Senior Year Memories Ch. 10

"What if we offered you a counterproposal?" I said.

"It'd have to be a mighty strong counterproposal," Sophie said, dubious.

I didn't have a good read on her and with my own background in religion tenuous at best, I was stuck improvising. I had an idea of what this might be about, and had to take a shot in the dark that I might be right.

"I can't say if it's mighty strong, but it might be up your alley anyway. Give me two minutes," I said.

Gently stroking the cross that lay against her immense bust, Sophie said, "Two minutes."

I started, "Look, this protest is a publicity stunt-"

"It is NOT a publicity stunt!" Sophie interrupted, scandalized. "Halloween is a wicked celebration, and-"

"It's a publicity stunt. You want attention, and this is your way of getting it, but if you do it like this you'll only wind up hurting the school. My counterproposal is, you cancel your protest, you spend Halloween doing whatever it is you'd otherwise be doing, and in exchange we'll offer you a platform to get the word out. We'll give you a post on the Puma Press blog where you can talk about alternative Halloween activities, promote your Hell House, and even get you an article in the print edition of our paper if it suits you," I said.

Josie looked at me like I was insane, and I felt it, a little. This was a plan that Nadia wouldn't like one bit since offering to give Sophie a platform was kinda-but-not-entirely giving into terrorists demands, but if it worked, she could at least hate my journalistic integrity while having some modern computers to hate me on.

Sophie considered my offer, stroking her chin. "You really think it's that simple?"

"Nothing in life is ever that simple," I replied.

"Then you're no fool," she said, still considering. "How do I know that if I do take you up on this counterproposal, that you won't just use it as an opportunity to turn it around and spin it into some fake news slander?"

"Actually, in print it'd be libel..." Josie muttered.

"Because I'm honest in my reporting. No matter my personal beliefs, I don't slant my words. I report on what I see, no more, no less," I said.

"And if you walk a path as righteous as you claim, you know the light of your holy cause will shine through no matter what, right?" Josie said. I was impressed with her; I didn't think she'd be able to play ball with Sophie seeing how opposite one another the two girls were.

Sophie continued stroking her chin. She admitted, "It is a tempting counterproposal, I'll give you that, but you've hardly proved yourself to be trustworthy sorts. While I know neither of you attend, do you know where the First Regan Hills Church is?"

"Yes," Josie and I said simultaneously.

"Good," Sophie said. "Meet me there tomorrow night at eight. There is something I would like to show you, or, more appropriately, get your opinions on. Once I've had the opportunity to gauge your honesty, you have my word we'll discuss the matter of Halloween further."

That wasn't much of a promise, actually, but it was all we had. I said, "Fine. We'll be there."

"Good," Sophie repeated. She cast her eyes on Josie and smirked. "And try to dress respectable? This is the house of the Lord, not Whore Alley."

Not for the first time, I was glad I was fast enough to grab Josie by the shoulder.

***

I didn't know how Josie would handle Sophie's taunt, whether she'd dress as conservatively as Sophie wanted or if she'd go as slutty as possible in an attempt to spite her. That Josie picked me up wearing more or less what she usually wore told me she'd seriously considered both offers before just settling on something comfortable.

At least one of us was comfortable. Not being a church guy I didn't exactly have church clothes, but I did have a collared shirt and a pair of khaki pants that were clean enough. I looked like a tool, but hopefully it'd buy me enough credit to find some way to turn tonight to our advantage. Considering that I'd spent the night before playing video games with Tori when we weren't going down on each other, I was in a pretty good mood despite the discomfort, all told.

Josie and I sat in the First Regan Hills Church's parking lot, watching the clock on her dashboard count down.

"This is a shit idea," Josie said.

"I know," I replied.

"You know how I know?"

"How?"

"Because this is quite clearly a shit idea," Josie said.

"I'm not saying you're wrong," I said.

"Then what are you saying?" Josie asked.

"I have no idea. I've... I don't want to do this, and hopefully we won't have to," I said.

"You're hoping that, what, your charm'll get to her and that you'll persuade her that just because we're so fucking nice that she shouldn't do the one big thing she's been probably building her whole senior year around?" Josie asked.

"...yes?" I responded, chuckling nervously.

"Well, no one can say you don't have balls," Josie said, nodding softly.

