The following morning, Emmy arrived outside my house bright and early. I could only infer, from that, that she needed to do an emergency coffee run as soon as was possible. I hopped out of bed and pulled on my black Hayley Kiyoko t-shirt (yes, I was this level of gay. I had upgraded) and then pulled on some jeans and neon socks, too. If my life couldn't be brightened up by anything else then at the very least my socks could help uplift me a little. 

I made my way out of the house and towards Emmy's car, which I soon got into so she could begin to drive the both of us to school. All the while I had to wonder what was going to happen with Courtney today. That was assuming that I even saw her.

My biggest problem with her had stemmed from the fact that I had always only wanted people to accept me and to fit in. I felt as though Courtney didn't accept me and that bothered me.

I could find some solace in the fact that I had my best friend Emmy right behind me but so much had come along to impact that recently that I didn't have a clue what to do with myself. All I knew was that I simply couldn't let some silly feelings sabotage my whole friendship with her.

Emmy drove us all the way to school until she parked outside. The two of us made our way out of the car and up towards the main school building. Once the two of us had arrived Emmy announced to me that she was going to get on with work. It seemed like a practical decision. I knew that she wanted to do really well on her assignments this year, as much as I did. I had unfortunately been somewhat side-tracked though.

I said my goodbye to Emmy and began to walk down the hall with plans of getting a panini from the cafeteria. Upon my arrival, I quickly found that Emmy's twin brother Elijah was sat nearby.

I wandered over to take the seat beside him and he smiled at me.

"How's it going, Eli?" I asked him.

"I could ask you the same question. I'm just thinking. My parents are hosting this traditional dance this weekend and I have to go but don't have a clue who to take with me," he admitted as a somewhat distressed expression crossed his face. It was only for a moment, though. After all, Elijah was usually an incredibly peaceful person. Today was no exception.

"I just..." he trailed off as he seemed to think about it.

It appeared that I wasn't the only one who had been deep in thought town recently.

"Why don't you take me as your guest?" I asked him then.

His eyes widened at that suggestion.

"But you like girls," he told me.

I smirked.

"Sometimes. Listen, your parents don't know that I am gay so what I'm saying is that I'll be happy to come to this dance with you," I told him.

"Amazing!" Elijah replied with a grin.

"You're welcome," I told him.

Not long after that, the bell rang out to signal it was time to head to art class.

I made my way there to find that Emmy was already busily working away.

I wasn't the only late body, though. Courtney had also arrived around the same time as me which ended up meaning that the two of us had to sit next to one another. Joy. I was sure that it would be fine. It didn't change the fact my stomach filled with uncertainty at the mere thought of it and I found my heart hurting.

Courtney was a complex character, to say the least. Her phone call with me previously had me wondering whether she was always like this or she just out up a front as Lois had told me because she didn't want to be hurt.

Either way, she was unpredictable. Hot and cold like the Katy Perry song. That being said, I had decided that she was worth figuring out.

"I don't believe that this lesson should need much of an introduction. Most of you should already know exactly what you're doing," Miss Mack said.

I supposed that she was right.

"Who inspires you?" Courtney asked me then.

I turned to her to notice that her eyes were trained on my work.

"My mother. My sister. Emmy," I said.

"Hm. Must be nice," she said.

"What about your family?" I asked her.

Courtney's jaw twitched at my question and I almost wished that I hadn't asked it.

"We don't talk about my family. I have to rely on myself for most things these days so just...don't bring it up," she told me.

"Okay," I replied.

"Thank you. Sheesh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. That's a really good picture," she told me, "You're talented."

I couldn't help but smile at that. It was probably the nicest thing that she had told me in a long time.

"My grandmother probably inspired me, though," Courtney revealed as the two of us worked quietly.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

Courtney simply nodded her head in agreement at that.

"Yeah!" she told me, "She used to make these delicious cookies and they were honestly the best. I miss her so much. She was the only one that really supported me after, well, I don't believe that I really need to say much else in that subject."

The bell rang out and the two of us left the classroom.

"Let's just say coming out wasn't exactly a fun time for me. It wasn't easy like I expect it was for you," Courtney said.

"I'm sorry," I said.

Courtney scoffed.

"For what?" she asked me, "Listen, it's not as if it even matters. I don't know why I'm telling you this."

After she said that, Courtney wandered off down the hall without me and left me wondering what I was supposed to do next.