The Charm Meta

“Rebeccaaa?” Emily asked, leaning into the Westerlin’s public restroom and peeking inside as she rapped a knuckle against the door in a seven note shave and a haircut riff. “Chinga tu madre—cabrón!”

“Emily!” Rebecca’s shy voice issued out from the farthest stall. “What if someone else was in here?! You realize I know that you’re swearing!”

Back when Rebecca had first been introduced to their friend group and they discovered she didn’t approve of their constant bad language, Mike, Will, and Emily would switch to Spanish curse words as a joke. Brian and Chloe had simply been more careful with what they said, one of the other two Rebeccas they knew—Becca—would swear in French, and of course Tanya who was perfectly fluent in Russian didn’t care at all and continued to swear colorfully in English regardless of how exasperated that made Rebecca.

“Yeah, uhh. I just wanted to check on ya,” Emily called. “You okay in there? We were all about to head back over to the con.”

“I’m okay!” Rebecca drawled out in exasperation.

“You’re okay?” Emily teased.

“I’m okay!” Rebecca repeated in a huff. “Geez.”

There were some rustling sounds that Emily guessed would be Rebecca adjusting her tunic, and then she heard the clack of the stall’s lock sliding out. Rebecca emerged, blushing furiously. The embarrassed expression was a surprise—and there had been no flush of the toilet, so Emily immediately felt her suspicions rouse as she inspected her friend with interest. Awkward expression aside, Rebecca still looked rather dashing in her viking getup, and there didn’t seem to be anything amiss with her tunic.

“You’re okay?” Emily prodded.

“Would you stop it!” Rebecca scolded her, crossing over to the sinks to wash her hands. “I’m okay! I just had to… powder my nose and freshen up!”

“Okay, okay,” Emily held her hands up with a grin. “I was just concerned, ‘cause your face is all red, and there’s this weird musky sex smell in here, so—eek!”

Hands still under the running water from the faucet, Rebecca was now twisting to flick water in Emily’s direction. The spry Latina only just managed to duck back out of the restroom and pull the door shut to avoid a spray of droplets. After peeking back through the slit doorway for a moment to see her friend had finished washing up and was drying her hands, the grinning Emily swung the door back open and reentered.

“I mean are you coming, or not?!” Emily laughed. “C’mon, convention time’s a’wastin’!”

“Here,” Rebecca shoved a lanyard with an AnimeCon badge at Emily with a pout.

“Uhh, thanks,” Emily said. “I already got one, though?”

“That one there is Brian’s, and no, you don’t have one,” Rebecca reminded her. “Mr. Gary gave us single-day passes yesterday—those were only good for Saturday. There was a colored strip on the bottom that says so! Today, you and I have to buy new single-day passes.”

“Ugh, do we have to, though?” Emily balked, making a face. “If we just wear yesterday’s single-day ones again, no one will probably notice.”

“Emily…” Rebecca warned her.

“Fine, fine,” Emily rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I haven’t even spent any money yet this weekend. It’s whatever. I’m just sayin’.”

“I’m going to hold onto this, for safekeeping,” Rebecca stated, holding up the harem charm.

Rebecca had taken it off the lanyard, and Emily couldn’t help but look at the wooden trinket with total fascination. This little novelty nicknack that had been collecting dust on the little curio beside her desk for ages, alongside chibi anime figurines and bobbleheads and other random junk she decorated her room with. Now, the little slat of wood with the Japanese characters carved into it was magic, probably, it was a focus of power or a mystery macguffin or an occult catalyst or something special.

“...Okay,” Emily nodded.

“Okay?” Rebecca arched an eyebrow.

“Yes. Okay,” Emily reached out and closed Rebecca’s hand around the charm. “It’s safest with you, for now. You’re responsible, and I trust you.”

“I was worried you were going to want to play around with it,” Rebecca admitted. She opened up one of the leather pouches hanging from her belt and carefully secured the charm inside.

“I do want to play around with it,” Emily confirmed. “But, not today, and—I realize it’s a big deal, and maybe dangerous, and I don’t want anything happening. I can be responsible and make good decisions too, you know! Geez.”

