Midnight Movie Club Ch. 01

"Are you sure?" The self-assurance that had rung throughout Alexander's voice ever since they had met was absent in his hesitant question. "You're not going to be cramped?"

"It will be a tight fit," Julie admitted. "But you've been sitting on a hard chair all night and earlier you said you were cold." She patted the mattress a second time. "It'll be fine."

There was a slight pause as Alexander considered Julie's words, but it was Eleanor who filled the silence. "Dude," she said with exasperation, "you're in college, you're in a darkened dorm room, and a pretty girl is asking you to join her on her bed. You know what you do in this situation? Sit. On. The. Bed."

"That is solid advice," Alexander responded. He put Eleanor's chair back at her desk before gingerly climbing onto Julie's bed with her. While he took his sneakers off Julie grabbed both her pillows and set them against the wall, giving them something comfortable to lean against. It took a few seconds and some positioning shifts before Alexander and Julie were able to sit side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, legs straight. It was indeed a tight fit, with Alexander having to cross his arms over his chest while Julie let her hands drop into her lap. Her Google Nexus rested across her thighs. "You good?" he asked Julie.

"Yes. How about you two," she called across the dorm room. "Ready to start?"

"Oh yeah." Eleanor purred as Cole once again nibbled on her, this time at the back of her neck. "We are all good over here."

"Quick synopsis of what we missed so far?" asked Cole.

"The killer is a guy named Cropsy, he worked at a summer camp, he was horribly burned due to a prank come wrong, five years he's back for revenge, some of the campers and counselors went on an overnight trip, they woke up to find their canoes missing, they built a makeshift raft, they found one of the canoes floating on the river, and I'm pretty sure something horrible is about to happen." Alexander caught his breath. "Did I miss anything, Julie?"

"You hit the major beats." With that, Julie restarted the movie. The room fell quiet save for the sound of paddling from the excited counselors. While Cole and Eleanor watched eagerly, Cole's chin resting on Eleanor's shoulder, Alexander rubbed his lower lip before crossing his arms over his chest once again. He wasn't shivering, but sitting so close to him Julie easily sensed the tension in his body. It came off of him like radio waves. As the makeshift raft drew closer to the floating canoe, her guest took a short, trembling breath.

A flash of heat briefly rolled over Julie. It had been stuffy before, however with Alexander squeezed in next to her and Cole and Eleanor in the other bed the temperature in the dorm room was beginning to rise. She rolled her shoulders and pushed her hips back, trying to get comfortable as the raft closed in on the canoe.

Just as the counselors reached the canoe, a shadowed form leaped from inside, gardening shears held high in the air. And with that image, the orgy of violence began. In thirty seconds, five counselors were brutally dispatched.

Two of the counselors had their chests torn apart.

"What the hell is... OH SHIT," cried Alexander.

One of them had her skull split open as the shears dug across her forehead.

"Oh my motherfucking stars," yelled Eleanor.

One of them was stabbed in the sternum with the shears, blood flowing from their chest and mouth.

"Whoa," Cole said with a mix of astonishment and laughter.

And one had their fingers cut off as they held up their hands to defend themselves, screaming as they looked in horror at the bloody stubs.

As opposed to the modern-day technique of quick edits to save money by using cheap CGI, the camera lingered on each victim, showing off the practical effects. Blood ran red, skin was torn open, and crimson liquid gushed from open wounds and ruined fingers.

The screen slowly turned red as the raft massacre came to an end. As a wave of recognizable warmth flowed over Julie, Alexander turned towards her and loudly proclaimed, "What the HELL was that?!? I've never seen anything so damn bloody in my entire life!"

"That was the raft massacre," Julie answered, the smile that she had been holding back finally crossing her face. "It's one of the most infamous scenes in all of horror. When the movie came out in 1981 the MPAA censored the scene to the point where it had no impact..."

"I can see why," Eleanor interrupted from the other side of the room. "Oh my God... that's the worst part of the movie, right? Nothing else is that gory?"

After some quick mental calculation, Julie held up two fingers. "There are two more. That was the big moment in the movie. It's almost a suspense film from this point out."

"Good." Eleanor put on a wry grin. "Sorry. Normally horror movies don't bother me, just... holy shit."

