hometown glory - wroetoshaw [✓]

SIX

[eleventh of october 2019]

ON TWO SOFAS AROUND A COFFEE TABLE littered with mugs and biscuits, sat 5 friends. their usual bright and bubbly faces were more solemn and serious. as young women they all knew of someone who had been assaulted, as did most women their age. it was a disturbing reality that they lived in and they had accepted that things wouldn't change, they adapted to this frightening narrative that it was the victims fault for wearing a skirt 'too short' or a top 'too revealing', because that was what they were taught to do. 

apollo described it as a blessing in disguise, "if this hadn't of happened to me, i wouldn't be wanting to make this change. and it feels bad to say it but i will hold my hands up and say i didn't give enough attention to sexual assault and stopping abusers from abusing rather than just covering myself up to become less of a target."
she paused for a breath while her friends all gave her a half smile, just taking in what she had to say. "i mean my boobs weren't out, my dress was a bodycon sure - but it came down to above my knee and i was fully covered. my outfit wasn't 'revealing' but he still saw me as a target and that woke me up a bit, i don't know what i can do but i need to do something to share my views and experience because i can't stand the thought of another girl feeling the way i did." 

she was letting her raw emotions come through and she her eyes were glossing over, causing leigh and cherry who were both sat next to her to put a comforting hand on her knee. "i think i'm going to start a blog, it might not get anywhere but if someone sees it and decides to speak up about this - about how it isn't right for us to be sexualised for some lumps of fat on a chest that we can't control - and it does something right then i'll feel like i've won." 

an overwhelming outpour of love and support was directed at apollo, as all of her friends urged her to do so as an outlet to get her thoughts out of her head was a way to stop it from holding her back.
she thanked them for their support and they continued to sit in her living room. chatting about other things such as the boy leigh took home after her birthday party, the apartment that cherry was putting a deposit down on and the most recent present dinah got from her boyfriend which was a big one to say the least. 

after another short while cherry piped up with a question, "so this knight in shining armour, was he fit?" the girls let out those long breathy laughs as they watched apollos face as she was deep in thought. there was no doubting that he was attractive, but does she think he was fit in the way cherry was insinuating - probably not. 
"he was definitely good looking, but he gave off more like overprotective big brother vibes rather than date material vibes if you get me." she would've been a bit taken aback if he jumped straight into fake dating her when she was being stalked by a random man, so she assumed it was more of a friend/sibling thing and she hoped he hadn't misread the situation. 
it caused dinah to laugh before making a porn joke which again sent them into fits of laughter. 
"but it would be a bit weird if i moved to him after the way we first met, i think i'll only see him once more to take his clothes back and then we'll be done." she crossed her legs and leant back, sort of content with that being the end of their short lived friendship. 

leigh completely ignored everything else she said before going into full gossip mode, "taking his clothes back? did you get a bit frisky then?" she questioned with an exaggerated wink, causing apollo to let out an eye roll. 
"no, i was freezing, tried and sweaty so he just gave me some joggers and a hoodie and let me get changed into his bathroom, then he dropped me home and that was that." she smiled and hoped they got the hint to change the subject, but it was just her luck they didn't.

"also you never said anything about him dropping you home? did you get a little goodnight kiss on the lips." cherry teased, making kissy noises at her, silently hoping she was distracting apollo from all the bad things that happened and was making her feel 'normal' like she told them harry did previously. 
apollo sighed and stared at her, "there was no 'kissing on the lips' or kissing at all, we literally said goodnight, i waved at him from the doorstep and he drove off to his house - which was really nice by the way can we talk about his house oh my god!" she went off on a tangent and the girls let her, she didn't miss a single detail about the view of the shard and the skyscrapers in north london, such as the gherkin and the walkie talkie, that were visible from his bedroom window. the way her eyes lit up while talking about her city, made the other girls heart swell as they were happy their best friend was nearly back to normal. or as normal as she could be.