Eden and Bea (LGBT+)

🌳🌳

"Remember that time she insisted I was an alien?" I asked. "Like, really, she got her friends in on it." She spread that rumour around the school like wildfire.

Axel released a gentle laugh again, as his eyes sparkled with good humour.

I was glad that someone was finding my current predicament amusing because I, most certainly, was not.

"That was about six years ago. You two were twelve. A lot of things have changed since then," he said. "Anyway- are you going to be at the football game later?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said, "I'm feeling my anxiety rise."

Axel's eyes flickered with sympathy. "It's not going to be that bad, Bea, honestly. Anyway, come to the game. It'll take your mind off things. Our team is going to have to win. We've been training..."

"Every day for the past week," Owen chimed in, with a great grin across his face.

"So, we have to win! You're my best friend, Bea. You can't miss it," Axel told me.

Okay, now here comes the guilt trip.

I knew that he was right, however. No matter how much I was worried about the upcoming camping trip, I couldn't let that ruin other things that were going on in my friends' school lives.

"I'll be there," I agreed, with a friendly smile.

Owen told the two of us that he had to go and speak to his girlfriend, so Axel and I made our way to the cafeteria and soon sat down at a nearby table. I wasn't feeling so hungry, but I caught Axel eyeing up the burgers on offer.

"What's going on in there?" he asked me, as he returned his attention to me and gently tapped on my forehead. It had been a game we had played since we were children. If you asked the question and did the tap, then the other person simply had to tell the truth about how they were feeling, no matter what! I kept secrets from most people, but Axel was the exception to that rule. He knew almost everything there was to know about me, which could have been worrying had I not trusted him as much as I did.

"A lot of dark, scary, things that I can't tell you about," I replied.

He raised an eyebrow at me, in response to that, seemingly unconvinced.

"Come on, Bea, honestly. Talk to me. What's going on?" he asked.

"Alright...so I'm failing English class," I admitted.

His eyes widened at that.

"And it just sucks. I know that Eden is going to come top of the class. She does this every year," I stated glumly.

Axel tilted his head to the side, his expression thoughtful.

"I think someone's a little jealous," he said.

I pointed to myself, then, with an expression of shock.

"Me? Jealous? Never," I said.

He smirked.

"Perhaps, you should get that printed on a t-shirt," he said, with a playful glint in his gaze. It only lasted for so long, before he spoke again with a more serious expression. "Bea Marie Hazel. Bee-bee. Beatrice. Beehive?" he said, as he began to list out all of the nicknames he had coined for me over the years. "Bee-bee," he said again, more decisively, "Don't get your little stripes in a fuss over this. You're going to pass those exams when they finally come around. I simply know it."

I was glad that he had more faith in me than I ever could. That was one of the best things about Axel- he managed to keep up his optimism, no matter the situation.

Then again, I doubted that he was failing any of his classes. He managed to get at least a B or above in anything, even without studying! It was somewhat infuriating, but I had to be proud of him over any other feeling that I might have had. After all, he was my best friend.

"For my birthday this year, can you buy me a brain that can actually write coherent essays? I swear, my dyslexia is the worst," I said. There was some amusement behind my words, but only just.

"Sure, I'll check on the black market for one. Your birthday is September sixth, right?" he asked me. He was teasing. He knew my birthday.

"That's the one," I said, with a kind smile. "Thank you. You're a true friend."

He winked at me, with a half smile.

"You're welcome," he said. 

The sun beamed in through the cafeteria window and warmed me slightly, as I sat there chatting away to Axel, while the two of us ate some fruit that he had bought. He also ended up buying a burger for himself. He needed the strength for his game, after all. 

I skipped out on the burger thing. I was attempting to become a vegetarian, but it hadn't been so successful so far. 

I would have done a whole lot better, had chicken not been a thing that exists. 

"It's a beautiful day. Do you want to take a walk?" Axel offered. 

"What? Before I have to face my fate?" I asked. It was only a half-joke. 

"Yes," he said, with an amused smile. 

I nodded. 

The two of us wandered out of one of the exit doors of the school and into the warm, beautiful day. The sky above us was a vibrant blue- the kind that you would usually only see in movies or holiday adverts. I smiled up at the sky and for a moment, allowed my mind to be completely distracted. 

"Camping will be fun," Axel said then, drawing me out of my thoughts. "Stargazing, marshmallows, fire- what's not to love?" he asked me. 

I stepped around him, so I could sit down on the grass nearby. 

Even though we would soon be entering autumn, the flowers were still alive and well. 

"I love the nature aspect of it, for sure, but you seem to be overlooking the fact that I have to share a tent with Eden," I reminded him. 

"Maybe all that comes between the two of you and a glorious friendship are a few days spent in the sunlight with barbeque burgers," he said. 

Yeah. I doubted that.