I go to hop back into the Nightfall channel, but find it empty. Huh…

  ‘LunarEcho: You said you wanted to talk?’

  After a few moments, a call from Creamy appears on my screen. I immediately hit accept, and decide to speak first.

  “Hey, Creamy. What’s going on?”

  “Hey, Emmy.” She says, and I can’t help but smile. “So… We need to talk about Haley.”

  “What about her?” I ask, more than a little confused. “Is she alright?”

  “No.” Creamy says succinctly. “Let me be clear, I am in no way saying this is your fault, nor am I taking any actions about it, I just wanted you to be aware.”

  “I don’t under-” I pause, the realization hits me all at once. “I’m the girl Haley was going to ask out, aren’t I?”

  “You knew?” Creamy asks, her voice slightly accusatory.

  “No.” I say truthfully. “I figured it out just now. I’m stupid, but not that stupid.”

  “Fair.” She says. “I’m not going to ask you to not bring Holly when Haley is on. I’ll be honest, I like Holly. She’s fun, and she seems like a really good girlfriend to you. I just need you to understand that having Holly there might mean that Haley stops pying with us.”

  I sigh deeply. I never wanted to hurt anyone… “If Haley is already in the channel, I’ll hop in on my own and ask her if it’s okay.” I say. “If she’s not okay having my girlfriend there, then I’ll just py with only Holly.”

  “I don’t like that.” Creamy says. “It shouldn’t be up to you to manage her feelings.”

  “I mean, you’re not wrong.” I say. “But do you have any better options?”

  “Continue as normal, but with the knowledge that she likes you. If she can’t be in the server because you’re taken, that’s on her. I just needed you to be aware.”

  “Thanks, Creamy.” I say, my voice nearly a whisper from how much I’ve been using it. “I’m going to head to bed. I’m going to Holly’s house tomorrow.”

  “Have fun, Emmy.” Creamy says happily. “Be safe.”

  “I will.” I say, before hanging up the call.

  My bed calls to me, and I happily dive into it. I set an arm, then spend more than a few minutes just scrolling through photos of Holly and I. I’m so in love with her. I cannot wait to see how our retionship develops. I roll on my back and stare up at my ceiling. It’s going to be wonderful.

  ?????????????

  “Hey!” May calls out as I walk through the living room and back towards my bedroom. “C’mere a second.”

  I sigh and walk over to her and Paige, before taking a deep sip from my coffee. “Yes?”

  “I just wanted to let you know, Aiden is coming over in two hours.” May says.

  “What?!” I shout at her. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

  “Didn’t decide until just now.” She says. “Why?”

  “Have you told him anything?” I ask, extremely worried.

  “Anything about what?” May asks, looking confused.

  “You know,” I say, my voice lowered slightly. “About my pn?”

  “Oh, no, I have not.” May says, immediately easing my mind.

  “Good, please don’t.” I say, and then turn to Paige. “And you don’t mention anything either. Just act normally when you meet her.”

  “Her?” May asks. “Please tell me you’re not still on that.”

  I stop, and turn back to her, my shoulders rising and falling. Can I tell her? How would she react if she knew that I was dating Emmy for real? “I…” I sit down next to her, and bring my knees to my chest. “No… I’m not…”

  “Then expin.” May says coldly.

  “Emmy is my girlfriend.” I say simply.

  “Emmy?” Paige asks, clearly confused.

  “She means Danny.” May expins.

  “It doesn’t matter!” I shout. “It doesn’t matter…” Tears leak from my eyes and I take no action to stop them. “Emmy is my girlfriend.” I repeat.

  “What does that even mean in this context?” May asks, anger and disgust written clearly into her face.

  “It means…” I say with a heavy heart. “That I’ve grown to love her… Grown to love the girl that I made her into.” My body starts to shake, and I have to set my cup down to stop from spshing myself. “I know how bad that is. I turned her into a girl, fell in love with that idea of her, and now I’m not letting her change back because I’m a selfish asshole.”

