Everything was back to normal the next day.
Angela walked into the front of the school, not paying any mind to the sounds of loud yelling and clanging of lockers in the hallways. She moved past students who had found places to lean on their lockers and around the doors. Couples said their hellos, friends instantly began to catch up from their night of being apart, and the students who didn't exactly like each other did everything to avoid each other. Such was the morning routine.
Angela approached her locker and used the combination, sliding her backpack off and placing it on the ground. She leaned down, and reached inside to take her books out, and setting them in a compartment at the top of her locker. On the inside of her door there hung a picture of her with her mother and father that she gazed at every morning.
Angela's parents were often away. Her father being an archeologist and her mother being a Nurse training for her RN license, Angela never saw much of them other than an occasional picture or a view of one of them hunched over papers at their desks. Her mother would always be in her bedroom upstairs sleeping, or studying, and her father would always be away, only calling once or twice a week to talk only for a few minutes at a time before he was needed again.
Despite this, Angela loved them both with all her heart, and did everything she could to make sure that neither of them worried about her. Angela was entirely fine with being alone. She preferred it. She didn't mind company, while at the same time she balanced herself with knowing how to live without it.
She reached up and slid out her books for her first class, shut her locker, and began to walk down the hallway towards the cafeteria where she usually met Lena before their classes together. Upon walking into the semi empty room, she began moving towards the dink vending machine by the kitchen door at the far end of the cafeteria. She needed her morning caffeine fix since she missed her morning cup of coffee. Angela pulled a few coins out of her pocket and began sifting around with her thumb to find that she was one short from the amount she needed from her favorite soda. Angela frowned, sighing quickly through her nose and turning away. She jumped hard as she ran into someone behind her.
Angela looked up and clutched her books to her chest, an apology leaving her lips even before she saw who she had bumped into.
"Sorry….G-Genji…" She said slowly.
"Hey, girl." The foreign exchange student said with a grin, "Want me to spot you a quarter?"
"No thank you, seeing as you're always swimming in quarters, lurking around the soda machine just WAITING to spot some poor girl some cash." Angela refused, knowing full well not to play into Genji's games.
Genji had arrived at the High School with his brother Hanzo in Angela's freshman year. He immediately made a name for himself as he showed that his top priority were how many girls he could seduce. By his third month there, the girls had figured out what kind of boy he was and from then on, they treated him as nothing but a funny joke.
Genji scoffed and shook his head, leaning against the machine and crossing his legs, "I just thought I'd help a pretty little thing like you out with some money…"
"If you think that handing out quarters at a vending machine will show girls that you've got money to spend on them, you're nuts. The name's Angela, by the way. Not 'pretty little thing'." Angela said sharply.
"Thanks for giving me your name." Genji smirked, "Can I get your number too?"
As Angela was about to say something witty in response, a voice that had given her butterflies the day before approached from behind, "Angela!"
The student whipped around just a smidge more eagerly than she liked, which earned her a quick mental kick in embarrassment. She then looked up at Fareeha who had approached her cooly from behind, greeting her with a small smile.
"I brought your umbrella." Said the football player, "Give me a second to get something to drink. Wanna come back with me and show me where your locker is?"
Angela didn't object. She nodded happily and watched as Fareeha passed her to buy herself a drink from the machine. Genji watched through narrowed eyes as the football player put in enough coins for two drinks…
The blond smiled as Fareeha held out her favorite kind of soda.
"I see you grab some Dr. Pepper every morning." Fareeha said lightly, as Angela took the can and she opened her own can of Sprite, "Nice choice."
"R-Really! I didn't figure you for a Sprite kinda gal." Angela stuttered.
"Oh, I'm not. I like Rootbeer usually but the machine was out." Fareeha shrugged, "Follow me."
The football player lead Angela from the cafeteria and out into the hallway where many of the girls peered over their shoulders and whispered into each other's ears that Angela Zeigler was walking to her locker with Fareeha Amari and what could that possibly mean.
Fareeha approached her locker and opened it to reach inside and pull out the umbrella from the side pocket of her backpack. Angela couldn't help herself and looked over the taller girl's shoulder to see many pictures of Fareeha with students from her classes and her football team. Angela noticed one picture in particular of a beautiful girl near the bottom of the group of photos. She knew she shouldn't ask about it. She knew it was impolite to prod about someone's personal life. She knew she would most likely get some sort of negative response for asking who that girl was…
"Who is that?" Angela asked, immediately biting her tongue sharply in a shameful reflex to her own question, "Sh…she doesn't look like she goes here?"
