Harem House Chapter 46 Part 2 (Patreon)

Arthur was so angry he couldn’t think straight. His thoughts weren’t a linear progression of words, but a dull buzz of fury. Stupid Angie. This was her fault. She showed up without warning and somehow integrated herself into his girlfriends. It wasn’t even as if she’d made friends with Maria and Jen, no, she’d gone straight to his girlfriends. He’d been content to leave her alone and had thought he’d successfully ignored and avoided her once.

Was she lying about not recognizing him? It was possible. It’d been years since they’d seen each other, and it wasn’t as if she often looked at photos of him. Hell, Lynn hadn’t recognized him either at their first reunion, and that was Lynn. They’d spent their childhood together, and it had taken him talking for her to look at him, really examine his face, and realize who he was. 

Maybe that was the problem. Arthur’s barbarian loincloth and bracers didn’t leave much to the imagination. It was probably wishful arrogance to assume his abs or naked torso distracted them. His hair hid parts of his face for most of high school. Was the change in style that drastic? 

If he assumed that she didn’t recognize him, he had to wonder how she came to be with Kelly and the others. Had they run into Angela again? Arthur could hardly believe the two women were related, even if they were from different generations. Angela was so nice, cheerful, and friendly. Angie was a hateful, spiteful, and selfish bitch. Or she had been, or was still, but pretending otherwise. 

So how had she inserted herself into his girlfriends? Kelly had called her a friend, as if she were some new woman they met at the faire and welcomed into their group. He couldn’t deny them making new friends without his approval, but why had they felt the need to make a new friend? Were they still on about that orgy? 

That wasn’t happening. Not with Angie. Fuck her in every way but that one. 

He also didn’t understand why Kat was taking her side and trying to defend her. Why hadn’t she been furious? He should have been holding her back like Kelly stopped Selene. Instead, she’d been the one to block his path.

Angie hadn’t done some of the things Lynn had done. He’d admit that, even if he didn’t want to. She hadn’t hurt him the way Lynn did. But she had still caused him tremendous suffering. Wasn’t that worse? How could the others defend her? Why did Kat, of all people, want to have him sit down and try to talk things out with her? 

Kat should have been on his side. She should have blown up and raged at Angie with him. Instead, she’d tried to keep everyone calm. What a lousy time for her to learn to keep her temper under control. It bothered him that he was guilty of doing what he’d accused Kat of doing earlier, what he’d advised her not to do, like he was above losing his temper. He was a hypocrite, and now everyone in the harem knew it. Worse, he knew it himself. 

Arthur walked, and walked, and kept walking without paying attention to where he was going. The Faire continued around him. Shows played on their stages, people milled about as they shopped, and the storyline weaved its way through the open spaces. An Unseelie Goblin offering to buy his soul with a bag of chocolate coins. A noble lady begged for his help, sending the goblin away. Arthur ignored them and kept walking, keeping his eyes on the ground ahead of him, and shutting out the rest of the world. 

He passed the Rage Shack as he walked, and perhaps it was a good idea to go inside, but the line was too long. The urge to run welled up inside him. It would help him relieve his rage, tire him out, flood him with endorphins, but he couldn’t run here. Not without drawing attention or getting into trouble. 

He grumbled, and his expression churned as he replayed the conversation with Angie. It was difficult to relive it without years’ worth of memories flooding back, making comparisons between how she acted then and now. She seemed like a completely different person from high school, and the added weight even made her look different, but it was still her. Something about the eyes, sharp as ever, even as the rest of her seemed softer. Her softness was a lie, like a bear. She might like round and cuddly, but she could rend the flesh from any bone with a single swipe. 

Saying she was sorry didn’t magically undo all of the bullshit she’d put him through. If he allowed that she may have gotten in touch with her humanity and grown a conscience over the last four years, then maybe she felt guilty. So that was why she was apologizing. To ease the burden of her guilt. She didn’t care if she’d hurt him; she just didn’t want to feel guilty anymore. Well, she could go fuck herself. No one else was going to. 

The thought stung him as it crossed his mind. That wasn’t something he would say to anyone, but it was the kind of thing Angie would have said in high school. Was that who he was now? Someone who fought fire with fire? 

Maybe he was just tired of running away. He might not enjoy violence, but even he got tired of being the one everyone treated like shit because he wouldn’t stoop to their level. Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to hate Angie for her new looks. 

Besides, it wasn’t like her appearance made any difference to his opinion of her. She’d need a few warts and some prosthetic facial pieces to match who she was on the inside. So he didn’t need to stoop to her level and take shots at her looks. He had plenty of legitimate reasons to hate her, to rage and ignore her apologies. How could he do anything else? 

