Rosa's POV

Sitting in English class, I can't help but stare at her. The way that her wavy rose gold hair moves with her, and the manner in which she carries herself is captivating. She's simply stunning, and I'm an idiot if I try to deny that.

I catch her laughing with the guy sitting right next her, it's someone named Tony. From what I've seen, they've become closer friends while I feel like we've drifted apart.

I'm not surprised though, since Tony has always been extremely outgoing and friendly. He's attractive, with tan skin, styled dark brown hair, and a personality that everyone seems to love. If it weren't them both being gay, I might even be jealous.

She laughs again, and I take note of how adorable it is when she does so. Again, I look away from her and focus on my work at hand, trying not to glance over at her for the rest of class.

I fail.

Later that day, I'm hanging out with Cameron. She's always so energetic, and this time, she's going on and on about all of the hilarious events that took place that school today. Unlike me, she's always involved in the latest gossip and the fun side of school.

"Mr. Gordon almost fainted when he saw Andrew in the devil mask behind him!" Cameron tells me excitedly.

"Did Andrew get in trouble?" I ask.

"He now has detention for a week."

I start laughing, and remember how I had had Mr. Gordon last year for my own economics class. He was always a bitter old man, and everyone enjoyed attempting pranks in his boring classroom. In reality though, everyone just seems to love doing pranks on all of the teachers.

"Have you talked to Ben?" She suddenly asks me.

I shake my head. We've been incredibly distant ever since he hurt Aurora, and I'm not exactly eager to get back into contact with him.

"Why don't you just break up with him? I heard that he's been with some other girls since you haven't been talking to him."

I don't say anything, and I take a sip of my iced coffee.

Frankly, I don't really care what he does. I've always assumed that he's cheated on me multiple times throughout our short relationship, so it's not surprising either.

"He can do whatever he wants," I finally say out loud.

"Break up with him then," she tells me.

"How?"

"Be a terrible person and break up with him through text," she suggests.

"I'm not like that."

He would deserve much worse than that, but I'm not a person that can easily deliver that kind of evil behavior. It's not in my blood, and it's simply not possible.

When I hear a sudden ping though, I grab my phone and realize that it's a text form Ben. Out of my own vain curiosity, I decide to open.

Ben| 3:47 pm
We're done dating, Rosa.

Right away, I show Cameron the text and her face turns sour as she says, "you're not like that but he definitely is."

"Too bad," I simply say.

I take another sip as she looks at me with surprise. I should try to put on a better show of all of the heartbreak I'm supposed to be feeling, but I'm too tired to do so.

"You're not going to cry or something? Your boyfriend just broke up with you, through text."

"Whatever, I never liked him anyways."

She doesn't say anything, and then takes another sip from her own drink. It seems like she's barely coming to terms with what I said, and realizing that all of the events from my relationship with Ben haven't made sense.

Even though we were technically dating, we never spent much time with each other. We were complete opposites, and sometimes I wonder if he simply wanted to date me because I was always playing hard to get. He likes a challenge, that's also why he thrives in his football games where he can take control. He never met my parents, and he never even spent a night at my home despite all of his complaints about that. Our six month long relationship was meaningless, and I'm not surprised that he would pull the plug after two weeks without any attention.

"Rosa, you've seemed a bit distant like you've been numb or something for the past few days," she notes, looking at me with worry. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," I respond.

"You haven't talked about Aurora at all. Did something happen with her?"

It feels like her question is crossing beyond one about a broken friendship, and more about romantic actions. I make the bold decision right then and there that I have to tell her the truth.

"We can't talk about it right here," I say as I look around at the small shop full of preppy teenagers from my school.

She rolls her eyes, but doesn't complain as she says, "so. . . Where can we talk about it then?"

"Your car," I suggest.

"Fine," is all she tells me before we both gather all of our belongings and make our way out the cafe. We leave, and find her vintage green car in the parking lot. She turns it on with her keys, and we finally sit inside without any awkward stares from strangers and loud noises.

"So what happened with Aurora?" She asks me.

"We almost kissed," I say.

"What?" She asks, but I can tell that she's not completely shocked. It seems like she's suspected it for a while, and it's my own fault for underestimating her in that way.

"You heard me," I squeak out.

"When? Why? I didn't know about this!"

"I was in her treehouse, and I don't know why. I pulled away before we actually kissed though."

"You two would be good together," she says in a dramatic manner as if we're Hollywood's top celebrity couple.

"Don't say that!" I scold her.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a lesbian," I say.

"Oh, well then. Are you sure? You also don't have to be a lesbian to like her." She asks me.

"Yes, I'm sure," I snap at her.

I can't help it. I still get defensive when it comes to that label. It's a title that's always been associated with shame, and even though deep down I know it's mine, I can't handle it yet. Maybe one day. . . But not now.

"Sorry for asking," she apologizes.

"No, I'm sorry," I say, and I finally speak my mind. "I'm just not really happy about it."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of it. You are who you are and no one can change you. No matter who you like, it doesn't change you. Why are you so scared to admit you might be gay?"

"I would be letting down my parents and older sister. They don't approve of people like that," I speak.

"They would eventually accept you."

Everyone always says that, but they don't truly know my family like I do. In that moment, I attempt to make another argument about it.

"I wouldn't be normal."

"Screw that. No one in this universe is normal," she reasons.

She's right, and my brain is screaming that at me even though my heart is still trying to deny it.

So, I do what I always do best and I ask her, "can you just drop me off at home?"

She doesn't try to push further, and all she says is, "sure."

The rest of the journey home is silent, but that's because of me. I know that she's correct though, and I definitely don't need to be anyone's definition of normal.