The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Kelsey had never liked Mark. From the moment that her friend Veronica had introduced them, she’d just had a feeling. This was not the type of person she wanted to be around. This was not the kind of person that she liked; either to spend time with, or just in and of himself.

He was more Veronica’s friend than anything— and Veronica liked him a lot. She often went out with him, spending her nights on their city’s nightlife with Mark as her sidekick. Other people joined them too— and sometimes she went with other friends, and Mark didn’t go.

Kelsey and Veronica were both part of the same friend group, so their social circles overlapped. They had a lot of acquaintances and friends in common— generally, Kelsey saw this as a positive thing. Veronica knew a lot of interesting people that Kelsey never would have met otherwise— people she only knew through her. And Kelsey hoped the same was true of her, that she could return the favor for Veronica.

Mark was the one exception to this rule. Many of the people that Veronica knew, and had introduced to Kelsey, were people that Kelsey liked. Some of them she’d gone on to befriend herself; some others she was happy to maintain a more casual acquaintance with, but even they were always a delight to run into at parties and catch up with.

Not Mark. It would have been easier if Kelsey had liked him, since he was always around. He might have been Veronica’s best friend, and this was a real inconvenience for Kelsey. She tried to avoid joining in on social occasions when she knew Mark would be attending also— but there were only so many she could skip. Inevitably she’d have to cave and go to one, and then see Mark there. If she skipped all of the ones that had him present then she’d be skipping them all, period.

It was hard to put her finger on exactly what it was about him that put her off. She’d tried to explain it to Veronica after she and Mark had first been introduced, but she’d fallen short. Though she’d been able to tell, even then, that Veronica was disappointed in Kelsey’s dislike of him, too. Mark may have been Veronica’s best friend, but Kelsey was a close friend of hers too, and it had been clear to Kelsey that she’d hoped the two of them would get along. Maybe in the same way Kelsey had gotten along with Veronica’s other social peers.

But Kelsey hadn’t; and still to this day she couldn’t quite put it to words. There was just an energy about him, something dark. And he was too smooth— everyone else seemed to like him, to want his company, and his attention. Especially Veronica.

Kelsey didn’t get it. Didn’t any of them see? Couldn’t any of them feel what she felt, that dark undercurrent that was just a little bit threatening…? That suggested something hidden, and concealed, but no less dangerous?

Apparently they didn’t see it, but Kelsey knew what she saw, and she kept herself as far away from Mark as she could. Even when she had to be in common spaces and gatherings with him, she always made sure she was never left alone with him.

She knew there was something dark and dangerous in him— felt threatened by it, and she wasn’t going to stick around and let him prove her fears right. She didn’t want to find out what that darkness in him was threatening. Didn’t want to see those ephemeral unspoken threats made good. She didn’t want to find out what was hidden down there, beneath the charm that everyone else seemed to fall for.

Luckily, there was no danger of seeing Mark tonight. She and Veronica were going out for a girl’s night, just the two of them. They were going to get drinks and catch up, and maybe dance a little later on, if they liquored up enough first. There was no way that Mark would be along for the ride this time— she wouldn’t have to see him tonight.

She was going over to Veronica’s, though. They’d agreed to meet at her place first before going out, and she was all ready for the night, and on her way over there right now.

When she got to Veronica’s apartment building, Veronica buzzed her up with a cheerful “hi!” and then it was a quick elevator ride to Veronica’s door.

“It’s unlocked!” She heard Veronica call from inside, and accepted it as an invitation to go in.

But when she entered, Mark was there.

“Mark,” Kelsey said, doing her best to cover her displeasure at seeing him. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I’m not quite ready to go yet, Kels,” Veronica called out from the other room. “Give me like ten minutes, and I’ll be good to go.”

“Veronica and I went to see a movie earlier,” Mark volunteered— but there was something about the look he was giving her that Kelsey didn’t like. That flash of darkness— like he knew that she was uncomfortable being alone with him, and thought it was funny.

“Then I came back here with her, and the two of us were just hanging out. It might be my fault that she’s a little late getting ready— I probably delayed her.”

The darkness had gone dormant again, but Kelsey wasn’t quick to forget it.

“Well, if Veronica’s not ready for me, I think maybe I’ll go down and wait in the lobby. Tell her for me?”

The thought of spending the next ten minutes with Mark did not appeal to Kelsey at all. She didn’t want to be alone with him, even if his darkness had been carefully tucked back into the place where he kept it hidden. She’d much rather be down in the lobby— by herself.

Mark smiled, and that darkness was tinting it again. “You don’t like me, do you, Kelsey?”

Kelsey was surprised. Hearing Mark call her on this directly was unexpected— and it increased her discomfort at being in his presence a little more.

Since he’d so bluntly called her out, Kelsey didn’t see any point in denying it. And in fact, in this moment, the truth was seeming like a shield to her. If she pulled it out, it might put Mark off so much that he’d lose interest in her— whatever interest it was he had. At least, maybe it would stop him from finding humor in this— humor in her discomfort. She hoped it would offend him, to the point that he would never want to talk to her again.

The truth seemed like something to hide behind, now, and she would use it for that. She felt like she did need to hide; hide from the way he was still looking at her.

“No, I don’t like you, Mark,” she replied, honestly. “I never have. I never will. You’re just not the type of person I like to associate with. If you weren’t such a good friend of Veronica’s, I wouldn’t have to know you at all, and honestly, I would prefer it that way.”

This did not have the effect that Kelsey had hoped for. Mark didn’t look offended. If anything, he only looked more entertained.

“Why don’t you like me?” He prompted.

The honesty had felt good to share, before. And even though the hope of putting Mark off was evaporating before her, maybe if she shared just a little more— maybe that would be the trick, and that would do it. Maybe he could still come around to disliking her the way she disliked him.

“Because you’re too slick,” Kelsey answered. “You always know the perfect thing to say. You always make yourself the center of attention, you always make yourself into the person everyone wants to have around, that everyone likes— that everyone enjoys.”

Now that she was speaking, she had momentum— she let it carry her on, in a flurry of further details. “You’re too charming, and no one else sees it, but I do, and I don’t like it. There’s something beneath the face you put on for everyone that I’ve seen, and I don’t like it— and it’s there whether anyone else sees it, or not. You put the face on to hide that side of yourself, and you might fool everyone else, but you don’t fool me; and I don’t like you.”

This had not offended Mark either, to Kelsey’s disappointment. He was still looking quite entertained by her confession— and she was regretting it now. Could he use what she’d shared with him against her somehow? She wouldn’t put anything past the man who’d smiled at her with that tinted-dark smile; even if she seemed to be the only one who ever noticed him.

“I’ve thought for a long time that you didn’t like me,” Mark spoke again. “Veronica was never willing to gossip about you, and tell me what you’d told her. But I always had a feeling— you only ever made frosty small-talk with me out of politeness. You were absent from the social events I attended more often than not. And you have never— in all the time since we were introduced— never once let me catch you alone. But thanks for confirming it,” he added— and smiled again in a way that made Kelsey shiver.

“Well, I’m glad we’ve made this clear,” Kelsey said, to give herself a feeling of control and normalcy again after Mark’s latest unsettling smile. “I don’t like you. So the less time we spend around each other the better— and even what little time we spend together by necessity can change, now. We don’t need to make small-talk anymore. We don’t have to keep up the social niceties.”