Arthur considered himself a good person, sure, but no one was that much of a saint. Even God didn’t forgive the devil his sins and welcome him with open arms because Lucifer said, “Sorry.” It wasn’t a magic spell. 

So if he wanted to move past this, did he have to forgive her and reconcile with her? Or could he ignore her for the rest of his life and live happily ever after with his girlfriends? Did she even want to reconcile? Truly? How could he trust what she’d said at the tavern? What would he have considered proof? What reparations could Angie make to prove that she’d changed and would never hurt people that way again? 

Arthur didn’t know. Was that his responsibility to level a task or twelve for her to complete? What Herculean tasks could aid the Sisyphian task of forgetting her cruelty? 

Arthur’s fury faded the more he walked and thought. He didn’t have the energy to sustain that level of fury, and the Faire wormed its way through the buzzing in his brain. He stopped, standing by a tree and looking out between two shops over the lake where a few patrons rode in swan-shaped paddle-boats. 

He borrowed the lake’s peace, focusing on the sound of the water and the firmness of the earth beneath his feet. 

Whatever he did about Angie, he should apologize to Kat. Arthur sighed. Not that saying he was sorry would magically make it all better. He was such a fucking hypocrite. But at least he could make it up to Kat. He’d buy her something nice, though that might piss her off. He could offer her angry makeup sex, though that would be for his benefit as well as hers. Whichever way he made it up to her, it’d have to be something she wanted. 

“Excuse me, Mister Barbarian?” 

Arthur turned, but didn’t see anyone. The voice was faint, so probably far off, and whoever had spoken must have been talking to someone else. He wasn’t the only barbarian at the Faire, after all. Hordes of them strolled around. 

Even as he thought it, a curvy redhead in a Red Sonja bikini walked past, and he briefly reconsidered the girls’ suggestion of an orgy. She looked like she was with someone, though, and none of the girls were likely thinking about that anymore. His phone’s silence told him that Kat hadn’t told the others what had happened yet. She was probably waiting until after the mermaid show. He doubted they’d be able to recruit anyone to join them anyway. He returned his attention to the lake. 

A peaceful breeze swept over the water, and he took a deep breath, drawing in every bit of anger he could grab and releasing it in one long exhale. He repeated the exercise twice more, thinking back to exercises he’d done in therapy. He’d gotten pretty heated discussing Lynn and Angie in the past, and his therapist had helped him through it. He relied on those tactics now, diverting himself to happier thoughts. He’d survived their torture, he’d endured, he was strong, and he was safe from them. Lynn couldn’t hurt him. Angie couldn’t hurt him. He was free of them, so long as he let go of his resentments. 

Perhaps that was the problem. It was easy to let go of his resentments when Lynn and Angie were only memories. Flesh and blood staring at him made him realize that he’d never let go of those resentments, only ignored them. What else did he have buried inside that he thought he’d released?  

So how did he let them go? Ignore them until he forgot they existed? No, that’d only last until he saw them again, and they’d both be on campus next semester. Forgiveness was the only alternative his mind could conjure. An actual conversation, a confrontation, and, if he could, making peace. 

No. Arthur couldn’t do that. Why should he? What had they done to earn such forgiveness? They deserved every bit of hatred he could muster. He hoped they choked on it and died. 

Yet they didn’t carry the burden of his hatred. He did. Did he deserve to let it weigh him down? Did Kat deserve for it to come between them? Did the others deserve for him to be so preoccupied with Angie and Lynn that he couldn’t enjoy a single day with six beautiful girlfriends and lovers? 

He was such an idiot. 

Forgiving them wasn’t for them. It was for him. But he still didn’t know if he could do it. He wondered if Doctor O’Cinneide would answer if he called. The health center hotline wasn’t a direct line to her; he knew that, but could she help him through this crisis? Did she need to? He knew what she’d say to do, but he didn’t want to do it, and asking her directly wouldn’t make her give him a different answer. She’d tell him he knew the answer, and to do his best. 

Arthur checked his phone, not sure if he was hoping to see a message from the harem, or from Kat specifically, but no. The only notification on his screen was a text from Lori. 

Lori: Hey, I guess you’re a little busy with all that attention, but let me know when you have a second to talk. I miss you. I hope you’re doing okay. 

Part of him wanted to call her. Not text, but call and talk to her. A year ago, even last semester, she would have been the person he talked this out with. She’d have known how to handle Lynn in a heartbeat, and she probably had an idea about what to do with Angie, too. 

Another part of him warned him that it would be a betrayal. Lori hadn’t wanted to be friends after they broke up. She thought a clean break was best for everybody. Well, she got her fresh start, so she needed to stop looking behind her. 

