Black Butterfly

Shock (March 16)

Shock was still mooning over the scene downstairs when they walked through the door of the expansive, lavish hotel room. As she’d expected, even in human guise the Boogeyman inspired instinctual anxiety in anyone within his vicinity. People had unconsciously kept clear, whether or not they noticed him, so consistently that she could almost measure the space bubble around him. The man behind the counter had fidgeted with his glasses, forcing a nervous smile. He gained confidence when Oogie waved the cash at him, but not much. Probably a good thing, considering the fear had as much to do with getting the room as the bribery. None of Oogie’s words could have been construed as a threat, but the man radiated danger.

Lock whistled. “This place might be fancier than Jack’s house. Look at that pool.” One huge window separated them from the balcony, which was really more like a cement deck several stories in the air. Part of the pool began inside, and extended out to the Plexiglas wall that surrounded the balcony.

Barrel glanced between the pool and the glass elevator leading to the upper level, clearly conflicted about where to go first.

“Dude, we grew up with our own elevator. Come on.”

They both moved off toward the patio, but Shock hesitated, torn between them and Oogie. Their master had gone upstairs, and didn’t indicate that he wanted her to join him, so she followed her cohorts instead. Outside, Barrel already had his face pressed to the clear wall, ogling the lights below. On the way in, Oogie had called it The Strip. Shock couldn’t help being impressed her self. “It’s brighter than Christmas Town.”

“No kidding,” Lock breathed.

“Wonder if Oogie Boogie will let us go exploring,” Barrel said.

“Ha, watch him kick us out to get some time alone with lady minx over there.”

Relieved that he’d decided to go the teasing route, she let out a short laugh. “I knew that was coming. What took you so long?”

“You can’t just throw snappy zingers out as soon as you get them, you have to let them simmer until the right moment. It’s an art, and I’m an artist,” Lock said, pronouncing ‘artist’ as ‘arteest.’

“You’re a fruitloop.” Shock ruffled his hair. “How’s that for timing?”

Lock postured in front of the half-witch, with his nose inches from hers. “I’ll push you in the pool.”

The half-witch stuck out her chin, violet-gray eyes narrowed playfully. “I dare you to try.”

It still startled her when he actually grabbed her upper arms. Enough that he managed to get her two steps toward the edge before she fought back, gripping his over-shirt and turning them both around. Not too difficult seeing as he wasn’t much heavier than her. He went for her wrists instead, untangling her fingers, but he already had one foot on the ledge. If she could get close enough to head butt him in the chest, he’d go sprawling.

The sliding door opened. “Shock.”

It only took the second she used to turn her head for Lock to regain his balance and whip her into the chilly water. “Two points!” He raised both arms over his head.

Shaking her hair out of her face and wrinkling her nose at the taste of chlorine, she said, “I was distracted, it doesn’t count.”

“Like hell it doesn’t.” Lock crossed his arms.

“Shock,” Oogie repeated, though he sounded faintly amused this time. When he had her attention, he gestured at her to follow him.

“I’m going to get you,” Shock warned Lock as she climbed out of the pool. Then she went upstairs, not at all surprised when Oogie took her into one of the bedrooms and shut the door. Didn’t bother her, though. It had an adjacent bathroom, which was exactly what she wanted at the moment. “I hate chlorine,” she mumbled.

He leaned in the doorway, watching her strip off her wet shoes and jeans. “With the amount of time you three spend fighting, I don’t know how you get along at all.”

No reason to get Oogie too interested, what with Lock and Barrel downstairs. She left on her shirt and reached for a towel. “Maybe fighting is how we get along,” she smiled. Squeezing water out of her hair with the fluffy, white fabric, she wandered to the window—another huge one perfectly framing the view. If they weren’t so high up, she would have felt uncomfortably exposed. “Have you been here before?” By now, she was used to the weight of his gaze crawling up and down her body.

“As in right here? No.”

“I meant the human world in general.”

“Maybe. Why?” He sat on the bed behind her.

“How did you know about this?” She jerked her head toward the sprawling city.

“Read about it, in some of the things you guys brought me over the years. Always wanted to go, it sounds like paradise.”

“Hm. It is a great view…”

“I’ll say.”

“I’m sure you would.” She giggled and wrapped the towel around her waist. “‘Mr. B. Manning.’”

“Don’t tease me for coming up with it, tease the guy at the front for falling for it.” He gestured to her. “Come here.”

“Why?” Even as she clutched her cover shyly, hiding behind her hair, she couldn’t stop grinning.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, come here.”

“Yeah right, that’s what you do, isn’t it?” But she obeyed. He used the towel to pull her so close that she had to straddle his lap or fall over, but she remained standing.

