'll admit I was surprised you
managed to complete such a... large project on such short notice...
I would've liked to know you were receiving help from Miriam beforehand,
and I'm a bit disappointed you're using the same medium as last time..."
"Is there something wrong with me using glue to express myself?"
Elena challenged her - of all the things she knew were wrong with her
artwork, her use of glue had been perfect. "N-no, of course
not, it's... it's just that we try to teach-" "I gotta go"
Elena interrupted her - she didn't feel like having this conversation
right now; she had managed to finish her artwork somehow, was certain
Miriam wouldn't bother her anymore, and that had to be enough.
Rachel and Francine looked about ready to spit acid. It was obvious
they knew Miriam would never cooperate with her like this, but they
couldn't say a word about it here, not without revealing what Miriam
had tried to do last night, and she did feel some satisfaction over
that. "We'll get you for this" Francine hissed; Elena sighed,
her fingers clenching around the clear plastic bottle she had taken
from her bag. "You'd better go help your friend down" she
stated, lobbing the bottle at them. Rachel managed to catch it, but
even Elena was surprised at her reaction. "What... you bitch"
Rachel growled, trying to pull the bottle from her fingers; moments
later Francine was stuck as well, trying to help her friend out; Elena
quickly glanced at her fingers - she hadn't meant to do that, but...
watching the two struggle, she had to fight back her giggle. She could
tell that the glue wasn't very strong, and the bottle contained exactly
the solvent they needed to get rid of it in the first place - the girls
were just too hopelessly clumsy and dense to realize it. She hoped it
would at least get them off her back; she had done enough pointless
fighting in high school already, and was sad to find even college had
girls like this.
She found Lucy standing outside, smoking, grinning at her as she quickly
exhaled a last puff upward, then flicked away her cigarette. "So...
was that your emotion, your frustration or a little of both?" "Actually...
I couldn't think of anything to make, not until Miriam showed up to
help-" "Heh... c'mon sweety, this is me you're talking to,"
Lucy smiled, "she'd never help someone like you... so out with
it - how did you manage to get her up there, entirely nude no less?"
Elena sighed, then gave Lucy a nervous smile. "Or did something
else happen between you two to leave her naked?" Lucy winked suggestively,
but Elena shook her head. "Nothing happened... it was an accident
really. She came over to do something to my canvas, but she got herself
stuck on the glue, I didn't really do much". "Oh? So how do
you explain your masterpiece?" Elena sat down, staring at the distant
trees, swaying in the wind. "I don't know why I did those things.
I was just... angry". "Frustrated, hmm?" Lucy smiled,
sitting down next to her. "I guess, but..." "What you
did was special... nobody will be able to dispute that". "I
don't want to be special" Elena muttered, almost to herself, but
Lucy's words filled her with a strange warmth - did the girl really...
appreciate what she had done? "I think you do... art is all about
being special, why else would you-" "You don't get it, I...
you know, never mind". How could she explain what her body could
do... how could she explain how much hardship it had caused her...
"No, I think you don't get it. Elena... everything about
you tells me you're holding back, keeping it all bottled up inside...
don't you think you'll feel better if you let it all out?" Lucy
smiled, tracing Elena's cheek with her finger. "I know I would...
but I can't". "Why not? Why did you come to this college?
Don't you want to see what you're capable of?" "I'm afraid,"
Elena whispered, "afraid of losing control". "Afraid?
Until you learn to just let go, you won't learn what art is about, don't
you see? Why are you trying so hard to be someone you're not?"
"Because I don't like who I am, all right?!" Elena
shouted, dazed as the truth of what she said slowly dawned on her. Even
Lucy seemed surprised by her sudden outburst, rising from the bench,
nervously straightening out her floral dress. "Y-you know, never
mind, I thought you were different... go back to your mommy, there's
nothing you can learn here". "I can't," Elena smiled
thinly, her blank stare blurring with her tears, "because my mom
killed herself, you see". She said it without thinking, or perhaps
with some subconscious intent to make Lucy feel terrible for prodding
her for answers, but felt her own emotions flare up instead. "I
gotta go" Elena muttered, fighting back her tears. "Elena,
wait..." Lucy called, but Elena was pacing away at a brisk speed.
She liked Lucy... Lucy was trying to help her, and yet...
"This is Elena... can I speak to Natasha please" Elena tried
to keep her emotions down, her hands trembling around the clunky telephone
receiver. "Elena. You're going to tell me where you are" her
brother Sergej replied in a cold, demanding tone. "I don't want
to do this right now, I just want to talk to my sister... please"
Elena insisted, pulling nervously on the coiled telephone wire. "You
will tell me where you are so I can come pick you up". "That's
none of your business, I-" "It's entirely my business,
because of what you did I'm the only one left to protect our family.
So tell me where you are... or I'll have to convince Natasha to tell
me". "Don't you touch her, Sergej... don't you dare lay a
finger on her". "You think I'd hurt her? You're the
psychotic one, big sister. A walking blight, and if it wasn't for Natasha
I couldn't care less if I never saw you again. But since you're a part
of this family, you're a liability to me, and a liability to Natasha...
we need you to come home before you hurt someone and ruin everything".
