Scared Sister Pt. 02: Nyctohylophobia

[Standard Disclaimer: All of my stories, including this one, are purely works of fiction, and any similarities to real world persons or events are purely coincidental. All characters involved in any sexual content are 18 years of age or older at the time such content occurs.]

For as long as I can remember, my little sister, Nikki, was always scared of thunder. When she was little, she got into the habit of sleeping in my bed and snuggling close during thunderstorms. This began to get awkward when she kept doing so even as a teenager.

Eventually, I moved out of my parents' house at the age of twenty-two, but four years later, when my job began laying people off, I was forced to move back in with them.

My sister turned eighteen soon afterward, and re-established her habit of sleeping in my bed during thunderstorms. This time, however, she initiated a routine of increasingly sexual "snuggling" which led to us both admitting our true feelings to each other. We teased each other by telling each other things like "brothers aren't supposed to do that to their little sister", which started a habit of trying to phrase things as if they were innocent or appropriate sibling activities. Eventually, our amorous activities culminated in us making love for the first time. Afterward, Nikki admitted that she'd overcome her fear of thunder when she was twelve.

However, after our Mom and Dad basically caught each other cheating, they split up, and the house was sold. Mom and Nikki moved into a two-bedroom apartment near where my job was, and I got my own apartment nearby. Nikki and I saw each other nearly every day, and even went on dates occasionally.

For the most part we only did things that normal siblings would. We would eat lunch or dinner together, go see movies together, and sometimes just go for a walk together and catch up. We never did anything more romantic than holding hands and kissing (which almost got us kicked out of a movie theater or two), but it felt more romantic to us. We'd still have fun playing with the pretext that we were "just siblings" and phrased things in as innocent a context as we could to each other, even though we knew it was more.

We had done well to keep our incestuous relationship a secret; that was, until one fateful weekend camping trip with our cousins...

*

"How long until we get there?" Nikki asked, a dour expression on her face.

"We've still got another hour," I replied after checking the GPS.

We'd been driving for almost three hours of the four hour trip. We'd originally planned to spend the weekend at a closer campground, but our cousins, who were joining us, wanted to go to a different campground nearly half a state away. They lived less than an hour from us, so I wondered why they insisted on going so far.

"I still can't believe we're finally going on the camping trip we've been talking about, and we won't even be able to sleep in the same tent. Is what we've been doing so wrong that the universe wants to keep us apart?" I could see she was beginning to dive into her seemingly unending river of self doubt again, so I had to pull her back.

"It's not the universe that ruined our original plans. It was Mom and Dad."

For the last six months, ever since Mom moved out and Dad had to sell the house, Nikki and I had been limited to only "appropriate" or at least "semi-appropriate" sibling activities. She moved in with Mom in her new two-bedroom apartment, and I got my own apartment not too far away, but we hadn't been able to spend the night together since then.

Earlier that year, we'd decided to start planning a camping trip for when Nikki was out of school for the summer, following up from an idea Nikki had when we knew things might get bad between our parents. However, after we told Mom, she told our dad, who she still talked to for whatever reason, and Dad told his sister, whose children, Max and Michelle, were two of the three cousins we were going camping with. Apparently they'd been wanting to go to this new campground for a while, and decided the four of us, plus our other cousin (Dad's brother's daughter), Morgan, should go on the trip together.

So there we were, in the middle of May, on our way to a fun, proper, totally appropriate camping trip with our cousins.

"You're right," Nikki sighed, regaining her composure, "Thanks, Nate."

She placed her hand gently on mine, a habit she'd picked up to help calm herself when we're in the car together.

"Any time, little sis."

She smiled when I grinned at my intentionally overused habit of calling her sister, knowing full well she was so much more than that.

*

When we finally pulled into the campground, I was surprised to see that it was nearly empty. Despite the reasonable price of renting a campsite, the secluded location of the site must have deterred many a would-be camper from choosing this campground. That would have made this a perfect spot for us to go camping, were it not for our cousins who should already be waiting for us.

Pulling up to the site our cousins had rented, Max's bright red Honda Accord stood out amongst the greens and browns of nature. Nikki's green Ford Focus, which we had used for the trip, on the other hand would be right at home.

