Chapter 11 – City Lights

Catra

It had been a few days since she got together with some strangers and walked out of the diner with some friends. One of the more frightening experiences of her life, if she had to be honest. Yet, it all ended up nicely for her.

They got along pretty well and they even added her to their group chat, where they occasionally shared memes, asked each other silly questions and agreed to meet whenever they could.

During their lunch, she had told them about her job and had also told them how the owner of the restaurant would let her play a few tunes on her keyboard from time to time. They were very encouraging and supportive, and that made her feel stronger than ever, like she could do anything she wanted to do.

Also, it seemed that they were friends with her bosses, Mermista and Seahawk. Apparently, Adora used to go to the gym and met Seahawk there, starting a "gruesome" competition to see who would be able to lift the heaviest weights there. When the blonde decided to start college, she stopped going to the gym but, according to her friends, she had always been the champion, which didn't seem like a false story. Oh, no. She had looked at the girl's arms a couple of times after that story and, even if she had stopped going to the gym, they looked rock solid still.

That last thought about the blonde had sparked new thoughts about topics her parents hated to talk about.

She could remember how Glimmer asked her about dating girls and she replied as if on instinct that she would be opened to the idea, but after replying, a voice in her head that sounded just like her father started attacking her mind with poison.

"That would be disgusting and improper." The voice started, going louder and louder by the second; homophobia at its worst, just like anything the man seemed to do and show her.

"If you think about that even once, I will send you to a madhouse." Her mother's voice had joined her father's after a while, spitting venom inside her head in a moment she had expected to have fun.

Thankfully, another question from the pink haired girl had made those thoughts disappear, but only for a while.

After that lunch, she had gone to Mermista's to work her last shift of the week. On her journey there, the thoughts came back and, even though she had been focusing on her job, she could hear all that in the back of her head. Words she didn't believe, coming from people she didn't really love. Why did they linger on her mind so much?

When she got home that evening, still thinking about those stupid things, Perfuma had asked her with worry if something had happened, and she decided to confide in her. The woman had proven to be a great friend and someone willing to help so, maybe she could help her getting those thoughts out for good.

"I was just remembering some things my parents said." She spoke as she took a seat on a chair in front of a small table.

"Well, I've never met them but, just with what I've seen and heard, I can tell you that it would be better for you to not remember whatever they said." The woman sat beside her, looking at her with worry on her face.

"I know. I don't want to but… they just come back to poison my head every time I'm having fun." At her sigh, the white haired woman took her hand and squeezed it in support.

"At least you had fun right? That can help you replace the awful thoughts." A smile found its way to her face. A small one, but meaningful. Expressing the comfort the woman's presence gave her.

"I did have fun. I mean… after I stopped being so nervous." They both giggled a little and then she sighed again.

"You know I will always be here to hear you, right? Me and Scorpia, of course. Not only when you have a problem. You can also tell us when you have fun, when you're excited, whatever happens to you. We will be here for you." Her eyes started to get watery at her words, but just chuckled and swallowed, stopping the tears from coming out.

"Thank you. I had fun, like I said but, there was a part of the conversation that just… I don't know… it brought me back to them." The last word came out of her mouth filled with hatred she didn't even know she had in her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The woman squeezed her hand in support again and she nodded lightly, starting to choose her words before they came out of her mouth.

"A… friend… asked me if I would be open to the idea of dating women. I have honestly never thought about it but, out of spite for what my parents think about gay people, I instinctively said that I would. After that, I just couldn't get them out of my head." There was a brief silence after her words, as if the woman beside her was thinking about the right ones to say to her.

"And… if you were to give it an honest thought, would you really be open to the idea? That might have been what created the conflict that brought their words back." There was a loud shrieking sound that broke the silence that had appeared again after Perfuma's words. "I'm sorry, I was going to make some tea. Do you want some?" She nodded as the woman stood up to make the tea, a thousand things going through her head.

