Dear Dahlia // B1

[23]

When I wake up in the morning, Julie is still dead asleep. I rub my eyes and get dressed for school. I grab my thing before heading downstairs. Dad is already awake and making breakfast over the stove.

"Hey Mija," he smiles.

"Good morning, Papa," I say, walking in the kitchen and standing on my toes to kiss his head.

"Yes, good morning Dahlia," Reggie says, from the counter he is sitting on. I smile at him and mouth garage. He salutes before poofing out of the room.

"I'm going to take this," I say grabbing a plate of eggs and toast. "To the studio and see if i can get some drawing done before school."

"Okay," Dad nods, cracking another egg in the pan. "Just bring your plate in before you leave."

"Thank you, Papa," I say, walking out of the door. I head down to the studio and pull the door open. "Reg?"

"Hi there," he says from the couch. I smile nervously at him before sitting next to him.

"We need to talk," I say. "Are we alone?"

"Yeah, Luke and Alex went down to the beach super early," Reggie nods. "Why? What's up?"

"So, you know how I was having those dreams about you guys? How I could see you before you guys died?" I ask.

"Yeah," he replies. "Did you have another dream?"

"Yeah," I bite my tongue. "I did."

"Well, what was it about?" Reggie asks. "Was I playing good? Wait. Don't answer that. I already know I was."

"No," I shake my head. "That's not what the dream was about."

"Oh," Reggie huffs.

"Do you remember your first big gig? Or at least a few days before it?" I ask.

Reggie nods, "Yeah, we were all pretty stressed out. I remember, there was one day that Alex was yelling at Luke 'cause he'd been super distant since we found out we were actually going to play a club," he starts chuckling. "Bobby couldn't even keep his lunch down, poor guy."

"That's the dream! That's the day it was," I say. "But it was more than that. After Luke left and Bobby went home sick, I heard your's and Alex's conversation. And I -uh- saw something."

"Are you talking about the kiss?" Reggie asks, an unusual seriousness in his voice.

I nod.

"Look," Reggie sighs. "That shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake."

"But-" I take a deep breath. "I mean, you liked it, didn't you?"

"Listen, that kiss just left me even more confused than before," he says, getting defensive. "I spent the rest of my - well pretty short lived - life wondering why I felt the way I did. I liked kissing Alex, but eventually I had to come to the realization that the only reason why I did is because Alex and I are so close."

"Well, why can't it be because you like boys?" I ask.

"Because I don't," Reggie shakes his head. "I like girls. I'm straight."

"You have a crush on Luke, though," I say. "Don't you?"

"Why don't you just forget what you saw in that dream, alright? That was private," he grumbles.

"Reggie, I won't tell anyone," I promise. "You know, you can like girls and boys, right?"

"No," Reggie shakes his head. "No, I'm either gay or not."

"That's not true," I argue. "You can like both, Reg. I mean, even if you don't and you're just curious, everybody has moments. So, you can keep trying to shove your feelings to the side, but it's only going to make it hurt more."

"How can someone like both though?" He asks, his eyebrows pulling together.

"It's called bisexual," I answer.

"I thought that was made up," Reggie says.

"Well, it's real now," I hold back a laugh. "Look, there's no right way to feel attraction towards someone. And sometimes you can like two totally different things about people. The same way you can like two totally different songs. It doesnt matter what gender they are, if you like them you like them."

"That actually makes sense, I guess," he nods.

"Well, do you think that's how you feel?" I ask. "You know you like girls. But there are things about guys that you like too?"

"There are things that I liked about Luke," Reggie argues. "Don't say guys."

"Okay," I say. "There are things that you like about Luke."

"I - just - how do you know about this? What it feels like?" He asks.

"I've been in the same situation before," I shrug. "It's totally normal."

"Wait, you like girls?" Reggie clarifies.

"No, no," I shake my head, a small laugh escaping me. "But I used to think about it a lot. Yeah, when Lydia and I met I always got really nervous around her. And I would think about her all the time. I always got scared to change next to her at sleepovers or in the locker room because I didn't want her to think I was checking her out or something. But those feelings pretty much went away with time. Now we're nest friends and I haven't felt anything romantic for her in years."

"You had a crush on your best friend too," he laughs once. "Crazy how much we have in common, huh?"

"I guess so," I chuckle.

"Thanks for this, Dahlia," Reggie nods. "But I would appreciate it if this could stay between us."

"It will," I say, pulling an imaginary zipper over my lips. "My lips are sealed."

A.N.

hi.

I wrote another chapter...

I love Reggie and Dahlia time (I need a friend- ship name). It made me so happy to write this.

Ik it's kinda short, but it's somethin

Anywho! Hope yall liked itttt. Remember to vote, comment, and share!

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-Redd