“I just want a little show,” he said innocently.

Not that he needed to tell her. Via repeated requests, she’d pieced together that ‘show’ meant something akin to a lap dance, and the position she held spoke for itself. “No way. Barrel can’t knock to save his life. Besides, I’m all wet.”

“He wouldn’t barge in on me. He knows better. And you look good ‘all wet.’” Her fingers loosened on the towel, and he slowly pried it out of them. “It’ll be quick, I promise.”

Biting her lip, she hugged herself. Of course it was Oogie behind a new face, but it made her feel like he was seducing her for the first time all over again. She didn’t understand why he enjoyed making her do these ‘shows’ so much either—probably couldn’t dance seriously to save her life. She gave in, though. Resistance had been worthless before, and it was probably worthless now. Faking it as best she could, she twisted and rolled her hips, doing a little turn for him, using his shoulders to keep her balance as she hovered over his lap. To be fair, doing this with his human form turned out to be less awkward when she stopped thinking so hard. At one point, he shoved her shirt up over her breasts, and she almost protested, but since he didn’t take it off completely she decided to let the matter slide.

He lay on the mattress and pulled her up with him. This was more like the way she was used to doing it. Straddling him on her knees, she undulated her ribcage. It was weird watching him. She must have seen that expression a million times, but it wasn’t the same on a human face. His human eyes were more expressive, able to display finer details. He stared at her, but wasn’t focused on her. Something wasn’t right here. Shock paused, illogically but intensely uncomfortable all of a sudden.

“I didn’t say we were done,” he said.

“Uh…” Her pupils twitched as she searched for an excuse. “The chlorine’s kind of… itchy…” She scratched her arm for emphasis. “Can I just go… hop in the shower real quick?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Itchy, huh?”

“I… yes…” She slumped. Lame excuse. He must have known she was lying. Before he could say anything else, though, something at the door distracted him. The silhouette of two feet showed in the crack under it. As good an excuse as any. She jumped up, pulled down her shirt, and ran into the bathroom.

In the other room, she heard Oogie call, faintly irritated, “What do you want, Barrel?” She couldn’t hear the boy’s response through both doors, but the bedroom door opened and closed, and then there was silence.

Burying her face in her hands, she plopped down on the edge of the tub. Out of his immediate vicinity, the discomfort faded, but that only made it harder to pinpoint the source. Maybe… That position had entirely less innocent connotations now that… well, no, because nothing to do with the Boogeyman had innocent connotations, but still, she couldn’t help thinking Barrel had just saved her. Which was ridiculous, because he’d done much more dangerous things than what the sexuality of the position implied, yet it had been weeks since she felt like this—like she had to get away before it was too late. Shock giggled, and felt better. All this stuff was new, and that made her nervous, but anything beyond that was silly. So what if he wanted to ‘play’ more like a human? What was the worst that could come of it?

She turned on the water, finished undressing, and stepped under it. Maybe this could even be exciting. As much as she loved the Boogeyman’s kinky version of a kiss, she couldn’t help wondering what a real kiss was like. Surely he’d let her try. He seemed perverted enough to try anything at least once. She caught him checking her out frequently, and…

And that was it. She bit her lip and shivered. He hadn’t been looking at her out there in the bedroom, nor had he been looking through her. He’d been looking into her, like he saw something he wanted. Not in a literally hungry way, thank goodness, but… some obscure desire. That previously unreadable stare she’d been seeing more often lately reached a new level of sinister. Especially since her description for it didn’t make a lot of actual sense. But Lock and Barrel were still around, so that comforted her.

She emerged an hour later, wearing one of the white bathrobes that came with the room. The bedroom remained empty, so she went to peer over the railing at the second floor. Again, she couldn’t see anybody, but she could hear the television. Odd, she would have expected Lock and Barrel to be in the pool, or at least making more noise. The plush carpet swallowed the sound of her bare feet on the stairs.

Shock found Oogie on the sectional sofa in the TV room, which didn’t have its own door, more of a dark space set into the wall. Probably meant to be like a theater, but it was more like a cave to her. Not surprising that he’d settled there. No Lock and Barrel to be found, however. As she turned to check more of the rooms upstairs, Oogie said, “Was wondering when you’d be done.”

“Where are the others?” She asked.

“Went out,” he said, still watching the show. “Said they’ll be gone for a few hours.”

Shock put her hands on her hips. “How convenient.”

“Isn’t it?” Giving her a sly look, he patted the cushion beside him.

She only moved far enough to get a better look at what he was watching. Tall, thin women, strolling a catwalk for a sea of onlookers. She decided not to ask the pervert how he’d landed on that channel.