“If that’s what you’d like,” Mark agreed, magnanimously. “You don’t like me, fair enough. But I’ll bet I can change your mind. If you give me a chance. I could do it right now— it wouldn’t take long.”

“What do you mean, it wouldn’t take long?” Kelsey repeated. She didn’t understand how he could be so confident. She’d never liked him, and she’d known him for a long time. How could he undo all that dislike in just two minutes?

He had a very confident demeanor about him, though. Clearly, he really did believe that he could do it. He seemed sure of it, in fact.

“I think I can change your mind about me in just a few minutes,” He repeated. “I give it a try, two minutes later, whether it’s worked or not, you’re free to go. You can see your movie with Veronica as planned.”

Kelsey felt that fear come back to her— fear that whatever was down there in Mark’s darkness really might be able to do something to her, even change her— and change her this quickly.

“Why do you even want to change my mind?” She asked, to redirect and cover for her fear. “Why do you want me to like you so much?”

Mark’s next smile had that tint of darkness in it again. “It’s like you said. I’m well-liked among most people I know, except for you. And in their cases, I didn’t have to do anything to make them like me. I only had to be myself— and they liked me for that. You’re the only one who sees me as I am, and doesn’t like me for it. It just makes makes me wonder if I could get you to do it.”

“You sounded pretty sure that you could, a minute ago,” Kelsey pointed out.

“I think I can,” Mark said. “I’m persuasive, when I want to be. I don’t often have to; as I said before, most people generally seem to like me. But it is a trick I keep up my sleeve to use on occasion.

“It’ll be pretty clear whether it’s worked or not. You only need to give me two minutes of focused, undivided attention and then we’ll see.”

“So, you’ll try this persuasion trick on me,” Kelsey said, to review, “and it’ll take two minutes. If it works, I’ll… tolerate you at least, but if it doesn’t, we’ll both accept the fact we don’t like each other and get on with our lives?”

Mark nodded. “That’s right. What do you say?”

Two minutes didn’t sound so long to Kelsey— she could do that. And if it meant she and Mark could treating each other politely and embrace the distance between them, it was worth it.

“Two minutes,” Kelsey agreed. “Go.”

Mark spoke, then, in a tone that was just low enough in volume that Kelsey had to strain to hear it. At the beginning of his phrase, Kelsey was able to pick out and understand each word that he was saying. But as the phrase extended onwards, she lost track of it. It trailed into something that sounded like nonsense to her, though it seemed to have a strange effect on her. She was simultaneously feeling a bit energized and at the same time, disoriented and unsure.

She floated along on the stream of Mark’s words. They ran on, carrying her forward into more of that same mixed feeling. And then, suddenly, they gave out from under her, and she found herself fallen back into her body, standing in Veronica’s living-room, looking at the now-silent Mark sitting on Veronica’s couch.

“That was two minutes,” Mark explained. “How do you feel about me now?”

Kelsey looked at Mark with greater concentration. And as she did, she felt she was seeing him with new eyes. Sure, maybe Mark had a dark streak. But what was wrong with that? Wasn’t it kind of interesting that she could see it, when no one else could? And wasn’t it kind of interesting that he seemed to appreciate her for that?

He didn’t seem so bad to her, after all— apart from that hidden streak of his, he was a friendly likeable guy. She didn’t have to avoid him so much anymore— she could start going to more of the events that Veronica invited her to. And when she inevitably saw Mark there, it would be okay— maybe even pleasant. She could make friendly chatter with him; it might even be fun.

She couldn’t quite remember why she had disliked him before. It didn’t mesh well with the way she was seeing him now, and so it didn’t make sense to her.

“You seem okay,” Kelsey granted, at last. “It wouldn’t be so bad to see you around at some social event. Not like I want you to be my best friend in the world, or anything, but. You’re alright.”

Mark smiled at this admission. “I thought I could get you to come around. Isn’t this much better? You don’t have to go out of your way to avoid me, anymore. And you don’t have to waste so much of your energy on disliking me.”

“It’s better,” Kelsey agreed.

It was at this moment that Veronica emerged from her bedroom, clearly dressed up for the night and ready to go.

“You look great,” she said, when she spotted Kelsey. “Ready to get out there and have fun?”

“Ready,” Kelsey said, with a smile. She still felt serene in the wake of Mark’s trick. And she was much less on edge than she had been when she’d entered. The fact that Mark was sitting only feet away from her didn’t bother her at all, now.

“Don’t wait up for me, Mark,” Veronica joked, as she moved toward her door. “You can let yourself out and lock the door behind you when you’re ready to go.”

“No problem,” Mark said. “And I’ll see you around, Kelsey.”

Kelsey gave Mark a polite nod. “I’ll see you around, Mark.”

Then she turned away to follow Veronica out the door.

Kelsey had a fun, carefree night with Veronica on the town. But at the end of the night, when she was on the train home, there was a lingering idea in her head. She didn’t know when it had first occurred to her, but somehow it felt like it had been sitting there in her head for some time, and she’d just overlooked it.

She wanted to go and see Mark again— she wanted to ask Veronica for his address, and go over to see him. He wasn’t such a bad guy, really. Maybe she wanted to get to know him better after all. She wanted to go and see him…

She never quite got around to asking Veronica for Mark’s address, but she did run into Mark a few times. Over the next few days, outside of her regular routine, there were invitations from Veronica to come out to social events, as usual. But the difference was, this time, Kelsey actually accepted these invitations and went, since she didn’t have to avoid Mark anymore.

When she saw him at these few events, she was pleasant— he was pleasant— it was fine. Actually, it was kind of a relief not to feel that… feeling she couldn’t quite remember. The one she used to feel when she was around him.

And that idea stayed in her head. She wanted to get to know him better— wanted to see him in private, at his place, but until then, seeing him in public was nice too.

But there was something else there that she wasn’t sure she should be feeling, when she saw Mark. Something she was supposed to have moved beyond… grown out of. Only, when she tried to focus on it, it slid away from her, and when it slid back away, she forgot about it. At least until it started niggling at her again.

It was a frustrating feeling. It was only noticeable if she was focusing on it, but when she focused on it, it slid out of reach. And when she didn’t focus on it, she still had a vague sense that it was there— that there was something there, digging at her all the time, even if she wasn’t acknowledging it.

It felt like a splinter caught under her skin that she couldn’t quite pull out. But all the same, she was generally able to set it aside and focus on her other, more pleasant feelings of serenity and amiability.

But after those first few days, she was feeling that wrong feeling more and more. Not enough to put it into words, or really understand it— but enough to find herself struck by the impulse to turn away from Mark, or cut their small talk short.

Maybe this was the reason she hadn’t asked Veronica for Mark’s address yet— maybe this was the reason she hadn’t gone over there, even though she’d been thinking about that idea off and on almost every day. The feeling was blocking her— stopping her from doing it.

Why did she feel this way? Why did she feel this way now, when just a few days ago, they’d been getting along well?

It took Kelsey a few days beyond that to find the words that went with the feeling.

She still didn’t like Mark. She disliked him more now than she had before, only she had forgotten for awhile. She didn’t like him because she was wary of him; he had that same darkness about him that only she could see, and she didn’t entirely know what he might do with it. What he might be capable of.

