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theemptybloggercometh · 6 months

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Bad Thoughts

A fanfic I wrote for Ace week

Fandom: The Bright Sessions

Characters: Chloe (and my OC: Brandon Harman). Also features Sam

Context: Set in between Series 2 & 3

Summary: Chloe’s visit to a new art exhibition turns into a nightmare

Triggers Warnings: Misgendering, the effects of a car crash, drink driving/texting, classism, mention of Trump, reference to motion sickness (but no vomiting), explicit sexual and kink references, racism, homophobia, attempted corrective rape and its immediate traumatic effects, acephobia

Word Count: 6645

Chloe had won a competition she had seen in the college newspaper for tickets to the opening of an exhibition by one of her favourite local artists however the limo that was to take her there was late and this was only the start of an evening that just got worse and worse.

She was now getting a little uneasy and got up from the couch where she had been sitting and walked over to the window to peer out to the street but still couldn’t see any vehicle that looked remotely limo shaped.

“I’m wondering if I should give the organisers a call?” she asked her mom

“What time did they say it would be here?” her mom replied

“Between quarter past and half three” Chloe replied biting her lip

“Maybe it’s stuck in traffic?”

“Could be” Chloe agreed “I mean it’s got to pick Dakota up and they live on the other side of the city…I’m not sure where Brandon lives”.

Going back to the couch, Chloe got out her cell again and opened up the email from the competition organisers:

Congratulations Chloe (it read), you a winner!!!

Your prize will be a limo transporting you and the two other winners to the Blank Canvas Art Gallery where you will be able to enjoy ‘Art Factory’, an exciting brand-new exhibition by the talented local artist Olivia Carter. Not only will you have VIP tickets to this event but your prize also includes a private meet and greet with Olivia herself. After all that, you will have an overnight stay in the luxury of The Metropolitan Hotel before a limo brings you back home.

(See below for timings for the limo’s and check out time for the hotel. Please be advised that you will be given the time for the meet and greet at the venue)

Chloe paused reading as she tried to make out the thought she was hearing; someone was annoyed, yes, certainly annoyed.

They never tell me anything…it’s not my fault if they give me the wrong time…and the wrong address

“I think I can hear the limo driver” ventured Chloe

No sooner than she had said that the front doorbell rang. Chloe went again to the window and looking further down the road, she saw a limo parked way, way down the street. Going to her front door, she opened it to a man, very close to retirement, who was wearing chauffeur livery.

“Miss Turner?” he enquired

“Yeah, that’s me” said Chloe

The chauffeur smiled “Good to meet you, Miss Turner. My sincere apologies for being late”

“It’s no problem at all and please, call me Chloe”

“As you wish, Chloe. I’m Robert and I’ll be your driver today.”

“Great. Just let me grab my stuff then we can go?”

“Sure thing”

Chloe went back into the sitting room and picked up her phone, her clutch and her travel bag. Her mom wished her a good time as they hugged goodbye and then Chloe went to the front door again.

“Can I help you with your bag” Robert enquired

“Sure thing” replied Chloe

As Robert took the bag from Chloe they began to walk down her street. Finally, they got to the limo and he opened the door for her. She climbed in and saw, sitting on the opposite side, Brandon, a tall, slim guy with short brown hair and a tanned complexion which contrasted nicely with his sky-blue suit. All Chloe really knew about him was that he was a year older than her and that he was also a student at the college. She had seen him a few times in the Art department however she had never spoken to him and considering how literally every other student thought he was jerk she hadn’t gone out of her way to introduce herself to him until they had met at the office of the college newspaper to collect the tickets.

“Hey” said Chloe as she sat down on the soft leather seat

Brandon was looking out of the window and replied to her greeting without turning his head towards her.

As the limo pulled away from the curb, Chloe enquired “Where’s Dakota? I thought I was the last to be picked up?”

Brandon slowly turned towards Chloe and said “Oh sh-they couldn’t make it”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed; did he nearly misgender Dakota by accident, she wondered, or was it on purpose? But what she said was “Oh dear, that’s too bad”

She had always enjoyed talking to Dakota while they had worked in the studio together so she had been looking forward to spending an extended amount of time with them. Spending time with Brandon, especially now being alone with him, not so much.

