If They Only Knew...

Chapter 28- Valeria

I was so glad I had come out to my new friends that night. I had been so nervous to tell them, thinking they'd judge me, or something... Even though I knew they weren't shitty people, so they probably would've accepted me anyway... Even if they weren't LGBT... But I dunno, I guess... There's something about the whole coming out thing that regardless of if you know they'll probably accept you, you're... still all jitters.

But now that that's over with, I find myself feeling relieved. Soaking up the peace & comfort that I find in my new friend group. Living. That is until later that night, after I get home, when Celestina tells me some big news that I am unprepared for.

"Oh my God!" She practically yells from the kitchen, staring at her phone screen & I walk over to her to see what that is about. "They... they posted about you on social media..."

My eyebrows raise all the way up & my mouth opens wide in shock. "Wh-what?"
She looks up at me, eyebrows raised. "You heard me. One of the Aston twins, the boy one, posted about you... & it went viral..."

I take in a breath rapidly. "What?! Lemme see." She quickly hands over her phone & I look over it, panicked, but begin to relax as I understand what exactly is going on. He posted about how Raven is looking for the girl she danced with yesterday, me, of course. But he doesn't mention me by name... Just says she's looking for the girl she danced with... & to meet her privately for lunch at the spot where we talked... It's phrased exactly like that. Just says "the spot we talked", not naming the specific name of the area, knowing I would know exactly where & no one else would. But... "She... she didn't specify a day she wants to meet me..."

Celestina's eyebrows furrow. "Well, I guess she just means any day... Is- this okay with you? Are you okay?" She puts her hand gently on my shoulder.

I nod & smile. "Yeah, it's ok. It's not like she had any other way of contacting me... & I do want to see her, so I get why she would want to reach out to me too... I'm glad she didn't say my name specifically, that's what I was worried about..."

She draws in a breath. "Do you think... she knows your real name?"
I shake my head, frowning slightly. "No... I don't think so... It's nice that she's respecting my privacy too... Didn't want to have us meet publicly in front of everyone..."

She smiles & nods. "Yeah, that's nice of her. She seems... nice, from what you've told me... Do you think it means anything that she got the Aston twins to send out the message though?" She raises her eyebrows.

I frown & shake my head fervently. "No... I don't think it means anything... They are one of the few ones who could make a message like that spread so quickly, from what I've heard..."

She shakes her head quickly, frowning. "No, I don't think you understand- they may be influential, yes, their family has a lot of money, but that's not my point- they're really bad people too- really bigoted... Really transphobic..."

My eyes widen & I look into the distance, at nothing in particular, shocked. "Oh... Then- I don't know."

Hey, guys. This is my chapter for today. I might take a while to update after this bc idk where to go w the story from here... I've never been very good at planning my books, & this is no exception. Sorry about that :/. If you have any suggestions for directions, that might help :) (again, sorry :/).

Anyways, on another note, reading about Valeria's coming out reminded me of my own. I'm not out to my parents for the obvious reason that my dad is a complete bigot (similar to Val's dad in that he's a macho Mexican man w misogynistic/homophobic/transphobic tendencies), so that's not a very safe environment for me. I did come out to my closest high school friends & siblings, & they were super supportive bc they're all LGBT. Like, legit almost all of them, lol :D.

My older sis is a trans girl/bi, my younger sis is bi, 2 of my close friends are bi, 1 is omniromantic asexual & agender, & 1 is a straight ally. So I got a lot of supportive LGBT people I know, just like Valeria :D. & I guess, in that way, I am fairly lucky. I mean, not in having close-minded parents & having to go to an unwelcoming Christian university (bc I don't have to pay tuition...), but in my support system, I guess :3.

Anyways, my point is, even though they are all LGBT, I was still nervous to come out to them bc I try to keep it low-key & only be out to specific people, I don't want my parents/teachers to know... & I was nervous, like Val, about their perception of me & everything. But they were extremely supportive, so that was great :3

Welp, anyways, that's enough of that mega-long rant for today, lol :'D. If you want to share your coming out stories, go ahead, guys. That'd be cool to hear :3 <3. Well, see yaaaaaaaaaa :D <3