Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[Halcyon638]

Gabi was silent, her soft body now tensed against Monica. She held the older girl’s hand in hers as somewhere in the distance, a bird peeped insistently. In a neighboring yard, a pair of energetic children chased one another around a garden fenced off with string. For a moment, Gabi glanced at Monica’s face, but then turned away, as if she’d just stared openly at the summer sun.

Monica heard a vehicle approaching. Gabi turned to Monica now, eyes puffy with tears. “We’re…we’re still going to Facetime like, at least 2, 3 times a week, right? And you still have to let me go off when Mom is acting crazy. So, like, every other week.” She managed a smile for a moment, then sobbed and pulled Monica in for a long hug as her mother’s SUV rumbled to a stop.

“I love you. Always.”

 

[siobhancan99]

A few weeks later, the party behind her, a week of classes under her belt, she stood over two mooks connected to Katis. Knapp had clued her into where they were hiding out, probably because the cops were having a hard time getting them. She looked the one over. special forces maybe. he'd given her a little trouble. She felt alive. awake. the feeling of swimming through jello she'd been going through was momentarily dispelled. she a white blousetexted Knapp to let him know his package was ready, and then went home and showered after handing the pair off to the cops.

She threw on a little black skirt, some daring heels and a white top translucent enough to highlight a black bra. she took some time, making herself up for the first time in months, then headed out to see Ian's band.

 

[Halcyon638]

The venue, Apple Jack’s, looked sketchy from the outside, but had a surprisingly decent interior, with a bit of an English pub vibe. The crowd was mixed--hipsters, punk and skater types, a small gaggle of sorority girls, a pack of 30-somethings that looked like they’d just come straight from some rec league game.

Monica turned heads in every clique as she strolled in. Guys immediately began chattering among themselves, looking while trying to look like they weren’t looking.

Ian and Eve’s band, Bad Books, were opening for a band called Low Budget Saints. Monica was barely in the bar for a minute when Ian, Eve, Caleb, and their bassist walked out on the stage, Eve in an artfully tattered mulberry-hued dress. A decent round of applause and cheers came from the crowd as they settled in with their instruments and the vocalist twisted a hand around the mic stand, though more than a few people were still distracted by Monica’s presence.

As Ian tapped his cymbals, the bartender, a tall, rugged guy with a neatly maintained, reddish-brown beard in a black t-shirt bearing the word “Pizza” followed by a period, all in small, Times New Roman font, looked Monica’s way. He said something she was pretty sure was “ID?” as Ian began to unload on his drums.

 

[siobhancan99]

"I'll have a coke, thanks" Monica leaned over to give a little flash of cleavage. She wasn't there to drink. She was there to fuck, and she didn't need a drink for that. She just needed the bartender to not bother her about being there. She put a 5 on the bar, then turned her attention back to the band. She leaned back against the bar, elbows up on it to make herself arch a bit. She nodded along with the music as it started, looking around the bar for a likely candidate. Probably male, since she was just there for a body, not for a nthaul. Still she was open to anything, really, as long as it got her laid. That Centauri association of sex and violence was stirring. She'd been violent.

 

[Halcyon638]

Eve’s slithery vocals kicked in. The band was still unpolished, but her voice paired with the primal pounding of the drums created a vibe.

A guy approached her from the right-hand side. He was her age, with shoulder-length, straight, dark hair framing a pair of equally dark eyes, sporting a slightly worn black hoodie and jeans. “Hey,” he said. “Monica, right?” Raising his voice to compete with the music, he added, “I don’t know if you remember me. I think we were in Intro. to Psych together last fall.”

It had been a large class, and she had a vague memory of the guy. “Zach,” he said.

 

[siobhancan99]

"oh yeah. Zach. From Mel's class" she smiled and gestured at the band "I went to High School with the drummer. Thought I'd come see them play. What do you think?" She gave the guy a once over. He'd do. She smiled "And yeah, its Monica. or Mon, or whatever." She took a sip of her coke, then moved in a little closer to be able to hear his replies to what she said, putting her hand momentarily on his arm.

 

[Halcyon638]

“Mel? I don’t know them,” he said, returning her smile just the same. Glancing over at the stage for a second, he responded, “Oh, nice. They sound good. I wish they’d crank down the subwoofers a bit—the venue. Not your friends. Sorry, bit of a sound engineering nerd here.” The warmth in his smile clashed with the intensity in his brown eyes in a way that was a little jarring but also compelling.

