AN: Semi-based on true events that happened a little while ago...let's just say the streets of Toronto aren't very safe.
Deeper and with more meaning than my other oneshot. Feel free to ask if you have any questions/confusions. In fact, I encourage you to ask questions. I'll be happy to answer them.
-KKBS
As Mandy exited the bright, flourescent setting and entered the ebony darkness, her mind made a point of tormenting her; why was she here? What could have been?
Now outside the library where she had been studying, she remenisced on these goals of yore. Ten years ago, she would have been planning in solitude, always sticking to her cynic point of view. Not laboring over her schoolwork as she did now, and stressing over her university grades. Slowly, over the years, her work had become less effortless. Much like everything else...she was no longer as untouchable as the blonde had placed herself. And it enfuriated her to accept that she was, of course, only human.
Pulling her violet jacket closer to her body, she gave a quick glance around to see if anyone was approaching. Finding no one, she sighed, not at all surprised.
Mandy had received a call to her apartment earlier that day. This was a surprise for her, as it was rare to find anyone willing to approach her at all. A disgustingly familiar voice filled her ear as it shouted into the mouthpiece on the other end. After yelling back at him to quiet down, she attempted to continue. Through gritted teeth she had asked him what his business was, calling her right after school.
"Wanna goes to the library?"
The blonde's face scrunched up and her eyebrow cocked. She held the receiver away from her, staring at it intently. She even shook it in disbelief. The impossible had happened-Billy wanted to hit the books.
"Teacher said if I don't pull my grades waaaaaay up, I'll fail. I gots no idea what that means, just that it's bad."
She could swear she could hear him picking his nose on the other end.
"Fine. Be there at quarter to seven. And of you show up without books like the last time, I won't stick around for nearly as long."
Hanging up, Mandy mentally questioned her actions. She had agreed to meet with the slob-but why? Something lurked in the back of her mind, something that insisted on presenting itself, no matter how much she wanted to push it down. What it was, though, remained unclear. Shaking it off, the young woman had grabbed her books and headed to the door of her apartment...
And now here she stood, alone, and wondering where exactly she had gone wrong. Not only was it half past eight, but she had no mode of transportation to get back to her room, and it was already too late to walk. When planning her outing, she had settled on forcing Billy to give her a ride back in his crap-mobile. No matter how rusty and outdated it was. But none of that mattered, since she would now have to walk anyways.
It would be far more dangerous, but she had never been one to take fright so easily.
The wind rasped at her face, playing with the golden locks of her hair, and, for a breif moment, she allowed herself to imerse in the calmity of the night. This was the hour she most enjoyed; when the bustle on the streets lessened, the crowds of people overpowering the sidewalk diminished, and the soft hush of silence tasted its sweetest. Many a night she had spent like this, relaxing in the pale tranquility. Although not necessarily by herself.
"Wouldn't it be nice to grab a star and eat it, huh Mandy? As long as it was a friendly star."
"Shut up, Billy."
One face pressed against the glassy barrrier, all that seperated him from his unacheivable goal. Breathing puffs of hot steam onto the window, while the other form stood a ways away, arms crossed and eyes wandering, searching. But all they could find were innocence.
"Hey Mandy, come see the shooting star! Come on, sees it! I promise it's not a helicoptor this time, I promise I promise I promise!"
Tongue hanging out, smile absolutely begging her to oblige. A hand, reaching out towards her arm. One step away from joining him.
"Come ons!"
Her memory of him shifted, and his gleeful face was suddenly covered with shadow.
"Come on! Come! COME!"
The Billy she knew well dissappeared with a shake of her head, his entity vanished, replaced with something-something without the smile or happiness. Eyes of fiery ice burned a hole into hers, and she realized that it was not the rehead that held her in his grasp. No longer did she feel safe.
"I said come on. Come with me."
The mix of alcohol and tobacco hit her face like a wave of nausea, and she gagged on the stench. A bandana was wrapped around the stranger's head, now sticking to his already matted hair. Shaded sunglasses disallowed her to see beyond his face, into his eyes. His mask gave her little comfort.
It started to drizzle, a light froth sprinkling from the heavans. How befitting.
Hey Mandy, what's this watery stuff falling all overs the place? Did God's toilet sprunged a leak? Mine did once, and I was still sitting on it!"
"It's not a leak, you idiot-it's rain. Hurry up, or you'll get soaked."
The two of them, weaving in and out of the trees in a frantic attempt to return home; home, where it was dry and warm.
"Oh, I gets it-OOF!"
One quirky misjudgement, that was all it took. He was laying there, face stuck in the mud. She could hardly see him through the haze beginning to spread through the woods. She peered onwards, considering to simply leave him behind and spare herself. A quick glance back at the fallen form, now lifting his dirt-filled mouth from the ground. His eyes searching for her frantically, pleading that she stay.
