Knowing Me, Knowing You

The Day Before You Came

Walking out to the football field, Jessica's heart sank when she spotted Ryan and Regina laughing by the bleachers. She texted Ryan and told him she needed to talk privately, and to bring Regina into the mix was rude. It wasn't that she didn't trust Regina so much as she couldn't handle her anymore.

It wasn't anything Regina had done specifically, so much as the people she was friends with. At first, it annoyed her since Carter and Regina were friends, and since Carter stole Xander away from Ryan, she hated the idea of him hanging out with her. But now that Trevor was staying with Dante, Regina's other best friend, it was almost insulting to have Ryan be friends with her. It pissed her off, and to invite Regina into their private conversation was just the icing on the cake.

Stomping up to the two, Jessica cleared her throat loudly as she planted her arms on her hips.

Regina smiled at Jessica before turning back to Ryan. "I'll talk to you later."

"See ya," Ryan smiled before approaching Jessica. "Okay, you're in a bitchy stance. What happened?"

"Why are you still spending time with her? She's friends with the enemy."

"Jess, what did I say about calling Carter the enemy? We literally formulated a GSA together for next year's students. They are the only other openly transgender student in school, and they get where I'm coming from. They are in no way the enemy."

"I wasn't talking about Carter. I didn't even know she was trans," Jessica replied as she lowered her arms.

"They are. They use they and them as their pronouns, so please try for their sake."

"Of course, but I seriously wasn't talking about them. I meant Regina."

Ryan scoffed. "How is Regina the new enemy? She's been an angel. She knew about me being trans before I was outed, and she helped me realize that I have a greater chance of being accepted and loved than I thought I did. I've actually started to believe I can find love."

"Good for you. Seriously," Jessica encouraged. "Just don't be with her."

That wasn't his intention, but with the way Jessica was talking, he couldn't help but grow defensive. "Why not? What's wrong with her?"

"She's best friends with Dante."

"So?"

"So, he's taking care of Trevor. She now hangs out with him, and if you hang out with her, you're going to hang out with him, and I'm not ready to face him. I run away whenever I see him. People think it's rude for me to be mad at him, but he's the one who led me on for years. I don't want you to suddenly have sympathy for the devil."

"Jess," Ryan sighed.

"No, don't you dare," Jessica snapped.

"What he did to you was wrong. I don't approve of that, but think about it from his point of view. He couldn't come out to his family, because if he did, they would kick him out and beat him. Which they did."

"He still could have broken up with me sooner. Instead, he gave me false hope, and that's way worse."

"I'm not diminishing your feelings, and I'm not saying you're wrong, but we all know that true, life and death fear can force us to do the wrong thing. He lived in constant fear. He was terrified for his life. You were the only thing that helped make him feel safe, and when he realized what he was doing was wrong, he let you go. It may have taken longer than it should have, but he at least did."

"It sounds like you're on his side."

"I'm not on his side. I just understand where he's coming from."