“Good,” Rebecca gave her a proud nod.

“That said…” Emily quirked her lip. “It is Brian’s. I gave it to him, and it also belongs to him, like… magically? If he’s the focus of the harem thing. We’re gonna have to return it back to him, at some point.”

“Agreed,” Rebecca said. “As soon as you’re willing to tell him what we think it is, or what we think it does, then I’ll give it back to him.”

“Ugghh,” Emily groaned. “We’ll see. I mean, yeah, yeah. I get it, I get it. Responsibility.”

“Either you or one of the other girls needs to tell him at some point,” Rebecca prodded. “The sooner, the better.”

“Ehhhh,” Emily looked away.

“Emily,” Rebecca gave her a stern look.

“I mean, I totally get what you’re saying!” Emily blustered. “But, I can’t do it. No way. Maybe Stephie or Kelly can figure out how to break it to him, but with the way things have gone between Brian and me? With stuff like that? Just, nooope, nah, no way, won’t do it. Can’t do it.”

“You can’t keep the truth from him,” Rebecca sighed. “Emily, the sooner you tell him what’s going on, the sooner you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Do you really want this hanging over your head the whole—”

“I know I know I know!” Emily threw her hands up. “But, I really, totally, completely can’t do it. Can’t be the one to tell him. Call me a coward if you want, I can’t do it.”

“You’re not a coward,” Rebecca assured her. “I think that if—”

“I don’t care if it makes me a coward, Rebecca—he’ll hate this,” Emily growled. “I know Brian. If there’s any chance we’re being influenced by the charm stuff, and uh, yeah we kinda all are, he’ll hate it. He’ll doubt my feelings, he’ll think they’re not real, that it doesn’t count and it’ll fuck all of this up right back to where it was but worse, and maybe ruined forever. I can’t risk that.”

“That might be,” Rebecca furrowed her brow. “But, it’s still his right to know, and his judgement to make. If you really love him, you need to come clean about this whole thing.”

“Don’t even go there,” Emily gritted her teeth. “You know I can’t poison this, you know I—I need this. Rebecca.”

“What if I broke the charm in half, and these things you’re feeling right now for Brian just disappeared?” Rebecca asked.

“They wouldn’t,” Emily snapped back. “I loved him before.”

“Then, it doesn’t matter if I break it?” Rebecca arched her eyebrow and put a hand to the pouch at her hip.

“Wait wait wait no just—don’t,” Emily lunged in to stop Rebecca’s arm. “Please, don’t fuck around with me right now? You’re being—”

“That’s the line of thought Brian will probably have,” Rebecca warned her. “When he finds out about everything. To him, if the feelings you girls have are real, then him breaking the charm will prove it. So, I want you to think about that, Emily. Really think about it. This isn’t something you can put off or delay forever. The longer you wait, the more of a problem it’s going to turn into. Okay?”

“...Yeah,” Emily finally managed to bite out. “Okay.”

“Please don’t hate me for this,” Rebecca pulled Emily into a tight hug. “I’m telling you these things because I’m your friend. Okay?”

“I don’t hate you,” Emily was still gritting her teeth. “Just, I hate this. I know you’re a good friend. My best friend. I’ll appreciate you to death for all this later probably. Maybe. Just, right now…”

“We’ll figure out as much as we can about the charm magic stuff first,” Rebecca promised. “Maybe it only has effects when in proximity to the charm, or to Brian, or something. Maybe it’s a limited-time thing, and the blue will be gone from your hair tomorrow. Or in a few days. Maybe to be affected, you have to keep touching the charm every time. We don’t know.”

“We don’t know,” Emily echoed.

“Brian would be more... receptive, if any of those things were the case,” Rebecca said, patting Emily’s back but not yet releasing her. “Right?”

“Right,” Emily took a deep breath. “We figure it out. You keep the charm safe. It’s a real working magic harem charm. It’s real magic. It, uh, yeah it definitely seems to amp up attraction to Brian a bit, and maybe some other stuff, too... but that’s like, just one component of what’s going on, and we can explain that to him that there’s more going on. It’s also handing out free superpowers. Free magic superpowers, so a little bit of influence on the side is practically—”

“I don’t think they’re superpowers,” Rebecca rolled her eyes.

