Chapter 2
NORA FELICITY NOTT:
Nora couldn’t stand the fighting. Her parents had been arguing since she was seven, and it had caused her to run away more than once throughout her life. Usually, that led to trouble, including a missing persons case in which she was the centre of attention. After that whole drama her parents had moved from Cardiff in Wales to Oxford in England. It seemed her disappearance had only caused things to get worse.
Nora had seen people talking about how men hitting their wives was illegal, and while she’d never witnessed that, she’d witnessed something similar. Her Mother smashed a mug full of hot tea over her Fathers head. He had a scar on his forehead to his eyebrow from that incident. Unfortunately, he seemed to love her too much to realise leaving was what was best for the family.
As soon as she found out about Oxdon Youth Centre she knew she was going every Friday. So, when Friday finally rolled around, she packed a bag with money, her phone, some homework, some makeup, and some noodles in a cup. Youth Centres usually had kitchens.
Nora didn’t bother to tell her parents where she was going. She could hear them yelling through the walls, and she didn’t want to watch another steaming mug incident. So, she climbed out the window, and dropped into the bushes. She was used to it by now, so she’d long grown out of her fear of heights.
The sun was still up, and while she felt on edge about walking to the Youth Centre alone, she was fine with going at this time. It wasn’t that far from where she lived. She lived fairly close to the edge of Oxford anyway, and walked most days to her school in London. She had to cut through some bushes to get there, since it’s car park and entrance weren’t easy to get to from her direction. It was a simple building, and she walked up the ramp to the front.
There were already a few people there, and she could see a group of roughly four people talking inside. Beyond that there were two people playing pool, a trio sat in the corner, and two kids her age outside. And even more people were showing up as she did as well.
A woman with a soft smile walked up to her.
”Hello, my name is Pavarti,” she started, and Nora noticed the lesbian pride pin on her shirt. “What is your name?”
”Nora,” the ruby haired teen responded.
”Is that chosen or birth given?”
”Birth given.”
”Surname?”
”Nott.”
”How would I spell that?” Pavarti looked up. “K-N-O-T-T?”
”There’s no K,” Nora explained.
”Do you identify as female, male, or other?”
”Female.”
Pavarti nodded. “I’m just going to give you this. It’s a sheet for you to provide your guardians names and numbers so that we have an emergency contact. Although if you would prefer for someone else to be your emergency contact that is fine as well.”
Nora thought this over. She really didn’t want to use her parents as her emergency contacts. Perhaps she could ask Mauve’s parents if they’d be okay with being her emergency contacts. Her Father was better than her Mother, but she still just didn’t want to hear the yelling for being so reckless. She hated yelling, and being blamed for horrible things that happened to her. Often they went hand-in-hand.
Speaking of Mauve, the demigirl should have been either there already, or arriving soon. Nora looked around for a bit before noticing she was inside, at the table making pride jewellery. Nora smiled and walked over to her.
Once Mauve noticed Nora, they immediately got up and wrapped her in a hug.
”I missed you!” Mauve exclaimed. “My folks are boring.”
“I saw you just two days ago,” Nora pointed out.
”Yes, but two days ago was a long time,” Mauve pouted. “How have you been?”
Nora shrugged. “Been well,” she prepared herself for what she was about to ask. It was probably an odd request. “I was wondering if I could use your parents as my emergency contact instead of mine?”
Mauve smiled empathetically. “Of course! My parents love you. Almost more than they love me.”
Nora shook her head at the enby, watching as they sat down at the table and continued with their jewellery making. Mauve did that a lot, it was something vi really enjoyed. Vi’d even started an Etsy shop to sell the jewellery. Some of it was pride stuff, others were just colours she thought looked good together.
Mauve had made some for Nora, but she didn’t wear it often. She did not want to hear the yelling from her parents if she ever told them she was gynesexual. she didn’t want to hear the “so you’re basically a lesbian” or the “so your basically pansexual” from anyone. It was annoying to have such an ignored sexuality, because she had to scroll through the entire LGBTQ+ page, thinking she was pan until she found a sexuality that better described it. It wasn’t that difficult to explain, but some people found it difficult to wrap their head around. Not Mauve though, she made a gynesexual themed set of earrings for Nora.
