Parker - Stacy’s senior year

"Stacy," he greeted her…

Stacy had indeed spent an almost sleepless night, tossing and turning in anticipation of what would happen the next morning. When she finally did get up, she was almost exhausted with apprehension. All she could think about was what had happened to the last person who had been caught with a stolen exam paper. The expulsion from school… the criminal charges… the public exposure! That was the worst. The thought of the humiliation made her tremble as she quickly got ready to leave for her encounter with the person who sent the note. A brief excuse to her parents at breakfast, and she was out the door and on her way.

Stacy was not surprised to see Neil standing at the fountain as she entered the park. The blonde teenager had quickly realized last night that the note must have come from him. He was the only person who knew about her cheating, and he was the only person who could have taped their meeting. The question was: what did he want from her to keep quiet about it? The answer, unfortunately, was not difficult to figure out. She could see the way he watched her as she approached the fountain. The way his eyes played over the curves on her body, undressing her. Stacy shuddered. She did not find him attractive - he was tall and painfully thin, with long greasy hair and an unpleasant complexion - but had made up her mind the previous night that she would do anything - almost anything - to get the tape back, including sleeping with him. Anything to keep him quiet. She was afraid, however, that this was exactly what she was going to have to do.

"Stacy," he greeted her as she approached. He was smirking.

"I thought it would be you," she spat out, unable to hide the anger and hatred in her voice. "What do you want?"

"Why, Stacy," he feigned surprise and hurt, "is that any way to greet your partner in crime? You seemed happy enough to see me a couple of weeks ago… when you needed the exam paper." The tall teenager sat himself down on a bench and patted the space next to him, gesturing for her to take a seat next to him.

"Fuck you," she blurted out. "I want that tape." She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to treat her like this. She fought down the urge to slap that obnoxious smirk off his ugly face; there was time for that later.

Neil just smiled slightly and again patted the place next to him on the bench. "I don’t think that that’s a very helpful attitude," he said mildly. "Why don’t you just sit yourself down right here, and we’ll have a little chat about it."

She just stared at him angrily.

"After all," he continued, "it wouldn’t do to be seen arguing in public. Someone might ask why."

Torn between anger and fear, Stacy hesitated for a few moments more, but finally gave in and sat down beside him. She tensed up as he put his right arm around her shoulder, but didn’t pull away. She hoped no one could see them together; it would be impossible to explain this to her friends at school.

"That’s better," he said smoothly. "Now we can talk."

She turned slightly towards him, ignoring the condescending tone of his voice. Anger had won out over the fear, if only briefly. "You know what I want, you fucker. You tricked me. I want that tape back, and I want you to shut your fucking mouth about the whole thing, you asshole…"

She was stunned into a shocked silence as he brought his left hand around and slapped her across the face. It wasn’t particularly hard, but it was surprising and humiliating. She brought her hand up to her stinging cheek and started to pull away, but Neil held her close. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"First thing, Stace," he told her quietly. "Don’t swear at me, or even in my presence. It makes you sound cheap. Do you understand?"

Dumbly, she nodded her head as the tears began to flow down her cheeks. The humiliation at being talked to like this was even worse than being slapped. What was he doing to her?

When he saw her nod, he relaxed his hold, but still kept his arm around her. The cheek he had slapped was starting to turn red, so he leaned forward and kissed it. Stacy tensed and started to tremble, but she didn’t pull away. "There, there," he said soothingly, as he brought his hand up to wipe the tears off her cheeks, "Is that better?"

Trembling, she nodded.

"Fine," Neil leaned back on the bench. "Now we can talk. As you know, I have evidence that could fuck you up at Greenwood. I don’t want to use it like that, but I will if I have to."

"If you give out that tape," she argued, regaining some control (but still not pulling away from his encircling arm), "you’ll be expelled too. I’ll let everyone know who sold me the exam. We’d go down together." She had thought of that argument last night, while tossing and turning in bed.

Neil just shrugged. "You can try," he answered. "But I don’t know if anyone will believe you. My voice can’t be recognised on the tape and I have friends who will be willing to swear that I was somewhere else that Friday. Besides, I almost failed the test; who’ll believe I had the questions ahead of time?" He fell silent for a moment and looked at her. "And even if I do get expelled, it’s no big deal; people expect it of me. It’s your reputation that matters."

He was right. Stacy began to cry again, and was forced to suffer the humiliation of Neil again brushing the tears from her cheeks. "S-so, what do you want, then?" She was defeated. She would give him what he wanted.

"You," came the expected answer. "For just one night. Tomorrow night. I want you to make love with me and act as though you like it. After, I’ll give you the only copy I have of the tape."

Stacy began to tremble again as he said this, but she was not particularly shocked. Here, she was on familiar ground; most of the boys at school wanted the same thing of her, and she was used to dealing with their desires. As well, she had expected something like this, and it could have been a hell of a lot worse. She didn’t find Neil attractive, and almost gagged at the thought of having sex with him, but she was certainly not a virgin. And one night wasn’t forever. It would be unpleasant, but it would be over with quickly, and she would never have to talk to him again. And, once she had the tape…

Stacy was careful, however, not to let her thoughts show. No need to let this asshole know that she was not as scared as she seemed. "And you’ll give me the tape?" she asked quietly.

"Sure."

"How do I know that you won’t keep a copy of it and blackmail me again?"

"You don’t," came the simple answer. "But I swear on my mother’s grave that I will not use the tape to blackmail you again." She looked doubtful, but he just shrugged. "That’s the best I can do."

"Just one night?"

Neil nodded.

"And it’ll be a secret, right? You won’t tell anybody?" This was crucial. If anyone ever found out that she had slept with Neil French, whatever the reason, she would be ruined at school. It would be even worse than being caught cheating.

Once again, Neil nodded. "No one will have to know," he told her.

Stacy fell silent for a few moments and then nodded her agreement. She had stopped trembling and seemed thoughtful. "OK," she agreed, finally, "I’ll do it. Just one night. And no one knows."

"Right." Neil could barely keep himself from laughing out loud. If only she knew what they had planned for her! "Show up at my place tomorrow night at 7:00. Can you find it?"

"I have a student directory," she answered, "I’ll find it." She pulled away to get up and leave, but Neil held her close.

"Don’t I get a goodbye kiss?" he asked her. "To keep me until tomorrow?"

Fighting down an urge to vomit, she allowed herself to be pulled toward him and pressed her lips to his. Her hands hanging limply at her side, she tried to keep her mouth shut, but his tongue was insistent, and was soon exploring the inside of her unwilling mouth. His breath smelled like smoke and she almost gagged.