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“No, thanks,” I replied, shutting my locker.
I froze as his hand smoothed down my back, coming to rest right above my ass.
“You sure?” I could feel his breath against the back of my neck as he leaned in. “It’ll be fun.”
“I’m sure,” I said firmly, scooting around him.
“Hey, where you goin’?” he asked, his hand reaching out to grip my ponytail. The hold was light enough that it didn’t hurt, but firm enough to scare me shitless.
“I need to get home,” I said, not making eye contact.
I’d learned over the last year that eye contact just made them bolder. It was like the moment I looked them in the face, they took it as a challenge. I fisted my hands in the straps of my backpack to keep them from shaking, sure at any moment that things would escalate.
“Nah, you don’t need to get home yet,” he said. “Come hang out with us.”
“We’re closin’ up the school,” the janitor said as she came out of a classroom. “You all need to head out.”
“We’re going,” another one of the group said as the boys snickered.
“Then go,” the janitor ordered.
I stayed in place until the boys had moved further down the hall and banged open the front door, then jostled and pushed each other through it.
“Thanks,” I said, looking over at the janitor. Her name was Marie and I’d seen her around, but we’d never had an actual conversation before.
“You give me a minute and I’ll walk you out,” she replied, watching the boys go. “You got a ride home?”
“I drove,” I said, walking with her as she put away her vacuum in a closet.
“I’ll walk you to your car then,” she said, glancing at me. “I might be small, but boys like that don’t mess with old ladies like me.”
“Lucky,” I murmured.
“They’re little shits,” she said, surprising me. “Every school has ’em, going back to the beginning of time.”
I nodded.
“You be careful,” she said.
That night, I had Rose cut my hair to my chin. It didn’t change anything, really. The harassment didn’t stop until I’d graduated and didn’t have to encounter any of them at school anymore. But no one ever grabbed me by the ponytail again.
I gasped as I woke up. My first thought was that I needed to go for a run, the second was that I had a very large, very concerned Draco in my bed, and we were naked.
“You alright?” he asked, brushing away the hair that had gotten tangled around my face. “You had a nightmare.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said with a grunt. I relaxed into his body, even though every molecule in mine was urging me to get up and get dressed. “I’m okay.”
“You get those a lot?” He was looking at me intently and I hoped he couldn’t tell I was lying my ass off when I answered.
“Not really,” I said with a shrug. “Every once in a while.”
“I get ’em, too,” he confessed with an embarrassed smile. “What are yours about?”
“They’re generic,” I replied, keeping the lie as close to the truth as I could. “You know, someone’s chasing me or whatever. Sometimes it’s just pitch black and I’m in a room and I can’t find a door.”
A month later, I’d been locked in that same janitor’s closet until Marie let me out. After that, she’d always left the light on inside.
“What are yours about?” I asked quietly.
I felt like shit when he answered.
“Memories mostly,” he said. “My friend I told you guys about—Bishop? He got beat real bad when he first showed up. I stepped in, but he was pretty messed up before I ended it. I relive that sometimes.”
“Oh,” I said softly.
“It doesn’t happen a lot,” he said, giving me a squeeze. “Just once in a while.”
“I can hear you two talking,” Charlie called from outside the door, startling me. “You awake?”
“Do you think if we don’t answer, she’ll leave?” Draco whispered.
“Not likely,” I whispered back.
“I can still hear you,” Charlie called. “We’ve got dinner at my sister’s house, remember? Get up and put some clothes on!”
“How do you know we don’t have clothes on?” I called back.
Charlie turned the handle on the door and pushed it open an inch.
“Shut the door!” me and Draco yelled at the same time.
“Knew it,” Charlie said, slamming the door closed again. “Get dressed, lovebirds.”
“You want to go over to Lily’s with us?” I asked, sitting up in bed. I stretched my arms above my head. Even with the nightmare, I felt completely rested. I’d needed the nap.
“Yeah, I’ll go with ya,” Draco said, leaning back, his arms crossed behind his head.
“Are you going to get dressed?” I asked as I stood and reached for my clothes.
“Just enjoying the show first,” he teased.
I grinned as I pulled on my underwear. “You know, with you laying like that, I want to tickle you so bad.”
