(Trigger warning: Attempted sexual assault and mentions of eating disorder.)
Arabella Oublié.
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It was just another Tuesday afternoon in New York for Arabella.
She looked like an angel as she posed for the camera, with the sun setting behind her. Everything about her was a strong contrast to the weary city part in the background, Hell's Kitchen.
The photoshoot had made quite a few people stop to look, they weren't really used to stuff like that happening in their area. Arabella didn't mind the extra attention, but she couldn't help but become a little nervous and extra aware of herself.
She was only just getting used to red carpets, paparazzis and fans, but this was all still somewhat new to her since her and Raoul had only been doing it for a year.
No firms or agencies, just the two of them and a lot of hard work and long travels.
Their story and success was quickly and widely spread to the best of the best in the industry and soon they were accepting photoshoots with Vogue, Gucci and Chanel and had television appearances and runways.
"Darling get your coat, let's get out of here. Shoot is over, you were perfect, Anna Wintour is gonna love it." Arabella couldn't help but chuckle as Raoul, walked over to her dramatically with her coat in his hand.
"Thanks Raoul.. but I think I'm gonna go grab a coffee or a hot chocolate in a café actually. It's just a few blocks over if you wanna come with?" Raoul frowned as Arabella took her jacket and put it on.
"I can't sweetie, it's date-night and I still have some paperwork in our new office that needs to be sorted before tonight. Chris will literally kill me if I'm late again.."
"Totally forgot Tuesday is date-night, sorry.. Oh, well you better get going then, I'll be fine. Will you be there next week for that Chanel ad?" She hugged Raoul tightly.
"I'm your manager, of course I'll be there! And, it's a freaking Chanel ad!" He squealed excitedly. Arabella laughed and nodded.
"Okay then, see you..— And tell Chris I said hi! I haven't seen him in forever."
"I will, now go get your hot chocolate, you deserve it. I dare you though, get whipped cream or marshmallows on it.. I'll make you throw it up." Arabella laughed at his fake threat before she waved goodbye and disappeared between the many people on the street.
Raoul and her had always joked about throwing up to get thinner, but Raoul didn't know Arabella had actually been doing it in secret.
And if he did, he sure as hell would've scolded her for doing so and he would've never joked about it.
Arabella was still wearing the outfit she had modelled in, but it actually wasn't that flashy and looked pretty casual in comparison to the other people on the street seeing as they were mostly business men and women in suits on their way home for the day.
Arabella closed her eyes for a moment enjoying the evening sun, it was only just peaking at her through two enormous buildings.
Opening her eyes again Arabella smiled as she spotted the small coffee shop she'd told Raoul about.
The sign was made out of an old piece of wood and some white paint. Arabella enjoyed the rustique feeling it gave her as she entered the familiar shop.
Besides her apartment this was the place she spent most of her free-time.
"Welcome to Daily Grind, what can I get you?" The girl behind the counter asked with a nervous smile.
She's new. Arabella thought subtly looking her up and down.
Definitely new, I don't recall seeing her here before.
"Just a hot chocolate please." Arabella said smiling back. The girl nodded shortly and then began making the hot drink.
Arabella stood in silence for a short while before a thought popped in her mind.
The girl hadn't asked for Arabella's name as they usually did here?
As if she had said her thoughts out loud the girl returned with Arabella's hot cocoa.
"One hot chocolate for.." The girl held a short pause while scribbling on the cup before handing it over the desk. "—Arabella."
"You know me?" Arabella asked furrowing her brows.
"Your face is on every magazine cover at the moment. Of course I know you, I bet over half the people in here does." The girl said, still just giving Arabella that cute smile.
"Oh.. right. Sorry, I tend to forget that my face is my job." She laughed and the girl laughed with her.
"It's fine, enjoy your cocoa."
The shop was almost filled up with pairs of two or three people, and Arabella suddenly felt very watched and uncomfortable as the barista's words replayed in her mind.
It was weird getting recognised in public when it wasn't a red carpet event or a photoshoot.
Maybe everyone in here knew who she was?., She definitely recognised a few people who was also watching at her photoshoot earlier.
Arabella's eyes scanned the crowd for an empty table, but soon realised there wasn't any, and that she would have to join someone else's if she wanted to sit.
This place is almost always empty, why is there so many people today?
Arabella quickly decided on joining a man that was sitting by a table alone in a far corner.
He looked friendly she thought, kind of like a golden retriever. He was a bit chubby, but definitely not fat, and his hair was almost shoulder length, blonde and combed back.
