A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time and energy to read this story. I'm getting into territory that makes me feel extremely uncomfortable (I still partially blame myself for the entire situation), so we'll see how this chapter goes. The next couple of ones might be difficult for me to write, but hopefully they end up sounding okay to all of you. Anyhow, the only difference between this chapter and reality (as I saw it), is the fact that two male detectives visited me, neither of which were from SVU. I would have loved an Olivia-like detective, but it wasn't meant to be. Again, I'm sorry for any SVU or court errors that I make; the only thing I can say is that this is what things were like for me. All names have been changed to protect those involved.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Law and Order: SVU. That honor goes to the good folks over at NBC.
Spoilers: None.
Summary: An eleventh grader is sexually assaulted at school. Will Olivia, Alex, and the rest of the gang be able to help her cope?
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Present, Alex and Olivia
"I just don't get it," I mumbled, once again leaning back on the park bench. Running my fingers through my now completely drenched hair, I frowned. "Why do people hurt each other? Why do people go out of their way to screw with other people?"
"I don't know, Liv," Alex gently replied. "But they do, and the only thing that we can do is do our jobs so that it doesn't happen again."
"But it does happen again," I stubbornly told her. "And again, and again… it just never stops. The crime never stops. Doesn't this city ever sleep?"
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Lakewood High School, forty-six hours prior
"I don't think I can do this," Julia whispered to Mrs. Simon, hunkered down at one end of the couch, propped against the office's wall. "I really don't think I can do this," she repeated, staring at a beanie baby on one of the shelves as if it could magically protect her. Even if it wasn't magical, the eleventh grader used the beanie baby as a focal point, which somehow helped her remain grounded in the present.
"Of course you can," Mrs. Simon kindly smiled. "I know that you're scared, but it'll be okay. You just have to take deep breaths to get through this."
"I know," Julia nodded her understanding. "But the police are coming. Maybe I made a mistake, and maybe I asked for it to happen to me because I didn't do much to stop it," she mumbled, staring down at her hands. "I should have donesomething else. What's wrong with me? Why didn't I just do something? Anything?"
"Let me ask you this," Mrs. Simon pulled her chair closer to the couch, moving so that Julia was forced to look at her. She still had no idea what had actually taken place on the bus, but she was pretty sure that something bad had happened. "Did you tell him to stop?" Julia nodded yes. "Did he stop?" Julia shook her head no. "Then you've done nothing wrong, and he is to blame for everything."
"What if the police don't believe me, though?" Julia swallowed, wringing her hands as she again stared at the beanie baby for support. "What if they tell me that it was my fault?" She felt jittery, and again found it difficult to remain sitting in one place.
"They won't," Mrs. Simon gently told the girl, standing up when she heard a knock at the door. "That's probably them," she murmured, poking her head outside. Softly speaking to someone, she stepped aside, letting two detectives walk past her.
"Hi, Julia," the first detective gazed at the student, holding out her hand. "My name is Olivia, and this is my partner, Elliot."
"Hi," Julia mumbled back, shaking the hands of both detectives. Despite being scared, she maintained her politeness. It just wasn't every day that she was asked to talk to a detective, and about something so personal? She wasn't happy, and she was starting to feel sick to her stomach.
"How are you feeling?" Elliot waited for Mrs. Simon and Olivia to take their seats before also sitting down.
"Fine, I guess," Julia replied, afraid to make eye contact with the three adults. She felt flushed, and she couldn't help but notice that her palms were incredibly sweaty. And it was loud; the silence in the room was absolutely deafening!
Olivia glanced at Elliot for a moment, clearing her throat. "We got a call that something happened yesterday after school," she softly spoke up, leaning toward Julia. "Can you tell us what happened?"
"Yes," Julia whispered, knowing that when a detective asked you a question, you had to answer it. "I mean no," she mumbled.
"Why not?" Elliot softly inquired.
Julia shrugged, staring down at the floor in embarrassment. "I'm not good at talking about this stuff, and I don't know what to say." There was also something else that had been bothering her… something that she didn't plan on telling anyone else. Julia did not perceive herself to be attractive, and she half wondered if the police would actually believe that a varsity football player would hit on an over-weight, self-conscious, glasses-wearing girl.
"Julia," Olivia scooted her chair closer to the eleventh grader. "I really want to help you, so I need you to trust me enough to tell me what happened. I've heard it all before, okay? Nothing you say will surprise me."