“They are to me,” Emily shrugged. “I don’t care if they seem minor or like small fry stuff compared to powers in anime or cape flicks or whatever. They’re supernatural powers, and they’re ours, and this is probably our only chance to ever have them.”

“Do you feel like you’re closer to discovering yours?” Rebecca asked.

“Yes,” Emily gave her a serious nod. “Kinda. It’s not much, it’s like, a tickle, but it’s definitely a whole new thing, like a whole new sense or something that I’ve never felt before. Whatever it is.”

“We don’t know how any of this works, or if it’s dangerous,” Rebecca sighed. “Should we really be messing around with it? With the dreamscape thing, or interacting with each others minds or emotions or—”

“We’re not messing around with it!” Emily said, struggling out from Rebeca’s embrace. “We have you. We’re responsible!”

“We’re all under the effect of something like charm person,” Rebecca said. “It’s influencing our thoughts—suggestibility, attraction, our emotional connections. I’m not even comfortable telling you why I had to run off to this restroom, but I can definitely say it’s because of something I would never normally do. Emily, messing with these things, it’s dangerous. Maybe even moreso if Brian isn’t actually in control or even aware of the extent to which we’re in an altered state.”

“Oh, c’mon—Steph and Kelly got magic powers!” Emily argued. “You did, too. I’m like, right on the verge of figuring mine out, maybe. You’ve got to give us some time. We have this whole dreamscape thing goin’ on that connects all of us! And—I love him. You know that. I always have.”

“You seem to be putting a lot into the whole magic powers angle,” Rebecca pointed out. “Is that the real factor, for you? For instance, if this was someone other than Brian. Say you get magic powers, but it means you feel attraction to someone else instead of Brian—would you stay on for the powers, or break the charm?”

“I—” Emily scrunched up her face for a moment as she thought about it and finally let out a heavy sigh. “I’d... break the charm. Fantasy magic shit is amazing, but it’d make me feel sick and eat me up inside if the harem focus wasn’t Brian. I don’t just feel that way now, either—I’ve always felt that way.”

“And, you’re sure?” Rebecca pressed.

“Yeah,” Emily gave her friend a pensive look. “I think ever since Josh I’ve felt that way. He was a great guy, but what I feel for Brian wasn’t there. Josh was attractive, but I never wanted to kiss him. He was even so patient with me and was never pushy about any of it. At the time I was thinking I just needed to, I don’t know, force myself to bear with it, that once I got over Brian some mental block would disappear and I’d be normal and have feelings for Josh.

“But… what I feel for Brian isn’t something that you just get over,” Emily said. “It’s a part of me. It’s been a part of me since I first met him, and it’s only gotten bigger and stronger the longer I’ve known him.”

“Okay—you’re in love with Brian,” Rebecca diagnosed. “To me, that means you shouldn’t even feel threatened about breaking the charm, because it seems like your feelings aren’t going to change. You realize that Stephanie and Kelly are also involved, and they’re going to get more and more involved the longer this goes on? Are you okay with that? Really okay with that?”

“I am,” Emily promised. “With them being in this, and even with you being in this. None of it’s what I would have ever expected, but… I feel like we’re all good for each other, like each of us is a little lost on our own, but when we’re together we’re better. More than the sum of our parts, or whatever. Maybe the charm is magically suppressing jealousy and stuff, and maybe it isn’t.”

“You think it might not be?” Rebecca cast her a doubtful glance.

“I think that’s mostly Stephanie,” Emily shrugged. “Stephanie, and the way her power works—it like, it connects us all together in just the right way. There’s no room for doubt or duplicity or whatever when you’re tapped into each other’s feelings. The raw sincerity of everything is just right there out in the open. I think that winds up hitting Kelly and I the hardest, because both of us have big trust issue stuffs—but that’s all mostly mental, and Steph just bypasses right around that entirely with emotional connection.”

“That’s… an astute observation for you to make,” Rebecca remarked.