Would she be opened to a gay relationship? The question kept repeating itself on her head now. So many answers clogging her judgement to pick only one. Some answers had her father's voice. Some had her mother's. Only one had hers, and it just told her that it was an overdue topic for her. The memory of a little girl starting to form on her head. A little girl she had wanted as a friend back when she was on her first year of middle school. A little girl that made her heart flutter with just a touch and made her knees go weak with a smile. Both things she had known before, where associated with love and not friendship, but she had blinded herself to think that she was not gay because her parents said so and they also said that they knew better so…

Boys had never made her feel like that girl had. Not even the most handsome one she had met. She recalled a lot being introduced to her by her father's business associates yet, no one caught her attention, except for one, but it had been because the little fool had fallen on a puddle when he tried to impress her with his "amazing wrestling skills". Even now, the memory brought a chuckle to her.

Yet, after remembering all this, she still wasn't clear. She had fallen in love in a time when you're just curious about the feeling and then she had never again felt that. How could she be sure that it had been love and not just her curiosity trying to explore something new? Exploring the rebellious thought that was to be with another woman. She couldn't be sure.

"Here's the tea." The woman left a tray with two cups on the table and then sat again at her side. "Chamomile. Scorpia told me you like it a lot." She nodded with a tender smile on her face, feeling a little bit moved by the thought that Perfuma already remembers a thing she likes when she was sure her parents wouldn't be able to say even one.

"Perfuma… how did you know that you were… well… gay?" After asking, she turned her head to see the table, feeling as if she had asked something prohibited.

"I just never felt attracted to men. I could see them as friends, but nothing else. It was completely different with girls so, it was kind of easy for me to know."

A long silence engulfed the room after the woman's answer. It seemed to her like she had a lot of things to think about now, and they were all overdue because of her parents' stupid way of raising her.

She could only pray that, whatever answer she found, would make her feel better with herself and not throw her to the floor again. She just wanted to be happy so, why was it so freaking hard?

Adora

After her lunch with her friends, she had gotten back home and told her grandma about her new dilemma; should she pursue a new relationship or should she just stay friends with Catra?

Obviously, she already knew Razz's answer before she even asked her anything so, that didn't really help her.

Glimmer had also been pushing her towards trying her luck with the dark haired girl. Their lunch time together at the company was now just a long conversation about creating a great plan to make the rich girl fall for her. Even Huntara had at one point joined in the creation of such an idiotic scheme. She had even thought that it would be nice to miss lunch for at least a day.

"You've got nothing to lose! You just started being friends with her." The shorter girl spoke in a dramatic tone, as always, making a couple people on the cafeteria look at them.

"Pinky here is right, girl. If you already think she will say no, why not ask? She could either say what you already know or maybe surprise you saying yes." The buff woman joined on the effort and she couldn't help but groan in annoyance.

"I do not believe in luck. Even if I made a move, I would only do it once I know there's an actual chance." Now it was her pink haired friend that groaned in annoyance, but a thousand times more dramatically than her.

"I can't believe it! How did you even get a girlfriend before? Love is not science, Adora. You don't need to form a hypothesis or a theory before you go and experiment." Huntara laughed at the weird analogy and she also chuckled before answering.

"Easy for you to tell. You have always been together with the person you love. Besides, Lonnie was the one who made the move before." Her short friend sighed in defeat as she took another bite from her lunch.

"Fine. Suit yourself. I just hope you don't end up alone because you're looking for your exact opposite." She was about to say something when her phone started to ring.

"Hello?" She answered with a neutral tone, not having recognized the number and thinking that it might be a sales person.

Her back straightened in her chair as they told her the reason for said call; her grandma was in the hospital again. She didn't even wait to hear what had happened, hanging up the phone and getting up quickly, her gaze already on the door.

"Hey, everything okay, blondie?" The buff woman asked her with worry, getting up from her chair too and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"My grandma is in the hospital. I need to go." She started walking towards the exit, feeling as if her lungs were not providing her with enough air and her stomach growing heavy with every second that passed.