"Oh that was my friend from…a while ago. We still talk but she moved away to a different school far away from here." Fareeha replied, closing her locker door and handing Angela her umbrella, "I want to thank you again for lending me your umbrella."
"It's no trouble at all." Angela said, placing some hair behind her ear, "Thank you for buying me soda…"
"No problem." Fareeha smiled.
Both girls fell silent for a moment, awkwardly smiling at one another. Fareeha leaned against her locker and Angela tucked her umbrella under her arm…
"So!" Fareeha began, Angela perking up, "I…wanted to know if you would like to come hang out with me and a couple friends tonight. We're going to the old roller rink down the way."
"A roller rink?" Angela grinned, "What is this the 1970s?"
Fareeha chuckled, "We have fun. I'd like you to come with me."
"W…with you?"
"Yeah!
Angela mentally begged herself not to make things weird by asking the girl what she meant by going 'with' her. She nearly opened her big mouth again to ask why, but Fareeha cut her off with a pleasing request:
"Could you ask Lena if she wants to come too?" Fareeha smiled, "It would be really cool if you both could come. Afterwards if you're hungry, I'll take you out for pizza."
Angela begged herself yet again not to make things weird by asking the girl who she was talking about when she mentioned taking 'her' out for pizza.
"Just me? Or…Lena too?" Angela asked quietly. She had kicked herself mentally so many times within two days she felt bruised.
"O-oh! You want to go with just me?" Fareeha asked.
"I-I-I mean we don't have to go alone!" Angela stammered, "I just didn't know what you meant by…"
"Nah, you can bring Lena if you like." Fareeha said cooly, "Or…would you like to go alone with me?"
If Angela wasn't so naturally composed she would visibly be sweating bullets.
"Lena can come!" Angela said, feeling the sinking disappointment of a lost opportunity in her chest, "When should we meet you?"
"After school in the parking lot. A friend of mine has a car and with some luck we can all squeeze in." Fareeha looked happy that Angela could come. The smaller girl hugged her books to her chest and nodded, feeling more confident that she knew Fareeha enjoyed her presence.
"So…see you after school?" Angela asked.
"Sure thing!" Fareeha answered confidently.
As Angela was about to mention that they should go get lunch together over the weekend, which she was sure was an overstepping of boundaries so early into knowing someone, the bell rang overhead and Fareeha opened her locker again to grab her books. She gave Angela a quick goodbye, and rushed past her to her first period class. The blonde was left in the hallway with butterflies in her stomach and an unasked question at her lips.
She shook her head and began on her way to her first class for the day. She found it odd that she couldn't control her tongue around Fareeha. It was almost like everything she said just spilled out in a nervous muttering mess without any prior thought. That had never happened with anyone before, not even her previous crushes. It was frustrating.
The blonde stepped into her first period classroom and found a seat at the front beside Lena who had already found a place, thinking of ways she could mess with their teacher. Angela set her books down and began telling her friend excitedly about what happened in the hallway. Lena smiled and said, "Sure, I'll come to the roller rink with you guys!" she paused for a moment, then pointed down at Angela's arm, "…Angie, you still have your umbrella under your arm."
First class was homeroom doubled with English class with a stiff man named Mr. Morrison. He had pure white hair that didn't seem thin in the slightest and glasses with very thick, grey rims. He liked to wear camo and heavy jackets with boots. He was the kind of teacher that felt like he should be teaching at Harvard but was stuck at a high school and the students had taken to calling him "soldier" due to his service in war many years ago. He addressed them like an army general talking to boot camp recruits. Nobody particularly enjoyed his class, but nobody hated it since he was known for being merciful with testing and grade curves.
After a stiffly taught lesson, it was on to second period. Angela stopped by her locker to place her umbrella in her backpack with Lena, and then the two shuffled down the hallway to History class. The teacher for U.S. history was a man out of history himself. His name was Mr. McCree and all the girls in the class had made a habit out of doodling him in their note margins. He looked to be in his early thirties, very attractive with a sharp jawline and scraggly beard. He loved to wear flannel shirts of every color with jeans and cowboy boots. McCree was one of the teachers who everyone considered to be cool, and every year, his history class always looked forward to the section in their history books where he would teach about the west in the old days. The year before, he had passed out a bunch of airsoft guns to the class, divided them up into two teams and had them quick draw each other, one from each team. The winning team didn't have to take the quiz for the unit.
