Chapter 23
LOCHLAN
Velvet Villainess
Do you think there’s something wrong with us?
The Ghost Prince
Probably.
On my laptop screen in front of me, Galina’s shoulders slump a little as she audibly groans, then types again.
Velvet Villainess
Wait really?
The Ghost Prince
Lol no.
So, yeah. It's been a few days, but we're talking again. And I think I know why: it’s because of the time she saw me shirtless in the locker room.
I still have no goddamn idea why she was in there. When I caught her, she was standing and staring at a handful of lockers. I have no idea whose, and they were all still locked anyway.
But honestly, curious as I am, her reason for being in the locker room is secondary to what happened directly after I caught her, when her gaze dropped to my bare torso and her eyes locked on the scratches on my hips.
…Scratches that just so happen to be from her fucking fingernails.
And that’s a problem.
Not the fact that she gave them to me. That part I have absolutely zero problem with. In fact, I think Galina unlocked a new kink I never knew I had when she raked her nails harshly over my skin as we were both coming.
That little stab of pain as my balls were unloading?
Chef’s. Fucking. Kiss.
She seriously needs to do that more often.
No, the problem is that Galina looked at those scratches and recognized them, or at least looked like she did for a moment or two.
Then she seemed to shake it off. Most likely she told herself that she was imagining things.
Still, when she walked out she had this stunned expression on her face.
And then she went completely radio silent with Ghost for the last four days.
Maybe she's busy with family shit. I know her dads came up to visit her and her brother. I know they all went out to eat at Christopher’s, and I also know that Julia, the waitress who I think Drago’s fucked a couple of times, basically threw herself at Galina’s father, Roman Nikitin.
Her very married, gay father.
I mean, I’ve barked up some wrong trees in my time, but Jesus.
They all left looking like one big happy family. But who knows. Maybe there was some family shit discussed that I didn’t pick up via the microphone in Galina’s shoe.
But, whatever the reason for the disappearing act, here we are again, chatting.
Making each other laugh. Flirting. And, at least on my end of things, hanging on her every word.
I want to blame that last part on my dick’s recent bad case of “one-itis”. But it’s not just my penis deciding he only gets hard for one particular girl now.
The rest of me seems to be on board with that singular focus.
And what's truly worrying about that is… I’m pretty fine with it.
The Ghost Prince
Why do you think there’s something wrong with us?
Velvet Villainess
lol where do I start?
Velvet Villainess
I mean, we both spend our free time putting on masks and making objectively…unique content online under alter egos. Content that's tailored to encourage engagement and borderline problematic parasocial behavior and attachment, at least to some degree.
The Ghost Prince
You sound like a psych major…
Velvet Villainess
You know that I am, right? A psych major?
The Ghost Prince
Of course.
Velvet Villainess
Stalker ;)
The Ghost Prince
Guilty as charged.
Velvet Villainess
Have you ever had one?
I frown.
The Ghost Prince
Had what?
Velvet Villainess
A stalker. From your content.
The Ghost Prince
Not one as attentive as your current one.
Velvet Villainess
Do you feel that gravitational pull? That's me rolling my eyes as hard as I can.
Yeah, so, we’re back to flirting, I guess.
And here I am grinning like an asshole, feeling better than I have in days.
Velvet Villainess
Well?
The Ghost Prince
Not really. I’ve had some fans take things a little far, though.
Velvet Villainess
Oooo, such as??
The Ghost Prince
Nothing crazy. Mostly just a lot of unsolicited nudes and hyper aggressive invitations.
Velvet Villainess
Skanks :P
I chuckle.
The Ghost Prince
Is that jealousy I can feel through the phone?
Velvet Villainess
Hardly. And don’t think for a second I’m going to feel bad for you for getting titties in your DMs.
The Ghost Prince
Oh, I get much more than that.
Velvet Villainess
Gross!
I grin.
Velvet Villainess
So, is that why you do it? Girls pretty much throwing their panties at you and offering to be your plaything?
I grin.
The Ghost Prince
No.
Velvet Villainess
Money?
The Ghost Prince
I don’t monetize my channel.
Velvet Villainess
Me either. So, seriously, why?
The Ghost Prince
Can I be candid?
Velvet Villainess
Please.
The Ghost Prince
Because I’m a whore for attention.
Velvet Villainess
LOL
The Ghost Prince
I mean it. I am a SLUT for praise and fawning.
Velvet Villainess
What, like you want me to call you a good boy?
My dick twitches.
Well look at that. Another new kink unclocked thanks to this girl.
The Ghost Prince
Pretty sure you could call me anything you wanted and I’d be into it.
Velvet Villainess
Pfft. I bet you say that to all the content creators :P
The Ghost Prince
Only you, baby.
Velvet Villainess
<3
Fuck me.
