kenopsia | the society

12. shut the fuck up

Riley sat on the altar in the church, body swallowed up by the huge sweatshirt she was wearing, leggings underneath. Her head was resting against Becca's shoulder, cheek still throbbing with pain. The sound of the church door opening caught her attention and she looked up, noticing one of her classmates walking in, wearing a prom dress. 

The teen looked at her classmate in disbelief, not sure as to why the other girl was wearing the prom dress, but before she could speak her mind, Becca had already asked if there was some dress code that they didn't know about. 

"I spent 700 bucks on this, and it's not like i'm going to be wearing it to prom." The girl responded snarkily, making Riley's eyes widen. She had no idea why someone would spend that much money on a dress they only wore once in their life, but she supposed that if the girl had the money to do it, then it was her choice what to do with her money. 

Riley shook her head slightly, glancing back down at the magazine that she was sharing with Becca. "Ooh, she's pretty, I bet she does those weird facials that the Kardashians do." Riley whispered to Becca as she pointed to one of the models in the magazine. 

The brunette girl next to her laughed in response, but didn't say anything as Cassandra and Allie walked in, demanding all attention be on them without even using words. 

After everyone had settled on the altar, Cassandra began to speak, "boys we thought we knew destroyed those stores last night, and if we don't do something, male testosterone is going to be the end of us."

"Is that why it's just girls here?" Helena asked, brows raised skeptically. 

Cassandra nodded in confirmation, "right now it's just pillage. But how long until someone's raped walking home one night and no one gives a shit because that's just how it is?" 

"Okay, I'm sorry no one wanted to date you in high school, Cassandra, but this war on men feels a little extra." The snark words came from Gwen, a girl who lived own the street from Grizz. 

Kelly looked at her in disbelief, "shut the fuck up, Gwen. I mean, look at Riley, she's already been hurt because of the guys." 

Riley's head snapped up and she glared daggers at Kelly, hating the attention that came to her because of what she said. 

Sensing this, Cassandra quickly continued to talk, "everything that kept us safe is gone. There isn't anyone to say no, and when you stop hearing no, you begin to think you can do anything. Women aren't safe in a world that's run brute force and stupidity."

Most of the girls that were there nodded their heads in agreement with what Cassandra had to say. This world they were living in was dangerous, and they needed rules to keep everyone safe. 

"If we want peace," Cassandra continued, "we need order. And to get order, we need to exert our power." Everyone agreed with that, and after a few more minutes of talking, they decided to end the meeting. 

"Hey, you should come over to my house. Let me help you out with your bruise, it looks like it really hurts." Becca told Riley as the two of them walked out of the church together. 

The girl looked over at Becca, slightly surprised, "you sure?" 

Becca nodded, offering her a smile, "ginger and lemon tea, am I right?" 

Riley laughed as a smile bloomed across her face, locking her arm with Becca's. "Alright, lead the way madame." 

. . . 

"So, how'd you get that bruise in the first place?" Becca asked Riley as she grabbed a cold compress from her freezer. 

The look of discomfort on Riley's face clear by the twisted lips and scrunched nose. "Greg called me a dumb cunt and then Jason punched him in defense, and then I tried to pull Jason off of Greg and break it up, but then someone punched me. I don't even know who it was." 

Becca watched her, lips parted open slightly as she took in what happened. "Shit. I'm sorry." 

A shrug of the shoulders indicated that it had happened and Riley didn't really want to dwell on it. Becca accepted that Riley didn't want to talk about it and gently pressed the cold compress against Riley's cheek. 

A hiss of breath and a wince escaped Riley, the feeling of the cold compress causing pain. "I'm sorry, it must hurt." Becca whispered, face just inches away from Riley's. 

Riley nodded slightly, putting her hand over Becca's to press the compress into her cheek, "you need to stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault." The teen told Becca, eyes wandering across her face. 

Becca sighed softly, making eye contact with the girl across from her, "I feel bad about it, though. You were just trying to break up a fight that your guy was in."

Your guy. Riley almost choked when she heard Becca murmur those words. "Jason, is not my guy. We may have kissed, but he is most definitely not my guy. He never will be either." She laughed out, kind of annoyed but also amused that Becca thought that. 

Becca's hand fell from Riley's face, letting Riley hold up the compress on her own. "Oh, I uh, I just thought, you know? You're wearing his sweatshirt and he fought someone for you." Becca responded, embarrassed by her own assumptions. 

"I get it, but trust me, he won't be my guy. First off, he's a big dumby and I love him but not like that. Second off, I tend to be more into girls than guys." Riley told Becca with a smile and a shrug. 

It was true, Riley did find guys attractive, but she usually didn't fall in love with guys, she fell in love with girls, or at least liked them romantically more than guys. The two fell into a comfortable silence, not really feeling much need to talk. 

"I miss my mom," Becca said after a few minutes of silence. 

Riley looked up at her from her seat, "I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't apologize for things that aren't your fault." 

"I know, but still, I'm sorry." 

a/n: some fluff for all of you, as always, vote, comment, and let me know what you think!