I was very familiar with the bookstore in the University district of Liliport, as I had spent many nights walking it’s aisles, discovering what it had. Here, you weren’t really bothered by other people because everyone was sort of stuck in their own world.

The bookstore had three levels to it -

The street level, which had a lot of items for school work (like notebooks, folders, organizers, all that stuff), the second level had lower level texts books, and the third level had all the specialty textbooks that you need a special code to even touch and an attendant to help you find what you needed and what supplement books you might need.

Usually I spent time in the first floor, wandering around, but not today.

Today, I was on the second floor.

I pressed my fingertip to the shelf as I watched a twelve year old girl come down the steps from the third floor, her mother behind her carrying a pair of books – Theories of Electromagnetic Radiation, and Select Essays of Dr. Danilyn Slaughter on Layering Radio Transmissions. The little girl said she also wanted to get a book on the construction of the lunar station to read while waiting for class to start and her mother laughed, telling her she already had a workbook on electrical engineering she needed ti finish first-

And I died a little on the inside as I became painfully aware of my much lower IQ.

Most of the female novus under twenty went to all girls novus school here in Trinity, but occasionally one of then had to take a class here and…

Man, I felt stupid.

I sighed, lifting my list to read over the books I needed. I smiled a little at the ones for my comparative religion course as I started to look down the aisle.

“Hey,” I jolted at the voice, whipping around to see Tosser and his smile coming down the aisle. “Book shopping?”

I huffed and turned away to stare at the shelf. “Start of new semester. Suggested reading.” I said in a clipped tone as I returned to scanning for the author I needed.

“What class?” I opened my mouth to tell him but croaked when he suddenly grabbed my ass roughly, kneading the flesh. I tried to move away but he pushed my pelvis forward by my ass, getting close behind me to whisper in my ear “I’ve been thinking about how I can convince you to sin with me, church mouse.”

“Demon.” I snapped, pushing away from the shelf with both hands so he had to step back – though I didn’t do anything to get his hand off my ass because….I didn’t want to agitate him. Novus could be very, very dangerous. It was the smart move because I was a smart man.

Socially.

Not…

Not academically.

“God doesn’t count it if I force you, right? Bible says something about not blaming victims or whatever?” He said against my ear. “Tell me what your safeword is.”

“M-my what?” I gaped, my eyes widening.

“It’s a word that will make me stop-”

“I’ll just shove your hands off if I want you to stop.” I said suddenly, feeling flustered. “Now fuck off, I have to look for my-”

He suddenly snatch the list out from my hands and I elbowed him to try and get it back, but he danced away, reading the list. “Two people working together will get this done so much faster...and I can scan over a shelf very quickly.”

“And accurately?” I snapped, shaking my body out to try and get rid of the strange feeling of...somehow still feeling his hand on my ass, just like I weirdly felt his mouth on my dick for hours after he had sucked it.

“Quickly.” He said with a shrug. “Comparison of Religions: An In-depth Study of the Four Major Abraham Religions. Neathill. Perry.” He looked around with a curious look and I reached back and rubbed my ass as I started to look as well, tensing when our gazes met.

I scowled and turned away from him, feeling flustered as I scanned the shelves.

“I didn’t know The Fellowship allowed their church members to study other religions. I thought they-”

“They don’t,” I snapped, looking at him, “And why do you know so much about my church?”

“Because your part of it.” He said easily, holding my gaze. “I want to know what makes you tick.” I frowned, reaching up to hold a hand to my heart. How touching. “Also they’re a cult and I’m supposed to be well informed on possible threats to stability.”

I scowled and turned away, returning to my search.

“Anyway, where’s your pendant?”

I stilled, my blood running cold.

I slowly straightened as I remembered standing in front of the congregation as I was stripped of the pendant I had worn around my neck since I was baptized at ten years old. Once you were baptized, you would wear your pendant until you did.

I had told my parents I didn’t want to be an active member of the church, and that meant that I had lost full membership, and…

And then the slow stripping of all of active member possessions started, my precious pendant included, which was also done in front of the congregation while everyone watched, silent.

I jolted when I felt a hand on my shoulder, Tosser coming around to stand in front of me with a concerned look. “Hey, are you okay?” he mumbled, touching my face. “You smell like you are stressed out.”

“You stress me out.” I hissed, slapping his hand off. He pouted. “Don’t-” I stuttered for words, “Just don’t talk about my church, okay?!” I demanded, shoving past him to return for my search. I pushed my hand through my hair, and when I reached the end of the aisle I turned right, but Tosser grabbing the back of my shirt to direct me left. We went down the next aisle and Tosser pulled the book we were looking for down, handing it to me.