"I-spluh-fell! Helps me!" His hand reached out to hers.
A sigh. There was no abandoning him now.
"Get up, Billy."
Her arm was around his shoulders, helping him as he scrambled to find his footing on the slippery terrain.
"We're still getting wet-so move it. Move!"
"I said MOVE!"
The brute gazed at her hungrily, his hand still gripping her slender arm. Mandy cursed her fragile body; now that she was older, she had also realized that, no matter how much she hated it, males were simply physically stronger than females. There was no way around it, for it was a cold and straightforward truth.
The blonde growled at him, spitting venom into his eyes as they rested on hers. But his mind was fogged, so her usual means of threat were useless.
A rumble in the distance-thunder. A flash-lightning. The rain began to fall more heavily.
As the light flashed in front of her eyes, she could make out the dark forms of three others, beginning to crowd around her. Now she began to feal real fear. Her heartbeat quickened; it may not have been that difficult to pull away from one drunk, but four? There was no hope of her fighting back.
She tugged fantically, eyes growing wider with each step the others took towards her. The blonde cursed herself for allowing the matter to go this far. She should have gotten away when she had the chance. Now things would be much more difficult.
"Let go of me."
The brunette guffawed, a deep, innebriated laugh.
"Or what, sweetie?"
"You'll see."
"Let's see just how far this wench'll go."
The three others decided to show their ugly, unshaven faces. Two dirty blondes were smoking cigarrettes, despite the rain. The other, dressed in a long brown trenchcoat, stepped next to his buddy.
"Hold up, there, babe. How'd you like to have a little fun?"
"C'mon, Mandy! It'll be fun!"
"There's no chance of you getting me to go through with this stupid idea. I can't believe I wasted five minutes climbing up here as it is."
They stood on the edge of the cliff, staring down at rushing water. They had known of the river for a few years now, but neither had tried to dive into it from as high up as this. It was, of course, all Billy's idea.
"There ain't not rocks at the bottom, so you won't bust up your purty face, I promise. Trust me."
He smiled at her sweetly, dislodging a few chunks of ice around her heart.
"Tells yeah what-I'll helps you."
She stepped back.
"Wait, Billy-"
Too late.
He grabbed her around her midwaist, a gentle yet firm grip. The slight push accompanying it knocked the two over the edge, into the air. His abnoxious laugh was loud enough to be heard above the rushing water, no matter how hard it pounded. At first, she despised him for it. But, in the split second before contact was made with the surface, she realized that this was actually quite...fun.
"A little fun never hurt nobody."
Her frown remained fixated, never once wavering or allowing him the opportunity to see into her mind and thoughts. His grin slowly dissapeared as she kept her cool, regardless of the situation. Instead, he hardened, unsettled by the fact that his flirting was not getting through to her.
"Whore."
She spit in his face.
"GRAHHH!!!"
He stepped back and wiped the saliva from his chin, flicking it to the ground as if it were poison. He then pulled her closer towards him again, so that her body was touching his. His tongue crept from between parralel lips, slithering out to her cheek as she stretched away from it, as far as she could.
"You're a stupid bag for doing that." He whispered.
The bandana-clad man shoved her away, into the arms of the three awaiting drunks. Mandy, however, had faster reflexes than they did.
With energy that threatened to burst from within, she began to run, not caring that her bangs filled half of her vision, or that she was chilled to the bone.
"Hey, Mandy! Wheresis you going?
A crash and bang illuminated the lanky shape, waving her over.
"Am I late? I forgot t'tell ya over the phone-I can't tell time!"
His babbling voice made her falter for a moment, slowing down just enough to try and warn him of the danger behind her.
However, she soon regretted slowing at all.
THWACK!
"MANDY!"
The beer bottle collided with her head faster than she could register, and, with a surpressed groan, her knees buckled. Rain continued to splatter around her as the four men, and the idiot, began to blur.
Billy had seen the flask connect with her skull, and, despite his stupidity, knew that something was wrong.
Through squinted eyes she could see him running towards her, eyes as wide as dinner plates and arms flailing, only to have her attackers block his way.
"You hits her! Lemme see! LEMME GOES!"
They held him back as he clawed towards her, straining against the force of all four bodies pressing him back.
"No, no no no no! You hurt her!"
He half cried, half yelled into their faces. The brunette who had originally grabbed the blonde made a quick gesture to the others, and they stepped back, allowing him to fall through their arms, onto the ground beside her.
He sobbed and craddled her head, confused and upset. The cuts around her scalp frightened him-not only because of the blood, but because he had no idea what to do about it.
The four men sneered.
