Victor sat down at the table with his friends. This was their spot now, and the pizza parlor knew to expect them after months of patronage.
"Hey, Rob, can you pull over an extra chair, man?" he asked.
Garfield looked up from texting to wink at him, earning back a scowl.
"Don't do that," he said. "Don't act different today, any of you. Bee doesn't deserve that."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"
"Good luck getting Gar to do anything," Raven growled. "He has no filter on his brain."
"Hey, at least I got a girlfriend!"
Robin pulled a chair up between him and Victor.
"Poor girl," said Robin, and Victor chuckled.
"When will we be meeting Terra?" Kori asked. "I want to know her."
Garfield returned his focus to his phone and texted something.
"Good question!"
"Hello! Are we waiting for someone today?" their waiter asked.
"Hi, Jake," said Robin. "She'll be here soon, right?"
"Should be soo- Hey, Bee!"
Bee waved as she walked over, indifferent to the rest of the group staring at her in shock. A tinge of doubt hit Victor lightly as he wondered if he should have told them after all. Bee sat down, and Robin broke the silence.
"So. Yellow Jacket."
Bee laughed nervously and took the jacket off. "Yeah, I am. Look, I'm not about sports, and I don't care about dumb rivalries."
"Nor did I," said Kori, "until my face was in smoke."
"Yeah. I heard about that. If it makes you feel better, they found out who did it and suspended them. Well, suspended one," said Bee. "The other one already had too many warnings. She got expelled. I'm not about that scene."
"Bee's cool," Victor said. "Please don't make this a school pride thing."
"Besides, I'm graduating soon," she added. "I won't be a Yellow Jacket much longer."
Glances shot around the table, then Raven nodded.
"It's not that big a deal, right?" she asked.
The others shrugged and nodded along, allowing Victor to finally relax a little. He heard Bee let a soft breath out, too.
"Oookay, so, you guys want the usual?" asked Jake.
"Yes, thank you," Robin said. "What do you drink, Bee?"
"Oh, diet cola, please. Brand isn't a big deal," she said, and Jake sped away. "What do you guys recommend, pizza-wise?"
Kori smiled, saying, "I enjoy the pizza of cheeseburgers. I love how you can combine two foods here!"
"Vic and I usually split a meat lover," Robin said.
"If by split you mean you take two slices from me, tops," said Victor, "then yeah. Sometimes, he steals one from Kori, too."
"It is not stealing if it is allowed," Kori said, chin held high.
"And Raven and I just get extra cheese," added Garfield. "Oh, hey, she says Saturday, Kori."
Kori clapped the way they always did when they were excited. "Glorious! I cannot wait to meet your friend!"
Victor rolled his eyes. "Man, I still don't get it. Girl was ready to rip his throat out, then he says she's pretty, and now they're dating?"
"A little flattery goes a long way," said Bee, smirking. "If someone mentions that they love my hair, I usually put less ice in their drink, so they get more juice."
"Well, I think it's weird," Victor muttered.
"Is it, though?" asked Raven, resting her chin on a hand.
"Vic, I don't know what I'd do in first hour if you weren't there to help," Robin said with a slight whine. "You do such a great job on the programming, we'd all be lost without you."
Victor grinned, "Thanks, man! I don't know why you're bringing it up now, though. It's kinda- Oh. Ooooooh, I get it."
Everyone laughed at his sudden realization that compliments were, in fact, nice. Jake arrived with drinks, and got their pizza order.
"What the hell is a 'margarita pizza?'" asked Raven when Bee ordered one.
"Wanna try a bite? It's vegetarian."
"Uuuuh, sure," Raven said hesitantly.
"You're a senior, you said," asked Robin.
"Uh-huh! I'm applying for the Technical Institute of Mechanics and Engineering right now," Bee announced. "Wish me luck!"
"You'll need it. You're up against me," Victor said.
"I hear TIME is pretty good, but not easy," Robin said. "Good luck to you both."
"What about you two?" Bee asked Garfield and Raven. "It's not as far off as you think. Any plans?"
Raven hid her mouth, then pulled a notebook from her bag and handed it to Bee.
"Oh, my god," Bee said when she opened it. "These are killer! That's a lot of lace."
"I don't know if I can do school for it, but…"
"Hey, make a portfolio. What's the worst they say?"
"Um. 'No?'" Raven said flatly.
"How is that worse than assuming they'll say no?" asked Robin.
Raven leaned on her hand again. "It's not official."
