The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

It all started and ended with a song.

Friday

Dana was standing by the punchbowl when it happened.

The party was in high gear, and the small house was filled to overflowing with drunken party goers, so much so that the party had actually spilled over into the neighboring yard, which was, luckily, currently unoccupied. Several members of a college fraternity were chugging down beers, smashing the empty cans against their foreheads and tossing them onto the floor. A few feet away, several people were dancing, while still others stood around, smoking joints, filling the room with enough smoke to cover everything in a thick haze. Her girl friends, Lisa and Melody, had snagged a couple of hotties, and had promptly disappeared upstairs for a bit more privacy.

Which left her there, all alone, at a party she really hadn’t wanted to go to, surrounded by a bunch of people she didn’t know.

Typical, she thought dismally, pouring herself a glass of punch. I swear, next time I’ll just let them borrow my car, and I’ll just stay home

The music changed, and an old 80’s song began to play. Dana paid it little mind, draining her cup of punch, and debating whether or not she should continue to be a friend and stay, assuring her friends of a ride home, or just cut her loses and leave, letting the fend for themselves. Someone bumped into her from the back, startling her, and she jerked, spilling punch on her blouse. Whirling around, she glanced into the drunken face of Eddie Sanders, her ex-boyfriend and starting right tackle for the college football team.

“Hah. It iz yooo,” he slurred heavily, weaving slightly. “I thoughts it wuz you. I wuz zaying to myzelf... ‘That looks just like little Miss Frigidaire, my new girlfriend’s roommate... the girl I USED to date—for about a week!’” He laughed. “But I thought, ‘Naw, that couldn’t be her! The Dana Cook I knew wuz waaaaayyyy too much of a prissy little prude to come to a rockin’ party like this!’ I knew I had to be seeing things... huh? Hey, where ya going?”

“Home,” she said tersely, scrubbing at the fruit punch stain with a napkin. Giving it up as a lost cause, she dropped the cup and napkin into the trash, and turned to head back into the living room. “I’ll tell Rebecca you were looking for her, if I see her.”

“Hey! Hold on a second,” Eddie yelled, grabbing her shoulder with a big beefy hand. “What’s yer hurry? It’s a party, ain’t it?” He spun her around, smirking at the angry, panicked look on her face. “Geez, babe. You really need to learn to loosen up a bit... let your hair down.” He placed a hand to her chest, squeezing roughly. “Have some ‘fun’.”

“NO! Get off!” Dana yelled, jerking free. Eddie’s grip was strong, however, and in the process of getting free, her blouse ripped. She stared at him in shock for a moment, before rushing on into the living room, holding her torn blouse together with her hands.

“Fine! Go ahead and run away,” Eddie called back at her. “Who wants to spend time with some sexless Ice Queen anyway? With some frigid little BITCH who won’t even put out?”

Dana kept moving, forcing the tears back by sheer force of will, determined not to cry, not to cry, not to show how deep his words had cut into her, not until she was out of here, out of this room, out of this house—

That’s when she saw him. Across the room, on the far wall, standing there all alone. Staring at her. For a moment, the people dancing shifted, and there was no one between them. She looked at him, and their eyes met...

And time seemed to slow to a crawl.

“Tell me, your troubles and doubts...”

“Giving me everything, inside and out...”

“Love’s strange, so real in the dark—”

“Just think of the tender things,”

“That we were working on...”

The man’s lips didn’t move, and yet she heard his words, felt them, felt them pierce her to her very soul. Or... were they even his words? Or was it the music she was hearing so clearly bouncing around inside her brain? Her heart seemed to skip a beat, and it was suddenly very hard to breathe, as if a lead weight had pressed itself against her chest. She couldn’t pull away from his gaze, and strangely, she felt as if she didn’t want to.

A dancer shifted position, and the spell was broken. Dana blinked, gasping at the pain of loss... of something? She felt... strange. She’d been looking straight ahead, at some guy on the other side of the room. The dancer in front of her moved again, and she saw him again.

Saw his eyes.

“Will you recognize me?”

“Call my name... or walk on by?”

“Rain keeps falling...”

“Rain keeps falling...”

“Down... down... down...”

Dana blinked again, as the world returned to focus. Shaking her head to clear it, she glanced around for the strange man she’d been staring at for who knows how long. Pushing her way through the crowd, she walked over to where the man had been standing, but he wasn’t there. She looked left and right, searching for him in the throng of dancers, but he had vanished. Sighing softly, she turned around, and making her way through the press of bodies once more, exited the house, got into her car, and headed back to the dorm.

In the silence of the dive back, her mind began to wander, and she began to hum softly. “Mmmm, mmm, mmm, mmm... don’t you... forget about me... no, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t you... forget...” She stopped singing as realized what had just come from her mouth. “’Don’t forget about you’, huh? Well, you certainly had something of an impact on me, Mr. Mystery Man... but it’s kind of hard to remember someone you never even met before.” Sighing softly, she turned on the radio. Metallica’s St. Anger came on, and she relaxed, bobbing her head lightly to the beat, letting the heavy metal beat drown out the softer music still playing in her mind. Relaxing again, she thought idly of her World History paper, and the test in Chemistry she should have been studying for. She focused very hard on NOT thinking about the party, about being abandoned by her so-called friends, or the humiliating words Eddie had shouted after her as she left.

She especially tried not to think about the strange dark skinned, dark eyed man that had so captivated her, even though she’d seen for just a few seconds in passing. Still... he did have incredibly deep eyes.

“...don’t you... forget about me...” she hummed again, idly, not realizing the words she was speaking, as she made her way back to the dorm.

Dana sat up in her bed with a start. Her body was drenched in sweat, and pulse was racing. She’d just woken up from a nightmare of some kind, but she couldn’t remember what it was about. Since she was too wound up to go back to sleep, and she was practically soaked with sweat, she decided to take a nice relaxing shower. Flipping on the overhead lights—no fear of waking up her roommate, since, as usual for the weekend, she wouldn’t return back to the room until late Sunday night at the earliest—she gathered up her bath aids and some clothes and headed into the second floor showers.

Another nice little perk of staying home instead of spending the entire time partying, she thought to herself, as she stripped out of her pajamas. I have the showers all to myself, for once. Turning on the water, she let the steam rise for a few seconds before sliding under the spray. Mmmmmmmm... nice. It’s pretty rare to have a nice HOT shower for a change. Soaping up her lufa, she hummed softly to herself as she scrubbed. The water was nice and soothing, and very relaxing, and she soon found her mind drifting. As her hands reached her breasts, she found her mind focusing back on the strange man from the party.

She gasped softly, but kept her eyes closed, focusing on his face. It was strange; she’d only seen him for a moment, briefly, across a crowded room, and yet she could picture him perfectly in her mind, as if she’d seen him just a moment before, not hours earlier. A black man, with black short cropped hair, he sported a mustache and goatee, perfectly trimmed and neat, with skin the color of caramel. He was tall, and trim, not thin, but in pretty good shape. But it was the eyes that had captured her so deeply, dark eyes, black not brown, black like a bottomless pit that you could sink into and fall deeper and deeper forever into eternity... The image of him seemed to smile at her, and she gasped again, as a wave of pleasure ran through her body. Her eyes jerked open, and she groaned stepping out from underneath the shower, finding her hands had unknowingly migrated to her pleasure centers, one lightly caressing an engorged nipple, and the other softly rubbing the lufa along her clit.

“What the hell?” she gasped, forcing her hands away with an effort. “What the heck am I doing?” Stepping back underneath the water, rinsing herself off, she turned the valve towards cold, shuddering and gasping as the temperature changed. There. That should cool me off a bit. Heh. Whew. I don’t know where that came from... but it was... well, kinda freaky.

Far from an ‘Ice Queen’, Dana had nevertheless never been one to surrender to her own baser instincts, living by the motto that there was more than enough time for ‘that kind of thing’ once she had graduated college, and gotten her career off the ground. She wasn’t sexless, she was just driven, and right now, she had only had time to focus on the important issues, like her studies.

And yet, a strong part of her wondered about what she was missing. Though she would never admit it, even to herself, she envied her friends Lisa and Melody, and their free spirited view on sex. Neither girl was a slut, and in their three years of college they’d only been with three other guys. Still, comparatively speaking, her two friends were nymphomaniacs compared to her, a fact that had resulted in a marked lack of male attention towards her.

Which is perfectly fine with me, anyway, Dana thought, shutting off the water. The boys around here are all alike, anyway, with just one thing on their minds. And then they act like jerks when they don’t get it. She sighed deeply, remembering Eddie’s taunting words. Well, who cares? I’ve done just fine by myself all this time, and I’ll be just fine until I graduate and leave this school and all those arrogant jerks behind.

A quick drying off, and quick change later, she felt much more like her old self again. Making her way back to her room, she decided to change her sheets as well, slipping on a fresh set before slipping back into bed. Sighing softly, feeling more in control of things, she went back to sleep once more.