Nora had them on now, and fiddled with the green bead of one while she sat down, watching Mauve thread and twist a genderfae themed bracelet. That was her thing. Making jewellery for the lesser known identities, although she did also sell stuff for the more heads of ones. They just knew from experience and from Nora that having no understanding of just how diverse the group was could be harmful. Mauve had thought vi was just a normal girl until vi started to realise vi felt disconnected to that term. So they thought they were non-binary for a while, but that felt even less right. Eventually she found the term demigirl, and something clicked. And when she saw how confused Nora was, she decided the make jewellery in order to validate the other less heard of identities.
Nora and Mauve talked for a while before a boy a little older than them sat down on the other side of the table with a book. He was mixed race, Black and Caucasian, and Nora glanced at Mauve, whose grandfather was Indian. There weren’t many people of colour at their school, which left Mauve to be extra singled out, so Nora had noticed her friend always perked up whenever she met one.
“Hi,” Nora introduced herself, “and this is Maeve. What’s your name?”
”Finn,” the boy replied. “We go to the same school by the way, I’m just in the year above.”
Mauve smiled. “Really? Why haven’t we seen you in the canteen before then?”
Finn shrugged. “Racists? Homophobes? People like that.”
Nora frowned. “I hate people like that.”
”Yeah,” Mauve sighed. “Especially when they imitate the accent. One time, someone pulled an Indian accent and then asked me when I was getting married off.”
Finn nodded. “You’re African, where’s your gun?” He rolled his eyes. “Guess they forgot we have laws against those.”
Finn glanced down at the genderfae themed bracelet Mauve was making.
”What’s that?” Finn asked.
”Pride bracelet,” Mauve explained. “Genderfae themed. I have a shop on Etsy where I sell them. You mentioned homophobes being an issue? Would you like me to make you one?”
Finn nodded. “You don’t have to.”
”No, they really do,” Nora replied. “They love it. Stopping vim is like taking away a kids favourite toy. It does not end well.”
Mauve glared at Nora, but didn’t deny it.
”Oh sorry, what pronouns do you use?” Finn asked. “I didn’t realise you were non-binary.”
”I’m not, sort of,” Mauve shrugged. “I’m a demigirl, which is technically a non-binary identity. I use she/they/vi. I understand neopronouns can be confusing, so you can just use she/they, I really don’t mind.”
Finn nodded. “Alright.”
”I swear, all demigirls pick a colour for their name,” Nora said. “Sage, Crimson, Blue, Saphron. Name one demigirl you’ve heard that didn’t.”
Mauve thought for a moment. “I was about to say Lilac but that’s also a colour. Um, I think I once had a buyer named Fern.”
“Close enough,” Finn shrugged.
Mauve pouted, but continued to thread beads onto her bracelet. They finished fairly quickly, making a multicoloured bracelet fit for any genderfae person. Finn had gotten up and boiled the kettle in the kitchen, so Nora followed him to look through the cupboards. She found hot chocolate sachets and a couple mini marshmallows. Finn shook his head lightly as he fiddled with a chai tea bag, waiting for the kettle to boil.
”So, what is your sexuality?” Mauve asked. “And would you prefer a bracelet, necklace, or earrings?”
”You really don’t have to,” Finn said, as he poured the hot water into his mug. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
Mauve frowned. “But I like making jewellery. Just tell me your sexuality and what you’d prefer.”
”Give in Finn,” Nora smirked, pointing to her gynesexual themed earrings. “It does not do to upset a Mauve when vi is trying to make jewellery.”
Finn sighed. “I’m gay,” he shrugged. “And I’d prefer a bracelet.”
Mauve smiled and started collecting the beads she would need. Knowing Mauve, Nora figured it was not going to be as simple as the one she’d made for her buyers. They tended to make extra interesting bracelets for their friends. Nora made herself some hot chocolate (admittedly by using the kettle to boil milk, but don’t worry, she cleaned it afterwards) and joined Finn and Mauve back at the table.
“So, you like reading?” Nora asked, sipping on her chocolate drink.
Finn nodded. “Yes, very much so. English is my best subject at school, followed by Civics. My parents keep telling me to go into law.”
”Is that something you would be interested in?” Mauve asked, twisting the thread with six translucent beads to make a flower before putting on a small rainbow bead.