This was how she had always felt as long as she’d known of him— she’d forgotten for awhile. He’d made her forget, with that two minute trick of his. Somehow, in the time she had listened to him, as promised, he’d sent her feelings of dislike and fear underground and made her forget they had ever even existed. He’d changed her mind about him just as he’d claimed he could.

This made her dislike him more— also made her more afraid of him, too. His darkness was at least capable of doing this much— he had changed her with it, if only for a few days.

In retrospect now, the memory of the past few days felt wrong. Like she had been herself, but also somehow not. Some part of her had been underwater, and without it present, she’d been… off. A bit wrong. Not quite herself, or not fully— it was almost like she’d been a different person for those few days, with a whole other set of experiences and memories.

All the memories of disliking Mark, and avoiding Mark had been absent— she’d only remembered that there was something she was forgetting, but that it didn’t matter because she’d moved past it. That wasn’t her. That experience didn’t belong to her— didn’t come from her, because it was Mark’s invention that he’d made her hold.

She felt like herself again. She didn’t like him— she wasn’t ashamed to admit that she was afraid of him, now that she’d found out first hand some of what he could do.

And yet… the idea was still with her. She could remember now where it had come from. It had drifted into her head on that cloud of rolling words Mark had sent out for her. Somehow, while she’d gotten caught up in that dreamy feeling, he’d stuck it in there. And now, no matter how she tried to rip it out, it was in there.

She disliked Mark, she feared him and what he could do— and she wanted to ask Veronica for his address and go over and see him. The two things completely contradicted each other, yet Kelsey couldn’t stop herself from thinking about doing exactly what Mark had implanted in her head. She thought about it every day— how easy it would be to do, how much she wanted to do it.

Every time she did, she reminded herself that it was only Mark’s influence making her feel this way, but it did nothing to weaken the effect it had on her. It grew more tiring to resist as the days wore on. The idea stayed with her, becoming harder and harder to ignore.

In the end, she called Veronica up to get Mark’s address, just as she’d imagined. She partly hated herself for doing it— and yet at the same time, it gave her a feeling of relief. The idea had been pulling at her, and insisting on itself. Now that she was finally acting on it, it put that feeling of desperate obsession in her to rest.

Mark lived in an apartment too, and when Kelsey knocked, she was relieved to find out that Mark was in fact home, which meant she wouldn’t have to come back later.

“Kelsey,” Mark acknowledged, when he saw her there. “I wondered how long it would be before you came.” He sounded pleased with himself.

“You’ve proved your point,” Kelsey said, stiffly. “You changed my mind about you— and you left a delayed trigger in me so I’d have to come and see you, even though I didn’t want to. The change you made in me wore off— I’m back to disliking you. But you’ve proved your point. You can change my mind temporarily. Please, can we both just accept the fact that I don’t like you and don’t want to see you? And if you put any other delayed triggers in my head, I’d like you to take them out now.”

Mark was looking at Kelsey in surprise now. “You’re back to disliking me?”

“That’s right,” Kelsey affirmed. “Your trick wore off.”

“I meant for it to be a permanent change,” Mark said. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

He gave her another look over, and there was a different glint in his eye. As if he felt he was really seeing her for the first time.

Kelsey stepped back. She didn’t want to be seen; did want to let Mark keep looking at whatever it is he thought he was seeing.

“Why don’t you come in?” Mark asked. “We can talk a little more inside.”

Kelsey felt strangely drawn to do as Mark said— and simultaneously worried that he had left more in her head than just the order to come and see him.

She wavered for a moment, trying to resist the impulse— but then gave into it. She’d been fighting the idea of coming to see him all week, and all day— she was tired of fighting. For now, it felt easier just to go along with this idea.

Once they were inside, Kelsey resumed speaking. “You made me forget, but my true feelings about you never went away. I couldn’t access them, but they were still there, beneath the surface, even when I couldn’t. I don’t like you. I’m never going to like you. Are we clear on this now? You had your one chance— it didn’t work. The end. Goodbye, and have a nice life. That was the deal.”

She hoped that would be enough to convince Mark to release her.

When Mark spoke next, it was more like he was speaking to himself than to her.

“You really do dislike me—” he said. “Strongly enough to throw off my control. Now, I didn’t try very hard to control you… I only wanted to make it so that you felt neutral about me. I didn’t have any other plans for you…”

Kelsey felt that gnawing fear creeping back into her.

“But seeing how much you dislike me— strongly enough to resist something that was supposed to be a permanent change, and throw it back off yourself in just under a week— now that’s… something…”

He was giving her that look again. That look that said he was seeing her in a new light— understanding something he’d overlooked before.

She hated it.

He was silent for a minute, and that left Kelsey alone to twist in the grip of her fear.

“I think I want you to like me,” Mark spoke again, a minute later. “I think you should like me. I want that from you, now.”

Kelsey felt more nervous than ever. “Why?” She asked, and it came out quiet.

“Because you don’t want me,” he clarified. “Lots of people do; as you observed yourself, I’m very well-liked. And contrary to what you might think, I never used any nefarious means to make any of them do it against their wills. They just like me— I’m a charming guy.”

Kelsey swallowed. Mark’s darkness was in full effect— not hidden by anything anymore, and it was unsettling to see it laid so bare.

He stepped closer to her— and she wanted to step back, to maintain the distance between them, but she couldn’t quite do it.

She felt frozen, as she stood there— held in place by her nerves. Or maybe by something else.

“But I always saw that you weren’t charmed by me— and I didn’t care much about that until tonight. But now I see exactly how much you do dislike me, it makes me want you. I want to have you, and want to make you like me; there’s just a certain appeal in the conquest of winning over someone who doesn’t want you. It makes me want you more.”

He was standing quite close to her now, but at last Kelsey found the power to move again, and she stepped back.

“You tried changing my mind once, and I threw it off,” Kelsey reminded him— maybe also reminded herself, but her voice wavered in fear. “I’ll throw you off again. It will never work. I don’t like you and I never will.”

“Maybe you won’t,” Mark granted. “But I might be able to make someone else out of you who will.”

“Make—” She couldn’t even entirely repeat it.

“I could make you into more than you are— better than you are— I think you’ll like it better. Well, I know you will, because I can make you like that too. I think I can make something lovely out of you. I can make of you a masterpiece.”

The words stoked her fear. With that look in his eyes, she thought what he was saying sounded disturbingly possible. It sounded like a threat.

“You can’t,” she said again; heard the hint of desperation in her own voice.

“I can,” — and he had stepped closer to her again, closing the distance. “I only need about two minutes of your attention, remember?”

She was shaking her head, but he was still talking. “You don’t like other things, do you, Kelsey? You don’t like me, but there’s lots else you don’t like. The world is confusing to you, and you don’t like that— it’s frustrating, and disappointing, and you don’t like that— and you’re always so afraid of everything, and you don’t like that— and always so unsure of yourself, and you don’t like that, and you don’t even like yourself.”

She knew for sure that there was one thing she didn’t like, and it was this conversation— it was having Mark cut through her so clearly with his observations— seeing thoughts in her she had never shared with another soul.

