"On your left, on your freaking left!"
Alex screamed into the headset, digging her thumbs into the controller as she tried to save what had to be the most useless team of imbeciles on Earth. Her avatar, a winged mech knight, unloaded its deluge of missiles, providing cover fire as their team's medic scurried for safety. The red and white mech stumbled across the battlefield, failing to roll when debris came smashing down, instead becoming prime real estate for enemy missiles.
"Motherfucker!" The dark haired girl yelled, nearly chucking the controller. "Can't you see where you're going? Roll! Roll!"
The medic's plight unfortunately - or maybe inevitably - crossed enemy fire. Alex watched with mounting rage as their healer's health bar dwindled to a flashing red, then greyed out entirely.
"Sorry!" Came her teammate's voice through her headset. "They came out of nowhere."
"We can all see them, Cameron," replied another voice. "Just look at the map in the corner."
"Hey, where are you guys?" Village Idiot Number 2's needful voice crackled in Alex's ear. "Are we still at the third checkpoint?"
It all tumbled downhill from there, although Alex gave it the best she had. The final kill numbers for her avatar, though stellar and exponentially eclipsing everyone else's, failed to dampen the blood rushing in her head, or stem the expletives from her lips.
She sighed.
Since Champions' inception, Alex Zhu had dominated the top leaderboards for as long as she could remember. Her tactical mind, exceptional reflexes, and canny intuition had led to nail-biting, even legendary, victories. Under her petite stature and mousey appearance - not exactly improved by the owlish glasses perched on her nose - was a ruthless, bloodthirsty conqueror hell-bent on obliterating her foes.
But that was a year ago.
As Alex yanked the headset off, and staggered off her roommate's couch, she wondered what her original teammates were up to.
Probably the same as me. She booted up her laptop, blinking numbly at the fresh blue screen presenting her university email. Shit, I forgot to finish my homework again.
Sighing, she padded to the shared kitchenette, bare feet slapping the cool tiles, and groped for a light switch before fixing herself Mr. Noodles, a soft-boiled egg, and Kimchi: her go-to midnight snack.
As usual Champions matches meant late night catching up on school.
It was the reason why her original team had disbanded after they entered university. Like Alex, everyone had tackled challenging, ancestor-honoring degrees, with the assumption that trivial things like friends, or video games would fall away like molted shells. Since then, finding a consistent, competent team that could also afford Alex the odd night of skipping matches to catch up on, say, her Fourier Analysis paper was impossible. The raven haired girl found herself oscillating between filthy casuals, and inflexible obsessives.
Her phone pinged.
Alex pulled her phone from under the mess of clothes on the couch and slid her thumb, dragging down the waterfall of messages.
Jared: Great game guys! We almost had them.
Sarah: So close! But where was everyone at the end?
Cameron: Sorry I died so quickly. Thanks Alex for the cover fire.
Sarah: Don't apologize Cameron!! @alex, you could be a little nicer lol
Jared: Haha, no kidding. Alex always takes things so seriously.
"Excuse me for actually wanting to win," Alex muttered. Slurping the noodles in her chopsticks, she opened the chat on her laptop too, and typed one-handed.
Alex: Cameron, you need to roll faster when you're sprinting. And stay out of the kill zone when your health is so low.
Jared: Ooh, the master hath spoken
Sarah: Her words scripture, her will the law.
Cameron: how do I 'roll'?
"It was a great idea to meet in person! I can't believe we all live so close by."
Jared turned out to be a third-year: big-bearded, broad-minded, with the usual deluge of hardcore political beliefs most poli-sci majors developed. His extroversion in the game carried itself in real life - he had no 'online persona' so to speak - although seeing him in red flannel, a beanie, with a matcha latte in one hand, Alex thought he was already a caricature.
"It makes sense since we all share the same time-zone, and play at the same time so often," said Cameron. The red-haired second year wore glasses, a trendy scarf, and a wool sweater. "Me and Sarah started the team in first year, when we met in Music studies. Not that we're any good."
"Sorry I'm late!" said a tall leggy blonde carrying a tote bag, striding towards them. She wore a hipster looking hat with pom poms on the sides, and a smile so bright Alex had to shade her eyes.
No surprise Sarah was late. Alex just didn't expect her to be a total smoke-show. As the only other girl in the team, she felt suddenly conscious of the plain white T-shirt, blue jeans, and glasses she was wearing. Alex had always looked younger than she was, possibly the cause of her explosive personality.
"No problem," said Cameron. "My roommate should be gone soon so we can train at my flat. Everyone got their laptops right?"
Though spontaneous and terrifying, the idea to train in person was, Alex had to admit, a fantastic idea. Their shared passion for Champions meant everyone was serious about improving, and Alex could coach way better in person. She was even more intrigued by the 'specialized' training routine her teammates had mentioned just for her since Alex was already pretty much perfect at the game.
When they got to the flat, Cameron gave a brief flat tour, showcasing his drum set, gaming setup, and posters.
Alex, looking inside, noticed no one had taken their shoes off. Her own Converse sneakers were clean; if anything, her socks felt a bit sweaty - something she'd been suddenly self-conscious of and dreading on the way here - so she chose to keep them on too, apologizing silently to her Asian parents.
The rest of the evening was spent poring over tactics, positioning, flight maneuvers, teaching Cameron how to roll, and advancing their team wins. Three hours later, they were mowing down enemies like a seamless machine.
"Alright, I'll bite," said Alex finally. They had ordered pizza and were eating it on Cameron's kitchen island. "What's this specialized training you mentioned in the chat?"
"Well," said Jared. "We did think there was just one thing you could improve on. You know, as team leader."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm all ears."
"It's an immersive experience," said Sarah conspiratorially. "And not easy. But like, you could really use it."
Alex folded her arms. She took a deep breath. "Look, you guys took a lot of verbal abuse from me just to get better. I want to prove I can do the same. So what is it?"
The trio led her to Cameron's bedroom where they asked her to half-sit, half-lie down on the narrow twin bed. Despite her short stature, Alex's ankles dangled off the frame, and her head rested just past the edge.
"Is this like physical therapy?" Alex asked, pulling at her wrists. The bed had come with nylon cuffs which the trio had nonchalantly fixed to her wrists and ankles, stretching her spread-eagled.