“How is it for you?” Emily asked. “I know you’re a lot more complicated than you seem. And, that you have a lot going on that you don’t talk about, and that’s always been cool. I mean, no not cool, but like—same. I’m the same. Wouldn’t even know where to begin untangling my own weird problems, not going to pry into yours. You’re my best friend, but you’re a private person, and I’ve always respected that. Right?”

“Yeah,” Rebecca said.

Lapsing into silence for a moment, the two girls meandered across the hotel lobby and towards the door that led out into the patio area, but didn’t rejoin Brian and the others just yet.

“Asking you to take some leap of faith into whatever the fuck this is, when you didn’t have feelings for Brian to begin with—I can’t do that,” Emily reasoned. “I want to, I want you to be a part of all of this. But, it’s a lot, and I get that. Right now, I think you need some space to think about what you want to do. Then, at some point us girls can all get together for the first official harem meeting, and we’ll work everything out.”

“Emily—you stop that, right now!” Rebecca gave her a playful thwap on the shoulder. “I’m the responsible one who shares wisdom and insight! You stop being reasonable right now! What’s gotten into you?!”

“I don’t even know!” Emily threw her hands up in exasperation. “Brian, obviously. Steph’s mind magic or feels magic or whatever, too. Going by my river metaphor, it feels like a lot of my major hangups or blockages finally got washed away and things are moving again. I feel amazing. I feel better than I’ve felt in a long time, and in like every single way. I can’t even put it into words.”

“Well,” Rebecca sighed. “I am very happy for you. But, things were completely platonic between Brian and I until I got charmed. I don’t know that it’s a good idea for me to be… involved with him, especially if all of you are. I don’t like things to be complicated and messy, Emily.”

“Okay,” Emily tried to choose her words carefully. “Do you want out of the harem? That’s… I mean, I get it. It’s reasonable. Soon as we figure out how, we can—”

“I don’t know what I want,” Rebecca admitted. “But... I don’t know. I’m past the initial squealing in excitement phase of discovering something really magical, and… honestly now I’m a little rattled. When Stephanie and Brian were, um. Making love. The whole dreamscape went up in pink flames and I... couldn’t shut it out at all. The feelings, the—what she was experiencing. You know.”

Rebecca studied Emily for a moment, looking unsure of herself.

“I, um, I was kind of afraid you were going to give me a hard time for even admitting that,” Rebecca said.

Emily instead immediately lunged in to hug Rebecca again.

“Not about that,” Emily said in a soft voice. “You’re being serious, and… Jesus, Rebecca. I’m so sorry. Just the thought of it, of that kind of thing going on but you can’t stop it from happening and don’t want it, Rebecca... doesn’t that pretty much basically kinda make it ra—”

“I’m not going to consider it that,” Rebecca cut her off. “I know she didn’t have that kind of intention and I don’t think that anyone was at fault. It wasn’t even… bad, completely, it was just, the situation was frustrating and uncomfortable and kind of shows me how much potential for danger is there.”

“Are you okay?” Emily asked.

“I am, I’m okay!” Rebecca promised. “A little bit more nervous about the harem stuff than I was before. I don’t think I would’ve minded being exposed to… Stephanie’s experience, if I’d had some warning first. It was interesting and exciting and incredible sharing that… moment, with her. Just... think, Emily. What if it had happened while I was in the middle of assisting one of the residents at work, or while I was driving on the Interstate? Or trying to spend time with my grandparents?”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Emily gave her a sober nod. “That wouldn’t be good. We’ll figure it out, I promise. And, if we can’t figure it out and make it safe—we can talk about breaking the charm.”

“I’m not trying to be a negative Nancy about this,” Rebecca gave Emily a squeeze and then gently pushed her away so that she could examine her at arm’s length. “I’m just concerned.”

“You’re not being negative, you’re being right,” Emily said. “Absolutely right. I’m—well, I’m caught up in everything and I don’t have the clearest head about all this just yet. So, thank you for being the dependable one. We need you. You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay,” Rebecca promised again. “Like I said, it wasn’t bad. It was very… special, being able to share Stephanie’s moment like that. It was very… wow.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Emily ran a hand through her hair. “It’s not even like I had real experience to compare it to, but the charm magic stuff definitely amplifies a lot of what’s going on during, uh. Sex stuff. They kinda drowned me in it last night. Or, maybe that’s just another Stephanie power thing, the emotional aspect taking it to another level? Or something.”