I hope she doesn’t expect us to spend all of the evening together

You me both, she said to herself in reply to his thought. Yet she also liked to think that she tried to see the best in people so she really should at least make a little bit of an effort to get along with him – who knows maybe he wasn’t as bad everybody had said he was.

“So…” she began, as the limo reached the freeway, trying to think of a suitable conversation starter “did you go and see Olivia’s last exhibition?”

“I did, yeah. In fact, I went to that opening night as well” he replied in a bored tone

“Oh wow; how did you swing that?”

“My parents brought me tickets – they have a lot of money. They had already said they were going to pay for me to go before I had even entered the competition”

Chloe wanted to ask why then he did he enter and not let another person have an opportunity to go but she didn’t want to get into a disagreement – at least not this early on – so instead asked Brandon what he had thought about the previous exhibition.

“I’m not really into all that abstract expressionism stuff to be honest” he replied

As he was saying that Chloe got a real sense that he was exasperated at her…no, it was more about…

How can art just be shapes put together in any random order in an afternoon…how could this type of art be celebrated as genius when my own painstakingly detailed paintings which have taken me all year sure as hell ain’t

This time Chloe couldn’t stop herself “Then why are you going?” she asked, trying at the last moment to sound inquisitive and not accusative – though she wasn’t sure she entirely succeeded

“It’s an amazing networking opportunity” he replied simply

It might be Olivia Carter’s event, but I’m the one all those buyers, sellers, agents and reporters are going to remember

Absorbing this thought, Chloe shook her head and turned to look out of the window as the freeway blurred past

The limo had made up some good time by the time it reached the other city and Chloe was optimistic that they were going to arrive just before the exhibition opened at half eight. As they got to the city centre however this hope was crushed when they hit a huge traffic jam. Chloe occasionally looked at the time on her cell but while the minutes ticked past the limo remained motionless. Eventually, at 20.47, she went onto Google Maps. Apparently the gallery was a thirty-minute walk from where they were; so close yet so far…unless…

“You know, I was thinking that it might be better to walk to the gallery rather than waiting for the traffic to improve” she suggested

“I mean you can if you want to” Brandon sneered “but what kind of impression am I going to make if I turn up like that and anyway, have you ever heard of fashionable late?”

Chloe was really taken aback by the incredulous tone of his voice and took a deep breath to stop herself from retorting. It was, she thought, becoming harder and harder to give him the benefit of the doubt

Ten minutes later the limo finally started to move again and it soon they passed an intersection where one car was bent around another. Two EMT’s were working on the occupant of one of the cars while crouched down on the side of the road between two cops was a man, probably no older than Chloe, with his head bent towards his handcuffed hands.

So stupid…messaging her could have waited… it was only one drink…but why, why didn’t I get a cab…

“Oh my god” muttered Chloe

As the limo entered the cultural quarter, Robert came through on the intercom to ask them if they were okay with taking them to the exhibition before he went to the hotel to drop off their luggage off or did they want to freshen up at the hotel first.

“I’m happy with going straight there please” replied Chloe

“And Mr Harman?” Robert’s voice enquired

“Take us to the exhibit” Brandon commanded

Yet Chloe could hear him think that this was against his better judgement and that his dad always says don’t trust ‘the help’ and that it was a good thing his case had a combination lock

The cultural quarter had been undergoing a renaissance as of late. Indeed, it had only been in the last fourteen years that it had acquired the description of being the cultural quarter as long before the brightly colored museums, galleries and theatres there once stood factories as far as the eye could see. Some of the older folks who had lived in the area all their lives like to boast that their great-grandfathers had worked in these factories when they had opened in the 1880’s. Production though had started to slow by the time of the Kennedy assassination and in the same month Carter won the presidency the sounds of industry finally fell silent. The quarter looked destined to be forever neglected, abandoned even, until a new city mayor pledged to regenerate it. This had been met with varying degrees of approval; some welcomed the influx of money and attention whereas others thought the administration was wasting money that would better be spend on restoring the former industries – many of these would be voting for Trump in the upcoming election. Back then the mayor had appeased these voters by ordering that as long as the buildings was still structurally sound, they couldn’t be torn down; architects, he said, could make all the changes that they wanted inside but they couldn’t change the outside. This is why Chloe thought of the TARDIS when she finally entered The Blank Canvas Art Gallery.

