#683 words

I... I had a bruise on my neck.

I had a bruise on my neck, because someone had loved the noises I made and said he'd continue doing what he did until I did it again.

And... sucking on my neck... was a part of that. It... had been quite a few noises and I hadn't thought that clearly. Not... entirely concentrated. And now I had a bruise on my neck.

Beginning- Heather

The first time I saw Evangeline, it was like the world stood still for a moment. I was fussing around with things in my locker when I looked up and there she was.

She was standing in the middle of the school hallway, holding on to her books with white knuckles, looking around. She seemed confused, maybe lost. Her blonde hair curled delicately around her shoulders, leaving little over an inch to lay over her sky blue dress.

Then the world resumed, and the hustle and the bustle of the hallway knocked her around, and she was rushed down the hall and out of sight.

I probably would have stood there, spellbound, for a short eternity had my tormenters not arrived.

“Heather!” Isaac shouted as he slammed my locker shut. I barely got my hand away from it in time. “How was your summer? Relaxing? Did you molest any small children, or is that passé?”

He didn’t really merit a response, so I went back to dialing my locker’s combination like a good girl. I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t punch him. Again. He grabbed my wrist and pinned me against the lockers. “You come back to school, day one, wearing that? Do you want to be talked to, or are you just stupid?”

I glanced down. Shit, I probably should have paid attention to what I pulled on. Today was not the best day to wear my “Legalize Gay” shirt. Isaac and his goons always got worse when I flaunted my ‘sinful ways’.

“Come on, Heather, you’ve got to talk to me sometime, this silent treatment hurts my feelings. I did a little bit of research this summer, and guess what? Your name comes from the word ‘heathen’, which really makes sense with your lifestyle. A word to the wise- don’t walk outside during a thunderstorm, you’ll probably get smited…” Isaac droned on and on.

I tune him out, usually, but it’s still not fun, being pinned against the lockers with your arm twisted at a funny angle and some homophobe Bible-banging on.

Isaac caught on pretty quick that I wasn’t actually listening. He pulled me back and shoved me against the lockers, hard. “Listen when I talk to you, filthy fa-“

“Hey,” a soft voice said from behind him. “Leave her alone.”

The owner of the voice stepped out from behind Isaac, and it was Evangeline, though I didn’t know her then. I just recognized her as the beautiful girl I saw earlier.

Isaac let go of me, thank God, and turned to her. “Are you like her then? Another filthy little fag running around? Is it a lesbian invasion?”

“So what if I am like her? It doesn’t make what you’re doing any less wrong. So back off unless you want me to go find a security officer or something,” she said. Even though her voice was quiet and high, it was forceful.

I was scared for her- she stood a good six inches shorter than Isaac, and he probably had at least a hundred pounds on her. I should’ve been, he punched her in the jaw pretty hard.

I swore under my breath and pulled her behind me. “Leave us alone. I’ll deck you again if I have to, and this time I’ll cuss out the principal until you get at least suspended.”

Isaac smirked. “I’m not afraid of you.” He shoved me into her into the lockers and strutted off.

I managed to stay standing, but the girl behind me had fallen to the ground. I offered her my hand, saying, “Sorry about him. Whenever he thinks I’m shoving my sinful lifestyle in his face he takes it upon himself to straighten me out. I’m Heather, by the way. I’m a sophomore here.”

She took my hand and got to her feet. “I’m Evangeline. I’m a sophomore too, but this is my first year here.”

“I’d be more than happy to show you around.”