Abby POV
She had transferred to NYU after having a horrible freshman year at Quinnipiac University. Hamden, although close to New Haven, one of the bigger cities in Connecticut, was not close enough to a real city like that of Boston-- or New York City, the city of cities, at least in her mind. The difference between a mere 5,000 students to the 20,000 at NYU was refreshing, and by a few weeks into the second semester, Abby knew she had to get the best grades she could so she could transfer to NYU.
The day she got to NYU, she knew that things were going to be better, from the moment that she walked into the dorms. When she walked into her dorms the first person she saw, across from her room, was Stacey. Stacey, who she hadn't talked to since 9th grade, but always, out of all her old friends from school was the one she wished she had kept in touch with. Stacey was stunning as always and fit in perfectly here. Stacey waved her over enthusiastically amazed that Stacey could still remember her.
"Abby! I didn't know you were going to NYU, it's been so long- how's life been treating you, no recent asthma emergencies I hope." She had laughed as she said the last part, as if nothing had changed, that the past 4 years with no communication was inconsequential.
"I transferred, I was going to Quinnipiac, but it was boring, small, and I was stuck in Connecticut. No major medical issues lately with me, but how about you, any diabetic emergencies lately?" To any other person who watched the scene, it might have seemed odd that they could joke about such things as asthma and diabetes, but, having ongoing health issues as early as middle school had been part of the bond that they had developed so many years ago that they were trying to cling onto.
Abby and Stacey, inevitably, saw a lot of each other throughout that year, living on the same floor, just across the hall. Even though they didn't have any classes together, they still had enough in common that they could rekindle their friendship and really learn more about each other. Stacey wasn't just the fashionable, sophisticated diabetic, as she seemed to have been categorized though it followed her through high school. Abby wasn't just the Jewish sports fanatic who had asthma; she was much more than that. Stacey, as everyone who knew her knew, was good at math and loved it, but she also loved education. Abby had developed a love for sociology. Neither of them wanted to have anything to do with college boys, each giving different reasons for it, but amounted to lies for each, denial.
Junior year, Stacey and Abby roomed together.
That was when sparks began to fly, in close quarters. Stacey would
suggest a movie just because she knew Abby would want to watch it and
they would sit closer than they needed to during it, finding excuses
to brush against each other frequently. Abby would make sure to know
about the art exhibits so that she could tell Stacey about them,
hoping that they could go see the exhibit, together. Late night study
sessions turned into talks about life after college, where careers
would send them both and promises that even if they ended up on
opposite sides of the country that they would never lose contact and
visit each other often. Some nights, they would stay up so late
talking that they would fall asleep, leaning on each other.
When time came to start thinking about the next school year and
whether they would live on campus or move off it, which was what a
lot of seniors did, Abby was at a loss at what to do. She wanted to
ask Stacey to split rent on an apartment with her, but didn't know
if Stacey would want to move off campus or have that responsibility
with her. They had gotten close but not as close as Abby wanted.
There were several times that she had thought that year that Stacey
was going to kiss her, or admit that she had feelings for her, but
then a cell phone would ring or Stacey would sort of trail off on
what she was saying, mumbling that it wasn't really that important.
Abby wanted to make the first move, she really did, but she didn't
want to ruin the friendship if Stacey did not want the same thing as
her, even though it seemed like she did. Abby wondered if Stacey was
thinking the same thing, if she was waiting for Abby to make the
first move. Other thoughts went through Abby's mind sometimes too;
what if Stacey wanted to date guys when she left college, what if
Stacey's reasons for not dating guys in college was not the same as
her own reasons? She tried to convince herself that it was not true,
but the only way to know would be if she asked Stacey about it, say
that she didn't think Stacey was telling the truth. The last thing
she wanted to do was call her best friend a liar. One day though, she
had to know how much their friendship meant to Stacey.
"Stacey, can we talk about something, something really important to me?"
"Of course we can Abby, is something wrong?" Stacey asked the question with genuine worry heard in her voice and shown on her face.
"Nothing is really wrong. It's just… there's something that I've been keeping to myself for a while, and I wouldn't want to do or say anything that would ruin our friendship, but, there's something that I need to tell you, something that I need to know." Abby took a deep breath and looked at Stacey.
Stacey was surprised at what Abby was saying to her, "Abby, what is it that you need to tell me? Whatever it is, it definitely would not ruin our friendship. You're my best friend, no matter what."
"Well Stacey, remember how when we first saw each other again when I transferred to NYU and we started talking again? Remember how we both said we weren't going to date college boys, you because you wanted to focus on your studies and because I wanted to experience college without the distraction of a boyfriend that would take up my time? Well, I wasn't so much lying about not wanting a boyfriend; I don't want one, but, the reason over time, changed."
Stacey laughed a little and then said, "Is that it? You just wanted to tell me that you don't like guys? I knew that."
"You did?"
"Of course, its actually a bit obvious, at least to me. When we watch movies, afterwards, you never want to talk about Brad Pitt or any of the other male leads; you want to talk about how lovely the acting of Angelina was. You never came right out and said that you thought Angelina or any other actress was gorgeous, but you didn't really need to. I don't mind that you like women." What she wasn't saying was that she did too.
While Stacey was talking, Abby was relieved, she knew that Stacey wasn't homophobic, but it was still nice to hear how unimportant the detail was to her, that Stacey didn't get uncomfortable knowing it. Still, what would she think if she knew that Abby liked her? She had to find out, she wasn't about to have come this far into the conversation and not tell her.
"There's something else though Stacey. It has to do with you, Stacey, I have feelings for you."
For a minute, Stacey didn't say anything and then very quietly, almost a whisper, "I have feelings for you too."
The tension was then broken and they both laughed, there was nothing that they had to worry about. They spent the rest of the night staying up, talking about all the times that they thought one or the other was going to make a move and giggling over almost every one. They found out that neither of them had told anyone else that they liked girls.
