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034.　𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋!
➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ─── 𝙰𝙲𝚃 𝚃𝚆𝙾, 𝙸𝙼𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙽𝙴
❝ as long as she's cleared, that's
what matters now ❞

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        THE group of teenage girls parted their lips in disbelief upon the blondes words, they all let out a chorus of, 'Huh's?'

"I don't know. It's possible that I had sex with him willingly, but, I don't remember anything."

"You wouldn't do that. And either way you were drunk he shouldn't have done anything."

"You knew about this?" Vilde questioned Lani, with raised brows.

"I asked her not to say anything." Noora defended the brunette earning understanding nods from the girls.

"Did you ask him? What did he say?" Eva asked. Noora pulled out her phone showing the five the text messages.

"Fucking hell, that asshole! I swear to God, if he raped you." Sana cursed.

"We have to report him." Lani announced.

"What is there to report? I can't report anything I know nothing about. I don't know what happened." Noora shook her head.

"Does it feel as if you've had sex with him?" Lani asked with furrowed brows.

"How would I feel that?" Noora tilted her head in question.

"You're a virgin. You would have noticed it." Vilde noted.

Noora swallowed a lump in her throat and shook her head. "I'm not a virgin. I had sex when I was thirteen."

"Thirteen?!" Eva asked with wide eyes.

"I had a boyfriend who was fifteen. So, I thought I was ready for it." Lani frowned listening intently alongside her other best friends. "Then he dumped me days later. End of story."

"What happened with William's brother? Tell everything from the start." Vilde said to the blonde.

"I had to talk to William. Eva and Chris, you don't know this." Noora began.

"Everyone knows of you and William, Noora." Chris chuckled lightly, a sad smile on her lips.

Noora looked to Lani who nodded with a shrug. "I went to William, but he wasn't home. His brother was there. I went inside to charge my phone. I ended up talking to him. He just told me lots of shit about William. I felt really sad. I drank a glass of wine. Then I remember nothing."

"You were drugged?" Eva questioned with wide eyes.

"She could have blacked out from the amount of alcohol in her system. Or have been drugged." Lani explained out loud.

Noora nodded at the brunette's words. "I don't know. I never drink alcohol, because I can't take it. I either feel really bad or I black out."

"But, after one glass of wine?" Eva asked softly.

"I think I drank a shot, too."

"But is there no one else you can ask? Wasn't there someone at the party, a witness? There had to have been." Lani questioned the blonde, still confused as to how no one helped her best friend.

"Yeah there was a girl who goes to our school. Mari. Do you know who she is?" Noora asked the brunette.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Lani questioned.

"I forgot her name, and I-I just-" Noora frowned shaking her head.

"It's okay." Eva said softly.

"What year is she in?" Vilde asked.

"I don't know, but.. I can't ask her, because she seems like a bit of a bitch." Noora bluntly said.

"How so?" Eva asked, as Vilde threw back her mimosa.

"We have to go to the emergency room." Vilde announced.

"Huh, no." Noora hesitantly shook her head at the suggestion.

"They can help us. You should've gone there long ago. It's the first place you go! They can help us find evidence we can use against him. Everyone knows that. You go to the doctor. It's the first place you go. Before showering, before changing your clothes, you just go to the doctor. I don't understand how you didn't know that." Vilde ranted to the blonde in disbelief.

"Vilde, has a point Noora." Lani nodded.

"I don't even know if I was raped. There's no evidence left now. And there's nothing the doctor, the police, or the law can do now." Noora shook her head.

"In this free, democratic country we have to believe there are laws and rules that protect us against assholes like him. We must believe in justice. We must believe that the good wins. Dead serious. If we don't believe in it. Who will believe in it then?" Vilde recited Eva's words confidently.

With that the six girls made their way down to Oslo's Emergency care.

𝖳𝖮𝖱𝖲𝖣𝖠𝖦, 20:29 pm

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            "HALLO." A chipper voice echoed through Lani's ears, lips were pressed against the brunette's cheek.