Third period was Algebra II, and no one looked forward to it. The teacher, Ms. Liao, was a strict one, never hesitating to fail a quiz or test that wasn't up to her standards. She was a very cold, calculating teacher and everyone disliked her class and she knew it. Angela was an ace at math, but Lena was not, turning their situation into a sort of pity-tutoring one. After so many failed quizzes, Angela felt obligated to help her friend. She had helped Lena so much with Algebra that Lena paid her five dollars an hour as a sort of gag/thank you.
Fourth period, before lunch, was Chemistry. Luckily for Lena, it wasn't all math and mostly terms. The class's teacher, Mr. Winston was a large man with black hair and a nice smile. His thick rimmed glasses were the most notable thing about his as he adjusted them often. He was oftentimes very understanding and asked the students individually how they were doing in his class. If one or a group of students were struggling, he would schedule times to do a lesson over or help the student better understand the course material. Everyone loved Mr. Winston and most did well in his class.
As the bell rang, Angela and Lena began to leave the Chemistry room together. Lena halted as Mr. Winston called for her to stay for a few moments to go over a quiz. Angela told her that she would save a seat for her in the cafeteria and left Lena with her teacher. The short blonde matched the pace of her peers and grabbed her lunch box from her locker, and moved her way down the hall, towards the cafeteria.
Still thinking of what Mr. Winston had tried to teach about how Valence electrons worked in an atom's chemical bond, she swung her lunch box back and forth. She sighed and put it out of her mind to think about what she had to look forward to that night...
"Angela!" Called a quiet voice.
The student knew that voice immediately and turned around to greet her sophomore friend with a big smile.
"Mei! How are you!" Angela grinned.
"Oh I'm just about as good as I can be!" the short girl answered, walking next to Angela and taking her hand, swinging their arms as they walked, "I heard from someone that you were walking with Fareeha this morning!"
"God, word travels fast." Angela sighed, smiling in embarrassment, "It wasn't anything that important. I just needed to go to her locker to take back the umbrella I lent her the day before."
"You lent her an umbrella?" Mei asked, "You mean…she walked you home in the rain yesterday?"
"Why is this such a huge deal to everyone?" Angela asked curiously, "Do you know why it's such a massive bit of news to everyone that a nobody was walking with a somebody around here?"
"It's such a big deal because Fareeha usually does things alone!" Mei answered excitedly, "Outside school walls, Fareeha is a mystery. Nobody's gotten close to her enough to figure her out. She hangs out with her football buddies after school occasionally but asking a girl to join her? Never! She's never walked a girl home before, and she keeps her contact with the girls around here to a bare minimum! Something must be going on here…"
Angela grew silent. If what her friend said was true, then why was Fareeha taking an interest in HER and why not anyone else? The girl thought of herself as someone who was easily forgettable, plain, ordinary, and quiet. None of those traits were attractive to anyone, much less a high school varsity football girl who had most likely talked to almost everyone in their school and others. Why was she the girl Fareeha asked to walk home?
"ANGIE! Angie." Called Lena, rushing up behind the two, passing them a step too far before finally stopping, "Sorry, I'm here. Heyya, Mei. What are you gal's talking about?"
"How Fareeha walked Angela home last night." Mei giggled excitedly.
"Oh my god I know. How crazy is that! I always said our girl was special." Lena said, finding her place on Angela's left side.
"I'm nothing that fantastic." Angela said, pushing some hair behind her ear.
"People have tried to get that girl's attention for years and no one's cracked her but you, Angie." Lena insisted, shaking her head, "And you didn't even ask her to do anything with you! Fareeha did it on her own!"
Then, something beautiful happened.
Lena nearly lost herself in her own joy as he suspicions were confirmed and Mei squeezed Angela's hand as the blonde fully blushed for the first time.
"I-I…You guys are so sweet." Angela said shyly, rubbing her cheek, "B-but…"
As she was about to continue, she felt someone pass her closely on her right side beside Mei. She watched as Fareeha waved at her politely and kept walking. Angela's walk turned into a sort of tense, shocked march and Lena elbowed her hard in the arm whispering, "I TOLD YOU, ANGIE!"
