Damonic / #WITWcontest

Damonic

'We'll go with you. Haven't been to the BlackBox for ages.' Rafe smirked.

Ice cold panic washed over Ellie. Rafe wanted to meet her boyfriend-the one she had made up because she'd had enough of his derisive and humiliating remarks, mocking her for being a virgin whenever they talked about sex and relationships, as if she couldn't have an opinion or any knowledge about such things.

She wasn't interested in dating, because secretly she was head over heels for Rafe, but also terrified of him. He was two years older, handsome, intelligent and witty, fully aware of his disarming qualities. He was a complicated boy with a difficult background that he concealed very well. His parents were rich, often away on business trips. They showed very little affection towards their son, especially Rafe's mother who was toxic narcissist, only acknowledging his existence just to criticize or emotionally manipulate him. Rafe was brought up by a series of live-in au pairs, yearning for his mother's love and attention, learning through a series of disappointments that he would never receive either. His father was a cold man, always busy, irritated by any sign of weakness, objecting the little boy to hurtful one-liners that left deep scars on his soul. As Rafe got older and began acting out, his father's slaps became as constant as his cruel words. Ellie was one of the few people he opened up to if only by accident at first.

They met after a gig. Rafe got really wasted, lost his mobile phone and his pals. He bumped into Ellie and asked if he could borrow make a call. She knew who he was. Rafe went to the neighbouring high school-the one known for taking in troubled kids-and, with his striking looks, he caught her eye just as easily as he did everyone else's. Ellie was supposed to stay over at her best friend's place who met a cute guy at the gig. Rafe tried to call his friends, but none of them answered, so he asked Ellie if he could order a taxi. She agreed and he promised to pay her back. The taxi arrived, but the driver only agreed to take him if Ellie came along, ensuring he wouldn't get sick in the car. Rafe dozed off on the way home. Ellie was amazed by the opulent villa he lived in. Their living room was the size of a basketball court, full of chic contemporary furniture and stylish black and white art photos on the walls. They even had a bar with a wide variety of expensive drinks, close to the veranda. Rafe gave her the cash for the taxi and offered her a drink. She thought it was a bad idea, pointing out that he was slurring his words and he should go to bed. Rafe flashed a sly, drunken smile at her, telling her that he would happily oblige if she joined him. Ellie flushed bright red and turned to leave, but Rafe caught her by the wrist, apologising for being a jerk.

'Please don't go. Everyone leaves me. I just don't want to be alone. Please!'

He looked genuinely miserable, so she agreed to stay, on the condition that they go to sleep. After another snide joke that she cleverly deflected, they went to the boy's room. He lent her one of his T-shirts that she put on his ensuite bathroom and then she got into bed. She was very nervous. She liked Rafe ever since she laid eyes on him three months ago. He was effortlessly cool, always surrounded by girls far more beautiful than her. How could she ever compete with them? She had a tendency to overthink everything, stemming from her insecurities. She was the tallest girl in her class with just two boys surpassing her height. She viewed herself as too tall and skinny, her breasts too small. She was bullied by older kids at elementary school who made fun of her height, calling her "stick girl", "giraffe" or "praying mantis" followed by expletives. Their words wounded Ellie, she never experienced such malice before where strangers targeted her just because of her looks. Yes, she got into arguments with kids before and they called each other names, but it was never this vicious, vulgar. Her best friend, Jules, couldn't understand why Ellie didn't stand up for herself. She told her to ignore those idiots, they'd all end up working as ushers in the cinema or bartenders in a seedy bar unlike them, who were destined for better things. Ellie cheered up and the next time someone made a derisive comment at her appearance, she fired back a witty retort, targeting the other person's insecurities in such a clever way that the bully was utterly speechless and humiliated. She grew thicker skin, and even though her own self-doubts lingered, she concealed them. She learned not to show any weakness, because that just fired up the bullies even more.