"Ruin what... I was sick and tired of having to stay indoors
just because of-" "Don't be so damn selfish Elena, not after
you swipe a chunk from our last savings to go on some pointless journey
to God knows where. You've done enough damage to this family".
"Natasha gave me that money, I didn't force her to work
her fingers to the bone like you did. I want to speak to her".
"Where are you, Elena?" "Let me speak to Natasha, Sergej".
A soft click echoed through the ear piece of the clunky telephone. "Sergej?!
Sergej!!" Elena hissed, angrily slamming down the receiver when
the dial tone returned, a long strand of glue trailing from the phone
as Elena marched off.
---
"We're going to make her pay for this you know, don't worry"
Francine smiled at Miriam supportively, helping her get rid of the last
bits of glue, with Rachel at her side. Miriam only weakly shook her
head, huddling in the bathtub, her hot shower only slowly washing away
the last bits from her hair and body. "D-don't... please don't"
she whispered, hugging her knees. "Why the heck not! After what
she did to you... we can't let her get away with that" Francine
huffed; Rachel nodded. "And she even pranked us with that bottle
- she's despicable". "You don't understand," Miriam sighed,
"there's something... wrong with that girl, she..." "Yeah,
she's nutso, that's exactly why we've gotta get rid of her" Rachel
finally stated after Miriam's prolonged silence. "No, she... geez,
I feel stupid for saying this, but... it was like she had glue coming
out of her fingers or something... it really freaked me out okay".
"Look honey, she obviously did a number on you, all the more reason
for us to teach her a lesson. C'mon Rachel, let's go". "Wait
- just leave her alone, I don't want you to-" Miriam muttered,
but Rachel and Francine didn't even listen anymore. She prayed she had
really just been imagining things, but... she had a really bad feeling
about this girl.
---
So this was Elena's place. It wasn't surprising she stayed in off-campus
accommodations considering she joined late in the year - the girl must've
really started college on a whim. Her kind never stayed long, usually
losing interest after a month or two... but Elena was beautiful, attractive...
and she was very interested in the girl, despite all the emotional
baggage Elena seemed to be suffering from. Perhaps it could even save
her the trouble of dumping her again: she could use her for pleasure
until Elena would realize art college wasn't her thing after all, and
she'd go her separate way. But they parted on an emotional note this
afternoon, and Lucy knew she'd need to move fast if she was to exploit
Elena's fragile state of mind to win over her heart and body. The apartment
building seemed quite modern, the walls made of sterile white concrete,
still untarnished by the city's grime; the walkway she was on still
held a lingering smell of paint or construction glue; it would explain
the sparse occupants as well. Finding the doorbell quite unresponsive,
probably because of the electrical wiring still hanging out of the frame,
Lucy knocked on Elena's door instead, hoping she had found the right
place. To her surprise, the door drifted slightly ajar - Elena left
it opened?
"Elena?" she called, gingerly stepping into the small hallway,
closing the door behind her. As new as the building was, the apartment
obviously hadn't been cleaned very well: cobwebs of sorts brushed past
her arms as she moved forward; she could see the strands glisten in
the dimming light filtering in from outside, but couldn't quite manage
to get rid of them. Irritated, she moved over to the light switch in
the sparsely furnished living room, jerking her arms more violently
to get rid of the annoying stuff - maybe this was the wrong place after
all, no one could live in a place so, so... The light flickered to life
around her, reflected in countless translucent strings dangling from
the ceiling. "What the..." she mumbled in disbelief, but her
concern grew as she realized a great number of them had stuck to her
arms and legs, some detaching from the roof and taking more threads
along with them, others just stretching with her movement - suddenly
she realized why the room smelled so strongly of glue.
This was a trap. She was getting caught in a trap, and the who or how
was inconsequential - she had to get the hell out of this place, no
girl was worth this trouble, no matter how foxy she was. But with each
step towards the door she felt the sticky threads pull more and more
at her limbs and body, her labored motions unable to avoid more strings
attaching. Some snapped loose with more force, their momentum lashing
them around her, others seemed as resilient as molasses. "E-Elena,
where are you damn it" she called nervously, her hand now stuck
to a clump of the threads collecting on her chest. "ELENA??!!"
she yelled, terrified to see more and more threads stick to her as she
inched towards the exit. But before she could reach the doorknob, her
feet couldn't touch the floor anymore, her entire body suddenly held
aloft by the web of threads, squishing under her weight, a flurry of
threads popping free to coil around her. Her arms were immobilized.
Her legs wouldn't even touch the ground, strung up uselessly behind
her. "ELENAAAA!!!" she cried, squirming in the mesh of threads
that kept her constrained - what the hell did Elena use for this stuff?!
Chapter 2: Emotion in Art
Lucy hung panting, her latest effort to escape her sticky bonds only
getting her further wrapped up in the diabolical threads; the evening
light was failing, but just as her frustration was turning to despair,
a key turned in the lock before her. The grin on Elena's face when she
stepped into her apartment was downright frightening; to Lucy's relief
her expression changed to surprise, then fear when the girl realized
who was gently swaying from her ceiling. "Get me out of here..."
Lucy whimpered, squirming demonstratively; Elena dashed forward, immediately
starting to remove the thin strands. "Lucy!! How did you - I'm
so sorry, please let me help..." Removing all the strands seemed
to take forever, and with each inch that Lucy felt herself lower, her
anger over this indignity increased. "What the heck were you thinking
putting this stuff in your own room?!" she hissed as her feet finally
touched the floor again; Elena gave her a fearful glance. "I...