Besides, if Lori was reaching out, it was because she had a reason other than ‘let Arthur verbally process his problems with me.’ Whatever her reason was, Lori’s messages were another burden, not a way to remove them. 

Arthur pulled up her contact, and his thumb hovered above the ‘block’ button. Was this ignoring another problem that would fester into a disease? Perhaps calling her and talking things out, telling her how he felt about her ‘clean slate’ idea, would be healthy. No, not in his current state. He’d end up yelling and throwing his phone into the lake. He put his phone away and returned his attention to the world around him.

“Excuse me,” A louder voice than before said. 

Arthur turned to see a couple, a man and a woman, standing side by side. The woman was in a green-and-black plaid dress, and the man in a matching kilt. Between them, a little girl in a Merida costume stood, looking up at him. 

Arthur’s grumpy expression flashed away into surprise, and then he grinned at Merida. “Well, hello,” he said. “What can I do for you?” 

“She insisted on speaking with you,” The woman said. “I hope you don’t mind.” 

Arthur shook his head. “No, I don’t mind.” 

“I wanted to say, I’m sorry I killed you, before, during the chess game,” Merida said. “I know you’re not really a big, scary barbarian. You were only acting. My dad said so.” 

Arthur glanced at the man, then back at the girl. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m sorry if I frightened you, but I was just trying to act like a barbarian for the crowd.” 

“Thank you, but you didn’t frighten me,” Merida said. “I knew that you’d lose, but I’m sorry I was rough about it, and that I stomped on your chest.” 

Arthur laughed. “It’s okay, you didn’t hurt me.” Arthur patted his chest. “I’m pretty tough.” 

Merida giggled. “See?” She asked her mom. “I told you.” 

Her mom smiled at Arthur. “I told her she shouldn’t have hit you after you were down.” 

“Oh, well, I guess that’s good advice,” Arthur said. “You should listen to your mom. Next time you slay an enemy, don’t kick them while they’re down. Give them their dignity in death.” 

The girl’s grin grew wider, and she giggled. 

“Could we get a picture of you two? Would you mind?” The mom asked. “We meant to ask at the chessboard, but it looked like you had a bit of a fan club.” 

Arthur chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. For some reason, the description of his girlfriends had amused him. “Oh, sure. Do you want me in the death pose?” Arthur asked, gesturing to the ground. 

“No,” The mom laughed. “Standing will be fine.” 

Arthur nodded and stood straight as the little girl stood in front of him. The mom backed up several steps to get them both in the picture. Arthur put his hands on his hips, and Merida checked his pose, then mimicked it herself, straightening to make herself as tall as she could.

“Adorable,” The mom said, snapping several photos with her phone. “Thank you so much.” 

“No problem,” Arthur said, assuring her. 

The smile on his face became more genuine as they spoke. As angry as he’d been, his fury fled in the face of someone too fragile and vulnerable to witness it. Perhaps that was why Kat had tried to shield Angie from Arthur’s fury. The instinct to protect the fragile happiness of someone else wasn’t unique to Arthur. The biggest difference was that Angie wasn’t innocent, whereas Merida was. 

The man in the kilt laughed as Merida bounced impatiently. “Okay, we’ve taken enough of the nice man’s time. Come on, you wanted to ride the unicorn, right?” 

“Yeah!” The little girl said and ran off toward the Unicorn rides. 

Her father rolled his eyes and ran after her. “Wait!” 

She did not wait, and he was off to keep up with her. 

“Oh, to have that much energy,” her mom said, chuckling. “Thank you for being so good with her. Do you have kids?” 

“Oh, no,” Arthur said. “But my girlfriends have been talking about it since the chess match.”

“Girlfriends?” the woman asked, confused and emphasizing the plural. 

“Oh, yeah, we’re polyamorous,” Arthur explained.  

“Oh!” the mom said, surprised. “Well, thank you again! I should catch up to my husband.” 

“Sure thing,” Arthur said, nodding and letting her leave. 

She hesitated, but seemed to think better of what she was about to say and bustled off, jogging to catch up with her husband, who had caught up to their daughter and scooped her up in his arms. Arthur watched the happy family walk down the lane. 

Once upon a time, that had been the life he’d imagined himself and Lynn having. He hadn’t thought of the Ren Faire as a valid employment option back then, but maybe they could have even worked here. The theater aspect was fun. Life, however, hadn’t unfolded that way. Nor had it worked that way for him and Lori. 

And, if he were honest with himself, it couldn’t work that way for him and the harem. He loved his girlfriends, but that dream of a normal, happy family was one he had to sacrifice for them, and one he couldn’t provide for them. They’d always be abnormal. 

