Polarity

Polarity is a fictional suspense novella about a lonely young man who finds himself trapped in a dangerous love game. Second story in the Bashful series.

Polarity The cover of the story.
Date started	April 20th, 2017 January 1st, 2018 (Second Edition)
Date first released	April 21st, 2017
Date last updated	January 14th, 2018 (10: Release Edit)
Date completed	April 30th, 2017 January 14th, 2018 (Second Edition)
Rating	Explicit
Chapters	10
Word Count	26158
EPUB/PDF Download	Smashwords
Price	$0.00 USD (Free!)
Previous in Timeline	No Worries (2016)
Next in Timeline	Knock (2017)
Previous in Series	Knock
Next in Series	Wine at 3 AM

Description

Australian artist Max Aleshire doesn't belong in Boston. The weather's too cold for him, as are the people. With only one friend, ex-girlfriend Stacey, he's become an introverted, socially paranoid recluse. He's convinced the loneliness and mundane routine are there to stay until Stacey dares him to make a friend online. By chance, he meets a handsome stranger: a writer named Cameron, with whom he has a lot in common. Inspired by this former introvert, Max attempts to open up and improve his life. First off, he lets Cameron in, certain that he's a good guy. After only a few days, he's surprised to discover that he might be developing feelings for this stranger—for another man!

Little does Max realize, though, that there's a much darker side to Cameron. If love is blind, then Max might not see the danger he's in until it's too late. If he does, will he care?

A fictional suspense novella by Noëlle McHenry about a lonely young man who finds himself trapped in a dangerous love game.

Characters (in order of appearance)

Max Aleshire (First Appearance: 1: Stranger)
Stacey Eichel (First Appearance: 1: Stranger)
Cameron Fenn (First Appearance: 1: Stranger)
Franco Diefenbach (First Appearance: 3: Quarrel)
Bashful Bunny (cameo in 4: Commission)
Val Kozel (cameo in 5: Voice)

Summary

1: Stranger

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Max is introduced. His life as an introverted recluse—boring and lonesome—is explained. He's in a voice chat with his ex-girlfriend, Stacey, who expresses her displeasure at the discovery that he's still as reclusive as usual. She dares him to talk to random strangers on Omegle until he makes a friend, and he at first laughs her dare off. A few hours later, though, after Stacey has gone to sleep, he decides to give it a shot. After half an hour, he bumps into Cameron, and they hit it off. They talk until two in the morning, and Cameron asks for Max's phone number so that they can continue their association via text. Max accepts. The acknowledging text from Cameron is strange and vaguely creepy, but Max shrugs it off and tries to sleep. He has trouble doing so, however, because he can't stop thinking about his conversation with Cameron. It takes an hour for him to fall asleep, all the while he keeps getting texts.

2: Apartment

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Max wakes up, but tries to go back to sleep. He fails when birds begin chirping outside, and he receives another text. Sure enough, it's from Stacey, who is rambling about a job offer. Max snarls, recalling that he had broken up with Stacey in part because she just couldn't accept that his job revolved around receiving commissions for digital art. He notices that Cameron has asked him to confirm when he's woken up, but decides to do his morning ritual instead. He gets up and goes into the kitchen, where he realizes he needs to go to the store. Just for the sake of eating, he starts eating some salt and vinegar potato chips. Upon returning to his dark bedroom, he suddenly is compelled to take down the curtains from his windows, which he does, and then immediately regrets. After covering one of the windows back up, he looks outside and tries to see the ground from his fourth floor apartment, but fails. He suddenly begins thinking about whether or not allowing himself to fall from the window would result in a successful suicide attempt, even though he's not suicidal. He reasons not, since his luck isn't that good. Max then checks in with Cameron, who reveals that he had stayed up all night working on his horror novel. Cameron offers to e-mail Max a PDF file of the revised first chapter, given that he has version nine of Adobe Acrobat. Max confirms that he does, so Cameron e-mails it, but Max decides to get dressed in order to go to the store first. He takes his wallet, phone, and keys, puts on a coat, and then leaves his apartment.