I thought those girls would come over to mess up my place... I never
thought... I never meant for you to get hurt, I'm sorry-" Lucy
huffed, waving away Elena's excuses with her now liberated hand. "To
think I came here to help you..." "It's not my fault... don't
hit me, please..." Elena was crying, her hands shivering as she
plucked the last of the threads from her clothing, and despite her firm
resolve to get out of this place as fast as she could, she couldn't
help pity the girl.
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you or anything, calm down"
Lucy whispered, resting her hand on Elena's shoulder - what kind of
family did Elena come from to beg her not to hit her? "Please don't
hate me" the girl cried softly, and not knowing what else to do,
Lucy pulled her into a hug, gently kissing her hair hoping to comfort
her somehow - why did she always go after the basket cases... "If
you're going to put glue traps in your living room, at least..."
Lucy started, but had no idea how to continue - what Elena prepared
here was just... nuts. "Rachel and Francine... they threatened
me, so I wanted to make sure they-" "But I ended up in it
instead, so..." Lucy interrupted, a cautious smile appearing on
her lips; Elena brushed away her tears, nodding. "I could've hurt
you... I'm so sorry". "You could've hurt yourself...
would anyone have even come looking for you? Who do you know around
these parts?" "Nobody... nobody, but..." Elena thought
for a moment, then clasped some last threads dangling from the roof
with a hopeful smile, "look, it's safe for me". There had
to be some trick to it, but Lucy didn't particularly care - the sooner
she could forget about her sticky misfortune the better. She had something
quite different on her mind anyway, and knew there would be a simple
way to distract Elena. "Well, you caught me" she smiled, but
wasn't prepared for Elena to take initiative, pulling her into a tender
embrace as their lips locked.
"You seem to be thinking what I'm thinking" Lucy panted as
they broke their kiss, already unbuttoning her shirt, and Elena blushed;
Lucy traced her finger along the girl's generous breasts. "You
wanna do it too, don't you?" she smiled, leading the girl over
to her bed; Elena hesitantly nodded. "Is it your first time with
another girl?" "My first time, period. But I trust you"
Elena whispered, and didn't protest when she kissed her again - she
was feeling very excited now, the prospect of teaching this beautiful
virgin the gentle feminine touch simply intoxicating. "But before
we do it... I want to show you something. Do you trust me?" "Of
course baby, I'm here for you" Lucy smiled, letting Elena ease
her down onto the bed - she was used to taking charge herself, but her
pupil's eagerness was a pleasant surprise. Elena straddled her without
hesitation, kissing her again as she pushed her arms out on the linen.
Elena's palms seemed oddly sweaty though... "Try moving your hands"
Elena smiled, and confused, Lucy pulled her hands back. Long strands
of glue peeled from the bedposts, stretching out to a firm glob on her
wrists. "What did you do?! C'mon Elena, not more of this-"
"Shhh" Elena silenced her, but recalling the glue on Miriam's
lips, Lucy frightfully turned her head; Elena just giggled at her discomfort.
"You said you trusted me, so I'm going to trust you with my secret...
watch this". Lucy had no choice but to stare at Elena's fingers,
dry and pristine. She balled them into a fist, then slowly spread them,
a web of glue between each of her fingers, her palm shimmering with
a sticky coating.
"W-where did that stuff come from? Is that..." Lucy gasped,
squirming underneath the girl, but she couldn't move an inch. "Yes,
it's glue... I can make it myself... something I was born with".
She smiled proudly, stretching the glue some more between her hands,
then gradually twirled the strands into a thin thread. "Neat huh?
If I combine them like this, they'll dry up really strong and stretchy,
unable to stick to anything themselves... but I can always coat them
with more glue of course". "How... how did you do that?"
"I don't know how it works, I can just... do it" Elena smiled,
demonstratively holding up her palm, droplets of glue trailing down
the woven thread. "My father - a renowned preacher - said it was
the devil's work... he thought he could beat it out of me, he didn't
understand it one bit, haha..." Lucy shivered - Elena couldn't
be serious about this; more importantly, why was she telling her this
when she should be undressing? "He hated my mother for giving birth
to me, you know... blamed her for what I could do... so many times she
sacrificed herself to shield me from his drunken rage..." There
was a cold glare in Elena's eyes now, a glimmer of insanity that made
Lucy's hair stand on edge, the prospect of making out with the girl
less and less attractive. "He always loved Sergej, my brother...
but when he found out about Natasha's secret, the youngest of us three...
Sweet Natasha... so talented, designing dresses at such a young age
already... if my gifts came from hell, hers surely were sent from heaven".