Was that really such a bad thing, though? No. He didn’t think it was, and he wouldn’t trade it. Besides, he couldn’t tell what the future held. He only knew he had to make things right with Kat and smooth things over with the others if he wanted a future with them. Otherwise, they might become the next Lori or Angie in his life, and he didn’t want that. 

Lighter, but weary, he rejoined the lane and started walking toward the mermaids, hoping to find Kat with the others. 

~~~

Kat plopped back onto the bench by the table and turned to face Angie as she wiped her eyes with her arm. It’d only been a few hours since Kelly had done her amazing makeup job on Kat, and she couldn’t ruin it so soon. The tears welled, but she held them back. 

“I’m sorry,” Kat said, defeated. “I tried.” 

“I’m the one who should be apologizing,” Angie said. 

“You apologized,” Kat said, taking a sip of her water.

“I don’t know what else I can do to make things right. I mean, nothing will make up for the years of teasing, bullying, and humiliation we put him through,” Angie said. She put her head in her hand with her elbows on the table, hiding her face as shame flushed against her cheeks. “We were so mean to him, Kat. Like, every day, and yeah, he was this grungy nerd who creeped on Lynn all the time, but he was harmless. He didn’t deserve the public humiliation we put him through.” 

Kat was quiet, drinking her water and trying to think of how to help. She wasn’t good at this and had to wonder if she’d fucked it up by pressuring Arthur to have the conversation sooner rather than later. The others gave her shit for it, but maybe there was wisdom in venting the rage, cooling off, and then having the face-to-face. Maybe the sequence wasn’t the problem, but the method of venting? Blowing up at Angie in the street would have been the wrong thing to do, but walking away, venting his frustration at some of the games, or going for a run around the parking lot, and then approaching her for a conversation might have been better.

This whole situation was just another clusterfuck she could add to her list of failed attempts at reconciling with people. Any of the others from the harem would have been better, except maybe Selene. Selene would have just gutted Angie on Arthur’s behalf, with or without his orders. If Kelly were here, she’d know what to say, and she’d make things better. Arthur respected Kelly and listened to her, and she had a soft spot for Angie. 

Rani would probably convince Arthur that the only way for Angie to prove her penance was to make her a concubine. Rage sex healed all wounds? No, that was dumb and not going to happen. Even if Arthur agreed to it, Kat didn’t trust that he was in the right frame of mind. He’d hurt someone, and not in the sexy way. 

Mindy or Katelyn would have been better at getting Arthur to soften his tone. Yelling at Mindy was like kicking a puppy, and Katelyn was so frail that a proper shout could probably break her. She wondered if they would have been more effective, or if Arthur would have snapped at them the way he had at her. 

“I don’t know,” Kat said, being honest. “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I wanted to help Arthur through it. He’s been there for me when I’ve blown up, multiple times. He’s helped me no matter what, he’s calmed me down, and he’s helped me make it up to the people I need to reconcile with. If you were my high school bully, he’d have sat down with us, and we’d be friends right now.” 

“It’s never that easy,” Angie said, chuckling. “I don’t know that I can even hope for friendship, but for peace?” 

“It’s not that easy,” Kat said. “But if the shoe were on the other foot, he would have done a much better job at helping us reconcile.” 

“You think pretty highly of him,” Angie said. “The way you talk about him, it, well, it reminds me a lot of Danny. If he were here, he’d know what to do, too. He’d probably tell me something like: keep trying. Making things right is a journey, not a single act.” 

Kat chuckled. “I swear, usually I’m the one blowing up and having all the unhealthy temper tantrums, and Arthur’s the one with lines like that, calmly philosophizing. In the heat of the moment, it’s annoying as fuck, but afterwards he’s always right.”  

“Right?” Angie asked rhetorically. “Having an emotionally mature partner is so frustrating. Sometimes you just want to be like: Can we be on the same page about this? Can you rage with me for five minutes?” 

Kat chuckled, her memory casting back to the Rage Shack. She hoped Arthur went there to smash things so he could cool off, or did whatever he needed to do, so long as it wasn’t go back to the bus and fuck Manasa. Not that he would without one of the others. She hoped. 

No, she stamped that jealousy down flat as soon as it rose. Arthur might have lost his temper, but he wasn’t going to cheat on anyone. 

“Is it okay that you’re still talking to me?” Angie asked, surprising Kat. 

“What?” Kat asked. “Like I’m just going to leave you here alone?” She supposed she could, but instinct told her not to. Maybe all that shit Rani was spouting about women helping women had gotten to her. Add to that the creeps like Mike at the Faire, and even if Angie’s costume wasn’t that risque, Kat’s was. She preferred the safety in numbers. 

“He told me not to talk to any of you, remember?” Angie asked. “It seems like the least I could do to make amends is to follow his wishes.” 