“You’ve been awful skittish since we got here, babe.”

“Do you blame me? It is kind of weird.”

“What is?”

“You… like that…”

When she continued holding her ground, he approached her instead. “Right. You’ve got that kinky little obsession with bugs.” Holding her by the jaw, he walked her toward the wall behind her.

“N-no…” There wasn’t any time to think of sidling out when he let go. Sandwiched between him and the plaster, with his hands braced on either side of her, she was cornered. “You look…” Physical restraint aside, the pair of green pools swallowed her if she lingered in them too long. “It’s just different.”

“But you are curious.”

She blushed. “A little.”

“You want to kiss me.” His voice had a singsong quality to it.

“Oh, man…” She giggled nervously and hid behind her hair.

“It’s okay.” Her eyes darted up and down a couple times before she closed the few inches between their lips. Small, nervous, and rather quick. Like a butterfly glancing off a flower. It was his turn to laugh. “You call that a kiss?”

“I-” Her eyes narrowed and she pouted. “Like you’ve ever done this before?”

“Doesn’t take an expert to do better than that, honey.”

“Fine.” Standing on tiptoe, she put her good arm around his neck and kissed him again, lingering. It felt softer, warmer than she was used to, but it wasn’t bad. He cupped the back of her skull and she felt his tongue between her lips. She made a surprised sound and tried to break away.

He only stopped long enough to whisper, “Let me in.”

She submitted, opening her mouth just enough to let the slick thing inside. Sheesh, had he done this before? It occurred to her he must’ve gotten his idea for ‘kisses’ somewhere. Since anatomy varied so widely in Halloween Town, style of intimacy depended on specific partners, and there was no formal ‘talk’ on the subject of how everything worked. Besides, Oogie had lived isolated from Town for who knew how long…

His free hand found its way under the robe, seeking out the bare flesh on her side. The heel of his hand stopped under her breast and his fingers smoothed across the top of it, brushing his palm across her nipple, squeezing and kneading. Heat pulsed in the pit of her stomach. Oogie stopped kissing her to untie the sash and trap her in a tight embrace, with his arms underneath the robe. His lips aggressively followed her jaw to her neck where he bit and sucked hungrily. Shock clung to him, not sure what to do besides give in to whatever he did.

“You ready?” He murmured against her ear.

“For what?”

“To play.” He cupped her sex, stroking her inner folds with his middle finger. “Got some new tricks for you…”

“I don’t think- ah!” The cry was because he pulled her hair. Between her thighs, his hand shifted to rub her clit with his thumb. Pain trickled down, pleasure rose up, and the two entwined in the middle.

“That’s right, you don’t think,” he leered. “You come with me.”

He used her upper arm to drag her upstairs and into the bedroom. When he tossed her onto the bed—hard enough that she bounced a little—she swore she heard her shoulder creak. Shock sat up holding it. “You don’t have to be that rough, you know. I’d like to have at least one fully functional arm at a time.”

“You like it,” he said, casting off the sports coat. “I like it.” He crawled onto the mattress, one knee between her splayed legs. “So why the hell not?” Just like the first time, a sharp jerk at her hips put her on her back.

Before she could answer, he kissed her again. By the time the kiss ended, she had no answer to give. Pinned to the bed, she felt breathless and warm. He nipped at her bottom lip once before leaving a trail of the little bites from her neck to her left peak. There, he took her nipple in his teeth, pulling until she arched off the bed with a whimper. His tongue traced a soothing circle around it before moving to the other side. She braced herself, barely relaxing when she didn’t feel teeth immediately. However, he allowed her to enjoy it this time, keeping up a light vacuum while he licked, stroking her other bud with his fingertips, until the knots melted out of her. She dug her nails into the back of his shirt and moaned.

“Heh, like that, baby?” He caressed her cheek, and then placed his fingertips over her lips.

“Please…”

“‘Please?’” He grinned, shoving his third and fourth digits into her mouth, until his rings clicked against her teeth.

“Nn…” She whined and squirmed under him, pushing her chest out, trying to communicate what she wanted without words. Please don’t stop.

“Mm… Tempting little peaches…” Turning her face slightly to the side, he murmured in her ear, “But what I want is taste of what you can do with your sweet little mouth.” His fingers pressed in harder, almost gagging her. “So suck.”