"My father and brother arrogantly paraded her around... made her
work hard to earn money for us, but she enjoyed it at least. Until that
fateful day... a Broadway producer commissioned her to craft a Victorian-style
dress for his latest musical. Sergej was convinced this would be her
big break... everyone in the business would know her name if she could
produce a masterpiece. And he pushed her, pushed her so hard. Ripped
up the first dress she made, not good enough. Made her start over and
over again... she could do better. My mother tried to stop them, but
my father ignored her tears, letting his son spur poor Natasha on and
on, not even letting up when Natasha's fingers were bleeding as she
worked deep into the night... Finally the dress was finished, and it
was indeed a masterpiece, more so than my father or Sergej would ever
suspect. The producer was ecstatic... until the night before the dress
rehearsal, when the male lead, heavily intoxicated, put on the dress
after losing a bet during one of their parties... I'm sure they all
thought it was hilarious, until they discovered it wouldn't come off
anymore... the poor man was trapped in the lofty dress, with the premiere
the next day already. But the best part was still to come... what do
you think happened?" Elena grinned, and Lucy could only swallow
nervously.
"The next morning, everyone was quite surprised to discover the
strapping young actor, locked in the dress all night, had grown some
very impressive breasts... his hair had grown long and curling, his
hands and features became delicate... even his goods were gone - simply
put, the man had been transformed into a woman, impeccably filling out
the dress!" "Y-yea right" Lucy finally scoffed, covertly
trying to pull herself loose, but the glue was relentless - Elena was
crazy, there was no doubt about it. "Mmm. Turns out Natasha wasn't
such an angel after all... just as corrupted as her evil sister... and
daddy didn't take it very well. He somehow got it into his head that
it was all my mother's fault... that she was a witch, who seduced him
to give birth to the devil's spawn... But it was him, you know...
he was the reason, he was special... and using that cursed,
preaching whisper of his, he convinced my mother... to take her own
life, to suffer in hell for her sins..." "I'm really sorry"
Lucy muttered, her mind racing to figure a way out of this place, her
lust for Elena long gone. "It's okay, Lucy. I was very upset about
what he did, so I finally let myself go... I stuffed his foul mouth
full of glue to make sure his whisper was sealed forever... and watching
him squirm, I decided it wasn't enough... so I plugged his nose as well,
until he stopped struggling... until he lay lifeless before me, haha..."
She was staring in the distance, a wild look in her eye; suddenly she
seemed to calm down, shaking off her thoughts. "Sorry, I really
talk too much. Anyway... now I can fully give myself to you". "C-can
I go home, please?" Lucy whimpered; Elena sat back in surprise,
twirling her finger around Lucy's bare navel. "But you wanted to
do it with me, right? Watching you struggle in my trap... really turned
me on... I'm ready for you, Lucy..." She demonstratively pulled
off her sweater, then freed her generous breasts from her bra. "I
m-made a mistake... I shouldn't have come here, I'm... I'm sorry, Elena..."
"You're afraid of me, aren't you" Elena whispered with a thin
smile, her eyes now dark and sad. "N-no, it's not that, I just..."
"It's okay" Elena smiled bravely. "You don't have to...
you know. Most people... never mind, sorry". With some force she
helped pull her free, and Lucy tried not to seem too hasty buttoning
up her shirt; Elena seemed quite embarrassed herself now, demurely putting
her sweater back on. "L-Lucy... we're still friends, right?"
Elena smiled sadly as Lucy paced for the door, and turning around, Lucy
gave her a nervous nod. "Yeah o-of course, it's just... just..."
she lied, making sure not to provoke the girl. Elena was insane, living
in a fantasy world like that... and she'd do her very best to avoid
her like the plague until she'd get kicked off campus. "Yeah...
well, see you in class tomorrow then, okay?" Lucy nodded with a
stupid smile, her heart pounding as she closed the door behind her,
frantic to escape.
---
Elena sighed miserably as she sat on her bed the next morning. She
had slept well enough, was ready for class, her bag and lunch packed,
but she simply lacked motivation to get up and go. Last night with Lucy...
she had been too eager, too forward about her past, too pathetically
craving someone to know what she had gone through, to understand her
pain, to tell her it would be okay... She hugged her knees, fighting
back her emotions. After her mother's death, she had been the strong
one, comforting Natasha as much as she could, bearing the brunt of Sergej's
anger over the loss of their father. He knew what she had done, reviled
her for it, his blind love for his father leading him to blame her even
for their mother's suicide... But Elena knew she wasn't to blame. Her
mother had loved her dearly, even when no one else would... locked in
her warm embrace she had just been a normal, innocent girl, not the
monster she was made out to be. Through comforting Natasha's anguish
over losing her mother, she had managed to dull her own grief... and
her retribution had given her some closure. But the loss was still there.
And if someone like Lucy wouldn't understand... if someone like Lucy
couldn't love her for who she was... no one would, except for Natasha.
Coming here was a mistake; she wasn't an artist, she couldn't paint,
had no idea how to make sculptures... she only had her glue, which no
one seemed to care about. Heck, none of the other girls even cared to
give her a chance. Perhaps Sergej had been right - her adventure was
pointless, and it was better if it ended before any of them tried to
piss her off even more, because part of her longed to be challenged,
to be threatened... longed for an excuse to let herself go. She sighed
again, forcing herself to get up, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
Mrs. Mosely would probably be just as happy as the rest to see her leave
- at least someone would have a good morning today. She could get over
this... and in a way, she did learn a little something about herself
somehow, or perhaps she had always known it - she longed to be with
a woman, to share her dreams and passion, away from the savagery of
men... She smiled to herself - seeing Lucy struggle in her trap had
been so erotic, just like Miriam squirming on her canvas... A naughty
daydream took shape as she checked the lights leaving her apartment,
but the timing of her absent-mindedness couldn't have been worse, as
two hands suddenly grabbed her from outside, her face smothered by a
foul-smelling cloth, her vision blurring, her knees buckling. "Payback
time, you commie bitch".