It seemed that when she had been looking into him, and seeing his darkness that nobody else saw, she had been looking through a two-way mirror. Because at the same time, he had seen all her deeper insecurities, and private judgements, her frustrations; and as she had always feared, he was now using them against her.

She’d been right to be skittish around him, and to avoid him. The door to his apartment was still open, but she’d never felt more trapped in her life.

It was his words that were trapping her, freezing her in place in her fear, and she was unable to make them stop coming forward, unable to free herself.

“Wouldn’t you like it better if the world made sense? If it was simple? If you were more confident? If you knew where you belonged— if you always knew what to expect. I can make that happen. I can make that out of you.” This was less like threatening now, and more like enticing. Was he— trying to tempt her?

It did sound tempting— but she knew beyond the shadow of any doubt that she didn’t want him messing around in her head anymore.

“You can’t,” she repeated, again. She couldn’t say anything else. She was clinging to the words, wishing them true.

“You liked me before, at least for a little bit. Since you liked me then, you can do it again. And I’ll bet I can change your mind about all those other things you dislike, too. I’ll bet I can make you into just what I described.”

Kelsey felt her fear again— felt it completely. It was filling her; it was overwhelming, she was living her nightmare right now. She’d always avoided being alone with Mark because she’d always worried that if she ever was, something like what was happening now would happed. Worried that his darkness would unmask itself and make the kind of appearance it was making now.

She was living it now, and it was so much worse than when she’d only been thinking about it.

“I’ll give you a two minute listening activity again— two minutes of audio content, and I think that will do it.”

Kelsey shook her head, one last time, just as she felt the fear spike up in her, to new heights it had yet to reach before this moment.

“I didn’t agree—“ but the words were already dying on her lips, because Mark was speaking again, and she’d somehow already been listening long enough that it had become gibberish again. Gibberish filling her with energy and with confusion at the same time.

But with the gibberish was another feeling— the fear was leaving her. It was like someone had let out a drain at the base of her, and all her fear was pouring out through it, leaving only absolute calm behind in her body.

She wasn’t afraid anymore. Only the calmness was left, so she was calm, and happy to keep standing there and listening as Mark poured his words over her mind.

It ended too soon. She’d soaked in those words long enough to get used to them, and like the feel of them, but he had already taken them away and tucked them back into a silence by the time she realized this.

“That’s better,” Mark observed. “You’re not so afraid of me or hostile towards me. You should be receptive to what I tell you know— I’ll say it, and it will become true for you.”

This was already in effect. As soon as he said this, it was already a truth in Kelsey’s mind.

“You’re not Kelsey,” Mark went on. “You’re Kel. And Kel likes me. She always has— she’s very attracted to me. You’ll meet her now— I think you can feel it— you’ve stepped into her, now, haven’t you?”

She had. It was Kel who was standing in front of Mark, now— listening, and waiting to find out more about herself with eager impatience

“You listen to me, don’t you, Kel? You like listening to me, and doing anything I say— believing anything I tell you. You trust me.”

She did— she always had, and the fact that he was saying things to her which were so true, and always had been, only made Kel trust him more.

“My control of you is total now— and you like that.”

She liked it so much. So much, in fact, that she was nodding along.

“You can feel that you’re coming into yourself, now. Like you’re slipping into clothes that are a perfect fit for you. Nothing else you’ve ever worn has ever fit like this is fitting you now, and you love the perfection of it.”

It was so true. She remembered what it was like to be Kelsey— but she also felt that she was not Kelsey anymore. She was Kel now, and Kel was nothing like Kelsey. Kel was confident, where Kelsey was unsure— Kel was bold and unafraid, where Kelsey was withdrawn and nervous. Comfortable, where Kelsey was uncomfortable. She had always been this way, she had just never come into her own until now, and had wasted years of her life wearing ill-fitting clothes; ill-fitting shades of identity.

She was Kel, and Kel was better. Kelsey was nothing compared to her, and Kel knew it. Kel was the new improved model, here to stay— she prayed that Kelsey would never come back to steal this body away form her again.

But as Mark went on speaking to her, she felt him guiding her focus; shifting it around to notice something. Kelsey was still there, around the edges, hiding; waiting for her chance to reclaim control of their body, and while Kel was in control, she need to act and make sure that couldn’t happen.

Mark guided her to look down at herself. She was wearing Kelsey’s clothes, wasn’t she? That was wrong. She was Kel, and she didn’t dress this way— like some shrinking thing apologizing for existence, hiding behind neutral, pale colors as if she were trying to wash herself out into non-existence.

Mark’s words became clearer in her head for a minute. If she redressed herself— not in the way Kelsey would dress, but in the way that she, Kel, would like to dress— it would help her to keep Kelsey down. It would help her overcome that bitch, and get a stronger grip on herself— her true self, the one she was now.

It sounded good to her, so when Mark’s next suggestion that she follow him to his closet came, she took him up on it with no hesitation.

As more of Mark’s suggestions came to her, she found they sounded good to her, too, and when he brought the articles of clothing to her that he suggested, she let him put them on her body for her; one at a time, and with great care.

But before he started to dress her, he guided her into nakedness first. Then, he started from the top down. He brought a shirt down over head— and Kel liked it.

It was a bold black— bold like her, and as soon as it was on her, she felt even more like herself. She felt her identity solidifying, and knew it had to mean that Kelsey’s identity was weakening. She was glad for that.

The shirt had a curving neckline that arced down below her collar bone and then back up to her shoulders. It was also sleeveless, and left Kel’s arms bare. Its fabric was loose and flowing, and it hung down in draped sections.

But though the fabric was was loose, the cut of the shirt was not. In spite of the draping, the shirt still sat tight against Kel’s body, highlighting her curves in a very upfront, obvious way, which she approved of.

In particular, the bustline of the shirt hugged up close to her chest. The draping flared out along the sides of the shirt, and down from the stomach of it, but at the bustline, the shirt was tight and hugging up to Kel’s curves.

Once the shirt was settled on her, Mark next chose a black miniskirt to match it. He lowered it her feet, and she stepped into it, bracing herself against his shoulder as she did. He raised it up her legs, until it was hanging jauntily from her hips. It was short enough to be eye-catching, but it did leave her some basic privacy. She liked it as a piece too— and felt even more like herself than she had before.

Next, Mark pulled out a pair of black boots which were in the same dark shade as her shirt and her skirt. He helped her put these on, too, and she braced herself on his shoulder again as first one boot and the other came on.

When he’d done them up, she saw for the first time how tall they were. They came up past her knee, and then continued beyond that, to sit a quarter of the way down her thighs from her hips.

She was the most Kel-like she had ever been. She was becoming Kel, with each new piece of clothing she put on. And yet at the same time, she had always been Kel. Kel was her truer self, who had been waiting inside Kelsey all this time for her time to shine; and it was her time, now. She was only becoming what she had always been. She’d just never realized who she was until now.

The last to come on were the accessories. First, Mark put a choker on her. She saw it when he brought it up to pull down over her head, but it was the first thing he put on her that she couldn’t look down and see herself.

He seemed to realize this, because in the next moment, he turned her around, and she was pleased to find there had been a standing mirror behind her all the time.

She was a striking vision— so dark, so covered in darkness, surrounded and held in black; with that blackness hugging tight to her, as close as it could get. Pressed close to her breasts— to her torso, to her legs— to her neck.