As we parked, I noticed two things right away. First, the campsite was rather large, with plenty of space for our tents, and second, only two tents were currently set up. I supposed that if Max had his own tent, the girls could share a tent, and that would be pretty normal. Nikki and I had brought two tents, one for each of us, just to try and present the facsimile that we're just normal siblings.

"Nate, Nikki! It's so good to see you!" Morgan greeted us as we stepped out of the car.

Morgan was the oldest of our cousins, just one year younger than me, her being twenty six to my twenty seven. She was just a bit taller than me, but only by an inch or so. Her long, dark brown hair hung loose over her shoulders. She was wearing a sweater which did little to hide the massive melons on her chest.

"It's been too long," Morgan said as she hugged me tightly.

I could see Nikki glaring, but she lightened up when Morgan hugged her just as tightly.

"I'm so glad we decided to do this," Michelle commented as she and Max walked up to us from the campfire.

Max and Michelle looked very much alike. They were two years apart, Max being twenty four and Michelle being twenty two, but they acted as if they were much closer in age, often being mistaken for twins. They both were about the same height as me, maybe a little shorter, with light brown hair. Max often let his hair grow out to just past shoulder length, as it was now, and Michelle's hair always came down to the middle of her back. Unlike Morgan, Michelle had very little in the way of boobage, and the long-sleeve T-shirt she wore made her appear almost as flat chested as her brother.

"Yeah, you two have changed so much," Max added as they hugged us, "and Little Nikki's all grown up."

At eighteen, Nikki was the youngest of the five of us, and was often playfully picked on by the others.

"Not so little anymore," Morgan agreed, eyeing Nikki's chest.

Even though Nikki was wearing a jacket over her very modest sweatshirt, it was obvious that her coconuts were well formed.

Michelle stared at Nikki's chest as well, "I suppose not. I guess I'm the 'little' cousin now."

"Anyway," Nikki changed the subject, her face bright red, "It is good to see you guys again."

"Yeah," I agreed, "It'll be good to have some experienced campers with us for our first time."

We all walked back to the campfire. They had already set up several seats around the campfire, which blazed warmly, as well as a canopy overtop of the picnic table.

"I can't believe you two have never been camping before," Morgan stated.

Dad's parents had taken their family camping at least once a year since Dad was a kid. Even after they'd grown up and had families of their own, my aunt and uncle had continued taking their families camping, separately and as a group. We had often been invited to a family camping trip, but Mom was never keen on going, and Dad didn't want to upset her, so we'd never gone.

"Yeah, our parents aren't that big into family trips," Nikki stated as we all sat in the chairs by the fire.

"I remember that one trip we took to six flags when you were, what, nine?" I added.

"I was eight," Nikki corrected, "and Mom and Dad barely rode anything. They just let you take me around the park while they sat back and did nothing."

"You're right," I agreed.

"It has been a while since we've all been together, too," Max noted.

"I can't even remember the last time we were together," Michelle agreed.

"It was Christmas 2023," Morgan stated, "Grandma and Grandpa held their annual Christmas gathering. Nate drove Nikki there because their parents had other plans, and the two of you," she pointed to Max and Michelle, "came with your parents. I drove myself since I was living on my own, and my parents showed up late because they had a flat tire."

Michelle laughed, "You and your eidetic memory."

"You guys should probably set up your tents soon, so you won't have to do so in the dark," Max suggested.

"That's a good idea," Nikki agreed.

We started unpacking our stuff from the trunk and back seat of Nikki's car. When we had everything by the picnic table, we looked for a spot to set up our tents. There was a perfect spot not too far from the campfire, but large enough of an open space to set both tents up next to each other.

"Do you guys want some help setting your tents up?" Max asked.

"Sure," Nikki smiled, "That would be nice. I've never set up a tent before."

"You help Nate, I'll help Nikki," Michelle suggested to Max.

"That would help us go faster," I agreed, "Thanks."

With Max and Michelle's help, it only took about fifteen minutes to get the tents set up and our sleeping bags laid out inside along with our suitcases. When we were done, it was almost five thirty.

"Just in time for dinner," Max declared.

"Way ahead of you," Morgan smiled, holding up a pack of hot dogs and some buns.

"I'll get the roasting sticks," Michelle volunteered.