"Something like that," replied Jared, winking.
Before Alex could response, she felt her sneaker pop off.
"Hey!" Alex said, but Sarah was grabbing the heel and pulling the other sneaker off, tossing both shoes unceremoniously to the floor. Unshod, the cool dorm air hit her slightly damp, hot socks and Alex wiggled her toes.
"What was that for?" Alex said nervously. "And quit staring at my feet Sarah."
Sarah did not. That was when Alex Chu realized she may bit off more than she could chew.
"So," said Sarah, giggling. "Did anyone expect such cute socks?"
Alex flinched, then realized the blonde's hand had only tapped close to her foot, drumming the bedframe. She tried not to curl her foot, to show any reaction or care, as the blonde's nails filled her imagination with their sharpness and length.
What was she, a pianist? Watching them drum and wriggle, Alex wondered where that dexterity had been in Champions.
"I play guitar," said Sarah, reading her mind. "Hence the long nails. For strumming."
"Interesting," said Alex levelly.
Bereft of her tight sneakers, Alex's socks clung like a second skin, white and black checkered, slightly damp from hours of gaming, fabric hugging to every contour of her petite girlish feet.
Did that make them cute? Alex had found out, shortly after she stopped growing in grade 10, that anything short and petite was doomed to be 'cute'. There was no use fighting it. And being a nerdy, slim, Asian girl only exacerbated the label.
"OK, so my roommate says he's not coming." Cameron confirmed, re-entering the bedroom. He slipped his phone away and closed the door behind him, before blinking. "Cute socks, Alex."
Alex's dark eyes narrowed into slits.
"Um she's not getting out is she?" Cameron asked nervously.
"Not with these cuffs," smirked Sarah. "Trust me, our little leader isn't coming free anytime soon." She leaned forward, smiling. "Not until she learns her lesson about being a meanie."
"Quit teasing her," said Jared. "Of course we're going to let you out Alex. We just want to get you back for being such a hard-ass on us. You carry the team, don't get me wrong, but you could be a bit nicer. You know, smile more?"
"Smile more?" Alex glared. "How is tying me up supposed to make me smile more?"
She did not like the glances her treacherous teammates exchanged. Without a word, they shuffled to different positions by Alex's helpless bound frame.
"No," she said. "No."
"Like I said, it's just temporary," said Jared. "Think of this like team bonding."
They inched closer.
"No!" Alex mustered as much authority into her nineteen year old Asian girl vocals as she could. "I swear if you assholes don't-EEEeeeEEEE!"
Cameron suddenly squeezed into her sides from behind, both hands pinching her petite frame. She kicked, heels digging into the mattress as she felt the ginger work up and down her sides. Said vocals quickly betrayed her as a sound none of the teammates had ever heard emit from their ruthless leader spilled from her lips. Shrill, girly, and unbelievably adorable. Alex finally clenched her lips together and glared.
"Stop!" She demanded, unable to pull her arms down. "Cameron, you asshole, let go of me!"
Rocking her head back, she tried to head-butt him but seemed to only succeed in swaying her long hair in his face. Alex felt one hand leave her side and tangle itself in her silky raven hair before yanking it gently back.
"I've got her," said Cameron, pulling Alex's hair. "You get the other side."
"Got it." Jared began poking in quick bursts Alex's left flank through her thin T-shirt.
"Not you too!" Alex flailed her legs, whipping back and forth between the two fiends, while feeling the bite on her scalp as Cameron's closed hand restricted her neck. "Don't don't...Eeeee stop it!"
"Don't stop it?" said the bigger man, grinning. "You'll have to be more specific boss. Weren't you always telling us to be more clear?"
"That's different! Fuck just stop! Stop to-touching meee! Ahahaha no! Not there!"
His hands switched to pincering her flank, sinking into her ribs and waist, shooting Alex into a desperate sideways U each time they hit just above her hips. Laughter and swears mixed, tumbling from her lips, reaching shrill pitches she would've been mortified to let anyone hear. Her shirt was riding up too, wrinkling up, exposing her narrow girlish hips and navel. Like most hardcore gamers, she'd spent more time indoors than out, resulting in white, creamy skin.
Trapped between two men, being tickled to death, Alex lamented. Could this day get any worse?
"Cootchie cootchie coo..." Sarah's voice swam into Alex's clenched eyes, snapping them open as she suddenly wiggled her long guitar strumming nails towards both Alex's socked feet.
"AHHH! No! Not there! Not my feeeeeEEEeeeEEeet!" Alex screwed her eyes as Sarah stroked all five fingernails up and down her soles, scratching from her toes to her heels.
For as long as the dark haired girl could remember, she had hated, hated, hated people touching her feet. Shielded in socks and shoes, Alex had shuddered at even the thought of her sweaty sensitive feet in contact with human skin. So now, even just the reality that this tall infuriating blonde stranger was touching her feet through her thin socks was almost as bad as actually being tickled there.
"NOOOOOahahahaha! No Sarah! Please no!" Alex's ankles thrashed in the restraints, kicking her feet at every angle. "Fuck! Hahaha that's baaad. Not there! No!"
"Oh my god, I'm barely touching her," laughed Sarah. "Look at her squirm."
"Her sides are bad but her feet must be killer," said Cameron enviously.
"This is what you get for wearing sweaty socks," Sarah reprimanded, leaning forward and bunting Alex's arch with her nose, playfully pretending to inhale deeply. "Must be all those nights up gaming. Here give her a taste of her actions."
She handed one of the Converse sneakers to Jared who briefly sniffed it, wrinkled his nose, and inverted it, lowering the dark pit of its opening down to Alex's pinned head.
"No!" their smart-mouthed leader said, eyes widening. "Hahaha I'm sorry for not changing socks? I forgot today! No please! Ahahahaha!"
Her pleas were vetoed by Sarah who dug her nails passionately into the Asian's feet, spamming vengeful scratches into the center of her arches, sending the hapless gal into fresh desperate howls, and obliterating whatever apologies she had.
"AHHHHHH! Naaaahhhh!" Alex pleaded with wide, black eyes for mercy, unable to actually talk.
Down came the shoe.
