You'll Be Back [Rewritten]

🌺 Chapter XXII

<Via's POV>

"You kissed?" Drew gasps. I nod, neatly copying their notes onto the poster. "Holy shit, dude. Uhh, how was it?"

"It was... nice," I say quietly.

"And?"

"I'm back," Roman says, thudding into his chair. "Thanks for helping us out, Via. I mean, you're not even in our class."

"I don't have anything better to do," I mutter. "Besides, I know you both have shit handwriting."

"Pfft, bullshit," Drew snorts. I raise an eyebrow and they grin. "If Katie was actually here, we'd have her do the writing. But she's sick."

"Pity."

"Are you coming to the play next weekend?"

"Play?" I ask, looking up. "What play?"

"Beth didn't tell you?" Drew gasps.

"No one told you?" Roman asks. I roll my eyes and go back to writing. "So, there's two drama performances each year. One in the fall and one in the spring. The fall performance is next weekend."

"Cool," I mutter.

"I can't believe no one told you about it. Anyway, I'll get you a ticket. It'll be fun."

"What's the show?"

"Midsummer Night's Dream."

"Hmm." I slide the poster back to them and they grin.

"Thank you very much." I shrug and pull out my phone. I scroll through Beth's Instagram, liking some of her posts. "So, can you actually sing?"

"What?"

"Well, I stand two inches away from you in choir, and I've never actually heard your voice."

"There's no reason for you to hear my voice," I mutter. "You and the rest of the basses are great."

"But we're also the smallest section."

"Don't let the dysphoria get you down," Roman says. I scoff and look up at him. "Just saying."

"Why does Beth have pictures of herself in a football uniform?" I ask. Drew and Roman look at me, then at each other. "What?"

"It's time you knew," Drew whispers solemnly. They suddenly break into a grin. "And that's not Beth, it's Lizzie!"

"Lizzie...?"

"So, at the end of seventh grade, Beth came out for the first time. Then, in eighth grade, she decided to become the most butch lesbian that she possibly could without being too obvious to her parents. Hence... Lizzie."

I smirk at another of Beth's pictures. She has a short bob, a denim jacket, and Converse.

"Lizzie used to play football, and she was actually really good at it." Drew sighs heavily. "She did it until sophomore year, then she got upset that she was the only girl on the team."

"I see."

"But, then she started realizing that she could be feminine and still be a lesbian, so Lizzie became Beth again. And Beth is fucking awesome at Ultimate Football."

"Interesting."

"Ask her about it sometime. She likes you enough that she won't get mad at you." I look at Drew and they give me an innocent smile.

•••

I finish my math problem just as my phone goes off. It's a FaceTime request from Olivia. I tap the call button and Olivia's face appears on my screen. She smiles at me.

"Hi, Via," she mumbles. "I'm very sick right now."

"I can tell," I say. She sniffs and giggles. "I miss you, Ollie."

"I miss you, too. How's your girlfriend?"

"Good. We, uhh, kissed. For the first time."

"Really?" she gasps, her face lighting up. "Okay, tell me everything. Every detail. This is what I live for."

"Wow... " I mutter, rolling my eyes. "Drama queen."

"Shush. Tell me the story." She coughs violently, then takes a drink of water. "I'm fine. Go on."

"Well, I invited her over," I say slowly.

"So, Jon--"

"He wasn't home." She rolls her eyes. "And, we talked for a while."

"Awesome. Wow," she says sarcastically. "Get to the kissing part!"

"There's not much to say. She came over, we talked, we kissed a few times, and she left."

"How was the kiss, though?" I slowly nod, remembering it.

"It was... really good," I murmur. "She said she's never kissed anyone, but she was really good. And she really needs to lay off on the strawberry Chapstick."

"Strawberry Chapstick?" Olivia echoes. "Why, do her lips taste like strawberries or something?"

"Uhh, yeah. Not that I'm complaining."

"Ooh!" Olivia squeals, grinning. She coughs, sighing. "I hate being sick."

 "Is it a cold or something?"

"I think it's the flu. It's flu season, and I have pretty much all the symptoms. I'm on a strict diet of soup, crackers, and water."

"Sorry, Ollie. I hope you feel better." I hear someone else's voice and she nods to them.

"I have to go because Mom wants me to go back to sleep."

"Okay, Ollie. It was nice to talk to you."

"Let me know if there's any updates on your dating life."

"Oh, I will," I laugh. She smiles and ends the call. I set my phone to the side and go back to working on my homework.

A/N

Sorry for not posting, but school's starting for me(all online). It's very stressful right now.

How's everything? I hope you're all doing wonderfully.

If not, just remember that I love y'all!