The event was in full swing and about a hundred other people were standing around the large room; some looking at the pieces and some standing around high bar tables chatting with each other. Chloe had already admired Olivia for picking a fledgling independent venue for the exhibition and was now positively delighted at all the great publicity the event would give the gallery.

Someone waved to Brandon and he went to join them leaving Chloe by the entrance Even though she was prepared for the sudden influx of thoughts it was still like a thunderclap going off in her head. She stood still for a few minutes while doing a mindfulness exercise that Dr Bright had taught her and when she was more centred she started to look at the pieces on display. When she finally got a to the main piece in the centre of the hall simply titled ‘Factory’, she was so deep in thought that the voices in her head had turned all the way down to a barely discernible hum.

A waiter approached Chloe with a tray full of drinks and hors d'oeuvres. She took a glass of champagne and then started to walk over to a vacant table. On her way there though she looked to her right and saw Olivia, her of the purple suit that was her trademark look for opening nights, on a table with a few other people. As soon as Chloe changed direction towards Olivia’s table she could feel the butterflies of excited nervousness start up in her stomach.

Chloe took a deep breath as she approached the table “um…Olivia?”

Olivia’s turned around to face Chloe and replied ‘Yeah, hi!”

“I’m Chloe, it’s great to meet you. I love your work. This is a great exhibition”

I love her enthusiasm but she’s speaking too fast, what was her name again?

“Oh, it’s Chloe, sorry, when I’m excited I start to ramble”

“Don’t apologise Chloe” Olivia said with a big smile on her face “I’m glad you like it”

Chloe hoped that Olivia didn’t realise that she, Chloe, had answered a question that Olivia hadn’t actually asked out loud. Thankfully her fangirling seemed to have distracted Olivia. To help the conversation along Chloe mentioned that she was an art student.

“Oh yes!” cried Olvia with a look of recollection “you’re at the college, right? One of the competition winners, right?”

“That’s right. There was three of us but one couldn’t make so there’s only me and Brandon”

And just then, as if on cue, Brandon came sauntering towards them. After the introductions had been made, he instantly moved onto asking when they would be having their meet and greet.

“Um…” Olivia replied hesitantly “I’m not sure that was what was agreed, hang on a sec, let me just get my secretary”

She looked around and then went over to another table – ironically the one Chloe was originally going to go to – after a few seconds of talking to a man brought him over to Chloe and Brandon. Chloe could hear him think something about them not liking what he was about to impart.

“This is Jack” Olivia told them “I think there might be a bit of a mix-up”

“Oh?” asked Chloe

“Yeah…” Jack said taking up the explanation “we had discussed that with the college newspaper as part of the prize but as far as I’m aware they never confirmed it”

“Okay, but we can just do an impromptu meet and greet now” demanded Brandon

“I’m afraid that it’s a ‘rule’ of mine only to do prearranged meet-ups” Olivia said biting her lip “Sorry about that”

Chloe heard Brandon think that this was bullshit as he tutted, turned on his heel and marched away.

“I hope your friends not too upset” Olivia said

“Oh, he’s not my friend” clarified Chloe “but let me apologise for him all the same”

“Tell you what” said Olivia as she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out her phone “let me take down both of your emails and Jack and I will arrange something for next month, how does that sound?”

“That sounds great, thanks so much” replied a smiling Chloe

A few hours later the event was winding down and Chloe was standing on bottom most step to the entrance of the venue beside a group who were waiting for an Uber. She knew that not because she had heard their thoughts but because they were having a good-natured disagreement regarding how one of their number was trying to pay the whole fare instead of splitting it.

Chloe was thinking about getting an Uber herself and leaving Brandon there, however, with everything that had happened, she had a bad feeling about their room booking. She looked towards the group again and in particular a person with a shaved head and hazel beard who was wearing a magnificent ruby red ball gown.

I don’t’ care what Kate says I’m riding shotgun… car sickness + alcohol is a bad, bad combination

A car pulled up by the sidewalk and the group went to get in. Chloe smiled as the person who was worried about being car sick went straight to the passenger side door and hopped in before their friends had seemingly taken two steps forward.

As the car pulled away, a cool breeze picked up. Chloe wrapped her arms around her shoulders; an off-shoulder dress had seemed a good idea at the time but she hadn’t factored in that, even though it was warm during the evening, by 11pm the temperature would drop considerably. She shivered and then retrieved her phone from her clutch. Getting the Uber app up, she was just about to type in the name of the hotel when Brandon came out of the venue talking to a man who was eighty if he was a day. She carried on using the app as the man said that he would give Brandon a call one day next week.