Cole pulled Eleanor close to him, his arms firmly wrapped around her stomach. "Don't worry," he reassured her, "I got you." He gently kissed the side of her neck. "Whoa," he said as he sat back, pulling her along with him, "your heart's racing."

As Eleanor snuggled against Cole, Julie turned her attention to Alexander. The young man wore a look of shock and awe. "How's your heart rate?" Julie inquired.

"There's definitely blood pumping through my body." He gave a casual shrug. "I can't speak for my adrenaline and cortisol levels, however, I'm willing to bet they're spiking at the moment." One hand rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at her. "You were waiting for that scene, weren't you?"

"Maybe. Yes," she admitted with a small chuckle, "I was. I've seen this movie before but now I get to live vicariously through you. Seeing you react, it's like I'm watching it for the first time."

A minuscule frown creased Alexander's face at Julie's statement, one that she failed to notice. He sighed deeply. His shoulders slumped as best they could being next to Julie. "Well," he said after a moment, "I'm happy to be the window to your filmgoing past." There was a quiet smile on his face as he turned to look at her. "How's your heart rate?" he teased.

"My heart is currently pumping blood to my extremities. And I can safely say my hormonal levels are elevated."

"Oh. Uh. Well then." With a quick shake of his head that was more akin to a shudder, he turned his attention back to the movie where the two head counselors walked through the woods discussing their current situation. Alexander flared his shoulders back, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. The entirety of his attention was on the television as he tried not to glance at Julie.

Alexander's visceral reaction, compounded by Eleanor's screams and Cole's casual appreciation, had turned the wave of warmth into recognizable energy that was settling throughout Julie's entire body. She had been feeling it since the beginning of the movie, only to dismiss it as sharing a stuffy dorm room with first one and now three other 18-year olds. There was no mistaking now though. It was a similar sensation to the one she experienced yesterday morning, only instead of a lightning burst it had come upon her like a fuel rod being inserted into a reactor core - slowly, carefully, and eventually hitting the critical point needed to generate a self-sustaining heat with her friends' reactions to The Burning.

However it came about, the result was the same. Julie was filled with an intense energy that she needed to bleed off. And considering the flare-up when she glanced at Cole's hands softly rubbing Eleanor's bare midriff, her body had made the decision and her brain was along for the ride.

As Alexander watched a naked blonde try desperately to keep Cropsy from stabbing her, Julie appraised her guest. He could afford to lose a few pounds and add a little muscle, but other than that he was physically acceptable to her. His blonde hair was still loosely styled after several hours of partying and movie watching, and if she took a deep breath there was the faintest hint of sandalwood. Most importantly to Julie, Alexander had respected her choice of movie. He didn't make fun of the content nor allow himself to get distracted, sins that her old boyfriend Mark would commit despite his best efforts. He genuinely seemed to be having a good time.

While the blonde's lover called out her name as he walked through the woods, Julie casually allowed her hand to fall onto Alexander's thigh. The young man's eyes narrowed before he glanced down at his legs. "Sorry," Julie said quietly. "My arm is falling asleep. You don't mind, do you?"

Discomposed, Alexander blurted out, "Oh no, no..." before taking a deep breath and giving Julie his well-practiced smile at a lower wattage than usual. "It's cool," he answered breezily. "But I can move if you need me to."

"You're fine where you are," Julie said, giving his leg a firm squeeze. "Go ahead and get comfortable if you need to."

"I'm good, thank you." The grin on his face faltered as Alexander turned his attention back to the movie, where a camper had just discovered a blood-soaked corpse. On the other side of the room, Cole's fingers had dipped below the waistband of Eleanor's tie-dyed skirt. The young woman's body quaked with anticipation as Cole leisurely slid his hands underneath the fabric. The motion caused Eleanor's breath to catch in her throat. Her attention fell away from the movie. Julie watched as Eleanor spread her legs and leaned back against Cole, eyes closed, while he moved his hands down her body.

While Eleanor gave herself over, in contrast, Alexander was a coiled spring of nerves. Julie could feel a slight tremble in his leg as it pressed against hers. "Alexander," she asked in a low voice, "are you uncomfortable?"

It took him a moment to respond, doing so in a whisper. "Kind of," he admitted before quickly adding, "it's the circumstances, not you." Alexander nodded towards the television. "Between the movie being scary, you and I being in close proximity, your hand on my knee, and..." He inclined his head towards the other bed, "...those two about to get to third base, my mind is reminding me to stick to our earlier agreement. My body, however, is trying to convince me otherwise."