Kat frowned, unsure of what to think about that. Arthur might be their leader, and they submitted to him, but did that give him the right to tell them who they could or couldn’t be friends with? Even Arthur would probably say no, that it didn’t, but this wasn’t the first time he’d expressed such a desire. He didn’t want them going anywhere near Lynn either, but was that out of a sense of protection for them, or fear that they’d fall under her influence? Both? 

He should trust them more than that, but she could see where it put Angie in a tough spot. The poor woman needed friends. She needed people she could talk to who weren’t her own family members. Kelly had been quick to take her under her wing. Kat had been less inclined to accept a new friend with open arms, but that was before she knew her. 

Where did that leave them now? 

“He was angry and upset,” Kat said. “It’s my fault for making him have this conversation before he was ready for it. I thought, maybe, that if he could avoid the pattern I usually do, it might work out better.” 

“What do you usually do?” Angie asked. 

Kat chuckled dryly. “I have anger issues and jealousy, more than others. So when I get pissed off about something, which happens a lot, I blow up at whoever’s nearby, rant and rave, then storm off to cool down. Once I’ve cooled down and thought everything through, I usually come back and try to talk things out when I’m calm. That was even before the harem, though. I’ve been doing it since childhood.” 

“Harem?” Angie asked, more out of surprise than anything. 

Kat sighed. “It’s an inside joke,” she said. “It’s what we call the polycule, because it’s only one guy, Arthur, and the rest of us are girls.” 

“I thought you called it the Sisterhood of Excalibur?” Angie asked. 

“That too,” Kat said, nodding. “It’s both, really.” 

“Oh, okay,” Angie said, accepting the explanation. “Well, for what it’s worth, thank you for trying. Honestly, you probably stopped him from punching me in the face and throwing me in the lake, which I would have deserved.” 

“I probably had less to do with that than Arthur did. He’s extremely opposed to physical violence on like, a moral level,” Kat said. 

Angie’s brow dipped in pensive contemplation. 

“What?” Kat asked. 

“Nothing, it’s just, well, that explains why he never fought back when Bobby and the others pushed him around,” Angie said. “They were constantly shoving him, hitting him, slapping him, and even beating him up. He never fought back.” 

Kat frowned, her face becoming stiff. 

“They thought they were being gallant,” Angie said. “He was always trying to sneak up on Lynn, even after she made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Even I kicked him in the nuts once or twice because he startled me.” 

“You know they were friends, right?” Kat asked, raising an eyebrow. “Lynn and Arthur.” 

“Before high school, yeah,” Angie said. “But she had nothing to do with him after that.” 

Kat raised an eyebrow. “She hung out with him every day after school. Well, maybe not every day, but most days. They lived on the same floor of their apartment building, right across from one another. She had him do her homework and help her cheat on exams and stuff; it was a whole thing. So whatever she told you about not wanting to have anything to do with him? She was lying.”

Angie’s eyes searched Kat’s face, her eyes moving rapidly as she reviewed her memories. One by one, missing pieces to several mysteries fell into place. Kat didn’t doubt she could recount thousands of instances where Arthur had started to talk to Lynn in the hall, showed up at her locker, or tried to speak to her in class or even between classes, the flimsy excuses Lynn made, or snide comments, and how her grades never seemed to match her conversational intelligence. 

“Oh my god,” Angie said after several moments had passed. “That explains how her grades were so much better than mine.” 

Kat laughed. “Oh yeah, I’ve met the girl, she’s dumb. Devious, but dumb. Thank God. Imagine the damage she could have done if she were smart?” 

Angie smiled a bit nervously. “Yeah, I always wondered how she could be so… ditzy, but then get straight As when I was barely getting Cs, and that was with a tutor.” 

“Well, if you need help when you get to Pendleton, I can probably make some recommendations. I work at the tutoring center,” Kat said, finding it easy to default into professionalism. 

“Thanks,” Angie said. “I might take you up on that, if it won’t get you in trouble with your boyfriend.” 

Kat’s small smile faded, but she didn’t withdraw her offer. 

“How do you know Lynn, anyway? She goes to Pendleton now?” Angie asked. 

“She’s starting in the spring. She used to go out of state, but she had a whole thing where a professor got caught changing her grades, and she flunked out,” Kat said, not sure if this counted as gossiping, but not willing to spare Lynn the shame. “Their families have always been close, so Arthur’s mom, Deb, offered her a place to stay at the house they’re renting us.” 

Angie tilted her head in curiosity. 

“Arthur, Kelly, Katelyn, Selene, Mindy, Rani, and I are moving into the same house. Lynn was going to live in the basement apartment, but Arthur told his parents what happened between them during their senior year, and they kicked her out. She did some pretty fucked up shit, though, after meeting us. She outed Mindy to her parents, she fucked with my sister at her job, she’s been generally harassing us and trying to make our lives miserable.” 

“Why would she do that?” Angie asked. “Not that I don’t believe you! I just don’t understand why she’d go from crawling back to Pendleton to harassing you.”  

