The Fitch Switch
Prologue
One Year Prior...
Katie's POV
We were moving back to Bristol. I can't really say that I'm that pleased either. It's not that I hate moving, me and Mum are always travelling. From coast to coast and city to city, we'd been doing it for years. Never the same place twice and I really loved it. Bristol was Bristol, and I'd never been there long either. Mum says it was where I was born, and when I hit the age of two, we moved to London, her getting a better job offer.
Mum's a fashion consultant and works for a fashion magazine. It's ace. I get the latest fashion thanks to her. But Mum got a real good offer in Bristol, and she insisted that since I'm almost old enough for college, we should settle down in one place so I can get an education. Like I need or want it...
I'm going to miss Leeds though. The boys are lush, the shopping is bril but Mum just insists. She went to school in Bristol and so should I. Its also where she met Dad, which is about all she's willing to tell me about my father. He could be dead for all I know. I've asked her about it. Almost every father's day when I was younger. Now I know its pointless to ask.
Our new house isn't total shit. The colouring is wrong, I mean, who's idea was it to paint a door bright yellow? Mum reassured me that she'd paint it over though. After sorting all our shit and getting unpacked the house looked rather nice. Bristol might not be rubish.
I have my last year of secondary school to finish and my first month or so wasn't bad. The school year just started, so I didn't miss anything. Some of the losers here have no idea how to put together an outfit though. I've met some people that I might consider my friends. They'd fit into the category of horrible dress sense. There's Naomi, who could, in as little words as possible, be described as a sarcastic bitch. Maybe that's why we get along. She dresses like a clown's grandmother though. And there's her friend Cook, though when all's serious she calls him James. He's a total tosser who thinks with knob but he's nice enough.
They showed me around the shit school and were in most of my classes which is was helpful. They even invited me to parties and though the events were more rowdy than I'm used to, it was well cool. There was drugs and alcohol, both of which Mum's been real clear about not wanting me to try. I'm fine with alcohol, but smoking is just too much. Plus the smell would ruin my top. Naomi and Cook are all about going mental, as I've noticed Cook say, and they seem to be up to about anything. Drugs of all sorts really. They have them at each party, big or small. But they never mock me or anything when I rejected the offered spliff and pills. I do say yes to the shots though.
The party was fantastic though, with lush guys and everything. I'm no slag but I pulled. So did Cook and Naomi and I had to hear all the graphic details the next day at school.
Mum, surprisingly loved Cook and Naomi. They were well polite when they came over to our house and it surprised me a lot. No bitchy comments from Naomi and no innuendos from Cook. Well... until Mum left the room. Mum even invited Naomi's mother over after that and they seem to have become good friends, even though Naomi's mum is some sort of Greenpeace-supporting protest loving hippy. Not Mum's regular type of friend, but they get along so I can't complain.
Nope, Bristol won't be bad at all.
Emily's POV
When I came out to Dad I told him I was gay, and he was totally cool with it. He had a moment of shock, which was expected I guess, but after he just broke into a grin and gave me one of his Fitch Family hugs. Like he knew it all along. He told me I would always be his little girl, no matter what which is just ace. Effy sat with me too, for support you know.
She's great like that. Effy I mean. She's been my best friend for so long, along with Panda. We met in primary and we became friends right away. We'd go to school together, play at the park on Saturdays and have sleepovers and camping during the summer. And, as we grew up, we'd go to parties and try new things. Like vodka and fags and MDMA. Kissing and sex and all those things.
Effy was the first person I told too. About being gay. She wasn't surprised either, which didn't surprise me at all. She's insightful and clever. I bet it runs in the family too, because Tony, her brother, is like that too. She's beautiful too. But that's not where I was going with this at all. She was my first kiss, which was lovely, don't get me wrong, but friends are friends. So if that isn't a hint to me being a lezza, I don't know what is.
That kiss did give me grief though. We were at some house party at some random's, and after taking maybe two or three shots we were no where near drunk. For some reason, the whole time her lips just looked like they needed to be kissed. And with a little liquid courage I gave her a quick peck to which she responded right away. We broke away for a breath and she just winked and walked off.
To say I was confused was an understatement. I had never really though of guys in that way at all, and kissing Effy made me realise it. I wasn't nearly fucked up enough to blame it on pills or drinks. My room was covered in posters of Marilyn Munroe and Blondie and Lily Allen. I had a flippin box of fannys under my bed. It should of been obvious really.
I am thankful for that kiss.
She was there for me when I told Panda too, who, naive as she was had no idea what I was telling her. After explaining it to her, she was fine with it too, if not curious. And made some comment about ladies that she saw boy-and-girl kissing on the bus. She said it was whacker, which was Panda's way of accepting it. We celebrated after with a spliff.
I got in a relationship later with my first girlfriend, Mandy. It wasn't the greatest, mostly a relationship where our common factor (maybe only) was that we were both gay. Dad hated her too and when I introduced her to him it didn't go over well. We had sex, first time with a girl, and it sucked. Neither of us knew what we were doing. It didn't get better either. We were committed though and after about half of a year of dating, we broke up. That, and having Dad drive us for dates or taking the bus wasn't very classy at all. Which is why I bought my lovely orange moped now. It impresses the ladies. After that, I decided to adapt Effy's view of relationships instead. Different lad, never the same twice, or in my case, different gal.
We met JJ and Freddie this year at school too, and when I told them and they were fine with it. I'm open about it, all that rainbow pride. There's no one else left to tell really, well other than my mother and sister, though that will probably never happen. Dad told me about how she up and left one day, taking my sister with. She never wanted me in the first place, so it dosen't really bother me one bit. Dad loves me enough and I'm happy enough knowing I'll always be his little princess.