  “Holly…” Paige says softly. “I get it.” I look up at her, confused. “I may not condone your actions, but I get it. Being in love is extremely complex.”

  “This is so much worse…” I admit, while staring down at the floor.

  “It is…” Paige says gently. “But it doesn’t have to be.”

  “How?” I ask, searching for anything to make this horrible situation better.

  “Give her the chance to go back to normal.” She expins. “If she takes it, then no harm no foul.”

  “I can’t do that.” I say.

  “Why not?” May asks.

  “Because!” I shout. “Don’t you get it. I’m not into boys. If Emmy goes back to normal, I will lose everything. I’m finally fucking happy, May. Can’t you just let me have this?!”

  May sighs deeply, and gives her girlfriend a look. “Fine. Tell me what you need.”

  “Thank you.” I reply. “Firstly, don’t tell Aiden anything. I don’t want him acting weird on accident.” They both nod. “Next, May, just give her a chance. She’s actually really wonderful. You’ll like her.”

  May sighs, and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Fine.”

  “Finally, just treat her like a normal girl. Pretend you don’t know who she is.” I say, mainly directing this to Paige.

  “Okay.” Paige says. “I will.”

  I am about to continue speaking when I hear the soft hum of an engine outside. “There she is.” I say quickly. “Could you two go upstairs, just while I get her inside. Please?”

  May grumbles, but does stand up. Paige takes her hand and follows her up the stairs. Thank god… I head to the door, and open it. The moment I see Emmy, all negative thoughts go straight out the window. Today is going to be a good day.

  ?????????????

  Holly is waiting for me at her door like usual. I quickly say goodbye to my mom, and dash into my girlfriend’s arms. She holds me close, and peppers my face with kisses.

  “I missed you.” She says, her smile bright.

  “I missed you too.” I say, and let her lead me towards her room.

  “You said you had news?” She asks, while I start getting undressed.

  “Yeah, uh…” I say, as I strip down to my boyshorts. “So I figured out why Haley left out of nowhere.”

  “One sec.” Holly says as I lift the red shirt off her bed.

  She digs around in the small bundle of clothes, and holds up a bck bra. “Holly…”

  “You don’t have to.” She says quickly. “But I thought you might like a little more shape to this outfit.”

  I sigh, and look it over. “I’ll give it a try.”

  I pull it over my head, already thankful that it doesn’t have a csp, and get it in pce on my chest. The cups are small, maybe on the border of A and B, but the inside is padded, like it’s meant to give someone who is ft, a slightly rger chest. This is perfect for me…

  I look at Holly and smile at her. “Yes or no?”

  “Definitely yes.” She says, as she pces her hand on the outside of the bra and squeezes once. “It even matches your underwear.”

  “Yeah…” I ugh, and then reach for the pile.

  The outfit today is very simple. It consists of a dark red band t-shirt, and a navy blue pleated skirt. I happily throw them on, and then get started on my makeup. With the amount of practice I’ve had, it doesn’t take me long, and soon enough I’m ying back on Holly’s bed.

  “What do you want to do today?” I ask her.

  She climbs between my legs, and pushes my knees back as she leans forward to kiss me. “Well, as much as I would love to just stay here and makeout, I don’t think we can.”

  “Why not?” I whine, and smile as she presses her lips to mine once more.

  “Well, for starters, Aiden is coming over.” I gulp, and try not to make my fear obvious. “My sister invited him.” Holly expins. “I didn’t know until literally right before you arrived. So we can either try and hangout with them, or we can leave. Up to you.”

  I shudder slightly, and focus on the feeling of Holly’s body pressed against mine. “Does he know… Did he figure it out yesterday?”

  “Not that I know of.” She says. “He just knows you’re my girlfriend. Doesn’t even know your name yet.”

  I nod repeatedly. “And, I don’t have to tell him, right?” Holly shakes her head. “What about your sister?”

  “She has promised me that if you decide to stay and hangout, she will not do anything to out you, nor will her girlfriend, Paige.”

