Between the recently turned lesbian practically clinging to Bailey's arm and the man who's heart she broke in her transition of coming out, was a place Bailey did not want to inhabit. At this point, she didn't want to talk to either of them. They needed to take this elsewhere.
"So, new girl, , you like guys, right?" He blurted the question out as he propped his chin on the palm of his hand and rested his elbow on the cafeteria tabletop.
This school was overflowing with stupid geniuses. It was a rare commodity.
"Boy, I wish you'd forget that," Bailey said, mumbling about the flashing incident yesterday. That wasn't a topic she wanted to speak about either, her face still burned with embarrassment from that, but it would be better than what was about to happen.
Out of the corner of her eye Bailey watched a smirk form on Damien's face as his gaze focused on her face. Butterflies in her stomach made her reach for the soda she'd purchased before sitting down. She quickly took a sip, thankful that the flush on her cheeks would be interrupted as embarrassment from yesterday and not from Damien.
Grayson chuckled. "Well, in all fairness to me, as much as I wish it true, it's not every day I get flashed," he said.
"What?" Bailey frowned. What had they been talking about again? "Hmm?" Damien had the power to render her almost speechless with one smirk. Bailey would have to stay away from him.
Grayson lifted a hand to his face, stroking his jaw as he contemplated something. "So you do like guys then?" he asked. "With the way you're eyeballing Damien I'd say yes. Damien is a pretty specimen isn't he? Still, I want to hear your answer. Out loud."
God
Bailey could feel the burning red flush spread from her face to her neck and she knew she'd never be able to look at Damien again.
"U-uh," was all she managed.
Grayson raised an eyebrow waiting for a confirmation he already knew. He seemed to enjoy the uncomfortable situation he was putting everyone at the table in. Gwen just bowed her head and remained silent, her hands folded in front of her. Damien and Oliver watched with uneasy interest. The tension in the air even made Willa and Seth pause in arguing, but only for a minute before they decided to scoot further away. Bailey wished she had that option now.
Her hands were clammy and her stomach turned. This was happening. "Uh..."
Kate groaned and dropped her head in her hands. "Grayson, please don't do this."
The comment took Bailey's attention away from the mortifying moment as she glanced towards the blonde once again. Would he listen to Kate? Trying to reason with him could make this situation worse.
"Well? It's a simple question, new girl," he said, completely ignoring Kate. "Do you bat for the same team?"
Bailey tilted her head to the side, eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
Bailey shook her head slowly, her mouth opening and closing twice before she actually responded. "I-I don't play football."
As she finished the sentence she realized what she'd said and grimaced. She wasn't going to live that one down. She'd meant to say baseball. She really wasn't that mentally challenged. Maybe the stupid-genius syndrome was rubbing off on her already. Clearly it wasn't as rare as she originally thought either.
Soda spewed out of Oliver's nose as he burst into laughter.
She felt the helpless thought squash any hopes of them forgetting this moment, but at least it took the attention away from her crushing on Gwen's brother. Damien was even shaking his head, laughter etched on his face.
Gwen bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. "Sweetie, you don't bat in football."
"Well, I know that. It just came out wrong." Bailey informed them, cringing at the whine she heard in her tone. "It was right in my head. Just the transition..." she trailed off not wanting to dig her grave further.
She watched as Damien covered his sexy mouth with a fist to stop his own laughter as he watched her, almost as intently as Grayson was, seemingly waiting for an answer to a question she didn't seem to understand. When the rest of the occupants at the table remained silent as well, clearly waiting for her answer, Bailey decided to have him elaborate. "Um, what was the question again?"
Grayson's eyebrows lifted high into his hairline. "Guys?"
Bailey bit her lip, trying to hold off the flush of embarrassment. It wasn't her fault he wouldn't just spit it out. "I don't think I know what you mean, Grayson. The whole batting thing threw me off."
Yep, her brain was mush.
He scoffed, taking a deep breath, clearly irritated. He slipped from emotion to emotion so easily Bailey wondered if he was Bipolar. "Do you guys?"
Oh, so that's where he was going with that last question. She shook her head. "No."
In her peripheral view, she saw Kate's head jerk up from out of her hands. Everyone stared at her like she was an alien.
"Did I say something wrong?" Bailey asked, honestly curious by the similar responses.
Grayson looked positively horrified, as if the situation had backfired on him. "You date ?"
Bailey's eyebrows drew together and she shook her head. "Oh no, why would I date girls? I don't date at all."