All through lunch period Angela couldn't eat much. She had too many butterflies in her stomach. Mei and Lena just added to all her already nervous thoughts and made her twice as such. She didn't know how she was going to handle herself tonight since she seemed to lose control of her own words when the handsome girl was around. Hopefully Lena being there would help Angela compose herself…or maybe it would make her situation worse. Angela didn't know but as she nibbled at her sandwich, she found herself looking across the room and admiring Fareeha from afar.
Sitting among her football friends and piers, she didn't appear to say much of anything other than an occasional joke to keep the conversation lively. She ate quietly and kept to herself, looking about the room, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. Angela tilted her head and watched as Fareeha smiled at someone and laughed…
"So do you wanna spend the night at my house after we go to the roller rink?" Lena asked Angela, snapping her out of her dreamy reverie.
"Oh! Sure! You still have my pajama's over at your house right?" Angela said, smiling. She was reminded of how much she loved Fridays all over again.
"Of course I do." Lena laughed, "And I have a change of clothes for you for tomorrow!"
The girls had spent so many nights together that they both had outfits and clothes at each other's houses. Most of the time, Lena showed up uninvited and it always helped that they had a change of clothes. Angela and Lena then began to talk about what kind of movie they should watch before bed while Mei quietly finished her lunch.
After lunch hour, it was onto electives. It was a choice between Metal shop, Robotics class, and Computer Science. The most popular of the three was Metal shop since it seemed like it would be an easy class. Many students who signed up for Metal Shop quickly learned otherwise. The teacher was a very short man with a thick beard and a temper to replace the rest of his height. Most of his lessons were shouted and the rest of the time he glared at his students.
Robotics class was taught by a timid man named Mr. Bastion. He preferred the class to call him by his first name rather than his last. He was a very personal, quiet man with a pleasant smile and a relaxing way of speaking. Many of his students daydreamed and fell out of focus in the middle of his class since due to his soothing voice.
Computer Science class had an unusually young teacher. Not many took the class seriously since the girl was about their age. Most of the time was spent goofing off and playing online games for about an hour, competing against the teacher after a very short lesson on the basics of Computer Science. The teacher insisted that everyone call her Diva, even though her real name was Ms. Song.
Angela found herself in Computer science as did Lena, even though Angela knew that she wasn't any good at video games. She was interested in the science, but was given challenges of the non-academic sort on most days. Lena was right at home.
After electives period which let out students of 3 different moods into the hallways, it was Geography. Mr. Lacroix was one of the unfortunate teachers who had to deal with a class of students who knew they were about to get a study hall period. Not many paid attention, but the teacher tried his best to get his lesson across.
Study hall for the juniors was a mix of moods. It would be hyper, it would be quiet, it would be both, but that day, everyone had a reason to be amped up about the weekend. Angela and Lena chatted excitedly about the events to come that night and the blonde watched the clock with impatience.
At the sound of the final bell, Angela's heart began to race and Lena rushed her to her locker and she grabbed her bookbag, running with Lena to grab hers. Both girls smiled excitedly and chatted about how neither of them could skate very well and walked out the back door to the schools parking lot. They caught sight of Fareeha leaning on the side of a beat up 2013 Honda Civic with a group of boys around her. Fareeha spotted the girls and began walking over to greet them.
Angela repeated to herself over and over, "be cool be cool be cool." But when the dashing student approached her, fixating her with those dark eyes and gentle smile, Angela felt herself weakening immediately.
"You guys ready to go?" She asked.
"Yep!" Lena said, "I've never been to the roller rink! Bet you five bucks I'll fall."
"Me too!" Fareeha said, "You're on. I've only been roller skating once or twice, and the only other time I've had roller blades."
"Oh! I've been roller blading" Angela chimed in as Fareeha lead the two to the car, "I'm definitely gonna fall! I feel like roller blading is a bit like ice skating. Don't you think?"
"A little bit." The taller girl replied, putting a hand on Angela's back and opening the trunk, taking Angela and Lena's backpacks to place them inside, "Go ahead and slide in."
Angela moved into the back, finding a seat at the very end. Lena ducked her head in and followed, laughing at something the boys had said to her before she moved in beside Angela. The two boys crammed themselves in behind Lena, which was already one too many for the back seat of a Honda Civic. The cramped quarterback on the very end muttered something about how he was too smashed in the back seat and Fareeha, who was in the passenger seat looked over her shoulder at Angela, noticing how skinny she was…
"Here, get out." Fareeha said to her friend, "Let me get back in there."
"You're not much thinner than I am" The quarterback pointed out.
