"For the last time, stop it. I'm not asking for your permission. I'm just letting you know." Tea said as she grabbed the last few things left in her locker and put into her backpack.
"Tea, you can't just run away from this. I know you're scared but it's only a matter of time till you realize I'm right. We have a connection and you can't deny it."
"Stop trying to tell me what I can or can't do. I do whatever I want and you know that."
"Well, stop trying to push me away!"
Tea slammed her locker shut, threw her backpack over her left shoulder and angrily turned to face him.
"You want me to stop pushing you away? Then back the fuck off, Tony! I'm so fucking tired of you! I told you a hundred times I'm a fucking lesbian! And it won't just go away because you want it to. So just drop it, ok? I can't do this anymore, what happened between us was the biggest mistake of my life and now I've lost one of my best friends because of it. I'm done Tony, so fucking done!"
"You can't keep denying our connection! Tea, we match and you know that. And you've never found a girl that matched you like I do. So stop fighting it."
Tea shook her head.
"I can't talk to you, It's like you don't hear a word I say." Tea said and started to walk away.
"No, Tea, wait!" Tony reached for her arm. "Just tell me what to do to make you stay. I'll do anything, just tell me what you want."
"Tony, I told you, I am leaving and there's nothing you or anyone can do to change that. I've already made up my mind. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go." She said and walked away.
#
Back home, Tea spent a good amount of time locked up on her room thinking about what she was supposed to do to make things right. Truth was there wasn't much she could do. She knew she had really screwed up and she regretted it more than anything in her life, but, unfortunately, she couldn't undo it. So she decided all she could do was apologize before leaving.
Tea's dad had just gotten a promotion. His boss was opening a new business so now instead of being a maids guy and working two jobs, he was going to be the manager of the new place, which meant he would have to work less to make more money. Great, right? Yeah, the thing is, it was on the another country. But it was a one year thing, Marco would have to go and work there for a year, after that he could go back and be the manager of the business back home, so after some thinking, Tea's parents decided Marco would go and the rest of the family would stay. After some convincing, though, Tea managed to make them let her go with him.
It was an opportunity she just couldn't lose. Things were just so fucked up, she couldn't handle anymore. First there was Tony who wouldn't stop bothering her no matter how hard she tried to make him understand she wasn't interested. Then there was Michelle, her best friend for years who now wouldn't even look at her. And last but not least, Betty. She liked the girl, but that just wasn't enough. Or fair. For neither of them. She knew the other girl deserved someone who truly loved her and could give her all of them, and Tea just wasn't that person. So she decided she needed some time away from everything, some time to herself so she could clear her mind and maybe even find a solutions to all of the mess? Who knows.
Well, she had already told Tony her plans, so now all she needed to do was tell the rest of her friends. She took a quick glance at her packed bags and sighed. Sure, leaving was her decision, but it didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to her friends. She would miss them so much. But she knew it was for the best.
#
It was a short walk from hers to Stan's, but, since it was her last day in the city, Tea walked slowly, trying to memorize every single detail she possibly could from everything really. Little time after, she found herself standing at the door. She took a deep breath and knocked. Chris opened the door with a red cup on his hand and a smile on his face.
"Tea, hey! Come on in, everyone's here." The boy said excitedly. "Oh, and don't worry, everyone but Tony." He quickly added with a laugh.
"Actually, Chris, I need to talk to Michelle. Could you ask her to come meet me outside? It's really important."
"Yeah, alright. Is everything ok?" His face showed concern.
"Yeah, just fine. I'll talk to you later, ok? Just really need to talk to Chelle."
"Ok, I'll get her."
"Thanks." He nodded and left.
Tea walked to the curb with her hands on her black coat's pockets and, facing the street, watched the clouds above her. She then sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the chilly breeze on her face, trying to prepare herself for what was coming. There have been two weeks since Michelle found out the truth and they haven't spoken since.
After some minutes she heard the front door open and close and steps behind her. She turned around to face Michelle, who stood a few feet away staring at her with a hard face.
Tea took a deep breath, trying to decide what to say. She decided just saying it would probably be the best course of action.
"I'm leaving." She said simply. Michelle arched an eyebrow. That wasn't what she was expecting at all.
"What?"
"I am leaving." Tea repeated. "To England."
"England?" Michelle was pissed now. "So you're just going to run away from your problems?!" She throws angrily.
"I am not running away! You know that's not how I do things!"
The brunette answered, now equally angry at the accusation.
The blonde scoffed. "Clearly." She rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and glared at her friend.
"I JUST CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE, OKAY?!" Tea half yelled. Then she looked down, her expression going from angry to sad. "I... I can't." She whispered.
"Do what exactly, Tea? Break innocent girls' hearts or fuck your best friends' boyfriends?" Michelle asked sarcastically.
Tea signed in frustration, meeting the other girl's cold gaze.
"Look, Chelle, I know you hate me right now and, honestly, you have every right to. I know I really screwed up and I've been spending all my time trying to figure out what to do to make things right, but I just can't. There's absolutely nothing I could do to fix this. I can't undo what I did, I can't take your pain away. I know you must feel awful but I just want you to know I don't feel any better. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking, I'm not even into guys, and even if I was, no boy should be worth the risk of losing you. Specially not Tony. I feel helpless knowing that I screwed everything up and there's nothing I can do about it. And I know it must be hard for you to see my face everyday after all this, so I'm just going to make this easier for the both of us. I'm gonna leave you alone and take some time to myself to think everything through." Tea said.
"So what? You expect me to forgive you now just because you're leaving?"
"Of course not! That's not what this is about!"
"THEN PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK THIS IS ABOUT!" Michelle yelled. Tea, once again, sighed.