The only place the darkness wasn’t right up close against her were her arms. They were completely bare— nothing actually came and ran down alongside her them.

Mark had a solution for this, too. He had turned away, leaving her to admire her own reflection for a minute, but he’d come back with a pair of long black gloves.

He helped her into these, too, one at a time, and when they were on her, they came up past her elbow to rest a quarter of the way down her upper arm from her shoulders— just like the boots, they were holding her in the exact same way.

The image was complete in the mirror. Here she was: Kel. She had totally become herself, and she was herself in all her glory— bold, confident, certain of the world and her place in it, certain of what she wanted, and who she was— unafraid of anything, and ready for anything that was coming her way.

She knew what she wanted— and as she looked past herself, to wear Mark was standing beside her in the mirror, she knew— she wanted him.

She had always liked him— always been attracted to him, and she wanted him; she wanted him inside her, and she wanted it as quickly as it could happen.

But he was looking at her reflection, even as she had turned away from it to look at him.

“Look at you now,” Mark said. “Wearing the new face I’ve made for you. Wearing the new persona I’ve made out of you. You told me I wear a false face to cover my darkness— though I don’t think you can remember that now, as Kel. I’ve made you a false face now— and cloaked you in the darkness you seem to hate so much, to match you up to me; and what do you have to say for yourself now?”

She only had one thing to say, and she wasn’t the type who liked wasting time.

“I want you, Mark— I want you now.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but Kel decided even that was too much of a delay. She brought her hands up to his face to pull him to her lips, but couldn’t wait even that long, and simultaneously stepped forward to meet his lips with hers. But in stepping forward, she inadvertently pushed him back, until his back hit the now-closed closet door— and she only had time to breathe a hurried, “need you now,” before she finally finally pressed her lips to his.

When she kissed him, she put her whole body into the task, and he was kissing her back with equal dedication, simultaneously fumbling at his belt with both hands.

She paused long enough to lower her hand to help him, until they’d gotten it loose together, and bared him from the waist down. When he was naked at last, it only took a slight hitching of her skirt and a swinging up of her leg to wrap around one hip— and then she was sinking down onto him with a gratified sigh.

“Yes,” she hissed— and he looked gratified too, and that look only become more resolute as they moved together, shaking the closet door behind him, rapidly chasing their mutual released with growing enthusiasm.

When they both found that release, Kel swung her leg back down to stand on it, and let her skirt come back to rest at its natural hang. The look of satisfaction had not left Mark’s face.

“I knew I could make you want me— and I held you in my power all the time that you were fucking me.”

He looked like he was maybe even more proud of that then he was of the way he’d just fucked her. Kel thought this was shame, because he’d put some real skill into it, and she thought that skill deserved recognition— but she let it go.

She raised her hands to remove start taking off her clothes again— they were his, after all, and she probably had to return them to him— but he stopped her hands with his own.

“Leave them on,” he countered. “Keep them.”

She took to this truth like she had to all the others he offered her.

When she left, she carried the clothes home with her on her body.

Kel went home proud, still dressed according to her own style and still buzzing with pleasure in the aftermath of her and Mark’s intercourse.

When she crossed her own threshold, she caught another glimpse of herself in the hall mirror, and it stopped her along her trajectory.

Instead of going further inside, Kel stayed at that mirror awhile, admiring her appearance all over. She preened for herself, admiring her clothing from all angles.

Even as she was doing it, she was thinking of Kelsey. Kelsey never would have taken this kind of time to admire her own appearance. She never dressed well enough to be proud of the things she wore— and even if she had, she would never have taken the time out of her day appreciate her own appearance. She’d be too worried about wasting time, too worried about the other things she should be doing instead. Even in the other areas of her life, Kelsey struggled with slowing down to enjoy herself.

This was not a problem Kel had— she enjoyed looking at herself, and so she had no problem standing and preening in the hall mirror for however long she wanted to do it. She wasn’t worrying about the other things she should have been doing instead. The only thing she needed to do was be herself— which she was doing a great job of. She was exactly where she wanted to be, and in no rush to move past it.

Kel struck a particularly flattering pose, and thought of Kelsey again. She probably wouldn’t even know how to do this, Kel thought, derisively. She didn’t have an eye for style— barely ever noticed it. And she certainly didn’t have any idea how to move her body in such a way as to highlight her best physical features; the way Kel was doing right now.

Kelsey had exactly the same set of assets, but she would never be able to capitalize on them the way Kel could— and would. The more Kel thought of all the ways Kelsey was inferior, the more she almost started laughing at her.

She was so glad to be the one in control of their shared body— she could put it to good use, make use of it in ways that Kelsey would never even dream of. As a person, they had so much potential— but Kelsey would never live up to it. Kel was the only one who ever would: the only one who could. So it was a good thing that she was running things now, and not that loser Kelsey.

After a little more time posing in front of the mirror, Kel felt ready to get on with the rest of her night. The first thought she had was to take off her outfit, so she could make sure it was clean for her to wear the next morning. She had felt reluctant to take these clothes off, earlier.

But she’d spent so long wearing them, and had been wearing them in such an active, conscious way that she felt confident. She was so strong now there was no way that Kelsey could get control of their body again, even if Kel didn’t have the clothes to reinforce her power over Kelsey. She just felt so full of life and so powerful that she had no qualms about taking the clothes off to clean them at all. Once they were clean, she could wear them tomorrow, and get even stronger.

Kel went back into her bedroom— she’d definitely have to redecorate in here when she had the time, as it wasn’t her style at all— to put on something more casual. Kelsey didn’t have much to choose from that Kel liked— another thing for her to do, she could go and buy some more suitable outfits for herself later— but Kelsey did have some plain clothes in darker colors which would have to do until then.

Kel chose a casual shirt and skirt to wear, both black, while she did the laundry. Then she took of her shirt to put her new one on.

She felt fine at first, with the shirt in her style off and Kelsey’s casual black one on. But as she started to take her skirt off, she felt… weird… like the grip she’d thought she’d had over Kelsey’s body was slipping. She was… weakening…

How could that be? She’d felt so strong, just moments before. She’d felt strong enough to stay in control even without the clothes propping her up. Was it possible she’d miscalculated?

She’d already got the skirt halfway down her legs. Maybe she should put it back on instead? No, that was wrong, she was Kel, and she wasn’t indecisive, which meant that Kelsey was resurfacing.

The two of them grappled internally for power, but their body carried on with the task Kel had set it to do before she’d been distracted by Kelsey’s reappearance. By the time that skirt was all the way off, Kel had been knocked away from the internal controls and Kelsey had managed to reclaim them.

It had taken a lot of mental effort to get Kel out of her way, and to retake her rightful position of power, and Kelsey was a bit exhausted from it. She was also warily scanning inside of herself, in case Kel regrouped and tried to reclaim control again.

Kelsey had a sense of her… but it seemed like she was still getting weaker. She was fading into the background. Still there, but not so close— still there, but with no hope of retaking power, at least for now. She’d stay at least this weak unless Kelsey inadvertently did something to strengthen her again.

The only thing that would give Kel back her strength was this outfit she’d just taken off and put on her bed. Kelsey was still wearing parts of it, the accessories, the boots, so she hurried to get the rest of it off of her.