---
"Mrs. Mosely, c-can we talk for a bit?" Miriam nervously
approached her teacher; as always, Mrs. Mosely smiled widely when she
spotted her, but she wasn't sure that would last. "Of course, I
always have time for you Miriam - what's wrong?" "I need to
talk to you about... yesterday... the truth is, I... I tried to ruin
Elena's work the night before to get her kicked out of class, I wasn't
there to help her..." "Oh Miriam..." Mrs. Mosely sighed,
resting her hand on her shoulder, "are you saying she put you up
there against your will?!" Miriam nodded guiltily - it was no surprise
Mosely would entirely overlook her star student's transgression, but
it had been wrong of her nonetheless. "That's... that's not really
important, but... Francine and Rachel said something about taking revenge...
I think they might want to hurt her-" "Are you serious? Are
they actually going after Elena?" Lucy suddenly interjected; Miriam
blushed, realizing the weird girl had been listening in on the conversation,
but nodded. "Then I don't think you should be concerned about Elena
- we've got to find them... before they mess with Elena, she's..."
"She's dangerous, isn't she?" Miriam finished for her; she
didn't know what Lucy's business with Elena was, but she could sense
a hesitant understanding between her and Lucy now. Despite her diplomatic
approach, her concern had been with her friends from the start, and
seeing Lucy serious like this... didn't sit well with her. "Yeah.
They should've been here by now... and Elena hasn't shown up either".
"Girls... I don't quite understand-" "There's no time...
sorry Mrs. Mosely, we'll be back soon" Miriam called, then followed
Lucy out of the classroom.
---
"Hey Francine, I think she's waking up already" Rachel pointed
to the now lightly squirming girl on the floor. Francine glanced upward,
inspecting the progress on her rope work, then huffed as she saw Elena
dazedly attempt to crawl away on all fours. "Crap, I'm not done
yet... here, hold this rope for me so I can tie her up or something"
she instructed, passing the thin hemp rope she had slung over the heavy
ceiling-suspended railing over to her friend. "And where do you
think you're going? You're the star of our show today!" she mocked
as Elena could hardly hold her balance on all fours, almost knocking
over an easel. "Being stubborn isn't-" Francine scoffed as
she moved in to put an end to the girl's pathetic struggle, but stopped
mid-sentence as she realized she stepped in something - in the messy
atelier it was probably paint left by a careless artist. No, it clung
to her shoe - spilled varnish? She tried to pull loose, but almost lost
her balance before she discovered her other shoe was similarly stuck.
There was a clear, wide puddle on the floor where they originally left
Elena. "What the hell Rachel, didn't I tell you to empty her pockets
on the way in? She still had some... glue or whatever with her".
Elena had reached the atelier wall, using it for support as she sat
up, still looking bleary enough - they had to move fast before she'd
recover. "What? She didn't have anything on her, just her bag"
Rachel called from behind her; she couldn't even properly turn around
to see what the girl was up to. "Never mind - go tie her up before
she runs off, and watch your feet, that bitch emptied the whole tube
here".
Rachel made a diligent leap across the puddle, soon towering over the
still incapacitated Elena, and Francine sighed with relief - letting
that girl get away through a trick like this would be downright embarrassing.
"Don't make me hurt you... you're just gonna get what you deserve
- a little public humiliation, just like what you did to Miriam".
Francine tried to free herself again so she could help Rachel out, but
even pulling with both hands, she could barely lift her feet off the
ground - this was seriously strong stuff. "Fine, have it your-ewwwwwwww!!"
she heard Rachel exclaim, and looked up in surprise. "What happened?
What did she do?" "She's got glue all over her hands - how
am I supposed to tie her up like this?" Francine's concern turned
to fear as she saw Rachel try to shake off the mess Elena apparently
left on her fingers. How could things be going wrong so fast?! "Forget
about Elena, help me out of this goop - and don't touch anything with
your hands!!" "Then how am I supposed to pull you out!"
Rachel huffed in frustration, moving back to the edge of the puddle.
"Watch your feet damn it! I don't know, find something to clean
your hands first... and hurry!" She tried to turn around again
to see if there were any wet towels around, her heart pounding. "Over
there - you can-" she started, turning back to Rachel's panicked
expression staring at her. And Elena looming right behind her, with
a terrifying gleam in her eye. "RACHEL!!"
It was too late. With a startled yelp Rachel was pushed from behind,
somehow remembering not to step forward into the puddle, but instinctively
braced herself on the closest object. That object was her. Rachel blushed
fiercely as she stared at her in apologetic surprise, the girl's hands
pressed firmly against her breasts while Francine fought desperately
to retain her balance; their only small fortune was that Elena had apparently
slumped down to the floor again, giving them a last chance of escape.
"Hold still, I'll push you back" she croaked nervously, clasping
Rachel's shoulders for support, her heart skipping a beat as her fingertips
felt a squishing wetness on the girl's shoulder blades. "Oh no..."
she groaned, the seams of her blouse cracking as the girl tried to pull
back. Rachel's hands were stuck on her chest. Her feet were cemented
to the atelier floor, and her hands were now stuck to Rachel's shoulders.