The worn fabric of her shoe's opening pressed over her face, nuzzling her cheeks, and the humiliating scent of her own foot sweat rushed through her nostrils, sucked in with each helpless laugh, while the rest of the shoe mashed up against her mouth, glasses, and face.
It smelled bad. Really bad.
With Cameron holding her by the hair, she couldn't recoil, and with all three of her teammates tickling the shit out of her, couldn't hold her breath either. Alex groaned as her hot thick foot sweat filled her nose and mouth, her lips brushing her own shoe.
Jared watched carefully as the svelte girl laughed into her shoe. He didn't her to actually gag but it seemed fitting she 'tasted' her own actions.
"Yup, she's learned her lesson there," said Jared finally. He lifted the shoe, giving his team leader a gasping reprieve.
"You guys fucking SUCK!" Alex shouted, bucking. "Let me out now!"
"Not until you apologize, and act nicer," Jared tutted. Tossing it aside, the big man went back to kneading her ribs, exploding Alex back into hysterics. "Keep tickling her Cameron. Get her armpits."
"No!" Alex's eyes widened. She flexed her arms as best she could, narrowing the gap in her armpits. Nonetheless Jared squirreled two fingers into her armpit, while Cameron, who had slimmer hands, burrowed all five fingers. The assholes managed to push into the short sleeves of her T-shirt, unashamedly jabbing her naked underarms with rough fingers. "Ahhhh! Ahhh! I hate you! Ahahaha!"
Meanwhile Sarah was tormenting her poor feet, tickling each one, then focusing on the left, holding it in place, her strong fingers gripping the damp sock, while stroking cruelly down ball to heel. Then she did the right foot, exciting jolts of helpless struggles each time her long nails graced a really bad spot.
"Hey Alex," called the blonde. "What's better than a ticklish helpless little foot?"
"G-Go fuck yo-yourself!"
"A ticklish helpless little bare foot! And just for your comment, you get just that." Fear froze the svelte girl's heart as she felt her sock being peeled off. A cool dagger-long fingernail pressed against her naked sole as it shimmied up, carrying with it her thin sock.
Soon, the sock was gone and Alex stared down at her pale milling toes. "No! Please Sarah! Not my bare feet!"
"Oh yes! Oh yes yes yes my ticklish little toy!" Sarah laughed. She held Alex's bare foot in her hands, forcing it still and gently stroked it. "Cute, pale, and pink. Look at small they are!"
Alex's other socked foot kicked futilely. "Ahahaha! No Sarah! No Stop!"
But the blonde grabbed her big toe, yanking it so her whole foot was stretched taut, before rapidly raking her long nails down their soft arches.
"AHAHAHAHA!" Alex exploded in laughter, black hair flying, as a miniature sun of ticklishness went off in her left foot, erasing all thought or reason or sense of pride from her formerly intelligent mind. She went ballistic, kicking like a shored fish while Sarah grinned, passionately raking her long nails up and down, up and down, enjoying every helpless inch of the Asian's captured sole.
"Now we know where Alex Chu is most ticklish," Jared chuckled. "How are you doing Cameron?"
"Her armpits are second most ticklish I bet," said the Ginger, still rocketing the petite girl sideways with each squeeze. "How about you?"
"I can barely get in there. She's squirmy."
"Yeah, you need smaller hands," said Cameron. "So you can squeeze like this." He pinched the inner hollow of Alex's armpit making the fiery Asian burst into giggles.
"You're right I can't do that." Jared tried the same, with similar but lessened results. "I mean just touching her armpits is enough, but I do feel cheated. Mind if I switched?"
"Sure, I like her armpits," said Cameron. "Why don't you go down her legs?"
"NO!" Alex screamed, feeling the hand holding her hair let go. Cameron inserted both his drummer hands into her open sleeves and laid claim to both open armpits, squeezing with gusto sending into orbit with laughter.
She watched in horror as Jared joined Sarah and pulled her remaining sock off. The bearded man lifted her ankle up, observing her naked foot. "Not a single callous. You really don't go outside huh?"
"No she does not," answered Sarah. She delivered a hardy smack to Alex's sole. "And they are so soft! Give them a feel."
"Golly you're right Sarah!" Jared dragged his blunt fingers down the Asian's petite foot, sending Alex snickering. "Like silk." His fingers raced faster, and snickers became full blown laughter again. Jared was much stronger, so when he held Alex's foot in place, she was horrified to find out she couldn't move it at all. Bubbly toes wriggled while her trapped arch flexed uselessly against his firm fingers as the big man dragged his nails along their soft terrain.
Alex screamed.
The duo forced her ankles into their laps, trapping them between heavy thighs and took turns scratching, exploring, and teasing every wrinkle and crevice of her poor, sensitive feet. Jared pulled her toes wide, teasing the soft warm skin between while Sarah traced the stretched tendon on her arch, drawing her nail over and over along the hypersensitive line like an artist retracing their pen.
All the while Cameron drilled his fingers into her underarms, cycling down her bicep to the inner hollows of her stretched armpits, wriggling into the hot flesh just behind her modest breasts. He danced his long fingers down her ribs, counting them with each horrible pinch, before reaching the coup de gras, her bare unprotected navel where the soft skin proved pliable and rich with helpless ticklish laughter.
Just when it couldn't get worse, the trio decided to rotate. Alex groaned as she felt Sarah press into the mattress. Unlike Cameron, the blonde decided to kick her own sandals off and straddle her, sitting comfortably on the petite girl's waist, looming like a golden tower.
"Cootchie coo coo," said Sarah, giggling. "I'm going to get you!"
Her hands dove into Alex's bare sides, wasting no time evoking guffaws of laughter from the hapless ticklish Asian.
"NOooahahahaha!" Alex yelped, twisting side to side. "No Sarah please!"
The blonde's cool hands continued pincering her sides, racing down her ribs then pinching her bare waist.
"Admit it, admit you like this, Chu." Her hands moved up under Alex's thin T, scrolling up her stretched torso, to tickle just under her breasts, tracing beneath her cotton bra. Alex squealed, shaking her head, the impropriety more shocking than the tickles.
Sarah winked as she slid her cold hand under the bra and squeezed Alex's warm tit with one hand, tickling her ribs with the other.