Once Kelsey had all of it off, she felt much more like herself. Kel was a faded shadow.

Kelsey breathed a sigh of relief. She just had to make sure she never wore any of these clothes again. She could do that easily— she could throw the entire outfit down the trash chute right this second, and then she’d never have to risk it. Kel would be dormant for ever. She’d never have the chance to reassert herself, and retake control. It had been a narrow escape, but Kelsey had escaped. And now the danger would be gone for good. It would be gone just as soon as she’d thrown these clothes away.

Kelsey gathered them up. She should throw them away as soon as possible— the longer she kept them around her place, the more danger she’d be in. Why bother keeping them, and putting herself at unnecessary risk? She’d get rid of them right now, and be safe forever.

Carrying the top, the skirt, the boots and the jewelry, Kelsey stepped out into the hallway and moved quickly down it to reach the trash chute. She pulled the door to it open, ready to dump her load inside, and then close the door and send it all down and out of her life forever.

She moved her arm, to try and tip it in. But— she couldn’t.

She tried jerking her arm forwards again, as she held the chute open with the other. Still nothing— she could move her arm forwards about an inch, but then it would lock in place. It was like there was some kind of physical restraint stopping it.

Maybe she’d underestimated Kel’s power, Kelsey thought, with a note of dread. She tried harder, tried forcing her arm to move. She put all her effort into it, but each motion froze at the same point, one inch out from her body. She gritted her teeth, she cursed under her breath— tears pricked her eyes, all as she forced herself up against that invisible barrier and tried to burst through it— she couldn’t.

Fine, Kelsey thought frustratedly. She couldn’t send it down the trash chute. But surely, she could let go? She could open her arms, and open her hands, and just let everything fall onto the hall floor. Then eventually someone would come along and find Kel’s former outfit lying there, and assume that someone had been too lazy to put it down the chute. Then they could do it for her. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than giving up completely and taking the clothes back with her to her apartment.

This should have been easier than moving her arm— after all, all she had to do this time was let go. But to her disappointment, when Kelsey tried to make the move of opening her hands and letting that which she held fall, they froze, too. Restrained by the same invisible restraint; knocking up against the same invisible barrier.

Kelsey tried gritting her teeth and forcing past it again, but had no more luck than when she’d tried it at the open chute. She strained her body to its breaking point, and cursed harder, but she couldn’t make herself let go.

She had complete freedom to move, right until she tried to do something to get rid of the clothes. Then, when she made the slightest approach towards dumping them, she became paralyzed in place. It was the most disturbing feeling.

Eventually, Kelsey had to admit to herself that it was a lost cause. Clearly, Kel wasn’t going to let her throw her clothes away. Kelsey could stand out here in the hallway struggling against herself for hours, and she still wouldn’t be able to do it. She might as well just give up and go back to her apartment.

But she told herself this still wasn’t a win for Kel. Just because she had to keep the clothes didn’t mean that she had to wear them. Kel might be able to prevent her from throwing them away, but she didn’t have the strength to force Kelsey to put them back on.

And the longer that Kelsey kept control of her body, the weaker Kel would get. She just had to be patient. If she tried again in a few days to throw the clothes away, Kel would be too weak to stop her by then. She could still defeat her once and for all. She just had to be smart about it.

Once Kelsey was back inside her apartment, she remembered Kel’s idea about washing her clothes. She wouldn’t do that— she’d stuff them away in the back of a drawer somewhere— out of sight, out of mind. Just long enough to wait out the temptation… just long enough to make Kel weak.

But still, even as she was stuffing Kel’s clothes, boots and accessories in the back of a dresser drawer, she found herself thinking about washing them instead. It would be so easy to do… she had in-suite laundry, the laundry room was just a door over from her bedroom, next to the bathroom. She could throw the shirt and skirt in on a delicate cycle, and then a light drying cycle for just a few minutes… then hang them up in the closet… and they’d be there for her tomorrow morning.

But she didn’t want them there tomorrow morning, Kelsey argued back. This was Kel talking, trying to convince her to do what she wanted. She slammed the dresser door closed, hoping that would be a clear enough answer to her.

Then she went a step further— she changed out of the clothes that Kel had chosen, and into some light pastel-y colors. The opposite of what Kel liked, just to make the point clear. She was Kelsey, she was in control, and she was never going to do anything Kel wanted, ever again.

Once she changed, she got to work making herself dinner. Then once she’d eaten, she sat to read in her living room for a few hours until it was time to go to bed.

But the thought of washing Kel’s clothes stayed with her all evening. It was in the back of her mind while she cooked, it was sitting across the table from her when she ate, and when she sat reading afterwards, it was written down between the lines on every page. She ignored it pointedly.

This worked until it was time to go to sleep. The thought became more insistent in the dark of her room with no other distractions. She knew it was Kel making her think about it, Kel trying to influence her. She kept on ignoring it— but she wasn’t falling asleep. Each time she felt herself starting to drift off, that thought of doing Kel’s laundry for her got in her way.

The night dragged on like this, with Kelsey tossing and turning as that same thought plagued her. She tried willing herself to sleep, the same way she’d tried forcing herself her past the invisible barriers before. She was equally unsuccessful. The thought kept repeating itself, keeping her awake, and the more it repeated, the louder it seemed to get.

Finally, after several hours of this, Kelsey was too exhausted to fight anymore. She’d just throw it in the washer, wait for the wash cycle to be finished, and then once it was safely in the dryer, she could go back to sleep. The delicate wash cycle was shorter than the regular one anyway.

She dug both the top and skirt out of the drawer she’d stuffed them into and set them to wash. It was only a twenty minute wait for the cycle to finish, and Kelsey felt oddly alert the whole time that she was waiting.

When at last the machine chimed to announce that both Kel’s shirt and skirt were clean, Kelsey transferred them to the dryer. A fleeting thought came to her of drying the clothes on a higher setting— and hopefully ruining them and rendering them unwearable in the process— but it only took a few seconds struggle to see that she’d be unable to do this. When she tried to turn the dial too far, onto high heat, she was caught by the invisible restraint again. And she was too tired to spend hours stubbornly fighting, this time. She just set the clothes to dry on a proper setting and then went back to bed.

Kel was, thankfully, silent in her head, and she fell asleep with no further delays.

When Kelsey woke up the next morning, the first thought in her head was to take the clothes out of the dryer and hang them up in the closet. It was what Kel had wanted her to do yesterday— she had the feeling that Kel wanted something different from her today, but Kelsey had a full night’s sleep behind her today. She could go back to resisting, and wearing Kel down.

But it felt like she was back to square one, in some ways. Doing as Kel wanted and cleaning her clothes for her seemed to have strengthened her, instead of weakening her. Kelsey had to make sure she didn’t do anything else to make Kel any stronger today; she needed her to be getting weaker with each day that passed, not stronger.

As Kelsey took the shirt and the skirt out of the dryer, she was immediately tempted to put them on. These were the clothes she should wear today. She should change out of her pajamas right now, and put these on instead.

Kelsey shook her head, trying to shake the thought out of it. It was Kel again, trying to persuade her. She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t listen, and she wouldn’t do what Kel wanted. She crossed back into her bedroom, carrying the outfit in with her.