"We're screwed, aren't we..." Rachel whimpered, tears welling
in her eyes as the gravity of their situation finally sank in. Francine
could only swallow in fright as Elena pulled herself up on an easel
behind the girl, a vacant smile on her face. Her plan for revenge had
been so straight-forward... one small complication, and all of a sudden...
they had become the victims... "E-Elena, look, l-let's talk
about this..." she stammered, Miriam's words only now ringing in
her ears. "There's something... wrong with that girl..."
"Shhh..." Elena shushed her with her finger; Francine tasted
something foul on her lips, but Elena stopped her from wiping it off.
"Tsk... do you really want to be touching your lip for the
next couple of hours?" Glue. The girl had put glue on her lips
- what if it was toxic, what if... "You'll be quiet, won't you
Rachel?" Elena turned to her friend, and Francine didn't blame
the girl for her desperate nod; she could barely part her lips anymore.
"Well well... look at you two airheads... I think I'll create one
final work of art before I leave this dump... I was going to call it
'Grave Mistake', but the way you're posing... maybe 'Forbidden Love'
is more fitting; do you like how Francine's boobs feel, Rachel?"
"E-Elena, we-" "Did I permit you to speak?" Elena
hissed before Rachel could finish; Francine could see tears well in
her friend's eyes, but no matter how much it upset her, there was nothing
she could do. "I know - why don't you give Francine here a nice
big kiss on her lips to show your affection". "B-but her lips-"
"Do it!!" Elena yelled, pushing Rachel's head closer; Francine
nodded empathically to her friend, hoping it'd be easier on her - going
against Elena right now was useless. A single tear trailed down Rachel's
cheek as she closed her eyes, the short girl cautiously moving upwards
towards her to press her warm lips against hers, the glue instantly
sealing their kiss.
"I knew my artistic vision wouldn't fail me... just look at you
two young lovers" Elena smiled, caressing their hair; Francine
felt herself blush, and Rachel seemed to feel the same way - neither
of them had any interest in this, but they were helplessly delivered
to Elena's whims. "Mmm... I bet Miriam knows what you're up to...
think she'll join us later? I could always make it a threesome, haha"
Elena laughed, firmly clasping Rachel's ankle. The girl moaned in frustration
as her right foot was firmly lifted into the glue; over Rachel's shoulder,
Francine could see Elena pull Rachel's left foot up with a strand of
sorts which she unceremoniously slapped onto the girl's butt with another
wad of glue, dangling her foot behind her. "The perfect kissing
pose, don't you think?" Elena grinned, freely positioning them
like they were mannequins of sorts; all they could do was hold their
balance to prevent themselves from worsening their situation by falling
over. She could see it in Rachel's eyes, the same feeling she had -
intense embarrassment over their forced intimacy, mixed with regret
over deciding to get back at Elena for what she did to Miriam. Their
only consolation was that Elena said she was leaving this place; that
alone was worth enduring this humiliation, even if the entire college
saw them stuck together in this indecent pose.
---
"Forget it, I don't think she's home" Miriam sighed. Lucy
and her had waited five minutes in front of Elena's apartment, but there
hadn't been a single sign of life. "Okay... I can only think of
one other place - the atelier". But halfway down the walkway, a
young man with striking blonde hair appeared at the top of the stairs,
briskly marched past them, and pounded Elena's door just like they had.
"Hey - are you here for Elena Kerinkov? Do you think you could
tell us where she is?" Miriam called out to him; his response seemed
slow and calculated, first sizing them up, then slowly approached. "Are
you students of the nearby college?" he inquired with an arrogance
unbefitting his youth, yet Miriam couldn't resist a smile - he was quite
handsome. "Yeah, we were hoping to find Elena here, but she isn't
home". "Why are you looking for her, if you don't mind my
asking?" he continued in an unexpectedly charming tone; he couldn't
be over eighteen years old, but had a distinguished manner about him.
"If you don't know where she is just say so" Lucy briskly
retorted, her clear disinterest in the cute guy confirming Miriam's
suspicion that she was a full-blown lesbian. "I'm trying to find
her as well. Forgive me for not introducing myself - my name is Sergej
Kerinkov. I am Elena's brother". "Oh!" Miriam exclaimed,
but Lucy was strangely silent, a glimmer of fear in her eyes now. "C'mon
Miriam, let's get out of here" she whispered, tugging her sleeve.
"What, why? Sergej, we're not sure where Elena is, but we've got
one place left to check out - if you want, you could come with us".
"That's very kind of you... miss...?" "Ah, sorry - I'm
Miriam, and this is Lucy, it's nice to meet you Sergej" Miriam
smiled, feeling strangely flushed as she accepted Sergej's offered hand.
"Whatever, let's go already" Lucy huffed.
"So are you just visiting your big sis or what?" Miriam made
conversation as they walked the long way back to campus again, Sergej
gave her a quick smile. "In a way... I've come to take her home
again". "There's something wrong with her, right" Lucy
asked; it seemed a rude question, but Miriam was anxious for answers
as well. "Elena is... complicated. I hope she hasn't been causing
any trouble?" "We think she might be in a fight with my friends...
