Chapter 9: Corrupting My Friends

Monday November 3

When I got to school, Tracy was waiting for me. She gave Peggy a hip check to let her know she wanted to talk to me alone. Peggy gave me a kiss, and left for her locker.

"I need your help," Tracy said.

I just raised an eyebrow.

"You have to yell at the freshmen. They think it was cute, touching you at the dance. They don't know how quickly they can destroy their reputations. Piper is already having problems."

"I think I can handle that. I wasn't happy they were grabbing me."

"The second thing you're not going to like."

I didn't like the sound of this.

"Then don't ask me," I suggested.

"I wouldn't if I trusted anyone else. I need to bring Piper over, Tuesday night."

I thought about it for a moment, before figuring out what she had just asked me.

"Oh, hell no! If I start with one of them, the rest will make my life a living hell until I spend time with all of them."

"Piper's first time was terrible. He just crawled on her, and took her cherry. She said it was painful, and she's afraid she did something wrong. I assured her that sex can be wonderful with the right person. She's petrified to even try and find someone now. You have to help her out," Tracy reasoned.

"No ... I ... don't. When she is older she'll find the right guy, and she will be fine."

Tracy laughed.

"I thought for sure you would go for that one," she said as she tapped her finger nail on her teeth. "Okay, how about this. You'll do it because I'm asking you to?"

I gave her a pained look.

"Really?"

"Yep."

I recognized then, that Tracy was not going to back-off on this idea. Would I actually do it? That was another question. I still looked at these girls as my little sisters.

"Okay," I said as I sighed.

Now, how was I going to get Piper to my place Tuesday night, without her sister?

Peggy moved back home Saturday. Word was her parents were going to try and work things out. Peggy had called on Sunday night and said she thought her family might be okay. She thanked my parents for letting her stay.

The weekend had been spent working with Tish and Dylan. I enjoyed the physicality of what I was learning. Being an athlete made me ideal for the role. The more I could do, the more they could show me. Otherwise they would have to use a stunt man.

Jessup Fields was making a name for himself doing action movies that were very realistic. Dylan was working hard to teach me how to throw a punch, and take one that looked real. That fine line was sometimes hard, and I had the bruises to show for it.

When I went to see the trainers on Monday morning, Paige about had a fit.

"You are an idiot!" she yelled at me.

"Actually, the term you are looking for is 'stupid boy.' Ask anyone, and they will tell you that's what I am."

"You 'STUPID BOY!' Why didn't you tell us you were so banged up? Didn't you promise that if you got hurt you would come to us after a game?"

"Yes, but I did this over the weekend, not in Friday night's game."

"Strip, and I'll get the ice bath ready," Paige ordered me.

I did as I was told. She wasn't happy with that either. I swear she must be a virgin by the way she freaks out every time she sees Mr. Happy. He didn't even wave at her. He had to go back into the boxers before he could swim in the ice pool. It wasn't until I got in the ice bath before I realized that I really was a 'stupid boy.' I was going to have to go commando the rest of the day, or wear wet underwear.

When it was time, she let me take off my boxers and cover up with a towel. During my massage she surprised me.

"My sorority is having a dance on Wednesday night. I was wondering if you would go as my date?" she asked.

She was rubbing me with the deep heating cream that makes me feel so much better. I blame it on that.

"I would love to," I answered.

"Thanks, David, this means a lot to me," she said.

That stopped me from changing my mind. I never really thought about Paige in that way. As she worked my lower back, I wondered why not. I wasn't quite sure if there were rules about high school boys dating interns or not. That question made me decide to keep this dance to myself.

At lunch I skipped reading my lines, and was waiting at the big table for the freshmen cheerleaders. I swear they are a pack. They do everything together. They all came out of the lunch line led by Emma. She saw me and stopped. Piper about ran her down.

"What's the deal... ," Piper started and then saw me.

I just motioned them over. They came over and sat down. The guys decided that today was not a good day to come to our table. It might have been the look on my face.

"So who wants to explain about the inappropriate touching at the dance?" I asked.