Monday

“Hey, Dana!” her friend Melody called out to her, running to catch up to her. “Hey, girl, what’s up?”

“Hi, Mel,” she replied with a yawn. “I was wondering if you and Lisa made it back alright. I haven’t seen you guys in a couple of days.”

“We just got back this morning, actually,” Melody replied with a knowing grin. “Robbie and Bobby dropped us off on their way back to the frat house.” She paused, frowning. “What’s wrong, Dana? Are you alright? You look tired.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Dana replied, yawning again. “Just haven’t been sleeping too well, that’s all.”

“Spending too many late nights in your room studying,” Melody said, knowingly. “Geez. The reason we bugged you to come with us to the party was the HOPE that you’d make some kind of hook-up with a cute boy, and spend a little time doing something besides studying!”

Dana rolled her eyes. “You know me better than that, Mel. Sex and romance can wait. Right now my graded come first. It’s called priorities.”

Melody rolled her eyes as well. “All work and no play makes Dana a dull girl,” Mel reminded her.

“All play and no work makes Melody fail all her classes,” Dana countered, causing the blonde to blush slightly.

“I’m NOT failing... um... ALL of my classes,” Melody protested, shrugging. “D’s are passing grades, you know.”

Dana merely shook her head. “Whatever. C’mon... we’re going to be late for class.”

Walking together, Dana started to hum again, softly, under her breath. Melody listened for a moment, then frowned. “Dana? What’s that you’re humming? It sounds familiar.”

Cursing loudly, Dana stomped her foot in anger. “FUCK! I’m doing it AGAIN without even noticing it!”

Melody laughed, surprised at the language coming from her straight-laced friend’s mouth. “Wow! You must be really pissed! I’ve never heard you use the ‘F’ word before. Hell, I didn’t even know you knew it.”

Scowling, Dana started walking again. “It’s from that damned party. I’ve had this tune stuck in my head, from the past three days! It’s like a CD player in my head is stuck on ‘repeat’... except I don’t remember all of the words. It’s enough to drive me stark raving nuts!”

Barely able to contain her amusement, Melody sprinted to catch up with her. “No problem. We just need to meet up with Lisa later, after English Lit. When it comes to music, she’s a whiz. She should go on that game show, ‘Don’t Forget the Lyrics’.”

“Don’t... Forget...” Dana mumbled softly under her breath. The familiar face swam before her vision briefly, and as before, she felt a strange tightness in her chest, and a tingling between her thighs. With an effort, she suppressed it. “Forget? Heh. I wish I could.”

English class went slowly, the seconds seeming to just crawl by. Worse, Dana’s attention was shot, her concentration continually interrupted by that stupid song playing in the background of her mind, accompanied by the man’s face, smiling at her, taunting her.

“Miss Cook!”

Dana yelped, sitting up straight in her chair, to the laughter of her classmates. Mr. Thompson was standing beside her desk, glaring down at her with a sullen expression. “Miss Cook,” he repeated, flipping her book to the correct page several pages ahead of where she had been trying to read, “while I certainly have no problem with you students partying away their weekends, I DO have a serious problem with students falling asleep in my class!” Dana’s face burned crimson in embarrassment. “If my lecture is too BORING for you, feel free to get up and leave... go back to your dorm room and catch up on your sleep, and we can try this again on Wednesday, when you’re more well rested.”

“No... I’m sorry Mr. Thompson,” she said, sinking down into her chair, wishing she was invisible. “I’m fine, really.”

Glaring at her, the instructor made his way back to the front of the room. “Very well then. Let’s see if anyone else can tell me what Robert Frost was trying to express in his novel Walden... how about you, Miss Chambers?”

Fuming silently, Dana managed to get through the rest of the class without further incident. Mel caught up with her right outside the door, shaking her head in sympathy. “Wow. You really have it bad, Dana. I’ve never seen you zone out in class before.”

“It’s that damned song!” Dana complained, clenching her hands into fists. “C’mon. Let’s go find Lisa before I have a nervous breakdown. Maybe if I an at least learn the words to that stupid song and listen to the whole thing, I’ll be able to move on, and get it out of my head.”

“Alright. It’s eleven o’clock now, so she’s probably at the SUB’s Snak Shop.”

Walking along together, Melody gave her friend a brief rundown of her weekend, of meeting up with Robbie and his twin brother Bobby, and going back to their off campus apartment after the party. “They were, like, totally hunky,” Mel gushed enthusiastically, heedless of Dana’s discomfort. “They’re both on the wrestling team, and they have the muscles to show it. But cut nicely, you know, not ‘Hulk Hogan’ big, or anything like that. They don’t use steroids.” She giggled. “Steroids shrink you down there, and believe you me, neither of them was what you’d call ‘tiny’.”

“Uh huh,” Dana replied idly, following behind her friend, only half listening. “Tiny.”

Melody stopped, frowning. “No, I said, NOT TINY. Geez! Are you even listening to me? I know you don’t jazz on this kind of thing, but you can at least pretend to be interested.”

Dana shook her head. “Sorry Mel. It’s that tune again.” She sighed deeply. “I don’t... you wouldn’t believe how annoying it is! It’s playing in my head, ALL THE FUCKING TIME! Non-stop! I mean, while I’m talking to you now, I’m hearing the words in my head, hearing that music, and seeing his face, and it won’t stop! I think I’m going nuts—”

“His face?” Melody stopped, turning around to face her. “Who’s face? You didn’t mention anything about a face?” A slow smile crept across her face. “So... this is all about a GUY, then! Hahhaha. Sounds like you DID get lucky this weekend after all. C’mon, spill. Who is this guy you’re obsessing over?”

Dana fumed. “It’s not a GUY. It’s a SONG! A stupid SONG, alright?!? I didn’t get lucky Friday night—if anything, I was UNLUCKY! I ran into Eddie, got punch spilled on my blouse, got called a bitch, and then got my clothes ripped trying to get away from him when the drunk son of a bitch started trying to feel me up!” Eyes smoldering, she glared at her friend. “Which you would have KNOWN about, if you and Lisa hadn’t been in such a hurry to ditch me, and leave me all by my lonesome in your pursuit for some big, hunky, NOT TINY twin wrestlers!”

Melody blinked, reddening slightly at the sting. “I... um... oh...” she sputtered, unable to respond.

Anger vented, Dana was immediately sorry. “Oh, Mel! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to snap at you.” Putting an arm around her friend, she hugged her gently. “Really. It wasn’t your or Lisa’s fault for leaving me there. I knew what the plan was when we arrived. It wasn’t your fault. I was just... hearing this song in my head is making me nuts, just like I said.” Smiling slightly, she added, “You and Lisa always said I was wound a bit too tight... I guess my mainspring finally broke.”

Mel managed a small laugh. “Yeah, well... maybe so. But I’m still sorry I wasn’t there when you ran into Eddie. That guy’s a real piece of work.”

“Yeah. Well, he’s Rebecca’s problem now, not mine. I tried to warn her of how much of a jerkoff he was when we first broke up, and she still went after him.”

“Hmph,” Melody said with a frown. “She’s not exactly the poster child for Roommate of the Year either, you know. If you ask me, they deserve each other.”

Continuing on into the SUB, they found Lisa sitting in front of the window. She waved to them as they entered the Snak Shop, gesturing for them to have a seat. “Took you guys a while to get here. What kept ya?”

“Not much, just catching up about this weekend,” Melody said. “You’ll never guess what happened to Dana after we hooked up with Robbie and Bobby—”

“Later,” Dana said urgently, her hands still clenched into fists. “Lisa, I have this song stuck in my head, and its driving me crazy! I’ve been hearing it non-stop since Friday night at the party, but I don’t know the song, or even all of the words! I—”

“Oh, man, isn’t that just the worst?” Lisa cut in. “I, like, totally HATE it when that happens! That’s why I’ve got such an extensive collection of music back in my room.”

“I know!” Dana replied through gritted teeth, making Lisa sit back in her seat. “Sorry. A little tense. Anyway, I was hoping that if I hummed the part I know, you could help me figure out what song it is, and maybe help me get it unstuck from my head!”

“Um... okay. Go ahead, hum away.”

Closing her eyes, Dana focused on the music in her head for the first time in three days instead of resisting it. She opened her mouth, and let the music flow out of her.

“Da dum... da da da da da...”

“da da da dada dum... da da da dada da...”

“Da dum... da da da da da...”

“da da da da dada da da...”

“Don’t you... Forget about me—”

“’Don’t You’, by Simple Minds,” Lisa said instantly. “Geez! And here I thought it might be something hard.” Seeing the incredulous looks on the other two girl’s faces, she shook her head. “Oh, come on! It’s from The Breakfast Club, with Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Anthony Michael Hall.”

