MAGNESIUM // LGBT+ Romance 🖤

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Out in the garden it was a lot calmer. The faint sound of the music radiated from inside of the house, and there weren't as many people to suffocate me socially. Just a few stood by the walls or sat in the grass or on stray plastic chairs. Most people were outside to smoke, it seemed.

"This way." I heard Lia call to me, making me realise that I had gotten distracted looking around whilst she walked ahead of me. I caught up to her and was surprised when she linked her arm with mine. "Don't want you wandering off, do I?" She smirked, and I felt myself smile.

She led us to the back of the garden, where there was a group of about five people sat on the grass smoking. I recognised two of them as the girls from earlier.
"Hey guys, I want you to meet.." Lia started to introduce me, only for both of us to realise we'd never officially exchanged names or anything like that. For a second I was reminded that we did not know each other, at all - we could end up being complete opposites wishing we'd never met within the next five minutes. However, right now that didn't feel like it was possible.

"I'm Kendra." I smiled, giving a small wave to the group who gave me a warm welcome and shared their names in return.

"It's so weird that I hadn't even asked your name - sorry about that. It just felt like I must've already done that, y'know? I'm Malia, by the way." She spoke as we both sat down, and I glanced at her quickly.

"That's a pretty name." I blurted, immediately avoiding eye contact after I said it. I thought Lia was nice, but Malia was somehow even nicer...

"Yours too." She grinned, tucking her dark hair behind her ear as I smiled bashfully. "Do you smoke, by the way?"

"I haven't..." I shook my head because I didn't really... do much, at all. Let alone smoke. Again - I was drinking cider and only cider at this party.

"Oh I'm sorry - do you mind if we smoke around you then? I don't wanna make you uncomfortable." She was so considerate, and we'd known each other for ten minutes maximum... it was almost jarring to me.

"It's fine." I reassured her; I'd never done anything interesting, but that didn't mean I hadn't been around it. I could tell by the smell alone that they weren't just cigarettes either. Malia took a drag of hers and I found myself unknowingly breathing in the smoke that she let out, as if it travelling through us both somehow.

"You wanna try? This shit is real." One of the guys in the circle addressed me and I hesitated. Was it worth trying? I wasn't the type to do anything like this, and I was scared of having a bad experience...

"You don't have to if you don't want to, by the way. Only do it when you're comfortable otherwise it'll fuck you up in the wrong way." Malia shook her head whilst letting smoke escape her lips and I felt the corners of my mouth turn upwards. "It is good shit. But it's up to you."

I turned it down. I knew I wasn't in the position to be doing mind altering things, with people I didn't know well in a situation that was already uncertain to me. They all, thankfully, accepted my choice, and we ended up sitting and talking as the substance slowly overtook them all.

For the first time in a long time I felt comfortable talking around people that I didn't know. Something about these people was different - it felt like they were making space for me. We connected with one another instantly, like tectonic plates sliding into place. I felt confident speaking out loud, no fear of being interrupted or ignored or misunderstood. We told stories and laughed together about all sorts of things, from cramming last minute for an assignment, to having weird dreams about unusual TV characters. They told a few stories I couldn't necessarily relate to, but... they didn't make me feel unwelcome for being oblivious. They didn't shut me out for not being apart of their shared memories; they let me in.