3: Quarrel

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Max heads to the nearby convenience store, where he meets his downstairs neighbor, Mr. Diefenbach, who runs the shop. Mr. Diefenbach gives Max "a discount", giving him a bag of chips for free since he's a regular. He then asks if Max is still dating Stacey. Max tells him they broke up. Then, Stacey calls him. Max answers and leaves the store, and he and Stacey argue for a bit about him refusing to get a "real" job. He eventually listens to the offer she found, leading her to reveal that it's a digital commission job. Max says he'll think about it, then they end their call. Now at home, Max finally checks Cameron's e-mail, finding it to be surprisingly barren. He asks Cameron if he needs to know anything before reading the attached PDF file, but Cameron only says that he doesn't want to spoil anything. Reluctantly, Max opens the PDF.

4: Commission

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Max reads the first chapter of the story, which is about Bashful Bunny. At the back page, he finds a picture of Cameron, and he thinks about how handsome he is. He praises Cameron on the story, who in turn praises his artwork. Cameron asks him to do the cover art and offers to pay, and Max accepts but insists that he do it for free. Cameron tells Max to talk to him whenever he needs someone to vent to. Max then discovers that his laptop webcam light is on, but thinks nothing of it. Later that day, he gets an e-mail from his mother letting him know that she won't be able to give him money to help him pay the rent. Max vents to Cameron, letting him know that he needs at least $450 within four days. Max panics for the rest of the night, all the while Cameron tells him not to worry. Max sleeps on it. The next morning, he wakes up due to nightmares. He checks his bank account and discovers that he's $450 over what he expected. He checks his Ko-fi donations, and finds a $450 one from Cameron telling him to keep up the good work.

5: Voice

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Max asks Cameron why he gave the donation. Cameron admits that he's got a lot of money, since his father is a heart surgeon, and that he was in medical school for a while. Cameron asks Max about his family, and Max recalls that he left because his own father has a compulsive gambling habit. He answers Cameron by admitting that his mother works in real estate. Shortly after, Cameron asks to start a phone call. Max accepts, and is immediately infatuated with the man's voice. They talk for a while, just getting to know each other, before Cameron asks Max about his "other friends". Max admits that, besides him, he only has Stacey. Cameron gives Max some advice, suggesting that he compliment strangers on the street until he becomes second nature. Max is reluctant, but promises Cameron that he'll give it a shot. Cameron ends the call, leaving Max to his own devices. Max watches some of Valcupine's streams while he eats, but then proceeds to pace. He's flustered still by Cameron's handsome appearance and voice, not to mention his wealth. Even though he's fairly certain that he's straight, he finds himself needing release. He downloads the first chapter PDF onto his phone and goes straight to the last page, looking at Cameron's headshot. Ashamedly, he soon finds himself masturbating while staring at the picture. Cameron begins texting him as he's close to completion, conveniently using this time to confess that he may be developing feelings for Max. In the heat of the moment, Max agrees when Cameron says that he wants to meet him in person.

6: Promise

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Max has a nightmare about being with Cameron and being chased by Bashful. He ends up in a never-ending stairwell, and Cameron rushes ahead of him. Before he's caught by Bashful, he jolts awake. Upon seeing his texts from Cameron the prior night, he reconsiders, and tells Cameron that he's not ready to see him. Cameron doesn't reply. Stacey calls and asks Max to join her at the restaurant they had their first date at, as she has good news. Max goes with her. Stacey reveals that she got a job as a hairdresser and is about to start the following Tuesday. She suddenly admits that she misses Max, and apologizes both for being and for being annoying, but clarifies that she's not looking to get back into a relationship with him. Max recalls his promise to Cameron, to try being more social, and forces himself to actually reply to Stacey. He admits that he misses her too, and that he actually likes her flaws to some degree. Afterwards, Stacey drives Max back home and says she'll call him. The next day, Max goes to the convenience store. He talks to Mr. Diefenbach for once, who lets him know that his granddaughter is to be married. Max uses the ATM and leaves. He pays his rent to his landlord, then goes back to his apartment. Worried, since Stacey has been ignoring his texts, he sends her more. A few hours later, she still hasn't replied. A few more hours pass before his phone dings. It's Cameron. Cameron asks how good Max is at editing pictures, to which Max admits he's okay. Cameron then sends three pictures, asking Max to do them in the order he sent them in and to report back what he finds them to be. Max levels the first one and asks if they are legs. Cameron confirms. Max levels the next. It appears to be a woman's torso. Cameron confirms, but asks what else. Max realizes the woman has been stabbed. Cameron confirms. Max levels the last one, and is utterly horrified. Cameron urges him to reply. He asks if it's Stacey. Cameron confirms.