“YEAH!” Melody said a moment ago. “Now I know where I heard that from. We rented that movie last month.” Glancing at Dana, she frowned. “What’s the matter, hon? Didn’t knowing the song help?”

“No. It’s still there. I think maybe I need to listen to the whole thing.” She glanced at Lisa hopefully. “I don’t suppose you have the soundtrack for that movie in your collection?”

Tuesday

Dana growled her frustration softly as she stomped her way into the music store. The song was still stuck in her head, and no matter what else she was doing, or what other music she put on, the tune would not leave her brain. Worse still, she kept getting random flashes of the guy’s face as well, as if the two were linked together in an unbreakable chain in her memory. Not that he was bad looking. He was very handsome... in a dark, brooding, David Boreanez’ “Angel” kind of way... but her irritation at the song naturally made her feel irritated with him, too, to the point where she blamed HIM completely for her whole predicament.

“Hello, Miss, can I help you find something?” Sidney, the clerk, asked with a smile.

“’Don’t You,’ by the Simple Minds.” she managed to ask without snarling. “Do you have it?”

“Ah, someone who likes the classics, I see?” the clerk said, grinning wider. “Not a problem. We’ve got a pretty good selection of the old stuff in the 70’s and 80’s section, over there in the back. It’s all set up alphabetically.” He turned and gestured to the table over at her left. “We also recently updated our computer selection, so if you want, you can preview the song and listen to it to make sure it’s one you want before you buy it.”

Perfect! Dana thought, heading straight to the preview table. Maybe if I can just listen to the stupid song from beginning to end, and listen to the words, my brain will get its fill, and will move on to something else. Slipping on a pair of earphones, she clicked on her selection, holding her breath as the song uploaded, hoping that this would work. She frowned, slightly, not recognizing the intro music, but as soon as the singer began to speak, she recognized the voice instantly.

“Won’t you... come see about me?”

“I’ll be alone... dancing, you know it baby...”

“Tell me, your troubles and doubts...”

“Giving me everything, inside and out...”

“Love’s strange... so real in the dark...”

“Think of the tinder things, that we were working on...”

“Slow change... may pull us apart...”

“When the Light gets into your heart, baby...”

Dana sighed softly, her eyes closed, losing herself to the music, her body starting to move, to dance to the beat. The words sparked images, like a long forgotten memory... and she saw herself, dressed strangely, wearing thin, flimsy silk coverings, dancing barefoot on a floor of sand, around a fire pit, her sexy body drenched with sweat, twisting, twirling, moving with complete abandon... a slave’s dance, she somehow knew, the dance of a girl in heat, appealing to her Master to take note of her, to attract his attention, and hopefully, his advances. She was but on girl in a harem, a face among many, but as her eye caught her Owner’s, she sang, speaking her most fervent wish.

“Don’t you... forget about me,” Dana cried out then, entreatingly, as her Owner turned to walk out of the room.

Suddenly the music went silent, Dana, brought suddenly back to the present, opened her eyes. A small crowd of customers were watching her, obviously amused at her performance. With a start, Dana noticed that her blouse was unbuttoned, down to her navel, showing off a good amount of skin, and the sides of her bra-covered breasts. The clerk stood next to her, red-faced, holding the cable to the headphones in his hand. “Um, I think... er, it’d probably be best if you left now, um, ma’am. This isn’t THAT kind of a store.” Several of the onlookers chuckled, and, Dana, embarrassed, pulled her blouse closed, running for the door.

What the Hell?!? she asked herself, minutes later, straightening her clothes in the women’s restroom. First this stupid song gets stuck in my head, then I start having weird ultra-realistic daydreams, only to open my eyes and find dancing half naked in front of a bunch of strangers? Glancing at herself in the mirror, she sighed deeply... then blinked in surprise. Well... I’ll be damned. The song... it’s gone! Whatever kind of episode I had in the music store, at least it did the trick. And best of all, I didn’t have to buy that damned CD.

Feeling considerably better, Dana took the escalator up to the next level of the mall, heading towards the food court. About halfway up, she glanced to her side, and on the elevator going downstairs she was him. Their eyes met, and once more time skewed.

“Baby... and tonight...”

“We can take what was wrong...”

“And make it right...”

“Baby... it’s all I know...”

“That it’s you half of your flesh...”

“And blood that makes me whole...”

“That makes me whole...”

Dana gasped in shock, tripping, nearly falling flat on her face before her awareness of her surroundings returned. The escalator. She’d ridden the escalator to the top floor, and propelled forward, she’d tripped across the bar, breaking eye contact. Moving quickly, she ran to the down escalator, pushing past startled people, practically running down the steps, searching left and right for the mysterious man as she went. Reaching the bottom, she scowled, huffing loudly in frustration. He had disappeared.

“Excuse me,” she said, walking over to the nearby help desk. “Did you see... um, a black guy, really tall, really good looking, walk by just now? It was just a few seconds ago. You couldn’t have missed him!”

The woman lowered her newspaper. “Well, young lady, there are a lot of people here at the mall today,” the worker replied, leaning forward. “Let’s start by narrowing it down a bit. What was he wearing?”

“He was...” Dana began, then paused, frowning. She could see his face perfectly in her mind’s eye, but that was all. When she tried to picture him, tried to remember what she’d just saw, all she could remember was his face, and his eyes. As for the rest of him, he could have been stark naked for all she knew! “I... I mean... um... I don’t remember...” she finished lamely.

“You don’t remember? You said he just went by a few seconds ago, right? You saw him, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but...” she said, trying to figure out a way of explaining without sounding completely insane. “I, was... um... distracted. And, I only saw him for a few seconds! He just got off the escalator about fifteen seconds before I came down! You HAD to have seen him! Please... you have to help me find him!”

The older woman sighed. “Okay, look. A lot of people walk by this way on a regular basis. Unless they come by to ask for something, I very rarely take notice of them. So even if you had a description of the guy and what he was wearing—which you don’t—I’d still have no idea which way he went, or if he’d even come this way at all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to my reading.” With that, she raised the newspaper again.

Frustrated beyond belief, Dana grunted loudly, whirling around, and headed back up to the food court to grab a bite to eat.

Wednesday

The alarm clock went off, and with a loud groan, Dana slammed it off the dresser. Red eyed and bleary, she slipped out of her bed, wincing slightly at the cold floor against her bare feet. She shivered, chilled from wearing only a bra, completely naked from the waist down. She’d gone to bed in her pajamas, just as the day before, yet sometime during the night, she’d somehow shucked out of her clothes without waking up.

A quick glance aside showed her roommate’s bed was empty. Dana’s sleep had been plagued with more disturbing nightmares, and she’d cried out so loudly that Rebecca’d shaken her awake. Even more embarrassing was the fact that she’d been in the middle of a massive orgasm, with a hand buried nearly knuckle deep in her pussy at the time. Of course, Becky hadn’t believed her claims of not remembering the dream, or even playing with herself. After shaking her awake again a few hours later, her roommate called her a freak, packed an overnight bag, and told her that she was going over to Eddie’s apartment for the night where she could get some peace and quiet.

She hummed softly as she gathered up her shower caddy and her bathrobe, the song from the day before still haunting her, echoing in her mind like a broken record stuck on repeat. This time, at least, she’d recognized the song, even if she didn’t know all the words. She made a mental note to check with Lisa as soon as possible to see if she had this CD at least. She showered quickly, and chastely, remembering all too well what happened on Monday, but unlike yesterday, the cold water, which certainly woke her up, had little effect on the heat simmering between her thighs, which only added to her frustration. Drying quickly, she dressed and left the dorm, arriving at the cafeteria the earliest she’d managed all year.

Sitting down at an empty table, she glanced over at the jukebox in the corner. On impulse, almost before she even realized what she was doing, she’d dropped a quarter inside, and pressed B7. The old machine stirred to life, and in a few seconds, Mister Mister’s “Broken Wings” began playing. Dana let out an immediate sigh, relaxing significantly as the music began to play, and put in two dollars worth of quarters and hit REPEAT. Sitting back down, she dug into her breakfast, and was halfway done by the time by the time Lisa pulled up a chair.

“Wow. Talk about the early bird,” she said with a yawn. “I thought you didn’t have class until noon on Wednesdays?”

“I don’t,” she replied, draining down the rest of her orange juice. “I just had to get out of my room. Ugh. I haven’t been getting any rest at night. It’s this damned song again.”

“What? I thought you said it finally went away?”

“No, not that one. This one,” she said gesturing. “The one that’s playing now.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Lisa listened for a few minutes, nodding her head. “Yeah. Nice. ‘Broken Wings’ by Mister Mister, isn’t it? I saw them on VH1’s top 100 countdown the other night. At least it’s better than the last one.”

“To you, maybe,” Dana grumbled. “I’m really kinda getting scared here. This song is really stuck in my head, Lisa. Stuck. Like with crazy glue or something. And it’s worse than the last time. With the first song, once I listened to the whole thing, and learned the words, it went away. I put like two dollars worth of quarters in the jukebox, it played through twice before you got here, and it’s STILL swirling around inside my head!”