"I know, just do it!" Fareeha insisted, rolling her eyes, "Angela, you get out for a sec."
Angela jolted in her seat as Fareeha said her name, and got out the same time that the other football player did. Fareeha exited the passenger seat, moved around the car on Angela's side, smiled at her and slid in her seat. Angela began to joke about if they were going to strap her to the top of the car, but she froze as Fareeha reached out her hand and took her by the wrist, moving her into the car and onto her lap.
Lena was beside herself as Angela blushed a deep shade of red and began giggling.
"I suppose that works!" She laughed, too flustered to take the situation seriously. She couldn't clearly process what was going on. She could feel Fareeha's muscular legs beneath her and if she was to lean back at all…
"LETS GO BITCHES!" shouted the boy in the driver's seat. Angela instantly felt like she was in some sort of immediate danger…and she reflexively grabbed Lena's arm as the car thrusted back in reverse, turned towards the road, and jolted forward. Angela felt herself pushed back against Fareeha's chest, beginning to slip off and onto Lena. What she didn't expect was for two, strong arms to wrap around her waist and hold her securely against Fareeha's chest in that position.
"Hold onto the little hand hold up there." Fareeha said close to her ear.
Angela nearly lost her composure and Lena giggled and nudged Fareeha, "Careful! If you squeeze too hard you might snap her in half."
"You are very thin." Fareeha observed, her arms still around Angela's waist, sort of hugging her tightly.
"Th…thanks!" Angela managed.
For the rest of the way to the roller rink, Angela was in a stupor, staring out the window and trying not to get closer to Fareeha or seeming odd in any way. Lena covered for her silence and chatted with Fareeha until they arrived to the building not very far from the school. They pulled into the parking lot and as the driver parked the car, Fareeha let go of Angela's waist saying, "You ready?"
"Yuh. YES!" Angela stuttered, grabbing the door handle and sliding out of her much preferred seat. She was suddenly aware of the warmth that had left her back and she felt her stomach drop in disappointment. Fareeha stepped out and complimented her on her hair, telling her that the shampoo she used smelled lovely as she passed her on her way to the door.
Lena tumbled out after Fareeha and grabbed Angela's hand, whispering in her ear, "Holy crap."
"I-I-I…" Angela stuttered, turning to Lena, her cheeks a rosy pink, "I gotta. I gotta tell you…"
Lena's eyes widened as she saw Angela clearly struggling, overwhelmed with some kind of emotion.
Angela couldn't tell if she was panicking, or sick, or excited. It felt like a combination of all three in a nauseating result and she had involuntarily reached out to her friend without realizing. Her crush was painfully obvious at that point and Angela knew that Lena had some sort of idea as to why she was acting the way she was. She had to tell her some time…maybe now would be a good time and Lena could help calm her down.
"I gotta tell you what." Angela giggled, deciding against telling her then in fear of Lena not having time to process the news, "It was HOT in there wasn't it?"
Lena's face fell for a fraction of a second, then she began to lead Angela inside. If the girl wasn't going to crack soon and come out that she liked Fareeha, Lena was going to make her say it.
The roller rink was a massive room with a large, polished shiny floor in the middle. Around it, there were places to eat with tables and arcade games to play. Angela forgot about how frazzled she had become earlier, and tried to calm down, looking forward to the night ahead. She and Lena followed the football players to the front desk that rented skates.
Angela began fumbling with her back pocket to pull out her wallet so she could pay but she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Fareeha already had her money out and held enough for two.
"I'll help pay for your skates." She said.
Lena was absolutely floored by Fareeha's behavior. It was almost like she was on some sort of date with Angela and Fareeha was offering to pay and be her seat and…what did this mean? Was Fareeha just being nice? Or was she actually interested in Angela? It was a very big possibility since Lena knew almost nothing about her. Fareeha was a kind, generous person to begin with, but Lena had seen the football girl buy her nervous friend something else that morning as well…
"No I can pay!" Angela said, smiling, "You already bought me something this morning and let me sit on your lap, the least I can do is buy my own skates."
"Alright then." Fareeha smiled, stepping back and letting Angela do her thing. As the man turned to grab her pair of size 7 skates, she heard Fareeha mention her shoe size… and she quickly ordered Fareeha's too. She turned with them in her hands and smiled up at her crush.
"You didn't have to." Fareeha said, "I could pay you back…"
"Just buy me some pizza tonight and we'll call it even!" Angela replied, bending over to slide her skates on. As Lena went to order hers, she watched Fareeha's expression very closely. She had lifted a hand to rub the back of her hair, smiling happily down at Angela.
