Joker

NINE - Axel

After an hour filled with trembling, tears and screaming, the ice cream parlour was quiet once again. "Are you ready to tell us what happened?" Ophelia's tone was tender. A glossy layer formed across my eyes, but I nodded my head anyway. "Let's start with the shouting. What was that about?" Oliver encouraged.
"I- he left school to find me." My voice wobbled as I spoke.
"Okay, and?"
"I didn't text him to say I wasn't going to be in school, he got mad and I let my emotions get the best of me and I-" Before I could finish the sentence, I bit down on my lip, thinking about whether I really wanted to tell them this. They looked at me with warm expressions. "I kissed him." I quickly looked down to the floor, hoping they wouldn't see how terrified I was.
"What?" they asked. I couldn't trust myself to speak, so I just nodded slowly. "You like him, huh?" Ophelia smirked.
"Well, yeah, I guess, but he doesn't like me! He probably hates me. He's been my best friend for years and I just destroyed it within a matter of seconds! God, how can I be so stupid?"
"You're not stupid. Everyone does things that they regret at some point in their lives because humans make mistakes."
"Oliver's right. Besides, if he's a true friend and a good person, he'll understand. I doubt he'll want to throw years of friendship down the drain because of a kiss."
"It wasn't just a kiss, though. Can't you see that?"
"Well, I wouldn't if-"
"Of course you wouldn't! You don't understand, Ophelia. It's so much easier for people like you." I felt anger rising in my stomach.
"People like me?"
"Yeah. If a guy kissed you, so what? It's normal for guys to like girls. It's not normal for guys to like guys, is it?"
"Axel, are you forgetting what you said to me when I told you I wanted to be Oliver instead of Olivia?" When I didn't reply, Oliver continued. "You told me that what I'm feeling is natural and that it's okay to be 'different'. You said that I should always put myself first, to always make myself happy before anyone else. You are the one that told me to be brave because there's a lot of people out there who'll be upset or angry, but that doesn't matter because no one can stop me from being me. So, I don't want to hear you ever tell yourself that you're not normal. You aren't weird, or disgusting, or an outcast. You are strong and you are inspiring, especially to me."
"Nothing bad is going to happen, but if it does, we're both right here, always." Ophelia added.
"I love you guys."
"We love you too." When I looked at Oliver, I saw something in his eyes that made my heart glow. Ophelia must have noticed I was staring at Oliver when she turned to look at him too. "Are you crying?" she laughed. Oliver wiped his cheeks.
"I'm really proud of you, Axel."
"I'm proud of you too." Ophelia beamed.
"Is now a good time to mention I have a girlfriend?" Oliver asked.
"You what?" I said in disbelief.
"Excuse me?" Ophelia was clearly shocked.
"Her name's Gwen, she's really lovely."
"When will I get to meet her? Actually, I'm quite offended that I haven't already. You know, since I'm your sister."
"I'd actually quite like to meet her too."
"You already have, Axel. She used to go to your school and she was pretty well-known."
"Wait, Gwen Hardin?"
"I told you that you'd recognise her name."
"Dude! She was like, super popular. Wasn't she Head Girl?"
"I think so, yeah."
"What's she doing now?"
"She's training to be a doctor, which is pretty cool. You know, I think her sister is in your year: Sadie?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm sure Avery's friends with her."
"Avery's the blonde girl, right?"
"Yup."
"That doesn't surprise me, then. Gwen said Sadie has this crystal obsession-"
"Oh, I see why they're friends now."
"I hate to ruin this wonderful conversation, but I have no idea who you're talking about. And Oliver, I cannot believe Axel has met your girlfriend before I did."
"Well, I've never really met her, I just-" I protested.
"Still!" Oliver and I threw back our heads, bursting out in laughter. Before long, Ophelia was unable to contain her emotions and joined in. Our chuckles were laced with amusement and the smiles tugging at our lips broke into wide grins. Just like that, I'd forgotten about what had happened earlier and every trace of worry had left my mind. Aiden wasn't worth the tears. I'd much rather sit with these two, trying to catch my breath between cackles of enjoyment.