Something Blue

Chapter 39

"Do you know where Nicki is?" Quinn asked. "I've texted her, like, three times. No answer."

Elliot furrowed his brows, turning to enter their hallway bathroom. "Did she go home with a guy?"

Quinn shrugged, strolling toward her bedroom.

Before Elliot washed his painted-covered hands, he sent a message to Nicki. There was no response, however his phone was overtaken with vibrations. He had been painting for the majority of the morning, so he assumed he had missed another influx of theories from Nicki's fans.

When he opened his Instagram, however, he wasn't expecting to be tagged in a thousand different posts - all of the same photo.

The photo resolution was terrible. The person who had taken the picture must've been moving, jumping, or maybe dancing? Elliot wasn't sure, but he knew the girl in the image was Nicki. Specifically, it was Nicki kissing a guy. When he looked closer, though, he realized the guy was wearing a familiar hoodie - identifiably Pierce's hoodie. Actually, it was undeniably Pierce's hoodie - he could see his stupid, tacky, damn ugly, orange hat tucked into the front pocket.

Elliot scanned the image again, noting the back of Pierce's head - indeed it was him. He had that unmistakable, in-between brownish-blondish color of hair. The common tone that looked dark at night and light during the day, but in this particular photo, it looked like betrayal.

Without thinking, Elliot chucked his phone across the bathroom and watched it hit the hallway wall. It barely missed the memorable photo of Quinnie's old cat.

"Whoa. Relax," Quinn exclaimed, stalking into the bathroom. She had been folding laundry. As she picked up Elliot's phone, she said, "That wall is rented, remember? If we don't get our security deposit back at the end of the year you owe me seventy-five dollars."

"Sorry," Elliot mumbled, rubbing his face with two hands. What the fuck? What the FUCK was happening?

Quinn backtracked, leaning on the doorframe to assess her friend. "You okay?"

Elliot couldn't speak. He only shook his head, letting his face contort with anger and pain. Tears glazed his eyelashes.

Quinn didn't understand what had made Elliot so upset. She was about to jokingly ask if he had taken a pregnancy test when his phone zizzed in her hands. Then again. And again, and again.

She looked at the bright screen, watching hundreds of notifications appear in an instant. They were all about the same thing - a single blurry photo.

"Pierce kissed Nicki," Elliot informed her.

Quinn didn't know the entire story. She only knew the gossip that she had seen online, so she innocently replied, "There's other hot hockey guys to obsess over, Elliot. It's not like he was even - "

"Quinnie," Elliot spoke. His tone was cutting. He gave her a stout expression.

She didn't need to hear anymore. She could read her friend's face - the unspoken urgency in the creases of his forehead. Pierce wasn't just a random hockey player.

As Elliot closed his eyes, Quinn approached him and set his phone by the sink. Her voice was low and gentle when she asked, "For how long?"

"Too long," Elliot murmured.

"You never said..."

"He didn't want to tell anyone," Elliot explained. "He still doesn't."

Referring to the picture, Quinn guessed, "Maybe...he was drunk?"

"And that makes it better?"

"No, but...," Quinn tried to find the right words. "He must be struggling. With himself. Or with his feelings. Maybe he's exploring his options - "

Elliot glowered at her. "Are you defending him?"

"I don't know the whole situation, Elliot. I'm trying to be helpful."

"He's had my dick in his mouth, Quinn. He told me he loved me. I met his fucking parents," Elliot seethed. "He's been playing these games for two years. Every time I think he's changed, he does some shit to hurt me again. Does that sum up the situation?"

"Maybe he's scared - "

"OF WHAT?"

"Of being with you," Quinn said. "Of being gay."

"This isn't Psych 101," Elliot retorted, striking. Disarming on command. "You're straight, Quinnie. You don't get it."

Quinn recoiled, pausing for a beat. She considered her options before she said, "No. You don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Just because you're gay doesn't mean you understand everything queer. You're not a walking Google page for sexuality - it's a spectrum, Elliot."

"I know that."

"You're not acting like it. It sounds like you're pressuring him to label himself. Be patient with him. Holy fuck. You've never had to come out," she contended. "You've never had to be anything less than what you are. You've never had to pretend to be something you're not for so long that you don't even know how to be yourself. You've had support from day one. Not everyone has that."

"I support him," Elliot argued.

"That's not always enough."

"How the hell would you know?"

"Because I kiss girls, okay?" Quinn admitted, "Just...not in public."

Elliot blinked.

"I'm not straight," Quinn revealed. "Idiot." With a huff, she sat on the rim of the bathtub.

Elliot leaned against the counter, unsure of how to react. "I - "

"Why do you think I have so many posters of Jessica Rabbit?" Quinn wondered.

"I thought you were a cult classics enthusiast."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Whatever. My point is...Hayden, she's, uh, she's tried everything to get me to feel comfortable. But I'm still terrified to kiss her in public...Pierce might feel the same."

"You...? You and Hayden?" Elliot questioned.

Quinn nodded, affirming. She swallowed before saying, "Nobody knows - well, other than Wyatt. Twins can't lie to each other apparently."

Elliot offered some encouragement, saying, "Nobody would care."

Quinn exhaled. "I'm a female football player, Elliot. Adding lesbian to my résumé would make me an animated stereotype," she alluded. "I don't want to be labeled. I just want to play football. It was hard enough getting on the team with a vagina."

Identifying as gay didn't give Elliot a license to assess and label Pierce, or anyone else. Everyone had to define or not define their sexuality at their own pace, through their own experiences. It seemed that Elliot had oversimplified labels.

Being in love can often make two people feel so in sync that, when one person deviates from normal expectations, the other person feels unprepared and crossed. Maybe Elliot was lashing out in misunderstanding, perhaps wanting to prove he knew Pierce well enough to love him.

"I'm sorry about Pierce and Nicki," Quinn replied. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

Elliot shook his head. "No," he said. "There's nothing she could say that would change it."

"Maybe you should talk to him," Quinn suggested.

A frown hung on his lips. "I don't even know him anymore."