Thread: What Dwells Inside (Iron and Wine x The Gothic Temptress)

All Gwen Fraser had ever wanted in her life was to be accepted . Born in a family of overachievers, Gwen's mediocrity was greatly ridiculed every moment of her childhood. She was never as good at ballet as her sister Kelly, or as social as her brother Garret. She was average at studies and with looks that did not turn heads. In short, she was the ugly duckling of the Fraser family. Her parents never cared enough to include her in social gatherings or parties, choosing to ask her to stay in her room like a good girl while they flaunted the beautiful Kelly and the lively Garret to everyone. Gwen did not harbor any sour feelings for her parents, blaming herself instead for being a shame to them. But she could not bring herself to actually excel at anything because she lacked the confidence to do so. She had already shelved herself as useless, so why bother wasting her time? But during this time, she also discovered something about herself. It had started very innocently at first, a pinch here, a scratch there but soon it had escalated to something bordering on masochism. Gwen liked to touch herself - the only self-indulgence she allowed herself to explore - but as she grew older, she found herself unable to reach that delicious peak without mixing some pain to her pleasure. She was scared. It seemed like her body was spiraling out of her control, seeking things that her mind did not even want to accept. But she was addicted. There was not a single day when she didn't have her fingers at her core, the other hand scratching down her thigh violently or pinching her nipples hard enough to make it hurt badly. She was afraid to go to bed, when she knew she could not resist the temptation to surrender to that wicked pleasure that always managed to leave bruises and marks on her body which she had to hide with layers of clothing, because God forbid that a Fraser was found resorting to self-harm. It was enough really till it wasn't. Her body began to beg for more than what she did to herself. So, it was yielding to this desire did Gwen lose her virginity to Jacob Gardner - a jock who was drunk enough to not know that it was the mousy Fraser girl that he was mindlessly thrusting into - at Junior Prom. It was painful, because there was no foreplay or even a kiss before he had pushed her against the stall of the girls' washroom and shoved his rather large appendage in her, but she had never came harder in her entire life. He had left the minute he was done, leaving a bleeding yet greatly satisfied Gwen in his wake. The encounter disgusted her afterwards and she stopped pleasuring herself for a few months. To distract herself from the torture of thoughts, she immersed herself in other activities like studying for instance. Her teachers and parents were surprised at the sudden improvement in Gwen and soon she was being called down to attend parties clad in pretty dresses while her family proudly introduced her as the 'Fraser who comes top in her class'. This acceptance gave her a sense of satisfaction, of belonging that she had been craving throughout her life yet there was this little, vague feeling that the girl who stood there, smiling at the guests was not the real Gwen. The real Gwen was the girl who had let Jacob Gardner pound her so hard that she could not walk straight for days after but relished the pain every time she shifted in her seat. That was her. Gwen the Deviant. Not Gwen the Star Student. High school passed in a blur of good grades and high society parties and she found herself being accepted more than ever. She no longer roamed the halls of the school alone but instead had an army of nerds at her disposal. Boys actually began to approach her for herself not for getting Kelly's number. They said she was cute. Gwen let them. They took her to extravagant dates and bought her beautiful trinkets. Gwen let them. They asked to make love to her. Gwen let them. They were always too gentle, too inexperienced but Gwen tried her best to derive pleasure from there fumbling ministrations like normal girls were supposed to do. She failed every time. She knew they wanted nothing more than to be associated with the name Fraser, even if it meant getting in between the legs of the nerdy Gwen Fraser. But she let them. Because it was supposed to be normal. Even though she lived her life in bubble of frustration, she was normal. But there were times when her eyes followed Jacob Gardner across the halls, wondering if would be willing to take her as roughly as he did last time. There were times when Gwen almost slipped her hand in her underwear, thinking of resorting to her previous antics but she would withdraw last moment, grabbing a textbook instead. Soon it was time to leave for college and tearful goodbyes and expensive gifts were what followed. She had chosen to study psychology, a subject that intrigued her more than anything else. Gwen was excited to explore a new place and herself as well. Maybe she could finally find something - or someone - that would offer a closure to her...condition, as she liked to call it. But the moment she stepped into the vast halls filled with strangers who seemed to have had gained a standing in this foreign place, it was like being back to those anti-social days. Here there was no one she knew or could trust, and she felt like everybody was looking at her like she was biggest joke on the planet. She instantly became aware of one thing Gwen Fraser was not accepted in this place. After all, she did not have Kelly's delicate beauty or Garret's sunny disposition to attract anyone. Just when she was about to bolt back to her dorm room, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned and found a very attractive guy staring her down. Is this the part where I start getting bullied? She thought nervously clutching her backpack closer to her chest. Freshman? He asked in a bored drawl that somehow sounded very alluring to her. She blushed in response, looking down at her feet instead. