The park is nice and peaceful this late in the day. Most parents have taken their kids back into the safety of their houses, and the few that haven't are off in their own little groups, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves.
It's a bad idea to walk around in public with your arms around Madison, so you restrict yourself to just holding her hand as you stroll around the park. She pouts at you, but understands; in a city with such an Empire presence, it's not a good idea to make the fact that you're gay an open one. It's risky enough at school, and that's a place where you can use your power to crush someone's mind hard enough that they won't blab, if it comes down to it. You can't do that in public, where a cape might see.
Still, it's pleasant enough. You can feel the stress slowly fading from your system, helped along by Madison's soft humming.
You wander around the park for around fifteen minutes, just taking in the sights and enjoying the fluttering feeling of being on a proper date with Madison, before you finally spot a seat that's secluded enough for your liking. Hidden behind the dropping boughs of an old willow tree and a series of rosebushes that aren't trimmed nearly often enough to keep them from overgrowing their trellises, you sit down on the bench and pull Madison into your lap again.
At her questioning glance, you shrug. "I like it when you sit on my lap," you tell her. Then, "I like it when you're that close to me."
She giggles and settles in comfortably against you. You take the chance to peer down her shirt, drawing an amused and slightly naughty smile from the girl; you're pleased to find that she's still wearing lacy black lingerie beneath her shirt.
"You said you liked it," she says simply after a moment. "Do you want me to-"
"No, no," you interrupt her. "Trust me, Madison, this is absolutely fine." You finish your sentence with a lewd smile, causing her to burrow her face against your neck again with another embarrassed flush.
"Good," she mumbles. Then, she leans up and whispers into your ear, "It feels so good to wear this for you." This time, you're the one who can't hide the embarrassed flush that creeps up your neck, causing her to let out a naughty little giggle as she settles back against you.
The two of you stay snuggled together there for a long time, exchanging little naughty comments like that and talking about your school and home lives.
Madison tells you about her adventures with her little brother, who's currently obsessed with an Earth Aleph-designed video game about... she's not actually sure; digging up blocks of dirt and building hollow cubes dirt to protect yourself from exploding monsters, she thinks, and punching spiders to death. There could be more to it, but her brother keeps getting excited about the exploding green things and forgetting whatever his other goals were.
You tell her about your day out with your Dad over the weekend. You'd gone with him before you'd seen Madison at Emma's house, but you haven't actually told her about it before now. She doesn't understand most of what you describe to her— she doesn't actually know much about the economy, she admits with a shameful blush, which causes you to stop telling your story as you gently reassure her— but she hangs attentively on your words anyway, patiently asking questions as she tries to wrap her head around your Dad's job.
In turn, she tells you about the time she's spent with her own parents. She doesn't tell you much about her mother— you get the feeling there's still some lingering resentment there— but she goes on enthusiastically about her experiments with her dad cooking in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry that the food I've been cooking for you isn't the best," she mumbles shamefacedly at one point, "but Mom got really angry when I told her I was making lunch for you, and she and Dad got in a fight over it, so I can't spend too much time in the kitchen in the morning in case that happens again."
"Don't worry about it," you tell her, pressing a kiss against the tip of her nose, "I don't care about the food, I just love that you're making it for me." She blushes a beautiful red and stammers a bit, losing track of what she was talking about.
Seeing that she's lost for words, you take the lead in the conversation again. You're tempted to use your power for this, but you refrain, trying to ignore the queasy pit of nervousness in your stomach as you describe to Madison your activities with Sophia in the bathroom yesterday.
"... and then I kissed her and ran out," you admit. "Wait, no— I grabbed her ass, too. She didn't seem to mind that much, though."
Madison doesn't speak for a moment. You search her face, and are relieved when you don't see any of the usual signs of her anger or frustration.
When she does speak, it's with a measured, determined calm.
"Was she a better kisser than me?" she asks.