"You know that better than some," I quipped.

This made Josie laugh. Playfully, she reached across and softly squeezed my semi-hard cock. I would've liked her to do a lot more than playfully squeeze my cock, especially with how much cleavage her leather top showed, but this had to be the moment that Sophie walked around the corner toward us.

"So, about time we get into character?" I said.

"I guess," Josie replied. "What does that mean?"

"Nice. Charming. Try not to say fuck too much?" I proposed.

"Fuck you," Josie said.

***

For her part, Sophie was polite, if still silently disapproving of the way Josie was dressed by the way she held her nose up. I could've done without Sophie's judgment, but walking behind her as she led us around the church, I did enjoy the view of her nice, round ass swaying beneath her long, conservative skirt. I probably wouldn't have been looking nearly as intensely as I was if it weren't for Josie teasing my cock in her car, but part of me couldn't help wondering how serious Sophie was about that purity ring on her finger.

A guy can dream, right?

"I want to thank both of you for being good to your word and coming this evening. It speaks well of your character that you would not try to abandon this commitment," Sophie said.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Josie said, sarcastic.

"Thank you for talking with us," I said.

"Thank you for listening. A lot of people get the wrong idea about what we're trying to accomplish here, and I'm happy for the opportunity to show them the truth," Sophie said.

"That you're trying to steal Halloween?" Josie suggested.

Sophie almost let a scowl take her face, but didn't let it take hold. "Steal it back, you mean? All Saint's Eve is a hallowed day that's been stolen by a cabal of candy companies, devil worshipers, and all those who would try to make a quick buck off of embracing sin and summoning the darkness."

"First off, when you talk about stealing it back, you should consider that the church stole the night from the pagan celebration of Samhain to end the harvest season. Second, to the rest of your points... what the actual fuck?" Josie said.

"This isn't helping," I said to Josie.

"He's right, it's not," Sophie said. "Considering that you're my guest here-"

I rounded on her, throwing my 'playing nice' strategy out the window a lot faster than I'd have expected. "We didn't come here tonight to engage in a theological debate. We came here tonight to report facts, not be preached to. I know you think you hold all the cards here, and I want to be respectful of that, but if you really thought your protest was that guaranteed to succeed, you wouldn't have even considered our offer of a platform."

"If you thought your position so strong, why even come tonight?" Sophie proposed.

"Because even if I got doubts that you protesting's gonna succeed, there's a chance it might, and I can't take that chance. Not when a lot of good people put in a lot of hours working on the Halloween Scream or when our school's extracurriculars could really use the money the event might yield," I said.

Sophie considered this as she led us around the rear of the church to the more modern meeting hall. "A noble, if misguided intent. Very well, if you want me to avoid preaching, I'll avoid preaching and let what I am to show you speak for itself. I'm under no illusions that we'll be able to cancel Halloween, but at the Young Christian Purity Brigade we want to offer wholesome alternatives that might save families from a path of damnation. We'll offer healthy snacks, Bible services, even a costume contest. We understand that it is a night of fun, but we'd like it to be fun without frivolity. Fun where people can be enriched and better understand the path God has set for them and the dangers of straying from that path. And if you're looking for something spooky, well, we've got that too..."

Guiding us around to a rear entrance of the meeting hall, we were greeted by an oversized devil face with its mouth wide open around the doorway. Between its horns was a sign stating "7 Sins of Halloween Hell House!"

To say it didn't look promising was putting it lightly, but in the interest of doing what we came here to do, Josie and I followed Sophie inside.

I'd never been inside of the meeting hall, but from experience building a haunted house I was very familiar with the cheap, snaking walls of black plywood and curtains that made up this Hell House. Once we actually got to see the rooms dedicated to each of the seven deadly sins, I wasn't so much in fear for my immortal soul as I was fearing that I might burst out laughing at any moment from the low production values. From the Sloth room where someone was to be glued to the couch (literally) watching scary movies while their family begged for them to go to church to the Gluttony room that was literally covered in candy wrappers to the Wrath room that looked like a PG version of Leatherface's house, the sets were an impressive level of cheesy. I had no doubt that once they had their actors in place, the cheese would probably just be amplified.