Sergej, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's up with her glue...
I mean..." "The glue from her fingers trick? That's an old
favorite of her... Elena feels a desperate need to be special, and she'll
do anything to convince others she has strange talents - I doubt clever
women like you would fall for her nonsense though". "O-of
course we didn't" Miriam blushed, hoping Lucy would keep her mouth
shut about her ordeal on the canvas. "She did... pretend she could
do that, yeah," Lucy followed, "and she told me this whole
story about her past... about how your parents are dead, about you..."
"Ah. Our parents have passed away, unfortunately - that part is
true". "My condolences" Miriam whispered, giving Lucy
a fierce glance - why did she bring up such a difficult topic? "Elena
is still living in a fantasy world, isn't she? She said some pretty
horrible things..." "Then you understand why I've come to
take her home. She needs to be protected from herself... she doesn't
realize she can hurt others with her tricks and lies". Both Lucy
and Miriam nodded; at least Elena had a good brother to look after her.
---
Mrs. Mosely swiftly paced towards the atelier; Miriam and that Lucy
girl had run off after their exchange without bothering to explain just
what was going on - her students sabotaging each other's work was one
thing, but what that Elena Kerinkov had done to her Miriam... no, what
was really upsetting was her excusing her transgression as 'art', in
such a way that even she had been fooled. As much promise as the Kerinkov
name held, she was not going to allow such disrespect for her
teaching methods, challenging her authority like she had... she simply
couldn't let this girl make a fool out of her again. Her classes were
not meant to settle personal disputes, her projects were supposed
to encourage creativity, not petty revenge. So if Rachel, Elena and
Francine were stirring up trouble... she'd put an end to it. And it
hadn't taken her long to conclude where those three would go to fight
it out. She pushed the doors to her atelier wide open, squinting angrily
when she spotted her three wayward students in the back. "Miss
Kerinkov! And Rachel and Francine as well... my class started fifteen
minutes ago, so would you be so kind as to inform me what on earth you
think you're doing in our atelier?" She adjusted her glasses, then
crossed her arms in a defiant pose, but the utter lack of response ruined
her grand entrance; none of the girls even stirred to acknowledge her
presence. "Did you not hear my question?" she insisted as
she approached, surprised to find Francine and Rachel in an awkwardly
intimate embrace, their expressions completely clashing with their pose.
"We're just creating art, Mrs. Mosely" Elena finally answered,
running her fingers across Rachel's squirming thighs.
"Take your hands off of Rachel - I heard what happened between
you and Miriam, I will not let you abuse my students like that.
If you have a quarrel, you come to me, is that understood Elena?"
"It's a sculpture, do you like it? Don't they look hopelessly in
love like this" Elena laughed; Mrs. Mosely felt her anger rise
- was Elena even listening to her? Francine and Rachel looked terrified,
their lips cruelly sealed by the glue that kept them in place, but why
were they trying to shake their heads at her? "Release those girls
right now Elena, or I will call security to escort you off this campus".
"I wanted to thank you, Mrs. Mosely. You said my use of glue was
coarse... I was too arrogant to listen, but you were right, I've so
much to learn still, so many new ideas to try..." The girl grabbed
her hands affectionately, a strange smile on her face. "That...
that's not important right now, I asked you to-" "With enough
glue, I could encase these girls, make their love permanent - they'd
really make perfect statues..." "What?! Enough! I'm sorry
I ever let you join my class... you have no talent and no
respect for others. I'm calling security" Mrs. Mosely hissed, pulled
her hands free and briskly paced off towards the exit. "You can't
leave yet, not until I've tried my new 'marionette' art" Elena
giggled behind her; Mrs. Mosely shook her head, wondering just how deranged
this girl was to be laughing like that. But suddenly, her hands were
pulled back. Mrs. Mosely stared in disbelief at the translucent goop
on her palms, the thin threads trailing back towards Elena - when did
that girl... no, how did she do this?!
"See? You can't leave yet" Elena giggled again, and she felt
herself get spun around with a sharp tug on her left hand. "What...
stop that! Stop that at once!!" "Perhaps I should leave you
hanging from the ceiling... Francine's idea, not mine" the girl
grinned, gesturing upwards; there were already several ropes suspended
from the high railing above her, reminiscent of an old project Francine
made. "But I won't need rope... I've got something much better,
something that'll let you dance like a ballerina... I'm sure I can squeeze
some grace out of you yet". "Have you quite lost your mind,
Elena? Who do you think you are threatening me like that?" "I'm
Elena Kerinkov. The question is... who are you to lecture me".
The girl tossed her hands up, then sharply pulled them down again, and
to Mrs. Mosely's horror she felt her hands pulled high up above her,
the force enough to lift her off her feet, the web of strands stretching
throughout the atelier now visibly glimmering in the morning light.
Did Elena plan for her to come down here? Just what did this
girl think she was doing?! Elena slowly walked underneath her, grabbing
her ankles with a sadistic grin. "I was going to make you praise
me, Mrs. Mosely... but I realize now it doesn't matter if you don't
appreciate my talent. You have no idea what art is about, you're just...
worthless..."