Grayson scoffed, lifted his gaze towards the ceiling, and roughly dropped a hand against the table. "Son of a bitch," he said with exasperation. "Okay," he started, holding his hands out, "you did date, would it be girls or guys you'd go for?"
"Oh. Is that what you meant?" Bailey laughed. "Why didn't you just say that?"
. Bailey cringed inwardly.
"God." Damien guffawed into his hand, managing to smother his laughter only slightly as he continued shaking his head.
"Guys, I would date guys," Bailey said, wishing away the past five minutes.
Grayson smiled triumphantly, his sudden frustration disappearing as if it'd never been there. Definitely Bipolar. "That's what I thought. There. See Kit-Kat, all settled." He folded his hands together, looking at Kate with a smug, cat-ate-the-canary expression.
"Grayson, you're such an ass!" Kate growled angrily, gathering her books and standing to leave. Her lunch completely forgotten.
Startled by her hurt expression, Grayson shifted to follow. "Kate! Wait, I'm sorry," he called, but he was too late, she'd already darted off. "Damn it."
He slowly sat back down and took a deep breath as he stared intently at the haphazardly discarded white bag on the side of his elbow.
"Why can't you keep these topics to yourself? Do you let all your laundry out to dry for every new person?" Bailey asked.
Grayson gave a quick smile and shook his head, glancing back up to Bailey. "You're kind of oblivious aren't you?"
"And what does that have to do with anything that happened here?"
She wasn't oblivious. Not really. Kate was the one that cheated, so she didn't really have the right to walk away in Bailey's opinion. All Bailey knew was this hadn't been the place for it and she was going to let him know it.
The thought surfaced again.
Grayson offered a tired smile. "You're right. Let's just change the topic."
And they did.
Later, when lunch was over, the question on whether or not she was right was eating at Bailey as she exited the cafeteria with Gwen. "So," Bailey started, clearing her throat before continuing, "out of morbid curiosity... Andie is a girl and Kate cheated on Grayson with her?"
Gwen smirked and clutched her books to her chest as she swiveled around to face Bailey, successfully walking backwards in a crowded hallway. People just seemed to move out of the way for Gwen. What Bailey liked most is that she knew it wasn't out of fear. It was out of respect for Gwen as a person. "I thought it wasn't a conversation appropriate for a new girl."
Bailey harrumphed. "Well, it's not. I did say 'morbid' curiosity, didn't I? Curiosity is murder!"
Gwen chuckled and nodded. "Yes."
"Yes to my question or yes to what I said?"
Gwen shrugged. "To both. Grayson was pretty beaten up about it. Still is actually. He really, really loved her. I mean, they've been friends since childhood, but sixth grade came around and he was smitten. She needed a little persuasion. They didn't officially date until seventh grade."
"Wow, that's a pretty long time. If you knew that, then why did you act like you didn't know earlier?"
"Bailey, Kate's a lesbian."
Bailey frowned and licked her bottom lip. "Yeah, I got that, but..."
"Not every gay person is okay with everyone else knowing. Kate's one of those people. Her family are very devout Roman Catholics. So I pretended not to know. Though, I admit, I probably should've asked a different question."
"Being a lesbian is not what she should be ashamed about."
Gwen lifted an eyebrow. "You seemed uncomfortable around her. I figured you found out and disapproved."
"Hey, whatever floats her boat. It doesn't bother me that she's a lesbian, just that she was all..." Bailey stopped gesturing towards herself.
"Up in your grill?" Gwen offered.
Huh. What a weird thing for someone from Haven Prep to say. Bailey nodded anyhow. "Basically. That uncomfortable. What she should be ashamed of is the cheating though."
"Eh, you're not wrong."
"I know I'm not."
Gwen pursed her lips together. "But you sound like you think she's this horrible person and she's not. I don't want you to think of her that way. She's just a girl. Hoping to study medicine in college and worried that her choice in lovers could get her disowned. And she loves her family so much. She's a good person, Bails. Don't pass your judgment. People make mistakes, you know. They're not perfect."
"Well, that's a mistake that shouldn't be made."
Gwen's eyes widened in surprise and she let out an amused laugh. "Whoa there tiger! Is there any gray area with you?"
"My father cheated on my mom. So not usually, not when it comes to that."
"I'm really sorry to hear that. It sucks when you're so close to the situation that it affects you. Try to remember that Katie's not your father though."
They paused at the door of their next class. "I'll try... so are you a therapist in training or what?"
Gwen laughed and hip bumped her as they walked in. "Something like that."