  I sigh deeply, and very seriously consider asking Holly to go somewhere else. “What do you want?”

  “Honestly…” She says softly. “I kind of do want to hangout with him. More specifically, I want you to hangout with him. Meet more people who know you as Emmy, you know? It’s important to get that exposure and social time when you can.”

  I nod again, and hold tight to her. “Okay. We can stay.”

  She kisses me on the lips. “Two things.” I look into her eyes. “One, if at any time you feel uncomfortable, we can always retreat to my room, or leave and go somewhere, okay?” I nod. “Two, if it’s okay with you, I intend to be touching you in some way the entire time, either just holding your hand or full on cuddling, that way you have comfort.”

  “Thank you, Holly.” I say, breathing a sigh of relief. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” She says with a smile. “Now come on, let's introduce you to Paige.

  I let her pull me off the bed, and we walk out to the living room, hand in hand. Outside May, and a tall girl with curly brown hair, are cuddling on the couch. Holly leads me to the other side of the couch, and sits down.

  “H-” I start to introduce myself, but Holly pulls me down into her p, and pushes my back into the cushions. “Thanks.” I whisper.

  “May, Paige.” She says, giving her sister a look. “This is my girlfriend, Emmy.”

  “Hi…” I say, waving gently at them.

  “Hi, Emmy.” Paige says, her voice soft and friendly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too.” I say happily.

  “So, Holly,” May says. “Aiden is picking up food from Burrito Chime on his way here. Do you or your girlfriend want anything?”

  I say nothing and wait for Holly to decide. After a few moments, she speaks up. “I don’t really have the money right now…”

  “I can pay.” I jump in. “If you want.”

  “Babe,” Holly says, and presses a chaste kiss to my lips. “You literally just bought me that game. I don’t want to spend more of your money.”

  “It’s fine.” I say with a smile. “I bought that so we could hangout more together. Plus, I’m hungry. So it’s not a big deal for me to buy you food too.”

  “Okay.” She says, her smile nearly stretching from ear to ear. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” I say, enjoying the soft sparkle in her eyes.

  “Lovely.” May says dryly. “Now, can you tell me what you want please?”

  “I’ll have a bck bean burrito wrapped in a quesadil and a side of those cheesy potato wedges.” Holly says.

  “Same here.” I say, and nuzzle closer into Holly.

  Paige gives us a look, but May just types out what we said. “Alright. He should be here soon.”

  “Hey, Emmy.” Paige says, a light smile on her face. “Tell me about yourself.”

  “Well,” I hum, thinking for a moment. “I’m a songwriter. I’m really hoping that I can do that for a living once I turn eighteen.”

  “That’s really cool.” Paige says brightly. “Can I hear some of your music?”

  I blush at the thought of showing it to more people. “Um, I don’t want to be annoying.”

  “Just do it.” May says with a wave.

  “O-okay.” I stammer, and pull out my phone.

  I open up the stash of recordings I made so Holly could listen to them, and py the most recent song I made. We sit there listening to it, and Holly taps the beat into my thigh while we do.

  After the song is over, May looks over at me. “Yeah, I call bullshit on that. There’s no way you made that.”

  I open my mouth to defend myself, but Holly speaks before I can. “She did. I know she did.”

  “Uh-huh…” May says, giving her a look.

  Holly stares her sister down. “Don’t call my girlfriend a liar.”

  May holds her hands up in a pcating gesture. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”

  “Tell Emmy that you’re sorry.” Holly says.

  “Babe,” I say, stroking her cheek gently. “It’s fine.”

  “No it’s not.” She says forcefully. “Apologize to Emmy.”

  May groans but looks at me. “I’m sorry for calling you a liar, Emmy.”

  “Thank you.” Holly says, smiling slightly.

  Before we can talk about it further, a loud rattling of an engine approaches, and then dies. After a few moments, there is a gentle knocking on the door, and May gets up to open it. Aiden walks in, hands full of paper bags full of food.

