Chapter 4: Trap is set

Max found himself running late for the first class of the day. The events of the previous night had left his mind in a whirlwind. Who could have predicted that a single random number, just one among an infinite array of possibilities, would come to dictate his entire future? As he made his way to school, he couldn't shake the feeling that something deep inside him had broken free. It was as though, on that fateful night, he had finally relinquished all restraints.
Despite his tardiness, the teacher allowed him to introduce himself in front of the whole class and take a seat at the back. From there, his gaze naturally gravitated towards Mira, who sat alone in front of the teacher's desk. She seemed to be the focal point of his thoughts now, thanks to a seemingly insignificant action by her friend.
Throughout the day, as Max familiarized himself with his classmates, their names held little significance to him. They were people he would likely only know for a year before moving on to university. Amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces, there was only one person in the entire school who truly mattered to him: the quiet girl who had slipped away to the library while others introduced themselves to him.

…

Mira sat in the library, her textbook open in front of her, but her mind elsewhere. She found herself questioning her own sanity, a nagging doubt that lingered at the edge of her thoughts. Was she going mad? It certainly felt that way at times, especially considering her current predicament.
She couldn't ignore the whispers of other girls around her before the class, their voices carrying snippets of conversation about Max. They talked about seeing him at the inauguration, commenting on his looks. Mira couldn't help but feel a pang of uncertainty. Was she reading too much into things? After all, he had only asked her for a walk, not a date. Just a simple stroll in the park after school.
But despite her attempts to rationalize the situation, she couldn't shake the feeling that he had been looking at her during class. It was absurd, she scolded herself. Her mind was playing tricks on her, clouded by foolish hope. She was convinced that once he heard the rumors swirling around school, he would surely avoid her and cancel their plans. Just a walk, she reminded herself, trying to quell the rising tide of anxiety within her. Just a walk.

…

"So how was your first day at school?" Mira asked, her voice tinged with nervousness.
"I think it was alright," Max replied, his tone casual. "A lot of strange people in your class. I mean our class."
"Yeah, they are all weird."
"I heard you are weird too," Max added, still not meeting her gaze.
His remark caught Mira off guard. She wasn't expecting him to say that, although she knew she shouldn't be surprised. They walked together in silence for a moment, Mira struggling to gather her thoughts.
"So what did you hear?" she finally asked, curiosity lacing her tone.
"Nothing that would matter," Max answered cryptically. "Just a bunch of stupid, empty people trying to make themselves feel better by making someone suffer."
His words struck a chord with Mira, causing her to look into his eyes. He saw something in her eyes. It was as if she wanted nothing more than hope in her life, someone to rescue her from the loneliness and depression that plagued her existence. But he also saw in her eyes other things. He saw a vulnerable girl, unaware of the trap he was setting, willingly walking into his carefully laid plans.
A small part of Max, something he had suppressed that very night, tried to warn her. But with a smile on his face, he extinguished that last flicker of conscience.
"And," he continued, changing the subject, "I think that stupid cartoon about ninjas is cool."
Mira chuckled softly at his abrupt shift in topic. "Really? You like that too? I thought I was the only one in this school who was into anime."
Max shrugged, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "It's not bad. I mean, it's no masterpiece, but it's entertaining."
"How dare you?!" asked Mira, relief evident in her voice.
…

After almost 2 hours of walking and talking, Max wanted to try pushing things a little further.
"I didn’t have a chance to eat dinner before our walk. Up for something?" asked Max.
"Well, I think I'm a little bit hungry too," answered Mira, unaware of how her words made Max feel. "What do you have in mind?"
"Well, there is a McDonald's around the corner," answered Max, trying to hide his excitement in his voice.
"Mcdonald's? Really?" Mira's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Something wrong with that? It's on me if it's about money," Max reassured her.
"No, no, no, it's not about that," Mira quickly clarified. "I don’t worry about the money. Maybe you didn’t hear it, but my parents are quite wealthy."
"So, what's the problem?" Max inquired.
"To be honest, there is no problem. I just never been to McDonald's," Mira admitted.
"Really?!" Max's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah. Perks of being from a super-rich family and being a lonely loser without friends," Mira shrugged. "You never had any reason to go there."
"Well then," Max gently grasped her hand, "let's enjoy this together."
Mira didn’t know what made her feel more flustered—the fact that he was holding her hand, the way he said "together," or that her mind was already conjuring up the most absurd scenarios. Nevertheless, she followed along with him.

…

Max tried his best not to stare as Mira indulged in her Big Mac. One of many to come, he told himself.
"This is surprisingly good," said Mira between small bites. "I can see why people enjoy fast foods."
"Yeah," Max responded, his mind elsewhere. "I can see that too."
He felt almost hypnotized, his mind conjuring up so many scenarios. He was with her when she ate her first Big Mac, and he would be there to force-feed her her last.
"Would you like some McFlurry?" he asked suddenly, rising from his seat.
"I don’t know," Mira replied, holding the last of her fries in her hand. "I’m already mega full."
Those words almost made him climax.
"C’mon, Mira, it's on me."
"Fine," she said with a smile, a gesture of resignation. "Just pick something good for me, please."
"I certainly will," he murmured to himself, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hear him over the buzzing of excitement in his mind.