Though Sophie said she would avoid preaching, she went into great detail about the meaning of each room and which of her fellow members of the Brigade was responsible for it. It was all Josie and I could do not to snark about everything we were seeing. It did become clear to me, though, that any plans, even plans to improvise, were pretty much thrown out the window. Sophie was an immovable object, and we were hardly an unstoppable force. I was psyching myself up to being resigned to having to break the bad news to Nadia and have to deal with Sophie's protest of the Halloween Scream.

At least, I was, until we got to the fourth room of sin: Lust.

While the other three rooms were cheesy, this one had something resembling production values. The set they'd made was of a suburban bedroom in dark red. Outside of the windows were cheap cloth flames, and in the center of the room was a king-sized bed with crimson sheets. It was what covered the walls, though, that truly held my attention. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of high quality sketches of people having every imaginable kind of sex. There was nothing PG about this room, the sex was graphic and, well, pretty well rendered.

"This is, obviously, our Lust room," Sophie said in her usual proud, smug voice, but was it possible I caught some embarrassment in there too? She wasn't looking at us for any reaction this time, and... she looked to be swaying uncomfortably.

"Whose brainchild was this one? 'cause they might actually be fun," Josie said, looking at some of the drawings on the walls.

"Mine," Sophie said. "But I doubt I'm your perverse definition of 'fun.'"

"I wouldn't be so sure..." Josie said.

Sophie ignored her. "This room is to symbolize those lost to the sin of lust. Two actors will be on the bed, simulating sexual intercourse. They will be so focused on this act that they will be completely unaware of the world ending around them."

"It's not very Halloween-y," I said, stepping toward some of the drawings to get a better look at them. There was something about them that seemed... familiar.

"I had to take some... artistic license, but I believe it still will get the message across," Sophie said.

"You did these drawings, too?" I said.

"I did," Sophie said, her voice still that mix of pride and embarrassment.

"You're a very talented artist," I said, surprised that I meant it. It wasn't just that they were hot as hell, they actually were really good charcoal sketches. Not perfect, but given a couple more years she could have some really great talent.

"Thank you," Sophie said.

Getting close to one picture, it finally clicked in my head why it looked so familiar.

"This is porn!" I exclaimed, probably slightly too loud.

Flustered, Sophie said, "Well, yes, that was the idea..."

"No, I mean actual porn, like, online stuff. I recognize some of the faces," I said.

"No shit?" Josie said, getting in close to some of the pictures, then exclaiming. "No shit!"

I looked back at Sophie, her smug face now pale as a sheet.

"I... I... I... I needed accurate inspiration for my vision, so I looked online, there's nothing wrong with that, I'm eighteen, and I assure you I didn't enjoy myself..." Sophie said.

"You didn't enjoy yourself?" Josie taunted.

"No!" Sophie shot back.

"Then why've you been rubbing your thighs together ever since we got into this room?" Josie said. Sophie didn't have an answer for that, backing into the center of the room and almost tripping onto the bed.

It all made sense now. I said, "You've sounded embarrassed since the moment we got into this room, not because of the content, but because you enjoyed it. Is that about right?"

"I... I... I..." Sophie stuttered, looking fearful and frantic. Taking a step back, this time she actually did trip and land sitting on the bed. Scared and angry, she spat out, "Fine. I'll call off the protest if you don't tell anyone of my indiscretion. That's what you wanted, right?"

This wasn't exactly how I expected this to go.

"You honestly think we'd blackmail you?" I said.

"It's not a bad idea," Josie admitted.

"We're not gonna blackmail her," I said.

"I know," Josie laughed. "But it's fun watching her twist in the wind, isn't it?"

I looked at Sophie, and I wasn't having fun watching her in her current state. It looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack, breathing heavily and with terror in her eyes as she looked back and forth between me and Josie. Josie's laugh turning to genuine concern, she sat beside Sophie on the bed. Though I didn't much like Sophie or what she was doing, I liked seeing people in pain even less. I sat on the other side of her, leaving a few inches between us, but still fully aware I was sitting next to two ridiculously sexy women. For the first time in a while, I shifted in my seat to hide my erection.

Josie patted Sophie on the back. "Hey, hey, it's alright, it's just porn! No big deal!"