"Really?" Taking her hand from his leg, Julie rolled onto her side, facing him. "How is it making its argument?"

As Cropsy chased a camper through the forest, the bright daylight shining from the television allowed Julie to see the soft red that tinted Alexander's face. "It is... reacting in an appropriately male manner."

"I see." With those words, Julie blatantly looked down at Alexander's lap. "And," she said, playfully raising an eyebrow, "I see." There was a noticeable tent in Alexander's tan cargo shorts where his erection was contained by the fabric.

"I'm sorry." Alexander's hands quickly dropped to hide the bulge. "If you would grab me a pillow or a towel I'll cover up... or I'll go sit on the floor..."

"Alex." Julie firmly spoke his name, cutting off his flustered rambling. "It's OK. It's biology. Believe me, I've seen a penis before."

"Alexander," he whispered nervously. "Please call me Alexander."

"I'm sorry. Alexander." Julie tried to give him a reassuring smile even as she wondered where his facade of self-confidence had vanished to. "It's fine. Remember what I said earlier? Horror movies get the blood pumping." She gestured towards the other side of the room. "See? They're all worked up."

The back of Eleanor's head rested against Cole's shoulder. She breathed with short, sharp gasps, now and then letting out a sound of encouragement as Cole's hands worked underneath her skirt with determined purpose. His lips pressed against her exposed neck, gently kissing and licking the sensitive skin, much to Eleanor's apparent delight.

"It's what movies do." Julie's hand crept up Alexander's thigh, drifting over the fabric of his cargo shorts. "Horror, action, comedy. A good film gets the blood pumping. It heightens your senses. It opens your mind to new ideas. And..." Alexander drew a shivering breath as Julie brushed her fingers against his erection. "...it gets your engine going."

"Oh God," Alexander gasped. He looked down at his lap as she gently rubbed her hand over the bulge. "What about our agreement?"

"Technically, our clothes are still in the same place. Our agreement remains intact." After tracing the outline of Alexander's erection with one finger, Julie made to lock eyes with him. What she saw staring back at her was a confused young man, eyes wide as he looked at her. His expression caused Julie to pull her hand away from Alexander's lap. "Hey," she said quietly, "if you want me to stop, I'll stop. I'm trying to flirt, not pressure you."

"Oh no, it's not that. I'm all for... I'm puzzled. You and I clearly stated our intent to hang out and watch a movie. That was all. And now..." Alexander took a deep breath. "You're... not messing with me, are you? I don't mind teasing, but if you're being cruel..."

"I'm simply exercising a girl's right to change her mind."

There was a slight tremor in Alexander's hand when, after a moment, he gently took hold of Julie's wrist and placed her fingers in his lap. "OK. How much time is left in the movie? I want to see how it ends."

Julie glanced at the screen, where the camper was waking up the head male counselor to tell them about the dead body. "About twenty minutes." She pushed her body against Alexander's. Her hand slowly rubbed his inner thigh. Alexander closed his eyes, briefly sighing from the feather touch, before turning his attention back to the movie. Julie continued to let her hand drift over Alexander's lower body, alternating between brushing his lap and dragging her fingers along his covered erection, soaking in the murmurs of approval from the young man.

The movie headed for its climax - and from Eleanor's urging, so was she as her hips gently rocked in time with Cole's hands, one in her waistband while the other was underneath the bunched hem of her skirt - as Cropsy kidnapped the camper and took him to an abandoned mine, leaving the head male counselor to rescue him while the other counselors tried to reach the authorities. While this was happening, Alexander reached out to let his arm fall across Julie's shoulder. He didn't pull her closer but rather ran his fingers in small circles just below the nape of Julie's neck, much to her satisfaction. He still watched the movie with rapt interest however the nervous tension from earlier was fading away. He leaned against the wall, shoulders down, posture relaxed, his body no longer trembling.

The final act began when the head counselor discovered a set of stone ruins that had been turned into a makeshift hunting camp. As he slowly crept inside, finding an ax to use as a weapon, Julie's hand edged towards the waistband of Alexander's shorts. A surprised gasp was quickly replaced with an approving groan as Julie imitated Cole by sliding her hand down Alexander's pants, eventually wrapping her fingers around the shaft of his penis.