"Wait! Take my car. I'll let the boss know what happened." Huntara threw her keychain at her and she got it without much trouble.

"Thank you." She managed to say before she started walking again, not realizing that Glimmer was walking behind her.

"I'm coming with you." Her friend said as she finished wiping her mouth. She turned to tell her it was not necessary, but before she could say anything, the shorter girl spoke again. "You're not going alone again, I don't care what you say. My dad can cover for me." With a nod, she started walking faster, getting to the parking lot as quickly as humanly possible without running.

And, as she drove towards the hospital, her mind kept telling her that everything was going to be alright. Just another little scare and her grandma would be baking pies again in a couple of days. She probably just slipped and couldn't get up so she called an ambulance. Yeah, that had to be it. No reason to worry.

"It's gonna be okay, Adora. Your grandma is really strong. I'm pretty sure we all will die before her." Her friend took her out of her thoughts, squeezing her shoulder in support. And at her words, she could only laugh, masking the nervousness that engulfed her body.

"You're right. She's like a tree. She will live hundreds of years." They both giggled and then fell silent until they reached their destination, parking the car in the first spot she saw and getting out of it as if it was on fire, running towards the building.

In no time, she was already asking at the reception for her grandma and, as if she had been put on auto pilot, her legs moved instantly when she got an answer, trying not to run and to calm herself on the way there.

Her grandma had been put into a split room and, if her experience in hospitals with Razz could tell her something was that shared rooms were not for critical patients since those usually got a room for themselves given the urgency of their states.

She saw the sign for her grandma's room a few meters before getting there, a little calmer thanks to the realization of the previous fact, but still rattled and feeling as if her body was moving by itself.

A doctor came out of the room before she could even get there and she quickly approached him, asking her a thousand questions in less than a second.

"Relax. She's stable for now. We gave her something to help her rest and we will take her to some tests in a couple hours." The woman's words made her find a little relief, letting go of a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"What happened to her?" She asked, feeling her body, cold with nervousness, starting to gain warmth again.

"She fell down the stairs of your house. Externally, I can only see a couple of bruises and I can feel a broken rib, but if I'm being honest, I think there might be more internal… complications. She's an old lady, after all." Her heart sunk at the words, especially at the first thing she said.

The only stairs in her place were the ones that took them to the roof and the purpose of that roof is just to hang the clean clothes to get them dry quickly. Her grandma had not went up in a long time, since she had helped her with her laundry every time she asked, but she didn't yesterday. She had felt so tired from work and college that she told her grandma she would wash her clothes today and, Razz, being the stubborn and kind hearted woman that she is, decided not to give her any more trouble and wash her own clothes, ending in the tragedy that they were now experiencing.

"How bad?" She asked, her hands trembling without her knowledge.

"I can't tell until we have the results, but I want you to be prepared for everything. Like I said: she's an old lady and her body is more fragile than it was before." Her look fell to the floor as she nodded in understanding.

"Can I see her?" She asked without even thinking, as if her body had just expressed her desires without filter.

"Not now. She needs to rest. Maybe after the tests." She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look at her right, where Glimmer was standing and looking at her with an encouraging smile, as if trying to tell her that everything would be alright. "I have to go, but a nurse will be coming shortly to check up on her again."

She didn't even feel the doctor leaving nor did she see her go, her gaze pointed at the floor and her senses turned off because of her nervousness and growing fear.

The last thing she remembered from that day was the doctor and a nurse taking her grandma to the x-ray machine and her pink haired friend trying to tell her something about calling Bow. Everything else was just a blur.

Hey! I'm back and on time again!

I didn't have much time to re-read the chapter as much as I like too so, I just have to hope there are not many mistakes there (especially in the last part), but whatever.

I think many of you already know what's going to happen (some of you even knew before), and I know all of you think I'm kind of a dick for that, but I promise you a happy ending, like always.

Anyway; thank you so much for reading. I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it!

See you next week!

Also: I wrote this song while listening to Enforcer and the title comes from their song, "City Lights".