Lena ordered her skates and followed the two as they moved towards the floor in the middle or the room. Angela turned around, looking through the crowd for her friend. Lena waved at her and gestured for her to go ahead without her. Angela paused, looked up at Fareeha and then back at her best friend. She left the taller girl's side and wobbled up to Lena who had been guiding herself towards the entrance by pulling herself forward on the tables and chairs.
"You doing okay?" Angela asked, taking her hands.
"Oh I'm just peachy." Lena sighed, deciding that she should prepare Angela for an interrogation later, "We have to talk about something soon, okay? Not now, but I have something to ask you."
Angela's stomach dropped and she clenched her jaw, not listening as Lena insisted for it not to ruin her night tonight. She knew that she had no problems with Lena so it must be about something else. Lena needed to have Angela tell her what she was feeling.
"Go have fun." Lena insisted, "Hurry she's about to go out onto the rink."
"No I wanna hang out with you too." Lena said, refusing to let go of Lena's hands.
At this point, Lena was frustrated that Angela hadn't trusted her enough to tell her about her crush while being so obvious about it. Did she think she wouldn't notice? She forced a smile and said, "If I had Fareeha Amari willing to take me out for roller skating and pizza I'd be out there with her. She's looking for you anyway."
"Lena, what's going on?" Angela demanded, "I don't care who's taking me out for skating and pizza, something's bothering you…"
"Please, Angie. We'll talk about it later." Lena said, smiling, "It's nothing to worry about, I promise. Now GO!" she giggled, nudging Angela towards the rink. The blonde sighed in defeat, turning around and wobbling back towards Fareeha. Lena took a moment to calm herself down before rolling after her.
Seeing one of the most popular people in her high school having trouble with roller skates was possibly the funniest thing Angela had ever seen. Fareeha clutched the sides of the roller rink with all her might and sort of shuffled forward while Angela skated beside her. The blonde wasn't any better, but she was a fast learner and she had ice skated before so it was the same concept but slightly different. She giggled as Fareeha tried to salvage her dignity by standing upright, but all that would result was her slipping again and grabbing back onto the pole.
"Having trouble?" Angela teased.
"No I'm having a GREAT TIME." Fareeha shouted as she slipped again, "Would you believed I've been here before but never went out onto the rink?"
"What were you doing then?" Angela asked.
"I was over in the arcade playing games." Fareeha answered, managing to stand up slightly and turn towards Angela, looking triumphant.
"Very good," Angela said, "Now try moving forward…"
Fareeha nodded and tried to slide towards the blonde. Angela knew Fareeha was about to fall immediately as she saw her weight begin to shift unnaturally towards her. She pressed her back to the railing and reached out to grab Fareeha's arm, turning her towards her. Angela's eyes snapped open in surprise as she felt Fareeha fall into her. The taller girl's face buried into the crook of her neck and Fareeha threw her arms around Angela's chest, holding her tightly to support herself, then becoming very still.
Angela's heart, and her world had seemed to stop for a mere moment as she felt Fareeha hesitate…
"Oh my god I'm sorry." Fareeha laughed, moving away from her and grabbing the rail, "Are you okay? I can't believe you were able to catch me and hold me up."
Angela was more than okay.
"I'm okay!" Angela said in a strangled voice, "Let's keep trying to teach you how to skate."
For the rest of their time on the rink, Angela felt like they were in their own little world. Fareeha wasn't talking to anyone else, and Angela completely forgot about Lena and the people who had driven them there. It was only she, Fareeha and her goofy side that seemed to be coming out. Angela had never felt so happy in all her life…
"Hey Angie!" Lena called from across the ring. Angela looked over Fareeha's shoulder and grinned as Lena approached her.
"Whats up!" Angela greeted her.
"It's getting pretty late and the boys are talking about heading home."
Both Angela and Fareeha looked confused. It felt like they had just arrived. Angela then saw the time on a clock overhead and noticed that it was a half an hour before closing time.
"I guess we should head out then." Fareeha said.
Angela didn't want the night to end, she was having too much fun. As the three wobbled back to the exit to the rink, Angela stuttered, "H-hey…this was fun. I'm glad you invited me."
"Me too." Fareeha said, "We should hang out together again soon."
"How about for lunch on Sunday?" Angela spat out without thinking.