"What the-ahahahaHAHAHA!" The hardheaded gamer's world upended again as Cameron joined Jared in tormenting her poor soles. The Ginger was scrabbling four fingers down the full length of her arch, then dragging them up in a single terrible stroke.
Sarah meanwhile continued tickling her under her shirt, accessing her armpits, underarms, ribs, breasts and stomach without any layer of protection. The blonde's grinning, triumphant face exacerbated the tickling, filling Alex's desperate gaze.
"Keep tickling her boys," Sarah said playfully. "I like the expression she's making."
"You know, I think my roommate's girlfriend left her brushes here," said Cameron, grinning. "I doubt she'd mind."
"For the good of teaching our leader a lesson," affirmed Jared. "You don't mind either, do you Alex?"
Alex's protests died as Sarah pressed her palm over her lips, smirking.
Suddenly a million bristles dragged against both her naked soles at once, exploding ticklish sensations across her feet, nearly blacking Alex out, throwing the slim girl into another stratosphere of torment. She almost couldn't comprehend how ticklish the brushes were, and the feeling of running them down her tender soles short-circuited any and all thought from her head besides raw primal laughter.
"AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Her glasses bumped up her nose as her mouth parted in a helpless O, spilling laughter out, eyes screwed shut, black hair flying. "NOAHAHAHA!"
She could hear the bristles, oh god, she could hear their rubbery scrapes against her soles, scritch scritch scritch.
"Good job boys," said Sarah, laughing, pinching the raven haired girl's sides. "Keep tickling her, don't let up until she learns her lesson."
"Aye! Get the center of the arch." said Jared, smirking as he scrubbed the brush relentless across the reddened sole in his hand. Her cute toes pushed helplessly against his big hand, unable to scrunch the tautened arch, while her knee bounced chaotically, unable to free the ankle in his grip.
"Oh you're so right." Cameron mimicked the older guy, adjusting the bristles to scrape against Alex's worst spots.
"Noooo!" Alex wailed, tears stinging her eyes. "NOOOOOO!"
Sarah rucked the shorter girl's shirt all the way up, exposing her slim upper body, and leaned forward, pressing her lips into Alex's stomach. Shocked squeaks spilled from the petite girl as the blonde nibbled along her slim navel.
Sarah's blue eyes flicked up, meeting Alex's terrified dark eyes.
Without detaching her lips, her hands darted forward and squirmed a single forefinger, red-tipped, into each of the slim girl's armpits.
Alex squealed, laughter reverberating down her bare navel to Sarah's swishing lips and wet tongue. Sarah controlled the squeals with her two forefingers, like controller joysticks, pressing into their leader's warm moist hollows to feel the flex and shift of her clenched stomach.
To Alex's horror, she suffered Sarah's exploration across her entire torso, even a warm, wet tongue lapping in her underarms and neck, leaving hot trails of saliva, while the blonde's vicious nails dug into every plane of her reddened torso.
"Th-this goes hahaha beyond HAHAHA what teammates do!" Alex screamed, pulling her arms as Sarah's tongue dove into the stretched hollow of her armpit. "AHHH Sarah P-please!"
"Fine fine." Sarah smiled, wiping saliva from her lips. "You're right I got carried away."
The blonde adjusted Alex's glasses back on her nose, cool hands cupping her face and chin, while Alex could only giggle and laugh from the brushes tormenting her feet.
The trio changed again.
This time, Sarah straddling her the other direction, facing the pinned Asian's legs and waist. As the blonde sank her fingers greedily into Alex's slim legs, pincering her inner thighs and hip bones, she kept re-adjusting her own bare feet, until Alex could feel their heat against both sides of her face, everywhere she turned, big tanned feet, as their owner tickled the shit out of her.
Sarah's reasoning quickly revealed itself as the blonde pushed her toes into Alex's bare armpits, digging her long toes into the soft hollows. Unlike their prisoner, the blonde's feet were huge - at least they seemed colossal up close in Alex's face - and her toes proved just as dexterous as her fingers.
The former cocky Asian girl was screaming her lungs out, hot tears stinging her eyes as she struggled and flailed, her reedy voice a shrill unrecognizable hodgepodge of begging, laughter, nonsense, and admittedly 'cute' noises.
A few times her cries were muffled when Sarah's feet missed their target, and landed over Alex's mouth, pressing their salty sweat briefly in her nose, toes tangling her glasses and hair.
Unfortunately, this only happened once or twice and Sarah re-adjusted, resuming her tickles.
Each teammate took turns tickling different parts of their hapless leader, commenting and tracking her worse spots with a patience that infuriated Alex.
Soon Alex's laughter came out in thin wheezes, her lungs gasping for breath, her limbs twitching with the lightest touch. Her dark hair clung to her face, beaded with sweat, and her face felt hot and flushed. Sweat dripped down her lower back, her armpits, her neck.
She knew a lost match when she saw one. Alex sighed and sniffed. There was only one way out.
"I'm - I'm sorry," gasped the red-faced girl.
"Sorry for what?" asked Cameron. Everyone paused, not quite believing their ears.
"I'm sorry for being so mean all the time." Alex took a deep breath. "And always swearing and yelling at everyone. I promise to be nicer in the future."
"Do you mean it?" Sarah asked.
Alex nodded quickly. "I've learned my lesson. Seriously, I'm sorry guys. I deserved...well not this, this fucking sucked, but I deserved to be called out."
Her teammates exchanged grins. They undid the cuffs and helped her off the bed. Alex's legs felt like Jell-o. She quickly slid her socks back on and stuffed her feet in her sneakers.
It was midnight and after some microwaved pizza, the team said their goodbyes, promising to practice again soon. Alex, spotting a familiar golden flash between two pom poms, quickly caught up to her friend.
"You know, Sarah," she said. "I think you went too far back there. I'm pretty sure I can still taste your feet."
"I got carried away," Sarah admitted, raising her hands. "Sorry, that was kind of weird of me, huh? Guess you know now; I'm kind of a freak. Sorry again. How about I buy you lunch tomorrow?"
Alex cocked her head. The moonlight framed the guitarist's heart-shaped face, glinting off her golden locks. "I can think of something better. Why don't you come to my dorm tomorrow and get a taste of your own medicine?"
Sarah's eyes widened. Then she grinned.
