Best friends. Their official term.
To start with, it had been true. It had been the term they applied to themselves, what they were.
But with the years, it had become more. They grew older, they became different. But they were both still the same as they always had been to each other. Their complete opposite, and everything they needed.
And, opposites attract.
Neither could remember the point where they had fallen for each other. It had been a gradual process, taking years. But eventually they both knew exactly what they felt about the other.
Lola was scared about it. Susan was the most constant factor in her entire life, and she wasn't ready to risk that for anything. They were still best friends, and even if she wanted more, she wouldn't risk it.
Susan felt nervous. Lola was… everything. And neither of them would risk their relationship for anything in the world.
But they grew even more. They moved on from being Susan and Lola to being LaFontaine and Perry.
LaFontaine was braver than Susan had been. They were the ones dropping hints, subtly showing that it could become real.
It took a long time. Perry was braver too, and eventually, one late night when they had spent hours just ignoring their homework and talking, they admitted their feelings, and fell asleep next to each other, with Perry's head on LaF's shoulder.
They were happy - shy, at first, but happy that they were on the same page and together.
But obstacles remained. Perry's parents were very strict, a big reason to her own strict organisation and sense of responsibility.
Another thing about her parents was that they were against same-sex relationships - one of the reasons they never liked LaF, who was an open book about everything.
So they remained best friends, everywhere but in their rooms. They were relieved to be going to college, because maybe they could be themselves full-time there? But suspicious as well as strict, Perry's parents kept in touch with her teachers.
LaFontaine cursed them every night. Perry would sooth them and say that it wasn't, wouldn't be forever, but neither of them could deny what a stretch it was. They had been a couple for years now, yet there they were, a secret to everyone who knew Perry's parents. LaF's family knew, and supported it, but it wasn't the same when one place was good and fun, and the other was secret-keeping and lies.
They made plans. They'd move somewhere after college, together, and they'd start their own life. Perry would probably become a manager of some sort, and LaF would find something where they could do experiments.
But then LaF disappeared.
In the time with them gone, Perry was an absolute mess, and she couldn't take it. She called her parents - not to tell them about how worried she was that her best friendwas missing, but to tell them she was going crazy because her person was missing. They didn't understand that, so she told them that LaF was her girlfriend, because that's what they would understand, even if LaF wasn't her girlfriend. She said a lot of things. She said that if they didn't accept LaFontaine's position in her life, they should send all her things to the LaFontaines and forget about her.