The three of us spent the rest of the time to ourselves. Sometimes Arnie would lean over from her chair and thrust her phone in my face to show me some sort of funny joke on an app called iFunny.

Eventually, Olivia opened the door and went back to her chair and read over her notes. It would seem that we were officially open to the public now, and nothing more needed to be done for setup.

People filed in slowly, sometimes in small groups of three to four, sometimes alone. They were all unique, colorful in a way. It was surprisingly comforting for me to see, surprising because I was never about flaunting gender and sexuality. I always kept to myself and loved ones about it, and even then I didn't really speak of it much. I just wasn't involved in the LGBT+ community.

It was already difficult to relate to, then Circe broke my heart, and I pulled away from it altogether and kept to myself. I stopped trying to get to know my community, and I valued my ability to not stick out and be a silent member of the community. That was alright for me, I always found myself being just fine that way, so for this to be easy for me was a bit . . . Weird.

After about fifteen minutes, Olivia spoke up, "Alright everyone. Let's say hi to our new members and welcome back our old ones."

Everyone said hello to one another, and right away I could tell who had been here before versus those who had not. I saw myself in the reflection of those who were here for the first time.

"Okay, we are going to begin this meeting with some discussion. In this group, we strive to make everyone feel as comfortable and happy in their skins as they can get. This is a support system, and if you need to get something off your chest, whether it's about gender and sexuality, coming out, home life, drugs and alcohol issues, then we can listen. We advise you in every way we can, and we are here to make sure you feel like you can speak freely. This is not a judgmental place."

One of the new guys, who I learned was named Isaac, told us a bit about how he used to be extremely transphobic before he started having issues with his own gender. He confessed that even though he felt like a male, sometimes he would look at a female and feel jealous that he didn't look like her, and that he did not have such feminine characteristics like women. He did some research and discovered that people who felt like both genders were sometimes genderfluid, and that he felt like a settlement had washed over him upon discovering the term.

He became more aware of his ignorance when it came to the LGBT+ and he changed his opinion little by little, and fought to accept himself for who he was. Many people had nothing but supporting responses, including heavily tattooed woman with short blue hair and a slender, attractive face [ and body ], named Delia. She went by Dylan and Delia alike, explaining her fluidity in gender. She caught my interest, and when she caught my eyes, she gave me a wink.

She had an accent, too, by the way. I almost cried.

When Olivia asked me if I wanted to share my story, I opted out. My comfort level wasn't high enough to share my story, and I didn't know if it would ever be.

She locked eyes with me for an extended period, before breaking our interlocked gaze and turning her eyes to the paper in her lap. She twirls a strand of her black hair in her finger. "Alright everyone . . . "

[/\]

When the meeting was over, I felt a warm hand on my arm. I turned around and saw Delia staring down at me with a tilted grin on her face. "Hey, darling."

"Hi," I greeted, returning the smile and bringing the cup of lemonade to my lips and taking a sip from it. "I liked that you spoke for that guy. He looked so scared he would be alone."

She flashed me a toothy grin, her eyes twinkling as she reached up and ran her fingers through her short blue hair. "Yeah, well, poor guy looked like he was going to piss himself. I couldn't let that happen, could I?"

I giggled and shook my head. "I suppose I couldn't. That would be wrong."

"Oh very wrong." Her eyes were brighter, as if she were pleased this conversation was going so well. "I don't think I got your name."

"Oh." I blushed, laughing and placing my hand on my forehead apologetically. "So sorry," I responded. I let out a small, embarrassed, laugh at this.

Delia shook her head and slid her hand down my back, leaning forward and smiling. Usually, I would find an action like this rather uncomfortable, but this woman was smooth. She slid her finger under my chin and lifted it. "I think it's cute," she responded, giving me an easy, lazy shrug. A small smirk was sent my way again.

"Hey, Violet, can you and Arnie stay late to help clean up?" I snapped my eyes from Delia's face and turned my gaze to Olivia, who had approached us. I couldn't read her gaze despite the amount of effort I put into trying. I shrugged.

"Sure," I told her, gently removing myself from Delia's trapping gaze and gentle hold. I smiled at Delia. "We should hang out sometime. You're pretty cool."

Delia beamed as she ran her fingers through her hair yet again, parting it from her forehead and to the side of her face. "That sounds lovely. Here, give me your phone." She held her hand out, a glint in her eye.

I smiled and pulled my phone from my bag, unlocking it and handing it over. She typed her name in and then handed it back to me before pressing a kiss to my cheek and joining a blonde guy. They left the room laughing about something. I looked down at my phone and noticed she had entered her contact.

