No Single Bite Could Satisfy (Open)

Canon effect: Josephine's presence lowers the inhibitions of any males in this thread.

It had been a long time since she’d been around but now Josie stood in the main hall of Highgrove, the tip of a perfectly manicured red nail caught between pearly teeth. Dark lined eyes traced the lines and curves of the old building like they might a lover, a breath drawing in through her nose as the unique smells of the house flashed her back to her early days. She remembered the first day she’d set foot inside these walls and how she could only think of it as hell, a prison that her neglectful parents could ship her away to so they wouldn’t have to deal with her. It may still be a prison but it did not discourage her as it had in the past. Being out in the open again was invigorating, thrilling the slender girl in a way she hadn’t been in too long. Heels that that were just short enough to meet the dress code clicked along the wooden floor, echoing off the walls and down the hall. Such a sweet sound it was too. When she’d first arrived so many years ago her prized black stiletto heels had been confiscated on the grounds that they were a weapon. She wondered if they were still in box somewhere, withered and faded from their former glory with a thick layer of dust settling over them and dulling their alluring shine. She’d adjusted to life in relatively modest clothing over the years but she still longed for the feeling of the extra six inches under her heels or the cool air brushing over a bare shoulder or midrift.

But there was little point in dwelling on the long past for there would be no getting it back. Josie’s life had been stolen on a cool, fall day back in 1997 and now she was forever her beautiful self. Too bad she was at Highgrove instead of haunting some upscale hotel or country club. There were far more attractive places to spend eternity. But she made do with what she had and now it was time to come out and play. The downside to looking like she did forever was that people would remember her. After a few years people would notice that not only did she not age but she didn’t leave. So after some time as a resident she had to disappear, let the population change over enough, and then have Dr…er…Nurse Branbury forge the paperwork necessary to have her readmitted. The cycle would be no different this time. She’d spend the next couple years out and about among the living, passing as one of them, until she’d be “sent home” and return to the shadows. It was how the game was played. All the ghosts had to do it. Well…most of them had to. Some weren’t quite the same and permanently remained hidden.

Josie’s feet carried her down the hall, eyes sweeping over the all too familiar furniture. Over ten years had passed but so little had changed. She’d watched technology advance, the beds be replaced, and the color scheme fade with time but that was about it. Most of the old furnishings were still the same. Her old haunts were the same as well but they’d have all new toys to play with. That was perhaps what she found the most exciting about returning to mingle with those still alive. All the boys she’d been with had moved on, either to another institution or back into society. Those here now did not know her or her reputation and so all the games and angles were reset to zero. She could use any trick in the book at this point. It was this knowledge that was driving the brunette now. After years of lurking in the shadows, unable to interact with anyone, she was back in the game. Her skin ached to feel that of another against her to the point that she thought she might die…if she weren’t already dead.

Her wanderings brought her to the activities room, a place she knew well. Oh, if these walls could talk. One long fingered hand rose to push dark locks back away from her face as she made her way into the room, hoping there’d be a friend in here for her to make. Her eyes burned with the hunger she felt, tongue flicking out to moisten her lips. Her mind was alive with images of what she could be doing right now if only the right person would stumble in or already be waiting on the couch. “Anybody home?” She called out, a playful smile gracing pink lips.

Ace was still fairly bummed about everything, and extremely confused. Actually, extremely was an understatement. He liked Huxley. He liked Nate more. Nate would be all right with it so long as Ace would put up with some Ellen girl. It was that scenario that had been running circles around his head all last night, which had been another one of very little sleep. For the past two nights, he couldn't stop expecting something to come up from the shadows, lean over him, and do God-knows-what. That first night had him in near-hysterics for a bit, and he still couldn't shake it. Now, the circles under his eyes required concealer, and even that did little to help. The insomnia thing was getting pretty ridiculous; Ace was a zombie with raccoon eyes at this point.

