I yawned as I woke up. I felt absolutely refreshed. I smiled as I thought about the events yesterday. KJ was nice enough to drop me off at my dorm. I got out of bed and did my morning routine. By the time I was finished, Rosé began to stir. I decided to mess with her by opening the blinds. She hissed as she pulled the covers over her face.

"Wake up, sleepy head." She said something, but it was muffled by the covers. I know how to get her up. "I need to tell you something about Alicia." That woke her up. Rosé jumped up so quickly that she ended up pushing me off the bed.

"Ack!" I fell onto the ground. Rosé didn't bother helping me up since she was preoccupied by laughing. "Rude. I guess I won't tell you."

"Noooooooo! I'm so so very sorry." She gave me a puppy dog face.

"Whatevs. I'm gonna call Rue and Logan." I FaceTimed them, but before I could speak, Rosé stole my phone. She did something that caused their faces to appear on the tv screen. "Much better." She gave me a thumbs up. "Guys! Muy problemo!"

"What?" Rue and Logan simultaneously asked.

"So Alicia and I were having a small argument over her buying me expensive gifts. By the way, I told everyone that you gave me the gifts." I turned to Rosé. "Anyways, we were arguing and she and I quote said 'what's the purpose of having all the money in the world if you can't spend it one the one you love'." Rue spat out the water she was drinking, Rosé fell off the bed, and Logan knocked his phone over. "I know, guys. But then she panicked I guess and ignored me the rest of class. She legit stood up and left me." My shoulders slumped.

"Dude. That's called gay panic." Rue stated.

"Damn she's in love." Rosé attempted to make heart eyes.

"What are you gonna do? Are you in love with her too?" Logan asked. All of them looked at me expectingly.

"This is gossiping about Alicia time. Not asking Nicola uncomfortable questions time." I attempted to huff. Rue rolled her eyes before asking me the same question. "Yes." I sighed out. "But she misspoke clearly. And now I think it's gonna be awkward."

"I doubt that. I think she meant it and was scared of how you would react." Rosé hugged me. "Ohhhhh!" Rosé shouted in my ear. "Isn't that how lesbian relationships work. You guys fall in love after the first date!"

"That's accurate." Logan stated. "You guys do move quick." He added.

"So do I make the first move and talk to her?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Hell no!"

"Fuck no!"

"Okaaaaaaay then..." I trailed off.

"You wait for her to make the first move since she's the one who created the issue. Have her come to you." Rosé advised.

"But what if she doesn't?"

"Then she's a bitch and I'll kill her." Rue punched her hand.

"Unfortunately, that'd show how much she actually cares about you." Logan gently reminded me.

"You're right. I'm just scared that maybe she won't reach out because that'll break my heart." Rosé gave me a hug while the other two gave me virtual hugs. We talked some more so that we could catch up on each other's lives. The three of us were really excited for thanksgiving break. Since Rosé's family is in Korea and they obviously don't celebrate thanksgiving, I invited her to join us. She gratefully accepted causing Rue to become more excited than her. How do I break it to Rue that Rosé is straight? I mean I'm sure Rue is aware since they have met.

X

I was walking to class when I noticed Hailey and Taylor. They waved me over to chat about the Bachelor. Luckily, Rosé had forced me to watch it last night so I knew all about the different ships and who we liked and who we didn't. We were laughing when I saw Alicia pass me with her squad. She subtly glanced at me since she was with the popular group and not just with Astrid and Yasmine. She quickly averted her gaze when one of the guys spoke to her. She plastered on her fake smile as she gently punched his chest. After that, I didn't pay much attention to the conversation with Taylor and Hailey. Taylor noticed the time and told us that we should probably head to class. Unfortunately, the only period I shared with them was lunch so I solely made it to English.

I sat down in my usual seat and rummaged through my bag for my supplies. I almost screamed when I glanced up. In front of me, with wide eyes, was Leon.

"Heyo, cutie! I can't believe we've had this class together and never spoke. Good thing KJ introduced us." He sat down next to me. "I usually sit back there with them." He absentmindedly waved his hand at a group in the back. "Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut I like you better." He whispered. "Now, what's up?"

