Astoria Blythe

013

"What do you think?" Anne asked Diana, Cole, and Astoria.

The three stared at her, unable to form proper sentences. Diana was the first to speak up.

"Well... You hold your head with such an air." She replied.

Anne laughed at this, a big smile on her face.

"You look... Amazing as always." Astoria gave a fake smile.

"Here. If you don't mind, I'd just like to make one or two adjustments." Cole butted in. "For balance. May I?"

Cole and Anne sat on the classroom seats. Diana and Astoria stood, watching what Cole was doing. He began to do a few things, making Diana and Astoria smile.

"Ooh, that'll look divine, Anne." Diana commented.

"Just marvelous." Astoria added.

The girls in the back of the class stared at Cole as he did Anne's hair, amazed at how well he could do it. The boys, on the other hand, laughed at Cole. They thought it was stupid and that he shouldn't know how to do this in the first place.

"Sorry everyone's staring at us." Cole apologized.

"It's fine. They should be minding their own business." Astoria shouted the last sentence.

Mr. Philips drew on the blackboard, not paying attention to what the students were doing. The girls in the back commented about how good Cole was at hair.

"How I wish we were doing recitations today, when appearance is a paramount importance." Anne said.

"Recitations..." Cole started.

"Are the purest form of torture." Astoria and Cole said at the same time.

"Torture?! You two can't be serious." Anne replied.

"Standing up in front of a classroom..." Cole trailed off.

"With everyone staring at me? Sounds like torture." Astoria finished.

"That's the whole joy of it!" Anne told them.

"No joy at all. It's like being under a microscope." Cole said.

"One of the reasons I hated school and was glad I wasn't going." Astoria sighed out.

"I just feel... Too... Tall, too seen, too... Weird." He softly continued, finishing Anne's hair.

"Oh, it's beautiful, Cole!" Diana exclaimed.

"Utterly magnificent!" Astoria clapped her hands lightly.

"Cole Mackenzie!" Mr. Philips' loud voice rang out, startling everyone. "Since you seem to have such... Feminine proclivities, we shall indulge your taste of it this morning. You can sit with the girls."

People started laughing and joking about Cole, and Astoria was getting progressively more agitated.

"That's not fair!" Astoria shouted. "Cole was just helping Anne with her hair, what's so wrong with that?"

"Quiet, Ms. Blythe. This does not concern you." Mr. Philips told the girl, watching as Cole picked up his things and moved them to the girls side of the class.

_____________

Astoria sat beside Cole, watching him draw over his shoulder. The two were silent other than Astoria humming, which became a ritual between the two. Not long after, Anne came to sit beside them.

"Mr. Philips had no right to insult you like that. I'm sorry you had to endure it." Anne said to Cole.

"It's fine." Cole quietly responded.

"It's scandalous." She replied.

Astoria stayed quiet, not wanting to get wrapped up in talk of Mr. Philips, knowing how Cole and herself viewed him.

"He's never liked me." He said.

"He doesn't seem to like anyone. Except Prissy." Anne added.

"Have you noticed that I always seem to get detention for no reason other than I'm..." Cole trailed off.

"What?" Anne questioned. "You're what, Cole?"

"Different." He hesitated.

Astoria knew exactly what he meant. Cole had told her a few weeks ago that he had no attraction to girls, that he only seemed to like boys. Of course, Astoria was completely fine with it. She and Cole had been friends since they were babies so nothing was going to change, other than the gender they talked about.

"There's nothing wrong with different. I'm unusual, too. And that's why we're kindred." Anne smiled. "You're unique."

"I don't want to be unique." Cole replied.

"Why not?" Astoria finally spoke up, still leaning on Cole's shoulder.

"Unique means weird." He elaborated.

"I think it means... Singular and extraordinary." Anne told him.

"Well I'd rather be ordinary." Cole said.

"I feel that way sometimes too." Anne sighed. "But an ordinary person wouldn't be a brilliant artist."

"I'm not, but thanks." Cole smiled.

"Oh, of course you are. Don't tell yourself any differently." Astoria shoved him lightly, laughing.

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A/N

<3