The new kid was an asshole.

Nick and Tommy had of course been worried when they’d heard a new student would be joining their class. But when it had come out that he was being transferred due to their school’s phenomenal anti-bullying program (the state had no idea how they did it, and was better off not knowing), they had briefly allowed themselves to hope that maybe the new kid was joining them because he had been a victim of bullying. Not because he was the bully.

Apparently, Eric’s parents were so impressed by their school’s program (if only they knew), that they decided to transfer their son, in hopes of reforming him. But the most effective part of the program was actually the biggest bully of them all (please don’t let him hear this) – the monster that shared a body with Mr. Saunders, their former history teacher and current class advisor.

As President and Vice-President of their class, Nick and Tommy had made it their mission to welcome their new classmate and get him oriented. He hadn’t wanted their help, only mocked them for being so nice. They had shared a look, and been accused (like it was something bad) of being gay. Oh please, don’t let Ryka find out about that one, they had thought. There were rumors - very quiet rumors, never voiced at school - that Mr. Saunders cared an awful lot about his monster. And it was no secret Ryka would do absolutely anything for his host. This kid was setting himself up for a taste of Hell.

And it only got worse. He pushed around the underclassmen (something pretty common in the past, but not here, not anymore), rolled his eyes at the teachers when they reprimanded him, and was just generally a dick to everyone. Worst of all, he had taken a liking to Tommy’s girlfriend, Mackenzie, and was the kind of guy who thought it was charming to be a creep. He cat-called and whistled, stood way too close, tried to play with her hair, then blatantly ignored her requests to stop doing all of those things.

She was the first to warn him there were severe consequences for being an ass, and Tommy told him the same. But Eric didn’t care. Not when more of his new classmates repeated the warnings, and not even when some of the teachers did the same.

So, he kept up the douche-baggery, and wound up screaming at his math teacher and flipping over his desk during what was really a childish tantrum. While this should have gotten him suspended, it instead earned him an afternoon in detention. But not immediately, Nick and Tommy shuddered to hear. One of the English teachers, Mr. Brissette, was supposed to be running detention hall that week. There weren’t usually many kids anyhow, and rarely for serious offenses. It was usually for stupid teenager stuff, they’d overheard some teachers say.

They had heard Eric gloating about avoiding suspension, and only winding up with a detention for something so violent. (Flipping a desk was definitely a threat, right?) But there was nothing to be happy about - Eric’s detention had been postponed to the following week. Mr. Saunders’s week.

Nick and Tommy knew Mr. S. hadn’t been the one to make that request. He had looked sick when he found out their school was being awarded for its anti-bullying initiative. He didn’t like his part in it, that much was clear. There was no doubt Ryka knew what was going on (he somehow knew almost everything happening in the school), and they had wondered if it was his request, or if the other teachers wanted their new problem dealt with by someone who could actually make a difference. Either way, Eric was fucked.

In a last ditch attempt to save him from what was surely going to be a traumatizing afternoon in detention, Nick and Tommy approached him again. “What the fuck do you fags want now?” had been Eric’s reaction when they had flagged him down outside Mr. Saunders’s room on the afternoon of Eric’s scheduled punishment. Eric had been starting to open the door, and Nick and Tommy could see Mr. S. waiting in his room, looking pale and worried.

“Just apologize,” Nick pleaded.

“And mean it,” Tommy added.

Rolling his eyes (his trademark move), Eric stepped back into the hall, pulling the door closed again. “You two really need to mind your own fucking business. You have each other, so please stop fucking talking to me.”

Nick just shook his head. “Whatever, man. Just trying to help.” Throwing his hands up, Nick took a step back.

“That’s the last thing I need,” Eric assured them, pushing the door open again, but still facing Nick and Tommy. “It’s a detention with a teacher who somehow looks scared all the time – what a pussy. I think I’ll make it.”

But Nick and Tommy couldn’t respond. Mr. Saunders was no longer the one waiting for Eric. Instead, Ryka loomed behind him, grinning. “Ooh, fresh meat,” he growled.

“What the -” Eric spun around, and nearly fell back into the hall. Nick and Tommy started inching away. They’d already had far too many encounters with the demon. They had tried to warn Eric without going back on their word, but it hadn’t worked.

And now the new kid was standing frozen in the hall, mouth hanging open and eyes wide as he tried to make sense of the monster staring back at him. “Hell? You got it. Now come here you little shit.”

Eric was shaking his head, but marching forward all the same. Taking this as their cue, Nick and Tommy sprinted toward the nearest exit, too afraid to look back.

***

That was the end of Eric’s bullying. They never asked what happened to him in detention, and he certainly didn’t tell them. They supposed that, like the rest of the student body, he was sworn to silence. Break it and pay. Whatever had happened, he was reformed (his parents must be delighted). He apologized – and meant it – to everyone he had offended, even slightly.

