Rosemary Johns - Rebel Academy - Crush

We could call it Strip Therapy or the Strip Social Policy.

WILLOUGHBYburst in neon pink across the walls, followed by BASK.

Pan's prick, Serenity wasn't picking at random. She was playing Revenge Truth or Dare, which actually sounded an exciting but deadly game.

I smiled at Bask, wishing that I was snuggled in his arms right now, rather than his rival's, who held the power. Weirdly though, it no longer felt like we were divided in that way.

Willoughby assessed Bask. "Dare: Dance with the two clones, Andro and Bas."

Was it just me or did that sound like a reward? Yet when my gaze darted to Bask and then Lysander, they were both shifting uncomfortably.

How would I feel if there was another Fox?

Bask narrowed his eyes, pushing himself to his feet with a sinful wriggle of his hips. "Dare accepted."

Why had that sounded like a challenge?

A green mist formed in front of Bask, and Andro stepped out of it with a flutter of his golden wings. The mist bled into his long emerald hair that hung to his waist. Unlike Lysander, he didn't have pants to cover his nakedness. Yet the soft expression was so unlike Lysander that despite the fact they were identical (which meant that it would've been a big reveal), there was no doubt that he was the clone, especially when he dropped to his knees.

Andro stared up at Bask adoringly. Bask ran his hand over Andro's head, before tipping up his chin and placing a single kiss on his lips.

Willoughby was watching him intently. "Bas."

Ruby sparkles lit up in front of him, forming into a gorgeous naked clone of Bask, who bounced onto Willoughby's lap, knocking him away from me in a whirlwind.

I chuckled. So, Bas wasn't as submissive as Andro then.

"I've fierce missed you." Bas kissed along Willoughby's neck, straddling him. "What do you desire? My arse is at your service. Let me please you." The words tumbled out of his mouth so fast that I thought he'd hyperventilate. "Pet me."

Willoughby smiled, gently pushing back Bas. "Calm. I'm here now."

A twinge of jealousy shot through me at the familiar way that they rested their foreheads against each other, and Willoughby placed his hand on Bas’ shoulder. It was the same genuine closeness, as the way that Bask tucked a strand of Andro's hair behind his ear.

Lysander's mouth twisted, before he pushed himself stiffly to his feet. Before he could attempt his usual storming away trick, however, Magenta jumped up and snatched him around the waist. Her fingers stroked over his skin; I tingled, wishing that she was touching me.

When her mists coiled around him, Lysander stared at them in shock.

"Andro isn't you," Magenta insisted. "Simply because he's loved and part of our group doesn't mean that you can't be."

Was she still bluffing?

Lysander stiffened.

Willoughby glanced at Bask. "And Bas isn't you. Do you truly wish that I'd love you?"

He shook with hope.

Great Pan, say yes...because I wasn’t bluffing anymore.

To be fair, despite my compulsive liar reputation (would I be given a badge for that like in the scouts?), I’d been the only one in this café who hadn’t been bluffing throughout the game.

Bas' gaze darkened. "What kind of bad bastard wouldn't love my Willoughby?"

Willoughby slipped his hand to stroke warning circles on Bas' hip, and Bas fell silent.

Bask gave a shuddering breath. "Please, love me ."

Willoughby dragged Bas up with him, before hauling Bask into a crushing kiss.

All of a sudden, Five's energetic "Everybody Get Up" boomed out of the walls.

"The dare was to dance," Serenity explained. "Dancing reduces stress. Let's see those asses move to the beat."

"Yes!" I hollered...okay, squealed because I might be the Fox who Loved 90's Boy Bands. This was a safe space without shaming, right? "Come on, not even a Prince can avoid the siren call to the dance floor of this song."

“Sirens?” Willoughby mouthed.

I dragged up a bewildered vampire.

Midnight whispered into my ear, "I've forgotten how to dance. It's been so long..."

"It's easy." Joy rushed through me. I remembered bouncing around the attic to “Everybody Get Up” with my cousin, Aquilo. He'd been just as stiff and awkward, but I'd loved making him let go and live because I'd always had the feeling that when he returned to his family in the House of Blood, he'd been just as controlled and crushed as the Princes. "Just get your funk on."

Midnight laughed, and it was so beautiful that I twirled him even more dramatically.

Magenta tightened her hold on Lysander. "Now this popular music I like. It's certainly better than opera. This is our own Rebel Ball!"

"May I have the honor of the first dance?" Lysander murmured, clasping his arms around Magenta’s waist like he thought that Sleipnir would snatch her away from him.

Sleipnir growled. "Not without me you won't."

As Mist boogied on the couch, Sleipnir rested his hand on both Magenta and Lysander's shoulders, leading them out to dance. It was strange how right it looked. Just like the breath-taking way Willoughby and Bask were caught between the two naked clones in a sinuous dance that was like screwing standing up,

Wait, they weren't actually...? Because that would be hot.

Unexpectedly, in a flurry of black crows feathers, Damelza and Juni materialized in the center of our makeshift dance floor, between our gyrating and sweaty bodies, and epic boy band impersonations.

The music shutoff like it'd been shocked into silence.

We all froze: Princes and Immortals united together by the power of Five.

Juni's eyes glittered, as she scanned the naked clones and then Lysander's bare chest.

Bask carefully pulled his tongue back from licking Willoughby's neck.

Could you have a stroke from shame because Lysander looked like he could manage it? His ass was pressed against Sleipnir, and his hands had been having fun on Magenta's ass. He squirmed to free himself from their sandwich.

Both Bas and Andro vanished in a mingled puff of emerald smoke and ruby sparkles. Midnight let go of me, falling to his knees and clasping his hands behind him. He ducked his head. He was as still as when the Princes had placed him in the corner like he wasn't real.

I hated it, but were all the Princes under the same pressure?

Lysander surged forward, paling. Then he dropped to his knees next to Midnight.

What was going on? Since when did Lysander kneel? He wasn't Andro.

Damelza assessed Lysander with the same contempt that she usually reserved for mages. "Do you know what I do to Princes who wear incorrect uniforms?"

"Make them only wear panties all day?" I asked, hopefully.

And there was the contemptuous glare that I hadn’t missed.

"I'm sure that it's a disappointment to you that it's not my chest on display. My bosom is decidedly bouncy." Magenta jiggled her tits in demonstration.

"Well, I'll have to struggle on with Hecate's help, despite missing that." Damelza didn't look away from Lysander. "Now, I have official academy business to deal with. It's almost time for the Immortals to go to the dragon stables, ready for the mission. But first, the Princes' lost the Rebel Cup. So, I've made room in my busy schedule to hex their whipping boy's wings."

No, no, no...

Magenta stepped forward. Her mists whipped around her.

Lysander glanced sharply over his shoulder at her. "Do not interfere, unless you wish your mage to die, instead."

My pulse pounded, and my throat was too dry. Wait, did that mean that Lysander also didn't want me to die? That was the most romantic thing that he'd ever said.