'She was my waitress at a restaurant this time,' I wrote in my journal, having just woken up from yet another dream. A dream with the same teenage girl, who seemed to be around my age, in it. For as long as I could remember, I had recurring dreams involving this mystery girl. She used to show up less often, but lately, she was there every night.

'I took a moment to recognize her, but once I noticed the adorable freckles dusted across the fair skin on her face, her cute face—' I reeled my hand from the page, rereading my words before hastily erasing them. Seriously, what would my parents think if they read that? I thought to myself. They would send me to confessions every night at the idea that their only daughter found another girl "adorable" and "cute."

Even I didn't really understand myself. Just last year I was dating Sean Turner, but now I was dreaming about some girl. I always thought I was into guys, but I'm not sure anymore.

No longer feeling motivated to finish writing, I tossed the journal under my bed, threw on my school uniform, and scowled at my reflection in the mirror. I despised skirts, but going to a Catholic school—against my will, might I add—meant there were strict gender norms. After I finished getting ready, I hurried to leave the house, calling out goodbyes to my parents.

As the cold winter air of January hit me and the door clicked shut, I wondered if I would ever meet the unknown girl.

∗❤∗

I stared out the window during class wondering about the mystery girl. What was her name? Was she real? Most importantly, did she dream about me too?

"Gilli! Earth to Gillian!" My friend, Raquel, shook me out of my daydream. "Did you get the answer to number five?"

I glanced at my paper, and felt embarrassed. My entire page was blank.

"Uh no," I responded, sheepishly.

Raquel gave me a disapproving glare, but we were interrupted before she could scold me.

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Malton's room?"

I lifted my head at the familiar voice, but I didn't recognize her until I saw her. A wave of nausea coursed through me.

It was the girl from my dreams.

"I- I don't feel so good," I stuttered and bolted from the room.

I sat down in the bathroom with my head in my hands, and tried to catch my breath. Were my eyes playing cruel tricks on me, or had the girl I'd dreamt about for weeks just walk into my 3rd period? It seemed too coincidental to be true.

"Hey, Gillian are you in here?" Raquel called.

"Yeah."

"Mr. Malton sent me to find you. Are you ok?"

I let myself out of the stall.

Yeah, I'm good."

We walked down the empty hallway, and my friend looked at me quizzically.

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing," of course she could see right through me, "you were fine until the new girl walked in, then you turned green. You looked like you'd seen a ghost or something."

"I'm FINE." I raised my voice, and immediately felt bad about it. I gave Raquel an apologetic smile.

When we got back to class, my stomach jumped to my throat. The girl was sitting at my table. We sat down, and I tried to keep my hands steady.

"Gillian, this is Madison. Madison, this is Gillian," Raquel introduced us. It was all I could do to give a polite smile and a wave.

"Call me Maddie," the girl, Maddie, responded. God, the way her beautiful auburn curls bounced and her face lit up when she smiled. I was screwed.

∗❤∗

That night, I lay awake dreading the dreams to come. I feared that Maddie would be there, but as I dozed off I realized that I wanted nothing more.

This time, I was on a bus. Raquel was sitting on my right. It made sense that she was there, we were inseparable. The two of us squished together to make room for a third person.

Butterflies jumped in my stomach, and I nearly blacked out when she sat down. It was Maddie, who was somehow rocking our ugly school uniform. Maddie could look good in anything, she was beautiful.

Maddie leaned across me to talk to Raquel, and I smelled her breath. Minty, with a little hint of strawberries. I watched her talk, and resisted the urge to kiss her.

I slipped my hand toward hers, but pulled back just before our fingers touched. I watched as her eyes flickered down to the spot where my hand had been. She shook her head and muttered, "We'll never work."

∗❤∗

The next morning I stumbled to the school, toting my cheer bag. I hadn't gotten much sleep after that scary dream, so I was fighting to stay awake.

"Ready for the game?" Raquel walked up to me with a coffee in each hand. I grabbed one and took a sip before responding.

"Yep, you?"

