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𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄
«𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚»
𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄-𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
On any other stormy day, Nikole Chambers would not ever be found lugging two heavy suitcases behind her. On any other day, Nikole Chambers would not be found with her tears mixing in with the rain as her mascara ran. On any other stormy day, Nikole Chambers would be found inside with a book or watching TV.
But this was not any other day for Nikole Chambers, and the weather around her seemed to catch on to the hint for it mirrored her mood. The sky had turned a dark, stormy grey and opened to allow a torrent of rain to fall, flattening her usually curly, chestnut hair to her back.
The wind roared deafeningly loud, battering the large oak and pine trees around her. She had to fight against the wind to even take a small step closer to the house in front of her. This was not something that she wanted to have to deal with that day.
Nikole glanced up at the large façade of the Georgian house which lay on the outskirts of London, surrounded by pretty gardens. A large dark oak fence surrounded the property, designed to keep anybody unwanted out. Fortunately, Nikole Chambers was not one of those unwanted people.
She reached up to the heavy door knocker and brought it down once, then twice, then let it fall back as she stood by the door, being soaked more and more as the seconds went past.
Around a minute later and the door swung open to reveal a border collie, eagerly looking out before turning around after seeing the rain, and Caroline Atherton, Nikole's best friend.
Caroline took one look at the sorry state Nikole was in before dragging her from the wet outside and into the warm entryway, pulling her suitcases in afterwards and shutting the oak door, she turned to Nikole and simply hugged her.
A few minutes passed with Caroline simply hugging Nikole, before she wrapped a hand around her shoulders and took her to the living room, where a wood fire was going, "I'm going to go and get some towels, you just settle here for now Nikole."
Caroline turned around making her way to the doorway slowly, glancing over her shoulder multiple times at her best friend. She didn't understand why she had just shown up with no prior communication, or what had gotten her in that state.
Nikole sighed, sitting down close by the fire, glad of its warmth and the ambient noise it provided. She couldn't stop herself from hugging her knees as she thought about what had happened.
She couldn't understand how – or why – this could happen to her. She hadn't done anything wrong. Well, she didn't think she had, but apparently, her parents had other thoughts. It wasn't her fault that she didn't like guys, it wasn't something she could just choose.
She glanced up again as she felt something draped over her shoulders to see that Caroline had returned, hands full of towels she had promised. Nikole gave the blonde a small smile and took the towel being held toward her and wrapped her hair in it.
Caroline sat down beside her, gazing into the flurry of colours that was the fire burning. Reds, yellows, oranges, the occasional spotting of blue and purple licking at the logs that sat behind the grate.
Nikole, confident that nobody else would see them, rested her head against Caroline's shoulder as painful, hot, tears continued to wrack her now seemingly fragile body.
Caroline let her. She reached around Nikole and hugged her, "Nikole, what happened?"
There was no reply for several minutes, only the sound of Caroline's breathing, the fire crackling gently in the background and Nikole crying. But then Nikole started with a small hiccup, "Caroline, my parents..."
"What happened Nikky?"
A few more tears. "Ria, they kicked me out." She clung to Caroline as she spoke the words, her tears quickening their pace, eager to see what was beyond as they dropped from her chin.
"Oh, Nikky!" Caroline held Nikole even closer, "Why?"
Nikole moved her head from where it was resting on Caroline's shoulder, soaking the girl's shirt, to meet her eyes, "Ria, it's because I'm gay."
Caroline couldn't think of a single thing to say to comfort her friend and instead allowed her to continue to cry into her shirt. Caroline knew about homophobia of course, but she'd never actually seen it happen. Almost as if a thing of the past, but she could see now that it wasn't.
Caroline just couldn't wrap it around her head why people, especially parents, would be so adverse to someone for simply being attracted to the same gender. It just made no sense to her. Surely if you loved somebody, just because they were attracted to the same gender, it wouldn't change?
Caroline stood up, pulling the now slightly drier Nikole with her, and walked them both over to the plush red settee. She sat Nikole down on it and met her eyes, "Nikole, you know, no matter what, you can stay here? I and my parents can promise you that."
Nikole nodded, a small smile emerging on her tear-stricken face, "Thank you, Caroline. You really don't know how much that means to me."
Caroline nodded, a few tears of her own now falling as she once again sat beside Nikole on the settee, "What do you think best friends are for?"
