Warning: This chapter will discuss s*xual *ssault, h*rrassment, consent and sp*king drinks.

NOTE: In the news, the case of Sara Everard was one I wasn't too familiar with. Then, I learned that she was k*dnapped and k*lled. I don't know the full details, so I won't comment on all of it. But it's really upset me, and I felt like writing a chapter to bring awareness on this was the best thing for me to do.

Please do not feel like you need to read this. Whilst it highlights an important topic, I don't want you to read this if it will be triggering and impact your mental health. The bottom line:
NOT ALL MEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WOMEN, BUT IT IS NEVER A WOMAN'S FAULT FOR BEING AS*AULTED. AND WOMEN CAN BE AB*SERS TOO. SADLY, ANYONE CAN BE AN AB*SER.

ALSO, THIS IS A DEEP ROOTED SOCIETAL ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH. IT WON'T GET BETTER OVERNIGHT, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD IGNORE IT. DO YOUR PART AND THINGS WILL GET BETTER, EVEN IF IT TAKES A WHILE. IF ANYTHING,YOU MIGHT HELP IMPROVE ATLEAST ONE PERSON'S LIFE.

__________________

"No way, man! Thor is 100% the strongest Avenger", argued Stanley.

"No! It's Spiderman!", replied Darius.

"How the heck can it be Spiderman?"

Weronika let out a long groan, before slamming her head into her cupped hands.
"I can't take much more of this."

Amethyst pointed to the long sleeves on Weronika's green jumper.
"I thought you were going to wear your off-the-shoulder yellow top?"

Weronika frowned.
"Some guy was whistling and making all these loud noises at me.
He started walking behind me too, so
I just changed."

Amethyst rolled her eyes.
"Jerk."

"What a weirdo", said Stanley.
"Who does that?"

"It's more common than you think", replied Camryn.

Isaac furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"It is?"

Camryn nodded.
"I see it loads when I'm sat in the skate park.
This one man even made fun of a female skateboarder, then got annoyed when she was better than his son."

"That sucks", frowned Stanley.

"I've got this app I can show you, Weronika", said Leonie.

Darius raised an eyebrow at this. "App?"

Leonie nodded.
"It let's you know when there's someone behind you and you can press a button and your phone makes a really loud noise to scare them off."

"That's smart", said Maxon.

"But she shouldn't have to have an app like that", said Amethyst.

"No, but, if it's an issue then it's good to be prepared", said Eli.

Amethyst's eyes widened.
"What?
So we should just let it be an issue?
As long as we've got 'solutions' for it?"

Eli shook his head.
"No, I-"

"-Amethyst, you know that's not what he's saying!", interjected Maxon.

"I'm with her on this", said Camryn. "That attitude just makes people think of different ways to get what they want."

"I'm really not trying to say that at all", said Eli.

Miss Laine stepped closer to the group. "Ok, ok, I understand that this is an important discussion.
I want us to be able to talk about this, but let's remember that we shouldn't point figures at people in here for something others have done."

"But they're part of the problem!", exclaimed Amethyst.

"What?", questioned a confused Maxon, whilst the other boys looked on in shock.

"Look, we believe that none of you guys would h*rrass or a*use us, but that's not enough.
You need to be actively weeding out the sc*m.
That's all we're saying", clarified Camryn.

"But how?", questioned Isaac.
He instinctively wrapped his arms around himself when everyone looked at him.

He was terrified to say the wrong thing.

"I'm a 132 pound ball of anxiety, I can't confront people!", he admitted.

Stanley placed an arm on his shoulder. "It's ok, little man."

"No, it's not ok!", yelled Amethyst.
"You can always do something.
Tell someone.
Being a nervous wreck isn't an excuse."

"Amethyst-", started Camryn.

"-No!
You can't be on my side but then get all angry when I'm telling you to check your friend's actions."

The atmosphere grew tense, and even Miss Laine wasn't quite sure how to fix this.

"What's it like?", asked Eli.
"Walking alone?"

Darius nodded.
"Yeah, I mean I don't know what I'd do if I didn't feel safe walking."

Leonie frowned.
"I never walk alone.
If I have to, I walk in busy, well-lit areas and always make sure my phone is charged."

