Synthetic Darkness (MFM)

Chapter 3: Kale's New Identity

"Oh, for Christ's sake! Just fill out a damn profile already and quit asking me questions about all this stuff." Raven glared at Kale over the laptop screen. "Stalking people from my profile is seriously starting to get on my nerves."

Kale ducked his head and winced. He had been sneaking onto her profile on cuffme.com for months now. There were just so many different things that interested him and got his curiosity up. So what if he was checking everything out through her profile? It wasn't like he was contacting people through it. Well...not after the first and only message he sent. Who knew that people wouldn't believe that he really was using his friend's profile. That was a disaster he learned from.

"Look, if you're worried about your family finding out, just use some kind of graphic instead of a picture of yourself. You wouldn't be the first person to do that. And you don't have to list your actual town. There are people that list towns close to them, but not their actual place."

"I know, Ray, I know. It just...freaks me out. If I make one, then I am admitting that I am more than a little curious."

He made a silent plea with his eyes. Talking about kinky stuff with her was one thing, putting himself out there was another thing entirely. He admired Raven, he really did. She got one taste from an ex and went on a frenzy looking for other people with the same interests. After searching, she found a social network for the sole purpose of meeting like minded people. A few months in and she was going to munches, events, parties, practically marinating herself in the local kink community. Kale on the other hand, kept everything to himself, for years. Not even telling his best friend about the wicked thoughts in his head. It had taken her gushing after a party one night, for him to open up. Now, after a year of giving him the third degree, Raven knew a lot more about her childhood friend. Even though, if asked; she would say she always had a sneaking suspicion about a few of them.

"Kale, you've already admitted you're more than curious. Make a damn profile. Now. I want mine back." She nudged him with her shoulder and took the laptop from him. With a few clicks she logged out and started the creation of Kale's new identity.

"Ray, you can't put that as my screen name!" Kale's eyes were streaming tears as he watched his friend run through a whole list of possible usernames. All ranging from BitchSlave4U to ImAGlitterPrincess, the longer she went the wilder they got.

"Quit being so picky then and help me out here." Raven glared and huffed.

"I don't know what to pick, you're better at this stuff than me." He said as he gave her a sheepish smile. Raven rolled her eyes and moved from the username field and started filling out the rest of his profile.

"Okay, Princess, what shall I put for gender?"

"Oh ha ha, Ray. Last I checked I was a male."

"Touchy, touchy," she said with a smirk. "Now, what do you want listed as your sexual orientation?" Kale blushed and panicked. This was it. He was admitting that he wasn't "normal" with this one small confession. In a breath he replied, "bi-curious?"

"Not an option. But there is Bi and evolving/fluctuating. Which one do you want to go with?" Oh crap, how was he supposed to know? He had never been with another guy, but he knew he was attracted to other guys. Why couldn't he just put bi-curious? With a shrug he said, "Which do you think?"

"Well since you aren't sure yet, I would stick with the evolving one. That way, if you do meet someone and you do have that first experience, you can always change it. Good or Bad." Made sense to Kale, so he just shook his head in agreement. "Next questions, what is your role and what are you looking for?"

"Is there a 'not sure' option?" He closed his eyes and hoped that his nerves would calm down. Why was he doing this again? Oh yeah, Raven was an emotional sadist and enjoyed making him squirm.

"Actually, yeah it is. Well it's unsure, but same thing. Now, what are you looking for? And hot, sweaty butt lovin' is not an option, by the way." He could hear the restrained laughter in her voice.

"Geeze Raven, when you put it like that..." He shook his head, ran his fingers through his hair, if he didn't lay off with the finger brushing he was going to wind up looking like a mad scientist. "Pick the friends thing. Or maybe the 'a relationship' one. Oh hell, I don't know. Friends. Friends would probably be best. Right?"

"Kale, calm down. You can pick both, but if you want we can put just friends for right now. No sense in rushing everything all at once." She reached out and rubbed his arm. Raven knew where all his reservations came from. He was teased all through school for a multitude of reasons. He was skinny to the point of looking emaciated. His height was his worst enemy. Graceful, he was not. At times, his looks bordered on the feminine side. He was just one of those boys that made you think of a lost puppy. Which gave the high school bullies more than enough fuel. Over the years, he seemed to live in a constant state of anxiety when dealing with other people. Getting him out to some kind of BDSM group activity was going to be a challenge. But something that Raven felt he needed to do.

"Yeah. Sounds good. What's next on that list?" He was ready for this to be over. Half excited about checking out some of the message boards and half fearful of actually talking to people through them.

"Well, besides your screen name, the next is the hardest part. The 'about me' section." She said with a little laugh as she watched him cover his face with his hands.

"Shoot me now,' he groaned. "I have no idea what to say."

"No stress, Princess, I got this. But go do something while I write it out. I don't want any backseat critiquing while I type it out." She made a shooing motion with her hand to get him moving.

"Quit with the Princess and I will."

She let out a giggle and waved goodbye to him. Kale got up and went to his closet. Shit, he was down to his last t-shirt and the jeans that were left, were not work friendly. Even though his boss let them wear street clothes, he didn't want his employees looking like they just came off the street. Right, so no holey/ripped jeans. Now was as good a time as any to get laundry started. He walked over to his basket and grabbed it on his way out of the room. His thoughts wondered to the couple that had been in the store earlier that day. As soon as they walked in he knew they were new in town. The woman was someone you couldn't forget even if you tried. Especially for him, since she stalked him the whole time he was helping Mrs. Lewis. She was full of life and dressed like she could play Abby's much shorter double on NCIS. And the man was, well since he was already on a TV show kick...the man was the perfect Gibbs. He was calm and reserved and looked like he just came from a board meeting. They were such an odd couple, but there was something about them that enchanted him.

He made his way through his parents' house and headed to the laundry room. Soon, he wouldn't have the comfort of his childhood home. He and Raven were planning on moving into a small, two bedroom house together. They were just waiting for one more paycheck and they would have enough for the deposit and first/last month's rent. Freedom at last. He got his clothes started, by shoving all that would fit in the washer and lingered in the room. He figured Raven was busy with a mini novella, so he should give her time. Or maybe she wasn't. Maybe there wasn't really that much to say about him. Would she have as hard a time filling out his profile as he would? She knew him better than anyone, but she might not know what to put. With that thought he headed back to his room.

"Stay right there, I am almost finished. While you are standing around doing nothing, think about a screen name that fits what you really want. Be alluring. Think 'The Spider and The Fly'."

"And which would I be? The spider or the fly?"

"Both. Now shut it and think." Her eyes never moved from the screen and her fingers never stopped their rhythmic clacking on the keyboard. Kale laughed while he watched her work. He asked himself what he wanted most. What was the one experience he wanted more than the others? All that came to mind was darkness. But what kind of darkness?

In an almost whisper he said, "Synthetic darkness."

Raven swung her head in his direction. "Say that again."

"Oh, I was just thinking out loud."

"Synthetic Darkness? Is that what you said?" Kale nodded at her and looked down at his feet. "I like it Kale. And hey! It fits."