They all giggled.

I slammed my hand down on the table, and their expressions told me they'd never expected me to get mad at them.

"But ... but ... Tracy and Peggy..." Kiley stammered.

"I'm dating Peggy, and Tracy is a special friend. They came on the dance floor to protect me, and touched me so you wouldn't have your reputations hurt. People in general think that if you're a cheerleader you have questionable morals. I know you're not that type of girls, but all it takes is something like what you did at the dance to get people making assumptions," I explained.

"We're sorry, David. We were just having fun," Emma said.

"I know you guys were just playing, but it was too public a forum. Tracy asked me to protect you and that includes your reputations. I don't want the guys to get the wrong idea about you gals. I like you all too much for that."

"We get it," Kiley said, giving me the rescue me puppy look.

They had learned that I often fell for that. I just glared as they looked pitifully at me.

"Who wants to be the sacrificial lamb? The one that is going to take the punishment for the group," I said.

They all looked at each other wondering what I was up to. Emma started to volunteer, but I stopped her.

"It can't be you. You have a boyfriend. That also rules out Faith, Kiley, Carmela and Sarita. That leaves Ann or Piper. Time's-a-ticking. Which one of you is going to take the punishment?" I said snapping my fingers.

Ann was the mousy one of the group. Piper would protect her. I reached out to grab Ann, and Piper stopped me.

"Piper, I'll pick you up at eight o'clock on Tuesday. Tell your parents you'll be home by eleven," I said.

"What do you plan on doing to my sister?" Emma asked.

"You all groped me. I plan on groping Piper for several hours," I said waggling my eyebrows.

"I call bullshit," Kiley said. "He's just teasing us. I bet he takes her to the Dairy Queen or something."

I just picked up my lunch and went to a two person table so I could do my homework.

This week was the annual away game where we spent the night in a hotel before playing a Saturday game. This year we were playing Adamsville Prep. The good news was that they didn't have a great team this year. They did have a great tradition though. Adamsville Prep were two-time national champions, nine-time state champions, and twenty-six-time conference champions! The winning tradition had helped produce two Heisman Trophy winners. This year, while the team was so-so, they had four players that had Division 1 scholarship offers: two to USC, one to Notre Dame, and one to Purdue.

Our athletic director seemed to pick teams that we had no business playing. Adamsville Prep was a dangerous team to be playing on the road. Last year, we had pulled out a 31 – 30 victory but, before that, we had lost five in a row.

The early highlight of practice was Coach Hope spending what seemed like all night explaining why my touchdown at the end of the last game was a bad idea. To keep from getting mad, I just tuned him out. I think all teenage kids have the ability to do that. When the droning finally stopped, I put on my best sad face.

"Sorry, Coach, it won't happen again," I said.

For dinner, we had lasagna, garlic bread and salad. Dad and I had put together a menu for the week. When I got home, I needed to get to my acting class. Mom had put together individual Tupperware containers for everyone in my acting class, and I gave her a kiss on the cheek. She handed me a cooler and a six pack of Diet Cokes as I went out the door. I got lucky and found a parking place close to where my class was.

Cheryl met me at the door. They had a table set up for dinner and even our teacher, Kate, was there. When the lid from the cooler opened, I thought Terrance was going to start drooling. The lasagna did smell good.

"David, you know you don't have to feed us before class," Kate told me.

"Hush, the meals are getting better," Cheryl said.

"Kate, you guys don't have to help me get ready for my movie either. It's just my way of saying thank you," I told her. "Plus, Cheryl's roommate made me a Halloween costume."

I guess there had been some wild parties at State over the weekend. Debbie was showing us the beauty mark she had gotten on her hip. She couldn't figure out where she got it.

"It's a hickey," I blurted out, thinking I couldn't be right.

The other members in the class looked closer and then started laughing. Debbie blushed and wanted to talk about anything else. Terrance kept asking to see if she had any others.

