The Lake.
She sits beside you on the dock, looking out over the water. You and your family come to the lake every year on vacation, and you've brought her the past few years. But this time it's different. Nothing much has changed between you, but it feels different. There's a whole new energy floating around the two of you, an almost awkward tension that tugs on your heart strings and makes your stomach twist into hundreds of tiny knots. You watch her out of the corner of your eyes, and even though you can't see her completely, you're still overwhelmed by how beautiful she is. You always are, every single time you look at her. But you watch her as she looks down at her feet, her ankles crossed as she swings her legs back and forth, she's completely adorable and it makes that ache in your chest 10 times worse, she's chewing on her lips, a small frown marring her perfect features.
You inch closer to her and turn your head to stare at her unabashedly. You have no idea what's running through her head right now, how she must be feeling. She hasn't exactly had the chance to take it all in since it happened. The minute Finn said that she might not love you back, was when everything changed. The whole coming out thing was centred around you. Everyone was worried about you. Everyone was making sure you were okay, even her, and that's not fair. She's always been there for you, which is why you love her so much. People don't give her enough credit for what she does for everyone. She's so kind and compassionate and perfect. You want to be there for her. You love her, and you know now, that she loves you. Always has.
You know she won't say anything. She doesn't have to, the smallest movements on her face tell you everything you need to know. The way she quickly runs her tongue along her bottom lip tells you that she's nervous, she quickly rubs the tip of her nose with her fingers and you know that she's thinking. She's scared of how people are going to react. She hasn't exactly hidden her open attraction towards both guys and girls, but she's not exactly out either, even though the ad is about you, everyone's going to know that it's her you love. That you're with. And in a way you've both been shoved out of the flannel closet and straight onto your faces. There's nothing you can do about it. You watch and from the quirk of her brow, you realise she's questioning your stare. You mirror the movement in a show of stubborn defiance, a refusal to look away. She doesn't look at you, and you sigh, turning to glance out over the lake, watching the water lick at her toes as her legs slowly stop swinging, you see the boats that are moored to the docks bob with the tide, you watch the leaves rustle on the trees beside them, the sun glistening as it reflects off the deep blue water.
You feel something soft against your hand and you look down to see her slipping her hand into yours, you follow her arm up to her face and see that's she's pointedly not looking at you, but you feel your lips tug into a grin as you see a small smile ghosting her lips. She may not be ready to talk about it now, but with that silent thank you, she tells you that she knows that you're there for her, and you know that she's grateful for that. So you watch her watch the water and you smile because no matter what happens you're in this for the long run, for better or for worse.