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"A few nights ago, a really close friend of mine came very close to what I would call raping me. I mean, I was into talking to him at first, and I kissed him back, but he started going too far--and I was pleading with him to stop, pulling on his arms. The thing is, we were both drunk, and no one knows the whole story except me, and now everyone is mad at me because they think I seduced him. I am so scared to tell the truth because I don&amp;#039;t want to hurt anyone anymore--I just want it all to go away.  Bettina, 18, Washington, D.C. Are you upset because it really was an assault? Or because he was the aggressor and you&amp;#039;re being pegged as the one who seduced him?  If you think you were assaulted, call RAINN, the Rape Abuse &amp;amp;amp; Incest National Network, at 1-800-656-HOPE. A trained member of the hotline staff will help talk you through what happened and your options.  Otherwise, if it&amp;#039;s more the gossip that&amp;#039;s worrying you, it&amp;#039;s important that you walk away having learned a lesson about drinking--the ramifications of that night could have been far worse. Drinking can lower your inhibitions and make it more likely that you&amp;#039;ll get into situations you&amp;#039;d never consider if you were sober. I&amp;#039;m not saying you tried to seduce this guy--and it certainly doesn&amp;#039;t excuse his forcefulness. I&amp;#039;m just saying that you might not have been alone with him or returning his kisses if you hadn&amp;#039;t been drinking. (Oh, and P.S.: He&amp;#039;s not a good friend.) On to your friends: Unfortunately, girls often get criticized (even by other girls!) when things go too far with a guy. Here&amp;#039;s why: Girls are so competitive with each other for the attention of guys in high school. So anytime a girl either missteps or does something gossip-worthy or remotely scandalous, the other girls all sort of gang up on her. Think about it: one less worthy competitor in the field. But this is all just psychology. Don&amp;#039;t let these people at school bring you down. It doesn&amp;#039;t really matter what they say--it doesn&amp;#039;t affect anything. Sure, people might talk about you for a while. But you will just have to ignore it and move on. As far as telling everyone what happened, I&amp;#039;m not convinced that setting the record straight with everyone will do anything more than promote the gossip. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/friends-family/q-and-a/a31/friend-rape-ds-0706/>