“Well,” Lisa said logically, “there must be more to it that just listening to the music. What EXACTLY did you do the last time?”

“Um,” Dana said, blushing brightly, “nothing that I care to talk about, let alone repeat out loud. No, there must be some other way of getting this damned song out of my head.”

“Oh really? Now there’s no WAY I’m letting that pass. C’mon... tell me what happened last time. Did you see your mystery guy again?”

Dana’s blush deepened. “Well... ah, hell. Fine. When I heard the song at the record store, I closed my eyes,” she said, closing her eyes, then gasped. “It’s him... I can see him... so clearly... God... as if he were standing just right here in front of me... and the music is playing... in my head as well as in my ears... it’s as if he’s singing the words to me... but... but, it’s more... not just a song, it’s like the words are just for me, and no one else.” She began to pant slightly, her heart beginning to race, and her thighs began to clench underneath the table. “I... I... ooohhh... he’s smiling at me, but at the same time... it’s a sad smile. So sad...” Tears began to flow from Dana’s eyes. “I... I want to reach out to him... to touch him... heal the hurt in his heart... and let him heal mine.”

Dana’s eyes opened, wide and glassy, and she began to sing.

“So take... these broken wings...”

“And learn to fly again...”

“Learn to live free...”

“When we hear... the voices sing...”

“The book of love will open up...”

“And let us in... yeah...”

“Let us in...”

“Dana!” Lisa nearly shouted, shaking her hard. Dana blinked, coming back to herself, panting heavily. Her cheeks were wet from the tears she’d been crying, and the sharp pang of being snatched back to reality nearly made them start again. Her cheeks were flushed, and noticing the looks the other diners were giving her from across the room only made it worse. “Dana, hon, snap out of it!” Lisa repeated, still shaking her. “C’mon! Say something!”

“Okay... stop... shaking... me...” Dana managed, pulling free from her friend. “I’m fine, okay. I just got a little...” She blinked, shaking her head. “I don’t believe it! It worked! It’s gone! It’s not echoing in my head anymore!”

Lisa sighed. “Yeah, well, considering the spectacle you had to make of yourself to break the spell.”

“Spell?” Dana said softly. “Leese, I think maybe you’re right. It is some kind of spell. This guy... whoever he is, he’s messing with my head, and using those damned songs to try and drive me crazy.”

“Dana... listen to what you’re saying. Some mysterious guy is using magic on you to make some song you heard get stuck in your head?” Lisa shook her head. “Hon... sweetie... I’m one of your best friends, okay? So believe when I say this that it comes from the heart. Dana... you’ve completely lost it.”

Dana glared at her friend as she picked up and bussed her tray. With a sigh, she picked up her own and followed suit. Completely lost it? she thought to herself. No. I haven’t lost it, Lisa, not yet. But I am getting too damned close for comfort.

Class was remarkably routine for a change. Without the distraction of music and images flashing in her head, she was able to focus on the lecture. That, in and of itself, was a welcome respite, and she embraced the mundane normalcy of her studies with a vengeance. By the end of her third class, she was even starting to believe that she had overreacted, that she’d been so upset about the incident at the party with Eddie that she’d simply made the problem out to be worse than it really was. She was, after all, a sensible human being. Magic didn’t exist. Aliens do not walk among us. And no mysterious man was stalking her, trying to drive her insane.

Several people were playing their iPods as they walked by. Dana caught snippets of music here and there, but none of them stuck in her mind like before. Smiling, feeling fully in control once more, she headed back to her dorm to drop off her books before heading over to the gym to work out and meet up with Mel and Lisa. She was in such a good mood that she didn’t notice Eddie and Rebecca heading down the hallway until she bumped into him.

“Well, well, well,” Eddie smirked. “Fancy bumping into you, here.”

Dana sighed. “Well, you are in front of my dorm room, so the chances of bumping into me here are pretty damn good. Can you move aside? I need to go in and drop off my books.”

“Hmph,” Rebecca murmured softly, crossing her arms. “I hope that’s ALL she’s planning on dropping off.”

Dana scowled, whirling around. “And what is THAT supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Rebecca said with a knowing smile. “Just thought you might be in the mood for a ‘quickie’. See ya, roomy,” she said with a laugh, heading down the hall with Eddie in tow.

Sighing, Dana tossed her books onto the bed, then grabbed her iPod from its stand on her dresser. Putting in the ear buds, she clicked on her hard rock mix, and headed back downstairs. Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” had just started playing when the campus shuttle pulled up. By reflex, she glanced up at the windows, and she gasped, as she saw a familiar face on the third row, staring straight ahead, his face in profile. Oh God! It’s him again! She stood there, frozen like a deer in a pair of headlights, not knowing what to do. Part of her wanted to look away, avoid eye contact, even as another part of her yearned for it.

A moment later, he turned, and their eyes met.

“You’ve been learnin’, baby, and I’m leanin’ baby...”

“All them good times, baby, baby I’ve been yearnin’...”

“Way way down inside, honey, you need it...”

“I’m gonna give you my love...”

“I’m gonna give you my love...”

The bus had departed for several minutes before Dana returned to her senses. Her heart was thudding in her chest as if she’d already had her work out. Shuddering slightly, no longer interested in meeting up with her friends, she returned to the dorm, went back to her room, and, despite her feelings about Rebecca’s parting jibe, she quickly shucked out of her clothes and slipped naked into her bed.

Thursday

Dana yawned sleepily, tapping the snooze bar on her alarm clock. She stretched, then sighed, feeling very well rested. She’d stopped fighting trying to fight the... whatever it was that was affecting her, and simply gone with the flow. She’d set her iPod to repeat, then slipped her headphone on, playing the song softly the entire night. After the fifth or sixth time hearing it, she knew the words well enough to sing along with the music; by the time she’d drifted off to sleep, she knew it by heart.

The song was still inside her head. However, knowing the complete song now, having listened to it so many times before, it was so deeply ingrained in her mind that it didn’t overwhelm or consume her thoughts anymore. Now, it was merely background noise, always present, but woven so seamlessly into her thinking that she hardly noticed it at all anymore.

More troubling, however, were the feelings it invoked within her. Ever since the incident in the shower on Monday, she’d been keenly aware of her body, as if something deep inside her had ‘woken up’. Listening to Lisa and Melody talk about their sexual exploits used to fill her with disinterest and disgust; now, it seemed to invoke a casual curiosity, causing her to wonder idly what it would be like to be in their position for a change. Coming to college on a scholarship, she’d put all thoughts of sex and love aside, choosing to devote herself solely to her studies. For three years, she’d been perfectly content, happy in the comfortable little niche she’d carved out for herself, feeling no regrets at all for her choices.

Now, suddenly, out of the blue, she was starting to have sexual yearnings. Stranger still, every dream, every fantasy, every idle thought seemed to revolve around this strange black man she’d never even met! She slept peacefully enough at night, but every morning, like this morning, she awoke to find a hand buried deep between her thighs. At first, she’d been alarmed, embarrassed, and upset, but now, like the song floating around inside her head, she learned to accept it for the most part.

Grabbing her towel and clothes, Dana made her to the showers. Several other girls were showering at the time, and she winced as she slid under a torrent of lukewarm water. Scrubbing herself briskly, she found herself pausing, enticed by the sight of her floormates washing, their naked bodies glistening under the water spray. It took her a moment to realize that she’d dropped her lufa, and that her empty hand had once again slipped between her thighs, rubbing her suddenly very needy clit. Blushing red, she quickly rinsed off, grabbed her lufa, and exited the shower, grateful that no one had noticed.

What the hell is going on with me? she asked herself, once she was safely back in her room. Its bad enough that I’ve started getting turned on at night in my dreams, and then when I listen to music... now I’ve started zoning out in an erotic fog to the sight of my floor mates showering... showering naked... wet and slick... mmmmmm... She shook her head, banishing the image. Dammit! Get a hold of yourself, Dana! You’ve always been about control. Take control of this! Don’t let your imagination and your crazy hormonal urges get the best of you!

Her little pep talked worked well enough during the first part of the day. She made it through her first two classes without incident, and had nearly forgotten about the earlier incident, humming the now familiar tune softly as she made her way to the Snak Shop for lunch. Arriving before her friends, she ordered her usual burger and fries, and sat at a table by the window. Music played over the PC system in the background, but it went unnoticed, overwritten in her head by her own ever-present song. Movement out of the corner of her eye, caught her attention, she turned to look out the window, only to stare in shock.

It was him. Again. The man from the party.

Dana’s eyes widened in surprise. The man, standing alone across the street, seemed to nod at her, as if somehow, despite the distance, he was looking only at HER. She felt caught again, suspended in a bubble of slowed-down time. The pressure returned to her chest like before, only now it seemed to spread throughout her body.