"Hei." She smiled shyly to the brunette boy who sat in front of her at Java Jones. She pushed the boy's drink towards him, as she sipped on her own. Warming her body up instantly.

"How's my girl?" He asked with a smile, his hazel eyes twinkling as he looked to the beautiful girl in front of him.

"Uh, good." She nodded. "You?"

"Better now." He admitted.

"Papá?" She asked with a frown.

Chris nodded, "Him and William."

Lani tensed at the mention of the doe eyed boy. "Why?" She asked.

"Well, my father wants to bring me into the office on Sunday to get to know the environment better and all that shit. And William, I don't know he's stressing over Noora. Apparently he thinks there's something wrong with her and he wants to help but she won't accept his help." He rambled. Lani gnawed on her lip, "Do you know what's bothering her? Maybe you could tell William."

"Uh, nei. But, I think she'll tell him when she's ready. Maybe she's just sick. It is chilly out." She shrugged, guilt flowed through her for lying to the boy. "And didn't you tell him what you wanted to do?" She asked with a frown.

"I don't even know what I wanna do." He murmured. "I graduate in a few months and I don't know what I want. But, I uh, think I found something." He said quietly.

Lani tilted her head, "What did you find?" She asked taking a sip of her pumpkin spice latte.

"The military." He said hesitantly.

Lani choked on the hot beverage, coughing up the content. Chris widened his eyes immediately reaching over with napkins wiping her lips. "Military?" She repeated.

Chris nodded, "It would just be training. Yanno, for a couple months." He said looking at the brunette warily. "Maybe a year."

"A year?" Lani repeated quietly.

Chris nodded, "Yeah. I mean we could face time, skype, text. I would come back on holidays." He began. "I sent in my application." He said quickly.

Lani parted her lips, "You did?" She asked, hurt he hadn't told her anything about the topic. You haven't told him about your condition; she thought to herself.

What if she got worse throughout the months of him being gone? What if he got hurt while being thousands of miles away from her? What if she ends up in the hospital? She couldn't explain why over a camera. She thought to herself.

"Lani?" Chris called out, breaking her from her thoughts. "I won't go if you don't want me too." He said.

Lani shook her head, "Nei. I wouldn't ask you to do that." She shook her head.

"Well, I don't want to leave my girlfriend here alone." He explained, pink tinted the boy's cheeks alongside Lani at the title he had given her.

"Girlfriend?" She asked.

"If that's alright with you." He said slightly panicked, "If not, I get it. It was stupid of me to, uh--" Lani sat up from her chair and pressed her lips against his. Savouring the passionate moment. "I'll take that as a yes."

Lani nodded, "I want you to be happy." She said softly.

"I am happy. And I'll have you to come home too." He smiled widely.

Lani falsely smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

𝖥𝖱𝖤𝖣𝖠𝖦, 14:15 pm

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             LANI sat with her father and brother in the doctor's office. She sat upon the bed fiddling with her thumbs. Her father nervously bounced his leg up and down waiting impatiently for Dr. Olsen to announce the brunette's results. A clanking sound startled the two. Lani and Roy looked to the side of the room seeing Elías holding the doctor's stethoscope at the boy's feet.

"My bad." He said sheepishly.

"Knock it off." Roy demanded his son, who nodded obediently picking up the object and placing it back on the man's desk.

A door opening alerted the three Santiago's. Dr. Olsen waltz in the room with a bright smile upon his features.

"Leilani, Roy and-" He nodded to the two then looked to the teen boy in the corner who waved casually.

"Elías." He said. "Elías Santiago." He said imitating James Bond.

Lani rolled her eyes at her brother, and did Roy.

"Okay, welcome. I see we're a full house today." He joked taking a seat in his rolling chair placing the brunette's file down on his desk.

"Any good news?" Roy asked with hopeful eyes.

"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted the good news or the bad news first." He looked to the three.

Elías leant next to his sister listening in. "Good news first please." He piped up.

Lani nodded to the nurse alongside Roy.

"Alright." He nodded opening the beige file he skimmed through the papers. "Well, the good news is. Your blood work didn't show anything we should be concerned about." He announced looking between Lani and her father. "Meaning, since you've been taking your medicine it has calmed it down."

