Revenge of the Prom Date

At first she shook her head, but then she changed her mind. "Yes. I want to know that."

I scrolled through the list. "Olivia a few times. Jenna twice. Lexi once. And Natalie three times."

Her eyes went wide, then narrow in anger. "Natalie?" she asked. "The others are seniors like me, but I only know one Natalie in our school, and she's only a sophomore." She got up to sit on the bed with me. "Can you show me what she looks like?"

I opened the video, and in the first 30 seconds, we saw a young-looking girl walk into the room, and start making out with Johnny. We did get a good glimpse of her face. "Is that the Natalie you know?"

She nodded. "That's her. She's on the JV cheer squad. That little bitch."

"If she's a sophomore, she's only what, sixteen?" I asked. I was suddenly thankful we had paused the video 30 seconds in, before clothes started coming off.

Becky gasped. "She's 16! And Johnny was videotaping her! That's illegal, right?"

"It's technically illegal to videotape anyone naked without their consent. But yes, since she's a minor, it's extra illegal." I thought more about it. "He also sent these video files to his friends. That means he's also distributing it."

"Can you charge him with that?"

"Legally speaking, I might get a misdemeanor for hacking his computer to find the files. But he'd go to prison for a felony." I took her hand in mine. "I know you don't want to hear this, but the charges would carry more weight if they included your accusations too."

She looked back into her lap. "I... I'm not ready for that."

"Okay," I said. We sat in silence for several minutes. I continued to hold her hand as long as she'd let me.

"Kevin?"

"Yeah?"

She turned to me, and, to my surprise, she kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you. For everything," she said, with the faintest smile curling her lips.

I looked into her eyes, and saw a glimmer of hope. I hoped it was enough to lift her spirits. "You're welcome, Becky." Then I stood up, and pulled her on her feet. "Now, back to prom business. What color is your dress?"

--

After Becky went home, I went back to the living room. Rachel was still there, watching reruns of some dumb show. "How was your talk?" she asked.

"Fine," I told her. Then I decided to ask, "She's not really the same as she used to be, is she?"

My step-sister shook her head. "No. She's changed. It was a change over the last few months, but especially lately."

"That's what I thought too." I sat on the couch with her. "I'm going to give you your money back, by the way."

"What?" she asked, suddenly angry. "Does that mean you're not going? How could you do that..."

"I'm still going! I promise!" I cut her off, calming her down. "I just don't need your money. And I couldn't take it, not after seeing what Johnny did to her."

"Oh." She paused. "What did Johnny do to her?"

"I don't know," I lied, shrugging. "I was hoping she told you."

"Normally, I think she would. But I think it must have been bad, so she's bottling it up."

"Hey, do me a favor on Saturday," I said. "Bring your pepper spray."

She smirked. "You want me to bring pepper spray to prom? Seriously? Why?"

"I'm pretty sure I can get Johnny and his goon squad taken care of. But just in case something goes wrong," I forced a smile, "I might need backup."

She hugged me close. "I'm glad you're going with us. It means a lot to me. To us."

"Okay, okay," I said, getting her to stop hugging me. "Tell me about the plans for Saturday. Limo?"

She shook her head. "Becky and I can't afford one."

"No problem. I can drive. I'll borrow Dad's car. Everyone can just meet up here."

Rachel nodded. "Okay. Dad's car's no limo, but it's pretty nice." She didn't seem very enthusiastic.

I poked her in the side, making her flinch. "Come on, lighten up. We're going to have fun on Saturday. And then we'll go to Prom." That made her smile, so I patted her on the head and went back to my room.

--

Over the next few days, Marcus and I finished our recon. We managed to get the information we needed from Johnny and his buddies Ramon and T-Dog. I also had the brothers Gary and Freddy hook up cameras so we could watch their activities, and homing beacons on their cars in case they went anywhere.

T-Dog's real name was Travis. He lived down the street from Johnny. He fancied himself the next Eminem or Post Malone or something, but he was just a skinny, unclean, pot-head dumbass. Everyone knew he was into drugs, and usually had some on his person. He'd be easy to set up with the drugs that I'd "acquired".