“You don’t have to read my mind,”

“To know I have in mind,”

“Honey, you outta know...”

As the familiar feeling swept into her, Dana shuddered, feeling her entire world contract into the dark swirling pools of the strange man’s eyes, feeling them pulling her in again. She tried to fight it this time, to hang on to whatever small amount of control she had left. The man, almost as if he knew, smiled sardonically. As before, his mouth didn’t move, yet he seemed to be speaking to her, singing to her, into her ear, as if he were right beside her instead of several yards away.

“...Now it’s up to you...”

“We can make a secret rendezvous...”

“Just me and you...”

“I’ll show you lovin’ like you never knew...”

Noooo... Dana moaned softly, feeling her blood begin to pulse with warmth. She didn’t want this, didn’t want to succumb to his soft spoken words of pleasure. She needed to resist, needed to fight back... and yet all she could do was stare deeper and deeper into his dark dark eyes and listen to his musical words—

“Hello?” A hand waving before her face broke the spell. “Earth to Dana, come in Dana. Are you okay?”

“Wha...” Dana gasped, sitting up suddenly, breathing hard. Her heart was racing like she’d just run a marathon, and tiny sparkles seemed to dance in the corner of her vision. Her eyes focused, and she recognized the concerned look of her friends Lisa and Melody, staring down at her. “Mel? Lisa? What... where?” She turned to glance out the window again, but there was no one there. “Huh? Where did he go? Lisa! Did you see him? Tell me you saw him this time!”

“Him who?” Lisa asked, glancing out the window as well. “Hon, what are you talking about? And who were you staring at out the window so hard you didn’t even hear me calling you?”

Dana sighed, closing her eyes. She could still hear His words... or was it the music? Either way, the song now echoed off the walls of her mind, stuck inside just as firmly as the other song had been. “Him! ‘HIM’ him. It was THE GUY. The one I told you and Mel about, from the party! He was there, outside, across the street just now!”

Melody glanced around outside, then looked around inside the shop. “Well, if he was here, he’s gone now. So, just relax, okay?”

Dana scowled. “Relax? RELAX? How can you say to just relax? Do you have ANY IDEA what this guy is doing to me? It’s like he’s some kind of... of WITCH or something!” Seeing Lisa’s look, she shrugged. “I’m not imagining this, you guys! He was there! I swear! And now... just like the last times, whatever music he was singing is stuck in my head... echoing over and over! I don’t know how... I can’t explain it. But this guy is doing something to my head!”

Lisa and Melody exchanged a look. “Um, Dana, sweetie, we hate to say this, but...” Melody began

“We think maybe you should go and have a talk with the University Counselor, Ms. Davies,” Lisa finished. “Seriously. You’ve been really stressed out lately, with classes and all...”

“Not to mention the fact that you haven’t even been on a date since Eddie broke up with you last month... and you were practically living the life of a sequestered nun before that!” Mel added.

Dana fumed, glaring at both of her so-called friends. “So, you both think I’m nuts, is that it? You think I’d just paranoid about this weird black guy stalking me?”

The girls again exchanged a look. “It’s not that we think you’re crazy,” Lisa said after a moment, “but you have to admit that you are under a lot of stress right now. All we’re saying is that maybe it would help... put your mind at ease, if you just went and spoke to the counselor.”

Sighing, feeling her anger and frustration dissipate in the face of her friends’ concern, Dana folded. “Alright. Fine. I’ll go talk to her. Who knows, maybe she can help.” She sighed. Maybe this won’t be so bad. I’m just going to talk to her, anyway. What’s the worst that could happen?

Friday

Things were much worse than Dana could have imagined.

Lying on her bed, she stared up at the ceiling, trying to count the cracks. Her eyes were red from crying and lack of sleep; fatigue had won out eventually, and she’d drifted off around three-thirty in the morning. Her short-lived sleep was plagued with erotic dreams almost from the onset, and when the first orgasm woke her, she refused to go back to sleep for fear of what would happen next. Luckily, Rebecca had taken to sleeping with Eddie almost every night now, so she no longer had to deal with her snottiness. The last thing she wanted to do was try to explain to her turncoat roommate about the problems she was having.

Besides, she thought dismally, after my little trip to the counselor, I’m scared to talk to anyone else about this.

She’d gone to see Ms. Davies after her last class the day before. She’d been highly nervous and embarrassed, not sure of exactly how to broach the subject to the older woman, but Catrina Davies was warm, understanding, and patient, and soon enough she had coaxed the entire story out of her. And despite sounding like the plot of a bad B-movie, she’d kept an open mind, not dismissing or belittling Dana’s fears and concerns in the slightest.

“I have a few concerns over what you’ve told me,” she’d said after a while. “The first concern is the shame you seem to feel at having these sexual feelings you’ve been experiencing. I know the temptation to give in to your sexual urges in this type of atmosphere, and frankly I applaud your willpower in repressing them thus far... but there is such a thing as overkill. There’s no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed about such feelings... and masturbation is a perfectly natural way of releasing some of that pent up tension. Dana hadn’t been so sure she believed that, but she nodded all the same.

“Now, as for the rest... Dana, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to try something. I’d like to hypnotize you... put you in a suggestive state, and see if we can maybe unravel just where these urges are coming from... and maybe see if we can get these songs unstuck from your head.” She’d smiled reassuringly. “Nothing bad can happen, Dana. And don’t worry, I won’t make you do anything embarrassing, like cluck like a chicken.”

Dana had trusted her; she’d believed in her. So she’d relaxed her mind as Catrina had instructed, letting herself drift, heedless of the music playing loudly in her ears and in her mind...

...and come to suddenly to the sight of Catrina Davies, psychologist and respected University instructor, sitting naked and cross-legged on the office floor, glassy-eyed, humming softly to herself with a hand buried deep in her snatch. Seeing Dana’s reaction, the dazed woman glanced up at her and smiled. “You can’t win... you can’t break even... and you can’t get out of the game... people keep saying, things are gonna change, but they look just like... you’re stayin’ the same...” Her eyes rolled back in her head as she came hard with an obvious orgasms, then her eyes focused back on Dana again.

“Ms. Davies! What’s wrong? What’s going on? Wha... what happened to you?” she’d asked, stepping back towards the door, not knowing what else to expect.

“Daylight, alright... I don’t know... don’t know if it’s real...” she’d sang then, weaving slightly, her hands still working furiously in her slit, “been a long night... and something ain’t right... you won’t show... won’t show how you feel... no time ever seems right, to talk about the reasons you and I fight... it’s high time to draw the line... and put an end to this game before its tooo.... llllaaatee... uugghhmmm...” Any further words were incomprehensible, as she came again, even harder than before. Calming down again, she turned to face Dana, smiling that same, empty vacant smile.

“Come crawling faster, faster... Obey your Master, Master! You’re life burns faster, faster...” she chanted, working her fingers in and out of herself, building to another monumental climax. “Obey... your... uuuunnnnnmmmmMMMMMAAASSSTTTEERRRR!!” she screamed, shaking and twitching, arching her back in pleasure. Coming back down, sighing to catch her breath, her eyes lighting back on Dana’s once more, she ‘changed stations’, going into a completely different song set, but Dana, scared nearly out of her mind, turned and fled, leaving the building as fast as she could, heading back to the (relative) safety of her dorm room.

For all the good it did me, she thought dismally, losing count on the cracks in her ceiling for the third time. I can’t sit in here and hide forever. Whoever he is, he wants me bad enough to go through all this... he’s not going to be discouraged by me trying to lay low for a while. And poor Ms. Davies... I’m not sure what was more humiliating, being turned into a mindless sex puppet, or being hauled away to the hospital by campus security. She sighed, shaking her head, as she felt her clit throb lightly at the thought. And how much longer until they do the same to me?

“Hey, um, Dana...” Melody said slowly, walking over to her listless friend, sitting down next to her on the bed. “We missed you at lunch today. Lisa and I checked around... you didn’t go to any of your classes today.”

“Yeah,” Dana said, yawning slightly. “I know. I figured, what’s the point, yanno? Can’t really concentrate on anything except... you know.”

Lisa nodded, sitting down on the other side of her. “Still hearing ‘Hot Blooded’ in your head, sweetie?”

Dana laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. ‘fraid so. Not to mention ‘Don’t You’, and ‘Broken Wings’ are back as well as ‘Whole Lotta Love’.” She giggled again, the sound bordering on maniacal. “Nice to know this guy, whoever he is, has an extensive music library, even if he seems to be stuck in the eighties.” She sighed, sobering instantly. “Still, it would be nice if he’d pick something from THIS Millennium... something that I already know the words to.”

The girls sat silently for an awkward moment. Then: “Um, Dana. We um... we heard about what happened to Ms. Davies the other day. I guess we kinda owe you an apology.”