"What does that mean now?" Lani asked in confusion.

"It means you're cleared." He smiled the brunette.

Elías' eyes watered as he hugged his sister tightly. Lani placed her hand on her brother's arm, her lips parted as she looked to her father who sighed in relief.

"The bad news?" Roy asked worriedly.

Olsen sighed, "There will always be a chance it could come back. But, I don't see that happening as of now. But, I do want you to be mindful that there is a chance it may or may not return." He explained.

"As long as she's cleared, that's what matters now." Elías spoke up, pulling away from his sister.

"Congratulations." He smiled to the brunette and Roy. He stood to his feet shaking Roy's hand, followed by Lani and Elías.

"Thank you, for everything." Roy said genuinely to the man.

With a nod and a smile he left the room.

Roy chuckled through his tearful eyes engulfing his two children in his arms. "This is probably the best birthday gift, I will ever get." He sniffled kissing his daughter's temple.

"Even better then getting your car?" Elías questioned with a chuckle.

"Better." Roy nodded.

"Can we get food now?" Lani asked, as the three pulled away.

"I'll get you the whole damn menu." Roy chuckled.

"Thank God, I'm starving." Elías breathed out.

               CHRIS walked out of Nissen towards his Mercedes. His jaw clicked as he looked down at his cell phone. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around the boy's torso, lips pressed themselves against his shoulder.

"Hei!" Lani giggled, turning the boy to face her.

Chris looked at the brunette with narrowed eyes. "Did you know?" He asked.

"Know what?" Lani furrowed her brows, her smile faltering.

"About Noora and Nikolai."

Lani's arms fell to her sides as she looked up meeting the boy's burning gaze. "You have to let me explain, Chris-"

"What is there to explain, Lani?!" He shouted in her face. Lani flinched at the harshness in his tone. "My best friend, gave yours a chance. Something, he never did with any girl. He went after her and did everything for her and this is what she does? I know me of all people shouldn't be saying shit, but fuck!" He cursed.

"Chris-"

"No! What the fuck, I thought we're supposed to tell each other everything?" He questioned, a vein evident on the boy's neck popped out.

"Like your plans after high-school?" She questioned quietly, her green orbs meeting his guilty ones.

"That's different."

"How? The only difference I see is that one involves you and I, whereas the other involves two other people." She remarked, her eyes breamed with tears. Shaking her head she looked away from the boy, "Nikolai took advantage of Noora." She sighed, "She went to go talk to William, and her offered her drinks to the point where she blacked out. She doesn't know what happened exactly, but she plans on asking this girl Mari about it."

Chris parted his lips, "3rd year Mari?" He asked.

"You know her?" She questioned.

Chris nodded, "Yeah. She used to be good friends with William and I. We'd see her at Nikolai's parties when we'd go." He explained, "That's why-" He apologetically looked down at the brunette. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't know- that son of a bitch." He cursed.

Lani nodded, "Yeah."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." He said looking down at the brunette.

Lani nodded, "Me too."

Chris frowned, "What the hell do we do?" He asked.

Lani shook her head, "I don't know." She breathed out.

Chris wrapped his arms around the brunette tightly, "I'm sorry." He repeated, kissing the crown of her head. "I shouldn't have accused you of anything. You were protecting her." Lani nodded into the boy's chest. "We'll figure this out, okay?"

"Okay."

Chris' lips twitched upwards, "Come on. I need your help wrapping your father's gift."

Lani giggled looking up at the boy, "You still haven't wrapped it? You do realize you could get a gift bag."

"Unwrapping gifts are more fun then pulling it out of a bag." He murmured, avoiding her amused eyes. "Come on." He dragged her to his car.

𝗼𝗼𝗼. ┊ 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒 !
✎↷:　❪ 𝙰𝚄𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚁'𝚂 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙴 ❫ 🌸🌿
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mah noorhem hart hurts

* when chris yells at lani *

also #laris is sailing and i couldn't be more proud.

𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍, 𝟤𝟥𝟨𝟤