Chapter Text
A field of dandelions, a sunset, and a cool, refreshing drink or two. Maybe even a dog at her side. A cocker spaniel- no wait! A Saint Bernard . A paradise for one Solene Macon. Oddly enough, her first name meant solitary, or alone. Which she desperately related to, seeing as she was pretty isolated as a kid.
She never really fit in with the other kids at the playground. Not matter how many playdates were scheduled, or how many kids asked to share her crayons, Solene stayed a friendless young girl. But that was just fine for her! She had something better than friendship! She had her paintings.
"Glorious works of art," her mother called them. Even if they were horrid lines making a warped shape of a bird, her mother would always praise her with kind words and a promise to display her art on the fridge. Her father would always buy her supplies so she could continue to experiment with her craft. He would call her his little painter when she asked for his opinion. But like all good things, her happiness found in both her parents and her art eventually had to come to an end.
On September 6th, two years ago, her father was in a car accident. She was 15 at the time. It was the start of her sophomore year. The worst part? The reason why he had left the precious safety of their house was to get her art supplies that she had practically begged him for. If she had never asked for those now useless products, he might still be here today. Despite her mother offering words of comfort to her at any turn, she couldn’t stop blaming herself. Her survivors' guilt from the accident was an all-consuming mass of grief and hatred. It came to such a point that her mother had to step in and force her to start meeting with a therapist to find an outlet for her pain.
The art she once held so dear had become an anxious reminder of the one she lost, so she ripped it from her life. Though she still loved the creative process of the craft, her heart couldn’t take the pain it caused.
Though her mother was just as destroyed by the news as she, Solene’s mother knew she had to stay strong for her beloved daughter. So, when Solene was halfway done with junior year, she met someone. That someone was Aaron Davis. He was kind and thoughtful, but most of all, he was head-over-heels for her mother. She seemed to be falling for him as well, despite her guilt of not knowing if she was ready to move on from her late husband. Eventually, her heart won. She communicated her doubts to her newfound love, and with prayers and love for her departed, she opened up to hope for a new affection.
Solene was happy for her mother. How couldn’t she bed? After all, it had been over a year since he was taken from them. Why couldn’t her mom find someone new? She refused to let her feelings that their romance was betraying her dad in some way come out of her. The happiness for her mom had to overpower the guilt, so she tucked the feeling of resentment deep down inside of her.
After a few months of dating, Aaron asked Solene for permission to marry her mother. The guilty feeling rose from where she had tried to stuff it. This time, it was harder to shove back down. The resentment for their love bubbled up and she almost said no. But, eventually she was able to mask a smile, and gave him permission to marry her mom. She gave it on the condition that she wouldn't have to call him her father.
In the years following her fathers death, she had tried to find new hobbies to replace the hole left from her abandonment of art. Her therapist's idea, not hers. While most were unsuccessful, she did find a small joy in writing. When writing down her feelings, she felt as if she could finally control her emotions. After all, if the characters in the pages could triumph and make the way to a happy ending, so could she! Her mother had been overjoyed at the idea of her finally finding some happiness in the darkness that had previously plagued her, so she proudly supported her in any way she could. Not wanting to be a burden to her mother, Solene mostly declined her offers of anything costly, but accepted her kind words and hugs as motivation.
In her slow journey of healing, she found some friends that she knew she could tell anything to. They were her lifelines, her other halves! Hannah, her closest friend who, along with being the one she always came to with anything on her mind, probably knew more about Solene than even herself. Jenny, who could be a bit eccentric at times, but always was there for her with kindness and understanding. Marcus, who, despite being a year younger than all of them, was still a dear friend in his confidence in himself and passion for all things. Last, but certainly not least in their humble group of friends, Rebecca, dubbed Becky by Marcus, was a headstrong young girl with a love for both the clubs she was in and her friendships she held close to her heart.
That brings us to where we are now. Ah yes, peace and quiet, watching the sunset in a field of dandelions with a glass of lemonade in hand and a dog by her side. The most quiet she'd had in a long time. As much as she loved hanging with her people, she always loved the feeling of quiet. But as she'd been forced to learn time and time again, nothing perfect lasts forever.
A shrill, disturbing sound pulls Solene out of the paradise and into the disappointing reality of an early morning. 6:00 am. The time when she needs to start to wake up for school. As she reaches for her phone to turn off the alarm, her eyes are blinded with the hideous blue light of her screen. She groans and flops back into the warmth of her sheets, finally in quiet once more. Today, she could not care less about her education. A noise unnoticed by her until now alerts her senses. The pitter patter of a light rain falls on the roof, making her aware of the storm she saw broadcast on the news before. The urge to fall asleep tempts her, but with a rub of her eyes and a hand running through her hair, she sat up and mentally prepared herself for the day.
