Worlds Apart Ch. 04

Zach gulped. "What do you need from me?"

"Just stick to yourself, to your room." Zel's voice grew a bit quieter. "I don't want to fuck up another friendship because I was too dumb to ignore the warning signs. Because if you step inside this room I will fuck your brains out, and I know you've got a girlfriend who'd mind that."

She didn't seem to have the same reservation at all about Pemma's boyfriend, Zach thought. Does that come from guilt, or does she just like me more than Pemma? "Do you want anything? Any food?"

"I grabbed a few things once I finally admitted to myself what this was, before it hit me full force." Zel tapped the door. "Probably just gonna spend the next week jilling myself off from sunup to sundown."

Zach immediately clamped down on the part of his brain that tried to match an image to that statement. "Well, if you need anything, just call me and crack the door, and I'll slide whatever it is inside."

"Hold your nose while you do it," Zel said. "Apparently my scent is a mean mother right now."

"Noted. Feel better, Zel."

"Yeah. Thanks."

The next day, Zach went to take one of his exams, and felt like he did a good job. When he got back to the dorm, however, he smelled something as soon as he walked in. A heavy smell, something that tickled the edge of his nostrils and sent a tingle down his back. He padded into the kitchen, and the smell got a little stronger as he got near the fridge. He opened it up, and frowned. There was significantly less food in there than there had been when he left this morning.

When he got to his room, the first thing he looked up on the extranet was "enn'cief heat cycle." He read through the article, acutely aware that he should be studying for his upcoming final, but he had to know. Apparently the heat cycle could last anywhere from three days to almost two weeks. In addition to a "persistent state of arousal during waking hours," the other main effect of the heat cycle was that it kicked the enn'cief's metabolism into overdrive, making them have to eat twice as much as normal in order to get the adequate number of calories.

Zach got out of his chair and walked over to Zel's door. He knocked once. "Hey Zel?"

"Yeah!" she called from within, sounding much more normal than she had the previous day.

"Did you eat all the missing stuff in the fridge?"

"Yeah," she said, her voice closer to the door. "I got so fucking hungry. I ate a bunch of your stuff too. I'll pay you back after this is all done. I feel a lot better with food in me." She paused. "I mean, cock would also be fucking nice, but in it's absense I have to make do."

Zach felt himself blush. "I mean, do you want me to find you some?"

She laughed, the sound muted comically by the door. "I will break any male that walks in here, Zach," she said. "So if you do, make him an orak or a brujak or something."

He smirked. "I'll see what I can do. Need anything else?"

"Nothing comes to mind," she said. "I'm gonna take a nap, I think. Good night."

"Good night." Zach turned and walked away from the door back to his own room. When he got to his chair, he messaged Debbie asking if she could talk on vidcomm. After a few minutes, she answered that she could, and he fired up the program on his computer.

After their hellos he ran Debbie through the whole situation. "She seems to be doing better now," he finished, chewing on the end of his datapad stylus.

"I still don't understand why you decided to stay," Debbie said. She was doing her nails. That gave Zach pause -- she'd never been one for nail polish before. "Isn't she distracting when you're trying to study?"

"I think she sleeps a lot of the time," Zach said, staring at the wall where he had the extended Federation Table of Elements. "When she's not eating."

"Or flicking the bean," Debbie said, smirking as she drew the nail polish brush up and down with neat, practiced motions. She paused, then looked up from her work. "Does this have anything with what's going on with your parents?"

Zach looked back at his computer screen. "What do you mean?"

"You told me a couple weeks ago you thought your folks were cheating on one another." Her words were careful and guarded. "Are you staying to keep an eye on Zel because you don't want the relationship to waver like your folks' is?"

Zach frowned. "I don't follow."

Debbie sighed and corked the nail polish, leaning back in her chair and fanning her hand back and forth to dry the polish. "I just don't like the idea of you being alone in an apartment with a perpetually horny alien girl."

"Debbie, relax." Zach leaned in, looking directly into his camera. "I mean, if anything she was perpetually horny before this. Now it's just amplified."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better."

"Poor wording on my part. Zel knows what's going on with herself, and she's taken the appropriate steps to keep herself isolated. Things will be fine."