Kennedy nodded.
"I always make sure to walk within running distance of another group of girls if I can.
And Leonie's my emergency contact."

"Emergency contact?", questioned Maxon.

"Yeah.
Whenever we're out, we text each other beforehand and we make sure that we pick up the phone if the other calls", explained Kennedy.

Maxon's face softened.
"What the f*ck..."

Miss Laine looked around at all the boys, and noticed their dejected demeanours.

"Nothing's ever happened to me before, but I get all tense when I see a group of boys in the street."

Isaac's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That could easily be your group", he said, before pointing at Darius, Eli, Stanley and Maxon.

The thought of someone being scared of them was not one they ever wanted to get used to.

"How can we help?", asked Eli.

"Yeah.
Look, we'd be lying if we said we didn't know that this sort of stuff happened. But it's never happened to anyone we know, you know?
So it-"

"-Didn't matter?", questioned Amethyst.

"Amie, we're not saying we're perfect, but you can't blame us for something we didn't do", said Darius.

Amethyst scoffed.
"Whatever."

Eli studied the hopeless look on Amethyst's face.
He lowered his voice slightly.
"What happened?"

Amethyst's eyes met with his, and for the first time since the conversation started, Eli saw the tears her eyes.

It wasn't long before the others noticed too.

"Amie?", questioned Weronika.

Amethyst closed her eyes and exhaled, her breathing shaky.
"I'm being such a b*tch.
I'm sorry."

"Hey, no you're not!", assured Eli.
"I promise."

"Yeah, you're not", said Darius.

Amethyst wiped her tears away.
"You know how I was forced into joining the club?"

"Yeah.
You cut up some kid's clothes so your Dad chose the club as a punishment", said Darius.

"Well, I never told anyone why I did it. We were at a charity event with our families.
There's was alcohol for the adults, but he might have had some.
I don't know how, but it wouldn't have been hard."

The mention of alcohol made Kennedy tense, but she remained quiet.

"I couldn't keep up appearances any longer.
I was so bored so I just walked around the venue.
He followed me and corned me near one of the storage rooms.
He was acting really weird.
But his eyes really scared me.
He wouldn't stop looking at me, and he looked everywhere."

Amethyst grabbed her trembling hand and gently squeezed it to try and calm herself.
"I-I couldn't get away."

Miss Laine exhaled shakily before speaking.
"Did he...", she questioned, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Amethyst shook her head.
"His Mum called for him before he touched me.
It was just the fact that he wouldn't listen.
He kept coming closer and no words
I said mattered to him.
I was... so scared."

"Oh sweetie, didn't you tell anyone?"

"His family are wealthier than mine. They'd be able to make it go way. Besides, he left like two months later."

Weronika opened her arms up, but waited until Amethyst nodded to hug her.

The other girls did the same, being careful not to crowd her.

She looked up at the boys.

"I never wanted my Mum more than in that moment.
And I didn't have anyone there that could help me.
That's why I was mad that you kept saying you weren't like that.
It's not enough to not be like that. You have to try and stop the one's that are."

The boys let her words sink in.

"I feel like a d*ck.
I wasn't trying to say it was the girl's fault", apologised Maxon.

"I know", said Amethyst.

Kennedy reached for his hand.
"We never thought that."

"But really, how can we help?", asked Isaac.

"What can we do to make things better?", asked Stanley.

"Just listen and look", said Leonie.
"If you see a group of boys approach a girl, or if they look uncomfortable when someone approaches them, just keep looking."

"Yeah.
It could be harmless.
But if it's not, atleast you'll be able to see and can help them", added Kennedy.

"And in the future, whenever you go into a bar, remember that some people spike drinks", said Miss Laine.

Everyone turned to her.

"This is something you should all be aware of.
Teachers shouldn't share  their personal information with students, but I will say that women can be a*users and they can a**ault people too."

"So we have to look out for anyone trying to hurt us?", asked Camryn. "That's just great."

"It's terrible, I know.
But if you look out for each other and for others, you'll be ok."

She looked at everyone huddled around Amethyst, and a smile appeared on her face. 

"If everyone does the right thing, and helps out any way they can, men, woman— everyone, will be ok.
We'll weed the a*users out together."

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