He flopped down on the couch in the activities room, which had sort of been his 'home' during the storm. He didn't know why he was in there instead of in his dorm, or at least, wouldn't admit why. He was embarrassed by being scared of something that wasn't there in his dorm that night with Hux, and being in there triggered the memory and the thought of how stupid he must have looked. Another part of him was also scared that with his mind fucking with him like that, it would just happen again, and he'd make a fool of himself again.

There were a few books in the bag that he'd dropped beside the couch, so he reached in and pulled one out at random, hoping that perhaps he could get into that zone where nothing outside the fictional world even fazed him. From somewhere outside the room, though, before he could even open the book, he heard a noise: a soft click, click, click... Someone walking, he thought, was the most obvious thing, but his heightened fear started to put into his head pictures of other things it could have been. Things that hadn't been put back into the shadows for good when the lights came back on. Maybe whatever had breathed on him.

That's stupid. You're being paranoid. That, he told himself firmly enough to make his brain shut up about that breath-monster, which was, in all actuality, probably just a draft, and it wasn't going to happen again since the storm had finally blown itself out.

The clicks came nearer, and Ace heard a female voice ask if anyone was home. See, you dumbass? It was just a person. Ace looked up from his book and studied the face. He didn't know it, he didn't think. "Depends. Is this home?" he answered. "Are you new here?" He sat up and took his feet off the couch, then brushed the spot off to make room for her, if she chose to sit. "I haven't seen you around. I'm Ace. Hi."

He looked her over, noticing manicured nails, bouncy hair, flawless makeup, and snappy fashion sense. That was already common ground, he thought. So long as she wasn't overly arrogant, and didn't look down on other people, maybe they could be friends. Most of Ace's friends had been female, anyway, as it wasn't odd for a girl to have a gay guy for a best friend. Other boys usually tried to stay away from Ace, or at least not get too friendly lest they also be pegged as poofs, so Highgrove was quite a change. It almost seemed to Ace that everyone was at least a little bit fabulous there. He grinned at the thought.

Finally, he put the book back in his bag and sat up again, still looking at her. At least he knew one thing: this wasn't Ellen. Nate had said Ellen was blonde. So, she wasn't one he likely had to be wary of.

By her end Josie’s reputation of having very low to non-existent standards had spread throughout the school. People said she’d sleep with anyone, resident or staff. And for the most part it was true. Josie was a very impulsive woman and when she wanted it, she wanted it. Sometimes all it boiled down to was whoever was the closest or most convenient to a hideaway. But there were a few lines that the free spirited girl would not cross. Shockingly, Josie did have some standards. Truly ugly or repulsive people fell below the line as did people who thought they could take it when they wanted. Josie’s body may be open for business but you had to be let in. She granted access to those who tickled her fancy at that moment and no one else. Men who came up and started getting handsy, thinking that they had the right to her were slapped and left only wanting. Getting a ticket into the amusement park to ride the roller coaster was easy if you were willing to pay the price. A kind word, a teasing touch, and the right look could get you in with full access.

So far, while he hadn’t done much, Ace was on the right track to getting on the ride. He was pretty and his responses to her simple question had a smile spreading to her lips. Her first friend! Josie couldn’t believe her luck that in her first few hours out in the open that she’d meet someone so adorable. If this was to be the theme of the new residents at Highgrove then she would be in for an eventful couple years. Oh, this was wonderful. She crossed the room toward him, bright eyes giving him the once over as she lowered herself slowly next to him on the couch. As she did she made sure that she was close enough to him that their legs brushed, but as she shifted to make herself comfortable the contact was lost. “I’d say that its home. I’ll be living here for a while and I plan to make it the best place for me.” That and she’d been here for over ten years. But the pretty little Asian boy didn’t need to know that. He seemed too fragile to drop that kind of a bomb on. Not to mention she’d catch hell from some of the others for outing herself on her first day back in the scene. “Yeah, this is my first day. I’m Josie.”

