Chapter 32
Michael scowled as he stood in front of the cheerleader again. This time they were meeting up in the abandoned Sodosopa parking lot. He'd be nervous if not for the fact that Sophia no longer lived near here.
"Why'd you make me come out all the way here?" He raised an eyebrow, flicking the ash off his cigarette.
"I thought an abandoned, dirty parking lot was more your style." Wendy said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
"Whatever bitch, what do you want?"
"Listen asshole, I'm not here because I want to be, okay? We're supposed to be working together and we haven't done a single thing since that shitshow at Benny's." Wendy was glaring, obviously annoyed at him. Michael rolled his eyes, honestly having forgotten about her for a few days.
"There's been a lot going on, okay? Calm your tits, we'll do something again soon."
"When is soon?"
"I don't know, for sure once the break is over."
"And what? You just expect me not to do anything as Stan spends all his time with Sophia?" She crossed her arms tightly, her voice lightly echoing around the parking lot.
"If he's not hanging out with his conformist friends he'll be with all of us, I wouldn't let them hang out on their own either. Besides, Sophia's busy at her new job."
"Oh yeah, I know all about that. I also know Stan asked out Sophia in front of Tweek's Coffee!" She screamed the last few words and Michael physically flinched back.
"What? Who told you that?" He hadn't heard a single thing about that, Sophia would have talked to Henrietta about it at least, right?
"It doesn't matter who told me, I wouldn't lie about something like that." Clyde told Bebe who told her, but she wasn't going to tell him that!
"Well, she probably turned him down, I haven't heard anything about it."
"Pfft, yeah right! Stan's probably the best she could do, why would she turn him down?"
"Not everyone is attracted to meatheads, Sophia has better taste than that." Michael clenched his teeth, feeling a vein in his forehead bulge. Wendy rolled her eyes, sending him a nasty smirk.
"Obviously not if we're sneaking around trying to get them away from each other." There was cold silence for a moment before Michael sneered at her.
"I guess you're out of luck too then; you were so confident Stan," he said his name mockingly. "Would come crawling back, and look where he is? Still with us and obviously trying to get at Sophia; how sad for you. None of your popularity or self-proclaimed type advantage matter anymore, it must feel like a slap in the face." Wendy could feel her face flush as she trembled with rage.
"I've played nice so far, but if it's going to be like that then I'm going to do everything in my power to get Sophia away from Stan. So far all you've done is protect her, but we're going to play by my rules now."
"And what makes you think I'd go along with something like that?" He raised an eyebrow, intent on ditching her right then and there if it weren't for the confident smirk she wore.
"Because I have this." She tapped a few times on her phone before letting a voice recording play on speaker. His voice, unmistakably, bounced off the concrete ceiling.
"So, you admit you want Stan out of the picture because you want Sophia for yourself."
"Why the fuck are you so fixated on that?"
"It's important to know the motivations of someone you're teaming up with."
"No, it isn't. I really couldn't care less about why you're tired of your chocolate boy-toy."
"Fuck you asshole."
"Right back at you bitch, so do we have a deal?"
"Fine I guess."
Michael's face paled before flushing in rage at being caught in the stupid cheerleader's trap. He remembered that particular conversation and at the time he thought it was weird how she kept poking at the subject.
"I hope you die, you fucking bitch." He couldn't do much else but watch as she put her phone back in her pocket.
"Back at ya, partner." She rolled her eyes, amused at how angry he got so suddenly. "I'll be sending that to your little friends if you don't play along. I'm sure they won't be too happy with you if they hear that." He didn't have anything else to say, glaring at her before turning and storming off. "I'll text you later with the details on what I'll need you to do." She called after him, giggling to herself as he flipped her off, stomping away faster.
I wiped down the counter, listening to Henrietta and Firkle's conversation. Tweek Bros. was empty at the moment, except for us, and I didn't have much to do except make sure all the containers were full and the area was clean.
"I'm not saying you're a monster fucker," Henrietta rolled her eyes as Firkle scrunched his nose as her. "I'm just saying you look like the type to be a little too into Venom."