We all sat in the chairs around the camp fire as Michelle handed us each a metal two-prong roasting stick. Morgan handed out the hot dogs, which Max helped Nikki and me attach to our sticks.

"You two have missed a lot of fun, having never been camping," Michelle stated.

"Yeah, self-roasted hot dogs taste so much better than when they're cooked on a grill," Morgan added.

"I've never even cooked hot dogs on a grill," I admitted, "Mom always just cooked them over the stove for us."

"Well, then," Max stated, "You're in for a treat. Roasting hot dogs over the fire the first night of a camping trip is something of a tradition for our family."

Max showed us the best way to cook our hot dogs. Nikki caught one on fire before she got the hang of it, but I apparently had a knack for it. After we all had a couple or three well-cooked dogs, we placed them in buns on paper plates and sat at the picnic table on which Morgan had placed all the condiments. As we ate, we started catching up with what had gone on in everyone's lives since we'd seen each other last.

"So, Nikki," Michelle started the conversation, "You're in college now, right?"

"Yeah," Nikki replied, "I just finished my second semester. It's not as hard as I thought it would be, since I'm still living with Mom."

"Oh, yeah," Max sighed, "We heard about your parents splitting up. I know that sucks. Our parents separated last summer, too."

"Really? Wow," I replied.

"Yeah," Michelle added, "Apparently Mom wasn't as happy with her marriage as we all thought, since Dad found out she had been cheating on him for a few years."

"I guess it runs in the family," Nikki stated, "both our parents cheated on each other. Although Dad was doing it for a while, apparently."

"Makes me wonder if my dad has a secret life," Morgan pondered aloud, "since my parents seem to be as happy as ever."

As we talked, the sun started to go down, and the woods beyond the fire started getting darker. As it did, Nikki seemed to get more and more agitated, even though we had a lantern underneath the canopy over the table.

At around six fifteen we all had finished our dinner and were sitting around the campfire.

"So, who's up for scary stories?" Max asked, holding up his flashlight to his face in the typical "scary story" trope.

"No thanks," Nikki replied nervously.

"Yeah," Morgan agreed, "Scary stories are lame. We should play a game instead."

"How about truth or dare?" Michelle suggested

"Equally lame," Morgan replied, "Unless..." she pulled a bottle of tequila out of a nearby cooler, "It's a drinking game!"

"Yeah!" Max exclaimed along with Michelle's, "Alright!"

"Um, guys," Nikki said timidly, "I'm not twenty one yet."

"That's okay, sweetie," Morgan replied sweetly, "We'll just pretend you are, and nobody'll care."

Nikki looked at me, obviously looking for approval.

I smiled at her, "You're an adult, its your choice."

She smiled, "Okay, sure."

"Fantastic," Morgan pulled out small paper cups, "Normally we'd use shot glasses, but we don't want to accidentally lose or break one out here, so we'll just use these."

She handed everyone a cup, then poured a shot worth of tequila in each.

"So, here's the rules," she announced, "just like normal truth or dare, whoever's turn it is will ask someone to pick either Truth or Dare. If the person they ask doesn't like the question or the dare, they can take a shot to deflect the question or dare to someone else, selected by the original asker. The new target of the question or dare must both drink and answer the question or complete the dare.

"The same question can only be asked to any individual once, and the same dare can only be issued to the same person once, even if they drink to pass the question or dare on.

"The same person cannot be asked to select Truth or Dare more than once in a row, nor can the target of a deflected question or dare be selected to choose or as the target of another deflected question until at least one other person answers a question or completes a dare.

"If someone answers a question with a lie, and someone else knows they're lying, then the liar must take two shots and complete a dare."

The rest of us stared at Morgan for a moment.

"There's no way we'll remember all that," Max stated.

"Don't worry, I'll keep everyone on track," Morgan replied.

"You didn't just make all of that up just now, did you?" Michelle asked.

"Of course not. That's how we played it when I was in college," Morgan laughed.

"So who goes first?" I asked.

"I will," Morgan volunteered, "Just to make sure we all get the rules. Then we'll go clockwise around the fire, so after me will be Max, then Michelle, then Nikki, then Nate, then back to me. Everyone good with that?"

We all nodded.

