Pipsqueak (BEING EDITED)

Chapter Four

Freya had had many sleepless nights, tossing and turning in her bed until her duvet was on the floor. The thoughts of dancing with Jonathan crept constantly over her mind and subconscious. She didn't know whether the sick feeling in her stomach was due to her being nervous or afraid. The way she saw it, was that she had no way out of the situation she'd dropped herself in.

It was the night of the disco and Freya had already finished getting ready. Her outfit consisted of a ripped, button up shirt and a dirty knee length skirt. The skirt that had come with the costume was far too short for Freya, she wouldn't ever dream of wearing someone like it. She'd ties her long hair into two buns on the side of her head. She almost passed for Princess Leia from Star Wars, but she didn't have brown hair. Martha had painted her face a manky blue with dark splodges on her skin, so she looked, well, dead.

"There we go, you look beautiful." Martha smiled.

"Mum, I'm not really supposed to look lovely, am I? I'm supposed to be a Zombie Schoolgirl." Freya explained.

"Ah, I understand, well...um...you look positively frightening?" Her mother said, the tone of her voice questioning.

Freya heard the doorbell and quickly hopped up, "That's Rose."

The colour drained from Martha's face, "I thought I said you couldn't hang around that girl. She's-she's a bad influence."

"How is she, Mum?" Freya asked, feeling defensive for her acquaintance Rose.

"It's-it's just," Martha sighed. "I've heard stories about her."

"Even Dad used to make jokes about hell Mum, I understand that hell is a bad place that I don't want to go too, she won't influence me." Freya expressed.

"No, no! Not that," Martha's voice had dropped to a hushed tone. "She's not...normal."

Freya's lips formed a soft frown, "Normal isn't a thing, Mum."

"I meant sexually." Martha steadily looked at Freya, her only child.

"What?"

"She's a lesbian," Martha whispered. She'd said 'lesbian' as if it was a disease, as if someone was talking about cancer in the middle of a cancer ward. But in Martha's eyes, it was a disease, a disease she wanted to protect her daughter from. "Being homosexual is a sin, Freya, you can't hang around with her. She's a bad influence. She's probably already pressured other girls into doing unholy acts against God, I'm begging you Freya, stay away from her."

Freya was shocked. She'd noticed the small differences in her, suggesting that her sexuality wasn't 'normal'. Like Rosie constantly saying that Freya was cute, the small nicknames, her body language. Freya stared at her mother, until the doorbell rang again.

"Look, I have to go, Mum. We'll talk about this later." Freya sighed and walked to the door and opened it.

Rosie was leaning against the doorframe, her face painted with dark rings around her blue eyes. Her skin had been sprayed a mouldy green. Her lips were bloody red, small dribbles leaving the corners of her mouth. She had a cigarette inbetween her teeth. Her shirt fitted her tightly, a few buttons had been left undone at the bottoms of the torn fabric. She was wearing the skirt that came with the costume, it was quite short but she'd took the liberty of wearing ripped tights underneath. Her hair had been spiked around her head. She looked very punk, but in a good way.

"Ready Pipsqueak?" Rosie asked.

Freya nodded and stepped out of her home and closed the door quickly. She didn't say a word about what her mum had said, she didn't feel uncomfortable, she felt intimidated. Hearing from her mother that she thought she'd pressured girls scared Freya; so, she didn't talk at all.

Rosie groaned as her phone began to ring; her ringtone was My Friends Over You by New Found Glory. Her face changed from annoyed to concerned in the matter of two seconds, she raised her phone to her ear.

"Katie?" She asked, her hands rising as she bit her fingers.

Freya couldn't hear what was said, but the girl on the phone sounded hysterical and quite young.

"Woah woah, slow down, where's dad now? The kitchen? Alright, listen to me Katie. Katie-Katie listen to me! Mum can deal with him by herself, but he's stronger then you. Shhh, I know you're scared. Baby, Katie, Katie breathe. Katie? Katie! What was that bang? No, no, get out of the house. Katie, Katie go to the woman across the road." Rosie's voice was strong and confident, Freya could see that she was supporting someone, maybe a sibling?

"Katie, no, don't go in the kitchen! Go to the house across the road and phone the police. No, no excuses, go across the road. Katie, baby, breathe. Go. Across. The. Road. Call the police." Rosie had stopped walking and grabbed Freya's wrist in a sign or her to stop too. "Are you in the house across the road? Alright good girl, now ask Mrs. Drake if she can use the phone-say please and thank you. That's it."

They waited for about five minutes, Rosie simply staring at Freya.

"Okay, are you safe now? Good, alright, I'll call tomorrow. See? Told you I'd pick up straight away, you numpty. Love you." Rosie put the phone back in her pocket and looked at Freya. "What? It was my sister, okay? Why're you looking at me like that?" Rosie raised her eyebrow.

Freya looked down.

Rosie started to walk, "You're allowed to talk to me, I don't bite, not if I've been fed." Rosie winked playfully.

Freya's stomach was summersaulting left right and centre. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She could see the school ahead; it was finally the time she'd dreaded. Time to go and mess up her friendship.