“I’m just ordered an Uber” said Chloe when he had walked over to where she was standing

“Uh huh” Brandon muttered

“Oh and by the way Olivia wants to arrange something next month for us, I gave her your email” said Chloe and when he didn’t reply, she continued sarcastically “‘gee thanks Chloe for doing that, that was really nice of her to still include me after I was a jerk’ ‘oh not at all Brandon, don’t mention it’”

They stood in stony silence for the nine minutes it took for the Uber to arrive and then they continued to ignore each other throughout the journey to the hotel.

Situated on the corner of 6th and Maple, The Metropolis Hotel was an impressive five story art deco building that, as the large sign on the front portico said, had warmly welcomed wanderers since 1922. Stepping into the lobby with all its period pieces was like stepping back in time; Chloe actually quietly whistled in admiration at how beautiful it all was.

They went up to the front desk where the receptionist was currently seeing to a couple in their early thirties, the man in beige chinos and a white polo shirt and the woman in an open necked pink blouse and a pair of white tailored shorts. Chloe looked past them to the receptionist who, even though she was on night duty had no right to look that wide awake, then back to the couple.

Take his cock out of his underwear…put my tongue on its tip…watch him shiver

Tie her to the bed…get the flogger…spank her ass raw…’til she begs for mercy

Chloe blinked a few times but apart from that showed no reaction to what she had just heard. She reflected that would have been different a few years ago like when she was waiting to cross the sidewalk with a girl around the same age as her; hearing the girl think about her fantasy about having anal for the first time left her opened mouthed. Initially she was ashamed of herself for slut shaming this girl but then on closer inspection realised that her shock came from how different the girls’ thoughts about sex were compared to her own.

Chloe was brought back to the present by Brandon, now at the front desk, saying “We have a couple of bookings under the names of Harman and…”

“Turner” supplied Chloe as, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the couple get into the elevator

The receptionist, who’s name tag said ‘Sofia’, typed a few things into the computer and then furrowed her brow as she tapped the up and down keys. Brandon added to the noise by drumming his fingers on the wooden surface of the countertop.

“Um–” Sofia began but was interrupted by Brandon

“What?” he snapped which made Chloe wince

“Um…so we do have bookings under that name but–”

“But what? What’s the problem now?”

“It seems that the booking is for tomorrow night and not tonight”

“So just move the booking forward” he ordered condescendingly

“I can do that; however, I was just going to let you know that we only have one more room available tonight” replied Sofia steadily

Chloe had to admire her professionalism.

“Fine” said Brandon shaking his head

That was not ‘fine’ thought Chloe. She knew she would scream if she had to spend any longer with him. On the other hand, was she seriously considering looking for another hotel at nearly midnight as a woman of color in a city she didn’t know?

Sighing, she conceded “yeah, all right. Thank you”

Sofia smiled at her and then started to check them in “Your bags are in our storage closet; the bellhop will bring them up when they take you to the room”

She finished typing and then passed a keycard to Brandon. As she did so Chloe distinctly heard her think that he was an asshole.

Chloe’s first thought as she entered through the black door to Room 56 was how spacious it was, but it would have surprised her if she had learnt that their room was in fact one of the smaller ones available. The bellhop was called Mario and he was pointing out various things in the room: there was a silk covered king-sized bed to the left on the far side of the which was the ensuite, on the other side of the bed was the walk-in wardrobe, then there was the minibar under the long counter to the right, then there was the armchair with a matching stool and then finally there was the floor to ceiling window with its impressive view of the flickering cityscape.

“And if there’s anything else you need be sure to give the front desk a ring” Mario said completing his spiel as he pointed to the phone that was on the polished marble surface of counter. Chloe glanced over and was a tiny bit disappointed that, unlike the lobby, the amenities were all modern and not period pieces.

“Thanks so much, Mario” she replied as she pulled out a twenty-dollar bill from her clutch and handed it to him.