"That's disgusting." He scoffed, drinking his cold brew.
"I'd fuck Venom." Henrietta shrugged, completely at ease. "Hey Sophia, would you fuck Venom?"
"That big, goop guy?"
"Yeah." I thought about it, probably not if I was being honest.
"If you want to fuck Venom that badly, why do you go for Pete? They're literally opposites." Firkle's tone was extremely judgmental, I was surprised he was actually participating in the conversation given how he usually stayed far away from the subject.
"That's just for fun, sometimes you need someone desperate to make you cum; it's hard to do that by yourself." She shrugged. Both Firkle and I looked away embarrassed, it was always a little awkward when Henrietta got more descriptive. Ever since I had that conversation with her, I couldn't help but feel a different kind of embarrassment. When she went into detail about her escapades, I couldn't help but imagine myself in those sorts of… positions.
"That's disgusting." Firkle repeated, rolling his eyes, and looking down at his phone, ending the conversation.
"You asked." Henrietta rolled her eyes, not pushing it. Siouxie and the Banshees started playing from the ceiling where I had my phone connected to the store's Bluetooth speakers. I lightly bopped my head, my bangs futtering around my face, almost covering my whole nose.
"Are you going to keep your bangs long now that you don't live with you mom anymore?" I looked up suddenly at Henrietta's question, reaching up to tug at the long locks.
"I don't know… I guess." I said softly. To be honest, I hadn't thought of that. Now that I basically didn't have to see my mom again, there was really no need to keep my bangs long.
The thought made me anxious.
I'd been wearing them this way for so long that it felt weird to think about regularly having them away from my face or cut short. Not only that, but I knew people would stare; not only at my left eye, but also the scars around it. It's not that I cared about what the conformists thought… I just… I bit my lip as I continued to think about it.
"You don't have to decide right now, it's not a big deal." Henrietta physically waved away my concerns with a flick of her wrist. The three of us looked up as the bell above the door jingled. Raven practically ran in, quickly counting how many of us were here.
"Where are Pete and Michael?" He was slightly out of breath, leaning against the counter.
"Don't know and don't care." Firkle rolled his eyes, taking a deep sip from his dark drink.
"Well, we need them to come here, like, as quick as they can." Raven pulled off his puff ball hat, revealing slightly sweaty hair plastered to his forehead. I silently offered him some napkins, which he gratefully took.
"What for?" Henrietta raised an eyebrow; I could tell she didn't appreciate his tone.
"I've heard back from Mysterion, he wants to meet with us."
"Right now?" Henrietta raised an eyebrow and he nodded. She rolled her eyes hard before drinking from her coffee again. "You heard him Sophia, call Michael."
. . . . .
After we were all gathered outside Tweek Bros. and I had just closed up for the evening, we waited outside in the parking lot for Mysterion to appear. Michael and Pete had just arrived a few minutes earlier; we were still as we smoked in companiable silence together. I could tell Henrietta was getting more antsy as time passed, she crossed her arms tightly over her big boobs and chewed on the end of her cigarette filter. I could see Raven checking his phone every once in a while, fidgeting more as time passed.
"How long is that douche going to make us wait?" Pete huffed, flicking his cigarette bud to the floor.
"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Raven looked around the parking lot.
"I've been here the whole time." We all flinched as Mysterion's typical raspy voice came from the dumpsters. He was crouched on the lid and staring at us. Pete whipped around and glared at him.
"What the fuck asshole! How long were you going to just watch us?" Both him and Henrietta were pissed.
"I thought I'd at least let you finish your cigarette." He shrugged, unbothered, as he gracefully leapt off the dumpster. He strode toward us, his cape fluttering behind him. "I bring news from the underworld."
"Get to it, dork knight, we've been waiting around for long enough as it is." Michael scowled and I couldn't help but agree.
"I went to hell and spoke with the son of Satan; he's willing to help us. Though Cthulhu is not of his domain, the ancient one awakening will throw everything as we know it off balance."
"Why should we care if the posers' world is destroyed?" Pete crossed his arms.