All she could do was take the order at face value and obey, not quite sure what he was driving at, but cautiously willing to try if it made him happy. Or got him to play with her breasts some more… Eyes closed, she followed his fingers as they moved in and out of her mouth. The rather sour taste of the gold bothered her, but by timing her movements she largely avoided the rings, and subsequently the gagging when his fingertips went too far. They left her mouth, creating a wet line of saliva to her stomach, to her pelvis… She drew a slow breath as they traced her inner folds, stroking up, down, up, circling her hidden pearl until she squirmed and gasped, and then suddenly plunging inside. The rings hurt the more sensitive flesh, but not enough for her to complain.

“Didn’t need the spit, huh? Honey’s already all sticky.” Oogie held his hand up in front of her face, glistening with her fluids. “Open.”

It took a second to realize that he meant her mouth. Shock shrank uncertainly, but he pressed the two digits between her lips without waiting for her to comply. Not wanting to anger him, she let them past her teeth, and went as far as to start sucking again without making him ask for that, too. Vaguely salty, but other than that it barely tasted like anything. She licked around and between his fingers, keeping them in her mouth until she couldn’t taste it anymore.

“Good girl,” he praised, sitting up to straddle her waist while he unbuttoned his black shirt. “Very good girl…”

When he reached for his belt buckle and fly next, her heart fluttered and she bit her lip. He lay on top of her again, pushing her thighs farther apart so that he could settle between them. The skin-to-skin contact of their stomachs felt faintly… sticky compared to what she had become accustomed to.

He tilted his head and coyly asked, “What are you blushing about?”

“Am not…”

“You are now.”

He kissed her neck as he ground his hips against hers. Though he hadn’t taken off his underwear yet, it didn’t stop her from being very aware of how into this he was. Wow, so he really intended to do it, huh? Well, the friction on her sex alone was already sending her some place warm and wet, so it couldn’t be bad. Besides, this position left her much more conscious of his over-all size, and even if he wanted to break her neck here and now she doubted that she could do much about it. Shock buried that thought, closing her eyes to focus on the pleasant physical sensations instead.

Oogie sat up and flipped her roughly onto her stomach. Shock squealed, surprised, though in hindsight she should have expected violence. He grabbed her hair to pull her onto her knees, tore off and tossed the robe, and then put an arm across her hips as he pushed her onto all fours. Kisses followed her spine to the small of her back, and then he let go of her. When she glanced over her shoulder to see what he was doing, he slapped her hindquarters hard enough to cause a flinch. Taking the hint, she instead studied her fingers fanned out on the bedspread. Behind her, she heard fabric rustle, but repressed her nervous curiosity this time.

He put one hand on her waist, and she braced herself as he targeted her entrance. As with any other time he’d shoved anything into her, he filled her with a single, quick jab. Shock gasped and clenched her muscles, curling her nails into the bedspread. It didn’t hurt like she’d feared. The metal, bone, or whatever else he had lying around his lair was always too rigid, or sharp, or simply shaped wrong, and left her sore for hours after. And she knew that was the point. But this felt… perfect. Just enough pain to achieve the warmth she enjoyed, filling her completely without threatening her limits. On another level, though, it still scared her, as she found herself trying to figure out ways that he might make it hurt more, because that’s what the Boogeyman did. Took her comfort zone and pushed her beyond it until she screamed for him to stop.

“Hm… Tighter than I expected, considering.” He drew out most of the way and reentered hard enough for their skin to slap audibly. Shock groaned. “Oogie likes that…” He brushed her hair over her shoulder and took hold of the back of her neck. “Oogie likes that a lot.”

That dangerously smooth tone combined with the firm pressure of his grip sent a tremor through her. She was panting before he started screwing her. However, the reason evolved from quelling the deliciously heavy knot of tension in her stomach to fueling the happy cries with which she punctuated each of his thrusts. Cries that rose in volume the harder and faster he drove her, and faded into helpless whimpers when he slowed the pace. No longer holding her in place, it left his hands free to wander, squeezing her hips, tickling her throat, pinching her buds… Shock spread her legs wider, pushing back. At this pace, she could take the time to think about him inside of her, stroking the deep point that he could tease so skillfully with the serpentine tongue. The harder her muscles squeezed, the sharper the sensation grew, until the spasming waves of an orgasm took control.

He pulled out, and she collapsed forehead into the mattress as though invisible strings had been cut. The Boogeyman, however, wasn’t finished with her yet. Without a word, he whipped her around and laid her out, gripping her tight enough to dig into her flesh. The move also twisted her waist uncomfortably, if not briefly, but none of that was particularly new. She noticed that Oogie had stripped completely at some point, and that was new, because she’d never seen a human—or humanoid for that matter—male naked before. Not that he gave her time to contemplate it before he mounted her once more, forcing her legs as far open as they’d go and impaling her. His hair hung loose around his face, and the creepy hunger glittered in his eyes.