Kate had us run through my first two scenes and then we worked on the third one. It was getting easier to remember my lines. I think my biggest problem going in was the fear I wouldn't be able to recall them. The more I did it, the easier it became. She was still working with us to speak clearly, and to be aware of where the cameras were.

Tuesday November 4

When I walked up to the school, I found Mitch talking to Peggy. I figured I might as well kick his ass now and get it over with. The second offense for fighting on school grounds was a full week. I would miss the away game, but I would be back for the playoffs. My purposeful stride was stopped by Tracy stepping in front of me.

"Hold on, tough guy. She is telling him that if he doesn't back off that she will have you kick his ass. Let her take care of it," Tracy told me.

Mitch looked up, saw me, and turned into the school. Peggy gave me a big smile, and Tracy let me go so Peggy could kiss me. I still wanted to track Mitch down and pound him.

"Thanks, Tracy," Peggy said acknowledging her help. "Please don't hurt Mitch. He and I are friends because of cross country. He just needed to understand that that's all we are. If he flirts with me again, you can go all caveman and defend my honor."

"Grr! Grog protect his women," I said in my best caveman, and grabbed both Tracy and Peggy and flipped them over my shoulders.

The other varsity cheerleaders came up to us to see what we were doing. I acted like I was sniffing the air. I put Peggy and Tracy down and put my arms out wide like I was trying to herd them, and the other cheerleaders, together.

"Pretty! Grog like!" I announced.

I lunged for them and they squealed and scattered. Pam Bell, the transfer from California, was the slowest to react. I snatched her up and threw her over my shoulder. She freaked out a little and was wiggling and pounding on my back to let her go. I smacked her butt and she froze. I turned to Peggy and Tracy and gave them my best innocent look.

"Can I keep her?" I asked.

That was when the tide turned, and they all decided to tickle me. I had to put Pam down to try and defend myself.

Coach Hope broke up the fun when the cheerleaders had me on the ground. I wish he'd let it go on for longer. What teenage boy would pass up the opportunity to have the varsity cheerleading squad climbing all over him? I admit that I lost that round, but I would exact my revenge at some point.

Peggy wrapped an arm around my waist to guide me into the school. Pam snuck up and smacked my butt.

"Now we're even," she said as she skipped out of my reach.

I had almost forgotten that I needed to kick Mitch's ass.

At lunch I was studying my biology, because the first period class had a pop quiz. Mr. Dutton was smart enough to give different questions, but he normally did his pop quizzes on the same day. Piper sat down across from me. She looked nervous, so I smiled at her.

"What's up?" I asked.

"The girls are all really sorry, and won't be bad again. So, do we really need to punish me tonight?" she asked.

"Piper, do you think I would ever punish you?" I countered.

"Then what are we doing?"

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked as she nodded. "Even from your sister?"

"Yes, even from Emma," she assured me.

"Tracy told me about your first time. She asked me to show you what it's really supposed to be like."

I saw several emotions flash across her face, and was happy to see a big smile appear. I laughed at her.

"You keep smiling like that, and Emma is going to figure it out," I warned her.

"So does this mean that I might be one of your friends with benefits?" she asked smiling even bigger.

I hadn't thought of that. I was assuming this was a one-time thing. I was actually not planning on it going that far. I also didn't want to reject her. I reached across the table and held her hand.

"Piper, you're a special girl, and I'm lucky to call you a friend. I can't promise anything, because I still look at you as being too young. Can you be patient with me?"

She squeezed my hand and got a serious look.

"I know. You're a special guy. I appreciate you looking out for us. I won't push you," she said.

"Now go report back that I have evil plans to punish you. The girls will be dying to know."

She winked at me, and then hung her head as she shuffled back to their table. She was quite the little actress. I got back to studying.

Tonight I was at the gun range. My character was supposed to have thigh holster for his right hand and a shoulder holster for his left. We were practicing drawing and shooting.

"I have a gun safety question," I said.

"Gun safety is good. What do you want to know?"

"When do I take off the safety ... on the draw, or once I'm on target?"