Alex screamed into the headset, digging her thumbs into the controller as she tried to save what had to be the most useless team of imbeciles on Earth. Her avatar, a winged mech knight, unloaded its deluge of missiles, providing cover fire as their team's medic scurried for safety. The red and white mech stumbled across the battlefield, failing to roll when debris came smashing down, instead becoming prime real estate for enemy missiles.
"Motherfucker!" The dark haired girl yelled, nearly chucking the controller. "Can't you see where you're going? Roll! Roll!"
The medic's plight unfortunately - or maybe inevitably - crossed enemy fire. Alex watched with mounting rage as their healer's health bar dwindled to a flashing red, then greyed out entirely.
"Sorry!" Came her teammate's voice through her headset. "They came out of nowhere."
"We can all see them, Cameron," replied another voice. "Just look at the map in the corner."
"Hey, where are you guys?" Village Idiot Number 2's needful voice crackled in Alex's ear. "Are we still at the third checkpoint?"
It all tumbled downhill from there, although Alex gave it the best she had. The final kill numbers for her avatar, though stellar and exponentially eclipsing everyone else's, failed to dampen the blood rushing in her head, or stem the expletives from her lips.
She sighed.
Since Champions' inception, Alex Zhu had dominated the top leaderboards for as long as she could remember. Her tactical mind, exceptional reflexes, and canny intuition had led to nail-biting, even legendary, victories. Under her petite stature and mousey appearance - not exactly improved by the owlish glasses perched on her nose - was a ruthless, bloodthirsty conqueror hell-bent on obliterating her foes.
But that was a year ago.
As Alex yanked the headset off, and staggered off her roommate's couch, she wondered what her original teammates were up to.
Probably the same as me. She booted up her laptop, blinking numbly at the fresh blue screen presenting her university email. Shit, I forgot to finish my homework again.
Sighing, she padded to the shared kitchenette, bare feet slapping the cool tiles, and groped for a light switch before fixing herself Mr. Noodles, a soft-boiled egg, and Kimchi: her go-to midnight snack.
As usual Champions matches meant late night catching up on school.
It was the reason why her original team had disbanded after they entered university. Like Alex, everyone had tackled challenging, ancestor-honoring degrees, with the assumption that trivial things like friends, or video games would fall away like molted shells. Since then, finding a consistent, competent team that could also afford Alex the odd night of skipping matches to catch up on, say, her Fourier Analysis paper was impossible. The raven haired girl found herself oscillating between filthy casuals, and inflexible obsessives.
Her phone pinged.
Alex pulled her phone from under the mess of clothes on the couch and slid her thumb, dragging down the waterfall of messages.
Jared: Great game guys! We almost had them.
Sarah: So close! But where was everyone at the end?
Cameron: Sorry I died so quickly. Thanks Alex for the cover fire.
Sarah: Don't apologize Cameron!! @alex, you could be a little nicer lol
Jared: Haha, no kidding. Alex always takes things so seriously.
"Excuse me for actually wanting to win," Alex muttered. Slurping the noodles in her chopsticks, she opened the chat on her laptop too, and typed one-handed.
Alex: Cameron, you need to roll faster when you're sprinting. And stay out of the kill zone when your health is so low.
Jared: Ooh, the master hath spoken
Sarah: Her words scripture, her will the law.
Cameron: how do I 'roll'?
"It was a great idea to meet in person! I can't believe we all live so close by."
Jared turned out to be a third-year: big-bearded, broad-minded, with the usual deluge of hardcore political beliefs most poli-sci majors developed. His extroversion in the game carried itself in real life - he had no 'online persona' so to speak - although seeing him in red flannel, a beanie, with a matcha latte in one hand, Alex thought he was already a caricature.
"It makes sense since we all share the same time-zone, and play at the same time so often," said Cameron. The red-haired second year wore glasses, a trendy scarf, and a wool sweater. "Me and Sarah started the team in first year, when we met in Music studies. Not that we're any good."
"Sorry I'm late!" said a tall leggy blonde carrying a tote bag, striding towards them. She wore a hipster looking hat with pom poms on the sides, and a smile so bright Alex had to shade her eyes.
No surprise Sarah was late. Alex just didn't expect her to be a total smoke-show. As the only other girl in the team, she felt suddenly conscious of the plain white T-shirt, blue jeans, and glasses she was wearing. Alex had always looked younger than she was, possibly the cause of her explosive personality.
"No problem," said Cameron. "My roommate should be gone soon so we can train at my flat. Everyone got their laptops right?"
Though spontaneous and terrifying, the idea to train in person was, Alex had to admit, a fantastic idea. Their shared passion for Champions meant everyone was serious about improving, and Alex could coach way better in person. She was even more intrigued by the 'specialized' training routine her teammates had mentioned just for her since Alex was already pretty much perfect at the game.
When they got to the flat, Cameron gave a brief flat tour, showcasing his drum set, gaming setup, and posters.
Alex, looking inside, noticed no one had taken their shoes off. Her own Converse sneakers were clean; if anything, her socks felt a bit sweaty - something she'd been suddenly self-conscious of and dreading on the way here - so she chose to keep them on too, apologizing silently to her Asian parents.
The rest of the evening was spent poring over tactics, positioning, flight maneuvers, teaching Cameron how to roll, and advancing their team wins. Three hours later, they were mowing down enemies like a seamless machine.
"Alright, I'll bite," said Alex finally. They had ordered pizza and were eating it on Cameron's kitchen island. "What's this specialized training you mentioned in the chat?"
"Well," said Jared. "We did think there was just one thing you could improve on. You know, as team leader."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm all ears."
"It's an immersive experience," said Sarah conspiratorially. "And not easy. But like, you could really use it."
Alex folded her arms. She took a deep breath. "Look, you guys took a lot of verbal abuse from me just to get better. I want to prove I can do the same. So what is it?"
The trio led her to Cameron's bedroom where they asked her to half-sit, half-lie down on the narrow twin bed. Despite her short stature, Alex's ankles dangled off the frame, and her head rested just past the edge.
"Is this like physical therapy?" Alex asked, pulling at her wrists. The bed had come with nylon cuffs which the trio had nonchalantly fixed to her wrists and ankles, stretching her spread-eagled.