"You miss all the shots you don't take," said Victor.
Bee returned the book and turned pointedly to Garfield. "And you?"
"Oh, heh, I'm not doing college," he chuckled. "I don't like school."
"Well, what are you doing after you graduate, then?"
"I dunno," Garfield said. "Maybe get a job here?"
"Wait, I thought you wanted to see the world," said Victor.
Garfield shrugged. "Want to, sure. It's probably not gonna happen, though. I'm not, like, a social influencer. I'm just… me."
"What is a social influenter?" asked Kori.
"Influencer," Robin corrected. "It's basically someone who sits online and makes videos about random stuff."
"Eh, there's more to it than that," said Bee. "Like Mr. E is a social influencer, that guy who does the riddles?"
"Oh, the social justice guy?" asked Raven, and Bee nodded.
"Yeah, he's brought a lot of change in some places. It's not all a bad deal," Bee explained.
Garfield set his phone down, saying, "I like Xanadox, the animal boss. He's always talking about endangered species and deforestation. It'd be cool to be like that. Getting paid to talk to scientists about critters and stuff? That's the dream."
Bee chuckled lightly. "Too bad school isn't your thing. You could be one of those scientists."
"Ha! As if. I'm not good at things I don't like."
"Is anyone?" asked Kori. "Do not worry, Garfield. I do not have an American dream yet, either. I am expected to be a wife."
"Oh, yeah, Vic said you were agender, right?" Bee asked.
"Mm, yes. I am a them. This is not common, and there is no place I know to belong. It is a discovery to find myself."
"Hey, believe me," Bee said, slapping Vic's shoulder, "being a 'nothing' in a 'something' world ain't easy. There's a lot to find when you take away the expectations. Don't sweat it, Kori. You'll find all kinds of shit down there, once you start looking."
Raven snorted. "Being an everything isn't exactly a picnic, either."
"Aw, pansexual?" Bee asked, and Raven shrugged.
"I dunno. Bi, for sure," she said. "I think I like boys, and I know I like girls. Like you said, there's all kinds of shit down there."
Bee laughed. "Is anyone at this table cis hetero-normative?"
"I think just Gar," Victor said.
"I'm cis," muttered Robin.
"Sure, but you're not het-norm," said Victor. "You're gray-ace, maybe demi. You're still figuring it out."
Robin crossed his arms and pouted.
"That's dumb," he said. "This is dumb. Just give me a word. I'll figure it out from there."
"Oh, man, I wish!" Bee put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Look, hon, it's not simple. Nothing is. It'd be easier if adults just told us that most of it is finding out what we aren't."
"What does that mean?" Kori asked.
"Well, when I was little, I wanted to be a singer," said Bee, "and an astronaut, and the president, and a cowboy. At one point, I think I even wanted to be a spider. The last ten years, I've been learning less about what I want and more about what I'm just not. I don't have a singer's voice. I don't like the outdoors as much as I used to. I sure as hell don't have eight legs!"
Garfield laughed. "There's more to it than that-."
"G, please," said Victor. "I know there's a zillion facts you can rattle off about insects, but-."
"Not insects! They're arachnids."
"So you're saying that I should start with what's possible and rule out the options until only the truth remains. Like a mystery?" asked Robin.
"Pretty much! Like, what so far have you been attracted to? Girls, boys, both?"
"One girl."
Bee shrugged. "Gray and demi are still options, like Vic said. There's also straight, bi, pan… or any of those as romantic attractions."
"Man, I'm not sure I have romantic leanings yet," Victor admitted.
"And I'm straight ace. You can even be aromantic and still sexual, you know. Hell, you can be ace and still have sex," said Bee.
Raven and Garfield gawked.
"What?" she said.
"Some people are into it," Victor said. "There are reasons outside of attraction to date or sleep with people."
"It could be relaxing; it could be for your partner. You can even desire sex without expressing it as an attraction to others," added Bee.
"Who knew?" Garfield asked, shrugging.
"The main thing, though," Bee continued, "is that you trust your gut. If something feels right, it probably is. And even if it's not, you learned about yourself on the way. That goes for you, too, G. Try new things, and put them down if you don't like them. Find what you love and run with it."
"You can date, too, right? Without having romantic attraction?" Victor asked.
"Totally. Why?"
Oh, hell, he could feel Kori grinning like mad at him. Deep breath in, and out.
"Because," he said, "I'm not sure I'm a romance-y guy, but, I'm down to be your boyfriend, if you're up for it."