“Whatever it is… I’m going to keep my distance from Brian for the rest of this weekend,” Rebecca cautioned. “I want you to keep some distance from him too until we’re more certain of what’s going on, but I don’t think I can ask you to do that.”

“I… yeah,” Emily blushed. “Sorry. Thank you.”

“So. What I’m going to do, is run on ahead and get in line for single-day passes,” Rebecca decided. “I’m going to keep an eye on the dreamscape in case there’s an emergency, but I’m going to make every effort to not actually delve into it. If possible. I’ll pick up your pass since I’ll be in line anyways, and I’ll call you. I want you to call me if anything happens.”

“Okay,” Emily nodded. “Thank you. I, uh, I’m probably going to keep trying to get into my own charm power thing, so—please don’t be mad at me for that.”

“I knew you would,” Rebecca gave her an exasperated smile. “Please be careful, and please call me right away if anything happens.”

“Yeah, of course,” Emily promised. “Thank you again.”

“Okay, go on, go!” Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Go have fun with Brian.”

When Emily pushed through the door and back out to the courtyard area, everyone was gone.

“What the fuck,” Emily heaved both palms up in a flipping the table gesture. “Seriously?”

Trotting across the poolside patio looking this way and that and then storming out through the gate with an indignant look on her face, Emily quickly spotted her friends—they were all the way over on the other side of the Westerlin’s parking lot. She immediately recognized the discolored mark on the trunk of Brian’s car where it had once sported bumper sticker shaped like one of the military emblems from Fantasy Wars. All four doors were open, and everyone’s bags were piled on top of the beat up roof as Brian, Stephanie, Kelly, and Megan shifted belongings around.

“Oi!” Emily called over across the parking lot in her best cute angry voice. “Oi, oi! Don’t just leave me behind!”

“Emily!” Kelly yelled. “Get over here.”

“I can’t believe you were about to leave without me!” Emily put on a playful pout as she crossed over to them.

“We kept to the code—ye who falls behind, gets left behind,” Brian chuckled. “Kidding. We’re just moving stuff around, we’re gonna leave my car parked here ‘till we’re done for the day. Where’s Rebecca?”

“She, uh, had to go?” Emily said. “She’ll meet up with us later.”

“Emily, come here,” Kelly called, motioning her over towards one of the bags perched on the roof she was currently digging through. It looked like Brian’s bag, in fact.

“That was your first time last night, right?” Kelly asked, pulling out one of Brian’s shirts and holding it up for examination. “Well, I don’t make the rules, but I do gotta enforce them.”

“After you first have sex, you have to wear one of his shirts,” Megan explained, gesturing towards Stephanie. “Apparently it’s a rule!”

“I don’t think that’s actually a rule,” Brian said as he took a carry-bag that had a Darkmask helmet peeking out the top and leaned inside the car to carefully stack it on top of the big cardboard box from before. “I think Kelly just wants to play dress-up with her new girlfriends.”

“Hey,” Kelly quipped with a small smile. “It’s a rule, now. Keep to the code, alright?”

As Emily rounded the adjacent car and joined them in the space between vehicles, she discovered Stephanie wearing an oversized button-up dress shirt. It looked enormous on her, hanging down almost past her thigh, and there was something really sexy about the look on her.

“It’s... from his other cosplay,” Stephanie said with an embarrassed smile as she fidgeted with the bottom of the shirt.

“Emily’s a lot smaller than Steph, though,” Kelly made a small noise of aggravation. “She’s gonna be just swimming in any of these other shirts of his.”

“I’m not a lot smaller,” Emily huffed, blowing a raspberry in Kelly’s direction. “I’m just a little bit smaller. And, what is this, amateur hour?! I steal Brian’s clothes literally all the time!”

“Aha! So you admit that you stole my missing hoodie!” Brian slapped the roof of his car in mock fury.

“Oh, whatever. I did not!”

