Point #1 - This is a work of erotic fiction, and if it were a flawless, logical universe, Caitlin would have been prosecuted after touching him up in the bathroom in Chapter 2. End of story. Game over. Exit through the gift shop.

Point #2 - In the real world, people with money get away with things scott-free all the time. I'm not saying this is a watertight argument for GH-X2, but I'm saying it's not an implausible assumption. I also refer to point #1 - this story has been engineered this way to avoid a long, boring legal / police investigation into abuse. I appreciate that you are taking it very realistically and I personally interpret that as a huge compliment, but also remain aware of the fetish and what I'm trying to facilitate via this setting. Injustice is driving this story along.

All that was mentioned was that Alex should not be contacted, to avoid implicating her. It's obvious that she's already trying to help Jack, from the moment she realised how bad things were at the pool, to helping stage the rescue by ringing Caitlin, and presumably playing along with everything behind the scenes in an ongoing inside job.

Yeah, I do feel ya here. I have tried to showcase enough depth in Caitlin's character to lead to some doubt as to her exact motives, but let's not forget, she has done terrible things, and that does make her the villain of the piece - even if it transpires she's misguided or misunderstood or whatever. It's also clear that at least one of her friends isn't a total dickhead (Alex) so the impressing her friends argument would only really be to impress Amber, which might be the case, but wouldn't be overwhelming peer pressure by any means.

In terms of the timespan, yeah, I've seriously overwritten for the duration elapsed, and this is exacerbated by the sparse updates. My defence is that it's a highly detailed story, it's my first (and only) and I had no idea of pacing (during the Caitlin section especially), and my signature 'introspective shit' takes up a lot of space. It is a weird situation, this was meant to be like a snapshot of a scenario in 2013, and it's 4 years later and barely 5 days has elapsed in-world. 

I like the thinking behind this, but I can categorically tell you that, in a school where Betas are bullied on a semi-regular basis, confronting Caitlin will basically just result in her casually picking him up and carrying him somewhere private as he squeaks away - no-one will bat an eyelid. The odds of him somehow landing a PR victory against the #1 predator within school are roughly zero; she's greatly feared, popular, and holds great sway over most people, even teachers. Even if she's spotted by a teacher who acts on it, as long as she puts him down, no-one's really going to give a shit, as I say, the Betas get hung onto coathooks and bullied on occasion and it's just considered a thing (think of it like some of the horrid racist/sexist attitudes that used to/still pervade society, but in this NWO add sizeist).

The teachers would perhaps show a modicum of care for Jack, but they're not really bothered, they don't think Betas should even be at the school. I guess you could have him confide in the school's support network and start to build a case from there, but as a story that's just gonna end up tedious, I really need to keep the action away from a criminal investigation, so I'm trying to provide semi-plausible doubt of official channels to keep the narrative focused. It's basically playing out like a kids movie - don't trust the adults, beat the bullies yourself!

As for Caitlin, it remains to be seen how complex or evil she truly is.

Thank you for the lovely review! The Caitlin stuff took a long time to work through, mainly because there was a lot to cover, and also because it was such a stressful situation. Skimming over it would almost fail the story, at least in my eyes - every moment of it was brutally 'real' for Jack, and the narrative reflects that. 

I think the basic story arc thus far has definitely fit the kind of 'hero' origin plotline you're referring to. Let's see if it descends into the labyrinthine finale against the final boss!

Thank you! There is a smidge of karma here for Jack, and yes, he deserves every tiny shred of happiness going. I like to think Penny sees him for who he is, someone who is brave, self-effacing, good and kind. The size difference, for her, is perhaps not a factor in the quite the way he's worried about, it actually seems like it's her own fear of him being repulsed by her that's to blame for the stigma she's had up until now...

I'm pleased that you see growth in Penny's character. It wasn't necessarily my intention to have her slowly reveal herself, but in the course of telling the tale her natural reservation has given way to a slightly more outgoing, proactive attitude which reflects her increased comfortableness with Jack, and her own moral compass reacting so potently to what has been going on. In some ways, she's very much a mirror image of him, quiet, clever, insular, except with her size, she's realising that she actually might have the power to do something to help him, and come into her own.

Caitlin could be around every corner, still. We shall see...

Geek 4 lyf, bruh.