One Last Shot

[27] Rainy Banquet

  Iris

CW: Mature content. Mentions of suicide.

"Pleaaaase," Marcus is at my feet begging.

"I said no."

"But Felix is taking me on this fancy date tomorrow and I need your advice on an outfit. Please just come shopping with me."

"Please go so we don't have to hear any more whining," Lilly shouts from the kitchen.

"Fine," I whine, and Marcus starts jumping. He grabs his knockoff Dior bag and I grab my tote bag, and we head out. Walking around the outdoor shopping plaza in the middle of January is a horrible idea, but Marcus insists they have the best stores. As we're walking, a girl comes up to me, she's cute, glasses, messy bun, blue puffy coat.

"Hi."

"Can I help you?" I ask.

"Are you free tonight?"

"For what?" I cock an eyebrow.

"A date."

"Oh hunny," I chuckle, waving my hand side to side. "I'm flattered, but I'm not a date typa girl."

"Oh right, I must've thought you were someone else. You're a slut typa girl, right?"

"What?" I laugh in astonishment.

"Well I mean, how many people in this general vicinity have you fucked in the past year?"

"Listen hunny," Marcus grabs my bag. "I don't know who you think you are, but the glasses and beanie aren't giving you the menacing vibe you're going for. Judging by your outfit, I'm going to say you're some freshman that heard about me through the grapevine and wanted to experiment. You look like a virgin who probably has a score of 100 on the Rice Purity test." I hear Marcus snort behind me. The girl glares at me, but doesn't say anything. "I take it I'm right?" She huffs, turns on her heels, and books it in the other direction.

"Holy shit," I hear Jasper behind me. Please, no.

"The gloves are off on little miss Iris," Archer laughs. I turn slowly, and see Felix, Archer, Grayson, Jasper, and Liam behind me.

"Oh... hey guys."

"We only heard your end, what did she say to make you lose it like that?"

"First of all, I don't lose it, I just put people in their place. And secondly, she called me the campus slut blah, blah, blah."

"Well, is she wrong?" Jasper asks. I scoff.

"Yes, actually."

"Iris took on a celibacy pact," Marcus intervenes.

"That is not true," I smack Marcus. "I've just been a little busy, and sex is kind of the last thing on my mind right now."

"Oh really now?" Grayson raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, really. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Kind of," Archer and Jasper say at the same time.

"Alright, we're done here," I grab Marcus by the wrist and pull him past the group, making eye contact with Liam for the first time in the entire encounter. I snap my eyes away quickly, and pull Marcus past. I'd never tell them, or anyone, but I stopped having sex because it didn't feel how I wanted it to. For some reason, anyone would touch me, and I'd wish it was Liam. Which was horrifying...because Liam. So I stopped having sex.

"Do you like that?" Rory, a girl I've been linking with since last year asks as she pulls her head up from between my thighs. As I look down at her, I see a flash of Liam there instead.