"Because, unfortunately, you live in it too. I hope you remember how Cthulhu didn't live up to your expectations last time, because he certainly won't again." Mysterion rolled his eyes and looked toward Raven. "I have eyes on Eric Cartman and have assembled a few heroes to help. I suggest Toolshed stays out of the action for now."
"What, but I- Toolshed could be of help!" I raised an eyebrow at Raven.
"He's good where he is, I need an eye on them too." Raven sighed but nodded, not arguing back. There was tense silence for a bit before Firkle huffed, I spoke up before he could open his mouth probably to hiss something mean.
"What does Eric Cartman have to do with this?" I was vaguely familiar with the name.
"Eric Cartman was the main instigator the last time Cthulhu was awakened. You found his picture in Genesis' house, do you remember?"
"So, it was him in the picture." I nodded along and Mysterion sighed.
"Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he might just be part of the cult. He's a narcissist who enjoys attention, so the cult would be overjoyed to have him among them. The best-case scenario is that the Cult of Cthulhu only wants to tie up loose ends, Genesis didn't mention them awakening the ancient one in her little monologue. Worst-case is that they're actively trying to wake it up again."
"How is the son of Satan going to help us?
"Who even is the son of Satan?" Firkle spoke up, glaring at Mysterion.
"Is it another loser that wears his underwear outside his pants?" Henrietta sneered, playing with her lighter.
"That would be me." We looked up and I could feel my jaw drop, along with Henrietta -and surprisingly Firkle- as a tall boy walked out of the shadows. He was slim, pale, and his legs were really long. From head to toe he was dressed in all black: black shiny dress shoes, black slacks that were perfectly tailored to fit him, and a black turtleneck that perfectly hugged his torso. His posture was perfect when he walked and he looked down at us with wine-red eyes hidden behind dark eyelashes that were the same color as the wavy obsidian hair on his head that perfectly tied together his look. He was probably around our age but was also the handsomest boy I -or I was willing to bet any of us- had ever seen. His jawline was sharp and his face was perfectly symmetrical, he looked like a model or an angel. His eyes flickered toward me for a second and I could feel my face burn.
"Hey, I remember you." Raven spoke up suddenly, startling me out of my ogling, of which Henrietta and Firkle hadn't snapped out of yet. "Damien, right?" He took a step forward and held a hand out for him to shake, the other boy slowly raising a pale hand with slim, straight fingers.
"Yes, Marsh right?" Even his voice was handsome, slightly deep and accented.
"Just Stan is fine." They shook hands and I looked away embarrassed when Michael nudged me with his elbow. Mysterion cleared his throat, calling all of us to attention again.
"Damien, these are the goth kids; Michael, Pete, Firkle, Henrietta, and Sophia, all of which were part of the cult years ago, except Sophia." He nodded at each of us and I nodded back, afraid my voice would squeak if I opened my mouth.
"Pleased to meet you, I suppose." He waved his hand around flippantly, looking bored. Firkle let out an odd sound that sounded like something between a squeak and a sigh.
"Damien is going to help us with the more supernatural side of things, but if we can stop the cult before it gets too bad then he won't have to step in. If all else fails, Damien's father has agreed to help."
"Who's your dad?" Pete asked, sounding annoyed.
"Satan." Damien replied simply.
"Right." Pete scoffed, but Damien looked unbothered.
"Now that we're all acquainted, I'll take my leave, I have important things to do."
"Of course, thank you for coming." Mysterion nodded and shook his hand again. Damien gave us another glance, stopping on Henrietta briefly, before turning and walking back toward the dark patch of shadows he came out from. I idly noticed that the bottoms of his shoes were bright red. "Handsome, isn't he?" Mysterion gave a light chuckle, pulling out his phone.
"Is he really the son of Satan?" Henrietta asked, uncharacteristically quiet.
"Yeah, he definitely is."
Lucifer was the most beautiful of all the angels, it only makes sense that his son would be just as beautiful.
"Wow," she nodded, her eyes slightly wide. "I'm going to have sex with him." I could hear Pete make a choked noise from somewhere to my left.