The following morning, I awoke to find myself pressed into Courtney's soft chest. In the meantime, Emmy's leg was sprawled over me. As I began to think over how I was going to get myself out of this little obstacle, Courtney's eyes fluttered open. She pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. 

Emmy groaned as she awoke, too and apologised swiftly, as she rolled off me. 

"Shiitake mushrooms. We need to get out of here and get going to school, now, now, now!" she said. 

"Ugh. Do we have to?" Courtney asked. 

"It's results day!" Emmy and I said, at the same time. 

Courtney sighed, as she sat up in the bed with me still clutched to her. 

"No," Courtney said. 

"Yes, Courts. I'm afraid it is. You and Phoebe will have plenty of time to make out later but now we have to get going, okay? I'll buy you breakfast," Emmy offered. 

"Nah, nah. I'll buy breakfast," I said. 

Emmy smiled a friendly smile, as the three of us hurried out of bed and began to get ready for the day ahead. 

Once we were all freshened up and changed, it was time for all of us to get going to school. 

"Off we go then, Emmy Rose," Courtney said, as the three of us walked over to her car and sat down in it. 

"Wait. What about Elijah?" I asked. 

"I'm guessing Elijah is already at school. I wouldn't put that past him," Emmy said. 

"Alright, then," Courtney said, "Vamos." 

Courtney drove the three of us to school and it was good to see that Emmy looked a little more optimistic about the day ahead. I knew that she adored our art teacher, Miss Mack, who she would often vent to. Miss Mack was pretty chill with that, though. Before she had become head of the art department, she had worked in the student counselling section for a while. I had spoken to her a few times, too, when I had first come to terms with the fact that I was gay. In the end, though, I had worried a lot about things that never happened. My family were great with the fact that I was gay. I knew that unfortunately that was not always the case, though. I glanced towards Courtney for a moment, once she had parked up in the school park and she met my gaze, smiling back at me. 

Once we got to our art class, Emmy caught up with Miss Mack for a short while. I went to sit by Courtney. 

Emmy eventually had to return to her seat, so Miss Mack could begin the lesson. 

"Now, I am incredibly proud of every single one of you," she said, "I won't waste much time in handing out the grades- Oliver will be round with a grade sheet soon enough. However, I was very impressed with everyone's work. Particuarly Courtney Allen, who used one of our very own students as inspiration for one of her pieces," Miss Mack said, as her eyes glanced towards me. 

I looked towards Courtney for a second, just to register whether what Miss Mack was saying was true. 

Courtney's lips twitched up at the corner. 

"I hope you don't mind," she whispered. 

"Of course not," I said. 

"Courtney did manage to get an A on the project, which is incredible! Emmy and Phoebe, you two also got As. Congratulations girls!" she said. 

"Thank you, Miss Mack," I replied, with a warmth to my words. 

I was so glad the project was finally all done and I had managed to achieve such a good grade on it. It felt like a dream! I couldn't wait to tell Callie and the others when I got home. 

We spent the rest of the lesson celebrating our successes, until we were dismissed. 

Emmy informed us that she was going to go and talk to Lois after class and Courtney and I wished her well. It was a good feeling to be genuinely happy for my friend, now, especially when in the past I hadn't been so sure that I liked her being with Lois. Nevertheless, I knew that had come from a place of jealousy. I wasn't jealous of her anymore because I had found my own happiness with Courtney and I wasn't going to let anyone hurt that. 

"Hello girls!" Ryder called out to the two of us, as he walked on over. His eyes glanced between Courtney and I momentarily and he smiled. "I'm glad you're happy, Phoebs," he said. 

"Yeah?" I asked him. 

"Yeah! I mean, you're gay- I can hardly be jealous about the fact that you've moved on now, huh? You don't play for my team," he said. 

"Speaking of teams...how did your football game go?" I wondered. 

"We won!" he said, "I knew that we would, of course." 

That didn't surprise me in the slightest, Ryder had always been confident in himself and his team. That was one of the qualities that had always made him a great leader. I knew that once we left the school Ryder was going to be missed by the other sports' players but we were all moving onto bigger and better things. 

"I mean...it did get sort of intense. One of the guys from the other team felt the need to pounce on me, which obviously was against all of the rules. I handled it, though." 

"Way to go, wildcat," Courtney replied, as amusement glimmered in her eyes. 

Ryder released a gentle laugh. 

"Anyway, I'll see you two around," he said. 

"See you later, Smith," Courtney said. 

"Bye, Ryder," I said, with a friendly smile, as I waved him off. 

Courtney and I wandered on through the school grounds until we reached a bench nearby, which we both sat down upon. I loved being able to spend some carefree time with her, especially now that I knew our art assignment had finally come to its conclusion and all I had to focus on now was passing those exams. 

"Are you sure that you're all cool with me using you as inspiration for my project?" Courtney asked me. 

"Of course I am. I told Miss Mack to not bring it up in class because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but..." I trailed off, as I got my art book out and handed it to Courtney, so she could see the portrait that I had completed of her, "...I did the same. You could say that you inspire me. I mean, you definitely do. I'm sorry, is that cheesy?" I asked. 

"As macaroni but..." Courtney trailed off, as her eyes widened, "Wow, Phoebs. I absolutely adore this. I adore- I mean, good work," she said. 

"Of course. Now, can I see your art work?" I inquired. 

Courtney cleared her throat a little nervously, as though she was worried that she had been on the verge of admitting something she wasn't prepared to admit just yet. I couldn't help but wonder about that. I knew that there was a lot that was on my mind when it came to the relationship between the two of us. 

Courtney simply nodded her head, which pulled me away from my thoughts. She then pulled her sketchbook out of her bag so she could show me her own piece. 

Sure enough, there I was, with those bright eyes staring back at me, full of warmth, even in art form. 

"This is stunning, Courtney. I love it. You're so talented," I said. 

"Well, I wouldn't..." she trailed off. 

"No. I mean it. You could do amazing things here," I assured her. 

Courtney instinctively smiled at my words. 

"Thank you, Phoebs. That means the world to me," she said, as she reached out to hug me, being mindful of her art work as she did so. 

Once she moved away again, she searched my eyes. 

"You look as though there's something on your mind," she told me, as she began to put her art book away. I did the same with mine.

"There is. I want you to meet my family. Would you be cool with that?" I asked her. 

"Sure! Let's do it," Courtney said decisively. 

Thus, the two of us walked out of the school and towards her car, so she could drive the both of us back to my home.