"l didn't come here to tell you I was leaving so you would forgive me, forget everything or something, I came here because I felt like you deserved to know. And I felt like you also deserved some kind of explanation or something, even though there isn't much I can explain. I just... I couldn't just leave without talking to you, Chelle, without at least telling you how sorry I am for everything. That's kind of the only thing I can do right now." Tea finished.
"Is that all?" Michelle asked with a hard expression on her face.
Tea shrugged.
"I guess so." She then looked down and for a moment they just stood there, the blonde glaring at her brunette, and the brunette playing with the fabric of her own coat.
What happened next happened so fast Tea barely had time to process it. Michelle slapped Tea across the face, leaving her holding her cheek with an open mouth and shocked expression. But even more shocking, after that Michelle leaned in and hugged her. To say Tea was confused was an understatement. What the hell?
"This is so frustrating." Michelle sighed, her arms tight around her friend's body. "I hate the fact that no matter how hard I try, I can never hate you."
Tea had yet to react. She opened her mouth and closed again trying to say something but no words came out. Michelle sighed again, letting Tea go.
"Look, what you did hurt me really bad and it will take time to heal, but I decided I won't let this come between us. I know how sorry and guilty you are, plus Tony told me everything and honestly I think it was more his fault than anything else. God, I can't believe I was so blind. I'm actually kind of glad that happened, otherwise I would probably still be the oblivious idiot I've always been. So yeah, you're my best friend, you were there for me, saved my ass and forgave me for my mistakes more times than I can count, I am not letting you go on your first one. I am willing to forgive you. Of course, as I said it will take time to heal, but I think we can move past it." Michelle finished with a small smile.
This time Tea was the one hugging her friend, tears falling from her eyes.
"You are seriously the best. I love you, Chelle."
"I love you too, T."
#
After the surprisingly successful talk with Michelle, Tea figured she should spend her last few hours hanging out with her friends. Fortunately, they were all pretty understanding and supportive about her decision to leave, she was really glad she had friends as amazing as them. After some hours of drinking, laughing and smoking, though, it was time to say goodbye. She would leave the following morning so she couldn't go home too late.
"Fuck, I'm going to miss you guys so much." Tea said as she hugged Daisy.
"We're going to miss you too." Daisy answered pouting, making Tea laugh.
Tea turned to hug Abbud. "Oh my god, are you crying?" She asked amused.
"What? No!" He tried to cover his teary eyes up.
"Of course not, I'm sure it's just sweat because it's really hot in here, right Abbud?" Daisy joked.
"Right!... Wait, what?! No!" Abbud answered making everyone laugh. Tea hugged him.
"I swear you guys are still high." She chuckled. "Don't worry Abbud, it's just one year, I'll be back before you guys know it." She smiled.
"You sure you wanna go?" Asked Chris.
"Yeah, it's for the best." She answered now hugging him.
"Be safe." Said Stan at his turn.
"I will." Tea smiled.
"Bye." Caddie said simply. Tea laughed and hugged her.
"Bye, Caddie."
"Well guys, saying goodbye sucks. But I promise I'll call."
"You better keep that promise. I want to know everything about England." Daisy said excitedly making everyone laughed.
"Don't worry, I will." Tea smiled. "But I really gotta go now." Then she looked around noticing something. "Has anyone seen Chelle?"
"I'm right here." Michelle answered appearing out of nowhere. "I'll walk you home."
"Ok." Tea hesitantly answered. Michelle's behavior was kind of odd but she decided not to say a thing. "Bye guys." Tea waved to her friends and both girls started to walk out Stan's house and down the familiar route.
#
The pair walked in silence, Michelle looking down lost in her own thoughts. Tea kept stealing glances at her, until couldn't take the strangeness anymore.
"Ok, what's going on?" Tea asked as she abruptly stopped walking.
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked confused turning around to look at her friend.
"C'mom, Chelle. You disappear and then suddenly appear again wanting to walk me home? If there's anything you want to say or even do you better do it now, this is probably going to be your last chance in a while." Tea said pointing to her house a few meters down the street. Michelle was surprised, she was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized they were almost there already.
"Oh, wow. I hadn't realize we were here already."
"Yeah, I've noticed." Tea laughed lightly, making Michelle smiled. Tea then smiled too, it had been a while since she'd last seen her friend smile. But then she saw conflict on Michelle's eyes, doubts.
"Chelle? Are you ok?" She asked, concern all over her face. In that moment she saw Michelle's eyes change from doubtful to determined.
If Tea was shocked earlier when Michelle slapped then hugged her, she was now shocked, surprised, confused, perplexed and a lot more. Michelle had just taken a step forward, leaned in and was now kissing her passionately. Tea took solid 5 seconds to realize what was happening. And when she did, she kind of panicked. What the actual fuck?
But damn, did it felt good. The blonde's lips were soft and tasted like strawberry. Tea had no fucking idea of what was going on, but whatever it was, it felt way too good, so she just pulled the other girl closer, one hand on her hip and the other on her neck, and deepened the kiss. Michelle, whose hands were intertwined in brunette locks, moaned in her mouth in response, which made Tea go crazy. After some minutes, though, air became necessary so Tea bit Michelle's lip lightly and, with one last peck to the blonde's lips, broke the kiss. They stood with their eyes closed, foreheads touching and real hard breathing.
"What was that?" Tea whisper-asked, still not moving.
"It was my last chance in a while, right? I couldn't let you go without doing that." Michelle whispered back.
"Why?" Tea asked confused. Michelle sighed.
"Because I had to know. I gotta go now. Be safe out there, ok, T? Please call whenever you get the chance. I love you." And with one last hug and a peck to the brunette's soft lips, Michelle quickly walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Tea behind.
"Wait, Chelle! What did you have to know?" Tea desperately asked.
But it was too late, Michelle had already disappeared around the corner leaving a frustrated brunette behind.