"There are two schools of thought: disengage on the draw, or once you're on target. I've been an instructor for many years, and that being said, I prefer the second method. When you think about it, it's really just personal preference. One isn't necessarily safer or better than the other.

"If you're obeying safety rules, you should be okay. Remember to never let the muzzle cover anything you aren't willing to destroy. Also keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard until your sights are on target, and you're prepared to fire.

"During your draw, you won't have an issue. It just doesn't give me a warm fuzzy to have a hand gun ready to fire, when it's that close to my balls. That's why I prefer waiting until after the draw stroke to sweep the safety," Dylan said.

"Okay, walk me through this again."

"Grip close to the body, and get a full grip on the pistol, elbow back with the thumb on top of the thumb safety. Clear by pulling the pistol straight up out of the holster, with your finger off the trigger. Rotate the pistol up. Depress the thumb safety to off, after you have cleared your body. Make sure your finger is still off the trigger, and pistol is still close to the body and level with, and pointing at the target. Engage by identifying the threat, move the pistol forward. Bring the pistol up to eye level. Your finger is now on the trigger. Focus on the front sight, and then shoot."

Dylan demonstrated what he said. He made it look easy and smooth.

"Before we get started, check your weapon," Dylan ordered me.

I drew my gun, dropped the magazine, and then racked the slide open to make sure the chamber was empty. Then I showed him that the gun was safe.

"Show me your grip," Dylan ordered me.

I placed my hand high on the grip, with my fingers tucked under the trigger guard. Dylan had shown me that if I gripped it low, the recoil effect would be greater, and my subsequent shots would be off. If I was just going to be shooting one gun I would use two hands when possible.

One of my scenes had me shooting two guns at once, so I had to learn to shoot without the two handed grip. The trick was to make it look real. Dylan wanted to teach me the correct way to shoot, before we went Hollywood. I ended up not even loading the gun, today. He wanted me to get used to where the holster was, and to draw and shoot without blowing my foot off.

I had to rush, but I made it to Piper and Emma's house right at eight. I wasn't surprised when Emma answered the door. Instead of letting me in, she stepped out onto the porch with me and shut the door behind her.

"What are you going to do with my sister?" she asked.

Emma was the oldest by ten minutes and always looked out for her little sister. I figured I'd better just tell her the truth.

"We're going back to my place to have sex."

She grimaced, and shook her head.

"Fine, don't tell me," she said as the door swung open.

Piper came out, and took my hand to drag me to the car. Someone was eager to get started. On the drive to my place Piper started to get nervous.

"What did my sister want?" she asked.

"She's just worried about you. I promised not to leave too many marks on you. I'll be sure that they are hidden."

"You'd better not!" she threatened me.

We pulled up and I saw Tracy was there. I took Piper into the back door and found Mom eating ice cream. I introduced Mom to Piper and made three bowls. I handed Piper the chocolate syrup and whipped cream. I grabbed the bowls and we headed to my apartment.

"You have your own place?" Piper asked.

Crud. I was hoping to keep that a secret from the freshmen girls. I didn't need them using my place as a hang out.

"Yes, I do, but you can't tell anyone about it. I don't need it to be teen central. My parents have threatened to take it away if I'm not responsible."

We came up the stairs, and Tracy had her Biology book out.

"How did you do on your quiz?" I asked.

"Good. I assume you did okay."

"Yep," I answered.

We talked about school as we ate our ice cream. When we were done, Tracy got things on track.

"Piper, tonight is for you," Tracy started. "If you feel uncomfortable at any point just say 'no' or 'stop'. I can be there to lend you support or I can leave. What would you like?"

"I would be more comfortable if you left."

She gave Piper a hug, and then I got one and Tracy left. I turned to Piper and I could tell she was having second thoughts. Hell, I wasn't really sure why I agreed to this.

"Look, Tracy was worried your first time was not great. If you're not ready, let's not do this."

"Could you just hold me?" she asked.

I dimmed the lights and put on some music. I led her to the couch and she sat next to me and I held her. Then she told me the story of what happened.

