"And that's when she said, 'I'll consider it!'"

"If you gave me money every day to 'read your future,'" Clare replied with a snort. "I’d consider dating you, too."

It was nighttime in Dewton. Though the sun had gone down, the streets were as alive as ever. A while ago, Evan had been picked up by Sam and Clare. His parents didn't like the two of them much, so he had to sneak out to join them in Sam's car.

The three friends chatted as they headed towards their destination: the public baths, located in the same wealthy district they all lived in. More than a place to get clean, the baths boasted their own library, a place to do laundry, and a few fields and courtyards where people could play sports.

But, the three weren't going there to bathe. Nor were they after any of the other luxuries. No, no, they had... different intentions.

"Evan, buddy, I love ya'..." Sam shook his head, smiling. "But 'I'll consider it' is just a nice way of saying no."

He passed the bottle of liquor he had been drinking from over to Clare. He had swiped it from his dad's cabinet, and the three friends had been sharing it. Evan hadn't taken many sips... he was still a little anxious about alcohol.

"I don't know." the teen said. Though it had happened hours ago, his heart was still thumping from asking Ellie out. "I've just got a good feeling about it."

"What do you see in her, anyways?" asked Clare, arms crossed. She took a glug from the bottle. "She's kind of a weirdo, isn't she? Lives in a tent or something?"

"She doesn't live in a-" Evan was quickly cut off by his friend.

"Yeah, but she's got a great butt!" Sam said, briefly taking his hands away from the steering wheel to trace a wide, round outline in the air. "I'm talkin' a peach the size of a melon here!"

"Oh, really, huh?" Clare said, grinning. "Say, you should introduce me to her, Ev!"

"Hey!" Evan's voice was sharp.

Sure. Ellie's butt was nice, but it was far from the only reason that he liked her. It was hard for Evan to pin down, but there was just something... captivating about the girl. About the way she talked, about what she talked about. There was an air of mystery around everything, she always made sure not to give him too much information. It made him want to learn more.

Given that it was his car, Sam was obviously in the driver's seat. Clare and Evan had played rock-paper-scissors to decide who got the other seat - the machine was only designed for two passengers. Evan won, so Clare was wedged between the boys. In her lap was a folder. She elbowed Evan, and since it was already jammed into his side, it wasn't hard to do.

"So, in more important news." she said, pushing the folder towards him as she took another drink. "I finished up some comics in class today."

New comics?

Evan eagerly snatched up the folder, opening it to find a stack of small booklets within. They were handmade but expertly so, their pages about double the size of a playing card and bound together with string. The teen shuffled through the stack, looking at all the covers and leafing through some of them... they might've been comic books, but they definitely weren't for kids. Nude bodies were everywhere on those pages.

Now, Evan knew he might've been a little bit too girl-obsessed, even for a teenage boy. But Clare? She took it to another level.

"Geez, why do you make so many ones with weird monster chicks in 'em?" Sam asked, glancing over at the comics from across Clare's lap. "Who reads that shit?"

"L-lots of people." said Clare, sticking out her tongue. "I'm not into it, but they're top sellers."

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Out of curiosity, Evan flipped one of them open, then shut it just as fast when he figured his friends might see. Yep, he wasn't into it either. Definitely wasn't into it...

"So, you gonna help me make a few copies this weekend?" Clare asked.

Evan wasn't much of an artist, but Clare had taught him this pretty cool method of making duplicates of drawings. You had to put the picture you wanted to copy on top of a glass box that had a candle beneath it, which basically made the paper transparent. Then, you could slide another paper over it and easily trace the image. Clare would make the original art, Evan helped with copies, and both came up with stories. Together, the two of them had formed a two person adult comic book company. It brought in a lot of pocket money.

"Of course." Evan said. He took a few seconds to think about when that was.

Today's Friday, isn't? Yeah, sounds right... man, summer always messes me up.

Suddenly, the car rattled to a stop.