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, partly due to fear and partly due to being so close this...very attractive guy. He took her silence as her agreement and chuckled lightly, triggering a darker blush. Follow me, he said simply and started walking. Gwen hesitated for a moment but then ran after him helplessly. And that was how she found herself here. In front this rotting, derelict yet huge mansion that loomed over her like an ominous warning. She took a step back and almost bumped into Lacey, a thin blonde, who seemed like she was having spasms but was actually shivering in fear. Gwen averted her eyes back to the doom that awaited her and gulped. The mansion was bigger than any house she had ever seen personally but the size just added to its grotesque appearance instead of making it grand. She could figure out from the broken pieces of architecture that there had been a time when the building was considered to be a fine specimen of beauty and elegance personified, a joy to behold. But now it just seemed to symbolize something sinister, something unholy that awaited to devour anyone who dared to venture inside. Gwen gulped again. The seniors led her and Lacey inside and Gwen almost gasped. The reaction was not due to the fact that the mansion was as derelict inside as it was outside, like a fine wind could blow everything all over or due to the fact that darkness enveloped her vision like a blanket penetrated by thin shards of moonlight, before Tommy the very attractive guy who had dragged her into this debacle in the first place switched on a flash light. It was because of a certain feeling that encompassed her senses. She felt like she had been here. As the group went further into the house, the feeling kept increasing with each step. Gwen could almost see the phantom silhouettes of past occupants moving across the floors, could hear them talking, laughing, shouting, screaming. She clenched her eyes shut to block those visions but it only amplified their noises instead. When she again opened them, she was face to face with the portrait of a regal looking man. She guessed he was Josiah Frisker. His dark eyes felt like they were burning holes into her soul, flipping through every sin, every wrong she had ever committed and then she swore she could see his lips tug into a small, mocking smile. Gwen hurried away from there but she could still feel his eyes following her form. She shivered violently. Tommy opened a door which led to an extravagant yet broken bathroom which was larger than her living room back home. She presumed that the task was to take place here. She swallowed down vomit when she took in the boarded window and the huge, vintage styled mirror that loomed above the faucet. The glass had somehow managed to survive years of abuse that the house had gone through for it bore no cracks, just a fine layering of dust. She was about to bring that observation to the notice of others when suddenly, Tommy shined the flashlight upon her. Gwen's hand went up to her face to shield the extreme light and she heard him say Already, the ghosts have driven out one of the potential classmates. Its down to just you, Gwen. Think you can manage that? It was then did Gwen notice that Lacey was missing from attendance. She cursed the blonde vehemently in her mind and looked at the flashlight in his hand. She could refuse of course. She was already feeling quite unnerved from the feelings that had erupted within her the moment she had stepped inside and she knew that this place was haunted without a doubt. But...There always was this huge, annoying but. She did not want to be termed as the coward who chickened out of some stupid initiation task. It would make her the freak of the college. It would lead her to be ignored, to be ridiculed, to be...pushed back to what she once had been. And if she did complete this task...Then she would be known as the girl who braved the creepy Frisker Mansion, she would be able to hang out with the senior crew, she would be.... accepted . The closed doors of her room, the lonely walks in the school halls, the ignorance, the insults, the days of being the ugly duckling flashed in front of her eyes in a second and she clenched her fists, shoving her nerves to the back of her mind. She had been ignored once in her life and that was enough for her lifetime. She already had had a taste of what it felt like to be adored, to have attention showered upon you, to be accepted and she was not willing to give that up now. She would not be the ugly duckling again ever. With that thought, Gwen seized the flashlight from Tommy and smiled at him, albeit a bit nervously and said Sure thing. I am not scared of such petty stuff. Her declaration was received with hoots and cheers and the seniors left, already impressed with her bravery. Tommy was the last one to leave and he shot her a smile as he did. All the best, she heard him say as the door shut and was locked up, leaving her alone in the bathroom with only a flashlight. Gwen breathed out shakily and placed the light source on the rim of the tub. With shaky fingers she unbuttoned her shirt and shimmied out of her jeans, leaving them folded along with her shoes next to the light. A strong shiver passed down her petite figure as she stood in the dark bathroom in nothing but her white, cotton underwear. Grabbing the flashlight tightly she approached the elusive mirror and brushed her palm across the dusty surface, clearing it so that she could see herself clearly. Beneath the dirt, the mirror was as good as new. Taking a deep breath Gwen dropped her hand to her side and shut her eyes before speaking out what was needed of her Josiah Frisker, take me. She spoke quietly, trying to divert her mind from the visual of dark eyes that she instantly associated with the name. Josiah Frisker, take me. She suddenly began to feel a small tug at the lower half of her abdomen and her skin prickled up. She felt warm yet cold at the same time. Josiah Frisker, take me. Her mind suddenly filled with a vision of the pale face with dark, penetrating eyes as he savagely thrust on top of her, lips curled into that mocking smile as his fingers choked her. She could feel that tug intensify as a certain dampness made its appearance in her underwear at her taboo fantasy. Josiah Frisker, take me. Her senses were assaulted with visions of violent sex and she knew her panties were ruined by now. Her fingers gripped the flashlight more tightly as her whole body began to ache and crave to be assaulted, used and provided that sweet relief she had been seeking since years. She was appalled at the thought but she knew she really meant it and wanted it and burned for it as she let her eyes open up and gaze into her flushed face and she muttered for the last time in a voice that practically was a moan Josiah Frisker, take me . And the door, the door she had clearly heard being locked firmly, flew open.