We were quiet while he hunted down my books, and I was impressed to say it took less than ten minutes.

When I had been here during my first semester, it had taken me over two hours to find everything I needed. An attendant had come over as asked me if I needed help, but I had stubbornly refused and regretted it quickly.

I went downstairs with my books and there was a short and violent struggle over between me and Tosser over who would pay for them before I hit him square in his face with my biggest, heaviest book. When everything was scanned, I took the card my Dad had given me to pay for my book, holding it up-

“You pay for all your books with that, and your Daddy will know your taking comparative religionssssss,” He said with a purposeful hiss in my ear.

I bristled, reflexively slapping a hand back only to get my wrist grabbed. “Don’t you hiss in my ear!” I snarled, frowning as I looked back to the clerk bobbing her head as she seemingly listened to music through her headphones, though I swore I saw the end of the cord hanging loose over her shoulder. I frowned, hesitating before I asked her to take my comparative religion books off. When she did, I paid for them.

And then I stood there, staring at my books while Tosser stared at them as well over my shoulder.

I slowly pushed them forward toward her and then I shuffled aside, Tosser stepping forward to pay for them after she scanned them. He then accepted the bag she handed him before he turned to face me, and I turned to face him.

“Thank……..you.” I said slowly as I accepted the bag with just my comparative religion books in them.

He nodded a little. “You are…….very welcome-”

“Don’t mock me.” I snapped, shoving past him to storm out of the bookstore, squinting around the night as others bustling about. I stared blankly forward at the massive statue of Alis the Alligator hanging from a lasso on the moon before I sighed, frowning as I looked toward where Tosser had come to stand next to me to admire the area. He looked to me then and we stared at each other for the longest time before I scowled and started walking toward my dorm. “Don’t follow me!” I snapped as we reached the steps that led up the hill and away from the shopping area. “People can’t know that we know each other!”

“You just hit me in the face with a book and then I paid for that same book. People are going to know we know each other!” He said as he followed me step for step as I ran as fast as I could up the steps.

“I SAID STOP FOLLOWING ME!” I swung my bag and he slapped it away but stopped running with me, letting me get all the way to the top of the steps before he screamed at the top of his lungs for me to call him so we could hang out. I ran all the way across the dormitory sector to my building with my books.

My brother was in the common area when I burst through the door, drenched in sweat and panting, and he told me point blank that I looked awful. I thanked him and then went up to my room, taking my books out to set on my desk.

Tosser was back under the tree and I slapped my hand to my window to stare at him with wide eyes as I struggled to catch my breath. He gave me a little wave and I mouthed at him to leave me alone, but he held a finger to his ear and shook his head with a smile.

I sat heavily down on my bed and wrestled to get out my comm.

‘LEAVE ME ALONE. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TALK.’ I messaged him, crawling over to hang over my desk and watch him pick up his comm, look at the screen, and then put it away before he returned to waving at me.

He signed for me to call him so we could talk and I rolled my eyes and dragged myself back to spread out on my bed.

When my comm rang, I picked it up as I stared at the ceiling.

“Leave me alone your horny loser,” I said then loudly as I fished the pictures he had sent me out to look at the naked one, “I don’t want you around me, I don’t want your attention, I don’t want your mouth or your tongue our your-”

“Ford?”

My stomach jumped into my throat and I sat up. “Dad!” I said loudly.

“What in the world did you just answer your comm saying?” He barked.

Oh, fuck.

Oh fuck!

“I-” I struggled, my Dad demanding I tell him what’s going on. “there’s just this aggressive novus that’s been harassing me.” I spewed out, “You know how it can be!”

He sighed hard, sounding irritated. “Did you report them to the campus?”

“I-I-I’m going to right now-”

“I’ll call your brother.” He said, cutting me off. “He’ll take you down to the security office.”

The line cut and I fell back against my bed.

FUCK.

I kicked at the air before I rolled off my bed, holding my face in my hands as I focused on controlling my breathing before I hurriedly him the naked pictures of Tosser between my bed and wall.

My older brother came up a few minutes later and as I held onto my cheeks, my elbows on my thighs, I stared with wide eyes down at the floor between my legs as my brother stood over me.

“Is that why you were so winded just now? You were trying to get away from a novus?” He asked in the same hard, demanding tone my Dad used.

“Yup.” I said, “Ran all the way here from the bookstore.”

“How long as this been going on?”

“Oh...just a couple days, but he’s so aggressive.” I said as I stared at the floor with wide eyes, trying to figure out what I could say to get out of this.

He grunted at that, clicking his tongue. “Alright. We’re going down and filing a report.” He said, snapping his fingers at me, “Come on, Ford. Up on your feet.”