Short Story: Dethroned

  I could still hear the clamor of the party in the distance, even though I had walked a good distance away by now.
  With my shoes in hand, and my party dress now wrinkled and slightly ripped, I hobbled my way through the night, making sure to take a route through the neighborhood that housed the elderly couples, so I wouldn't be seen by any adults driving home.
  I didn't want to be seen by anyone. I didn't feel worthy of being looked at. When I left home earlier today, I felt like I was on top of the world, and I was. Now, I couldn't imagine ever being lower than how I currently feel.

(*Flashback*)

  I emerged in the house with my group of "friends", and the clusters of people that was already there cheered. Everyone was trying to speak with me; I was getting compliments about my hair, questions on where I bought my low-cut dress, and snide sexual remarks from the guys. I also heard the audible negative chatter from the crowd: "The slut has arrived."; "Of course, she couldn't have worn a shorter dress."; "Let's see how many dicks she'll fit in her mouth this time."
  However, I ignored all the comments, whether they were negative or positive. Contrary to popular belief, I was actually still a virgin, and never even had a boyfriend. But, as I had learned, such rumors came with the territory, and there would never be anything I could do to stop it. By now, it was just second nature to disregard everything people said about me.
  I navigated through the house and met up with the other girls in the kitchen. We exchanged our popular greeting with each other--"Wuddup, BITCH"--and kissed each other on the cheeks.
  One of the girls handed me a cup. "Drink up, you're not gonna wanna remember this one," she slurred to me with a giggle.
  Of course, there has to be alcohol here, I thought. I wasn't really much of a drinker, really, but it's not like I could turn down the drink; I had an image to keep up. So I plastered on my oh-so-common fake smile and sipped from the cup, just slightly, though.
  The owner of the house approached me.
  "So, uh, you were able to make it out?" he said to me slowly. I could tell that he had ingested some form of marijuana already tonight.
  "Yeah, great party," I replied.
  "You, uh, you know my friend Kevin, right."
  He jerked his head over his shoulder towards the guy behind him. I was pretty sure it wasn't a question, but I looked at the guy and said, "Uh, yeah, I've seen him around."
  "So, uh, what do you think of him, you know?"
  I still had my plastic smile on. "He's cute."
  I assumed he was satisfied with this answer, because he then walked off. Kevin made eye contact with me, before following him.
  Everyone that walked by said something to us, with the females trying to replicate our persona, and the males trying to get our attention (although theirs remained below our waists).
  I was used to these situations, so I just blocked them out, as usual. I wasn't even drunk, but everything was basically a haze. I did notice one girl who was resting in the corner, sitting next to the snack table. I looked at her a little closer, and realized I recognized her. My mother and her mother worked in the same field together, and were well acquainted. She caught me looking at her, which I turned away from her and let out a false laugh at the conversation that was going on around me.
  A pang of guilt hit me in the stomach. Not only are our mothers friends, but we also used to be fairly close. It was upon our entrance to high school that we parted ways--I started wearing make-up and push-up bras, and associating with the upperclassmen, while she stayed close with our orchestra buddies, and still wore her hair in ponytails. What made it even worse it that numerous times, I had openly bashed her, along with many other people I used to associate with.
  I stole another look at her. She was still looking at me, so this time, I didn't bother to look away. She was wearing a simple fashion top, a pencil skirt and a pair of flats, with her hair straightened and let down to cover her shoulders. I was actually surprised to see her look like that, because it had been such a long time since I could bring myself to take a good look at her. At this point, we were still looking at each other, so I figured I should say something to her. I snuck away from the group I was standing with, and took the seat next to her.
  "Hey," I said to her uneasily.
  To my surprise, she looked at me warmly, and said, "Hey." I wasn't expecting her to be so friendly to me, considering all that happened between us the past couple of years.
  But there was also concern in her eyes. "How have you been?" she asked in a low voice.
  It was obvious what she was talking about, but I maintained my plastic smile. "Yeah, of course! I've been fine! You look so good!"
  She didn't return the compliment. She looked down at the cup I was holding. "Should you really be drinking that stuff?"
