Covered In Ink

Chapter 30|I'm a lesbian

"Shit, I almost forgot." Caleb reached to the table beside his bed. "Your birthday present."

He held up a blue, green and purple friendship bracelet.

I raised an eyebrow. "You made that yourself?"

"Damn straight. That's the real deal. You always complained that my friendship bracelet making skills sucked when we were kids, so I made it my personal mission to master the art. It's not like I was short on time or anything." He gestured for me to give him my hand, where he tied the string bracelet around my wrist.

I brought it closer to my line of sight, examining it. "Wow, it's actually pretty alright." I was impressed with his handiwork, and I knew it must've taken him a long time. I can say without a doubt that he screwed up more times than I can count in my fingers, and maybe my toes.

"Alright? That thing isn't alright, it's fucking awesome," he exclaimed.

I laughed, admiring it. "You're right, it is pretty awesome."

Caleb and I had this thing where when either of us had a birthday, we'd make each other something. It's not like we didn't want to buy each other anything, but it was just easier and more personal. Most years we were apart, and the present had to be sent in a letter, so it made more sense. Plus, depending where Caleb was, kind of dictated what he had to work with. He wasn't a magician, although he liked to think he was, so he couldn't just pull something out of thin air. I didn't mind though, in fact I liked it that way.

~*~*~*~

Art class was a struggle. The fact that I was once again a loner didn't make the hour go any faster either. Ryan wasn't there. I didn't know why because he wouldn't reply to any of my texts. He wouldn't even talk to Kyle which was saying something. I had decided not to worry about him because there was nothing I could do about it, and all I ended up with was a headache.

There was a light tap on my shoulder. Annie stood there in all her blonde glory, although she looked a little more flustered than usual.

"Can I talk to you?" She looked around at the other people in the room, who weren't paying any attention to us. But she seemed on edge. "Like, alone."

"Uh, yeah I guess," I said cautiously. Why did she want to talk to me of all people? I figured I was the last person she'd want to talk to.

"Good." She grabbed my arm and started dragging me out of the classroom. She dragged me all the way to the girls bathroom, looking under each stall door, making sure each was empty before she started talking.

"Okay, so you probably think I'm like completely, crazy but hear me out," she started.

I have to say I was curious at this point. When someone physically drags you to the bathroom, it's either for a swirly, or to tell you something extremely important. I was hoping it was the latter. "Okay, what is it?"

She looked around self consciously, closing her eyes for a brief moment and letting out a breath. "Okay, I'm just going to, like, get this over with."

"I'm a lesbian."

I blinked once, twice, three times. Her facial expression didn't change. I half expected her to burst into a fit of giggles and fall on the floor, but that reaction didn't seem to be on the cards.

"Right...so why are you telling me this?" I asked skeptically. Surely she'd rather tell someone she was actually friends with.

"Well I just, like, had to tell someone," she replied.

"Why me?"

"Well as much as I don't like you, I know that you won't, like, spread rumours or anything because you know what that feels like," she spoke truthfully. "You won't, like, tell anyone right?"