She sent me a heart emoji.
I will not hyper-fixate on that and overanalyze its meaning I will not hyper-fixate on that and overanalyze its meaning I will not hyper-fixate on that and overanalyze its meaning…
Shit. Too late.
The Ghost Prince
How about you? Any other stalkers I need to compete with?
Velvet Villainess
Tons.
I know she’s kidding.
Doesn’t stop my vision from tunneling through a red mist, though.
The Ghost Prince
Bet they're not as fun as me, though.
Velvet Villainess
You really do think you’re something special, huh?
The Ghost Prince
I hope so. I’d like to think I’ve gone way above and beyond.
Velvet Villainess
Like BUGGING MY ROOM?
The Ghost Prince
Well, yeah. I mean I seriously doubt any of your other psychotic stalker boyfriends have taken things that far.
Fuck.
I just called myself her boyfriend…well, sort of. I brace myself, but Galina keeps on chatting like it blew right past her.
Velvet Villainess
Careful, sunshine. I’m not sure I’m over that yet.
The Ghost Prince
Really? I think you should be flattered.
Velvet Villainess
Because you were spying on me?
The Ghost Prince
Because I just couldn’t bear not seeing you in between seeing you.
On screen, Galina rolls her eyes.
Velvet Villainess
Cute.
The Ghost Prince
Thank you.
Velvet Villainess
You're just lucky that you stopped when you did.
I clear my throat guiltily as I watch through the camera in her smoke alarm as she leans back against her headboard.
I’m watching her stretch her legs out across the duvet and imagining peeling her shorts off and going down on her when there’s a knock on the door to the bathroom she shares with Arianna Sartorre.
“Yeah?” Galina yells, a second before Arianna opens the door and walks in.
“So, are we going?”
Galina frowns. “Going where?”
Her friend snickers. “You’re literally on your phone. How have you been missing Wren going off in the group chat?”
Suddenly interested, I switch to the other open window of my laptop and quickly type in some prompts, bringing up Galina’s laptop desktop on my own screen. Her texts, including the group chat with her friends, are synched to her iCloud account, so…
Yeah.
I click on her messages and bring up the group chat with her girlfriends.
Wren
THIS IS A TEST OF THE EMERGENCY brOADCAST SYSTEM
Lucia
lol oh no…
Wren
MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
Arianna
OMG what are you doing you weirdo.
Yelena
I apologize in advance. I think this may be my fault.
Wren
Ladies: it has come to my attention that our dear friend Yelena is in need of cheering up.
Arianna
What happened?!!
Lucia
Are you okay??
Yelena
I’m fine. Really.
Wren
I am not at liberty to share deets. But this is a five-alarm girl squad emergency.
Wren
Galina?? How have you not chimed in yet?
Maybe because she’s got her notifications turned off, and has been spending the last twenty minutes flirting with me via her DMs?
Lucia
Lena, is everything okay with your family?
Wren
Oh, It’s much worse than that.
Yelena
WREN
Galina’s eyes widen as she looks up at Arianna. “Is she okay?”
Her friend nods. “Yeah, she’s…” She sighs. “It’s complicated, and what makes it more complicated is that I’m not supposed to repeat what I know about it.”
“Ari!”
“I’m sorry!” Arianna makes a face. “I was told something in confidence, and I plan on respecting that.”
Galina sighs. “Fair.”
“Anyway, I think Wren wants us to hang out tonight. And I think Yelena would appreciate it. Anyway, jump on that group text! I’m going to go take a shower."
When she walks back into the bathroom and shuts the door, Galina’s attention jerks back to her phone.
Galina
So sorry, had my notifications off. What’s going on!?
Yelena
It’s nothing. I'm just in a funk. Wren’s overreacting.
My eyebrows drift up as a little lightbulb goes off in my head.
I know that Achilles has been shadowing Yelena over the last few weeks.
But I thought it had something to do with the building her father and his business partner recently bought.
It sits behind our grandmother’s rooftop property on Central Park South, and they supposedly have plans to add a few more stories to it, which would make it loom over Ya-ya’s house.
But my cousin’s been beyond cagey whenever I’ve brought it up. Also, though Achilles has never been that much of a player, lately he’s been weirdly…disinterested, shall we say, when it comes to girls.
…But what’s really got the lightbulb glowing above my head is that Yelena isn’t the only one in a funk right now. My cousin is currently redefining the word as he stomps around campus all gloomy and emo, and generally sucks at practice because his head is clearly elsewhere.
Like, for instance, with Yelena…
Wren
ANYWAY. The Reckless are throwing a party at The Spire tonight, and we’re going.
Arianna
What? Nooo… :(
Arianna
Can we please do literally anything else?
Wren
Nope!!
Arianna
Ugh, hard pass.
Lucia
Ari!
Wren