"David, I wish I had listened to you, and told you I had a date with Justin. Emma told me afterward that you wouldn't have approved of him. I was just so excited to be going out with an older guy."

She got quiet for a few minutes as she decided how to tell the rest.

"The dance was so much fun. All my friends were jealous to see me there with him. Justin is cute. I felt so special when he invited me to an after party, party. He gave me a glass of punch, but I told him I didn't drink. Justin said the older girls all were. I know it's stupid, but I fell for that," she said as she looked at me to see if I was going to judge her.

"When I finished the first one he brought me two more and had me chug one. I was starting to feel a little funny, so he led me to a bedroom and had me lie down. Everything was fine until he started kissing me. At first it was nice, because he was gentle and I was enjoying it. Then he started pawing at my breast. It hurt when he squeezed them."

She stopped again. I just held her while doing the Dawson quiet thing.

"I tried to tell him I wasn't that kind of girl. He told me that if I wasn't, why was I in a bedroom with him. I was confused and next thing I knew I was naked. I tried to fight him off, but he just forced my legs apart and ... well ... you can guess.

"I was so ashamed. He just left me there. People kept peeking into the room. I hurried up and got dressed before anything else happened. When I came out Justin was nowhere to be found. Luckily Emma was there with Neil and they gave me a ride home."

I kept holding her. I knew Emma and Piper had kicked his butt, but I could see another butt kicking in his near future. Maybe he and Mitch could have a two for one and I could get my suspension out of the way.

"David, would you make love to me?" Piper asked.

"No, baby, you need me to be your friend, not your lover. You said it yourself. You're not that kind of girl," I said as she tried to interrupt me. "Hang on, and listen to me. When you are ready, and I mean really ready, I would be honored to receive the gift of your virginity. But I wouldn't be the kind of friend I think you need, if I took advantage of you when you were feeling vulnerable."

"But I already lost my virginity," she said.

"No, you were raped. No one can take your virginity. It is your gift to give."

She broke down into tears. I held her until she cried herself out. I took her to my room and had her lay down. I went out to the living room and called Tracy.

"I need your help," I told her.

"What's wrong?"

"Justin raped her. I think she needs to talk to someone other than a guy."

I knew Tracy knew what she was going through. I hoped it wouldn't bring back bad memories for her.

"I'll be right there."

I went back into the bedroom and she still wanted me to hold her. I wrapped her up, and that was how Tracy found us. They kicked me out, and I went to the house. I talked to Mom and Dad about it. Mom went up to my apartment leaving me and Dad to try and talk about everything except what was on our minds.

Twenty minutes later, Piper's mom and dad were at the door. I took them to my apartment. Tracy and Mom led me back to the house to give Piper and her parent's time to talk. I put on a pan of apple cider with a cinnamon stick to make hot cider. We heard a knock on the door and it was Emma. I guess they left her in the car. Mom and Tracy took her to the office and told her what was going on.

Once everyone had some cider, we waited for Piper and her parents. Emma was a mess, because her sister hadn't told her about the rape. She had only been told they had slept together. Tracy told her that Piper was ashamed and hadn't told anyone. Emma also blamed herself for not giving Piper my warning. I left that to Tracy and my mom. I'd had enough of crying girls for one night. I thought I'd better be careful, or I would end up with a house full of daughters one day as payback.

When Piper finally came down I found myself sandwiched between two crying sisters.

"David often has that effect on girls," Mom quipped.

That got everyone laughing, and got the sisters to stop crying. Piper and her family left, soon afterward. Tracy and I went up to my room. I was not expecting her to jump me.

"I was so wrong about her needing you to sleep with her. Thank you for doing the right thing. Thank you for telling your mom. She's amazing," Tracy said as she undressed me. "Thank you for telling her the thing about her virginity. She took real comfort in that."

Tracy reminded me once again why we were good together in bed. It was exactly what I needed, and allowed us both to work off the nervous energy that had been building over the last couple of hours. I was able to get to sleep without a problem.