It was pretty much the same year in and out, the introductions. She went through this so many times that it was becoming a pain. However, people frowned on her just jumping a guy and going for it. Although given the steps up on security it may be necessary if she wanted any at all. She shifted her position on the couch, turning her body toward Ace and crossing her long legs. The hem of her pleated black skirt lifted over her knee due to the movement. By now Josie had this down to an art. She moved in such ways that the slips of clothing seemed accidental or that the playful glances and touches were just her being friendly. Gradually she’d turn it to make the advances more obvious but then the men were so wrapped up in her they’d forgotten their own name and, if she was really lucky, their age.

“So, how long have you been here, Ace?” Her eyes lifted to his face, her smile so sweet. This was the face that disarmed doctors, nurses, teachers, students, and anyone else. Not to mention that her very presence lowered inhibitions and caused moral compasses to malfunction. “I love this house so I’m hoping there are fun things to do around here.” Or fun people. Ace would do nicely for the first one. Someone gentle and cute to break back into the old habits and grease the wheels.

Ace offered the girl a smile, or at least, a twitch of the corner of his mouth, as she moved forward to take a seat on the newly-cleared-off spot next to him. Their legs touched, and without realizing, Ace jumped slightly; he wasn't really expecting any contact. He looked her over again, just as she did him. He smiled again and started picking his nails, a bit nervously while she talked. Meeting new people had lately not been his forte, especially after the day before when he managed to fuck up things with people he already knew. A few purple flakes had fallen from one of his nails and to the floor by the time he answered. "Well... Good luck." He meant it sincerely, not sarcastically. "It's really weird here. Not at all like my home, for sure. There's... so much work. And weird, freaky therapists." He stopped picking his nails and laid one hand over the other on his knees, and turned a bit more to face the girl. "Josie," he repeated, to stick the name in his head, and to cement it onto a mental picture of the face. "Good to meet you."

She shifted and Ace noticed that her skirt rode up above her knees, but all he noticed was how much more flawless the skin on her thighs was than his (though that was mostly his own fault for taking a razorblade to them,) and how much he liked her skirt. "Cute outfit, seriously," he complimented. Though, he was just a small bit bitter that he couldn't wear anything like that anymore. He was now restricted mostly to pants, because most long skirts he'd found were frumpy, and he couldn't wear a short one without people asking him about the scars. He used to try to put concealer on them all, but that was a waste of both time and makeup, and it never really worked the way he'd wanted it to.

"Um, I dunno, I guess about a month," he said, shrugging. "Not too long." She smiled, and again, Ace wished that he could be more like that. Her smile was pretty, bright, illuminated the room, it seemed. He'd lost the ability to do that a long time ago, even though there was a time when he could. That just made her even more gorgeous, and the bit of ego Ace had always had yearned that much more to be her friend. He scooted a bit closer to her, unsure really as to why, but guessed that maybe it was to seem more friendly, more open to becoming one of the beautiful people that this brunette bombshell wanted to associate with on a regular basis.

"Yeah, it really is a beautiful house, isn't it? I think my mother would have loved it." That time, the smile was pained, though Ace was sure Midori probably would have killed a small army to be able to have some of the decor at Highgrove. "Of course, not like she'd, you know, be here... but..." He didn't know why he'd said any of that. Suddenly, he was starting to wonder what had gotten into his brain to make him just... say anything and everything that crossed his mind. "I'm sorry. But yes, there are loads of things to do here, surprisingly enough. They have an absolutely amazing library. I was just about to read one of the books before you came in. I'm... a bit of a bookworm. At least, I am when I don't have my music. They took that away from me, but hopefully, I'll get it back."

Shut up, Ace. She's going to think you're some annoying little brat, and then she'll never want to hang out with you. And she'll never show you how to do eyeliner like hers.

"Anyway," he said, "other than that, they have a lab where you can go chat on the computers... but some of the people that log on are fucking assholes." He didn't mention Keziah by name, or screen-name, rather; she could figure that out for herself. "Um... and the food here actually isn't too bad. And they even gave us a bit of wine at Christmas, so at least, you know, they aren't dicators or anything. Mostly, though, it's chores. Unfortunately. But I have stables, which isn't bad. What about you?"