“You just said you did!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t specifically say I stole your hoodie!”

“You stole it. I knew it!” Brian griped. “Soon as I brought up that it was gone, you started all backpedaling and getting evasive abou—hey!”

He was cut off with a noise of surprise, as Emily couldn’t help but take the opportunity to grab his ass as she pushed past him and made for the driver’s side seat.

“Uh, no I didn’t,” Emily retorted as she jabbed the button to pop the trunk. “‘Cause, it was never missing, it was just where you weren’t gonna find it right away.”

“You hid it in the trunk?!” Brian playfully spanked a hand across her bottom in return as she tried to skedaddle back around the car and she couldn’t help but let out a gleeful yelp. “When?” How did you even—”

“Sooo it wasn’t stolen, technically,” Emily gloated, digging past the mesh plastic half-crate where Brian kept spare transmission fluid, motor oil, and other assorted car stuff since his apartment didn’t have a garage. Stashed away in the folds of a musty old blanket in the back, Emily grabbed out the hidden hoodie and yanked it free so that she could hold it up proudly for the others.

“Carry it low, drive it slow—certified forklift operators for Jesus,” Kelly read the bold text emblazoned across the front of the hoodie with a mixture of horror and disgust. “Wow. Who knew that one line could get me this hot and bothered? Please, no. Stop. You can’t. You’re making me wet.”

“Right?!” Emily beamed as she started struggling her way up into it. “Mike and Tanya got it for Brian last Christmas, but I helped them pick it out.”

“Yeah, uh, I can tell you did,” Kelly tried to keep a straight face as she shoved Brian’s other shirts back into his bag and tossed it in the car. “Listen, both of you—and you too, Stephanie—we’re going to have to all go out shopping together soon so that I can teach you all how to dress.”

“That’s the plan today, isn’t it?” Brian grinned. “It’s Sunday—today’s the day of the con the vendors mark down their prices. So, today we’re shopping.”

“Yesssss!” Emily pumped her fist in the air. “Tables have already turned, we’re deckin’ out Kelly in weeaboo wear!”

“I’m not, and you can’t make me,” Kelly rolled her eyes.

“What do you think, Steph?” Brian asked. “I think I saw a T-shirt in the vendor’s room that’d look great on her. It had a big-boobed wolfgirl in a bikini with her tongue lolling out all crazy, and it said ‘high five if you love furries!’”

“Dead serious though—no way,” Kelly warned. “Nuh-uh.”

“Oh my God, last year I bought a shirt that says ‘yaoi holes’ on the front in Japanese,” Megan chimed in with an eager expression. “I wear it all the time to class and nobody realizes what it actually says!”

“I think everyone realizes,” Stephanie added with a shy smile. “You keep, um, loudly explaining what it means in front of people…”

“I do not!” Megan exclaimed. “Hardly!”

“I don’t know what yow oy holes are, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say also no, no way, end of story,” Kelly decided.

“Ohhh she doesn’t know what yaoi is yet,” Emily’s hands crept upwards to her own cheeks in excitement. “This is going to be so much fun! I mean— Steph, you know what yaoi is, right?!”

Stephanie quickly shook her head no, her fluffy pink locks swaying back and forth as she adamantly attempted to deny the truth.

“Ugh, I’ve already tried to educate her in the ways of yaoi,” Megan scoffed. “But, she’s too squeamish for the good stuff.”

“The good stuff?” Emily arched an eyebrow.

“Steph, what do you want to do with your bag?” Brian asked. “If you want, you can leave it here in my car. Then whenever we’re all conned out for the day and ready to leave, I can swing both of you guys over to wherever you’re parked.”

“Yes! Thank you,” Stephanie said. “Megan’s car’s at the Sherriott. I… I just, wow I don’t even want this weekend to ever end.”

“Skip a couple weeks of school and come stay with us,” Kelly offered. “Brian and I can—”

“Don’t you steal my Stephie!” Megan exclaimed. “I didn’t even hardly get to see her all weekend, and we’re best friends! Steph—you’ve never ever missed a class. You can’t just skip school.”

