the price of being ace

Chapter 38

I can barely sit still watching the clock slowly count down the minutes until I have to leave for the party house
"Maybe if you actually stopped zoning out you could beat her" Jackson says and I snap back to reality to realize I dies again
"Fighting lady d is hard ok" I say and it's actually a really good game I mean it took me a while until I found a copy for under $80 but I did and it's so worth it
"Just wait until the later bosses or so I've heard" Jackson says as I go back to my last save point which luckily is just before I had to battle her on the roof

I finally beat her and am pleased to see that the time has arrived for me to leave
"Ok Im going to my swimming lesson now" I say to Kate before grabbing my bag
"Wait" Kate says and I stop
"Oh right" I say with a frown as she gives me my life jacket
"I know it's a pool and it doesn't look cool but don't drown ok" she says and I sigh
"I'll take it with me but I'm not wearing it" I say because frankly it's embarrassing to be wearing a bright orange life jacket in a pool
"Fine" she says before I leave

I get to the house and there's no cars out front so I assume she's not here yet until I see headlights coming down the driveway
"Hey" she says getting out of her car
"Hey" I respond smiling
"So you ready?" She asks and I nod
"Yeah" I say
"You gonna wear that?" She asks pointing to the truck where the life jacket is sitting on the passenger seat
"We don't speak of it" I say and she laughs before we head to the backyard

I'm hanging onto the wall taking a break when she swims over
"Hey you know if you're tired it's better of you sit on the side of the pool than be in the water" Erin says and I shrug
"I'm not tired I just want to take a break" I say but pull myself out of the pool
"Ok" she pulling herself out of the pool and sitting beside me with her legs dangling into the water
"I also wanted to ask why you're suddenly so weird around me recently" I say and she frowns
"I'm not" she says and I shake my head
"You're avoiding me" I say and she sighs
"You don't get it" she says and I frown
"Don't get what?"

Erin pov:

"You're with Willow!" I say and she frowns
"You think we're dating? You think I'm getting back with my ex I'm not she's nuts but why would you care so much anyway you're with Jackson and you're straight" she says and I can tell I've hit a nerve but not an sort of angry nerve,one of those hurt ones
"Because I love you ace,it's always been you Jackson is my best friend and he's bearding for me because I'm too chicken to come out" I say but she won't make eye contact with me
"Just so you know I didn't come out either,Willow forced me out" she says staring down at the water
"I didn't know that" I say and she looks up at me
"God I want to kiss you and I want to cry all at the same time" she says and I smile weakly
"So then kiss me" I say only half joking

My heart starts beating faster and faster as we lean in to each other until my heart skips a beat when our lips make contact
"You're a good kisser" I say against her lips and it's such a dumb thing to say I don't know why I do but she just laughs as we pull away
"Thanks you're not too bad yourself" she says with a smile
"So what do you want to tell Jackson?" I ask and she shrugs
"It's up you,he's your beard but people at school are going to take it weird if suddenly you're not dating him and have moved on to me in a day" she says and she's got a point
"I guess" I say
"Are you ok with being in the closet for another week?" She asks and I sigh but nod
"If that's what it takes" I say and she gives me this sympathetic look
"I know it's hard but I think I'm worth waiting for an I right" she jokes and I laugh

It felt so good to kiss ace and finally tell her how I felt but now that movie moment is over and I have to get home to whichever parent is home tonight
"Hey Erin" my mom says as I walk in the door
"What's going on?" I ask skeptical as to why both are sitting in the living room enjoying a movie
"Sit down we wanted to talk" my dad says,this is never a good sign
"Uh alright" I say hesitantly sitting down
"Me and your mother have decided we want to work things out or at least try despite our differences so we're going on a couples counselling retreat like we did when we learned we were pregnant with you" he says and I mean that's a wonderful way of finding out your parents were also not getting along when you were conceived
"Um ok" I say a little unimpressed
"We're leaving you some money for the week and we kinda get on a plane early tomorrow morning" my mom says and I sigh
"Ok Well I've had a big day and I'm tired so I think I'm going to get ready for bed" I say and they both look a little concerned but don't say anything

As I try to fall asleep I focus on my night with ace and not the prospect of my parents who are better off getting a divorce trying to fix things just so they can probably fall apart in another year or so
"So you just want to be friends then?" Jackson asks as we play out the scene in the back of the library
"It was better when we were I mean we're more of a best friend dynamic than a couple" I say
"Ok but you're going to have to give me a couple days to process this" he says really selling the heartbroken part
"Take all the time you need" I say
"Speaking of time,I know we've drifted apart over time and started maybe noticing other people" he says and this was not part of the plan so I guess I have to improvise
"Honestly yeah and it's not your fault Jackson I've loved you since we were kids just not really like that and you know it's ok to start dating them" I say and thankfully putting an end to this awkward improv the bell rings
"So this is it for now huh" he says and I nod
"I guess it is" I say before turning around and walking straight out of the library