He glanced down at her hand. “So, I’m pretty sure you saved me on one exam. I was tanking it pretty hard and then I got to this extra credit question about—fuck, I think it was about that Maslow guy. I hadn’t really studied for some dumb reason but you’d presented on him and I remembered every word you said. You’re, like, the only presenter I memorized. So…thanks for that.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica wrapped her lips around the straw for her coke, drawing in some of the sweet liquid into her mouth. She swallowed and smiled, coy, stirring the drink a little with her straw "well you have to be fully actualized to give a really great presentation" She winked, chuckling to herself at her lame joke about Maslow's hierarchy of needs to see if he would similarly laugh in an attempt to get laid.

 

[Halcyon638]

His eyes lingered on her lips. As if on cue, her former classmate let out a fake laugh. “They’re really good,” he said as the band finished another song.

Monica glanced over at her friends, then back, just in time to catch Zach stealing a glimpse at her breasts. They made a little more small talk; he was a music production major from Nebraska who had jumped at the first opportunity to leave his small town. “So…are you living in the dorms or an apartment?”

 

[siobhancan99]

"My mom got me a house. I live alone. It's by campus. It's honestly great." It was honestly not great. It was supposed to be her and Gabi's space, so it was too much for one person. She had three bedrooms when she needed one. She had a big kitchen that she didn't use for anything except beer and soda storage. She had a couch she fell asleep on after studying, since doing anything was so much effort. That, however, was not sexy. That was not getting Jack or Zach or whatever his name back. So she made it sound as great as it should have been. "Are you here with people or did you come by yourself?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“Wow. That’s sick.” He glanced across the room. “Here with a friend. He wanted to see the other band. I hear they’re cool.”

The 20-something unzipped his hoodie. He had on a tee with the Pulp Fiction poster printed on it. “This is going to sound super lame, but I was seriously kicking myself for months after that class ended for never trying to talk to you. You always seemed smart and pretty chill and…well…you know. Super hot.”

 

[siobhancan99]

"Well, at the time I had a super hot girlfriend so. Your timing is much better now" she shrugged "catching me on the rebound, ready to make some mistakes."

She looked over the shirt "that is my second favorite Tarantino movie. I prefer reservoir dogs but only by a slim margin, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is growing on me."

 

[Halcyon638]

“Oh, wow. Hot girls, am I right?” he said, in a tone of commiseration. “Yay for mistakes. That’s why they made autocorrect, you know?”

Eve launched into a chorus that showed off her impressive vocal range. “Hold on a sec,” Psych Guy said. He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through it. Eventually, he landed on a photo and held it closer for Monica to see, leaning in. In it, he was wearing a black suit and sunglasses, with his hair styled to resemble Mr. Blonde’s, toting a barber’s razor and a fake dismembered ear. “Two Halloweens ago. Freshman year.” He cleaned up well, judging from the picture.

He grinned. “I actually only saw Once Upon a Time once and I definitely have to give it another shot. You up for another rewatch?” Pausing, he added, “Sometime?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica shrugged and looked at the band, then back at Zach "well, I mean I own it on Prime so." She shrugged again and took a long sip of her coke through the straw "Also I can't drink here and there's beer at the house. IF you wanted to watch it right now." She looked back at the band "Or I could go dance and we could you know, hope to run into each other at some point. Up to you."

 

[Halcyon638]

Zach smiled. “Yeah, totally. Sounds like a good time.”

It was a short Lyft ride to Monica’s house, which they filled with chatter about how they’d spent their summer, Zach back in his small hometown stocking shelves at the grocery store.

“Wow. This place is pretty dope,” he remarked as Monica led him into the house. He took his sweatshirt off, showing off a solid frame and nice arms, draping his hoodie on a nearby jacket hook. “So, is your mom, like, loaded or something?”

 

[siobhancan99]

"She is like, second in command of this whole fucking like, Empire or some shit." She gestured vaguely. "We dont really speak. She fucked off when i was 12. But thanks to her ive got my own place so thanks? I guess?" She shrugged and got two beers out, handing him one and moving over towards the couch, where she had condoms in the end table. Zach was fine but he didnt really rate a bedroom visit. Plus the conceit was watching a movie.