Debbie leaned back in her chair. It was evening on Mars, and she was dressed in a tank top and shorts, a rather cute ensemble. "If you're absolutely certain. I've never been too fond of you rooming with both those girls."

Zach was taken aback. "Since when? You've never mentioned this before."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'm pretty sure I have? I don't know if I'm just being paranoid or not, but I don't know how these aliens work. I mean hell, they're going into heat now."

"It's not a problem!" Zach said. "They're both perfectly fine women with their own lives and personalities. We've all gotten along great until this recent drama." He decided to not mention the fact that this whole drama may have been started by Zel ignoring obvious biological signs in the first place.

Debbie sighed heavily, pinching her nose for a moment. "I just...the separation is getting to me, I think. It's so...hard, being apart from you."

"I know," Zach said. "It's been rough for me too." He thought of that scent lingering by the fridge. "But I'm holding off for you, Debbie. I love you."

Something flickered in Debbie's eyes, far too quick for Zach to make out. "I love you too," she whispered gently, reaching up to touch her computer screen. Zach did the same thing, feeling the static of the screen beneath his fingers. They lingered like that for a time, until Debbie drew back. "I have to go," she murmured. "Good luck on your exam tomorrow."

"Thanks, Deb." The two of them disconnected, and Zach spun around in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. He'd been trying to put his parents out of his mind through exam week and all the drama with Pemma and Zel. The whole situation made him feel like an outsider to his own family, as well as a sexual pariah. His sister Carly didn't even care, and he hadn't talked to her in a couple weeks. His parents were sleeping around on one another. He was thousands of light years distant from the lover of his life. The only release he'd had for ages was his own hand. Yet everywhere he turned it seemed like others were disregarding monogamy's norms for...whatever reason.

Zach tried to study more for his exam the next day, but thoughts of sex and relationships and the distances between people swirled through his head. Memories of his one night with Debbie seemed like a lifetime ago, caresses shared and words whispered by the light of a moon by a terraformed Mars lake. He couldn't focus on theoretical quantum entanglements when he was reminiscing about the feel of Debbie's skin against his, her sex around his length, her moans in his ear. He felt himself growing hard and rubbed himself through his pants. He gave up on studying, changed into his bedclothes, and gave himself a quick release before sleep claimed him.

The next day, after his second to last exam, Zach came home to see that the fridge was completely empty. Even the condiment containers had been cleaned out and licked clean. It was actually kind of impressive.

After a quick trip to the campus store later, Zach came back with an armful of groceries. He was in the middle of putting them away when he heard footsteps in the hall. He padded over where the kitchen met the hallway. Then he froze.

Zel looked like a deer caught in the headlights, her eyes staring rapt at him. She was shirtless, and Zach found out that his mental image of Zel wasn't actually all that far off. Zel was black through and through, her breasts small but perky, capped with pink nipples that were so erect they looked like budding flowers. Also, they were pierced with little metal bars, the same color as her ear piercings. The only thing she wore was a pair of red panties. Her fur was matted and unkempt, and she had a frantic look in her eye.

Then Zach inhaled, and he got a whiff of her scent. It was unpleasant at first. But on his second breath, as he hurriedly ducked back into the kitchen, it's full bouquet was presented to him. He smelled the forest, the earth, the rain, the artificial musk that she used, along with a smell that his mind could only put the word female to. It made his blood burn, his heart race and his cock quiver. He blinked. How the fuck was he this hard already?

"I'm sorry!" he yelled down the hallway.

"No, I'm sorry!" Zel said, her voice breathy. "I didn't know you were coming back this early. Fuck, I..." She didn't say anything for a long time. "Zach, you smell really good."

"Go back in your room, Zel," Zach said, licking his lips and trying to keep his knees from shaking. He opened his mouth and breathed through it because his nose was clogged with the smell of her. "Before we do something we both regret."

There was silence, and Zach turned his head, half-expecting to see Zel creeping up around the corner to pounce him. Then he heard the click of her claws against the floor, and the hiss of her door shutting. He stayed still for a while, leaning on the counter and taking deep breaths to clear her scent out of his senses. Fucking hell, it was powerful.