Ramon was more of a challenge. He was a hispanic guy, average build, grades were mostly okay, lived in a small house with his mom. He was trying to stay pretty clean. I'm sure his mom was proud of him. More investigating told us why: turns out, his mom wasn't totally legal. She had crossed the border legally, as most immigrants do, but then just never went back to her home country. Ramon was born in the US, so he was a citizen. But his mom wasn't, and that made him vulnerable.

I did feel bad about attacking the guy's mom. But I knew Ramon would do anything for his mom. So I offered him a way out. I sent him an anonymous email, saying he and his mom had better disappear for about a week, or the ICE squad was coming for them both. I didn't mention the prom, since that would give away the intention of why I needed him gone. But sure enough, that night, I caught him telling his mom about the email. They argued, but he managed to convince her to pack some bags. They both went to a motel about an hour away. That was perfect with me. Since I also had a bug on his car, I could see if he ever came back into town.

Marcus was irritated with me about this, lecturing me about white privilege. He was absolutely right, and I told him so. I was able to assuage his anger, saying that A, we weren't actually arresting anyone or calling ICE, and B, it was only temporary. After all, Ramon wasn't the real target. We just needed him out of the way to hurt Johnny Monroe. I promised Marcus I'd find some way to make it up to Ramon.

We found out that Johnny was irritated that one of his henchmen had gone off the radar. Apparently he was mostly mad that Ramon's love for his mother was stronger than his loyalty to his bully-friend. But he was also down a man for the supposed conflict on Saturday night. It didn't bug him too much, though, as he and T-Dog together could still take down any guy they spotted with Becky.

For that reason, we decided to wait on taking down T-Dog. If we set him up too early, Johnny would get suspicious. Worse, he could call in extra help, which we didn't want.

--

Friday afternoon, I was in my room, prepping everything for the Saturday morning blitzkrieg, when I heard a knock on my door.

Opening it, I found Becky. She was looking better than she had a few days ago. Her blonde hair was cascading over her shoulders, meeting her purple tank top. She was showing lots of leg in her denim shorts and flip-flops. "Hi," I said. I wasn't expecting to see her until tomorrow.

"Hi. Can I come in?"

"Sure," I said, letting her in and closing the door behind me. "Did Rachel let you in?"

Becky shook her head. "No, she's still at school. Some volleyball thing." She gave a sly smile. "I let myself in."

I smiled back. "So what's up?"

"I wanted to thank you again. For everything." She sat at my desk, like she did before.

"You're welcome. I'm glad to help." I sat on the bed, facing her.

"I've been thinking," she looked down, and played with her hair. "I remember when you asked me out a couple years ago, and I said no. Do you remember that?"

"I do, but you didn't say no, exactly."

She winced a bit. "You're right, I think it probably was a little more hurtful."

"You could say that."

"Well, I'm sorry, and I mean it. You're a really great guy."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

She moved over to sit next to me on the bed. "And I really wanted to show you my appreciation." Then she kissed me, fully on the lips. I was extremely surprised, but melted and kissed her back. I certainly wasn't expecting this, but it was a chance to live a fantasy I'd wanted two years ago. Becky was an amazing kisser, and I was enjoying myself, but I suddenly felt bad. I didn't want to take advantage of a girl who'd been recently abused. She might only be kissing me because I was the first guy to show respect and support after such a trauma.

She broke the kiss before I did, but she went to remove her top, and I had to put my hands out to stop her. "Becky, hold on. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, why? Don't... Don't you want this?"

"I do. I really do. You're amazing, and..."

"So what's the problem?" She looked like she might cry. "I mean, you've already seen me naked, right? In those videos?"

I felt really bad. There was no way I could have sex with her. Not now, anyway. She wasn't in the right mental place. "I just don't want to take advantage of the situation, you know?" I tried to explain the best I could.

"I guess I understand," she said. I watched a tear fall down her cheek, and I pulled her in for a hug.

"I promise you," I whispered in her ear, "if we get together, it will be because we both want it, and I promise it will be magical. But I want you to take as much time as you need."

Later that night, I reassured myself that I had done the right thing. I didn't want Becky to throw herself at me because she felt bad for me, or because she was angry at Johnny, or in an attempt to cheer herself up or to forget her problems. If it happened, I wanted her to mean it, to do it for the right reasons.

Of course, I didn't tell Rachel about it. I felt bad keeping things from my sister, but it wasn't my story to tell. I didn't want to betray Becky's trust. But Rachel was watching me across the dinner table, and I could tell she knew I wasn't telling her everything.

