Off the Deep End || Sequel to ATF

CHRYSALIS FIRST LOOK

NOELLE

I'm gay. I'm gay. Imgayimgayimgayimgayimgay. Akarsha's hand is on my bare shoulder and I'm so gay. She's laughing and I'm staring at her face. I'm supposed to be the good one! The one that's smart and conforms to all of the Asian standards. Gay is not an Asian standard! This is impossible for me to comprehend. Something must be off. A hormonal imbalance? No, I just went to the doctor. An alien takeover. No, aliens don't exist. A parasite. No. Argh!! Something's off. I'm not gay. I snap out of whatever weird mental state I was just in. Akarsha's stopped laughing. Diya is looking at me quizzically. Min has a loopy grin on her face.

"Holy shit, Noelle."

"W- What?"

She smiles again and lets it drop, changing the subject.

"When's our next game?"

"This coming Wednesday."

"Damn. We need to get it together. Ahem. That means you, Noelle."

I grimace and cross my arms.

"We don't even play real games! It's always against the Niles. What's the point? It's completely illogical. I could be studying for the SATs."

"I get to beat the shit out of my brother!"

"No, you don't, Min. Just because you win doesn't mean you can beat the shit out of anyone."

We all laugh. Diya shovels another fork full of my rice into her mouth. She always eats my food.

"Min, do your parents know yet?"

"No. I'm never telling them about baseball."

She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, looking as if she wants to say something. She doesn't. Instead she looks admiringly at Diya, who doesn't seem to notice. They'd be so cute together. It's clear that they're into each other.

MIN

Holy fuck. Holy fuck. My hands are cupped around Diya's trembling face. This would make for the second time we've ever kissed, the first being what got us banned from the shaved ice place.

"You're so cute sometimes that I almost cant stand it. Almost is the keyword."

"Gyhnnn."

I press my lips to Diya's. Her eyes stay wide open and she doesn't kiss me back until I tilt my head. Slowly, her eyes shut. Wow! This is great! Awesome! I can't show her how exited I am. I'm so happy. But I keep it down, playing it cool. I break our kiss. Diya's eyes are still closed and she holds onto my pinky fingers.

"Unhhhh."

I smile. God, she's adorable. She opens her eyes so that we're nose to nose and eye to eye. She kisses my cheek. AHHH. DIYA IS KISSING ME. STAY CALM! I breathe in rather sharply, but quiet enough that Diya doesn't hear. She pulls away fully so that we're face to face. We're sitting on the locker room bench. We're on break from practice.

"We can take things slow."

"I just want to cuddle with you all the time."

She looks to the side as if she's embarrassed about what she just said. I run my thumb over here, (hopefully) reassuring her.

"We can do that."

AKARSHA

"YOWEE!"