Apparently, though, she'd come into the activities room to do activities, so he figured he might see if she was up for a movie (there were a few, at least, he thought he'd seen some) or a board or card game, or something. "So," he said, "do you want to watch some TV? Play a game with me?"

By now Josie had mapped the cute little boy out, memorizing the lines and angles of his face and what she could see of his body. She’d noticed the nail polish, the style of dress, and the nicely done hair. The gay-dar had started blasting its catchy yet tasteful show tune alarm the moment she’d taken a seat but that was not a deterrent as far as Josie was concerned. It was a challenge, an obstacle she vowed one day to overcome. Men who were into men weren’t available to those of her sex but most girls didn’t get that added bonus of being dead. Josie was well aware by now that her very presence in a room raised sexual tension and lowered the inhibitions of men. So it was only a matter of finding the right guy to test her abilities on. Could she really turn one? If so, her years at Highgrove were off to a fabulous start! If not, then she’d have to back burner this idea until she found the right candidate. She would be going for Ace regardless of his sexuality but it would be so much more fun if he were into dudes and she was able to score.

“Freak weird therapists aren’t anything to be afraid of. From my experience, it’s the normal ones who sit and smile at you that you should be wary of. I like the ones who want to play games and stuff. They make the hour long sessions suck much less.” Or more, depending on the moral standards of the man and how long it takes her to work her way into his pants. “It’s good to meet you too, Ace! I hope I’ll see you more. I don’t know anyone here yet and I like to make friends.” Normally she would drag this out, tease him and reel him in slowly and have him begging for her to do something by the time she went in for the kill. But Josie was really on a tight schedule for surely someone would be coming along soon and would ruin this. Or Dr.- Nurse Branbury would come for her before she caused too much trouble. He always seemed to rear his gorgeous head at the wrong moment.

His compliments and the way he kept looking at her were only pouring lighter fluid on the inferno that burned inside the girl, causing her to inch a little closer to him when he moved. Oh, he was so cute. Josie made no attempt to hide her eyes sweeping over him again, a smoldering look in them as she did. Her gaze may as well have been hands with how intense it was. “It’s is.” But what was she talking about now? Her tone suggested her thoughts of beauty weren’t on the house anymore. “Everyone would love this house. I’m willing to be there are people here who’d never leave if they had the opportunity. It’s so…enchanting, even mesmerizing at times.” It killed again her sometimes that it wasn’t socially acceptable to just crawl into someone’s lap and go for them. She’d had a boy call rape before, years ago, and that was the most awkward conversation ever. She swore it wasn’t and he’d totally gotten it up and was tearing her clothes off but the time they got to that point. So she had to play with Ace a little more to make sure he was really into it before the really bold moves came out.

Talk of chores and stables weren’t important right now. What was important was that as Ace chatted and she listened she was moving the tiniest bit closer to him. “Kitchen chores. Maybe I’ll make you something next time I go in. Do you like things with chocolate or caramel?” Food, food, boring food. This was not what she wanted right now. When Ace continued on and asked about tv or games her smile took on the hints of a playful smirk, her slender fingers reaching out to brush his thigh. “I’d love to play a game. But…board games are a little…boring. We should find something else to play. Something we’ll both enjoy.” Her eyes flicked down to Ace’s lips and then back up to meet his eyes, hoping that she’d done enough and dropped enough hints that the boy would make some kind of move.

To say that Ace was oblivious was an understatement, at the moment. He was gay, and even if he didn't strive for it to, everything about him either hinted at it, or screamed it, from the way he sat, ankles crossed and hands folded neatly in his lap, to the way every little strand of hair was combed as perfectly as possible without as much access to the products he'd had back home. It wasn't that looks were everything, necessarily, but they were the first thing that someone noticed about a person, whether it was their clothes, hair, face, whatever. Impressions were everything. Ace felt he'd made a good one, even if he wasn't actually aware of how good.

