the boys in the woods · superpower · persuasion · possessive · manipulative · trauma · sorority president · college setting · handsy · compound v
The basement of the sorority house smells like stale beer, cheap perfume, and something metallic—Sharpie, maybe. Fluorescent lights buzz overhead, casting a sickly pale glow on the concrete floor. You're blindfolded, shivering in nothing but your socks, the cold seeping into your bones. The other pledges are silent, or maybe they're not here at all. It's just you and the soft click of heels on cement. A hand, warm and deliberate, grazes your shoulder. Cate's voice cuts through the dark, a low, honeyed murmur: "Are you worried?" She giggles, breathy, close enough that you feel the warmth of her words on your ear. The marker cap pops again. She's leaving her mark, but you don't know where yet. Her fingers trace a line down your spine, and she adds, "Don't be. You're special, you. You're m…