A S P E R S I O N
noun [uh-spur-zhuhn, -shuhn]

A damaging or derogatory remark or criticism; slander.

⚠️WARNING⚠️
Mature content up ahead

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You grabbed a glass off a waiter's tray and smiled at her, then took a sip and widened your eyes at how strong the drink was. You coughed then cleared your throat, taking another sip.

You were at a semi-formal corporate party organised by your work place and bringing together the members of the many branches. You wore an off-shoulder sheath red velvet dress with long sleeves that reached your knees, and red stilettos. You had your [y/h/c] hair down, with a white pin stopping your hair from falling onto your face.

"Hi Miss [y/l/n], how's the evening treating you?" One of your ex-co workers greeted you and you smiled at him.

"Good John, what about you?"

"Swell! If you find this place a drag then we could go by our old diner and have those hamburgers," He suggested and you grinned.

"I'd love that Johnnie, but let me give this place another chance. I think it has potential," You smirked then placed your hand on his arm, "But I'll keep you on speed dial John!"

He nodded his head the gestured a goodbye, walking away to meet up with one of his other friends. You watched him for a moment then diverted your attention and focused on the rest of the people ahead.

You took in a deep breath and straightened your shoulders. You wanted to enjoy this event for once, step out if your comfort zone and be more social than you normally are.

Though you couldn't help but have a bad feeling about all of it.

*****

You had started to ignore it at first but eventually you couldn't let it go any longer. You thought that it was just you being conscious but you noticed a pattern that everyone was watching you with these states of judgement.

Did you do or say anything wrong at this event? No of course not.

Did you do or say anything wrong prior to this event? Maybe... How would you know? And you wouldn't have done or said anything to insult every single person here, to make them watch you with slight disgust.

You began to keep your head low, the whispers of everyone you passes started to louden. You crossed your arms and hugged your body tightly. You wished you had a cardigan to wrap yourself in. You felt as if everyone was staring at your physique while probably saying nasty things about you.

You reached an empty space in the large hall then furrowed your eyebrows. You had to get to the bottom of this-

THUMP!

Two women shoved passed you without apologising and almost knocking you off your feet. You stared at them in disbelief, wanting to storm towards them and give them a piece of your mind but then groaned with frustration and turned towards the bar. You were in desperate need of a drink.

"She's all over that, seriously I've heard everything about it. The chick's a prostitute."

A chorus of laughter ensues.

"Really? You got a reliable source?"

"Of course I do, the guy worked with her. He knows everything about her."

You squinted your eyes and cursed under your breath. You knew exactly who could have orchestrated the sudden attention towards you that you never asked for.

You rushed around, glancing from face to face eager to search out that horrific and familiar person from your past. You were fond of him once but as time goes by your hate towards him just keeps getting bigger.

"H-Hi I would um, like to find out if one of my uh... friends is attending?" You leaned at the reception desk and tapped the marble surface with impatience.

"Name?"

"Uh... M-McAvoy," You stated with difficulty.

"I'm sorry I need a first name," She said, "Is he Daniel McAvoy?"

"What? How many McAvoys can there be in this company?!" You laughed with anger then clenched your jaw, "Sorry um... J-James."

"Ah yes, he entered around an hour ago and headed straight for the speech ceremony," She explained then you nodded your head.

"Would you know where he'd be right now?"

"I can't be certain hut perhaps by the stalls? That's where everyone's headed."

"Thank you so much," You smiled then hurried towards the stalls. You passed by many people who were taking their leisurely time to reach their next stop, you had to push them-

"I'm sorry I can't say anything more. I told you it keep my mouth shut and stop being such are arsehole."

You felt a shiver run down your spine. You'd recognise that particular voice and Scottish accent anywhere.

You turned to face where the quiet voice came from and there he was, standing by the snack stall picking up a piece of fudge brownie.

You gulped then gathered your confidence as you approached him. Every step was threatening and intimidating. You didn't want to talk to him, you despised him, but you had to find out if he's been spreading lies about you.

As you reached him everyone around him, as if on cue, dispersed away. You tried to cover up your body with your arms as well as you could, then you cleared your throat.

"James I-"

"Oh my lord, is it really [y/n] [y/l/n] in front of me or are my eyes deceiving me?" He smirked then stepped in for a hug, "This is brilliant, I'm so happy to-"

You put your hand out and rejected the offer of a hug, then crossed your arms. "Are you really happy? I have doubts about that McAvoy," You stated.

"Oh sweetheart you know how I get when we're on surname basis," He raised an eyebrow and licked his lips. You rushed towards him, standing inches away from your face being on his.

"Listen, stop being a jerk and stop spreading these lies about me. Everyone here is giving me stares and talking about me!" You yelled in his face, quiet enough to not draw outsider attention to both of you.

"Please what on earth are you-"

"Some guy called me a prostitute! And I'm sure another one named me some sort of boy-toy!"

He rolled his eyes, "What makes you think it was me [y/n]?! SERIOUSLY."

"No one else would dare say stuff like this about me, only you could."

"You're so convinced about it, why?" He placed his hands in his pockets and puffed his chest out a bit to seem dominating hut you didn't buy any of it.

"This is because of that night right?!" You shook your head in disgust, "You're getting back on me for embarrassing you and then faking that orgasm when we slept together. You hated me for that and-"

"Please I doubt you faked it and anyways, why would I care so much about you?" He suddenly became extremely defensive and nervous, "Y-You're nothing special, you're like any other girl out there. You're the one wh-who lost a chance with me, I could get anyone like you-"

You grabbed his blazer collar and pulled him towards your face. "What are you telling everyone HUH?! That I'm a whore, a slut? You know NOTHING about me, you... you-"

"What? Say it!"

"I don't have the right descriptor for you, douche bag!" You gripped the collar tightly then clenched your jaw, "STOP. SPREADING. LIES. Otherwise so help me I'll tell EVERYONE here why I faked it that night!"

You strutted away from him glancing back and giving him the middle finger then hurrying to the bar for another drink.

James swallowed hard, feeling conscious about your threat but also being completely turned on by your anger.

He did feel bad about spreading those lies but... something about you just gets under his skin. Part of him never wants to see you again while the other wants to spend all his time with you...

And you feel pretty much the same way too.