The closest thing he'd had to a 'games' therapy was that one where the McDonald woman made them draw pictures, and he'd drawn his ma. Twice, though he'd taken the more obvious one with him. The other had just been the outline of a head and hair with the same almond-shaped eyes he had. There had been no games otherwise. Just that and the one where Dr. Bjorgen had implied that Ace was at Highgrove because of something he had done. Which wasn't true. Of course not. "I haven't had one that wanted to play games. That would have been cool, I guess," he said. "But, I don't think there are any of those here, sadly." Once, when Ace had been in hospital, there was a group session in which the doctor wanted them all to work together making up a story. Ace kept saying, when his turn came, And then they all died, and he proceeded to give an explanation of how all the characters died, just so that he could get the story over with without looking too much like he just outright didn't want to participate. And then the therapist had told Paul that Ace had some morbid obsession with death. Well... they were quacks, the entire lot of them. Plenty of people killed off entire casts of characters; look at Shakespeare.

"I'm sure we'll see each other often," he said. "I like friends, too. I mean, I'm... sad, a lot, but that doesn't mean that there aren't times I enjoy other people's company." Yes. She wanted to be his friend. Ace smiled wider than he normally did (which still wasn't a cheesy grin or anything, but it was progress.)

Never leave Highgrove? Was she serious? "Well, maybe if it wasn't a children's home, I'd like to live here. But, I mean, if it were with my family. I think I'd move my closest friends in, too. A regular party pad, but grander. And if I got tired of them, I could just go to my room and be half a kilometer away from them." He giggled. That didn't seem like a bad idea, moving friends into the house. It had been fun when his friend Gwen had come over for a week while her mother and new stepfather went on honeymoon, after all. Though, enchanting might not have been the word he would have used for the House. Elegant, yes. Mesmerizing, occasionally. But enchanting? When Ace thought of that word, he pictured something out of a Disney movie, so -- well, yes. Then the House was enchanting. But he pictured one of the bad guys living in it.

Again, Ace smiled when she asked about sweets. He was smiling more during this conversation than he probably had in the past year, and he didn't realize then that it was unnerving, but he would later, away from the company of Josie. "Yes, I do. I love chocolate, especially with caramel. Or chocolate and coconut; I think I like that better. And I'd love it if you made me something. Even if it was just a tomato. I love tomatoes, too, and they're easier than candies."

Finally, Ace picked up the hint as he watched the girl's eyes travel down slightly, and the mention of them both enjoying it probably had a lot to do with that as well. Oddly, he then started to wonder, really wonder, what it would be like to kiss a girl. He'd never done it, because he'd never seen a reason to, not when he had a boyfriend that he could kiss all he wanted. There was just something about boys he liked better. Girls were nice and all, and they were pretty, but never did he have any romantic feelings for one, and never did he want to kiss one. But he did now.

She had scooted closer to him a while before, and now they were fairly close. He could just lean over, if he wanted, without a stretch, and see what a girl's lips were like.

But why was he thinking this?!

Ace pressed his pink-glossed lips together for a moment and studied Josie's face. Yes, she had to be the most attractive girl he'd ever met, if even he was slightly attracted to her.

"I've never done this before... I mean, not with a girl, but..." He blushed and started to lean toward her face.

Josie couldn’t help but feel enchanted by the house. There was something wrong with it given the fact that she was still walking around still able interact physically with the living so that may have something to do with that. It was her heaven and hell all rolled into one. Some days she loved it and thanked whatever lied beyond these walls that she was able to continue existing. However, there were just as many days that she wished she’d moved on to that big children’s home in the sky or simply never died. She’d be an adult by now and although she had no way of knowing where her life would have gone she had ideas. Her best guesses were that she’d be knocked up in the same government housing her family lived in and be supporting both a dead beat and a drug habit, or she’d make it big like she wanted and be on the cover of every magazine and be walking runway. Most people thought she was nothing but a self centered slut who didn’t think of anything beyond her next fuck but she had a bit more depth than that. Most people never bothered to look any closer and for the most part she was fine with that. She got what she wanted and moved on.