She confirmed that in my room that night. "What's really going on here?" she asked. Again, she had come into my room without knocking.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's going on between you and Becky? You talked to her privately two days ago, then again today..."

"How'd you know she was here today?"

"I didn't," she smirked. "You just told me."

Dammit. She was smart. "We were talking more about tomorrow," I said. It was partially true.

"Bullshit. Did you kiss her?"

I hesitated, then admitted, "I might have."

"Oh," she said. She seemed somewhat deflated, which I didn't understand. "So I guess you guys are together then."

"That's not what I said. And why do you care?"

"She's my friend!" she said, very defensively.

"So ask her." I was getting irritated.

"She won't tell me!" she said, finally getting to her problem. "Do you know how frustrating it is, to know something's wrong with your friend, but she won't talk about it?"

For some reason, I snapped at her. "Probably. Remember, you've never been a geek. You've never been beat up or ridiculed for who you are, with no one to help you but other geeks. You're just too popular and beautiful and perfect to have that feeling."

She was quiet for a long time. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." Another long pause between us.

"You think I'm perfect?" Her voice shook. I wondered if she was still mad, but I realized she was more on the verge of tears.

"Rae, you're wonderful. You're pretty and athletic and smart. You've got straight A's and you're going to the college of your choice."

She stood there for a while, still in shock. "I'm not perfect."

"How in the hell aren't you perfect?" I was getting mad again.

"Perfect girls have dates to Prom," she said quietly, almost whispering. Then she bolted from my room, and I heard her door slam down the hallway.

I realized my mistake. This whole week, I'd been so focused on hurting Johnny and helping Becky, I had forgotten all about my sister. Not once did I ask who she was going to the dance with. I had only focused on the logistics of the mission.

--

Saturday morning, I set things into action. I got up very, very early, before dawn, and went out to T-Dog's house. I was able to get into his car and plant the illegal drugs under his car seats. I had to do it in the dark so I didn't get spotted. Marcus and I were going to call it in around noon, so T-Dog would get arrested well before the evening. Johnny wouldn't know about it until it was too late.

I knew if I set up Johnny too early in the day, he'd get arrested and immediately released on bond, with enough time to make it to the Prom. His parents were wealthy and could afford it. So I had to get him set up later in the afternoon. But I had already prepared the anonymous email to the police, accusing him of recording and distributing video of sex with minors. I was hoping I could at least get him out of the way for the evening, long enough for me to not get killed at Prom.

I got home as dawn was breaking. I slipped a note under Rae's door, which was still shut and locked. I wanted to apologize for my stupid behavior. Then I went back to my room to get a nap.

I had only been lying there for a few minutes when Rae came into my room, without knocking of course. "I got your note," she said.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea you didn't have a date. And I'm sorry I didn't ask."

"It's okay." She sat on the bed next to me. "I didn't volunteer the information, either."

"For what it's worth, I think it's really nice that you set up your friend with a date, when you didn't have one yourself."

"Yeah." She laid down on my bed with me, her head on my right shoulder. With any other girl, it would have been kinda romantic. "I guess I was so busy being perfect, I forgot to get a date. Or a boyfriend."

I hugged her with right arm. "Don't worry about it. High school boyfriends don't last anyway. Wait until college, you'll find better guys there." I kissed her forehead. "They'll be more compatible with your perfection."

She chuckled. "I couldn't believe it when you said that yesterday. I mean, I try really hard at everything."

"I know! And you succeed at everything."

"But you also called me beautiful. Do you really think that?"

"Yes." I said, very truthfully. I had always thought that much. But since she'd grown up, I'd also started thinking she was sexy too. But I couldn't tell my step-sister that. I asked her, "I know I'm officially going to prom with Becky, but would you like to be my other date?"

She smiled. "I'd like that," she said. Then she brought her face to mine, and kissed me. Not a sister-kiss. A girlfriend kiss. I couldn't help myself, and kissed her back.

When we broke the kiss, neither of us spoke. I don't think either of us had words for what had just happened. She laid back down in the crook of my arm. We laid like that for a while, in silence, until I realized she'd fallen asleep in my arms.