Slowly, his body stopped shaking and his throbbing erection receded. He ran his hands through his hair, and they came away damp with sweat. His throat was dry, so he got a glass of water as he walked back to his room. Nothing but silence came from behind Zel's door. He raised a hand to knock on it, then stopped and walked back to his own room.

The next few hours were spent in a loop of trying to study for his exam and failing spectacularly as the memory of Zel's scent came back to him. Just the memory of it was enough to get him hard, and adding in the image of her body almost had him exploding out of his pants. He did everything he could to distract himself -- music, thinking about Debbie, setting up a metronome on his computer, but nothing worked. His mind kept wandering back to Zel's tight body, the matted fur and the frantic eyes. In any other case he knew he would've been turned off, but there had been a...primal honesty to her body. As if her being in heat had made her the most honest biological version of herself, and his body was responding to that.

That is the most ridiculous thing you've ever thought, Zach thought to himself. Nice going, Shakespeare.

You got a better explanation for it? He thought back to himself.

It wasn't as if he hadn't looked at porn while he'd been separate from Debbie. He was certain she had as well. The female forms of most of the galaxy's races were known to him, but seeing on in person had been a jolt, a shock to his system as if it suddenly realized it was missing something key, something that he'd long suppressed the longing for. He knew it was wrong what his body wanted, but fuck he wanted Zel.

Zach sat up in his chair. Maybe there was a way he could use this to his advantage.

His father Eric answered on the third ring. "Hey hey, champ! How are things?"

"I'm alright, Dad," Zach answered. They made it through the usual smalltalk and pleasantries, and then Zach said, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Has there ever been a time where you felt... I dunno, distant from Mom?"

"Not really." The reply was a touch to chipper and a fraction too quick for Zach's liking. "I know your mom and I haven't exactly been the closest these past couple years, but we still get along just fine. Why? You and Debbie having problems?"

"It's just... the distance is getting to the both of us. It's really hard."

"I can understand that. You two are probably the longest distance relationship in human history. But you're a good kid, and so's she. You'll make it work."

Zach nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

He hung up with Eric feeling less reassured than he had hoped, and still with a persistent, aching need in his gut. He tried to call Debbie, but got no response. He went to bed that night frazzled and horny.

Zach barely got any sleep that night, tossing and turning as he dreamed of Debbie, except Debbie had black fur, then a tail, and suddenly he was being ridden by Zel, her eyes glowing and her scent cloying everything. Then he woke up, and his clock read 5AM. So he went back to sleep, and by the time he woke up again, it was almost time for him to be heading out the door. He threw clothes on and scampered out, not even checking on Zel.

The exam was a disaster. All through the two hour period he couldn't focus. Zach left the exam room with a gnawing feeling in his gut that he'd fucked up, and fucked up big time. He got angry at Zel, but then calmed down and felt ashamed. She'd just made a mistake. She hadn't meant to throw him off.

When he got him, he went back to his room and tossed everything on the floor. Instead of the usual delight at the semester being done, he felt only exhaustion and dread. He might have to retake the final class. He clicked his computer on and called up the vidcomm. He wanted to talk to Debbie, just to hear her voice. She had to be up by now, if he was doing his timezone math right.

Debbie answered a couple seconds before the call request timed out. Something looked...off about her. Then Zach realized she was wearing eyeliner. That was new.

She blinked as his camera focused on his face. "Zach? You look like shit."

"Long night," he muttered. "Couldn't sleep. How are you?"

"I'm good," she said hesitantly. "Did that fucking enn'cief do anything to you?"

Zach sat upright. "No! Why would even think that?"

Debbie relaxed. "Nothing, forget about it."

"Uh, no? What made you think of that?"

"I said, forget it, Zach," Debbie said, her voice tense. "It's nothing."

Zach stared at her for a moment, then he noticed a black dress on her bed. "What's the dress for?"

"I'm going out to dinner with my parents, calm down," Debbie said. But something flickered across her eyes, and he heard a familiar quaver in her voice.

It was the same tone he'd heard when talking to his dad.

A chill washed over him, and he leaned back in his chair. "Right. Okay."