She even took a dramatic selfie to add to the contact. She's amazing. I smiled at my phone and looked up when Olivia cleared her throat. "So pretty girl gets your number and I don't?" she asked smoothly, letting her red lips turn upward in a teasing way.

I flushed and said, "I— I didn't say you couldn't have it. If you want." I stupidly handed my phone over and she gladly took it. She typed a few things in, then handed it back. I looked down at it and only flushed more.

"Thanks," I said, putting my phone back into the bag and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"No, thank you," Olivia responds easily, tilting her head to the side. She watched me for a few moments and I watched her, neither of us taking in our surroundings as people slowly filed out. She then said, "So do you plan on coming to another meeting?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know, in complete honesty," I admitted, running my thumb and index finger against the strap of the bag across my chest. "It wasn't what I expected to start."

"Is that good?" She was still smiling, standing there proudly as if she knew the answer already.

"Yeah, I think so." I nodded, chewing the inside of my lip. "I've never been someone completely comfortable with coming to meetings."

"Are you closeted?"

"No. I just don't name my sexuality. I like who I like."

"Pansexuality?"

Arnie made a loud noise from across the room and pointed at me. "Told you!" she got out in muffled spurts through a mouthful of Goldfish.

"I don't think so. I just like who I like and I wish people would stop trying to name it. That's why I don't come to these things usually, by the way," I added, shooting her a pointed look.

Olivia instantly grew serious and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about that. I should have been more sensitive."

My shoulders relaxed and I bit my lip. "It's okay. It's just difficult for me, I don't want to confuse others too."

Olivia nodded with a small smile on her face. "Of course. I understand." She reached forward and squeezed my shoulder in reassurance. "Well now I know."

[/\]

I made sure to text Delia and Olivia after I got home so they had my number. Delia texted back instantly, shooting a wink emoji with the text, been waiting for my princess to finally send thy letter of love confession.

I laughed, I'll admit it. Olivia sent me, Thanks love ❤️ hope to see you soon.

Both of them were so different yet so alluring in their own way, it caught me completely off guard and I liked talking to both of them.

Arnie declared she would be spending the night and went home to get her things so we could walk to school immediately tomorrow without her needing to leave early to grab them from her place.

"So did you have fun?" Arnie asked as we scrolled through Netflix, her legs propped up on the coffee table as she stroked my new kitten's head. Henry looked just about ready to have one of his fits, and he wriggled in her grasp.

"I enjoyed it," I admit to her, steadying the remote on my leg. "Everyone was so nice and their stories were really inspiring."

Arnie beamed, looking very pleased to see she made me happy at the meeting. "I knew you would have fun," she chirped, watching as Henry removed himself from her hands and leaped off the couch altogether, giving her a hiss for good measure and padding off with his tabby tail in the air. "What's his problem?"

"I'm still getting him used to people that aren't me." I smiled and then turned my attention back to the television, scrolling through the Recently Added section. "Moana?"

"Sure." Arnie slid off the couch. "Popcorn still in the same place?"

"Yep." I clicked play on the remote and began watching as Arnie ripped the plastic covering from the package of kernels and placed it into the microwave. She rejoined me a minute later she with freshly popped popcorn.

"Are you gonna come to the next one?" she asked casually, popping a few pieces into her mouth as she crossed her legs and leaned against me.

I nibbled on popcorn and let my gaze focus on the screen and think about my answer. Did I want to go again? Delia's sly grin flashed in my mind, and the warm environment made me feel almost bubbly. Without realizing, my lips had formed the word, "Yes."

Arnie hummed, a bright grin appearing on her face. "Awesome. That makes me really happy, Letty."

I ran my fingers through Arnie's hair and chuckled. "One would think that everything I do is to make you happy," I teased gently, smirking sideways with a twinkle in my eyes.

Arnie looked up at me, her eyes innocent. "Isn't that the case?"

Later, after the movie was over, I set up a makeshift bed in my room for Arnie. I told her she could have the couch, that it would be more comfortable, but she insisted that she'd rather be in my room to have the chance to have Henry cuddle up to her.

I didn't want to ruin the hope she had. Henry was very much a mama's boy, so the chance for him to curl up with someone else was unlikely. I simply shrugged and set up a bed in my room.

After I showered and stepped over her, I pulled back my covers. "Hey Letty?"

"Mm?" I turned my eyes to her, falling on my side and turning to face her, smiling in amusement.

"Thanks for coming today."

"Thank you for inviting me."