"And now, the rookie of the year and soccer's new MVP, Miss Viola Hastings!"

There was a roar of applause as Viola was escorted into the gym and up the stage. She was genuinely surprised. When her friends had asked her to go out to Cesario's in the middle of a school night, on a special team dinner, she didn't know that they had meant that it was to celebrate her victory as MVP.

The lights were on her face and everyone on the stage was rushing up to hug her or hit her on the back. Viola laughed and shook hands with the rest of her team and kissed her girlfriend to a cheering gymnasium. A reaction she wouldn't have thought possible after the events of last year, when she impersonated her brother, beat her old school and ex-boyfriend in soccer, had Malcolm and Duke team up to show the whole school that she was a fraud in the middle of the homecoming dance.

But here she was, soccer player superstar and confirmed homosexual, in front of the whole school, getting a standing ovation for being herself. It felt good.

"Little sister you totally rocked the whole stage!" Sebastian laughed as he half-tackled/half-hugged his twin.

"I know, did you see how everyone at the gym started cheering? God it felt so fucking awesome." Viola beamed up at her brother, who was now holding onto her shoulders with one arm loosely draped over them.

"Yeah, and hey, we're all going to get some pizza at C—Mom? Dad?" Viola's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets when Sebastian pointed out that their parents were at their campus.

"Hello Sebastian, Viola. How are you both doing this evening?" Their mom greeted them, always the debutant.

"Hey mom…" Viola didn't know what to do. Had her mom seen Olivia kiss her on stage? No… she would be a bit more freaked out, right? Or maybe she already knew, like Olivia's parents. I mean if they knew she was gay and she was always all girly and stuff, surely they would expect her to be super gay… right? For once Viola hoped that stereotypes worked in her favor and her parents wouldn't have an aneurism because Olivia was walking in their direction.

"Great getting that MVP kiddo." Her dad said, trying to laugh as he punched her softly on the shoulder.

"So as we all going to Cesarios for some pizza with the rest of the team in one car or two?" Olivia asked sweetly as she approached the Hastings family.

"Umm… yeah… mom… dad… this is Olivia Lennox. My… umm. My girlfriend" Viola coughed uncomfortably. Not really having anything stuck in her throat but her own admission of her sexuality.

"Very pleased to meet you Mr. Hastings, and nice to see you again Ms. Hastings, how are you coming along with the preparations for the debutant ball?" Olivia asked cheerfully; unaware of the tension between the family; as she extended her hand.

"The preparations are going very well Miss Lennox, now if you will excuse us, our daughter won't be attending your team dinner due to a previous engagement, but please send our regards to the team. We will have Sebastian escort you." And with that Viola was dragged out of the school by her parents and left to wonder what was so important that she couldn't eat with her friends.

The drive home had been spend in silence. Something that before had never seemed as intrusive as it was now. Viola didn't know how to fill it or even what she would say. Her parents were tense during the car ride home. She felt 7 years old again, being told that her parents were getting divorced during a tense ride home. She hated ice skating after that day. Viola could never shake the feeling that if she hadn't wanted to go ice skating that day maybe her parents wouldn't have gotten into a huge argument and live parallel lives.

"How dare you spring this on us like this?" were the first words that came out of her mother as soon as the door slammed behind them/

"Spring what on you? That I'm gay? I thought it wouldn't be a big shock, I mean I've always played sports and stuff. I thought it'd be kind of obvious."

"No Viola, there's a difference between being an active young lady and being a lesbian." Her mom answered while looking at her as if she were stupid.

"Yeah, I know. But still. I don't know. I mean, I don't like wearing dresses and stuff. I thought. I don't know… I mean…"

"Just because your brother prefers to play an instrument and stay indoors while boys his age punch each other at parties doesn't mean he's a homosexual. There's a difference between behavior and sexual preference. I thought you were smarter than this Viola." Her mom continued. Shattering her argument that just because she was always a tomboy she would clearly be gay and it wasn't a shock to anyone.