 

[Halcyon638]

“Oh. I’m sorry,” Zach said. “My dad’s kind of a dick, too.” He accepted the beer. “Thanks.”

He settled onto the couch, taking a moment to more-or-less openly admire Monica’s legs in her short skirt. “This is really nice.” He draped an arm along the back of the couch behind her as she queued up the movie. “Your piercing looks super cute, by the way.”

The movie started, and they watched the first ten to fifteen minutes or so in earnest before Zach’s arm descended as he placed it on her shoulders, though he kept his eyes on the screen for the moment.

 

[siobhancan99]

"thanks" Monica curled in and sipped her beer, then nestled in under his arm when he finally moved. She inhaled, catching the subtle scent of him. She closed her eyes, letting herself draw in the warmth from him as if there was some genuine connection for a moment. She reached down, placing her hand on his leg, giving it a squeeze, then shifting upwards a little bit in what she hoped was an unmistakable sign that was not, at the same time, too forward. It was one thing to be honest about just wanting to fuck, but a fine line about making the other person feel cheap.

 

[Halcyon638]

The hint of a smile appeared on his face as Monica’s hand touched his thigh. He shifted his position so he was facing her, keeping his arm curled around her shoulders. He began to pull her toward him.

She felt his lips on hers, the slightest touch of his stubble, now unexpected after so long with Gabi. His right hand dipped down and delicately grasped her side.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica leaned back, but wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down with her "I thought you were a serious film student here to be serious about serious films" she grinned and ran her short nails along his scalp, then tangled her fingers in the short hair at the nape of his neck, her lips finding his again, tugging at them. She could feel the sharp prick of his stubble against her lips, the hardness of his body where she was used to experiencing Gabi's generous curves. It was a good contrast. It was what she needed at the moment.

 

[Halcyon638]

Zach kissed her a bit more fervently. “You’ve got a pause button, right?” he said, a wry smile on his face as he leaned in and began to part her lips with the tip of his tongue. He put a sizeable hand on the side of her face as they kissed. His other hand roamed down, touching her right thigh just above the knee, then crept upward.

Zach eased her back against the armrest, the solidity of his body giving her the temporary sensation of being pinned in place, however easily she might be able to toss him across the room.

 

[siobhancan99]

"I've seen it before" she laughed and took his hand, drawing it up under her skirt where there was nothing to interfere with whatever he wanted to do. She kissed him again, tongue pushing into his mouth, her hand gripping his hair tight, pulling him down against her. She wrapped one leg around him, holding him against her, glad for the illusion at least, of being with someone that could throw her around. She missed Austin, for just a moment. The physicality of him, more than the reality of him for sure.

 

[Halcyon638]

Her former classmate’s hand ventured upwards at her coaxing. His tongue twisted against hers, insistent, and when his fingers teased the top of her thigh and found only bare skin, his brown eyes widened in surprise for a split second. “Damn.”

She could feel some of the growing hardness in his jeans as his surprised expression was replaced by hunger. His big hand cupped her pussy, giving it one or two slow strokes.

He kissed her neck, roughly, while his fingers began to rub her soft folds.

 

[siobhancan99]

She ground gently against his hand, moaning encouragingly when she felt him kissing her neck. Her fingers tugged at the roots of his hair, and her thigh rocked against his hardening cock through his jeans. She spread her legs a little, leaving no mistake she brought him back for this. She raked the short nails of her left hand along his back, then slid her hand under his Pulp Fiction T shirt to drag them a little harder along his back. Still super careful with him, he was just a human after all, but enough to leave long red lines on his back. This is what she needed, to just get fucked, to get it out of the way, to get over Gabi. Sure. this would do it.

 

[Halcyon638]

He continued kissing her neck, working his way back up to her chin, cheek, and mouth. He let out a low groan as she dug her fingers into his skin, then began shedding his t-shirt. He had the lean-yet-muscular physique of a competitive swimmer.

A gleam of excitement in his eyes, he grabbed the hem of her see-through white shirt and lifted it over her bra, shoulders, and arms. “Fuck,” he said, pausing a beat to just admire the sight of her.

He pressed his lips into her cleavage, stubble lightly scratching the soft inner curves of her breasts. “Leave the skirt on.”