Knowing the value of forgiveness, Nick and Tommy accepted his apologies. They certainly weren’t friends, but Eric didn’t bother them anymore. Or seem to want to bother too much with them, since they had run for safety when he was being dragged into detention.

So, it was surprising when the new kid stopped them at their cars after class one day, about a week after what he probably thought of as the worst day of his life. Looking back over his shoulder toward the school, he whispered “Uh, can we talk?”

“Not here,” Tommy told him. Ryka always knew. Or always found out. “But we’re going to Burger King if you want to follow us.” Safer off school grounds, for sure.

Eric followed them, and they sat on the hood of Nick’s car, eating Whoppers. Though Eric didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. After a few bites, he wrapped his burger up and shoved it back in the bag. “So, you all know, right? About …?” he trailed off. Most of them couldn’t say the demon’s name. (What if they somehow summoned him?)

Both Nick and Tommy nodded. “We might have been worse than you.”

Eric opened his mouth to say something, probably an insult, but thought better of it and shut up.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember why, but we wanted to hurt Mr. S.” Nick admitted, shuddering. “I threw a rock at him.” At that, it looked like Eric’s eyes were going to pop right out of his head. “Yeah, so. We’ve been personally threatened. And seen him hurt a couple fucking idiots who didn’t take our warnings seriously, either.”

“Shit.”

“Mr. S. is actually a nice guy, though. He’s our class advisor, you know.”

That surprised Eric just as much as Nick’s prior admission. “What? You’re not scared?”

“As long as you act like a decent fucking human being, there’s no problem.” That was just good all-around advice, Tommy thought. He wished he’d learned it sooner. He wasn’t happy about how he’d had to learn it, but was starting to realize it might have been worth it. In the long run, that is.

“Well, I’m sorry again for being such a dick.”

“We all are,” Nick agreed.

***

The new kid was an asshole.

And it was only a matter of time before he fucked up badly enough that Ryka was going to get involved.

Of course, the instant Kyle had learned there was going to be a new student, he’d freaked out. Ryka’s frustration was so intense Kyle had ended up rolling his eyes at himself. Which hadn’t helped much. And Ryka knew there wasn’t much he could say to make Kyle any less worried about what this idiot mortal was setting himself up for.

Unfortunately – for Ryka, not Kyle – the kid wasn’t in Kyle’s class. Which meant Ryka wasn’t able to see everything happen firsthand. But there were lots of whispers. Kyle couldn’t hear them, but Ryka certainly could.

It was a continued frustration that his senses were so dulled, at least when he was only a passenger. Their melding when the contract had been sealed meant that Kyle was now working with more senses than any other mortal. But his stubborn brain – rewired though it was - still refused to interpret, sometimes even register, the plethora of information his new senses were picking up.

This left Ryka to do all the heavy lifting. He’d vowed to protect his host, and refused to fail in this, so had to scrounge through muddied sensory input to make sure there were no imminent threats. It had been exhausting at first, stretching their senses as far as he could, and still feeling like he was coming up short. Time and practice had helped, and although he still fared much better when he was in charge, he was able to hear, see and smell fairly well even as a passenger. Which had certainly come in handy these last few years, with all these annoying fuckups so intent on bothering Kyle.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Two of the little fuckers that had caused them grief a couple years earlier were trying to stop this new kid from making the same mistakes they had. Luckily, he was too much of an idiot to listen to their advice. Ryka had been just a little worried they’d get through to him, but this kid really was an asshole.

Now he was tormenting the girl whose deadbeat dad had tried to hurt Kyle. That piece of shit was now rightfully roasting with the rest of the damned. Kyle hadn’t noticed in the busy halls, but she had slapped the new kid’s hand away and told him to fuck off. And he’d just kept bothering her. Ryka knew he came on strong with Kyle, but also knew Kyle needed – and wanted – the push. This girl wanted to be left the fuck alone.

It felt like it was taking far too long for this kid to really screw up. Kyle may have been grateful for every day his name didn’t show up on the detention list, but Ryka most certainly was not.

“So, you want him to keep fucking with the other kids?” Ryka asked, cracking open a beer. He was standing in front of the mirror, staring intently at his own reflection. Rather, trying to stare through it, to his host.

Well, no. I just ….

“Don’t want me to have to teach him a lesson?”

You do have a tendency to get carried away sometimes.

Ryka chugged his beer and headed to the fridge for another. “But I’m hungry.”

Kyle never knew how to react to that one, so Ryka wasn’t expecting a response. Even with Kyle in the background, Ryka could feel how queasy those words made him. There was one way to put him at ease. “Better me, now, than all my friends for the rest of time, right?”

