Side of Ginger

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"You kind of already did."

"C'mon, I'm serious."

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. What's up?"

Colin and Ginger sat cross-legged on the dusty, stained carpet of Colin's living room in front of Colin's television. They played Super Smash Bros. on Ginger's Nintendo Switch, with an hours-old Tombstone supreme pizza between them. This was their Friday routine. They'd get together after school and throw a cheap pizza in Colin's oven, then play video games until they got hungry again. When that happened, they'd leave the house and walk to a local restaurant together, where they'd vent about the week and shoot the shit for an hour or two. After the sun set, they'd walk back and play more games, or watch movies, or catch whatever grabbed their attention on cable late into the night. For both, no matter how much older they'd gotten, or how much they'd changed, it was a constant comfort.

"Well," Ginger began. "You know Caitlin Agresta?"

Colin scratched his smooth face. "Not personally, but yeah, I know of her."

"Okay. Alright." She paused, searching for the right thing to say as she selected Princess Peach on the character select screen.

"What about her?" Colin picked Captain Falcon.

Ginger squirmed. "Do you know if she's seeing anyone?"

Colin raised a brow. "No. Why?"

The naturally brunette redhead bit her lower lip. "No reason. Just wondering."

Ginger hesitated to bring up the reason behind her line of questioning. It had always been difficult to talk to Colin about girls. He was clueless when it came to dating, and had never gone out with anyone during the entire time they'd known each other. He'd never even expressed interest in anybody, outside of some girl in middle school. It was a stark contrast to Ginger, who'd been in love with the idea of being in love since she was little, and had a bad habit of falling for people fast and hard.

Colin picked a random stage on the TV. "Is there really no reason?"

"Well, no." Ginger steeled herself for the virtual battle.

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing." She swallowed. "I was just... I mean, I'd just heard something about her."

"Yeah?" Colin guided his character towards Ginger's as soon as the match started.

"Yeah." She ground her teeth and deflected Colin's attack. "I heard she's bi."

Colin watched, helpless, as he got knocked back. "Oh. Huh."

"But also... I mean, isn't she all religious and junk?"

"Oh, she definitely is. Everyone knows that about her."

"That's what I thought..."

Colin leapt above Ginger on-screen, prepped for a downward kick. "Why the sudden interest?"

Ginger dodged the kick and walloped Colin with a frying pan. "Because I wanna ask her out."

Colin was sent flying across the stage. "Seriously?"

Ginger nodded as she abused the taunt button. "Mm-hm. But if she's super Christian or whatever, maybe it's a bad idea. Maybe she's bi, but... well, you know. Maybe she wouldn't see me as a girl or a guy." She could feel sweat start to coat her controller with a thin layer. "Maybe she'd just think I was a freak or something. Like a crossdressing rapist. That's what Christians think about trans people, right?"