Hidden (Papa IV X Male)

Chapter VII - Backstage

I made my way out from the row of seats, using the chairs in front of me to brace myself. A tap on my shoulder signaled for me to turn around, coming face to face with Sister Imperator again.

"Oh," I pushed my glasses up. "Hi, Sister."

"Did you enjoy the show?"

"Of course! Not what I was expecting but it was very good."

"Papa will be glad to hear it. He'd like to see you now, if you don't mind."

I nodded and she led the way. We had to bob and weave through the rest of the crowd who lingered after the show to catch up with friends or just talk. Imperator and I found ourselves in a baren backstage hallway, not even half as extravagant as the rest of the church. Copia and the ghouls were all in one room where they stored their instruments after the show.

Sister knocked on the open door, alerting everybody to our presence. "Lovely job tonight, everybody."
She went over to Copia who was busy hanging up his jacket. She grabbed his face in her hands. "I'm very proud, Cardi."

He rolled his eyes and gave a shy smile, trying to move out of her grasp. "Yes, thank you Sister." He strode over to me, as I was still leaning in the doorway. "Sorry you had to see that," he whispered. "You enjoyed the show, I hope?"

"Oh, definitely." He gave me a nod and a wink.

Sunshine turned towards me, taking a double take when she saw my outfit. "Guys, we're matching!"

The ghouls all approached me, trying to speak at the same time.

"Do you think anybody noticed that I fucked up at the beginning?" Mountain asked.

"I didn't," I shrugged. He nodded, seemingly content with my answer.

After a few more asks of "Did you like the show?" and "How did I do?", Copia stepped in to save me.

"Alright, ghouls, you should probably head back now, am I right?"

They all began to file out of the room, but Swiss turned around to whisper to me.

"We'll be in the study if you want to join us." He gave a quick smile and jogged to catch up with the others. Hm, maybe I will.

"I'll leave you two." Sister Imperator flicked something off of Copia's waistcoat as she left.

He gave a quick laugh, turning back towards me once the click of her heels disappeared down the hallway.

"I noticed that you sat near the back," Copia said, untying his scarf tans hanging it up with his jacket.

"Yeah," I scratched the back of my neck. "I didn't want to take space from the people who are actually here for mass I guess. I'm just kinda tagging along."

"Well, if you're still here Friday I'll have Sister save a seat for you. Friday mass is a ton of fun."

I nodded, watching him finish up putting everything away. Once he finished he locked the door, behind us.

"Would you like to take a walk with me?"

"I- sure." I stuttered.

He jerked his head towards a door on our left leading outside of the church into a garden. It was the most beautiful garden I'd ever seen, covered in flower beds and hedges. We walked for a moment, Copia walking slowly to accommodate me.

"So, satanists," he began. "Thoughts? Feelings? Concerns?"

I was shocked that he had even mentioned it. "Uh... shocked, definitely. I'm getting over it, though."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. We usually try to avoid outsiders because the common assumption is that we're human sacrificing freaks."

"You guys don't do human sacrifices, right?"

He tried to hold in his laughter, to no avail.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question-"

"No, it's ok," he wiped the tears from his eyes and caught his breath from laughing. "It's understandable. You hear it in stories, see it in the movies."

We traversed the garden, reaching the very edges of the property. Near the edge of the grounds, separated from the rest of the church was a small building that I hadn't noticed before.

"What's in there?" I asked, pointing.

He froze at the question. He quickly shook away his expression, putting on his poker face. "Oh, nothing. Just storage." he quickly changed the subject.

"It's too late for it today, of course, but if you wanted we could arrange for someone to drive you to your car tomorrow. I'd hate for you to be stuck here."

Well this is my chance, I could leave and never have to think about this again. Maybe I'll write a cheesy romance novel. Then again, I could stay. There was no reason for me to stay, of course. My ankle would have healed faster, I could get back to my job. But the reality was I'd been here for one day and I was really enjoying it. It wouldn't hurt to stay a while longer. Think of it as a vacation.

"No, that's alright. I'd hate for somebody to have to go out of their way for me. I'll just wait until my leg is healed enough and I can hike the way back to my car."

He seemed skeptical, but smiled anyway. We continued to walk, listening to the rustling of animals in the surrounding forest. I think this is gonna shape up to be the best vacation of my life.