She blearily looked around her room, lighted by the rising sun. ‘First day of senior year. Woo.’
‘Well,’ she thought, ‘at least I can see my friends again.’ With that, she threw her blankets off of her legs, stood up and walked over to the door. As she opened it, she briefly pondered a possible outfit for her first day back. Did she want to make an impression? Does she even care at all? Her mother greeted her as she wandered into the kitchen.
“Hey, Honey,” her mom said as she turned away from her morning tea to look at Solene, “Are you ready for your first day? It is your last one, after all!” She smiled as she gave her daughter a tight hug.
“Yeah I guess so,” Solene replied, brain still muggy from her abrupt awakening. “I mean, it’s not really all that different from every other first day I’ve had, so…” she shrugged and turned to make some cereal. The tedious task to try and jumpstart her day.
“Okay darling. I do have to leave for school a bit early today, (they want all teachers there to give us a little pep talk before all you guys get there) so I’ll probably be gone by the time you start getting ready.”
Solene nodded her understanding as she locked eyes with her mom. She smiled at her, as if to reassure her that she would be okay. It seemed to work as her mother let out a sigh as she returned the smile and took a sip of her tea, now ready to drink.She patted her daughter on the shoulder and went off to get ready in her bathroom.
Alone again, Solene let her mind wander as she ate her measly breakfast. ‘Suppose she’s right,’ she thought, ‘Maybe I should think of this a bit more highly. Last year of high school and all. Then again, I’ve been counting down the days since freshman year, so maybe I’m not thinking lowly enough.’ With that, she finished her bowl and dumped the rest of the milk in the sink.
She walked over to the guest bedroom, not currently in use, so she could check on the family’s dog, Louie. A soft smile took over as she quietly made her way over to him, petting his fur as he looked outside the window. His patrol, as the family joked. She gave him a kiss on the head and finally decided to get ready.
The rest of the morning passed slowly as she dressed and applied makeup. She decided on two Dutch braids for hair, and a simple outfit of a cropped graphic tee and her favorite high-rise jeans with her cream converse. She applied light makeup, and packed her mascara and lipgloss for touchups that she would no doubt need throughout the day. Finally ready, she glanced at the clock and decided to head out to school.
She grabbed her keys, AirPods, backpack, and her phone. She was stopped in her tracks when she picked up her phone though. She had been ignoring it for the most part of the morning, as she was already feeling nervous and didn’t want to amplify the feeling anymore by waiting for friends to reach out to her. But now, as she glanced down at her phone, she saw that she had received an email dmail from an unknown user. No, not an unknown, but an anonymous. What perplexed her more was that, when she checked, it had been sent to everyone in her senior class! She opened the notification and was surprised to see it read out a interesting message:
Join the Kiss Club!
Anonymous Sept 1st, 2025
to Class of 2026
Attention all ye lonely people. My name is not important, but my ideas are. I have decided to create a club for the people who want to feel what they’ve been denied.. A club for people that want something they don't have: the tender touch of another. A "Kiss Club", if you will. This club will allow these devastatingly lonely souls to sign up for a time they can engage in... activities with our members. No, this will not be a strip club, or a sex worker kind of thing. Rather, a mutual satisfaction guarantee. Sex is absolutely off the limits. If you have a good time with your partner and would like to take it farther, arrange for a time somewhere outside of the club.
For obvious reasons, this club will not be under supervision from teachers, nor will the principal be made aware. To anyone who tries to snitch on what could be the best thing to happen to this school, for your sake, don’t. I have my ways of finding out who says something and will make the consequence of tattling hurt. Snitches do indeed get stitches. So, now that we have the basic premise, let’s get on with the rules, shall we?
The rules:
1. To be a member, you must be willing to go to a certain length. While sex is not an option, there are activities you will need to be willing to go through in order to please your client.
2. Nobody, not even the other members can know you are a member. (This way, we all have our privacy)
3. Clients are allowed to select a certain gender of their member, but they can always randomize their selection if they so choose.
4. All clients must be blindfolded during the experience. (for privacy of the members)
For any further questions, or to join call this number below:
###-###-####
Stunned, Solene stared at her phone for a moment before breaking out into a disbelieving laugh. A kiss club? Who in their right mind would want that? It was probably a joke email from one of the horny guys in her grade, done to take advantage of the people who fell for the scheme. With a chuckle and a roll of her eyes, she closed the email app and made her way to school.