"Nothing apart from you almost giving me a heart attack." Leon laughed at my disheveled state. "I'm curious. What's your schedule?" He rummaged through my bag to find my folder with it. "Mmhmm... you have math with KJ and Michael which you already knew. Oooooooh you have history with Hyde and Cher." He handed it back to me.

"Cool. That actually makes classes so much more bearable."

"Question though."

"What?" I whispered since class had started a while ago.

"When are you gonna tell KJ you're gay?"

"What?!" I said a bit too loudly since the teacher turned around. I acted as if I didn't make the outburst. When she turned to face the board, I looked at Leon. "How'd you know?"

"I have awesome gaydar. Also, word of advice, this school isn't the gay friendliest. Yeah, I'm out and proud and screw everyone who thinks otherwise, but... just be careful. People make fun of me all the time for living my truth, but I rather be myself than live a lie. Especially if the McAllisters find out." Leon dramatically sighed. "They'll make your life a nightmare here. Like Queen B a.k.a Trampy Tamsin. What a bitch. The only one who's nice is Gemma. She's an absolute sweetheart. I think the genetic pool messed up with her because how is she nice and a McAllister."

"What about Alicia?"

"Read my lips, sweetie. Ice. Cold. Bitch. She isn't as outright bitchy as Tamsin, but she's a devil as well. Like she won't physically throw the punch like Tamsin, but she'd be the one behind the scenes organizing it. Watch out with them." Leon looked at his newly pink nails. "What do you think? I changed them up." He excitedly showed me.

X

Leon insisted on walking me to History since he had a free period. I now understood what he meant about the school not being gay friendly. As we walked, people would make comments and taunt Leon about his sexuality. Leon explained that it used to be worse before with people being physical with him. Ever since he met KJ, people have stopped physically hurting him and just resort to verbal harassment. One guy in particular spat on him. I wanted to yell at the guy, but Leon told me to let it go. He claimed that I was already damaging my reputation by being seen with him. I told him that his reputation had catapulted since he was socializing with the poor girl.

"Hyde! Cher!" He caught their attention. He then shoved me in their direction before leaving.

"Sup." Hyde cocked her head.

"Hi!" Cher excitedly waved at me.

"Can I sit here?"

"Duh."

"Of course." They simultaneously answered. I sat down and we just talked the entire class period. I asked them about the McAllisters and they explained to me that I should steer clear of them. That family has apparently destroyed so many students' families. If you piss them off, then they'll put your family in financial ruin by forcing investors to pull out of deals as well as suing. As usual, Tamsin remains the queen of mean. She's very vocal about her feelings towards you. I again asked about Alicia. They stated that she's the scariest one since you never know where you stand with her. She's ice cold and a snake because she hides her feelings well. She'll laugh in your face while she's destroying your family's name. They also said that she's calculating and the smartest one out of the four. I'm not sure I learned any history that day except for the McAllisters impact on the school.

As we were walking to our next class, Cher advised me to just do whatever the McAllisters want and not to question them. Hyde had more of the screw them mentality whereas Cher wanted me to bend to their will. I told them about how Leon was getting bullied when he walked me to class. Hyde told me that Tamsin once threw a milkshake on him during lunch and claimed it was an accident. Hyde explained that even though she's gay, no one messes with her because she beat a guy up once who tried taunting her. They dropped me off at math before going their own way.

I took a seat next to KJ and Michael. We focused on the lecture and worked together on the problems. It was a fairly easy class. The good news is that KJ is starting to understand the class much easier. We quickly finished and just started chatting. The bell rang and we exited to head to lunch. I waved goodbye and went to sit with Rosé's group. Somehow, Shawn has read my mind and got me pho for lunch. Hailey was discussing with Justin about how she is debating between two dresses. Justin told her to get both, but she only wants one. We laughed as the soon to be couple went back and forth. Everything was going well until I saw Shawn and Taylor stiffen. I didn't even have to think who was standing behind me since I smelt her signature perfume.