Note: This story contains themes of mind control, magic, and fantasy. All characters in it are 18+.
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Willem jerked awake to the sound of his phone buzzing noisily on his nightstand. He picked it up, squinting at the screen as he pressed the snooze button. He tossed it back down and rolled over, grabbing a pillow and putting it over his head to block out the light. His head was pounding and he felt a suffocating sensation in his chest, almost like a fist had grabbed his heart and was now trying to pull him down through his bed.
He went through three more of these tortured snooze cycles, refusing to get out of bed despite his body screaming at him to get up. What good had being awake ever done for him?
Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Willem? We need to leave in ten. Are you almost ready?"
Willem pulled the pillow off of his head. Fuck. It was already Tuesday.
He climbed out of bed, lumbering over to his dresser to pull on clothes. His hands automatically went for the speedo when he caught himself. It wasn't that kind of day. He had a doctor's appointment to go to with his mother. Dick hunting would have to wait.
As they drove to the doctor's office, Willem leaned his head against the window, trying to ignore his crippling headache. He hadn't seen Jake since Friday night. He hadn't noticed until they had stopped fucking, but his arrangement with Jake had actually been working to keep the buzzing somewhat at bay. One guy a day just wasn't cutting it anymore.
The one thing he had to be thankful for was the fact that he was almost certain to break the curse before his college orientation that weekend. He had spent so long obsessing over his goal to be straight by college. Now it was so close he could almost taste it.
"Are you all right, Willem? You look like death," said his mother as they entered the doctor's office.
"It's just a headache," he mumbled.
He rubbed his eyes. "Just two more guys," he thought to himself. "Then this nightmare will be over."
"Hi, my son has an appointment with Dr. Edwards for 11 am," his mother said to the woman at the front desk.
"Here's the paperwork for new patients," said the woman as she handed Willem a clipboard. "You can have a seat and they'll call your name momentarily."
They sat in the corner as Willem started filling out the paperwork. He chewed the pen, struggling to focus his mind on the words on the page.
"What's my social security number?" he asked his mother.
"Willem, you really need to have all this memorized," she said as she took the clipboard from him and began filling it out for him. "You're going to have to start doing this stuff on your own now that you're an adult."
"Okay," he said absently. His mind had already started to wander as he debated whether or not he'd have time to stop by The Abbey later to find the 99th guy.
She looked at him over her reading glasses. "Are you excited for orientation?"
"I guess..."
"You'll get to meet your new roommate. That'll be fun."
Willem shrugged.
"Do you think you'll join any clubs?"
"I don't know, mom."
Willem could feel his body vibrating so strongly that he was starting to feel nauseous. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.
"Well, what about your friends? Are any of them-"
"Mom, I don't know!" he snapped. "I don't know what my major's gonna be, I don't know what clubs I'm gonna join, I don't know if any of my friends are gonna be there. Stop asking me so many questions, because I don't have any answers for you."
Willem turned away from her, rubbing his temples.
She set the clipboard down and put her hand on his arm. "Hey, look at me, sweetheart."
Willem groaned. He knew this tone in his mother's voice. It always meant she was going to start talking to him about her feelings. He wished she'd just yell at him.
She brushed his hair back. "Are you okay?"
He sighed. "I'm sorry I snapped. It's just a headache, I'm fine."
She pursed her lips. "You say that. You always say that. And normally I believe you, because I never have a reason not to. Your grades have always been good, you've never been in any serious trouble... but honey, I'm worried about you."
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine-"
"Stop telling me that everything's fine, Willem!" she exclaimed.
Willem looked around the waiting room, his cheeks turning pink from embarrassment.
"I know that something is going on with you. You're never home during the day, you come home late at night-"
"I'm just hanging out with my friends."
She gave him a no-nonsense look. "I haven't seen Josh or the twins at all this summer. They used to come around the house all the time, and now nothing. So where are you really going, Willem?" She gripped her purse nervously. "You know that drug addiction runs in our family-"
"I'm not on drugs, mom," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Then what are you doing?"
"I'm just... hanging out with new friends."
She stared at him, as though weighing the truth of his words. Willem avoided her gaze.
"I saw you. A few weeks ago."
Willem's heart skipped a beat. "What? Where?"
"I was getting my nails done at that place by the Grove. I walked by and I saw you sitting outside at this coffee shop. You were with a boy, someone I've never seen before. I was going to come over and say hi, but... I don't know. Something stopped me."
She gave him a half-smile. "I just watched you for a minute. He was telling you a story, I think. I'm not sure, I wasn't close enough to hear. But I just watched you listening to him. Something about it... the way you smiled at him..."
She brushed her hair back. "Well, I didn't want to intrude."
Willem's cheeks were burning red. He forced himself to look at her. "I'm sure that wasn't anything. You should have said hi."
"Willem," she said nervously. "I want to ask you something."
"Mom-"
She grabbed his hand. "And I want you to know that you can be honest with me. You know that I'll love you no matter what."
Willem's heart was pounding in his chest. He needed to stop this, now.
"Mom, it's not what you're thinking. Trust me, there's nothing going on with me. I'm just nervous about going off to college, that's all."
She sighed. "I know that your father can be... a little harsh, at times. I'll be honest, it was kind of a turn-on when we were dating. He was such a brute of a man, so passionate and robust..."
Willem grimaced. His mother gathered herself.