“My best guess?” Kat asked. “From what I’ve gathered, she wanted Arthur to help her cheat again so she could make it through college. He refused, so she lashed out. They had a whole confrontation last night.” 

“And Lynn survived?” Angie asked, almost smiling at her own joke. 

“Arthur freezes up when he’s around Lynn,” Kat said. “He can barely get a word out. She slapped him, and Selene went absolutely feral. We had to haul her off Lynn, before she clawed her eyes out or ripped out her jugular with her teeth.” 

Angie laughed, as if Kat were making a joke. Kat didn’t, and realization dawned on Angie’s face. 

“I guess I should be thankful Kelly stopped her when she charged me,” Angie said, swallowing. “And that Arthur can overcome his more violent impulses. I don’t know if throwing me in the lake would help him feel better, but if it helps, well, he can. I can swim. Though it might be difficult in this get-up.” 

“He’s not going to throw you in the lake,” Kat said, shaking her head. “Though it might make him feel better, he’d feel guilty. He doesn’t hurt women.” 

“Didn’t he hurt you when he grabbed your wrist?” Angie asked. 

“No,” Kat said quickly. “It surprised me, is all, and I might be a little fucked up in the head because seeing him lose control like that is a huge turn on for me.” 

“I’ll try not to kink shame,” Angie said, grinning. “Your whole group is weird, to be honest, and I’m not saying that to bully you or anything.” 

“Oh, trust me, we’re aware,” Kat said. “But it’s also kinda great. Having a group who gets it, that you can talk to about stuff, and even rely on is, well, not to brag, but it’s pretty great.” 

“The community aspect seems amazing, so long as everyone gets along,” Angie said. 

Kat nodded. “We do, for the most part. We have our little tiffs, like any family, but we love each other, so at the end of the day, we’re stuck with each other.” 

Angie nodded. “Is that what this is? You seemed pretty upset with Arthur when he left.” 

“I was, or am, I suppose,” Kat said. “But if he’s the man I think he is, he’ll come back and apologize. I’ll forgive him. Lord knows he’s forgiven me enough times that I owe him that much.” 

“What do you think it’ll take for him to forgive me?” Angie asked. 

Kat shrugged. “Honestly? I have no idea. Time? Counseling? Yours isn’t a single indiscretion, and the history between you two is complicated. I’d say you two need to sit down and talk things out to move forward, but, well, you need someone better at mediating than I am. Whether that’s Kelly or someone professional, I don’t know.” 

Angie nodded her acceptance as she pondered. “Well, either way, I need to go and pump. It’s starting to get painful, and I don’t want to leak all over this dress.” 

“Are you okay if I come with you? I can stand guard outside the car,” Kat said. 

Angie stood, extricating herself from the table as gracefully as possible. “Are you sure you’re allowed to? He seemed pretty adamant that I not hang out with you or the others.” 

Kat frowned as she stood, adjusting her tattered miniskirt and costume to make herself presentable. “Well, I understand why he said that, but you’re not as much like Lynn as he thinks you are, not anymore, right?” 

“Right,” Angie said, circling the table to join Kat. 

“So he can yell at me for it later, if he wants to, but I’m not letting you go off through the Faire alone. If the harem has taught me anything, it’s that we girls have to stick together, right? Women helping women, and all that,” Kat said, offering Angie her arm. 

“That’s awfully gallant of you,” Angie said, looping her arm through Kat’s. 

“Thanks, I learned it from my boyfriend.” Kat chuckled, but there was very little humor in it. 

Together, they walked away from the tavern and headed toward the gates arm-in-arm. Angie guided them, and Kat followed her lead. They stamped Angie’s hand at the gate, but Kat’s mark was still there from earlier. Angie made it to the minivan her family arrived in and slipped inside the tinted back after turning on the air-conditioning. Kat stood outside, texting the group to fill them in on everything that had happened. 

Brat: I failed. Arthur stormed off to blow off some steam. He’s pretty angry, and I have no idea where he is. I’m walking Angie to her car so she can pump, and then I’ll join you once she’s back with her family. 

Kelly began typing immediately. 

Wifey: You let him run off? 

Brat: It’s Arthur. I didn’t let him do anything, and he’s not thinking straight. He needs to vent and calm down. 

Wifey: Where is he?!

Brat: I don’t know, but we need to give him space. He asked that we leave him alone for five fucking minutes. His words. 

Wifey: He’s hurting. We need to be there for him. I can’t believe you let him run off! How long did you want before texting us? 

Brat: A few minutes, maybe? 

Wifey: I’ll come to you, and we can track him down. 

Brat: We need to give him space, Kelly. I’m telling you. He’s angry, too angry to rationalize with, too angry to feel empathy like he does. If we ambush him, it’ll only end badly. He can’t do or say anything that he’ll regret if we leave him alone. 

Wifey: I don’t like it.

Brat: I don’t either, but I’ve been where he is enough times to know what he needs. 

Wifey: Fine, but I’m finding him after the mermaid show, so I hope he blows off his steam before then. I’ll fill the others in.

Kat sent a thumbs-up emoji and sighed, leaning against the van. Wherever Arthur was, she hoped he was getting the opportunity to vent that he needed. 