  His plum dyed hair shines in the sunlight before the door shuts. Huh… He’s wearing a surprisingly simir outfit to what I wore when I first came here. Skinny jeans, a band t, and a fnnel.

  “Hey everyone.” He says, as he sits down. “Oh hey, it’s you again.”

  Before Holly can say anything, I introduce myself. “Hi. I’m Emmy, Holly’s girlfriend.”

  “Nice to meet you, Emmy.” He says with a smile. “My name is Aiden.”

  “Thanks for picking up food.” I say, and accept a bag that he hands to me. “How much do I owe you?”

  He waves my question away. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “But-” I start to say.

  He cuts me off. “Your order was really cheap. Consider it a gift for new friends.”

  “Thank you.” I say, blushing slightly. New friends.

  “Holly um,” Aiden says softly. “Can I talk to you real quick, in private?”

  I start to get up so that Holly can move, but she firmly pulls me back down onto her. “Whatever you need to say, can be said in front of Emmy.”

  “Okay.” He says, taking a seat in the middle of the two sets of girlfriends. “Can you tell me what happened a few weeks ago with Alice?”

  “Huh?” Holly says, confused for a moment. “Oh yeah. She asked me out, but I was already pnning on asking Emmy out the next day, so I told her no. She tried to kiss me, but I pushed her away.”

  “Right…” Aiden says softly, and then lets out a harsh groan. “That’s not what she’s saying.”

  I watch Holly’s eyes immediately narrow. “What is she saying?”

  “She’s saying that she asked you out, you kissed her, then said ‘Nah, I’m not interested in you.’ then yelled at her to leave your room.” My heart pounds at the thought. Alice is such a liar!

  “She’s lying.” Holly says simply. “She kissed me. I rejected her, end of story.” Then she mutters under her breath. “Wouldn’t be the first time she’s lied about someone like that.”

  “Oh, Holly…” May says, clear disappointment in her eyes. “You’re not talking about what I think you are. Are you?”

  “I am.” Holly states firmly.

  Aiden looks around at the two sisters. “I’m confused.”

  “Holly now apparently thinks Alice lied about what Danny did to her.” May gives me a smirk when she says this that causes my blood to freeze.

  “Alice did lie!” Holly shouts.

  “Really?!” May shouts incredulously. “You’re changing your tune so quickly? Just a few weeks ago you were talking about how much you hated Danny for what he did, but now that she’s your girlfriend you suddenly believe her?”

  Somewhere down a long tunnel I hear Holly shout, “May!”

  My actions come entirely separately from my thoughts, and I’m already out the door, running. My legs eat up ground as they move of their own volition, and all other sensory input fades. Holly knew…?

  I continue running, my thoughts coming in a barrage. Of course she knew. How could she not have known… but why didn’t she tell me? The ground disappears beneath me, and I colpse into a pile of tears beneath a tree. Why wouldn't she tell me?

  After what could have been a few second, or an eternity of sobbing, I feel a gentle hand stroking my back, and another one ced in my hair.

  “I’m here, Emmy.” Holly whispers softly into my ear. “I’m here.”

  I don’t speak. I can’t speak. I just y there curled into myself, letting Holly comfort me. After a long time, I eventually manage a broken sentence.

  “You… hated me…?” She sighs and wraps me in her arms. “I’m sorry…” She says softly.

  “Why…” I splutter. “Why go out with me then? Why reach out to me to begin with?”

  She sighs again, and pulls me into a kiss. “I reached out to you because I wanted to get your side of the story. I wanted to learn about you, from you, not from what my sister told me. I asked you out because I fell in love with you.”

  “I… I don’t…”

  “Emmy.” She says, and I curl into her. “I started out just wanting to get to know you, but the more we talked, the more I learned about you, I realized that you couldn’t have done what she said you did. I realized that you weren’t the person people thought you were.”

  I sit up slightly, and y my head on her shoulder. “I…”

  “I fell in love with you, Emmy.” She says, and kisses me again. “I saw you for who you were, and I fell in love with you.”

  “I love you, Holly.”

  “I love you too, Emmy.”