He knew Kyle didn’t want to agree. He didn’t want to see people get hurt, even when they really deserved it. That would change, Ryka suspected, but for now, this was one thing he couldn’t always push. Especially not when it involved kids. Kyle had a major soft spot for the little fuckers.

Luckily, Ryka didn’t have to wait much longer for the new kid to finally fuck up. Apparently, he was only a few rooms away when it finally happened, because the sudden sharp smell of anger - followed by the delightful aroma of fear – was quite strong. It excited him so much that Kyle wound up wearing his hungry grin. He really was famished, and the thought of a good meal being so close was thrilling. He just had to make sure it ended up on his plate.

Kyle had shuddered seeing the new kid’s name on the detention list, but calmed right back down when he realized the detention would be with Adam. Oh, that wouldn’t do. It was time to intervene. Or that had been the plan, anyhow. But apparently Ryka wasn’t the only one thinking that stricter punishment was in order.

The principal, still so very nervous and absolutely reeking of nervous sweat, showed up to let Kyle know that the kid’s detention had been moved. To the following week. When Kyle would be forced to stay after. Unfortunately, most of the brats had learned the schedule, and carefully avoided getting into trouble when they knew they’d be stuck with Kyle. Or really, stuck with Ryka.

The few days leading up to the detention dragged, even for Ryka. Though Kyle did so much worrying that he wasn’t nearly as hungry when that afternoon finally rolled around. Because the other kids had learned the system – he was really going to have to do something about that – the new kid was the only one with detention.

Kyle’s anxiety was almost overwhelming – he couldn’t even sit still, and was standing in front of his desk, wringing his hands. That was fine with Ryka. He could smell their prey approaching. Two of the other little shits as well. And they were trying to get the new kid to repent. Too late.

The other two had seen Kyle waiting when the door opened briefly. Just let me out. No arguing this time. He only wished Kyle was always this eager to strip for him. Though he was getting better ….

Ryka had just enough time to stretch and refold his wings before their prey opened the door again. The other two were still there, and they saw him first. He grinned, shooting them a warning glance before focusing on the new kid. “Ooh, fresh meat,” he growled.

The boy’s reaction was delightful. He startled, turning to face Ryka. “What the -?” he managed, color draining from his face. His fear was instant. And delicious.

“Hell? You got it. Now come here you little shit.” One little mental shove, and their prey’s free will was no longer his. This was getting easier - flipping that switch and turning his prey into little more than a puppet. To override their ability - and sometimes their will - to control their own body.

With eyes bulging, the new boy shuffled toward him. His jaw was clenched tight; he was fighting Ryka, and he was losing. No amount of struggling could force his muscles free of the grip Ryka had on them.

Wearing their own terrified expressions, the other two watched as their classmate walked directly into danger. It was tempting to call them in as well, but Ryka supposed Kyle wouldn’t like that. So he let them flee. There was still time before they graduated.

The boy was still stammering. “Wh-what are you? Wh-?”

“Stay a while and find out.” The boy jumped when the door slammed shut behind him, but he couldn’t turn his head to look that way. Ryka didn’t think he’d be able to even if he’d let him; it was too risky to lose sight of the monster. “So, you think you’re tough shit, hmm?” Glowering, he advanced on the boy, snarling like a wild animal. Kyle jokingly called it his Hollywood growl – that deep bass rumble that every slathering movie monster seemed to possess and use in excess. Only Ryka did it far better.

He didn’t need a dark room full of fancy speakers, just an audience. Preferably a scared one. And scared was an understatement by the time Ryka was looming over the new kid. His growl was rumbling up through the floor, the windows were rattling in their panes. His victim was doing a fair bit of shaking, too. “Well?”

“I, uh, no, I just-”

“How dare you lie to me,” he hissed, shooting out a hand and grabbing his prey by his shirt collar. Not by accident, he let his claws slice right through fabric. The smell of blood followed only a moment later.

“I’m sorry,” came the whimpered reply. Already, tears were spilling down the new kid’s cheeks.

“Only that you got caught.” It seemed like he was going to argue, but stopped himself. He wasn’t stupid enough to try that again, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t stupid. “I wouldn’t yell for help if I were you. No one would come.” The boy’s wide eyes got even bigger. Ryka, of course, could see what he’d intended to do. Although the big breath he took also gave him away. He let it out as a whine now instead. “They sent you here knowing exactly what was going to happen. They think you deserve it. How does that feel?”

They had only just begun, and the boy was already beyond words. But Ryka could hear his heart pounding – his was hammering away, too, for very different reasons. Fear like this, so strong and so close, was practically orgasmic. Kyle knew that and was already ruining the mood. But Ryka could wait. If he controlled himself, maybe Kyle’d even help later. Ryka allowed himself a small shudder of anticipation and returned to the task at hand.