“I want you,” he hissed, his face bare inches from hers as he stroked her cheek.

“You- you have me…”

“Well, it looks that way,” he smirked, “but you never really know, do you?”

Then he devoured her mouth, and Shock whimpered when he nipped at her tongue. Her squeals and high-pitched moans encouraged him to force out more, until he had her crying breathlessly. Shock clung, with her arms and her legs, powered by an instinct to be so close that they might melt together. Due to the way the position stimulated the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her slit, she climaxed harder the second time, arching off the sheet as her throat closed around her breath.

Still not done, he changed positions one last time, folding her knees up to her ears. If she hadn’t braced herself, the following strokes would have shoved her into the headboard. Twinges of warmth and cold shot through her as he finally groaned loudly and went rigid, holding as deep as he could, and she gritted her teeth, closing her eyes. When he let go of her, she lowered her feet slowly. A deep ache throbbed in her pelvis, but in a contented sort of way, and she absently wondered if she could walk straight tomorrow. Even if she couldn’t, she decided the experience was worth it. She checked the clock to calculate how long she might have to sleep it off and blinked. Almost 2am? They’d gotten to the hotel a little after nine. Where had all that time gone?

A whiff of smoke drew her attention to her companion, stretched out with an arm folded behind his head. One of those damn cigars occupied his other hand. She could see it better in the lamplight—a sleek, midnight black thing with too-dark smoke. Her eyes traced his profile over the curve of his stomach, taking note of the thin sheen of sweat on his skin. As usual, she was too nervous to interrupt him or his thoughts without an indication of permission. At the same time lying next to him, naked, under the thick shroud of silence was really awkward. Shock decided he was in a good enough mood to give it a shot. She found the top corner of the comforter, and wrapped it around her as she rolled onto her side. “Why do you do that?”

“Hm?”

“The cigar.”

He chuckled. “It’s the three perks of the human body. Drinking, smoking, and…” Oogie lifted the corner of her cocoon to check her out. “… Screwing.” He grinned.

“You have done this before, haven’t you?”

“I didn’t say that.” He dropped the blanket and returned to his previous repose.

“Would you quit jerking me around for once? I know what you are.”

“Oh, really?”

“Well…” Shock fidgeted with her hair. “I know you weren’t always a bag of bugs…” Which was the more accurate statement.

He paused mid-puff. When he turned his head slowly to look at her, the flirty amusement had vanished from his expression, replaced by serious curiosity. “Where did you hear that?”

“I-” She hadn’t expected that reaction. “I… I want you to answer my question first.”

When he sat up, she did too, poised to escape over the side. “Don’t get cute with me, Shock. Tell me where you heard it.”

“I heard it from Lock,” she answered reluctantly, hoping she wasn’t getting the devil-boy in trouble. “He found some kind of journal in Jack’s library.”

“Does he still have it?”

“He said he put it back so no one would notice it was missing.”

“And you just forgot to tell me?”

“I didn’t think it was important, and you never wanted to talk about it, so I thought maybe you didn’t want us to know.”

“You went snooping around in things you thought I didn’t want you knowing behind my back?”

“No! Lock didn’t know that you didn’t want us to know, and I didn’t know what he was going to say until he said it, so- so-”

“Digging yourself a real hole, huh?” Oogie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and patted her on the chest. She eyed the smoldering cigar nervously. “You’re not in trouble. I don’t even want to think about that stuff right now. Might spoil my good time. But you tell Lock, when we get back, I want that book.”

“But-”

His hand covered her mouth. “I want. The book. Okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Shock mumbled as soon as he let her.

“That’s my girl.” He kissed her cheek. “I’m gonna get some sleep. You three can do what you want in the morning, but you are mine as soon as the sun goes down.”

After stubbing his cigar out on the nightstand, leaving a black mark in the finish, he slid into the sheets and turned out the light. The half-witch sat for a moment, contemplating what to do next. She couldn’t go looking for the other two without some kind of cover. Her clothes were still wet, she couldn’t remember what he’d done with the robe, and she didn’t feel like searching around the dark room for it. Sleep would be a good idea, anyway. Shock curled up facing away from him, listening to his breathing change as he dozed off. It didn’t come so quickly for her.

A/N: Didn’t forget about the clover, it just hasn’t had time yet.
Sorry for the wait, already had to skim over the end of the last chapter and the beginning of this one for length reasons. The next wait will be longer, because I’m starting the Summer semester, and writing workshops sap any energy I have to write recreationally. Then I’ve got family coming to town for my graduation… So watch for the next chapter closer to the end of August. I’ll finally be in a position where I can use Oogie’s point of view…