"You may want to lie down, honey," Debbie said, her voice dripping with a sweetness that just sounded cloying to him. "Get some rest."

"Yeah," Zach muttered. "Thanks."

He clicked the disconnect before Debbie could say goodbye. He didn't want to hear it.

Zach sat in his chair for a long time, minutes ticking by. He felt numb through and through. At least, he thought, I don't feel tired anymore. Just disappointed. And hurt. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his mind blank.

Black fur. Piercings. That smell.

Zach gritted his teeth. No. Even if Debbie was cheating on him, he wouldn't. He couldn't sink that low. Not like his parents had.

He was halfway down the hall before he could stop himself.

Zel's door was still shut. He knocked on it. Then he realized that the little lock symbol on the touch panel by the door wasn't there. Which meant the door was open, just not set to automatically open whenever someone got near it.

He tapped the panel. The door opened, and a wave of Zel's scent rolled over him. It was even more potent here than the whiff of it he'd gotten the day before. He stepped into her living space. Zel had never been a neat freak, but her heat cycle had evidently done a number on even what little of the desire to be clean she had. Clothes were strewn about the floor, some of them with claw marks on them. Her blinds were closed so no light could get inside.

Zel herself was sprawled across her bed. She'd at least put a shirt on, but wore no pants, the curve of her rump hidden only under a thin layer of undergarment. Zach stood in the middle of the room, breathing in her scent more and more, feeling the numbness fade away.

She stirred as the door closed. "Zach?" she murmured sleepily. Then after a moment, Zel jackknifed upright, her eyes staring wide at him. "Zach. What are you doing in here? You have to get out of here before..." Her nostril twitched. "Before I...smell...you... ooooooh."

"I don't want to go," Zach said, his voice low and breathy.

Zel rolled over. Her pierced nipples jutted against the fabric of her shirt, easily visible. Through the sheer fabric of her panties, he could see dampness around her nethers. "But...your girlfriend... fucking Forest Gods you smell good." Her claws picked at the sheets. "I... if you stay any longer I won't be able to stop m-myself."

Was this how his parents had felt when faced with their temptations? Like they were standing on the edge of a cliff, and choosing whether or not to jump?

Zach jumped.

He moved across the room quickly, stripping off his shirt as he did. Zel's eyes widened, and her pupils dilated. Her nostrils twitched and her tail quivered, her whole body going into lockup for a moment.

The moment Zach touched her, she pounced like a feral animal. With a snarl she leaped off the bed and tackled him, bowling the both of them over into a pile of dirty laundry. Zel yanked her shirt off, her perky tits bobbing into view in front of Zach's face. Then she shredded the waistline of her panties with a sweep of her claws, yanking the fabric away from her body and tossing it away. "Fuck you... for making me wait," she snarled, her fingers scrabbling at his pants. "I haven't needed cock this badly in ages."

Zach got his pants off, his erection bobbing free. He grabbed hold of Zel tight, yanking her to his body and burying his face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled the scent of her fur, feeling it drive more and more of himself away with each whiff. "You fucking stink..." he growled.

Zel nipped at him in response, not being gentle with her claws in the slightest as she grabbed hold of him, grinding her body into him. "You're one to talk," she said. "I smell you all the fucking time, even when I'm normal and not spending every waking moment thinking about cock. I know when you've jerked yourself off."

Zach felt his cock throb, pressed into the fur of her thigh. "How often?"

"Every fucking day." Zel's voice became a whine at the end of the statement, and she humped against his erection. "Forest Gods...I want you inside me. I fucking need you inside me Zach!"

He inhaled her scent one more time, feeling primal sexuality surge through him. He was male, she was female. She wanted him. He wanted her. It was that simple, no societal trappings of monogamy clouding his mind.

It had been far too long.

Zach grabbed hold of Zel and rolled them both over, pressing Zel down into her carpet. She humped back against him, fighting him for dominance. But he had a good forty pounds on her, and kept her still under his body as she squirmed, writhed and growled. Her rump swelled against his hips, her tail batting his chest as he lined up his cock with her swollen slit. There was heat radiating off her, actual heat that he could feel. Then he slammed himself home, and Zel let out a piercing cry that seemed to echo across campus.