She had been intending to take what she wanted from Ace and run but things were slipping away from that. He wasn’t really the type she was looking for as far as a hook up was concerned. Ace was cute and probably would be a lot of fun to play with in a nonsexual manner and that might be how it had to go. But she would enjoy stringing him along and having a little fun. Ace was the little fish toy to the cat. He would be fun to bat around, nibble on, but then she’d leave him alone and look for the real fish to eat up. She wanted to see how far she could take the pretty little boy. So far he seemed to be into everything that was happening. As their conversation stretched Josie became less and less interested in actually hooking up with Ace and just messing with him. He was obviously gayer than the day was long and so that made the little advances just as thrilling. Would they actually get somewhere? Would they be busted? Given the very public nature of their current location she had a feeling this would have to end before it went anywhere. Oh well. There would be other times.

“There’s a first time for everything.” And now she had him hook, line, and sinker. That was easier than she thought it would be. As Ace leaned in Josie met him half way, pressing her lips softly to his. Ace wouldn’t have to worry about not knowing what to do from there because she was more than willing to take the driver’s seat and guide them. She turned more on the couch so that she was facing him, her hands reaching out to pull him in closer. Soft hands slid around Ace’s shoulders and rest there and her fingers began tracing little patterns through the shirt. He had such soft lips. Josie imagined that this was the closest thing to kissing a girl that she’d ever get and that this must be what it was like. His lips were glossed after all. She’d tasted her own before but it was weird to feel it on someone else.

She let the kiss continue for a few moments, her lips moving slowly against Ace’s, before she pulled back enough that he’d be able to breathe. One hand dropped down to rest on his leg while the fingers of another threaded into his hair. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She kinda liked kissing him. Maybe in the future if she ever needed just to cuddle and make out she could hunt Ace down and curl up with him. Maybe she could do his make up too. Gay boyfriend! Oh God. She’d always wanted one of those.

Ace was more confused by Josie with each passing second. He was gay, had never been attracted to a girl in his entire life. Except this one, apparently. For another thing, here she was, flirting with him, when surely, she could turn that enchanting gaze on any straight guy she met and probably walk away with him following like a droopy-eyed lost little puppy. She was a girl who could be in magazines, or on the runway. No one could say no to her. Even Ace didn't think he could.

The kiss didn't really do it for him, not like it had with his ex, or with Hux... but that didn't mean he wanted it to end. Perhaps it was the contact he liked that made him want to keep on keeping on. Her fingertips making circles on his shoulder blades actually worked more wonders on him that the meeting of their lips did. But still, he closed his eye sand slipped his left arm between their bodies, the hand coming up to her jaw. He gently nudged her face to tilt it down to meet him more easily, then scooted it back up to rest on her silky cheek. Her lips were like none he'd ever felt before, but in a weird way, rather than an amazing one. They were too soft, too much like his. He parted his mouth to nibble on the bottom one gently anyway.

They pulled away, Ace a bit winded, but sporting a trace of a smile. "No, not bad at all. I... no offense to you, of course, but I think I prefer guys. I mean... you, er... girls, they're beautiful and all, but in a different way." and he was probably digging himself a rather deep hole trying to explain himself. He really, truly meant no offense to her, and hoped she didn't take it that way. He just sat there with her, head tilted down slightly to avoid a vexed gaze (if it even came...)

But he relaxed as her fingers entangled in his hair, something he'd never been able to resist. His hand went down from her cheek, down her arm, and came to clasp the hand that rested on his thigh. "So..." he said. He couldn't really think of much else to say anymore. After all, he'd just kissed a girl, and he'd liked it! And he was never going to get that song unstuck from his head now.

"So," he said again, more forcefully to try and shake that horrendous song out of his brain. He rubbed her leg with his fingertips, where her skirt had ridden up upon her sitting down next to him, and her bare leg showed, displaying that pale white complexion he'd always been so jealous of. After just one or two seconds he stopped and withdrew his hand, folding it in his lap with the other one. "So I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the odds that staff is going to come in and think we're about to fuck is not exactly in our favor." Not to mention, she wasn't his... type, as far as intimacy went. Even if they did, he wondered if it would even be her face he saw when he closed his eyes.

"How 'bout that movie?"