27.6.20
*this chapter takes place one month after the previous chapter*
"Linda" Gary started.
"Oh hey Gary" Linda wasn't really paying attention, she was scrolling on her phone.
"Uh..." he mumbled, Linda looked up at him (he was quite a bit taller than her).
"Are you okay?" she questioned.
"Yep, ahah, completely fine, nothing to worry about" he smiled awkwardly and gave a thumbs up.
"Yeah, you're definitely not okay" she looked up and down the corridor quickly to ensure no one was listening in on their conversation "what's wrong?"
"Ummmm"
"Gary, you can tell me"
"I, uh, I like someone"
"Oooooh" Linda laughed "...wait why is that a problem?"
"Because...she like wouldn't like me"
"Noooo, I'm sure she would....unless she doesn't like boys, does she like boys?"
"Yeah, but she likes another boy, who is not me"
"Oh shit, do you think she would like hate you if you told her?"
"Yes, no... maybe, I don't know"
"Well, if you think she won't hate you forever, maybe say something because like, she might like you, if she doesn't then it should be easier to get over her if you're horribly rejected, sorry, I'm sure you won't be horribly rejected, now I'm just rambling, sorry"
"Don't apologise, it's-it's fine"
"Okay, I hope it goes well for you"
"Yeah" he laughed awkwardly "I hope so too"
The bell for their last lesson rang.
"Good luck, I'll see you after school"
Gary and Linda would always walk together after school, mainly because Linda couldn't bear to take the bus with Tom, and Gary wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to her when she was walking. Linda thought he was just overthinking but she appreciated the company.
"See ya" then he went off to class.
Linda walked along the halls to Maths, there were only a few classes she had that Gary wasn't in and this was one of them. Becky was in her maths class which made her happy but at the same time extremely pissed her off. At least it wasn't with Tom, which would be awkward for a number of reasons (he's dating her kind of ex-best friend, the fact Gary still thinks she likes him and that she literally hates his guts). She entered the class and immediately took her seat.
"Hi Linda" Becky said, bubbly as usual.
"Oh hey Beck-" Linda saw that Becky was wearing her cheerleader outfit "Oh, I uh, I didn't know you got into the cheerleading squad"
Linda tore her eyes away from Becky and got back to taking her school equipment out of her bag.
"Yeah! Tom's on the football team as well so I can cheer him on!" Becky giggled.
"Yeah, that's great, you're like high school sweethearts" Linda replied, still looking awkwardly at the desk in front of her, but Becky was too happy to notice or care.
After about thirty seconds, the teacher arrived and began to teach the lesson, every now and then she would sneak glances at Becky, she couldn't help but admire how she looked in her cheerleader outfit. Her hair in a tight high ponytail, the way the shirt tightly hugged her frame, the short skirt that showed of her thighs-
"No, Linda" she thought "You're just jealous of her, you wish you were like her"
"Linda, you okay?" Becky pulled Linda out of her thoughts.
"Uhh, yep, sorry, this class is just boring"
"Yeah, but you still need to work hard"
"Well that's easy for you to say, you're good at it"
"Are you struggling?"
"Um yes" she stuttered our quickly, lying again.
"I can help you if you want, maybe we can be like study buddies" Becky smiled.
"Yeah sure that would be nice"
"When are you free?"
"After school Monday's and um Wednesdays"
"We can maybe meet at my place to study" Becky was stilling smiling
"Uh, yeah, that would be great"
"Yeah, it'll be good to have someone to study with, we can improve together"
"Christ, how are you so positive?" Linda laughed slightly
"I just feel like having this positive outlook will make my life happier overall"
"Yeah..." Linda just zoned out after that, she couldn't remember anything that happened in the rest of that lesson. All she could think about was the fact she was going to be studying with Becky Barnes after school tomorrow.
After her final lesson, she returned to her locker once again to meet Gary.
"We still meeting at yours after school" Linda asked. Although Gary would usually walk Linda home, if they actually wanted to hang out they would go to Gary's since Linda's family situation wasn't the best. She did tell Gary this and he understood, "it's completely fine, don't worry about it" he would tell her.
"Yeah" Gary responded, his heart beating out of his chest. He nervously wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and awkwardly waited for Linda. After she gathered her stuff, they began their walk home, the walk was nothing out of the ordinary but Linda could tell Gary was anxious. She tried to dismiss it and didn't say anything until they were nearly at his house.
"Gary, are you okay?" she questioned, concerned.
"Yes...I'm okay" he didn't look at her, just kept looking straight ahead.
"What's wrong? I can tell something's bugging you"
"It's okay, Linda, it's just like a stupid thing"
"Gary-"
"Linda, please"
"Fine, I'll leave it alone"
After a little while they got to Gary's, his parents greeted Linda as if she were their own child even though Gary and her had only been friends for a month, they were very close. They went up to his room, originally planning to help each other with the biology, Mr Hidgens would probably give them detention if they had another late homework.
(a/n: isn't hidgens like 60 so he would be like 30 years older than linda and gary so technically he could have been their high school teacher although ik he wasn't)
So they had to figure it out themselves, Gary was smart tho so they were good.
"Gary, I don't understand this bullshit"
"Mr Hidgens is a good teacher but you don't pay attention"
"It's difficult though... what's 3a"
"The left ventricle, and 3b is the aorta"
"Thanks Gary, you're a lifesaver"
"Linda"
"Uh, yeah?"
"So you know the girl I like?"
"Not personally but yeah"
There was a silence.
"Gary, is it... am I..?" Linda began
"Okay I totally understand if you never want to speak to me again-"
"Gary...uh...I'm sorry but I don't like you....like that...but uh we can still be friends"
"Sorry"
"Don't be...uh" tears welled up in her eyes
"No no no, don't cry, did I do something?"
"Gary I" she exhaled to try and compose herself "I don't think I like...boys..."
She burst into tears, clinging to Gary, probably creating a wet patch on his jumper with her tears, but he didn't mind.
"Well Linda I accept you, it was really brave of you tell me and I'm glad you did"
"Wait what?" she wiped her tears from her face with her sleeve, her eyes red and puffy.
"It's okay if you don't like boys, it's okay if you like girls, it's okay if you like neither, or you like people inbetween"
"Okay I lowkey thought you were gonna hate me forever and never talk to me again"
"That's how I felt before I told you, the uh, thing, I'm sorry, I'll get over you probs like uh really soon now that I know..."
"Gary, don't worry about it"
"Wait, didn't you like Tom?"
"Oh that was a horrific lie, I hate that motherfucker"
"Wow, why did you tell me you did then?"
"I was scared, that like, if I didn't like a boy there would be...rumours"
"But you only told me..."
"I don't know, even I don't understand my own brain sometimes...wow, I feel a lot better now"
"Sorry for asking but like, are you gay? ace? aro? All you said was you don't boys and that could mean a bunch of stuff"
"I'm not sure, I think that I might like...a girl, but I don't know...I think I need time to figure it out...sorry I told you when I don't even know-"
"It's okay, you can always talk to me, especially since...I'm not sure I'm entirely straight either..."
"Oh...cool, thanks for telling me, sorry I don't know how to respond to this shit"
"I don't really know what I am either, I know I like girls, I also uh...like boys, idk about people inbetween, you know"
"Have you ever liked a boy before?"
"Yeah"
"Cool"
"Cool"
*1342 words*