Drew called me that afternoon again to ask me to hang out with him and some of the others. I wasn't about to turn down the offer. I knew that Drew and I had our struggles recently but I didn't want to make him feel as though I was cutting him off. 

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

"Of course," I replied.

Drew became quiet on the other side of the phone line, so I decided to say something else.

"Drew, listen. I'm sorry about the other day. I wish that I could tell you everything it's just - "

"Why can't you?" he asked me.

"I can't tell you everything because it is complicated," I stated.

Drew sighed then.

"How is it at all complicated?" he asked me.

"You wouldn't understand," I replied casually.

I could imagine that Drew was probably pinching the bridge of his nose at this point.

"You know I'm smarter than you give me credit, Zoe. I would understand. Besides, if you don't tell me outright, I'll figure it out," he stated.

I swallowed at that statement. That was a concerning prospect. Maybe I really hadn't thought this through as much as I originally believed that I had.

"Anyway, I've got to go, Zoe. I need to start making some plans for when I help out at the LGBT shelter in a few days time," he told me.

"Since when are you helping out at an LGBT shelter?" I asked him.

"You know I want to be able to help people that are struggling. Apart from that, I know that Heather regularly helps out the people there, so I thought that I may as well do the same," he told me.

I gave a nod of my head and then realised that he couldn't, in fact, see me through the phone. I didn't know that about Heather but that was really kind of her. Was there anything she didn't do?

"Good luck, Drew. And..." I trailed off then be cause I knew that I was about to tell Drew something that would take a lot of guts. "I'll tell you everything soon. I promise."

I had to. This had gone on for long enough and ultimately Abbie and Wesley had been right. I couldn't hide this away from the two of them forever. It wasn't right or fair on either Drew or Heather.

"Okay, Zoe," Drew replied.

Soon after that, the two of us said goodbye to one another and I began to get ready for bed. Once I was changed into my pyjama t-shirt and shorts, it was time for me to try to get some studying done. It was almost Halloween and once Halloween came around I would have about three months before we took the practice exams. The mere thought of the practice exams gave me a headache but I knew that I was going to be alright. If Riley had told me anything over his years of trying to help me out with life in general, then he had told me that I needed to have more confidence in myself.

I supposed that he was right, of course. I knew that wasn't limited to having confidence in my academic work but it also included me having confidence in talking to other people. That meant that as much as I may have wanted to hide away and not tell Drew the truth about how I felt, I knew that I was going to have to.

I gave a slight shake of my head, as though doing so would clear the anxious thoughts from my mind. I then resumed my studies for a couple of more minutes until my phone buzzed again. I wasn't sure who would have wanted to call me at such late hours of the evening but I knew that I couldn't let my phone continue to ring. It was on silent but I still got a little anxious that it would somehow wake my parents up.

When my parents worked in their business all day, their sleep became incredibly important to them.

I answered the phone and was greeted by a voice that I hadn't been expecting to hear but one that instantly made me feel better and worried all at the same time.

"Good evening, Zoe," Heather said.

"Hey Heather," I replied.

"I wanted to talk to you. It's been a while, I-"

How was it possible that even her voice was attractive? It simply wasn't fair.

"I know it's been a while. I hope you've been okay," I said.

"Of course," Heather said but there was a hint of something else in her voice, which caused me to wonder about that. "Are you excited to hang out tomorrow?" she asked me.

When she asked me that, I remembered that it wouldn't only be Drew and I spending time together the next day. I knew that I would have to wait it out if I wanted to talk to him about how I had been feeling recently.

"Its always great to see you, Heather," I said.

"Really?" Heather asked and the pitch of her voice seemed to raise a fraction. "I mean, that's cool. I look forward to seeing you too," she told me.

"Always," I replied and sat down on my bed, so I could listen to the slight white noise of the phone and the evening.

I could tell that Heather was smiling on the other side of the line. Maybe it was due to the fact that I was smiling too.

The feeling had crept up on me but I really was glad that she had called me.

Of course, I was still anxious and my mind was still a mess but it was a relief to know that Heather and I were still friends. For one reason or another, she had become incredibly important to me.

"Are you going to sleep?" she asked me with a kind tone of voice.

"I probably will soon. Are you? I don't want to keep you up if you're planning on sleeping," I told her.

"Nah. I'm a total night owl. I'll probably be up for several hours more after you go to sleep," she told me.

"Alright, Heather. I'll see you soon," I told her.

"I'll see you soon, Zoe," she replied.

The smile didn't leave my face, even after I had put the phone down.