The boy was still frozen, staring slack-jawed at Ryka with tears and snot running down his face. “You’ll answer me when I ask you a question, maggot.”

Sounds came out of the boy’s mouth, but none of them were actual words. Luckily, Ryka knew just what he was trying to say. And he laughed, slow and cruel, at his prey. “Why? I already told you – you deserve it. In the end, everyone gets what they deserve. And it’s time for you to start paying.”

Ryka showed off his most wicked grin, sliding his hand up around the boy’s neck. The pathetic creature started to black out before he’d even applied any pressure, and Ryka had to brush off Kyle’s unfounded panic. Hoping the good deed would come back to him later, he let go his prey’s throat.

“You’re not getting out of it that easy,” Ryka hissed, using his tail to pull the boy’s feet out from under so he fell into one of the desk chairs. But apparently he was. With a miserable whine, the boy’s eyes rolled back in his head and he slouched forward in his seat.

Sighing in annoyance, Ryka stared at the limp form before him. “What the fuck? And he called you a pussy. I barely did anything and look at this.” Now seething, Ryka kicked the desk, and the kid slid right off it and onto the floor.

Barely for you is quite a bit for most everyone else.

Quite a nice thought, but not at all helpful in this situation. Not when his dinner was out cold on the linoleum. He growled again, digging deep. It was rumbling through the whole building now, and although most of the students and teachers were gone, enough were left – and knew what was happening – that his appetite was held in check.

And the vibrations had the added effect of waking his prey. Stunned, the boy lifted his head, saw familiar-looking shoes, and reached for them like they were a life-preserver. “Touch me and I’ll spend the next hour breaking your fingers slowly, one by one.”

The boy flinched his hands away and somehow dared look up. His regret in doing so was instantaneous. Squeezing his eyes closed, he curled into the fetal position and wormed his way under the desk as best he could manage. “No you don’t.” Ryka lifted the desk away and dropped it next to the boy’s head. “On your feet.” If his victim wasn’t going to participate, Ryka was going to have to make him.

Fighting Ryka’s control all the way, the boy stood, trying to wrench his traitorous body toward the exit. “Oh, you’ve had enough? Well, since you’ve never seemed to know when to quit, I figured you wouldn’t mind if we kept going.”

How much the boy did mind was clearly written on his face. And Kyle was suggesting it might be time to let him go. He was so delicious, though, it was hard to release him. Who knew how long until he got another opportunity like this? Though given Kyle’s luck recently ….

Still, best to take advantage of it. Quieting his growl, Ryka mantled over the boy, using his wings to block any immediate escape as he gave up his hold of the boy’s free will. And just in case there was any thought of pushing past him, Ryka started flames licking all along the membranes. Their reflection danced in the boy’s huge eyes.

“So you’ll be on your best behavior going forward, won’t you?” An eager nod. “I’ll know if you aren’t. And I won’t hold back. Neither will he.” A nod over his shoulder, and his friend sprang to life behind him, eyes burning and heat boiling out of his mouth. Kyle still thought of him as a shadow, but he was so much more, and so very helpful. He opened his mouth, revealing roaring Hellfire behind his teeth. Sweat was beading on the boy’s forehead. “Oh, and don’t tell anyone what happened here. Because I’ll know that, too, and once I’m done with them, I’ll deal with you.” The boy’s erratic heartbeat indicated he was dangerously close to blacking out again. Ryka snorted, extinguished the fire and refolded his wings. “I’d go if I were you.”

That snapped the kid out of it. Not looking back, he scurried for the door and disappeared into the hallway. From where he stood, Ryka willed the door closed. “Vile little shit.”

Thank you for not going too crazy.

“He wasn’t worth much more effort than that. Fragile little bastard wouldn’t have been able to handle it, anyhow. I don’t get anything out of them when they’re unconscious.”

Sorry to hear that. But since detention seems to be over now, might I have my body back? I’d like to go home, and I’m sure you would, too.

Without argument, Ryka complied, making himself as comfortable as possible in Kyle’s chair so that his host wouldn’t hurt himself in the transformation. And he gently helped Kyle wake back up. The switch was still stunning for him, and although he tried to fight it, Kyle still often passed out, even if just for a few seconds.

“Thanks, Ryka,” Kyle mumbled, shaking his head clear before putting his shirt back on.

Anytime.

“Well, I’m sure you’re not that hungry anymore, but I’m starving. I’m going to stop and grab something on the way home. Want anything?”

He was feeling fairly satisfied, but there was always room for more, especially if it was Master’s embarrassment. And that was easy to get; he just had to say what he was thinking. Just you, stud.