"I thought you would know, Olivia's parents knew she was gay. I thought you'd be happy I finally realized that I like girls."

Her mom's eyes narrowed. "Olivia Lennox? Did she put you up to this? Because I understand what it is like to be pressured when you are in high school and wanting to be accepted."

"What? No! Olivia didn't pressure me to be gay! It's not like joining a gang mom. You can't just twist someone's arm and then they'll cave in and be fucking gay."

"Don't you dare take that tone with your mother young lady." Her father interjected. Forcing Viola and her mom to acknowledge that he was still there.

"Oh shut up dad, you haven't been around for ages; you can't just expect to be my father when it suits you." Everyone's eyes went wide as Viola said this. It had been hanging over their family for years. But no one had wanted to say it. Even when they were angry at their dad when he forgot to pick up the twins afterschool or when he tried to get them to like his new girlfriends, they never threw that in his face. But Viola wasn't thinking and she just spat it out. Not really wanting to hurt him but just wanting him to shut up and listen to her as an equal and not some five year old that wanted a new toy and was throwing a tantrum.

"Dad… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—" Viola tried to apologize.

"No, it's fine, since I'm not your father; I don't need to be included in this discussion. Have a nice life Viola." And with that he reached for the door.

"Fine, just run away again dad, it's all you ever did well in this family anyway. I don't need your support only when it's not messy to have children."

The slap didn't hurt. But it stung. It shocked. And it crossed a line that meant that Viola wasn't just scared and lashing out against her parents out of fear of being rejected. I meant that now, there was no pretending that they would all get hurt by this. Viola didn't even hold her hand up to her cheek or slap her mom back. She just stared at her mom's hand, just like the other people in the room did. As if it were possessed and not really part of the woman she called mom.

"Viola, honey, I…"

"No mom… it's fine. I was out of line, but so were you. I know that I said some awful things, but I just don't know why you can't just say, yay, you're gay. Or something. Why it has to be such a big fucking deal that I'm dating another girl. And why we have to pretend that my dad walking out didn't hurt us either. Why do we just have to be so fucking plastic and perfect all the time? There were days when you couldn't even get out of bed because you were so devastated and I had to make sure Sebastian and I got fed and to school every morning. That we both did our homework and didn't cry in front of you to make you feel worse. But we don't talk about them, or about how dad dealt with being divorced by moving away and then came back when he wasn't that hurt anymore. We just don't fucking talk and we expect it to be fine."

Her parents looked at each other. All the years of guilt and resentment that were left untouched by some unspoken truce were on the table. Forcing everyone to face them in addition to the devastating news that their daughter wouldn't just grow out of being unlady like and marry some nice boy like Justin.

Viola expected her parents to ask her about why she was gay, question anything. But expecting things you want and reality are very different.

Instead they just told her that she could leave their houses until the whole gay thing was sorted out and she was willing to come back and apologize to them for embarrassing them in front of the whole school by pretending to be gay. And to apologize for being so unforgiving about the past.

It hurt Viola that both of her parents were willing to overlook their own mistakes and go back to pretending that everything was fine when Viola felt that everything she knew and loved was shattering around her. It killed her to know that her parents would rather pretend that nothing was wrong because it meant that they were still clinging onto the hope that by turning their back on a problem it would mean that the problem would just go away.

Telling her parents that they were kind of crap human beings for not owning up to their shit was kind of ironic. Because Viola had been placed in that same situation a couple of months past and she had taken the easy way out of pretending to be her brother just so she could play soccer. But after being with Olivia and talking with Eunice and Toby… she thought this whole admitting you are gay thing to be a bit easier and a whole lot less painful and messy.

Author's Note: I know I pulled a disappearing act but just, life came up in the middle of my fanfics and I couldn't really take a break until right now. I hope that this chapter makes up for it :)

Thank you all for your reviews and for subscribing to the updates, it really stops me from dropping the story from my head and makes me think of it by being reminded that people care about where it goes