"Your stupid broad is one frickin' bitch, y'now."
His salty eyes narrowed, and his brow furrowed. Billy, who could usually not understand the difference between a curse word and a digestive tract, comprehended the hurtful stament. And took it to heart.
"Don't you ever say that 'bouts Mandy!"
His sudden outrage startled the four men, even more so as he jumped from his place beside her, eyes now filled with fury as well as tears. For the first time in his life, he came out swinging, and unafraid.
The blonde's hazy vision darkened as she watched him land a punch right on one's jaw, sending him to the ground. The three others looked at their fallen comrade for a moment, then turned back to the redhead, teeth bared. They began to crowd around him, kicking and grabbing at his clothes. She struggled to keep things in focus as the banadana man stepped back and pulled out the bottle again, smashing the end of it to create a pointed weapon. Mandy wanted to scream, trying yet again to warn Billy of what was coming...but everything went black.
-GABM-
The rain blanketed everything, inclusing his opponents. Only the rush of adrenaline and occasional flash of lightning guided him, as well as the figure laying face down only a few feet away...
He wouldn't stop as long as the blonde was there. He would never let them hurt her again if he could help it.
There was a swish as something cut through the air, making contact with his forehead. He screamed and writhed in anguish as a red liquid flowed down into his eyes, partially blinding him. Billy struggled again, shoving two bodies away from him as he held his forehead. The man with shades, the one who had started it all, grinned and laughed at his misfortune, walking away and basking in the knowledge that the redhead was about to lose.
But he made a mistake; as criminals often do.
In celebration of his soon-to-be victory, the man strode over to the curb and kicked the blonde's limp form.
The tables had been turned-and the redhead, eyes blazing and fortitude renewed, tackled him...
The rain did not cease.
-GAMB-
"Poor, p-poor, Mandy..."
A light sniffing above her.
Billy.
He looked sadly at his blonde friend, who hadn't moved or uttered a sound for the last fifteen minutes.
"I-I made them go away." He sniffled, still talking to her camatose form. "I...Wadda I do, Mandy? They're gone, so you can wake up now."
There was no answer.
His red cap had been knocked off in the tussle only minutes before, a fight he had barely won. To prove his efforts, the young man now had a long gash above his right eyebrow, as well as a bruise beginning to form over his gargantuan nose. If the four men had been at the peak of their senses he surely would have lost-Billy was no stronger or smarter than any of them.
But then, he was fighting for two...and that can sometimes make you a bit stronger.
"I'm sorry..."
His face twisted into another face; a look of complete sadness. Still, she said nothing.
The redhead buried his face into her shoulder, drenching her purple jacket even further. He snuggled a few times, trying desperately to find the comfort he so often seeked from her. When that did not prove alleviating, he pulled back. Then, as suddenly as he had let go, he was hugging her. His clutch was much more forceful than it needed to be, as if thinking he could simply squeeze the life back into her. Billy whimpered again, and began to shiver.
"Please...come back..."
"Come back, Mandy! Don't go, pleases-I won't eat cat food anymore!"
"I'm giving you three seconds to detatch yourself from my ankle. 3...2..."
He opened his hands without warnin and she fell, head over heels. Surprisingly enough, she did not hit him for it. Her back still facing him, she muttered:
"You can't come with me, no matter how hard you beg. I'm going to an all-girls University. They woudn't even let you past the front doors."
"But that's what all the other universities did-and they let boys in!"
She sighed. Who would ever want to take him in, with his atrocious marks?
"If you stop your whining, maybe I can..ugh...help you find one? You haven't exactly been looking very hard."
"Yeahyeahyahyeahyeahyeah! That'd be great!"
"Fine. Now drop the subject, and get off my back."
"Get...off of me."
His head perked up the moment she uttered her command.
"Mandy! You're alive!"
"Of course I am, you idiot. Now remove yourself from me before I make you."
It was odd, how convincing she could sound while still panting on the ground, drenched in her own blood. Her eyelids were still only half open, but the shine behind them still seeped out.
Billy nodded, emitting a loud rattling sound from within his skull. She tried to get up, wincing as pain shot through every inch of her body. Again she struggled, but this time found things easier. Looking behind, she could see why.
"I gots ya, Mandy."
He said softly, as his hands found their way under her shoulders, lifting her up. And she did not push them away.
"Ehhh, are you sure you're okay?"
"Shut up, Billy."
Not wanting to waste any time she limped back towards the library, where she could be sure there was a phone. It was unbelievable, how close they had come to getting in trouble, such a short distance from a place where they could find help. At least now they could call someone...the police, an ambulance, anyone. It was a releiving thought.
The rain was still pouring, and the two tired, wet individuals wanted nothing more than to go home; home, where it was warm and dry.
End.