7: Confession

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Terrified, Max tries to contact Stacey. Cameron tells him not to bother, since he left Stacey's phone at her place. Cameron insists that Max check his e-mail. He sends Max a message with several images. They are all of Max in front of his webcam. Max finally realizes that Cameron has been watching him. Cameron reveals that it was a security issue with Adobe Reader 9 that allowed him access, and then takes control of Max's computer to open the last attachment, a video. He comments on Max's apparent hatred of software updates, citing it as how he got the footage for the video. The video is a recording of Max masturbating. Cameron reveals that he appreciates the act being performed to a picture of him. He then reveals that he killed Stacey because she was having an affair while with Max, and because she immediately went to him when Max broke up with her. Max shouts that she didn't deserve to die, and demands to know why Cameron thought she needed to. When Cameron avoids the question, he shouts, which causes Cameron to warn him about Mr. Diefenbach hearing. He reveals that he knows exactly where, and in what apartment, Max lives, because of the GPS tracking and a conversation he had with Mr. Diefenbach himself. He then says that he'll be coming over. Max tells Cameron he'll call the cops. Cameron points out that he could pay them into arresting Max anyway, and also that Max's evidence (in the form of the pictures) don't count as proof, since he wiped the metadata and they only exist now on Stacey's phone. He warns Max that if he leaves the apartment before he shows up, he'll know, then hangs up. Max stays awake all night, trying to come up with a plan out of it. The following morning, he comes to the conclusion that his only hope is to hurry downstairs before Cameron gets suspicious and try to get a message to Mr. Diefenbach. He makes it halfway to the first landing in the stairwell before realizing that Mr. Diefenbach would be at the convenience store right now. Quickly, he hurries back. He discovers that his attempt was moot anyway, because Cameron placed a wireless microphone on the hinge of his front door.

8: Visit

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Max confesses to having tried to leave the apartment. Cameron points out that he doesn't seem pleased, to which Max replies by asking if he'd looked pleased beforehand. Max accepts his fate until he notices the knife he owns. He dismisses the knife, as it's too conspicuous, but decides to take scissors with him. He plans to kill Cameron the instant he gets the man's back turned. Cameron shows up that night, but instead of killing him, Max decides to make a break for it. Cameron chases him into the stairwell, pinning him against a wall. He insists that he's not here to hurt Max, but Max isn't sure if he can trust him or not. They return to Max's apartment, where Cameron sits down and admits that he kills for sport. He confesses that his plan was to kill Max initially, but upon seeing the introvert's face, he had a change of heart and decided to kill Stacey, instead. Noticing Max's displeasure at this revelation, Cameron tells Max that he'll be staying for the night and that the introvert should go into his bedroom and get some sleep. Max reluctantly accepts, but instead lies down in his bed for an hour. He holds the scissors close to his chest. As the night drags on, he becomes more tired. Suddenly, the bedroom door opens, Cameron steps in. He stands beside Max's bed for a moment before getting in beside him. He reaches up and puts his hand on Max's hip. Max decides to make his move, whipping himself around to stab Cameron with the scissors, but Cameron catches his wrist and kisses him. As the kiss continues, Max allows himself to drop the scissors and begins kissing deeper. The encounter becomes steadily more heated, and soon they're stripping off their clothes. Once naked, Cameron asks if Max has even been with anybody. Max admits that he hasn't, so Cameron tells him he'll be gentle. Cameron then starts manually stimulating Max, causing him to gasp. Soon, they're rubbing their genitals together, and Max starts to moan loudly. Cameron comments on it, but when Max tries to shut up, he insists that Max keep making noises. He makes Max suck on his fingers and attempts to use the saliva to lubricate himself, but ends up needing to spit on his own hand to speed things up. He then lifts Max's legs and starts to penetrate him in a missionary position. Max gets louder from ecstasy, soon shouting Cameron's name. Cameron gets rougher, responding by saying Max's. Max orgasms, screaming as he does, but Cameron clamps his hand over his mouth to quiet him as he comes as well. After a moment, Cameron pulls out of Max and lays beside him. He pulls Max closer, so that he's laying against his chest, and Max drapes his arm over his chest. Cameron comments on their sex being amazing, and Max falls asleep after humming in agreement.