"Something like that," replied Jared, winking.
Before Alex could response, she felt her sneaker pop off.
"Hey!" Alex said, but Sarah was grabbing the heel and pulling the other sneaker off, tossing both shoes unceremoniously to the floor. Unshod, the cool dorm air hit her slightly damp, hot socks and Alex wiggled her toes.
"What was that for?" Alex said nervously. "And quit staring at my feet Sarah."
Sarah did not. That was when Alex Chu realized she may bit off more than she could chew.
"So," said Sarah, giggling. "Did anyone expect such cute socks?"
Alex flinched, then realized the blonde's hand had only tapped close to her foot, drumming the bedframe. She tried not to curl her foot, to show any reaction or care, as the blonde's nails filled her imagination with their sharpness and length.
What was she, a pianist? Watching them drum and wriggle, Alex wondered where that dexterity had been in Champions.
"I play guitar," said Sarah, reading her mind. "Hence the long nails. For strumming."
"Interesting," said Alex levelly.
Bereft of her tight sneakers, Alex's socks clung like a second skin, white and black checkered, slightly damp from hours of gaming, fabric hugging to every contour of her petite girlish feet.
Did that make them cute? Alex had found out, shortly after she stopped growing in grade 10, that anything short and petite was doomed to be 'cute'. There was no use fighting it. And being a nerdy, slim, Asian girl only exacerbated the label.
"OK, so my roommate says he's not coming." Cameron confirmed, re-entering the bedroom. He slipped his phone away and closed the door behind him, before blinking. "Cute socks, Alex."
Alex's dark eyes narrowed into slits.
"Um she's not getting out is she?" Cameron asked nervously.
"Not with these cuffs," smirked Sarah. "Trust me, our little leader isn't coming free anytime soon." She leaned forward, smiling. "Not until she learns her lesson about being a meanie."
"Quit teasing her," said Jared. "Of course we're going to let you out Alex. We just want to get you back for being such a hard-ass on us. You carry the team, don't get me wrong, but you could be a bit nicer. You know, smile more?"
"Smile more?" Alex glared. "How is tying me up supposed to make me smile more?"
She did not like the glances her treacherous teammates exchanged. Without a word, they shuffled to different positions by Alex's helpless bound frame.
"No," she said. "No."
"Like I said, it's just temporary," said Jared. "Think of this like team bonding."
They inched closer.
"No!" Alex mustered as much authority into her nineteen year old Asian girl vocals as she could. "I swear if you assholes don't-EEEeeeEEEE!"
Cameron suddenly squeezed into her sides from behind, both hands pinching her petite frame. She kicked, heels digging into the mattress as she felt the ginger work up and down her sides. Said vocals quickly betrayed her as a sound none of the teammates had ever heard emit from their ruthless leader spilled from her lips. Shrill, girly, and unbelievably adorable. Alex finally clenched her lips together and glared.
"Stop!" She demanded, unable to pull her arms down. "Cameron, you asshole, let go of me!"
Rocking her head back, she tried to head-butt him but seemed to only succeed in swaying her long hair in his face. Alex felt one hand leave her side and tangle itself in her silky raven hair before yanking it gently back.
"I've got her," said Cameron, pulling Alex's hair. "You get the other side."
"Got it." Jared began poking in quick bursts Alex's left flank through her thin T-shirt.
"Not you too!" Alex flailed her legs, whipping back and forth between the two fiends, while feeling the bite on her scalp as Cameron's closed hand restricted her neck. "Don't don't...Eeeee stop it!"
"Don't stop it?" said the bigger man, grinning. "You'll have to be more specific boss. Weren't you always telling us to be more clear?"
"That's different! Fuck just stop! Stop to-touching meee! Ahahaha no! Not there!"
His hands switched to pincering her flank, sinking into her ribs and waist, shooting Alex into a desperate sideways U each time they hit just above her hips. Laughter and swears mixed, tumbling from her lips, reaching shrill pitches she would've been mortified to let anyone hear. Her shirt was riding up too, wrinkling up, exposing her narrow girlish hips and navel. Like most hardcore gamers, she'd spent more time indoors than out, resulting in white, creamy skin.
Trapped between two men, being tickled to death, Alex lamented. Could this day get any worse?
"Cootchie cootchie coo..." Sarah's voice swam into Alex's clenched eyes, snapping them open as she suddenly wiggled her long guitar strumming nails towards both Alex's socked feet.
"AHHH! No! Not there! Not my feeeeeEEEeeeEEeet!" Alex screwed her eyes as Sarah stroked all five fingernails up and down her soles, scratching from her toes to her heels.
For as long as the dark haired girl could remember, she had hated, hated, hated people touching her feet. Shielded in socks and shoes, Alex had shuddered at even the thought of her sweaty sensitive feet in contact with human skin. So now, even just the reality that this tall infuriating blonde stranger was touching her feet through her thin socks was almost as bad as actually being tickled there.
"NOOOOOahahahaha! No Sarah! Please no!" Alex's ankles thrashed in the restraints, kicking her feet at every angle. "Fuck! Hahaha that's baaad. Not there! No!"
"Oh my god, I'm barely touching her," laughed Sarah. "Look at her squirm."
"Her sides are bad but her feet must be killer," said Cameron enviously.
"This is what you get for wearing sweaty socks," Sarah reprimanded, leaning forward and bunting Alex's arch with her nose, playfully pretending to inhale deeply. "Must be all those nights up gaming. Here give her a taste of her actions."
She handed one of the Converse sneakers to Jared who briefly sniffed it, wrinkled his nose, and inverted it, lowering the dark pit of its opening down to Alex's pinned head.
"No!" their smart-mouthed leader said, eyes widening. "Hahaha I'm sorry for not changing socks? I forgot today! No please! Ahahahaha!"
Her pleas were vetoed by Sarah who dug her nails passionately into the Asian's feet, spamming vengeful scratches into the center of her arches, sending the hapless gal into fresh desperate howls, and obliterating whatever apologies she had.
"AHHHHHH! Naaaahhhh!" Alex pleaded with wide, black eyes for mercy, unable to actually talk.
Down came the shoe.