~~~

Arthur threw the two-handed axe overhead as hard as he could, spinning it through the air with such fury that it sank deep into the wooden block at the end of its narrow cage. The strangers beside him threw theirs as well, though they hadn’t put the energy into it that he had. 

The second axe thunked beside it, and the third landed on the other side, each stuck in far enough that Arthur felt good about it. He straightened, rolling his shoulders back and cracking his neck. He might be shit at carnival games, but he’d at least enjoyed himself. He understood why there were only three throws, though. With three of them sticking to the target, it’d be tough to get a fourth one in there. 

An axe-throwing booth distracted him on his way to the mermaid tank. The line had been short, so he’d decided to blow off what little steam he had left. He pictured Angie standing at the end of the wooden cage and threw his axes. Of course, it was high school Angie that he pictured, and not the older, softer version he’d met today. 

Unlike Lynn, he’d never seen Angie cry before. She’d never been in a situation where she’d had to use her tears to manipulate people. She held the power in every situation, and she let everyone know it. Still, the more he went over their conversation in his head, the more regrets he had about how he’d handled himself. He should have been cold, not hot, and he shouldn’t have yelled at Kat. She didn’t deserve that. Her desire to help was sweet, in a way, even if it was entirely misplaced. 

Helping him get over the things Angie put him through wasn’t anywhere near the same level of difficulty as the things he’d helped Kat through. Her tiffs and blow-ups with the harem members were ant hills compared to Angie’s Rocky Mountains.  

Arthur joined the others as the line filed out of the stalls and back into the lane. 

“Hey!” 

Arthur checked his surroundings as the familiar voice drew his attention. Robin Hood, Little John, and Cinderella were waving at him and walking toward him. “Hey, Caleb, Logan, Yvonne.” 

Yvonne looked embarrassed to be approaching him, but Logan and Caleb were smiling. Their costumes were still pristine, and Arthur’s eyes flicked to the black ribbon choker around Yvonne’s throat. 

“Hey, buddy,” Caleb said, drawing out the second word in a way that made Arthur realize this was going to be Caleb asking for a favor. 

Arthur chuckled. “What do you need?” 

“It’s not me,” Caleb said, raising his hands in surrender. “Look, I realize this might be awkward given your–” he hesitated, looking around and behind Arthur, as if someone might be crouching behind him. “Where are your acolytes?” 

“My girlfriends?” Arthur asked. “They’re uh, watching the mermaids.” 

“Ah,” Caleb said, nodding. “And you didn’t want to?” 

“I uh, ran into an old high school bully and decided to blow off some steam.” He gestured to the axe-throwing, where one of the workers was currently trying to leverage his axes out of the woodblock. 

“Weird how many people are here, right? I ran into an ex myself, but Logan handled it very well.” Caleb draped his arm over Logan and kissed his cheek. 

Logan rolled his eyes, but didn’t shove Caleb away. 

“Anyway, Logan and I have to leave early; we’ve got that gig, but Yvonne here wants to stay. She’s still trying to apologize to Maria even though Maria’s done everything she can to avoid her.” Caleb explained. 

“Oh,” Arthur said, hesitant, even as his mind worked out where this was going. 

“So, I was hoping we could turn her over to you,” Caleb said, batting his eyelashes and folding his hands in front of him to beg. 

“Caleb,” Yvonne said, complaining about his phrasing. 

“I get it’s awkward, but if Yvonne wants to apologize to Maria, this is the only way. And you two seemed to have patched things up earlier. Logan and I can’t stay, but she can if she gets a ride back with you,” Caleb explained. “So, can you give her a lift?” 

