" We all need gossip, Coop, it's what we live off of," said Summer, before telling Marissa all about last night and what had happened with Jodie. She finished with

" I've never felt this way about anyone, Coop," with a dreamy expression on her face.

" We're so lucky Sum. Our girlfriends are amazing and gorgeous…"

Summer cut her off.

" Hey, eyes off my woman," she said in mock anger. " You can't have her."

Marissa laughed at Summer's possessiveness. She had never seen Summer act this way in any of her past relationships. Marissa was glad that Summer had finally admitted to her feelings, because the way she would smile now whenever Jodie's name was mentioned was great to see.

" You know what this means?" asked Marissa.

Summer shook her head briefly.

" No, what?"

" I was right all along, you did like Jodie. I like being right," she said.

Summer laughed.

" Yeah, I guess you were," said Summer, thinking about next period, where she'd be able to spend some more time with Jodie. Marissa prodded her with her pen.

" Hey, Sum, wake up. You're drooling."

" What!" said Summer, her hand flying to her mouth.

" Relax, Sum. You weren't quite drooling. But if I hadn't woken you up there, I think you definitely would have been in a few minutes. What were you thinking about?" she asked, her tone far too innocent to be believable. Summer just grinned at her.

" Oh I don't think I wanna know," said Marissa.

" Coop, you have a dirty mind. I was just thinking about Jodie. Seeing Marissa's raised eyebrows and funny look, she added, " In a perfectly innocent way."

" I'm sure," Marissa said in response.

Alex and Jodie were also talking about last night. Alex was smiling at Jodie's enthusiasm, it was rare that she saw her friend this way, and especially not over a girl. Jodie was usually so casual when it came to relationships. Alex didn't think she'd ever heard her refer to anyone as her girlfriend before, but it was how she had referred to Summer. She couldn't keep the smile off her face either.

" There's one thing that's kind of worrying me though," said Jodie, her expression becoming contemplative.

" Oh?"

" Yeah… she didn't want to kiss me this morning because people were looking. I don't want to become her secret, but I don't want to put any pressure on her either. It must be kinda weird for her at the moment."

" Just talk to her about it," said Alex, " I'm sure it'll be fine."

" Yeah, you're right," said Jodie, smiling as she thought about doing more than talking with Summer. She couldn't get enough of her now their relationship had finally progressed beyond…well, she couldn't really say friendship, because they'd never really reached that point. In Summer's case, it seemed there was a thin hate between hate and…Jodie could only call it like, because even though she knew she was falling for Summer, she was still unsure about Summer's feelings for her exactly. She didn't want to freak Summer out and scare her off by trying to move their relationship along too quickly. They had plenty of time.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson. Jodie threw her things into her bag quickly, slinging it over her shoulder while walking towards the door. Alex caught up with her in the corridor.

" What's the rush?" she asked, breathless from running to catch up with Jodie.

" Summer," said Jodie simply.

Seeing the look Alex was giving her, she glanced at her warningly.

" Whatever it is you're about to say, don't say it," she said, following up her comment with a hurried " See you at lunchtime," as she spotted Summer further down the corridor.

Alex rolled her eyes before going to her own class, wishing she had more of them with Marissa. She laughed inwardly at the thought. If she had been told she had to have every class with Marissa when she first started here, she would have been cursing the school. Now it was the opposite. She sat down at the back of the classroom, hoping that the time until lunch went quickly.

Upon reaching Summer outside their classroom Jodie hesitated, unsure about how to greet her, and so settled for a simple "hi". She was a little surprised when Summer pulled her into a brief hug, and she immediately missed the contact when Summer pulled away. Leaning in closer to Summer so that no one else would hear them, she said,

" Aren't you worried about what people will think?"

" I hug Marissa all the time," said Summer dismissively. " They'll just think we're friends…hmm, now I come to think about it, I am kind of worried about what they'll think."

" You'll be making up for that later," said Jodie quietly, before the crowd of people in the way of the classroom door finally cleared, and they were able to get through to their class. They sat down at the back, and when Summer was sure that nobody was paying attention to her, she reached for Jodie's hand under the table, and they spent the rest of the lesson that way, glancing at each other every so often.

At lunchtime, the four of them sat down together, Marissa and Alex with their arms around each other's waist. On the way here, Jodie had pulled Summer into an abandoned janitor's closet, kissing her deeply and telling her about how much she'd been wanting to do that all day. Summer wished she wasn't so terrified about what people would think of her, so that she and Jodie could sit like Alex and Marissa. Seeing the shadow cross Marissa's face, Jodie looked at her reassuringly, and Summer smiled at her, grateful for her understanding.

They had fun together, laughing and joking. Marissa found that she shared Jodie's taste in music, and they spent some time discussing their favourite bands. Marissa was glad they were able to talk so easily; she didn't want things to be awkward between her and Summer's girlfriend. Alex and Summer were also making an effort, but that mostly just consisted of Summer talking and Alex nodding in agreement.

When the bell rang, they got up reluctantly. Marissa looped her arms around Alex's neck and said,

" What are we doing tonight?"

" I don't care, as long as I'm with you," said Alex.

Jodie was making gagging motions behind their backs and Summer was rolling her eyes.

" You guys are too cute for words," she said, looking at them amusedly. Alex and Marissa laughed before kissing each other goodbye and leaving Jodie and Summer stood on their own.

Summer took Jodie's hand, leading them towards their next class, which they shared together. Too wrapped up in each other to pay attention to where they were going, they crashed into someone violently, knocking all three of them to the floor. Summer looked up, to be met with a pair of dark eyes that didn't belong to Jodie.

" Cohen," she said, her mouth falling open in shock.