The Tutor (girlxgirl)

Thirteen

To her face, nobody treated Amber any differently but everyone was looking at her. Classmates who would usually greet her in the hall no longer acknowledge her presence. Some teachers have even started treating her differently.

Her home life wasn't much better either. Her parents have chosen to completely ignore everything they've been told about her and are now trying to set Amber up with a 'nice boy'. That's all her parents talk about nowadays: 'nice boys'.

She now sits with Viviana and her friends at lunch. Before the whole incident, Amber wanted nothing more than to join Viviana at lunch but now she wishes she was anywhere else. Viviana has been lost in her head the past few days because her boss fired her, and no one at the table really knows what to talk about. So lunch is mostly spent in silence.

After school, Rubye invited everyone over to her house to try and cheer them up. She suggested they play twister, like they did on New Years Eve. However, Amber and Viviana just sat off to the side sulking. After twister failed, Lorrie suggested they all have a dance party. She even put on Viviana's spotify, but still nothing. Neither Amber or Viviana could find the will to get up and dance. Eventually, everyone just decided to go home.

Amber and Viviana were walking over to Amber's car when Rosalyn stopped them, "Hey guys! Wait up!" Rosalyn was running over to them, "Have you guys really talked about what you each went through with each other?"

They both looked at each other and shrugged, "I mean, kinda."

"Maybe you guys should try to talk about it more - you know, really cry about it," Rosalyn shrugged, "Just a suggestion." Rosalyn hugged both Viviana and Amber before she got into her own car to drive home.

Viviana turned to face Amber, "Wanna come over to my house? Maybe we can try to talk more over there." Amber nodded and she drove them to Viviana's house. Her house was loud like always, but they didn't stop to greet anyone and just walked straight to Viviana's room.

They both sat on Viviana's bed and looked at each other. Nobody said anything for a long time. They just looked. But Amber couldn't hold it in anymore, and she burst out crying. Viviana held her close and rubbed soothing circles into her back while she cried.

"It's going to get better," She kissed the top of Amber's head, "I promise."

"Everyone hates me," Amber cried, "My parents, my friends . . . they all abandoned me." Viviana continued to rub her back, "I hate being at home. The way my parents look at me . . . Viviana, I can't stand it," Amber sniffled, "And Jinny hasn't talked to me at all."

"I'm so sorry you're going through this, baby. I'm so sorry."

Amber eventually sat up and wiped her nose. She took Viviana in her arms, "Okay, you go."

Viviana took a deep breath, "I got fired . . . for being gay. And it sucks because I liked my job and coworkers . . . and all that was taken away from me because of my sexuality," Viviana sniffled, "Lucas says I should sue, but that's too expensive," She chuckled, "I've been out of the closet so long I forgot discrimination like this actually still exists."

Amber rubbed her back and kissed her hand, "You're so strong. Never forget that."

Viviana reached up to kiss Amber's lips, "I'm really happy that I have you. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Viviana sat up and grabbed Amber's hands, "And about your situation with Jinny - I think you should ask her if you being gay is something she can work through. Believe it or not, my mom wasn't always so accepting in the past. But . . . I asked her if my sexuality is something she needed time to process, or something that she'll never get over," Viviana shrugged, "And look at us now. She just needed time to process."

Amber nodded, "I'll talk to her one more time," She smiled, "Thank you."

Viviana reached over to her night stand and grabbed her laptop, "We need to unwind with some Brooklyn 99."

"Agreed," Amber laughed. She ended up spending the night at Viviana's house, and they spent the whole night watching Brooklyn 99.