Chapter 9: The reveal

Since Grace and Zoe's first date, it had become a rather rare occurrence to catch one of the girls without the other and it had not gone unnoticed by many parties. A very specific party had been rather perplexed by how close both girls had become throughout a short period of time and had begun to draw up his own conclusions as to what may be going on between the two. As said individual walked into the crowded hallway of Degrassi High, he spotted one Zoe Rivas, which was standing at her locker surprisingly alone. Seeing this moment as an opportune moment to approach the brunette to discuss her odd behaviour, Tristan walked towards Zoe's locker.

"Hey Zoe. Long time no talk. I see your doppelganger isn't here. What is up with you two anyways? You are literally always together. It's almost as though you two were a couple." Tristan half joked.

At the mention of her's and Grace's proximity, Zoe could feel her heart beat a thousand beats per minute and felt as though she may faint. Was Tristan really aware of their secret relationship? Maybe being gay allowed him to have a special sixth sense that allowed him to scope out other homosexual relationships, Zoe thought to herself.

"Earth to Zoe? You do know that it's rude not to answer someone's questions right?" Tristan mocked.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just really tired today. To answer your onslaught of questions though, no Grace is not here, she had a doctor's appointment to attend today and we are just friends. I like her company and she likes mine, so why not hangout often?" Zoe responded, hoping to evade any further questions Tristan may have to ask. However, to Zoe complete and utter disappointment, Tristan did not let up and in fact, decided that he was onto something and had to find out more.

"I understand that you two are friends, but I may be sensing something more. Friends don't usually hangout together every single day, it's a little peculiar. If not for the fact that I have seen you pursue more than your fair share of guys, I'd almost assume that you and Grace were together, like together together." Tristan said as he quirked one of his eyebrows almost as though this gesture was enabling him to figure out this mystery.

Upon having mentioned that Zoe and Grace may be dating, Zoe couldn't help but start to feel her heart begin to race yet again, and felt as though her face was on fire.

"Wow Zoe, why are you blushing so vigorously? Oh my god! You and Grace? Really? Holly hell, I was right? Wow, I had actually never pegged you to be a carpet muncher." Tristan exclaimed.

"Tristan will you keep your voice down! I am not a carpet muncher! Grace and I are sort of, kind of a thing but we have done absolutely no munching of the carpet variety." Zoe replied. In this moment, Zoe was sure she would die. What if Tristan told everyone? How would people react to the news and how would they treat them after having gotten wind of it? Zoe pondered.

Distress became evident on her features, which to her great satisfaction, was met by Tristan wrapping his arms around her and tightening his grip around her shoulders while whispering into her ear "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I know how much it sucks to be outed when you're not ready and I would never wish that upon anyone."

"Thank you." Zoe responded on the verge of tears. She and Grace had discussed their feelings for one another but they had never really discussed what their relationship would mean to others. Being confronted by Tristan about the fact that she was indeed dating a girl and the fact that this could, in all actuality, mean that she was gay had sent a whirlwind of emotions through her body. Unable to fully process all of the rampant emotions coursing through her body, Zoe decided that it would be best to continue on as though Tristan didn't know her secret and decided to ask Tristan not to mention it for a while until she felt fully ready to discuss it with him, which to her surprise, he agreed to do so.

However, contrarily to how Zoe had wanted to ignore what had unfolded in the hallway that morning, it became all the brunette could think about. The school day could not have gone any slower. Therefore, as soon as the bell rang announcing the end of classes, Zoe hastily grabbed all her belongings, and bolted out of the classroom door. Almost on autopilot, Zoe got into her car and drove to the Cardinal residence, intent on speaking with Grace about Tristan's findings.

"Oh hi Zoe, Grace is downstairs in her room. Shall I get her for you?" Mrs. Cardinal asked as she opened to door to allow Zoe into their home.

"Would it be alright if I went down there to see her instead? I have a lot to discuss with her." Zoe replied, hoping that Grace's mom wouldn't ask her to elaborate because that was simply not a conversation she felt like having with the woman. It's not like she could say "Well this guy at school has figured out that your daughter and I are an item and has called us out on carpet munching which we are not participating in, however, we may be at some point in time I suppose?" Yeah there was no way on earth she was going to have that conversation.

"Oh okay. Go right ahead." Mrs. Cardinal responded.

"Thank you." Zoe replied as she raced downstairs, anxious to see the woman of her admiration.

Arriving at Grace's bedroom door, rather than knocking politely at the door, Zoe could no longer contain the news she had to share with the raven haired girl and opened the door without warning. Upon having done so, Zoe walked into what looked like the beginning of some corny 80ies pornographic film, with Grace being bent over one of the drawers of her mahogany dresser whilst only wearing a towel around her chest and abdomen. With how exposed Grace was, Zoe eyes couldn't help but wander and a soft, almost inaudible gasp left her parched lips. Completely startled, Grace spun around to see the intruder in her room, and noticed that it was Zoe. However, due to the vigour of her movements, Grace's towel, which had been tied around her chest, became too loose to remain clinging to her body and fell to the floor, completely revealing the raven haired girl's body.

"Oh my gosh, Grace. I'm sorry. I didn't know you had just taken a shower. I swear I had no idea that I would find you in the nude." Zoe rambled as she quickly turned around at the sight of the other girl's fully exposed body. Zoe had secretly wanted to admire the other girl's beautiful curves, her glistening skin and the way that her breasts fell onto her chest but felt as though now wasn't exactly the right time to do so.

"It's not your fault, but I'm going to go back into the washroom to get changed now." Grace said as she hastily grabbed some articles of clothing and raced towards the bathroom.

Moments later, Grace emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed this time, much to Zoe's disapproval. Immediately noting the brunettes discomfort, Grace decided to disregard what had occurred a few moments ago and concentrate on what could be troubling her princess.

"So I'm guessing that you have big news to tell me seeing as you didn't knock on my door like you usually would have." Grace inquired, whilst she awaited the news that could have the brunette so distraught.