"We're here!" Sam said, stating the obvious. There was a special lot near the baths for automobiles, just newly built - Sam's was one of about ten there. After he hopped out of his car, he grabbed a chain that laid on the ground below. It was attached to a large steel rack nearby that was fixed firmly to the ground... with the chain and a padlock he had stored in his glove compartment, Sam could secure his precious machine from any wannabe thieves.

While Sam worked on locking up the car, Clare took her comics back and neatly sorted them back into her folder.

"So... you ready for this?" when she was done getting her folder back in shape, she found the cork for the liquor bottle and pushed it back in with her thumb. As she did, she looked over at the massive structure that was the public baths... Evan had his eyes trained on it too. It was intimidating. This whole situation was intimidating.

After a second of hesitation, he gulped, then nodded.

"Y-yeah." he said. Clare smirked when she heard his voice crack.

"You know, you can totally pussy out, Ev... I wont think any less of you." she bent down to stash the liquor beneath the car seat. "I don't think I could go any lower if I tried, to be honest."

"Hey... words hurt." Evan crossed his arms. "Why are you even doing this with us? You can just walk in and look at all the naked girls you want."

Sitting back up and flicking her hair behind her shoulder, Clare laughed. "Oh, you really don't get it, do you? Voyeurism makes girls infinitely prettier."

Well... no arguing with that logic, I suppose.

Suddenly, Sam cut in, slapping his hand down on the hood of the car. He had finished chaining it up.

"Alright, let's go guys..." he noticed the worry on Evan's face. "Aw, hey, no need to get scared, man! I've done this plenty of times."

"Well..." what Sam said calmed Evan's nerves a bit, but uneasiness was still churning in his stomach. Clare was already climbing out of the car... that made him feel like he should too.

"Trust me, man." Sam said. "Nothing's gonna go wrong."

----------------------------------------

As it turned out, things did go wrong.

"Master Evan..." as he brought the young man a towel, the old butler shook his head. "I doubt your father will be very happy about this."

Strewn out on the couch and dripping wet, all Evan could manage was a sigh. His whole body felt sore, like instead of skin he just had one big, nasty bruise.

"Yeah. Don't remind me."

"I just want to know," the man asked quietly, crouching down to be at eye level with Evan. "What, exactly, were you thinking?"

Evan shifted into a more comfortable position, wrapping the towel the butler had brought him over his shoulders. He thought for a few seconds.

"I... I really don't know..."

It had all happened so fast. One moment, he, Sam, and Clare were sneaking around the guards. The next, they were climbing into the rafters. Then... a beam broke, and he slipped, and fell, and fell, and fell, until he hit water.

Naked girl-filled water.

In any other circumstances, a bathing pool filled with nude women would've been heaven for Evan. But his entrance had left them all screaming, and his friends had also screamed too, and then the guards came in, and... yeah, it was pretty much hell. Two burly guys had dragged him all the way home, where his mother answered the door... man, was that a fun conversation.

Speaking of his mother, he could hear her upstairs, shrieking at his father. Evan couldn't make out all of it, but he could hear delightful words like "delinquent," "degenerate," and "disgrace," along with some choice swears he never thought he'd hear her say.

The woman was mad, sure. But not half as mad as his dad was gonna be.

Evan's dad was something of a big deal in Dewton... scratch that, all of Valoria. Arlon Thames was the most powerful, most decorated general there was. Every soldier in the country knew his name and respected his rank - second only to the Emperor himself. For Evan, there were some advantages and some disadvantages to having a man like that as his father.

Advantages? Well, it was pretty much a no-effort ride through academy. Plus, his family was rich! And Evan got to attend lots of high society events, y'know, rub elbows with the wealthy and famous and royal.

Disadvantages? There weren't many in comparison. The only real one was that, as is common with most generals, he was pretty stern. And whenever Evan messed up...

He knew he was gonna get hurt.