"Ooooooooooh my God." The young man's entire body shivered at Julie's touch on his naked skin. "Um... I mean, technically my clothes are still in the same location..."

Julie leaned in close. "Focus. You're missing the end of the movie," she whispered before kissing him behind his ear. Alexander's nod was accompanied by a small gulp as he tried to focus his attention on the television where the counselor had come upon Cropsy and was currently engaged in a duel to the death, his ax vs. the slasher's flamethrower. While Alexander watched the finale of The Burning, Julie nonchalantly traced his length. It was smooth with a little curve to it and was already slick with drops of precum. She spread the wetness with her fingers, occasionally running her hand through the patch of hair that sat at its base. Julie took her time, one eye on the movie as she waited for a particular moment, the other eye on Alexander. His lower lip was trapped between his teeth, and there was a noticeable hitch to his breath as she touched him.

The moment soon arrived as Cropsy was revealed in his glory. This time Alexander gasped with shock as he laid eyes on Cropsy's face, a mess of scars and burns over skin that resembled melted candle wax. At the height of Alexander's reaction, Julie took his erection in her hand and tightly squeezed the rock hard shaft. The sensation caused Alexander's gasp to last longer and reach higher. His hips came off the bed as Julie gave his cock several rapid pumps before letting her hand drop to stroke his testicles, full and heavy under her touch. "That was not fair," Alexander managed to pant as he settled back on the mattress.

"I know. I would apologize, but I don't think I need to." Julie pulled her hand from his pants, resting it on his knee. "I'll wait until the end of the movie. Is that fair enough?"

He answered with an eager nod. The two of them watched the final four minutes of the movie in silence as the camper stabbed Cropsy in the back with his shears, seemingly killing him. Despite Cropsy's apparent death and the camper and counselor heading for safety, Alexander didn't seem to be surprised when Cropsy grabbed the camper from behind for the movie's final scare. However, Cropsy's final demise did pull an impressed "whoa" from the young man as the counselor slammed the ax clean into Cropsy's face, driving the killer against a post as a fountain of blood erupted from his mouth before the camper turned the flamethrower on him.

The movie ended with a new group of counselors gathered around a campfire as one of them began to tell the story of Cropsy. "Don't breathe," he concluded. "Don't move. Or else..." He looked directly into the camera before proclaiming, "You're dead!" With that, the camera snapped to black, and the end credits began to roll.

"So," Julie asked, "what did you think?"

"I liked it. And I'm not just saying that. It didn't change my general opinion of horror movies," Alexander admitted, "but that one was really good. It was scary, it was bloody, and it didn't insult my intelligence."

"And there were breasts."

He smiled at Julie's comment. "There were breasts, yes. The movie stood on its own without them though. And there was a Final Guy instead of a Final Girl. That's kind of rare, isn't it?"

"There is a reason why the Final Girl is a well-established trope. But good catch," she said, impressed with his observation. "And it was a Final Guy rescuing another guy from danger."

Alexander nodded in agreement. "So Cole," he called out, turning to look at his roommate, "what did you think of..."

He turned back to Julie, wordlessly pointing across the room. Julie leaned forward to look past Alexander, immediately understanding Alexander's reaction. In the dim light of the scrolling end credits she saw Eleanor was lying on her stomach, a pillow underneath her chest, giving Cole a blowjob. He leaned back against the wall, one hand on the back of Eleanor's as she slid her mouth up and down his rigid shaft, muttering softly with approval.

"I guess they didn't like the movie," Julie joked as she sat back.

"Possibly. Or the movie got the blood pumping to their extremities," Alexander answered with a nervous grin.

"I believe the blood was already pumping to their extremities when they stumbled through the door." She idly brushed her hair behind one ear. "Are you still up for..."

"Yes," he said eagerly, his statement accompanied by a vigorous nod.

Julie laughed quietly. "I guess you did want to finish the movie." Her hand began to move up his leg once again. "So," she said as she let her fingers glide over the tent in his cargo shorts, "let's pick up where we left off."

"Would you mind turning off the television?" He motioned towards Eleanor and a now shirtless Cole, the article of clothing a crumpled pile on the floor next to the bed as Eleanor continued to go down on him. "I'm cool with you and me, but looking over and seeing that's a little freaky to me."