Chapter 09: After School Special

Sonja sat at the back of the bus, watching the spring forest snap by with incredible speed. The dilapidated vehicle raced down the Interstate on their way back from one of the multitude of games her school excelled in. The spirits were low, however, because the team lost for the third time in a row. On the other hand, the obsession with the cheer squad was almost powerful enough for an explosion of interest, social networking, and blurry upskirt photos.

She scoffed into the window, watching the brilliant greens of leaves mixing in with the blurring colors of sport utility vehicles, cars, and immense trucks. In the mirror, she could see her own reflection in the grimy window.

For a moment, it looked like someone else was looking at her, someone with deep-set eyes and a haunted glow barely visible in her sea-green eyes. Something burned inside them, a fierce glow, but the giggling and noise behind her just sent a shiver down her spine.

With a great deal of effort, she peered over her shoulder at the others. The maroon outfits were swirling and moving as the other cheerleaders joked and commented on the game. In the very back, Betty was the center of attention as she and Ming were comparing notes on teacher's perversions and the perverts ogling them at the game.

Careful not to look annoyed because it always upset Betty, Sonja turned back into the reflection, her fingers digging into the green vinyl of the seat. Her eyes locked into her reflection's and she could almost see memories flashing in those green eyes. Not to mention the obvious lack of sleep.

Her dreams were getting worse, haunting her almost every night. Dreams of fire and flame, of spit and moans. More often than not, she found herself waking up masturbating, her sheets soaked with her own juices and the room flooded with her excitement. Even thinking of it brought a flush to her cheek.

But, the dreams had changed months ago. It wasn't only herself in them, but Betty, Ming, and the others. All of them being tortured while screaming for more, a hard sexuality intensity that overlaid themselves with reality. She could no longer see them in the locker room without also remembering how they looked, strapped to a spit or pinned down for the guillotine. Somehow, she knew what they smelled like when they were excited, but also the sounds of pleasure they made when their end finally came.

Those memories haunted her more than the dreams.

“So, ready for your big date?”

Sonja jumped and Betty giggled, her bright eyes watching her from over the seat. While Sonja was mulling over her past, the perky blonde had managed to slip in behind her. Her lipstick was bright and freshly applied, but Sonja wasn't paying attention why.

Not wanting to spend more time with Rick, Sonja started to beg it off, but there was a hardness in Betty's eye that stopped her. It was the blonde who set her up and she had a feeling that Rick only asked her out, after eight long months of Betty pushing him.

Sonja nodded her head and cleared her throat. “Y-Yeah, actually I am.”

“Really?” There was no surprise in her voice, “Going to do dinner and a movie, the old five and dime?”

Sonja grinned at Betty's phrase, “Yeah, we're going to the AMC and probably Red Lobster. Make it up as we go.”

“Bah, just tell him where you want, that is the whole point.”

For a brief moment, Sonja was confused, “The whole point?”

A predatory look crossed over Betty's expression, “Of men.”

Marisha leaned into them. “And what about women?”

Betty gave a conspiratorial glance at Marisha, who was practically in the lap of another blushing cheerleader. The sound of laughter could almost hide the red-head's purr.

“Depends on what side you're on, I guess.”

Sonja grinned, thankful she wasn't against the heavy-handed affections at that point. “True, so true.”

Betty's eyes came back, “So, gonna do him?”

Shocked, Sonja shook her head, “What!? No... no!”

Some of the conversations started to die, but Betty leaned over the edge of the seat, her breasts pushing down against the polished metal.

“No? I mean he is cute. Or... are you a virgin?”

The blush grew hotter in her cheeks and Sonja shook her head. “No... I'm not a virgin... haven't been for...”

Betty's smile brightened, “Don't have to remember. They are just men, size and number doesn't count as long as they are rich and they treat you like a queen.”

The giggle cut through the bus and Sonja smiled with her, the flush in her cheeks fading slightly. Someone threw a backpack at Betty who pretended to grow enraged, yelling out at Ming who whistled innocently. The bus exploded in laughter as the blond threw herself back over the bench and caught Ming before wrestling her to the floor.