”Sure, I’m really good at arguing,” Finn shrugged. “And I was president of the Debate Club a couple years back.”
Nora snorted. “Sorry, that was just so nerdy.”
Finn glared. “What about you two?”
”I like jewellery making,” Mauve deadpanned. “Obviously.”
Nora giggled lightly. “I’m on the girls football team at school. Centre.”
Finn nodded. “That’s cool. What got you so interested? A friend? An idol?”
”An excuse to get out of the house,” Nora shrugged, swallowing. “One that wasn’t dangerous.”
Finn raised an eyebrow, and Nora could see Mauve shaking their head in her peripheral vision. Her disappearance in Cardiff wasn’t something she enjoyed talking about all that much. Sometimes just thinking about it was triggering. She had got enough weird looks from her schoolmates back in Cardiff, and the move had helped with that, but it didn’t stop the panic attacks, flashbacks, or nerves at being the new girl. Nora was still averse to uninvited touch or being jumped from behind, but she could usually just tell people that. The only reason Mauve knew what happened was because she’d been present for a particularly bad flashback.
After a couple of minutes of chatting, Mauve finished the rainbow bracelet and wrapped it around Finn’s wrist. He seemed to rather like the bracelet, and the conversation continued on. After some time two people, some Caucasian tree with dark brown hair and a black person wearing a rainbow hoodie, ran outside. It startled a few people there, but most shrugged it off and got back to their conversations.
“What was that all about?” Mauve asked.
Nora shrugged. “Probably nothing.”
Finn downed the final sips of his tea before getting up.
“Do you want to explore a little bit?” He asked. “I’ve never been here before.”
Mauve shrugged, putting their stings and beads back into their pin covered bag.
“I’ll look around with you.”
Nora got up, pulling the flannel tighter around her waist as she did so.
”Sounds fun. I’m curious to know what this place looks like.”
The trio left to walk through the corridors, perhaps there were more rooms for other stuff. And maybe they’d be able to find the bathrooms for future reference.
The corridor outside of the main room was beige, carpeted and narrow. On the end closer to the front there was a closed door which had a staff only sign, so Nora assumed it was some kind of office. The hallway led to another corridor, a slightly wider one, with nooks that some groups were sitting in. Oxdon definitely wasn’t as nice as some of the other Youth Centres in London and Oxford. To their right was a stairwell, which lead down to some kids playing basketball on a court Nora hadn’t noticed. Along there was what Nora assumed to be the main entrance area, with large glass doors and a closed concession stand.
”There’s the bathrooms,” Mauve noted, opening the girls bathroom door. “And it’s a mess of graffiti and toilet paper.”
Finn checked the boys bathroom and closed the door quickly with a sour look on his face. “Smells like piss.”
”Oh, hi Mauve,” a man with blond hair and blue eyes interrupted. “The gender neutral or non-binary bathrooms are downstairs if you’re looking for any.”
”Thanks Neville,” Mauve gave him a thumbs up. “The conflict of having to pick between girl or other.”
”I imagine the gender neutral bathrooms are still much nicer than the boys ones,” Finn screwed up his nose. “I tend to avoid public bathrooms.”
”Understandably,” Nora commented. “What do you think is that way?”
Nora pointed to the other end of the corridor, which seemed to shoot off into even more corridors.
“Don’t know,” Mauve made for the stairs, “but I do actually need to use the bathroom.”
Nora followed Mauve down the stairs, earning a weird look from Finn before he followed. Underneath the building was dark and covered in cobwebs. Nora stepped on a bunch of leaves and sticks when she got to the concrete ground. The basketball court was to their left, and the change rooms were close by. The right looked more like something out of a thriller, with exposed red brick and cobwebs and dirt.
“I guess this is it,” Mauve walked into what had probably been a boys bathroom previously, and Nora waited outside with Finn.
“Well, this is awkward,” Nora muttered.
”Hm?” Finn snapped his neck to look at Nora.
Nora looked at the basketball court before turning back to Finn. “Really?”
Finn shrugged. “A good looking guy is a good looking guy.”
”Covered in sweat and smelling like B.O.?” Nora asked.
Finn rolled his eyes. “You just don’t like masculinity.”