The worn fabric of her shoe's opening pressed over her face, nuzzling her cheeks, and the humiliating scent of her own foot sweat rushed through her nostrils, sucked in with each helpless laugh, while the rest of the shoe mashed up against her mouth, glasses, and face.
It smelled bad. Really bad.
With Cameron holding her by the hair, she couldn't recoil, and with all three of her teammates tickling the shit out of her, couldn't hold her breath either. Alex groaned as her hot thick foot sweat filled her nose and mouth, her lips brushing her own shoe.
Jared watched carefully as the svelte girl laughed into her shoe. He didn't her to actually gag but it seemed fitting she 'tasted' her own actions.
"Yup, she's learned her lesson there," said Jared finally. He lifted the shoe, giving his team leader a gasping reprieve.
"You guys fucking SUCK!" Alex shouted, bucking. "Let me out now!"
"Not until you apologize, and act nicer," Jared tutted. Tossing it aside, the big man went back to kneading her ribs, exploding Alex back into hysterics. "Keep tickling her Cameron. Get her armpits."
"No!" Alex's eyes widened. She flexed her arms as best she could, narrowing the gap in her armpits. Nonetheless Jared squirreled two fingers into her armpit, while Cameron, who had slimmer hands, burrowed all five fingers. The assholes managed to push into the short sleeves of her T-shirt, unashamedly jabbing her naked underarms with rough fingers. "Ahhhh! Ahhh! I hate you! Ahahaha!"
Meanwhile Sarah was tormenting her poor feet, tickling each one, then focusing on the left, holding it in place, her strong fingers gripping the damp sock, while stroking cruelly down ball to heel. Then she did the right foot, exciting jolts of helpless struggles each time her long nails graced a really bad spot.
"Hey Alex," called the blonde. "What's better than a ticklish helpless little foot?"
"G-Go fuck yo-yourself!"
"A ticklish helpless little bare foot! And just for your comment, you get just that." Fear froze the svelte girl's heart as she felt her sock being peeled off. A cool dagger-long fingernail pressed against her naked sole as it shimmied up, carrying with it her thin sock.
Soon, the sock was gone and Alex stared down at her pale milling toes. "No! Please Sarah! Not my bare feet!"
"Oh yes! Oh yes yes yes my ticklish little toy!" Sarah laughed. She held Alex's bare foot in her hands, forcing it still and gently stroked it. "Cute, pale, and pink. Look at small they are!"
Alex's other socked foot kicked futilely. "Ahahaha! No Sarah! No Stop!"
But the blonde grabbed her big toe, yanking it so her whole foot was stretched taut, before rapidly raking her long nails down their soft arches.
"AHAHAHAHA!" Alex exploded in laughter, black hair flying, as a miniature sun of ticklishness went off in her left foot, erasing all thought or reason or sense of pride from her formerly intelligent mind. She went ballistic, kicking like a shored fish while Sarah grinned, passionately raking her long nails up and down, up and down, enjoying every helpless inch of the Asian's captured sole.
"Now we know where Alex Chu is most ticklish," Jared chuckled. "How are you doing Cameron?"
"Her armpits are second most ticklish I bet," said the Ginger, still rocketing the petite girl sideways with each squeeze. "How about you?"
"I can barely get in there. She's squirmy."
"Yeah, you need smaller hands," said Cameron. "So you can squeeze like this." He pinched the inner hollow of Alex's armpit making the fiery Asian burst into giggles.
"You're right I can't do that." Jared tried the same, with similar but lessened results. "I mean just touching her armpits is enough, but I do feel cheated. Mind if I switched?"
"Sure, I like her armpits," said Cameron. "Why don't you go down her legs?"
"NO!" Alex screamed, feeling the hand holding her hair let go. Cameron inserted both his drummer hands into her open sleeves and laid claim to both open armpits, squeezing with gusto sending into orbit with laughter.
She watched in horror as Jared joined Sarah and pulled her remaining sock off. The bearded man lifted her ankle up, observing her naked foot. "Not a single callous. You really don't go outside huh?"
"No she does not," answered Sarah. She delivered a hardy smack to Alex's sole. "And they are so soft! Give them a feel."
"Golly you're right Sarah!" Jared dragged his blunt fingers down the Asian's petite foot, sending Alex snickering. "Like silk." His fingers raced faster, and snickers became full blown laughter again. Jared was much stronger, so when he held Alex's foot in place, she was horrified to find out she couldn't move it at all. Bubbly toes wriggled while her trapped arch flexed uselessly against his firm fingers as the big man dragged his nails along their soft terrain.
Alex screamed.
The duo forced her ankles into their laps, trapping them between heavy thighs and took turns scratching, exploring, and teasing every wrinkle and crevice of her poor, sensitive feet. Jared pulled her toes wide, teasing the soft warm skin between while Sarah traced the stretched tendon on her arch, drawing her nail over and over along the hypersensitive line like an artist retracing their pen.
All the while Cameron drilled his fingers into her underarms, cycling down her bicep to the inner hollows of her stretched armpits, wriggling into the hot flesh just behind her modest breasts. He danced his long fingers down her ribs, counting them with each horrible pinch, before reaching the coup de gras, her bare unprotected navel where the soft skin proved pliable and rich with helpless ticklish laughter.
Just when it couldn't get worse, the trio decided to rotate. Alex groaned as she felt Sarah press into the mattress. Unlike Cameron, the blonde decided to kick her own sandals off and straddle her, sitting comfortably on the petite girl's waist, looming like a golden tower.
"Cootchie coo coo," said Sarah, giggling. "I'm going to get you!"
Her hands dove into Alex's bare sides, wasting no time evoking guffaws of laughter from the hapless ticklish Asian.
"NOooahahahaha!" Alex yelped, twisting side to side. "No Sarah please!"
The blonde's cool hands continued pincering her sides, racing down her ribs then pinching her bare waist.
"Admit it, admit you like this, Chu." Her hands moved up under Alex's thin T, scrolling up her stretched torso, to tickle just under her breasts, tracing beneath her cotton bra. Alex squealed, shaking her head, the impropriety more shocking than the tickles.
Sarah winked as she slid her cold hand under the bra and squeezed Alex's warm tit with one hand, tickling her ribs with the other.