Brandon came up beside her with a handful of notes and gave one to Mario. Just before Mario’s hand closed around the bill, Chloe could just make out Washington’s portrait. He then pocketed the notes before discreetly leaving the room

While Brandon went straight to the minibar and quickly selected a Coke, a Hersey bar and a packet of Red Vines, Chloe got her travel bag from where Mario had deposited it and went into the bathroom. After locking the door, she slipped off her yellow dress and stood in front of the golden framed mirror in her black panties and a white bra debating whether to take the latter off. Electing to keep it on, she then put on a gray vest top and a pair of purple pyjama shorts before going over to the sink with her washbag and doing her evening skin care routine.

Re-entering the main room, where Brandon was sat in the armchair tapping away on his phone, she went over to the left side of the bed and set the travel bag down onto the covers. Plucking out her copy of the Welcome to Night Vale novel from the bottom of her bag she then placed it onto the bedside table before placing the bag back down onto the carpet. After getting into the bed, she put several soft pillows behind her back and then started to read.

Later on, she had just started a new chapter when she heard Brandon think about getting ready for bed. He then picked up his own bag and went into the bathroom. As he was locking the door, Chloe turned a page and noticed the bag of Red Vines on the other side of the bed. She then glanced at the minibar but her eyes went straight back to the book. Hang on a moment, she thought, any charge would be billed to the college newspaper. Even so, she was still hesitant. Yet if she couldn’t treat herself on this night of all nights then when could she treat herself? And didn’t the college newspaper owe them for all the things that had gone wrong? Putting down her book on the bedside table, she got out of the bed and wondered over to the minibar. She crouched down and scanned the contents behind the glass door. Finally, after a few minutes, she decided on some Oreo’s.

Back in bed, she had just opened the packet when she heard the bathroom door open. Brandon, having changed into a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a faded t-shirt which had the name of the college emblazoned on it, walked back into the room and threw his bag onto the armchair. Throughout this, Chloe hadn’t moved her eyes away from the book; she stopped halfway through a sentence though when the weight distribution of the mattress shifted slightly as Brandon got into the other side of the bed. Chloe inhaled deeply and went back to reading but didn’t get very far as Brandon then decided to play YouTube clips of The Big Bang Theory at full volume.

Ten minutes later Chloe had given up trying to read and was now on her own cell. Brandon locked his mobile and turned his head towards her “You know” he said “it’s good that the other winners weren’t guys”

“Okay, I’ll bite” said Chloe through gritted teeth and, although she had a pretty good idea why already, she asked “why is it a good thing?”

“Well, think about it, two or three guys sharing the same bed would be well gay”

Chloe shook her head and went back to scrolling through Instagram; yet she could sense his eyes still looking at her.

“So….” he remarked after a few seconds “this evening hasn’t gone exactly as it was supposed to go, has it? But maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all, you know?”

Chloe liked a post by Caleb and then though about maybe getting her earbuds from her travel bag.

“I mean” he continued “here we are, two young adults in a new city, two young single adults sharing a bed. Anything could happen…”

At this Chloe pursing her lips together.

“Come on” he said while reaching over and touching her shoulder “you know you want to”

After taking a deep breath Chloe put her cell down onto her lap and turned to face him again.

“No. I really don’t” she said defiantly as she felt her temper rise

He laughed “Yeah, sure you don’t”

“I know I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last guy in this city”

“Your loss” Brandon said as he shrugged his shoulders “Things like this don’t come around every day, you know. I bet you’ll be kicking yourself this time next week when you realise that you gave up a great opportunity”

“Not a chance” spat Chloe “for your information, I’m queer”

Brandon again laughed and shook his head “You’re not gay, not really”

“Is that so?”

“Of course; girls like you think you are, but all you need is a guy to help you think straight…”

Even if she hadn’t had her ability, Chloe would have known what Brandon was thinking. She wanted to retort something, anything but her throat had gone suddenly extremely dry.

“Um…” was all she managed to get out after what felt like an eternity “um…give me a sec, yeah, okay?”

She then got out of the bed and furtively held her mobile close to her hip that was furthest from the bed. She quickly crossed the room to the bathroom and locked the door equally fast. Grabbing the heavy stone soap dish from the side of the sink, she then knelt behind the free-standing bath listening for any movement from beyond the door but all she could hear was her own breath, fast and shallow.

The first rays of the new day’s sunlight woke Chloe from a light doze. Unlocking her mobile, she saw that it was 5.42 and that she had ten percent battery life remaining. Better not use her phone unless it was urgent she thought as she got up from the floor and stretched; her back though screamed at her about having been pressed up against a hard wall for the past few hours.

