Chapter Eleven

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Jack had texted me good morning, earlier today...but I still had yet to respond. I mean, what the hell would I say? Hi, had a wet dream about you, how's your day going? I mean, I wouldn't actively say that, but with my mind as flustered and confused as it was, I wouldn't put it past me to accidentally send something weird, and out of place. Which left the safest option to just ignore him for now. If he wondered why, I could always lie and just say I was busy with work, which was true. He wouldn't question that, would he?

I sighed and shoved my phone back into my locker before I closed the door and bumped my forehead against the metal, feeling...emotionally drained.

"What's got you all bummed today?"

I jumped at the sound of Tara's voice and turned to glance at her through my bangs, my cheeks burning red at being noticed. "Um...nothing. Just...just tired." And dreaming about my male friend like some weirdo.

Tara raised a brow, looking as if she didn't quite believe me before she moved over to the fridge to grab out her lunch; a small takeout box no doubt filled with leftovers. "Are you sure? You've been kind of weird all day today, I'm not gonna lie. Is this like some male thing I don't know anything about?"

I shook my head and shifted my body to where my back was against the lockers. "No, not really." I then nibbled at my bottom lip, watching as she shrugged and popped her lunch into the microwave to heat it up. She wouldn't think I was weird, right? I mean, she was currently dating a woman, so would she know why the hell I was dreaming lewd dreams about Jack? Should I even bother? What if she makes fun of me?

I mentally shook my head. She wouldn't make fun of you, she's not like that, I tried reassuring myself, nibbling at my bottom lip as the woman in question sat down to eat, the sound of the chair scraping across the floor helping me to make a decision.

"A-Actually..." I took a breath and sat down across from her, taking extra care to avoid looking directly at her. "My mind is a jumbled mess of confusion and questions about myself and everything I thought I knew."

Tara paused in her motions at that, her thin brows furrowing as she stared at me curiously, a friendly concern crossing over her pretty face. "So what's going on? Is everything ok?"

I folded my arms across the surface of the cheap table and dropped my head on them, biting the inside of my cheek. "I-I had a wet dream about Jack and I'm not sure how I feel about it," I mumbled, my voice probably too quiet, or too muffled for Tara to actually hear what I said.

"Huh?"

I sighed and looked at her, my cheeks burning hotly. "I said, I had...a-a wet dream about Jack, a-and I'm not really sure how I feel about it."

Tara blinked in disbelief, her brows shooting high on her forehead as she dropped her fork and leaned in closer, definitely hooked to the conversation. "Wait, hold the fucking phone. You mean your guy friend? The hot black guy you're always talking about?"

I leaned back in my chair and began nibbling at my nails, a nasty habit I picked up some time ago as I slowly nodded my head, averting my gaze to the table. "It's not unusual to have...weird dreams like that, right? I mean, people can't really control their dreams, especially once they're in a deep enough sleep. Right?"

"Well that really depends, Phoenix. Do you remember the whole thing?" Tara wondered; her food now forgotten as she focused all of her attention on me. "Did you...you know?"

I grimaced and rubbed at my arms. "What does this mean, Tara? Am I...am I gay? I mean, I've only ever found women attractive before and this dream is making me question...well, everything and I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Tara sighed and pushed her forgotten meal aside before she gently took my hands and held them, her dark skin a cooler tone than mine. "That's not necessarily right. I mean, have you ever found any man attractive before?" I nibbled at my bottom lip, thinking back to all those times I appreciated a man's attractiveness. But I never thought about doing anything sexual with them. It was just...an appreciation. That was normal, right? When I nodded, Tara nodded her head with me and tried to catch my gaze. "Just because you appreciate a man's looks doesn't mean you're gay. Maybe you're bi-curious, or maybe there's just something special about Jack that you like. Tell me Phoenix, what do you like about him?"

I sighed and slumped back in my seat, thinking back to Jack's warm smile and pretty eyes the color of soil. "He's...funny," I spoke after a moment of silence, my brows pinched together, "he's nice to me and he makes me feel good about myself. He's attractive, but, I don't know...he's just a nice person all around."

Tara smiled, gently patting my hands. "Sounds like you have a little crush on him. And there's absolutely nothing to be ashamed or disgusted about; this is a beautiful thing most people just toss aside. Now, I don't have the right to determine your sexuality for you, that's for you to figure out. So just...think about it, ok? Determine the way you feel, and if you want to try something more with him, talk to him about it. See if he feels the same way, and if not, I doubt he will stop being your friend because of your little crush. From what I know about him so far, thanks to your input, he's a pretty chill dude." She then let go of my hands and pulled her lunch back towards her, giving me quite the grin as she began to stir her food. "Like I said, just think about it and tell me what you come up with when you figure out what you want to do." She then wiggled in her seat. "Gosh, I feel like such a proud momma!"

I snorted and raised a brow. "Seriously?"

Tara nodded and grinned, shoving some of her food into her mouth. "Hell yeah I do. I always see you so depressed and hung up over those bitches that don't work out for you. It's a nice change of pace to see you actually like someone. It's fucking adorable."

"As long as you don't go posting it all over that social media shit, then continue being the weird, proud mom thing you are."

Tara went to smack me playfully, but soon, the sounds of gunshots and screams had us staring wide-eyed at each other, the sound of chaos erupting from beyond the break room doors.

"What the fuck was that?" Tara asked, and as soon as her questions fell past her lips, the breakroom door slammed open and an unidentifiable person with a gun in their hands pointed their weapon towards us, causing both Tara and I to hold up our hands in fear.

"Got another two in here," mystery gunman yelled back on the storeroom floor, before their head whipped around back towards us. "Get up and move your asses. Try anything funny and I'll fucking shoot you."

Not really wanting to be shot...again, I immediately made a move to obey, Tara doing the same as the gunman shoved us back onto the storeroom floor, my eyes catching four other masked figures before Tara and I were shoved onto the floor, our hands laid out in front of us.

Fuck what the hell has my life been lately? Reapers, gay wet dreams and now fucking robberies? Since when did my life fall into this weird, bullshit concoction of chaos?

And to think I wanted to live a normal, boring human life.

Ugh my fucking luck sucks.

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