"No big deal? No big deal? It's no big deal that I watched hours of the vilest pornography I could find? It's no big deal that it awoke such... unnatural feelings inside of me? No big deal that no matter how hard I've prayed on this, I can't make those feelings go away?" Sophie said, nearly crying.

"Hey, so long as nobody's getting hurt, there's nothing unnatural about those feelings," Josie said.

Sophie began, "Women aren't supposed to-"

Josie cut her off, "Fuck that bullshit! Men have been telling us what we are and aren't supposed to feel so they could control us and make us their own. They've done it with laws and religion and force, making us think we need to wait for marriage because they're scared of what we can do when we embrace our bodies and true selves. Present company, excluded; Ryan's pretty decent most of the time, when he's not being fucking stupid."

"Thanks," I said.

Sophie looked grateful, but confused. "You... you won't tell anyone?"

I shook my head. "We'd like to change your mind about Halloween, but we're not gonna use your sexuality against you; that's just... abominable. We'd like to win you over, not make you feel like shit."

"Seriously. We believe in Halloween, but none of this repression shit. You wanna keep your freaky side private, you keep it private, but never for a moment think it makes you any less or worse a person. We're all entitled to our freaky side, and it's all natural. We were made this way, and so long as nobody's getting hurt, embrace the shit out of it," Josie said.

I didn't know what Josie had planned for after graduation, but the way she talked she could've had a good future as a lawyer or a hostage negotiator. Sophie looked between both of us, still nervous, but relaxing by the second. I saw her touch first the purity ring on her left hand, then the cross that hung around her neck. There was an internal battle going on within her head, but that was up to Sophie to resolve. The next thing she said would say a lot for all of us.

"I... I wouldn't know how," Sophie said.

"You're a virgin?" Josie asked. Sophie shot her a look that said that should be obvious, so Josie continued, "Well, you've given blowjobs? Handjobs? Done some backseat groping? Kissed?"

Sophie softly shook her head while rubbing her thighs together, settling her hands on top of them.

"Well, you have masturbated, haven't you?" Josie asked.

"No," Sophie said softly.

"You're saying you've never had an orgasm?" Josie asked, incredulous.

"No!" Sophie shot back.

Josie looked at her like she might've been speaking in tongues. Taking a chance, I said, "You know... if you wanted, we could help you with that."

It may not have been the greatest chance to take for the way Sophie started laughing.

"I'd apologize, but... this is just so much like out of those pornos, it's just a little silly, isn't it? And no offense to either of you, but you're not exactly my type, Ryan, and I'm not into girls, at all," Sophie said vehemently. She said it, but the way she'd lovingly drawn so many nude women all over the walls, I didn't exactly believe her.

Josie must not have either for the way she looked at my crotch and nodded. "Maybe this is one of those 'show, don't tell' types of situations?"

Catching her drift, I began to undo my pants. Sophie looked at me, wide-eyed and almost fearful. "What're you... what're you doing? You don't have to... oh my goodness."

My ten-inch-long, very thick cock sprang out, more excited than even I'd thought with the bead of precum already forming on the tip. Sophie looked at it with eyes that cycled between surprise, awe, and even a little fear. Her mouth hung open slightly, her breathing heavier. Unconsciously, she reached out for my cock, only withdrawing once she realized what she was doing.

Seeing this, Josie slid up behind Sophie, gently wrapping her arms around her stomach, her hands trailing upward and gently squeezing Sophie's tits. Sophie moaned, softly.

"Ryan and I may not look like your traditional beauties, but I assure you, we got it where it counts. We've got experience, we've got talent, and we've got enthusiasm," Josie said, trailing one of her hands down so it fell toward Sophie's thighs. Though Sophie held them together at first, another squeeze to her tit parted them slightly, enough that Josie could press her fingers into Sophie's groin through her skirt. Sophie moaned again, a deeper, needier moan than her first as Josie began to circle her fingers.

I picked up where Josie left off, sliding closer to Sophie and whispering in her ear. "We know how to bring you pleasure that'll make your toes curl and your screams endless. We can show you that lust isn't a sin, but something worth embracing, that it's a part of who you are, who you've always been. Once you let it into your heart, it'll help you understand not only who you are, but who you're meant to be. You'll have a power you never even knew to be possible. Do you want that?"