As she was using the toilet, her mind recalled how Brandon had called out a few times after she had been in the bathroom for around three minutes and how he must have got bored soon after as the shard of light that came underneath the bathroom door disappeared. At the time, this didn’t give her as much comfort so for the next few hours she had maintained her vigil by the bath. At one point, around when her phone had said it was 01.55, she debated whether or not to call reception, but what would she say, really; that Brandon had said a few problematic things? The longer she thought about it, the more she began to doubt if he had really meant it or if he had only been ribbing her; if he had really meant it, surely he would have forced his way into the bathroom already? But then again could she really take that risk; did she fully trust that he wouldn’t attempt something? Shortly afterwards, she had leant against the back wall and had been drifting in and out of sleep since around half two.

Chloe now went to the door of the bathroom and gently unlocked it. Peering out to the main room, she could see Brandon’s sleeping form lying face down in a collection of pillows. She stealthily crept out of the bathroom and over to where her travel bag and book were and put one into each hand. Halfway back to the bathroom, the bag brushed past the counter which made Chloe stop dead in her tracks with her heart in her mouth as she waited to see if this was enough noise to wake Brandon up. He must have been in a really deep sleep though as all he did was roll onto his left-hand side. Letting go off the breath she didn’t know she was holding she lifted the bag to her chest and carried on walking to the bathroom where she ensured the door was definitely locked. Off went her pyjamas to be replaced with a blue and white striped top, a pair of skinny jeans and black Converse. She put her phone in her back pocket and the book and pyjamas into the bag before doing up the zip. She quietly left the bathroom with the bag and tip toed her way over to the main door where she softly turned the handle. Opening it only as far as she needed to get through, she then kept her hand on the wood as it closed to ensure it did so as gently as possible.

Half an hour later, having walked a few blocks away from the hotel, Chloe found a twenty-four-hour vegan coffee shop and had just sat down after purchasing bagels and a large soymilk latte. Her cell, which had its power chord plugged into the wall socket under the table, vibrated and the screen lit up.

Sam: How was the exhibition?

That was so like Sam, Chloe thought, even with everything going on in her own life she’s still so thoughtful about what’s happening in my own.

Yet if it was just gone half six where Chloe was…

Chloe: what time is it where ur at?

Sam: You’re up already! I didn’t expect you to reply so soon. I thought you would have been up half the night partying

Chloe: i have been up half the night but not partying

Sam: What do you mean?

Chloe typed out that she had been hiding in a bathroom after being nearly raped but then reconsidered and deleted the last word replacing it with ‘assaulted’. Her thumb hovered over the send button but instead of pressing it she instead put the cell down back down onto the table.

Was that what really happened, she thought; was it really the beginning of an attempted corrective rape or, as she had thought in the hotel bathroom, was Brandon just saying anything he could think of to rile her up? She hadn’t kept her queerness hidden on campus, after all – even if people did sometimes ask her what the badge on the lapel of her denim jacket meant. When she told them it was the ace flag and explained asexuality to them even the more progressive leaning people had a hard time believing that she didn’t feel any sexual attraction at all. How many had said something about waiting to find the right guy – before sometimes quickly adding “or girl”? But she didn’t have try out for the netball team back in high school to know she wasn’t interested in playing sports; how was sex and sexual attraction really any different? Now that she thought about it how many steps were between telling her that she needed a partner and that she needed a partner to fuck her straight? And why was it that cis guys always cast themselves in that role of the partner that she needed, that she was missing? Why did they think that their dick, and only their dick, would be capable of saving her from a fate worse than death? And why exactly was dying before having a dick in her so bad anyway?

Chloe suddenly realised that she had begun scrunch up the napkin that was by her coffee mug. She unclenched her hand while closing her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and looked out through the window to the street beyond and noticed a few early commuters in the hazy dawn.

After taking a sip of coffee, she then went back onto her mobile and considered her draft reply again. As she did so she was struck by how clearly she could remember hearing Brandon think…what he had thought.

Chloe: i was nearly raped

Sam: OMG! Are you okay?

Chloe: physically yeah

Chloe: mentally im not sure yet

She wondered if this is why she had tried to minimise, to rationalise, to excuse even what had happened, what she knew had happened? Had it yet to truly sink in because she was in shock?

