"You're as finicky as a cat," Mistress Xaviera, the dominatrix Justin works for often says to him. And she pets him behind the ears while saying it, because she knows how much it bothers him: he doesn't like to be touched. He supposes he's finicky, if finicky means being very particular about what you will or will not tolerate, having a very decided idea about what you want & what you don't want. Justin has always been aware of his inclinations, he's never had any kind of 'normal' sexual desires or romantic leanings. He takes pleasure in administering pain, and he's found a safe outlet for those feelings in the S&M subculture. Having lived & worked for some years among those who have desires similar to his, he has learned that even among his own kind, he's still different, 'finicky', as Mistress Xaviera says, because he won't do a lot of things they all do. He never lets anyone touch him or especially kiss him...the very idea of someone putting their lips on his, touching another person's tongue revolts him completely. He's often wondered about his own humanity, unable to relate to people even on the basest physical level..he's a master with a whip & paddle, he understands the fine line between pleasure & pain. But love, he's never understood: like Mistress Xaviera's cats, he is very independent, not needing companionship, preferring to be alone, his only use for other humans is to use them for his needs, to punish them. And then he met Eleanor. He sensed right away she was his 'kind', he's become attuned over the years to recognizing others with the same inclinations. But there was something else about Eleanor, he cannot name what it is or how it got into him, but she changed his life just by moving into the house behind his. He looks at her & wants to kiss her, actually put his lips on her lips, touch his tongue to her tongue...it gives him shivers, the good kind of shivers, just imagining it. He wants to touch her, he wants for her to touch him. He's started having a recurring dream about her...he remembers vividly the first time, he dreamed he was awake, lying in his bed & she came into his room, climbed into bed beside him. It was so real, he could feel her ass snuggled up to his groin, feel her breasts under his hands. They didn't do anything in this dream, but lie there like that, cuddled like lovers, he could even smell her hair....when he woke & felt the empty space beside him....something broke inside him. Whatever she was doing to him, he had to have more of it.

So he begins a course of pursuit. Justin hasn't got his housemate Gavin's seductive charm: Justin has seen women swoon over Gavin just because he smiled at them. He's never tried to 'court' a girl before, and he knows his attempts at flirtation are not subtle: everyone is aware of his 'crush' on Eleanor almost immediately. And she is very painfully aware of his attentions, too, and avoids him. But Justin will not be deterred: he knows what she keeps secret from all her friends, he knows her heart's secret desires, though she never speaks of it. What she does speak of is a commitment to remain a virgin, to eschew romance in general...that in itself confirms him to what he already believes about her, that she is like him. So he looks for her at all the fetish balls & S&M clubs: they all end up there eventually. But his sweet virgin Eleanor hasn't yet stepped beyond the realm of her fantasies, because she is never amongst that crowd. He then seeks her out online, because she must surely be seeking an outlet of some kind for herself. He knows all the chat rooms where people discuss their fantasies, engage in online S&M, and when he finds the screen name 'VirginGoddess' and reads her words, he knows it is her. He can hear her voice in the silent typed words. He confirms this by following the IP address, something Zach taught him sometime ago. And where Justin has been unsuccessful in attracting Eleanor, 'Stalker' has great luck with 'VirginGoddess': from the first time he shares in her online fantasies, he knows she is his. It is just a matter of her coming to terms with herself, deciding she is ready to live her dreams. Then, he can reveal himself to her, offer her his services & even his heart. And to help her with that, he shares in her every online fantasy, and shares his own with her. Except one fantasy, he's begun having lately, even while he's working sometimes, the vision will intrude on his consciousness, sapping the strength from his whip hand. He sees himself, seated, with Eleanor on his lap, her head on his naked chest, her arms around his neck. She's looking up him, with her beautiful eyes & she says , "I love you, Justin." It's not a fantasy he can share with her, it's not what she wants to hear. But he's talked many times with Gavin & Zach about 'mind over matter': for Gavin, it is a spiritual issue, he says the universe is an illusion, that matter exists because we collectively believe in it. When you achieve enlightenment, he says, matter ceases to matter, you can actually manifest your own reality. For Zach, it is a matter of physics: electrons, he says, change their behavior based on whether they are being observed, that the expectations of the observer actually affect an electron's behavior. Justin doesn't care whose explanation is right, he only knows that maybe, if he believes his fantasy & concentrates on it, he can make it come to pass.

A year passes, wherein Justin pursues Eleanor, dreaming about her coming into his room to sleep on his bed, imagining her in his arms, telling him she loves him, sharing her dark fantasies with her online under the name 'Stalker'. And then the day comes, while they are having one of their online sessions, she tells 'Stalker' she'd like to meet him, and live her fantasy in the real world. It is what he's been waiting for. "Say the word, Eleanor, and I will come for you," he writes, intentionally using her real name. And she drops offline....he's scared her. So he shuts down the computer & hurries over to her house & knocks on her door: he wants to see her, make sure he didn't terrify her too badly. Obviously, she was very frightened by it, he can see it in her eyes, hear it in her quickened breath. Because of her scare, she is actually glad to see him, & chats with him for a few hours while she waits for her roomate Kira to get home. He thinks about telling her, but decides it is not the time, just yet. The time is coming, very soon, but he's waited too long to rush it as it approaches. Using her name like that in fact scared her right out of the chat rooms: as Justin ponders this predicament, his housemates plan a Saturday party. It is the opportunity Justin needs...remembering how excited & scared she was when 'Stalker' used her name & how that made her so much friendlier to 'Justin', he decide to give her another little scare before the party. Justin understands fear, how it quickens the blood & heart rate, how it excites the nerves...he can give her fear & at the same time provide the safe haven...He creates a special simhoo email account, stalker@simhoo.com, just to email her from, telling her he's missed her & he'll see her on Saturday.

Saturday's party eventually comes, and Eleanor is indeed nervous & excited, her eyes darting about, looking out for a stranger to appear, her voice a little shaky. Justin stays with her for the duration of the party & she does nothing to shoo him away.

The night wears on and the other couples in attendance, Gavin & Shay, Xtina and this new guy she's brought along, are not shy about their romancing. Eleanor becomes more frightened as it gets darker, Justin can almost hear her heartbeat. She's in a vulnerable state now, one Justin knows full well how to take advantage of. He takes the kiss from her that he's been wanting since first he saw her..or is it 'gives' the kiss? It seems perhaps, a little of both, give & take.

He kisses her for a very long time, as though the party has stopped, as though there is nothing & no one else. He bites her lips & pulls her hair, and he can feel how that excites her. Perhaps she has figured out now that he is 'Stalker', or perhaps she will still need to be told....