wren ╳ ⋮ ———— WHEN SHE WAS younger , wren used to hate gatherings like this. overly extravagant dresses , shoes that pinched her toes , make up that made her feel like a painting more than a person—it was rarely fun. not to mention that for most of her life , she hadn’t been allowed anywhere close to the bar. && whenever she did try , the bartenders would always give her this patronizing look && ask if a fine lady like herself should really be drinking hard liquor.
but she comes as a different person now ;; she’s sure if she had met her past self , she would be unrecognizable ( tattoos up && down her arms , dark && dramatic make up , a dress that showed far more skin than a proper woman should show ) — && that’s exactly how she’d want it. the person she grew up to be ( && had always been ) was nothing like the girl her parents tried to make her anyway.
one thing that hadn’t changed , though , were the predatory men that stalked joints like this ;; swirling && slow swimming like sharks picking out the weakest link. it’s something that wren has trained for since she was young && she’s able to ward off most of them either with a look or , if they continued to be pushy , a flash of the knife she had strapped to her thigh under her dress. one way or another , most of them got the message.
this one didn’t seem to get it though , following wren around && getting closer && closer at every chance. even the knife didn’t seem to deter him , thinking it some kind of foreplay instead of a warning. && as much as wren would like to use the knife , she’s less than interested in getting kicked out of this party for stabbing , especially since the night was so young && she looked so good. && this not even taking into consideration how expensive this dress is && how much getting this bastard’s blood on it wouldn’t be worth it.
just as her grip tightened on her glass , preparing for a very terse flinging of her drink , she feels a hand on her shoulder. at first , she thinks she’s being ganged up on , but the appearance of the stranger seems to make her stalker back off. though she’s not much for being a damsel-in-distress , wren turns to give a curt thank you but she’s caught off guard by how familiar the stranger looks. && then recognition slowly dawns over her face as she whispers—
“ fuck off , no way. ” – [ 🌙 ]