Holy cats, kittens!!! I'm so sorry, I had ONE more chapter to post before I got totally blocked up with this and I didn't deliver. My apologies. 😔 I'll try to get back with this again in the coming weeks for all of you who have been reading along!!

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Cat was still freezing when she returned to her dormitory. She’d never been so happy to walk through the doors to her house. See the house patron. Walk up the creaky stairs to her and Max’s room.

She pushed open the door and burst into tears when she saw that Max had completely decorated their entire room for the holidays. Soft twinkly lights draped from the ceiling and were strung back and forth from corner to corner. There was a Christmas tree, decorated with blue and silver baubles sitting on her desk. There was a great big present wrapped with a giant red bow sitting in the middle of her bed.

Max was no where to be found. It only made Cat cry harder as she walked over to her bed and picked up the large box. It wasn’t as heavy as the size made it seem. She set the box on the floor next to the bed and climbed under her covers. Pulled them tight over herself and closed her eyes. Tried to forget the past three days.

::::

She heard jingling bells and cracked an eye open. The bed sunk behind her, indicating the weight of another person, and Cat nearly sprang out of bed and onto her feet.

“Oh, Fraidy Cat, it’s just me,” Max murmured from behind her. Climbed under the covers with Cat. Wrapped her body tight around her friend.

“How many times have you been to the attic?” Cat asked without any preamble.

“About once a month,” Max replied. “Longest he’s tied me up there was probably five or six days.” Cat shuddered. Max held her tighter.

“How…how?”

Max chuckled humorlessly, “Well, for one, I probably do need a time out of some sort. You live with me, after all. You know how manic I can get.”

“Max…”

”Better than the laboratories,” she answered. “Better than the tunnels. At least in the attic you’re left alone. Can plot your revenge.”

Cat had never thought of retaliation when she was bound and confined. She had only thought endlessly, over and over, what she possibly could have done to end up in the situation she had found herself in. What kind of revenge did Max have in mind?

“I’m freezing,” Cat shivered.

“Yeah, it sucks this time of year. But who am I kidding, it sucked in September when I was stuck up there during that crazy weekend heat wave. You’d never guess there’s an opulent palace below your feet.”

“What’s the worst thing he’s done to you up there?” Cat asked. She felt Max shrug behind her.

“Nothing? I mean, the toiletry stuff is disgusting and humiliating, but he doesn’t really do anything beyond tie you down and make you shit in a bag.”

Cat shifted, moved, rolled over so she was face to face with her friend.

“What happened to you the night of the gala?” Cat asked. Where had she disappeared to? How long had she been missing before August kissed her? Before the dean had thoroughly and publicly exposed and humiliated her in front of everyone.

Max smirked and tapped Cat on the tip of her nose. “Third base, Catherine.”

“We don’t have baseball fields,” Cat said without thinking. Max guffawed loudly and playfully kicked Cat in the shin under the blankets..

“No you prude. Oh my god, Cat. Third base. With a guy. I gave him a little…” at this she opened her mouth wide and tuck out her tongue. Made an obscene gesture with her hand. Cat gasped. “And then he did a little…” she gave Cat a playful eye roll and winked.

“I’m lost,” Cat deadpanned.

“I sucked his cock, Cat. He gave me a little cunnilingus in return. Holy shit, girl, you need to get out more often.”

Cat gasped again. “How?!”

“Well, all eyes on the dean and August… let’s just say a girl who’s befriended a boy in the All Saints tunnels had some fun. In the tunnels.” She winked again. Cat was immediately envious. She probably wasn’t ready to go all the way to third base, but she certainly would have rather been off with a certain boy instead of the fate she faced instead.

”Honestly, Cat, I’m not even really sure what happened with you. I only got the most super vague details about August and some indecent exposure or something which…sounds drastically unlike you.”

“He kissed me,” Cat whispered, like just admitting to it would get her in trouble again. “The dean saw. He got really weird about my dress and…”

Max gasped, “Say no more. He exposed you.” A tear fell from Cat’s eye. “I should have talked you out of the gold dress. Talked you into the burlap sack instead.”

Cat laughed in spite of herself. Max reached out and tucked a lock of Cat’s hair behind her ear. Cat startled at the touch. Realized suddenly that was the same sensation she had felt when she’d come to her senses in the dean’s living room.

“Catty Cat, what’s wrong?” Max asked, aghast, immediately noticing the frozen fear in her friend’s eyes.

“The dean…” Cat replied quietly.

“Well, duh, obviously.”

“No, I think… I think… I don’t know, it’s… no.”

Max quirked a curious eyebrow. “Catty Cat?”

”I heard him on the phone. When I was in the attic. He was furious. Screaming at someone. Lots of emphatic ‘mines’ and ‘virginity’ and ‘we had a deal’s.”

”Oh fuck.” Max paled.

“What if it's me?” Cat paled herself. “What if he bought my virginity? Like, from my parents?”

”Cat, you can’t be serious.”

“No but…what if? What if he’s somehow finagled some deal with my dad. In exchange for…” she swallowed hard.

“That’s seriously fucked up, Cat.”

“Max,” she whispered, “he’s teaching me sex ed next semester.”

“Oh fuck.”