Blackmailed by a Bully

Freida stared at her laptop with dismay.

'Why can't I get these integers to convert to strings?' she wondered, trying different ideas. With a sigh, she gave in and tried asking the AI chatbot for help.

"Hey," Tom hissed, poking her in the ribs.

Freida jumped and made a whooping sound so loud everyone turned to look at them.

The pair giggled.

"Don't let Garry catch you using that thing," Tom whispered.

"Maybe don't make me scream and grab his attention then," Freida shot back.

"You can ask me, you know," Tom pointed out. "I am sitting right here."

Freida smiled, but she did not want to ask him for help. She hated asking for help. At least the AI wouldn't judge her for being stupid... no more that it was probably judging the entirety of humanity right now. After the lecture ended, Freida popped her laptop back into her case and said bye to her friends.

"Hey... you did you say you were coming to the gig later?" Tom asked just as she was about to turn her back to them.

"Erm, I'll let you know," she said, knowing that she wouldn't. She had to see Damon later, and that was more important than having fun.

As she looked up at the bus, she was almost certain she could see Stacy and Felix exchanging outraged looks. Their faces were twisted into disgusted expressions she had never seen from them before. 'Was I rude just now?' she wondered. 'And why does it matter if I tag along or not?'

The three of them had been friends for a while before Freida met them and became part of the group, so surely they could cope without her.

It upset her, the thought that she might have inadvertently been rude and upset her friends, but some things were more important--like her brother.

She no longer cared about Mr Preston. If their affair got out to the public, it would be horrible--but not the end of the world. Not hers anyway. It might be the end of his perfect life with his precious wife. Freida knew she was being a bitch, but she didn't care. That man had lied to her. He had said he loved her and that he would eventually leave his wife for her.

She was feeling upset by the time she reached Damon's house. Thankfully, he was in a better mood than herself. She knew him well enough by now to pick up on the clues. He tended to hum to himself when happy, plus he didn't stomp about the place like a herd of migrating elephants.

"Cup of tea?" he offered.

'He really is cheery,' she thought, nodding and smiling gratefully.

"Thank you," she said as he placed it on the table next to the coaster.

She sipped the tea as she watched him pull her phone from his pocket. As soon as her eyes zeroed in on it, she couldn't pull them away.

'This is it,' she thought. 'Now all I have to do is steal it back from him.'

It wasn't going to be as easy as her mind was tricking her into believing, but Freida was an eternal optimist.

Her eyes followed him about the room as he perused her messages with a faint smile on his lips. She wanted to know but didn't quite dare ask what he was doing.

He switched it off and dropped it back into his pocket before turning to her with a wide grin. "We are going to meet Tom tonight."

"We?" Freida asked, eyes wide in horror. "We are?"

"He invited you to go and see this band in town and I said you would love to. I'm sure he won't mind if you bring a friend along, right?"

Freida nodded slowly.

"But... why?" she asked.

Damon shrugged.

'This is just another way to torture me, isn't it?' she figured. 'Humiliate me in front of my friends.'

Great.

She knew him well enough at this point not to try to talk him out of it. It wouldn't work, and would probably ruin his good mood if she pestered him too much. That wouldn't bode well for the evening. "I'll let you go home and get changed," he said with a smile.

Freida thanked him and turned to leave. As she was going, he shouted after her to wear something sexy.

'Hmm,' she thought, looking through her wardrobe.

To be completely honest, it wasn't hard for her to look sexy, as conceited as it sounded to admit. She was slim with big boobs and a curvy waist, with a pretty enough face. Even wearing baggy clothing, she got a lot of attention from men. After a flick through her hangers, she chose her trusty black dress. It was short, figure-hugging and made her boobs look bigger.

After applying smokey eyes and lip gloss, she headed back to Damon's house. For some reason, she was worried he wouldn't like it-that he would say she didn't look sexy and send her away.

'Why do I care what that evil blackmailing jerk thinks of me?' she questioned herself.

Herself had no answers.

As the tumbleweed rolled across her brain, butterflies filled her tummy.

The idea of Damon meeting her friends was scary enough, but she really didn't like new social situations in general.

Socialising had always been an issue for Freida, who hadn't made any friends at all during Primary school. They had all said she was weird, though nobody had ever explained what was weird about her.

When she knocked on the door, Damon shouted for her to come in. She did so and stood in the living room smoothing down her dress and feeling self-conscience.

"Woah!" he declared, slapping her on the bum. "Now that is hot."

Freida couldn't stop her cheeks from flushing pink.

"Come on." He took her hand and led her to the nearest bus stop.

When the bus pulled up with a hiss and a screech, he jumped on first and turned back to her. "You're paying."

"Such a gentleman," she muttered as she paid the driver, who seemed like he couldn't care less about Damon's lack of manners.

They took the seats at the back and sat in silence as the bus trundled about their estate before turning onto the main road. Once they got off it was only a short walk to the venue.

A bouncer guarded the door to the club, and for one glorious moment, Freida thought he would refuse Damon entry because he looked like a scruff.

Her face fell when the guy fist-bumped Damon and had a full conversation with him.

'So he knows him,' she thought, rolling her eyes.

The bouncer looked her up and down as she passed, making a weird face.

It was loud, dark and smelly inside. Freida already hated it. She wanted to go back to her home where she had tea and comfy clothes and everything was familiar. Damon placed an arm around her and led her to the bar.

Tom was already sitting at the bar alone, and when his eyes met Freida's, he looked up at Damon and then back at her, confused.

"Hey," she said, trying to act casual. "Where are the others?"

"Others?" he asked. "Oh, erm... I'll go outside and ring them. They must be running late."

He left, giving Damon a strange look as he slid off his bar stool. When Freida turned to Damon, he was laughing.

He leaned in and whispered, "You didn't even know this was supposed to be a date, did you?"

"Silly girl."