Ghosted

Chapter 9: Platonically in Love

This chapter focuses on Flynn! I'm so excited for this one! I hope you guys enjoy and thanks for reading it so far I hope you've been enjoying the story.

"Your advice really sucks." Julie sighs, plopping down on Flynn's bed.

"I warned you." Flynn says. "Wanna talk about it over coffee?"

"Definitely." Julie says, springing up.

They get their coffee and go back to Flynn's house and chill in their room with their drinks.

"So, what's going on?" Flynn asks.

"Luke keeps asking to talk about us, and I keep avoiding it because I don't want to talk about it. I don't know how I feel, how am I supposed to talk about it? And I'm just so stressed about Caleb coming back for them, and I just, I can't do it all." Julie says. "There's the band, Caleb, summer work, adding this mess with Luke and Nick and my feelings is just too much."

"I feel you. And it's okay to tell Luke that." Flynn says. "If he doesn't understand than he's a big man baby and you would deserve better."

"Yeah, but I can't just tell him I don't wanna be with him when maybe I do, and and I can't just reject him and be in a band with him forever."

"You rejected Nick and stayed his dance partner." Flynn points out. "And I'm not telling you to reject Luke, I'm saying if he keeps insisting on an answer give him one. It's okay if the answer is I don't know. And if it's not okay with him, you deserve to be with someone who does understand it takes time to work through complicated feelings."

Giving Julie advice like this was actually quite hard for Flynn. As someone who didn't really know if she believed in finding "the one" it was hard to tell Julie how to do it. For her, a deep platonic bond seemed more important. And that's what she felt like she had with Julie, but she knew Julie would never look at it like that because her "one" was going to be some boy she falls romantically in love with.

Not enough people realize you can fall platonically in love too. And Flynn's beginning to realize she fell a long time ago.

"Yeah, yeah thanks Flynn." Julie says. "You're right. I should just be honest and tell him I don't know. You're actually a genius. What would I do without you." Julie gives her a hug.

Flynn asks herself the same question about Julie every day. What would she do without her? She'd be flying solo without her best friend. No, she wouldn't even be flying. She's be stuck on the ground, possibly drowning, without Julie.

"I'm gonna go talk to him now!" Julie says.

"Oh, okay, do you want me to drive you?" Flynn says a little sad she was leaving so soon.

"That's okay, it's not a long walk. See ya later." Julie says.

"See ya later Jules." Flynn sighs as Julie leaves her room. Flynn lays down on bed staring at the ceiling, thinking she'll never get to have a Prince Charming even though she's never wanted one. She's always known she was into girls, and she always thought that it would be okay because she'd still get her happy ending with a girl, but now she's thinking she won't even get that.

She doesn't know the difference between love and best friends. Is there a difference? Should there be a difference?

Flynn goes to her kitchen to get a snack and hopefully get her mind off of things. She opens the fridge and looks around to see what sounds good.

"Hey Bud." Her brother says, pushing her pink beanie down in her face. "Julie left already?" Her brother Daemon was staying with them for the summer since he didn't have any classes at college.

"Yeah, she needed to do something more important." Flynn says like it was nothing, fixing her hat. Like it didn't bother her Julie just up and left her for Luke. Of course she tried to be understanding, she was happy for he best friend and wanted her to be happy. And if that meant leaving to go talk to Luke Flynn would learn to be okay with that.

"Ah okay." Daemon nods. "And you're just totally cool with that? It doesn't bother you at all?"

"Nope. Not at all." Flynn shuts the fridge door after pulling out some orange juice. She gets a glass and begins to pour.

"Really because it kinda seems like it's bothering you just a little bit."

"It's not." Flynn says.

"Really? Because you only drink OJ when you're feeling down." Daemon says.

Flynn sighs and stops pouring. "What am I supposed to do about it? She has feelings for this guy and...and I'm just her friend."

"You aren't just her friend. You're her best friend. That's just as important as some stupid guy she may or may not want to start a relationship with." Daemon says. "Maybe even more important."

"Yeah, says you and no one else ever." Flynn says before taking a sip of orange juice.

"I'm serious. You and Julie have a unique friendship. Don't undermine it just because you think Julie values boys over you."

"It's just...you know it's just how it goes. Romance is more important."

"And that is you falling into the trap of amatonormativity. Just because it's important to some people doesn't mean it has to be for everyone. It doesn't have to be important to you and who knows if that's what's important to Julie."

Flynn sighs. "I hate it when you're right." She says.

"I'm always right." Dameon smiles.

Flynn rolls her eyes and finishes her orange juice before heading back upstairs to her room. She plops down on her bed and rolls over to look at the photo of her and Julie pinned to her lamp shad that had doodles all over it from the first time Julie had ever slept over at her house.

They drew little flowers and hearts on the lamp shade and when you turn the lamp pin in the dark, it makes little shadows all over the room. Flynn swore to never get rid of it, it was too important to her.

The pin that held the photo of the two of them, they were hugging and smiling like nothing could ever go wrong, was a pin Flynn had made her self of the bands logo. Her and Julie's band, Double Trouble.

She missed the days they would sing karaoke in her room, purposely singing bad and annoying her brother by being too loud. Or when they actually did try and they were so good together.

She smiles thinking about the memories. What could tear a friendship like that apart?

Love. Romance. Boys. Cute ghost boys from the 90s. A voice in her head says.

Flynn tried to ignore that thought but the idea of it being right haunted her. She would always be left to be platonically in love in a world where that didn't really mean much of anything.