“Yeah,” Lisa agreed. “I have to admit, I didn’t take you seriously when you told me someone was playing mind games on you. But... well after what happened to the counselor...”

“I guess you could say we both saw the light,” Melody finished, giving her friend a small smile.

Dana hugged them both tightly. “Thanks, guys. You have no idea how much that helps.”

“Yanno,” Lisa said after a moment, moving over to the window, opening the blinds, “maybe it’s not as bad as you think it is. Maybe this guy, whoever he is, isn’t such a bad guy after all. Maybe you should... I dunno... try giving in to him?”

“Yeah,” Mel agreed, moving over to the radio. “I mean, what have you got to lose? I mean, if he can do all this, what’s to stop him from simply walking in here and taking you against your will anyway?”

Dana blinked. “What? Are you serious? How can you say it might not be so bad?” Standing up, exasperated, she gestured wildly. “Did you forget what he did to Ms. Davies?!? Guys, c’mon! There’s no way I’m giving in to this... psycho! Even if I end up like Ms. Davies, locked up in a padded room somewhere, I’m not going down without a fight.”

“Hey, I’m not saying the guy is an angel or anything,” Lisa said, putting up both hands defensively. “I’m just saying, think about it. If he wanted to, he could have simply done to you what he did to Ms. Davies. Or make you go to him, like a zombie or something, unable to resist. If anything, its like he wants you to go to him, and of your own free will.” She moved to sit back on the bed.

“You mean like a musical vampire or something?” Dana scoffed.

“It’s like he’s... I dunno, courting you, or something,” Melody said, switching on the radio. “It’s almost kind of... quaint.”

Dana shook her head. Who were these two women in her room, and what had they done with the REAL Lisa and Melody? “I’m starting to wonder if I’m the only one who’s gone crazy this past week.” She walked over to the window, glancing down at the street two floors below. It was raining outside. “Well, I do think you guys are right about one thing. I can’t stay cooped up in my room for the rest of my life, hiding. I can’t let this guy keep me from living my life.” She got to her feet. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving. Anyone want to make a run for Jack-in-the-Box?”

“Not me,” Melody said, rubbing her hips. “I already ate, and I need to cut down a bit on the fast food.”

“I’m game,” Lisa said, grabbing her jacket. “Let’s go.”

Dana felt in much better spirits as she drove along the nearly deserted streets. Best of all, there’s almost no chance of running into that guy tonight, she thought cheerfully. It’s raining cats and dogs. Even a weirdo freak like him wouldn’t be out on a night like this.

Or so she thought. Pulling into the drive thru, humming softly to herself, she glanced to her side, and froze. He stood, just a few feet away from her car, in the rain, his black leather coat pulled tightly around himself. Dana gasped, eyes widening, connecting to his before she could even think to look away.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl again for Dana as she met his eyes, and a thick heavy feeling pressed in on her, all around her.

“Every single day...”

“And every word you say...”

“Every game you play...”

“Every night you stay...”

“I’ll be watching you...”

Oh shit, it’s happening again, Dana realized, as music again flooded her mind. She tried desperately to look away, to avert her eyes, to somehow break contact, but the force pressing down on her just seemed to hold her even tighter.

“Oh, can’t you see...”

“That you belong to me...”

“And how my poor heart aches...”

“With every step you take...”

The warm, pleasant, fluttering feeling she’d been trying so desperately to deny came back at her with a vengeance. Her eyes fluttered, dropping to half mast, as her thoughts became fuzzy. She knew something was wrong, that something bad was happening, but it was getting harder and harder to remember what. Her resistance was starting to crumble, and she was vaguely aware of the wetness forming between her thighs...

“DANA!” Lisa’s voice managed to cut through the fog. Dana blinked, shaking her head. No, SHE was being shaken, hard, by Lisa. “Dana! Wake up!”

“Ahhhh!” Dana gasped, coming fully aware once more. The sound of several horns honking behind her sounded, and she realized that she’d been frozen in the middle of the drive thru. Shifting back into drive, she sent the car forward, where the attendant stood waiting to give her her food. Red with embarrassment, Dana took it quickly, sliding her the money, and drove off without saying a word.

“So...” Lisa said after a few minutes. “That was ‘The Guy’, huh?”

Dana’s head whirled around, gaping at Lisa. “You SAW him? You actually saw him this time! Please tell me you really really saw him!”

Lisa nodded. “Tall, good looking black guy, wearing a black leather coat, standing in the middle of the rain. Yeah. Kinda hard to miss, all out in the open like that.” She frowned. “Funny thing, though... I turned around when the horns starting honking behind us. It was less than a second, but when I looked back, he was gone... like he vanished into thin air.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I’m sorry. I know, its sounds kinda...”

“Crazy,” Dana said after a moment. “Yeah. I know. Believe me, I KNOW how crazy it sounds!” And that’s just the part I’ve told you about. If I’d told you about all the weird sexual fantasies and dreams I’ve been having all week, you’d think I’d really lost it! “But... there has to be more to this than just me being paranoid, or obsessive, right? I mean, what are the odds that he would be standing there, outside the one place I picked to grab a bite to eat, all out of the blue?” She growled softly. “Whoever this guy is, he’s playing mind games with me!” Then, frowning, she noticed the music playing softly in the background. “Wait. Hold on a minute. Do you hear that? Turn up the radio! What song is playing right now?”

Lisa listened for a few seconds. “Easy one. It’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ by the Police. Huh... the radio is set to the campus radio station. Kind of a strange choice for them to play, though; KPSI usually plays more bubblegum pop and 90’s classics, not songs written back before most of us were even born.”

Dana’s eyes narrowed. So maybe it’s not such a coincidence then. That guy is deliberately doing this to me somehow, and using the campus radio station to do it. That’s the connection. But... how? And why does it seem to only affect me? Lisa saw him, but she didn’t go all spacey. Well, regardless, I guess I’m going to need to stop by the campus radio station, and see if I can find out what this is all about once and for all!

Dana shuddered slightly as she made her way down the stairs of the Communications building, heading towards the basement that held the campus radio station. The rain had finally stopped, and it was rather chilly, considering that summer was less than a month away. She pulled her jacket tighter around herself, wishing she’d brought something heavier, or had come by the station earlier. As it was, only luck and sheer determination to meet the one responsible for her plight had enabled her to leave her dorm room at all.

Lisa had volunteered to come with her, but Dana had refused, wanting to handle this by herself. That came partially from her need to face her tormentor without support, face to face... but also from the fact that Lisa’s very presence had now become a distraction. She’d felt supremely aware of her, the scent of her perfume mixed lightly with her own naturally sweet scent, making Dana’s mouth dry with longing. The new song continued to echo hauntingly in her mind, distracting her, breaking her concentration, and worst of all, arousing her like no one’s business. Her libido had come fully alive, and being in the same car as Lisa, a girl who was the epitome of a sexually uninhibited goddess, was almost more than she could stand. Not until she dropped Lisa back off at the dorm, and watch her walk away, did she breathe a sigh of relief.

“Well, well,” a voice said from behind her, causing her to whirl around. “Lookie here, boys,” Eddie crowed, gesturing to a group of his fellow teammates. “You guys remember Dana Cook, don’t you? We used to go out together. We broke up, though, because I found out she was a fucking ‘Ice Queen’. Or... so I thought.” He chuckled, and the other boys joined in. “Turns out Dana here is a real sexual dynamo in bed... but only with herself.”

“Eddie, shut the hell up!” Dana yelled, trying to shove her way past him. Gus, the team’s first string linebacker, grabbed her wrist, holding tight.

“Hey, baby, not so fast! We wanna hear more about your, heh... ‘nocturnal activities’.” The test of the boys started howling.

“Well, see, my current girlfriend, Rebecca Summers, is Dana’s roommate,” Eddie continued, ignoring Dana’s pleading look. “For the past three nights, she’s had to come over to my place to get any sleep, because sweet innocent little Dana there keeps making so much noise masturbating herself to sleep. I mean yelling, screaming, thrashing, the whole nine yards! Becca said she’s already had to do a full week’s worth of laundry with all the bedsheets and linens she’s soaking. And all from her own hands.”

Dana was soaking now. As much as the talk about her humiliating secret embarrassed her, it also made her stomach quiver with need. Disgust warred with desire, and had any of Eddie’s friends been anything other than a bunch of testosterone filled degenerates like their leader, she would have gladly welcomed them with open arms... and legs.

“Heh heh, sounds to me like she just needs someone with a gentle touch,” Randy, one of the linebackers said, wiggling his long thin tapered fingers. “What do you say, hot stuff? Wanna go back to my room and see how my digits compare to yours?” He laughed evilly. “Bet I can make you squeal like a little piggy!”

“Better yet, let ME take a crack at her,” Fred replied, jerking on the front of his trousers. “I can probably make her sing like Mariah Carey.”