"Okay," Julia swallowed, her face bright red and warm. Keeping her eyes riveted to the beanie baby on Mrs. Simon's shelf, she slowly exhaled, and then took a deep breath. Gratefully smiling when the school psychologist actually handed her Hoot, the beanie baby, she again glanced up at Olivia for the briefest of moments. "Okay," she quietly repeated.
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Lakewood High School, Wednesday after school
"Hey, Julia," Mark smiled at her as he leaned against the school's outside wall. Although he and Julia were not friends, they had known each other since elementary school.
"Hey, Mark," Julia replied, setting her bag down on the ground. "Where's the bus?" she asked, taking a look at her watch. It was already three-thirty, and the bus had been scheduled to pick them up at three-fifteen.
"Not sure," he shrugged, tossing a football to one of his teammates. "What are you still doing here?" he wanted to know. "I didn't think anyone stayed after school on a Wednesday."
"Chess club," Julia wryly smiled. Although every teacher had a school-wide faculty meeting on Wednesdays, the chess club advisor was not a faculty member, and thus scheduled practices on that day. "What about you?"
Mark grinned, catching a pass from his teammate. "Just hanging out. Long time no see," he then added.
"Yep," Julia agreed, glancing back into the school. She couldn't believe how deserted the hallways were; not even the custodians were around. It was actually a little bit eerie, she thought, seeing the school without people running up and down the corridors.
"So are you seeing anyone?" Mark suddenly asked, switching gears.
"Uh, nope," Julia uncomfortably replied. She couldn't help but wonder who would want to date someone like her.
"Too bad. We should have gone out, you know," Mark smirked.
Julia couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, when did you write me those love letters again? Third grade?"
Mark shrugged. "There's no one around, you know," he winked. "We could do some loving right now, if you know what I mean."
It was true, the area was clearly deserted. Glancing around, Julia noted that even his friend had left. "Except the bus should be here at any moment," she pointed out. It was now 3:45, making the bus thirty minutes late.
"Well we have time, you know, if you wanted to give me a—" he pointed to the bulge in his pants.
Julia laughed in embarrassment, and took a huge step away from Mark. "Not interested, sorry," she uncomfortably but firmly told him.
"Sure you are!" he murmured, following her. "There's no one around," he repeated. "Who would notice?"
"Someone could walk by at any moment," Julia replied, turning around and heading back into the school. Really, where was everyone? No one was around.
"Not if we go in the stairwell," Mark persisted, following her back into the school. "Seriously, there's no one around. I bet you could give me a great blow job," he chuckled. "You're smart; you know how to do things."
"Not interested," Julia repeated, darting into the tenth grade office to see if she could find out where the bus was. Not finding anyone around, she frowned, heading back outside. They were approaching four o'clock, and she was seriously considering just walking the ten miles home. "No," she repeated when Mark again approached her.
"C'mon, what are you so afraid of?" he grinned. "It's just a little blow job. I bet you'd love it. Blow jobs are a normal part of life," he informed her, his hand hovering above his zipper. "And they feel fantastic. What do you say?"
"I said no," Julia firmly repeated, once again taking a step away from him, sighing in relief when she spotted the bus coming down the school's driveway.
"Well you don't know what you're missing out on," Mark wrapped an arm around Julia's shoulder, holding her close.
Julia easily sidestepped out of his embrace, heading toward the bus. "The answer is still no," she mumbled.
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Lakewood High School, forty-five hours prior (school psychologist's office)
Back in the school psychologist's office, Julia took a deep, shaky breath. She wasn't even half way through her story yet, and she felt emotionally drained. Poor Hoot's beanie baby tag was nearly ripped off, and she herself was starting to feel disoriented.
"So you said 'no' a bunch of times?" Olivia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yeah," Julia bobbed her head in the affirmative, uncomfortably shifting in her chair.
"Let me honest with you, honey," Olivia murmured. "You only had to say no to him once; once should have been enough."
"I know, but I still should have done more," Julia swallowed, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. "You know, like walked home, or found the principal, or—" she trailed off. "Something. But no, I got on the bus."
"Did he continue to bother you on the bus?" Olivia gently asked.
Julia sniffled, trying her best to forget the bus ride home. It really wasn't one of her more favorite memories.
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TO BE CONTINUED