“I’ll… think about it,” Stephanie told Brian as she fidgeted with the hem of the oversized shirt she was wearing. “I mean, I really, really want to…”

“Emily, kitten...” Kelly spoke up, stepping back and gesturing for Emily to come closer. “Talk to you alone for a sec?”

“Yeah? Sure,” Emily’s curiosity was piqued. “What’s up?”

“I stashed a condom in your shoe,” Kelly answered in a low voice, blowing errant red locks out of her face with a flippant puff of her lip. “Your ninja shoe from whatever cosplay thing you were.”

“A… condom?” Emily blinked.

“A full condom,” Kelly explained. “Tied off and everything, practically a little water balloon, and it’s, uh, it’s full of the secret sauce that has us changing colors and seeding us with whatever magic bullshit.”

“Right. Okay,” Emily whispered back, doing her best not to look over in the direction of her bag. “Good call. We need that stuff—you know, for science.”

“Or emergencies, you never know,” Kelly said. “Steph had a bruise on her face last night, but she didn’t this morning. I figured, you’re into geeky shit and you’d want to save some spunk as a healing potion or something.”

Bruises… Emily couldn’t help but bring her fingers up to her face and probe around where Chloe had inadvertently elbowed her the other day. Fuck me, I totally forgot about all of that. Again. There’s too much going on. Yes siree, don’t even feel a twinge. There’s so many things we need to test—Brian’s cum might have regenerative properties or even—

“Yeah, so you have one shoe outside your bag of clothes, and then one shoe inside, now,” Kelly continued in a hushed voice. “Wrapped the rubber in one of your socks, then tucked it down in your shoe, and put that shoe in your bag. So, don’t forget and shove your foot in there or anything.”

“Okay, cool, cool,” Emily nodded quickly and tried not to imagine doing just that. “I won’t. Fuck, should I run back and grab some ice from the ice machine again? Do we need to keep it, uh, preserved?”

“No clue,” Kelly shrugged. “You’re the charm stuff expert—or, you will be, in the future. It was still warm last time I touched it, and it probably shouldn’t have been. Magic?”

“Magic!” Emily all but squealed in excitement, bouncing on her heels.

“I mean, I get it, yeah, and I’d have probably kept it myself, but then at the same time I didn’t want it popping accidentally and exploding all over my purse, so,” Kelly gave her a wry smile. “Figured you’d definitely want to keep a condom full of magic cum. Oh—hey, promise me you won’t throw it at anyone.”

“Throw it?!” Emily shot Kelly an aggrieved look. “No way, I’m not wasting it!”

Even if someone had smuggled me a condom full of Brian’s cum back before I knew about all the actual real magicalness, I wouldn’t have WASTED it! Emily thought with a rigid smile. Might’ve been a creepy perv with it, like made a little BRIAN SHRINE around it. Or kept it to suckle into my mouth while I masturbated like a total degenerate, but I wouldn’t ever WASTE it.

“Thought for sure you’d want to… I don’t even know. Figure stuff out with it, or something? I dunno, experiment? Test it on stuff?” Kelly held up her hands. “I’m gonna be getting more straight from the source like, on the regular, sooo—yeah, I’ll get you more whenever I can?”

“Are you saying that just to like, flex on me?” Emily narrowed her eyes.

“Sorry, habit,” Kelly shrugged. “And also warning you, I guess? That kind of sex is too good for me to not be trying to have it every day. You can’t even blame me.”

“...Yeah,” Emily sighed. “Okay. Try to get me whatever you can. This one you squirreled away in the shoe is from just then earlier, when you were in there with Brian and Steph? Or from last night?”

“This morning, good and fresh,” Kelly confirmed. “I had another weird—well, I think I might’ve maybe figured out part of my charm power thing.”

“You got another message from the future?!” Emily demanded, leaning in close. “What did it—”

“No, no—kinda the opposite, I guess?” Kelly shrugged. “Sent something to the past. Or, to a past. Sort of. To get me the past me to where I am here—I think a future me did the same thing to get me here where I am now, to… this. It’s complicated. Long story, and—look, I think everyone’s ready to head over to the con.”

FortySixtyFour

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