---
Elena was delighted to finally see new playmates enter through the
atelier - Lucy was there, and Miriam... they knew about her talent,
and she was eager to show off her new trick to them. "Hi-iii"
she smiled while pulling Mrs. Mosely's strings, forcing the dangling
woman to wave at those entering. Hopefully other students would follow,
to see Francine and Rachel's most tender moment... but there was only
one other person with them, the last person Elena was hoping to see.
"That's enough, Elena. We're going home". Sergej. Why did
he always have to come ruin her fun. "Go away, I'm not done playing
yet. Lucy - look at my new-" "You're going to come home with
me. It's not a request". "Why should I listen to you, little
brother?" she scoffed; Lucy was just staring at her from the
door, Miriam had run over to her stupid friends... everyone was against
her, as usual. "I found Natasha sewing this morning. She's going
to need you" Sergej spoke softly as he approached, and Elena's
eyes widened in a terrifyingly sobering realization. Ever since crafting
the special dress Natasha hadn't touched a needle, frightened of what
her work had done to the poor actor. Their mother's death had made it
worse; in her anguish she had blamed herself for it, blamed her sewing...
had sworn to never make another dress again. If she was sewing again,
so soon... then she couldn't control it. Staring at the strands of glue
in her hands, glancing over at her victims, she realized Natasha was
the same as her after all... "W-whatever, I was finished here anyway"
she muttered, her embarrassment over what she had done swiftly increasing.
She couldn't let Natasha become like her. She needed to go home.
Epilogue
"You just can't help it, can you," Sergej finally broke the
silence on the drive home, "getting all worked up over a bunch
of artsy losers like that". "I don't want to talk about it"
Elena whispered quietly, staring at the vast pastures outside. "Same
as ever. One day I won't be able to cover up your mess anymore... too
many people will start asking questions, and Natasha will never have
a normal life again - did you even consider that?" Elena clenched
her fists - Sergej knew her weakness too well, but she couldn't let
him get to her. "A normal life... I bet you've already secured
orders for her, now that she's sewing again" she scoffed, frustrated
Sergej just calmly nodded. "Unlike you, she's actually good for
something, doesn't cause problems wherever she goes. Father was right...
you don't even try to control that devil inside you, you just let it
run free whenever things don't go your way. Pathetic". "Oh
shut up," Elena hissed, her irritation quickly rising, "don't
prod the glue, and you don't get stuck - that's what mom used to say,
and that's how it is". "Ah yes, mother was always so proud
of the demon she spawned... I'm sure that's why she-" "Stop
the car" Elena growled, glue stretching between her fingers. "There
you go again... no control at all. You know you can't do a thing to
me, right..." "Maybe not," Elena smirked, "but you
should watch where you're driving". With one swift move she clasped
the steering wheel, pulling a long string of glue to the dashboard,
the sudden turn forcing the car straight into the grass meadow at its
side before Sergej could stomp on the breaks.
Elena struggled out of the car, still seething with anger - she had
no idea how she'd get home, she simply couldn't stand being in the same
car as Sergej any longer. "You bitch, you could've killed us"
Sergej yelled, immediately catching up with her. "Let go of me"
she hissed, trying to push his hands away, but just like when they were
young, the glue simply dripped off of him. "Still trying to use
your stupid glue on me..." he scoffed, "...I'll teach you
not do that again". Elena winced as he pulled her arms behind her,
alarmed when she felt her hands... stick to each other. "What...
what did you do!!" she screamed, viciously pulling to free her
arms, but more and more of her glue was spilling, her arms now firmly
stuck against her back as well. "If you refuse to control your
curse, I'll control it for you". Her ability was being used against
her. Her glue had never betrayed her, and yet... she couldn't even pull
her fingers apart anymore. Sergej wasn't normal either - her glue had
never stuck to him, he had been the only one that managed to free the
actor from his unwilling transformation, but his power over their talents
seemed to be growing still... "It's a shame father couldn't persuade
you to kill yourself instead" Sergej bit as he released
her; with her arms stuck behind her back, she lost her balance and dropped
down on the grass, tired and frustrated, fighting back her tears as
she remembered that horrible night. "He tried to do that... whispering
in mom's ear wasn't enough or something... and he would've even killed
Natasha... I had no choice but to stop him". And she did. She became
a murderer to protect her sister.
Sergej stood over her, shaking his head. "Whatever. Stop being
a pain and get in the car". Elena gnashed her teeth, clumsily rising
to her feet; Sergej wouldn't forgive her for what she did, his head
too full of their father's lies. But she couldn't leave him alone with
Natasha. Sitting back in the car, she wondered what Natasha would say
when she would see her again. She had promised to behave... would she
be disappointed? Angry? Would she start... hating her, just like everybody
else? Maybe she really couldn't control herself... couldn't resist the
sadistic glee she felt when she had exacted her wonderful revenge, first
humiliating that girl Miriam... Francine and Rachel prodded the glue
as well, paid the price, but Mrs. Mosely... no matter how biased or
pretentious the woman was, she hadn't really done anything to her, and
still... A thin smile appeared on her lips as she recalled the woman
squirming on her threads, pulling her strings like her own little puppet.
Hadn't that been worth it? Was she really the blight her father accused
her to be... was there no turning back for her? And Natasha... was there
anything she could do to help her, or would she just make things worse...
End
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