You don't know— it'd only been a half-second kiss— but that's not what Madison needs to hear.
"Of course not," you mutter. She grabs onto your collar as you guide her head up again, meeting her in a gentle kiss for a moment. "You're the best kisser, Maddie."
"And don't you forget it." She pouts, then fiddles nervously with your collar for a moment, before leaning in and seeking another kiss. After that, she speaks again, seeming a bit less nervous. "You promised you wouldn't forget about me, right?"
"Hey." You surprise her by sitting up suddenly, almost causing her to tip over backwards if your arms weren't around her, holding her strongly in place where she is. "Of course I won't," you say seriously. You don't tell her not to worry, there's no way she can't worry about this, but you do your best to reassure her anyway. "I will never forget about you, Madison, no matter how many women are in my life."
That seems to wash away her insecurity some, but she still looks a little vulnerable. You almost lean in to reassure her with another kiss, but something holds you back. Maybe that isn't the best path right now.
"I promise," you murmur instead, leaning your forehead delicately against hers so you can stare into her eyes up close. "I could never forget about my favourite girl."
This time, she doesn't pout. Whatever she's feeling, it's too serious for her to try to hide it behind trembling lips and doe eyes as she normally does. She does, however, lean in close before kissing you, still clutching your collar with trembling arms.
Well, okay. You're going to need to deal with that insecurity somehow.
You could leave it— she's willing enough to dedicate herself to you anyway— but somehow, the thought makes that same sick nervousness as before roll around in your stomach briefly before you brush the thought away. Maybe once, you might have been willing to just ignore her insecurities and rely on her loyalty to you to overcome any reluctance she has in being one of your lovers, but now— now you just want her to willingly accept every part of you. Even the sexiness of Madison enjoying the odd threesome or foursome isn't your biggest concern (although now you're thinking about it, it is pretty sexy).
There's nothing you can do about it right now, though— at least not without using your powers on the vulnerable girl. And that just seems wrong.
So instead, you just press a gentle kiss to her nose and hold her tightly against you, reassuring her with your presence, until it gets too cold and you have to reluctantly part from her as her father sweeps in to pick you both up for the night and drop you off at home.
It probably says something about you that you're kind of glad that you're having this kind of relationship drama.
Unfortunately, as it turns out, Madison isn't available after school on Thursday— "Piano lessons with one of Mom's friends," she explains glumly when you inquire the next day. You're a bit disappointed, although also a bit relieved— you're not sure how much privacy the park really affords, and you don't want to always take Madison to the same place.
Maybe you can get a job, you think suddenly— it'll eat up time either during the week or during the weekend, but it's guaranteed income, and you might even get a job somewhere you like.
But that's something to consider later (you don't even have a resume at the moment). You need something to distract you now.
So you take some time during computer class, the one class you have free from Emma's fretful gaze, to look up hobbies online. Unfortunately, most of them sound extremely boring. Knitting, scrapbooking— what's the point of that kind of hobby? And most of the other ones that you can find require way more money than you have. Model-building has potential, but then you look at the prices listed for beginner-level models, and a little piece of you dies on the inside as you close the tab.
There isn't very much at all you can do in Brockton Bay, you soon find out glumly. If you had some money, you might be able to find a camera and take up photography, but you don't, and even if you did, who's to say you'll be good enough at it to justify the price tag? Gardening sounds promising for a moment, but even it requires money, unless you're willing to go around stealing plants and cutting— which you are, but that's a bit visible for your liking.
In the end, there's really not a lot you can do. At least, until you stumble across a simple advertisement from a clinic downtown, asking for people interested in assisting a free clinic by donating their services on weekdays. You check, of course, to make sure that it's still current; it is.
From what you can tell from a quick skim over the site, they're asking for volunteers to come and assist with basic duties unrelated to health care. Their recruitment page advertises the fact that they "have close ties to the New Wave movement", and that they're willing to consider funding volunteers for further education and training in health care matters if volunteers prove willing and capable to do their work.