Angry and humiliated, Dana slammed her heel down hard on Gus’ foot, and jerked away from him hard. The football player yelped, letting go, favoring his aching foot as Dana pulled away, running away from them. Rather than give chase, the rowdies merely laughed, content to crack jokes at her expense while she fled.

Only force of will and her determination not to let them see her cry kept the tears from falling as she ran. She tried not to care, reminded herself that Eddie was an asshole, and that their words didn’t matter. Tried and failed. Finally, legs giving out, she sat down on an empty park bench and sobbed, unable to hold it in anymore. His words merely echoed the same harsh hurtful jibes her other boyfriends had used when they’d broken up with her, all the way back to junior high.

She’d always tried to be the ‘good girl’, to be a true and loving companion but to save herself sexually for the right time and right place... and the right person. None of them had been the least bit understanding or patient, trying to pressure her at first, and then, when that didn’t work, yelled, screamed, berating her, calling her everything from frigid to cock tease, before finally dumping her. She’d even given in to her first boyfriend, Jason, to try and hold onto him. She gave him her virginity, the most sacred and valuable part of herself, and after it was over he told her in no uncertain terms that he’d had better sex masturbating to a magazine. And dumped her anyway.

After high school, she’d vowed to swear off guys, focusing on academic achievements during her college years. Once she graduated and became a successful and established business woman, she could try again for companionship, this time on her terms. She’d told herself she could wait until then, that she didn’t need that kind of distraction right now. For three years she’d stuck with that promise, despite all the prodding and pushing from her female friends to ‘get back on the horse again’.

And then, she’d met Eddie.

A real player, he’d acted kind at first, suave, charming, somehow knowing just what to say and do to break through her defenses. It wasn’t until they were officially together that she saw the REAL Eddie—the sex hound who was willing to whisper sweet nothings in your ear as long as it got him in your bed. When she’d refused to put out, he’d guilt-tripped her into giving him blow jobs as consolation, though he never returned the favor. After a week or so, figuring out that that was as good as it was going to get, he’d dumped her cold. Worse, he’d delighted in spreading the tale of WHY he’d broken up with her, always referring to her as the ‘Ice Queen’ of Plymouth State University. She’d been hurt, deeply, though she’d hid it well behind a wall of indifference. But now, hearing all those words again, the taunting and laughing of his stupid jock friends... she couldn’t hold in the pain any longer.

It wasn’t as if she was cold, or emotionless. The truth was, she was afraid. Afraid to surrender herself, to give up that hard fought control she kept over herself and her emotions. To risk your heart was to rick having it shattered; she’d felt it once from Jason, and as much as being ridiculed and humiliated by others hurt, it was nothing compared to the pain she’d felt from having the one person she’d dared to give her heart to betray her.

I don’t need this right now! she told herself forcefully, wiping the tears from her cheeks. I don’t need anyone to make me feel complete! I’m fine just as I am. And anyone who’s too stupid to recognize my good qualities... then they aren’t worth my time anyway! I don’t care what they say about me. I don’t care. And I sure as hell don’t give a flying FUCK about ANYTHING Eddie Sanders does or doesn’t think!

Taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet again. “I am in control,” she said softly to herself. Balling her hands into fists, she repeated the words. “I am in control. I am in control!” Chanting her mantra over and over again in her head to drive out the music, she made her way across the field, heading towards Communications Building, determined to prove those words by taking back control of her life from the person who had been tormenting her for the entire week.

Standing now in front of the station door, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Her heart was beating faster than normal, and her palms were slick with sweat. Forcing herself to calm down, she reached for the handle of the door, then stopped. Wait. What is the game plan here? What do I do when I finally meet Him face to face? What do I say to him? The image of herself on her knees sucking his cock fluttered across her mind’s eyes, and she quickly banished it. FUCK! Alright. I know what I’m doing here now. I’m going to punch Him right in the nose, and keep hitting Him till He agrees to undo whatever the hell He did to me! Her courage refueled with anger, she grasped the door handle and pulled the door open.

Music poured out of the room, washing over Dana in a wave, and all the strength left her body. She sank to her knees, groaning feebly, as the music pouring into her ears mixed with the music already trapped inside her mind. The room spun crazily, and Dana reached out, desperate to find an anchor, something to hold into, to keep her from being swept completely away. Her fingers touched leather, and she latched onto it, digging her nails in hard, grabbing hold with all of the strength and tenacity she had left.

The heaviness seized her again, pressing down on her mind and body. Eyes fluttering, she managed to turn her head, and Dana saw Him there, standing above her, smiling, just before everything went black.

Dana opened her eyes to pleasure, to the feeling of soft gentle stroking along her thigh and chest. Her body felt limp, as if her muscles had all been replaced with wet noodles, and the soft gentle breeze likewise caressing her flesh told informed her dazed and confused mind as to her state of undress. A soft gentle tickling along her bare toes forced a bubble of giggles from her, leaving her even weaker than before, and her head swam from the sheer unfiltered pleasure of it.

Mmmmmm... I feel weak... so weak... she thought dimly, her head lolling to one side as a pair of soft pale hands began lovingly stroking her neckline, sending goosebumps up and down her spine. UUhhhhh... no... don’t want this... can’t lose... control... fight... yes, have to fight, have to fight this... but ooohhhh... the pleasure... mmmmm... feels so good... so good...

“I think she’d almost there now,” a familiar voice spoke from her left.

“Mmmm, yeah,” another voice spoke from her right, just out of sight in her current position. “She’s gushing like a water fountain, and we’ve barely touched her.”

“Ohhh... I can hardly wait myself,” a third feminine voice chimed in, down at her feet. “I almost wish I were in her place right now... reliving it for the first time...”

Dana’s head lolled again, rolling forward just a bit more, to look into the smiling face of her two friends. “Hey, sleepyhead,” Lisa purred softly, leaning forward to kiss Dana’s lips lightly. “’Bout time you woke up. We were starting to get a little impatient.” She sighed, arching backwards, giving Dana a clear view of her bared breasts, and long, peaking nipples. “If we weren’t such good girls, we might have started the festivities without you.”

“Speak for yourself, lover,” Melody purred, running soft slim fingers teasingly along Dana’s panty line, forcing a deep guttural moan from her. “It feels like I’ve been waiting forever for this day to come... even if it has been only a week.”

Dana closed her eyes, willing her racing heart to slow, trying to find the words she needed to speak, to ask why this was happening. But, it seemed, the words weren’t necessary.

“Shhhh, it’s okay, Dana,” Catrina Davies said soothingly, rising from her position at her feet. “It’s okay. We know you’re confused. We all were, in the beginning... no one more so than myself,” she admitted. “Master arranged all this for you, sweet Dana... all for your benefit.”

“He noticed you that night at the party,” Melody explained, running her fingers lightly across Dana’s pussy lips, smearing them with her own fluids. “His mind sought out yours, and He found in your a kindred spirit... someone who had been hurt in love, someone who had shut themselves off from even the possibility of love.”

“He looked deep inside your heart, Dana,” Lisa continued, pressing into her side, tracing a wet finger slowly around and around Dana’s sensitive aureoles, as she spoke. “He delved deep into your mind, saw all your hopes and dreams... your deepest fears, and your most private fantasies. He saw then... and His heart burned for you.”

“He wanted to take you, then and there,” Catrina added, delving back down to Dana’s feet, nuzzling, licking, and nibbling her way slowly up the young girl’s body. “But He knew you weren’t ready. He wanted to charm you, romance you, serenade you... He wanted this not to be a conquering, but a courtship.”

“This is about love, sweetie,” Lisa said, kissing her again, “not domination. But He knew, just like we all knew, how stubborn you can be. He knew the only way He would ever get you to come to Him this way is if He provoked you, teased you, got you so riled up that your frustration would override your usual boring common sense.” Her hands soon returned to their previous task, teasing and tormenting Dana’s sensitive nipples, pushing her arousal even higher.

Dana merely groaned, wanting to fight, needing to resist the pleasure onslaught, but failing miserably. She had no strength, no power... she was completely helpless and at their mercy. And they were showing none. After a minute of their tender ministrations, all she had left to hold onto was pride; after five minutes, even her pride had melted away, leaving her a babbling incoherent mess. Her body thrummed with need, with desire, like she’d never felt in her life, not even... before all the pain and heartbreak.

Before she had sealed away all such feelings tightly behind a wall of ice.

Her three naked tormentors weren’t immune to the effect either. Every moment of contact, every kiss, every caress, only brought them more pleasure as well. Soon, their moans and cries of desire began to echo her own, but unlike Dana, they were able to reach sweet release, cumming hard, smearing her with their love juices as they continued to tease and torment her body. It was horrible, and it was wonderful; she wanted it to go on and on forever, and she couldn’t stand a second more. Dana sighed, feeling her will about to break, sensing that she’d reached the edge, and knowing that one last push would send her careening into the abyss.

Enough.