"What the-ahahahaHAHAHA!" The hardheaded gamer's world upended again as Cameron joined Jared in tormenting her poor soles. The Ginger was scrabbling four fingers down the full length of her arch, then dragging them up in a single terrible stroke.
Sarah meanwhile continued tickling her under her shirt, accessing her armpits, underarms, ribs, breasts and stomach without any layer of protection. The blonde's grinning, triumphant face exacerbated the tickling, filling Alex's desperate gaze.
"Keep tickling her boys," Sarah said playfully. "I like the expression she's making."
"You know, I think my roommate's girlfriend left her brushes here," said Cameron, grinning. "I doubt she'd mind."
"For the good of teaching our leader a lesson," affirmed Jared. "You don't mind either, do you Alex?"
Alex's protests died as Sarah pressed her palm over her lips, smirking.
Suddenly a million bristles dragged against both her naked soles at once, exploding ticklish sensations across her feet, nearly blacking Alex out, throwing the slim girl into another stratosphere of torment. She almost couldn't comprehend how ticklish the brushes were, and the feeling of running them down her tender soles short-circuited any and all thought from her head besides raw primal laughter.
"AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Her glasses bumped up her nose as her mouth parted in a helpless O, spilling laughter out, eyes screwed shut, black hair flying. "NOAHAHAHA!"
She could hear the bristles, oh god, she could hear their rubbery scrapes against her soles, scritch scritch scritch.
"Good job boys," said Sarah, laughing, pinching the raven haired girl's sides. "Keep tickling her, don't let up until she learns her lesson."
"Aye! Get the center of the arch." said Jared, smirking as he scrubbed the brush relentless across the reddened sole in his hand. Her cute toes pushed helplessly against his big hand, unable to scrunch the tautened arch, while her knee bounced chaotically, unable to free the ankle in his grip.
"Oh you're so right." Cameron mimicked the older guy, adjusting the bristles to scrape against Alex's worst spots.
"Noooo!" Alex wailed, tears stinging her eyes. "NOOOOOO!"
Sarah rucked the shorter girl's shirt all the way up, exposing her slim upper body, and leaned forward, pressing her lips into Alex's stomach. Shocked squeaks spilled from the petite girl as the blonde nibbled along her slim navel.
Sarah's blue eyes flicked up, meeting Alex's terrified dark eyes.
Without detaching her lips, her hands darted forward and squirmed a single forefinger, red-tipped, into each of the slim girl's armpits.
Alex squealed, laughter reverberating down her bare navel to Sarah's swishing lips and wet tongue. Sarah controlled the squeals with her two forefingers, like controller joysticks, pressing into their leader's warm moist hollows to feel the flex and shift of her clenched stomach.
To Alex's horror, she suffered Sarah's exploration across her entire torso, even a warm, wet tongue lapping in her underarms and neck, leaving hot trails of saliva, while the blonde's vicious nails dug into every plane of her reddened torso.
"Th-this goes hahaha beyond HAHAHA what teammates do!" Alex screamed, pulling her arms as Sarah's tongue dove into the stretched hollow of her armpit. "AHHH Sarah P-please!"
"Fine fine." Sarah smiled, wiping saliva from her lips. "You're right I got carried away."
The blonde adjusted Alex's glasses back on her nose, cool hands cupping her face and chin, while Alex could only giggle and laugh from the brushes tormenting her feet.
The trio changed again.
This time, Sarah straddling her the other direction, facing the pinned Asian's legs and waist. As the blonde sank her fingers greedily into Alex's slim legs, pincering her inner thighs and hip bones, she kept re-adjusting her own bare feet, until Alex could feel their heat against both sides of her face, everywhere she turned, big tanned feet, as their owner tickled the shit out of her.
Sarah's reasoning quickly revealed itself as the blonde pushed her toes into Alex's bare armpits, digging her long toes into the soft hollows. Unlike their prisoner, the blonde's feet were huge - at least they seemed colossal up close in Alex's face - and her toes proved just as dexterous as her fingers.
The former cocky Asian girl was screaming her lungs out, hot tears stinging her eyes as she struggled and flailed, her reedy voice a shrill unrecognizable hodgepodge of begging, laughter, nonsense, and admittedly 'cute' noises.
A few times her cries were muffled when Sarah's feet missed their target, and landed over Alex's mouth, pressing their salty sweat briefly in her nose, toes tangling her glasses and hair.
Unfortunately, this only happened once or twice and Sarah re-adjusted, resuming her tickles.
Each teammate took turns tickling different parts of their hapless leader, commenting and tracking her worse spots with a patience that infuriated Alex.
Soon Alex's laughter came out in thin wheezes, her lungs gasping for breath, her limbs twitching with the lightest touch. Her dark hair clung to her face, beaded with sweat, and her face felt hot and flushed. Sweat dripped down her lower back, her armpits, her neck.
She knew a lost match when she saw one. Alex sighed and sniffed. There was only one way out.
"I'm - I'm sorry," gasped the red-faced girl.
"Sorry for what?" asked Cameron. Everyone paused, not quite believing their ears.
"I'm sorry for being so mean all the time." Alex took a deep breath. "And always swearing and yelling at everyone. I promise to be nicer in the future."
"Do you mean it?" Sarah asked.
Alex nodded quickly. "I've learned my lesson. Seriously, I'm sorry guys. I deserved...well not this, this fucking sucked, but I deserved to be called out."
Her teammates exchanged grins. They undid the cuffs and helped her off the bed. Alex's legs felt like Jell-o. She quickly slid her socks back on and stuffed her feet in her sneakers.
It was midnight and after some microwaved pizza, the team said their goodbyes, promising to practice again soon. Alex, spotting a familiar golden flash between two pom poms, quickly caught up to her friend.
"You know, Sarah," she said. "I think you went too far back there. I'm pretty sure I can still taste your feet."
"I got carried away," Sarah admitted, raising her hands. "Sorry, that was kind of weird of me, huh? Guess you know now; I'm kind of a freak. Sorry again. How about I buy you lunch tomorrow?"
Alex cocked her head. The moonlight framed the guitarist's heart-shaped face, glinting off her golden locks. "I can think of something better. Why don't you come to my dorm tomorrow and get a taste of your own medicine?"
Sarah's eyes widened. Then she grinned.
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