…

They decided to finish their dessert in the park, sitting on a bench and gazing out at the sea. Despite the late hour and the gentle wind, the air still held a lingering warmth. As they ate, conversation flowed easily between them, delving into their shared interests. Max discovered that he was a nerd too, sharing many of the same passions as Mira. They spoke animatedly about gaming, anime, and books, Mira forgetting herself in the moment as she opened up. Lucky for Max, he had spent countless hours online on DarkFF, honing his skills in conversation and understanding the intricacies of human interaction. He could see how starved for attention Mira was, and he knew just how to play this right.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Max asked, his words catching Mira off guard. She almost choked on her wooden spoon, unsure if she had heard him correctly.
"What?!" she managed to sputter, feeling completely caught off guard. "I mean, I don't know."
“Well, I think I'm in love with you from the first sight," Max confessed, his words hanging in the air.
Inside, Mira's mind and emotions were in turmoil. She felt speechless, torn between wanting to scream and wanting to disappear into the ground.
"I think it's late," Max said, breaking the tense silence. "Let me walk you home."
"Y-yeah," Mira stammered, slowly standing up and shaking slightly. "I think that's a good idea."

…

Fortunately for Mira, her house was conveniently close to the park. For tourists, her house was always a sight to behold, often a subject of fascination for its picturesque charm. They walked in silence the whole way to her house, Max sensing the turmoil within her. He knew he had to tread carefully, not wanting to push her too hard.
Finally, they arrived at the gate to her house, and they stood there for a few moments in silence. Max was patient, giving her the time she needed to gather her thoughts.
"The walk was very nice," Mira said awkwardly, breaking the silence. "And the weather was nice too."
"Yes, it was," Max replied, his face dark but his smile radiant, almost as if a spotlight were shining on him from above.
"I think it's time for goodbyes," Mira said, her voice tinged with a hint of reluctance.
"Yes, it is," Max agreed.
It took Mira a few more moments to awkwardly hug him goodbye. As she pulled away, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the thought that this magical evening might never happen again.
"So, are you free after school tomorrow?" Max asked suddenly, his question catching her off guard.
Or maybe it will happen again tomorrow, Mira thought to herself, a glimmer of hope flickering within her.
"Well... I mean, I'm free if you are," she replied tentatively.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Mira," Max said, his words sending a shiver down her spine.
Hearing him speak her name made Mira want to scream with joy, like a little girl who had just met her favorite teen pop star. She watched him walk away, unsure if she was still dreaming. But if this was a dream, she decided she didn't want to wake up from it.

…

"After taking a long, hot shower to wash away the physical remnants of his third climax, Max stood under the steady stream of water, feeling relieved.
As the water cascaded down his frame, he couldn't shake the image of Mira from his mind. She was there, haunting him like a specter, her once delicate form distorted by his twisted desires into a morbidly obese, grotesque caricature.
"Here, in the sanctuary of his imagination, Max conjured vivid scenes of Mira's transformation. He pictured her wedged in the tub, her ample flesh overflowing its confines, a prisoner to her own burgeoning mass. With a mixture of arousal and sadistic pleasure, he envisioned himself by her side, offering false comfort as he guided her onto the cattle scale, the numbers climbing higher with each passing day.
Lost in his macabre reverie, Max hardly noticed when his hand instinctively found its way to his groin, his body responding eagerly to the twisted fantasies playing out in his mind's eye. In his vision, he saw himself escorting Mira back to bed, promising her that each laborious step would be her last, her fate sealed by his insidious machinations.
As he imagined her supine form, bound by chains and helpless before him, a surge of arousal coursed through Max's veins, the prospect of exerting complete control over her body sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. In his mind's ear, he heard her anguished cries as he force-fed her a concoction of fattening shakes, her stomach distending to the point of rupture under the relentless assault vein clogging cocktail .
With each passing moment, the images grew more graphic, more depraved, until Max could almost feel the heat of her flesh beneath his touch, the weight of his dominance pressing down upon her like a suffocating blanket made of fat. He envisioned her body, swollen with lard, each roll ripe for his exploration, each layer of fat ready to be claimed by his lustful desires.
Her breath labored, too weak to move her arms, she pleaded with him between gasps, her voice strained with agony. She spoke of the crushing weight on her chest, the searing pain that tore through her with each heartbeat, begging him to stop, to spare her from this torment, to allow her to reclaim some semblance of a normal life.

But even as the water cascaded over his skin, washing away the momentary thrill of his fantasies, the echoes of his desires lingered, a dark stain upon his soul.
Emerging from the shower, Max felt simultaneously invigorated and tainted, the remnants of his arousal still lingering like a foul odor in the air. With trembling hands, he reached for his phone, the digital gateway to his darkest desires.
Navigating to Darkff, the clandestine forum where he found solace in his depravity, Max felt a rush of excitement as he composed his post, each word a testament to the depths of his descent into darkness.
The cursor blinked expectantly on the screen, a silent witness to the depraved fantasies that consumed Max's mind. With a perverse sense of satisfaction, he hit the 'publish' button, releasing his sinister intentions into the digital ether.