"I'm sorry, there isn't any other tables left, so I was wondering if I could join you? Unless you're waiting for someone of course." The startled man looked up from whatever papers he was reading and to her, recognition shining brightly in his eyes as he did so.
"I am waiting for some one actually.. -but no one important! J-Just a colleague, you can sit." She chuckled at his blabber and sat down across from him.
"Foggy Nelson." He said shaking her hand.
"Arabella Oublié, nice to meet you Mr. Nelson." He smiled widely at her as she dipped her finger in the whipped cream on top of her cocoa and put it in her mouth leaning back in her chair.
Foggy smiled at how normal and relaxed she seemed.
"You can call me Foggy, it's fine."
"Alright, Foggy, you can call me Bella then, or Ara.." She smiled and made a short break in her sentence. "—You said you were waiting for a colleague right? Wouldn't happen to be a girl named Karen from the law firm Nelson and Murdock?" Arabella asked curiously, examining him quickly with her eyes.
He was wearing a casual blazer and a dress shirt, and a patterned tie that matched his blue eyes.
Definitely could be a lawyer's outfit.
"Yea! How did you know?! Nelson and Murdock, attorneys at law. Founded it ourselves, bought an office here in Hell's Kitchen almost two weeks ago today." He looked proud, Arabella thought. "—I would ask you what you work as, but I'm afraid I already know. You and your manager's names are everywhere at the moment, the same with your story." Arabella blushed. She had never been the flashy type and was always very humble and/or grateful when people praised or recognised her and Raoul's work.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you here in Hell's Kitchen?" Arabella smiled at Foggy's question.
"I don't mind at all.. uhm, I was at a photoshoot a block over and wanted some hot cocoa." Arabella said and hesitated. "-and also I just bought the office next to your's. I moved all the furniture in yesterday, and that's why I know Karen and you work together in your law firm." Foggy looked absolutely ecstatic completely not registering the 'your law firm' part. He was probably screaming in his head right now, something along the lines of:
'A super model works in the office next to mine! Matt will be so jealous that I got a head start.'
Arabella however found herself thinking about Karen.
The woman didn't look like a Murdock, actually Arabella thought that Karen had been Nelson, but that clearly turned out to have been wrong.
"Why get an office in Hell's Kitchen though? I mean surely you can afford one somewhere better with your recent success?"
"Since the attack in New York, prices has really gone down on the real estate market. We just wanted something cheap. Plus, many don't know this, but actually I grew up in Hell's Kitchen. I just moved back here a couple weeks ago, to take care of my grandmother and to be closer to the office." Foggy nodded interestedly. He would've never guessed the girl had grown up in Hell's Kitchen. "And all this time I thought you were French?"
"Well it is true that my father was French. But I actually only lived in France for a couple years before my career took off, then I just lived wherever the photoshoots took me."
"Am I interrupting?" The two looked startled up but quickly smiled and greeted the person speaking.
"Hey Karen." Arabella said moving over so Karen could sit down beside her.
"Hey neighbour, did your photoshoot go alright today? I heard some people talking about it on my way over here. Famous people, and especially models, rarely walks these parts of town. So it's a big deal whenever it happens." Arabella chuckled and took a sip of her hot chocolate.
"Well they better get used to it. I kind of live here now. But yea, it went really well I think. They'll be released along with an interview where I reveal a little bit about how it was to grow up in Hell's Kitchen and how it is moving back. I'm hoping it will demystify my sudden appearances around here and help the area get a more positive reputation." Foggy smiled widely at the angelic woman sitting in front of him, not really able to focus on her words and on her simultaneously.
Karen's eyes lit up, "That's so sweet! After everything happening with the New York incident that is exactly what Hell's Kitchen needs."
Arabella sighed, "I hope you're right."
The three sat at the table for two hours or so, talking, laughing and just getting to know each other before Arabella realised she had to get home to Mozart. He'd been alone in the apartment for longer than Arabella felt comfortable letting him, without it nagging at her conscious.
The two lawyers understandingly nodded and hugged her goodbye before she rushed out into the dark evening.
The warmer temperatures had dropped along with the sun and Arabella was left to wonder if she should've just stayed and waited for her new friends to leave too, then they could've at least walked together some of the way. But she shook that thought off.
Safety in numbers is fake news anyway. Right?
Arabella had reached the old gym which signalled she was almost home, when a flickering streetlight illuminated a group of people standing further down the street.
Arabella could hear them talking and laughing, but she could also hear the beer bottles shattering and skittering across the asphalted road.
The model didn't see any good reason going that way, and ended up walking down one of the narrow alleys instead. At least she could fight off a rat easier than a whole group of people.
She just hoped no one from that group of drunks had noticed her.