"Oh, one more thing," Morgan added, "After each round, meaning everyone's asked someone to choose, everyone takes a shot, to make things more interesting. Okay," Morgan began, "Let's start easy. Max, Truth or Dare?"

Max smiled, "Truth."

"Great," Morgan grinned, "When was the last time you had sex?"

Nikki nearly choked, "Oh, so we're asking those kind of questions."

Morgan laughed, "Of course, it's no fun otherwise."

Max smiled, "Last night."

Nikki and I eyed him suspiciously. I didn't know anything about what our cousins had been up to the last few years, where they lived, or with whom. I supposed it was possible that Max had someone he was living with, but the way he glared at Morgan made me think she already knew his answer.

"Okay, my turn," Max announced, "Nate, Truth or Dare?"

I wasn't sure what kinds of dares they would issue, so I went with what I thought was the safe choice, "Truth."

An evil grin spread over Max's face, "Okay. You still a virgin?"

The last time we'd all been together, I had been twenty two, and we'd had a conversation about our virginities. At the time, only Morgan and Max had admitted to not being virgins. Obviously they would want to know how much has changed.

"No," I replied matter-of-factly, eliciting curious grins from our three cousins, but a worried glance from Nikki.

"Michelle, your turn," Morgan pressed to continue the game.

"Oh, Right," Michelle sat up straight, "Nikki, Truth or Dare?"

Nikki looked nervous, "Um, Dare?"

She was obviously trying to avoid being asked another potentially compromising question like I had been.

"Great!" Morgan exclaimed, "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Okay," Michelle said, "I dare you to... have your phone play a random song from your playlists and sing along to it."

Morgan looked disappointed, but said nothing.

"Okay," Nikki said cheerfully. She had obviously been expecting something compromising, although I had a feeling such a dare would come from Morgan, not Michelle or Max.

Nikki happily pulled out her phone, started her music app, and set it to random. The first song that came on was one I hadn't heard in a long time. It was one of Nikki's Nu-Alt Rock songs, although thankfully not one she'd had in her playlist that she'd designed for our first date. After doing a decent job singing along, Nikki sat back down.

For a moment, the contrast between the vibrant song and the relative silence of the crackling fire presented an eerie feeling. Nikki glanced around quickly as if expecting something to happen.

"Okay, you're next, Nikki," Michelle reminded her.

"Oh, sure," Nikki took a breath, "Michelle, Truth or Dare."

"Truth," Michelle beamed.

"Okay.... Um..." Nikki took a moment to think, "Okay, Who was your last kiss?"

Michelle's face turned red as she simply drank her shot, "Pass."

"Okay," Morgan stated, "Nikki, choose someone else to answer the question, and they have to take a shot."

"Okay," Nikki replied, "You, Morgan."

Morgan smiled, downing her shot of tequila, "The last person I kissed was my boyfriend."

"Oh, boo," Nikki replied, "Give us a name at least."

"You didn't ask what the name of the person I last kissed was," Morgan retorted, "And I answered to the satisfaction of the question asked."

"Okay, fine," Nikki conceded as Morgan refilled her and Michelle's cups.

"I guess that means it's my turn," I concluded, "Max, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," Max replied without hesitation.

"I dare you to..." I wasn't sure what to dare, so I just said what first popped into my head, "show everyone the most recent picture in your phone, either downloaded or taken personally."

"Boooring," Morgan yawned.

Max pulled out his phone, grinning, "You obviously don't remember the last picture I took, Morg."

He pulled up the picture and held it up for everyone to see. Nikki nearly dropped her cup when she saw the picture of Morgan and Michelle with their lips pressed together in a passionate kiss."

Morgan and Michelle both turned red in the face.

"That was on a dare, during a new years party," Michelle tried to save face, but to no avail.

"Wow, Morgan," I teased, "You look like you're really getting into it."

Morgan glared, "Shuddup! Okay, time for everyone to drink."

We all downed our tequila shot. As Nikki swallowed, she made an odd face, having never had alcohol before, as far as I knew, anyway. But it looked like she liked it.

"Great, now we can start making this interesting," Morgan announced as she refilled our cups, "Nikki, Truth or Dare?"

Nikki looked nervous. Obviously Morgan would have a devious question or dare regardless of which she picked.

"Um, Truth, I guess," she stammered slightly.