She was going to hang them in the closet and leave them there. She was not going to put them on. She fitted the shirt around a hanger first, and then clipped the skirt into a skirt hanger. She shoved both pieces to the back of her closet, hidden behind her other clothes, and closed the closet door on them both.

Kel stubbornly kept whispering temptations about the clothes throughout the day, but Kelsey found them a bit easier to ignore. Kel had lost her hold on Kelsey, a bit. She could prevent her from doing things, but she wasn’t yet strong enough to force her into doing them. The best she could do was try to persuade Kelsey, which had worked the night before only because Kel had successfully prevented her from going to sleep.

But Kelsey wouldn’t make that mistake again. She’d take sleep medicine if she had to— she wasn’t going to do what Kel said anymore.

As the day went on, Kel became easier and easier to tune out. And by the time it was time to go to bed, it turned Kelsey didn’t need any sleep medicine after all. Kel had faded into the background enough that Kelsey was able to fall asleep easily.

That should have been the end of it. With Kel growing fainter by the day, and her clothes safely stashed in the back of Kelsey wardrobe and the back of her dresser drawer. It should have meant the end of Kel.

But after a few days of silence, Kelsey found herself thinking about Kel’s clothes again. Not because Kel was making her— she recognized these thoughts as her own. They had looked… good on her. Flattering in a way none of her other clothes were. She couldn’t put the whole outfit on… really, if she were being careful, she couldn’t put any of it on. If she even so much as put the accessories back on herself, she’d run the risk of bring Kel back to full strength. Or even making her stronger. And if Kel grew stronger, it meant that she herself would grow weaker.

It was dangerous to even think about trying any part of the outfit on again. If Kel resurfaced and took control again, she might never give it up. Kelsey might become the shadow inside herself fading away into nothing, the way Kel was right now. She might lose herself forever. It was just too high a risk.

Still, over the course of the next few days after that, as Kel grew more and more dormant in her, Kelsey found herself thinking often of the outfit piece by piece. The shirt alone— the skirt— the boots.

When her thoughts landed on them, they stayed there. They had been a stylish pair. She’d liked the way they’d looked on her legs, even though she was seeing that memory through Kel’s eyes.

Surely, if she just put the boots on over her regular clothes, she would be safe? They were just a pair of boots— what could they really do to her? They wouldn’t be enough to bring Kel back. She’d need the whole ensemble, and Kelsey definitely wouldn’t be putting the whole thing back on. She’d just stop at the boots. It wouldn’t help Kel at all, and she’d get to enjoy the way they looked.

So Kelsey decided to dig Kel’s boots out of her dresser drawer. She put them on, one boot at a time, fitting them over her pants.

When she had them on, she checked for any sign of Kel inside herself. There she was… a little closer, re-emerged from complete silence, but still faint enough that Kelsey wasn’t too worried about her.

She looked at herself. The boots looked great; she decided right then that she wanted to wear them all day. She liked the way they looked with the rest of what she was wearing— her light coloured top, and pale pants tucked inside of them. They were dramatic and bold in contrast; they stood out.

She liked that.

Kelsey went on with her day, but found herself noticing the boots more and more. They really did look good— they were so striking.

As the day wore on, Kelsey found herself starting to think about what a shame it was that the rest of her outfit didn’t match them. They would look even better if she put the rest of Kel’s clothes on… the skirt, the shirt… the jewelry.

The thought seemed so close to her— Kel was close to her again. She’d been lurking in the background, but slowly gathering strength all day… the boots may have fed her power slowly, but they had fed it, and now Kel was back to whispering tempting thoughts to her.

She needed to get the boots off— now, before Kel got any stronger, but Kel was strong enough now to prevent Kelsey from removing them. Strong, and getting stronger all the time… she really should put some of Kel’s outfit back on, shouldn’t she? At least just the shirt… it would look better with the boots than her own shirt did. Besides, she could just stop at the shirt…

Kelsey went back to her closet, and took the shirt out, and off of its hanger. She traded out the one she’d been wearing before for it, and took a look in her bedroom mirror this time.

The boots definitely looked even better with the shirt on. And the shirt was nice to wear— it made her feel… powerful. Confident…

Those weren’t feelings she was used to having. In fact, they were more the kind of feelings that Kel typically felt and not her. Maybe that was a bad sign… Maybe she needed to change back out of this shirt, and take the boots off. She’d been wearing them long enough, hadn’t she?

But at the same time, they felt so good to wear… she wanted to put more of Kel’s clothes back on so she could feel more of this confidence, and this power.

Besides, the ensemble was practically begging for it. The shirt and boots matched— but the pants she had on clashed badly. They’d been easy enough to overlook when she’d only been wearing the boots, and she’d still been in their matching shirt. But now that the shirt was gone, the pants were the part of the outfit that clashed. It would look so much better — feel so much better — if she took the boots off briefly to trade them for the skirt.

Once she’d made this change she felt even better; her outfit was almost complete, and she was feeling more secure in herself than ever. She just needed to get the accessories back out of the drawer, and put them on. She was enjoying the feeling of wearing these clothes so much that she wasn’t even worried about where the feeling of confidence and security was coming from, or who it really belonged to.

As soon as she had put her accessories back on and her outfit was complete, as easily as that, she was Kel again.

It was instantaneous, and she was so filled with relief. She had not ceased to exist for the time that Kelsey had held the reins of control again. She’d only had to sit in the back of their mind and watch Kelsey’s movement through her drab routines with a growing sense of impatience and frustration.

Though she had to admit— Kelsey had been easier to influence than she’d thought. She shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Kelsey was weak, and she was strong. She’d thought it would be hard to get control of their body again, especially when Kelsey had started tuning her out. But she’d been the one to decide she wanted to wear the clothes again.

Winning the battle for permanent control of Kelsey would probably be easier than she thought— if Kelsey gave in that easily, even when Kel wasn’t directly influencing her. It was pathetic— but it served her. She wouldn’t have to fight Kelsey for power, or try so hard to influence her. Even if she left her alone and didn’t say much, Kelsey would give in on her if given enough time.

But for the moment she was Kel again, and Kelsey was back to watching from the sidelines. Kel was going to enjoy this moment.

It felt so good to be back in control— to be herself— that she leaned back against the wall behind her, letting her eyes sink shut and sighing as she just let herself feel it.

She spent some time like that; but her victory was short-lived. Kelsey only let Kel be for a short time, and then she was back, and struggling with Kel for power. It was a brief fight— Kelsey was filled with such desperate determination to regain control, and Kel let her have it. It really didn’t matter to Kel if Kelsey was in power or not. Sooner or later she’d give in again, and Kel could retake what was rightfully hers without having to work so hard for it.

Kelsey fought her way back violently, and Kel let her. Once she was back, she took the clothes off of herself, and shoved Kel back into a dark corner of her mind.

After losing control to Kel again, Kelsey was more careful. She wouldn’t risk putting any of Kel’s clothes back on— now she knew from experience that even one article of clothing was enough to bring Kel back. She put the outfit away again, and refused to let herself even think about it, or even any of its components.

But she did find herself thinking about Kel, even though Kel was suspiciously silent within her. After a few days it started to feel like an itch. She was craving to put the clothes back on, even though it would weaken her further. She wanted to let Kel take over again.