“Oh, uh, we all came together. Me, the girls, Mark, Maria, Brad, and Jen,” Arthur said. 

“That’s perfect! Depending on how the carpool works out, it’ll give her time to talk to Maria.” Caleb said. 

“Oh, uh, well, we took a bus. So it’s all of us together,” Arthur said. 

“Oh, okay, well that’s even better, right?” Caleb asked. 

Arthur sighed. Caleb could be pushy, but he wasn’t oblivious. If he was pushing for Yvonne to stay behind and apologize to Maria, there was a reason. “Why is it so important that you apologize to Maria right now?” He asked Yvonne. “Why can’t it wait until we’re all back at school?” 

“Because I hurt her,” Yvonne said, looking up at Arthur with sorrow in her eyes. “It’s like, if you leave a wound like that to fester, it only gets worse. An apology might not heal things right away, but it’s best to clean and bandage it before the rot sets in and makes it impossible.” 

Arthur swallowed. That analogy hadn’t come from nowhere. He’d heard Lori use it before, after she and Yvonne had argued pretty hotly over some theater business. He sighed. There was wisdom in it. He could think of an immediate example for the type of wound that had festered too long to heal. One drama-free day was too much to ask for from any universal power.

Maria and Yvonne might not be best friends forever, but they were friends, or had been. Arthur was probably the most awkward person to get involved and mediate between them, but he could at least provide Yvonne the opportunity to try and make things right. He’d forgiven her, after all, so Maria ought to be able to do the same. 

“The only other problem I see is that we’re not going back to campus tonight,” Arthur said, trying to be honest. “We got a hotel nearby because we wanted to stay for the adults-only stuff after the Faire closes.” 

“Oh?” Caleb asked, raising an eyebrow. “And we didn’t get an invite to this Theater Club orgy?” He gestured between himself and Logan. “I’m offended.” 

“You had a gig!” Arthur said, then followed it up with, “And it’s not an orgy!” as quickly as possible. 

Caleb seemed sceptical, but laughed after a brief silence. “Relax, hot stuff, I’m only teasing you. What you and your girlfriends get up to behind closed doors is none of my business. Even if all of campus is speculating. But if you want to try out being bisexual, Logan and I–” 

“I’m straight,” Arthur rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“I can get my own room, if that helps?” Yvonne said. “What hotel are you staying at?” 

“Are you sure?” Caleb asked, looking at her. “That’s an expensive apology.” 

“It’s not just Maria I need to apologize to,” Yvonne said. “So, yeah, it’s fine. I have some money set aside. Besides, I can stay for the adult-only stuff too, and I’ll ride back with the others in the morning. Is that okay?” she asked, looking at Arthur for permission.  

Arthur didn’t know what the girls would think, but if she got her own room, he could probably get her a seat on the bus back home. In the worst-case scenario, he could offer to pay for an Uber for her. It’d be expensive, but that was what his emergency savings were for, and he wouldn’t leave her stranded. 

“Uh, yeah, that’s fine with me,” Arthur said. “You can stick with us.” 

“Thank you,” Yvonne said, breathing a sigh of relief. 

“It’s not a problem,” Arthur said, though it was a bit of an imposition. He had his own apologies to make, and he didn’t know what kind of atmosphere they’d have by the time they got to the hotel, but delaying would only hurt more. She was right about that. 

“Yeah, thank you,” Caleb said, smiling. “Have fun.” He winked at Arthur, then patted Yvonne on the back and leaned over to her ear, whispering. “And if you fuck him, tell me everything!” 

Yvonne elbowed Caleb, blushing, but Arthur pretended not to hear as the man folded in half. “That’s not going to happen.” She said. “That’s not why I’m staying.” 

“Uh huh, uh huh,” Caleb said, nodding as if he believed her. “Well, we have to get going, so enjoy the rest of the Faire for us! Let me know how the story ends. I’m pretty invested after that chess match.” 

Arthur chuckled, and Caleb patted him on the back as he and Logan passed, leaving Arthur and Yvonne facing each other a pace away. 

“So, a high school bully?” Yvonne asked. 

“It’s a long story,” Arthur said. 

“Well, I’ve got time, if you can walk and talk,” Yvonne said, nodding toward the lane. 

Arthur sighed. It might be a mistake to trust Yvonne, but it might be beneficial to get everything off his chest to someone who hadn’t met her and could give him an outsider’s perspective. Not that he wanted to relive the experience with Lynn. He could leave that out. 

“Okay,” He said as they walked side-by-side. “It all started back in high school...”