Her cell lit up again as another message came through.

Sam: Are you safe?

Chloe: yeah im in a coffee shop away from him

But what about the ride home later? Would he try anything then? Even if he didn’t, did she have the energy to deal with being around him?

Chloe: im meant to be getting the limo back with him later this afternoon though

Chloe: im seriously considering going home a different way

Sam: I totally agree

Sam: Is there anything I can do to help?

Chloe: i dont think so not at the moment

Sam: Let me know if that changes, okay?

Chloe: will do

Chloe: thanks

Chloe placed her phone, face down, onto the table and then took a bite of one of the bagel slices. A guy wearing headphones with a coffee in hand passed her table on his way out of the shop.

I love this song…what great lyrics…‘Take what you want from me… I bring it willingly’

Chloe briefly smiled; even with all the crappy things she had heard people think, she was glad she got to hear things like that.

Going back to her mobile, she started to look up how to get back home and after a bit of searching, she found a bus that was leaving at 10.15 and what’s more was relatively cheap. After booking a ticket online, she turned her attention to what to do for the next three hours. She had wanted to check out the Museum of Local History, but this no longer appealed to her. Likewise, she wasn’t in the mood to go down to Riverside Park. She continued to think while she eat her breakfast and by the time she had finished she had decided to just walk around the downtown area.

Later on, she would describe to Sam how she walked these streets in a daze and how after a few hours she found herself at the bus station without really knowing how she got there.

Once her bus had arrived, she got on and chose a seat half-way down. As she waited for it to drive off she got out her phone and sent an email to the competition organisers informing them that she wasn’t going to be taking the limo back home. She sat back and considered how she was going to go about reporting Brandon. But the more she thought about it the less comfortable she got. Not about reporting him, she was certainly going to do that, no doubt about it. But the college administration wasn’t always the best at dealing with this sort of things and even if it dealt with it properly it would take an inordinate amount of time to do so. In the meantime, he would probably think that he had intimidated her into silence, into complicity. Chloe knew that she couldn’t stand for this.

As the bus suddenly started to reverse out of its spot Chloe made an instinctive decision.

“Wait!” she shouted as she stood up and started to advance down the isle “I need to get off”

Chloe had just left another independent coffee shop – it wasn’t a vegan one this time, but at least it wasn’t a Starbucks – and was walking down 6th. When she got to just before The Metropolis Hotel she stopped and got out her cell to check the time. 12.58. Possibly just a few more minutes. She was glad for the amount of foot traffic on the sidewalk. He wouldn’t try anything here…would he?

As she stood there waiting, she reminded herself that she wasn’t doing this to deflect criticism that she hadn’t said no or hadn’t said anything immediately after the event. She knew that what she was just about to do didn’t make her any braver or more valid than the people who didn’t say anything.

At exactly 13.00 the limo pulled up by the hotel. Well, that’s just typical, Chloe thought. She then looked towards the entrance and after a fashion saw Brandon walk out onto the street. She started to advance towards him.

“Brandon!” she shouted when he was about a foot away from the limo

He quickly turned towards her with a sly grin on his face.

Look who’s back

“Hey” he lazily replied

“I had heard a lot of bad things about you before I met you” Chloe said making real effort to keep calm “But I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt; I hoped that maybe you weren’t as bad as everyone said you were. But within less than 24 hours you have proved that you are so much worse”

Brandon laughed “Like I care what you think about me”

“You’ve made that quite clear” Chloe replied “and the worst part is that you’re not going to change, no matter how many people tell you that you’re an absolute jerk”

“Then why are you even wasting your breath”

“Because I don’t want to leave you in any doubt that what you said and what you did was in any way acceptable”

“And what exactly did I do?”

“Cut the crap okay; you know exactly what you did”

Brandon was about to reply but a discreet cough came from his left-hand side as Robert approached them.

“Um…everything okay?” he enquired

“Yeah” replied Brandon tersely

“It’s just that I thought you were getting home a different way Chloe?”

“I am, Robert, yeah” she said “I just wanted to let Brandon know that I’m going to report him for attempted assault”

And with that she turned on her heel and walked back up 6th with a grim feeling of satisfaction.

#ace podcast week #asexual #ace week #the bright sessions #chloe turner #fan fiction #tw sa #queer

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