*****
Something was happening on the other end of the locker room. A loud, metal thunk, a fan of blond curls, a cacophony of raised voices. I’d looked down the bench that led from where I had been sitting to the small crowd gathered at the end. Most of what was going on was blocked from view by a sea of bodies, elbows, and ponytails. Normally I would just close my locker and walk the other way, but something had kept me there. Something told me to get closer and see what was happening.
I got to my feet, closing my locker and heaving my bag over my shoulder. Juvenile chants of "Fight! Fight!" erupted, and I rolled my eyes. I had thought once we reached college that sort of thing died out, but apparently not. Of course, I had started a few years later than my fresh-from-high school counterparts. They had no idea what it was like in the real world, yet. I’d seen things they only saw on the Lifetime Movie Network, tucked away safe on their mother's couches with a bag of pretzels.
When I finally reached the outer edges of the mob, I discovered the heart of the problem. Two girls were ganging up on a shorter blond. She had her back pressed against the lockers, her face turned away from their angular features as they taunted her.
"I said what the fuck are you looking at? I don't swing that way, dyke."
"I wasn't—" Her voice was barely audible over the cackling of the other two.
"The hell you weren't! I saw you looking at me when I was changing my shirt. Did you like what you saw? I'll bet you did."
No matter how the smaller girl turned, the one harping at her would move and get right back in her face. Silence was her only defense against the onslaught of threats and humiliation. She looked so helpless, so meek, and they had attacked like they could smell it on her.
"Hey!" I interrupted, cutting through the crowd to stand next to the girl. I ducked my head down so I could meet her assailant's eyes, catching her gaze. "I think even if she was that way, she'd have better taste."
The crowd around us quieted a bit, taken aback by the new contender that had stepped into the ring. The girl’s assailant stared at me, her eyes blazing.
"Excuse me, was I even talking to you, bitch?" Ah, the wit absolutely rolled off that one.
"No. In fact I don't think you were talking to anyone. Seems to me you were shouting your homophobic issues at some girl half your size... and I'm not talking about her height just to be clear."
There were gasps and sudden bursts of laughter from the crowd around us. My guess was no one talked to that chick that way very often, because the surprise on everyone's faces was impressive.
"Who the fu—"
"And, please, do us all a favor and make up your damn mind. You can't tell the girl you don’t swing that way and then tell her to admit she likes what she sees. Someone here is diggin' for some compliments which, to me, sounds like you might have some secret lesbian urges yourself."
The two harpies stared at me, as slack jawed as the rest of the crowd. In fact, the only one not staring at me in stunned silence was the girl they’d been picking on. The smile on her face was so smug I would have thought she’d been the one to tell the girls off, but there was an inflated sense of gratitude swimming in her large blue eyes.
"Excuse me?" she shrilled again.
"No, excuse me," I’d said, taking another step towards her and dropping my voice. "We're done here. Unless you'd like to have a go at me. I've got no issue beating the mommy issues out of you right here and now. In fact, nothing would give me greater joy than to hear you apologize to my friend here, through your busted and bloodied lips."
We stared at each other for a few minutes. I could tell the girl had been used to people cowering from her gaze, but I didn't have a single fuck to give. I didn’t know her, and I couldn’t have cared less what connections she might have had that made the rest of the student body grovel at her feet. I'd knock the shit out of her either way, and it would feel damn good.
Tugging on the elbow of her friend, she stared at me, her eyes narrowing once more. "Come on. Looks like the dyke's lover is here to the rescue. Wouldn't want to intrude on such a romantic moment."
The crowd filtered away, some disappointed, some satisfied, and most already on their phones texting their friends about what just happened.
"Watch your back, bitch." The girl threw one last jab before disappearing through the door.
I watched everyone else leave while I stood next to the girl they'd been messing with. I wasn't about to leave her alone until they were far gone.
"My hero?" I’d heard a small, but really pleasant, voice beside me. When I looked over I saw the tiny blond girl staring up at me fixing her curls. I laughed, because I couldn't help it.
I tipped my imaginary cowboy hat and grinned. "Anytime, m'am."
Deny the Moon Page 22