Wednesday November 5

During my run before school, I was trying to come to grips with the question of: 'Was it really rape?' I'm sure many teenagers have been in that situation before, with the same results. Boy takes a girl to a party. They end up in a bedroom after a few drinks. Things get heated. When it comes time for the deed, she says no, but his hormone dial is already at 11 on a scale of 1 to 10...

Many of these couples continue to date after that night. Piper may have dated him if he hadn't been such a pig about it, and told everyone how good she was in bed. So was it really rape? Did she mean no as in I'm not sure, or no as in NO. I kept coming back to no means no. I remembered how I felt violated, when the freshmen were groping me. Being touched sexually without your consent, was not pleasant.

By the time I got to school I was convinced that he had raped her. It made me wonder how many girls are raped, but never report it out of shame. I don't think Piper would have said anything if I hadn't asked her over to my place, last night. I was also a little surprised she hadn't already told Emma. Twins tell each other everything. Then again, I've never been raped, so what would I know about sharing that kind of information. Maybe I was just there when she needed to tell someone.

By lunch, the rumors were flying. Emma had not reacted well to the news that Justin had raped her sister. I needed to find out what had actually happened, this morning before school. I knew there was an ambulance, and that the police were involved. We had all been directed in through the side door of the school. I grabbed my lunch and headed to the table.

I noticed none of the guys were there, and both Piper and Emma were both missing. Kiley got picked to fill me in.

"I don't know why, but Emma went crazy this morning, and attacked Justin. Justin smacked her pretty good, and was screaming that he didn't do it, whatever that was. That was when Neil, Nick, Wayne and Ray jumped him. Actually, I think Nick and Ray were trying to keep Neil and Wayne from killing him. They hurt Justin bad enough that they had to take him away in an ambulance," Kiley said.

"So did they get suspended?" I asked.

"I think it's worse than that. They were all put in police cars and taken away," Faith said.

"Where's Piper?" I asked.

"She didn't come to school today," Kiley said.

What a mess. I was glad I hadn't been there this morning or I would have been right in the middle of it. This just got worse at every turn.

Then the talk turned to why Emma might have started the fight. I decided to steer the conversation away from the truth.

"The thing that makes the most sense, is that Justin must have said something, again," I shared.

They all seemed to agree.

I had been distracted all day, until Tim put me on my ass in practice. He was grinning like an idiot as he held his hand out to help me up.

"Fucker," I told him.

"Get your head out of your ass, and play football," Tim shot back.

I let him help me up. It hadn't really been Tim's fault. We were running pass plays, and Tim was supposed to rush me. I was to either throw the pass or dump it, but I had juked in front of him instead. He had nowhere to go but to run me over. I rotated out to let the freshman quarterback have his turn.

Mike was rotated out as the JV quarterback ran the drill on his side.

"I heard a rumor that you were going to a dance with Paige tonight," Mike said, surprising me.

I didn't get a chance to answer him because it was my turn. This time I threw a hard fast one at Tim's nuts.

"Fucker," he told me.

"Get your head out of your ass and play football," I shot back.

Coach Diamond had enough of our goofing off. He made Tim and I run a few laps around the field. Tim gave me a silly smile. He obviously knew about the date also. Paige must have been talking, because it wasn't me.

"Yes," was all I said.

When we made our way around I saw Tim give Mike the thumbs up. They were worse than girls. I gave Tim an accidental hip bump that sent him flying. He got up and chased me. I decided to taunt him and danced around and dodged him. Coach Hope didn't think we were as funny as I thought we were.

"You two just earned the team sprints. Line them up," he ordered.

We did this every Wednesday so we knew we weren't the cause. What he did next was just pure evil.

"David and Tim think they can waste our time at practice. This is doubly bad because they are supposed to be your team captains and our leaders. I personally think it's good to shake things up every now and then. If you want to be a team captain, just challenge them to a race. If you beat both of them, then you get to be captain," Coach Hope announced.

Several players raised their hands. Coach Hope was going to let them go one at a time against us. That meant we had to race several times. Tim and I put our heads together.