--

I awoke a couple hours later, feeling a small hand rubbing my chest through my T-shirt. I opened one eye. Rachel was still laying on me. Her hand idly drifted up and down my chest. Again, it was kind of nice and romantic, holding a hot young woman in my bed like this, but it was still my step-sister. My step-sister that I had kissed a few hours ago. Despite my brain, I could feel blood start rushing towards my crotch, threatening an erection from her gentle touch.

Just then, my phone alarm rang. 11:00 AM. I still had a lot to do before Prom. Rachel pretended to still be asleep. I slipped my arm out from under her, letting her stay in my bed a little longer, and ran for the door before I really got a hard-on.

Marcus picked me up in his van around noon, with Gary sitting shotgun. "Is Freddy at the school?" I asked when I got in.

Gary nodded. "Yup, he's getting everything ready."

We went into town a bit, to a payphone we'd found earlier. Not only was it REALLY hard to find a payphone in this age, we needed it to not have cameras around. Before getting out of the van to use it, Gary activated a disruption signal to give any wireless signals serious static.

Marcus used a voice distorter while I grabbed the phone and called the police. Using my best anonymous voice, I stated to the detective who picked up the phone. "I'd like to report a drug dealer. He lives on Meadowhurst Lane, and I saw him dealing baggies of different drugs, out of his brown Nissan sedan. The license plate says T DOG." Before I could get a response, I quickly hung up the phone, jumped back in the van, and we bugged out of the neighborhood. It would be just enough information to get police to go check out T-Dog's car and find the drugs I'd put there.

--

After picking up some lunch at the local sandwich shop (I owed the guys lunch for all the work they'd done), we visited the school. Freddy was there to let us in.

"I set up the cameras like you wanted," he told us. "Microphones too. Laptop #3 is ready to record everything."

"Thanks, Freddy," I said while we ate. "Here's the rest of the plan. I'm going to notify the police of Johnny's crimes, and tell them to pick him up here."

"Why not just call them now, and get him arrested earlier?" asked Gary.

I shook my head. "His parents are wealthy and connected. He'd get out on bail pretty quick, and then he'd just come here even angrier. Plus, it will be way more damaging if he's arrested here, in front of everyone arriving for the Prom."

"So you're going to embarrass him as well as arrest him?" said Marcus.

"Right. And in a selfish way, I want to see it for myself." I grinned, and so did they. "You're welcome to watch too."

"Right on," said Marcus. "I'll be here. Gary, you want in?"

"Definitely."

"I'll be here already for the dance," chimed in Freddy, "but I might try to watch from inside. You know, keep my girl out of danger." I envied Freddy. He'd found a cute girl who was as geeky as him. It's something I never had when I was his age.

I continued with the plan. "Johnny already knows Ramon is off the grid, but he doesn't know T-Dog will be missing too. It'll be just him alone. It will make him more vulnerable, but he's a mad dog, so it will actually make him angrier and more ready to fight."

"What if the police are late?" asked Marcus. "You might get hurt."

"I'll be okay," I reassured him. "Besides, I'll have you and Gary nearby in the van. The three of us can take him if we need to. But I'd much rather have the police deal with him, of course." I straightened an imaginary tie on my neck. "I don't really want him to ruin my tuxedo."

--

Fast-forward a few more hours. I'm sitting in my tuxedo, waiting in my living room. My dad gave me the keys to his nice car and his blessing. I haven't told my parents about all the drama this week, or about the conflict scheduled for tonight. They'd just worry, and probably blow up all my plans by calling the cops too early.

I had placed the call to the police 30 minutes ago about Johnny's activities. This time, I did tell them my name, and described all the evidence I had. I had a flashdrive in my pocket, containing copies of the videos, ready to hand them over to the police when they arrived at the school. They assured me they'd be there right at 6:00, when I planned to arrive myself.

Now I was just waiting for the girls. They were both in Rachel's room, finishing their make-up or hair or whatever. On the table next to me were two corsages, one for each of them. I hadn't told them about that yet, but I figured I'd be a good date and surprise them.

I felt like a 15-year-old boy again, sitting on a couch, waiting for my date (in this case, dates) to come downstairs. I knew it was a dumb feeling, since I was 20 and waiting on my sister and her friend. But the butterflies felt real, probably due to yesterday's encounter with Becky and the following conversations with Rachel.