A single word, heard, yet not spoken. Dana reeled with its power, and yet in that single instant, found herself regaining her strength and clarity. The women had stopped their torment, pulling back away from her, leaving her mercifully yet mercilessly untouched. Able to move once more, she sat up, stretching. Her body continued to pulse with need, but for the moment it had been pushed into the background, and she was able to ignore it.

Lisa, Mel, and Catrina all knelt comfortably before her, eyes downcast to the floor. Turning to look behind herself, Dana spied the One whom they had bowed down to. She quickly averted her eyes, not willing to risk eye contact again. A soft sad sigh seemed to sound then, from all around her, and in the next instance there was... silence.

Blessed silence.

The music, the songs that had been playing relentlessly inside her mind, had stopped. For the first time in a week, her mind was completely free and clear, and her own once more. A lot of emotions played through her mind right then as she rose unsteadily to her feet, standing, finally, before the man that had so completely turned her world upside down, but confusion and curiosity won out over anger, and unable to help herself, she raised her chin, looking him square in the face.

“Why?” she asked simply. “Why did you stop? Why, after all of this time and effort, when you had me on the ropes... did you call them off?”

A sad smile flashed briefly across his face, so brief Dana nearly missed it as the words echoed softly in her mind. “A gift to receive, and not to take... the free thinking choice is yours to make...”

Choice? Dana realized with a sudden clarity. I get it now. All this was about making me choose to want to be with him. To choose of my own free will. That whole ‘vampire’ thing. She frowned at that. Not that he didn’t try and tip the scales in his own favor along the way... but I think... I think I get it now.

In that brief moment, when He’d responded to her question, His guard had dropped. She’d seen, or sensed... no, she’d felt it, a deep seated pain, a hurt like the one she’d felt long ago, a pain that He, likewise, had pushed down deep, hiding it behind a wall of unfeeling ice. He had reached out to her, drawn by a shared pain, offering her love, contentment, happiness—everything she secretly yearned for, but was too afraid to seek.

But love can only be given and received freely... ‘a gift to receive, and not to take’. He had opened His heart, reaching out to her in this strange and unique way, and it was up to her to either accept or reject Him.

And He’d leave, too, Dana suddenly realized. If I said no, asked Him to let me and my friends go, He would. I can feel it... deep down. I don’t know how I know, but I know it, as deeply as I’ve ever known anything. He’d go... He’d vanish, and I’d never be bothered by Him ever again... never see Him again. Ever.

The thought caused a sudden pang of loss within her so sharp she gasped, clutching her chest. I... don’t want that, she realized, surprising herself. Despite the strangeness of the situation, everything He’d done to her He’d done out of His feelings for her; without His music playing in the back of her mind, she felt... empty. Hollow. All of the anger and outrage she’d felt vanished completely at the realization. Everything she’d endured had made her lower the barrier around her heart, melting the ice around her feelings. If He left her life now, the wall would go back up, and she’d return to her boring life of worry and concern over her grades, her career, her future, and making her mark in the world... pursuits that had driven and sustained her before, but that now seemed so trivial.

Again she stood on the precipice. She was under no illusions; to surrender to Him this way would be a complete surrender, giving Him complete control of her, mind, body and soul. He seemed kind, gentle, and sincere; she had no doubts anymore that if He’d chosen, He could have simply bent her will, enslaved her the way He had taken her friends and the counselor, turned her into a dreamy, dazed, sex crazed toy for his amusement. But that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted her, Dana Cook, with all her stubbornness, and her temper tantrums, with all her annoyances and imperfections. He wanted a lover, not a sex toy.

Still, she was being asked to give up her freedom, her control, for love. Could she make that choice? How could she? Her life would change completely. Was it really worth it? She closed her eyes, running the decision through her mind, asking herself, asking her heart, what she should do. Surprisingly. the answer came to her easily, and opening her eyes, steeling herself for the consequences, she made her choice.

Monday

Dana sighed in contentment, lounging on her bed. She closed the book she’d been reading, placing it and her notebook neatly back on her desk. She glanced over at the door as it opened, and her roommate stormed in. Rebecca tossed her backpack aside angrily, then kicked it for good measure. Her eyes were red, and her make-up streaked, signs that she had been crying.

“Becca?” Dana said, sitting up. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”

“Dana!” Rebecca yelped, whirling around. “Oh! I... sorry. I didn’t know you were here. You’re usually out at the library this time of the day when I get in.”

“I decided to stay in and study today. What’s wrong? Why were you crying?”

Rebecca sat down on her bed, staring down at her feet. “It’s nothing. Really. You wouldn’t be... you... you wouldn’t...” The tears started flowing again. “Oh God... oh, Dana... you were right about him. You were SO totally right about him. Eddie. He is such a jerk... and a fucking bastard!” She sniffled. “The fucker... he... oh Dana... I’m pregnant!”

Dana sighed, moving over to sit down beside her roommate. “Does Eddie know? Did you talk to him yet?”

“I... I went by his apartment, early, right after I found out. I needed to talk to him, find out what he thought we should do, you know? I figured, we’re in this together, after all. But... when I got there... he... he...” She sobbed, breaking down again. “Angela Carter! That sleazy slutty bitch from the volleyball team! I should have known... I should have fucking known...”

“Shhhh,” Dana purred softly, coming up behind her, hugging her shoulders, gently wiping the tears from her face with a finger. “It’s okay, hon. It’s gonna be okay. It’s not your fault. He wasn’t worthy of you anyway...”

Rebecca sniffed, leaning into her roommate’s supporting comforting arms. “I’m so sorry for how I acted towards you all this time. You were so right. Men are all scumbags. You had the right idea all along... better to just focus on your studies, and your work, and leave romance out of it. Better to just give up on love at all... than risk getting knocked up, then tossed away by someone who doesn’t even love you! Fuck... what was I thinking? He didn’t love me... nobody has ever loved me...”

Dana shuddered slightly in remembrance. She’d felt that way herself, up until the moment she’d surrendered her life over to Him. Even when she’d made the choice, she hadn’t truly believed that she could be loved, that all He had sought from her was physical love. True enough, there had been plenty of sex; between cumming a few dozen times from His magnificent cock, and several dozen more at the fiendishly pleasant ministrations of her friends-turned-lovers, she’d spent nearly the entire weekend in a bliss-filled daze. But the moment of purest happiness had come Sunday night, when He had sent them all back to their dorm rooms again.

Pulling her aside, He had stared deep into her eyes, in that strange way of His, and reached into her mind. He’d seen that one last thought, that lingering doubt, that she’d held onto—not in Him, but in herself, in her own self worth. Knowing no words, no matter how sweetly sung, could erase that doubt, He’d instead opened Himself to her, using His power to connect them, her mind to His, allowing her to see His thoughts, experience His memories, to feel His secret pain... and to feel the complete and total love He felt for her, that He was offering to her...

“You’re wrong, Becca,” Dana whispered softly, leaning forward, kissing her surprised roommate on the lips. “You are worthy of love. Everyone is. Just because one jerk was too blind and too stupid to realize what he had doesn’t mean that your perfect match isn’t out there somewhere.”

“What are you doing?” Rebecca asked, pulling away. Her eyes widened, and she realized for the first time that Dana was completely nude. “What the hell?!?” she yelled, surprise turning to disgust. “Dana! I can’t believe you’re doing this shit, here, now! I’m not a lesbian, alright? Just because I’m turned off on men doesn’t mean I’m about to throw myself at the first naked girl I see!”

Dana laughed softly, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Becca. It’s not like that. I’m not trying to come on to you, really. I already have someone of my own...” she sighed deeply. “A very special Man that showed me, and taught me, what it means to love and be loved in return. That despite how little I thought of myself, I deserved to be loved.” She smiled softly at Rebecca, her eyes sparkling. “And you deserve love too, Becca.”

Moving back to her own bed, still keeping a wary eye on her roommate, she sat down again. “Yeah right. Pretty words, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m damaged goods. Everyone only wants one thing from me, and in a few months, once they find out I’m pregnant, they won’t even want THAT. I’m glad you found someone, Dana, I just hope he doesn’t turn out to be another creep.” She sighed wearily. “There are a lot of couples out there, but only a few of them ever live ‘happily ever after’.”

Dana stood silently for a moment, as if in deep thought, then abruptly turned back to her desk, and switched on her radio. “That’s a very pessimistic attitude you have, roomy. But I know something that will help.” Switching over to the campus radio station, she sighed gently in pleasure as music filled the air. She smiled, staring deep into Rebecca’s eyes as they widened, then glazed over. “I’m just willing to bet that a little music will help change your mind.” Reaching out through their bond, Dana began singing wordlessly, letting the words echo in Rebecca’s mind.

“It’s strong and it’s sudden...”

“And it’s cruel sometimes...”

“But it just might save your life—”

“That’s the power of love...”

“Yes that’s the power of... love...”