Arabella knew her way around Hell's Kitchen, but that didn't exactly mean she enjoyed walking around in dark alleys and between abandoned buildings.
The chances of anyone finding her in that labyrinth of alleys were small, but if someone did, she would be dead.
"Hey!" And she was dead.
Behind her, she could distinguish a shadow coming her way. Probably one of the guys from the group of people she'd seen.
"Aye sweetheart!" Arabella started running, she was not far from home. She just prayed she could make it before the man caught up to her.
"C'mon I won't hurt you!" Arabella looked over her shoulder to see if she'd gotten any distance between her and the guy, and tripped over a black plastic bag of trash she didn't see in front of her.
"Hey there princess. Thanks for waiting on me." Now that he was close Arabella could clearly see him. He wore a worn leatherjacket and his brow was pierced, he was not ugly, but his whole look and posture shone 'psycho' in bright neon lights.
Arabella glared and quickly picked herself back up, "Back off." A sinister smile found its way to his lips.
"Why? What are you gonna do? Hit me?"
"I'm serious, fuck off."
"That's no way for a lady to talk sweetheart. Especially not to a man." Arabella looked around for any way out, a weapon, a distraction, anything.
She picked up an old pipe standing against the brick wall and held it tight enough that her knuckles turned white.
The guy didn't really look impressed by her action.
"That's sweet. Are you gonna try and-" Arabella swung the pipe at him before he finished his sentence. She hit him hard in his head, and went for a second hit when the guy grabbed it mid air and forced it from her hand.
"Now see what you've done, we could've had a nice time together, but you just had to ruin it." The pipe clattered to the ground as he threw it.
Arabella tried to turn and run, but he'd caught up to her in two long strides, grabbing her arm forcefully and forcing her up against a wall. Arabella squirmed and scratched and kicked to the best of her ability, but nothing worked.
So Arabella did the only other thing she could and screamed.
"HELP!" The guy was quick to slap a hand over her mouth, but Arabella bit it harshly making him pull away briefly. "HELP ME!"
The guy harshly put a hand around her neck, harsh enough so that Arabella was sure it would leave bruises.
The iron-y taste of his blood didn't leave her lips as she spit him in the face.
"Bitch!" A hard slap to the face was nothing compared to the fist that followed. It sent Arabella crashing to the ground and gasping for air.
"You did this to yourself slut!"
His body was heavy on hers as he sat on her stomach after pulling her dress up to her chest. Arabella's vision was blurry from tears of fright, but she kept kicking and screaming and punching.
"GET OFF OF ME! STOP! DONT TOUCH ME!"
Suddenly, music started playing somewhere above them making the guy stop fiddling with his belt confusedly.
Is that Hero by Enrique Iglesias? Arabella furrowed her brows at the loud but soft tones of the familiar song.
"Hey! Why don't you go fuck yourself instead? This girl clearly isn't interested." Arabella's attacker quickly scrambled to his feet, his eyes fixed fearfully on something behind her.
Arabella sat up quickly pulling her dress back down over her knees.
"Back off dude." Her attackers voice was not as confident as before.
"Didn't your mommy teach you? No means no." Arabella flinched as her saviour walked up beside where she was sitting on the ground. The steps were heavy and harsh. She didn't dare look.
"Cat took your tongue?" His voice had a metallic sound.
Arabella spotted the iron pipe from before beside her. And quickly stood up and grabbed it, hitting her attacker hard on the head, this time hard enough that he fell to the ground unconscious.
Arabella's breaths were short, panicked and heavy as she dropped the thick metal pipe to the ground with exhaustion.
"You alright there?" A hand on her shoulder made her quickly flinch away and turn around, her eyes fixed on her feet, ashamed.
"Would you be?" The question she shot back took her saviour by surprise.
Arabella shook her head sighing. "-Sorry. I'm fine, thanks for saving me."
"I don't know. You have a mean swing, pretty much saved yourself." Arabella finally looked up, not surprised to see Tony Stark, the Iron Man suit standing opened up behind him.
"I'm sorry could you turn off the music? I'm kind of not really interested in anyone hearing it and checking it out. I don't really have the mental strength to be hitting anymore people with a metal pipe tonight." The Avenger quickly did as she asked before returning his attention to her.
"I don't think I've ever seen bruises from choking on the cover of Vogue before." Tony said trying to lighten the mood with his twisted version of a joke. Arabella carefully let a hand feel her throat. It was sore, and he was probably right about the fact that a bruise would soon form where that man's hands had been.
"Arabella, right? Come here, I'll walk you home safely."
"Yea.. Thank you."
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