"You bet!" Raquel was the star of our school's soccer team, and, of course, as a cheerleader, I was always there to support her.

We filed on to the team bus, and took our seats.

"Oh, Maddie said she played soccer at her old school, so I invited her to come."

I held back a gasp. This was just like my dream! Maddie's words coursed through my head. "We'll never work."

And there she was, walking towards us. I made room in the seat.

The ride didn't go as badly as my dream, and soon we were pulling up to the stadium.

I went with the cheer team, to the bleachers, while Raquel and Maddie went to the locker room.

After a few minutes, Raquel texted me the starting positions, so I'd know where to look for her. I noticed something was off about the line up. Raquel was the center forward, and to her right, was Maddie.

They let her play in the championship without ever seeing her play?

I called Raquel. "Is Maddie playing," I asked.

"Yeah, apparently one of the coaches knew her, and said she was very good."

"That's crazy."

∗❤∗

The score board flashed the words "League Champion: Marymount High." We won! I snapped a picture of Raquel and Maddie lifting the trophy.

The two of them had played well. Maddie even scored the game winning point. Watching her play made my heart flutter, but I was still excited for her.

I shoved my pom poms in my bag, and made my way to meet Raquel in the locker room. I poked my head inside, and saw the coach having a meeting, so I decided to stay out. As I was ducking through the doorway, someone grabbed my hand.

I turned and inhaled sharply. Maddie's face was inches from mine.

"G-great job out there," I stuttered. My heart beat out of my chest.

"Thanks, I couldn't have done it without you cheering me on." She looked so calm and put together despite her sweat-streaked face and her wet hair.

I looked up, and caught her chocolate brown eyes. "We'll never work", pounded in my head.

I felt her warm breath on my ear. "But we can try."

Shit, did I say that out loud? Before the flush of embarrassment had reached my cheeks, Maddie leaned in, and I felt her lips on mine.

∗❤∗

I kept expecting to wake up, knowing it was all a dream, but I never did. We took the bus back to school, I was squished between Maddie and Raquel, just like before. Raquel's mom picked her up when we arrived. Before long, Maddie and I were alone.

"Is it ok, if I walk you home? It's on the way," Maddie asked.

"Yeah, that's ok."

"So um.. I know we just met, but I feel like we've known each other for forever," she hesitated, "I- I don't want to rush anything, and I understand if you don't like me back. If you're straight or whatever - "

I grabbed her hand, "Listen I don't really know who I am, but I do know that I like you."

"Me too," she whispered.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, hand in hand. A couple times I caught her staring at me, but she quickly looked away. When we reached my house, I paused.

"Should we talk to Raquel or-"

"You're closer to her, so you can if you want."

"What would I say?"

"How about that you're my girlfriend?" I looked at Maddie, a bit startled.

I was worried that we were rushing into this. We barely knew each other, and she was already asking to be my girlfriend. It felt so fast, but then again, I had been dreaming about her for months. Maybe we were more familiar with each other than we thought.

"Yes," I whispered. I stood up on my toes and gave her a quick kiss before rushing into my house.

I closed the door and turned around, face to face with my angry father.

"Who was that," he demanded.

"My friend, Madison."

"Gillian," he sounded disappointed, "you know just as well as I do, that God didn't want girls to kiss girls."

"Then why did He make me!" I yelled at him and raced up to my room in tears.

I called Raquel. "Can I come over?"

∗❤∗

As soon as I opened her door, Raquel engulfed me in a big hug.

"What's wrong?"

I didn't know where to start, so I went from the beginning and told everything.

When I finished, Raquel handed me a tissue and squeezed my shoulders.

"It's going to be ok."

"So, you're not ashamed to be near me? You don't think I'm wrong?"

"Of course not, Gilli, I'm your best friend. I love you, and I'll support you no matter what."

In that moment it didn't matter that my parents hated me, or that God disapproved. I had a best friend who would hold my hand through all the tough times ahead. That was enough.

a/n: What did you think? This is my first time publishing something I wrote, so feedback is much appreciated.