Lena listened closely from ahead.
"I usually don't have plans on Sundays but let me check my schedule anyway." Fareeha said politely, "Oh! I don't have your number."
"Do you have your phone on you?" Angela asked, her heart beating quicker by the minute.
Fareeha answered her question by pulling out her phone and opening a new contact. Angela gave her number and as they reached the end of the rink, Fareeha put her number in her phone and went to give Angela hers.
The friends all gathered by the front entrance, and they went back to the car. Lena moved in beside the boy she had sat by when they first got in the beat up car, and Fareeha sat beside her, holding out her hand for Angela. This time, the blonde sat down confidently and felt comfortable enough to lean back against Fareeha, even before the car started moving.
Lena gave the driver instructions to her house and the whole way home she watched silently as Angela and Fareeha talked about nothing together, seemingly in a world of their own. Back at the roller rink, she had seen Fareeha trip and land on Angela on accident. Lena had felt a sort of sad happiness as she saw a look on Angela's face unlike she had ever seen before. She looked so happy…
As they reached Lena's house, Fareeha helped Angela to her feet and followed the girls to the trunk so they could grab their things. The football girl lifted a hand to rub the back of her head as she looked down at Angela who grabbed her book bag, slung it over her shoulder and looked up at her with an admiring expression…
"I'll text you…" Fareeha said, "About Sunday."
"Can't wait!" Angela replied, kicking herself mentally once again for sounding too eager, "I'll see you soon."
"Yeah! Goodnight…and goodnight to you too, L!" Fareeha said as Lena took Angela's hand and began to lead her towards the house.
"Night, ya big doof!" Lena called over her shoulder as she shoved Angela in the door as she waved at Fareeha, slamming it behind her in frustration.
"Jeez, Lena." Angela said, still in a giddy trance, "Why so rough?"
"Okay, you're gonna tell me exactly what's going on with you and Fareeha." Lena demanded, nothing but business, "Don't tell me you think you haven't been obvious enough for me to notice."
Angela's chest tightened as she came down from her happiness high from that evening. She sighed very slowly, calming herself down and placing her backpack on the floor next to Lena's and lifting a hand to rub her eyes nervously.
"Is your family around?" Angela asked quietly, her good mood replaced with panic.
"They're on vacation, Angie." Lena said, calming herself down, "Let's go to my room anyway. Would that make you feel better?"
The blonde nodded shyly and Lena passed her.
The walk to her best friends room seemed very slow. Angela didn't know what to think of Lena's angry, shouted suspicions a few moments ago. She knew that Lena must have suspected something and it made her feel closed off even more that she was being interrogated now of all nights. The blonde respected her friend nonetheless…she would tell her tonight and hope that their friendship would remain the same.
Lena opened her door and led Angela inside, closing it behind her and sitting on her bed, crossing her legs. She waited for a few moments before saying anything else.
"Tell me what's going on." Lena demanded more gently this time, "I noticed that something weird was going on the day Amari walked you home yesterday. I was able to tell something weird was going on when you talked to me about that nice girl at the bookstore you met last month too. And the week before that with the girl from the sandwich shop!"
"W-well…" Angela began, backed into a corner, "I…let me start off with saying that you're very perceptive."
Lena's expression didn't change and that unnerved Angela a great deal.
"I…I really hope that you won't think less of me if I tell you that I…"
Lena stared at her hard.
"You're not making this easy."
"I know I know." Lena sighed, "I know what's going on with you, it's so obvious and I'm upset you're even the slightest bit worried about me judging you for it. You know me, Angie."
"D-Don't take it personally!" Angela stuttered, holding out her hands, "It's nothing against you! It's just m-me being weird."
"You know you could tell me anything and I wouldn't care…" Lena said gently.
"I like Fareeha." Angela blurted.
"No shit, Sherlock."
Lena stood up and put her arms around Angela, holding her tightly in a comforting hug. Angela hugged her back in relief as Lena giggled, "You nerd."
The two finished their hug and Angela went on to talk about her feelings a bit more, persuaded by Lena to be more open. By the end of their conversation they realized they were very hungry, so they left the house and walked to a nearby 24 hour café. About halfway into their meal, both girls remembered what Fareeha had said about taking them to pizza. It was already too late to invite her out again, however.
Angela couldn't stop thinking about the roller rink, even as she and Lena fell asleep that night. She didn't know what Sunday would bring, but she hoped she could see Fareeha again soon.