  Again, I let out a fake laugh. "Oh, it's nothing, really." We both knew this to be a lie.
  Bethany put her hand on my bare leg. "Nicole, if you ever need to talk about things with someone..." She let her voice trail off.
  At that moment, a girl I was slightly acquainted with pulled me up by the arm and said, "Come on Nicole, you haven't even been upstairs yet!"
  As I was being pulled away, I took another look back at Bethany. She was still sitting there, with an unsettling expression on her face. But she said nothing, and I was led away from the kitchen to the second level of the house.
  The hallways were filled with hazy smoke, that reeked of burning paper and water. When I turned around, the girl who I had arrived upstairs with had disappeared. There were people leaning along the walls all the way down the length of the hall, which I had to squeeze past. As I got further down the hall, there were more couples lining the walls, exploring each others body cavities. I peered into a door stationed on the left of the hall, where the smoke was pouring out from. The fog was thick, but I could vaguely make out numerous figures surrounding a table, and more bodies along the walls and on the furniture.
  I could feel myself getting lightheaded from the haze so I turned away and continued down the hallway. I turned left, and, just where the hallway was ending, I spotted another door cracked open. Without hesitating I rushed into it.
  It opened up to a small room: too small to be a bedroom, yet too big to be a closet. There was a couch and a coffee table, with a small candle lit on it. I was amazed to see that no bodies were horizontally positioned on the couch, and took a seat. My eyes still burned from the smoke, so I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
  The next thing I knew, I felt an arm wrap around my waist and draw me towards the center of the couch. I opened my eyes with a startle, and before I could say anything, a pair of lips collided into mine.
  I jumped away, but the arm pulled me back in towards the person.
  "Where you going," a male voice said. He planted his lips on mine again.
  I placed my hands on his chest, pushing him away.
  "What do you think you're doing?" I croaked. "Get off--"
  "Come on, you know you want to."
  Then he slipped a hand up my dress. I tried to scream, but it came out as a cracked yelp.
  "I said no," I whispered again, pushing him away harder. He then grabbed my wrists, and moved his hand towards my crotch.
  "Just relax," he said smoothly as he pushed my body backwards onto the couch and laid on top of me.
  At this point, I was paralyzed with fear. He had let go of my hands, but I couldn't move them.
  I then heard metal clinking--like un-doing a belt.
  His other hand was still under my dress, and by now he had pulled my thong down around my thighs.
  "I-I'll scream, I swear," was all I could say in a hoarse voice.
  He snickered and said, "Go ahead. Because everyone will believe what the school whore has to say." He leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "You've been asking for this all night, so shut up and take it."
  The events after that are slightly blurry. I made no noise; I felt nothing. I could hear his grunting the entire time, and felt his heartbeat against my chest.
  It was as if my own heartbeat, however, had disappeared.
  When it was over, all I could do was lay there. I was staring at the ceiling the whole time.
  Before he departed, he stood above me holding a condom.
  "You're welcome," he said, dropping it onto my chest.
  With that, he left the room.
  In that moment where he stood over me, I saw his face for the first time.
  Although the candle flickered back and forth and the light only danced across his face briefly, I was able to immediately identify my attacker.
  It was Kevin.

(*End Flashback*)

  My limbs were still numb with disbelief, but the area between my legs had now began to sting with pain. I stopped at the corner of the street, and slumped down next to the stop sign, grasping onto the base of its metal post.
  Because everyone will believe what the school whore has to say.
  You've been asking for this all night.
  Shut up and take it.
  I kept replaying these words of his in my head. I couldn't tell if he was right...had I been asking to be raped?
  A car pulled up and stopped on the curb next to me. I merely slouched down closer to the ground in an attempt to not be seen.
  When I felt a hand touch my shoulder is when I jumped, and shrieked.
  But I turned to find Bethany's warm eyes looking down at me. "Shh, shh, it's okay. It's just me. No one else."
  At the sight of her warmth, and her kindness, I immediately burst into sobs.
  She sat down next to me and let my head fall into her chest.
  "He-he...he..." was I could say in between sobs.
  But she didn't say anything. She just sat there with me, in the coolness of the night, rocking me back and forth as I cried about the events of the night.