Show a bitch her place

The next morning I woke up with a sense of dread and promise. I looked out my window with a sick anticipation that the golden-eyed cupid would steal me away and force me into a situation that would reek of sexual harassment.

The dread followed me all the way to lunch with my bestfriend, Penelope. She was a little eccentric, like me, so she would have understood if I suddenly barfed out that some whack job who may or may not be cupid was planning to set me up with some other whack job.

But I couldn't do that to her. Especially with a nice meal in front of us. So I opted to stay silent and deal with the issue like many of my favorite heroes like Rebecca from confessions of a shopaholic and Ella from Ella Enchanted. Maybe I shouldn't group Ella in that? I mean, the poor girl didn't usually have a choice besides to stay silent.

So here I was, pouting as I contemplated whether or not to tell my childhood bestfriend about the events of last night.

Before I could decide though, the ginger had her phone shoved in my face with some sort of app on the appstore opened.

"New dating app on the market!" She gushed. "Heard it's new, better! It's called Arrow!"

"Arrow?" I questioned with a tilt of my head.

Penelope nodded her head rapidly. "It's the biggest dating app since Tinder! Check it."

The giddy blonde waved her phone so close to my face that the words on the bright screen were getting mixed up. With a scowl and a squint, I snatched the phone from her hands and ignored her surprised 'hey!' as I read the description for the app.

Arrow: The matchmaking app that always hits the target!

Find love that hits just the right spot! Cupid's got nothing on us! This innovative new dating app uses a unique matching algorithm designed to help you connect with people who align with your interests, values, and relationship goals. Whether you're looking for the ONE or the one night stand, Arrow ensures every match hits the bullseye. So what are you waiting for? Draw back your arrow and watch as love hits the target!

I scoffed as I read the description, shaking my head as I handed Penelope's phone back with a toss. She shrieked as her phone hopped around on her hand before firmly grasping it, throwing my an annoyed glare.

"It's marketing," I said with a sigh, shrugging my shoulders. "You can't market love."

"Uhm, yes you can," Pen chuckled while raising a haughty brow as if challenging me to disagree.

I raised both brows back at her and crossed my arms over my chest. "Proof?"

"You," She replied casually, shrugging her shoulders and as she dropped her phone on the table with a clunk! She leaned back on her chair, crossing her arms over her chest as well.

"Me?" I deadpanned, tilting my head and scoffing as I thought about her answer. What could she possibly me-

"Explain to me miss Calinao your activities the night prior?" Pen urged, tapping a finger against her elbow in a patient manner.

The room suddenly ran cold and a flash of last night's mythological activities crossed my mind in a heartbeat. I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders, choosing not to reply.

"Hm? What was that?"

"I was watching movies," I decided to reply, half telling the truth. "Anyways, what has this got to do wi-"

"What kind of movies were you watching, miss Calinao?" She asked once more and this time drawing out the 's' in movies like a snake licking its lips. Her pearly whites glinted back at me like a shark grinning as her point hit my too late.

I grumbled under my breathe as I rolled my eyes. I was too preoccupied thinking about last night that I totally forgot what was important! Winning an argument! Sure my opponent was a law student giving her an advantage but did that matter! No!

"I don't see why I need to answer that question." Came my stubborn reply. My head was now in the game, I couldn't let Pen win!

"You're on the stand, miss Calinao, answer the question."

"I invoke the fifth."

"You can not do that!"

"Oh my goodness!" I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands as I stared at Pen wide-eyed, earning me a confused look from the girl. "Oh my golly gee! This cannot be!"

"What are you on about?"

"This cannot be tsk tsk!" I tsked, waving my finger in her face as I stared back at her with false sympathy.

"Camie stop it!"

"We gotta call your parents," I said with a sigh and a shake of the head.

"What?"

"They're wasting their hard earned money to send their beloved daughter to law school for her to not understand-"

"Oh my god."

"-that invoking the fifth while on the witness stand is an action that is PERFECTLY REASONABLE! I invoke the fifth! I invoke the fifth!" I screeched the last part out, slamming my hand repeatedly on the table as Penelope stood up and began yelling back that I wasn't playing fair.

"Nut job!"

"Fifth!"

"Camie-"

"Fifth!"

"You're a psycho! Stop it!"

"Fifth!"

"Why you-"

"HOLY SHIT SHUT UP!"

Our mouths instantly zipped up.

Both mine and the ginger's eyes traveled to the source of the voice.

A girl who stood at possibly 5'9 was tapping her stiletto heel against the floor with a deep scowl on her face. Despite the sour look anyone could tell she was a showstopper, a bombshell in early 2000s linhgo.

"People in this town, I swear," She grumbled as she flipped her brunette curls over her shoulder.