The laughter grew louder and Sonja pressed her back against the side of the bus, glancing up at the bus driver.

It was the nasty man who used to pick her up. He was just watching, barely keeping his eyes on the road as he leered into the mirror. His eyes wandered over to Sonja and she could almost feel him stripping her with his imagination. She shivered and looked away.

Theodora's voice cut out over the din of the bus. “So, Sonja, with your date tonight, won't Meris be upset?”

Sonja jumped and peered over toward the back. Betty was “caught” in Marisha's and Ming's grasp, almost stretched out over the end of the bus seat, the hem of her skirt raised high enough to see the matching maroon fabric between her legs. Theodora leaned across Ming's lap, trying to pull Betty across when her question stopped their wrestling. Silence filled the bus and Sonja blinked for a moment.

“What...?”

Betty sat up, her head almost brushing against the ceiling. The purple eyes stared back at Sonja and she saw a brief image of the blond being shoved into an oven. The shiver sent a flush to her cheeks.

“W-What do you mean?”

Marisha's eyes flashed with amusement, “You are getting to be quite friends with the corpse girl.”

“I'm just tutoring her.”

A ripple of laughter filled the bus, along with the whine of the diesel engine. Sonja started to look away and forced herself to look into Betty's eyes. The blonde smiled prettily and shrugged. “Just noticed that you spend a lot more time with her than anyone else including Rick or me."

Marisha's voice purred out, “Would it be a little practice... for me?”

Another peal of laughter and giggles. Sonja tightened her jaw and kept her eyes on Betty's. The leader of their group disengaged herself completely from her mock-captors and almost crawled over the seat, until she was right behind Sonja. Sonja looked up into Betty's eyes as the blonde loomed over her for a moment. Then, she slithered down like a snake until Sonja could hear the vinyl creak from her weight.

“So... is she one of your friends... your close friends?”

Sonja shook her head slightly, despite the fact she wanted to say “yes.”

Betty almost purred as she leaned a little more forward. “I wouldn't want to you to... abandon your duties as a tutor, but if it came down to us or her... could you?”

The were a calculating coldness in Betty's eyes, a fierce determination that burned deeply. Sonja felt her world mixing in with her dreams, at the worse possible moment. Betty's blue eyes mixed with her purple, her outfit blurring even as she could imagine the young blonde tied to a pole, about to be set on fire. The screams echoed in her ears as she looked into the cheerleader's eyes and shivered from the intensity of the heat growing inside her.

Sonja stammered, “I...”

Betty reached out and stroked Sonja's cheek. The finger felt like ice against her skin, her body caught in memories and the powerful purple eyes that stared back. Her whisper drifted through Sonja's senses. “Us or her, Sonja?”

It took a supreme effort to speak against her heart, against the growing friendship between her and Meris. She forced a smile across her face, masking the confusion and fear with confidence. “You, of course.”

Those three tiny words were enough to break the silence in the bus. Ming sighed dramatically and conversations started to perk up from the beginning of the bus, sliding down until the noise once again echoed shrilly against the green-painted walls.

Betty smiled warmly at her, lips tightened up slightly. The finger against her cheek slide a little further down, cupping her chin for a moment. There was no sexuality in that gaze, just pure raw power. Sonja realized she saw it in her mother too many times and the same gaze glowed from Betty's eyes. “Good. Of course, I would never make you make that choice.”

Thankfully, the fingers pulled away and Betty gave her a last longing look before slipping out of the seat and returning to the one in the back. Sonja's eyes followed her, then drifted to the side to see Marisha looking at her, the red-head's eyes briefly flashing with sadness before it was washed away with amusement.

Ming just grinned while Theodora pulled out a notebook.

The dark-skinned girl's voice drifted toward them, “So, Ming, how is the boyfriend thing coming?”

“Oh... pretty good. He got a hand up my shirt last time.”

“Oh? Second base?”

Ming scoffed, “As if. Na, just to my belly. But, by the time I was done with him, his gun,” she paused meaningfully, “looked like it needed a few less bullets in it.”

Another round of laughter filled the bus. Sonja joined in with them, feeling dirty and unclean. And more than a little guilty.

End of chapter 9