“Yes, sweat and B.O.,” Nora deadpanned, “the most masculine thing on Earth.”
”Okay, yeah maybe they’re a little gross right now,” Finn sighed, “but once they shower I’m sure they don’t smell as bad.”
Nora sighed. “Oh to be gay and alone.”
Finn frowned. “I’m not alone. I have two friends.”
”Who? Me and Mauve?”
”No. You two are my worst enemies, and I am secretly plotting your demise.”
”Cool, want some tips?” Nora offered. “My biggest pet peeve is people who dress their pets in clothes.”
Finn pulled a face. “Why would anyone do that?”
”Because what if they get cold? Or what if they hurt their feet?” Nora said in a high pitched voice. “Sure, they’ve got thick fur and have never once whined about their paws, but you can’t be too safe.”
Finn snorted. “Do you have any pets?”
”I have a dog,” Nora nodded. “Cairn Terrier.”
”Sorry, I don’t know my dog breeds,” Finn shrugged.
”Small, white, and fluffy.”
”Aw, that sounds so cute.”
“I’m done,” Mauve walked out of the bathroom. “This place is kinda cool. Like a creepy murder hide out.”
”Creepy murder hide out?” Nora raised an eyebrow at the enby. “Yes, especially with the loud squeaky sounds of boys playing basketball.”
”Hide the sounds of your victims screams?” Mauve held their hands up in a mock shrug.
“And there are little gaps to hide the body in,” Finn added. “The bins are right outside that gate too.”
”So, we hunt down all the people who have wronged us and bring them here?” Mauve said with a malicious glint in vis eyes. “Charlotte L’Raine, here I come.”
”Can I bring my homophobic parents?” Finn asked. “I’m sure they could fit in the bins with a little dismemberment.”
“There you guys are,” the trio was interrupted by Pavarti. “It’s nine o’clock, so it’s time for everyone to go home.”
The three nodded, went back up the stairs to leave. Once outside they felt the cold night wing whipping at their skin. Nora had to continually brush her ruby coloured hair out of her face. Finn pulled out his phone and gave it to Mauve.
”Give me your number and then I can get Nora’s off you,” Finn said.
Mauve nodded and typed in vis number, creating a contact named Mauve Selwyn.
“There you go,” Mauve handed the phone back.
Nora looked at the dark road, empty and haunting. ‘It’ll be fine’ she said, ‘something like abduction would never happen to me’. Nora bit her lip and closed her eyes as the memories came flooding back. Her parents had got into a particularly bad fight, and Nora couldn’t sleep through all the screaming. So she packed a bag and ran away with the intention of staying at her friends house. She’d done it many times, but this time was different. This time she didn’t make it to her friends house, and the police searched for a month before finding her.
Nora squeezed her eyes shut tight as a single tear fell. She crouched down on the ground, sitting on her heels and resting her head in her palms. She felt trapped, as the phantom of a stranger grabbed hold of her, and shoved her into the boot of his car. She could feel the sticky duct tape keeping her quiet. She could feel the tight rope burning her wrists as she scratched to pull them off. Why her? Why not anyone else?
“Nora?” Mauve spoke in a soft voice. “Is it a flashback?”
Nora nodded, feeling all of the terror building inside of her. She was never going to see her family and friends again. She was trapped. He’d surely kill her at some point. He’d have his fun and then throw her out. She couldn’t see the car, she knew where she was. But she could feel everything. The sensations, the emotions, she relived all of them.
”Nora, can I touch you?” Mauve asked.
Nora choked back her sobs before answering with a nod.
Mauve gently held Nora’s hands, and slowly guided the girl to her feet. Nora was shaking violently, and she could see everyone else was gone.
”I’m going to hug you now,” Mauve said tenderly, “tell me if I make you uncomfortable.”
Nora nodded, and Mauve wrapped their arms around her trembling frame. Mauve pressed a soft kiss to Nora’s temple and gently stroked her arms.
”Fo you want to come home with me instead?” Mauve asked. “So you don’t have to listen to them fight?”
Nora nodded. Her and Mauve pulled apart, but Mauve still kept an arm wrapped firmly around Nora as they went to her house. The Selwyn’s were always much nicer to Nora than her own family.