"Sorry," I replied meekly, throwing her an apologetic smile and nudging Pen to do the same.

The ginger wasn't as apologetic, though. Instead, Pen raised her nose in the air and stood straight, jutting out her hip and crossing her arms over her chest in a feminine form of intimidation. I sighed as I watched yet again from many years of friendship as Pen, in her words, showed a bitch her place.

"And you are?" Pen spat, assessing the girl from head to toe.

The brunette smirked, tilting her head to the side and biting her lip as she assessed Pen back with a nasty green eye. "Wouldn't you like to know, Fiona."

"Fiona?" I mumbled as I looked at Pen in confusion.

"Shrek," the stranger replied quickly, chuckling to herself. "Your pimple of a friend here looks like the bride of an ogre—EAKKK!"

"PEN!" I gasped as I watched my friend lunge towards the woman. "Get off of her!

"I'M GONNA SHOW THIS BITCH HER PLACE!"

~*~

"I want to speak to my lawyer!" Pen snapped as the police dragged her into the room. She threw me a narrowed look over her shoulder, startling the police men in the process, and pointed a sharp finger in my direction, "Let my father know."

I gulped and held her coat tighter in my arms as I nodded my head, watching her get ushered in by five heavily uniformed men. Once out of my vision, I let my shoulders drop from their tense position and plopped onto the wooden bench outside of the bullpen.

My relief was short lived however as the sound of heavy steps bounding down the station's halls invaded my ears. I knew without having to look that Penelope's father had arrived, Mr. Winthorne, mayor of our beloved town. I stood up quickly, not wanting to be rude as I gave the exercised man a tight-lipped, awkward smile.

"Oh, thank god! Camie! What's happened with that ruffian this time?" He huffed and puffed as he stopped in front of me.

"Ahh, it's nothing too serious," I chuckled nervously, clutching Pen's coat tighter to my chest. "Just . . . a small misdemeanor."

"My daughter is causing you trouble again." He stated matter of factly, not giving me a chance to disagree.

But I did anyways. "Oh, I'm sure I had a hand in it, I mean the owner only called the cops cause Pen and I were already yelling...the assault and battery came after."

He gave me a deadpanned look for my lame excuse. "Well . . ." The inchworm on his face that others would describe as a mustache moved accordingly in disapproval as he spoke. ". . . You girls definitely come hand in hand."

"What can I say," I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled.

"Well, if both of you caused the mess, how come it's only Pen inside that room right now?"

"She's not the only one inside that room. . ."

"Who else?"

"Uhm . . . Well . . . There's the girl she assaulted . . ."

Mr. Winthorne gave me another blank-faced look that questioned my sanity.

I gulped and looked up at the ceiling as if that would free me from the awkward tension. ". . . and the police who are questioning her for the assault and battery."

The disappointed father gave out one more heavy sigh filled to the brim with disbelief and disappointment. It made my stomach churn that I was one of the causes for it.

"Sit down, I'll give you a ride back to your place once I'm done in there."

"Okay," I replied meekly as my second father strood into the precinct with an air of authority unmatched by possibly all the men in that room. They'd be out of there in five minutes top.

I stepped forward and watched as Mr. Winthorne disappeared into the room Pen was being held in, a nervous ripple shaking my body was I waited patiently. The instructions given to me were abandoned as I stood waiting.

Perhaps if I had sat down this meeting could have been avoided.

Maybe none of the events that would follow would have never happened.

Would I have changed it if I could?

The coat in my hands suddenly went flying, being forced out of my hands by an unknown mass slammimg into me from behind. I let out a startled shriek as my feet got hooked between each other from the shove, a perfect recipe for a fall.

Have you ever read about the first romance and tragedy? A rib for a partner, that's the dowry Adam paid for his bride Eve. In return, she gave him an apple and the rest is history. In the Old Testament the Bible calls their departure from the Garden of Eden "The fall of man," a title for the beginning of a new world where peace and harmony are trampled.

A hand snakes around my waist like a serpent around a tree, pulling me back against the warmth of a stranger's side.

Thump.

I clutch at my heart, like it would save me from this sudden warmth radiating throughout my body.

"Shit! Watch where you're going!" The slithery reptile hissed into my ear.

I couldn't hear him though, too focused on the sudden change in room temperature. Too quickly, his hands leave my body as I try to regain composure.

Thump thump.

I bite my lip, turning around with a hand still clutched at my heart to apologize to the man who caught me but was met only by a glance of his face as he spun on his heel, his back engraved into my memory.

My arm burnt intensely, more intense than the rest of my body. It would be more wise to find a shower nearby to cool off instead of staring at the back of a stranger.

My last memory of him before he entered that room was a pinched finger at the collar of his clothes, pumping it back and forth, trying to cool off.