9: Release

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Max wakes up alone and remembers that he and Cameron had sex. He regrets it, but can't get it out of his mind. Cameron has taken down the curtains on Max's bedroom windows. Max gets up and gets dressed, then tries to pick up the scissors, but finds them to be gone. Frustrated, he goes to leave the bedroom and finds that Cameron has taped a note to his door telling him to go to the store. Grudgingly, Max heads out. As he's walking down the street, he for the first time feels confident. Upon arriving at the convenience store, he asks Mr. Diefenbach if he's seen Cameron. Mr. Diefenbach doesn't understand the question, and instead asks Max what the noises were the prior night. He clarifies upon request that he's referring to the screaming and crying that Max did while being banged by Cameron. Max flushes, and Cameron arrives with groceries. He asks Cameron to come up with an excuse, to which Cameron replies that the noise was being made by their neighbors. When Mr. Diefenbach asks who Cameron is, Cameron tells him and lies about being Max's friend who needed a place to crash for a couple of days. Max and Cameron return to Max's apartment, where Cameron jokes about Mr. Diefenbach hearing everything. When Max complains, he asks jokingly if the sex was okay for him. Max lies and says it wasn't, since he's in denial of his feelings. Cameron challenges Max, asking if they did it again that very moment he would not find it pleasurable. Max insists that he wouldn't. In response, Cameron pins Max to the wall and kisses him. Max soon begins to struggle, at which point Cameron gets rougher. Max is frightened to find that he enjoys this rougher variant, but decides to keep fighting because he doesn't want to enjoy it. Cameron won't let up until Max screams that he's hurting him, at which point he pulls back to see if he's alright. Max shoves him away and tells him that he told him to stop. Cameron tells him that he didn't know he was serious. Max argues that "no means no" and repeats that he's not gay. Cameron chuckles and comments that Max is aroused, so that seems to not be true. Max yells at Cameron to leave, and he does. Max begins to cry. He screams, but it's not enough to relieve him of his stress. He rushes into the bedroom and sees the window. He decides that it's either a suicide attempt, successful or not, or being in love with a serial killer—not to mention another man. He looks outside. It's raining again. He pushes himself backwards out of the window. Unfortunately, he lands on Cameron's car, which breaks his fall. While he's half-conscious, Cameron asks him how he likes it (the car). Max spits a curse at him, then falls unconscious. Cameron picks Max up and puts him in the backseat. Before he starts driving, he wishes Max a happy doomsday.

10: Doomsday

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Cameron puts candles on a cake. He thinks about the Doomsday algorithm, and how he uses it to base when he kills. However, as a rule, he's changed it so he can only kill on birthdays and holidays that land on a doomsday and/or the last day of the month that fall on one. In regards to birthdays that land on doomsdays, he thinks about the current date, October 10th, and that he's preparing the cake for one. He pulls out a sharp knife and takes the cake upstairs after lighting the candles. There's someone on his balcony staring off into the distance that Cameron refers to as his new permanent housemate. They're smoking a cigarette, which is a bad habit of Cameron's that he admits to having passed along. Cameron clears his throat and begins singing Happy Birthday. It turns out he's singing for Max, who approaches. After singing, Cameron tells Max that his birthday is his favorite doomsday. Max grinds out his cigarette in the ashtray. He smirks. Then, he blows out all twenty candles.

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Trivia

• Takes place in Boston, Massachusetts.