It had felt good to be Kel, even though it was so wrong. Kel had so many of the traits Kelsey had always admired, but never possessed herself. It had been such a different feeling to be sure of herself— to just take what she wanted, when she wanted it. She found herself missing it, and wanting to do it again.

But even though she thought of giving in, she couldn’t actually let herself do it. The cost would be too high, and she knew that.

Even though Kel had only resurfaced for a short period of time before Kelsey had clawed her way back into control, there were lasting consequences from the brief time she’d held power again.

Kelsey felt— weaker than before. More destabilized, as if in the time Kel had been in control, and wearing those clothes, she had sapped some energy from her and taken it for herself. And even trying as hard as she could, she couldn’t get that stolen strength to return to her.

Still, despite this weakness, and despite the fact that it would only grow if she gave into temptation, Kelsey thought of Kel. Not only of being her again, and tasting that confidence by proxy. She thought of her when she walked past clothing stores, and saw dark clothing behind windows, on mannequins. Thought of things Kel would like to wear— pieces that fit that dark, bold style.

None of her own clothes really did, but sometimes if she was craving to be Kel particularly strongly, she’d go through her own clothes, looking at pieces that were darker in color. They were a far cry from some of the clothes she saw in the stores, but close enough to ease the desperation a little.

Kelsey remembered Kel wanting to go and buy more clothing in her own style— it was one more reason she could never let Kel out again. If she did, she’d not only resurface weaker, but probably also with an entirely new wardrobe that it would be almost impossible to avoid wearing.

But that desperate feeling in Kelsey grew. The itch got worse. She wanted to wear something that Kel would like; she wanted to put dark, bold clothing on her body, even if it meant Kel would come out. She didn’t have anything at home that fit the bill, besides Kel’s own outfit, so instead the next time she passed one of those stores, she went in instead of just looking and then moving on.

She’d been drawn to this particular one because of the black leather skirt on the mannequin in the window— and once inside she found it on the rack. She chose a top to go with it, and rushed to the changing room. She was craving it like a fix, and after days and days of feeling the desire pull at her, she was desperate to satisfy herself as quickly as she could.

When she shut the changing room door behind her, she undressed as quickly as she could. She was buzzing with anticipation as she did it.

She pulled the skirt up first. It was tight to her body, the way Kel liked. It hugged the curve of her hips and highlighted the shape of her ass in a provocative way. It was a little longer than Kel’s last skirt, coming down almost half of the way to her knee, but it made up for that by sitting so tight to her body. Kelsey ran a hand down along the side of her thigh, feeling the leather beneath her hand, and then sighed.

A little of the desperation had eased. And she was feeling more like Kel— in this skirt, she felt confident, and sexy. They were rare feelings to come buy in the rest of her life, and it had always been that way— but here they were now, and only because she’d put on the skirt. Kelsey rushed to get the top on too.

It was a matching black, to go with the leather, and it was more low cut than Kel’s other shirt. This one was sleeveless too, and Kelsey thought longingly of Kel’s gloves back home. They would go with this outfit too— they might even look better with it than with the other.

Still, the shirt on its own was flattering. It was hemmed up a little at the base, so part of Kelsey’s stomach showed above the top of the skirt. It had two simple straps, and a curving neckline that dipped low enough to display Kelsey’s cleavage nicely, but not so low as to be tasteless. The fabric on the outside of the shirt was almost velvety, but the inside was lined in something soft that caressed against Kelsey’s skin.

Kelsey looked at herself in the mirror, feeling that sense of confidence even more strongly. In fact, the feeling was getting stronger and stronger by the minute. Kel was close to her on the inside, now— getting closer. Kelsey could feel her control slipping— she was slipping out of power, losing her grip on each limb, losing the ability to move them and direct her body; she could feel Kel wrapping around them, taking over for her.

Kel was back— and as she looked in the changing room mirror, she decided that she definitely approved of what she was wearing. In fact, she liked it so much that she knew she wanted to wear it home. She dug down past the clothes Kelsey had worn into the store to find Kelsey’s purse, and retrieve her wallet. She took the purse with her, but left the clothes on the floor. She couldn’t be bothered to take them back home with her— they could be someone else’s problem now. She certainly wasn’t ever going to wear them again if she could help it.

On the way to the checkout counter, Kel noticed and took some pride in the fact that she turned a few heads with her outfit. And when she got there, she explained to the store employee that she wanted to buy the clothes and wear them out of the store. It was a quick transaction after that, and once Kel was back outside again, she stopped and thought about what she wanted to do next.

She didn’t know how long she had until Kelsey took control of her body again— she knew she wanted to have a good time until then. It was late afternoon, getting close to evening— Kel thought longingly of clubs and bars. She was certainly dressed for it.

Then, because she was Kel, and not Kelsey, she headed off to find a good club. She acted on her longings, instead of pining after them for days at a time before finally giving in and pursuing them.

The night was a bit of a blur after that— drinks at the bar with strangers, dipping in and out of consciousness, lots of laughter, and loud music that seemed to blare inside her head. She loved every part of the experience.

By the end of the night, Kel found herself standing on the street outside Mark’s apartment building. This was where she wanted to be most of all— she’d love to go up and show him what she was wearing— would love to fuck him while dressed like this. It sounded even more fun and enjoyable than the rest of the night before it.

She only had to go in, and have him buzz her up. She could be in his apartment fucking him in less than five minutes. She wanted to— the desire was humming under her skin, but when stepped forward, she felt Kelsey coming up inside her.

Kel struggled against her return, but she was a little woozy from the alcohol, and a little tired from the lateness of the night. And Kelsey was fighting her with everything that she had. In the end, it was too much for her. Kelsey threw Kel off, retook Kel’s place, and hailed a cab for a ride home.

When she got there, she was quick to change out of Kel’s new clothes and into some of her old safe ones. She fell asleep, still feeling affected by the alcohol, and trying hard not to think about how close Kel had been to going in and seeing Mark.

Kelsey broke down more quickly the next time. As before, the craving to wear Kel’s clothes— to be Kel, rose up in her again and grew in desperation until she had to break down and pull the new outfit back onto herself.

And when she surfaced from that— surfaced from Kel like coming back out of a bad drug trip, she felt even weaker. She was starting to feel like Kel’s shadow, growing fainter by the day, fainter and fainter until one day, she would fade completely away.

It took a few more Kel-trips, but she grew weaker with each one, until finally, one day when Kel took off her clothes again, she found she was still Kel underneath— there was nothing else there in her head, trying to take control away from her.

She could be Kel permanently now— as she’d been waiting for, and looking forward to. In the end, it had been as easy as she’d thought. She’d only had to wait for Kelsey to give into her after all.

Kel celebrated by going out to buy herself more clothes in the same style; so she could wear them in constant rotation, never giving Kelsey even the smallest chance of coming back— if she even still existed.

She was Kel now. And she could stay that way.

She was so happy that she celebrated by going to see Mark again. He was happy to see her too, and when she looked at him now, Kel could see how well the two of them matched; that dark streak in him, shining in his eyes, and these dark clothes on her body.

It was perfect. She loved it— she never wanted it to stop, and never wanted to change.

And as she followed him inside, she realized, when he told her to, that it never had to, and it never would.