Unfortunately, as you also find out, volunteering isn't an easy process. You can't just walk up to someone in a building, say "I want to volunteer here", and be told to get an immediate start— especially not as a minor. You download and email the forms to yourself, but you're going to have to fill them out when you get home, get your Dad to sign them, and ask him to ring up and make an appointment with them for the both of you to go see them. It's all complicated by you still being under sixteen— there are laws about what kind of volunteers they're allowed to take on and what minors are allowed to do, and they need to discuss them with you before you can sign anything.
Fortunately, he agrees to do that for you, and doesn't question you on your sudden interest in volunteering at a health care clinic. In fact, when you present the forms to him, he draws you into a sudden hug that almost causes you to drop the forms all over him.
"I'm proud of you, Taylor," he says when he finally pulls back.
And that makes the decision worth it all on its own.
By Friday afternoon, though, you're getting a bit antsy.
Dad had rung the clinic the next morning, inquiring about when you could come in and speak to them about volunteering. You hadn't heard the other end of the conversation, but from what he'd said, the earliest they could fit you in was after school next Monday. That didn't suit you, so he'd arranged for Wednesday morning instead. Then, hopefully, you'd be able to start volunteering in the afternoons from then on.
That still leaves you with the weekend, though, and half of next week before you can start. You're going to have to figure out a way to occupy yourself until then.
So, how are you going to occupy yourself over the weekend? [Pick three of the following options.]
[] You're going to visit Madison. Even after your date with her, you're still feeling a little stressed— and the fact that you still have no idea why Emma came over isn't helping. Being with Madison really does help. Even if your relationship with her does have its own issues, those issues aren't related to your powers or your past history with her— they're related to her own insecurities. And those, you can hopefully deal with.
— Success chance: Cannot be failed.
— General results: Taylor will spend more non-sexual time with Madison within Madison's own house. May provide scenes wherein Taylor bonds with Madison and Madison's family.
[] You're still feeling a little bit vulnerable right now, and you could really use a distraction. And Madison is proving herself a devoted little sub. So, after tutoring, you're going to tell Rick you're bringing Madison around to your house, and— you're not telling him this part— Madison is going to distract you. Not with sex, not yet— but you won't say no to some nudity. Yeah, you can get behind the idea of spooning a nude Madison as you watch a movie together. What could go wrong?
— Success chance: Cannot be failed.
— General results: Increases Madison's Lust by 2 and Affection by 1. Distracts Taylor from her issues a little. May provide a scene in which Taylor plays with the body of a completely nude Madison, then falls asleep together with her. Encourages Taylor to hide her issues and provide herself with emotional comfort by having sex with her harem instead of healthily talking them out. Will not block or hamper recruitment efforts or similar; will only affect Taylor's characterization.
— General notes: Cannot be picked in conjunction with 'You're still feeling somewhat stressed out'. Basically encourages Taylor to comfort herself by sleeping with her women instead of stumbling through and trying to figure out what could cause her to overcome them. The safer option for players.
[] You're still feeling somewhat stressed out, and Madison is newly insecure in her relationship with her. You're going to head over to Madison's house and spend at least a few hours playing with her. It'll feel good for both you and Madison, and hopefully might distract you from your issues— and you're pretty sure that what your girl needs to feel secure with you is just for you to keep spending time with her. Spending time with her on the weekend and letting her know just how much you really appreciate her and her body is a win-win.
— Success chance: Cannot be failed.
— General results: Increases Madison's Lust and Affection by 1. Distracts Taylor from her issues a little. May provide a scene in which Taylor continues to encourage Madison's submission by stripping and pinning Madison down beneath her and touching her girl wherever she wants to. Encourages Taylor to ignore her issues and provide herself with emotional comfort by having sex with girls she's romantically engaged with instead of healthily talking them out. Will not block or hamper recruitment efforts or similar; will only affect Taylor's characterization.
