a/n: This chapter contains attempted sexual assault, so consider yourself warned!
Tonight was the night.
Aurora stood in the middle of her living room, staring around at the set up she'd done for the party. It wasn't her best work, to be sure, but it would do. It's not like anyone would care about the décor anyway – everyone was pretty much coming for the booze and the dancing.
To be fair, that was all Aurora was there for as well.
When the thud of an EDM track started blaring through the house, Aurora jumped. She shot a glare at Jasmine, who was busy by the sound system. "A bit of warning, next time?"
"Sorry, sorry," Jasmine replied as she hurriedly turned down the volume. "Didn't realise it would be so loud."
Aurora rolled her eyes. She'd invited Jasmine and Hans over early to help her set up, as per usual. Not only that, but it was good to have more than one person around when the first guest arrived. Made it look less pathetic.
Hans appeared from the kitchen wielding two bottles of whiskey. "Think we should break these out later?"
"No, let's start with them," Aurora replied, snatching one of the bottles from Hans' hands and making her way over to the glasses cabinet. As she poured the whiskey into three shot glasses, she didn't notice Jasmine and Hans exchanging a frown.
Rising from her crouched position, Jasmine asked: "Won't your aunts be mad if you drink that?"
Handing around the glasses, Aurora shook her head. "I'll just fill it back up with cheap stuff, they'll never know."
Shrugging, Jasmine and Hans joined Aurora in downing the shots. Shaking her head, Aurora cracked a wicked smile and turned the music back up.
To say the party was a success would be an understatement. Although not everyone she'd invited hadn't turned up, the place was still packed. So much so that there were people spilling out into the garden. Aurora smiled as she oversaw the event, checking out some of her more esteemed guests.
There were Snow and her crew, which was great given their popularity. Although they'd brought that Phillip weirdo, who Aurora specifically membered blowing off. Pretty much the entirety of year 12 was there, and a few year 11s who managed not to ruin everything with their immaturity. Of course, Gaston was there, but mostly just to show everyone that Aurora was not single thank you very much.
Not that she'd seen him more than once that evening, but that didn't matter. So long as he was there and telling people they were dating, all was well.
Jasmine sauntered up to the couch, collapsing beside Aurora. "This totally rocks."
"Jasmine, you're wasted," Hans said, taking a sip from a beer bottle. "No one's said 'totally' since the 90s."
"Tooootally," Jasmine slurred, then burst into a fit of giggles.
"Ugh, she needs to learn how to hold her liquor," Aurora scoffed. As Hans nodded, Aurora realised that she hadn't had anything to drink since those first whiskey shots. Quite frankly, she needed a bit more alcohol in her system.
Telling Hans to save her seat, she got up and headed for the kitchen. On her way, she couldn't help but notice Charlotte and Naveen getting really handsy with each other against the wall. Rolling her eyes, she made her way over to them, clearing her throat to get their attention.
"What is it, sugar?" Charlotte asked through hiccoughs and giggles.
"This house has thirty-five rooms. Get one."
Having said her piece, Aurora turned on her heel and carried on towards the kitchen. She didn't have any issue with couples making out in her house – hell, there was a couple going at it on the living room floor. But Naveen and Charlotte were just so… sloppy. It made Aurora feel like puking.
Arriving at the fridge, Aurora yanked it open and pulled out an ice-cold beer. Taking a moment to appreciate the cool air from the freezer, she didn't notice the kitchen door closing before it was too late. Whirling around, she frowned at the sight of Gaston leaning against the wooden door.
"What are you doing?" she asked, twisting the cap off her beer.
Gaston sauntered towards her. "Just getting some quality time with my gf."
She sighed. "Gaston, you know that's just for show, right?"
He rested his hand on the counter, trapping Aurora by the fridge. "Yeah, but I think I deserve a bit of payment for my services."
When he raised his meaty hand to caress her cheek, Aurora slapped him away. "Get off me, you creep!"
But he grabbed her wrist, and Aurora let out a little shriek as he pinned it against the freezer. There was nothing that made Aurora more uncomfortable than physical contact, especially when said contact was non-consensual. She tried to worm her way out of his grasp, but he was far stronger than her. Taking a deep breath, Aurora tried to speak with as level a tone as she could.
"Gaston, please let me go."
But he only grabbed her other wrist, making her drop her beer in the process. As the glass shattered on the linoleum, Gaston planted his lips on hers in the sloppiest, wettest kiss she'd ever had. Aurora kicked at his shins, tried to pull her head away, but she couldn't. The moment he ended the kiss, Aurora cried out.
"What the hell! Let go of me!"
In response, he slapped his hand over her mouth, silencing her. Aurora's eyes went wide as his mouth broke into a sneering grin, and they began to water as he shoved his free hand up her skirt. Squeezing her eyes shut and whimpering, Aurora only hoped he'd be quick.
But then suddenly he let go of her. A rush of air expelled from her mouth, and she hadn't realised she'd been holding her breath for so long. Sliding down to the floor, it was only then that she noticed there was someone else in the room. Whoever they were, they must have said something, because Gaston was retaliating.
"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"
She couldn't see who her rescuer was from being behind Gaston's bulk, but they'd given her the chance to escape. But when she tried to move, she couldn't – her legs were like jelly.
Gaston laughed as her rescuer threw a punch, and he caught them by the wrist. Ok, now Aurora could tell it was a guy, so that was something. Gaston grabbed his wrist and then flung his own fist into the guy's face. It connected with a crack, and Aurora winced at the sickening sound.
Outside, the noise seemed to die down as people came to see what was going on. Although the guy was well intentioned, he was no match for Gaston's strength. He got a second punch in, sending the guy stumbling backwards. A third hit sent him careening backwards, and Aurora let out a shriek as he fell back and cracked his head against the corner of the counter.
She couldn't watch any longer – she had to get out of there. Legs feeling stronger, Aurora scrambled out before Gaston could notice her escape, and she stumbled out of the kitchen straight into Jasmine's arms. Before she could even think of what to say, she burst into an uncontrollable fit of sobbing.
"Oh my god, Aurora, what happened?" Jasmine asked, apparently having sobered up a little since she last saw her.
Between sobs, Aurora managed to speak. "He… he… Oh god, he was touching me…"
Jasmine pulled her into a tight hug. Though she hated physical contact, she didn't mind it so much if it was Jasmine or Hans. They were her closest friends, and they'd been through some tough stuff together. Now was no exception.
Speaking of Hans, he looked as though he was seeing red. "Do you want me to punch him? Because I really want to punch him."
"No, no," Aurora shook her head. "You'd end up like…" She faltered as she remembered her unidentified rescuer, who by the sounds of it was still getting his butt kicked by Gaston.
She turned away from Jasmine to look back into the kitchen, but there was such a crowd surrounding the doorway that she couldn't see past it. They were just watching, not doing a thing to help… It made Aurora feel sick to her stomach.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Florian and Henri pushed past her group and then through the crowds, hopefully, to break them up. She breathed a sigh of relief, then looked back to her friends.
"Did – did you guys see who went in after me?"
Jasmine and Hans both shook their heads. "No. We only heard something was going on when people started yelling about it," Jasmine explained.
Aurora looked back to the kitchen, furrowing her brow. It seemed the fight had ended – Henri was only just holding Gaston back. But she still couldn't see who her rescuer was.
Gritting her teeth, Aurora resolved she'd find out who he was no matter what stood in her way.